AUTHOR'S NOTES: Another long chapter, but kind of a "midway point" for this story arc, getting most of Ruby Flight back together again. A warning: this one was tough to write, and not just because I was finishing up another fanfic at the same time I was working on this chapter. There's some feels in this one.

More notes at the end.

Naval Air Station Atsugi

Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

18 June 2001

Ruby Rose hummed happily to herself as she walked down the stairs of the Visiting Officers' Quarters. She heard something fly over on final approach, and stopped. Huh. Sounds like a F-15, but the engines sound weird. Oh well. There was a F-15 wing at Kadena, far to the south on Okinawa. Meh. F-15s are boring. F-18s too. I wish something cool would come in.

She was walking out the front door when something else came over on final. Ruby didn't have her hat on yet, and shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand. Huh, a F-5…no, she thought with growing excitement, not with that built up tail! That's a F-20! Weird camo, though…Southeast Asia, looks like… The F-20 flew over, its shadow flitting over her. Mexican Air Force markings. Wow! They're a long way from home. I need to go check that out!

Before Ruby could dash off, she saw Pyrrha Nikos walking towards her. Both were dressed in USAF light blue, a working uniform as opposed to the dress blues. Ruby slapped her hat on her head. "Bip!" she exclaimed. Then she snapped off a dazzling cadet-style salute to Pyrrha. "Bam! Good afternoon, Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha stared at Ruby like the younger woman had taken leave of her senses, and returned the salute. "Are you all right?" she asked with a small smile.

"Yep! Just in a really good mood." Ruby admitted to herself that she did feel pretty good. The last two days had been spent in training Oscar, and he was getting better. Plus there was that F-20 to go check out.

"Before you go charging off to the flightline," Pyrrha admonished, "you'd better go see your uncle. He wanted to talk to you."

"Aww." Ruby deflated a little. Qrow Branwen had been very busy the past two days, enough that they had barely seen him. "Where are you off to?"

"I think I'll take a nap before dinner. We are still getting together tonight at the officer's club, yes?"

"That's the plan. Seeya." She watched Pyrrha walk into the VOQ, then half-skipped off, not willing to let Pyrrha's melancholy get to her. She slowed down to a more sedate and military pace, returning the salutes of sailors she passed. She always felt awkward doing so; most of them were older than her, and her childlike features tended to make people stare, like she was someone's little girl playing dress up. Of course, then they'd see her silver wings and two rows of ribbons on her chest. She had an oak leaf cluster to her Distinguished Flying Cross now, and another Air Medal, and a Purple Heart. One of the doctors back at Savannah had told her she was up for the Air Force Cross—second only to the Medal of Honor—for ramming Cinder Fall at Beacon, but Ruby doubted she'd get it. The USAF frowned on people destroying their own aircraft.

She walked into the pleasantly air-conditioned building Qrow was working in, taking off her hat. Japan was as warm and humid as North Carolina; at least she was used to it. Ruby walked down the hall, missed Qrow's office, turned around, and found it. She knocked politely, then walked in, coming to attention in front of his desk. "Captain Ruby Rose reporting as ordered, sir!" She grinned at him.

"Uh-huh." Qrow didn't get up from his chair, and waved her to the one sitting across his desk. She sat primly while he marked on a piece of paper with a pen. Finally, he pushed the paper across to her. "Tell me what you think of this."

Ruby scanned the paper. It was a list.

Name Mission Type Status

Lucero, Flann (Captain, USAF) Combat Air Patrol Transferred CENTCOM

Durham, Azura (Captain, USMC) Search and Destroy MIA

Cowan, Dove (Captain, USAF) Search and Destroy KIA

Choi, Lali (Captan, CUAF) Reconaissance MIA

Lin, Fuschia (Major, CUAF) Search and Rescue KIA

Silver, Stark (Lieutenant, USN) Search and Destroy MIA

Hawkins, Jay (Captain, USAF) Search and Destroy MIA

Hawthorne, James (Lt. Colonel, USAF) Reconaissance KIA

Andrews, Rory (Captain, USAF) Search and Destroy Transferred USAFE

Castillo, Aurora (Captain, AMI) Combat Air Patrol MIA

Hughes, Daisy (Lieutenant, USN) Search and Rescue Transferred CENTCOM

Levine, Mae (Lieutenant, USN) Search and Destroy KIA

Forrest, Wyatt (Major, USMC) Search and Destroy Transferred CONUS

Shields, Heather (Lieutenant (jg), USN) Search and Destroy MIA

Riviera, Star (Major, ADA) Reconaissance KIA

Krantz, Cyan (Captain, USMC) Reconaissance Transferred CONUS

Hyacinth, Zach (Leutnant, Luftwaffe) Search and Destroy KIA

Nash, Inigo (Major, USAF) Combat Air Patrol KIA

Teale, Caroline (Captain, USAF) Search and Destroy MIA

Hayakawa, Midori (Lieutenant, JASDF) Reconaissance MIA

Thurman, Onyx (Captain, USAF) Search and Rescue MIA

Varga, Viola (Captain, AMI) Combat Air Patrol MIA

Carrillo, Nova (Captain, AMI) Reconaissance MIA

Wan, Shiro (Captain, JASDF) Search and Destroy KIA

Hunt, Terra (Captain, USAF) Search and Destroy KIA

Erdos, Mauve (Lieutenant, TAF) Reconaissance KIA

Bashir, Maza (Flying Officer, RSAF) Search and Destroy MIA

Rhodes, Cascade (Flight Lt., RAF) Search and Destroy MIA

Ebi, Clover (Squadron Leader, RAF) Search and Destroy Transferred RAFG

Larsen, Maple (Lieutenant, USN) Search and Destroy MIA

Umbra, M'Ress (Flying Officer, RAAF) Search and Rescue KIA

Griffin, Carmina (Major, USAF) Search and Rescue MIA

Ruby looked over the list again. There were 32 names. Of them, 15 were missing in action, 11 were killed in action, and six had been transferred to other commands—CENTCOM in the Middle East, CONUS back in the United States, USAFE in Europe, and USAFE's Royal Air Force equivalent, RAFG in Germany. "Who are they?" she asked, handing the list back.

"Huntsmen and Huntresses assigned to Pacific Air Command," Qrow explained. "All detached from their squadrons and given independent missions, per their status as Huntsmen and Huntresses. 26 out of 32 dead—MIA usually means that…as we know only too damn well." Ruby knew he referred to Summer Rose.

"That's pretty bad," Ruby observed. "I knew the Huntsmen and Huntresses get hit pretty hard—only too damn well—but not that bad."

Qrow's mouth quirked into a lopsided smile. "Almost makes you want to consider a career change, huh?" He ran his fingers over the list. "Casualty rates are always pretty high, Ruby, but this is insane. Normally, you'd see about one-fourth of the names on the list as MIA or KIA." He leaned back in his chair, the list in one hand. "And when you break out the names according to when they were listed as MIA or KIA, it looks like that was about right. Teale, Bashir, and Larsen were either killed or went MIA over six weeks ago; Krantz, Larsen, and Andrews were transferred around that time, too—standard operating procedure; they got orders." He tossed the paper on the desk. "The rest have gotten killed, gone missing, or been transferred in the past three weeks. That's way too high."

"How many Huntsmen or Huntresses are left in PACAF?" Ruby asked.

Qrow's smile didn't change, but there wasn't any cheer in it. "One. You're looking at him." He shrugged. "I mean, technically, Reaper Flight is too—you guys did more or less graduate from Vytal Flag, which would make you eligible. But the paperwork needs to be processed. Of course, our little baby ensign wouldn't qualify."

"Just one?" Ruby exclaimed. "Holy shit, Uncle Qrow! That means—

"—there technically aren't any Huntsmen or Huntresses available in the Pacific." Qrow shook his head. "That's not a coincidence, Ruby. Someone's purposely clearing these people out. Those casualty rates are way too high for a three-week period, and that means someone was selling those poor bastards out. Every one of them walked into a trap; Salem knew they were coming."

Ruby chewed her lower lip. "God. We've got a mole in PACAF." She reached out and looked at the list a third time. "Doesn't make any sense. I wonder who it could be?"

Qrow sighed. "I think I know who it is, Ruby. And it scares the shit out of me."

"Who?"

"This doesn't go beyond this room." Qrow dropped his voice and leaned across the desk, his voice barely above a whisper. "Leonardo Lionheart. He had access to the mission list since he got his orders to here…three weeks ago."

Ruby went pale. "Uncle Qrow…that's…that's…no way!" She threw the list back, as if it was poisoned. "He doesn't have any love for Salem! He can't! I mean, Ruth got killed by Cinder and her bunch!"

"Ruby, supposedly 'Cinder and her bunch' were vetted by Lionheart." He reached into his desk and pulled out his flask. "God, Ruby. I don't want to think that of Leo. He's a good dude. And he was fucking pissed when we talked to him in Misawa. You can't fake that." Qrow tapped the list. "And hell, this list came from his office. He sent this to me when I requested it. You'd think that if he was responsible for all these people getting killed, he'd try to fake the list up somehow."

"Or maybe he didn't think you'd notice," Ruby said. Qrow gave her a sardonic look and took a drink. Then her phone rang. Ruby pulled it from her pocket. "What's up?"

"This is Nora!" Ruby wondered why Nora was yelling, or for that matter, why she'd identified herself. After all, her phone said who was calling. "You and Qrow need to get your butts over to the club, right now!"

"What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"Just do it!" Nora laughed and hung up.

Ruby stared at her phone for a second, and put it away. "That's weird. Nora wants us to come over to the O'Club ASAP. She wouldn't say why."

Qrow put the list in his pocket. "Well, I'm done here anyway, and it's happy hour somewhere. Let's head on over." He levered himself out of his chair, and Ruby followed him out of the musty office. He stuffed the flask back in another pocket, adjusted his tie, and both put their hats on as they left the building.

It was a short walk to the officers' club. "Ladies first," Qrow said, letting Ruby take the lead. She stuck her tongue out at him, and opened the door. She took three steps in before she stopped. Qrow, lost in thought, walked into her as he took off his cap. "What the hell—" Then he looked up.

Standing in their flight suits, flanked by a grinning Nora, Ren and Pyrrha, was Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee.

Yang winked. "Hey," she announced loudly, "someone's wearing their cover in the club. I believe that buys a round for the house."

"Yang?" Ruby said in a tiny voice. "Weiss?" She shook her head, unable to believe her sister and her best friend were standing in front of her. "I…I don't…" Yang, with big sister instincts, knew what to do. She walked forward. Ruby's eyes filled with tears. "I'm…I'm so sorry. I should've…I should've talked to you more…I just…I didn't know…" She broke down, tears running down her face.

Yang hugged her. Even through the artificial hand, Ruby felt her sister's warmth. "I love you, Ruby."

"Oh God." Ruby buried her face in Yang's shoulder, her hat falling to the floor. "I love you too, Yang." She looked over her sister's shoulder. "Oh…hey, Weiss."

Weiss wiped her eyes. "Hello there, Ruby."

Yang turned and put out a hand. "Bring it in here, Weissy." Weiss ran forward and embraced both of them.

Nora was trying not to cry. Ren shook his head, smiling. Pyrrha nodded. "Ruby Flight, together again. Just one to go."

"You two should've seen it!" Nora laughed. They sat at one of the tables at the club, bowls of steaming ramen in front of them—and not the cheap ramen they had eaten at the barracks at Beacon, but the true Japanese stuff, piled high with noodles, beef and vegetables. "This girl charges a Nuckelavee in a damaged fighter!"

Pyrrha waved her chopsticks. "It wasn't all that impressive. Ruby did more to it."

"Me?" Ruby laughed. She pointed at Ren. "He was the one who was out of control!"

Ren smiled modestly. "I…may have lost my temper momentarily."

"No way!" Ruby insisted. "'Out of control' as in awesome!"

"I see." Ren bowed to her. "Thank you." The table exploded in laughter at Ren's mock seriousness.

Nora helped herself to more ramen, and slurped it loudly. No one was offended, not even Weiss, who knew enough about Japanese etiquette that slurping one's ramen was a compliment to the cook. "So, Weiss…did you do anything exciting when you were home?" She tossed back half a beer, her third for the night.

Weiss thought about telling her friends that she now had four more kills, but she didn't really want to remember the An-12 flight at the moment, not after how it ended. She was still trying to come to terms that she was free, not just from Raven Branwen, but from her father. "Well, let's see. I sang for my father's Beacon benefit concert, fended off some horny jerk, and then cussed out the entire reception." She sipped her beer. "I may have even used the word 'fuck' on that occasion."

"Goodness gracious!" Yang exclaimed, in a fake show of shock. "Such fucking language!"

Ruby put up a hand in a high-five, and Weiss, caught up in the moment, slapped it. "My girl Weiss speaks truth to power!" The former heiress wondered if Ruby even knew what that meant, but then decided it didn't really matter. She laughed, with the sheer joy of being alive.

Ruby then caught herself staring at Yang's arm. She had seen it before, of course, but when she'd left, Yang had barely been moving it. Now, while it was still a little stiff, Yang was moving it almost naturally. Yang smiled at her sister, to let her know she wasn't offended, and let it thump on the middle of the table. "Check it out. Not a replacement for the real thing, but it's come in handy."

"Ugghh," groaned at least three of them at the pun.

"It's really quite amazing, Yang," Pyrrha commented.

Ruby reached out and ran her fingers over the plastic and steel. To her surprise, it was warm—not as warm as actual skin, but still warm. Yang didn't draw back, as she would have only a few weeks before. "And it's just as strong as your old arm?"

"Seems to be."

Nora finished her beer, belched, and slammed her elbow on the table, hand up. "Wanna find out?"

"Nora, now's not the time," Ren admonished, but then Yang, grinning savagely, put her fingers against Nora's. "All right," Ren said, reached into his wallet, and pulled out a wad of yen. He tossed it on the table. "5000 on Nora."

"I'll take some of that!" Ruby tossed 7000 on the table. Quickly, Pyrrha added a few thousand yen of her own; Weiss, to her consternation, had no money at all. Qrow, who had been at the bar, watching the two flights with a wistful smile, suddenly got up, walked over, and threw 10,000 yen in for Yang.

"Go!" Pyrrha declared, and the two women pushed against each other. Yang barely resisted Nora's sudden snap, designed to end the contest before it started; she'd forgotten how strong being an A-10 pilot made her. She held her ground and began shoving. Slowly, Nora's hand began to slip back upwards, passing its apex, and starting to go in the opposite direction. Yang's arm began to throb with pain, but she refused to quit. Neither did Nora, though sweat was beginning to stream down her forehead.

"Definitely…feels like…the original," Nora grunted out.

"Yep," Yang returned, gritting her teeth. "But it…it does have…some new…features."

"Yeah?" Nora managed to push Yang back up a bit. "Like…what?"

"Vibration function." Yang looked across and licked her lips suggestively. Nora's eyes widened, and Yang suddenly threw everything into one last push. It worked: distracted, Nora's elbow slipped, and Yang slammed her hand into the table. Qrow and Ruby cheered, and the latter elbowed Weiss. "You're not cheering loud enough!"

Nora pulled back an aching hand and massaged it, as Ren reluctantly pushed across his money to Yang. "Really?"

"Nah, I'm just kidding," Yang laughed. "No vibration function. I wish, though. Wouldn't need a guy, then."

"Oh, here we go," Weiss sighed. "Now we're getting to that phase of the night."

Yang divvied up the winnings, and gave some to a surprised Weiss. "Heck yeah! Anybody get laid? I didn't. I know Ruby didn't." Her little sister stuck out her tongue. "I know Nora and Ren did!" Ren blushed, and Nora giggled. Yang looked at Pyrrha, remembered, and skipped her to look at the former heiress. "How about the Ice Queen? Someone melt your cold heart?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I so did not miss you people."

Qrow put his winnings back into his pocket. "Ice Queen?"

"Weiss' nickname. Too long for a callsign, though," Yang explained.

"We were going to call her 'Scar,' I thought," Pyrrha said.

"And Yang was going to be 'Suds'!" Ruby laughed. Yang snorted and almost spit out her beer, remembering the practice scramble at Beacon where she'd been forced to put on her flight suit with no underwear beneath and shampoo in her hair, since she'd been caught in the shower.

"I can live with Scar," Weiss said, finishing her own beer. "Kind of badass, actually."

"Hey, who are you and what did you do with the real Weiss?" Nora was starting to get a bit tipsy.

"You make it sound like I used to be terrible!" Weiss protested.

"You were!" Ruby laughed. "You were so uptight! You called me an idiot, and gave me a ration of shit on our first hop—"

"Oh, the one where you flew in front of me and nearly became my first kill?" Weiss pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but I was just being…" Ruby sighed. "Okay, yeah, that was dumb on my part." Then she laughed again. "Man, hard to believe that was just a few months ago. Feels like forever. That Nevermore, and that Death Stalker…"

It was suddenly silent at the table, as everyone remembered that first mission at Vytal Flag. It had nearly been their last. It also made them remember who wasn't at the table with them. "It's been a long time," Ren said, finally. "We've all grown in our own ways. We all did some dumb things at Beacon. Even me. But remembering that, wanting to go back and tell who we were a few months ago how foolish we were…that just proves that we've changed. We're smarter, we're kinder, we're stronger, and we're not done moving forward yet. Not by a damned sight."

It was quiet again, and Ruby stared at Ren. "Wow. How many Kirins have you had, Ren?"

"Not enough," Ren said, signaling for another beer, and the table laughed again. They were alone in the club, except for the bartender; he reached for another bottle, but Qrow walked over and got it for him. Weiss and Nora raised their hands for another, and Qrow nodded at Pyrrha. "You good?"

"Oh…oh yes." Pyrrha finished her beer; it had been her only one. "Just a club soda, please." At everyone else's look—it seemed like a good night to get a little tight—she laughed nervously. "I'm really not a good drunk. I get very…well, I get rather weepy. And no one likes a weepy drunk."

Nora saw the pain in Pyrrha's face. She alone knew about the night Jaune had found Pyrrha very drunk, trying to use ouzo to blot out the memories of a dead squadron. The next morning, Nora had found her friend tucked in, her reeking flight suit in the hamper and empty bottles in the trash; Pyrrha had later confessed that she dimly remembered Jaune doing all of that. To change the subject, Nora said loudly, "You know, I can't think of any mistakes I made at Beacon."

"Your A-10 got shot all to shit a lot!" Yang exclaimed.

Nora waved it off as Qrow handed her a beer. "Meh! It's what A-10 pilots do."

"And what about the dance?" Yang was not letting her off the hook that easy. "When you started up the Macarena?"

Nora snickered. "That was fun. Ren's favorite dance."

"It is not," Ren told her.

"Liar." Nora took a long drink. "Besides, I had to do something to save Pyrrha from—" She stopped, catching herself. "From…um…"

Once more, silence reigned at the table, and once more, they were reminded of who was not there. Everyone looked at one another, and at nothing, all of them afraid to break the laughter, and the happiness. Blake was the missing link in Ruby Flight, but she was still alive, if far away; there was hope. Jaune Arc, however, would never fly with Juniper Flight again.

The silence was broken by the door to the club opening and closing. Oscar Pine, dressed in his khakis, walked in, in an epic case of bad timing. He realized it. "Uh…sorry. I would've been here sooner, but I had to do some processing paperwork, and…" It didn't take a psychic to know he was the odd man out here. He hadn't been at Beacon. "I'll…I'll just head on over to Burger King or something…"

Ruby got up and motioned him over. "No…it's okay, Oscar. We were just…remembering someone."

Weiss surprised them all by slapping a hand on the table. "Stop it," she snapped. "We can say his name! Jaune Arc!" she shouted.

"But Pyrrha…" Nora's voice was almost a painful moan.

"No," Pyrrha said firmly. "No. Weiss is right." She stood and faced them. "I appreciate that you're trying to spare my feelings. But my feelings are not worth pretending that a good man never existed. Jaune was my friend. He was my friend because he was a good man, and because he accepted me as a human being, not as some 'Invincible Girl' made up for propaganda and public relations." She paused, and her voice softened a little. "All of you did, and I thank you for that." She folded her hands in front of her, not meeting their eyes. "Jaune and I…we became lovers. I think that, had he lived, had Cinder Fall not taken him from me—from us—we would've been more. But it was not to be."

Nora was crying now, remembering her former wingman. Ren put an arm around her. "Pyrrha—"

"Just a moment, Ren," Pyrrha told him gently. "I'm not quite done." She looked up. "All of you have been wondering if I have a death wish. After my canopy got blown off my F-22, I went right back into the fight. I flew Major Branwen's F-117 directly at the Nuckelavee. You believe it is because I don't care if I live or die. You know that I listen to Jaune's last message to me every night when I work out. But I did all that to defend my friends, the only family I have left, the only country I have left, and I listen to Jaune so I don't forget the sound of his voice. And I work out so hard to keep from losing my mind. I don't have a death wish…I just have a lot to do. And I cannot, I will not die until that task is finished. And that task is seeing Cinder Fall dead, and her patron destroyed."

No one said anything as Pyrrha sat. Oscar almost tiptoed over to the bar to get a drink, afraid to make too much noise. No one noticed, and then Yang got to her feet. "That was a damn fine speech, Pyr," she spoke. "And I'm glad we're talking about Jauney again, because I miss that French fucker." Some smiles at that, even a little giggle from Nora. "You know…we haven't really had a chance to mourn him, have we? Or for that matter, any of the others, like Dove or Ciel or Penny. We had the ceremony for Ruth, but never did for the people that bought it at Beacon."

"Bit late for a missing man," Qrow commented. He'd buried so many friends that the names and faces had started to blur. Only late, on some nights, did they come back to him, clear as if they were in the same room. For those memories, there was liquor.

"But not too late to burn a piano," Yang countered. She motioned with her beer. There was a battered, upright piano in the corner. It had seen better days, and it was covered with stickers from the various Navy squadrons that had transited Atsugi.

The bartender, who had been doing his best to be discreet—he'd been around fighter pilots for a long time—now spoke up. "Oh, please no."

Qrow turned and grinned. "You want a new piano don't you?" He reached into his wallet and fished around for a credit card. "Here. Charge it to me."

"Uncle Qrow, you can't afford that, not even on your salary!" Ruby protested.

"I'll get reimbursed. I imagine a certain short little woman will be happy to pay for an old beat to shit piano."

"But the Navy—" the bartender began.

"Won't give a shit," Qrow finished. It was true: the Navy bureaucracy might have an issue, but they'd never know. Navy aviators would not only not care, they would probably help the pilots in the room.

"At least go outside," the bartender begged.

"Not a problem." All of them got up from the table, except for Oscar, who was still at the bar and still mystified, feeling very out of place.

The six pilots of Ruby and Juniper Flights all pushed and pulled, cursed and prodded the piano out the front door, dragging it into the parking lot. The sun was down now, and it was a muggy night. "Now we just need to set it on fire," Nora said.

"I've got a lighter," Qrow offered. He had hung back, feeling that too many cooks spoiled the broth. That and he didn't want to throw his back out.

"Yes, but that wood's not going to burn with just a little cigarette lighter," Weiss pointed out.

The door to the club opened again, and Oscar came out. In both hands were two twelve-packs of beer. "Will this work?"

They all grinned at him. "Yeah, rook," Yang said. "That'll do just fine." He handed over the beer to them and started to leave, but a steel hand pulled him back into the circle. "Nah, stick around. Like it or not, you're part of the team now."

"We'll take him into our flight." No one mentioned why Ren had suddenly made the offer, though everyone was thinking it: Juniper was permanently down a man. Ruby Flight was only temporarily down one. Yang had some thoughts on that, but let it slide; it wasn't the time or place.

"Hmm," Nora mused. "Pyrrha, Oscar, Ren, Nora. What would Captain Ozpin say about that?" She was grinning again.

Ruby snorted. "Porn Flight?" Everyone began laughing at that. They needed it.

"I think Nikos, Oscar, Ren and Nora might work better. Norn Flight—like the fates of Norse mythology," Ren offered.

"That sounds lovely," Pyrrha agreed.

"Now that that's been taken care of," Yang said, "let's light this candle."

All of them grabbed a beer or two from one case, emptying it over the piano. Then Qrow lit a corner. It took a few tries to get the alcohol to light, but eventually it did. The flames slowly crept up the side of the piano, then it found better fuel in the dry wood, and the piano well and truly began to burn.

Ruby handed out beers to everyone from the untouched case. "To our friends," she said. "I don't know if I remember everyone…"

"I do." Weiss remembered the speech she'd given at the reception. "Ruth Lionheart, Royal Air Force. Dove Bronzewing, United States Air Force. Ciel Soleil, United States Air Force. Bolin Hori, Turkish Air Force. Gwen Darcy, Royal Air Force. Penny Polendina, United States Air Force." She paused. "Jaune Arc, Armee de l'Air." She raised her beer. "Ladies and gentlemen, charge your glasses high."

Each one raised their beer bottle; each one took a drink. Each one remembered the names and the faces of friends: Ruth's laughter, Dove's boisterousness, Ciel's Cajun accent, Bolin's constant attention to his hair, Gwen's insistence on wearing skirts just an inch too short for regulation to show off her legs, which she was very proud of. Ruby remembered Penny's childlike wonder at flying, so like her own. Pyrrha remembered Jaune's fingers on her naked skin. They drank their beer, then threw the bottles at the piano. Some just thunked against it; others shattered and spilled their alcohol, feeding the flames, which were now well and truly consuming the instrument.

"Oh, hallelujah, oh hallelujah," Yang began.

"Throw a nickel on the grass, save a fighter pilot's ass!" Ruby finished.

Then they all began singing. The song was old, dating to at least the Korean War, and possibly sooner. No one knew where it started, or why it was tradition to throw nickels on the grass. "Oh hallelujah, oh hallelujah, throw a nickel on the grass and you'll be saved."

Oscar saw them link arms with each other and begin to sway to the music; he was caught up in it, and along with the growing heat from the burning piano, felt the warmth of acceptance. He had yet to see combat, and he had a lot to learn, but these men and women were making him part of their team, and their family. He began to sing with the others: "I was cruising down the barrier, doing six and twenty per, when a call came from the major—"

"Oh won't you save me, sir!" Pyrrha yelled with a laugh. It was the first time in a long time they had heard her trilling laugh, and it sounded good.

"Got three flak holes in my wingtips and my tanks ain't got no gas," they sang, "Mayday, mayday, mayday, I got six Grimm on my ass!"

They would sing long after the piano was nothing more than glowing embers. All but Ren, Oscar and Ruby got very drunk; by the end, Nora was barely conscious, Yang was slurring every other word, and Weiss had forgotten how to speak English, instead singing in German. Qrow didn't seem to be all that drunk, but he had a very high tolerance. Pyrrha was pleasantly tight. Drunk, but not crying; instead, she seemed rather happy, as if she'd remembered how to be happy again. They sang every bad fighter pilot song they knew, from ones dating from World War I to more recent vintage, from singing about the dying fighter pilot next to the French waterfall to how everyone wanted a gun just like the A-10. The sober ones and Qrow put the drunk ones to bed. Yang and Nora had finally passed out before they got back to the VOQ; Weiss didn't even bother getting undressed and fell asleep in the stinking flight suit she'd worn from Mexico.

Pyrrha was still semi-conscious, enough to get undressed down to her underwear before falling into her bed. She spoke into the darkness. "Good night, Jaune." She smiled.

MORE AUTHOR'S NOTES: Burning a piano in remembrance is a tradition that may date back to World War I, though it's not always done as something of a funeral rite; it's also done for anniversaries or just because pilots feel like setting something on fire. "Throw a Nickel On the Grass" is indeed a fighter pilot song; I changed two of the words for this world. (The most traditional version of the song is from Korea, and mentions the Yalu and MiGs.) The song about the dying fighter pilot has about twenty versions, and is constantly updated (I can't remember the actual title), while the song about the A-10 is "I Wish I Had a Gun Just Like the A-10" by Dos Gringos, a pair of F-15 pilots. You can find these songs on YouTube, more than likely.

Many thanks to reviewer Old Wolf Logan for the suggestion of Norn Flight (and Porn Flight, by accident).