Blake is sitting at one of the library tables with a holographic screen in front of her. She is obviously more sleep-deprived than ever, barely focusing on what she's seeing... until a small, bright red light appears on the screen. Moving up and down, Blake's eyes follow it down to her hand, then disappears entirely. She looks behind herself, obviously irritated, but no one walking among the tables is her culprit. Turning back to the computer, she starts typing on the beeping keyboard before the laser dot appears on her hand briefly, prompting her to look around again and still find no one. The red point shows up on the screen, moving around in circles until Blake scowls and pounds her fists on the table. She stands up from her chair and finds the light on the floor, following it blindly through shelves of books until both the dot and its pursuer turn the corner, only for Blake to bump, shocked and shaken out of her more "animal" instincts, into... Yang is waving with her left hand as her right holds the laser pointer, in a sing-song voice.
Yang: He-lloooo!
Blake: What are you...?
Yang grabs Blake's arm.
Yang: We need to talk.
And with that, amid Blake's single cry of surprise, Yang whisks her partner out of the library. In team JNPR's dorm emerging from the steaming bathroom in nothing but a pink towel wrapped around his lower body, Ren sighs in contentedness and starts walking away, only to be stopped by Jaune suddenly appearing in front of him.
Jaune: We need to talk!
And with that, amid Ren's single cry of surprise, Jaune pulls his teammate away, leaving his bottle of "Samurai Shampoo" to spin in the air before dropping to the ground. Jaune is sitting on his bed in the dorm room, talking to Ren.
Jaune: Ren... I'm just gonna say it. You are one of my best friends. These past few months, I feel like we've really bonded, even though you don't say much. I mean, you're really quiet. To be perfectly honest, I don't know that much about you, personally, but darnit, I consider you to be the brother I never had!
Ren is still only wearing his towel and looking extremely uncomfortable, but he still nods and smiles to Jaune when he's done.
Ren: And I you.
Ren tries to be attentive from then on, but keeps glancing at his usual outfit hanging by the door.
Jaune: Which is why I wanted to get your advice on... girls.
Ren: Girls?
Ren sounds surprised, but starts reaching out for his clothes while Jaune is looking away. Jaune is trying to find the right words.
Jaune: I just... don't know... how to... girls. Um, I-I guess what I'm asking is... Well, how did you and Nora... y'know...
Ren puts his hand down after almost touching the green robe, but looks even more awkward now.
Ren: Uh... uh... uh...
Nora clears her throat to get the boys' attention on her, wearing nothing but her emblazoned headphones, a "BOOP" T-shirt, and pink lightning bolt shorts as she reads a book resting on her knees.
Nora: We're actually not "together-together..."
Nora: 'Plus I have a crush on Habib ever since he broke Cardin's legs.'
Jaune: NORA I SAID HEADPHONES ON!
Nora does so quickly under her leader's command. Ren is focusing on his friend fully.
Ren: Jaune, what is this all about?
Jaune sighs deeply before speaking, obviously depressed by staring at the floor as he talks.
Jaune: It's Weiss. I'm completely head-over-heels for her, and she won't even give me a chance. She's cold, but she's also incredible. She's smart, and graceful, and talented. I mean, have you heard her sing? I-I just wish she's take me seriously, y'know? I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up.
Pyrrha: Then do it.
Jaune looks up to see Pyrrha in the doorway, with Ren and Nora doing the same.
Jaune: Uh, wha?
Pyrrha is walking into the room.
Pyrrha: Tell her exactly what you said. No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines. Just... be honest.
Jaune: But what if I-
Pyrrha: Jaune. (smiles) You can't get it wrong if it's the truth.
Jaune looks up with a new confidence.
Jaune: You're right.
Jaune stands up.
Jaune: Thanks, Pyrrha!
Jaune looks back to his bed as he goes out.
Jaune: Good talk, Ren!
Ren smiles and waves his thanks while Jaune closes the door.
With Blake and Yang
Blake: Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well save your breath.
Yang is sitting cross-legged on the central desk of the empty classroom they're in, orange light shining across her calm features.
Yang: I don't want you to stop; I want you to slow down.
Blake is continuing to pace with arms crossed, still irritated.
Blake: I don't have the luxury to slow down.
Yang: It's not a luxury; it's a necessity.
Blake: The "necessity" is stopping Torchwick.
Yang: And we're going to. But first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say.
Yang pats the part of the desk across from her. Blake looks away for a moment until she relents and drapes her legs over the desk's edge.
Blake: Fine.
Yang: Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom took on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like... Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then... one day she left for a mission and never came back.
Yang looks down as she says this, and Blake looks sorry for her.
Yang: It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but... I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of... shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first... was my mom.
Blake looks amazed at this information as Yang keeps talking.
Yang: He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she'd left me with him right after I was born. No one had seen her since.
Blake: Why did she leave you?
Yang sighs, then turns to the chalkboard.
Yang: That question... Why?
Yang gets off the desk and walks to the chalkboard, picking up a piece of chalk.
Yang: I didn't know an answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I thought about. I would ask anyone I could about what they knew about her.
Flashback
A young Yang, with orange bows holding her brunette pigtails, looking at the photo found in a smashed picture frame.
Yang: Then, one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers, or maybe even my mother.
The next shot shows Yang walking down a long winding path through the towering trees shedding their leaves with a little creaking wagon pulled right behind her, a little sister in a crimson hood sleeping soundly inside.
Yang: I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. I must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn't care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes...
In the shadows of the worn-down house the siblings had arrived at, beastly red shapes glow from the darkness.
Yang: There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time.
As the Beowolves leap into the air to devour their young prey, the familiar sound of a gun-scythe follows the sight of them all being cut into pieces by a caped warrior. His bird-haired silhouette fades away to present day.
Flashback End
Yang has just finished drawing a clockwork eye.
Yang: My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night.
Blake: Yang... I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers! I can't just-
Yang is still facing the board while her fists starts clenching.
Yang: I told you: I'm not telling you to stop! I haven't! To this day, I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process, what good are we?
Blake: You don't understand! I'm the only one who can do this!
Yang: No, you don't understand!
Yang turns around sharply to reveal red eyes and the sound of flames.
Yang: If Roman Torchwick or the hooded person walked through that door, what would you do?
Blake: I'd fight them!
Yang: You'd lose! You'd definitely lose if it was the hooded person! You saw how who ever that person was defeated us quickly! That person was able to block our aura and semblance for six hours! If you fought that person without your aura you would be killed!
Yang pushes Blake away.
Blake: I can stop them!
Blake tiredly tries to do the same to Yang, but she doesn't even budge.
Yang: You can't even stop me!
Yang pushes Blake again, knocking her to land on the desk. Yang, still angry-eyed, walks toward Blake as she gets up, but then does the unexpected and embraces her in a hug, her eyes going back to their normal purple.
Yang: I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest.
Yang pulls back to look at her partner.
Yang: Not just for you, but for the people you care about.
Yang steps away and starts walking past the startled Blake, who turns when she says over her shoulder.
Yang: And if you feel like coming out tomorrow, I'll save you a dance.
Yang winks down at Blake, and Blake stares at Yang as she leaves before sighing heavily and walking away, leaving the all-seeing eye on the board.