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Blake couldn't sleep—how could she? Everything had changed so suddenly. One day she was on an airship to Patch to see Yang, now she was in Atlas at an undisclosed military base with the rest of her team.

They'd all come back together so quickly that it almost felt like a dream. They'd had no real time to have a proper reunion. Blake and Yang had both felt a little outcast around Weiss and Ruby just because of how close they seemed to be.

If she were being honest, Blake had not prepared herself to suddenly be back in the thick of all this. She was certainly not out of practice in combat—if anything, she was sharper than ever. But this was bigger picture, this was a war. Whatever was hunting Ruby had put a serious fear in her and she was not a girl that scared easily. So to Blake, that meant a real threat and with real threats came real risk. Risk that she had seen before—risk that had taken from her before.

Tonight was one of those nights for Blake where every time she closed her eyes she was back in that alleyway. It was a memory that would never leave her and the images were just as clear today as they had been that night.

Blake climbed up onto the fire escape, as quietly as she possible could. Not before leaving a copy of herself on the ground right behind where he stood talking on his scroll. Blake took out Gambol Shroud and removed the katana from it's sheath. She dangled the sheath low to the ground by it's ribbon, just next to the clone and dropped it. The noise was enough to draw Adam's attention and he quickly turned.

From above, she watched as he stared at her clone, his head leaning to the side as he tucked his scroll away.

"Well, well…you've come back to me. I knew you would."

Blake watched him stride up to her clone—she knew she should wait for him to get closer but she couldn't stand it. This needed to end, just hearing his voice and seeing him now, she needed it to end.

So she leapt from her perch, katana drawn and aimed for the top of his head. She should have known he'd be ready, maybe she did deep down—but she'd attacked anyway. He leapt out of the way, his body rolling through her clone and turning it to dust. He picked up her sheath and threw it at her. It stuck into her side and cut through her skin with ease.

There was no time to suffer though, she took the opportunity to rip it out and wield it. As he went to draw his own weapon, Blake bounced from side to side and made two more clones in her wake.

Before him now stood three versions of herself and she tried to hold steady as much as she could. He stared at her, his eyes dancing across all of her forms. She waited and wondered if he was making her own pain draw her out. The wound in her side hurt, but all the clones were bleeding as well so only a cry of pain would give her away.

Firmly, she held herself steady and once his patience ran out, as it always had he attacked.

She knew what he was going to do, use his blade to cut down all three in one motion. She was ready and that's why she'd put herself on the far right. He struck from left to right so as he cut through the first two, she made her move and by the time he reached her, she was on him and her blade was piercing into his stomach.

She heard Wilt fall to the ground—a weapon so powerful sounded the same as any other when dropped by it's dying wielder.

Blake heard him let out a gurgle as blood started to fill in his mouth. She twisted the blade inside of him—wincing at the resistance of his skin.

With her other hand, she spun her sheath and planted it into his side to speed up the process. He gasped at the contact and she felt his weight start to press down on her, his legs no longer able to hold him upright.

She stepped aside and let him fall, her katana still buried in his chest and when he hit the concrete it started to rain. The droplets fell across his mask as she looked down at the man she'd once considered her only true family. Blood poured from his lips and small wheezes escaped his throat.

It didn't feel right, that it had been this easy—but she wasn't a child anymore and he hadn't seen her coming. He wasn't ready, she was—she had been ready for years.

She could smell the blood—it was all over her. Her mind wasn't right and she knew it, she was boiling with adrenaline and it drove her to stand up and watch him take his final breaths. Slowly, she drew her katana out and noticed that Adam didn't flinch at it's removal.

He was gone and despite seeing his body right in front of her, she felt no wave of relief or feeling of hope.

No, all she felt was more emptiness. Somehow, even in death, he'd taken even more from her.

Blake's feet were barely able to carry her as she wandered the streets. It was dumb luck that this chase had lead her here, to Haven of all places. If not for a call on her scroll two months ago she wouldn't even have an address. He'd been kind to give it to her, and before tonight she'd never imagined she'd need it.

But then it happened and Adam was alone and Blake couldn't wait any longer. She wanted her life back—she wanted this to end so she could try and start over. If there was any hope for her future, it had to end.

With what strength she had left, Blake dragged herself up the three steps to the door and used her good leg to kick at it. She had a hole in her right shoulder that made her arm useless and the left had to hold as much of the blood in as possible.

She was thankful for the dark, rainy night—it kept strangers from seeing just how messy she was.

When the door opened, she saw Sun's bright blonde hair and sighed with relief—it was the right apartment.

"Blake, what are you—holy shit." He strode to her quickly and pulled her inside. "What happened to you? Are you okay? Neptune! Call the—"

"No," Blake cried with as much effort as she could find. Her voice was raspy from screaming. "Don't call anyone, I'm okay…just…need a place to rest and you said if I was in town I could come."

Sun nodded quickly as he pulled her to the couch and helped her sit. "Of course, but Blake you're…really fucked up. You're…bleeding everywhere."

The cushions sank as she flopped down and grimaced in pain. "It's…not all mine." She looked down at her bloody hands again—it was thick and dark. Her hands were coated in it. She wanted to shower, she wanted to sleep—she wanted to wake up back at Beacon and not have this moment be her current life.

When she felt something touching her back, Blake jumped but Sun was quick to calm her.

"It's okay, I'm just taking your weapon off your back. I mean I know you're dealing with a lot but no reason to put a hole in the couch." He discarded her weapon and carefully laid it on the floor. Blake looked at Gambol Shroud and felt an urge to reach for it. That weapon made her feel safe, at times it was the only thing that made her feel safe. She slept with it right next to her every single night. It was the lone defense she had against the rest of this terrible world.

"Hey what's going—oh my gosh!" Neptune's voice broke through the room and Blake heard him gag. "Is that…blood?!"

She heard Sun sigh but couldn't find the strength to look up at Neptune. "Yeah it is, could you go get us some towels—actually, go start running a bath and we'll get her cleaned up."

"I can't," Blake shook her head and tried to stand. "I don't want to be a burden."

Sun firmly held her in place. "You're not a burden, you're a friend and you are not okay, Blake. Our tub will clean up just fine."

Finally, she looked up and met his eyes. "Neptune might throw up."

"Well yeah but…" he gave her a smile. "We'll clean that up too."

Blake sat up in bed and let the memory fade away. It was too confined here—there were no windows and only one door in these small bunks. Blake didn't like it, even with Gambol Shroud nearby she felt anxious. This was a human military base and no matter how many Schnees vouched for her she couldn't help but feel outcast in a place like this.

It was the first time in a long time that Blake wished she still had her bow.

Sleep wasn't coming—she knew that. Her mind too wired with everything that had happened. She needed a distraction. Though she had no idea where she might find that at this base.

Picking up Gambol Shroud, Blake slipped out of the small room they'd given her and peered down the long hallway. There were dozens of doors, each one housing a soldier or guest of some kind. She had no idea where any of her teammates were—could she even call them that anymore? They weren't technically teammates now; they were just…friends.

Right?

Seeing Ruby and Weiss had been easier than when she first saw Yang. Weiss seemed genuinely glad to see her and Ruby almost squeezed the life out of her when they embraced. It was nice to be missed and to be welcomed.

Even though she and Yang were getting along well enough, there was still an unspoken gap between them.

As she continued down the hallway, Blake sought out a nice spot to sit and think. Her night vision did wonders in the incredibly dark living space of this gigantic base,

However, when she rounded a corner towards the only window she'd seen in this place, she caught sight of a long, white ponytail bouncing in quite the hurry.

"Weiss?" The girl in question froze before quickly turning around.

"Blake!" Weiss seemed quite happy to see her. "You're just who I need."

Blake tilted her head to the side curiously. "Oh?"

"Yes, I lost Ruby and you're going to help me find her."

"You…lost her?" Weiss suddenly looked guilty. "What'd you do?" Blake remembered very well how often Weiss' temper could get the better of her.

"Nothing!" Weiss cried defensively, earning Blake's scowl.

"You're a terrible liar, Weiss. What happened?"

"I messed up, is that what you wish to hear? Ruby is not okay but I cannot convince her to slow down and talk to me. She just…she's been on her own too long."

This was the second time today that someone had mentioned Ruby's changing personality. Having spent most of her day with Taiyang, he'd mentioned a few times how he hadn't seen Ruby and how off she seemed.

"How do you mean?" Blake pressed for more.

Weiss shrugged and for a moment seemed lost in her own thoughts. "She's become very…reckless with her own life and buried herself in this mission of hers."

"What exactly is her mission? I know she's been out in the world the last five years but what's she been doing?"

"She's been scarce with the details, outside of telling me about this thing chasing her I haven't really figured out what she's doing." Weiss seemed disappointed.

"She was hunting Cinder." The sudden sound of Yang's voice made Weiss squeal and even caught Blake off guard. A small blast of light shone in Yang's face and she squinted. "Weiss turn that thing off." Yang grumbled as she covered her eyes.

Weiss had pulled out a very small, keychain flashlight and held it in front of herself like a weapon. "No! I don't have night vision! It's dark and this hall is a health hazard!"

"What are you even doing down here in the barracks? Doesn't your sister have a fancy room for you to stay in?"

Blake couldn't help but notice the way Weiss flushed. "N—no! I'm a passenger just like the rest of you!" Blake did find it odd that Weiss was down here—more so that she must have been with Ruby before she left, meaning they'd been together in the room Ruby had stayed in.

"Why are you up?" Blake asked Yang who offered a small shrug.

"Dad's freaking out because Ruby won't talk to him and he wanted me to come find her and see if she was okay."

Weiss huffed. "Well she's lost in this…compound and I have no idea where to look for her."

"It'd be somewhere brighter than this," Yang walked ahead and both girls started to follow her. "She's not a fan of confined spaces, let alone really dark ones."

Blake had spent enough time with Ruby at Beacon to learn her tendencies. "She's probably found a good spot to stare at the stars in the sky. She always talked about how she missed not being able to see them as well at Beacon."

Mentioning the stars around Yang was a dangerous move. For the two of them, stars were special. One of the first nights Blake realized just how much Yang meant to her was that night after fighting Torchwick.

Neither of them could sleep, so they snuck out of their room and went to the library. It was closed, but a locked door never did much to stop Yang and Blake was no newcomer to breaking and entering. At the time it didn't seem like they were doing anything wrong—they had no intention of stealing or ruining anything.

No, instead Yang wanted to learn about the stars and Blake remembered a book she'd read that explained some of the stories behind them.

It was one of the best nights of Blake's life, and while she often imagined it was nothing new to Yang—it mattered so much to her. They stayed up in the library right up until the first peek of the sun over the horizon. Side by side on the floor, reading books and looking at all the pictures they could find.

Yang told Blake stories of the things she and Ruby would make up in the stars. How sometimes they'd see constellations that looked like dogs or Grimm, even frying pans.

The best part about Yang was how easily she could make the rest of the world disappear. Blake didn't have many peaceful moments to remember fondly. She had even fewer people in her life that were worth remembering.

"Alright," Blake spoke up as they reached the door that led them out of the barracks. "She can't have gotten far; I mean even Winter said that Ruby was on lockdown—all the guards would know to keep her in here."

Weiss growled. "I'm going to kill her if she gets herself in trouble or hurt or…ugh, she's so frustrating!"

"Calm down, Ice Queen—it's Ruby, I'm sure she feels bad for inconveniencing you." Yang teased before reaching for the door.

However, before she could, Weiss was suddenly right in her face and furious.

"Don't speak to me like that!" Weiss' voice was sharp and Yang took a step back. "What would you know about Ruby anymore?!"

"What?" Yang quickly regained her composure and glared down at Weiss. "She's my sister!"

"Then where the hell were you?!" Weiss' finger pressed into Yang's chest. Blake had only seen Weiss this angry once before, and that time it was directed at her.

Yang's eyes narrowed. "I was hurt!"

"You quit on her!"

"I lost my arm, Weiss! I know you can't understand what it means to really lose something!"

Weiss' eyes went wide with anger. "I've lost plenty!"

"Your daddy's money doesn't count." Yang rolled her eyes but a second later she was stumbling back when Weiss pushed her.

"Don't you dare pretend to know a thing about my life, Yang Xiao Long. You call me selfish? Look in the mirror!" Yang was about to go again but Weiss beat her to it. "You sat in Patch for five years while your sister fought for her life! Do you have any idea what you meant to her? How much she needed you? How much she trusted you to be there for her? She has told me before that she wouldn't have survived at Beacon without you and when she needed you to be strong for her, you quit. You sat at home and you pouted."

Blake was in shock, she knew she needed to step in and do something but what right did she have? She was as much at fault for destroying this team as anyone, wasn't she? She was the reason Yang lost her arm and why she spent five years trying to recover. She promised Weiss she'd look after the both of them but the first chance she got, she ran.

Yet, when she saw Yang's fist ball at her side, she stepped between them. "Yang, don't," she put both hands on her partner's chest and held her back. "This won't help anything."

"What makes you think you have any right to talk to me about Ruby?" Yang shouted over Blake's head. "You weren't there for her either!"

"Because my father dragged me away from her! From all of you! I was ready to be there! I was prepared to put everything on hold for the two of you because I—" Weiss bit hard on her bottom lip and cast her eyes away. "You mattered to me, no matter how hard I tried to ignore your annoying family I couldn't get rid of either of you and I cared!" Weiss sighed. "I still care—but you…you were right there and you let her leave on her own."

Blake was fairly certain that anyone even remotely close could hear the two of them shouting. As she stood in front of Yang, she realized that Yang wasn't pushing against her anymore.

Instead, she had stood down and looked almost defeated. "What do you want me to say, Weiss? That I failed—you don't think I know that? Why do you think I sat at home for so long? What good am I?"

"Yang," Weiss spoke much softer, clearly she was not expecting this reaction.

"I let you all down." Yang wouldn't look up and Blake reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "I couldn't protect Ruby. I couldn't keep you from your father. Blake I—" Yang swallowed thickly and shrugged off Blake's touch. "I was supposed to keep you guys safe. That was my job."

"If that's true," Blake spoke up and resisted trying to comfort Yang physically. "Then we failed just as much as you did."

"Blake—"

"No," She stopped Yang before she could start. She needed to hear this and Blake needed to say it. "If your job was to keep us safe than my—our job was to do the same for you and we failed."

Yang finally glanced up at Blake with a frown.

"It's true," Weiss said, stepping up next to them. "We weren't ready for that day. We weren't strong enough or fast enough or skilled enough and that's not only on you, Yang. It's on all of us."

Blake found herself nodding—thrilled to have Weiss on the same page. "She's right. What happened at Beacon was…awful and you know that more than any of us. You know how I feel about what happened and you wouldn't let me blame myself for it. Well I'm not going to let you blame yourself either, okay? We can't go back and fix what happened—but we're here now, all of us and our leader needs us."

After a few lingering moments of silence, Yang nodded. "We need to find a way to get on the roof."

"Why?" Blake asked.

"Because if there's a way up there, that's where Ruby will be. She used to climb the roof of our house constantly—drove my dad insane."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "That seems to be a running theme with her."

"If we can find a guard we can ask—"

An alarm suddenly sounded and red lights flashed from every direction. Blake clutched her weapon in her hand and stepped in front of Weiss and Yang.

"What the hell?" Yang shouted over the speakers as the hallway started to fill with soldiers all heading in the same direction. "Hey!" Yang reached out and grabbed one, a younger kid who was fumbling with his helmet. "What's happening?"

"Our commanding officer has sounded the alarm. That means we're under attack!" He shrugged out of Yang's grip and put his helmet on before racing off with the rest of the soldiers.

"We need to see what's going on!" Yang started off in the same direction as the soldiers but Blake stepped in front of her.

"You need to go back to your dad." Blake said decisively and Yang was appalled.

"Are you kidding me?! We still haven't found Ruby!"

"Yang if there's a threat coming you need to be safe, you're not a soldier."

Something flashed in Yang's eyes—her powerful stance diminished. "I have to find Ruby."

Before Blake could speak, Weiss stepped up to them. "I will find your sister, okay? You go and get your father and when we find out what's going on we'll come get you."

"Weiss—"

"I know," Weiss nodded in quiet understanding. "You're not used to sitting on the sidelines but that's why we're going to get you that new arm, isn't it? So you can get back in the fight?" Eventually Yang nodded and Weiss seemed satisfied. "Good, go to your father. Blake you come with me to my room and I'll get my weapon. We'll find Ruby and find my sister."

Weiss started down the hallway but Blake stopped and gave Yang a reassuring look. "We'll find her and let you know as soon as we know what's going on, okay?"

Yang nodded and Blake could see her hand shaking at her side but Weiss had a head start on Blake so she turned and left her partner behind.

As luck would have it, they ran into Ruby on their way to the roof. The sound of the alarm had drawn her back inside but their guess of her location had been right.

Ruby was frantic, more so than Blake had ever seen her before. She was wide eyed and stammering out instructions for Weiss as she pulled her towards the war room where everyone was gathering.

To her credit, Weiss merely followed along and nodded with everything Ruby said—even though Blake was pretty sure Ruby was repeating herself over and over again.

"Don't take risks." She would say to the both of them and Weiss would quickly agree while Blake could only nod in agreement when Ruby would look back at her. "Where's Yang?" Came next and Blake answered quickly.

"She's with your dad, she's in no condition to fight."

Ruby sagged in relief. "Good, Weiss can you have your sister send—Winter!" Ruby shouted herself when they entered the war room. Weiss tried to stop her when Ruby raced across the room towards where Winter stood in front of her people. "Winter! My family is in the barracks, can they have a few guards go and keep watch?"

Winter seemed affronted by Ruby's sudden presence and took a step back. "Your father is a skilled huntsman and your sister is no slouch. I'm certain they'll be fine."

"Yang is disabled!" Ruby shouted and Weiss jogged up the few steps to the platform Winter stood on and tried to draw Ruby back. "I'm only asking for a few soldiers, so they're okay! I don't want them to get hurt."

Weiss peered over Ruby's shoulder apologetically at her sister and Winter seemed to give a look of quiet understanding. "Very well; unit seven will stand guard in the barracks. Though it seems rather foolish since this thing will not breach our front line."

"Thank you," Ruby took a step towards Winter, most likely for a hug, but Weiss restrained her.

Blake was pretty sure Weiss saved Ruby's life in someway by preventing that hug.

"Now," Winter's voice raised several octaves and grabbed everyone's attention. "We weren't prepared for this so suddenly, but it changes nothing. We will scatter throughout the perimeter of the base, trying to stay as hidden as possible. From what Ms. Rose has told us—this enemy prioritizes her before anything else. We do not expect it to give any thought to it's surroundings or the presence of another so long as it does not stand between itself and Ms. Rose."

"Don't try to fight it!" Ruby broke into Winter's speech and Weiss winced. Blake felt bad for Weiss—clearly she was trying to maintain some kind of image around her sister, but Ruby was a mess and Weiss had taken it upon herself to keep Ruby contained. "You can't beat it; do you understand? Don't fight it! You will die!"

"Ruby," Weiss chided and Ruby winced before closing her mouth. "I'm sorry." Weiss apologized to her sister.

However, Winter surprised Blake. "Don't be, she's right. We are not here to be heroes. You're no good to me dead." She turned to her soldiers. "This is a capture mission. This…thing could be incredibly valuable—it is unlike anything we have come across before if Ms. Rose's testimony proves to be accurate. The plan is to lure it in and take it down with a heavy dose of our specialized tranquilizer."

Blake heard them go over the plan, the strategies and positioning. Winter was talking fast because they didn't have much time. Her soldiers outside could only hold out for so long and Blake knew they were dying.

The plan itself was simple: Ruby would be the distraction and Winter would come in with her sword and seek out a weak point to strike. Inside her weapon would be a dust cartridge filled with the powerful tranquilizer. This was to ensure that the beast went down long enough to be captured and returned to the base.

It was a decent plan, but there were far too many unknowns for Blake to be comfortable.

"Sorry I'm late," Blake looked back to the doorway to see Qrow coming in. There were dark circles under his eyes and he was still buttoning up his shirt—clearly having just woken up. "Also the speaker for the alarm in the room you put me in is broken." Qrow pushed through some of the guards and climbed up onto the platform right next to Winter. He smirked at her and crossed his arms as she rolled her eyes and turned back to the crowd.

"Qrow will be closest to Ruby, in a tree hovering just above her. His job is to make sure that she is protected while I make the striking shot at the creature. Your job," she pointed to her soldiers. "Is to hold the perimeter. If something happens and it tries to escape, you hold the line and allow us another shot."

"What's my job?" Weiss asked and Ruby gave her a concerned look.

Winter put her hands behind her back and stared at her sister for a moment. "Weiss, you will be carrying a second vial of tranquilizer dust. Should I be unsuccessful, you will provide support."

"No!" Ruby shouted. "No I don't want Weiss anywhere near it!"

"Ruby," Weiss kept her voice soft and drew Ruby in close. From her position, Blake couldn't hear anything that Weiss was saying but she watched the way Ruby's face seemed to fall and she nodded. Weiss was so close to her and their contact seemed amazingly intimate. When she finished, Ruby looked up at her with a pained expression, but nodded.

"I'll be at your side, Winter." Weiss confirmed and Ruby said nothing.

"I'll go with Ruby," Blake surprised herself when she spoke up. Everyone on the podium turned to her and she tried to stand a little taller. The lone Faunus in a room of well armed humans. "Winter, you and Weiss will be tucked away in the dark, waiting to attack. Qrow will be hovering overhead, watching it all and I agree that he should take Ruby away as soon as he can, but she needs backup. I'll go with her." Because Yang can't. Blake thought and tried to convey with a smile when Ruby looked at her worriedly.

Blue eyes studied her and Blake returned her focus to Winter and held a strong gaze. She was going to do this, with or without military approval. She would not let Ruby go out as bait by herself.

"So be it," Winter said before drawing her weapon. "We have no time to waste. Everyone, to your positions!"

When Blake looked back at her teammates, she was met with the sight of Ruby pulling Weiss in and kissing her.

Well that's new…

So there are a few things about this chapter I wanted to bring up. First of all is Blake's fight with Adam. The truth is, it probably feels a little...anti-climactic and I totally understand that. But the bottom line is, my arc for Blake has very little to do with Adam, it's so much more about her life beyond that, which will be coming up as we move along. Right now we're dealing with the thing hunting Ruby and that's it's own plot, but Blake's future will start to come into play more as we move along and the Adam thing was mostly just a launching point for it. What happened between them was important and it weighs heavy on Blake, but it wasn't a massive throwdown. Just a quiet fight in a dark alley that she managed to survive.

Also I am no military strategist, so I apologize for the shitty plan they have. It makes more sense in my head but I don't know if it came across as well in this scene.

Anyway, let me know what you thought, how you think the plan might go down, what you think of the story overall. Anything. Feedback is such a driving force for a writer and means a lot. Thank you ;3