Author's Note: Wow... this story really got popular once I chose a pairing. Bumblebee fans unite, ...I guess. Or is it bumbleby? What's the difference anyway?

A bit of POV shifting with this chapter - now we see what the others think of all the goings-on. Read and enjoy!

Warning: Angst ahead (no not Yangst, shut up).

[ Weiss ]

No one had told her what to expect when she walked into Yang's hospital room that day, but Weiss was certainly not expecting what came first: silence. She had mentally prepared herself for a verbal battle with the blonde, mostly in the form of Yang making stupid puns and Weiss deflating them. But this...? The heiress was stunned. The comment she made about preferring the new, quieter Yang was sincere and she did not appreciate Blake's joke afterwards. Honestly, that girl had been spending too much time around Yang and it was starting to show.

Weiss had mostly ignored Yang and her ...changes in the month or so that followed. It wasn't that she didn't care... she just had other things to do. Things like classes. And training. Oh, and don't forget the occasional mission. Thinking back on that disastrous outing they'd gone on just after Yang's release, Weiss could only wonder how she didn't see that something was wrong with the girl. It was as though someone else had put on a 'Yang suit' and was parading around like a stage actor who had forgotten their lines. Weiss felt like she was watching ...freaking Jaune Arc in shorts! Oh gods, it was embarrassing!

Once the truth came out about her memory loss, Yang's recent antics made much more sense. In a fit of compassion, Weiss had even gone out of her way to offer some private tutoring which Yang had turned down. That didn't bother the heiress, though... once she found out Yang didn't even need it, due to her 'private' studying, Weiss simply couldn't be mad. Hell, it was downright funny, so yeah they laughed for a bit.

How could she have known Blake would take it so ...badly?

It was actually Ruby who pointed out their teammates' little problem, and Weiss instantly understood her point. The two of them had known about Yang and Blake's feelings for each other almost from the start, so it was hard to watch them go through this. While Ruby had the idea to get the two of them alone together, it had actually been Weiss' idea to freeze the door shut. She knew good and well that Blake could be a bit ...flighty in stressful situations.

That scream, though... gods, what a horrifying sound. And to think it had come from a human being. Weiss shuddered every time she thought of it after that. Even during their little party in Yang's room (which was meant for Blake), Weiss couldn't forget it. The very memory gave her chills... and that was a hard thing to do to Weiss Schnee.

Seeing that their efforts were having little effect on the faunus, team JNPR soon wandered out while offering condolences and apologies and hope-you-feel-betters. Weiss was actually the last to leave because she was trying ...really trying ...to find something meaningful to say to Blake. In the deepest part of her soul, the heiress knew she had to say something, anything, as it might make all the difference in the world for their relationship - such as it was, anyway.

But nothing came out. One of her dearest friends in the world was hurting and all she could do was stare dumbly. She thought of every conceivable form of 'I'm sorry' that she knew, ...but nothing came out. It's not that she wasn't sorry... there were simply no words that could convey her feelings in the most appropriate manner. All she could do was curse herself for being such a bloody perfectionist.

Weiss left as quietly as she had come in, not even saying goodnight. The lump in her throat was so big that she was sure even other people could see it.

This was the first night since before she arrived at Beacon that Weiss would cry herself to sleep. It was hard to live with the pain of a betrayal, ...especially if it's your own. Weiss was sure that even if ...no, when Yang woke up, there would be some bitter feelings left over. The heiress fully expected Blake to hold this against her for many years to come. All she had to do was apologize, or at least try to explain herself... but her brain had betrayed her.

As sleep finally took her, Weiss' last thought was This is all my fault...

[ Ruby ]

As the team leader, Ruby Rose had one extra duty that none of the others had; she had to report to Professor Ozpin, and usually by herself. Normally this was something she only had to do once a month or less - lately, she'd been to see him on an almost daily basis. She didn't hate him or anything, but the meetings were always so tense for her that she was far more tired after they were over. All they'd been talking about lately was Yang. Ozpin wanted to know everything.

Ruby had been watching Yang for the entire two months since the accident. Closely watching. The girl had to admit that her sister had gotten pretty good at acting, but there was no hiding the underlying problem during that fateful mission in the mountains. The old Yang was not there anymore. If she was, Yang would have realized that Ruby was no longer coming to her for 'sisterly advice' or a comforting hug after a nightmare. Such issues simply never came up. Ruby was starting to miss her Yang.

When the blonde let her memory loss become known, Ruby's instincts immediately began telling her that there was more to it, and after another meeting with Ozpin, she was rewarded with the truth at last: Yang had lost everything. While Ruby Rose was certainly not the paragon of maturity (at least in the real world), she did have enough sense to know when she was unable to actually help with something. This problem was one of the biggest that team RWBY had ever faced (and hopefully would ever face), and all she could do was watch and report. It literally tore her up inside.

And it was affecting her outside as well. Ruby had begun to lose sleep within a week of Yang's return and it had only gotten worse since then. She was missing classes due to her insomnia. She couldn't help it. Ruby felt like she had to keep an eye on her big sister all through the night ...because she was afraid that Yang might disappear. What precious few hours of sleep she did get were plagued by nightmares. The redhead now had dark circles under her eyes; and her smile, which was normally bright and sunny, had become faded and worn out.

Blake was her last hope, but the faunus seemed upset about something: it took Ruby all of 5 minutes to discover the reason. Deciding the two partners needed time to work out the issue, she grabbed Weiss and made a break for it. She was (almost) thrilled when the heiress elected to freeze the door shut. They were on the same page for once, and it felt fantastic.

A feeling which quickly turned to pure horror with the sound of Yang's screaming. The sight of the blonde lying still on the carpet and Blake above her in full panic mode was ...was ...so very close to sending Ruby over the edge. First her mother, and now Yang? Why? What did she do to deserve this?

The party was fun, but Ruby was not really there. She laughed at Nora's jokes, but she didn't enjoy them. She told them she was okay, but she was not okay. The entire get-together was spent in regret - she should have gone through more routines, she should have drilled the mechanics of defense and teamwork harder, she should have done this, she should have done that... she... oh gods...

She should be the one in that bed, not Yang.

Ruby stood in the bathroom of their dorm, wide awake at 3:00 am and ready to break. She didn't bother trying to stop the tears. She was supposed to keep the team together, to get them through this rough patch. She needed to be the linchpin, the main support of the entire group. Why was everything going so wrong?

Yang was the pillar that kept them up... Yang was the one everyone leaned on when things got tough... not Ruby...

As the redhead curled into a ball and cried herself to sleep on the cold tile floor, all she could think was This is all my fault...

[ Blake ]

It had been nearly two months since she'd last seen Yang in the hospital and Blake never wanted to see it again, yet here they were. The teenager who was normally the life of the room and glowing with such a radiance that there could be no shadows - to see her lying in a bed attached to a life-support machine was more than Blake could stand.

And the worst part of the whole thing was that it was all her fault.

The brunette sat in a chair next to the hospital bed, shoulders slumped and weary. Why does everything I touch have to fall apart? Blake fought back bitter tears as she looked on, helpless to do anything for the woman she loved.

The heart monitor continued it's rhythmic beeping, dutifully informing anyone who could hear it that the girl was still alive. There was a light droning as the building's air conditioner kicked on. Other than that, you could hear a pin drop. There was a lingering smell of roses mixed with other, more subtle aromas; Ruby, Weiss, and team JNPR had visited a few hours ago, hoping to lighten the mood a little. And while Nora's antics were always welcome, there was nothing anyone could do to brighten the faunus' mood. Not today. Not here.

Blake reached out from her chair and touched Yang's hand, wincing at just how cold the girl felt. That scared her on a deep level, even more so than the memory loss. Oh, gods... What have I done to you? Yang... There was no more fighting the tears now, so Blake simply let them fall. How can you ever forgive me...? Please... The brunette was openly weeping now, not caring if anyone happened to walk in. To hell with them all. She leaned over and rested her forehead against the blonde's cold, clammy hand. Fresh tears began to stain the sheets.

Please... come back to me...!

It had all started with that damned training battle. Blake neither remembered nor cared who it was that landed the hit on her Yang, since all she cared about was getting the blonde out of danger. She was the one who carried Yang off the battlefield, and she was the only one who stayed by her side all the way to the hospital. Only when the nurses finally pried her away (almost using a crowbar) did Blake finally started to calm down.

The fact that she and Yang had only been 'together' for a couple of weeks before then did little to ease her nerves. After all, they had been partners for far longer than that. As far as the faunus was concerned, she and Yang had ... well, always been together. There was no awkwardness. When she thought about it long enough, Blake had come to the realization that she had fallen in love with the blonde brawler... well, pretty much at first sight.

Hell, you try to ignore a smokin' hot woman in a tank-top. I dare you.

By the time Yang had woken up from her first visit here, everyone was sure it was over. Team RWBY was back together. Except Yang wasn't ...Yang anymore. Blake tried to ignore the changes, but after a while it was simply more than she could take. Yang was suddenly quiet, she was actually studying, and she... she... she wasn't making puns! Blake was soon convinced that the real Yang had been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by this odd, introverted Yang clone.

Before you get the wrong idea, Blake didn't hate the way Yang was acting... she was actually starting to like it. Up until a week ago, the faunus had believed that Yang was somehow trying to change herself to better match Blake's personality (it was a desperate hope and she knew it). Blake had always hoped that the blonde could see what she saw in those quiet times, the private spaces, and the gentle, intimate moments of peace. Those times when all she wanted to do was sit there and bask in the silence. Up until a week ago, she was sure they were going to be alright...

Then she saw Yang with Weiss. And they were smiling. Blake was no longer sure of anything.

All at once, everything seemed to fit. Yang studying - that was Weiss' thing. The being quiet and no puns thing - Weiss had always wanted that. And now she sees them laughing and smiling together? There was no way she couldn't see the two of them being ...like that. Blake had been left out, ignored, ...betrayed. That hurt her far more than any heavy blow to the head ever would. This was a blow to the heart. They may as well have shot her with a gun.

And when Yang tried to pin the whole thing on her memory loss, of course Blake had freaked out. How dare she try to make such a lame excuse! Was that really all she thought of Blake? Just a passing memory? She would not... could not... accept such a stupid, idiotic reason for Yang's actions. It would have been better if the blonde had simply ripped Blake's beating heart from her chest...

But she didn't do that. The kind and gentle Yang did not leave Blake to suffer. The faunus knew that even the old Yang would have done something to snap her girlfriend out of this funk (even if it meant breaking the door down). But this softer approach ...well, to use a new internet meme she had learned a while back, it hit her right in the feels. ...And that was the first time she'd ever had the chance to say that and mean it.

When they looked into each other's eyes, Blake knew she had been wrong to assume the worst.

Yang would never do anything like that. She believed in Yang... the blonde brawler was her life.

And now Yang was fighting for her life. Blake would hear that bloodcurdling scream in her sleep for the next year and a half.

The staff at the hospital was fine with Blake spending the night with Yang (after the battle they went through to keep the girl out of the operating room, they were in no mood for a full-out war...). With the lights off, Blake leaned over and gently kissed the blonde on the forehead. The skin was cold even there. The faunus slowly laid her head down next to Yang's and closed her eyes, still sitting in the chair. Sleep found her after only a few minutes.

...

...

...

But it wasn't long before something happened. Blake's aura seemed to gain a life of it's own and something that looked like a thin black mist began to seep off of the sleeping brunette and flow out until it met bright blonde hair. From there it surrounded Yang's entire head, then slowly began to find it's way inside...

...

...

...

Just an FYI, the finale will be heavily influenced by the "Cloud's Memories" scene from FF7, disc 2. You have been warned.

I wanted to keep this story mostly angst-free, I really did, but the subject matter (amnesia) doesn't leave much room for that, does it? I know I'm not following the canon very well in this story. I know Yang is (was?) actually quite smart, yet I made her out to be a bit of a dummy - that wasn't really intentional and I apologize to anyone who might have taken offense to this. Just to be clear, Yang is actually one of my favorite characters from the show.

I think the trouble is because I'm trying to write out characters I'm still not very... familiar with.

After this chapter goes up, I will take the next week or so and do some research (that is to say, Imma watch all of RWBY over again, including the chibi stuff). This means the next update won't be until June 9th... but I promise I will finish this story at that time. No more delays.