I don't remember waking up. I just remember dad holding me down as I thrashed in my bed. He told me a few days afterwards that my body had been fighting off some nasty infection, but it was totally a blank slate to me. All I could remember were the nightmares. I remember cold sweats and thrashing against damp pillows and sheets. I remember the way that red sword flashed so fast before I even had the chance to…

"Yang! you're alright… I'm here," he whispered, resting a hand on my shoulder to keep me from rolling out of bed. I was in so much pain. My body felt like it was on FIRE and my arm felt so numb it ached. I'd been crying in my sleep, and my throat and tongue felt drier than sandpaper. Dad waited until I stopped thrashing before pulling his hand away to finish preparing some tea. He brought the mug towards me and I tried to grab it but- … right…

"What… what happened," I mumbled, letting him bring the mug to my lips before taking a sip. The tea was warm and tasty but my mouth was so dry it hurt to swallow.

"You were hurt. But it's okay, you're home now. You're safe." Dad's voice always calmed me down when I needed it most. He was such a kind guy, it was easy to just relax. At least, until the memories of that night came rushing back to me.

"Wh-what about Ru-"

"Ruby's fine. She's in her room. She's… she's still asleep. I'm not… sure what happened but, it took a lot out of her." He said, looking back over his shoulder. Ruby's room was right across the hall, and both of our doors were open so he could see her resting in her bed.

"Weiss? What about Weiss, there was White Fang everywhere! She-"

"She just left a few hours ago. She was here for a couple of days before an airship came and took her back home. She actually left a note you can read later," he said, pushing some of my hair out of my face to wipe my forehead with a rag. I was so sweaty and clammy and-

"Blake! Where's Blake!"

"… have another sip of tea, Yang-"

"I don't want tea, dad!" I lashed out at him. I don't know why. Maybe it was how bad my arm hurt. Maybe I was just scared. I shoved his hands away but I'd never felt so weak before in my life. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Blake… Blake didn't want to come. I offered her the guest room with Weiss but… she said she had to go-"

"She doesn't have anywhere to go, her family lives in Menagerie!" I'd have been shouting if my mouth hadn't been so dry. I had to cough, and I tasted metal in my mouth.

"Yang, please take a breath-"

"No! Dad I have to go- go get her! She- she needs- ow!" I'd tried to use my right arm to roll myself off the bed and the pain instantly made me wince as the wound reopened, the red patch on the bandages growing darker. It felt like it was burning. Even just the touch of the bandages made it hurt so much I wanted to barf.

"Yang…"

"Dad… Dad, please… please I… you have to-"

"I tried, Yang. I really did. I explained how much you and Ruby would need to talk to her when you both woke up. She left, Yang."

"She… she can't have gone far she-"

"You're not going to find someone like that if they don't want to be found," he mumbled. Maybe I would've realized how hard this was for him too if I hadn't been so sick. Maybe I would've realized how he'd been through this himself before, and I would've believed he'd already done everything he could to try to help.

"But dad I-"

"Yang!" Dad never raised his voice, but he wasn't someone who needed to. "Yang, I'm sorry... She's gone."

I don't remember the tears falling. I don't remember what I even said afterwards. I just… I just remember bawling while he held me. I just remember for the first time in a long time, really needing my dad.

Vale is a large kingdom. It was a chore to explore and easy to get lost in. But like any kingdom, there were places outsiders shouldn't go. Alleys where unfavorable folk hung out that those who could afford to stayed away from.

That's where I did my best work.

I couldn't use any of my White Fang connections- no, I'd have to actively avoid them after what'd happened. But there were always people looking for others who could do their work, and after the attack on Beacon, my skills would be in high demand.

"Look, toots, I don't work with Faunus. Go find a petting zoo or something."

"My clients are only willing to pay for certified Huntsmen. You're underqualified."

"Ain't no room here for little girls."

Okay. Regroup.

Beacon was employing whatever students it could to help patrol the perimeter of the kingdom and hunt down Grimm that'd managed to find their way into underground tunnels. It'd be easy work- work I'm good at! But… no, I couldn't risk bumping into a classmate. I couldn't risk meeting Jaune or Velvet or anyone else. Anything that put me in a situation where I could meet up with a Beacon student was off the table. That… didn't leave a lot of options. And after a week of eating nothing but dumpster food, I was getting desperate.

You can always spot rich people. They carry themselves with an air of detachment. They don't need to protect themselves- their Lien and status protect them from most thieves. If one were caught with a wealthy person's money, their punishment wouldn't be the same as if they'd simply stolen an ordinary person's purse. The upper echelons had power far beyond that, and most common pickpockets knew to stay far away.

I don't get caught.

Tracking down the manager of Vale's SDC branch had been fairly easy. He was a loud, aloof, clueless man who I was somewhat familiar with. He'd been a low priority target of the White Fang for a while. My body slipped into the motions. Tracking, watching… hunting. I shivered as I realized just how easy this was for me, even after all this time.

"I just need his wallet," I reminded myself. It's not as if I'd hurt him. Not if I did this right.

He was shouting into his phone, arguing with his wife or mistress- who knew these days. He was distracted. He was easy to approach and I was fairly certain he didn't even know I was there. I held my breath, barely moving as I reached into his back pocket. In and out, long before he'd ever know what'd happened.

I was halfway down the nearest alley when I heard the footsteps. I tried to jump- readying Gambol Shroud to pull me to the rooftops but… my feet wouldn't move! They were held fast to the ground by… something? I tried to fight it but the sensation only worked its way further up my legs, locking me in place.

"Miss Belladonna, I sincerely hope you didn't enroll into Beacon Academy just to sharpen your pickpocketing skills."

"Professor?" Professor Goodwitch looked tired. No, she looked exhausted. As if she hadn't gotten a day's rest since Beacon. But somehow she'd managed to tail me without me even noticing. She used her Semblance to grab the wallet from my hand and checked to make sure I hadn't touched the Lien yet.

"Can I release you and expect you not to attempt to run? I've an offer you need to hear." I nodded, not sure what else I should do. If she was going to bring me in then she would've done it already. She released her hold on me and walked us out of the alleyway, setting a quick pace towards the shouting man. "Give this back to him," she said, handing me the wallet and scolding me as if I were a child who'd merely taken a toy from a friend.

"Um, excuse me? You dropped this," I said meekly, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"I did what- oh? Oh, thank you." The man nodded quickly, taking the wallet as Glynda kept up the pace. I didn't have much choice but to follow.

"Now that you're no longer a criminal, I need your help," Glynda explained. The longer I looked, the more haggard she appeared. There were bits of plaster in her normally flawless hair. Her glasses had been scratched by something that'd left something chalky in the lense. Her nails hadn't been manicured in weeks and her breath smelled strongly of the same coffee Dr. Oobleck carried around with him. But she carried herself as effortlessly as ever, despite her obvious exhaustion.

"My help? I don't understand Professor-"

"Headmaster Ozpin is gone." She kept walking, keeping her voice low as I stopped in my tracks. Gone? How? I had to rush to catch up with her.

"I… What can I-"

"You can do anything you can to help. I recognize most of your team aren't available, however someone with your skills is invaluable to the safety of the kingdom," she explained, turning a corner and using her riding crop to strike down a Nevermore that'd been chasing a woman and her child through a narrow alleyway. Grimm in the kingdom had become horribly commonplace since the fall of Beacon, and there were hardly enough Hunters and far too many negative emotions coming from the Valean citizens to weed them out. "You can let them go to waste and continue to pilfer Lien from unsuspecting white collar workers until you're caught, or you could assist what's left of Beacon Academy with securing the future of Vale." I'd always known Professor Goodwitch was a capable teacher and incredible Huntress. What I hadn't expected was for her to be such a natural leader. It was easy to gravitate to her, even with such a brief encounter.

"I… I can't do any team missions. I-"

"Miss Belladonna. If you truly believed I'd be so egregiously incapable of adequately assigning you missions, I sincerely doubt you'd even be considering my offer. Now if it's all the same to you, I'm incredibly busy, demonstrably exhausted, and would like to skip to the part where you're cooperating," she said, tapping her foot on the ground as she awaited my answer.

I didn't have much room to decline. Not that I would.

I owed Vale at least that much.