Weiss' first instinct was to scream. She fell on her side and the feather slammed into the ground, sticking there, and her momentum pushed it deeper through her side. Garth rolled to the ground, his eyes fixed on his leader's wound. She was biting her lip, held up from the ground by the feather as if impaled on a spike. Blood fell from her mouth; he could tell she was trying her best not to let out a cry. She didn't want to panic the rest of her team and draw attention to her injury, Garth knew, and readily admired her determination even when stuck above the ground, bleeding profusely. His first move was to run over to her, and she simply glared at him, the pain clear for him to see in her blue irises.

"You dunce! If you had stayed where I told you to, none of this would have happened!" She snarled with difficulty, using her Semblance to slowly rip the feather from her side, not wanting to pull it out too fast for fear of causing more damage.

"I...I just-"

"You what?! You thought that I needed help more than your inexperienced, uncoordinated comrades fighting for their lives?! Whatever attachment you have to me is becoming a liability...but that's all in the past. As angry as I may be, now I need your help. Distract the Grimm as best you can and keep me safe; I'll do what I can to nurse my wounds and rejoin you as soon as possible...gah!" After a painful pause, Weiss cried out as the feather left her body, coated in her crimson blood. Garth paled, his body trembling, as he moved closer to her. The heiress had no idea what he was thinking, but she couldn't afford to waste time.

"I need you!" She shouted, snapping the man back to his senses. His initial shock, disappointment, and rage at his mistake and her outburst faded and his desire to keep her safe came back.

"Of course. You'll not be harmed again," he said, hurrying off. The four Nevermore were circling back around, and Weiss had to deal with her wound as best she could and formulate a plan before they found her as a sitting duck. As the adolescents around her were decimated by lasers, she got to work. She bandaged herself up by ripping off both of her sleeves and wrapping them around the puncture wound in her back, holding the blood in her body. She gritted her teeth, running her tongue over her bloody lip, and looked around, finding Garth a ways away. Using a quick glyph to get to him and cutting through a stray adolescent in her way, she then doubled over as she stopped at his side. He looked at her with concern and she pointed behind him. Without even looking, he tore his blade through the head of an approaching Grimm.

"I...I need you to collect any spare Dust cartridges you can from the ranged units and bring them to me. Have them retreat; the dwindling number of adolescents should offset their absence from the battlefield. I have a plan to take down the four remaining adult Nevermores," she panted, gripping her sword so tightly that her knuckles grew paler than they already were, if such a thing were possible. Her already pale skin had lost even more of its color due to blood loss. Garth looked at her wistfully for a second, whispering a word of encouragement before running off. The few adolescents around her came in a swarm, like wasps, and she shakily rose her blade, darting forward to meet them with a strike.

Ruby looked at Jaune expectantly as he pondered what he'd say next. He wasn't sure how to delicately express his concerns to her. He knew she most likely didn't want to talk about her tragedy, and couldn't blame her. He knew exactly how she felt. He too hid his sadness and weakness to make others feel at ease, but mostly, it was himself whose spirits he wanted to lift. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was the same for her. She seemed to want to ignore her suffering, as if that would make it go away. She wouldn't mention it to others, fearing that it would make the pain feel all too real. Jaune was determined to stop her from making his mistakes, mistakes he'd made so many times in his life. You had to acknowledge that the pain was real, otherwise you could never come to terms with it. He tried to imagine how Weiss would handle the situation. He knew that she wouldn't hesitate in telling Ruby that she was making a mistake and that she needed to stop out of that; Jaune needed that kind of confidence now more than he had in a long time. He cleared his throat, and began to speak. This would be his apology.

"I get it. I really, really do. I know what it's like to hide pain, to try and make it feel less real. I know how it feels to ignore your problems in hopes that they'll go away, and I want you to know that you don't have to do that. If you're sad, say so. If there's something weird about being around Hunters and Huntresses again, just tell me...tell your friends. We're not fighting a war anymore. We're not on the battlefield, fighting for our lives. You don't have to ignore your problems," he said, sounding much more confident than he felt.

"Jaune...what's gotten into you?" Ruby asked, her eyes wide as if she was confused. Even so, she couldn't hide the fact that Jaune's words resonated within her on a very personal level, no matter how casual she tried to sound.

"I've said I'm sorry for the mistake I made so many times, and each time you told me that it was okay and that I didn't need to worry about it. I apologized for what happened to your legs without realizing what bothered me so much about it, but now I know and now I have to tell you, because we're friends and I want you to know exactly how I feel: I feel like I took something away from you. I know, it was the Grimm who did the deed, but it was me who put you in the crosshairs. And it's not just your legs. You're...different. I can't explain it, but something feels off. It feels like you're still trying to be a leader, trying to be a Huntress, when who you really need to be right now is yourself. It's like...well, it's like your mind isn't completely in the present. Like you're still fighting a battle, killing that Grimm, somewhere in your head." Ruby was suddenly reminded of professor Ozpin and something he told her. It was at the dance during their second semester at Beacon. It was a hazy memory, but it had something to do with the battlefield. She had no idea why the memory came to her now, but it seemed to ring true with Jaune's words.

"We've both been partially living that day over and over again, not fully...here. I was ashamed, and you were afraid. You were afraid of causing your friends pain, right? So you pushed your own pain aside, just like the good old days, just like a leader is supposed to do. Your team comes first, you second. But things have changed. You're not living that kind of life anymore. You can be honest. And I'm not trying to say you should give up on your dreams of one day stepping on the battlefield again as a Huntress, leading your team into the fray. Just...try to live that moment when it comes. Not before, and not after. For now, try to live this moment instead. I am; I know you can too. That's why I also want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for causing this. Not just for your legs, but for everything I said. I'm sorry for making you hide," the blonde man said, taking a seat, winded and nervous from everything he said. He was scared of how she would react. Waiting with bated breath, he almost smiled as she put her hand on Jaune's knee and let a tear fall.

"You're the leader now, Jaune. I see that. It's time for me to be...me. No lies. Not to you, not to Yang, not to anyone. I was scared. I still am. I'm scared of being weak, of being helpless. I'm scared that my my entire life just lost all its meaning. I put everything I had into becoming a Huntress. I trained since I was very young. My uncle told me how hard my path would be, and how strong I had to be to get through all the trials I'd face. I'm afraid that I wasn't strong enough...I'm afraid that I...I..." Ruby tried talking, but the more she spoke, the more the tears fell. Her lip quivered, and Jaune waited for her to finish.

"I'm afraid that I failed. That I can't ever be a Huntress again because I failed."

"Yeah right! If you failed, then I'm wearing a dress," Jaune said, smiling. Ruby beamed as well.

"Then I guess that's that!" The two began to laugh, when suddenly, the door swung open. In the doorway stood a very tired, very angry Yang. She held a bag in her hand that she threw to the side and out of sight.

"Yang!" Ruby said happily. Jaune lowered his head and his smile faded. Yang noticed that Ruby's eyes were red and her frown deepened.

"Jaune, get the hell out here. We need to talk," she said. Ruby's smile faltered as well.

"Hey Yang. what's this about? I can hear whatever you need to tell him," she said forcefully, her talk with Jaune awakening some new feelings about her sister. Ruby really had been oblivious; the blonde woman had problems that she had failed to see.

"No, Ruby, it's fine. I...I want to talk to Yang, too, and I think this is something we need to work out for ourselves. We'll be right outside," Jaune said gently, getting up.

"Yang, be nice," Ruby said warily. Yang sighed.

"I'll do my best," she said, waiting for Jaune to leave the house before closing the door. The two walked out to the driveway, near Yang's motorcycle. Jaune had caught a glance of what was in her bag and sighed, and her expression was now downright deadly. Jaune, however, was undeterred.

"So...Yang, I have something that I need to tell you, and I know that you might not want to talk to me but please, just hear me-"

"You son of a bitch!"

Weiss' vision was hazy. The sight of her blood on the ground mixing with the red leaves of Forever Fall. Adolescent Nevermore lay at her feet, dead or dying, and her breath was ragged and forced as she tried to lift herself from her kneeling position on the ground, Myrtenaster piercing the earth upright to give her some support. There were feathers behind her; she'd narrowly avoided a Nevermore volley. Garth hurried to her, Dust held in his hands. Lilac was behind him, fending off the adolescents that tried to attack. Her eyes widened.

"What the hell happened?" She asked. Weiss glared at Garth, but said little.

"A stupid mistake. Now, don't you dare let anyone else know about this until I've taken out the four adult Nevermores. Then, finish off the remaining adolescents and get everyone back to the ship. We need to get out of here as soon as possible," she said.

"And you?" Garth asked.

"What, do you think I'm staying behind as some heroic sacrifice? I have no intention of dying here; that would be quite humiliating," was the harsh reply. A Nevermore was coming back down to attack, and she would meet it halfway. Grunting with effort, she summoned a few glyphs on the ground placed a few Dust cartridges on them, even her own, and waited until the Nevermore was close enough. One glyph shimmered and a collection of cartridges flew into the air, another glyph appearing behind them to guide them into the open, screeching mouth of the Grimm. Using her Semblance once again, she created a glyph that would amplify her Aura. She swung her blade, creating a shimmering, wild slash of energy that followed the Dust cartridges, setting them off. A barrage of multi-colored explosions were set off within the Grimm as the different types of Dust mixed with each other. Nevermore chunks flew every which way, disintegrating before they hit the ground. Lilac and Garth were amazed.

"Get the attention of the others!" She barked at them, and they complied, using their weapons to their fullest to attract attention of the Nevermore circling the battlefield. They turned their heads, flew towards the three warriors, and met the same fate as their ally. One remained, and Weiss would meet it herself. She hurtled into the air, powered by a glyph, and created another to send the Dust cartridges towards her final opponent, which had noticed its allies moving towards her and imitated them. She waited until it screeched and did what she had done to the three Grimm before, but this time hadn't the energy to amplify her dwindling Aura. Instead, in a desperate ploy, she used her Semblance to repel Myrtenaster after the Dust, hoping it would hit and cause it to explode. Falling back down, she heard an explosion above her. Creating a glyph to slow her descent, it was poorly constructed and vanished almost as soon as she landed on it, causing her to fall painfully to the ground. Her sword landed a ways away, but the Nevermore was defeated. Her vision was blurry as Garth and Lilac ran over to her, and the last thing she registered was the smell and feel of her blood, cool against her body, as her grip on reality vanished.

"Huh?" Jaune was surprised, hurt, and confused by Yang's sudden outburst. He knew she was angry, but hadn't expected her to shout the way she had; he'd at least hoped that she would let him say his part.

"Are you serious? Do you really think you can just walk in here like nothing's happened?!"

"I just-"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! What did you think you were doing when you came here, huh?! Let me guess: You just wanted to feel better, to use Ruby to get forgiveness you don't deserve!" Yang accused, her eyes turning dangerously red, flames flickering around her. Jaune stepped back.

"This wasn't just about me, I wanted-"

"It was all about you! You screwed up, you ruined my sister's life, crushed her dreams, and offered her a job that brings back all that trauma over again!"

"Hey, it was Weiss-"

"And now you're throwing Weiss under the bus! You really are something, you know that? All your training, all your bullshit about being a better leader, a better Hunter...it really was worthless, wasn't it? If you gave a damn about Ruby, about what you did to her, you'd leave her the hell alone! You have no right to just be forgiven! That guilt should be there your entire life, reminding you exactly how badly you screwed up so maybe next time, just maybe, you'll do better! But no, you just had to go pouring salt all over her wounds so that you can get some closure!" Jaune listened to Yang, both angry and saddened by her words. She was twisting his intentions. He hated being seen as selfish, as weak. He had tried so hard to be the exact opposite that, despite being faced with a furious Yang, he had to defend himself.

"No, that's not it! I wanted to help her!"

"How the hell do you figure that? How in the hell do you think that?! It's not like this is the first time you've done something like this. We've all had to deal with your worthlessness some time or another. Because you had to go be a big damn hero, faking your way into Beacon and trying to hang with real Hunters and Huntresses, people got hurt! Because you wanted to feed your ego, playing the knight in shining armor, Ruby lost her fucking legs! You know, looking back, you should never have come to Beacon. You should have been exposed for the glorified fraud that you are and never picked up your stupid sword! You were never good enough, and you never will be, and because you thought you were, people like my little sister have been hurt in ways that can't be fixed! No amount of Aura is changing that," Yang said scathingly, walking away.

"Yang..."

"Fuck off!" She walked back to the house, leaving a dejected, defeated, and horrified Jaune to stand gaping in the driveway for a good few seconds before deciding that it was best to leave. He had never expected her to be this angry.

Hello again! Sorry to anyone who was anticipating this chapter; it's been so long since I last updated this story. I was distracted by Tales of Xillia 2, which I got and loved the hell out of. I love how much darker it is than other Tales games, even Xillia. It was especially great to see how the characters from the first game have grown. Anyway, this is my first real cliffhanger, and I hope people like it! Also, I've been planning Yang's Reasons You Suck speech to Jaune for a while now, and I wanted it to hit him right where it hurts the most. I hope it's cruel enough.

As for RWBY, it's been great so far. Arkos is FINALLY happening, and Weiss apparently loves puppies and her cooing voice is ridiculously cute, even more so than Zwei himself. Also, I didn't expect Blake to be so averse to him. Faunus have a lot more in common with their animal side than I thought! I can't wait for the next episode; things seem to be getting intense!

And Ozpin apparently knows about RWBY's investigating but doesn't seem to care. He is a very, very hands-off kind of person. And shout-outs to Glynda for almost saying dicks. I had no idea she was so vulgar. My respect for her has grown!