Author's Note-

Sorry for the fact that this chapter is so late! The weekend I was originall supposed to upload my area was ravaged by severe weather. Not only did I not have power for nearly a week but as a result my mental state wasn't the best. That said I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter regardless! Remember that Kudos and Comments really mean a lot to me so don't hesitate to let me know how you are feeling about the story so far! As always thanks so much for reading and enjoy! 3

Yang Xiao Long

I slam my fist into the punching bag again and again, throwing some kicks in for good measure. I've been at it for awhile, my entire body is covered in sweat and I can feel beads of it dripping slowly down my forehead.

I do a quick flip of my head, getting my bangs out of my face as they begin to annoyingly stick to skin. I may not be as intense as Weiss, what with the sneaking out and stuff but that doesn't mean I'm not training my ass off.

Ruby is still out there somewhere and as her big sister I have to do everything I can to make sure I'm ready to take her home.

Everytime I start to give up I just keep her in my mind. Well..her and I also keep going back to that night in the forest. I look over at a nearby bench where a white box is sitting. I've been carrying it around with me but I haven't found the strength to use what's inside. Everytime I think about trying it, my mind goes right back to my fight with that big dude with the gauntlets.

Back on Patch I thought I was crazy strong. I thought I was already pushing myself as much as possible and that I could handle anything that came my way. That fight with him though…it really put me in my place. My punches and kicks pick up speed, the more I think about it the more frustrated I get.

I was shown that night that I wasn't nearly as strong as I thought. That my training I did back home wasn't enough. That I needed to push myself harder because the gap between me and him was just way too much and to think there are people out there even stronger than him…I need to reach my full potential.

If I had been stronger then I wouldn't have lost, I wouldn't have been humiliated, I wouldn't have lost my arm and Ruby might still be here! As my anger reaches it's peak, I land one final punch on the bag which breaks it free from the chain and sends it slamming into the wall.

I look at my hand and realize that it's shaking. I try to steady my breathing and calm down…it's not just anger or frustration. I'm definitely angry. At him and at myself but that's not all. I'm also afraid..afraid that I won't be strong enough next time either. That I'll lose more than just an arm next time.

"Hey Yang..?"

I'm slightly startled at first by the soft voice calling out my name. I calm down when I see it's just Blake, hesitantly reaching out to me.

"Are you..okay?" she asks, looking very concerned.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little carried away is all." I try to play it off with a fake laugh and a smile.

"Are you sure?" She gently touches my shoulder. I tense up a little at first but quickly relax and put my hand reassuringly on hers.

"I'm fine Blake..it was just a bit of a rough moment is all." I press my back against the wall and slide down to the floor.

"Okay but…you know that you can talk to me right?" She sits down next to me.

It's funny, we didn't exactly have the best first impression. I mean sure she saved me but she was very standoffish and quiet. Even after we more or less became friends, she still didn't talk much except in very rare exceptions, like when I first got hurt for example.

Lately though..she's really been opening up. Honestly she can still come off as very aloof to most but with our team at least and especially with me, she's really changed. I know I haven't known her as long as Weiss or Inu but I feel like we have grown really close in the time we have had together and I care about her every bit as much as them.

"Yeah I know.." I let out a long sigh. "I'm just thinking back to that night.."

"The night we tried to get Ruby back?..." she scoots a little closer.

"Yeah.." It was a rough night for all of us. Her included.

"Well..it IS definitely up there on my worst nights of all time list." she tries pretty badly to crack a joke, I can't help but laugh at least a little though. It was a cute attempt.

"I'm just thinking about how big the gap between me and that guy was…how it took a desperate scheme that cost me my arm just to hold him back long enough for help to show up." I look at the spot where my arm used to be. "I want to get stronger so that next time I can protect the people I care about..but can I even do that now?"

"Yang.." she scoots close enough that our shoulders are touching. "You shouldn't think that way, you are still one of the strongest people I have ever met and I'm not just talking about physical strength either."

"How you figure?"

"Are you serious?" she flicks my head. "Look at everything you've been through, everything you've lost. Despite that, despite all the frankly terrifying challenges ahead, you are still here and fighting. You are still giving it your all."

I look at her and I feel my cheeks getting warmer. That might be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me.

"Don't get me wrong, you are physically strong for sure and you can still get a lot stronger but" she smiles at me and puts her finger on my chest before moving it to my head. "you're already stronger here and here than any person I've ever met so don't forget that."

"Thanks Blake…that means a lot. It really is great having you here, I'm glad you decided to come to Beacon with us." I smile at her before the beating of my heart calms down and I look back down at my feet.

"Me too..honestly it's been as good for me as it has for you, maybe even better." She smiles and hugs her knees. You know, I've noticed it before but for some reason it sticks out to me now more than ever. Blake really is incredibly kind and considerate, it takes awhile for people to break through the wall she puts up but..if you can pull it off, you'll find one of the best friends a girl could ask for.

I catch a glimpse of that white box in the corner of my eye and slowly my thoughts drift back to it. Her cat ears twitch curiously. "Is there something else on your mind?"

"Kinda…" I glance over at the box sitting on the bench nearby. It has the symbol for Atlas embossed on the top. Blake walks over to the box, looking back at me to make sure it's okay. I nod to let her know I don't mind.

She opens up the box and sees the other thing that has been bugging me this whole time.

"Apparently my Dad tried to call in a lot of favors he had racked up back in the day to try and help me out…but when he told Ironwood-"

"The headmaster of Atlas Academy?" Blake seems almost shocked that my Dad would be on that friendly of terms with one of the most important people in the world, I'll admit I was shocked too at first.

"Yeah, apparently Dad used to know him pretty well. Anyway..when he told Ironwood about..what happened to me, Ironwood got one of his best scientists to work right away." I get up and look inside the box, staring for a moment at the robotic limb resting inside of it. I reach inside and grab the letter that came with it, handing it to Blake.

" 'Someone as strong and brave as you, should have every opportunity possible. I'm sure you'd be an amazing Huntress with or without this arm but I hope it helps even a little. Warm Regards, Ironwood.' " Blake reads the letter out loud.

"Amazing right?" I ask.

"Yeah it is, I can only imagine the amount of time, effort and lien it took to get you this but…you don't seem all that crazy about it."

"I'm grateful to Dad and the General but…I don't know, part of me is..scared I guess?"

"Of what?"

"I don't really know…maybe just getting back out there." I sigh. "I feel like I can train as much as I want but once I put this arm on then that's it..not only am I fully committed to getting back in the fight but I feel like part of the old me will be gone for good."

"Maybe..that's a good thing?"

"What do you mean?" I ask, probably a bit more snippy than I intended. I did almost take offense but then I remembered this is Blake. She probably didn't mean it in a bad way.

"I just mean that we are supposed to change over time, leave parts of ourselves behind. It's how we grow and become the us we are supposed to be." She puts her hand on my shoulder.

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. I guess she has a point..I know one thing for sure though. I can't afford to not use everything I can to get as strong as possible. If this arm will help then…

I reach down and grab a hold of it. When I go to attach it, I hesitate for a second as flashes of that night start running through my head again. Before I can freak out too much I feel a light squeeze on my shoulder. I turn and see Blake, smiling at me in a reassuring way. I take a deep breath and let my mind go blank for a second.

The only images that pop into my head are of the gang back on Patch and all the fun times we had, times I want to have again. Only there was a new addition, Blake. Smiling and having a good time with the rest of us, walking right beside me.

When I open my eyes again, I realize that the arm is attached. I hold my new hand up to the light and inspect it. It's almost surreal how natural it feels to move my fingers, almost no different than my old hand. I maybe have to focus a bit more than before but not much.

"How does it feel?.." Blake asks after we both stand there in silence for at least a minute.

"I don't really know.." I move my hand around, making different gestures before forming it into a fist and swinging it hard into the punching bag.

It's not the same as my old arm. I can definitely tell it's not the real thing, I can't feel the wind rushing past it. I can't feel the reverberations when my fist makes contact with the bag but…the weight is almost exactly the same.

So much so that I don't notice it any more than my old one. I can move it and swing it just as easily and…I slam my fists together as hard as I can which startles Blake a bit.

The arm is totally unscathed, it can take just as much of a beating as Ember Celica if not more.

"It feels..it feels good?" I'm still a bit thrown off by it but I can work with it.

"Well that's good at least." She pulls out Gambol Shroud.

"What do you say we train a bit, really break it in?" she suggests with a cute smirk on her face.

"Sounds good to me." I smile and pump my fist. She starts walking towards the training arena but I grab her by the wrist. "First though…"

"What is it?" She asks before I pull her into a hug.

"Thanks Blake." I hug her a bit tighter. "You really knew exactly what I needed to hear…it's great to have such a good partner."

"I-It's no big deal really." She slowly hugs me back. I think I caught her a bit off guard. "I know we've only known each other a little over half a year now but..from the moment we met, you've had my back so the least I could do is return the favor."

"Well don't you know how to flatter a girl." I joke, slowly pulling away from the hug. Joking aside, it really did make me happy to hear that. It's almost enough to make a girl blush.

"Quit messing around." she giggles and playfully shoves me. Now that I look more closely, it almost looks like she's blushing but it must just be my imagination. "Let's get to training, we need to get our combo moves down for the teams round."

"You got it." I put my arm over her shoulder. "Nobody is gonna be able to beat us partner!"

She rolls her eyes but with a smile. I'm kind of playing around but there's truth in it. I can train until my arms fall off but there is no way I can take on everything alone…there was a time when I thought maybe I could defend Ruby from the entire world by myself.

I've been proven wrong time and again. I need to be able to rely on my friends, my team and most of all my partner. They all need to be able to rely on me too, sure we do all need to get stronger but we need to do it together. Work on not just our individual skills but our teamwork too.

It's the only way we are ever going to save Ruby…I just wish that all of us were on that same page.