Rejoice for the quick update! Thanks for the continued support. As thanks for being awesome, here's the next chapter.

Legend:

Bold: TV/Loudspeakers/Scroll information/Scroll Messages sent

Bold Italic: Scroll Messages Received/Radio

Italic: Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks/

The room was filled with a silence that was only broken by the gentle beeps of the heart monitor. No one dared to say anything. All of them had been waiting for their blonde friend to awaken for almost four hours. They had no plans to leave their friend's side.

Pyrrha's hand had closed around Jaune's and her eyes drooped with exhaustion. She shook her head to fight off the sleep that was gripping her. This whole day was one that could not end any sooner. Not only did she almost lose her partner, but it was another friend who she trusted that almost got him killed. And for what? A cheap contest for fun on a mission where one should always be alert! Her grip on Jaune's hand had tightened and she glanced at Yang out of the corner of her eye. The blonde had been leaning on the wall, her lilac eyes fixed on Jaune.

"I trusted you to look after him before we left." Pyrrha glared at her. "That is a mistake I won't make again."

Her emerald eyes glanced back at her blonde partner. He looked a lot better than earlier. The color had returned to his face and he looked peaceful as he continued to slumber. A small smile spread across her lips. She envied him a little bit. He was able to sleep soundly without a care while the rest of them were worried sick.

The redhead had been battling with herself and questioned her relationship with her partner. Ever since she first met him on the initiation day, she was intrigued with the boy. Even after he learned about her fame, he treated her like everyone else. His bold, albeit poor attempt at confidence when he tried to recruit her and Weiss to be on his team made her curious to learn more about him. When she was presented with the opportunity to snatch him up as her partner, she took it without hesitation.

Being partnered with Jaune gave her the chance to have something she strived for, and that was friendship. Of course their friendship encountered some tests, namely with Cardin's attempt at blackmailing him and when he revealed he illegitimately entered Beacon with forged transcripts, it did not change her opinion of him. Over time he grew to trust her more and even asked her to train him to become a better fighter so he would not be a hindrance to the team which left her overjoyed.

The countless nights of training, studying and downtime began to spark new feelings within her. Never before had she experienced what she felt when she was with Jaune. When she was with her partner, she was always happy, more than she ever had been in her life. Her face would heat up and she would find herself gazing at him more and more. The feelings only grew stronger at the dance when he wore a dress and braved brutal humiliation just to cheer her up. She could no longer deny it. She had fallen for the boy in front of her, and to make it worse, she almost lost him today and she would never have conveyed her feelings to him.

She never felt so pathetic in her life. She had no trouble battling Grimm or other Hunters and Huntresses for training, but she could not find her courage to confront Jaune about her feelings. It was almost laughable. The fact she almost lost her chance today filled her with resolve to accomplish her goal to make her affection known, but it also brought the terrifying chance of rejection. The redhead brushed off the latter thought. She would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Pyrrha was broken from her thoughts when the doctor came in.

"I know you want to be here when he wakes up, but visiting hours are done now. We have to ask you to leave," he said.

"Can we just stay a little longer?" Ruby asked putting on her best cute face.

The doctor only frowned and shook his head. Ruby then stuck her lips out a pout and grumbled as she got out of her seat. Blake, Weiss, Nora, Ren and Pyrrha followed suit. Pyrrha was about to let go of Jaune's hand, but her eyes opened wide when she felt him squeeze it.

She spun around and smiled broadly when Jaune's eyes opened.

"Jaune!" She was soon by his side.

Her outburst caught the attention of the others who soon surrounded his bed, looking relieved.

Jaune blinked in confusion and his blue eyes moved down the line of friends that surrounded him. Doing a quick sweep of the room, he recognized the white walls and cabinets of the infirmary. How did he get there? He remembered his battle with the Beowolf and then going into the light, then nothing. All he knew was that he was there because of the nasty bite he got from the Beowolf.

"Hey," said Jaune weakly.

"Hey? That's all you can say?" Weiss crossed her arms.

"Um, was I supposed to say something else?"

Weiss opened her mouth to retort, but could not. He had a fair point. Any other question or statement he could have said after waking up could have been more unfitting. Instead she only rolled her eyes and offered him a rare smile.

"No. We're just glad you're okay, you doofus," she said.

Jaune was a little surprised with Weiss' warmer attitude and smile, but let it slide. He was soon wrapped up in a tight hug from Ruby and he was a little taken aback by the small girl's strength.

"You're okay!" Ruby smiled.

The blonde smiled and he let his arms circle around Ruby and hugged her back. It was there that he felt something wet on his neck and glanced down to see tears dripping onto him. He frowned and the guilt inside of him took hold. It was his fault that Ruby was crying, and he felt awful for making the younger girl cry.

"Yeah. I'm okay, Ruby. It's gonna' take more than a lousy Beowolf to take me down," he answered back, trying to cheer her up.

He soon realized his mistake when he felt her grip tighten, as well as Pyrrha's who had her hand on his shoulder. The tears seemed to fall even faster after he said that. Everyone else looked at the ground from the bad reminder. Smooth, he messed up again.

"Just… promise me you'll be more careful next time, okay?" Ruby let go of him.

"I promise." He smiled back.

Ruby stood back by Blake and Weiss, much more cheerful than before. Her friend was okay and that was a lot of weight off of her shoulders. She could say the same for most of them, but there was one who did not look completely happy. Her silver eyes landed on her sister who had yet to say anything or even remove herself from her spot on the wall for that matter.

The doctor cleared his throat and offered them an apologetic look before he tapped at his watch.

"I'm very sorry, but we must lock up for the night," he said. "If you want to see your friend, come back at nine tomorrow morning."

Nora groaned loudly and was ushered out of the room by Ren who smiled at Jaune and then offered a quick nod of thanks to the doctor. Weiss, Blake and Ruby soon followed after bidding goodbye, leaving Yang and Pyrrha behind. The doctor cleared his throat again, making to two girls get up from their spots.

Pyrrha slid her arms around Jaune and hugged him tight to her and smiled when he did the same.

"Me, Nora and Ren will stop by tomorrow before class to see you, okay?" She let go of him.

"I'll be waiting," Jaune said with a nod.

Pyrrha turned on her heel and walked to the door, but sent Yang a brief warning look before departing. Jaune noticed the subtle exchange between the two and rose a brow. Did they have a fight? He shook his head when Yang was about to leave the room.

The blonde brawler stopped in the doorway and looked back at him. A small, genuine smile was on her face and she lifted two fingers in a wave.

"Good to have you back, Vomit Boy."

With that, she left the room and the doctor closed the door behind them.

Yang clenched her fists and looked at the floor. How could she just end it like that? She did not even join in the greeting with her friends when Jaune woke up. He took a bite to the jugular for her and how did she pay him back? A small smile and an offhanded comment. A tight knot formed in her stomach and she felt like she was going to puke. Some friend she was.

Her golden locks danced when she shook her head. No. She promised herself and Jaune that she would pay him back.

"Hey, Yang! Are you coming or not?" Ruby called to her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Yang forced a smile and hurried to her teammates.

Yang had always been a thrill seeker, which was one of the reasons the blonde aspired to be a Huntress. The rush of adrenaline and the fun that came with it was just part of the excitement. Breaking rules was another shortcut method she liked if killing Grimm was not an option. Sure, she got into trouble, but come on, sue her! It was common knowledge that most fun for teens nowadays involved breaking rules or at least cost twenty lien.

She peered around the corner and after finding the coast clear, she bolted across the hall and continued her trek to the infirmary. It took a while, but she waited for the rest of her team to fall asleep before leaving her dorm. She wanted to apologize to Jaune properly, even if it cost her detention later. Being out past curfew was guaranteed a lot of trouble, so it was important to not get caught.

The blonde was close now. Jaune's room was just around the corner and to the right. She glanced around the corner and smirked. Clear as the eye could see. She tiptoed to the door and rested her hand on the knob. Doing one last look around she turned the knob, but her triumphant smirk turned into a grimace. Her eye twitched and she tried again. The door was locked.

"Crap!" She muttered.

No way in without a keycard. She scratched her head and looked around the hall again. This time she found something she could use. Just a few feet away there was an air duct. She giggled and reached up for the grate and pulled it off with ease.

It took a few seconds, but after some comical jumps her hands were able to get a solid grip on the edge of the vent. She pulled herself up and closed the vent behind her. With some difficulty she turned around and came face to face with a cobweb. She swiped it off her face and spat out the bits that landed on her mouth.

"This is really gonna' mess up my hair." She groaned.

She crawled her way through the tight space and finally made her way to the vent above Jaune's room. Time for a dynamic entry! With steady hands she popped the grate open, but doing so made her lose her balance and fall into the room with a loud crash.

"Ouch!" She winced.

"What the?" Jaune shot up in his bed.

Yang quickly got to her feet and beamed broadly at her fellow blonde.

"Yang? What the heck are you doing?" Jaune asked as he looked from the vent and back to her.

"What? I can't pay a friend a late night visit?" She smirked back.

"You're going to get into trouble."

"Only if I get caught!"

Yang dusted herself off and walked to his bedside. She pulled out the nearby chair and plopped down in it before propping her feet on the side of his bed.

"So what are you doing here?" Jaune leaned back on his pillow.

"Like I said, I came to see you," she answered.

"You just saw me a few hours ago."

Yang shrugged and stared at the ceiling. That was true, but it did not matter. Her vanity reared its ugly head and her brow furrowed. Wait, why would he even be questioning her reason for visiting? What guy would complain about a beautiful girl taking time out of their night to visit them?

"What's your point?" She challenged.

"N-nothing!" He quickly waved his hands. "Just surprised, I guess."

"Don't be! I came to see you because I wanted to talk to you!"

Jaune blinked in mild surprise. She risked getting detention for breaking curfew to talk to him? Had he not known her, he would have been ecstatic that a bombshell of a girl came to talk to him. Now he was interested in what the blonde brawler had to say.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He tried again.

"That's better!" Yang chirped back. "Now, real talk."

Yang took her gaze off the ceiling and her grin was exchanged for a more serious look. Her lilac eyes were downcast and her hands gripped the chair tight. She looked at the scar on Jaune's neck and the guilt began to build once more.

"I came back to talk to you about today, and I also wanted to thank you properly," said Yang.

"This again?" Jaune tilted his head. "I told you, it's all water under the bridge…"

He soon shut his mouth when Yang's eyes turned red and her hair lit up like the sun.

"It may be fine for you, but not for me!" She scowled.

"Okay! Okay! Just calm down, alright?" Jaune raised a hand.

Yang sighed and her hair stopped glowing, but her eyes remained red. This was going to a little harder than she thought.

"You died today," she began. "That's why everyone was happy to see you wake up."

Jaune scratched his cheek and looked down at his covers. So he did die. Now he was a little confused. If he did die, then where was he when he fought that Beowolf? On that note, if he was dead, then why didn't he move on?

"So I wasn't in Limbo?" He muttered.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking about a dream I had."

"Well, pay attention. I'm not done with you yet."

Jaune apologized again and returned his focus to the blonde brawler, all the while keeping the thought of Limbo in the back of his head.

"Back to what I was saying. Yeah, you died." Yang clenched her fists. "Do you have any idea what that did to everyone? What that did to me?"

Jaune only shook his head. Obviously they were crushed, but what got his attention was the last bit she said. As he thought about it, he was sure his fellow blonde was hit the hardest by the whole thing. He took the hit that was meant for her and died which no doubt messed with her head and filled her with unimaginable guilt.

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. To make it worse, now he was inadvertently coming off as insensitive with his answers. That was the last thing he wanted to do to Yang at the moment.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude," said Jaune looking back at her.

"No, don't apologize! I'm supposed to be doing that!" Yang pinched the bridge of her nose.

Yang rubbed her eyes, frustrated with the blonde before her. He was too kind for his own good.

"I got careless and you paid for it with your life. Nothing I say or do can take that back." She looked at him.

"While that may be true, you should look at it like a new slate," replied Jaune.

"What?"

"Look, I died, yes, but I came back at the end of the day. What matters is how you're going to fix this so you can forgive yourself and keep it from happening again."

Just when the blonde knight could not surprise her any more, he somehow managed to do it. She never heard him say anything remotely wise, but that was without a doubt the most profound thing she ever heard from him.

"Easier said than done," she said with a scoff. "I want to make things right, but your team will probably treat me like the plague after everything that happened."

"Don't worry about that, okay?" Jaune held up a hand. "I'll talk to them and sort everything out."

Yang's red eyes reverted back to their lilac color and a smile tugged at her lips. She was nervous with how the whole conversation between him and his team would play out, but she hoped it would end well. She had a gut feeling that her relationship with Team JNPR would be strained, but hopefully Jaune would be able to get them to come around sooner than later.

Her eyes glanced at the clock and she frowned. The security would be making their rounds soon, so she had to cut their conversation short.

"I'd like to keep talking, Vomit Boy, but I need to bug out before I get caught," said Yang.

"Don't worry about it, it's cool." Jaune dismissed it with a wave.

"But before I go, I want to do what I came here to do…"

She stopped when Jaune put his hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Seriously, Jaune. Thank you for saving me today. If you didn't do that, I wouldn't be here now and Ruby would…"

"I know. And like I told you earlier today, I'd do it again to keep any of you safe," he answered.

"I owe you big time. So if you need something or if I can help you, let me know."

Jaune nodded and then smirked.

"Well, if you really want to make it up to me, you can buy me that drink we talked about."

"Don't push it." Yang narrowed her eyes, but smirked back as well.

She jumped out of her seat when she heard the footsteps outside the door stop. Crap! She had no time to jump in the vent and her only option of escaping without being caught was the window. Thinking fast, she hurried to the door and set the chair in front of it.

Yang hurried to the window and opened it and looked down. The door hit the chair and she stilled herself. She gave one last look to Jaune and grinned before giving him a two fingered salute.

"Good talk, Vomit Boy!" She winked.

Her eyes spotted the cushion she needed to break her fall. Aim for the bushes! She pushed out and her hair flowed wildly behind her as she fell to the ground. A small "Oof" escaped her lips as she successfully landed and rolled out to stick her landing.

"I am awesome!" She pumped her fist.

She stood up and hurried across the square. The weight of her guilt had been lifted and she felt like her jolly self once again. This was the silver lining she needed at the end of such a crummy day. Jaune survived and would make a full recovery and she was able to apologize to him properly to get closure.

Jaune sighed and leaned back in his bed. He miraculously convinced the security that it was just him talking to himself after returning from a late night bathroom trip after they got in the room. On top of that, he kept them long enough to buy Yang enough time to escape and make it back to her dorm undetected.

He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling and once again buried himself in his thoughts and his talk with Yang. Now he had a fresh set of questions and concerning issues that were eating at him. The first, he had to find a way to get his team to forgive Yang. Even though he was their leader, he would need to muster up whatever charisma he had to give them a good reason to excuse this little isolated incident. The second big problem he had was what happened in Limbo.

The blonde knight was surprised to learn he truly died, but he was revived by the doctors. However, if he did die, why did death not take him to the afterlife? Furthermore, if he was not in Limbo, then where was he during that time he was dead? He had no idea how or why his encounter with the Beowolf happened, but it would not stop him from finding out.

He yawned and closed his eyes and took a leaf from his father's book. If one got a good night's sleep, it could lead to the answers to their questions.

Yang looked at the starry sky and had to admire the nice night. It was peaceful and the stars that illuminated the black sky with the shattered moon only promised for a better day tomorrow. All she wanted to do now was go to sleep and put this day behind her and start off on a clean slate.

She rounded the corner to begin her final trek to her dorm. Her feet made dull thumps that echoed as they hit the ground and carried her to the main courtyard. The iconic statue that sat at the center of it between the red leafed trees gave a majestic view for anyone who saw it.

The blonde brawler suddenly stopped cold when she noticed a lone figure in front of the statue. From what she could tell, it appeared to be a woman. Her eyes widened briefly upon closer inspection.

She was garbed in red. Her long raven hair blew lightly as the breeze picked up and Yang was just able to see red eyes staring at her from under the mask. It was the same lady that saved her from that short, ice cream looking, freak of nature on the train!

Yang shook off her surprise and slowly walked to the woman who made no movement to run or stop her. She stopped a good distance away and narrowed her eyes. She was not seeing things. This woman was here like last time and she was not here by chance. This woman was here to talk to her and she was going to get answers.

"Who are you?" Yang asked the woman.

Her fists clenched and she had Ember Celica ready to go in case things got ugly. She watched with held breath as the woman slowly reached for her mask and took it off. Her hand lowered from her face and she looked up.

The woman's red eyes bore into her and she was at a loss for words. This woman looked remarkably similar to her. Who was she? Questions raced through her mind like wild and she knew her eyes had shifted to red like the woman in front of her. The raven haired woman smirked.

"Yang, we have a lot to talk about," she said.

And, that's a good place to stop. Hope you liked the references in the chapter here as well as the connection to the teaser at the end of Volume 2 with Yang and Raven. What'll happen next? We'll have to see. Check out the story shout outs below, and I'll see you next time.-CaptainPrice

Statements:

1.) I have gotten requests to make chapters longer and I agree they should be. These intro ones were just to set up the story and give me time to iron out some bits. They will get longer, but bear in mind that since they'll be longer there will be longer wait periods for updates for obvious reasons.

2.) If anyone would be willing to do story art for this, let me know. I got a DeviantArt account and would love to see someone do some pieces for the story if they're interested.

3.) Sonic Boom was awesome! Great bands, and 15000 people rocking the entire airport was badass.

Story Shout Outs:

RWBY Story Shout Outs:

"Spectrum" by Super Saiyan Cyndaquil: Updated 9/25/15

"Shattered Arc" by ImSoAwesome: Updated 9/20/15

"RWBY: Tomorrow and Never Again" by PaulXion: Updated 8/15/15

"Burning White" by Azure megacyber: Updated 8/15/15

"The King's Heir" by Howard Blake: Updated 8/18/15

"Light of Remnant" by ImSoAwesome: Updated 8/13/15

"The Heat" by wildstraydog: Updated 8/15/15