Still trying to steady her breathing, Yang managed to look down at what was left of her arm. It didn't look any different. There was no open wound, no bruising, nothing. Yang closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and sank to her knees.

Maybe I've just been traveling too long, she thought.

"Yang?" Yang's eyes shot open when she heard the familiar voice, a voice she hadn't heard in months.

Quickly turning her head toward the sound of running footsteps, Yang saw her. Her clothing was different. She wore a long, white coat over her black cropped top and black pants. Her thigh-high boots were especially noticeable, and her dark hair flowed behind her, completely free of any ribbon. Those "cute kitty ears," as Ruby had once referred to them, were proudly visible on top of Blake's head.

Blake skidded to a halt in front of Yang and dropped down to where she was kneeling. "Yang, are you alright?!" she questioned urgently.

Yang looked into Blake's wide, cat-like eyes. Eyes she had started to think she'd never see again. Eyes she'd never had the chance to say goodbye to. The longer Yang looked into them, the angrier she became. Blake looked away from Yang, sadness quickly overtaking her worried expression.

"Y-Yang, I-"

"Don't!" spat Yang, and she quickly stood up. She walked away from Blake and toward her bike, which was still lying on its side.

Blake followed behind Yang and called tearfully after her. "Yang, I'm sorry! I know that's not enough! I know that there is absolutely nothing I can do to make you h-hate me any less! Your arm...I know it's m-my fault. I-"

"You think this is about my arm?" Yang had begun pulling her bike from its side only to practically throw it right back to the ground. She turned to face Blake again, her eyes violently red. Blake looked back at Yang, tears still falling from her eyes, but her mouth hung slightly open in confusion.

"You had nothing to do with this!" shouted Yang as she put her prosthetic back on. "I flew in there with no plan, no technique, absolutely nothing that would have helped me beat that guy. I just wanted to save you." Yang's eyes narrowed, and she wore a look of disgust as she said "you."

"In the middle of all that chaos, everyone was scattered. Everyone but you and me. We were hurt, and we were scared, but we were together. We still had part of our team, or so I thought."

Blake looked down at the ground, her tears falling in the dirt.

"When I opened my eyes, I was on my way to a hospital. I was alone. I asked every single doctor about you. They didn't know who I was talking about. Then Sun came along and told me you'd left. You'd left without a word."

Yang's voice had become quiet, but it was clear she was seething as she glared across the path at Blake, who was still looking at the ground.

"Blake."

Blake looked back up at the sound of her name. Yang was looking at her in pure anger, something Blake had never dreamed she'd have to experience.

"Why did you leave?"

Blake tilted her head forward slightly to show her understanding. She looked directly into Yang's eyes, which were slowly fading back to their original purple, and prepared to speak.

"I-"

CRASH!

Blake was interrupted by a sound that violently shook the ground beneath them. Some trees nearby looked as if they may tip over from the force of it.

"Did something just...fall out of the sky?" wondered Yang, looking to the direction the sound had come from.

"That's certainly what it felt like," said Blake.

Yang sighed and yanked her bike up from the ground. "Come on, we'll talk about this later."

Yang swung her leg over her bike and looked at Blake, who hesitated. Yang rolled her eyes and said, "Do you want to go see what that was or not?"

Blake said nothing, but took a deep breath and hopped onto the bike behind Yang.

"Why don't you want her to know?" Jaune asked Qrow, looking hurt. He couldn't imagine how Ruby would feel if she discovered her true father had been Qrow all along. Her whole world would be turned upside down.

Qrow looked at Jaune, resigning. He gave himself away back at the hospital. The kid wasn't going to let it go.

"It was the best way to keep Ruby safe," said Qrow quietly. He and Jaune were still standing in the middle of the street. Oscar stood close by listening intently.

"After...After Summer...Once she was gone, my missions didn't slow down. In fact, they increased dramatically. Ozpin needed me everywhere at once. Slowing down or taking a break would have meant sacrificing everything we'd fought for - everything Summer fought for." Qrow paused and took a swig from his flask.

"So...so you had to be gone a lot. You still could've told her the truth. She would have understood!" said Jaune.

Qrow sighed and said, "It wasn't about being gone. I realized that I was dangerous. The more time I spend with Ruby, the more I'm risking her life."

Jaune's face fell when he understood what Qrow was saying. "You found out about your semblance?"

Qrow coughed a lifeless laugh and walked over to the building Ren had been thrown into just minutes ago. He sat on the ground and leaned against the damaged building.

"Nah, I've known about my semblance since I was a kid, but I'd always been sort of a loner. I didn't ever spend a lot of time with friends or family - wasn't high on my list of priorities. I just wanted to be a huntsman."

Qrow rolled his eyes and continued, "Not long after I became a member of Team STRQ, I noticed a change. The feeling I always had right before my semblance activated, the feeling that always came just before I'd gain an unlikely upperhand in a battle...I started to get that feeling when I was with my team. Whether we were in battle, or we were just traveling, or we were going to a stupid school dance, bad things started happening to them. Unlucky things."

Jaune started to feel sick as he realized where the story was going.

"Nothing horrible was happening to them. Tai tripped over his shoelace during a tournament battle. Raven got separated from the rest of the team while we were traveling because of a sudden storm. It was little stuff, but I noticed it. I felt it each time. I started to distance myself from them, but I couldn't ever pull one over on Tai. He knew something was up, so I told him about my semblance. He told the rest of the group and they agreed it was no big deal. They'd be extra careful and keep an eye out for themselves. It would be fine."

Qrow's last sentence was dripping in sarcasm, and he scowled at the ground as he spoke.

"Summer is gone because of me." Qrow's voice was filled with loathing. Jaune could practically see the weight Qrow had placed on his own shoulders.

"B-because of your semblance," Jaune said quietly.

"You sound just like Oz," grunted Qrow through gritted teeth. "My semblance is a part of me, and I knew it was there. I knew it was dangerous. I chose to stay with Summer and risk her life every single day because I was selfish. I chose my happiness over her life!"

Qrow's blood was boiling. He needed to be alone. He started to stand up just as a distant crash reached his ears. Jaune and Oscar turned to face the direction the sound came from as the ground vibrated beneath them.

"Was that normal?" asked Oscar. He shielded his eyes from the sun and looked up above the buildings that were surrounding them.

"Probably not," said Jaune, also looking for the source of the sound.

"Smoke!" shouted Qrow from behind them. Jaune and Oscar both spotted the plume of smoke Qrow was referring to, and the three of them bolted toward it as fast as they could.

Weiss couldn't breathe.

Get your bearings.

Weiss thought hard about where she was and what had happened. She focused on the only sense that still seemed to be working properly: her eyesight. She took in her surroundings, which were unfortunately covered in thick smoke. She tried to sit up but realized she'd been pinned down by heavy cargo. Cargo.

All at once everything came back to Weiss. She was on her way to Mistral. She stowed away in an Atlesian airship. She had just woken up from a dream about her sister, she looked out the window, and the next thing she knew the ship had collided with...something.

The rest of Weiss' senses started to recover from shock, and it was not a pleasant experience. The smoke quickly filling Weiss' lungs combined with the heavy cargo pressing on her chest made it nearly impossible to breathe. Her whole body ached, and she'd definitely hit the back of her head during the crash - she could feel a lump forming.

I have to get out of here!

Weiss managed to pull her arms out from underneath the cargo so she could try and heave it off of her. It was a large, metal container, so it was extremely difficult to get any kind of grip on it. Weiss grunted as she put all of her strength into pushing the container away, but it wouldn't budge. She fell into a coughing fit as breathing had become still more difficult.

Giving up on the cargo, Weiss began to look around anywhere she could reach for something that would help her. She spotted the Myrtenaster, but it was way too far out of her reach. Weiss closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, but the loss of oxygen was making it extremely difficult to concentrate.

I'm not always going to be around to save you, Weiss.

Weiss' eyes shot open as her sister's words echoed in her mind for the second time that day. She gathered every bit of energy she could find inside herself and concentrated.

"I...don't...need…saving," she wheezed as a small, but bright glyph appeared beside her.

Sweating profusely, Weiss shut her eyes once more as the Armored Knight's hand began to form from the glyph. Her lungs were screaming for oxygen, her head was absolutely pounding, and she wasn't even certain she'd be able to walk once she was free, but Weiss nonetheless summoned the Knight's arm and watched as it forced the cargo off of her.