Yang, Blake, and Goodwitch watched the Atlas ship land, their eye's heavy with exhaustion as they looked upon the beast of metal. Yang had barely slept the last few days, not even Blake could help her, she was starting to reach the point where she wanted to ask the doctors for some drugs to help, but if she did that…then the nightmares would come. Dreams of watching Ruby die, of watching Blake die, of watching Pyrrha die…they always ended the same though…Jaune Arc, wearing that black armor and hood walking towards her with sword in hand.

The doors to the ship opened, bringing the blonde brawler out of her thoughts. That's when the trio's eyes widened at the sight of their old team member walking out. She had had a wardrobe change, she was now wearing a blue dress with her rapier at her side. Weiss looked like a true princess now…and then her demeanor changed when she saw Blake and Yang. Her eyes teared up as she started running, grabbing the pair in a hug.

"Blake," She whispered as she squeezed tighter, "Yang."

"Hey there, Ice Queen," Yang said as she returned the hug, "how's it going?"

"Don't…" Weiss said with a slight edge, "Just…let me have this…"

Yang smiled as she nodded, Weiss didn't need a talk…she just needed to hug her teammates, her family, close to her again. Blake nodded as well as she took her former enemy into a hug as well, they all needed this. They needed this more than words, more than vengeance, they needed to hold each other again.

"I believe that's enough hugging for today," Winter's voice brought them out of their special moment, the gang turned around to see the older Schnee sister with a box, "Weiss, I believe this is your right to give."

"Yes," Weiss said as she regained her composure, returning to her older sister, "Yang, Ironwood sends this with his apologies."

The younger Schnee opened the box to reveal the gauntlet, in the bright light, it shined like a great gold beacon. Yang's face lit up at the sight, just the thing to get her mind out of the gutters. The brawler walked up to the case, drawing the arm out. It was a little on the heavy side, but still…it was an arm.

"Nice, when do I get to try it out?" The blonde asked, her eye's glowing with anticipation.

"It will take time to make sure it works properly, but the surgeon on my ship should be able to help." Winter answered, gesturing towards a man with a mustache and a medic outfit.

"I recommend that we…" The doctor began, only for Yang to walk by and grab him and start dragging him away. She wasn't waiting for this, she needed this arm yesterday.

"Now that that's over," Winter said as she turned to Goodwitch, "We need to talk."

"That's a major understatement," Goodwitch said with a sigh, "Come with me, we've set up a command center in the middle of camp."

Winter nodded as they started off, Weiss and Blake following in tow.

On the ship…

"Ms. Long," The doctor said as she lay down on the operating table, "I must warn you, this process, especially if you wish for this to be done as soon as possible, will be extremely painful."

"How so?" The blonde asked, not even a little bit of concern coming into her voice. The doctor picked up a disc like object.

"First, this will need to be inserted, now…usually, we take a few days for this as painkillers affect the readings. This device will be able to receive impulses from your nervous system, allowing you to move it like it was your own arm." The doctor replied, readying the disc.

"So…I assume the quick way is to go no painkillers?" Yang asked, presenting her stump.

"Correct, once again…we can take the days and…" The doctor started before a glare from the blond cut him off, "All right."

The doctor laid the girls head back on the table, strapping her legs and arms down. He sighed as he pressed a button on the disc, the device separating into three connected pieces. He pressed it against the stump, the device closed, cutting the excess flesh and bone off. Blood poured out as Yang screamed, the pain being almost unbearable as the doctor did his work. The computers flashed as he ran over, observing the simulation and the data as the nerves connected.

Yang's screams filled the air once again as they echoed throughout the ship and into the camp, barely a whisper by the time it reached the command center, not powerful enough to pierce the concrete. Goodwitch stood over a map of the city, pointing at it with her crop. Various red circles and X's marked the map.

"The circles are sightings of Jaune Arc," Goodwitch said as she pointed at the X, "These are sites where he attacked various factions, White Fang, gangs, and some Grimm."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Weiss jumped in, prompting the witch to look at her, "How do we know it's Jaune? I mean, Jaune was never capable of beating anyone on his own, how could he possibly do this?"

"Weiss," Blake said, giving her friend a sad look, "its Jaune…I saw him with my own eyes. Both me and Yang watched him as he ripped Mercury's leg off."

"Speaking of which," Winter cut in, "Where is the boy Mercury?"

"He was in the med bay, but he was taken away by some Atlas personal. Special Ops, wore black and blue." Goodwitch answered, the older Schnee sister thoughtfully scratched her chin.

"I know of them, they don't have a name, but they operate within jurisdiction of Atlas. Where are they now?" Winter asked, getting a disappointed look from Goodwitch.

"Their ship was taken down by a Nevermore, no survivors could be recovered." The teacher answered, the older Schnee sighed as she looked back at the map.

"Back to Jaune, have you not discovered his base of operations?" She asked, looking over said map.

"With all the Grimm, gangs, and the White Fang, it's become difficult to investigate anything. All we know is that he appears and disappears into the city, usually leaving a trail of bodies." The witch answered back, Winter nodded as she looked at Weiss and Blake.

"You two," Winter said in a commanding tone, "After Ms. Long recovers, find me. Make sure to be ready to go into the city, we need to catch Jaune Arc before he causes any more damage."

"Winter, if I might ask," Weiss interjected, "Is he not helping? He's killing the White Fang and is tracking down Cinder…isn't that why we're here?"

"Such a young girl," Winter muttered, "Jaune Arc violent attacks violate several codes of law and honor, second, he's using stolen Dust and possible Atlas tech. third, he is able to get past Atlas firewalls and get a signal out of Vale without the tower, and there are multiple reason to track him down."

"Oh…" Weiss replied as she hung her head, Blake put her arm around her friend.

"Let's go I'll show you to our quarters," Blake said as she led Weiss out. The pair walked along each other, various soldiers going about their duties around them, finally, they arrived at a tent separated from the others. Blake led the heiress inside, three cots were set up, "Home sweet home."

"It's…cozy." Weiss said with a forced smile, a bare cot that was set aside for her was next to one with a white trench coat that the heiress could practilly see the cat hair. She noticed that one, this one with one of Yang's Ember Celica on it, was set…kind of far away.

"Yang hasn't been sleeping well," Blake said as she saw the heiress looking, "She's been swinging in her sleep, I don't know what she's dreaming about but it's bad."

"Blake…" Weiss said as she sat down, the cat faunas looking at her, "It's…it's really Jaune, isn't it? He's become a psychopathic killer…"

"I know," Blake said as she sat down, "This shouldn't have happened. Not to him."

"It's…how did all of this come to pass? We shouldn't be fighting a war, we should be in class, debating lectures, comparing notes, going on dates…how did it come to this?" Weiss whispered as she put her head in her hands.

"I don't know," The cat faunas replied, "Maybe something could have been done to avoid this, maybe this is all a dream…maybe this was just fate…"

"I…I…Blake…you don't think that Jaune killed Ruby…do you?" The heiress asked.

"I don't know," Blake answered, putting her hand on Weiss's shoulder, "If you asked me that question three months ago, I would have thought it impossible…now? I don't even recognize myself anymore."

"It's just that…I don't think I can bare not being able to see her again," Weiss whimpered, "I…I fell for her, I can still smell her hair, I can see her eyes. I need to find her."

"It's OK Weiss," Blake said as she hugged the heiress tight, ignoring the fact that Weiss just confessed that she loved their leader, "We'll find him…and get some answers."

Meanwhile…

Yang walked the streets of Vale, despite the doctor's protest, she intended on testing this new arm. She made a fist with it, her other arm bore the second Ember Celica gauntlet. The arm was still a bit stiff, a slight amount of chafing, but it felt good. The weight was a tad off, but she would get used to it. It was a very advanced bit of cybernetics, she could feel the air on it even. She cracked her knuckles, it was high time for her to beat the ever living shit out of something.

The blonde brawler could hear the Grimm around the corner, she grinned as she rounded it. The Grimm, just some Beowolves, all turned and snarled at her. It was a group of five, the perfect number to get her mind off of things. Two of them charged, the youngest, she quickly dodged one of their strikes, turning and landing one of her own.

The Grimm went flying into a building, turning to ash as it splattered against the wall. The other growled as it charged as well, this time, Yang swung her new arm. She could feel the impact, the shattering of whatever the Grimm equivalent of bones, throughout her arm. It felt great, she whirled around to dodge another claw strike. Two more had jumped in, both tried to stay close, hitting her and dashing back.

That's when Yang smiled as her hair glowed golden, the creatures charged…and where obliterated by a single punch. Yang laughed as she whirled around to face the last Grimm…only to see it stare at her…right before falling down dead. The blonde brawler head shot up to look at her savior, she was taken aback by the sight.

Standing before her, atop a black horse, stood a figure clad in black. All Yang could see was the sword in its hand and its helm…a skull.

"Uh…thanks?" The blonde said in a warning tone, ready to fight if need be. The figure looked at her, its eye glowing white, right before it turned around and started away, "Hey, wait!"

Yang chased the figure as it rounded a corner, she rounded said corner and saw it go around another. She ran around that corner and came across…three men kicking what appeared to be a small girl. The girl was curled into a ball, trying to stop the pain but the men weren't having it. Yang stared at them all, none of them had noticed her yet.

She saw what the men looked like, covered in tattoos, wearing black hoods. She knew them, a new gang in town. They called themselves Kushuns, known for using exotic weapons in combat and being quite deadly with them. They rarely took prisoners, Yang took a few steps forward…and pause as she looked at the girl. Yang recognized that hair, a mixture of pink and black. It was the girl who had beaten her on the train.

Yang silently snarled as she turned away, ignoring the whimpers…for a few seconds. She turned around, cursing herself as she started forward. She had no reason to help her, after all, this person had tried to kill her…but, even after that, Yang couldn't do it. She couldn't leave her here, the first of the gang members turned…and got a fist in the face. The others tried to turn…but got launched back, the trio all landed on their backs.

They got up, took one look at Yang's red eyes…and took off running, it wasn't worth risking their lives for. Yang sighed as she got to her knees, looking over the girl. She had been beaten pretty badly, the brawler sighed again as she picked the small girl up. The blonde knew that should would get hell for this…but she couldn't just leave this girl here.

Later…

"Absolutely not!" Goodwitch yelled, slamming her crop down.

"But…she doesn't have anywhere to go!" Yang yelled back, her hands clenching. They were in the med bay, the girl was currently handcuffed to a bed.

"She is one of the people who attacked the Atlas flagship, she tried to kill you, and is a known associate of the late Roman Torchwick!" Goodwitch yelled back, both Blake and Weiss cowering behind her in fear. The girl's eyes came up at that point, the name getting a reaction…right before she looked down, looking even more depressed, "She will not be staying her, besides…where would we put her? We're running out of space as it is, the only reason you and the rest of your team have a separate tent is because of decency's sake!"

"Then she can sleep with us! We've got room!" Yang fired back, her eyes turning red.

"Wait, what?" Weiss jumped in.

"Same here, what?" Blake yelled as she started approaching.

"You heard me, she can stay with is," Yang fired back, pointing at the girl, "Look, she's been beaten up, and she clearly has nowhere to go. If she did, then why was she out alone? That's dangerous and stupid!"

"And yet you did it," Goodwitch fired back before looking over the girl before her eyes perked up, "Actually…Yang Xiao Long…are you willing to take responsibility for this girl?"

"Yes." Yang answered, as much as she hated to admit…she couldn't leave the girl alone.

"She is in your care then," Goodwitch said, "She's a former associate of Torchwick and his allies…see if she can't help us track them down. She will also be staying in your tent…that is all."

Yang watched Goodwitch, followed by Blake and Weiss leave. She let out a breath that she had been holding as she turned to face the girl, who looked up at Yang nervously. Yang smiled as she reached down and removed the cuffs.

"I'm Yang, pleased to meet you, what's your name?" The blonde brawler said as she held out her hand, the girl stared at it before slowly taking it. She pulled herself close to Yang's ear, "Neo…OK Neo, I'm going to trust you, and you're going to have to trust me. As I said…right now, I'm your only friend."

The girl nodded as Yang led her out, the silent Neo inwardly groaned. She was stuck here, wasn't she?

In the command tent…

"Why did you let her stay?!" Winter yelled as she entered Goodwitch's office, the witch was enjoying a cup of coffee.

"Simple," The teacher said, "As Ms. Long said…this girl, Neo I believe her name was, does have no choice. That little bit in the med bay? A show."

"Why?" Winter asked, her voice lowering in confusion.

"Because…we've been tracking her, she's an associate of Jaune Arc. With luck…she'll lead us to him." The witch said with a smile as she took a sip of coffee.

Later, at WBY's tent…

Neo silently groaned as she listened to Yang's worried murmurs, the brawler was having a nightmare and the silent girl couldn't sleep. She got to her feet, the girl looking at her…savior. Yeah, that was the only word for her, Neo berated herself for getting so careless. Those three had managed to sneak up on her, her of all people. The most silent person in all of Vale got jumped by three gangsters, Neo suddenly jerked back to the present as she realized that she had been walking closer to Yang.

The girl looked at the blonde…and could barely make out the murmur.

"Please, don't go…" Yang moaned, holding out her hands. Neo, not sure what to do, reached out and took them. Maybe she could calm down the brawler so she could sleep, that's when Yang pulled her close and into her cot and clutched her firmly, "Your back, I was so worried about you…"

Neo pouted as Yang started stroking her hair…the silent girl was going to have to sleep in this bed tonight apparently. Well, at least those nice tits provided some padding…and, Neo couldn't deny, the head stroking was actually kind of nice. She felt…wanted…

At the entrance…

"Hold, who are you?" The soldier said as he pointed his gun at the figure in a green hood.

"My name is Emerald Sustrai…I've come to surrender."