It had been a long day and all Yang wanted in this world at the moment was some goddamn sleep. She and her team had fought a small-scale war at Argus against a swarm of Grimm, the Leviathan that came out of nowhere, and Cordovin with her giant mech, a several-hour flight to Atlas with a nearly blind pilot, having a heart attack as they say the state of Mantle and the Atlas Military, fighting yet another small battle with Grimm she had never seen before, being captured by the Ace Ops, having to suffer through some idiot spouting political talking points in the back of a prison transport, talking to Ironwood who seemed too tired to think straight himself, and finally, after Penny's two-hour tour of the campus, were they allowed to lay down in bed. So why did it have to start now?

Yang was resisting every instinct in her body to toss and turn, not wanting to wake the other three because of her problems. The blankets they were given, while heavy and warm, seemed so loud whenever they moved against the bed sheets. Or was that just her mind playing tricks on her? Why was this happening now though? She hadn't felt this in months, she thought she was over it.

"Fuck…"

There it was again, another pang of pure pain shot up her arm. It felt like someone put her arm in a vice clamp and was slowly turning it tighter. When she first felt these phantom pains she cried her eyes out, it was as if the universe was mocking her for losing her arm by letting her feel its presence but only in the form of pain. She didn't bother to look down and check now though, she knew there was no arm there.

"Shit!"

Another particularly painful twist. Looking around to make sure she didn't wake the others, she was thankful that they were probably as tired as she was.

Ruby lay face down on the bed, not even making it under the covers. Yang would have checked on her to make sure she was still breathing but she was able to make out slight movements in the dark and hear the sounds of her light snoring. Below her was Weiss who had managed to not only make it under her covers but even had a sleeping mask and earplugs on. Yang honestly felt bad for the poor soul who would have to try and wake her in the morning, they would probably end up drawing straws to see who had to do it. Looking below her bunk to check on Blake she almost thought that she had left the room at some point, but a few more seconds of searching showed that the faunus had curled up into a ball at the foot of her bed.

Another twist, another stifled whine as she tried not to be too loud.

She had to leave, no matter how tired they were her constant complaining would eventually wake them up. Slowly climbing out of bed and adjusting her new Atlas-supplied pajamas, she decided it may be a good idea to raid the common room fridge. Hey, she was practically a war hero at this point, she deserved to pillage some leftovers.

As quietly as she could she slipped out of her bunk, nearly screaming as her feet touched the floor. Jumping from one foot to the other, she searched the room as fast as she could for the pair of slippers she was given with the new pajamas, wanting to escape the ice-cold floor as fast as possible. How do these people live in this place? The constant inescapable cold was driving her insane! Finally having found her slippers, she snuck out of the room leaving her sisters to slumber in peace.

As long and boring as Penny's tour was, the brawler had to admit that it sure was comprehensive. Even after only being there once before she was able to find the closest common room while navigating the unlit hallways. Though the light shining from the room was also a big help. Smiling to herself she muttered, "Heh, guess the super-disciplined Atlas recruits never learned how to flick a light switch." She started laughing to herself but suddenly gasped as her 'arm' once again sent another wave of pain through her body. "Gods, fucking shit! Alright, that was enough wandering the halls, time to distract myself with food."

Stepping into the common room she tried to block out how much it reminded her of Beacon's. She didn't need two sources of pain at the moment. Rushing past the familiar feeling living space towards the communal kitchen she stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting there at the small table in the middle of the kitchen at what had to be past midnight by now, was General Ironwood. Yang almost didn't recognize him, in the back of her head she understood he had other clothes but seeing him outside of his military uniform really threw her mind for a loop.

Glancing up from his scroll he spotted her staring at him, "Ah, Miss Xiao Long. I was wondering when you would make your way down here." His voice was surprisingly warm, especially considering the hour of the night.

"You were waiting on me, Sir?" She asked, confused at these words. Had she agreed to come down here and forgotten? No that wasn't it. The blond started internally panicking trying to remember anything that would lead to the most powerful man in Atlas waiting for her in the kitchen.

He had a soft smile on his face, the same smile she had seen when Ruby admitted to stealing an airship. "Yes, I was. I have this for you." He slid a small device across the table. It looked like a compression band for taking blood pressure but there was no pump to it. "Place it over your 'arm', it'll start feeling better."

At the promise of relief, she didn't hesitate to put the device on her missing appendage. It took some finagling to get it past her prosthetic connector but after she got past it the device seemed to activate on its own. It felt like someone had duct taped an electric blanket to her arm, heat spread through her body in an instant, small tingling sensations were at the edge of her skin and she could feel her muscles loosening up. "By the gods, that feels so much better." She said as she collapsed into a chair across from the general.

"I thought it might help, one of Pietro's inventions, is still in beta testing. Uses a combination of fire dust and lightning dust to activate nerves and relax your muscles."

Yang was barely listening to him as she felt another wave of relief spread through her. "Wait, how did you know I needed this?"

The older man cleared his throat awkwardly, honestly it was almost cute. Getting up from the table he started the coffee machine getting ready to make himself a fresh mug. She thought he had lost his mind completely before seeing the makeshift label on the machine saying 'decaf only'. "I didn't want to bring it up in front of your friends, I was unsure how comfortable you were discussing this matter out in the open. The climate up here is killer for amputees, especially those who grew up in warmer areas. We see it all the time in Atlas, I won't pretend to understand the science behind it, that's Pietro's department, but how it was explained to me is your body is trying to adjust to the new climate while forgetting there is metal and wiring inside of you. Hurts like a bitch." Yang was grateful she wasn't drinking anything at the moment, otherwise, she would have choked upon hearing the general curse so casually.

Her eyes couldn't help but wander to his metal hand as he poured himself a cup of coffee at the counter. "How do you deal with it? The pain I mean, I only lost my arm and I couldn't even sleep."

"Everyone has their own ways, some get stress balls, some listen to heavy metal to distract their minds, I've heard of one patient of Pietro's that can't sleep unless they have comedy movie on in the background." He sat back down on the table and got back to work on his scroll, but still talked to her as if she had his full attention. "I'm an unusual case. My prosthetics don't come off and the extra weight has caused me some real issues over the years. When I first got out of the hospital I attempted to drink the pain away. That's actually how I first met your uncle."

'Of course he did,' Yang thought to herself. She loved her uncle dearly but lately, she was seeing how much suffering his drinking brought himself and others. She was honestly a bit disappointed to hear that he had brought someone else into that world, but she didn't want that to show on her face. "Bet he was a good drinking buddy huh?"

The laugh that came out of him managed to sound both happy and sad at the same time, an odd sound but somehow it fit the man in front of her. "No actually, quite the opposite. He dragged me out of the bar by my good leg and practically threw me into a random cab. I was about ready to shoot him then and there but I didn't have my weapons on me. I tried to get out and fight him but he shoved me back into the cab and yelled 'The drunk loser hall of fame is full, find your own damn pain relief.' I never did learn what that meant, he claims he doesn't remember that night."

Yang was in shock to learn that her uncle managed to kick someone else's drinking habit before it became too much. Perhaps she should start being a bit more encouraging to his attempt at going sober instead of just waiting for him to pick up another bottle…

Not knowing how to continue the conversation, but nowhere near ready to give back the little piece of heaven that was currently attached to her arm, she sat there in awkward silence as Ironwood quietly worked away on his scroll, seemingly reading and signing reports if she was hearing his muttering correctly. She almost asked if he needed any help if just to be polite, but she quickly tabled that idea as her signature was worth nothing in the military and she would have no idea what she was reading.

After about ten minutes of quietly looking around the room trying not to stare at him, she had to say something just to break the silence. "Thank you for the arm by the way. My dad said you had already had it being made before he could even say anything to you."

"Just paying it forward. I hope you'll help the next person in need of some assistance, and so on and so on." The look in his eyes was distant for a moment before they refocused, "Maybe in a few years one act of kindness can make its way to the person that needs it most, so why not push over the domino?"

It still felt strange talking to the man in such a casual manner. His body was still in proper posture, but at the same time, he seemed far less ridged. His hair was a bit messier as if he had been combing his hands through it while thinking, and his beard no longer looked immaculate. And his clothes, currently the standard issue Atlas Academy pajamas, looked incredibly out of place on his large frame. Once again her eyes were drawn to the steel-grey metal. Was this what it was like for everyone else when they talked to her? "So how do you deal with it now?"

"Hmm?"

"The pain. You said you first tried to drink it away, but what do you do now?"

"Custom-made heating bed, some light sleeping pills," he paused to take another sip from his mug, "Coffee"

Laughter broke out from the two of them at that, and thankfully the device he handed her had her arm so relaxed the sudden motions didn't cause any more pain. As they sat in now comfortable silence, the blond brawler decided to make herself a cup of decaf. Having something hot in her belly could only help in this frozen continent.

Well, she had made it this far, what was the worse that could happen if she asked now? "If you don't mind me asking-"

"Tank shell."

Yang was stunned silent for a moment. "What?"

For the first time in a while, he fully put his scroll down. "It's the question everyone has. I was a soldier before a hunter, I was involved in this skirmish with some raiders. They were heavily armed and fortified, almost like there trying to build a metal castle of some kind. Me and a small platoon made it in but they were all killed in action. The others outside didn't know that I survived due to my radio getting busted in the firefight so they unloaded a tank shell at my location. The shell went right through my torso and my arm was barely hanging on by some tissue, my leg got caught in some debris from the wall."

Yang felt like she was going to be sick as she imagined the mangled mess of a body that would have been created after an experience like that. "How did you survive?"

"Some hunter that the military contracted to fight with us found me. Never learned his name, don't even remember his face. I have no idea what could have possibly possessed him to do it but he stopped everything to unlock my aura in the middle of the battlefield. Just barely kept me from dying, slowed down my blood loss just enough for the medics to get me to a real hospital." Once again his eyes grew distant. "Worse pain I ever felt in my life."

More silence followed after his story. He didn't seem offended at being asked or lost in his own world after recounting the story, it was almost as if he was on autopilot, just repeating words that he had said a million times before and will say a million times more. She watched him as he got back to his reports, his own mug almost empty now.

"Did you ever consider quitting?" She asked as she sat back down, her voice barely a whisper. She stared at her reflection in the dark liquid, thinking of the months she had spent laying in bed waiting for something to happen instead of taking action herself.

This was the first time Ironwood looked surprised by one of her questions, the first time he had to actually think of his answer before speaking. "Yes." He answered honestly. "In the beginning, I thought about ending it all, had to join some groups to keep myself going long enough for the initial pain to go away." He took a moment to rub the area where metal met flesh, "Even now there are times when I just want to give up. Retire and live a good life, a real life, away from this shadow war. But after Ozpin's death, and now his disappearance into Oscar's mind, I don't really have the option anymore." He tried to crack another joke, but it was clear his heart wasn't in it this time. "I mean, who would take my place? Sleet?" After a very awkward chuckle from the two of them he let out a long, tired sigh, "I'm just glad your team came when they did, having people here that I can trust, others who understand what is truly at stake, it's taken a real load off of my mind."

He took another sip from his mug, emptying its contents. Taking this as a sign he started to get up from the table. "It's late, I should get some sleep. You should as well. You and your friends may have a day off tomorrow, but pulling an all-nighter isn't going to do you any favors up here." Yang starts to remove the cuff to give it back but is quickly stopped with a wave of his hand. "Keep it, you'll need it if you are staying in Atlas." Making his way out of the common room he stopped at the door with one final message, a small and fragile smile on his face, "Thank you, for showing up when you did. I don't know how much longer I would have lasted on my own."

As he left Yang sat there alone, now free from her physical pain but filled with guilt over having lied to the general about Ozpin, Jinn, Salem, everything. She would have to check with the girls to see if they really thought this was the right move.

AUTHORS NOTE

In case it wasn't obvious this takes place directly after their meeting with Ironwood, but a few days before their first mission with the Ace Ops. (there is no way they got new clothes, haircuts, and weapon upgrades in 2 days)

Wasn't planning on having so much cursing in this story, but the more I wrote the more natural it felt.

I just wanted one scene, just one 2 second scene of Yang thanking Ironwoof for sending her a state-of-the-art atlas tech, fully weaponized, custom-made prosthetic, but noooo. No good things for Ironwood.

Speaking of Ironwood, I tried to portray him as a man running on fumes, tired beyond reason to the point where he seems to fade out of consciousness a couple of times. But writing this from Yang's perspective made that really difficult so I'm not sure if I managed it.

As always please leave a comment/review. Tells me what I did wrong, what I did right, and I just enjoy getting them.