High in the sky, the black flag waved in the breeze. It silhouetted against the sun, rays trickling through it. The symbolic fabric was attached to a long pole that held it up. All eyes landed on it as the ship swayed beneath the waves.

Below, the crew stared up at it. It was so bright outside that they were almost blinded.

"Want me to give ya a boost?" Yang asked her partner, trying to be helpful.

Blake simply shook her head. "I got this."

"Yeah ya do," Yang agreed confidently.

To prepare for what she planned to do, the faunus backed up across the ship. She needed plenty of distance for this to work. She'd only done this a few times, but it was fun every time.

Confused, Weiss asked. "What is she planning?"

Excited to watch, Ruby replied. "Just watch."

After taking a deep breath to hype herself up, Blake activated her semblance. Suddenly two shadows appeared by her sides. They looked identical to the original. This left Weiss to wonder if she was seeing things.

One of the clones used its legs to propel the real Blake upward. While the original Blake flipped into the air, the other clone hopped off the roof and slammed into the real Blake with tremendous force. It was enough to knock her over halfway up the pole as she clung on like some kind of predator.

Easily, the faunus crawled upward at fast speeds. Like the pole wasn't sitting straight up. This alone was an impressive display of athletic ability.

"Her semblance is clones?" Weiss asked.

"She calls 'em shadows," Yang informed. "They're pretty durable. Especially when she uses dust."

From the mention of dust, Weiss shrank back a bit. "Interesting."

"Almost there," Ruby mumbled.

Amused from the sight of Blake climbing, Weiss cupped her hands over her mouth. "You could've used one of my glyphs!"

That might've made things much easier.

Briefly, Blake paused to look down at them. "I figured it was time you saw my semblance."

"It's rather impressive," Weiss said, taking note her shadows had vanished. "How many can she summon at once?"

"Right now she's at five, so six of her in total," Yang informed. "It takes a lot of aura and stamina. It's always so fun to be surrounded by Blake's~"

In a teasing tone, Ruby said. "Gee, I wonder why she doesn't summon so many at a time anymore."

"That pun was worth it and you know it," the blonde defended.

Weiss only sighed. "Do I want to know?"

Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose when she recalled the memory. "She yelled 'pussy party' at the top of her lungs."

When Weiss heard that, she too, pinched her nose in disappointment. "Typical brute."

"I stand by what I said," Yang said, unable to stop from smirking.

When the faunus had the flag safely in her grasp, she held it up. This was the signal that she was about to drop and let go of the steel pole.

"That's my ninja kitty!" Yang shouted happily, proud that her partner was so nimble.

After Blake fell, a few glyphs appeared to slow her down. Like a cat, she landed perfectly on her feet. When she settled, she laid out the flag which was about the size of a small couch.

"It still looks good as new," Blake observed, noting there were no tears or marks. "Thanks for the catch, by the way."

Weiss only shrugged. "It was simple enough."

"Weeeeeiss!" Ruby called in excitement. "What color do you want your thorn to be?"

The reason the pirates needed to take the flag down was to alter it. Now that they had a new member, it was time to add another thorn onto the rose emblazoned on the flag.

For a moment, Weiss examined the black flag. She wondered what color she should pick.

On the vibrant green stem were four thorns. One was yellow. That probably symbolized Yang because of her hair. Another was red. Probably Ruby due to her name. Another was a dark black. Even darker than the background. Probably Blake. The last thorn was gray. Probably Qrow.

"I'm not sure," Weiss said, not knowing which color would pull the flag together. "Although, white would be the most likely choice."

That's when Blake had an epiphany. "Doesn't your name mean 'white?'"

A nod.

"Then it's perfect," the faunus reassured.

"I think it's good 'cuz you're pasty," Yang said jokingly.

"Hey!"

A round of laughter.

"A white thorn it is," Ruby agreed, thinking that was the best choice. Nothing else would match her new crewmate in her mind. "We need lighter colors on the flag, anyways."

The flag looked a tad dreary due to the dark background. Although, the animated rose gave it a vibe.

Glad they settled on a color, Yang picked up a bottle of whiskey that'd been resting on the wooden railing. The tides had been calm today, so the bottle didn't fall into the ocean.

"Now that that's settled," the blonde chirped happily. "Anyone wanna taste?"

Easily, Blake grabbed the bottle and took a swig before handing it back to her. In no way was Yang surprised. The faunus did sometimes drink on occasion. She must've been in a good mood.

With a grin, Yang presented the bottle to Weiss. "You want some, too?"

At first, the offer was tempting. For a brief moment, Weiss almost craved it. It was then that she recalled her father's stinging words.

"You're turning into your mother!"

If Weiss was still trapped in that life, she might've ended up just like her. Those words stung so much because they rang with truth. Normally, Weiss would've grabbed the bottle. But right now, she had no need to.

She drank to forget her life, and now she wanted to remember it.

"No thanks," Weiss declined.

Yang only shrugged as she took a swig. "Suit yourself."

At last, Ruby spread the flag out. The wind sometimes picked it up a bit, but she managed it.

"There!" Ruby beaned, "I'll be right back."

"Two seconds," Yang challenged, which caused Ruby to crouch. "Go!"

With that, the captain darted away to fetch some supplies. A trail of rose petals was in her wake. Before anyone could say a word, Ruby was already back with an arm-full of items.

"I'm back!"

Not surprised, Yang said. "That was more of a nanosecond. I think you broke your record."

"Really?" Ruby asked, genuinely surprised. "I thought all this stuff slowed me down."

Blake almost scoffed from that. "We sure didn't notice."

Carefully, Ruby set down craft items and a radio that'd seen better days.

"Oh, the radio!" Eagerly, Yang grabbed it from her sister. "Haven't listened to this baby in a while."

Wanting to listen to the news, Yang plugged it into a convenient outlet. Blake followed to try and help her find a working station that wasn't all static.

From the sight of the small machine, Weiss perked a brow. "You have a radio?"

"We have a radio," Yang corrected, telling her it was for everyone to share. "This is how we keep in touch with the land."

Carefully, Yang pulled up the antenna while Blake fiddled with the box. She constantly switched channels, waiting for it to not be completely static noise.

A radio, Weiss thought with creeping dread. If father already noticed I've been missing, he would have alerted the authorities… which means…

If the radio worked, it was possible an announcement for the missing heiress Weiss Schnee would broadcast. If that happened… the crew would know her last name. Then they'd know what kind of trouble they'd gotten into by taking her in.

Sighing, Weiss stared at the flag.

Please let the connection be bad.

Unable to shake her paranoid thoughts, Weiss thought about what if her father already knew. What if he already alerted the authorities. This radio was a problem. The radio alone could connect her two worlds, shattering her chance of a normal life.

Weiss swiped the bottle from Yang's hands. This left Yang stunned.

"Heeeey!" Yang whined. "I thought you didn't want any."

Now that a nightmare that was inevitable was all she could think about, Weiss swallowed the alcohol. After she took several gulps like it didn't affect her, she handed the bottle back to her friend. Yang looked at it in shock.

"You finished it?!"

"You offered," Weiss said like nothing happened as she tugged on the corner of the flag.

At least they had plenty of alcohol to spare.

"Blakey, hand me a new one, will ya?"

"Sure thing."

In no time, the faunus tossed another cool drink to her partner. Yang was more protective of this drink as she set it by the radio, away from Weiss.

At last, a voice boomed from the speakers, but it was muffled due to the static.

"Alright, success!" Yang cheered.

Part of her thought it wouldn't work due to them being in the middle of nowhere. Qrow must've been steering to land. They were close.

To Weiss' relief, the voice was announcing breaking news in the area. Nothing about Atlas, and nothing about her missing whereabouts. So far.

"Here ya go, Weiss," Ruby handed her a white tool. "All of us drew our thorns. Now it's your turn."

"Hold on," after accepting the white pen, Weiss grabbed another bottle as she listened intently to the radio.

"More fatalities in The Black Forest. Beowolves made themselves at home there. Be wary and don't travel there alone."

More gibberish she didn't care about.

It was only a matter of time.

"Hey," Ruby addressed, somewhat concerned. "Are you waiting to hear something?"

Robotically, Weiss began to drink the alcoholic beverage. Instead of little sips, she gulped. When she was halfway done with the alcohol, her friends watched the display with their jaws dropped. She showed no signs of stopping.

When Weiss finished, she simply set the bottle to the side.

Maybe he hasn't noticed yet, Weiss thought as the burn in her throat dulled. He'll notice eventually. It's only a matter of time. And it'll be my fault if- when they get hurt.

"Damn, princess!" Yang yelped from the display. "Here I thought you couldn't handle your liquor!"

Weiss stood to get another-

Until Ruby grabbed her arm, keeping her seated.

"Ruby, let go of me," Weiss said calmly.

This wasn't the Weiss that Ruby knew. Something was bothering her. Especially when the radio was brought out.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, sincere.

After a solemn silence, Weiss sighed. There was no point hiding it.

She met her crewmates' gazes.

"I apologize."

Utterly confused, Ruby asked. "What for?"

Her three friends never looked more confused in their lives. They leaned in, waiting for an answer.

"You all…" the former heiress gazed at the three. "Don't know who I am. You don't know who you took in. You don't know the dangers that will follow you because of me."

While it was true the pirates didn't know about her upbringing, they didn't think it was important. After all, they cared for her. And that was that. It was obvious she was from nobility, but her crew didn't care about that. The three stared amongst each other, eventually adorning knowing grins. This confused Weiss when they looked at her.

"Weiss," Ruby addressed with a smile. "We know that."

"You- you don't know who I am, though," the former heiress warned. "If you knew, you wouldn't want me here."

Before Ruby could reply, Yang blurted.

"You're right. We don't want you here," this earned a sad expression, so Yang continued. "Didn't we say that we need you here?"

From that, Weiss remained silent as she stared at the flag.

"As for who you are…" Ruby said as she set a hand on her shoulder, which grabbed her attention. "You're Weiss! And that's all that matters to us."

"You're the scowly princess," the blonde added.

"Hey!"

A few chuckles.

Ruby sent her a sincere smile. "We'll be here when you're ready to tell us."

"Trust us, we need you," Blake reassured. "You're part of the crew now whether you want to be or not."

"So let's make it official," Ruby chirped and pointed to the rose on the flag. "Draw your thorn wherever you want."

"Thank you," Weiss said, feeling much better about being here with them.

Eased by their words, the former heiress leaned in and drew the perfect white thorn next to the red one.

"Aw, our thorns are buddies," Ruby cooed as she held up the flag. "Ladies and gents, feast your eyes on the new and improved flag!"

"You mean ladies?" Blake teased.

Ruby paid her no mind and exclaimed.

"Our flag is complete!"


Stay dandy,

~Toto