Weiss' eyes shot open and her body stiffened. Her head flew up, and the motion was swiftly followed by a burning headache. Her hand immediately went to her forehead, and she massaged her temples. The brightness around her wasn't helping her head. She found herself in a small, white room with three beds. Garth sat in a chair next to hers, asleep. She herself lay on the one in the middle, Myrtenaster resting against a chair nearby, adorned with her clothes. She then realized that she was wearing a light blue hospital gown and grimaced, a brief jolt of humiliation flowing through her at the thought of being undressed while unconscious. She went to wake Garth up, eager to ask what had happened to her, but then decided against it. He unnerved her, but his devotion didn't go unnoticed. She supposed she could lecture him later. Gingerly stepping out of the bed and onto the cold white floor, she took small, deliberate steps to the door, not surprised that each step sent a faint but clearly present jolt of pain through her body. She remembered landing on her feet and crumpling. Her glyph had failed, but the mission had succeeded. Walking to the door in front of her bed, she pushed it open and found that the hallway she stepped in was empty. Then, she realized that her Scroll might be with her clothes, and went to find it. She was eager to know how long she'd been in the medical facilities of the Trenches, and wondered if it had been so long as to attract the attention of her friends.

"Weiss...Weiss! You're awake," Garth said suddenly, rising from his seat. She hadn't noticed him wake up as she made her way to her clothes, but now she looked at him and sighed.

"I have half a mind to go back to sleep; being awake in this condition isn't pleasant."

"How bad is the pain?" He asked her.

"Manageable. And thank you, by the way, for waiting with me."

"It was my pleasure." Weiss had, by now, found her way to her clothes and began rooting through them. She quickly found her Scroll and turned it on. It was the morning after the day she and her team had returned, and early enough so that they'd still be asleep. Luckily, they were aware that missions in the Trenches didn't always get done on time, so she still had time to see them and prevent too much worry.

"What did the doctor say about my condition?" Weiss asked Garth, who smiled.

"He did all he could, given the resources present in the Trenches, and he can do no more. While he still advised you not to push yourself, he did say that you are free to go." Weiss smiled back.

"I'm relieved to hear that. Oh, by the way...what happened to Mona?" She asked, just now remembering the bravery of the faunus. She'd faced her death alone, something no one should have to do. It was admirable, yet painful, to watch her make her way into the forest alone. Weiss had little hope that she survived, but still kept holding out. However, her miniscule hopes were quickly squashed.

"...She died. We found her body on the way back to the ship...she died in sight of it. It was right in front of her, and she couldn't make it," was the somber reply. The two stood in silence for a while, not looking at one another before Weiss sighed heavily. Hearing that another one of her teammates had died was exactly what she didn't need.

"She fought hard to survive. She got farther than I expected."

"She did," Garth agreed, and Weiss nodded before quickly leaving the room. However, as she opened the door, he called out.

"Weiss!"

"Jaune, what happened? You came home from Ruby and Yang's and didn't tell me, and you spent all of yesterday brooding and now that's carrying into today. Now maybe this is just me, but I feel like a new day requires a new start, and you can't have that while you're stuck thinking about the day before. Please, tell me what's wrong." Jaune sat at the table, picking at his food with a dazed look in his eyes. He glanced around the room slowly, but couldn't see what was right in front of him. He was too lost in thoughts of what could have been. He'd made a mistake. Yang was angrier than he'd thought, and he feared that his arrival at her house would make her problems worse. He was especially concerned about the beer he'd seen. Aside from Ruby, everyone knew about her issues, but they didn't bring it up or tell her because they didn't want to make things worse. But Jaune was having second thoughts about that decision. If Yang were in his position, she wouldn't keep quiet, knowing that things had to get worse before they got better. Perhaps he had to do the same. Perhaps she had to hit rock bottom before being able to climb back to the top. As he thought, he received a flick from Pyrrha. His Aura flared instinctively, as it had often done in his many years of fighting. He felt nothing, but noticed the gesture.

"Sorry, I'm just...thinking about some issues," he said absentmindedly. Pyrrha then pulled away his food and fork, and he looked up at her, struggling to put his thoughts aside.

"Jaune, when we entered this relationship, we agreed: There are no 'me' issues. There are only 'we' issues. We don't keep secrets; we don't hide our problems. If we want to be in a stable relationship, and I think that both of us want that more than anything, we have to talk. Clearly, this is a problem that involves Yang, and she's a friend of both of ours. I have a right to know about it," the redhead said with the intense yet kind voice she often used when she wanted to get down to business. Jaune knew that she was right; he had always known. But the doubts fluttering around in his mind kept him from speaking up. He hadn't fully decided whether or not confronting Yang and telling Ruby what was going on would be the best course of action.

"...I'm sorry, and this time I really mean it. You do deserve to know. I just got...confused. I don't know what to do, but I think I have to do something. More than what I've been doing, anyway. I talked to Ruby, and that went well, but then Yang pulled me aside and...she started yelling. She needs help, Pyrrha. She needs it a lot, and I think we need to convince her the exact same thing. I don't know if it's her drinking, her refusal to get over Ruby's incident, or both, but something's wrong." Pyrrha sat down next to Jaune as he spoke, sighing. She buried her head in her hands and fell silent as he finished, and after a few seconds of the silence permeating the room, Jaune put his hand on her shoulder.

"We need to go over there. Now. This can't wait," she said. Jaune nodded.

"I'll call Nora, Ren, Sun, and...wait, Neptune's out of town, isn't he? Crap. But Weiss should be back from her mission! I'll call her Scroll," he said. Pyrrha got up with him, and before they went to prepare for the impromptu intervention, wrapped her arms around him. They both hoped that it wasn't too late to make Yang see reason.

"What?" Weiss asked harshly, not happy with being stopped at the door. She wanted to get back home, take a shower, get dressed, eat something, and then go to see Ruby and Yang. They'd be worried.

"I...I almost lost you today. You could have died, and before that ever happens again, you need to know something," Garth said, sounding urgent. Weiss sighed, listening to him. He was getting to be a problem, and the first thing she was going to do after seeing her friends was ask for him to be transferred from her unit and perhaps assigned a therapist. She had bigger issues to worry about, but she supposed that she'd have to deal with him eventually.

"I thought I loved someone once, but she betrayed me and that's why I'm here. I thought she was everything you were. Kind, caring, accepting. I thought that she wanted me safe and in her life, but I was wrong. She was...she wasn't who I thought. She was sickening. She was abhorrent. And to see her true colors so quickly brought to the surface...angered me. I didn't know what I was doing. Before I knew it, she was dead and I was bathed in her blood. I never thought I'd find someone who made me feel like she had, but then I met you. Weiss Schnee, of the Heroes of Remnant! You had a difficult childhood and an abusive father. You understand pain, you understand what it was like to be betrayed! You had to end his life, didn't you? I heard. I heard what you did. And even with a group of people like me, people who had made mistakes, people that society had cast out, you cared. You saved us, you gave us hope! You gave me hope and I want to give you the same. You've been mistreated by the world, just like me. I can see it! So let me help you. Let me give you the love no one else will!" Garth finished his speech, panting and out of breath. Weiss stood, outwardly calm, but inside she was angry. She knew what Garth had done and who he was, and for him to claim that he was linked to her on some level, that they had some sort of reason to be together, disgusted her. He was deluded and dangerous, and she was prepared to deal with him. She had to get him back in prison, because he wasn't stable enough to be out in the world, even if in the Trenches. Not unless he got help, and Weiss knew that he might not go quietly.

"You didn't just kill her, did you?" She asked coolly. Garth looked shocked. He clearly didn't expect this kind of response.

"What?" He mumbled.

"Before you killed her, you had her strapped to a bed, right? In your bedroom, if the file was any indication."

"This isn't-"

"You violated her, Garth. I know you did. I read about the whole damn thing. And now you come to me, expecting me to just jump into your arms? You aren't ready for the world. You might never be. You're twisted and distorted, as is the mind through which you view the world. You are a selfish man who filters out everything that interferes with your desires, and you warp everything around you to fit what you want. And you warped me as well. You're making me into some kind of guardian angel, watching over you, when I'm just a nervous wreck trying to keep a team of criminals from dying and herself from breaking down. I'm not the woman you think I am on any level, and I am dangerously close to snapping and showing you just how little you understand me. Now I'm going to leave and see my friends, and you aren't going to stop me. Not if you know what's good for you." With that, Weiss turned around and walked away, pushing the door open and stalking into the hallway, her belongings clutched under her arm. Behind her, Garth clenched his fists and bit his lip. Blood fell from it and he absentmindedly licked it away. After a few seconds, he burst into the hallway. Weiss turned to see him. He was red with fury, his sword held tightly in his hands. He didn't fully understand what he was thinking, nor did he register what she had said, but he thought he had. He'd heard her speak and all he felt was disappointment. He had been wrong about her, and she had been wrong for him. She wasn't who she said she was, not in the slightest. It was just like all those years ago with his therapist. To him, she said the exact same thing: He'd been wrong.

"You are just like her, aren't you? You're a stupid, selfish bitch! You never cared, and you never will! Not unless I force you. and believe me, by the time I'm done with you, you'll care. You'll be exactly who I want you to be!" And with that, he charged. To Weiss, the deranged man seemed to be running in slow motion. He was clumsy and his movements were predictable. Even in her wounded state, she could tell just how weak he was in comparison to her. He was unimportant. Quickly reaching for Myrtenaster, noticing that it had been restocked with Dust, she took a red Dust pack and hurled it at Garth. In his rage, he failed to realize what would happen if he touched it and he cut straight down with his sword, his Aura flaring and igniting the Dust. It exploded in his face and he flew back to the end of the hall. He slammed into the wall and he fell to the ground, crumpling into a heap. Weiss then took out her phone and walked away.

"Hello, police? I am Weiss Schnee, and I've just been assaulted. Me? I'm fine. It's my attacker you might want to see to. He's from the Trenches; my subordinate, actually. He had an accident and may have broken a few bones and have some some third degree burns. He is a mentally unstable man. I recommend that he be hospitalized, sent back to prison and assigned a male therapist to see if his issues can't be revealed and resolved in some way. You can contact me tomorrow for more details; I'm afraid I'll be busy today," she said, waiting for that to sink in on the other end of the line. After a few seconds, she heard a reply.

"Where are you now?" Weiss smiled thinly. Now that all of her problems were resolved, she could go relax with her friends. She needed to talk to them more than ever. It was just a shame that she'd only be with two of them. Weiss then began to wonder about the missing link in team RWBY. She hoped Blake was alright.

"Like I said, the preparations are underway. I can do it easily, but securing you a job in prison might take a while. Two months at the most. First of all, you've got no record, and that's some annoying bullshit right there. You're basically a nobody, and I have to create your entire identity from scratch. Then, you have to pass a psych eval, and seeing as how you're a homicidal maniac, that's not gonna be easy. I've gotta get to the guy interviewing you somehow, and that's gonna be a bitch, let me tell you. He's filthy rich, so he's got no need for bribes. Thus, I have to kidnap his family, and that's annoying too. I'd have you do it, but I can't have people know that you're active in Vale. Basically, this is a real piece of shit to organize, so if you could stop calling me and asking when you'll get to go to prison and have some fun with the shitty fucking faunus filth, that would be just great! Thanks a bunch, asshole. I'll call you when everything's ready, and if you call me before that for any reason whatsoever, I'll blow out your brains and pay a visit to the kitty myself, understand?" With that, Roman hung up and sighed. He sat at a polished wooden desk in a hotel room near his base. He'd been told that distancing himself from the place where he'd been traumatized was a good way to deal with the crippling fear. He'd been slowly improving, now able to look at a faunus without trembling in terror and go sleep with the lights off, but he still had nightmares about Blake. She still scared him more than anything. The way she'd looked at him with her empty eyes made him shiver. He couldn't see her anger, that was the scariest part. He knew how furious she was, but he couldn't see it. She was off; she wasn't herself. He knew her well from their encounters and the stories he'd heard from the White Fang, and he knew that Adam's death, as she said, pushed her over the edge. But he'd get his revenge. He'd turn her from the attacker into the victim; he'd show her that however big a mistake he made, she made a bigger one by antagonizing him.

The sound of glass shattering woke Ruby up. She dared not turn on the light to her room for fear that the intruder in the house would see, and she didn't think it wise to call for Yang, either. There was darkness around her, save for the sliver of light coming from the kitchen and the morning rays that shone through the cracks in her window shutters. She heard the rough, unpleasant sound of a chair being slid along the ground, and assumed that the intruder was sitting at the table. Possibilities flashed through her mind. She knew it wasn't Yang; Yang wouldn't have thrown glass on the floor. She considering the possibility that it might be an addict looking for something to eat or drink; she and Yang weren't in the best of neighborhoods, and here there were all kinds of people who'd damaged themselves or others in some way or another, be it with drugs, alcohol, or any other mean available. However, Ruby was a light sleeper these days and knew that she would have heard the door open, especially if the one opening it had their judgment clouded enough not to be careful about waking the people in the house. She then briefly touched on the idea that there was a murderer of some kind present, but she doubted that anyone would be stupid enough to attack the known residence of two Heroes of Remnant, even if one was a cripple, much less be so loud as to wake them up. Besides, it was the morning and no killer would strike then. She groped for her wheelchair, which was up against her bed. Crescent Rose leaned against it, and Ruby tried to get situated as quietly as possible. She pulled the covers from herself, and shuffled along her bed to get to the edge. She then grabbed the sides of the wheelchair and lifted herself from the mattress, her leg suspended in midair. She pushed herself up and flipped, turning around so that her back faced the wheelchair. She bent her arms as well so that her hands fell on the sides of the wheelchair once again. She felt it tip, and Ruby quickly sat down. A dull thud could be heard when the chair's wheels hit the ground, but luckily, the continued shuffling of the intruder showed her that the noise wasn't loud enough to draw attention. Picking up Crescent Rose, she quietly wheeled herself to the doorway, both scared and excited for what she might fight. It felt like such a long time since she'd used her beloved scythe.

Ruby peeked her head from the doorway in her room, trying to see who was in the kitchen. It was then that she noticed Yang's bedroom door. It was open, blocking her view. It wasn't a glance of her sister herself, but the door told Ruby everything she needed to know. She wheeled her chair into the hallway, and Yang stopped making noise.

"Yang?" Ruby called out, gently shutting the door. The creaking of the wood unnerved her as she pressed her hand against the handle.

"Um, sis? Are you okay?" Now, Ruby had closed the door completely, and saw four bottles of beer on the table. The fifth lay shattered on the ground, along with small but messy red lines that led from the table to the couch. A mass of blonde hair could be seen, but Yang's face was turned from Ruby, and the couch blocked her body from sight. The younger woman began to wheel herself forward with more speed, a sinking feeling conjuring in her stomach. It was booze. That was what Yang did on her walks. She went to drink. It all made so much sense now. Everything that she did and said since Ruby lost the use of her legs fell into place, creating a solved puzzle that showed a very ugly picture. Ruby felt like vomiting. She felt terror and pity and guilt, and it was stirring inside her like soup being stirred in a pot. She felt weak as she moved towards her sister.

"Yang? What...what have you been doing to yourself?" She asked, tears beginning to fall. She would let herself cry, but refused to sob. She had to make things right. Yang had hidden something very important from her, and she wanted to make up for not noticing. She'd been so stuck in her own head, so worried about her own problems and crippled, both literally and figuratively, by them that she didn't even notice Yang destroying herself right in front of her, in the house they shared.

"Hey, shish...just shtepped on shome glash..I'm good...shtupid Aura didn't work..." Yang mumbled, turning to face Ruby. The younger woman immediately looked down. She couldn't bear to see her wise, loving, and strong-willed older sister like this. She was red-faced, with bags under her eyes. But it wasn't the bags that scared Ruby. Yang's eyes themselves were red, but she wasn't angry. She was possessed, both by the drink and her own insecurity. Her body was at war with the alcohol and her mind was at war with itself.

"You need to get help," Ruby said, wheeling herself over to the phone. Yang jumped from the couch, stumbling.

"No! What are you doing, shish? Thish ishn't...I don't want people here! I want them gone!"

"Yang, this is for your own good!" Ruby said forcefully. Yang staggered over to her, and Ruby extended Crescent Rose to sweep away the glass, afraid that her drunken sister would fall on it.

"Why can't it be jusht the two of ush? We don't need help; we're fine! We have...eash other..." The blonde muttered. Ruby smiled at her, forcing herself to look anything but terrified.

"But we have friends, too, and we know people who can help you. You're hurting yourself, sis, can't you see? Just let me make a quick call and then we can sit and talk. Just the two of us, okay?" She said sweetly, trying to calm Yang down. However, it did the exact opposite.

"Put down the damn phone!" Yang roared, getting even closer to Ruby, who pulled Crescent Rose towards her. She noticed that the blonde had Ember Celica on, and wasn't sure what she might do in her alcohol-induced state. Ruby hated herself for doing it, but she wanted to be safe and her warrior instincts kicked in. She didn't want to feel like the enemy; she wanted to be supportive. But sometimes, as her sister herself had said, people need more than an encouraging word.

"Yang, please don't get any closer, please please please don't get any closer!" Ruby said, her voice rising as she tried to hold back a storm of sobs. Her eyes were pouring like waterfalls, but she managed to stay calm and keep her voice level, if a little shaky and high-pitched. Yang looked confused as her stomach was only inches away from the blade of Crescent Rose. She poked it, looking at Ruby strangely.

"What...what is this?"

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean it! I just...reflex kicked in...I don't think that you'll hurt me! I trust you, Yang, and now you need to trust me. Please, can you do that?"

"I...I..." Yang looked more confused than ever, backing away from the scythe. Her mind struggled to process what was going on; she was trying to shake off the influence of the beer. Her Aura flickered, much to Ruby's surprise. Alcohol inhibited Aura use, most often negating it completely. It was no wonder that Yang had hurt her bare feet on the glass. However, if there was one thing Ruby knew about her sister, it's that she was strong. She was a fighter. If anyone could use their Aura while under the influence, it was her.

"Yang, just let me do this. Then we can talk." The blonde clenched her fists but continued stepping back, and before she could make up her mind, there was a knock on the door.

"Hey, it's Jaune. Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and Sun are here too. We also called Weiss; she should come any minute. I came to talk about yesterday, maybe sort things out."

Yang didn't even hesitate. Before Ruby could act, she screamed.

"Get the fuck away from ush!" She prepared to fire a round from her weapon at the door, but Ruby yelled at her suddenly and she hesitated.

"Yang!"

"We're coming in," Pyrrha said, her worry now overcoming her respect for the siblings' privacy. She opened the door to find the strange and horrifying scene and stepped back, knocking into Ren. Yang stood near Ruby, gauntlets ready to fire, her feet covered with blood. Glass and blood both lay on the floor, bottles were strewn on the table, and Ruby was in her wheelchair with Crescent Rose drawn, reaching for the phone.

"What...what is this?" She muttered.

"Guys, Yang has a...a...drinking problem. She needs help-"

"We know," Ren said darkly, interrupting Ruby.

"I thought I told you to fuck off, you worthlesh piesh of shit!" Yang spat at Jaune, who looked down.

"Yang, I-"

"Wait...did she say things like this to you yesterday? Was this how you were behaving, Yang?" Pyrrha asked, a dangerous glint present in her eyes. The thought of Jaune just standing there taking abuse from Yang that he didn't deserve made her blind with rage. She began to lose focus on the scene around her. Meanwhile, Ren, Nora, and Sun slowly walked over to Ruby.

"We've known for a while; we just didn't want to go behind her back and tell you. We thought she'd get angry and things would get worse. We're all so, so sorry," Nora said gently. Ruby looked at them, surprised, but not angry.

"I...I didn't even know...at least you all knew...I was living with her, and I didn't know. She's my sister, and I-"

"Ruby, this isn't your fault. There's no need for you to blame yourself for this," Sun interrupted. Next to them, Pyrrha walked up to Yang.

"Answer me," she said. Jaune went up to her, placing his hand on his shoulder. She knew that Yang had blamed him, and it made her angry. He had dealt with enough people looking down on him, treating him like he was worthless because they thought he couldn't fight. She hated how much people had made fun of him back at Beacon. Even his own father didn't respect him. And now, Yang saying such things to him as someone who'd known what a wonderful person and strong warrior he was, Pyrrha found herself losing control. She noticed his hand and Ruby crying in the corner, and she knew that she was being stupid and irrational and that there were more important things at stake than his honor, which he could very well defend himself. But she was done letting Yang walk all over him and everyone. She'd been distant and cold, treating everyone like they didn't matter, and it was then that Pyrrha realized that it wasn't just Yang's treatment of Jaune that angered her. It was her treatment of every one of her friends, especially her sister. Usually a passive-aggressive person, the redhead found herself leaning far towards the aggressive side. She'd always hated people who walked all over others, treating them like dirt. Now, that was Yang.

"You've been nothing but horrible to everyone, especially Jaune. You shut yourself away and act like we don't matter. Even Ruby, who you claim to care so much about, is just an excuse for you to hide from a life you can't face!" Yang blinked a few times at Pyrrha's words, and looked at Ruby, who was talking to Nora, Ren, and Sun.

"Pish off," she muttered, turning away.

"Pyrrha, don't do this," Jaune urged, grabbing her arm. However, she was too strong. The redhead placed her hand on Yang's shoulder and grabbed her tightly, preventing her from moving forward.

"Let go or I shwear I'll rip your head off," the blonde said, her voice dripping with malice. Pyrrha noticed that her eyes were red, and a dim part of her mind told her that Yang was in a very aggressive state herself. She knew that Jaune was right, that she should back down, but she didn't.

"Okay, let's call-Pyrrha!" Ren shouted, a loud whacking noise interrupting his attempt to calm Ruby down. Nora gasped in shock, and Sun did the same. Right in front of them, with Jaune trying to hold Pyrrha back, she had punched Yang square in the face.

Yang staggered backwards, falling to the ground. Pyrrha stepped back and stared at her fist, her Aura glowing on her knuckles. Jaune let go of her, and the phone fell from Ruby's hands. A sob broke the silence that had been created, stopping what had seemed to be a complete stoppage of time. Everything paused, as if to let everyone take in exactly what had happened.

"Oh no...Yang, I am so, so sorry-"

"Shave it, Pyrrha. You know, thish was esshactly what I needed. I really fucking needed thish, and do you know why?"

"Yang-"

"Itsh becaush now I know esshactly whatsh important to you. You wanna shtand up for that little shit you call Jaune fucking Arc sho that you can get in hish pantsh, right? I fucking knew it. You don't give a damn about me or Ruby! You shtupid slut!" Pyrrha, who was over her anger, weakly held up her arm as Yang lunged at her. Jaune's Aura flared as he tried to intercept the blow, and Ruby and the others simply stared in shock. Everything was happening so fast that they could hardly process it. Pyrrha, of all people, snapped, and now it looked as if a fight would break out. Ruby got her wits together enough to reach for the phone, this time with the intent of calling the police, when something stopped almost everyone from moving. Weiss stood at the door, Myrtenaster ready. Her hand twitched, as if preparing to summon a glyph, and she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Yang, if you take another step I swear that I will use my Semblance!"

Well! Another day another chapter! Give or take a ton of days. Anyway, this is the chapter where things get intense, so hopefully it's good! I felt a little odd writing it, as pitting the main characters against each other is a little weird to me (not bad weird), especially when I'm writing it. I'm also worried that Pyrrha's anger feels a little forced to some people; I tried my best to justify her actions, but if it seems off, as well as anything else in the story, I'd love to hear about your issues with it. And I hope that Yang's drunk isn't too annoying, either.

I'd also like to apologize for taking so long writing this; sometimes I really want to write and other times I don't feel like it. I know that it's not hard to sit down and write stuff, but I can be quite the procrastinator and I usually end up writing super late into the night. I'd really like to put out chapters a little faster, but at the same time, I'm afraid that I won't write as well if I'm not into it.