Yikes, it has been a while! I apologize for how long it took me to get this chapter posted. First of all, life happened and got me off track. Once I did get back on track, this chapter actually required a wee bit of research regarding a topic I know absolutely nothing about (hopefully I somewhat did it justice). You all deserve a much longer chapter due to how long you waited for this one, but I'll just try to make sure I get another one up within the next couple of days or so. Thanks for your patience!


Yang sped through the forest on her motorcycle, her wild blonde hair trailing behind her. It had been a long journey, but she knew she had to be close to her destination. The forest was thinning, the trails were wider and more flat, and she'd noticed an occasional airship flying high overhead.

But what was she going to do when she got there? What if Ruby had already left Mistral? What if Ruby never even made it?

Stop it, thought Yang. She shook her head as if that would make the pessimistic thoughts go away. Ruby would be fine. She could take care of herself, and she had Team JNPR with her.

Most of Team JNPR…

Yang gritted her teeth as the thought came to her. She still couldn't believe Pyrrha was gone. Everything had happened so fast, everything at Beacon was chaos, and she'd awoken from a traumatizing injury only to find out she'd lost another comrade - Pyrrha, of all people. She was so strong, so intelligent, so talented, and yet…

Yang sped up as she thought of Ruby again. She wove through the forest for a couple hours and finally saw buildings up ahead. She was approaching the outskirts of Mistral. Yang squeezed the bike's handgrips in anticipation, and suddenly felt a horrible, shooting pain in her right hand...a hand she lost several months ago.

Yang gasped in pain and looked down at her top-of-the-line prosthetic in disbelief. What was happening? Panicking, Yang glanced up ahead of her and realized the path ahead was making a sharp left. She was headed straight for a tree. Relying heavily on her left arm, Yang swung her motorcycle to the left as quickly as she could, but it was too sharp of a turn. The bike skidded onto its side and Yang tumbled off it.

Breathing heavily, Yang lied on her back, her eyes wide with shock. After taking a few moments to catch her breath, Yang shakily sat up and looked at her prosthetic arm. Gripping it with her left hand, she removed it from what was left of her limb. She stared at it and realized her whole body was shaking.

Calm down, Yang.

Yang closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She opened her eyes again, only to feel her right hand being bent at an odd angle.

What. Right. Hand?

"Augh!"

Yang stood up in panic and rolled her shoulders forward and backward, wrung her limbs in every which way, anything to make this horrid feeling stop. She stood alone in the middle of the empty path, her motorcycle still lying on its side several feet away, forgotten. Yang's heart was beating fast, she was covered in a feverish sweat, and her eyes were wild with panic.


Ren and Nora went after Ruby, but Qrow turned the other way. It would be unwise to follow her at this point, he knew that. As he turned, he found Jaune standing in his path.

"What?" grunted Qrow as Jaune glared up at him.

"Your master plan probably isn't going to work out very well if you keep this up," said Jaune. Qrow rolled his eyes and continued to walk past Jaune, but the younger huntsman followed him.

"You were supposed to stay with her at the inn," said Qrow as Jaune followed behind him.

"Did you hear anything she just said? Ruby is right! You can't just keep us locked up while-"

Qrow rounded on Jaune in anger, his voice raised, "Who are you to decide what's right? You kids - you don't understand!"

Jaune narrowed his eyes and said, "Why do you keep pretending I wasn't there when you brought Ruby to the hospital?"

Qrow opened his mouth, then closed it again.


Qrow burst through the hospital doors, Winter and Ruby's team in tow. He held Ruby close to his chest as he rushed to the first staff member he could find. A small team of medical personnel quickly gathered around and collected Ruby.

The lobby was a blur of people, medical equipment, and paperwork as Jaune watched, dazed. He was exhausted, but he willed himself to continue standing. His eyelids heavy, his head pounding, his legs screaming, Jaune forced himself to stay conscious and attempt to register everything that was happening. He slowly turned his head in time to see Ren rushed away as well. Nora attempted to follow, but a nurse stopped her. Slowly turning his head back to Qrow, Jaune saw that Winter was helping a nurse hold him back from running after Ruby.

"Qrow!" Jaune heard Winter shout. Her voice was muddled in Jaune's ears. It was as if he'd heard her from under water.

"Qrow, let them help her! You'll only get in the way!" Winter shouted, but Qrow continued to struggle.

A second nurse rushed toward the scuffle and began to plead with Qrow, "Sir, please! I understand how difficult this is-"

"NO YOU DON'T!" shouted Qrow, lunging forward at the nurse, who squeaked and fell back in fear. Qrow dragged Winter and the first nurse forward a few inches as they struggled to maintain traction while holding him back.

Remembering how to make his legs work, Jaune started to head toward Qrow. He had to help before someone got hurt, but it was rather difficult to walk straight - the room was spinning. He blinked profusely to keep the room in focus, and after doing so Jaune realized that Qrow had begun to cry. The nurse who had fallen looked up at Qrow with sadness in her eyes.

"Sir, we will do everything we can. I promise. She's-"

"She's m-my daughter. P-please-"

At the word 'daughter,' Qrow collapsed onto the ground, followed by the nurse who had been attempting to help Winter. Qrow did not attempt to stand back up. Instead he remained on his hands and knees, looked up at the nurse who had spoken to him as tears still fell from his eyes and said, "Please save her."

Jaune was hit with a wave of dizziness, and the last thing he remembered was Winter. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hung slightly open, and her arms were suspended in front of her as if she were still holding onto Qrow.