Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yang's eyes hazily opened. Her mind wasn't fully there and she couldn't move much more than her eyes to look around at her surroundings. Her vision was blurry. She couldn't tell too much about her surroundings. White walls. Fluorescent lights. Looks like a blue curtain to my left. I think I'm in a bed. The world sounded like she was underwater. All she could hear was some song playing to her right. I May Fall?

A figure walked into her field of vision and toward her. As it got closer, her vision started to clear slightly, revealing the figure to be a woman dressed in white. She came up beside Yang's bed and adjusted something next to her, paying no attention to the dazed blonde. Glancing up, Yang saw that she was swapping out an IV bag hanging from a hook. I'm in a hospital.

The nurse finished replacing the empty fluid bag with a fresh one and turned to leave. No! Don't leave. Yang tried to call out to her to get her attention, but a stifled grunt was all her vocal cords could manage. It was enough. The woman heard her and froze in her tracks. She turned and slowly stepped closer to the Huntress. When she got close enough to see that Yang was in fact awake, her eyes widened, she dropped the things in her hands, and she turned and ran out the room.

Yang exhaled in relief that she had been noticed and was suddenly hit hard with the renewed supply of drugs being pumped into her body. Her eyes fell shut and sleep took her yet again.

3 days after awakening…

"Can you hear me?"

Those were the words Yang awoke to this time. Her eyes opened to see an older man in a lab coat beside her bed. There was no music this time around. Only him on her right, the nurse who had discovered her on her left, and the sound of her heart rate monitor beeping at a steady pace.

"Miss, can you hear me?" He asked again. "Nod if you can."

Yang did better than that. "I can hear you," she managed.

The doctor paused for a moment in surprise. "Impressive. Do you know who you are? Can you tell me your name?"

"My name is Yang Xiao Long."

"Excellent. Do you know where you are?" he asked.

"A hospital room," she answered. "Can't remember how I got here though."

The doctor's eyes glanced down as if in guilt. "Yes… that is to be expected. You see, miss, you have been here in a coma for some time now." The heart rate monitor started to beep at a faster pace. "I'm sure you'll want to know exactly how long." Yang tried to prepare herself for the answer. "I'm afraid it's been… nine years."

Her preparation wasn't enough to hear that. The beeping's pace rose astronomically. Yang's eyes burned red as she utterly panicked. Every muscle in her body thrashed to get her out of her bed.

The doctor jumped into action and attempted to hold her still. "Calm down. Calm down, Miss." The nurse on her left was already preparing the syringe. "Please, try not to panic." The syringe went in her arm and her heart rate slowed again. "Calm down. Calm down." Her muscles relaxed and her eyes got heavy again. "There you go. There you go." Sleep took her. "Rest now."

9 years before awakening…

Yang woke up lying in a gurney, with a paramedic beside her. She looked around at her setting. She was in a medical airship. Going to the hospital. Out the windows was chaos. Explosions, airships, and a fleet of Grimm filled the skies.

"Yang!"

She turned to follow the voice calling her name. "Blake." Her teammate was lying on a gurney to her left, reaching out to her. Yang reached over and grabbed her hand. "Where's Ruby?"

"Her and Weiss went to find Pyrrha at the tower," Blake answered. "That's the last I saw her."

Yang instinctively tried to get up on her feet, but was quickly guided back down by a paramedic. "We need to go back to Beacon. My sister's still there."

"Ma'am, you're seriously injured. I must ask that you remain still."

"Let me up!" She tried to force her way up.

"Yang, there's nothing you can do," Blake tried to talk her down. "Beacon's overrun."

"I need to find her!" Yang expanded Ember Celica on her left arm and blasted the medic in the chest, sending him across the airship.

The pilot turned to the sound of the gunshot. "What the hell's going on back there?!"

The medic picked himself up and looked to the blonde Huntress with anger. He then looked over her shoulder and his face turned to that of pure terror. "Look out!"

Yang looked behind her to see the Nevermore flying directly towards the cockpit with its claws outstretched just before it made contact.

1 week after awakening…

Yang was helped up into a sitting position by her doctor and nurse.

"You won't be at your full strength yet," the doctor explained, "but your aura helped you maintain most of your muscle mass. Now, I need to show you something and ask you to, please, try not to panic." He pulled an x-ray photo and displayed it for her to see. "Before you were in the airship crash that put you in your coma, you were in battle where you… sustained injuries."

Yang looked at the photo. It displayed all of the bones in her upper torso, her lower neck, and her left arm. But her right… the x-ray cut off at her mid bicep. "I don't…"

"Please, look down… and be brave."

Yang looked to her left hand. She flipped it around and curled her fingers. She did the same thing with her right and turned to look at it.

Yang's heart stopped. She could feel her arm, but it wasn't there. Only a bandaged nub. Her heart started up again at triple the rate as she reached over with her left hand to try and tear the bandages away.

The doctor held her wrist to stop her and tried to calm her down. This time, her mind didn't even register his words. She struggled against him to get her bandages off until she felt a needle puncture her skin and her eyes and limbs get heavy. The nurse put her under again.

2 weeks after awakening…

In her time since waking up for the first time in nine years, Yang's memory started to restore itself. She remembered the White Fang attack on Beacon. She remembered them releasing Grimm on the school. She remembered Adam. She looked down to the flimsy prosthetic she had for a right arm. He's the one who did this to me. Remnant's bionic technology was impressive, but this was a cheap, shoddy, fill-in replacement by comparison.

She asked her doctor and nurses on several occasions what had happened to the world in the last nine years. She could never get an answer out of anyone. Just looks that told her it things weren't the best.

All she could do was sit in bed, reflect on her last memories before nearly a decade of her life was taken away from her, and worry for the state of Remnant and, more importantly, her friends and teammates.

Her contemplation was interrupted by her doctor walking in the door. "I have good news for you, Miss Xiao Long. We sent a message out to your next of kin, informing them of your rejuvenation. And it seems someone has shown up to see you."

Yang's eyes lit up. "Ruby?"

"I believe so. She looks different from the last time I saw her. But then again, that was a long time ago. But she has the correct credentials. But before I let her in, I'm going to-" His voice was cut of by the sound of turbines. He looked out the window in the room. "What is…"

Yang followed his gaze to see a large airship pass by her window.

"I wasn't expecting-" There was a knock at the door. "Now who could that be?" The doctor walked to the door and opened it, but he was blocking Yang's view of the visitor. His voice raised in volume. "What are you-" His words cut off and Yang watched in horror as a blade stuck out his back.

The blade slipped back through his body and he crumpled to the ground, revealing his assailant to the former Huntress. It was a young woman with long black hair holding a black sword. She wore mostly black clothing and a Grimm mask. Sticking out from her dark hair were two cat ears. White Fang!

Yang tried calling for help, but the screaming and gunfire down the hall told her that none would come. The woman in black closed the door behind her and walked over to the front of Yang's bed. She tried to get herself up to fight, but the drugs in her system held her back.

Her attacker pulled out a Scroll and put it to her ear. "I've found her… Yes, I will take care of her. What about the other one?...And everyone else here?... All of them?... Okay. I will be done shortly." She put her away her Scroll and collapsed her sword into a compact handgun. That weapon looks familiar. The White Fang assassin aimed her gun at Yang's head.

The door slammed open and a man in a lab coat charged the woman from behind. She turned in time for him to knock the gun from her hand and punch her to the ground. She rolled back to her feet and the two exchanged a series of blows and counters. The assassin came out on top and kicked the doctor into Yang's bed, knocking it over and sending her to the ground.

The pain of impact and stress of the situation was enough for her to activate her semblance. She could already feel herself getting stronger. To hurry the process along, she punched herself in the side several times, using the pain to further charge her semblance and prepare herself for a fight. She heard the sounds of further combat on the other side of the toppled bed.

Yang stopped hitting herself when she heard the sound of glass breaking. She crawled around the bed to see the room's window shattered and only the doctor remaining, his lab coat torn and barely hanging on his shoulders. He tore the coat off and turned to walk over to the blonde, left only in his scrubs. He crouched down in front of her and gave Yang a good look at him. He had long, black hair tied into a ponytail with a pink streak in it. The streak matched his magenta eyes.

"Ren?" He looked significantly older than the last time Yang saw him, but other than that, he hadn't changed much.

"Come on, Yang," he said in his low voice. "It's past time you checked out."

"What happened to the woman?" The blonde patient asked.

Ren paused. "It's quite the fall out that window."

"What's going on?"

"The White Fang has found us. They want us dead and they're willing to go through every human in their way to make that happen."

"Us?"

"Yes. I've been here watching over you for the past nine years. But we could only stay hidden for so long." He tried pulling her to her feet, but her muscles still weren't strong enough to support her without him holding her up. "Do you need something to help return your strength?" he asked, producing a syringe.

Yang pushed his hand away. "No more drugs. I've had enough of 'em in the past nine years. Besides, all this adrenaline is already doing wonders for my energy."

"Very well." Ren tossed the syringe. "Let me know when you're strong enough to walk on your own."

With her braced up against him, Ren led Yang out the room she'd been in for nearly a decade. "Stay close and stay quiet."

There were dead everywhere, patients and staff alike. The White Fang was not taking prisoners, nor were they leaving witnesses. The two rounded a corner to a long hallway with double doors at the end.

"We go through there," Ren told her as they made their way down the hall. They got about halfway down the hall when one of the doors cracked open. The two froze. "Wait here," the huntsman said as he leaned Yang against the wall and crept forward.

From the gap in the door, a small canister flew into the room. Ren's eyes got wide. "Grenade! Get back!" He turned to run right as it went off, sending him flying past Yang.

The blonde was thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion. It was a concussive grenade; all force with no shrapnel. But the pain was immense, and her semblance fed heavily off of it.

Three White Fang soldiers entered through the doors with guns at the ready. They spotted Yang face down on the ground, recovering from the explosion. One of them got closer, trained his gun on her head, and kicked her over onto her back, revealing a face of rage and eyes that burned red.

Yang roared as she delivered a monstrous punch to the man's kneecap, knocking it completely out of place. The other two turned their guns on her, but she was already on her feet and using the now crippled Faunus soldier as a human shield. When Yang heard no gunshots, she shoved the man in her arms at the two remaining, knocking them off balance. She used this bought time to charge the two. She kicked the legs out from under one of them and punched the other across the face with her natural hand. The one she'd hit in the face recovered first in time to watch helplessly as Yang threw all of her might into a devastating right hook, knocking him unconscious instantly and utterly destroying her prosthetic.

She noticed the second thug had risen to his feet too late. He already had his gun trained on her and his finger on the trigger. The millisecond before he could squeeze it, Ren came up from behind and wrapped his arm around the soldier's throat, choking him into unconsciousness.

Ren exhaled and walked up to Yang. "It looks like that adrenaline is really kicking in."

"It's all semblance," she explained as she kicked the White Fang member she crippled first in the head, knocking him out, too. Then she looked down to her shattered prosthetic arm. "I'm down one arm again, though."

"We're going to need to get you something better once we're out of this."

"I'll hold you to that."

They ran through the double doors to a spiral staircase. They started going down, but stopped when they heard screams and gunfire coming from the bottom floor.

"They're just gunning down everyone they see!" Yang protested. "How could they want us this badly?!"

"The world has changed a lot since what happened at Beacon," Ren told her. "Let's try the roof. There should be an airship up there."

They turned around and ran up the staircase, only to stop when they heard several sets of footsteps and saw flashlights coming down.

"Damnit!" Yang exclaimed. "What now?"

Ren looked around and his eyes set on the nearest window. He walked up to it and shattered it with one kick. He looked out and turned to the blonde. "There are cars outside. We're five stories up. If we climb down to two, our auras should be able to absorb the force of impact."

"That's good, but there's one problem." Yang raised her broken prosthetic. "I've still only got one hand.

Ren walked back over to her, grabbed the fake limb, and bent its chassis into a curved hook shape. "This should help. I'll guide you down." With that he vaulted out the window to the sill outside and started his climb down.

With no other option and the soldiers upstairs advancing fast, Yang followed. They climbed down the stone wall, using the gaps between the individual stones as handholds. Yang was able to use the curved shape to her prosthetic as a kind of hook, jamming it into the gaps to hold herself while she reached for another handhold with her left hand.

Ren kept an eye on her and guided her hands and feet as she went, telling her where to go. He stopped when he heard voices coming near. He looked down and saw two White Fang soldiers on the ground below coming their way. He looked back up to Yang. "Stop! Stop!"

Yang was about to place her prosthetic hook when he caught her attention and she stopped to look down to him. He pointed at the two enemy soldiers below.

"I thought I heard something," one of them said.

"I didn't hear anything," the other replied. "But if you're sure you heard something, can't hurt to be sure."

Yang quietly placed her hook into a gap in the wall, but when she put pressure on it, it snapped. Two large hunks of material broke off of the prosthetic and fell down towards the two guards.

Ren saw the shards fall and reached out to catch them. He closed his hand, pulled it close, and opened it to reveal he'd caught one. The other bounced off of one of the guards' shoulders.

They both looked up to find the source of the debris, only to see Ren pouncing down from the wall. The huntsman landed on one of the soldiers, knocking him out instantly. The other raised his gun and shouted, but Ren acted before he could fire. He flung the piece of broken prosthetic he still held at the Faunus's face, hitting him in the eye. He was stunned for half a second, but that was more than enough time for Ren to disarm him of his gun and bash him in the face with it.

Ren stopped to survey the area and heard more men coming. They had been alerted by their comrade's shout. He looked back up to Yang. "Jump! Quick!"

Yang, a little over two stories up, fearlessly did as she was told and landed next to her friend. "Ow. Still felt that."

"They're coming. Come on."

So they ran. Unable to sneak to a vehicle, they just ran across the countryside outside the hospital. The group of White Fang forces followed, but the two Huntsmen were too far out of range for their guns to effectively reach them.

They were running for a forest on the other end of the field. As they escaped, Ren pulled his Scroll from his pocket and made a call. "We're coming in hot. We are being pursued. Be ready at the edge of the forest."

"Who was that?" Yang asked.

"Extraction," he answered.

They made their way to the tree line when, suddenly, an explosion erupted just in front of them. Yang was airborne and hit the ground hard. Her aura was able to take the damage and her semblance was already reenergizing her. She started to get up and saw Ren unconscious next to her. She looked behind her and saw the source of the explosion: a Bullhead hovering toward them. She knew it was priming another shot and she wouldn't be able to get herself and Ren away in time.

"Nora!" she heard another voice call out. She heard a shot behind her and watched as a pink explosion hit the airship and sent it flaming into the ground. Yang looked behind her to see the red-headed girl, also looking significantly older than the last time she saw her, holding her grenade launcher, Magnhild. She was dressed in a combat uniform with pink gloves, a kevlar vest with her crest on it, and a pink bandana.

"Ren!" Upon spotting her partner unconscious on the ground, she threw Magnhild to her back and ran to his aid.

"Yang!" She looked to the voice calling her name and saw a man walking towards her with long, scraggly blonde hair and a mustache. He wore a white chestpiece and a sword at his side under a long brown duster and carried a rifle over his shoulder.

"Jaune?" Yang guessed.

"It's good to see you again," he said as he offered her a hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.

"We've got baddies coming this way," Nora alerted to her leader as she hefted Ren over her shoulder.

Jaune stepped ahead of the rest of them and drew his rifle. It was a red and gold semi automatic rifle with two points, each a third of the way through the weapon, where it looked to be welded together. It was Pyrrha's rifle, Miló. He shouldered it and looked down its sights. "How many?"

Nora was already looking through a pair of binoculars. "I see eight in pursuit."

Jaune took a second to line up his shot. He fired eight shots.

"No more enemies in pursuit," his red-headed spotter reported.

He lowered Miló. "Let's get out of here before more can gain on us. Nora, lead the way. Yang, follow her. I'll take up the rear in case we have anymore trouble behind us."

"Alrighty, Jaune." With Ren still unconscious over her shoulder, Nora led the way through the woods to a small clearing.

"So how're we getting out of here exactly?" Yang asked.

"Oh, I think you'll like it," Nora replied, pointing into the clearing. At the end of the clearing sat two motorcycles.

"I think you're right," Yang said.

"We're clear," Jaune informed them as he jogged ahead and mounted one of the bikes. "Nora, you take Ren. Yang, you're riding with me."

Yang hopped on the back of his motorcycle while Nora laid Ren over the back of hers and hopped on herself. They both started up their bikes. Suddenly, a monstrous roar sounded from the forest.

"Grimm?" Yang guessed.

Jaune hesitated. "With all the violence and death, I'd be surprised if they weren't drawn here." He drew something from his belt. "Here. In case it comes after us." He handed Yang a handgun over his shoulder. It was green and fitted with a long blade on the front of it. "I'm sure Ren won't mind." With that he revved his engine and drove off down an old dirt path, Nora staying close behind him.

Now that the craziness seemed to have come to at least a pause, Yang had to ask. "What the hell is going on?" She shouted to her driver over the sound of the bike's engine.

"Remnant's gone to hell since you went under," Jaune explained. "The attack on Beacon was only the beginning. All of the Huntsman academies were overcome. And with the Transmit System down, none of them could be warned of the impending attacks. Under the leadership of Cinder Fall, the White Fang expanded and began taking power in the kingdoms by crushing any resistance. Atlas is putting up the best fight against them. Well they were."

"What do you mean?"

"Surviving Huntsmen banded together under a leader to fight back against the White Fang. Turns out an army of elite warriors is far tougher to just walk over than an army of machines. But that got all Huntsmen labeled as threats to be killed on sight. That's why they went through so much trouble and so many bystanders to get you and Ren. Even one Huntsman can be a nasty thorn in their side."

"Who's this leader who banded everyone together?" Yang inquired. "You?"

Jaune laughed. "You put too much faith in me. No, the great leader everyone rallied behind was, as the past Professor Ozpin would say, a smaller, more honest soul. Your sister."

Yang was stunned to hear that. "Ruby?"

Jaune nodded. "She did it better than anyone else could."

"Where is she?" Yang asked him.

Jaune sighed. "Well that's the difficult part… She's been captured."

Chapter Text

3 weeks after awakening...

Jaune and Yang rode side by side across the plains of Vacuo. It had been a full week since Yang left that hospital in Menagerie. That’s a week of time to regain her strength and reflexes through exercising and sparring with Jaune. Who would’ve thought he’d have gotten so good?

She’d also had time to catch up on the status of everyone she’d known. Pyrrha fell against Cinder at Beacon nine years ago. Jaune had since then returned and recovered the pieces of Miló and reforged it in its rifle form. Weiss had been taken back to Atlas by her father. Then the entire Schnee family was kidnapped by the White Fang. Their current status and whereabouts are unknown. Blake had gone missing ever since the crash she and Yang were in that put the latter in a coma. No body was found. Teams SSSN, CFVY, CRDL, and the others that were present for and survived the attack on Beacon were still alive and part of the army of huntsmen that what was left of Team JNPR was involved in. And Ruby, the founder of that army, was currently a prisoner to White Fang here in Vacuo.

Now here Yang was, on the opposite end of Remnant, back on her old motorcycle, Bumblebee. How they got ahold of it, I have no idea. She was riding side by side with Jaune across the plains of Vacuo, out to rescue her little sister. She was dressed in the simple combat fatigues that Jaune had access to on short notice. While it didn’t give her much to personalize, she was able to open up the top a bit more to show off her ample cleavage. Even a half-second’s distraction is enough to turn the tide in my favor.

“How’re you getting used to it?” Jaune asked her.

Yang released the handle bar with her right “hand.” She raised it up and clenched her “fingers” a few times. Jaune had supplied her with a new prosthetic arm, one that was much more expensive than the last one. He claimed Ruby had had it made some time ago in preparation for Yang waking up.

It was tapped directly into her nervous system and, therefore, was able to respond to the most minute commands. The material was light, approximately the weight of her normal arm, but nearly indestructible. It could more than handle the force behind one of her right hooks. The advanced sensors in its palm and fingertips allowed her a limited sense of touch. She could feel it when she touched or held something, but the sensors weren’t as responsive to temperature or texture.

Yang admired the advanced piece of technology before answering Jaune’s question. “Wish it was yellow. But other than that…” She looked to him and used her new arm to give him a thumbs up.

Jaune chuckled. “Well changing the color can be the first thing you do when you get back.” He raised his own hand off his handle bar and pointed to the top of a hill ahead. “Let’s stop up here.” They both pulled to a stop at the top of the hill overlooking the land and turned their bikes off.

“Ruby’s been captured by the White Fang for ten days now,” Jaune explained to her. “Nora and I were en route to rescue her when we got Ren’s alert. We decided to make a detour to get the two of you. Didn't plan for Ren getting injured and losing Nora so she could take him back to base. But I’ve got you now. So I guess that puts me at net even.”

“I’ve got dibs on the infiltration,” Yang informed him.

“You sure?” he questioned her.

“Jaune, I’ve been in a bed for nine years. I need to get back into the action.”

Jaune nodded. “Well alright then. I’ll cover you from a distance and send you additional intel by radio.”

“Where is she being held?” Yang asked him.

“We’ve determined that they’re holding Ruby in an occupied village about two miles north of here. Their primary forces are gone from the area. They’ve only left a small company to guard her until orders come in from command telling them to either move her... or that they don’t need her anymore. I’d give her two days until they get that order.”

“We bust her out now and they’ve got a whole day to scratch their heads and come up with a way to explain to the boss.”

Jaune chuckled. “That’s the idea.” He then reached into the saddle bag on his bike and pulled something out. “And since you’re back in the action, I thought I’d give you something nice. And this one is yellow.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have.” Yang took the item Jaune was handing to her and froze in surprise. It was one of her gauntlets, Ember Celica.

“Another gift from your sister. Unfortunately we only had the left one for… well, obvious reasons. But she took the liberty of upgrading it for you.” Jaune explained as she put the gauntlet on her left wrist. “It now expands into a fully articulate glove over your hand, allowing you to hit harder without risk of breaking your hand.”

She expanded it, admiring the glove addition Jaune was talking about. “I do like hitting harder.”

“It also now carries twenty-four shots, rather than the original twelve. It actually has two chambers for ammo belts and quickly cycles between them. Of course, this means it’ll take a little longer to reload when you run out.”

“I’ll try to make sure I don’t run out then.” She collapsed her gauntlet and looked to her fellow huntsman. “Thanks, Jaune.”

“I’m just the delivery man. Thank Ruby once you rescue her.”

Yang put on her game face. “Got any other gifts or words of advice?”

“I’d recommend going in quiet and unseen,” Jaune advised her. “You’ll be met with less opposition that way.”

“Yeah that sounds great and all, but here’s the thing,” Yang responded, putting her sunglasses on, “I want to be seen.” She started up Bumblebee and sped off ahead of her new partner.

After a not-so-silent infiltration and the incapacitation of every White Fang soldier in the area, Yang began searching through the village for where her captured sister was being kept. Damn, that felt good, she thought. She stepped into one building and saw someone dressed in dirty clothing, handcuffed to a pipe on the wall, and with a bag over her head. There you are, Ruby . She walked into the room and up to the prisoner.

The prisoner heard Yang walk in and said, “I heard gunfire. What’s the matter? Saw a squirrel run by.”

Yang knelt in front of her and giggled. “I don’t think it was a squirrel,” she remarked. “Squirrels don’t shoot back.” With that, she pulled the bag off her sister’s head. When she saw her face, she almost didn’t recognize her. Her hair was longer and her face looked older. Nine years, right. She’d be twenty-four now.

Ruby looked her savior in the eyes, clearly not fully recognizing her now twenty-six year old older sister. “Yang? Is that you?”

“Hey, sis.”

“What’re you doing here?” the younger sister asked.

Yang used her mechanical arm to pull on Ruby’s handcuffs and break the chain. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. First, I’ve gotta get you outta here.” She picked her sister up and tried to place her on her feet before noticing something that made her heart skip a beat. Ruby’s pant legs hung down her legs, but no feet came out the ends of them. Everything from the mid shins down was gone.

“White Fang bastards,” the scythe wielder cursed, shocking Yang almost as much as her amputated feet. “When you’ve got a prisoner whose semblance is speed, you’ve gotta make sure they can’t use it.”

“I’ll make them pay, Ruby.”

“No, Yang. We’ll make them pay. But first,I think it’s time I left this hellhole.”

Yang lifted Ruby over her shoulders and spoke into her earpiece. “Jaune, I’ve got Ruby. She’s alive.”

“Great,” his voice came back to her. “I’ve called for extraction. They’re a mile out.”

Yang carried Ruby out of the village right as the Bullhead set down. She climbed on board and set Ruby in one of the seats before sitting down next to her. Jaune was already sat across from them.

“Ruby,” he nodded and greeted her.

She did the same. “Jaune.”

The blonde huntsman smiled at her. “It’s good to have you back, Boss.”

“I’m not back yet,” the now free huntress said as the airship lifted back off the ground.

The Bullhead had been over water for about three hours now. They were headed east, over the ocean between Vacuo and Vale. Jaune had informed Yang that their base was almost dead center between the two. Ruby spent much of the trip hydrating and resting. Jaune was on his Scroll going through reports and mission intel.

That left Yang alone to her own thoughts. Most of those thoughts dealt with anger directed towards the White Fang for their actions against her and everyone she knew. But most importantly, she was angry for their actions against her sister.

At the four hour mark for the trip, Ruby finally seemed better rested. “So Jaune,” she spoke up, “tell me. How’s New Beacon been in my absence?”

“We’ve halted most of our operations since your capture. We ordered all huntsmen to lay low and, for those that could, to return back to base. With you getting captured, we feared we’d been compromised. We hunkered down and waited for an attack. The only operation in play was your rescue until we got Ren’s alert.”

“I’m sorry, but… New Beacon?” Yang questioned.

“That’s what we’ve dubbed our organization,” Jaune informed her.

“Beacons of hope,” Ruby continued. “That’s what the huntsmen are to this world. Beacons of light that cut through the darkness. That’s why Ozpin named it that. But Beacon fell, along with its headmaster. He was played like a damn fiddle by forces he didn’t see coming. The world’s always been afraid that the Grimm would be the ones to snuff us out. But the darkness has a new name now.”

“The White Fang,” Yang filled in.

“Yeah. And now that darkness has swept over Remnant, snuffing all light in their path, leaving everyone in shadows. But I won’t just leave this world to ruin. It needs hope again. And that’s what we are, the huntsmen I’ve gathered. We’re a new beacon to the world.”

“We’re five minutes out, Boss,” Jaune announced.

Yang got up to look through the cockpit window. Ahead, she saw a large platform, similar to a mining rig, in the middle of the ocean. It had multiple levels and was outfitted with several external weapon emplacements. There were several landing platforms with airships landed on them. More ships circled the aerial space around the platform.

“Is that it?” Yang asked.

“That’s where it’s located,” Ruby answered. “But that’s not it. New Beacon isn’t a place. It’s an idea. The huntsmen are the beacons of light. Wherever they are, that’s where New Beacon can be found.”

The Bullhead set down on the main landing platform. Waiting was a group of huntsmen including Nora, a still recovering Ren, Sun Wukong, Coco Adel, and Velvet Scarletina. Ren was dressed more comfortably in a turtleneck sweater and a coat. His left arm was in a sling. Sun sported his blonde hair at shoulder length, combat pants and boots, no shirt, and a long trench coat. Coco was dressed far more fashionably in formal attire with slacks, a vest, a tie, and her signature sunglasses. Velvet was dressed comfortably in khaki shorts, an unbuttoned khaki shirt, and a brown headband with her crest on the front.

They all stood at the ready to help Ruby. When Yang stepped off the ship with her, they greeted her with warm welcomes as well.

Ruby spent two days in the medical bay. In that time, her vitals had returned to normal. She had also been outfitted with two prosthetic legs and feet. They didn’t hamper her ability to walk. She was still able to get around effectively. But they were heavier than her original feet, and therefore, did slow her down. She wouldn’t be able to tap into her semblance. Her own feet wouldn’t be able to keep up with her.

Needless to say, Ruby’s replacement limbs didn’t match the quality of her sister’s. Then again, that prosthetic took a lot more money, time, and specifications to make and perfect. Arrangements had been made to get something better for her, but it would be awhile before a finished product was ready.

2 days after Ruby’s rescue…

Yang helped Ruby into her quarters. She was still rather shaky on her new “feet” and needed her sister’s help. Ruby sat down on her bed and stared unhappily at her metal extremities.

“Why are we still here, Yang?” she huffed out.

“Ruby?”

“Just to suffer?” She paused for an answer that Yang could not supply. “Every night, I can feel my legs… and my feet… even my toes... The body I’ve lost… The allies- No. The friends I’ve lost… Penny and Pyrrha. Weiss and Blake. I still feel them everyday and every night... They won’t stop hurting. It’s like they’re all still there.” She looked to her sister’s prosthetic arm. “You feel it it, too. Don’t you?” Yang looked to her “arm.” Again, she gave her sister no answer. Ruby rose to her feet and grabbed her sister by the arm. “ Don’t you? ”

Yang looked her sister in her eyes. “Yes, I feel the phantom pains, too.”

Ruby dropped back to sitting on her bed. “Yang, I was New Beacon’s primary field agent. But with these…” she gestured to her new feet. “Yang, I need something from you.”

“What is it?”

“I lost something and I’m not the same as I was. The same happened to you, but you came out stronger for it. Yang, I want you to help run New Beacon with me. I’m no longer as effective in the field. I’m going to ask if you can take on the challenge of being head field agent.”

“I’ll do whatever is needed of me, Ruby,” Yang promised

Yang could see the anger start to boil in her sister’s face as she continued to think about… well everything. “I’m going to make them pay for everything they took. I’m going to avenge all the lives lost in the past nine years. And not just those of the dead. Those of the still living, too; the lives we all could’ve lived had they not brought war into them. The nine years of your life that they took. I intend to take it all back in blood if I have to. This isn’t about hope anymore. No just cause. No greater good. Not for me. This is about revenge.”

“ We ,” Yang spoke up.

“What?”

The blonde put her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “ We ’ll make them pay.”

A tear came to Ruby’s eye. She smiled. “Thank you, Yang. Thank you.”

That last sentence was the first time since rescuing her that Yang felt like she still recognized her sister anymore. A lot has changed in nine years.

Chapter Text

It had been a little less than a month since Ruby was rescued and returned to Mother Base. In that time, she had sent Yang out on several missions. They had eliminated White Fang officers, cleared out occupied outposts in all three of the fallen kingdoms, and rescued hostages, both civilians and prisoners of war. Several of those rescued offered their talents for use by New Beacon. To say the least, they were hitting back against the White Fang and doing some good along the way. And Yang felt good for both.

Now Yang was back on a Bullhead, flying over Vacuo. She’d just finished rescuing a bionics specialist who could possibly help improve Yang’s arm and Ruby’s legs. She was on her way back to base when her sister came over her Scroll.

“Yang, I’m sorry to do this to you, but we’re going to need you to stay out there a little longer. We’ve got an urgent mission for you.”

“What’ve you got?” The blonde field agent asked.

Jaune came on the line to explain. “We’ve gotten word that the White Fang is dealing with private military companies to acquire much of their more advanced firepower.”

“Someone’s helping the White Fang?” Yang asked in disbelief.

“The PMCs aren’t directly involved with any side of this war. They just supply weaponry to whoever will pay them enough. And since Atlas is relying on its own armories and most of our weapons and ammunition are custom, that leaves only the White Fang to do business with.”

“Great. Nothing like war profiteers.”

“Yeah, but that’s not what’s so urgent. What’s so urgent is what the PMC in question is dealing out. They call it the Killer Bee. It’s a rocket propulsion weapon with specialized ammunition that splits off into multiple projectiles, all of which are capable of honing in on separate targets.”

“In english?”

Jaune groaned. “It’s a rocket launcher that can blow up a bunch of people at the same time.”

“And we can’t let the White Fang get ahold of it,” Ruby spoke up again. “We’ve learned that the deal is going down tonight. We’re sending you and your pilot the coordinates for the transaction now. We want you to go in, get the Killer Bee, and get out. Eliminate any White Fang officers that show up to claim it if you can, but don’t put yourself in too much danger to do it.”

“Me? Danger? I would never, lil’ sis.”

“Also, if at all possible,” Jaune chimed in, “try not to kill any of the PMC soldiers. They could be far more useful to us alive and with us in good favor. If we’re in with the PMCs, we can control the firepower the White Fang has access to.”

“Get the gun. Don’t hurt the sellers too much. Hurt the buyers as much as I want. Got it.”

After being deployed near the location of the transaction, Yang was able to sneak past the PMC force in the area waiting for their White Fang buyers to show up. The area was a small valley in a mountainous bowl. The Killer Bee was being kept under guarded watch in a cave system burrowed into the mountain.

Yang stepped over the now unconscious guards and opened the case they were guarding. “Killer Bee acquired,” she spoke into her comm.

“Did you see the buyers?” Ruby asked over the line.

“Nah,” the blonde answered. “They never showed.”

“Forget it then. Just get the gun and get out of there.”

“Can do.” Yang lifted the rocket launcher out of it’s container, threw its strap around her, and lugged it over her shoulder. “I’m on my way out.”

“I’m sending your Bullhead in now.”

Yang carefully made her way out of the caves when she noticed a thick, black fog rolling in. She wrapped her scarf over her mouth and nose to avoid breathing in too much just in case. “Hey, Rubes, the Bullhead wouldn’t happen to be equipped with any fog machines, now would it?”

“No. Why?”

Yang readied herself for imminent attack. “I think I’m about to have trouble.”

She slowly crept her way out of the caves and saw that the entire valley was blanketed in fog. Even more worrying, she didn’t see or hear a soul. She followed the coordinates on her Scroll to her evac point. Suddenly, an enormous hand reached through the fog and wrapped its fingers around her.

Yang was lifted into the air and held upside down approximately six feet off the ground. She tried to move her arms, but they were pinned to her sides. Can’t fire my gauntlet. Not this close to my leg… and a highly explosive weapon on my back. She took a moment to analyze her restraint.  A giant mechanical hand with a palm the size of my torso and thighs. I have no idea what it’s attached to. I can’t see it through the fog. Well, Yang, how’re you gonna get outta this one?

As she was trying to think up a plan, she heard low laughter coming from the fog. Footsteps were coming towards her. She saw a figure emerge from the darkness. It was a tall man covered in a red and black armored suit. He carried a katana at his side in a large sheath. Over his eyes was a Grimm mask and sprouting from his red hair were two bull horns.

Yang’s eyes burned red the instant she realized who the Faunus was. “Adam!” she growled as she struggled against her metal confines.

“Yang was it?” he said back as he walked right up to her. “You look better since the last time we met. But you came all this way, back from the dead even, for such small weapons as that?” He gestured to the Killer Bee over her shoulder.

“I came all this way to do a lot more than just steal a gun. Why don’t you drop me and I’ll show you what exactly I had planned.”

Adam chuckled and walked past her, his eyes not even meeting hers. “In due time. But only if you can escape here alive.”

As if on cue, Yang heard shouting and gunfire. She turned to see the PMC soldiers being attacked by some forces she couldn’t make out from her current distance and visibility.

Adam sauntered off into the fog before saying, “Say hi to Blake for me.”

The giant hand released its grip on her and she fell to the ground. She leapt to her feet and readied Ember Celica to fire, but Adam was already gone from sight. She looked around for whatever had grabbed her, but the fog was too thick. All she saw were two towering mechanical legs march off into the blackness.

Quickly, Yang turned her attention back to the commotion going on with the PMC soldiers. The gunfire became more erratic and panicked. The shouting battlefield communications turned into screams of pain and terror. What is going on?!

Yang crept closer to the commotion, needing to know what was attacking the troops. Suddenly, a soldier’s body flew through the fog right at her. She sidestepped out of its way and it landed in a heap. He was dead before he landed. Yang readied her weapon and turned to where the body was thrown from.

In all her training to be a Huntress, nothing prepared her for what lumbered out of the fog. It was humanoid and stood almost eight feet tall. It’s skin was black as night and had spikes of white bone protruding from it. It's teeth were sharpened to points and its eyes glowed dark orange.

Jaune spoke from over her earpiece, seeing was she was seeing through a camera on her earpiece. “Is that a Grimm?”

“Yang!” Ruby shouted. “Get the hell out of there!”

The humanoid Grimm roared at Yang. She fired several shots into its face before turning and running in the direction of her extraction point. She could hear at least four of those Grimm creatures chasing her.

Jaune popped back over her comm. “Yang, the airship’s not going to be able to land with those things in the area. You’re going to have to either clear them out or lose them.”

“How the hell am I supposed to do that?!” The field Huntress shouted back. “My gauntlet didn't do anything!”

Ruby came back on. “But you have something else that will.”

Yang had somehow completely forgotten about the advanced rocket launcher strapped to her back. She reached up and pulled it over her shoulder.

“We've gone through all this trouble to steal it,” Ruby continued. “We might as well see what it can do.”

Yang turned and aimed the Killer Bee at her pursuers. There were four coming at her. The launcher locked on. She fired the weapon and all four targets disintegrated to ash.

Yang lowered the Killer Bee and gazed at it in awe. “I like this thing. I think I’ll keep it.”

Before long, Yang was back on the Bullhead and on her way back to base. She’d gone ahead and set the Killer Bee leaned up against the interior wall. Ruby wanted it for analysis to see if it was possible to produce more of them to use against the White Fang.

But right now, the leader of New Beacon had greater concerns on her mind. “Those creatures, what were they?”

“Grimm,” Jaune answered her. “But they were different. They looked human.”

“Whatever they were,” Yang chimed in, “they attacked the PMC soldiers. And they showed up at the same time as Adam and whatever that giant thing was.”

“I’m willing to bet he was the one who was supposed to buy the Killer Bee off of them,” Ruby theorized. “But when he caught you stealing it, he seemed like he couldn’t care less.”

“What if the deal was just a setup?” Yang proposed. “What if it was just a means to getting test dummies to try out his new… I don’t even know what?”

“If that’s the case, and a true psychopath like Adam has control over some kind of new Grimm and a massive war machine, New Beacon has a new priority target.”

Yang looked down to her prosthetic arm. She raised it in front of her and flexed its fingers. “I want him dead, Ruby.” She clenched her metal fingers into a fist. “I want him dead .” She slammed her fist against the airship wall.

Her comm was silent for a moment before she heard her sister speak. “He’s the one, isn’t he? The one who took your arm.”  A tear came to Yang’s eye. “He’s the reason you were in that airship when it crashed.” Yang remained silent as she felt the phantom pains return. “He’ll die for what he did to you, Yang. I’ll make sure of it even if I have to do it myself.”

“It’s not just that, Ruby. That’s not the reason why I hate him so much.” Yang stared out the window. “He mentioned Blake.”

Chapter Text

Yang was in the Bullhead she'd spent the better part of two months in flying back out over Vacuo when she was contacted by Jaune. "I see you're out again."

"There's work to do," the Huntress explained. "There're three White Fang lieutenants meeting together today. They'll be in the same place at the same time. Perfect opportunity to take 'em all out at once."

"This is the sixth time you've gone out in the last two months. You know we have others Huntsmen we can send on these missions, right?"

"I wanna be out here, Jaune."

"Yeah, but Ren and I don't think it's healthy for you to be in the field as much as you are. In fact, a lot of us are starting to worry about you. Now that I think of it, we listed you as unavailable to take missions for another week. Who authorized you to be out right now?"

"Ruby did. She's the one who gave me the mission briefing."

"Of course she did. I'm starting to think you two might be getting carried away in your crusade against the White Fang."

Yang groaned. This again. "Jaune, you've seen the things they've done; the things they're doing. Every moment I'm at base sitting on my ass is a moment I could be stopping them from hurting anyone else."

Jaune was silent for a moment. "I understand. How long are you going to be out this time? Last time it was a week before you came back to base."

"I'll come back when I'm done."

"Alright. But the main reason I called you is to warn you. We've gotten reports of an assassin that's been hitting groups all across Vacuo. Crack shot, deadly with a blade, and reportedly fast."

"Got an idea what this guy looks like?"

"No. There've been no actual sightings. Just reports of the carnage left behind."

"You think he's with the White Fang?"

"Likely. They weren't on the list of groups that've been attacked. I'll see what else I can dig up. But for now, be careful."

"Aren't I always?" Yang joked.

"No, not really."

Yang was en route to interrupt the lieutenants' meeting. To reach her destination, she needed to pass through a site of old Vacuo ruins from civilizations long past. She entered the site when she heard a rifle shot go off. Suddenly, she was hit in the chest with a force equivalent to being hit by a truck. She was knocked to the ground and felt her aura break. She pulled herself behind a collapsed stone column and used it as cover.

"Yang!" Ruby called her over her comm. "I just saw your aura levels drop! What happened?"

Yang grit her teeth and tried to push back the pain. Her semblance was using the force to replenish her strength and aura, but it still hurt a lot. "Sniper," she muscled out.

"It's gotta be the assassin," Jaune hypothesized. "Yang, your aura's coming back slowly, but you won't be able to take another hit like that. Get out of there!"

Yang's eyes turned red and she expanded Ember Celica. "No. I've got this."

"Yang, he's got an angle on you and you can't even see him! He's got every advantage! Ruby, help me out here!"

There was a pause before Yang heard her sister come on the line. "Yang, kill him."

That was all the motivation Yang needed. She slowly peeked over her cover to try and spot her shooter. Crouched on a ledge about a hundred-fifty yards away was a figure covered in black from head to toe. Crappy camouflage, the blonde thought to herself. Suddenly, another gunshot sounded off and a bullet hit the stone she was hiding behind just inches from her head. Damn! I guess you don't really need camo when you've got the high ground. Yang peeked her head up one more time and, when another shot rang off, she bolted across the field and ducked behind a large boulder closer to her target. Alright. Just stay low and move quickly. I've got this.

She kept this going for another hundred yards. After the second time Yang tried peeking over to draw attention, the sniper caught on and adapted, instead waiting for the Huntress to move out from cover. Unfortunately, Yang being a moving target made her harder to hit. She had several close calls where she could feel the air near her make way for the bullet flying past her, but she kept moving.

She ducked down behind a final piece of cover and checked how far away from her target she was. I'm in range. She cocked Ember Celica, hopped up out of cover, and blasted at the sniper.

The sniper was enveloped in a fiery explosion. Yang waited for the smoke to clear to reveal… nothing. The shooter was gone. What? Where did-

Yang's thought was cut off by the assassin leaping over her cover and attacking. Yang reacted in time to duck under the sword being swung at her head. The attacker landed behind the blonde.

Yang turned to face her opponent and get a better look at who she was fighting. Well, looks like Jaune was wrong. You're not a 'he' at all. The assassin was a woman dressed in a dark gray bodysuit with a black ballistic vest, black gloves, and black boots. She had long black hair with two cat ears poking out. Over her face, she wore a Grimm mask. Yep. Definitely White Fang. Strapped to her back was her rifle. In her hands, she carried two blades. One was a large, cleaver-type weapon. The other was a thinner katana type blade. That's the same sword as the one the woman who attacked me at the hospital in Menagerie had. Hers and…

The assassin charged the Huntress. Yang readied herself for the attack. The assassin leaped at her. Yang blasted her in midair, but when the shot hit, she shimmered away and vanished. What? Yang raised her guard just in time to block the attacker as she lunged forward from the ground. She used a shadow clone. Is that really you?

The woman in black brought her blades around for another swipe. The two warriors engaged in a violent dance with the White Fang girl leading. Yang remained on the defensive, biding her time until her aura and semblance were charged. She also used her time to study her opponent's combat style to confirm her suspicions about the Faunus. Her technique is identical.

When she felt her strength had adequately charged, Yang reached out and grabbed her foe's blades with her mechanical and armored hands. Her hair was aflame and her eyes burned red. She bashed her forehead into the Faunus's skull and pulled her blades from her hands. Before the girl in black could regain her balance, Yang blasted her with a powerful left hook and sent her to the ground. Based on how her body went limp as it hit the ground, the Huntress determined her opponent to be beaten.

"Ruby," she called her sister over her comm as she marched over to her downed assailant, "I've found her."

"What are you talking about? Found who?"

Yang kneeled down next to the Faunus and pulled the Grimm mask off her face. "I've found Blake. She's our assassin."

It was her. Yang's Faunus opponent was none other than her and Ruby's former teammate, Blake Belladonna.

"Oh my god," Jaune spoke in disbelief. "I thought she died nine years ago. But why is she with the White Fang?"

"It's gotta be some kind of mind manipulation or something," Yang theorized.

There was a pause, letting everyone take in the revelation, before Ruby spoke. "Yang, you can't leave her there."

"I wasn't going to. I'm sending my pilot my coordinates right now."

"No, Yang. That's not what I meant. You can't bring her here either. If you take her back to base, she could learn everything the White Fang needs to know to bring New Beacon down."

"Ruby, this is Blake we're talking about here," Yang retorted.

"This is also the girl who just tried to kill you. Manipulation or not, she's with the White Fang. And that makes her a threat to us."

"Well if I can't leave her here and I can't bring her back to base, what do you want me to…" Yang's voice trailed off as she realized what her little sister was suggesting.

"Look, Yang, I'm sorry. I knew you two were close, but look at her. That's not the same girl we were on a team with. The Blake we both knew died nine years ago. What you're seeing is just her empty shell that needs to be put to rest."

Jaune caught on as well. "Ruby, you can't be serious."

"I don't want this anymore than you do. But we don't have a choice. We're at war here. If we let ourselves be compromised-"

Yang pulled out her earpiece. I love you, Ruby, but no. When her airship arrived, she brought her former partner onboard and handcuffed her to the interior of the door. The ship lifted off and headed back to base.

Blake woke up just as the Bullhead was landing at New Beacon's base. Yang opened the door to the ship and escorted her former teammate out. The Faunus's hands were handcuffed in front of her and Yang was holding onto her arm, guiding her out.

Jogging over to the landing pad with weapons drawn and ready was Team SSSN. Sun was in his trench coat. Sage chose to go shirtless and show off his extensive muscles and tattoos. Scarlet wore boots, a long sleeve tan shirt and a red scarf around his neck. Neptune was dressed in a black leather jacket with his goggles hanging from his neck.

Behind them were Ruby and Jaune. Ruby was dressed in a white jumpsuit with her red cloak draped around her. She wore no boots to cover up her prosthetic lower legs. Every step she took was joined by a loud thud. They were still too heavy for her to effectively get back into the field or use her semblance. She was still working out the specifications for her replacements. It took her years to perfect Yang's arm. It'd only been two months since losing her legs.

The members of Team SSSN stood in a semicircle around Yang and Blake. Ruby and Jaune stood at the center of the them. Blake eyed every one of them as if she was planning how to take them all down and escape.

"I told you," the younger leader said to her sister, "she can't be here."

"She's our friend. I don't care what's happened while I was asleep, nothing will change that."

"What do you plan to do with her?" Ruby snapped back. "Sit down and chit chat with her and hope you can rejog her memory or break whatever's turned her into a White Fang pawn? We don't even know what it is that's making her that way. Where do you plan on putting her? We can't put her in the barracks with us. She'll kill everyone here."

"I don't know," Yang admitted. "But we can't just give up on her, Ruby."

Ruby. The second Blake's ears picked up that name, her eyes widened and she jumped into action. She kicked Yang in the knee and headbutt her away. Sun and Sage charged in with staff and sword. Blake hit them first. She leaped over their weapons and kicked Sun in the face and Sage in the throat, sending both of them to the ground. Scarlet and Neptune aimed their guns and fired. Blake dropped a shadow clone to take the shots and charged Scarlet. She leaped up and her knee connected with his chin. He dropped his pistol and fell to the ground. Blake caught the gun out of the air and fired, hitting Neptune in the chest before he could pull his own trigger. All of Team SSSN lay on the ground in pain. Blake turned to her primary target, Ruby.

Between the two of them stood Jaune with his sword drawn. "Stand down!" he tried warning her off.

Blake's eyes narrowed and she dashed toward him. He raised his sword to strike, but Blake was faster. She caught his arm in her hands, spun and bent it backwards over her shoulder at his elbow. In one motion, she caught his sword as it fell from his grip and kicked him in the chest, sending him to the ground.

Jaune was the last one between the Faunus and New Beacon's young leader. Ruby drew Crescent Rose and prepared for a fight. The two charged each other. Unfortunately, Ruby's less-than-perfect prosthetics made her just too slow. Blake had taken note of this from the moment she saw her after getting off the airship. She knew where to hit.

Ruby aimed high with her scythe swing. Blake went low. She dropped down to a slide and slashed her stolen sword through Ruby's left prosthetic. With her left "foot" hanging half off, she was unable to keep balanced and tumbled to the ground. Blake stalked over to the fallen Huntress and raised Jaune's sword over her head.

"Blake!" The Faunus's eyes widened. She turned and swung her blade at the source of the call behind her. Yang was there with her mechanical arm raised to block the strike.

But she didn't have to. The blade halted less than an inch from her arm. Blake's eyes locked with hers. Out of the corner of her eye, Yang saw Jaune drawing Milo and taking aim on the White Fang assassin. She raised her left hand and signaled for him to hold as she continued to stare down her former partner.

"Blake, it's me," Yang tried talking to her. As she said this she reached up and gently grabbed the blade of the sword that still rested inches from her. "Do you remember me?"

Blake's eyes widened slightly more. "Y-" Her response was halted by Sun and Sage grabbing her arms and tackling her to the ground. She went back into her more feral state as she struggled against the two Huntsmen to no avail.

Yang still held Jaune's blade in her prosthetic hand as she watched her former teammate being restrained as Scarlet and Neptune ran up and aimed their guns, ready should the order be given.

Jaune walked up next to her and ordered Team SSSN, "Take her to a quarantined cell. Lock her up." He looked to Yang. "We'll decide what to do with her later." Yang smiled and handled him his sword back. He sheathed it and walked over to help Ruby as SSSN did as they were told. Yang watched them go before following him.

The two blondes helped Ruby back to her feet. She was forced to lean on them as her left "foot" was too damaged to adequately support weight. "I told you she was dangerous," she uncharacteristically scolded her older sister. "Bringing her here was a mistake."

Yang worried her sister might be right before Jaune spoke up.

"On the contrary, Blake reacted when Yang called her name. She didn't attack her after that. It was like she was breaking past her instincts and calming down."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Ruby asked him "Can she be-"

"Can she be changed back to her old self?" Yang finished.

Jaune looked to her with a look of uncertainty. "I don't know. But if we can change her back, it looks like you're the only one who can do it."

Chapter Text

It was late evening in Vacuo when Yang boarded her now designated Bullhead and began flying back to base after three days in the field. Barely a minute after lifting off the ground, Jaune contacted her over comm.

"Yang, I know you've been out a while and are only just on your way back, but I need you to turn around and head to the coordinates I'm sending your pilot."

"But I'm already halfway home. You can't put SSSN on it?" Yang would normally never turn down field work. But now, with Blake locked up at base, her focus was diverted to trying to rehabilitate her former partner.

"No. You're the closest one to the mission location and this is too important to wait for another team to get there. And I think it'd be best if you specifically handled this one."

"What is it? Some big White Fang boss that needs taking care of?" She was hoping it was Adam.

"No Yang. It's not someone who needs eliminating. It's someone who needs rescuing. We found Weiss."

Yang froze in disbelief. First we find Blake. Now Weiss? "Give me the rundown."

Jaune started briefing her as the Bullhead made a sharp U turn and flew in the direction of the coordinates sent. "We picked up a transmission about an hour ago from an unlisted channel."

"What did it say?"

"Listen for yourself." With that, Jaune played the transmission through the comm.

"This is Weiss Schnee of Atlas. I am one of the only surviving representatives of the Schnee Dust Company. I'm being held hostage by the White Fang at the remnants of Shade Academy-"

It sure as hell sounds like her. "Are you sure this is legit?" Yang asked.

"What do you think we've been doing in the hour since we received it? We checked it every way we could. It's legit."

"Does Ruby know about this?"

"Yeah. She's why I'm calling you. You're closest to Shade. Plus, you've brought back everyone else from your team already. You might as well finish the job."

"When you put it that way, it just sounds like it was meant to be. I'm gonna need some information on Shade and what kind of opposition I should be expecting there."

"I'm sending you some old maps of the campus now for you to go over. As far as White Fang forces, expect more than the average outpost."

"Anything else?" Yang asked.

"Yeah," Jaune answered. "And this is a big one."

He resumed the Weiss's recorded message: "They've built something here. Something big. Something that could possibly win the war against Atlas."

Yang perked up when she heard that. "So it looks like we might've found Adam's giant."

It took less than an hour for Yang to be on the ground and head for the former campus of Shade Academy. It had been completely converted to a White Fang base of operations. Anti air gun emplacements meant that the Huntress couldn't get airdropped in or out, and the place was far too big and populated for her to fight her way out. She would need to rely on stealth for this one. Were she on her own, that'd be no problem, (aside from being less fun) but she had no idea what physical state Weiss might be in. Ruby was an amputee and Blake… resisted. Oh please don't make me have to carry you out.

As Yang snuck through the campus, she took photos with her Scroll of the White Fang's forces and fortifications for future reference when New Beacon inevitably attacks the place. She set every photo to be sent to base immediately after being taken. As she surveyed the area, though, she noticed one structure that was completely different and out of place from the others. The other buildings were the same uniform architectural style and were clearly original campus buildings. This one was about seven stories high, comprised mostly of metal and looked more hastily put together.

I can think of a few things they might be hiding in there, Yang thought to herself as she took a few photos of the structure before making her way over to it.

The facility was sparsely populated when she got inside. There were only a few spaced out guards for Yang to avoid. But immediately after entering, she confirmed her suspicions about what this building could store. She hid behind a stack of crates in a secluded corner of the building and took several photos of the giant weapon Weiss reported could turn the tide in the White Fang's favor.

It was a giant robot, standing at approximately fifty feet in height. It resembled an Atlesian Paladin, but was taller and sleeker in design. Its legs and torso were much longer and the cockpit was separated from the body and acted as a kind of head. It was also loaded with many more guns, including one giant cannon over its right shoulder. The machine's chassis was decorated with several White Fang logos.

Yang was pulled out of her photography by the sounds of voices nearby. She put her Scroll away and ducked down behind the crates and listened closely.

She heard one voice say, "The machine itself is ready for action, but we don't have the proper resources for the VI control unit."

"Who said anything about a VI?" Yang heard from a voice that made her blood boil and eyes flare red.

She peeked around her cover and confirmed the voice to belong to Adam Taurus. He stood with his lieutenant and a squad of three other soldiers behind him. He was talking to a man much shorter than him wearing old looking Atlesian attire. Yang readied her gauntlet and took her first step to rush just as a large truck pulled up and more White Fang soldiers filed out of it. Yang stopped quick and retreated back behind her box. Damnit! Too many now.

The Atlesian responded to Adam. "A VI system is how Atlas has always controlled their mechanized soldiers."

"And look how that turned out for them," the bull Faunus retorted. "A VI can be hacked. A VI can be shut down and render its shell lifeless and useless. So, no, we will not be using a VI to control it." As he finished his statement, one of the newly arrived soldiers from the truck ran up and whispered something in his ear. Adam's mouth contorted into a frown. "Well isn't that interesting."

The Atlesian's face filled with fear. "What is?"

"It seems you're trying to leave us, Doctor. You see, we've traced a transmission calling for help, including our location and a warning about what it is we're doing here." Adam pulled his weapon from his belt and unsheathed it.

The Atlesian man cowered away from the advancing psychopath, holding his hands up in surrender and pleading, "No! Please! It wasn't me! It wasn't!" Faster than even Yang's eyes could track, Adam swiped his sword and lopped off three of the man's fingers on his left hand. The man crumpled to the ground, holding his profusely bleeding hand and screaming in terror and pain.

Adam knelt to the ground and shouted into the man's face, looking him in the eyes. "Who did you send the transmission to?! Who?!"

The wounded man looked back into Adam's mask. Yang could see all the way from her position that he had wet himself. "I don't know! I didn't know about a message! I swear!"

Adam snarled in his face before standing back up. "I believe you. One last question: Is the Warlord ready for piloted control?"

"Yes."

"Good," Adam said. He pointed his rifle and fired into the man's chest.

Yang covered her mouth to stifle her sounds of shock. She retreated back behind the crate and sat in remorse for not acting and saving the man's life. There's nothing I could've done, she tried to convince herself. If I had run in, guns blazing, I only would've gotten us both killed. It wasn't enough to clear her conscience, but it was enough for her to regain her focus. That's one more life I'm going to make you pay for, you son of a bitch, she vowed before continuing to eavesdrop.

"It looks like the heiress has become more of a liability than she's worth." Adam turned to two of his men. "You two, go dispose of our last bargaining chip. With production here finished, we don't need her anymore. Everyone else, spread the word. We're clearing out and relocating to site gamma."

The White Fang troops dispersed to carry out their orders. Yang followed a short distance before stopping in the shadows to call Jaune. She took note of the two soldiers Adam sent to "dispose of" Weiss and Adam himself as to not lose track of them.

"Yang?" Jaune answered. "Did you find Weiss?"

"Not yet," she answered. "But I did find the weapon she talked about in her message. I'm sending the pictures to you now. But, Jaune, Adam's here."

"Adam?"

"Yes. But not for long. They're packing up and leaving as we speak. They know about Weiss's message. She doesn't have much time." She looked to the two soldiers leading her to her former teammate's location and back to Adam. "Jaune, I can finish this right now."

"Yang, I know what you're thinking. But remember the last time you tried to face him alone."

"It's different this time."

"Yes, it is. This time, if you face him, you'll be dooming Weiss to die."

Yang glared in Adam's direction for a moment longer before closing her eyes and giving an aggravated growl. She opened her eyes that had gone back to their normal lilac color and head off after the two Faunus that would lead her to her teammate.

Yang followed the two Faunus soldiers into one of the former campus dormitories. Adam's order to clear out circulated quickly, so most of the White Fang forces had moved to load up important assets. Fortunately, most of those assets seemed to be on the other end of the base. Yang met little opposition on her way to Weiss's location, and what she did meet, she was able to get the drop on and immobilize without giving her presence away. She followed the two men to the top floor. She hung back as they walked up to one of the former dorms and unlocked the door.

"What do you want?" She heard a snarky voice from inside the dorm say.

"We're moving out," one of the goons said back as he handed his gun to his friend. "And we've been given the orders to clear out our unneeded inventory." As he finished his statement, he drew his sword from his belt and stepped through the doorway.

With only one guard left in the hall, Yang charged forward.

"I guess it was only a matter of time," Yang heard the heiress say to her executor before she threw all of her momentum into a devastating left hook across the onlooking soldier's cheek. His limp body skid down the corridor.

Weiss and the remaining White Fang soldier looked to Yang standing in the doorway, eyes blazing red & golden hair aglow. "Sorry I'm a little late, Ice Queen."

The remaining goon charged the Huntress with his sword raised, only to be blasted straight to the ground. His sword fell from his grip and skittered across the floor. He rose back to his feet and threw a left hook, but Yang caught his forearm in her mechanical grasp.

She smirked at him and squeezed her grip tight. There were several audible snaps as she felt his bones shatter. He cried out in pain and crumpled to his knees.

Yang towered over him and raised her fist to finish him quickly when he started begging. "Please! I was only following orders! Have mercy!"

As soon as he finished his plea, the blade of his sword sprung through his chest. On the other side of it, Weiss gripped its handle. She leaned in close to his ear and snarled, "Did my family get mercy?" before twisting the blade ninety degrees and forcefully yanking it from the man's body.

Yang paused, a little shocked at the degree of vengefulness in Weiss's face and voice. All of that quickly left her face as she rushed towards the blonde and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Weiss said to her.

Yang hugged her back. "I was gonna say the same thing."

Weiss pulled back. "The last time I saw you… How long has it been?"

"Nine years," Yang finished for her. "I was out for nine years."

Weiss paused in surprise. "God. I can't even imagine-"

"Look, Weiss. That doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that I'm awake and here you rescue you. Now do you wanna stay here and catch up or do you wanna leave this shithole?"

Weiss smiled to her long lost teammate. "Let's get out of here."

Yang returned the smile. "Well follow me and stay close. There are still guys everywhere. Luckily, they're a little busy with packing up and leaving. So we should be able to get past them pretty easily."

Shade Academy turned out to be easier to get out of than it was to get in. With the whole base focused on hurriedly clearing out, they weren't the most alert guards to sneak past.

As they made it past the outskirts of the former campus, Yang pulled out her Scroll and called Jaune. "Jaune, I've got Weiss. We're exfiltrating now."

"Great," Jaune responded. "You're airship's on the way. I'm sending you the LZ location."

As soon as he said that, the coordinates appeared on her screen. "Thanks. Be back in a couple hours." She hung up and pocketed her Scroll.

"Jaune's in charge of this?" Weiss asked as they adjusted their course to the LZ.

"Kind of. He's acting as a sort of operations director for our little club of Huntsmen. We call ourselves New Beacon."

"I know about New Beacon, Yang. I may have been captured for years, but they didn't keep me under a rock the whole time. I'm just shocked that Jaune of all people would be the one leading it."

"He's one of the leading people, but not the leader. You might be surprised to know that that role is played by our team leader, Ruby."

Weiss was stunned at the revelation. "And to think I labeled her a screw up when I first met her."

"Watch it, Schnee. That's my sister you're talking about."

"How is Ruby after all of this time?"

Yang paused before answering. "Nine years of war have hit her hard, Weiss; turned her cold. I worry about her." There was a silence between the two. "Let's hope seeing her best friend safe again can change that."

"Let's hope. That was a long time ago."

"Yeah," Yang said as she reminded herself that it had been nine years since team RWBY was last together again. "I keep forgetting how long it's been for everyone else."

The two made it to the landing zone as their Bullhead descended to the ground. Suddenly, they heard a loud boom coming from Shade Academy behind them. They turned around to see a giant figure midleap coming towards them. The Bullhead veered away and flew off as the White Fang's giant robot landed.

"You didn't destroy the weapon?!" Weiss shouted at Yang.

"It was you or it!" Yang responded as she readied Ember Celica.

The robot rose to its full height and towered over the two Huntresses. From a loudspeaker near its head, they heard Adam's voice. "Weiss Schnee, your services are no longer required. But you still have crimes against my brethren to answer for. Behold, the instrument of Faunus retribution: the Atlesian Warlord!" As he finished, the Warlord lifted its foot over the Huntresses.

"Move!" Yang shouted as it brought its foot down. They dashed out from under it in opposite directions. Yang proceeded to fire several shots from her gauntlet up at the giant's head. They exploded on impact, but left no effective damage.

The mech turned towards the blonde nuisance and aimed one of its many guns at her. Suddenly, a loud shriek sounded off and a silhouette of pure white light hit it from behind. The Warlord turned to see a giant Nevermore of light hovering in the air.

Yang looked on the beast in bewilderment before connecting the dots and turning to see Weiss standing a few yards away from her with a glyph at her feet and a focused expression on her face. She had summoned the creature.

"Yang!" she called out through gritted teeth. "Call the airship back! I can hold it off, but not for long!"

Yang did as she was told, pulled out her Scroll, and sent her pilot new landing coordinates a few hundred yards away. As she did this, Weiss sent the Nevermore summon at the Warlord again. It flew at it and clawed it while passing over. The mech took the hit and turned to follow the summon. It unleashed a hail of bullets into its foe. The hits barely affected the summon, but they put a strain on the summoner. Weiss was struggling to keep her creation intact.

As the heiress turned the Nevermore back on the Warlord, Yang ran up to her and reported, "The ship's coming in for a quick pickup. Can you keep that thing going and run?"

"No," Weiss strained. "But I can make some cover for us. When things get bright, shield your eyes and run to the LZ. I'll be right behind you."

With that said, Weiss moved her arms in elaborate gestures and her glyph on the ground began spinning rapidly. As she did this, the Nevermore summon began rising higher into the air and releasing an ever brightening white glow. Yang took this as her cue, turned, and ran for the LZ. The Nevermore shrieked, dove at Adam's mech, and exploded into a blast of blinding light on impact.

When the brightness died down, Yang looked behind her to see the mech stunned and Weiss sprinting after her. She looked back in front of her and saw her Bullhead flying in close to the ground mere yards in front of her. She blasted her gauntlet at the ground beneath her and launched herself into the air towards the ship's open side door. She reached out her prosthetic arm and caught the door's handle. She pulled herself onboard and turned in time to reach out her hand and catch Weiss's as she too leaped to the airship.

Yang couldn't even pull her teammate completely onboard before the Bullhead took off and zoomed away from the mechanized behemoth. After getting Weiss sat down, she pulled a rocket launcher from the onboard weapons cache and readied herself out the door should the Warlord recover from Weiss's attack fast enough to open fire on them. Luckily, by the time it fully recovered, the airship was already too far out of range to re engage.

Yang slid the airship door closed and returned the launcher to its home. She sat down across from an exhausted looking Weiss. The two paused to catch their breath before sharing a moment of relief.

The flight back to New Beacon was a quiet one. This was the first opportunity Yang had to rest for two days and Weiss's summoning took a lot out of her. The two spent most of the trip napping while they could.

Upon landing, the two were rested and, similarly to when Yang arrived for the first time with her rescued sister, there was a party of their friends from Beacon there waiting at the landing platform to greet the long lost heiress. She met every single one of them with uncharacteristic glee.

At the end of the platform stood Jaune and his teammates. Surprisingly to him, Weiss paced over and embraced him in a hug. He paused a moment, remembering back to his failed attempts to woo her nine years years ago, and hugged her back.

"I heard about what happened to…" Weiss's voice trailed off. The reforged rifle that Jaune carried suddenly felt a lot heavier. "I'm so sorry, Jaune."

"I know, Weiss. I know." They broke the hug. "You know, we've got room for you here at New Beacon if you're interested. Every Huntsman or Huntress counts."

"A little soon to start trying to recruit her, do you not believe?" Ren stated.

"But we could sure use whatever that was that you did to cover our escape," Yang chipped in.

Weiss thought for a moment. "So you're asking if I'd like to help you bring down the terrorist organization that destroyed my school, held me hostage for the past five years of my life, and killed my friends and family?" She paused dramatically. "I'll need a few things if I'm going to get comfortable here."

She got smiles all around. "I'll be ready to make your requisition," Ren answered to her call.

Yang embraced her returned teammate. "Team RWBY's back together again! I bet Adam's quivering in his tight pants right now!"

"You mean he's not dead?"

Everyone turned in the direction of those words. The crowd parted to reveal Ruby standing there, armed for combat.

"Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed as she approached her former team leader.

Ruby walked straight past her and instead approached her sister. "I flew all the way out to Vacuo with the intent of finally finishing this only to find that you, Yang, my sister, already got the job done before I could even get there. And now I come back to learn that Adam's still alive?"

Yang stepped back in actual intimidation of her younger sister. "Weiss's life was in danger. It was save her or face him."

"Yang, do you know how many lives could've been saved; how many could still be saved were he dead? If you wanted to save lives, you should've thought about how many are still in danger because that monster still has a pulse."

"I wasn't there to save lives," Yang stood up to Ruby. "I was there to save Weiss, our friend. That was my mission that I gladly took without hesitation. I didn't even know he was going to be there."

"How did you not know he was there?" Weiss chimed into the conversation. "I told you he was there in my message."

Yang looked to the heiress in confusion. "What're you talking about?"

Ruby's glare turned to Jaune. "You didn't tell her, did you?" Yang and Weiss turned to him as well. "That's why you called Yang at all. You knew she could beat me there. And then you didn't tell her the whole situation."

Jaune straightened his stance. "I know the two of you want revenge, but I've lost enough friends to this war. I wasn't about to let another one go for a vendetta. Saving Weiss was the priority."

Ruby glared into his eyes and growled through her teeth. "You denied me." She then stomped off away from the group on the landing platform. "I hope it was worth it."

There was a moment of tension left in the air after the young leader left, still not having even acknowledged her former partner's return. As if on cue, rain began to come down. Everyone quickly dispersed, leaving just Yang, Weiss, and Jaune standing in the rainfall.

"You warned me she grew cold," Weiss said to Yang, "but I didn't believe she could possibly be that bad."

"She's lost a lot," Jaune sighed. "This is my fault. She has the right to be angry. So do you, Yang. Hell, you can be mad if you want too, Weiss."

"Jaune, I want Adam dead just as much as she does. But I don't think you were wrong in your actions," Yang assured him. "Because of you, me and my entire team are alive, safe, and together again."

"Our entire team?" Weiss asked intriguingly. "You found Blake? She's okay, too?"

The two blondes looked to each other before Jaune answered. "I think it's best if you see for yourself."

Chapter Text

Weiss stepped out of the interrogation room with a look of shock and offense on her face. Yang, Jaune, and Ren had been watching from outside as Weiss attempted to talk to Blake. Ruby was requested to be present as well, but didn't show up or give any explanation as to why. No one wished to confront her about it.

"Well that was unpleasant," the heiress commented on her experience with the Faunus.

"Though not entirely unexpected," Ren responded. "You are a Schnee. And the Schnee name has been a cursed one for a long time to the White Fang."

"I know. But… Blake…"

"Do we know anything new?" Yang asked.

"I have a theory," Ren answered. "But it's no more than that at the moment. I'd need to do further observation to confirm it."

There was a pause before Yang spoke up. "I'm going in there."

"You're the only one she's reacted positively to so far," Jaune reassured her as she moved to the interrogation room door. "Well, relatively speaking that is."

Yang stepped into the interrogation room. Blake glared at her the entire way to the chair opposite of her.

"Hi," she said as she sat down. The Faunus said nothing in response. "How are you doing?" Nothing. That was a stupid thing to ask. "Listen, I don't know if you can remember me-"

"Yang."

She was stunned for a moment. "What?"

"Yang," the Faunus repeated. "That name sticks out in my mind."

"Yes. That's my name. Yang Xiao Long." She noticed Blake's ears twitch and her eyes flutter. "Look, Blake-"

"I don't know you. I don't know why I know your name, but I don't know you."

"Yes you do. You and I went to Beacon together nine years ago. We were teammates. We were friends."

"My team is dead."

"No, we're not. You must not remember-"

"I remember my team. Emerald. Mercury. Neo. I could never forget them."

"Blake, those aren't your-"

"They were killed when Atlas attacked Beacon nine years ago."

"Atlas? No. That's not what happened. Listen to me-"

"Then you Huntsmen and the rest of the world blamed us for the Academy's fall! You called for our deaths and acted surprised when we retaliated!"

Yang clenched her fists. "Is that what Adam told you?"

"Don't you dare talk about Adam. You aren't fit to say his name!"

Yang glared into her formal teammate's eyes before reaching out with her prosthetic limb and grabbing her by the wrist. "Do you see this? Do you see my arm? Everything from the bicep down is fake; a replacement for the arm that bastard took. His name isn't fit to be said."

Blake quickly shut her eyes and recoiled, as if suffering from a sudden headache. She quickly recovered, though, and glared back at Yang before taking her prosthetic hand and shoving it under her shirt to her abdomen. "Can your metal fingers feel that?" She asked. The little sense of touch Yang's prosthetic granted her was plenty enough for her to feel the large scar on her stomach. "This is from the Huntress you all look up to and call your leader. That was the first step to me losing everything. I feel no sympathy for you."

Yang's eyes flared red. She had to force herself from exploding right there. She instead took a deep breath and stood from her chair. She reached into her pocket and pulled out several photos: one of the day they were dubbed RWBY, one of them in their new dorm room, one of them at the school dance, and one of them after winning their first match at the Vytal Festival.

"I don't know what they did to you to make you forget; to turn you into this. But I don't believe that the Blake I know…" She threw the photos down in front of her. "...the Blake in those pictures, is gone." She walked to the door. "After Beacon, I was in a coma for nine years. You're not the only one who's lost everything. But I'm trying like hell to get as much of it back as I can." With that, she walked out, leaving Blake to look through the old photos.

Yang stepped out of the interrogation room, closed her eyes, and stood still to calm herself. "I don't know what or how, but he did something to her." She opened her eyes to meet those of her friends. "Because we all know that all of that is bullshit."

"It seems my hypothesis is being strongly supported," Ren stated. "It's not amnesia. She hasn't just lost the memories. They seem to have been replaced by fake ones. She must have undergone some sort of advanced hypnosis."

"Is that even possible?" Weiss asked him.

He turned to her. "Have we not seen stranger things?"

"So why am I the only one she seems to have any memory of?" Yang asked.

"I can't be certain. It's possible that whoever conducted the hypnotherapy was not thorough enough in that particular field of her memory. Or you weren't deemed important enough to wipe completely. You were dead to the world until just a few months ago after all. Whatever the case, the fact of the matter is that Blake still has memory of you. That is proof that her original memories aren't truly gone."

"What do I have to do, Ren?" the blonde cut straight to the point.

"Be patient and keep working with her. She reacted to hearing your full name and about your injury."

"She was there when it happened."

"Likely the reminded trauma of that event is trying to push itself past her mental barriers. Emotions like that are not easily suppressed. But it will take time. She's spent nine years believing her current memories are the real ones. She will not give them up easily."

"Yang, what do you think?" Jaune asked her.

Yang was quiet a moment to ponder the situation. "I think I meant what I said to her. I'm going to try like hell to get her back."

It was sunrise the next day when Weiss appeared at the door to Yang's quarters. She was dressed in a dark skirt and blouse and a white jacket.

"Weiss? It's barely dawn. Is something wrong?"

"Yang, I need your help with something."

"I'm listening."

"Would you accompany me to Atlas?"

It was sunset when the two Huntresses landed in Altas. Weiss stepped out of the Bullhead and stopped to examine the state of the area. They landed near the headquarters to the Schnee Dust Company. It now stood charred and vacant, a looming sign of the White Fang's wrath.

Yang followed the heiress off the airship. "Looks like it got hit hard."

"Yes," Weiss confirmed. "My father's company was notorious for its questionable use of Faunus labor. When the White Fang broke through into Atlas, they hit us first… and hardest."

Yang looked to her teammate. "I'm sorry, Weiss."

The white haired girl took a moment to compose herself. "What happened happened. I've had five years to grieve. Let's go. We need to get to my father's office."

Yang followed her into the building. "What are we looking for?"

"Something that the White Fang wouldn't have known to look for." Weiss answered.

Yang looked around at the building's interior. It was desolate and destroyed. The entire area was scarred from battle and degradation. "It looks like they ransacked this place pretty good. You sure they would've missed this?"

"My father was a secretive man. He knew how to hide things that no one could find."

Weiss's tone and expression were somber, but suppressed. As they went through the building's bottom floor, Yang was looking around and taking in the destruction. But Weiss's eyes were fixed directly ahead of her, never diverting away from her path in front of her. She was like a horse with blinders on as she led her teammate to the buildings stairs.

Twenty-five stories the girls walked up in silence until they reached their destination. Weiss led her teammate into her father's former office. There wasn't much that could be said for it. Everything of value was either destroyed or stolen.

"Weiss, there's not much left in here. Are you sure they didn't find it and take it already."

Weiss stood at the exact center of the room and began a summoning. "I'm sure," she said before throwing up a summoned glyph. It was her family's logo.

Yang looked on in awe as she gently pushed the logo against the back wall. When it made contact with the wall, it glowed brighter and rotated ninety degrees to the right. The glyph then faded out except for the hexagonal center. A panel of the same shape and location then depressed itself into the wall and slid up, revealing a small nook with what appeared to be a hard drive inside.

As Weiss stepped over and took the drive, Yang blurted out, "We came all the way to Atlas for that?"

"Yes. This drive holds the greatest secret to my father's company and its success and sustainability." She looked to Yang, who's face said 'Go on.' "The Schnee Dust Company is- was the biggest Dust company in Remnant. And it seemed that every time a competing company would spring up and threaten business, we would find some new supply or new discovery in Dust technology just in time to beat out the opposition. But that wasn't the case. All of those discoveries had already been made decades before they were unveiled to the public. My father chose to keep it all secret and hold out on the knowledge to keep his prices up. Most of his employees didn't even know about them."

"So if business numbers started to decline enough…"

"Then he would release pieces of the information to boost his stocks and bring in more business."

"That's pretty sketchy, Yang commented. "And all of those secrets are on that drive?"

"Yes," Weiss confirmed. "The locations of Dust deposits that have yet to be tapped. Schematics for tech that has yet to be manufactured. There are even equations for new Dust types that no one knew could be synthesized. This would prove invaluable to New Beacon." She opened her hand and gazed at the device in her palm. "Of all of my father's crimes," she said quietly, "the greatest one ever rests in the palm of my hand."

"And that's the only record of that information?" Yang asked.

"Yes."

"Your dad really took some steps to make sure that stuff was secret."

"Yes. And summoning being a hereditary trait in my family, only a Schnee can access it." Weiss then began to look around the room mournfully before snapping back to her teammate. "We have what we came here for. Let's go." Weiss walked past Yang out the door, flicking her hand and creating a reverse summon to reseal the secret cabinet in the wall.

Yang followed her out of the office and was about to follow down the hall when something caught her eye. "Weiss," she called.

The heiress stopped and turned to her teammate. Yang was stood in the hall between the door to her father's office and another one opposite of it into which she was directing her attention. Weiss paced up to see what Yang stopped her for and looked into the room.

The room was empty except for a single pedestal against the wall opposite of the entrance. Placed on the pedestal under glass was a curved sword.

"Winter…" Weiss spoke softly. It was her sister's sword. She slowly walked up to the pedestal. On the wall above it, a plaque was placed that wrote: 'In memory of the lost family of Atlas. Lost but not forgotten.'

Weiss stood silently gazing at the memorial for several seconds before Yang walked up behind her. She reached her hand out to her friend's shoulder, but stopped just before contact. Not knowing the appropriate action to take, she moved her arm back to her side.

It was several more silent seconds before Weiss spoke in a hushed tone. "I wasn't with you in life. But I will be in death." She conjured a glyph in her hand and the glass suddenly shattered. "I won't see you end as a memory," she said as she reached out and took the sword in her hands. She pulled the weapon to her and gazed upon it. "I will always be with you."

Yang watched the whole thing unfold. Weiss hung the blade from her belt and turned back to her.

"We can go."

The two Huntresses had remained silent as they exited the Schnee Dust Company headquarters and boarded their airship. It had been ten quiet minutes since lifting off the ground when Weiss's stoic facade finally broke and she suddenly burst into tears.

It took little more than a second for Yang to move in to comfort her. "It's okay, Weiss. Let it out."

Weiss threw herself into Yang's embrace as she continued to bawl. "It's my fault," she muttered.

"No it's not, Weiss," Yang comforted her.

"It is." Her grip tightened around her sister's sword. "I wasn't there for her. When the White Fang attacked… Had I been there… Had I not been so stubborn with my father… I wasn't there."

Yang was lost on words to say. She had never been very good at this. She simply held her teammate and let her cry it out.

"Do you know what the last thing I said to him was, before he executed him for the world to see?" Yang didn't respond. "I told him that I wished they had taken him instead of Winter."

"I am so sorry, Weiss."

The former heiress quieted down, running out of tears to shed. "My father. My mother. Whitley… Winter… They're all gone… I am the last Schnee." There was a long pause before her tone shifted. "I want him dead, Yang." Her grip tightened around the sword's blade until blood began to seep from her palm. "I want him dead."

Chapter Text

A month had passed since Weiss's rescue. In that time, New Beacon had taken full advantage of the data she and Yang had retrieved during their impromptu trip to Atlas. They had begun translating schematics and developing Dust tech and scouting out the secret sites of Dust deposits. Weiss took it upon herself to take a directing position in these operations.

Yang spent the past month, when she wasn't in the field, having more sessions with Blake. Ren told her to be patient, and though it was growing increasingly difficult, she was doing her best. The first several sessions mostly ended with Blake rejecting all information with preachy anger and defiance. But her anger seemed to die down after a while and she instead became stubbornly unresponsive. Whereas before she would have spat in Yang's face, for the last two weeks she just sat silently until their session was over and she was returned to her cell. It seemed like progress. But as to whether it was it was a sign that she was reaching her or not, Yang couldn't be certain.

"Well, Blake, I'll see you tomorrow I guess," Yang said as she stood up to leave the room and get Blake's guard to return her to her cell. It was yet another day of silence.

She was opening the door when she heard the Faunus say, "There's no one out there watching, is there?"

Yang paused and cautiously turned to face her. Blake was handcuffed to a chair that was bolted to the floor. In spite of her ominously threatening words, there was no way she should be able to break loose.

"No. We were alone," Yang answered honestly.

"Good," Blake responded. "Before you go fetch my guard escort, I wanted to… to ask for your help."

Yang was frozen. This had been the most hospitable Blake had been with her since finding her. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"It's obvious that I'm not going to be escaping and doing it myself any time soon, and time is running out. Will you help me or not?"

"That all depends," Yang said as she returned to her seat opposite of Blake. "What do you need help with?"

"A rescue. I had begun planning it just before I came across you in Vacuo. But then… unforeseen events transpired. It's been a little over a month since then. If they're even still alive, they won't be for long."

"Who is 'they?'"

Blake paused a moment. "For the past decade, the White Fang has resorted to conquest and war to achieve freedom from persecution. But not all Faunus agree with that course of action."

"Do you?" Yang asked.

Blake squinted her eyes slightly, as if in pain, for a moment before avoiding the question. "I know a group of these Faunus wished to respectively resign from the White Fang. Not only was their request denied, but they were labeled as traitors to our kind. They've been imprisoned in a camp in Vale since shortly before we met."

"I can talk to Ruby and Jaune about it," Yang responded.

"No." Blake attempted to stand but was held back by her restraints. She sat back down and continued, "I'm not asking for their help. I don't want their help. I'm asking you and you alone."

"Why me?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. It doesn't make sense to me. There's just something…" Blake's eyes sealed shut and she groaned and grinded her teeth together. She had been experiencing these migraines ever since her arrival at New Beacon. She quickly got over it, though, and asked again, "Will you help me?"

"Give me the coordinates to the camp," Yang answered.

"I'll give them to you when we're in the air."

"You want to go with?" Yang questioned her. "Not possible. How do I know you're not leading me into a trap?"

"I'm not. This rescue is more important to me than my escape." When Yang showed signs of distrust, Blake leaned forward. "Look, maybe I'm telling the truth. Maybe I'm not. But if I am, and you don't help me, people will die." Yang still wasn't trusting her. The Faunus sighed and muttered, "If you help me with this, I'll give you information about some of the White Fang's more… questionable activities."

Yang struggled to contain her shock. "We've tried getting intel out of you for weeks. What changed so suddenly?"

Again, though less intensely as before, Blake winced in pain. Once her headache subsided, she responded, "This is important to me."

Yang thought on this a moment. I have no reason to trust her. She's already tried to kill me twice now. But… I don't know...

After a few seconds of thinking, Yang stood from the table and unlocked Blake's restraints. "If it's so important, we shouldn't wait any longer."

The Faunus took a moment to register what the blonde was saying before standing up.

Yang stood aside to let Blake exit the room first. As she stepped past her, she grabbed her arm and said, "Don't make me regret doing this."

On their way to the nearest landing platform, Yang swung them by an armory and gathered a few items. She got her standard combat uniform, a rifle, a pistol, and a box of ammunition for each.

After this detour, they went to the landing platform and boarded the Bullhead Yang had prepared for impromptu assignments.

When she boarded with Blake in tow, she had to explain to her pilot that things were under control. "She gave us something we can use," she told him.

With that, he logged his exit with the base's comm tower and lifted off.

Yang and Blake had been in the air for a while. Blake had done as promised and revealed the coordinates for their destination: a fairly new outpost near the coast of Vale. The Faunus informed her of the defenses they would be dealing with: moderate to small number of guards patrolling and no anti-aircraft defenses.

"So what's the bad news?" Yang asked.

Blake paused. "If we're spotted, and they know that a Faunus is fighting Faunus to release Faunus prisoners… The people we're here for aren't the only defectors in the White Fang. Getting caught dooms them all."

Yang finished attaching a silencer to the barrel of the sniper rifle she picked up in the armory. "No one knows we're here. Got it."

Blake's expression remained concerned. "I'd prefer it if we could refrain from killing. These are still my people."

Yang slid the bolt on the rifle back and popped a shot out. She picked it up and showed the small syringe-like bullet to the Faunus. "Tranquilizer rounds. I'm way ahead of ya."

The blonde Huntress spent the last stretch of the trip preparing several more rifle magazines and rounds for her gauntlet. She packed them into separate pouches she attached to her belt. She then took the pistol she also grabbed, attached a silencer to it, and loaded it as well.

When the Bullhead came in for a landing, Yang stood from her seat, strapped the rifle over her shoulder, and opened the bay door. Blake stood too and moved to drop out of the aircraft.

Before she did, Yang placed her hand on her shoulder to stop her. The Faunus looked to see her holding out the pistol to her. She reached out and tried to take it from her, but she didn't let go.

Yang looked the Faunus in the eyes and said, "Don't make me regret giving you this." Blake nodded in assurance and she let her take it.

The two dropped out of the hovering Bullhead onto the soil of former Vale. The airship took back off and flew away to a safer altitude until called for pick up.

Yang looked to her new partner in the field and felt a hint of nostalgia. "Well, you're the one who knows where we're going. Lead on."

Blake and Yang were knelt down on a ledge three hundred yards from the relatively small outpost built into a valley in the middle of the rocky, mountainous terrain of Vale. The post was comprised mostly of very simple and temporary looking shelters surrounded by four lookout towers with posted guards and spotlights.

Yang analyzed the layout and guard postings through the zoomed-in scope of her rifle. "There's a guard in each of the towers and probably another eight or ten on the ground. Seems light for a prison. And I'm not seeing anything that looks like holding cells." This is starting to feel more like a trap.

"That's because the prison itself is built into the side of the cliff," Blake explained as she pointed Yang to a steel door in the stone she had looked over with two guards sat casually in front of it. "We hollowed out a cave into the rock looking for a Dust vein that turned out to not exist. When we gave up on finding anything, we still used the cave for storage and built a small, makeshift prison in there."

"That's pretty resourceful," Yang commented as she silently looked for signs of ambush.

"Unfortunately," the Faunus continued, "this little valley is too small and out of the way to do much useful with it; hence the low staffing and seemingly low priority prisoners."

Yang was still harkening on the prison door. "Are there any other entrances besides that door?"

"No. That's the only one. One way in; one way out."

That was not the answer Yang wanted to hear. The odds of this being a trap are increasing rapidly. If there are no prisoners here, I'm going to have to take her down quick and just shoot my way out. God, how I hope there are prisoners here.

"So what's the plan?" Blake asked, pulling the blonde out of her worries.

"If that's the only way in, then that's our plan," she answered.

"We're going to sneak in?"

"I was thinking we'd just walk in," Yang responded as she lined up her rifle sight on one of the guards in the towers.

"But what about the-"

Blake was cut off as Yang fired her rifle. The sound was suppressed enough that it wouldn't alert the whole base, but there was still enough of a sound to cut the Faunus off. She hit her target in the neck. The strong sedative put him down in less than five seconds. She bolted another shot in and took aim on the next one down the line. She hit him in the shoulder. He took a little longer to go down.

She followed suit with the other two tower guards. She then ejected her magazine, swapped it for a fresh one, and proceeded to tranquilize the rest of the guards on base. Luckily they were mostly spaced out. And the delay of the sedative kicking in bought Yang a few precious seconds to make sure that anyone who saw their friends drop already had the drug coursing in their veins by the time they could register.

Having cleaned through three magazines and suddenly being out of targets, Yang reloaded the rifle again before shouldering it, standing, and turning to Blake. "After you?" She played it as being polite, but it was an act of caution.

The two stepped through the base, cautious of any untranqed enemies. Yang split her attention between searching for signs of ambush around her and her field partner trying to make a move. For each step they took, Yang thought of a new scenario for how this could all go wrong and how Blake was playing her for a fool. Please don't let me down, Blake. Don't make me have to defend myself. I don't want to have to do that.

When they reached the prison door in the side of the cliff face, Blake stepped in close to it and stood still for a moment.

"Blake?" Yang questioned her. "What are you-"

"I'm listening."

"Do you hear anything?"

"... Yes. There are people in there, but I can't tell if they're hostile or the prisoners we're looking for."

Yang sighed to herself and decided to take the initiative. "Well, if they are hostiles, they'll know we're here the second that door opens. Get ready to open the door and get out of the way."

Blake got in position at the door as Yang took several steps back and readied herself to unleash hell on anyone on the other side.

"Pull," she called. Blake swung the door open and stepped away. Yang reared back her arm, ready to fire Ember Celica.

When the door was open, she saw no targets. "Clear," she then called out.

When Blake heard this, she bolted inside.

This was a big red flag to the Huntress. "Blake, wait!" This is how it begins. "Damnit," she muttered as she charged in after her, ready to walk up on an ambush squad around the next corner.

She rounded a corner in the tunnels and found Blake in front of a jail cell. She looked into the cell and saw the prisoners they were here for.

"They're children…" the Huntress stated in surprise.

There were six of them, and they were children. The oldest of them couldn't have been more than fourteen, a skinny girl with triangular ears sticking out of orange hair and a fox tail. And she must've had two years on the next oldest. The youngest was a sickly-looking boy with green, scaly skin who looked about eight years old.

"Nari, are you okay?" Blake asked the fox girl.

"I'm fine. Better than most of us. But Jaden really isn't looking good." The girl gestured to the reptile boy. "He's not going to last like this."

"Don't worry, we're here to get you out of here." She turned to Yang. "We need to call the airship back here for extraction."

Yang pulled herself out of her state of surprise and relief; relief that Blake hadn't lied to her about the prisoners and surprise that the prisoners convicted of treason were children. She pulled out her Scroll and sent the extraction signal.

Blake fiddled with the cell door before pacing past the blonde Huntress. "We need to find a key. One of the guards outside might have one."

"No time," Yang stopped her as she stepped up to the cell door. "Those guards won't stay sedated forever." She grabbed the barred door with her mechanical hand and warned the Faunus children, "Stand back."

When they did, Yang tapped into some of her more anger-inducing memories. She had gained some new ones in the last few months. She felt her skin grow hot. Her hair glowed and her irises burned. She channeled her anger into strength and, while unleashing a powerful roar, ripped the door off of its hinges and flung it to the wall behind her.

The kids looked on in a mixture of awe and fear as Yang forcefully exhaled and calmed herself. Her body temperature dropped to normal levels and she opened her eyes, revealing their normal lilac color. "So who wants to leave the White Fang?"

Yang and Blake led the young Faunus to the designated landing zone for extraction, the former carrying the small, ill, lizard boy. They reached the zone just as the Bullhead lowered itself to the ground. The two helped load the children into the ship & secure them in.

As Blake was strapping the last child in, she suddenly halted and stood up straight, her Faunus ears twitching.

Yang noticed this. "Blake? Are you-"

Before she could finish, the dark haired girl turned and bolted out of the airship.

"Blake!" Yang called. She quickly finished strapping in the child and warned her pilot, "Keep the engine on. There's a chance we might need to leave in a hurry." She ran off after her, ready for a fight she prayed wasn't waiting for her.

When Yang found Blake, she was locked in combat with a White Fang soldier that had woken up. His gun was already several feet away, and his arm was currently being contorted in Blake's grip, forcing him to release his sword.

Blake held his arm at a painful position and shouted at him, "How could you, Amar?! They needed you! And you sold them out!"

"No! It wasn't like that!" He shouted out.

Blake released his arm and kicked him against the nearest structure wall. She then picked his sword up and stood over him with it. "Then tell me exactly what it was like."

The soldier began to explain. "I-It was like this. They were the ones who wanted to leave. I warned them it wouldn't turn out good. But they requested to quit anyway and got locked up for treason. As their officer, they looked at me, asking if I had anything to do with it. I told them the truth: I didn't."

"So it wasn't a sellout. It was abandonment."

"I didn't want this to happen! But I've got to look out for myself first and foremost!"

Blake kneeled down in front of him and glared into his eyes. "And look where that got you." She plunged his sword into his chest.

Yang stood by and watched as the exchange took place. Only now did she speak up. "Blake?"

Blake stood from the Faunus's body. She took a moment to breathe away her anger before saying, "We can go now."

In spite of Blake's treachery turning out to just be Yang's paranoia at work, the flight back was still full of tension. With the children all secured into their seating and calmed down, the two sat across from each other and simply stared for several moments.

"So," Yang broke the silence, "about that-"

"About that gun?" Blake interrupted. Yang was confused for a moment until Blake twitched her right cat ear several noticeable times, the one on the side of the children.

"Yes… the gun. What was that about?"

"I thought it was more reliable than that. It was meant to protect me but it failed." On 'me,' she twitched her right ear again.

"It didn't fire?"

"More like it jammed and exploded in my face. You saw."

"But still, did that warrant throwing it out like that?"

"Yang, I trusted that gun to keep me alive; keep me safe; out of harm's way. And when it mattered most, it failed. It left me vulnerable. So I… dismantled it. I made sure it wouldn't fail me again."

Yang took a moment to swallow the situation.

"Besides," Blake added, "we can't have anyone using the gun to trace back to me." With her explanation done, Blake looked to the children. She locked eyes with the eldest, Nari. The expression on her face told that she'd heard and understood everything. Blake gave the slightest of nods. Nari solemnly nodded back and proceeded to act again as if she hadn't just overheard of Blake's actions towards her former commanding officer.

Blake then turned back to Yang. "So what about your gun?" she asked.

"What do you mean my-" As Yang began asking, Blake drew the gun Yang had given her. The blonde Huntress interrupted herself to quickly reach out and grab her wrist to stop her from raising it.

Blake released her grip on the pistol, holding it only by her index finger in the trigger guard. Yang slowly released the Faunus's wrist and allowed her to pop out the magazine. She held the magazine up between them. "These are rubber bullets." Yang said nothing. "If I would have fired this, it wouldn't have done a thing except hurt really bad." More silence. "Had I fired on you, the pain would've charged your semblance; made you stronger. You didn't trust me."

"Would you have?"

"... No." There were several more moments of silent tension. "Do you now?"

"More than I did an hour ago. Not quite as much as nine years ago."

"I'm glad I'm improving."

"Do you trust me?" Yang asked.

"More than I did an hour ago. Not quite as much as-" Blake's eyes sealed shut and she grinded her teeth. She shook off another headache.

"I'm glad I'm improving."

Again, they drifted back into silence. Unbeknownst to the other, they both had something to ask.

They both coincidentally decided to speak up at the same time. "If you don't mind me asking-" They took notice of the moment. Yang chuckled at it and could've sworn she saw Blake smile. It's good to see her smile again, Yang thought to herself.

"You first," Blake offered.

Yang nodded in thanks and proceeded, "If you don't mind, why did you ask if I trust you? After the last month, why do you care?"

"It's… hard to say. But the longer I'm around you, the more I feel we've known each other forever. It doesn't make any sense. But something in me wants to trust you and wants to care if you trust me." Again, she suffered another brief headache. "I don't understand it, but I know I feel it."

Yang chose not to bring up Ren's hypnosis theory. She also chose to hide her flattery at what Blake had said. She may not have done as well of a job at that second thing. "And your question?"

"If you don't mind…" Yang chuckled at Blake's decision to continue starting that way. "... what is your plan for the kids?"

Yang froze, in movement and in thought. She hadn't thought about that yet. "I… I guess we'll have to keep them at base. At least until they're healthy again."

Blake leaned in close and hushed her voice in an attempt to prevent the kids from overhearing. "Yang, we just broke them out of imprisonment. The White Fang will certainly notice. They won't be safe as long as there's still a White Fang out there. At best, they'll be forced to rejoin a force they don't believe in anymore. At worst, they'll be shot on sight."

They heard Nari sniff back tears at that. Yang regretted having to have this conversation, but understood its importance.

"You want them to stay with New Beacon."

Blake nodded. "I tried to kill you twice and you've kept me alive and in better condition than any White Fang prison would. I'm an enemy of war. They're a bunch of kids convicted of deserting that enemy. At worst, you've got less White Fang soldiers out there. At best, you have assets with first account knowledge of your enemy."

"You sold me when you said they could be shot on sight. But I'm not the one who'll need convincing. Ruby is."

"I know. But you're her sister. Your word has to mean something to her."

Yang understood what Blake wanted from her. "You need an ambassador."

"These kids aren't the only ones likely to be shot on sight."

When Yang and Blake returned to New Beacon, they were greeted with an armed gunship escort to landing and a lot of guns trained on the black-haired Faunus. Ruby was stood at the center of a semi circle of Huntsmen, her expression one of displeasure.

Yang exited first, with Blake slowly following behind her, careful to keep her hands in view. They chose to leave the children in the Bullhead, warning them to stay hidden and quiet until the time was right to reveal themselves.

Ruby asked the obvious question. "Yang, do you mind telling me where you've been for the last several hours and why you decided to bring a White Fang prisoner with you?"

"Ruby, it's Blake you're talking about. She's been getting a lot better lately. And even then, know that I did take precautions to keep her in check. I was prepared for anything that could go wrong."

"That's great, but you still haven't answered me. Where were you?"

"Vale. We had something important to do."

Before she could explain further, there was an audible sneeze from the Bullhead. Yang hoped everyone hadn't heard it, only to see that everyone indeed had.

"There's someone else on the ship!" Ruby announced. "Check it!"

Two Huntsmen approached the airship with guns ready. Before they could get to it though, Blake reacted. She grabbed one of them by the collar and slammed him into the airship hull. The other trained his gun on her, only for Yang to jump into action and knock his gun away from its mark. She then expanded Ember Celica and put herself between the other surrounding Huntsmen and Blake.

"We'll comply, Ruby," the armed blonde stated. "Just tell them to stand down."

Ruby stood there a moment in indecision.

"Stand down!" This wasn't Ruby giving the order. It was Jaune, running up from the nearest facility door. "Lower your weapons! Hear them out!"

The Huntsmen looked to the younger Huntress for confirmation. She nodded to them and they followed the order. Blake released the Huntsmen she held and Yang stood down as well. Ruby said to them, "You have you opportunity."

Blake turned to the airship and called, "Nari. Come on out."

With that the group of children slowly exited the Bullhead, frightened looks on their faces.

"They were White Fang prisoners," Yang began to explain before anyone could even question. "They were accused of treason for wanting to back out of war."

Blake continued for her. "They sat, malnourished and ill, in a prison for a little over a month. I asked Yang to help me free them."

Ruby responded with venom in her words. "This was your idea. You'll understand if that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in me." She turned back to Yang. "Why are they here?"

"Look at them, Ruby," the blonde answered. "They need food, water, medicine. The youngest is looking really bad right now. It also doesn't help that they're fugitives. Where else can they go?"

Ruby opened her mouth to talk but was interrupted by Jaune giving orders to the surrounding Huntsmen. "Bring a stretcher for the little one. Bring them all to the medical center. If Ren deems they can handle solid food, I want meals prepared for them. And they're going to need their own quarters. I want some of the medical rooms refurnished into living spaces until we can come up with a more permanent solution."

Ruby pulled him aside. "What are you doing?"

"They're kids, Ruby," he answered. "Kids who've been through a lot, all because they didn't want to fight anymore."

"So says the agent of the enemy."

"Remember that you're still talking about Blake. And Yang's right. She has been improving."

"What if she's just playing us?"

"And what if she isn't?"

That last question instilled Ruby with enough doubt to agree to Jaune's commands. As they began to be carried out, she turned back to her sister. "I want you to bring her back to her cell. Then I want a full report of your mission." She then turned and walked in the direction of her private quarters.

Everyone dispersed, leaving only Yang and Blake at the landing platform. Yang sat down on the flooring of the Bullhead's interior with her feet resting on the platform. "I'd say that went well."

Blake followed and sat next to her. "Given how else it could've, I feel inclined to agree."

"Congratulations, Blake. You successfully saved a bunch of children from execution. I can't think of anything more heroic."

"You deserve more credit than I do," the Faunus humbly deflected. "You had no right or reason to believe I wasn't leading you into a trap."

"For a while I did think you were leading me into a trap. But I've never been happier to be wrong."

There was a moment of calm silence. Again, though, both girls simultaneously tried to break the silence.

"You know-" They couldn't help but laugh at this coincidence's second happening.

Again, Blake offered, "You go first."

This time, Yang denied. "Nah, mine's not really important." She stifled her feelings for now. "What'd you have to say?"

"I just thought, these aren't the only ones out there, you know."

"You mentioned that before." Yang recalled. "They're not the only defectors?"

"No. There are plenty of Faunus who want to leave the White Fang. Some of them have tried and ended up imprisoned like these kids. Some of them are too afraid of the consequences."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Well, what is it that Huntresses are meant to do besides fighting wars and monsters? Help people."

Yang was piecing it together. "You want to go after them, too."

"I do," Blake confirmed. "And seeing as how I can't go anywhere without escort…"

Yang raised her hand between them. "So, partners?"

Blake reached out and grabbed her hand. "Partners."

The two held each other's hand for a beat before letting go and looking off ahead.

"I still can't believe they were only kids," Yang stated. "The oldest one couldn't have been older than fourteen."

"Nari's fifteen," Blake corrected her. "Same age as Ruby when she first started at Beacon."

Yang remembered back to the way her sister was nine years ago, back when she was full of hope and life. "Huh. I guess I hadn't thought about that." Then something hit her. "Wait. How do you know that? I thought you couldn't remember those memories of Beacon. The one I know, I mean."

Blake's expression changed. Her smile faded and her eyes grew wide.

"And on the airship, you knew that the rubber bullets would have charged my semblance. Theoretically, you shouldn't know that."

Blake was still stunned. "I-I don't know." Suddenly another migraine hit her, this one more severe than any before. Blake clutched her head and lurched forward as a mental flood gate was lifted and a tidal wave of memories came pouring back in.

Chapter Text

Another month had passed. Yet more had changed than ever before since Yang's awakening.

New Beacon was expanding. With more Faunus fugitives being taken in, the Huntsmen had begun construction on a new platform for permanent "pedestrian" living.

Yang's job had doubled. She still carried out her missions from Ruby, going against the White Fang directly. But now she was also going out on rescue operations. These were coordinated between her, Jaune, and Blake.

With Blake and the rescued deserters, they were able to learn more about the White Fang's operations and plan how best to sabotage and stop them. This kept Ruby satisfied and her objections to a minimum.

And then there was Blake. Something had happened to her. Through a chance memory slipping through whatever mental blocks she had in place, she got a rush of her old life come back to her. All of her lost memories up until her and Yang's airship crash had returned.

This naturally was entailed with immense trauma. The realization and remembrance hit Blake hard and put her in a temporary battle with shock, depression, anger, and a familiar lust for revenge. She came back from that abyss with two desires: to save as many lives as she could, and to kill the man who had taken her memories, her friends, and her life from her for nearly a decade.

And thus this was the shared mission of Team RWBY.

Yang and Blake stepped out of the airship and welcomed a new batch of Faunus refugees to New Beacon. As per usual, Jaune, Ren, and Nora were there to meet them; the director, the doctor, and Nora. Weiss had also recently taken new interest in the refugees. She admitted there was a degree of guilt for her father's actions against the Faunus as well as her own in the past.

"Welcome to New Beacon," Jaune began his welcome speech. It had gotten pretty routine at this point. Yang stopped paying attention by the third time he delivered it.

Once the speech was over the greeting party led the group to get medical exams and to be fed. Normally, this is where Yang and Blake would go to turn in their weapons and get cleaned up before eating as well. But this time they were stopped by Weiss, who had Nari, the fox Faunus from Blake and Yang's first rescue mission, in tow.

"Weiss, what's up?" Yang asked nonchalantly.

Blake assumed worse. "Is something wrong? Nari?"

The fox stepped forward and began, "It's Oran."

Blake averted her eyes away from the younger girl. Her expression was one of sadness and shame.

Yang had no idea what was going on, and no one seemed ready to volunteer an explanation. "Who's Oran?"

Blake didn't answer. Her eyes remained on her feet. It was Nari who explained, "Oran is my brother. We're twins. He was with me and the others when we tried to desert and were captured. But early on he was… taken away."

Blake forced herself to speak. "I'm sorry, Nari. I don't know where he is. At this point, I doubt he's still alive."

"That's why we're here," Weiss spoke up. "We think we he is. And we might know where."

Blake looked back up, "What do you mean?"

Nari responded, "Miss Schnee-"

"I told you to call me Weiss."

"Weiss and I have been looking into this for a few weeks now. She was nice and wanted to help, and she has. We've been scouring White Fang records, reports, and communications for anything on other prisons where Oran might be being held."

Weiss finished her explanation. "And we found something: references to a facility that those outside of it refer to as 'The Devil's House.'"

"I've not heard of this," the older Faunus commented.

"We didn't find anything official about it," Weiss continued, "just random references in recorded conversations."

"Any idea what it is?" Yang asked.

"No. And neither did anyone we found referencing it. It was discussed in the way one might discuss a haunted wood or the Boogie Man: fearful and ignorant."

Blake and Yang were silent a moment. "The Devil's House," the blonde Huntress repeated the name. "Sounds… ominous."

"What makes you think your brother might be there?" Blake asked the two.

"We know people go in there and tend not to come out," Nari answered. "Even if Oran isn't there, it's our duty to save anyone who might be held captive there and burn it to the ground."

Blake's fists were clenching tighter as she learned more about the situation. Something about this struck really close to home with her, especially with her recent revelations.

Yang noticed this and knew for a fact what needed to happen next. "Where is this place exactly?"

A few hours later, Blake and Yang were back in Vale. They did not have exact coordinates to the fabled Devil's House. All they had to go on was a hunch that Weiss had. While she and Nari had not found the place, they did find a point of inconsistency in the more mountainous regions of Vale: a valley where nothing was reported to exist, yet scanners indicated that there was high electrical output. And when viewed from drone cameras, the area was completely under the cover of a thick fog. The team deemed these factors worth enough for Blake and Yang to fly in and investigate. Weiss ran the operation from base.

The two Huntresses stood on a ledge overlooking the fog-covered valley. Yang still wore her low-cut combat fatigues. Blake wore the black, stealth suit she had worn the day she was captured. She had had that and Gambol Shroud returned to her a week ago when she was released from her prison cell on good behavior, earning New Beacon's trust.

"What do you think the odds are of finding anything hidden in there?" Yang asked her partner, looking down on the misty valley.

"My guess would be," Blake answered, "impossibly high."

The two made their way down into the fog covered valley, making sure to keep as quiet as possible. The limited visibility made it all the more difficult to be wary of guard took every corner ready for a fight. But none came. They found the valley to seem quite abandoned. There were signs of military occupation in the past; the recent past even.

"Looks like everyone just packed up and left," Yang softly commented to her partner and their teammate on the other side of their comm.

"Damnit," Weiss grumbled over comm. "I guess it was a long shot we'd find it so easily anyway. We'll go back to square one and try to-"

"Hold on," Blake interrupted as she advanced ahead of Yang, going deeper into the valley. "I hear something."

"What is it?" Yang asked as she followed the Faunus and her heightened hearing.

Blake didn't answer. She stayed focused on whatever it was she was picking up, creeping further and further into the foliage. The sounds led her into a clearing at the bottom of the valley with a metal building in the center of it.

At this proximity, Yang could hear the sounds, too. They were moans and wails of pain.

Uh, Weiss," she spoke into her comm, "we found something."

Like the rest of the valley, the facility looked abandoned. The disturbing wails echoing from inside were the only signs of any life in the area. Yang detailed a description of what she was seeing to Weiss as Blake cautiously advanced closer.

The door to the building was sealed shut with an electronic lock on the door. Below the lock was an alphabetical keypad.

Blake inspected it for a moment before her gaze bagan to go blank. Her mind drifted off and she raised her hand to the keypad. She subconsciously tapped four keys: K-A-I-N.

Yang walked up right as the last letter was entered, followed by a second long beep and the door sliding open. Blake jumped at the door opening and quickly drew Gambol Shroud. Yang instinctively followed suit and readied herself for any threat beyond the door. The Huntresses waited for a solid ten seconds before lowering their guard when nothing presented itself.

"How'd you get the door open?" Yang asked her partner.

Blake paused uncomfortably before answering, "Lucky guess."

"Want me to take point?" Yang offered.

"No." Blake collapsed Gambol Shroud into its pistol form. "I've got it." She slowly stepped inside, with Yang cautiously following behind. The door shut behind them once they passed its threshold.

The building's interior immediately brought Yang back to an unhappy place. The first floor was a system of hallways with white walls, floors, and ceilings lit up with fluorescent lights. It bore resemblance to a hospital on the inside. It reminded her of waking up from a coma nearly six months ago. The thoughts were enough to start up the pains in her right arm again, causing her eyes to flare red on and off.

Yang moved up to Blake's side to comment, "This place is kinda creeping me out." When she didn't respond, the blonde turned to check on her. She was the image of tension.

"Blake?" She jumped at hearing her name. "You okay?"

'Scared' officially wasn't enough to describe the look in Blake's eyes. This look was one of trauma; one of deeply ingrained horror that comes from past personal experience.

"I'm fine." Blake responded.

It was far from a good lie, but Yang knew now wasn't a good time to grill her for the truth.

"Why don't I lead?" Yang suggested. "You follow behind me and keep your eyes peeled, okay?"

Blake nodded and stepped aside to allow Yang to take point. As the two continued down the hallway, there were several doors lining either side, each with a single window. Alternating between checking and guarding, they peeked through each window to find oddly empty rooms; not just devoid of life, but any sort of furnishings or appliances. They were completely vacant. Yet still they heard the moans.

"Next floor up," Yang hypothesized. "Let's find some stairs."

At the end of the hallway, it turned to the right. At the end of that section was a windowless door. Along the wall was another door with a large window on the wall next to it.

The Huntresses inspected the new configuration to see the room on the other side of the glass being a plain room like the other, but this one had a table in the center with a chair on either side. It looked much like an interrogation room.

Due to the lack of anything else of note, Yang quickly moved past it to the door at the end of the hallway. She breached through it with her gauntlet ready. She scanned the room before turning back to her partner.

"I found the stairs," she reported before taking notice of Blake.

The Faunus was stood still with her arms at her side, staring into the interrogation room.

"Blake?"

She dropped Gambol Shroud and stumbled back against the wall behind her. By the time she crumpled to the ground, Yang was at her side. The expression on her face was one of traumatic shock as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"That's why it felt…" she muttered out. "This is where it happened."

"Where what happened?" Yang asked her worriedly.

Blake was beginning to hyperventilate. "All… all the… all the changes," she got out through quick breaths. "They… they happened here."

"Ren's hypnosis theory was right, wasn't it?" Yang guessed.

Blake sealed her eyes shut and focused on slowing her breathing. Once she felt she'd calmed down enough to function, she explained. "After the crash, Adam found me. I woke up in this room, with him looking over me. He talked about how disappointed he was in me, but that he hadn't given up on me. He talked about how we could go back to the way things were before I left. He swore he would make it that way again. Enter Emerald."

"The girl from Haven?" Yang asked for clarification.

"Not quite. She was working with the woman who attacked Beacon; who killed Ozpin and Pyrrha." She paused to let that reveal sink in. "Did you know her semblance allows her to induce illusions in the mind of her enemies? That's how she beat Coco in the Tournament. That's why you saw Mercury attack you."

Yang's fist clenched and her eyes flared red for a moment. It passed and she let Blake finish her recollection.

"Turns out she can do a lot more than that. If she keeps it up, she can produce an illusion so convincing it can completely overwrite your very memories. And that's what they did. I spent a year strapped to that chair with her in my head, twisting my life into a fabrication of Adam's design. My team was replaced with Emerald's allies. Beacon was a hate-filled hellhole. This…" she touched the place of her scar on her stomach.

"They convinced you Ruby did it," Yang finished for her.

"And Adam was the hero who saved me and was right all along." There was venom when she said his name. Her lip began to quiver and the tears flowed again.

Seeing her friend breaking down in front of her, Yang pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oh, Blake…"

Blake's arms were limp at her sides for a long moment as her emotions spiraled. As they began to collect themselves, she weakly raised her arms up and returned the hug.

"I hate him, Yang," she said with barely a whisper. She squeezed tighter. "I hate him so much for what he did. For what he took."

Yang could feel her right hand again; the throbbing pain of her limb now long gone. "He took from all of us." Blake's hatred was infectious. Yang felt the vengeful cravings return to her, too.

As is her way, Blake calmed her emotions again before she came to a realization. "But not you."

"What?" Yang questioned, pulling out of the hug to give her undivided attention.

"Ruby, Weiss, Jaune; all of their memories were taken away and replaced. But not you. I held onto you. You were the focal point that allowed me to break the illusion." Blake placed her hands on Yang's cheeks, gazing into her lilac eyes. "Yang, you were the one to save me."

It was Yang's turn to cry. In an explosion of emotion, she burst into tears and leaned forward to connect her lips to Blake's.

One would expect Blake to be shocked by this. She was not. She was hoping for it. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss without hesitation. Among this place of agony and loss, the two shared something beautiful.

The kiss lasted as long as the tears did. Once the streams ceased, their lips parted and the girls backed away. They spent a moment in silent, joyous peace before the reality and purpose of the situation returned.

Blake's feline ears twitched as she picked up a distinct sound among the ever-present wails coming from the building's upper level.

"Oran," she whispered.

Yang quickly jumped back into professionalism. "You've got him?"

Blake scooped up Gambol Shroud and leaped to her feet. "He's alive, but not well. Second Floor. Let's go." With that, she moved to the door.

"Blake," Yang stopped her.

As soon as the Faunus saw the look on the blonde's face, she knew what she wanted. "Let's get Oran and anybody else out of here. Then I want to see this place burn to the ground. Once it's ashes…" she brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear, "then we'll figure out where we go next."

Yang wore the biggest smile she'd held in over nine years. "Let's not waste time then."

Blake smiled back before raising her weapon again and advancing into the stairwell. Yang moved to follow her but stopped short of the door. She reached into a pocket on the back of her belt. She pulled out a syringe-like injection device. Inside it was a tranquilizer that would put anyone down for twenty-four hours. She had carried it with her ever since beginning to go out on missions with Blake. It was to satisfy Ruby's distrust in the situation and to calm her paranoia spawned from the state she first found the Faunus in. It was a contingency. But after the moment they just shared…

Yang dropped the injector on the ground and followed Blake up the stairs.

Upon exiting the stairwell and entering the second floor, the Huntresses found themselves in a smaller room with a large, electronically sealed door. On the wall was an rack of half-face gas masks.

"A decontamination room?" Yang theorized the purpose of the door.

Blake looked on the door and imagined the horrific possibilities. "What are they doing here?"

"I've got a hunch," Yang said, already fitting a gas mask over her nose and mouth. "But no matter what it is, it ends todays." She tossed Blake a mask and walked up to the door.

Once Blake had her mask secured, Yang pulled the handle on the door to unlock it. There was a hiss of air escaping the room beyond as Yang opened the sealed door. As theorized, it led to a decontamination room with another sealed door on the other side. The two stepped into the room and closed the door behind them. There was a loud beep. LEDs on the walls lit up red and the room's automations proceeded with the decontamination process. Sixty seconds passed before another loud beep sounded and the lights turned green.

The second the door cracked open, the wailing intensified by a staggering volume.

This floor was far less pristine looking. The whole floor was one large room. The only partitions were thin, plastic sheets draped from metal rods set up on temporary stands. These were set up into squares. The squares were set in four rows from the perspective of the entrance. The floors were grosser, looking like they hadn't been cleaned in weeks. There were no windows. The only light was fluorescent. The room was also humid and warm. There was a grey fog that hung in the air.

Blake walked up to the first partition in front of her and pulled it aside, Yang behind her ready to fire her gauntlet just in case. Behind the curtain was a small hospital gurney with an IV pole set up next to it. But it was what was on the gurney that caused the Huntresses to freeze in disgust and horror.

Lying on the bed was a man rolling and writhing in pain, moaning as he did. He was thin and looked malnourished, likely only being kept alive by the fluids being pumped into him by the IV. But the frightening part was his skin. Large patches of his body were pitch black and emanating the grey fog like smoke from a fire. Along his shoulders and forearms, small protrusions of bone stuck out through the skin. The skin on the top half of his head seemed to have receded in places, revealing just the white skull beneath. And though his eyelids were shut, there was still an unmistakable red glow coming through from behind them.

He looked Grimm.

The Huntresses were silent for a while as they digested the sight before them. Yang remembered the Grimm humanoids from her first encounter with Adam just under five months ago. She was disgusted by what she saw, but not all that surprised.

Blake, on the other hand, was horrified. As hard as it was for her to face her past downstairs, the look on her face showed that this was even worse. Yang knew of nothing she could possibly say.

Blake rushed past the mutated man to the next partition. She threw it back like the last one. There was a woman lying there, black, bony, and smoking. She ran past her to check the next one, and the next. Each time she got the same results.

Blake stopped when she reached the opposite wall. Behind her were seven deformed victims, all the same. She stood over the eighth bed for a while before turning back to her teammate. Yang remained at the other end by the first victim. Even from this distance, she could see the sorrow in Blake's eyes.

"Yang, I found him."

Yang ran over to see. Lying in the last gurney was a fifteen year old boy with fox ears, a tail, and orange hair to match. He would have looked just like his sister if it wasn't for the black splotches and bits of bone protrusions he shared with everyone else. He seemed less far along into the mutation as the rest, but the damage was still horrifying to see.

"Oran…" Blake reached out and held his hand, "I'm so sorry." Around his wrist, he wore a bracelet of orange clay beads. Blake spent a long while gazing over the beads while holding his hand. Yang stood behind her, staying quiet and giving her friend the time she needed. She placed a consoling hand on her partner's shoulder and bowed her head in sorrow and respect.

After a long moment, Blake turned and spoke. "We've got to get him out. Maybe we can find a way to-"

A loud beep sounded from the rooms entrance.

Yang instinctively pulled Blake to her feet and led her through the partition to their left. Once hidden, she pulled them down into a crouch by the head of the gurney inside.

"The decontamination room is running," Yang whispered. "Someone is here."

Blake sheathed Gambol Shroud before pulling it over her shoulder in its complete, cleaver form. "Good," she growled, her sorrow turned to anger.

Yang grabbed her wrist and lowered her blade. "This is not a good place for a fight. We attack whoever comes in here, we put Oran at risk."

The fire in Blake's eyes seemed to simmer down and she nodded in agreement.

Yang let go of her wrist and stood higher. "We've got thirty seconds till that door opens. I'm gonna go cover our tracks." With that, she took off down the aisle, quickly closing each curtain she passed.

She closed the second to last one when the second beep sounded. Time was up. Yang retreated back behind the curtains as the door opened. She rushed back to Blake as a still unknown figure entered the room. The wails of pain covered the sounds of her footsteps.

Yang returned to Blake and they waited. Blake used her heightened hearing to listen for the footsteps of the intruder. She pointed with her finger at the footsteps' location, moving to track the movements. The intruder had indeed started with the same row they did. Yang mentally kicked herself for not moving fast enough to get the last curtain closed.

The footsteps stopped briefly at each mutant before reaching Oran at the end. The only thing between the Huntresses and this unknown threat was an opaque sheet of plastic.

The person hung around Oran for a while. There was a sigh, the sound of metal sliding smoothly against metal, and finally words: "I accept your sorrow and failure unto myself."

Yang's eyes turned red. Blake grit her teeth. They recognized the voice.

Blake rushed through the partition just as the red blade pierced Oran's chest.

"Oran!"

Yang followed through to see the boy's body go limp. His eyes reverted back to their standard green color. A curved blade stuck through his heart. She followed the blade up to its wielder. The black and red armor. The red blade. The Grimm mask. The bull horns.

It was Adam.

As always, he donned his mask. But this time, instead of one of the gas masks in the hall outside, he wore a personalized mouth guard that fit in with his mask and continued its red-accented design. His face was a white shield with four horizontal slits for his eyes, four vertical ones over his mouth, and a partition in the middle where the two pieces connect into one.

He held his sword with one hand. In the other, he held back the blade to Gambol Shroud. Blood seeped from his palm and down the edge of Blake's sword.

Yang charged him with a right hook while he was vulnerable. But Adam was quicker than ever. In a single move, he pushed Blake's weapon aside, putting her off balance, pulled his sword from Oran's body, spun around, swiped his blade at Yang's arm, and resheathed his sword.

Luckily, Ruby designed Yang's prosthetic arm well. Its chassis was strong enough that Adam's sword just glanced off.

Adam backed up to the edge of the cubicle they were in. The Huntresses stood side-by-side at the other.

Adam chuckled, though his mask hid all emotion. "Well well well, what a surprise this is. I was wondering what happened to you, Blake."

"You monster!" Blake shouted, her words pure rage. "You hurt my friends! You brought the world to ruin! Countless deaths, human and Faunus! And now this?!" She gestured to Oran. "Experimenting? Turning people- turning children- into Grimm abominations?!"

"It's all for the greater good of the Faunus," he responded with confidence.

Yang stayed angry, but quiet and focused. Blake's venting oddly helped her release steam, too. And with her partner temporarily off-balance, she knew she had to be ready to accommodate for that.

Blake ground her teeth and sneered. "You twisted my mind and made me your puppet! Was that for the greater good, too?! Or was that just out of cruelty and spite?!"

"So the therapy's worn off? Everything's coming back to you? It's obvious you remember your old school friends again. But how much are still blocking out, I wonder." The bull paused, his mask revealing nothing. "Tell me, have you seen Kain yet?"

Blake's eyes widened and jaw dropped. She was frozen. She heard Adam's low chuckle again and she snapped. Her eyes went narrow and her jaw locked.

She lunged forward with Gambol Shroud raised and a roar of rage echoing from her throat. Yang was quick to follow her.

Adam was quicker still.

As Blake swung her sword, Adam backstepped it, wrapped his right arm around her wrists and tucked them to his side. With his left hand, he reached down to his weapon and fired it, sending his sword across the room. It's butt hit Yang square in the nose. Yang recoiled from the blow as the sword bounced off back toward Adam. With Blake's arms tucked under his right, he reached out with his left to snatch his sword out of the air. He then spun to his left while he swung Blake's arms to spin her to her right. The two of them spun 360 degrees before locking blades again. Adam closed the gap and, with his left hand holding his sword, he reached his right arm around Blake's waist and pulled her in tight. He pushed with his blade and his body towards her to give her no room to maneuver in his embrace. She was trapped. Yang was still recovering from her blow to the nose.

Two seconds had passed.

With Blake locked in his embrace, Adam leaned in close, his soulless mask centimeters from Blake's own masked face. "Don't worry, my love," he said to her, the affection in his voice sounding true. "You needn't suffer any longer. I will protect you." He leaned in over her shoulder to whisper right into her ear, "Blake, my darling."

Yang stood to re engage the war criminal right as he leaned in like that. As soon as the hushed words left his lips, Blake shifted. Her spine aligned and her head tilted back. She released her sword with one hand and slipped it around to clutch Adam's back. She leaned into his embrace; molded herself into him.

Adam looked towards Yang, his lifeless mask staring into Yang's eyes. A low chuckle echoed.

"She's mine again."

He released his hold on Blake. "Blake, this Huntress is here to kill us. She wants to destroy us and everything we have built."

The Blake that turned around to face Yang was not the same one she arrived with. This was the Blake she'd found in Vacuo just over two months ago.

Blake split her weapon and dropped into a ready stance. "She will not stop us. The Faunus will rise." Her words sounded programmed; robotic.

"Blake…" Yang called to her, not wanting to fight her friend again.

The only response she got was the Faunus charging at her with her blades raised. Yang raised her arms to defend against the attack.

As Blake mindlessly attacked her former partner, Adam turned to leave. On the way out, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Fire Dust crystal. He threw it to the ground and it exploded, setting fire to everything in the area. His armor being flame-retardant, he walked effortlessly through the inferno towards the exit. Over the sounds of the test subjects shrieking from being engulfed in flame, he called out to the blonde Huntress.

"You can have her back in Hell!"

He turned back to the two fighting. Yang was currently brought down to one knee as she held back Blake's blades. He called out again.

"While you're there, say 'hello' to her family for me."

With those words, he closed the door to the room ablaze and left the two Huntresses to fight it out in the inferno.

Yang saw Adam go and a pang of anger consumed her. She lost focus and Blake pried her swords free of Yang's grip and swiped with each. Yang was fast enough to activate her aura on the second strike, but the first left a good slice along her left bicep.

"Blake! It's me! Ya-" She was cut off by a sidekick across her face. She spat out a wad of blood and turned to see Blake bringing down a heavy swing with her cleaver. Yang quickly used Ember Celica to blast Blake's hand, hitting her in the fingers and forcing her to release the weapon as it went tumbling across the room.

She'd dealt with this Blake before. There was no talking her out of it. Her tactic was now to disarm and incapacitate her.

Blake brought down her sword with her left hand. Yang caught her wrist in her left. She then thrust her right hand to Blake's shoulder, pulled her down and extended her arm out. Before the Faunus could fight it, Yang popped her arm out of its socket, dislocating it. From this position she came up behind her and wrapped her right arm around her neck.

Yang used her superior strength to hold Blake in a choke hold while she shoved her knees behind Blake's to pin her legs to the floor. She reached for the tranquilizer at her belt to finish this and incapacitate the Faunus. When her hand came up empty, she remembered. She'd dropped it on the first floor after…

Yang's vision went dark. Blake had reached her functional arm up to Yang's face and jabbed her thumb into her right eye.

Yang cried out in pain, but refused to let her friend go. When she wasn't released, Blake started twisting her thumb around.

The pain was beyond imagination. Yang had never felt anything hurt this badly before. But thanks to her semblance, Yang worked best through pain.

With no other options, she channeled her strength and tightened her hold on Blake's throat.

As the room burned around them, she held her grip. As Blake's finger dug around in her socket, she held her grip. As the struggling became weaker, she held her grip. As tears flowed from one eye and blood from the other, she held her grip.

As Blake slipped into unconsciousness, she released her grip.

It was the longest, most excruciating eight seconds of Yang's life. She hated every one.

It was at this moment that the large room was quiet. The wailing was gone. She looked around her and was reminded of the flames. She put two and two together.

She looked to Oran's burning body and sorrow came over her.

Yang rose and paced over to Oran. She grabbed his arm and pulled the clay bracelet from his wrist.

She collected Gambol Shroud and returned to Blake. She lifted her unconscious body into her arms, carried her to the decontamination room, and sealed the door behind her.

Yang spent sixty silent seconds thinking over the events that took place in the room behind her as all traces of them were erased in the decontamination process. The chemicals used caused her bleeding eye socket to burn. She couldn't even care to react to it.

The process ended and she opened the door. The fire had yet to make it this far yet. One could think the last ten minutes had never happened.

Yang yanked the gas mask off of her face and threw it to the ground. She entered the stairwell and walked down.

As she exited the stairwell, she saw at her feet the tranquilizer Ruby had given her for this very scenario. She knelt down and picked it up, putting it back into its pocket on her belt.

As she continued down the hallway, she passed by the window to the interrogation room; the place where Blake had lost everything to Adam. The place where she had broken down and Yang had to pick her back up. The place where they…

Yang realized she had been stopped there, staring into the room for a while now. She pulled herself out of her somber trance to see the light reflection of her blood pouring from her right eye and her… friend unconscious in her arms.

She reacted to this the same way she reacted to most things she didn't like: she punched it. The window shattered, taking her reflection with it.

Yang continued to walk down the hallway to the building's exit as flames began to make their way into the stairwell behind her.

A short time later, Yang was securing Blake into a harnessed seat on their- her Bullhead before jabbing the tranquilizer needle into her arm to ensure she stayed down long enough for them to get back to New Beacon.

Before taking her own seat, she looked out the airship's window to the now blazing inferno engulfing the "Devil's House."

"Well, Blake," she said out loud, "we did what you wanted. We burned it to the ground."

Hours of somber thought passed before the Bullhead set down at base. In that time, Yang had neglected to attend to her eye. And all she told Weiss was that they were heading back. She did not say anything about what happened in the "Devil's House."

Naturally, Weiss and Nari had come out to the landing platform to meet Yang and Blake. They did not expect the condition they would be in.

When Yang opened the door with the right side of her face covered in blood and a somber expression on her face, to say they were concerned was putting it lightly. And when she walked out carrying Blake in her arms…

"Yang," Weiss said, "what happened?

Yang frowned and walked past her.

"Yang?"

Yang suddenly stopped. She reached into her pocket, turned back, and walked up to Nari.

She reached out her closed hand. Nari reach out to meet her. Yang opened her fingers and dropped Oran's bracelet into his sister's hand.

Tears began to stream down Nari's cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Yang whispered. She turned back around and walked off.

Blake's cell had been empty for one week today. Yang was going to return her to it.

Chapter Text

"Yang, we need to talk about what happened."

She didn't respond. She just continued to gaze at the horizon outside the window in her private quarters. She lived in a small room in the higher levels of a tower on base. It afforded her quite the vantage view.

She lowered her attention down to the deck of Mother Base below. She scanned over everything, trying to get adjusted to her new handicap. Distance and depth are harder things to judge with only one eye.

She'd gotten it attended to, but there was no saving it. Her right side vision was gone. She now wore a patch holding a piece of gauze over the healing wound.

"Yang, are you listening?" Jaune prodded her as he stood in her doorway. "It's been almost a week and you've told us barely anything." No response. "I know you needed time to recover, but we need to know what happened in The Devil's House. What did you find there? How did Nari's brother die? What is Adam doing?" He stepped closer to her. "Yang, what happened to Blake?"

Yang continued gazing out the window when she finally spoke up. "Where's Ruby?"

Jaune huffed. She still didn't answer him. "She's in the field. She's trying to get back on her feet. She's picking up missions so you can take this time to recover."

"She never stops, does she?"

"... no. She doesn't," Jaune responded. "I'm not sure she can at this point."

"What happened?" the injured Huntress asked. "When did it all change?"

Jaune sighed and took a seat on the edge of Yang's cot. "It was a gradual thing. She's been in this fight for nine years. It's hit her hard. Hell, it's hit all of us hard."

"But you seem to have weathered it well," Yang noted.

Jaune shook his head. "Not always. Used to be the roles were reversed. After…" his voice trailed off. "After Pyrrha, I was the angry one. I was the one starving for vengeance and blood. Ruby was there for me."

Yang's interest piqued at his wording. "Did you two…?"

Jaune chuckled. "Yeah. Yeah, we did."

A smile, though weak, finally appeared on Yang's face. "Good on you, Rubes."

"Ha! As if I'm much of a catch." Jaune laughed heartily and stroked his mustache. "You know, the mustache was actually her idea. Said it'd complete the angry, sharpshooting, rogue appearance."

In spite of her somber mood, Yang couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Yeah, your sister really dragged me out of a dark place. Technically, we're still- I mean we never officially..." He sighed. "I'm not really sure anymore."

Yang's smile left as well. "When did she change?" she reiterated.

"It was about a year and a half ago: the eighth anniversary of the attack on Beacon. We'd been at this for eight years, and had little to show for it. We'd push the White Fang back in one place. They'd take over another. We'd take down a few officers, but lose just as many Huntsmen to do it. In spite of the bullets and blood and lives spent to end this war, nothing changed.

"Eight years in, Ruby came to that realization and it overwhelmed her. She just… she broke down. You can only hold onto hope for so long, I guess. It was sadness at first, then rage, and finally hate. By the time of her capture and… injuries, she was taking it personally."

"I wish I could have been there for her," Yang lamented.

"You were the one who rescued her."

"Yeah, but before that. If I hadn't gotten myself-"

"It couldn't be helped," Jaune interrupted her and stood back up. "The past is the past. All we can do now is try to make up for it." He turned to head for the door. "I'll give you some more time. When you're ready to debrief, let me know."

"Jaune?" Yang stopped him. "With Pyrrha… the feeling, I mean… did it ever go away?"

Jaune was quiet a moment. "I never really got over her. But it does hurt a lot less now."

"You've got to keep your right guard up," Weiss advised as Yang recovered from the blow. Normally, hand-to-hand sparring with the heiress would be a cakewalk. But now, it was getting embarrassing. It didn't help that she couldn't see half of the hits coming.

The norm was also for Yang to use this time between bouts to spout off some snarky taunt. There was often a pun involved somehow.

"Again," was all she said as she raised her fists up.

Weiss followed suit and advanced. She started with a few right jabs. Yang blocked those with no problem. A right-left-right combo. Blocked. Right-left-kick. Blocked with a return jab. Left-right-kick-left hook.

"Ah!" Yang was down again. The left hook got her every time.

"It's that right side still," Weiss noted.

When Yang looked back to the heiress, there was a fire in her eye. "No shit it's my right side! I can't fucking see it!" she shouted.

Weiss was put off for a moment. She paused as the one-eyed Huntress seethed in front of her and quickly readjusted. "We should take a break."

"No!" Yang retorted, raising her fists back up. "Let's go again. We'll keep going 'til I get it."

She advanced on the heiress and threw a right punch. Weiss stepped to the left of the swing, into Yang's blindspot, and, with both hands, shoved Yang to the ground.

"We're taking a break," the smaller girl commanded.

Yang paused to reflect. She unclenched her jaw and her fists, and let her iris revert back to lilac. "Yeah. Yeah, that- that sounds like a good idea."

Weiss helped her teammate up and the two walked silently to the side. They reached the wall of the sparring room and retrieved their water bottles. Yang only missed grabbing it once. She was improving.

After taking a moment to rehydrate, Yang slumped against the wall and slid down until she was seated on the floor. Her gaze drifted off to nothing in particular across the room.

"You know," Weiss spoke up as she joined her friend on the floor, "bottling it up won't make it feel better."

"Drop it, Weiss," Yang muttered.

"You're not stronger for facing it alone," the Atlesian girl persisted. "If you just talked about it-"

"I said, 'drop it.'" the angry Huntress commanded.

Weiss paused. Her expression changed and her posture shifted: straighter and more rigid. She held her chin higher and her eyes more narrowed.

"Well," her voice sounded exactly like it did during her first semester at Beacon. "I guess I overestimated you. And here I thought you were a Huntress."

Yang felt her body temperature rise at Weiss's remarks. "Weiss…" she growled, squeezing her water bottle tightly in her mechanical hand.

The heiress paid no mind and continued. "A true Huntress would have picked herself up and brushed herself off by now; not wallow in the mud for a week."

The bottle began to crack. "You're pushing it, Weiss."

"You know, there was a time when I thought highly of you. I thought you may have had what it takes to be a true Huntress. But it looks like I was wrong. It looks like you're just a little girl who isn't as brave and strong as she thought."

The bottle collapsed from the pressure, the water spilling all over the ground and Yang's hand. The blonde was on the verge of boiling over, but, realizing Weiss's game, restrained herself. She bottled it back up and stood. "I'm done for today. We'll try again tomorrow," she uttered as she paced to the door.

Weiss stood as well and watched her go. "What was it Blake ever saw in you?"

Boiling point. Yang's vision went red. Her hair lit aflame. She turned back to the Schnee heiress and unleashed a roar full of rage as she charged with her fist raised.

Weiss didn't so much as flinch. She stood there and took the punch. It was a powerful one, too, with repressed rage behind it. Her aura shattered, and she was knocked to the ground. Yang stood over her fuming. The heiress simply stood back up and stared back, undeterred. That was when Yang's barrier broke.

The distraught Huntress collapsed against her friend and all of the sadness and emotion that had been filling her up since her mission with Blake came rushing out. She cried hard. She cried harder than she'd ever cried before. She cried harder than she thought she was even capable of.

As she sobbed into her shoulder, Weiss raised her arms to cradle the pained Huntress. She put the act away. She did her job and didn't need to be the bad guy anymore. All she needed to do now was be there and listen.

"Why did it have to happen, Weiss?" Yang asked through her tears. "Haven't we been through enough?"

"I don't know, Yang. I don't know."

Weiss led the two to kneel on the ground as Yang continued to let it all out.

"It's not fair," the broken blonde continued. "Why did I have to lose her again?"

"Something happened at the Devil's House, didn't it?" the white-haired Huntress assumed.

Yang's sobbing began to die down. She answered, "Ren was right. Adam brainwashed her; blocked out her memories and replaced them with new ones. That's why she's like that. And he did it at the Devil's House."

"He was there, wasn't he?" Weiss pieced together.

Yang squeezed her tighter. The tears well up again. "All he had to do was whisper to her and she was snapped back into his trance."

The crying returned upon bringing the memory back up. Weiss waited for her to get it out.

When her teammate's sobbing died down again, she brought up a sneaking suspicion of hers. "That's not all that happened, is it?"

Yang thought back to the moment. Through the untamed sadness, a smile broke through. "We kissed," she softly admitted. "And it was wonderful."

Weiss wore a smile as well. "It's about time."

Yang's expression turned somber again. "And then…"

"Hey, hey, hey." Weiss pulled back to look Yang in the eyes. "Yang, you didn't lose her. She's still here. She's just a little mixed up again. But you helped her last time. You can do it again."

"But what if she doesn't… What if those feelings-"

"Those feelings are still there. She may not realize them yet, but they're still in there. You can't give up on her, Yang."

By this point, the tears had ceased to fall. Yang sniffed down the last of her depression and smiled. "Thanks, Weiss. I needed this." The two pulled each other into a hug. "I'm sorry I punched you."

"Yang, go debrief with Jaune" Weiss responded, "and then go see Blake. That's how you can make it up to me."

Yang nodded and broke the hug. "I will. But I've got a favor I need to ask of you."

"I'm listening," the heiress said.

"I need you to find someone. Adam mentioned a name that really set Blake off. It's clearly someone important to her."

A confident smile crossed Weiss's face. "Give me the name and I'll see what I can dig up."

Chapter Text

"You're improving," Weiss said after Yang successfully blocked her volley of blows.

"You've gotten pretty good yourself," the blonde-haired Huntress complimented back before throwing her own combo the heiress's way, only for those it to be blocked, too. "When did you learn how to scrap?"

Weiss sparred back, jabbing and kicking. "It's been nine years since Beacon, Yang. I had time to learn how to throw a punch. Are you afraid I'm taking your thing?" she taunted as she threw a left hook.

In the blink of an eye, Yang blocked the hook and kicked Weiss's feet out from under her, sending her to the sparring room floor.

"Should I be?" she confidently rebutted to her grounded teammate before offering her hand to help her up.

Weiss smiled and took her hand. Yang yanked her back onto her feet.

"You finally countered the dreaded left hook," the smaller girl congratulated.

"Yeah," the one-eyed brawler rejoiced. "To make up for my blind side, I'm turning my head a little to the right to put my left eye center. Less peripheral, but it widens my right side view a bit. It's working so far."

Weiss raised her fists up again. "Let's just make sure it really works," she said before throwing another volley of punches Yang's way.

The two shot back and forth at each other in a close-quarters dance, exchanging compliments between grunts.

"Any news on the virus?" Yang asked the heiress mid-spar.

"As far as I've heard, no," Weiss answered. "We've devoted nearly all of our attention to tracking it down. But nothing close to what you described has come up." As she finished her report, there was a lull in combat. "Why are you asking me, anyway? Your sister would know better than I would."

Yang's shoulders drooped as she let her guard down. "I've barely even seen her since I came back from…" She trailed off. "She's been in the field ever since."

Weiss let her guard down as well. "Is that a good idea? Don't her prosthetics impair her abilities?"

"You didn't hear? Her new ones showed up. Same material as my arm. Light enough not to slow her down; sturdy enough to not snap under her Semblance. And yes, she got them in red."

Weiss paused in surprise. "Ruby has new boots? How did I not know about this?"

"She was only here with them for maybe two hours," Yang explained. "She got back from a mission, got them attached, and immediately went back out to put them to use."

"Our team has a severe tendency towards obsessive crusades," the heiress pointed out. "Speaking of, how's Blake?"

Yang glared at Weiss before turning towards her sweat towel and water bottle. "That's not funny."

"Yang," Weiss followed, "I'm sorry. That was in poor taste. But seriously, how is it coming with her?"

"Slowly," Yang answered as she sat down against the wall. "At least it feels that way."

Weiss sat down next to her. "I get that. Last time, you didn't know if it would even work; if she would come around. Now that you know she can, you feel like your just waiting for that magic moment to make everything right again, yes?"

"Yeah. That and…" Yang trailed off.

Weiss filled in the blank. "And you want to know if she still-"

"Yes," Yang confirmed before the heiress could even finish.

Weiss paused a moment before placing a hand on her friend's shoulder and smiling. "She will."

Yang smiled back. "Well, I dunno about you," she said as she gathered her things and stood back up, "but I've worked up an appetite. Go clean up and grab a bite to eat?"

Weiss followed suit. "It might be best if we get our food to go."

"Why's that?" the blonde asked as they made their way to the sparring room exit.

"Do you remember that favor you asked me to look into?"

Yang stopped in her tracks. She turned to face the heiress. "Did you-"

Weiss interrupted her. "Get clean, get food, gear up, and I'll tell you on the way."

Adrenaline carried Yang through these tasks with record speed. Before Weiss could even make it to the landing platform, the excited blonde was already finishing loading up and prepping their Bullhead airship.

"You're changing it up, I see," Weiss remarked at Yang's modified attire.

Instead of her solid olive fatigues, she now wore a set in a lighter brown with dark green striping. Unlike before, all of her buttons were fastened; her cleavage put away. Around her neck she wore a scarf that draped over her right shoulder. Her golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail, keeping it out of her face. Over her right eye was a black eye patch with a yellow trim.

"I don't think I've ever seen you show so little skin," the heiress jabbed. "Don't tell me you're maturing on me."

Yang chuckled. "It felt like it was time."

Weiss was silent a moment before saying, "What? You're not going to make any sort of snide remark about my fashion change?"

Weiss was dressed in similar combat fatigues, these in grey with white splotches. On her torso, she wore a vest with several pockets for carrying dust vials. It was the most tactical Weiss had ever looked; a far step from her usual attire.

The only thing that looked more royal on her was the shiny, black leather scabbard that hung from her hip. That was the one piece on her person that exuded elegance over tacticality. In that scabbard, rested Winter's sword.

"You look good," Yang remarked.

The heiress was stunned a moment when Yang didn't take the opportunity to jokingly mock her. "You seem… different, Yang," she said.

"Not in a bad way, I hope," the blonde Huntress responded as she climbed into the Bullhead.

"I hope so, too," Weiss responded before following her teammate into the airship.

Instead of both of them going to the main cabin and wait for their pilot, Weiss moved to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat.

"You know how to fly, too?" Yang asked as she slid into the co-pilot's chair.

"Figured it'd be useful," Weiss answered as she started the Bullhead's turbines and performed her pre-flight checklist. "I've been learning for the last few weeks now."

"Huh, I didn't know that," Yang remarked.

"You were out of commission for a while. I'd say you had a good excuse for not keeping up with all of my activities. You know what you're doing in that chair?" she asked her blonde co-pilot.

"Not a clue," Yang jested.

"It's actually a lot easier than you think."

The moment Weiss finished that statement, the Bullhead lurched upward, back down to the landing platform, and the engine killed.

The new pilot was silent as she tightly gripped her flight controls. Yang poorly held back a chuckle.

"Don't you say a word," Weiss snapped.

"Never crossed my mind," Yang lied with her hands raised as Weiss started the Bullhead again.

The flight to Vale seemed to fly by faster than usual. Weiss spent a good portion of it passing along some of the lessons she'd had on flying. Yang was unusually retentive and interested in learning.

As they flew over Vale's countryside, Yang interrupted her flying lesson for a briefing. "So what're we doing, Weiss?"

"We're flying out to a small White Fang training outpost, "the piloting heiress informed. "It specializes in the training of child soldiers."

Yang thought back to that first group of deserters she and Blake had rescued. "Shit… That's a phrase I hope I never get used to hearing."

"Agreed," Weiss continued. "We did get lucky with our timing, though. According to what I found, they're between batches of recruits right now. The last group shipped out to Mistral four days ago and they're not due for a new one for another two weeks. The place should be lower staffed and we won't have to worry about the dilemma of fighting children."

"But you're certain that Kain is here?" Yang asked.

"I'm certain. Kain has been here for three years. He's one of the higher ranking training officers. Officially, the place is run by someone under the moniker 'The Black Bull.' Unofficially, the Bull is apparently unfit for the job and his disgruntled underlings have to pull his weight themselves."

"So they'll be poorly organized, too," Yang inferred. "We really did luck out with this one."

Weiss began to chuckle when a notification on her navigation system turned on. "We're almost there."

As Weiss began making her descent, Yang took her cue to prep all of her gear for infiltration. She didn't bring a silenced rifle or any heavy artillery this time. She was going in light with only Ember Celica.

With her gear ready, the blonde Huntress used the rest of their descent to get in the zone. All of the thoughts and feelings that she'd been keeping under control since The Devil's House, she brought to the surface. All of the anxiety and rage boiled her blood. She began punching her fists together, flaring her Semblance and building her strength.

As her teammate was psyching herself up, Weiss called back to her from the cockpit. "There's a forest on the Eastern side of the compound. I can set us down there and we can sneak in unseen."

"No," Yang refused. "Fly directly over and drop me in the center."

"That will be very visible and very loud," the Atlesian Huntress reminded her angry friend. "The whole place will know we're here before you even touch the ground."

"Good," Yang growled, her golden hair ablaze already. "I want to be seen. I want someone to tell him that I'm alive. I want him to know that I'm not defeated."

Weiss fell silent. Yang's words were spoken with absolute resolve. She was on the warpath. We're really lucky this place is operating so abysmally, Weiss thought as she adjusted her course and opened the Bullhead's bay doors.

"You drop in fifteen seconds!" she called over the wind from the turbines now rushing into the cabin.

Yang stood in the doorway, looking out. She shut her eyes, and breathed. She had amped up her emotions to ready herself for the coming fight. Now, she focused them; channeled them to further her goals. She thought of her mission: to find and extract Kain. She thought of her purpose: not to stop the White Fang; not to save the world; not even to kill Adam.

She was here for Blake.

"Drop!"

Yang's red eye burst open. She leaped from the airship and swan dove towards the compound below.

A small crowd of White Fang soldiers was already forming on the ground beneath her. The ones with guns began firing up at her.

Yang flipped herself around to fall feet first towards the ground. She landed in the center of the hostile crowd. The force of impact supercharged her Semblance. She immediately flared it and released a fiery blast that dropped all of the soldiers around her.

As she stood from her landing position, the crowd around her began to slowly pull themselves to their feet as well. There were five of them. With Yang at close range, they all reached for their swords.

Yang spun to the closest one behind her and, with a rage-fueled roar, delivered a devastating right hook that sent the Faunus tumbling several yards back. Keeping her momentum going she circled back to a soldier rushing her. A swift uppercut threw him to the roof of the nearest building.

Yang continued to make the circle through the group of guards. She blocked the third's attack before sending him directly to the ground with a downward right hook. She caught the charging fourth by his collar and crotch, lifted him over her head, and slammed his skull into the dirt. For the fifth, she spun and delivered a lunge punch to his sternum. The man was launched off of his feet and sent crashing through the building wall behind him.

Five hits put five men unconscious and in need of a doctor for the broken bones. Yang was trying to keep them all alive. She didn't know what Kain looked like, and would hate to accidentally kill him. She was non-lethal for now

In the second's pause after downing her last foe, Yang heard the sound of a magazine being loaded into a rifle on her right several yards away. She spun with her guard up and her Aura ready to take a shot. When she spotted her attacker, she saw his body was already encased in ice.

Having thrown a canister of Ice Dust at the guard, Weiss rushed up to Yang's side, sister's sword in hand. "Blind spot!" she called attention to.

"Cover me!" Yang called back as another four armed guards ran out to join the fight.

Weiss did her job by summoning a flock of elemental crows to swarm the White Fang soldiers. Firing Ember Celica backwards, Yang launched towards the closest one. She used her sudden momentum to perform a somersault in air that ended with her heel coming down on the grunt's skull and sending him into the dirt.

This move put her within melee reach of the next soldier. He swung his sword downwards only for Yang to block it with her gauntlet. From there, she fired Ember Celica to her right, and allowed the recoil to force her into a 360 degree pivot. She followed the spin through into a powerful right hook.

Yang took a fraction of a second to look around. Right in front of her was a White Fang grunt recovering from the summoned murder of crows. Behind him was the last guard being barrelled over by a Boarbatusk summoning from Weiss. To her left was the Faunus that Weiss had encased in ice seconds before.

As the closest guard regained his bearings, Yang turned to the man on ice. She hefted his encased body off of the ground and swung him like a bat into his friend. She sent the standing guard to the ground and, iced Faunus still in hand, advanced to the one who'd been knocked down by the boar. She raised the block of ice over her head, and slammed it head-first into the downed soldier, shattering the ice.

Yang and Weiss regrouped to scan the compound for more attackers. When none showed themselves, they relaxed.

"I'm not normally a supporter of your more brutish combat methods," Weiss commented, "but that was impressive, Yang."

"We've got one still awake," Yang stated when she saw one of the downed guards squirming.

Weiss was put off a moment when Yang ignored her compliment. She could see how anxious she was. She wasn't her normal, free-spirited self. In spite of healing from her last mission, she was no longer the same as she once was.

The golden Huntress stalked over to the conscious soldier. It was the one she'd hit with the ice block. It hadn't knocked him unconscious like the rest. As she neared, she saw he was reporting into his Scroll. She slowed to let him finish. She was serious about what she said. She wanted to be known.

"Blonde hair. Mechanical arm. One eye. Decimated the compound. I think she's here for-"

She stopped him there. She knelt down and grabbed his hand that was holding the Scroll. She wrapped her mechanical fingers around his and squeezed. He shrieked in pain and Yang heard the sounds of his Scroll shattering, as well as several of his fingers.

When he stopped screaming, she asked her question. "Kain. Where is he?"

The Faunus grunt panted several times to catch his breath before looking Yang in the eyes and spitting into her face.

Yang was frozen as she registered the man's retaliation, not even wiping the saliva away. Then she squeezed tighter. He screamed again. More bones snapped.

When his screaming died down, she used her other hand to lightly slap his cheek. "Focus. Right here, on me." She waited for him to refocus. "I just broke all of the bones in your hand," she growled. "Now are you going to tell me what I want to know? Or am I going to have to move down to your arm?"

Weiss was over Yang's shoulder, watching this interrogation go down. It was safe to say that she was worried about her teammate and her methods.

The man was silent a moment. His expression turned spiteful and he spit in the Huntress's face again.

This time, Yang was quick. She moved her hand to the thug's forearm and squeezed. His radius and ulna both snapped. He shrieked again, his voice beginning to go hoarse.

"Yang…" Weiss softly spoke up.

Yang couldn't hear her. "Ready to cooperate?!" she shouted at the wounded man. "Or should I move to the other arm?!"

He was getting delirious from the pain. Shock was taking over. He was having trouble forming complete thoughts.

Unsatisfied with his stuttering, the enraged Huntress snatched up his other hand. As she wrapped her metal fingers around it, his synapses started to fire again.

"Wait! Wait! Please!" he pleaded.

Yang stopped her manhandling. "Kain," she demanded again.

The Faunus's voice was a scratchy whisper by now. "He-he's in the command center. T-top floor... Adam... he's going to… hunt you down for this."

"And I'll be waiting for him," Yang promised as she raised her metal fist.

Weiss watched on as Yang put her knuckles through the man's skull. She stood in shock at the brutality as the one-eyed Huntress pried her hand loose and shook the blood off of it.

"We know where Kain is," the determined Huntress stated as she wiped the spit from her face. "Come on." She stormed off towards the command center, the tallest structure in the compound.

Weiss stayed behind to take in the carnage she helped deal out a moment longer. No, I was just keeping my friend alive, she rationalized to herself. I did the right thing… He was a killer. They were all killers. Killers who create more killers from children… I did the right thing.

Wait… The Heiress looked over the downed Faunus again. Boar, mouse, cat, monkey, lizard, rabbit… She looked over all ten of them. None of these are bull Faunus.

She spun on her heels and ran off after Yang.

By the time she caught up with her, Yang was already at the door to the top floor.

"Yang!" Weiss called in a hushed tone as she met up with her teammate.

"I covered the bottom floor just in case," Yang reported. "He was telling the truth. Kain's got to be here."

"I think Kain is the Black Bull," Weiss spat out, "the one in charge here."

"Yeah," the blonde said back. "But you said the Bull is incompetent right?"

"That's not what I'm worried about. I think I know why Kain is important to Blake."

Weiss could see the exact moment when Yang's mind put the pieces together. The click, the consideration, the doubt, the worry, the anger, and the need for confirmation.

Yang turned back to the door and kicked it open. The force behind her boot was enough to rip the door clean off of its hinges. As the door clattered to the floor, the two Huntresses entered the room; one with caution, the other with heated purpose.

Sitting on the other side of the room, in a lavish chair far too big for him, was a boy. A boy dressed in a small, black coat with red accents. A boy with two bull's horns sprouting out from loose hair that was black as night. A boy with narrow, burning amber eyes, glaring at the sudden intruders.

Yang stood silent and still, digesting the circumstances. Kain hopped out of his throne and stood opposite of her, not saying a word. Weiss was to Yang's side, bathing in the tension.

With the Faunus boy standing, Weiss could better gage his age. He looked to be about seven or eight. She did the math and came out with a disturbing chronological outcome.

A full minute went by without an uttered word. Yang and Kain remained still, glaring at each other while Weiss waited to see who would make the first move.

It was Yang.

The golden Huntress suddenly advanced on the boy. She thrust her metal hand out and grabbed the boy by the arm. He reacted by trying to fight her off, throwing punches and kicks with a surprising amount of skill for his age. But he had neither the strength nor reach to make the Huntress let go.

With her free hand, Yang reached to a pocket on her belt and drew an injector identical to the one she was forced to use on Blake at the Devil's House. She jabbed the needle into the boy's bicep and pressed the plunger.

The boy reacted viscerally to the needle, but over the next few seconds, rapidly slowed down and went limp.

Yang caught him before he could hit the floor and lifted him into her arms.

"He's sedated," she reported, her one eye finally reverting back to lilac. She stepped past Weiss and through the door. "We're done here."

There was no celebration after the Huntresses extracted Kain. There was no cheer when his sedated body was strapped into a seat. There was no sigh of relief when the Bullhead lifted off the ground and turned homeward bound. To Yang, this was all only a means to an end.

To Weiss… she wasn't sure. She was still shaken up from the methods used to get the Faunus boy into their airship. No matter how much she tried to rationalize it, she still felt uneasy.

"Yang…" she finally spoke up. "That didn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" the one-eyed blonde asked as she moved into the cockpit. She sat down in the copilot's seat to hear her teammate out. "We did what we came to do, didn't we?"

"Yeah. But… we tortured that man."

"It was effective," Yang rationalized. "It got us what we wanted."

"And then we killed him. That just felt… harsh… ruthless… and unwarranted. It felt wrong."

The look on Yang's face was one of disbelief. "Weiss, are you serious right now? After everything they've done, you're feeling sorry for them?"

"I didn't say-"

"You know better than any of us the evils they're capable of. They don't deserve our sympathy."

"I know. But-"

"Weiss, do yourself a favor and don't think about it too much. The things we do, they're not pretty. But somebody's got to do them. We have the ability, so it might as well be us."

"I- I guess you're right," Weiss said, trying to assure herself mostly.

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "If it helps, I'm the one who did it. I made the choice and acted alone. You were just there to keep me alive. You didn't do anything wrong. Your conscience is clear."

"Thanks, Yang," Weiss said. It was more of a common courtesy. In truth, the remorse and self-doubt didn't go away. Yang's rationale made sense, but the dirty feeling wasn't leaving. She figured this was a wound that only time could heal.

"The sedative will last another three hours," Yang noted as she began to doze off. "Wake me in two and a half."

And so Weiss was left to fly the airship in silence, accompanied only by her unwavering thoughts of morality.

Sleep came unusually easy to Yang. Ever since the Devil's House, she was averaging on four hours a night. Her thoughts had been cruel and unrelenting ever since that failed mission. Rest comes hard when your mind won't stop.

Truth be told, the only reason she was able to get to sleep at all now was because her body was exhausted. With her sleep schedule getting more and more uneven, using her Semblance the way she did today burned her out faster than normal. She needed this rest.

And rest she did. Sleep overcame her quickly this time.

But this did not prevent her mind from wandering. Dreams came to her. They were pleasant at first.

She dreamed of life before the war. She saw herself training with her sister on Patch. She was fighting alongside Weiss in the Vytal Tournament. She was dancing with Blake at the school dance.

The location changed and so did they. They were twenty years older now. They were in a cabin on Patch. Still, they danced.

She dreamed of after the war, once the fighting had stopped.

Weiss was there, pulling a freshly baked cake from the oven. She wore the formal attire of a CEO from Atlas, but in a relaxed fashion with her heels removed and sleeves rolled up.

Ruby and Jaune were there, too, older and noticeably close together. Ruby's cloak was white like her mother's and Jaune's hair was beginning to silver with age. Two smaller, child versions of them ran up and leapt into their laps.

And Yang and Blake danced. They danced just as they had twenty years before. They danced like that was all that mattered. They danced like two people who were happy. Behind them, their weapons decorated the fireplace mantle, covered in a layer of dust. It was a good life.

A gunshot.

The room was bathed in a red glow.

A Nevermore's cry.

Jaune shouted in agony. Ruby collapsed in tears. Their children were gone.

A scream.

The cake fell to the floor and disintegrated. Weiss's fine clothes were in tatters. She was dirty and frail and curled up in the corner with a look of sheer horror plastered on her face.

A soft laugh.

Yang spun back to Blake. She was held in the arms of Adam.

The paint peeled off the walls and flames rose up around them. Wailing and screaming filled the room.

They were in the Devil's House.

Yang raised her fists to fight. She was seventeen again. She wore her clothes from nine years ago. She had both arms and both eyes.

A blade's swipe.

She watched as her severed arm fell from her body. Her vision went red as her eye bled profusely. She wore a hospital gown.

She looked helplessly into the lifeless mask of Adam as he raised his blade to Blake's throat.

Blake did not resist. The blade was in her hands now, placed against her own throat.

"She's mine again."

Yang's eyes burst open.

She took a moment to regain her bearings. She was back in the airship's copilot's chair. She looked down to her hands. Her limited periphery proved her missing eye, and she still had a replacement hand.

It was a dream; a bad dream. She was centered again and sat up in her seat.

"You were really tired, weren't you?" Weiss inferred.

Yang was about to answer when she saw New Beacon on the horizon through the cockpit canopy. She quickly spun her head around to their captive to see his amber eyes open and glaring back at her.

"I told you to wake me before he was up," Yang scolded the heiress.

"I tried," she responded. "You didn't so much as budge. So I let you get another hour in until we got back to base. Now that you're up, though, we'll be landed in a few minutes."

"Okay," Yang said after a brief delay. She was still shaking the sleep from her eyes and the dream from her mind.

Weiss took a moment before noting, "You started getting restless right before you woke up. Bad dreams?"

"...Yeah," Yang responded.

"Do you get them often?"

"Yeah."

"You know, Ren might be able to help you with-"

"I'm fine," Yang interrupted. "I'm fine."

Weiss took a concerned glance at her friend. She seemed better this morning. "Just make sure to take care of yourself, Yang."

"Yeah. I will. Thanks, Weiss."

Weiss offered a supportive smile before taking a deep breath. "Now if you'll excuse me. I need to focus. I did pass the landing part of my flying exam, but I'm still not a master at it yet."

"Just get us down in one piece," Yang jested. "I don't want to have done all this just to die in a-"

"Shh! I said I need to focus!" the heiress snapped as she began to lower the Bullhead to the landing platform.

As was customary, there was a crew of armed Huntsmen there to meet them on the landing pad. Weiss reported her imminent arrival and of the captive they were bringing in. Kain was described as a White Fang captive rather than a refugee, so Team CFVY was brought in for the escort. They were more combat adept than the younger recruits that were normally posted as base guards, but they weren't as aggressive and trigger-happy as Team CRDL.

Weiss exited the airship first, hand on her sword just in case. Team CFVY took the cue and readied themselves to draw their weapons at a moment's notice.

Yang was cautious when undoing Kain's restraints. She'd shown up at his door, leveled his soldiers, forcefully sedated him, and flown him out into the middle of the ocean. And he hadn't uttered so much as a syllable. She had no idea what he was going to do.

She had Ember Celica expanded as she unlatched the harness that held him into his seat. He still wore his cold glare through the whole process. She quickly moved out of his reach and waited for him to move.

The boy scowled up at Yang and rose from his seat. The two locked eyes, both waiting for the other to make a move.

Kain finally made his. He turned from Yang and stepped out of the airship. He looked around, making eye contact with each and every Huntsman on the platform.

Yang stepped out of the airship behind him and placed a metal hand on his shoulder. He sneered and shook free from her grip. The surrounding Huntsmen all took a step closer.

When the Faunus didn't escalate, Yang calmed CVFY. "Easy, everyone. We're okay."

They kept their weapons stowed, but were more uneasy about the young boy's demeanor. For a child under ten, he held himself with power and authority.

"We need to bring you to the medical center," Coco informed. "You all need to be checked for any traces of biothreats you might've picked up. New protocol."

Yang nodded in understanding and looked to Weiss. "Care to lead the way?" she asked.

Weiss nodded and gestured to the boy. "This way," she said as she turned toward the base's medical center. The boy cooperatively followed. Yang remained in arm's reach of him the whole way. Team CVFY tagged along several feet behind, not letting their guard down for a second.

As the group made their way to medical, Yang called out to Weiss, "Hey, let's go around through the north entrance."

"Why?" the heiress asked, looking back. "That's on the other side…" She trailed off when she saw the look Yang was giving her. She looked down to the black-haired, amber-eyed boy again. She ran through the medical building's layout in her head and understood. "Okay."

The escort went around the building and entered through the north entrance. That corridor was lined with quarantine cells on either side. Only a few were filled. They housed White Fang officers that were recently taken prisoner for interrogation. They started showing up after Yang was injured and Ruby took her place in the field. Most of them were recovering from nasty scythe wounds as well.

Once Weiss came into their view, leading the pack, they all began shouting insults and threats at the Schnee. But when they saw Kain behind her, they all turned quiet and pale.

Then the group reached the last cell, separated from the others. Inside, Blake was sat on her cot, suffering from a serious migraine. Her memory had gotten fuzzy. Twinkles of her old life were slipping through the haze of her fictional one. The hypnosis was beginning to wear off.

Weiss slowed to a halt in front of Blake's cell, watching with concern at her teammate's confused agony. Yang and Kain stopped behind her.

This was the moment Yang was waiting for since she'd given Weiss a name and asked her to find its owner. She had no idea what might happen, but she kept her hopes up.

Yang knocked on the plexiglass door panel. "Blake?"

The cat Faunus jerked her attention to Yang. She felt a calming feeling of comfort come over her. She saw Weiss and the calming ease was replaced with the White Fang resentment toward the Schnee name. Then she saw the boy.

She was stunned. Her eyes were wide as saucers. Her cat ears stood up straight. She forgot to breathe.

"Kain?" she muttered in shock.

"Hello, Mother," he finally spoke.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Blake suddenly doubled over and clutched her temples. She began to scream in pain.

Yang acted in an instant. She slammed the control to open the cell's door and rushed to her partner's side. She heard Coco shout to try and stop her, but she wasn't worried. She'd seen this once before already. In spite of Blake cries of pain, Yang's eyes teared up and she felt a smile spread across her face. The illusion was broken again. Adam's shroud of control was lifted.

Blake was herself again.

The migraine began to die down and Blake looked to the blonde Huntress whose arms she was held in. She placed a hand lightly on her right cheek and traced her thumb along the edge of her eyepatch. Tears began to fill her eyes, too. "I'm so sorry, Yang."

This time, it was Blake who closed the gap. She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to Yang's.

Every atom in Yang's body screamed in pure joy. She remembered her father telling her as a child that you can't always get what you want. But today, she could. And she did.

The kiss went on. Neither wanted to be the one to pull away. In that moment, the world around them did not exist. There was only Blake and only Yang.

They left the rest of the prisoner escort to stand idly by and wait. Team CVFY was caught up in a range of emotions varying from confusion over Kain's revelation to joy for Blake and Yang working out again.

Weiss was caught up in her own hurricane of thoughts as well. Hers were the same joy for the couple, but also conflict and concern. Her moral questioning of the means by which Yang arrived here returned, even more confused now with the happy ending that came from and seemed to justify those means. She also worried for the future of the couple as she watched the young, horned boy at her side: Blake and Adam's son.

Kain was unreadable. His expression was unchanged since his capture. He still wore that glare; those amber, Belladonna eyes locked on his captor and his mother.

Chapter Text

Blake and Yang stood outside of the medical room waiting for Ren to finish Kain's medical examination. The moment of joy at Blake's restored memory had mostly past. Now, the couple was set in a state of uncertainty over the Faunus boy.

Yang had it confirmed that he was, in fact, Blake's son. The attitude and the way the rest of the White Fang acted around him told her who the other parent was. The horns were a dead giveaway, too.

"He's the father, isn't he?" Yang finally asked.

Blake was silent a while before answering. "Yes."

Yang knew it already, but hearing the word was still painful. She pushed through the pain and asked her next frightening question. "How old is he?"

"He turned eight a month ago," Blake said somberly.

Yang did the math. Adding nine months to eight years and taking the nine and a half years since the fall of Beacon… it led Yang to a disturbing conclusion.

"Did he…?"

"No," Blake assured. "It was done artificially. He knew the trauma would make the hypnosis that much harder. And it was the only way for him to get exactly what he wanted."

"What do you mean?"

"He wanted to make sure his legacy would live on," Blake elaborated. "So he tried to make a clone of himself, horns and all. But he still used me as the natural mother. And that's not how Faunus genetics work. He's a bull. I'm a cat. When two different breeds mate, the offspring's Faunus trait is randomized."

"So he shouldn't have horns," Yang conferred, making sure she understood.

Blake nodded. "If you look closely, Kain actually has fangs and traces of webbing between his fingers. He was supposed to be a bat Faunus. But Adam strives for absolute control. He had Kain genetically modified early on. He wanted a son with horns, so that's what he got."

While Yang was relieved it wasn't… what she thought, the truth was still appalling. "That's sick."

"No," Blake said, a drop of venom on her tongue. "It's sad. He could've found a thousand bull women who would have been overjoyed to carry his child. Or he could have made a true clone out of a test tube. But he was so obsessed with me that he couldn't fathom his child coming from anywhere else. So he had to go to these lengths so he could have his cake and eat it, too. I was always his greatest weakness back then. But now he has Kain: a template to imprint himself upon. He kept me around out of habit. That's why he didn't take me back when he had the chance. He doesn't care anymore."

Yang was silent. She was thinking over her actions. She wanted Blake back to normal and guessed correctly that Kain might be able to help her along. But she hadn't considered what kind of baggage she might be loading her down with by reuniting them. She was having a hard time regretting her decision considering the events of the last hour, but the threat of future, unforeseen consequences was starting to pick away at her nerves.

"How are you feeling?" Yang asked.

Blake stared off for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "I feel fine."

Yang sighed. "Blake, if we're going to do this, I'm going to ask that you not deflect like that. This is a big, important moment, and I'm honestly a little concerned about what might be going through your head right now."

"Yang, I'm not deflecting. It's strange. He's my son. Regardless of the circumstances, I should be feeling instinctive, overwhelming joy at seeing him again. But he's also Adam's son. He was forced upon me against my will. I should be feeling some kind of traumatic anger or depression at being reminded of that part of my life. But I don't. I don't feel anything. He is my offspring. But I never knew him. Adam kept us apart. And the brainwashing kept me from feeling motherly longing. I feel fine, even though I should feel more."

The two Huntresses stood in silence, each trying to unpack the scenario in their heads. Forced artificial insemination and pregnancy; genetic manipulation; brainwashing; and keeping a mother away from her child. Yang didn't know if the reality was better or worse than that which she feared. She wished she could rid Blake of this. She wished she could go back and stop all of this from ever happening. She wished she hadn't brought this back into her life.

"He deserves better." Blake finally broke the silence. "He deserves a parent. He deserves a childhood; not a mission." She turned to Yang. "I want to try to mend things with him. I want to try and give him what Adam denied him. And if I do, I can't go into the field with you anymore."

"I know," Yang nodded. "And you're right. He's like the others. He shouldn't have to suffer for our war." She took a step towards Blake, reached out, and grabbed her hand. "Whatever happens, I'm right here beside you."

Blake smiled and placed her other hand over Yang's. The blonde had reached out with her left hand, the soft skin more warming than the cold steel of her right. "Thank you, Yang. But for now, I think it might be best if you wait out here. He's already been raised to hate humans, and you did kidnap him. I think I should talk to him alone first."

Yang was a little disappointed in the decision, but couldn't deny the logic.

As if on cue, Ren stepped out of the examination room. "Aside from needing a little more milk in his diet, Kain is in perfect, healthy condition and carrying no strange pathogens. You're free to see him, now."

Blake slowly let her hand slip from Yang's grasp. "Okay. I'll…" Yang stuttered as she let go and looked around the empty hallway. "I'll wait out here."

"I'll only be a few minutes," Blake assured as she stepped through the door to see her son.

Blake stepped into the room. Kain was sat on the examination table, watching her every move, not saying a word. She stood frozen for a moment, feeling the tension surround her like water. A twinge of fear creeped its way up her spine. His glare was identical to that of his father. This eight-year-old boy held a presence that veteran Huntsmen would have yearned for.

But then she looked into his eyes, and she saw something. He had her eyes. In his amber irises, she saw her mother and father. She saw the family she left behind in anger and idealistic spite. She saw the parents that she never got to see again. She saw what Adam had denied her as well.

As thick as the tension was, she pushed through. "Hello, Kain."

The boy held his glare. "Mother."

He didn't speak like a child. He addressed her like a general would address his troops. He was a product of war.

"I wish the circumstances were different," Blake acknowledged the situation.

There was a flicker in his expression. For a moment, an emotion broke through his cold exterior. It was an emotion that Blake had witnessed far too often in the last fifteen years: anger.

"Then why weren't they different?" Kain sneered.

Her eyes diverted down. "I'm sorry. Things have been… tough. I haven't been myself in a long, long time." She looked back up with warmth in her eyes. "But I'm here now."

"Father says it's because you don't care," he froze her in place.

Blake felt her ears perk up stiff. She forgot to breathe. Her knuckles were turning white from clenching her fist so hard. Kain had slid that statement out like a knife and it cut deep. He kept me away, and then did everything in his power to turn him against me. Does his spite have no limits?

The heated mother felt the venomous attack on the boy's father building in her throat. She opened her lips to let it out, but caught it before it could pass through them. He doesn't know his father like I do. Escalating this will only drive him further away.

Using every ounce of control she had, Blake let the insult cool in her mouth before letting it out as a long-held breath. "Kain, not being there for you is the biggest regret I have in life. There are a lot of things going on that you don't know and might not understand, but none of them matter right now. What matters is, I want to try to make up for lost time. I want the chance to be your mother."

The eight-year-old Faunus finally showed some amount of letting up. His expression hadn't changed, but his posture had. He shifted backwards into the examination chair he was sat in and leaned back, crossing his legs to get comfortable. He offered something for Blake to read from him. He was willing to hear her out further, but still exerting control over the room. He was telling her he was curious, but not convinced.

"Why are you here, Mother? Father said we can't trust humans. Especially Huntsmen." he asked inquisitively.

Blake took a deep breath. Her plan to not escalate was going to be more difficult with this conversation. "There are people in this world that don't like the Faunus. So we don't like them either. But there are plenty of people, plenty of humans, who aren't like that. Things have gotten difficult with the war. It's harder to tell who's on what side anymore. But the people here, they're good. They're some of the best people I know. We can trust them."

Kain suddenly uncrossed his legs and leaned forward again. "So why are they fighting us? Why did your girlfriend attack my men?"

He was getting hostile again. Blake was saying things that argued against the ideologies he'd been fed his entire life. And the sneer when referencing Yang put her back on edge again. She wanted to tell him of the monster his father was and the irreparable damage he'd done to the White Fang and its legacy. But, again, she held back the impulse.

"There are people in the White Fang who have done bad things, too. And the Huntsmen are fighting them." It was mostly the truth. "They don't want to fight the rest of us." That was technically true.

Another glimmer of emotion came through the boy's features. This time, it was one that she herself was intimately familiar with: doubt. "But the White Fang fights for the good of the Faunus."

"It's supposed to," she said. "But not everyone does. Some fight for themselves. Some fight because they're just angry. Some fight because they've grown to like it. And there are many Faunus who fight because they'll be branded as traitors if they don't."

She could see the recognition on his face. She could tell that he'd recognized at least some of these examples. She watched as her son went through the opening stages of the same dilemma she had gone through over ten years ago. She felt for him. It wasn't easy to feel betrayed by your own cause. But she also felt a hint of guilty relief. She was getting through to him. His defenses were starting to lower. They were making progress.

"Kain, I want to show you something; that I'm telling you the truth about these people." She held her hand out to him. "Will you let me?"

The Faunus boy was quiet. The movement in his lips suggested he was running his tongue over his incisors; contemplating. Blake couldn't help a slight smile. With his stern, thinking look, his black hair, and his amber eyes; she reminded her of her father. She preferred to focus on the Belladonna in him than the Taurus.

Kain finally hopped down from his seat. He stood cautiously in place for a moment, watching his mother for any suspicious actions. She just stayed with her hand out and a warm look in her eyes.

He slowly reached out and grabbed her fingertips.

Yang waited outside the room for Blake to return, mulling things over.

"You look anxious," Weiss commented as she came down the hall to join her teammate at her side.

"Is it that obvious?" Yang remarked.

"It's a little obvious," the heiress answered. "But given the context, I can't say I blame you. You just introduced some huge variables to your life."

Yang paused to think that over. "Just the one: Kain."

"Yes, Kain," Weiss explained. "The boy we kidnapped from a military compound. The one who was raised by a violent, human-hating terrorist. We don't know how he'll handle New Beacon. And we don't know how Adam will retaliate." Weiss sealed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "And how's Ruby going to react to this? With her newfound trust issues and vendetta, we've an equal chance for ransom or revenge. The unknowns keep compounding."

This is not helping, Weiss, Yang thought as she felt her blood pressure rise. These were questions she hadn't considered. She was focused exclusively on Blake.

Yang attempted to shake herself out of her self-doubt and reassured herself, "We the right thing… Right?"

Weiss sighed and looked her in the eyes. "Yang, why did you do any of this today?"

Yang searched her mind for a noble answer, but could only come up with the first one she thought. "I did it for Blake."

The heiress was silent a moment before nodding lightly. "Hold onto that, and you'll stay on the right track."

At that moment, The door opened and Blake stepped through. Yang perked up upon seeing her, but froze when she saw Kain in tow. The Huntress and the boy were locked in a mutual stare. Less than an hour ago, he was her prisoner and they were both acutely aware of this.

Blake spoke up through the silence, "I want you to meet my son. This is Kain." She turned to the boy. "Kain, this is Yang."

Yang finally let out the breath she'd been unconsciously holding. "Hi, Kain," she said with a light smile and wave.

He was quiet a while, his expression unchanged. Tension filled the space between them. Yang stumbled to find something to say.

"I'm… I'm sorry about…" a look from Blake told her not to go there. "I'm sorry."

Kain stood his ground. The tension increased.

"And this," Blake intentionally broke the tension again, gesturing to her other teammate in the hallway, "is my friend, Weiss."

Weiss brought her hands together and bowed to the boy, a customary gesture of respect among the Faunus. "It's nice to properly meet you, Kain."

Another glimmer shone through his stern facade. "Hello," he said. He greeted her, but he did not bow in return. Not that Weiss expected him to, given his circumstances for being here.

"I wanted to take Kain to see the other Faunus here," Blake told the heiress.

"That sounds like a great idea," Weiss responded cheerfully. "Good timing, too. It's almost time for dinner."

"Would you mind leading the way?" the cat requested.

"It would be my pleasure," the heiress accepted before spinning on her heel heading for the exit, the two Faunus following closely behind.

Yang stepped aside as they passed. She started to follow, but hesitated and hung back. Kain sent a clear message that he did not approve of her presence. As eager as she'd been to get Blake back, she knew this was important. She turned to instead go to her quarters to change out of her combat gear, but stopped when she heard a sound that immediately brightened her thoughts.

"Yang."

She turned back to see Blake and the party waiting for her.

"I want you to come to," she openly stated.

A smile spread across the Huntress's face. She jogged over to catch up.

Weiss led the group to the newest addition to New Beacon: the Sanctuary. When Blake and Yang started bringing back more and more Faunus, they needed more space to house them. The Hunstmen began repurposing what was meant to be a new training platform for this purpose a few weeks before the Devil's House mission. It was far from complete, but it was functional enough to move the Faunus population in. And with the rate that they were being rescued, they needed to be moved in.

"It's a little cramped right now due to the construction," Weiss lectured, taking the role of tour guide, "but we try to make it as comfortable as possible. And it's by no accident that this platform is the furthest away from our training ranges and prisoner holding areas. These people are here to escape combat and the White Fang. So we try to keep it further away from them as well."

Yang watched the two Faunus marvel at the space around them. The Sanctuary wasn't inhabited the last time Blake saw it. A smile came to her face; joy at seeing a safe place for the Faunus refugees.

Kain tugged on his mother's sleeve and whispered to her, "I don't understand."

Blake looked down to ask why, but didn't have to to get her answer. He was clearly trying to hide his emotions as per usual, but the combination of wonder and confusion he felt was difficult to conceal. Faunus living peacefully, away from war, was something that he had yet to witness before. And the fact that this was all sponsored by the Huntsmen of New Beacon that he had been raised to call his enemy didn't add up.

Blake turned back to their guide and requested, "Can we talk to Nari and the kids?"

Weiss quickly scanned between her and her son and understood. "They should be in the dining hall about now. I think she'll be happy to see you again."

The heiress led them to the Sanctuary's dining hall. It was clearly a large sparring room with tables and chairs moved into it, but it got the job done. Most of the Faunus population was either also heading over or already here for dinner.

"I hear the Hickory brothers we extracted from Vacuo are treating all of us tonight," Weiss explained. "When they placed the supply request, they said something about a 'traditional Hickory family barbeque.'"

"I see Nari," Yang reported. "They're sitting down at the far side."

When the fox-Faunus saw the Huntresses coming, she jumped up and ran over to them. Blake was the first one she embraced. "I'm so glad you're okay again," she said, fighting back tears. "I'm so sorry, Blake."

Blake hugged back. "I'm sorry, too. Oran didn't deserve that."

Yang hung her head and shuffled back a step. She still wasn't over the Devil's House mission, and Nari just reminded her that she'd failed to save her brother.

Yang's wallowing was interrupted by Nari's arms wrapping around her, too. "It's not your fault," the Faunus girl whispered.

Yang returned the embrace with one arm and replied with, "Thanks," before backing out.

It wasn't until this moment that Nari noticed the dark-haired boy with horns on his head. His demeanor immediately put her on edge. "Who is…"

His mother introduced him. "Nari, this is Kain. Kain, Nari. She was one of the first refugees to flee to here."

There was a beat before the fox Faunus extended her hand to the boy. "Hi, Kain. Welcome."

Kain was still hesitant. He stared at the girl. He looked past her to the other Faunus children at her table. He looked around to the Faunus living casually & peacefully. Everyone seemed… happy. The words of his father echoed through his mind. "Faunus Superiority." He didn't know exactly what that meant, but he knew it was supposed to make the Faunus happy. And that the Faunus being happy was the goal.

He looked up to his mother. Her eyes were softer than his father's ever had been. He looked to the Schnee woman. She didn't seem the scary monster he'd been taught her name to mean.

He looked to the blonde Huntress with the eye patch and the metal arm; his mother's woman. She had kidnapped him, so he hated her. But she brought him to his mother. And when he looked at her now, she looked… upset. She looked like she was afraid.

He remembered what her mother had looked like before. He remembered the few times she was allowed to see her. She never looked happy. But now… here… with these people… and with him… she did. And that's the important thing: for the Faunus to be happy.

Kain shook Nari's hand. "Hi."

Chapter Text

2 Days Before the Outbreak

Sun was glad that Blake was back. He was overjoyed to hear that she had broken the hypnosis that psycho, Adam, had her under. He was happy for her.

But he couldn't help but be disappointed by the circumstances. He wasn't angry or depressed. But he was disappointed.

"Hey, man, you okay?"

"Huh? What?" Sun was snapped out of his trance. He and his team were stood near the wall of the dining hall, waiting for a good time to take up the Hickory brothers' offer of barbeque, when they spied Blake walking in with Yang, Weiss, and a Faunus kid.

"You wanna talk about it?" Neptune asked him, Scarlet and Sage backing him.

The Faunus put on his usual, carefree image. "Heh heh. What's there to talk about? I'm great." He gave an overcompensating thumbs up.

His team didn't buy it.

"Y'know," Scarlet jumped in, "it's okay to be upset."

"Who's upset?" Sun kept insisting. "What do I have to be upset about?"

"It's okay to wish you and Blake had gotten back together," Sage assured his leader and friend. "You two had a good thing going before everything went down."

Sun pulled back his facade. "Guys, I'm fine. It just wasn't in the cards. I really don't wanna get into it."

His teammates glanced to one another.

"Whatever you say, man," Neptune replied. "Just know that we're here for you."

Sage chimed in, addressing his whole team "And also know that we have an hour and a half until we need to be loaded up and on the airship to Vale. So if you want a plate of food, now's the time."

Sun took a deep breath and let his confident persona take over again, for real this time. Vacuo barbecue and taking down a White Fang lieutenant. That should get my mind off things.

4 Days After the Outbreak

"How did this happen?" Ruby demanded. "How did it get through our screenings?"

"I don't know," Jaune answered.

The two were stood outside the line of quarantined cells. Ren and his physicians were inside them, sealed in hazmat suits, taking diagnostics on the infected patients.

"It was a routine mission," Jaune explained. "They were taking down a lieutenant. He wasn't a major player. He was just causing trouble for deserters. He was dead and they were on their way back within forty-eight hours of touchdown in Vale. We screened them. They showed no signs of symptoms we've been monitoring for or pathogens we're unfamiliar with. Seventy-two hours later, they became symptomatic. Another twenty-four after that, it's getting bad."

"Is it the same one from the Devil's House?" the scarlet Huntress asked.

"We don't know, yet. Yang and Blake are on their way now to confirm or deny. But I hope to God it's not."

"No…" the two leading Huntsmen heard from behind them.

They turned to see exactly who they were waiting on, led here by Nora. Weiss came along as well.

Blake was in frozen shock, her eyes unblinking and her ears stiffened and erect. "No…" she muttered before her knees gave out, Yang catching her before she could fall.

Yang's expression wasn't much better. The entire Devil's House experience replayed in her head as she looked upon the weezing bodies, their skin mottled with small black splotches and a light, black fog emanating from their ears and mouths.

"That's it," she confirmed.

It felt as if gravity had doubled upon everyone hearing those words.

"Why are only three of them affected?" Weiss asked after a moment.

"That's the elephant in the room," Ruby replied. "Why is he okay?"

Behind the glass of the last cell to the right, Sun was stood, leaning against his palms on the glass. His skin was spotless. His eyes were normal. He was the image of health.

He was panicked.

"Blake!" he cried out from inside, upon seeing her arrive. "What's going on? They're not telling me anything! Yang! Weiss?" He started pounding on the glass. "What's wrong with my team?" He moved to the wall between him and the next cell. He banged against it. "Neptune! Scarlet! Sage! Talk to me, guys! Please! Talk to me!"

9 Days After the Outbreak

"Found anything?" Yang asked her new combat partner, voice muffled under her respirator.

"Nothing," Weiss stated as she finished scanning through the files on the local server for the White Fang. "I found a folder titled 'Grimm's Breath.' But it's been wiped clean. No trace I can find of what was in it. Might be worth taking the machine. I'm sure someone can dig them up." She started unplugging the PC. "Anything in the physical files?"

"No." Yang reported. "I found some ash on the floor. Somebody burned something. Probably exactly what we're looking for."

"How long until their reinforcements show up?"

"Not long. Let's clear out and hit the next outpost. We've gotta find something that can help us, and we've gotta find it fast."

13 Days After the Outbreak

"How many?" Nora asked.

Jaune stared off at the entire section of the medical platform designated for quarantine. "Flynt, Octavia, and Yatsuhashi round the list out to thirty confirmed cases of Grimm's Breath."

"Grimm's Breath?"

"That's all we've found on it: the name. Scary shit. And we still don't know how it originates. We can't see it in the bloodstream until the symptoms start to show. We assume it's airborne, based on Yang's report of the Devil's House. But, even with mandatory usage of respirators in the field, we're still getting infections. To be safe, we're quarantining entire teams when one shows. But that means we have less field operatives searching for answers. And they and our medical team are still coming up empty-handed, as is."

"Jaune, we'll find something," Nora assured him. "We've survived worse before."

"Have we?" Jaune asked.

She didn't have a definitive answer for him.

"That's not why I called you, though," he changed the subject, "not just for me to unload my worries onto you."

"What is it?" the redhead asked.

"Ren's working himself to the bone trying to figure this thing out. I appreciate his devotion, but he's slowly killing himself. Can you try talking him into some sleep? Maybe a full meal & a shower? He's not listening to me. He might for you."

Nora's gaze drifted off to whatever point Jaune's was on before. "I'll do what I can, but Ren doesn't give up on something easily."

"Thanks, Nora."

As if summoned, Ren marched up, disheveled & unshaven. "Coco and Fox started showing."

There was a long beat of silence as the information sank in.

"We're up to thirty-two confirmed cases."

17 Days After the Outbreak

"Do you want to end up like your friend?!"

Weiss could hear her blonde teammate carry out the interrogation in the other room, as she scanned through the outpost's files.

The last week had been, day in-day out, the same. They'd hit an outpost & turn the place upside down to find a cure for the Grimm's Breath epidemic. They'd report what minuscule findings they'd get and hear who contracted the sickness that day. When the number hit twenty, Yang started questioning the officers personally.

They were at forty-four confirmed cases now.

Weiss hated that they'd resorted to this, but they'd come up with nothing else any other way. So she'd simply step out of the room and let Yang work.

"I killed him and I killed every one of you mother fuckers from here to Vacuo who's given me nothing! You'll just be another on the pile to me!"

The canine lieutenant screamed. He panted. There was a strained stutter. "W-w-why don't… y-you join me?"

There was a struggle.

Weiss drew her sword and charged into the next room.

A gunshot.

She entered the room to find the Faunus slumping over to the ground. The top half of his skull was missing.

Yang was readjusting her respirator to her face, Ember Celica still smoking.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked.

Yang refastened her mask and took a breath. "Yeah. Yeah I'm okay. He tried to pull my mask off. Made me kill him before I could learn anything."

Weiss lowered her blade as something clicked. "Maybe he did tell us something after all."

18 Days After the Outbreak

"He's infected," Ren reported.

He was finally taking Nora's advice to get a full night of sleep when Weiss and Yang showed up with the corpse and a theory. He dutifully performed the autopsy and some additional testing before presenting his findings to the panel of Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Weiss, and Yang.

"I found the same viral anomaly in his blood as I did with samples from Team SSSN."

"I thought he must've been," Weiss stated, confirming her theory. "Why else go for the mask?"

"So they saw us coming and sacrificed one of their own to get to us?" Jaune guessed.

"I don't think it's that simple," Ren replied. "We were wondering why there were some Huntsmen who weren't infected when the rest of their team was. What's the one similarity between all of them?"

Yang went over in her mind the few off the top of her head: Sun, Velvet, Neon…

"They're all Faunus," Weiss answered first.

Ren nodded. "They are infected. They're just immune to the symptoms. Faunus can carry for the virus, but it's designed to only affect humans."

"But what about Teams NDGO and BRNZ?" Nora asked. "There aren't any Faunus on their teams."

"Their last missions before infection were rescuing Faunus refugees," Jaune reported. "The White Fang could be infecting their whole force with this thing as we speak, turning every soldier into a bioweapon."

Yang remembered back to what they found in the Devil's House. "Adam said something about Nari's brother being a failure. He was symptomatic."

"He's been perfecting it to get it to where it is now," Weiss added. "And I've heard what they can become from Yang's report of the Killer Bee mission."

"That's not even the scariest part here," Ren warned. "If NDGO and BRNZ were infected by refugees who carried the virus-"

"Then our entire Faunus population could be infected," Ruby spoke up from the back of the room.

Jaune turned to her. "You've been quiet 'til now. What're you thinking?"

Everyone turned to hear what she had to say.

"I think we need to put the Sanctuary under lockdown. Quarantine all Faunus to that platform until we know how to combat this thing."

No one liked the idea, but no one had a better one.

19 Days After the Outbreak

Yang was there when the lockdown took effect. She stood by as armed Huntsmen in gas masks rounded up all of the Faunus who hadn't already been quarantined, herded them to the cramped Sanctuary platform, and locked the gates behind them.

Yang was there because Blake was among them. She went ahead to try and see her before she'd lose the ability to.

She wasn't soon enough.

The order was carried out quickly. A hold of the hand and a promise everything was going to be okay was all she had time for before Cardin, of all people, stepped in and pulled her away off of the platform.

As she was escorted away, she built up the guts to say it, the sentence she'd felt but never spoken. The sounds of the lockdown drowned out the words. The mask concealed her lips.

By noon of the day after the order was given, the Faunus population was sealed off from the rest of New Beacon. Yang stood by and watched as the future became more and more unknown.

21 Days After the Outbreak

It had been three weeks since Team SSSN had returned from a routine mission in Vale.

It had been three weeks since Sun had doomed his team. That's where his mind kept taking him. He knew it wasn't rational, but he couldn't help but feel guilty.

They were sick, probably dying, while he sat in perfect health.

Sun knocked on the wall between him and his closest teammate. "Neptune… I don't know if you can hear me, but I thought I'd take you up on that offer."

No response.

"You guys were right. I was upset. I was upset about Blake. I figure now's as good a time as any to get it off my chest."

No response.

"I've bounced between plenty of women in my time, even after the shit went down. May, Nebula, Velvet, Neon." He laughed. "Oh man. Remember that one? I was not prepared for that girl."

No response.

"I was good at flirting. Not so good at commitment. But Blake... there was something about her, y'know? We weren't together a long time. A couple of months. And we didn't get very far. I let her set the pace. But something about us… it felt right. I've always been a runaway, but she gave me something to stick around for."

Sun chuckled again. "All this time later, she's still got me spouting off this poetic shit like fuckin' Romeo and Juliet. Sounds like a line you'd come up with."

No response.

"Y'know, even back then, I always had a feeling this would happen. I hoped what we had would be strong enough… But I always had a feeling she'd be drawn to Yang in the end."

He'd been holding back the feelings since Blake showed up at New Beacon four months ago. Finally those pent up emotions let themselves be known.

"I just… when she came back, I hoped we'd get a second chance. I hate being hung up on some girl from nine years ago like a fucking teenager. But I hoped… I hoped I was wrong all those years ago."

The raw emotion died down, transforming into something more solemn. "But then I saw the two of them walk into the Sanctuary like that. And I'm happy for them. The shit I've been through is anthills compared to theirs. They deserve to be happy. And I'm happy for them. But I'm not happy."

No response.

"Thanks for being there, man."

Sun suddenly saw Ren appear in his peripheral, leading several Huntsmen past his window; six of them, all in hazmat suits. Two by two, they pulled along three empty stretchers. They were going towards his teammates' cells.

The team leader leaped to his feet and rushed to the window to try and get a better look.

"Neptune!" He called out. "You okay?" Scarlet? Sage!"

No response.

"Guys! Talk to me! Ren! Are my friends okay?"

It was some time before they passed by his window again with the stretchers.

This time, they weren't empty.

Sun's heart sank when he saw the three sealed body bags being wheeled off. Ren lagged behind them and stopped in front of Sun's door. The expression on his face said all he needed to.

Sun's gaze lowered as everything set in.

Scarlet David.

Sage Ayana.

Neptune Vasilias.

"AAAAARRRRGH!" Sun let loose an anguished shout. He turned to the wall of his cell and slammed his fists into it, punching until his knuckles bled.

The pain could not compare.

Chapter Text

“Play the message again,” Yang requested. She was currently sitting in the Bullhead flying all the way out to Mistral. Across from her, going out on a mission with her sister for the first time since they were still students, was Ruby.

It had been four weeks since the Grimm’s Breath outbreak at New Beacon. The count of symptomatic infections came to fifty-two when the Faunus quarantine went into effect. There hadn’t been a new case since.

The first deaths were a week past: Sun’s teammates. More continued after that: Arslan, Bolin, and Nadir of Team ABRN; and the entirety of Team BRNZ. The death count was up to ten and guaranteed to rise without some kind of cure.

That’s when they got the message.

Ruby tapped her Scroll and replayed the transmission they had received just hours ago.

“This is Professor Ozpin, reaching out to anyone who can read this. The White Fang have developed and released a biological weapon they’ve dubbed Grimm’s Breath. It only affects humans, but transmits between Faunus as well. It debilitates within a week and kills in three. But we have found a cure for it. I and a small group of Huntsmen have retaken and are held up in the campus of Haven Academy in Mistral. It’s currently impossible for us to send this message without the White Fang receiving it as well. They will be coming for us. We can hold them off for a time, but will need extraction. If anyone is available, the fate of humanity is at stake.”

“Normally I’d question how the hell we’re getting a voicemail from a dead man,” Yang remarked, “but I think the possibility of a cure is worth risking a trap.”

Ruby said nothing. She was lost in a trance, polishing the bolt to Crescent Rose. This had been normal for Ruby since first building the weapon twelve years ago. But the expression was different from back then. Then, it was one full of optimism and life. This one was a mixed bag of things. Her face was cold but oddly calm.

The cynicism she’d learned from war had been a constant expression since Yang had found her in Vacuo. If you were looking, you could see evidence of the vengeful rage she had masked and restrained. On occasion, that rage could be seen seeping through, though she had yet to fully release that built up pressure. But now, cleaning her weapon, she seemed more at peace. The simple task of weapon maintenance and upkeep was keeping her in an almost zen place.

It was so… Ruby. Past the anger and the angst, Yang saw a glimpse of the Ruby she knew before her coma. She wanted nothing more than for this moment to last.

Ruby’s hand stopped polishing. Her trance broke as she registered what Yang had said to her a moment before. “Yeah… Yeah… Yang, this might be our chance.”

“Chance for what?” her sister asked, already knowing the answer.

“The White Fang got the message, too. If this is legitimate, they’ll have sent forces here, too. Adam might be leading them personally. And if it’s a trap, he may be here waiting for us.” Ruby leaned forward to look her sister in the eyes. “We may be able to end this here and now.”

Yang was silent a moment as she mulled the possibilities over in her head.

Yang leaned forward to match her sister. “We don’t know what the situation might be. This might be real. It might not. He might be here. He might not. If he is, though, we need to be on the same page about this.” She reached forward and grasped her sister’s hand. “We need to focus on the goal. Adam is a target of opportunity. If we can get him, we put him in the ground. But if this cure is legit, that needs to be our focus. Our people need that more. If it isn’t, we’re needed alive to find one that is. If it’s a fight we can’t win, we get the hell out.”

Ruby’s face displayed a range of emotions. Her eyes lowered in disappointment. Her brow furrowed in anger. Her lips sneered in frustration. Her features softened in thought. Her eyes closed in acceptance. She breathed out her feelings and refocused on the job at hand.

“You’re right,” she finally stated. “Thank you, Yang.”

The airship set down in the hills overlooking Haven, letting the two Huntresses hop out before returning to the air.

Haven had been hit hard by the war. Beacon was caught by surprise. The battle was short lived and swiftly won. Haven had caught wind of the attack by the time the White Fang arrived. They had time to prepare. They made the invaders work for their victory. Whereas Shade Academy in Vacuo was intact enough for the White Fang to repurpose, Haven was still the remains of a battlefield. It was shelled, raided, and all but torn to the ground.

It was also being descended upon by White Fang troops. Gunshots could be heard from far off. Ruby and Yang had already come across Faunus bodies on their way down the hill. They were caught in traps, had been attacked from behind, and bore bullet wounds from high caliber rounds. The Huntsmen held up here had planned for this. They set traps, had men in wait in the wooded hills, and snipers from afar.

By the time the Huntresses reached the school, they’d passed close to a hundred bodies. They sighted a last few, a squad of six, hunkered behind a collapsed tree. There were a few more bodies still with blown away skulls: other squadmates who’d tried to advance on the sniper keeping them pinned.

Ruby & Yang readied their weapons to assist in the fight when, suddenly, the tree the soldiers were using as cover levitated into the air above them. Stepping forward from behind the log was an older blonde woman carrying a wand: Glynda Goodwitch.

She shockingly looked very similar to how she did nine years ago at Beacon. Her face hadn’t aged a day. Her hair had clearly gone some time since being attended to, but was still sporting her same signature curls and bun. She swapped into hiking boots, but still wore the skirt, stockings, blouse, and cape. All were showing some wear and tears, but defiantly stood out as a priority of grace, even on the battlefield.

The squad of Faunus soldiers didn’t get the time to question their opponent’s attire. Goodwitch dropped the log on top of them. Three were crushed to death as it landed on their heads and ribcages. One was paralyzed when it dropped on his legs and lower spine. Two narrowly avoided the log. They didn’t last long. Glynda used her wand to launch a solid Dust crystal through each of their chests, killing them instantly.

As the professional Huntress summoned the unactivated crystals back to her to stow for later, she failed to notice the pinned Faunus raising his gun. He started to pull the trigger when a shot went off and his skull exploded.

Glynda glanced over to the slumping corpse. She then looked over her shoulder to the building entrance she had emerged from.

“Thank you, Tai!” she called out.

Yang’s eyes widened.

“Tai?” she spoke out loud.

Goodwitch heard her and spun in her direction, summoning her crystals back into the air, ready to fire.

“Glynda! Wait!” a male voice cried out.

From behind Glynda, approached the sniper. He wore the pants of a ghillie suit and a light khaki colored shirt. He had shaggy golden hair and a full beard. Both were starting to grey in his age.

His eyes got misty when he said, “Girls?”

“Dad!” Yang called out as she sprinted to her father. He dropped his rifle as he held his arms open to catch his daughter. She threw himself into his arms and he held her.

“I didn’t know you were still alive,” she said to him.

“I thought you were dead,” he said to her.

Glynda had put her Dust away and lowered her defenses as soon as she recognized her former students. Now she was standing by, making sure not to interrupt the reunion. She reached to her belt and drew her Scroll to make a call.

Yang and Tai finally broke their embrace when he noticed his other daughter still stood a distance back.

Ruby was frozen.

“Ruby,” he said to her as he slowly started to walk over.

Her face told a tale of a thousand emotions.

“Ruby, it’s me.”

The chief among those was guilt.

“It’s okay, sweetie. It’s okay.”

Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“I’m here.”

He dropped down to a knee in front of her. He placed his arms on her shoulders.

“Let it out.”

She dropped Crescent Rose.

“Daddy?”

The tears flowed. Ruby fell into her father’s arms and returned his embrace. Tai said nothing as he let her cry out everything she was feeling. She’d needed to be the soldier; the leader, for nine years. Right now, she just needed to be his daughter.

“I assumed,” she admitted through the tears. “I didn’t even try. I just assumed.”

“Shh, shh,” he consoled her. “You didn’t do anything wrong. What matters is we found each other again. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I know, Ruby. I know.”

Yang had done her best to let them have their moment, but it became too much. She couldn’t hold back anymore. She joined the hug.

For the first time in a long time, Tai got to see his daughters; Yang got to feel the love of family; Ruby got to stop being a soldier.

“Glynda!” a scratchy voice called out. “What’s going on! You said you needed me?” Another older Huntsman emerged from the old Haven building.

This one was lankier than Tai. His hair was longer and darker, but his beard was trimmed far more closely along his jawline. He held a sense of style similar to Glynda: slacks, white button down with sleeves rolled up, grey vest, nicer boots. He too wore a tattered cape in a dark red color. He one-hand carried a long scythe.

When he saw Tai and the two visitors, his jaw dropped.

“Holy shit,” he cursed, not knowing what else to say.

The Xiao Long family heard their cool uncle and turned to him.

“Hey, Qrow,” Tai called out, “look who found us.”

The reunion was allowed for a few minutes more, but then it was back to work. After the all clear was given, the Huntresses joined their enders inside Haven’s main hall. From there, they each went to work. Qrow returned outside to monitor for more White Fang squads. Ruby set to making calls to their airship, as well as New Beacon to report. Yang helped her father pack up whatever gear they could save. Glynda left the room to fetch Professor Ozpin.

When she returned, she was attended by someone significantly younger than expected. He couldn’t have been older than 22. His hair was black and his eyes hazel. He dressed like a farmhand, not like a professor and certainly not like a soldier. Yet, in one hand he carried Ozpin’s cane. In the other, he held a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist.

Yang and Ruby both dropped what they were doing to analyze the new face.

“Miss Rose. Miss Xiao Long. It is good to see you.” The boy said to them.

“Who are you?” Ruby asked.

“And how do you know who we are?” Yang followed.

The boy chuckled. “Well, the full answer to that is a bit complicated and would take more time to explain than we have to spare right now. The short version is that, through a rather confusing cycle of reincarnation and merging of souls, I am the man you knew as Professor Ozpin. But my name is Oscar Pine.”

“You sent the message?” Yang guessed.

“Yes,” he answered, “Though I do apologize for the minor deception when I used Ozpin’s name. I knew no one would care as much if ‘Oscar Pine’ was sending the SOS.”

Ruby was still suspicious. “Dad? Can you vouch for this?”

Tai nodded his head. “It took a lot for me to believe it, too. He showed up to my door with a drunk Qrow in tow. But he’s telling you the truth.

“What about the cure for the plague afflicting our people: The Grimm’s Breath?” Ruby asked.

Oscar raised the case in his hand. “Secured in here. If you can get us out of here and me to a lab, I can synthesize more. Can you do that?”

Ruby held eye contact with Oscar as she raised her Scroll to her ear. “Give me a landing zone.”

The Huntsmen packed lightly. Qrow spotted more White Fang landing craft coming their way. They opted to sacrifice some of their equipment rather than to risk casualties in another fight. The Bullhead picked them up right in the middle of the old campus. They were lifting off the ground by the time the White Fang troops were unloading from their transports. A clean operation.

With all seated and on their way back to New Beacon, Yang finally got the opportunity to ask the questions she’d been wondering about since she was told ‘there isn’t enough time to explain.’

“So Oscar, I’m still confused about the reincarnation thing. If Ozpin died at Beacon, then shouldn’t you be like, ten years old?”

Qrow looked over to Tai with a smirk. “Here we go.”

Oscar chuckled at that. “It’s not reincarnation per say. I- that is, Oscar Pine was thirteen when Professor Ozpin was killed at Beacon. He suddenly… popped into my head one day.”

“So then who am I talking to, right now? Oscar or Ozpin?” Yang asked, honestly more confused.

“The best way I can explain is both, but mostly Oscar. I have all of Ozpin’s knowledge, memories, and skills, but I am still very much me. At first, Ozpin was a voice in my head, like another consciousness. But we slowly merged into each other until we were one. I’m a little different than I was before. I carry the wisdom of a hundred lifetimes and a new craving for hot chocolate, but I am still Oscar Pine. I have not been replaced in my own body. Though that was a worry of mine for a solid two years.”

“Wait. Stop. Hold on,” Yang said. “That’s what was in Ozpin’s mug?”

Glynda started the laugh at this one, everyone else joining in after.

“What can you tell me about Grimm’s Breath?” Ruby interrupted.

Oscar’s expression turned serious. “It’s the end product after years of experimenting to develop the ultimate biological weapon to ensure Faunus superiority in this world, as well as something of a pet project of Adam Taurus. I suspect you’ve learned most of what there is to tell about the disease itself. It is based on the enzyme that defines the Grimm. We learned about it approximately one year ago and have spent the time since developing a counter-agent against it. It took so long because we had to keep updating it as the White Fang perfected it further. But I’ve finally gotten it, though about a month too late it seems. Tell me, how many have died so far?”

“Ten,” Ruby answered. “Another forty-two are still symptomatic. Most of, if not all of our Faunus are also infected.”

“Quarantined from the human population, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“Unfortunate, but understandable. Necessary, even. I can cure all of them. But I will warn you about your symptomatic people: there is a point of no return with this. Two weeks after symptoms, my cure will have no effect. Nothing can be done after that point. I’m sorry.”

Yang’s memory flashed with the faces of everyone she knew who exceeded that time frame: team NDGO and the non-Faunus members of teams FNKI and CFVY were among them.

“Forgive me for asking, but it’s important,” Oscar continued. “What are you doing with the bodies?”

“We’re burning them,” Ruby answered.

“Good. The pathogen does not die with the host. You’ve seen the body’s begin to resemble Grimm. If given the chance, that is what they become.”

“I’ve seen before,” Yang confirmed. “Months ago, in Vacuo. It’s a scary thing, seeing that done to-”

The Bullhead suddenly lurched.

“Something hit us!” their pilot shouted from the cockpit. “We’re being dragged down by something!”

Scraping could be heard outside. Claws jabbed through the walls. Outside the window, humanoid creatures as black as night were latched onto the ships, wings. 

“It’s them!” Qrow called out. “The Demons!”

“Losing visibility!” the pilot shouted again.

Black fog rose up, indicating the Grimm horde on the ground below them.

An engine exploded. That ground came rapidly closer.

“Brace yourselves!”

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Ringing.

The smell of smoke.

A voice.

"Yang! Yang, wake up!"

Her father's voice.

"D-dad?"

The world was fuzzy.

"Oh thank God! I need you to come back to me, Yang. We don't have much time and I need your help."

Yang groaned as she lifted herself up off the ground. "What hit us?"

"Abominations," Tai answered. "The human Grimm. Focus up, Yang. Qrow's trapped and I need your help to get him out."

Yang's vision was coming back into focus. They crashed in the middle of the forest. The dark fog from the Grimm was still all around. Several trees were splintered and torn down by their airship. Said airship laid in a destroyed, smoking heap a few feet away. Her dad was moving back into what was left of its cabin area. He must have pulled her out before waking her up.

She heard roars and gunshots in the woods. "Where's Ruby?"

"Her and Glynda went ahead to draw the Grimm off of us. We need to hurry up and get Qrow out before they get overrun."

Oscar exited the wreckage as Tai entered, scuffed up but with his briefcase still in-hand. "Please hurry. We need to regroup with the others and move. Another ship is coming, but it will be some time. We need to get out of this fog and put distance between us and the Grimm before then."

Yang nodded and followed her dad in to help her uncle. Qrow was slumped in the far corner of the cabin. A chunk of metal that used to be the cabin's ceiling and ship's hull was laid over his left leg. Blood was staining through his slacks.

"Hey, kiddo," Qrow said, trying to sound casual, "how do I look?"

He always could get a laugh out of her. "About as good as you can and still look like shit."

"Language," Tai scolded his daughter as the two of them gripped opposite sides of the debris and started to lift.

"Tai, did you just say 'language?' We just got knocked out of the sky and you're getting on her for naughty words?"

"Y'know, Qrow," Tai grit through his teeth as he strained lifting the wreckage, "it's still not too late for me to drop this and leave you here."

"Fuck you," Qrow shot back with a pained laugh as he pulled his leg out from under the debris. "How's that for language?"

With him free, the Xiao Long's dropped the metal and saw to the damage to Qrow's leg.

"That doesn't look too good," Yang commented on the swelling and blood.

"Don't worry," Qrow assured. "It only just started hurting." He winced when he tried putting pressure on it. "Yeah, I'm not gonna be walking anytime soon, much less fighting."

"Shit," Tai cursed. Both his daughter and former in-law gave him smartass smirks. "Do as I say, not as I do."

"Sure thing, Dad." It was good to be able to laugh, even if the timing wasn't the most appropriate.

"Alright, Yang, I'll carry Qrow. You keep us covered."

"No way, Dad. You've got the rifle. You can pick 'em off before they can get within my range. I'll carry him."

Before her dad could argue further, Yang hefted her uncle up and supported his weight against her.

"Look at the strategist the little firecracker's become," Qrow remarked.

"Not a bad point," Tai admitted as he drew his rifle from over his shoulder. "Don't let it go to your head. Oscar, where're we going?"

"East," the younger man answered. He ran up and supported Qrow's other side. "Let me help, Yang. If the Grimm get past your father, you'll need to step in."

Yang nodded in agreement. "Dad, don't miss."

"Don't worry."

"We need to alert Ruby and Glynda that we're moving," Oscar said.

"On it," Tai said before firing two rounds into the air. They were laced with Fire Dust, causing them to burn brightly as they shot up. "That'll draw the Grimm, but our girls will be coming, too. Let's get moving." He fired another shot, killing an Abomination that entered his sight.

The quartet hustled through the foggy woods. Tai dropped any Grimm that came their way. When he needed to reload, Yang and Qrow fired their own weapons at any ill-timed approaches. Their numbers were still relatively low. The reason for that made itself clear by the orchestra of beatial roars, rifle shots, and Dust explosions in the distance that made its way progressively closer.

"Ruby and Glynda are doing work out there," Yang remarked.

"This might be a bad time," Tai started to say, firing a shot mid-question, "but how's Ruby been? She's seemed… off, intense, not really herself."

Yang was scared to answer. "Honestly, I'm not always sure." She paused for Tai to fire again. "War's been hard on her."

"War's hard on everyone," Qrow stated. "Always has been. Seen too many people lose a piece of themselves to it. Hurts to see every time."

Yang suddenly felt a twinge in the right arm that wasn't there.

"Always hoped the kid would be the one to defy that," her limping uncle continued. "Hoped she'd be stronger than us."

"That's all the more reason to bring an end to this war," Oscar added, "so no one else need suffer the same."

"So my daughters won't need to live this life anymore." Tai's words were solemn. He lined up on the chest of an approaching Abomination and sent his paternal rage with the bullet through its black heart.

Three more of the corrupted humans rushed to the sound of the gun before being enveloped in a cloud of rose petals. The next they were seen, they were falling to the ground, their torsos separating from their waists. Ruby stood among their cleaved bodies as they dissolved away.

She spun to face a group of four more, spotting them in time to watch a tree rise from its roots, swing through the air and swat them away. They turned to mist on impact. Glynda used her wand to raise the tree and launch it like a missile towards a particularly large Abomination, embedding it into the earth.

A gathering of still more charged from the fog. Glynda drew a red Dust crystal larger than her palm and called out to Ruby, "Sync!"

Ruby dropped to a knee and aimed down Crescent Rose's scope. "Sync!"

"Mark!" Glynda shouted and threw the crystal.

Ruby followed the arc of the crystal as it descended towards the Grimm.

BANG!

BOOM!

The Grimm shrieked as Fire Dust rained down on top of them. It took only seconds for them to burn to ash.

"Impressive," Qrow remarked as the two Huntresses paced over to join the rest of the group.

"Are there any left?" Oscar asked.

"Ms. Rose and I cleared a majority," Glynda reported. "But there must be more for this fog to remain."

"We should be able to handle whatever's left," Ruby stated confidently.

"Then let's keep moving out of the area," Oscar said. "Glynda and Ruby, lead the way. Tai, cover behind us."

"Got it," Tai confirmed.

The group picked up their pace, trying to reach the edge of the fog. They were still met with light resistance from the Grimm, but not enough to be a problem for the now three Hunters guarding the group.

Finally, the fog started to thin. They'd reached its edge.

"Don't get too cheery," Qrow said. "We're not out of the woods yet."

"Oscar, call the airship again with our new coordinates," Ruby ordered.

"Yes, Miss Rose," he responded with the impressed smile only a teacher could know.

"Glynda," she continued, "lead us further away from this fog. I'm going to take up the rear with Dad."

Before the Hunters could perform their actions, Tai called out, "We've got something back here!"

Everyone spun on their heels and pointed their weapons at the fog, crippled Qrow included. They saw two silhouettes walking towards them through the darkness. They were humanoid, but didn't have the demonic gait of the Abominations. They strode with confidence. As they emerged from the fog, their appearances became clear.

The man towered over the woman. He had pale skin, silver hair that hung down to his shoulders, and a thin moustache and goatee. He wore a long, grey coat with black accents. His forearms were covered with slate-colored bracers. His legs were built up with what looked to be heavy armor. Upon closer inspection, the legs appeared to be mechanical from the thigh down. Wrapped around his ankles were a pair of black greaves that looked similar in appearance to Ember Celica.

The woman had dark skin and mint green hair that hung behind her, with twin tails hanging down further than the rest. She wore a green leotard and a white, long-sleeve coat draped over her shoulders. Over the leotard she wore a combat harness latched to a gun belt. Over her feet were combat boots of matching color to the harness and belt. Her irises were a deep red.

"Emerald," Yang growled.

"And Mercury," Ruby followed.

They were older, but it was definitely them.

"You know them?" Tai asked, not taking his sights off the tall one's chest.

"They were at Beacon," Ruby answered. "They were with Cinder and the White Fang."

Yang's blood started to simmer. Her fight against Mercury in the Vytal Festival finals was the beginning of it all. And they'd staged the whole thing. But Emerald… She remembered what Blake had told her. Emerald is the reason Blake lost so many years of her life. They were both responsible for so much struggle and pain. But Emerald's effects struck a tad more personally.

Yang pushed Qrow's weight onto Oscar. She pulled herself out from under his arm and stepped forward to Tai's side.

"Dad, stick with Oscar and Qrow. Me and Ruby will handle this."

Tai could hear the intent in her words. He'd be lying if he said it didn't scare him.

"Yang-" he started.

"Dad," Ruby interrupted as she stood to his other side, "we need to do this."

"We'll catch up with you when we're done."

Tai didn't like it. He'd just reunited with his girls. He didn't want to leave them again. Even more, he didn't want to leave them to this. This isn't what he wanted for his daughters. Fighting for a reason; nation, justice, peace, love; that was one thing. He knew they'd have to make life and death decisions when they left for Beacon. But he could see it in their eyes. This was about revenge.

"Tai," Qrow called. Tai reluctantly turned back to see him. The look on Qrow's face told him he understood. He may have been the only one who did. But he knew that Ruby was right. They had to do this. "They'll be okay."

Tai released a heavy sigh and spoke to his daughters. "Three shots into the air and we'll come running. I love you, girls."

"Love you, too, Dad," they both responded in almost perfect synchronization.

"We'll see each other again," Ruby added.

"I know. Give 'em hell."

Tai slowly backed away from the two new combatants, but made sure to keep his rifle trained on them. Once he reached Qrow, he quickly shouldered his rifle and took Yang's place under his arm. Glynda put herself between the three Huntsmen and the new threats and the group of veterans made haste to clear the area.

That left just the four: Yang, Ruby, Mercury, and Emerald.

"I'd ask you why you did it all those years ago," Ruby spoke as she twirled Crescent Rose and dropped into a ready stance, "but frankly, I don't care."

Yang followed suit, bending her knees and raising her fists. "You're going to pay for what you did to Blake," she said to the woman across from her.

Emerald and Mercury remained silent. She drew her weapons from her belt and extended their sickle-like blades. He took a similar position to Yang's and bobbed back and forth on his toes.

Perfectly in sync with each other the two Huntresses blasted forward; Yang at Emerald, Ruby at Mercury. With scythe and fist, they aimed to take their opponents' heads off in a single swing. Neither strike connected.

In similar harmony, Emerald and Mercury dove out of the way, rolled, and followed up with a strike each. Both Huntresses raised their aura's in time to absorb the hits.

From there they split off. Yang engaged Emerald in a volley of punches, slices, and dodges. She did not however, let her rage boil over. She stayed at a simmer and let her combat instincts drive her actions. She timed her aura perfectly to take every strike Emerald made. They were light hits, she couldn't feel her aura being depleted much.

She was toying with her.

Yang's anger flared for a moment when she realized this. She started hitting harder, throwing more of herself into her punches.

None of them could connect. Emerald was too fast. And the entire time, she remained perfectly silent. She showed no emotion, no sign of exertion, nothing.

Yang's anger levels rose again. She grit her teeth and could feel her hair getting hotter. There was the faintest glow emanating around her.

Emerald noticed this and a smirk slid across her face.

That's when Yang activated her Semblance, her hair bursting into golden flame. She roared and went fully on the offensive, throwing everything she had into every swing and not giving Emerald a moment to counter-attack.

She couldn't hear Ruby calling her name.

Emerald was too fast to catch. She was too cautious to counter. She wasn't getting tired. All Yang had left was to put enough force into her hits that landing a single one will put her down.

"...yang..."

Just one hit. That's all it would take. One hit across the jaw and she'd go down.

"Yang!"

She needed her to go down. For everything she'd done.

"YANG!"

She needed her to-

Yang felt cold steel hit her hard across the face, sending her toppling to the ground. She jumped back up quickly to face Emerald before she could-

Emerald wasn't there. Ruby stood in her place, breathing heavily and holding Crescent Rose in its rifle form by its stock like it was a baseball bat.

"What?" Yang questioned. "Where did-"

"It wasn't them," Ruby interrupted, lowering her rifle. "When you flared up, Mercury's shadow didn't change. He wasn't real."

"I was fighting her."

"You were attacking me. You were so focused on Emerald I couldn't get through to you."

An illusion. Just like at the Vytal Festival. Yang was putting the pieces together. "Sorry."

"Same," Ruby said. She had hit her after all.

"So you saw through my trick, did you?"

The sisters spun to the source of the words to see Emerald standing there with her weapons drawn.

"I'm impressed," she remarked. "My Semblance has fooled veteran Huntsmen before. Didn't realize it until they'd already killed each other."

"It's just you, isn't it?" Ruby asked.

"You got me," Emerald answered. "Truth is I haven't seen Mercury or Cinder in years. Not since I got stuck with the White Fang. But fuck him. Never liked him anyway."

"Are you even here?" Ruby continued.

"I have to be. Sadly, my Semblance only works when I can see my target."

"Then show yourself," Yang demanded. "Enough with the illusions."

"What makes you think I'm not showing myself right now?"

"Call it a hunch," Yang said.

Emerald sat in silence for several seconds, completely still and emotionless. It looked as though she were on standby. Yang was right. This wasn't her.

Suddenly, life came back to the illusion. "When the illusion drops, turn to your four o'clock. Aim high and shoot fast. He doesn't know I'm doing this."

The illusion vanished and the Huntresses followed their instructions. They spun to see a tall lizard Faunus in White Fang garb. He had enough time to look shocked before the sisters put two rounds in his chest.

"Nice shooting," Emerald's illusion said as it reappeared over his body. Next to her was a dark-skinned woman in a wheelchair. She was thin and wore a matching white shirt and pants; prisoner's garb. Her feet were bare. There were two large bolts driven through the backs of her ankles, right through her Achilles' tendons. Her green hair was buzzed down. Along the right side of her scalp there was a massive scar that traveled from front to back. It looked to be surgical. Her eyes were sunken in. Her glare was one of an impotent rage that had persisted for years.

This was Emerald.

"I'm not exactly here by choice," she stated. Though the words came from the illusion of her. Emerald herself moved nothing but her eyes. She used the illusory form to communicate in her stead.

"How long?" Yang asked.

"Years, Emerald answered. "Time gets hard to keep track of in this state." The illusion pointed up to her head, referencing the scar on her real self. "I know since they made me mess with your friend's head," She noticed Yang clench her fists when she mentioned that. "Sorry, by the way. I didn't have much of a choice. I wouldn't wish that on anyone." She paused for a moment. "Well, maybe one or two people."

"Adam?" Ruby guessed.

"Him for obvious reasons," Emerald confirmed. "But Cinder, too, for trading me to him."

"Where is she?" Ruby asked, vengeance in her voice. The war may have been with the White Fang, but Cinder was still responsible for kicking it all off.

"I don't know. She traded me to Adam in exchange for the White Fang not interfering in her plans. I haven't heard any word of her since, so I'm guessing those plans didn't work out for her. And considering what she wanted, I'm not shocked."

"And what was that?" Ruby asked.

"Power. To pick a fight she couldn't win. It's not important anymore. If she'd have succeeded, we would've known." Emerald's eyes darted over to Yang, who was still staring daggers at her. "Look," the illusion said, "I know why you're mad at me. I get it. I hurt your friend. If you hurt my friend, I'd be pissed, too. But look at me." Her phantom gestured to her. "I'm a prisoner in my own body. I'm only kept around because my Semblance is useful. I'm only here because Adam wanted me to hurt you with it. The only benefit I get from any of this is I get to continue living this hollow existence."

"You hurt her?" Yang responded. "No. You didn't just hurt her. You robbed her of who she is and everything she ever knew. You burrowed into her head and made her Adam's pet."

"And the fact that you know any of this proves that she told you, which means it wasn't permanent, just like how I designed it. She needs to be reset by Adam periodically or else the fake memories fade. I didn't have to do it that way. I lied when I said I couldn't make the changes permanent."

"So what? Am I supposed to just forgive you? Do you expect me to thank you?"

"I don't care what you do. But if you want me to give you what you want, I suggest you get over yourself long enough for me to give it to you."

"And what is it that we want?" Yang asked.

A sound came from the true Emerald's throat that sounded as close to a laugh as she could manage in her state. "Adam's location," the proxy answered. The Huntresses' reactions were impossible for her to miss. "So here's the way I see it. You can kill me now and end this Hell I'm living. Or you can take me with you. I'll tell you where he is and you can carve his heart from his chest. Either way, I win."