I peeked around the doorframe, leaning against it all the while.

She was still there, resting peacefully like she had since before we came back. At the very beginning there had been very brief bouts of consciousness, but gradually they gave way to the deep sleep she'd been in for days now. The light filtered in passed the curtains and shined on her in a bright line that separated the bed in two. Her chest raised and fell calmly, and honestly that's all that matters in the end.

"Oh Ruby…" I sighed quietly, keeping my tone low despite having little chance to wake her up.

I pushed off the doorframe and took wobbly steps that led me away from her bedroom. The wooden floors were cold against my bare feet. I teetered around as I toed my way down the hall towards the stairs, very aware that the painkillers I had taken were in full effect. They weren't any good as far as I'm concerned, and I just wish I could stop taking them. The pain remained, in spite of the medicine.

"Steady, Yang." I mumbled to myself as I neared the top of the stairs. I gripped the banister as tight as my weakened hand would allow, and took my steps very slowly down. "Dad isn't here to help if you fall…"

Even taking my steps slow and steady, I still wobbled and lost my balance. I pitched forward just enough that my stomach turned, and I knew I would fall down the stairs. To stop it I gripped the railing as tightly as possible and sat down on the step behind me, bracing myself with my legs. I breathed deep and let the feeling of vertigo leave before trying to stand again. Almost immediately I aborted the idea and went with a different plan. Embarrassingly I scooted from one stair to the other until I reached the bottom, and only then did I get to my feet. A sigh left my lips as I recognized that being off the stairs made me steadier, and I trudged my way towards the kitchen.

I made myself a glass of water and drank it all in one go, before making another. With the glass in hand I made to go back to the living room, but my eyes got stuck on the window. I stepped towards it lightly and just watched the wind blow through the trees beyond the glass.

All the colors looked bland.

After we were taken back home to Patch, nothing's felt the same as before. Everything just feels so muted, like all the colors are washed out. It feels like I'm stuck in a dream. Birds took off past the window suddenly, and I jolted back from my mind. I stared for another few seconds before leaving the kitchen.

"I wish they were here." The words were said with so little energy that they barely left my lips. I trudged my way towards the couch, pausing to set the glass on the table before plopping down on the cushions. I leaned back, letting the plush couch take me as I limply looked up at the ceiling.

Not a single thing had gone the right way. My little sis was practically comatose for the past four days, with no sign of activity like before. Blake disappeared from the hospital almost as soon as she was patched up, from what I managed to gather from the nurses. She didn't even wait until I was out of surgery. Weiss practically got abducted by a flock of her Fathers employees and 'politely urged' to go back to their home in Atlas. This was before we were released to be shipped to Patch, and judging by the scene she caused before she gave in she wanted no part of it. Team RWBY was pretty much broken.

My eyes burned. I brought my arm up and threw it over to cover them, trying to ignore the moisture that wet my forearm. A frown stapled on my face, just something to keep away the quivering of my lips.

Our friends in team JNPR weren't any better off. Ren and Nora had both been treated for severe aura depletion, something that basically meant they went far beyond what they should have. They had to be carried to the evac because they were unresponsive from what I heard, but thankfully it was explained to me that they would recover without anything permanent. Nobody had heard anything about P-Money. Ruby got a call and rushed off to the top of Beacon tower after shouting a mixture of Jaune and Pyrrha's names and dragged Weiss with her, so I can only imagine she was there. The mass text from Jaune didn't paint anything in a good light. However, not a single person I asked at the hospital knew of where she was. She wasn't at the evac, the emergency tents, the recovered hospital, anywhere. It's like she dropped off the face of Vale, and I can only imagine the worst happened. And Jaune…

When we left the Green Zone, Vomit Boy was still in critical condition in the hospital. I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone I talked to, but what I did know about the dork had me worried. His situation was called 'delicate' more than once, and I found out he had some severe but non-fatal internal damage that needed a close eye to heal. He also got stitched for shrapnel damage, which gives me some clue as to what happened.

I shook the thoughts from my head, and wiped the moisture from my eyes. I sniffed quickly, feeling pathetic in my own house, and looked for anything to distract me. With a shaky hand I grabbed the remote from the table and flicked the television on. When the holo screen flickered to life, it was none other than Lisa Lavender who was on screen… wearing a party hat.

"Huh?"

"-ood afternoon, everyone! It's nearly 3:00 Central Valean Time, so that means it's about time to start the celebration broadcast!" The news anchor cheered, carefully brushing away plastic cups from the worn desk as a party horn blew obnoxiously from off screen and just barely extended far enough to be seen coming from the edge of the camera. "Tomorrow sets off the Reclamation mission led by Glynda Goodwitch using our returned Huntresses and Huntsmen, so I say let's keep the celebration from yesterday going strong!"

'What? What could they possibly be celebrating, with Vale in pieces?' I thought blankly, nearly catatonic as I stared at the screen. Everything about the broadcast was opposite to the depressing thoughts I've been having. I felt out of place watching it.

"In case you've been living under a rock, we're set to go over all the events since the attack on Vale that led us here. Specifically those of one person!" Lisa smirked, pointing towards the camera before snapping her fingers. Right on cue, a video began playing in place of the broadcast.

The grainy shadow in the image could only be from a security camera. My eyes were locked to the screen, my attention slowly becoming wrapped by the video. It was somewhere in the Academy, I could tell that much by the buildings. Wherever it was, it was a high vantage point looking over the pathways around the campus. The camera began shifting, automatically bumping up and over from where it was aimed with jerky robotic motions. As it was shifting I leaned forward to grab my glass and took a sip, mulling over the video as it played out. Eventually, it stopped and aimed at the building across from it.

In the span of a second, everything went to hell. A massive blur of black gouged through the side of the building across from the camera, leaving a gash in the architecture and a stream of smoke. Almost immediately after it passed, the video rewound and paused with the blur in frame and in sharp detail. It was a Nevermore, jetting through the sky and leaving a trail of black smoke behind it. I felt my eyes narrow at the image, the words spoken by Lisa Lavender on the broadcast almost mute as I tried to make sense of what I saw. There clutching the neck of this beast that dwarfed the one from our initiation, wearing jeans and white armor…

I sprayed water all over the coffee table, and dropped my glass.

"VOMIT BOY?!" I coughed out.


I listened to her hum as we traveled at a reasonable pace through the forest.

It had taken a small while, but eventually we came through the 'shortcut', as she called it, and onto a dirt road that looked neatly kept. In all honesty it was a nice change of scenery from the main town, though seeing Signal was a novel experience for me. I took a calming breath of the fresh air, tuning in to the chirping birds under her mumbled singing. A glance was thrown at my closest companion, watching as she marched animatedly a few steps ahead.

"Nora?"

She turned wildly with Magnhild swinging dangerously close to my head as she did, as it rested on her shoulder. I blinked mutely, watching as she proceeded to march backwards.

"Yes, Renny?"

"Are you sure we're going the right-"

"UGH!" The redhead groaned as she spun back around, nearly hitting me again with her hammer. "You worry way too much! I already told you I asked people around town and they all pointed towards here. Don't be such a bummer!"

"I just wish to make sure we don't lose our way…" I sighed, slightly adjusting my proximity to avoid being hit accidentally. Just as I predicted, she pirouetted and lunged. My companion hugged me tightly with considerable strength, pinning my arms to my sides and lifting me from the ground for a brief second. I accepted the affection tepidly, with a small smile as she set me down.

"Oooooh, I know!" She said, patting me on the head before letting me go completely. Nora gestured towards the path before us with a wide smile. "But I mean honestly! How many pipsqueak fifteen-year-old girls do you think carry around a giant sniper-scythe in Patch?"

"That's a pretty valid point." I admitted, taking amusement when she puffed up in pride. "Was a shortcut really the best idea though?"

Her gesturing towards the road changed on a dime, with her hand coming up to shade her eyes from the sun as she squinted.

"Nora… don't-"

A smile shot across her face and she bolted off, laughing the whole way. I was left looking at where she once was, but eventually I just rolled my eyes and followed after her. The trees passed me by, and it took significant effort to keep her within my field of vision. Before I could completely catch up she stopped of her own volition. I parked myself right next to her, bracing on my knees briefly to catch my breath.

"Told ya so!"

I hazarded a glance upwards, and found myself pleasantly surprised. My body straightened out, and together with my partner we took in the sight of a large log cabin that stood secluded among the trees. There were a few sparse clearings around the house, but over all it was neatly nestled in the forest.

"Huh. I guess you did." I muttered, getting a smack on my arm from a laughing Nora for my trouble.

We cleared the distance to the cabin from the dirt path quickly, and soon were taking our first steps onto the wooden porch that nearly spanned the entire frontal face of the house. We glanced at each other briefly as we stood in front of the door. Despite how often the act occurs in theory, visiting unannounced has never sat comfortably with me. Before I could prepare myself, Nora knocked loudly on the door to a tune I didn't recognize. I flinched at how sudden her decision was, but simply watched her go. We waited for an answer after she'd finished… but minutes passed by without so much as a sound.

"… maybe they aren't home?" I shrugged, glancing at my partner. The flat look she met me with was out of place on her.

"You think they're not home after being injured in a Kingdom-wide attack?" I blinked at her, offering a nod at her reasoning.

"You're making a lot of good points today, Nora."

"I know, right! I ate fruit today, Renny." She announced, brimming with pride. I looked at her oddly at that, an amused smile creeping onto my lips. Just as I was about to suggest knocking again, she jerked forward and opened the door. As she cracked it open, she poked her head in. "Hellooooo!"

Then Nora slipped from the handle and fell to the wooden floor with a yelp, leaving the door to slam open the rest of the way. I sighed and moved forward, grabbing her arm and helping her up as she pouted.

"Nora? Ren?" The voice that uttered our names was familiar, and together both of us looked towards the source. Yang sat slumped on a couch, with a holoscreen blaring news coverage against the wall. "How did you get here?"

"Good to see you again, Yang." I said with a small smile, placing my palms together in greeting. "Nora and I-"

"PUNCH BUDDY!"

I was immediately cut off by my companion launching across the room towards the RWBY member and catapulting over the back of the couch. She landed and launched again with loud laughter, smacking into the blonde with a hug. To her credit, Yang simply took it with a grunt and a briefly panicked expression.

"I missed you!" Nora crooned, squeezing Yang against the couch. The brawler sighed before a smile crawled on her face, and she eventually returned the embrace.

"I missed you guys too…" She agreed quietly. "So, again. How?"

"As I was saying, we were shipped to Patch after a small… disturbance in the hospital. Nora got the idea to ask around for where you and Ruby lived, and I couldn't object to seeing how the both of you were recovering." I explained, calmly walking the few feet across the room to stand at the side of the furniture. Nora scoffed and turned her nose up.

"I still can't believe they kicked us out! We didn't even do anything!" She complained indignantly.

"We did crash through a wall in the hospital." I reminded her, staring my partner down. When she didn't budge, I went further. "Twice."

"I- okay, maybe they had a reason." She admitted sheepishly, slumping against the blonde she was still clutching. "That doesn't mean it was a good one. We still needed to wait for Jaune to wake up!"

"Actually, I don't think you need to worry about that." Yang interjected with an odd tone, blowing a strand of hair away from her face.

That caught my curiosity. Both Nora and I shared a glance, and soon turned our attention to the blonde. She sounded so sure, and I couldn't help but address it.

"What do you mean, Yang?"

Instead of answering with words, she gestured towards the coverage playing on the holoscreen. My eyes followed, and quickly glued to the display.

"Next up is something sent in to us by a couple in the Green Zone! This is the first time it's aired on any broadcast or stream, so prepare yourselves for a new dimension of yesterday's events. This is exclusive from me and my team!" The news anchor I recognized as Lisa Lavender touted from the screen. She was clad in a party hat for reasons that I imagine were contextually lost on me, with a large bowl of popcorn sitting on her desk halfway into frame. "The subject of the video should be easy enough to guess, at this point folks."

The screen flickered, and Vale took the place of the reporter's set. It was shaky and scratchy, but definitely showed a window-view of the Green Zone. The scene straightened out quickly and everything shifted as the camera aimed towards the sky. It was somewhat cloudy, leaving odd contrasts on the video that were flicked through. Eventually, the shot cleared up.

Nora inhaled sharply from the couch, and I felt my heart drop at the sight.

"No…" I spoke the word before it even registered.

The Wyvern was flying through the skies of Vale again, even though it hadn't moved from the tower since the attack. It was like a repeat of that day all over again. My semblance activated and washed over me, drowning out the emotions I felt and replacing them with serene clarity. While calming down, I watched the camera lock on smoothly to the Grimm sailing through the sky. Its entire body shuddered as it shrieked, and the sound almost blared through the speakers.

"This can't be happening again, can it?" I heard my partner ask. My semblance fell to the wayside when I heard her voice. Just as I was about to move to her to activate Tranquility for her sake, Yang spoke up.

"Just watch."

I stopped in my tracks, and hesitantly refocused on the screen.

"You seeing this?" A feminine voice muttered over the video. I felt surprised as the recording amplified impressively, in just the right magnification and just the right area to see…

… nothing else than a blade pierce through the throat of the Wyvern.

I nearly dropped from shock, even as it retracted into the beast again. The urge to drop my jaw only increased as the blade appeared again and again, each appearance cutting gashes into the flesh of the neck. Eventually, after multitudes of reckless slashing, the blade cut a man-sized gash through the Grimm. I'd never heard such silence from Nora as when the camera zoomed on the man behind the damage.

"Oh holy -, is that the kid from the news? The one that fought the Fang at the Academy?" A gritty voice from off screen said, voice dripping with shock even through the censoring beep.

"Haha, you bet it is!" The first voice answered, just as the camera zoomed in further on the blonde in the gaping throat of the Grimm. His features were blurred from the extreme distance, but the armor and sword were unmistakable. He stood wedged behind layers of tattered and billowing strings of muscle and flesh. "Still think this telescopic lens was a waste of money?"

"What?!" I gasped, a rare retreat from my composure as I stepped forward. "T-that's-!"

"Kick some ass, Vomit Boy!" Yang cheered, though less vibrant than usual.

All of us were completely drowned out by my companion, as she finally registered just what she was looking at. In fairness, it was tough to comprehend.

"FEARLESS LEADER!" She cheered loudly, shock written plainly on her face as she took in Jaune on the recording. Nora leapt from the couch, dragging Yang with her on her shoulders as she babbled over the recording. Yang gave a squawk at being manhandled, but even she was too focused on the broadcast to put up much of a fight.

There was a moment of baited breath as he fell from the gaping wound of the beast, but it turned to pure pride in our friend as he went about clawing his way up the side of the Wyvern. Eventually the camera lost sight of the Grimm and cut out. That wasn't the end of the broadcast, though. Multiple videos played and as a group we watched them till the end, cheering on the Arc through the process.

In all honesty, I was beyond shocked, but pleasantly so. This entire time in Patch has been spent with Nora and I worried about the state of all of our friends, Jaune most certainly included. To know that he not only has recovered, but is pulling moves like these all throughout Vale is breathtakingly relieving. The revelation that he's unlocked a part of himself in doing so is comforting, for lack of a better word.

My reflection on everything was broken by my rambunctious companion, of course.

"Hey! Stop spinning me!" Yang shouted from Nora's shoulders, clutching harshly at the ginger. "I-I'm feeling dizzy… the medicine-"

"PUT A BEATDOWN ON THAT DRAGON, JAUNE-JAUNE!" Nora shouted with a massive smile on her face, twirling on the heels of her feet as we waited for the break to be over. I looked at the pair nervously, with my hands up in a placating manner.

"Er, Nora I think you should put her down." I advised, balking at the change in Yang's tone as she was spun. "I think she's turning green…"

The front door opened, and everything paused. Nora stopped spinning immediately and both the girls went quiet, and I snapped my head in the direction of the newcomer. A rather tall blonde man stood in the entrance, loaded down with bags of groceries.

"Yang, I'm back! I got everything for the grilled-" He paused as he turned around from shutting the door, finally locking attention on the scene in the living room. The man blinked, taking a moment to make eye contact with everyone in the room before readjusting the bags in his arms with a smile. "Hey, what's up? Who're your friends, Yang?"

I raised my arm to greet the man that looked so much like Yang, suddenly feeling like we were in the dragon's den for some inexplicable reason.

Then Yang puked on the wooden floor.


[AN- Good comments last chap, glad you enjoyed! This finishes off the Valean Arc and brings us into the Atlas Arc. We're firmly in the 200s on follows & favs, can't believe that. Btw, no concrete evidence that they retconned the semblance, but they change things so often and the flash was so out of place that I'm pretty sure he was remade to be a healer. Hope you enjoy this reprieve.]