I'm back guys! And I'm so, so sorry for the wait… I just stepped on bigger and bigger difficulties as time fled… First I encountered my worst enemy: the blank page syndrome, who prevented me from writing for about two weeks, and then high school came… And I didn't have time anymore.

I hope you don't mind, but you'll probably have to wait a lot for the next chapter too… Since I graduate at the end of the year, I'll just keep working.

Of course I won't stop, it will just take a while… Enjoy this chapter, it's longer than usual!

The small metallic door opened with a welcoming "bip" before each of the eight people entered as quietly as possible. Five Faunus, three humans, all breaking in the armory in prevision of their next run. Weiss walked in, visibly awkward in the black jean-shirt-boots Blake had lend to her, and designed the weapons by the hand slowly, without saying anything. They all knew what they had to do. Blake placed at the door, almost invisible as always, and Ruby joined her while turning her cape and hood to replace the red by black. Everyone else wore their butler outfits, and walked to pick up their weapons. Triss picked up what seemed to be a simple cylindrical metal box, and with a few perfectly mastered movement, unfolded it. She wouldn't use it until extreme necessity, but the sight of such a weapon could frighten more than one enemy.

"I missed you Flacari Brand…"

Just a whisper, but so much adoration it was almost scary. Next to Triss was Matt, who was separating his rifle from the dagger he used as a ballonet. A little farther, Quartz was checking quickly Night Rise and Sunset, his katanas, seemingly pleased by their perfectly sharp edge and untouched Dust infusers while Zaïa was picking up a dozen of throwing blades, two rings and two metal circles, all engraved with symbols in which Yang recognized Triss', Quartz' and Zaïa's: a lynx eye with a flame instead of the pupil, a shockwave and a giant sharp-teethed smile. Finally, Yang took back her own weapon: Amber Celica came on her wrists with a reassuring and familiar "clic".

"Ready?" Blake asked, taking the lead of the evasion.

Affirmative nods answered, and they all got out of the weaponry, and then out of the mansion. Here, they paused a second as Blake was explaining everything.

"Ruby, you go first. Don't wait for us, speed and check the surroundings. Weiss you go after her. If you meet guards, distract them while Ruby takes them down. Quartz, Triss, I want you at our tail, without bad pun. If someone's following, make sure he doesn't catch up. Matt, you stay with Zaïa and you guide her through the woods. Yang, you come with me behind Weiss and Ruby. We might need to force through. Any objections?"

No word was spoken, and for a quick second Yang admired Blake's determination, leadership and intelligence. They all owed her their freedom.

"Then let's go."

Ruby darted out, leaving a discreet trail of rose petals behind her, and Weiss followed as fast as possible. Yang gazed at the moon, noticing they had only a few hours before the sunrise, and then followed Blake closely while walking on her little sister's trail. Normally, nothing would happen, and they would all arrive in Herganem - Blake's hometown - a few days later before separating. Normally.

How could she be that stupid? Of course everything was alright until sunrise. But then… the manor awakened, the guards started to search for their so precious heiress, and they found Ruby's trail. Yang was running, knowing that Blake was close to her right and that everyone else was also running. She dodged a frozen guard, relieved that Weiss hadn't changed her mind, and continued running despite the sudden and violent shockwave that had sounded behind her. If that kept going, Matt would get low in aura and Triss would have to use her weapon… Blake approached her.

"Yang! They follow us… use your semblance, slalom and then get back."

Not pretty clear, but still obvious. Yang nodded, and then she only had to imagine her sister being hurt to turn her eyes red. The thin snow melted around her farther and farther, erasing the footsteps. She ran at Blake side for a minute, and then furiously went left without advertising. She went deeper in the forest, and then stopped in the middle of nowhere. Okay now think, think, think… Rocks! There were rocks! She jumped on them, balancing herself with her tail while jumping from rock to rock, trying to get back to the group without leaving footsteps. She caught up with Quartz and Triss, and hardly avoided a death burn.

"Quartz is low! We need a solution, quick!" Triss exclaimed as she was burning a trunk and pushing it on the way.

"Separation! You guys go to Vacuo, I'll warn Matt and Zaïa. They want the heiress, not you!" Yang replied before sprinting.

"You're telling me you'll follow this brat?!" Quartz's voice raised

"My sister is with her!"

"WHAT? Who?!"

"Quartz, we don't have time for this! Run ahead, I'll cover you."

She ran, said the same to Matt and Zaïa, and then sprinted once again to catch up with the three other, feeling the exhaustion hitting her more and more. She found them stopped and desperate, at the edge of the cliff. The cliff? Oh shit. Guards came out of the woods all around them, making any escape impossible. They were walking backward slowly, knowing that there was no good issue to this fight. Ruby and Weiss were at the very edge, not moving a muscle, but that wasn't enough. In a second, the said very edge crushed under the weight, pushing both Ruby and the heiress down the cliff. Yang screamed before getting to what stayed from the cliff, watching her little sister fall down to a certain death, feeling fury and desperation crawl under her skin.

Ruby hit a bush that was sprouting out of the rock, but the only result was the loss of her weapon. They were still falling. Yang's heart was still aching. She didn't hear the footsteps that were coming behind her. And then, a miracle. A giant glyph appeared, followed by many other along the cliff, and slowly, glyph by glyph, the two girls started to slow down. They landed slowly, and Yang suddenly noticed that she was grasping Blake's arm in angst. No one was moving, no one was speaking. A single word would have broken the small hope that was just born. Ruby got up slowly, seemingly fuzzy, and rushed to Weiss but Yang's attention was forcefully taken back to her side of the cliff as a voice raised.

"Yang Xiao Long! Release my sister's friend and you might survive."

Yang turned to see that it was Winter who was speaking. She was the one leading the patrol apparently. Yang gazed at Blake who was now terrified of her, acting exactly as the hostage she was supposed to be, and Yang made a quick choice. Everyone was safe for now, except her and Blake. No, except her. She let go of her wrist, knowing that as soon as Blake will be at Winter's side, she, Yang Xiao Long, wouldn't live anymore. She readied herself for the bullet impact that will indubitably come, simply wishing a happy long life to those she knew and loved…

"What the heck do you think you're doing? Release me now!" Winter's voice was piercing, confused and annoyed.

"Shut up! Now you around, if you do anything I kill her. I won't hesitate. Don't move a muscle, you got it?" Blake's tone was determined, and suffered no contradiction.

Yang opened her eyes, not really knowing when she had closed them, and saw that Blake had only played the hostage to place a sword on Winter's throat.

Blake's POV

She started to move back to the edge of the cliff, back to Yang's side, just in time to see a Beowulf roar next to Ruby, followed by many others. The blondie gazed around, and as she seemed to judge that the situation was stable on the top of the cliff, she focused again to the two fallen girls. Blake took a quick look to the heiress, noticing that she had seemingly passed out, probably because of her previous exploit. Ruby was still unarmed, which was a really bad thing, and there was no safe way down. Blake's mind was busy trying to find a solution when the lion's voice raised, carried by a desperate hope.

"RUBY! Use your claws!"

Her… Claws? What the heck was Yang talking about? Blake couldn't ask herself anymore.

"I can't! What if she awaken? What if she finds out? What if… anyone finds out?"

"RUBY! Listen closely! Weiss is asleep, Blake will never say anything and you won't see anyone else again okay? So stop hesitating and use your fucking claws or I swear that I'll get down and punch you before killing every single Beowulf that's menacing you!" Tears was piercing through her voice.

Ruby's gaze passed from her to Weiss, and then from Weiss to the Beowolves. After what seemed an eternity, she opened her arms suddenly while facing the Grimms, but she was too far for Blake to see anything. However, she didn't have the luxury to think too much about it, since Winter was struggling against her. She couldn't retain the general of Atlas' army much longer, and she had to find a way to go down quickly, which wasn't the easiest. Considering their weapons they would probably handle the landing quite okay, but not being shot was something much more complicated.

They could have injured Winter, so the soldiers would be forced to retreat, but first the plan was unsure and for the second Blake refused to act like a monster. So she made a risky choice, by muttering in Weiss' older sister's ear.

"None of us were kidnapped. Sooner or later you'll have to admit that Weiss fled by her own will, because she was depressing. Now if you have the slightest consideration for you sister, you won't shot us during our descent."

"Why would I believe you? You're nothing to me but a stranger and a liar!" Winter almost spat this sentence, visibly still angry to have fallen in Blake's trap.

"Because you know Weiss wasn't retained before she fell of the cliff, just like she wasn't alive at your home." Blake's voice was firm but kind, as she knew that everything was at stake now.

A short silence followed, and Blake decided that she could try a little more before giving up.

"You don't risk anything by letting us run: you could simply say that you were threatened and had no choice… Please give us a chance…"

"You better be saying the truth or I swear that I'll find every single one of you and make sure you never see the sun again…" Winter sighed. "Just tell Weiss that I'll love her whatever she does, and that if she feel like sending me a letter, she knows the way."

Blake retained a joy outburst, and nodded to Yang that was blankly staring at them, just as every soldiers around.

"Think you can handle the cliff?"

"You bet your ass I am! Don't you forget cat lands on their feet?" Yang's awful pun and huge grin couldn't totally hide the panic and fear in her eyes, but it was sufficient enough for Blake since the situation was desperate.

"Then jump, I'll take care of the rest."

"I won't leave anyone behind! We jump together, or I don't jump." Yang's tone suffered no contradiction, so Blake revised her plan.

"Fine. And you," she turned to Winter. "Remember what you said. I'll remember it too."

She nodded once again to the powerful lion at her side, then suddenly pushed Winter forward, straight to the guard's surprised formation, before seizing Yang's wrist and jumping off the cliff, mentally imploring Winter. Yang fired Amber Celica backward, propelling them above the nearest trees, and they heard the only left girl in the Schnee family give her orders, as nothing had happened:

"I'm fine! Now stop worrying about me, we have something much more important to do."

Even if it was highly improbable due to the situation, Blake's gaze met Yang's and they stared at each other, readying for the bullet impact.

"No dumbass, we won't shoot at them! In case you didn't notice, it won't help anything! We have to get home, evaluate what it cost us, unfreeze a dozen of soldiers, heal every wound…"

The older Schnee's voice faded in the distance, but was soon replaced by the wind blowing at their ears. They were getting closer and closer to the ground – or mostly, to the trees – and had to do something quickly if they didn't want to be impaled by a trunk. Which would have been really stupid considering how much they had survived too.

Amber Celica started to fire, and Yang's progression started to slow down, while Blake threw Gambol Shroud to a tree and readied herself for the intense effort she was about to make. When her blade finally reached the wood, she pulled as hard as she could on the ribbon, closing the gap between her and the tree at a crazy high speed. She managed – the hell knows how – to avoid the trunk by half a meter, and her plan started to work as the ribbon started to tie around the tree. She turned a little while more, slower and slower, before finally getting up on a branch. She gathered her blade and quickly checked the situation, realizing that Yang was nowhere to be found. She had probably landed farther due to her landing strategy.

Ruby and Weiss, however, were just in front of her. Ruby was still fighting against Grimms, and now that she was much closer, Blake could see the thick black claws that had replaced her nails. Judging that the situation was pretty urgent since Weiss was left alone and targeted by a loose Beowulf, the black-haired girl used her weapon as a brake while sliding down the tree, and ran straight to Weiss before slicing the Grimm in a fluid, mastered swing. The next thing she noticed was that Weiss was awake. Groggy, lost and confused, but awake.

"I'm sorry… I'm useless…"

"No you're not!" Blake panted, trying to recover from her recent prowess. "You… helped us all flee." Another Beowulf tried to attack them, without the least success. "You… saved Ruby." Blake nodded in the general direction of the girl, who was putting an end to the Grimm attack by slaying the last Beowolves. "So stop saying you're useless." That wasn't much, but it was all Blake was able to say for now.

Ruby headed to them slowly, checking that there weren't any ambushed Grimm. The sudden silence was awkward to each of them, but it was interrupted when Ruby arrived to their side.

"Weiss… You're… awake? You… saw?" Ruby's voice was low and desperate but it seemed almost joyful compared to Weiss' tone.

"Yes I saw. And I saw how awful I am, and how kind you were to sympathize with me knowing full well that I officially despised your kind. I know that it can't make up for all that I've said or done… but I'm truly sorry that you had to hide it."

A meaningful silence settled, and Blake felt a little out of place as the two others were staring at each other. Hopefully, the silence was suddenly shattered by Yang's hurried footsteps. The blondie appeared from behind the trees and ran straight to her little sister without caring of anything else.

"Oh gosh you've nothing! I was so scared!" Yang sighed, her hands resting on Ruby's shoulders. "I'm sorry I landed too far and took that much time to come back." She turned to Blake, and then to Weiss. "Blake seems fine, and Ice Queen's awake. I think we can say we handled it pretty well!"

"What did you call me?" Weiss shock sounded in her voice, almost surpassing her sadness.

"I called you 'Ice Queen' just as everyone did back in the manor, not in front of you of course. But now that I'm free to speak, don't expect me to keep acting like a slave!" Anger was growling in her voice menacingly, and everyone realized how fragile the peace was. She then shook her head as to calm herself, and turned to Ruby with a smile. "By the way sis', I think you lost something… Try to be more careful from now on!"

All of the sudden, the blonde's lion tail showed, supporting Crescent Rose, and a wide smile appeared on her face, not as wide as the one on Ruby's though. Yang put both her hands behind her head, and everyone almost jumped back at the sight of her scorched arm, and she sighed.

"Oh that… don't worry I just struggled to pick it up from the bush… and it kinda scratched me." She looked at everyone before adding. "We should probably get going now."

She turned around and started to walk toward the frontier, not deigning to look back nor to stop to –at least – prevent her arm from bleeding. After a little while, they arrived at another cliff and it became evident that their previous fall had brought them a lot closer to their destination than they had originally planned, and as the new cliff presented an easy way to get down, they knew they wouldn't have to sleep in the snow tonight. Their way down was silent, but not awkward. Just… peaceful. Ruby was walking first, making sure that the Grimms were kept at bay, then went Weis, Yang and Blake, which gave the raven haired-one plenty of time to worry about the lion, since she regularly found red bleeding dots in the snow. The injured one, however, didn't seem to suffer so Blake kept delaying the inevitable healing stop.

About an hour later, a small fishing village showed to them, and Ruby quickly put her cape on Weiss' shoulders so she won't be recognized. In return, the heiress handed her the necessary amount of Liens to pay for the boat. Yang hid her tail around her waist, and they were finally ready to leave Atlas. Definitively.

The boat was easy to find, and once the captain saw the money, all of his question suddenly stopped and he gladly welcomed everyone onboard. They were just four girls doing a trip after all, one of them was albinos and couldn't stand the sunlight and the tall blond was a kind of bodyguard. Nothing to worry about.

The coast disappeared in the middle of the afternoon, and every passenger sighed in relief, as they were now out of Atlas legislation, out of the Schnee's empiric power. Everyone stopped pacing around, and Yang even went in the higher mast to look around. Deciding that now was a better time than any, Blake went to a sailor.

"Sorry sir, do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yes ma'am! Just aside the captain's cabin door."

She thanked the young man and went to the said place, gathered everything to heal a wound, and then climbed up the main mast. She joined the lion on top of it, and started to unpack what was necessary.

"You don't have to do that, you know." Yang's eyes were fixed far away, and it seemed that she wasn't really looking.

"Maybe I don't have to. But I will do it anyway, so just give me your arm already." Blake answered, looking up.

"Actually…" the lion extended her arm. "I wasn't talking about my arm." She turned slightly, and her eyes met Blake's. "I was talking about… well… everything else."

"My answer is the same" Blake's sight awkwardly backed off to her task. "No matter what you say, I wouldn't change a thing, even if I could."

Blake finished her task in a peaceful silence, only broken by a seagull cry. She finally put the last piece of strap, and then turned to her patient who hadn't moved a muscle. They stared at each other for a couple seconds before both realizing how awkward this was, and Blake started to get down carefully. She was about mid-way when she heard a low, almost whispered "Thanks…", so low that the next second she wasn't really sure that she had heard it. Maybe she had dreamt?

Yang's POV

She leaned back until her shoulders and head rested on the wood, staring at the thin line that was their destination. She watched a couple seagulls fly around, before sighing and muttering.

"Life's so easy when you're a bird… You can fly wherever you want. You don't have to care about racism, you can even fly away from your family if you want!"

A single, lonely tear rolled on her cheek as a remainder of her broken childhood, and she let it flow. No one was watching, she had nothing to be ashamed of. The next second, the heat of the sun on her face had erased the tear, and a black point flying between the seagulls caught her eye. A red-eyed crow passed by, and then turned around to land aside her, staring.

"Speak about the devil…" She then spoke up. "Hi uncle Qrow. Long time no see."

The crow was still staring at her, as if he was waiting for something.

"I guess you didn't miss me, as always… And by the way, Ruby's alright." She poked slightly the bird. "Please don't tell dad. I'd like to surprise him."

As if it was a signal that the bird was waiting for, he propelled himself in the sky and quickly headed to the forest that was slowly and slightly appearing in front of the boat. As there was nothing else to do, Yang kept staring the peaceful sea, thinking. Eventually, she fell asleep and only awakened when they accosted.

When they finally touched the land, the sun was low in the horizon, but they managed to find an open grocery store where they bought some provisions, as they had to ditch theirs during their flee. Yang was growing impatient, as keeping her tail hidden needed her full and constant attention, and she just wanted to leave the town so she could be free again. Hopefully, none of her companions suggested to stay for the night, and they all headed to the forest despite the setting sun. They kept walking until Weiss hit a branch while walking, and then settled their camp in the middle of clearing. A little while later, the fire was burning high and bright and Blake took apart the Schnee heiress, so Yang stood up and walked away. She made sure she was out of sight before running fast and far, and when she was sure she was out of sight and hearing, she stopped right in track to take back her breath. All of the sudden, she screamed the hell out of her feelings while punching a tree, again and again and again… Until the said tree – a poor pine that was simply standing there – fell in an awful, cracking noise accompanied by some angered bird's peep.

"You stupid, non-thinking idiot!"

"You said the same three times."

"Yeah I know…" the fierce lion bugged for a few seconds, before realizing what had just happened. "What the hell… Who the hell is there?"

"Come on firecracker! I'm quite sad that you didn't recognize your uncle's voice. Don't tell me you already forgot how I sound?" Qrow said while finally getting out of the bush he was hiding in.

Yang breathed again, and replied playfully. "Maybe I would have recognized you, if your voice wasn't so broke down! You started smoking, instead of drinking?"

"Hey kiddo, show a little respect! I was here to help you, but I can still go."

"Help me about what?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe about why you're insulting yourself?"

"You don't have to worry about that! It's just that… that…"

"Okay, tell me who the guy is. Someone you met wherever you were during all those years? Someone you'll probably never see again?"

"How do you …?"

"I know what a teared apart heart look like. Now answer the questions, else I won't be able to help you."

"Fine! The answers are: nope, yes, nope."

"Hey firecracker, I thought you were able to count… I only asked two questions. And since I'm not really sober, could you please develop?"

Yang breathed deeply.

"Okay. But don't say anything until I finish." A quick nod was all she got from her uncle. "First, yes I'm kinda torn apart, and yes, I met the one who's doing me this during those years I was slaved inside the Schnee manor. Second, I'll see her again, since we fled altogether. And third, I haven't fallen for a guy."

"Okay. But if she fled with you, why don't you just tell her?"

"Because I can't! She's human, I'm a faunus, she has a safe and comfortable life ahead of her while I'll probably be running forever, she's perfect and I'm just an awkward mess of feelings!" Another tree fell, as she had punched every argument she had straight in its trunk.

"Wow, wow, calm down! Let's leave the trees okay? They didn't do anything to you." Qrow brought her to a nearby rock, and sat her on it while kneeling in front of her. "Now if you allow me, I'll just try and guess who it is." A weak nod answered. "Is that Ice Princess you're talking about?"

"WHAT. How the hell could I feel this way for this brat? She fucking slaved me for years! If it weren't for Ruby, I would already have ditched her!" The brawler had suddenly recovered her strength.

"Good, it means the situation isn't desperate."

Yang gave him a doubtful look, before realizing something. "Wait, Uncle Qrow… I thought you'd me more surprised that I… that I fell for a girl…"

"Well, Raven used to run after Summer when she was drunk… so I'm kinda used to this."

"That's… too much information. Like… way too much."

"So, who is it? The third girl I saw on the boat? The one with the black hair?"

Yang's tail started to whip the air nervously, and she started tip-toeing just like Ruby did when she was feeling awkward.

"The name's Blake…"

"She seems to be a good choice" Qrow was smiling now. "And now that I know who it is, allow me to contest all of your arguments. Since she fled with you, I doubt that you being a Faunus brings any trouble. For the safe and comfortable life… well she sorta kidnapped an heiress and freed her slaves so she will have to run too. And last, no one's perfect, and you're the best firecracker I ever met. Don't just persuade yourself that you're nothing, keep going, and most of all… Tell her. Tell her as soon as you can, because one day it might be too late." With these words, his smile disappeared and a shadow passed in his eyes as if he was speaking from experience, but Yang was too messy to even notice.

"I can't tell her uncle Qrow. I will never be able to do so. But thanks anyway from helping me sort this out… And for stopping me from destroying an entire forest." She winked, willing to look okay, and once again the magic worked. She wasn't crying, she wasn't angry, she was just fine… Or at least she looked fine.

"Try anyway. Now, you should probably get back to your travel companions. And… I should find myself another tree to sleep, since you destroyed the first one."

Qrow rubbed her head before walking away calmly with his head up, doing exactly what he had said, so Yang obeyed too. She ran backward and promised herself that she wouldn't lose her composure anymore, that she wouldn't ran away and punch trees just from jealousy. Yep! She had admitted it. Jealousy. If she hadn't been that close to the camp, she would probably have jumped from joy, just before slapping herself or getting back to a depression state… Instead, she just kept running.

Yay! Bumblebee is ready to launch! Also Qrow's there, doing… being himself in fact. I hope I portrayed him well, since it's the first time I'm writing him.

THB4, you were right. Ruby's a Faunus. And you just ruined a lot of the surprise… even if I tried to preserve it. But don't worry, I've got some more surprises prepared… I'm pretty sure none of my readers can guess the end of this story, 'cause I went far. Like, really, really far. Wanna try?

I hope you noticed the small pun in the title… And I think I put another reference somewhere, but I can't remember where, so it's like hunting a treasure without knowing for sure that it exist. If you find it, please warn me x)

Thanks for reading everyone, the story just began!