Author's Note: Hey everyone, I'm sorry it took so long to get this out. The continuous RT nightmare and 2020 just made me want to stop and take in the holidays a lot more than I have in recent years, because I NEEDED to be in a good headspace to make this chapter. Hell, the constant pessimism and shitty decisions surrounding RWBY is already pushing me so far away, that I'm just going to wait to watch Vol. 8 when all the episodes are out in 2021. (To be clear, I liked Vol. 7 a lot, it's just the irl drama that's draining me.)

It's still hard. But I'm the one in control here, and that way I know that I can lift someone's spirits… because this chapter is the one we've all been wanting for a long time. All of that stupid feely-stuff aside, as usual I'm going to try and make things emotional and to the point, but for your viewing pleasure, I'd actually recommend that you listen to the song choice I picked for this outing too, as it's always been my guilty-pleasure when it comes to the RWBY soundtrack, whether it's the acoustic or normal version.

Yes i still have a heart… and i'm going to pour it out into this chapter for sure. It's been a long time coming, so this chapter is all for you guys. Anyways, I'm just gonna end this by letting you know that I'm safe, and that I hope you guys are okay as well. Oh and by the way… it's a little cliche by now, but listen to You Say Run/Jet Set Run while reading the previous chapter! It makes the last half of the RWBY vs Orin fight a lot better!

Song: Gold (Acoustic) by Casey Lee Williams

Bonus Track: Keep What You Steal by Martin O'Donnell

...

Chapter 52 - Us

"Emile, it's Yang. We just helped Gage at Eve's Square, and now we're trying to get out of the city. You think you could give us a ride?"

"Yeh… I know a good place to land near there, I'll send you the location.

"Thanks! I gotta warn you though, we kind of have a bigger group than usual."

"Yer all good… wait, is Gage there with you?"

"No, he told us to meet him at Beacon. Said he didn't want us to get caught in public with him… so that's why I don't want to wait in line to board a transport at the airstation."

"*sigh* ...Understood. I'm enroute already, so don't be late."

It hadn't even been half an hour since Eve's Square was liberated, and the City of Vale was already being flooded by a Joint Task Force that was made up of Atlesian soldiers, Cops, and volunteer Huntsmen and Huntresses. Gage really made the right choice by splitting up, as they went block by block to either evacuate civilians back towards the safezone that had already been established, or deal with any leftover White Fang initiates or unruly citizens that were causing damage across the city.

Team RWBY, JNPR, and Penny were able to avoid them by luck alone, as they got a few miles away from Eve's Square. They left the mall at a snail's pace though due to Weiss and Yang's injuries, but it didn't hinder them from reaching the location Emile chose to land his ship. It was a pretty familiar place too, as the coordinates Yang received led to the location of the Vale Breach that occurred almost a year prior. The concrete stage, plants, shops, and patched up fracture were all still present like before.

Gage had been here not that long ago too, as this was where Rhythm, Steel, and Thicket from Team FRST had made their grand entrance. Their drop pods were still here also, left behind amidst the smouldering ground as Emile's own bullhead (named The Transluscence) decloaked, revealing that it had landed on top of the stage. It was now fitted with heavy armor plating, a sky blue paint job with black paint that covered the wings and flaps, and a beowulf-teeth decal that covered the nose of the airship.

Despite this clear upgrade, Yang didn't take a second to admire it and insead limped towards the ship as fast as she could… while Ruby became a little nervous and looked over towards Penny briefly. "P-Penny, can you keep this a secret too?"

"Of course I can-*hiccup!*" The android was quick to reply with a warm smile, but covered her mouth the second she let out a hiccup. She smiled again afterwards and Ruby just exhaled tiredly, contempt knowing that her friend would at least try to keep this private.

The rose then took Penny by the hand and led her towards the ship while the otters followed suit, right as one of the airship's side doors popped out and raised upwards to reveal the ship's passenger bay. They were all expecting it to be empty, but much to Team RWBY's dismay… Grisha, of all people, was standing there inside of the bullhead.

Wearing all grey everything with his M98B on his back, the scotsman took off what looked like a combat helmet that had a grey frogmen veil draped over it, revealing his dark brown hair, and his green and white eye to them. Then once he clipped the headgear to his hip, he put one foot forward, pointed out towards the teens, and shouted at them whilst a playful smirk crept onto his face.

"GET IN LOSERS, we're going to Beacon!"

His accent made it sound a lot more cheerful than he intended, but it didn't stop Penny from telling Ruby how rude that was. Jaune also felt the same, and he walked up next to them both while Weiss was still hanging off of him, with one arm around his shoulder while her broken one dangled at her side, "...How do you know these guys again?" He asked the rose.

"They're, u-um… friends with my uncle..."

It was a passable response for the knight, and he figured that dealing with this random guy was worth the free ride to Beacon. However, Grisha's hard-ass demeanor dropped once he noticed how much pain Weiss was in, along with the blood that coated Blake's clothes and hands. "Oh bloody hell-You lot' got roughed up again, didn't you?!"

"Don't worry, it's nothing too severe!"

Pyrrha of course wanted to calm him down, even if he was a jerk, but her reassuring words still didn't do much. Fearing the worst, (a.k.a Gage's previous dismemberment) he jumped out of the bullhead and helped Jaune get the heiress onto the concrete stage. Then once they both carried her up into the ship's passenger bay, the others soon climbed up into The Translucence as well.

Yang got inside quickly thanks to Ren and Ruby's help, while Blake and the rest of JNPR took their seats next to where Weiss had been sat down. They all strapped in while Yang and Penny were the only ones that chose to stand instead, and after Grisha walked over and banged his hand against the door to the ship's cockpit. He only came back to Weiss with a medkit after the bullhead's bay door finally closed again, and sealed them all within the confines of the transport.

It wasn't long before the airship began to shake and rumble as it slowly ascended into the air, rising above Vale and up to the same level as numerous other airships that were trying to escape the city. The Translucence then rotated itself so it was facing the same direction as the other ships, and soon enough it blasted off towards Beacon Academy.

Back inside, Grisha continued to help Weiss deal with her injuries… until he felt compelled to glance over towards Team JNPR. "Lemme guess, they got you four mixed up in this?" The scotsman asked Jaune this as he tried to put a splint onto the Schnee's broken arm, but Ren was quick to reply whilst grinning. "If anything, we bailed them out of it-"

"Yeah… that other guy was pretty scary!" Nora added, energetically.

Grisha couldn't help but snicker upon hearing this, and involuntarily began to listen as Nora recounted the entire battle in one huge mess of a summary. Meanwhile on Weiss's other side, Yang made sure to grab another medkit that was nearby and check on Ruby first. Currently she was wiping the large cut near her little sister's left eye with an alcohol wipe, and couldn't help but smile as she put a thin bandage over it gently.

"E-Eheh… you think that's gonna be my first scar?" Ruby asked her cautiously, only for Yang to wince a bit. An obvious answer for sure, but at the same time, Weiss fought through her own pain enough to keep her partner's spirits up. "...Welcome to the club, Ruby." She even used her own scarred eye to wink at the rose before they both snickered at each other.

Yang would've done the same… but she couldn't help but look down a bit, still feeling guilty about how she handled herself earlier. At least before JNPR and the others showed up, and it became difficult to let go of that once Ruby looked back at her. She noticed the sudden change in mood, and the blonde began to apologize before anyone could ask what was wrong,

"Listen, I'm… sorry that I freaked you out earlier. Getting trapped like that was the last thing I expected… and once Gage started to panic, I was scared that something bad was really going to happen to you. Even if you were winning that fight for a little bit… it was all just overwhelming."

Whether it was partly due to Orin's semblance or not, what she said was true. It came from her mouth and she was ashamed of it after the fact, which caused Ruby to grin a bit as she reached down and grasped her older sister's hand tightly. "It's okay, Yang…" She reassured her, whilst trying not to get all teary-eyed. "...It's in the past now, anyway. We all made it out alright, even Gage, and that's all that should matter."

Her older sister nodded and embraced Ruby tightly for a moment while both girls could be heard giggling at each other... before Yang pulled away, and thought back to Gage. Specifically what he went through that entire scuffle with Orin up until he was saved. Twice. "That little surprise with Penny was pretty cool though.~" She whispered, trying to tease her little sister.

"Eh… Blake's was the one that really counted..." Ruby of course had the honor of the first save, (that she was still internally freaking out about, in a good way) while Blake… well, ended the entire battle. Soon Yang's gaze shifted over towards the feline faunus, and once she noticed that her hands were still stained with blood, the brawler of course tried to tend to her.

"Blake… you doing okay?"

Blake's head shot up as Yang scooched in front of her, and it became clear that the stray had her thoughts interrupted. She was able to reply to the question quickly too, but was hesitant to move her hands or touch anything as she squirmed in her seat. "I-I'M… I-I'm just… a little rattled, that's all…" The fact that she just killed someone was still setting in. Ember Celica or not, Orin was ultimately fatally wounded after he was stabbed with Gambol Shroud, and now his blood stained it's wielder. "D-Don't worry about me. Gage is alive thanks to us, and that's what's important… like Ruby said-"

"...Hey, give yourself some credit." Yang replied. She then took the same alcohol wipe she was using to clean off her partner's hands before continuing, "You beat us to him, and that's why he's alive. Gage isn't one to ignore something like that either… so I know that things are going to be looking up for you."

The stray nodded for a moment after hearing that, until she suddenly cracked. Feeling overjoyed at the start… as guilt soon overpowered that. Blake was suddenly reminded of her attitude earlier that day before they embarked on their search for the ghost. The things she said, and how counterproductive they were…

"He would NEVER do this…"

"Yang… we don't know that."

"That pile of burnt bodies outside the walls?"

"You can't say that him killing Cordelia was on me. That… that was murder."

It ate away at Blake, with her now attempting to hide some tears from the others as she leaned her head down and whispered to the blonde between gasps, "I… I'm sorry for doubting him in the beginning!" It took Yang a second to even recall that instance, as it felt like this day's been going on forever at this point. She couldn't get a word in either, as the feline faunus rushed out her tragic reason for it.

"Gage showed the same amount of violence Adam did before he turned into the monster he is now, and I was afraid that it was happening all over again… *sniffle* ….I just didn't want you to get your heart broken like i did..."

All of it was mortifying. Being hurt by your loved one, choosing to abandon them for your own survival, and having to watch as they slowly turned into someone you couldn't recognize anymore. Blake's previous actions made sense now, as well as why she never chose to talk about the wretched bull, even after what she'd shared in private.

Needless to say, Yang couldn't even imagine how she'd recover from something like that, and realized that Blake wanted to cushion whatever emotional blow might've been coming. Thankfully history hadn't repeated itself this time.

"...So much of me was wrong, and out of place..." Blake sniveled… but failed to realize that her partner had continued to wipe her hands clean. Then once all the blood was gone, Yang stopped and waited until the stray was able to look her in the eyes again. "*sniffle* ...Yang, I'm so sorry."

That was when the blonde just placed her hands over her best friend's palms and grinned sweetly at her, "I forgive you… because you've grown more than you think. Remember how you ran off when we found out you were a faunus?" She asked rhetorically, prompting Blake's teary eyes to widen. "Didn't happen after this, when it was probably ten times worse. So… i think you just gotta work on having faith in others."

"I'll… I-I'll try my best-"

Blake tried to wipe her face as Yang stood up and let go of her hands, only for them both to notice that the rest of JNPR had been staring. Still unaware of the conversation, but just concerned. They both were about to turn and say something, before Grisha approached and quickly got the brawler's attention,

"Ey' love…" His tone immediately shifted halfway through his sentence though, as he still remembered what happened the last time he pissed Yang off. Plus he was actually bringing up something serious, "Erm… E-Emile wants to talk to you about something up front. Said it was important... and I'd rather not keep the big guy waiting." He said, pointing behind himself and over towards the ship's cockpit.

She barely had any energy left to teach the guy another lesson, so the blonde was ultimately thankful that he caught himself. Still this request was odd to hear, and it caused Yang to nod hesitantly in response. "Oh-kay…" Raised eyebrow and all, until Grisha tilted his head and patted her shoulder as he passed her by.

Surely an odd thing to witness, but it was quickly brushed off. Yang then looked back at her team in case Blake had anything else to say, only for her to stop once she saw that the stray was practically nuzzling against Ruby (who offered her a hug). And with that, the brawler just limped over towards the front of the airship while JNPR tried to keep to themselves a bit.

Shortly after reaching the cockpit's entrance and opening its door with the tap of a nearby button, she stepped inside of the cabin and was put off by how dimly lit it was. There was barely any light in the room aside from some light that emanated from various control panels strewn across the place, as the ship's front window was dimmed. It didn't help that the entire place was oddly silent either, at least after the same door Yang opened finally shut behind her.

"Em?" The blonde asked as she took a few steps forward.

That was when she got a glimpse at Emile. Strapped into the bullhead's front seat with his sky blue hood lowered, revealing his brown bear ears, navy blue eyes, and dark brown hair and beard… which now looked to be greying. These features were illuminated by the various instruments he was controlling. Soon enough he could be heard exhaling heavily at this time, right after he eyed the girl quietly for a few seconds. "Take the gunner's seat."

He sounded off… so It took her a second to notice that there was a slightly elevated seat that was behind him, and she didn't hesitate to climb up into it. Sliding gently into it as she stared down at the back of the slavic man's head while he remained hunched forward. Em still wasn't initiating anything either, which pushed Yang to reach out to him instead,

"Sooo… how was everything at the beach?"

Trying her best to sound casual and not absolutely bewildered, she did her best to get some sort of snarky comment in response, or some short chortle before he returned to usual grumbly self. However, that didn't happen. The exact opposite occurred in all honesty, because once Emile took in another huge breath of air…. He joined in like nothing was wrong. Almost sounding like he was building himself up for no reason at all.

"...Went off without a hitch actually, and if our timing is right, those people should arrive at Patch by tomorrow morning. The hard part is gonna be finding their 'new home', but your uncle volunteered to be their navigator. So for your sake, I hope those refugees end up tiring him out. Otherwise Gage is gonna be beaten into a coma..."

He was articulate, loud, and unusually talkative compared to how he'd normally express himself, and for a second Yang was about to inquire about Qrow, until she was able to process Emile's entire spiel. Just the sound of it, how he voiced this statement… it was all wrong. He sounded like a completely different person… and once she harped on that note, it wasn't long before Yang finally realized what was wrong with him. "W… Wait…"

Em didn't ask if anything was wrong either, because this was what he wanted. He allowed the air between them both to remain undisturbed as long as possible, and continued to stay quiet once he noticed that the brawler began to lean back into her seat. Almost like she was startled by the collector now.

Then without any sort of reply to what he said previously, Yang just threw her singular concern out there for Emile to answer to. As she was now desperately hoping that this was simply some 'glitch in the matrix' type of experience...

"...W-What happened to your accent?"

That was when he chuckled for a second. Not because of some suspicious activity, but because Qrow was the one who made the stupid suggestion of faking it in the first place, and after years of knowing the guy, Emile never expected to become this acquainted with the drunk's eldest niece. The circumstances were beyond unbelievable, at least from his point of view.

Either way, the collector didn't want to draw this out. Time was of the essence, and it was why he chose to do this now. That way he wouldn't have to over-indulge, and he quickly explained this to Yang with this new vernacular of his. The real one,

"Yang… this is the real me. I'm desperate, and I'm begging you to just stop and listen. Asking questions isn't going to help either, since we both know there isn't any time left to talk." He didn't even sound european anymore… Instead, his voice felt very similar to Gage's, only with a slight rural drawl that had been weathered over the years. Like an old, jaded farmhand. "I'll make it quick..."

"...I'm not just 'some guy' who felt bad for you and decided to help. Gage… he's important to me too, more than you'd think." But despite all of his confidence, Yang couldn't help but feel like he was trying to talk as if she wasn't there, seated behind him. It made sense quickly enough, as he delved into something that the blonde simply couldn't believe to be true.

"Me and his father... were like brothers once. So when your team brought his son back into the world, I felt obligated to at least point him in the right direction from time to time..."

"...But then it all led to this, and now i'm afraid that he's going to waste his second chance at life because i chose to just standby and let it happen. I mean…"

Emile knew how much he was beginning to sound like a parent, and once he felt that the brawler's eyes were most likely glued to the back of his head, he shook his head with frustration as he stared down at the airship's main console. Remembering just how distraught Yang became after Gage's departure at The Archive, "...I know that Gage leaving you like that, must've hurt more than any damage you received from that scumbag Cordelia."

He heard weight being lifted off of the seat behind him, which made him think that he was about to receive a verbal lashing from Yang for assuming something like that, yet nothing happened. Even as he wandered into 'forbidden territory.' "Your uncle, he told me about…" Causing him to hesitate for a moment before he exhaled, and raised his head back up.

"*sigh* ...I didn't know about you and Raven until after she left The Collectors, none of us did. Qrow only told us once we found out you were looking for her, and… you don't deserve to go through something like that again."

Guilt and anger aimed towards the drunk filled them both during that moment, but Yang did her best to contain it since she already knew that Qrow thought he was 'protecting her' by keeping something like that hidden. Emile had his own… relatable reasons for it, and just tried to move on to the next message he wanted to get across.

Although he knew it wouldn't be an easy pill for her to swallow, the collector was absolutely sure that he could get the brawler to forget about her pride and let him step in if Gage did something stupid again. Because in Em's mind, he was the only one left that could help the ghost if Yang was unable to get through to him. "Listen... I can tell that you don't like to ask for help, but you really do need it this time. You are Gage's light." He nearly whispered that last part, sounding exasperated before he exhaled through his nostrils sharply and snarled out what he had left to say,

"So if he leaves you again, after all of this, THEN TELL ME, and no one else! I'll find him, and set him straight. Because I have something on him that no one else does... not even you."

'Not even you?' What was that supposed to mean? That was the one thing that actually struck a nerve with Yang, since to her knowledge, Emile had no idea how deep her and Gage's relationship became. All of the promises he made in the past, the nights they spent together, the memories they created, and the fact that they agreed to get married when the fate of the world was no longer at stake (Whether it was a heat of the moment thing or not) mattered to her, and she nearly blurted this out due to her own anger… but then she stopped herself.

She realized that those same things mattered to Gage as well, and like she'd told Blake a few minutes ago, he wouldn't ignore or run away from something like that. Not if he really cared, like he claimed. Those reassurances mixed in with the fact that Emile had revealed his true self just to get the blonde to listen to him was enough for Yang to eventually cave and agree with the collector's plea, as she believed deep down that they wouldn't have to go after her lover again.

At the time it turned out to be overwhelming for her once again, so after not hearing a reply, Em looked back at the girl just to see that she was silently leaning back in the gunner's seat due to the shock of his revelation. Her tired, and bloodshot lilac eyes would've been enough of an answer if she hadn't given him a small nod once they faced each other again, and with that, he sighed heavily with relief as he turned back around.

Silence filled the bullhead's cockpit again for a few minutes while Yang tried to calm down, until a robotic voice rang out from the console that Emile was looming over, "SIGNAL DETECTED. Tag Designation: Friendly!" The voice was referring to a radio signal, which Em was quick to patch into after he cleared his throat and slipped back into his slavic accent like it was nothing.

"Beacon flight control, name's Emile Ezust, requesting to dock at a secured landing pad. Got a Team RWBY on board. Callsign is... lightning." He would thank Qrow for those codes eventually, as the flight controller immediately gave them the all-clear. "Copy that. You're cleared, please proceed to Pad #2. Medical teams are on standby." The airspace around The Translucence was soon shared by various other airships, and as some turbulence could be felt, Emile could hear Yang as she began to climb down from the gunner's seat, "Hey…"

She heard his voice halfway down and turned to look at him one last time, just for her to notice that he was smiling slightly now, as he was still hoping that the couple's reunion would put an end to all of this nonsense. "I don't care if you keep my secret or not, just… keep me updated on him, alright?" He asked as she touched the floor again, and stepped towards the door to the passenger bay,

"...Don't worry Em, i will. You have my word." Yang assured him.

"Thanks, Yang… now go get your man back."

It wasn't long before they reached Beacon's airspace, and after their ship circled around amidst all of the other ships in the surrounding area, The Translucence began to descend towards it's designated landing pad. One of it's large side doors opened up once the airship was only fifteen feet off of the ground, and it allowed everyone inside to see that an atlesian medical team was waiting for them down below, along with the fact that the sun was setting whilst rain clouds were slowly approaching the City of Vale. Compared to everything else that's happened today, a storm in the beginning of March wasn't too surprising anymore.

Droplets of water drizzled down onto the academy as Emile's airship finally touched down onto the pad's surface, and that was when Team RWBY and JNPR started to pile out with Penny right behind them. The three medics rushed over with a stretcher at the same time, before Ruby and Blake helped Weiss climb down from the airship,

"How many wounded?!" One of the soldiers yelled.

Yang spoke up before anyone else, and immediately pointed over to Weiss and Blake, "Just those two! The rest of us got scratched up, but we'll be fine-" Ruby was still concerned about her sister's own condition, but ultimately stayed quiet about it.

"Her arm's broken, and I just got slammed pretty good…" The stray said this to the men as they got close, and soon two of the medics did their best to help Weiss onto the stretcher once they were able to set it down. The heiress of course winced and whined the entire time, but she felt a whole lot better after she was able to lie down flat on the gurney.

Then once the two medics raised her up, and Team RWBY crowded around their ice queen, Jaune and the rest of JNPR approached another medic that came over to try and help Blake walk alongside Weiss's gurney, "What can we do to help?!"

"We're fine here, but if you four are up to the task, then head to the main courtyard. Whole place was turned into a field hospital, and they're gonna need all the help they can get!"

The single medic yelled this out and soon Weiss and Blake were both slowly whisked away while Ruby and Yang couldn't help but stare oddly at Jaune. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren. Simultaneously thinking how insane it was that they didn't want to stop and rest, especially after being away from Beacon for the past week.

And just when one of the sisters was about to tell them to relax, Pyrrha waved off their concerns with a smile, while Nora put her hands on her hips and glanced over at her friend gleefully, "I doubt we'll be the only students helping out over there, so you two shouldn't worry about us."

"Oooh, that's right! Now we can let everyone know that we're still alive!"

"Y-Yeah… Just make sure to get yourselves checked out too, y'know?" Yang urged them all. Jaune and the girls nodded in agreement… However, Ren remained unaffected, and crossed his arms as he gave Yang a reminder as well. "...Don't forget, you guys still owe us an explanation for all this. At least once things die down a bit." It wasn't presented with a venomous tone though, if anything he was just sounding stern while a sly grin crept across his lips.

The sisters could tell, though Ruby couldn't help but feel guilty about getting them involved. Grisha's earlier comment didn't help either, and it caused her to look away sheepishly. "We will... but there's still things that we're in the dark about too, so it might be a while until then..." She nervously explained.

"It's alright Ruby. Take as long as you need, since well… you four had a bit of a close call back there." He made sure to relax his stance after hearing the uneasiness in her voice, just as Jaune came over and put a hand on his shoulder. This made Ren take a step back while his team leader took over and tried to shorten their farewell a bit, since they now had somewhere important to be, "We'll visit you guys once the entire school's stable again. Oh, and... tell Gage we're glad he made it home safe too! You know, once he gets here."

Yang's eyes fluttered as he said that last part and it felt as if an imaginary clock began to tick inside of her head, counting down as if she only had a few minutes left to find Gage before he disappeared again.

"-Will do!" That was when Penny suddenly squeezed between the sisters and replied for them, as the redhead got bored of just standing around and listening. Jaune and Ren both nodded awkwardly and joined back up with Nora and Pyrrha. Then after they waved goodbye to everyone, JNPR dashed off towards Beacon's main courtyard. "See you later, Ruby's other friends!" The android shouted after them.

It wasn't long before she was able to snap Yang out of her trance either, "...Who's Gage again?" Penny asked, still unaware that was the name of the blonde's boyfriend. Ruby stuttered for a moment as her older sister started to glance back and forth between the rose, the android, and Blake and Weiss until she nearly screamed her head off.

"C-CRAP, I HAVE TO LEAVE, RIGHT NOW-!"

"WE KNOW!" The heiress yelled at her from the stretcher she was laying on, while the team's feline faunus gestured for her partner to get out of here ASAP, "Yeah, get going Yang! Penny can look after us!"

"Yes i can!~"

The brawler rightfully panicked, taking in a few deep breaths as she pushed herself past Ruby and Penny, who both began to try and catch up with the others. But right as Yang became separated from them, the rose shouted back at her one last time as she pulled her robotic friend along by her sleeve, "Go get him, sis!

"I'll let you guys know what happens as soon as i can!" Yang shouted this right as thunder rumbled in the distance, and almost ten seconds later the rainfall suddenly kicked up. It poured down onto the landing pad right as Ruby could be seen giving a thumbs up after her and Penny reached Weiss, Blake, and the medical team.

Then on que the thrusters on Emile's airship roared to life, and soon The Translucence could be seen rising back up into the stormy sky. Raindrops pelted against its outer hull, and just before the ship's passenger bay door was closed completely, Grisha yelled down towards Yang with his own words of encouragement. "Aye, good luck to you Yang! You'll need it!"

She raised her head up right as the bay door was sealed shut. But just when the ship was about to fly off… the blonde looked over towards the cockpit again, and caught Emile as he waved at her through his windshield. So during that brief moment, Yang thrusted her fist into the air, took in a deep breath, and turned completely around before she ran towards Beacon's campus.

Her brain may have been on autopilot as well, but it didn't take long for her to narrow down the place where Gage most likely would've gone to hide. As it was the one place they both always knew would be safe and sound, no matter what…

Through the rain and lighting, Yang pushed her body to its limits as she made her way across campus. Past injured civilians, tired soldiers, and scared students that paid her no mind throughout her mad dash. Her legs felt completely numb by the time she reached her dormitory building, and if she had any energy left she would've ran right through it's front door, but instead she stopped and just threw it open before heading inside.

Now being completely drenched by the storm outside, she got through the main lobby and remained on the first floor, turning down the hall that led to Gage's own room. Reading the letters of every door that she passed by, V1-10, until she finally reached door number eleven. By that point she was already panting like a dog while her wet combat boots left prints on the carpeted floor, and they continued to squelch as she stopped in front of the door to her lover's room.

That was when her bad leg finally had enough, and soon it began to quiver as the blonde leaned against the doorframe. The pain of it all caused her to huff and growl at herself, as she didn't want to waste anymore time by taking a break when she was RIGHT THERE. Instead, Yang just caught her breath while she took out her personal scroll and held it up against the door lock, since Gage had given her the code to it a long time ago.

Thankfully it accepted her right away, and the room was unlocked. Now as she raised a hand up and gripped the door handle, she was praying that he'd kept his promise to her. Just this one time, more than anything. Suspense, sorrow, anger, and her physical pain suddenly started to build up within her, until the brawler just inhaled deeply and opened the door. Quickly slipping inside and closing it shut the second she got through, and she did it without looking back at all.

The interior of Gage's dorm was nearly pitch-black, and the only source of light was the single window in the back of the room. The gloomy sky outside was being partially obscured by curtains, while heavy rain could be heard pelting against the glass pane. It was also the only thing that could be heard once Yang had stopped dead in front of the door,

"Gage?!" She called out to the darkness, sniffling a bit as her eyes were beginning to adjust to the surrounding shadows. A few short moments passed with no response, and it worried her right away to the point where she frantically began to look back and forth between both sides of the room, "Are you in here…? *exhale* ...Where are you?!"

Taking a step forward, the brawler growled at him to show himself and still received nothing. No signs at all, which in turn scared her. She couldn't even turn it into anger either, and soon it became this looming sense of hopelessness. It encapsulated her quickly too, as it wasn't the first time Yang felt this way.

She was at his mercy again, just like the night at the Archive. No matter what, he had the choice in the end thanks to his semblance, and that thought suddenly drove the blonde to tears. Soon her voice broke halfway through her next plea, as she didn't want to believe that he'd actually strung her along the entire time. That all of this violence and heartache was meaningless…

"G-Gage, please…"

Her watery eyes made it a lot harder to scan the dark corners of the room, especially after she angrily began to wipe the tears away. It wasn't long before she just stopped trying, and allowed her red irises to show... But right as she was about to tearfully scream at herself for being so stupid, "*sniffle* ...Oh, COME O-!"

A light wheeze was suddenly heard somewhere in the dorm, and it silenced Yang as she turned to look over towards the right side of the room. Stifled gasps escaped while her body trembled, and right when some kind of breakdown was about to be let loose... She spotted Javix and Mistletoe as they were laying on the desk nearest to Gage's bed.

Her eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, and that was when Gage faded out of his invisibility. The second OLE's hammerhead reached the academy, he thanked the team and used his semblance to sneak away from the landing pads and reach the dorms on his own. Limping through the rain, just as his lover had done. Now he'd been trying to catch his breath just in order to say something after Yang came into the room, and his nervousness made it a lot harder.

His figure appeared in front of the doorway to the dorms bathroom, as he chose to hide in there just in case someone else showed up instead. So needless to say, Gage was happy to see her… so much that it was hard to keep himself together now, with him barely being able to let a short whisper out as he took a step towards his love again,

"...You found me."

His hoarse voice shook once he saw the state she was in. Standing there completely drenched whilst tears welled up in her eyes… The girl he loved pretty much resembled a lost love-sick puppy, while he looked a thousand times worse from Yang's perspective. All the blood and bruises combined with his tattered clothes, red and turquoise colored eyes, and grown-out facial hair… it became another mental image that would stay with her for a long time.

...But it also caused her to break free from her sorrow as he stepped forward again, and she slowly got her familiar glow back. Her golden hair and aura reappeared right before Yang threw herself towards Gage, and they both embraced each other tightly.

Gasping to each other quietly for a moment until she let everything out, and a warm, yellow shockwave emanated from her aura. Within seconds the couple were both outlined and dried by it's warmth, as the rainwater coating them slowly evaporated into the steam. Weeps and catastrophic shudders erupted from Yang, while the ghost feebly tried to stay strong for her.

It didn't work this time, unlike their reunion at the Red Base Saloon, and it was because Gage actually allowed himself to hold her like he used to. He put his metal arm around her back and used his other one to cradle her head against his shoulder before he hesitated, and eventually began to run his fingers through her golden locks again. "It's okay… it's okay, I'm here-"

And that was when he gasped uncontrollably, trying his best to laugh it off afterwards. Then he lowered his hand from his lover's hair as she adjusted herself, and pressed her forehead against his own gently. "First my mom- *gasp* -then Summer, and now y… *gasp* ...I… I-I really thought that I'd never see you again!" Yeah, Emile's earlier speech didn't help at all. Yang couldn't even open her eyes now thanks to the tears, and it wasn't long before her legs gave out. She still pressed herself against Gage, and he was quick to stumble from the sudden weight being pushed onto his body.

He exhaled sharply and took a step back as Yang let out a quick 's-sorry' between gasps, apologizing for weighing him down, only for him to shake his head and walk back towards his bed. Obviously his own leg was in terrible, if not worse pain than hers, and he was barely able to drag her along with him. Soon though he came around to the right side of the bed and just sat down on the ground next to it, with his back now pressed against the side of it's frame. "D-Don't be…"

Gage moved his body so he could sit with his legs stretched out flat, and that was when he gently lowered Yang on top of himself until she became settled again. Now nuzzling her head against the side of her lover's neck, while he went out of his way to comfort her. He even reached over and helped untie her boots so she could slide them off, which honestly helped her calm down a little bit as she pressed her shaking legs together firmly.

"Tell me that- *hic* -it's over! I… I just want you to stay-" Yang gasped as he exhaled and answered right away. Nodding his head whilst he began to look down at the brawler tiredly, "It's over Yang, it's finally over... I told you that was 'our last parting', didn't I…?" He asked this jokingly with a small grin, but was unable to keep his tone from quavering as he squeezed her even more.

She could obviously tell how he was trying to come off with that little joke, but it still didn't keep her mind at ease. 'Why did you leave me?', 'how could you do this to me?', and similar thoughts kept edging their way near the tip of her tongue, just for her to put them aside. She knew how much guilt it'd put on his shoulders, and the blonde cared too much to upset him. Even though he deserved it…

...Although, Gage already knew how much damage his departure must've done to her, and it was enough for his demeanor to make a quick turnaround once he thought about it. 'First Raven, and now me… how could I do that?' He blamed himself. He wasn't stupid either, he just chose not to think about it until it was relevant. That turned out to be another mistake, so he made sure to own up to that. "...Saying sorry won't fix anything, I know that. I was selfish... and filled with so much anger, that I thought that everything I built with you guys would be ruined if I stayed..."

"I even thought I'd end up hurting you too, and…"

"...That would've ruined me." Gage said this softly, and after a second of realization, Yang noticed that his heart rate began to accelerate a bit. Now breathing deeply through his nostrils, the ghost just looked straight ahead and kept his mouth shut until he could find the strength to get a few words out, "But i hurt you by leaving anyway… *exhale* ...so now i don't even-"

However, Yang was quick to lurch up and grab onto her lover tightly as he lamented about himself. It caught her off guard once she saw him finally crack. After everything he's gone through, now was the time that his guilt and regrets finally poured out, and with Summer's own emotions being poured on top of that… he pretty much melted into the floor. "...I-I don't even know what to say anymore..."

"...All I know is that I can't live without you…"

"G-Gage-" The blonde leaned up and desperately tried to shift his gaze onto her, but when that failed, she immediately ran her hand up his neck and raised his chin up before she brushed the side of his face delicately. This soon made him turn his head so he could stare into his lover's lilac eyes, while he began to shed a few tears of his own.

The ghost tried to catch his breath during this moment of intimacy, and quickly looked away from her again. It seemed forced… and it was because Gage believed that he had truly failed her. He knew it, and nothing could convince him otherwise. "...I just didn't know what to do… I-I still don't..." He mumbled, with his voice now trembling.

Yang sniffled again, and waited for him to take another breath before she did the same, and reached up so she could gently cup her hands over his cheeks. "...Just stay here with me." She whispered softly. Her voice then shook for a moment, until she was able to gaze into Gage's unstable eyes with a smile on her face. "...You should've done that from the start. *exhale* ...All I've ever wanted since that day was for you to be right here. That way i could've helped you, like you've always helped me…"

The ghost's memory was hazy, but he was able to remember how she begged him to come back with her that night at the archive. Telling him how their room was safe, and that they'd be able to talk alone, and in peace together… if only he'd listen to her back then. Yang could see the remorse in his eyes grow with every passing second, and it caused her to look down at him as she placed both of her hands on his shoulders firmly,

"...Because I knew you were hurting on the inside above everything else, and I couldn't imagine you being out there on your own again. All cold and alone, just like you were when we first met..."

She knew what his reason for leaving was from the beginning, since he'd told her himself, and thankfully the anger of being seemingly abandoned again slowly faded away a few days after that night at The Archive. By the time her search for her lover truly began… Yang came to terms with the fact that she wasn't able to stop Raven from leaving, as she was too young to even remember that time in her life... but now she had the strength to actually do something about it. She did do something about it, and oddly enough, the brawler wanted to prove this strength to Gage too.

"...So I knew that I had to bring you back, and that way I could finally show you that… *hic* -that you'd always have me, too!"

Latching on to this idea was what kept her going as Gage's predicament got worse, believing that he needed help instead of being punished for thinking that he'd ruined his own second chance at life. So now after knowing that he actually chose to come back solely because of her, the blonde couldn't help but feel like the world was looking out for her.

After years of looking for a mother that walked away and left Yang feeling unwanted and unloved… It now felt like a dichotomy that came full circle, in more than one way. Now the stranger who saved her from that goliath, the man that gave his life to save her little sister, and the one person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with… Yang had finally saved him too, in her own way. By getting him to stay.

"And you did..." Gage whispered to her tearfully. Then as he sharply sucked some air and apologized to her yet again, he could feel her hands slide upwards before they were wrapped gently around the back of his neck, "...You're the person I love the most in this world, and I let you down. I'm… I'm sorry, Yang..." She smiled back down at him, and without breaking eye contact, he tried to vow his loyalty to her as clearly as he could,

"...So I'm not going anywhere. Never again, and not without you… I swe-"

However… he didn't notice how his lover was slowly inching her head down towards him, and right when it sounded like he was about to lose his composure for a second time… Yang gently brought him into a small kiss before he could finish. Seeing him in this kind of state tore at her heartstrings, and the urge to console him like this became unbearable, until she couldn't help but reach out to him in this way.

She waited so long to experience that again… and it ended up shocking Gage entirely. The ghost froze for a moment, but soon found the courage to hug her waist as she leaned down onto him even more. Their lips had finally met again after an eternity of seperation, and after closing their eyes, they both lost their composure.

Their kiss deepened, her tears flowed down her face like a stream with every passing second after that, and he laid back against the side of his bed whilst embracing her like never before. They then squeezed onto each other tightly until their lips eventually separated, and small gasps could be heard coming from them both. They began to blush at the same time, as the couple remained only a few inches away from each other while they continued to gaze into each other's eyes.

Gage couldn't even try to turn away now. Feeling the warmth of the blonde's aura, while locks from her golden mane draped over and brushed against him… it was something he'd been missing for a long time. And before he could break the silence between himself and Yang with some other sappy line, he just lowered his head and sighed deeply as he practically burrowed himself against her shoulder. Huffing quietly a few times before the brawler smiled down at him and cradled him against herself just like he'd done for her.

He didn't realize this at the time, but when Yang looked into his eyes after that kiss… she saw that his pupils had finally returned to normal. There was no conflict between the colors red and turquoise, and it gave her hope. It instantly caused her to smile quaintly at him, and after she kissed the top of his head, she bowed her own head down so they could just get everything out once and for all… and they did just that for as long as they needed.

Silently weeping together, with nothing else to listen to except for the storm that was raging outside of their dorm room...

...Their shared breakdown lasted long after night had fallen, only nearing its end almost an hour and a half after it began. In that amount of time the storm had settled to a point where only light rain could be heard pattering against their dorm's window, and now the room felt like it was freezing. The couple hadn't moved from the spot next to Gage's bed and it's red and white blanket was now wrapped around them both, covering everything up to their necks… until Yang eventually wiggled it off of herself.

They had calmed down for the most part and hadn't spoken much since their kiss, now just sniffling as they sat next to each other on the ground. With the blonde resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder as they both cuddled a bit, their eyes now equally tired, wet, and bloodshot. But after the blanket was removed, and the brawler's warm aura returned, she slowly raised herself off of her boyfriend until she was sitting up straight again. Wanting to finally catch her breath.

At the same time Gage slowly turned his head to the left so he could see what his lover was doing, and when he did that, their surroundings slowly changed in his mind… before he saw himself back in that hotel room at Mountain Glenn. They were both there again, wearing their old clothes as they sat in front of a hole in the wall so they could look out over the abandoned city together. With the shattered moon illuminating both of them in it's light.

She was smiling brightly at the sight while he stared on, secretly admiring her beauty… and it made him gasp silently for a moment. It was a strange thing to think about now, but compared to everything that's transpired over the last six months… he deeply missed those days of innocence. Back when they were all just a group of odd kids juggling their lives at Beacon Academy with the various adventures, relationships, and battles they'd gotten into along the way. Instead of… whatever this was now. Blissful ignorance, or however that saying went. It would've been a nice thing to keep if the world wasn't in danger.

By the time their room flashed back to normal, Yang had caught Gage while he was staring and grinned a little bit as she rubbed her right eye. He didn't panic or anything as he was still fixated on that image from the past, and he stayed that way until he recognized that there wasn't any way for them to go back. Even if it was something they both wanted.

Now the ghost just wanted to wait for Yang to say something, but before he got his mind off of what he just witnessed… he saw Summer's apparition suddenly reappear behind his girlfriend briefly. The phantom was on top of Gage's bed, lying on her side with her hood down as she just stared at the brawler with complete awe. Nothing was said by the mother at all, and after she attempted to reach out and brush her daughter's hair… she simply stopped and retracted her hand. Knowing that nothing would happen.

Summer wanted to try and console her somehow, only for her to realize that everything would repair itself in time. Whether Gage was influenced by her or not… she had faith in him, right now in fact. The phantom didn't need to help her courier, as he already knew what to say. She only showed herself to make sure that he'd speak up. So as Gage looked away from Yang and began to stare down at his prosthetic hand… he quietly broke the silence between them both with an honest, yet sincere statement of his own,

"...I know that we might never get things back to the way they used to be… but that isn't going to stop me from clinging onto those memories. I'll do it for you, Yang. I'll always do it for you."

Yang took in a deep breath as she glanced over at the ghost, and waited for a moment before she gently reached over to him, laid her right hand over his metal palm, and interlocked her fingers with his. "I know you will… but we're supposed to take care of each other, remember? It can't just be about 'protecting' me anymore." Then she lowered his arm and leaned towards him until he couldn't help but stare into her lilac orbs again, "So from this point on, I want to help you understand this... aura, or whatever's been affecting you since that night at the archive."

He heard this and immediately tensed up as he saw Summer's apparition disappear out the corner of his eye. She poofed back into his subconscious at the worst time… but strangely, this new stress he felt was pushed down heavily after she faded away. He took that as a sign from the phantom, like it was her way of telling him not to worry about it. Then he simply sighed and reassured Yang that there was no reason to be concerned anymore,

"Y-You don't have to, because I've known what it truly is for a long time now. I just… need a few days to think of a way to explain it to you... and Ruby, if that's alright."

...As all would be revealed once he was ready. Gage and Summer knew that conversation was inevitable anyway. Yang didn't question this at all either, as she was just glad that he was listening and willing to work with her. She nodded, before her boyfriend smiled back at her again, "I'll make sure to get everything else that's wrong with me out there too, since i'm sure we'll have a lot of time to talk while we're nursing each other back to health…"

He smirked for a second at the end there too… and it was all the brawler needed for her to lean over and hug him tightly once again. "Okay…" She whispered, while hiding a smirk of her own from her lover. Gage then wrapped his arms around her too, and they both swayed with each other for a while.

Stopping only after Yang's body brushed against various holes and tears that littered the ghost's black shirt, and she pulled away as she looked down at his chest. "*sniffle* ...S-So you're not dying or anything, right? You're okay?" There was this cutesy amount of concern in her voice, as she wanted to make sure there was nothing else to worry about.

"I'm fine… but I should still get treated soon, or my wounds might not heal properly."

He said this whilst wishing that it wasn't the truth, and obviously worded it this way to keep Yang calm, but thankfully his love was already expecting this kind of answer. Right away she wiped her eyes a second time, slowly stood up on her feet again, and pulled her own scroll out of her pocket with haste,

"I-it's alright, I'll just call Professor Ozpin-" But before Gage could painfully stand up too and freak out after hearing THAT, she made sure to explain the headmaster's involvement in all of this. "-He's been helping us hide the fact you were gone, so maybe he could get Nurse Shayna to pay us a visit…?"

"Oh, thank god..." He sighed with relief, and was about to lean back again until Yang slowly leaned down and held her hand out to him. There was barely any hesitation before he gripped onto her, and she lifted him up. The ghost groaned in pain a bit and even gripped his injured leg for a moment, but all of that passed once he was standing on his own two feet again. "...Hmh, she always had a soft spot for us, so i'm sure she'll be happy to help."

She sniffled and put her hands on his sides to make sure he was balanced, but after he seemed to be alright, she slid her palms up and oddly rubbed his shoulders as she turned her head halfway towards their bathroom door. "Yeah... but you should probably wash yourself off before they get here…" At first Gage strangely raised an eyebrow at the suggestion until his girlfriend glanced back at him again sheepishly, blushing a little more at the same time...

"Y-You kind of smell like raw meat…"

Her whisper made the ghost pause briefly before he snickered for some reason and mumbled back to her in agreement. Then after being surprised with another kiss on the cheek, he limped over to the bathroom and pushed the door open slowly while Yang hobbled away to turn on a nearby lamp that was on his desk.

Yet, they both had this strong urge not to take their eyes off of the other for a minute… and Gage failed to resist it. He didn't know if he was just concerned or he simply wanted to stare at her again, but either way she caught him a second time while she began to use her scroll to text an 'all is well' message to Ruby, Weiss, and Blake.

"...I'm okay too Gage, don't worry. Just let me know if you need some help in there." She smiled again as she soothed his worries, but right when he was about to turn back around... her voice lowered a bit, as she had one tiny request for him, "Oh, and uh… can you please keep the door open? ...For me?"

Of course the ghost couldn't say no to that, and he immediately gave his love a small nod to be courteous. However, Yang couldn't help but notice that his expression became a little gloomy after hearing that. "W-Wait, Gage…" So before he was able to look away from her, she exhaled shakily and made sure to give him a better sentiment to dwell on while he was in the shower...

"...I love you."

"I love you too, Yang." Gage echoed back with a half smile, right as he pushed the door open all the way and entered the dimly-lit bathroom.

After this, Yang turned and went to his closet to get one of her orange tank tops and a pair of her short shorts while she called Professor Ozpin, and began to talk with him as she sat back down on Gage's bed so she could quickly change her clothes. Then once she took off her leg brace and started to relax a bit, Noodle the ferret decided to show himself again as he came out from under the bed and climbed up onto the brawler's lap. Promptly getting a few pets while she continued to speak to the headmaster.

Gage listened to her closely as he stopped in the middle of his bathroom, kicked his shoes off, and slowly tried to take his black shirt off too as he realized that it was torn beyond repair, and just ripped it open so he could peel it off of himself instead. Making sure to discard it in a nearby waste bin afterwards.

Next he just turned on the nearby shower and came back to look in the mirror again while he waited for the water to get hot… which was when he finally got a good look at himself. His figure may have been outlined by the shadows of the room, but it didn't prevent him from seeing how disheveled he was now… and he was in absolute shambles.

Bruises and flesh wounds littered his bare chest and upper body, and after he leaned in closer… he saw that he was also as pale as a ghost now. The irony made him huff heavily before he coughed a few times and let out this long feeble wheeze that he tried to hide by covering his mouth. That was when he turned the bathroom light on by flicking a nearby switch, and what he saw next only made him feel worse.

Right away he could see some damage across his face, though it didn't stick out like a sore thumb… yet. The only thing that he was concerned about was the fact that the bridge of his nose was heavily bruised and that it was connected to a purple ring that was already beginning to form around his right eye.

All of this was going to turn into agonizing pain over the course of the next couple of days, and he was prepared for that as long as he had Yang with him. He just hoped that it wouldn't bring her to tears again… as this sight was already having that effect on him right now.

"Ms. Xiao Long, are you sure you want to be in the room while we're working on him? It might not be an easy thing to witness…"

"I can handle it. Besides, you're going to need an extra set of hands if it's just you and Shayna-"

Then as Gage heard this piece of Ozpin and Yang's conversation, he instantly shook his head as a way to try and focus on something else without closing the bathroom door, and eventually he turned his attention towards a more minimal issue of his.

His facial hair. That scruff on his face that he could now call a beard was the one thing he turned to in that instant… and he realized that it made him look like some homeless marauder rather than the good man that Yang had fallen in love with. He thought it made him look like a completely different person, just as she did, and it felt a lot worse too once he remembered that he also promised to grow it out for her months ago… just for it to turn into this unkempt mess.

That was when he had an epiphany of his own. Gage already knew that healing his trust with Yang was going to be tough for them both, as earning that back was going to take a lot more than just getting rid of his personal privacy by allowing her to monitor him all the time. It had to be re-discovered through new, and better memories that they would create together in the future… and if that was going to happen, then he didn't want to look like a constant reminder of (probably) the darkest time in their relationship. He wanted a fresh start instead.

Plus his hair already got some attention too… so why not the rest of it?

Without thinking he looked down at the bathroom counter and opened one of it's drawers to find exactly what he was looking for. Hair shears, a can of shaving cream, and a pack of razors. All previously unused. Admittedly, he hesitated to pick up anything… but after he took a second glance at himself in the now steam-covered mirror, he gripped the shears\scissors while he ran his metal hand through his beard.

Just one time, before he grabbed onto a tuft of his facial hair, pulled it back a bit, and snipped it off. The first cut made him freeze for a second as he pondered on how Yang would react to this, but when he glanced over and saw that she was still heavily invested in her talk with Ozpin, he simply leaned forward so she wouldn't see his face and continued. He snipped his facial hair again, and again, and again while the entire bathroom steamed up due to the hot water that was shooting out of the showerhead behind him,

"I'm going to make this right… for the both of us. I promise."

Gage's emotions scattered all over the place following this decision, and he was scared of what the future could bring. He didn't know whether or not the Atlesian Military was still out to get him, or if it'd be easy to tell Ruby and Yang about his connection to Summer Rose… but, who knows. Maybe everything would be alright.

The following days sure gave him that feeling. Even tonight, Ozpin and Nurse Shayna's visit would turn out to be painful but also successful, and it ended with a tired\bandaged-up Gage falling asleep in his bed with Yang lying next to him under the same blanket, watching the entire time as her 'care-bear' drifted off… until she secretly brushed up alongside him, and clung onto him tightly with tears of joy in her eyes as she followed him into a shared, warm slumber.

And for the first time in what felt like years... Gage and Yang would both truly be happy again.