Yang woke up to an ache on her chest. Scratch that- an ache everywhere. Her whole body hurts, why?

Opening her eyes, she looked around. She was in a room of some kind, her hands bound and chained to the ceiling, leaving herself hanging from her limbs. Before Yang could gather her bearings, she heard a door behind her creak open.

"Oh Ozma..." That voice. She's heard it before. A week ago. Hundreds of years ago.

She remembered that the voice used to be kind and caring, before something snapped and it turned into a mockery of the person she fell in love with.

Wait, love? How could she ever love-

"Speechless?" Salem asks sarcastically, walking into Yang's line of sight. "Has it really been that long since we've last met?"

Yang frowned. "Not long enough." Yang retorts. Her voice sounded... warped. A mixture of her voice and an unfamiliar one.

"My, how hurtful. Perhaps this host has made you more aggressive? It's not impossible..." Salem says casually, as if she was talking over tea instead of a prisoner.

"What do you want, Salem?" Yang asks, already knowing the answer.

"Don't play dumb old man. You know exactly what I want." Salem hisses, her smug tone gone-

And as quickly as it appeared, she calmed herself, her rage buried again. "But to be amiable, I'll play this old song and dance." Salem steps back, holding her hand out. Before Yang's eyes an orb of black light is summoned in the Grimm woman's hand.

"I'll ask nicely. Where are the relics?" Salem asks, the black orb pulsing.

Yang said nothing, only looking defiantly at Salem.

"Hm. Pity. This host has a pretty face." The orb let out a beam of light, going straight for Yang's chest and-

Pain. So much pain. She's aware that she's screaming but she couldn't hear it because the beam burns and Salem always did this before finishing her off.

Ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsandshejustwantsittostop-

Yang gasps, heart beating fast, sweat all over her body and her flesh-and-blood hand shaking. Her metal prosthetic clutched it, willing it to calm down.

"...I'm sorry you had to experience that."

Yang was silent for a few more minutes, even after Ozpin announced his presence, before speaking.

"What- what was that?"

"A memory. An old one at that, long before Huntsmen and Huntresses even existed."

"...Why that memory?"

Ozpin was silent, and Yang was about to give up getting an answer from him before he speaks again. "You're not the only soul in this body to get nightmares."

"You turned Uncle Qrow into a bird?"

Yang asks incredolously, now a voice in Ozpin's mind for now. "Why?"

"I needed someone to be able to go through every corner of Remnant unrestricted and unseen, either as a messenger when the CCT can't be relied upon, or as a spy." Ozpin says out loud, walking through a well beaten path in Yang's body, emerald eyes looking around the lush greenery that is Patch's Forest.

Yang had asked Taiyang if she could 'get some fresh air, and he had agreed as long as she comes back before dark. Ozpin had asked Yang for control, to 'stretch his legs', and Yang agreed. Must be boring just being stuck in someone else's body after all. Yang was already trying to nod off to sleep in her own head after a few minutes.

"So you turned him into a bird? What if something went wrong?"

"There's no need for concern. Qrow had volunteered for it, and can transform back and forth at will. No, drawbacks, no secret curses. Think of it as a semblance."

"Well, that's a relief." Yang mutters, then had a sudden thought. "...What kind of bird can Qrow turn into?"

"...A crow. I thought it appropriate."

Yang's laughter was uproarious, made even louder by the fact that it was in her own head. Ozpin let her. In fairness, it was a bit of an inside joke to those who knew about Qrow's avian form.

Ozpin continued walking as Yang's laughter slowly died down, hands clasped behind his back as he walked through the forest. Strange, something about the path seemed... familiar.

"...Do you know where we're going?" Yang asks, all mirth gone from her voice.

Ozpin stopped. "Is this path familiar to you?"

"Yeah, just- can I have control?"

Wordlessly, Ozpin closes his eyes-

And Yang opens them. She brings her hands to her sides, and begins walking through the forest, following the path. She knows where it's leading to, and that it's close.

Ozpin remains silent, waiting to see what Yang wanted to show him. He didn't have to wait long.

Approaching a clearing, a gravestone sat on a cliff. Suddenly, Ozpin understood.

Thus Kindly I Scatter

Yang approaches and kneels in front of Summer's grave, quiet.

"...Hey Mom. I haven't talked with you in a while, huh?" Yang says, a small smile on her face. "Sorry about that! A ton of stuff happened. I heard about your secret missions with Ozpin. That... That's pretty cool, to be honest."

"Oh Yang..."

"And guess what? I'm Ozpin's latest host! I... it's kinda terrifying, but he's not trying to take over my life. Not on purpose anyways..."

"Yang-"

"I- I'm gonna get Ruby back mom. I'm going to find her and bring her back because i didn't do anything when she left because I was too busy feeling sorry for myself." Yang continues, tears streaming down her face now. "And now I'm running out of time and I won't be around much longer and I probably won't be able to see you again-"

"..."

"A-And... And..." Yang wiped away her tears, forcing herself to talk without crying. "I love you, and I'll miss you. And I hope that I made you proud."

Yang stayed kneeling there for quite some time, before she eventually gets up.

"... Are you alright?"

"...Take the wheel Ozpin."

Ozpin blinks, the sudden swap of control making him stumble. "Yang?!" He says in surprise, falling to the ground.

"Let's just go Ozpin."

"How did you-"

"Please."

"... Very well." Ozpin relents, standing up. But before he leaves, he turns to the grave of Summer Rose.

He sighs, the weight of the ages showing on Yang's face. "I'm sorry, Miss Rose."

The immortal looks down, and leaves.