Junior didn't actually have a whole lot in the way of food. A lot of it was the kind of food one would expect to find at a night club. Even so, R couldn't think of any reason to complain about a platter of nachos, with meat, tomatoes, and spicy guacamole all added to the mix. Afterwards, she downed a glass of brandy and almost fell asleep at the bar. Her insides were burning from the aftertaste of the drink but she was so tired that she barely noticed it.

"There are a couple rooms upstairs. I can give you two one," Junior said. His voice sounded like it was coming from two rooms away, even though R could see Junior right there through blurry vision. She groaned and readjusted her head on the counter. No matter where she put it, she still felt uncomfortable.

"Thank you, lead the way," Gill said.

R was too weak to protest when Gill took her in his arms and lifted her up. By that point, everything went dark.

The darkness didn't last long. Within seconds, she was back at Beacon, her hair long and luscious again. She was wearing a Huntress' uniform instead of the average, dirty clothes she wore now, which consisted of a dark crimson suit with long leggings and a black belt with a cube hooked to it. Standing in front of her was the Headmaster of Beacon himself, Professor Ozpin.

Tears slid down R's cheeks, which to her was embarrassing. She hated looking weak in front of Ozpin. She was afraid that that would change his outlook on her. She wanted to appear strong, capable of taking care of herself and standing up for herself. She had to be better than this.

"I don't know how you can be nice to me after I've made a mistake," R said between sobs. Her shoulders shook like an earthquake's power and the tears kept coming, stinging her eyes and gracing her skin.

Both of Ozpin's hands were lying atop his cane and his sharp, narrow eyes studied her closely. Outside of a fathomless curiosity, Ozpin's only other expression was father-like sympathy.

"Why should I stop being nice to you after you made a mistake?" Ozpin asked.

"Because I'm supposed to be better," R said. "I try so hard to make you proud. I try so hard to be exactly the kind of Huntress I'm supposed to be and I fail whenever I get so close to accomplishing that."

"All that happened today was that you didn't manage to discover your Semblance and unlock it. You will, in time. It's different for everyone," Ozpin explained.

"But I'm one of the only students this semester who hasn't yet, and the semester is almost over!" R cried. A knot formed in her throat and squeezed it, forcing more tears into her eyes. She rattled from the pain it caused as if the tip of a dagger was steadily pushing itself further into her neck.

"I let my focus derail and I got impatient. I'm not patient enough to find my Semblance," R said.

Ozpin smiled. "There, you see? You may have made mistakes, but you take responsibility by admitting you made them. That is always the first step in defeating them."

"You really think so?" R asked.

"I know so," Ozpin replied with a chuckle. "Here, come with me. I want to show you something."

Still feeling a little deflated but more curious than anything else, R followed Ozpin outside to Beacon's courtyard. The night sky was completely clear of clouds, exposing the nakedness of the galaxy and all its stars. There was a countless number of them lighting up the night. The moon appeared more full than it usually did, applying more light and bathing the courtyard in a rich sapphire hue.

"My dear, you make mistakes, but here's something to know that might help you feel better should you feel this way ever again," Ozpin said.

"What is it?"

"I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, and do you want to know exactly how many?" Ozpin asked.

"How many?"

Ozpin gestured his hand towards the sky. "As many as how many stars there are in this one galaxy."

R stared up at the stars in disbelief. Surely it was impossible for anyone to make that many mistakes in his lifetime. How was that even possible?

As if Ozpin was reading her thoughts, he said "it is possible. For me to make that many mistakes I mean. You, on the other hand, have made as many as a handful in your short life and will never make as many as I have. You will learn to face them or they will one day face you. Don't run away from them."

R nodded, understanding more what Ozpin was getting at. Still, she wasn't sure where to go from that point on.

"I'm afraid, Professor Ozpin."

"That is the second step in making amends for your mistakes. Drive out any fear that can prevent you from confronting your mistakes head-on. Stay calm."

Ozpin reached out with his hand as if to touch R on the shoulder but frowned and stopped before he could. His arm retreated back to his side. R didn't even notice.

The Ripper rested his back against the wall of a building across the street from Junior's night club.

I know you're in there.

The Ripper didn't need any artificial way to track R down. He could feel her own Semblance taunting him, drawing him towards her in an odd mixture of ways. Sometimes it felt like a playful challenge and sometimes it felt like an opponent tossing insults at him to provoke him to attack her. Ever since R had unlocked her Semblance while training at Beacon, he was cursed with the unexplainable urge to slice her to pieces. Now after her murderous rampage that made her the most wanted person in the kingdom, the Ripper felt compelled more than ever to hunt her down and end her life, not just so that he could finally get her out of his head, but also to eradicate the fear she inevitably carried in the wake of running from the law, which ran the risk of drawing the Grimm to Vale again.

For years, the Ripper had fantasized different ways in which he would kill R. He imagined forcing R to stare up at his eyes, making sure his face is the last image R ever has in her head, just like how she has been the only image in his head for too long now.

Now he had her right where he wanted her, but even now, he knew he had time. He wanted to bask in the moment. Normally that would be considered a foolish move, as it was only delaying the inevitable, but here he relished the idea of haunting R first. He felt like he was in a position of power, and as long as R was still alive, he had a hold on that power.

Not too much longer now. In just a few minutes, I will have my claws in you.

R sat up with a pained gasp, eyes open so wide it hurt. Her breathing was heavy and shaky and it hurt to suck in oxygen. Her face and throat was slick with sweat. Looking around, she realized she was in a bed, safe in a small room with nothing else but a dresser and a chair, of which Gill was sitting in sleeping. A pale light was streaking in from the window covering the room in a dirty yellow blanket. The walls were made of a green, peeling wallpaper and the dark blue carpet was stained and even looked wet in certain places.

Not the best a hotel can offer for sure.

Gill stirred in his chair and opened his eyes. He sat forward when he saw that R was awake.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

"How long was I out?"

"No more than an hour. It's nearing the middle of the night now," Gill explained.

R nodded and drew her knees in to hug them to her chest. It was somehow comforting to feel her chest heaving against her legs. It meant she was breathing. It meant she was still alive.

"We're upstairs above the club aren't we?" R asked.

"Yes," Gill nodded. "We're in Junior's room."

"I remember this place," R said.

Gill tilted his head, eyeing R curiously. "So there was something more going on between you and Junior."

R lied back down so that she was staring up at the ceiling. "We almost had something. We almost went that far. But we didn't."

"I totally saw the chemistry flying like fireworks between you two," Gill said.

R couldn't tell if Gill was being sarcastic or he was jealous. Either way, it sounded slightly hostile. She glanced over at the window. The blinds were down so she couldn't see anything outside. The pale, dirty mustard light painting the blinds made her shiver, as if it was capable of spying on her. Outside, it was eerily quiet. There was the occasional sound of a car passing by, but the club was somewhat isolated from the rest of downtown, so it wasn't burdened by the noise of traffic.

"We didn't have much of a relationship—well, it was about to become one," R said. "I needed a place to stay after leaving Beacon and I was also desperate to be with someone. I lost something valuable to me, so being with Junior was a temporary way of patching up that wound."

"I understand. So why did you leave him?" Gill asked.

"One night, he hit on some blond girl who came for information and in return she beat the crap out of him and his men. I didn't want to be associated with someone who saw every woman he met as fair game even though he was already with someone else, and someone who provoked fights. I couldn't have that kind of recklessness and conflict in my life," R explained.

Gill nodded and bit his lower lip in thought. "You were right to leave him."

"I'm just surprised he was willing to help this time," R admitted.

Gill got up from his chair and moved towards the bed. He gestured at it with his hand. "May I?"

R let a half smile go and silently nodded. Gill sat down next to R, pulling the covers over his legs. His hand strayed over to R's back and began rubbing it. His touch was like a heated blanket being thrust over R's shoulders. Her heart beat slightly faster and she didn't have to look in a mirror to know that her cheeks were turning a faint scarlet.

"You know, we were just getting started with something before the explosion happened," Gill said, a hint of mischief peaking in his voice.

R's heart burst into a frantic run and the skin underneath her armpits immediately turned damp. She remembered it all now. Pressing herself up against Gill in her apartment, surrendering herself over to him like a precious trophy.

Is he—is he actually suggesting we—?

"Only if you want to. I'm curious if it'll help take your mind off of—off of everything for a little while," Gill said, confirming R's suspicions.

R didn't say anything, but her face didn't say 'no'. Gill took that to mean she was speechless but willing. He slowly wrapped his arms around R's waist and pulled her towards him so that his chest was against her back. He leaned his head down and proceeded to kiss her on the top of her head, then make his way down, brushing her hair aside and holding it in place so that he could kiss the back of her neck. The kisses came quietly and started out soft, almost as if he was holding back on purpose from being too intimate, then steadily transitioned to becoming more passionate. His hands moved so that his fingers grasped the bottom of her shirt with the intent of lifting it up.

This is it. This is what you've always wanted, isn't it? Isn't it?

All the warmth and the feeling of not being alone withered away however when R's thoughts turned back to Petunia. It was one thing to lose her arms. It was a whole other thing to lose someone close to her forever. She was close to Gill too, or at least she believed she was, but Petunia filled a specific role that Gill could never do.

If I hadn't turned Petunia away and if I had let her come into my apartment, she'd probably still be alive.

"It's my fault Petunia is dead," R said.

Gill stopped. His fingers stayed where they were.

"No. No it's not," Gill replied.

"What do you mean? Of course it is!" R's voice rose and then cracked like a vase getting tossed up and smashing against a ceiling.

"You were there when I told Petunia to go away. She would still be alive if I had let her in," she explained.

"You didn't know that that bombing was going to happen," Gill pointed out.

"I was selfish. Petunia looked up to me because I payed attention to her and took care of her like no one else did and I only focused on what I wanted."

"And what was it that you wanted?" Gill asked.

"To feel that pleasure of being with someone like you. I was desperate for that attention," R said.

One of Gill's hands rose so it was sliding up and down R's arm. "You've been through so much. It makes sense you felt that way."

R wiped a tear from her eye before it could drop down her cheek. Her body was an intensive mixture of hot and cold. Her throat burned but her fingers were swollen with ice.

"R, listen," Gill said. "You've made mistakes, in some cases very bad ones, but now that you're here safe, and I'm here with you, don't you think you deserve to have what you've wanted after everything you've lost? Don't you want to gain something that you know you want and can't lose?"

R swiped another tear away and nodded, feeling her shoulders relax as she expelled a heavy breath. The bipolar mix of hot and cold melted into a comfortable warmth.

He's right. I'm here with him, with the opportunity to feel that closeness I've always wanted to feel.

R glanced over at the window again, as if someone was about to smash through it, run to her, and strangle every bit of life out of her. She shivered after an icicle of cold jabbed her heart, which made Gill hold on to her tighter.

"Come on, R. Let go. It's okay," he said.

It was only then that R realized every muscle in her body was tensed up. She allowed herself to rest, feeling herself droop and settle against Gill's chest.

"Can we just be like this for a while? I don't have the energy right now." R said. She glanced over at the window once again, feeling something squirm in her stomach as if a worm was trapped inside it and was struggling to get out.

Gill didn't say anything at first for what felt like too long.

"Of course," he finally replied, brushing R's hair with his fingers.

"I'll feel better, and well enough, after we're out of this kingdom."