The world around Blake came into fuzzy focus as she momentarily regained consciousness. She had to get away from the tracks. That was her first priority. She strained to stretch her arm in front of her, then tried to pull herself forward. She pushed with her legs, but didn't seem to have much strength in her anymore. She fought through the pain, but only managed to make it a few feet before the pain became too much, and Blake passed once more into the void.

The world was still black, but she could hear the slight crunch of footsteps on gravel. Someone coming her way. Panic shot through Blake. If it was the authorities and they found her, it would all be over. She would be locked away, never to see Beacon again, never see Yang again. She rolled onto her side, and desperately dragged herself towards the tree line, away from the footsteps that were approaching too quickly. She heard the newcomer kneel down beside her, and opened her eyes. She could vaguely see a tall outline, but couldn't focus enough to see the face.

"It's going to be alright Blake," The voice said soothingly, familiarly. For some reason, that voice calmed Blake, but her panic stricken mind wouldn't allow herself to focus.

"No, no, please..." She tried to form a coherent thought, make this person go away. Somewhere behind the stranger, there were two people calling to each other. The fuzzy person in front of her looked over his shoulder, than back to her.

"We have to go, now." Blake tried to struggle as the figure leaned forward and picked her up, but the effort only caused her to moan weakly in pain and pass out again.

Stars. They were lovely, Blake thought to herself. She was bouncing slightly, staring up at the sky as though someone was walking with her held in his arms. The world immediately around her seemed distant and fuzzy, but the stars were clear pinpricks of light splayed across the darkness of the sky. She had loved the stars her whole life, and sighed contentedly.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" The stranger who was carrying her said softly. "I remember you loved them. You used to spend hours gazing up at them whenever you were upset."

Blake tried to look at whoever had spoken the words, but whoever it was wore a mask. A Grimm mask. For some reason, that struck Blake as oddly familiar. She didn't like that mask either. It was too cruel and twisted for the person that lay behind it, who hid who he truly was behind another mask. Hate and anger. She wondered why she was thinking that, and turned her attention back to the stars. It wasn't long before Blake drifted out of consciousness once more.

Yang lay in her bed, listening to the loud noise coming out of her headphones. Normally she wasn't much of a music person unless it was at parties, but tonight she needed a distraction of some sort. Ever since the previous thursday, Blake had been acting weirdly. It had started with her faunus partner making out with her, which Yang hadn't minded in the least. The heated session of groping and kissing had been quite nice, actually, but it had been weird. Blake never skipped class to do stuff like that, and Yang should have questioned it more. Next, Blake had gotten very moody and antisocial, which wasn't weird, but it was worse than normal. Finally she had confided in Yang that the White Fang were hunting down ex-associates like her, and the two had gone to visit a bookstore together.

That was when the real troubles started for them. Before it was just a bit of angst, but when they found Tukson's blood on the floor, Blake had freaked out. Blake freaking out was different then most people. Yang had noticed her girlfriend got very quiet, but to the point of being scary quiet, not contemplatively quiet. They had returned to Beacon shortly thereafter, and that's when Blake told her that she was going to see her old partner from the White Fang, and that Yang couldn't come.

Yang didn't know the relationship between the two, but she felt there was more than just business between the two. Blake was very guarded on the topic, and that meant there was something more. Yang knew that Blake had to do this, but she felt jealous and hurt that Blake didn't want her to come along. They were supposed to be partners, and on top of that they had a relationship, and Yang expected a certain level of confidence between the two.

She didn't want to, but Yang was starting to get very upset with her girlfriend. If things didn't work out soon, Yang didn't know if they could stay together with that level of stress. Yang resolved to talk to Blake about it when the faunus returned from her night out. She shut off her music and rolled over, trying to get some sleep. She was worried about Blake out there, alone, though, and it took Yang a long time to fall asleep.

"Yaaaaaaaang," Ruby's whine broke through Yang's uneasy sleep. Yang groaned, rolling over and meeting her little sister's eyes. "Come on sleepy! Time to get some food then ace some tests in class!"

"We don't have any tests today." Weiss interjected from across the room, already dressed and showered.

"Oh," Ruby said, momentarily dejected, but brightened immediately. "Well then we can just do some awesome studying." Ruby's voice slowly got softer and slower as she realized what she was saying. Yang laughed lightly at her sister's antics.

"C'mon Rubes, let's get ready." Yang said, hopping down from her bunk. When Yang looked around the room, she froze, her heart seizing.

"Good idea Yang, Blake's probably already in the cafeteria having food. She must've gotten up really early today."

Yang stared at the bed underneath her own that belonged to Blake, her mind reeling. Blake hadn't returned from her night's exploits.

I have do do this, It's this or I have to run, Yang.

Yang had not forgotten her partner's words, and a fear worse than anything Yang had ever felt before surged through her system. What it Blake had decided to run? What if, while she was out, Blake had decided her desire to run was bigger than her desire to be with Yang.

Yang's throat constricted, and she had to close her eyes and breath deeply to stop herself from crying. Yang normally covered her feelings in a cloud of jokes and teasing, but she couldn't bring herself to summon her normal easygoing demeanor.

"Sis?" Ruby questioned, interrupting Yang's whirlwind of emotion.

"Uh, what?"

"You gonna get ready?" Yang blinked before realizing she was the only one not dressed yet.

"Oh, uh, yeah. You two go ahead, I'll catch up."

Weiss and Ruby left the dorm, and Yang went into the shower. She let the hot water run over her smooth, toned body. Normally, the hot water would carry Yang's worries away, but today, her fears stuck to her like a pungent odor. Almost ripping the door off its hinges, Yang stepped out of the shower when she was done. She caught a look of herself in the mirror, and saw the tips of her hair flickering, half caught on fire.

She leaned over and gripped the sink, clenching her fists around it. She squeezed as she breathed deeply. Yang was overwhelmed with worry. If Blake hadn't run, then that meant she was hurt and needed Yang. Yang wasn't sure which was worse. Breathing deeply, she did her best to calm herself.

Hoping to distract herself, Yang changed quickly and pulled out her scroll, checking the newsfeed. She clicked on the first story, something about trains, hoping she could distract herself. She wasn't normally a news person though. As Yang read, however, she grew angrier and more worried.

Late last night, a train arrived in station as it was normally scheduled. Midnight between wednesday and thursday, however, when the train arrived, workers were shocked to fine one of the cars aflame. Upon conducting interviews with crew members, it was found that one of the security guards aboard the train had caught a lone unidentified person atop that same cart. Upon attempting to apprehend the subject, described as a female dressed in dark clothes (though due to the darkness, the employee of the Schnee dust company was unable to ascertain any facial features), she threw a dust crystal over the side of the train and shot it. The dust explosion caused dust, apparently planted there by the unknown vandal, to ignite and burn its way into the dust storage containers inside the cart. The criminal attempted to flee the scene, jumping from the side of the train, but in a show of extreme talent, the guard managed to shoot the fleeing criminal midair. Local authorities have been trying to find traces of this criminal, but after following a trail of blood, they were dumbfounded as any traces seemed to simply vanish. Current suspicions are that the criminal dragged herself for a while, then was attacked by a Grimm, perhaps a King Tajitu, who ate her, removing all traces. When the attacked train reached its destination, the criminal's message became blatantly clear. Illuminated by the burning fire inside the cart, the words "For old time's sake," accompanied by the three slash marks associated with the White Fang, had been burned through the hull. Authorities believe the outlawed criminal organization is somehow connected to the attack, though the message continues to dumbfound them. Police are asking the general public to please notify them if anyone has any leads on who this mysterious criminal might be.

Yang's heart was in her throat by the time she finished reading, having paused mid-step. Anger, betrayal and fear coursed through her as she read the report, knowing that it must be Blake who had done that to the train. Yang was shocked. She knew that Blake had done some intense things when she worked with the White Fang, but Yang had never thought her girlfriend would turn to such a dark measure, and for what? So that she could talk to someone from her past again? Yang was certain she knew what the message meant. It was a tie between her past with Adam and her present. She had avoided the question of how she would find Adam, but this must be it. To make it even worse, she had attacked a train transporting dust for the Schnee dust company. Was her relationship with her team so insignificant that Blake would willingly go and attack a train belonging to Weiss' father's company?

More pressing and worrying, though, was the word of the security guard. He had shot Blake, and the police had followed a trail of blood into the forest. Blake was injured for sure, and maybe worse. Yang's stomach twisted in fear for her partner. She had to go. Yang sent a quick message to Ruby, something about her feeling sick, then sprinted through the hallways towards the gates of Beacon. As she ran, she checked her scroll, working out the train's path. She stopped to pick up her motorcycle, then proceeded to rev the engine, gunning it out of the school towards the train tracks.

"Good morning, Blake." The voice was soothing and warm, though Blake instinctually knew that it could turn to a bitter snap in a moment. She knew that voice too well to mistake it. She rolled over from what appeared to be a makeshift bed of moss and faced who she knew she would find.

Adam.

"Hi..." She replied hesitantly, trying to maintain the aloof, disinterested tone that normally came so easily to her. She propped herself up onto her arm, but cried out as pain tore down her side. In an instant, Adam was beside her, supporting her side.

"Hold on, Blake. You've been shot." Adam put a hand over her side where the pain was coming from, supporting the rest of her body with his other arm. He laid her gently back down onto the mossy bed. "You're alright, there you go." He smiled at her as she did her best not to show her pain.

"So you saw the train?" Blake asked, already knowing the answer. Adam nodded.

"Not much happens in Vale without the White Fang hearing about it soon. Maybe five minutes after it arrived in station, I heard the news. 'For old time's sake," I knew it was you. Then I overheard a guard talking to a reporter about how he had shot someone. I came to find you right away. Lucky too, police were only a few minutes behind." As he talked, he moved to the side, unveiling a burning fire that warmed Blake. She was thankful for the heat.

She lifted her head up to exam her side. It didn't look promising. It was a small wound in her side, the bullet having gone all the way through. It was close enough to the edge of her body that it had only hit her oblique muscles, but it had shredded those. The slightest tensing of her sides sent pain shooting through her body. Even with her aura and proper care, it would take at least a day until she could move on her own again.

"Not even a thank you?" Adam teased, showing a side of himself Blake had only seen when they were alone.

"My hero," Blake replied in a dry, sarcastic tone. Adam smirked at her. He drew a pack from his back and opened it up.

"How about some food for the damsel in distress?" Blake would have hit Adam if she could move, but as it were, she smiled weakly at his joke. Even Yang would have gotten a cutting glare from Blake, but she didn't feel like fighting it right now. Being around Adam was easy, natural.

"What've you got?" Blake was only now realizing how hungry she was, and that her throat was parched. Blake nearly passed out in excitement when Adam pulled out a bottle of milk and a can of tuna.

"Just the essentials." He said, giving her a cocky grin. Blake's ears twitched in anticipation. Adam caught the movement and paused. He set the milk and tuna down then bent forward slowly, raising one hand to her face.

"Wha-" Blake began, but allowed her old partner to extend his hand. He reached up to the top of her head and pulled on her bow. The strip of black ribbon came away, uncovering Blake's cat ears.

"Much better," Adam said, satisfied. The movement had been light and caring, and it left Blake feeling a little confused and flushed. He picked up the milk and tuna again and set them beside Blake. "Here you go."

Blake gratefully accepted the food with her good arm, opening the tuna and savoring the scent. She thought it was unlikely that anyone but her appreciated tuna as much as it deserved. The fish was an absolute delicacy. She bent the tin lid into a crescent and used it as a spoon, enjoying each bite immensely. All too soon, it was gone, and Blake washed it down with milk. Adam stayed silent the entire time, not feeling it necessary to fill the silence with idle banter. It was one of the reasons they got along so well.

When she finished, Blake pushed herself so she was leaning on her good side, looking into the fire. It wasn't a particularly nice day, overcast and threatening to rain, but the fire provided all the warmth she needed.

"I take it you went to Tukson after I gave you the news, yes? That's why you're here?" Adam said after the two had enjoyed a companionable silence. Blake sighed. She knew she had to get to business soon enough, but she had been enjoying the familiar feel of the setting.

"Of course, I had to know if it was true. I believed you, but-"

"You had to see for yourself. I know." Adam poked the fire with a stick, rearranging the logs. Blake sighed as a fresh wave of heat washed over her.

"It's bad, isn't it?" She asked.

"They were trying to abandon their brotherhood. They had made promises to better the lives of the faunus, but when it came time to show their loyalty, they left." Adam's voice turned darker than the clouds in the sky. Blake moved back a little, and couldn't help but feel as though it was her fault that Adam felt so strongly about this.

"Maybe they were just unwilling to hurt innocent people and team up with a group of human criminals." Blake said softly, referring to Torchwick. Adam looked at her, and she sensed anger, sadness, loathing and despair from him. That worried her. Adam had always been very straight forward in his views. One emotion at a time. He was an idealist, but he was consistent. An Adam that wasn't sure what he felt was dangerous, but Blake grabbed onto it. If there was a chance that she could get Adam out, she had to take it.

"Maybe," He replied, his voice growing stony, "But nevertheless, what has been done is done. You got my attention, what do you want?" Blake was a little shocked, and her ears twitched again. He had been so warm and caring a moment ago, and in an instant he had become as emotional as a statue.

"I need your help, Adam." Blake said, trying not to sound as desperate as she felt. "I can't leave Beacon. You're working with the White Fang, there has to be something you can do."

"And why would I? You know I want you to come back, Blake. It would be a conflict of interests for me to help you stay away." Adam shielded himself well, but his words betrayed his care for her. Blake phrased her next few words carefully.

"As I said, for old time's sake. Adam, if they come after me, I won't have a choice. I'll have to run, and this time you'll never find me again. I'll never come back to the White Fang, and it'd be pushing me further away if they started hunting me. If you help me stay, though, you know where I am. Maybe we can even go for tea some time." The last part was a joke, but Blake hoped it would be enough to spark a bit of hope inside Adam. He smirked at her, and that worried Blake. He did that when he had an idea he knew she wouldn't like.

"Alright, but I need something in return."

"Anything," Blake answered immediately. If there was a chance she could evade the White Fang, she would sacrifice just about anything.

"Tomorrow night, there's some business I have to deal with. Since you left, I've been working alone. It would be nice to have a partner again."

Yang was steaming. Literally. Her hair was heating up to the point of almost igniting, and it was raining, so Yang was steaming. She found it fitting that her physical state matched her mood. She was utterly furious, but worried beyond imagining. From Beacon, she had made her way to the train tracks, following the route she would take if she was in Blake's position. Finally hitting the tracks, she had left her bike and proceeded on foot. She scanned the ground for any sign of disturbance that would have resulted from Blake hitting the ground, but couldn't find anything. To make things worse, the fresh rain could easily be washing away the last traces of Blake.

Yang reached her breaking point, worry, fear and anger boiling up inside her. The torrent of rage rushed through her, and Yang brought her fists down on the ground in frustration, sending bits of train track flying through the air. The wood and steel clattered around her, and Yang felt no better for her outburst. She was getting tired, wet, cold and hungry. On top of being miserable, she was no closer to finding her girlfriend.

Yang walked over to the forest and plopped herself down on a stump by the railway. She was taking heaving breaths, half to regain her composure and half to stop herself from sobbing. She couldn't lose Blake. After everything she had endured with her partner and friend, the two were too close to be separated like this. Yang didn't even know if Blake was alive. Yang's gut wrenched at the thought and she gagged, barely holding down vomit.

Focus, Yang reprimanded herself mentally. She had to think. The report had said that there had been a trail of blood, then nothing. Blake didn't have much ability to heal herself with her aura, so Yang doubted she had stood up and walked away. The only explanation was someone had picked her up... Probably. So even if Yang couldn't find the trail of Blake from the train tracks, maybe she could find something in the forest.

Another thought popped into Yang's head. Something she should have thought of earlier. Blake had been on the train, and so had been moving a lot faster than Yang was. Yang hadn't covered more than a few kilometers of ground in her search, which might have only taken a minute or two on the train. Cursing herself, Yang ran back to her bike. She was wasting time, and she didn't know if Blake had any of that left.

She roared down the tracks until she was no more than a few hundred meters from the station. She decided that any closer would have been too close for Blake, and Yang could backtrack from there. After about an hour of searching, Yang found a slight imprint in the gravel surrounding the train tracks. Upon closer inspection, there was blood on some of the rocks. The rain had washed most of it away, but a few sheltered rocks had a few flecks of the crimson liquid on them. Yang felt both excited and fearful at the discovery.

The police had been unable to follow the trail past the forest edge, but the police weren't some of the most promising huntresses in training in the world, a title Yang held. It would've been midnight when Blake came through here, which Yang knew from Port's class (despite her best efforts to not be interested) meant the Grimm would be active. The safest bet for anyone traveling through the forest would be the trees. The police probably hadn't even thought to check. Yang probably wouldn't have if she hadn't seen Blake climbing nimbly through them a few times when they visited Forever Fall together.

Climbing into the trees, struggling a little, Yang found what she was looking for. It wasn't much more than a few broken twigs and branches, but it was there. It was a trial. Yang was impressed. Whoever had been carrying Blake was obviously capable, and she doubted there would be any trail if they hadn't been carrying a body. As it were, however, Yang was able to follow the trail for a half hour into the forest, where it promptly disappeared. Thinking time again.

Well, the trail had been lost the first time from switching from floor to canopy, why not again? Yang's reasoning held true once again, finding the trail once more. However, this time, after only a few minutes, the trail went cold.

No! Yang thought desperately. She couldn't lose the trail again. She climbed a few trees nearby, but found nothing. She spent the next hour tearing apart the area around the end of the trail, her anger growing once more. She could feel drops of water evaporating as they hit her hair, sending sizzling drops of heated water all around her. The world was taking on a red tint as Yang demolished her surroundings. At some point, it stopped being a search and started to become destruction, Yang hitting anything that came near her in hopes that breaking a few things would make her feel better.

Dropping to her knees, unfruitful in her search for either a trail or comfort in breaking things, Yang clenched her jaw. Yang hadn't cried since she was a little kid and she had started being Ruby's older sister, but she was seriously close now. The thought of losing Blake was just too much to bear.

Looking up at the sky, thinking of shouting at whatever deities might exist for their injustice, something caught her eye. Not far away, she could see a little trail of smoke drifting into the sky. It couldn't be more than fifteen minutes away, and Yang immediately stood, dusting herself off. Once she had removed the dirt from her hair, Yang sped off towards the source of the smoke, fueled at this point by nothing but desperation.

She found herself skirting around the edge of a clearing, looking in on a quaint little camp sight. There was a fire burning, which must have been very hot to keep going in the rain, and next to it someone had constructed a lean to. Beside that lean to, there was a log, upon which a dark silhouette sat. The stranger was male, dressed in a long overcoat and wearing a mask of some sort. Yang also thought she saw horns in his hair, but couldn't be sure. She was more interested in the long blade sheathed at his side. Even resting, the stranger had a hand on the hilt.

Yang forced herself to look away from the stranger towards the lean to. A rush of relief flooded Yang, and she nearly collapsed in joy at what she saw. Obviously still alive and breathing, Blake lay in the lean to, sleeping contently. Yang paused for a moment, taking in the sight of her partner, safe and secure. Whoever the stranger was, he had taken good care of Blake.

Yang stepped into the clearing, and the man sitting on the log cocked his head. Yang approached nonetheless, and after a few steps, the man whirled around to face her. His long-tailed coat flitted slightly from the movement, but otherwise, he was stock still. He was gripping the hilt of his sword with one hand, the other on the sheath. Yang had no doubt he could unsheathe and attack faster than her eyes could see.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"I'm here for her." Yang replied inclining her head towards Blake.

"Then you had best leave. She's under my protection." It suddenly registered for Yang. This must be Adam, Blake's old partner. It explained his protective disposition, and he seemed to fit what little descriptions Yang had heard of him.

"I'm not here to hurt her, Adam," He cocked his head to the side at the mention of his name. "I'm here to help her. Bring her home." Adam smirked cockily at that.

"Well, I don't think our dear old Miss Belladonna is going home anytime soon." The words cut at Yang, but she refused to believe them. There was no way Blake would abandon everything at Beacon for her old life. "If you'd like, you can talk to her." Adam stepped to the side, releasing his hold on his sword, holding his arm out towards the makeshift shelter that housed Blake.

Yang approached gingerly, not wanting to disturb her partner's rest quite yet. She knelt down next to Blake, examining her partner. Other than being a bit paler than usual, Blake seemed fine for the most part. Yang's eyes drifted down her partner's body, and her heart sank at what she saw. A bullet had torn through Blake's side, leaving a bloody hole. Someone, likely Adam, had put gauze around the wound, but there was a lot of blood. Yang gently shook her partner's shoulder, trying to wake her.

"Blake," The soft call pulled at Blake, drawing her from her sleep. She moaned in protest, but slowly allowed her amber eyes to open. Standing over her, lightly shaking her shoulder, was Yang. Blake's mind filled with confusion. What's she doing here? Blake wondered. A thousand questions washed through her, but they were cut off when Yang brought her in for a tight hug.

"Yang?" Blake mumbled into her partner's shoulder, relieved that she was here but still extraordinarily confused. Yang pulled away, and Blake looked up into her partner's lilac eyes. She found comfort there, but Yang was obviously tense. "What are you doing here?" Yang's expression quickly changed from relief to hurt.

"I'm here to bring you back to Beacon. After you snuck out last night I was worried, and this morning I read an article. It said you had been shot. I had to find you. Come on, let's get you back to Beacon and all patched up." Yang's voice changed from sad to her usual optimistic tone as she talked. Blake looked down, not being able to meet her partner's eyes.

"I can't go back, not right now Yang." Everything was silent for a moment, only the rain making the slightest noise.

"Blake, you have to," Yang said eventually, her voice pleading. "Beacon's your home. You have a team there. You have me. You can't give all that up."

"I'm not, Yang. This is chance to fix everyth-"

"And how are you going to do that?" Yang cut in, the tips of her hair flickering and her voice rising. "Working with the White Fang? Destroying dust from the company to which your friend is an heiress? What's wrong with you, Blake? There has to be another way. We can figure it out back home. Now c'mon." Blake could see the agitation in her partner's face. Yang was sincerely pissed off right now.

"I won't," Blake replied, knowing how much her words must have hurt Yang. "I do one thing for them, then I'm free. That's all. Then I can come back to Beacon and everything will be the same." Yang was silent for a moment, but Blake knew she wasn't calming down.

"No," Was all the blonde said.

"No?"

"No. If you do this, work with those terrorists again, nothing will be the same. Do what you want, but when you get back it won't be the same. You won't have me."

With that Yang jumped up and stormed off into the rain, past Adam. By the time she reached the forest, Blake was sure she could see a flaming inferno streaming behind the girl. Blake's heart sank, and she felt terrible again. She had to do this though. She just couldn't get over the simple fact that had been presented to her. She had lost Yang.

Well another long chapter! So this was a Blake's arc only chapter, but the next one will have some Jaune/Pyrrha moments, I promise. Other than that, there may be one more Blake only chapter soon (She has a big night coming up). Any other chapters should be split between the two story arcs from now on though. As always, comments, suggestions and feedback is very welcome. Hope you're all enjoying!