Fragments

One Year Ago...

The news came in from Yang's most recent mission; something had gone horribly wrong. Ruby and Weiss were already at the hospital, and had called Blake's cell phone from the waiting area. It wasn't good from the sound of it. Whenever Yang went out on a mission, she left her prized motorcycle, Bumblebee, with Blake, whom she trusted as her closest friend. Blake was deathly afraid of the two wheeled monstrosity.

Her fear was negligible as she raced through the streets on the bike, rushing to make it to the hospital to make sure that her best friend was going to be okay. She hated when Yang swerved in and out of traffic, but she cared little for that distaste as she did the same. Please be okay, she silently prayed to herself. Please. Please, Yang, be okay.

Blake hadn't been told exactly what had happened. The phone call was brief and frantic as Weiss spoke quickly to convey the message of urgency. Ruby was apparently a nervous wreck and hadn't spoken a word since the two of them had arrived, and Weiss sounded as though she were on the verge of tears. "She's hurt," was the final thing she had said when describing Yang's condition. "She's hurt bad." Blake wasted no time grabbing the keys to Bumblebee.

How none of Vale's police noticed her was beyond her comprehension, but she thought little of her good luck, thinking only of her friend and partner. Please be okay! she thought over and over again, her own racing heartbeat reverberating louder than the motorcycle in her ears.

At long last she arrived, and haphazardly parked the bike, throwing the helmet onto the ground and running into Vale Memorial Hospital through the Emergency Room doors. There she found a nurse at the front desk, and she asked immediately where she could find Yang.

The only phrase she heard was "Emergency surgery," and Blake's heart sank. The nurse lead her to the waiting room where Ruby and Weiss resided, waiting impatiently for news. "What's happened?!" Blake asked a little louder than she'd intended.

Ruby remained silent as she paced back and forth, her hands folded around a wooden crucifix as she mentally prayed for her sister's health. Weiss had been seated, tapping her right foot on the floor, until Blake had ran in. She stood and rushed to Blake, giving her a friendly hug. "I'm not really sure," she said as she broke away. "The report says that the Grimm infestation was larger than anticipated. She fended them off and completed her mission, but she exhausted her Aura. The doctor said that she has some internal bleeding and severe bone fractures. They're in surgery now to find and stop her bleeding. It...it looks pretty bad."

"Did you see her? Was she awake?"

Weiss shook her head. "We don't know. They were already in surgery when we got here. Have been for the better part of an hour now, I think." Blake shuddered at the thought. Surgery for an hour already! How bad is it? Weiss gave her a worried look before glancing at Ruby. "She's been quiet this whole time. I'm worried about her." She smiled a weak smile. "Though, her sister's been wounded, so I guess it only makes sense for her to worry like this."

Blake nodded and sat down in a chair, hugging her knees. "Is she going to be okay? Yang, I mean."

Weiss sat beside the faunus girl and sighed. "I...I just don't know."

Silence became their reality, broken only by the obnoxious tick tock tick tock of a nearby clock. Forty minutes had passed, and Ruby didn't sit down once the entire time. Weiss' foot had begun tapping again, and Blake's ears inadvertently twitched with the rythmic tick tock tick tock of the clock. When are we going to get some news? Blake thought impatiently. Looking up, the clock read as a little after eleven in the evening. She'd forgotten how late it was when she'd gotten the call.

Tick tock tick tock. This was without a doubt the most stressful night of her life. Her days of sneaking and thieving with the White Fang were easier than this. Graduating Beacon was easier than this! Everything was easier than this night.

Tick tock tick tock. Twitch twitch. Twitch twitch. She couldn't stand it anymore. She wasn't willing to sit idly for one more second. Enough was enough. I need news! How is she!?

As if being summoned by her impatient, worry induced rage, a doctor walked into the waiting area. His coat was a pristine white, and his hair was slicked back with its jet black color. He looked every bit the professional doctor, and they hoped that he would bear good news.

The grim expression on his face was unsettling.

"Are you the family of Yang Xiao Long?" he asked.

Ruby stopped pacing and broke her silence. "I'm her sister. These are our friends. How is she?"

The doctor looked between the three girls. Weiss and Blake both stood and moved to be near Ruby so as to hear the man more clearly. "I'm...I'm sorry. We...we couldn't save her."

All three girls' eyes went wide with shock. "W-what?" Ruby sputtered.

"Her internal injuries were too severe. Had she gotten here sooner, we might have been able to save her, but the airlift to get her hear just isn't built for that kind of speed. We did everything we could to save her. We made her comfortable in the end. She couldn't feel any of her injuries, and she was unconscious when she passed." His gaze turned down to the floor. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

The three of them were stunned at first, unable to make a sound. Ruby was the first to break. She dropped to her knees, still clutching her crucifix as she started to scream and cry. "No!" she yelled so loudly and for so long that one could hear her vocal chords straining. "Not Yang! Please, God, not Yang! Not my sister!"

Weiss began to cry and she knelt down to tightly hug Ruby. She couldn't open her mouth to speak. She didn't trust herself. She looked back at Blake, as if silently asking for salvation from this nightmare. Blake was still standing, and was still in complete silence. The raven haired girl shook her head. "Blake?" Weiss asked, unsure of what the faunus was about to do.

Blake didn't say a word. Her face twisted from that of shock to downright rage and despair. She turned and ran out of the waiting room. "Blake, wait!" Weiss called through the sobs. "Don't go!"

Blake ignored her and ran all the way to the exit of the hospital. She made it to where she parked the motorcycle and stared at it in silent sadness before the tears finally came to her. "It's not fair!" she yelled. "It's just not fair!" She climbed onto the bike, started it up, and rode off into the night, leaving Yang's yellow helmet lying on the ground all alone.

Her vision was a blur. She could only vividly remember seeing two things that night; a flash of yellow, and something metallic.

Present Day: Dreamscape

Blake stood upon a body of water, looking down beneath her feet into the blackness of its depths. She smiled, marveling at her ability to walk on water. She spread her arms wide and fell forward, meeting the water with her body and splashing through to the other side. On the other side was a myriad of colors, and she could see the night sky below her as though she were floating in space.

She was never happier than when she was here, in this place. The Dreamscape, she called it. For over four months now she'd visit the Dreamscape, though it looked different every time she came. The water and the night sky were new, but soon she'd grow tired of it and yearn for a more realistic setting. Closing her eyes, she willed reality to bend. Opening them back up, she found herself sitting in a tea shop with a cup of her favorite brew sitting before her, hot and steaming. She picked it up and sipped at it gingerly. "Mm," she said, approving of the flavor and the aroma.

"Is it good?" asked her companion, who always joined her at this point in the visit. Looking up across from her table, she saw Yang sitting and sipping a cup of tea of her own. "I never was big on green tea. I prefer Earl Grey."

Blake smiled. "You never could develop a taste for it, could you?"

Yang stuck her tongue out. "It's too bitter for me," she said with a mock smile before sipping her tea again. "How's your night so far?" she asked, in spite of the bright sunlight pouring in from the window beside them.

Blake sipped her tea. "It's good. I walked on water for the first time. I might try that again tomorrow night."

"Yes, I saw," Yang commented.

"I love it here."

"Even though it's not real?"

Blake frowned. She hated when Yang pointed that out. "It feels real to me though."

"Care to check for me, then?"

The faunus set her tea down and raised her right hand. "If you insist." With as much force as she could muster, she slapped her own leg. A moment later she frowned again. "It's not real."

"As I thought," Yang said with a smile.

"Why do you always ruin it like this? It's funs to believe for a short while, don't you think?"

"But it's not healthy to replace one reality with another, Blake," Yang cautioned. She opened her mouth to say more, but paused, looking off into nothing. She smiled again. "Time to wake up."

Blake's Apartment

Time to wake up, Yang said, and Blake's eyes opened on their own without her permission. She raised up in her bed and looked at her nearby alarm clock; it read as 7:30 AM, a full thirty minutes before her scheduled alarm. She sighed. For seven months she'd trained herself to be able to lucid dream on command, yet every time she did, the dream character of Yang would force her to wake up.

Unless she was still dreaming. There was always that possibility, slim though it was. So, she did her reality check; she slapped her leg, and frowned. I'm awake, she thought. Nodded, she made her way to her kitchen and made a bowl of instant oatmeal and a cup of morning tea while she scoured her calendar idly, not really thinking of anything.

Today's date caught her eye. Doctor Azure was all it said, and she groaned. Today was her monthly home appointment with her therapist, Doctor Azure. She seldom left her apartment these days, and had arranged for her therapist to come to her. He was agreeable enough, though, and seemed more than happy to keep her comfortable during their sessions. He'd be at her door around nine in the morning, so she decided to finish her breakfast and clean up.

Azure's Visit

Blake sat on her sofa, idly holding another cup of tea while Azure skimmed through his notes. This became a contest to her many months ago. It was a game she liked to call Who Will Talk First. She felt like she won more than she lost, and today would be no exception.

He skimmed and nodded at seemingly random intervals, and Blake knew that he wasn't really reading his notes. He'd studied them months ago, and they haven't changed since. He knew them like the back of his hands, yet he went through the motions every month to try to make her open up just a little bit more.

Most commonly, he'd give up.

"So," he began, and Blake titled herself the winner of this month's game. "How've you been sleeping?"

"Just fine, thank you," she replied, courteous as ever.

"Are you still practicing lucidity?"

"Of course."

"Is that helping you any?"

"I believe so. It gives me a sense of freedom that I've never felt before, and allows me express myself," she explained. She'd answered the same question the same way for two and a half months now.

"I see. Have you tried meditation?"

"No," she said swiftly.

"I still recommend it. It can be quite helpful when searching through one's own thoughts and feelings. It can help you come to terms with life in many cases," he said cautiously, clearly trying not to offend her. "Do consider it, Blake."

"I will," she lied.

"Moving on, how's your relationship with your former team now? Your friends."

"Weiss visits me at least once a week still. I haven't spoken to Ruby in a year."

"Still not on speaking terms?"

Blake glared at Azure. "She hates me. I know she does. I'm not gonna press her."

"I...now, this is just my opinion Blake, but I don't think that she hates you, per se. I think that, maybe, she's worried about you, and is concerned about you. After all, you went through so much in a single night."

Blake shot him an even harsher glare.

"I understand the loss of a loved one can be hard. Not to mention, that same night, you rode off and..."

"Azure," Blake warned. "I told you; we do not talk about that night."

"I feel like talking about it may help you, Blake. I still remember the first time you described it to me. 'A flash of yellow, and something..."

"I said stop!" Blake shouted before she could stop herself.

Azure went silent and paused. After a moment, he nodded. He pretended to look at his watch before he began to pack up his papers. "That's...all the time I have for today, Blake. See you in a month, okay?"

Blake didn't acknowledge him as he stood to leave. He made it halfway to the door before he stopped. "You might want to bandage that," he added before stepping through the door and shutting it behind him.

Confused, Blake looked down at her hand. In her anger, she'd accidentally gripped her teacup too hard and broke it, cutting her hand open. Sighing, she made her way to her medicine cabinet to patch herself up, slapping herself on the leg once as she went.

That Night: Dreamscape

Blake stood in a library, sifting through the books idly when she felt that her surroundings and situation were odd. Looking around, she saw nothing out of the ordinary, yet still it all felt so out of place. Frowning and shrugging, she returned to reading a book that was in her hand only to find that the pages were blank. She smile now, and used her reality check to be sure of what she already knew; she slapped herself on the leg.

She laughed to herself at the feeling. She was dreaming. What to do tonight? she asked herself. Closing her eyes, she willed reality around her to change, and when she opened them up again she was standing in a grassy field. Hills rolled in the distance with hues of green and blue, rainbow colored fish "swam" through the air around her, and a majestic waterfall fell from the shattered moon.

"You always bring me to such nice places," Yang said, appearing beside Blake.

"I try," the faunus replied with a smile, pleased with her work.

"The fish are a nice touch," Yang added. She turned and gave Blake a coy smile. "Though, I prefer cats."

Blake laughed. "No, you liked dogs." She shook her head. "You're just saying what I want to hear."

"Well, I am technically your brain, being your subconscious and all. That goes without saying." Yang smiled back at Blake. "How was therapy today?"

Blake's mood soured as she groaned. "You already know."

"Thought so," Yang commented. She looked around, marveling at Blake's handiwork one final time. "Well then, excuse me." Waving her hand, the field "melted" away, taking with it the scenery and the rainbow fish, and in its place was the tea shop with the two of them already seated at a table with their respective cups sitting before them.

Blake looked around, puzzled. "Did...did I lose lucidity for a moment?"

"If you had, you wouldn't know that this was still a dream, now would you?" I just took control for a moment. I'm technically you, remember?" Yang sipped lightly at her tea, seemingly enjoying the flavor. Blake had to remind herself that this was just a dream character with Yang's face; Yang never drank tea in life. "You should have opened up to Azure," Yang finally said after a time of silence. "He's here to help you."

Blake shook her head. "He tried to make me talk about it. I don't want to talk about that night. It's...it's too hard."

Yang looked disappointed. "You're running away."

Blake was appalled. "I'm not running away!" She shouted back without realizing it. Her vision darkened on the edges; lucidity was fading.

"You ran away that night."

"No!" A little darker.

"Your vision became a blur..."

"No!" Darker still.

"There was a flash of yellow..."

Blake forced the darkness to back away with sheer force of will, and threw her cup of coffee against the wall, shattering it. "Stop it, Yang!"

"And something metallic..."

Blake tried to stand, but her legs failed her. The darkness was returning to her vision. "The real Yang wouldn't..." she began.

"I'm not the real Yang," Yang replied. "I am you, Blake. I'm here to help you, too." She paused, sipping at her tea. Blake's vision was fading more and more. "Wake up," Yang said, and Blake lost the dream.

Two Day's Later: Weiss' Visit

Blake sat on her couch, wrapped tightly in a blanket and refusing to move from that spot. Dark circles rested under her eyes where she'd lost sleep these last couple of nights; the dream character of Yang had gone rogue, assaulting her dreams with memories of that night, trying to get Blake to talk about it. She refused, even to herself.

Her eyelids were heavy and begged for sleep's release, but the sound of someone rummaging through her kitchen gave her the distraction she so desperately needed to stay awake. "How do you feel about salad?" came the voice of Weiss Schnee from the kitchen, who visited once a week to share a lunch with Blake during her free time.

Blake couldn't help but smile. She looked forward to and loved Weiss' visits. "Salad sounds great," she agreed.

Weiss replied with a simple, "Okay." before returning to her work, silently preparing the lunch. This was their ritual; total silence until the lunch was ready, and then they would chat. Being salad, it didn't take but a few minutes to prepare.

She came around the corner with two salad bowls and two forks, all with a light smile on her face. She wore a bright, white suit with a red tie, and a pair of glasses resting upon her face. Partway through their time at Beacon, Weiss' eyes had degraded somewhat, forcing her to get prescription glasses. Yet, no one seemed to mind the change in her appearance. It made the already proper girl look even more professional.

Weiss sat down on a soft, easy chair that sat opposite of the couch that Blake sat on and handed the faunus her lunch. This too was part of their ritual. Weiss preferred to eat properly at a table, but she knew that Blake had become a recluse since that night, and that once she found a comfortable spot she wouldn't move from it. This typically meant that most of Blake's time was spent on this sofa, reading her novels, and it would be futile for Weiss to try and convince her to move.

The two began to eat, and the conversation started. "Your face," Weiss began. "Are you sleeping well?"

Blake shook her head, taking a bite of her salad. "Not really. Though, it's only been for these last couple of days, so it's not all that bad. It's not like when I was obsessing over Torchwick." She chuckled at the memory of how silly she'd acted...and how Yang was the one to snap her back to reality.

"All the same, that's not good for you, Blake," Weiss added. "You'd been doing so well on your lucid dream exercises. I figured you'd never want to wake up."

"That's part of the problem, actually. My...my subconscious thinks I should be more open. It's...been frustrating."

Weiss smiled, hiding a chuckle. "Well, it is you, technically. I suppose it would know what's best for you."

Blake scoffed as she chewed and swallowed. "So she says."

"She? It takes humanoid form?" Weiss repositioned herself to get more comfortable in her seat. "Does it look like anyone in particular?"

"No," Blake lied, eating more salad as a distraction.

Weiss shook her head. "Did you know that your ears twitch when you lie?"

Blake's ears twitched as she said, "No," lying again.

Weiss sighed. "Does...does it want you to talk about that night?"

Blake thought to lie again, but opted to silently nod instead.

The white haired girl sighed again. "You should call Ruby."

"Why would I want to talk to someone who hates me?"

"She doesn't!" Weiss yelled before she realized what she'd done. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued, "She asks about you all the time. She's still worried about you."

Blake looked away, shame filling her eyes. "I destroyed what little was left of Yang that night. For that, Ruby must hate me."

Weiss shook her head. "It was an accident, Blake."

The images flashed into Blake's mind. A flash of yellow, and something metallic...a street sign?

"You scared the hell out of us, but in the end we were happy to see you safe and sound."

She tasted copper, and her vision returned momentarily. She saw the clear night sky, and the fragmented moon.

"Please, consider talking to Ruby."

Something was wrong. What had happened?

"Stop!" Blake screamed. She was panting and it seemed as though her eyes weren't focusing, like they were looking into a different place altogether. "I...I don't want to talk about that night."

Weiss opened her mouth to say something, but she hesitated. Her eyes drifted downward. "I'm sorry," she said. "But please remember that you're not the only one that lost a part of herself that night. We're all still broken."

Blake nodded, seemingly to herself more than to Weiss, and she slapped her leg.

It wasn't a dream.

She looked over to her calendar again. There it was. How had she almost forgotten when it was? The one year anniversary of Yang's death was just a few days away.

She slapped her leg again, and was disappointed to find that she was, in fact, still awake.

Dreamscape

Blake was running. She had gone through the motions. She'd slapped her leg, and she knew that this was a dream, yet she couldn't take control of this lucid dream. The dream character of Yang was in full control, and it plagued her would be palette of a dream with visions of that night.

"Please, stop this!" she cried as she ran.

The air was crisp and clear. Bumblebee's engine roared and the wind rushed through her hair. She tried to lose herself in the sound...

"It hurts to remember! I don't want to remember what happened!"

Her vision became a blur as she purposely lost focus. The sensation of movement changed, yet her mind couldn't quite figure out how. There was a flash of yellow that she couldn't quite identify, and then she saw something metallic that reminded her of a street sign.

"Why? Why are you showing me again? I don't want to see it! I don't want to talk about it!"

Something had gone wrong. What had happened? She felt odd. What was odd about it? She couldn't quite place it. Maybe it wasn't that she felt odd, but rather that she didn't. She expected to feel something out of place, but she didn't. Shouldn't that be a good thing? And yet...

Slapping herself once more on the leg, her anger boiled over and took control of her fear. She stopped running and screamed, "Stop~!" The images of that night shattered like a mirror, fragmenting into thousands of tiny pieces as they fell away, revealing a starlit backdrop in an empty void that she stood in.

Yang's dream character appeared and walked through the hail of shattered memory. "I forgot how strong your will was inside this dreamscape. You've taken control from me."

Blake panted and fell to her knees. "You are me!" she yelled. "You will do as I say, because that's what you're supposed to do!"

Yang shrugged and raised her arms in a mock surrender. "As you say. But the truth still remains. You must face your memories that you've suppressed of that night. You'll lift a heavy burden off of yourself if you do."

"Why should I? I've done just fine keeping it all inside."

"Have you though? When was the last time you visited Beacon? When was the last time you went out with Weiss instead of making her come to you? "When was the last time you actually looked beyond the four walls that you've locked in place around yourself?" Yang took a step forward.

Blake couldn't stand back up, feeling panicked. "That's...not what's important here."

"Yes it is. Yang wouldn't have wanted you to become a recluse; a shut in with no life beyond her home. She wouldn't have wanted that at all. She'd have wanted you to honor her memory, and live your life."

Blake looked down. She hated to admit it, but her subconscious was absolutely right. "But...I can't do that now. Not since..."

"Only the weak willed will cripple themselves and think that they are useless. You're blocked only by yourself, Blake. Move beyond your own doubt and fear. Go. Live."

Blake looked up, and "Yang" was no longer Yang, but a seemingly random female figure that she'd never seen before. She had a mildly oriental look about her, and a faint, wise looking smile upon her lips. No malice or anger filled her eyes; only hope and love. Blake gasped, as she could feel the love emanating from this figure. "Who...who are you?"

She smiled. "I am just a Dream, to you." She looked off into nothingness. "It is time for us to part ways, Blake. Please, consider what I've said. Go. Visit her grave. Your real Yang."

Blake woke. Looking at the clock, she saw that she'd only gotten about four hours of sleep. Yet, from such a short sleep cycle, she felt completely rejuvenated. Her heart beat slightly faster, and she felt like a changed woman. She was ready to face herself.

Yang's Grave: Day of the Anniversary

Blake sat in front of the tombstone. Yang Xiao Long: A loving Friend and Sister. Taken while in the line of duty. Lost but not forgotten. it read, and Blake felt tears well up in her eyes. She smiled, remembering all the fun times she'd had with Yang.

"Hey," she said. "I'm...sorry I haven't come by in a while. It's...actually been almost a year since I last visited. I know I wasn't in the best of shape then, but I feel much better now. Actually, I feel alot better thanks to..." she laughed before she continued. "Thanks to Dream. She made me realize how foolish I've been acting this past year. I'm ashamed it's taken me this long to figure it out, thought." She sighed. "Nobody's perfect, I suppose."

The autumn air gave her a slight chill. She'd brought her favorite blanket with her, and wrapped herself even tighter in it as the wind brushed up against her. She shivered lightly, but refused to go somewhere warmer. She was committed to paying her respects.

The sound of leaves being trodden underfoot drew her attention. She turned to her left, and saw a slender, short, female figure wearing a red cloak. The figure stopped and stared in amazement at Blake. "B-Blake?" she asked. "Is that you?"

Blake nodded. "Hello, Ruby," she replied meekly, afraid that her fears about Ruby hating her would turn out to be true, even though she knew that it was ridiculous to think as such.

Ruby ran and dropped to her knees so that she could be at the Blake's seated level and gave her a tight hug. "I've missed you so much!" she cried. Pulling away, Ruby's silver eyes gazed into Blake's yellow. "Why? Why did you think that I hated you?"

Blake was shocked initially before she smiled gently. "Weiss told you?" Ruby nodded. "I guess...because I destroyed the only thing we really had to remember Yang by."

Ruby shook her head. "You panicked, Blake. It was an accident. I was scared that I would lose you that same night." She turned to her left and stared at Yang's grave. "I couldn't bear to lose two members of my family in the same night."

Blake felt a tear stream down her face before she sniffled and wiped it away. "Sounds too good to be real, hearing you say that."

Ruby looked to Blake and smiled. "Weiss tells me you lucid dream. So, go ahead. Do a reality check. See if I'm fake or not.

Blake nodded. She closed her eyes, and remembered that night.

The air was crisp and clear. Bumblebee's engine roared and the wind rushed through her hair. She tried to lose herself in the sound of the motorcycle, ignoring her surroundings. Her vision became a blur as she purposely lost focus. The sensation of movement changed, and she knew that she'd been thrown from the bike. There was a flash of yellow in front of her vision; the motorcycle was sliding below her as she tumbled through the air. Then she saw something metallic; a stop sign was racing towards her.

She hit the pole of the sign with the base of her back, and heard an earth shattering crack as bones broke. Bouncing off, she fell and landed on her back. Something had gone wrong. She must have been driving too fast and lost control to be thrown in such a way. She looked to her side and saw the bike rocketing toward her on its side, and she knew that she would die. She felt serene in this moment, ready to accept death, only for the bike to slide past her and lose momentum, coming to a halt. It was warped and beyond repair.

She turned her head to the sky, and saw that the clear night was full of stars, and the moon was beginning to fragment. She felt odd. Or rather, she knew that she should have felt something out of place, but she could feel nothing. This worried her.

Moments passed, and she could see the flashing lights of an ambulance. Someone must have come upon her and called for help. She fell asleep, still not feeling a thing.

She came back to reality from her memory, and opened her eyes. She raised her hand and slapped her leg as hard as she could; nothing. She felt nothing at all. Tears streamed down her face and she turned to Ruby. "I'm...I'm awake."

Ruby nodded. "Yes you are. And I'm here."

"I love you, Ruby. I'm...so sorry for everything that I've done." Blake began to cry harder, and Ruby hugged her friend.

"Shh. It's okay. Everything is going to be okay." The two of them sat like that for a while before Ruby broke away. She placed a single rose on Yang's grave and stood up, stretching her limbs. "What do you say we go out and have some dinner? We can invite Weiss and just talk over the food."

Blake nodded. "I think I'd like that," she agreed. She reached down and undid two latches; the breaks to the wheelchair she'd been sitting in. "I'm a bit tired...would you..."

"Say no more!" Ruby cheered happily. She got behind Blake and grabbed the handles, pushing her friend along while Blake got on her cell phone to call Weiss.

Blake's Journal

They say that true friendships can withstand any trial. I was ceartain that my selfishness had ruined my relationships, and that it had all fallen apart. I was too focused on myself the whole while, that I had almost forgotten that my friends had feelings too. We all lost Yang that night, and my selfish anger almost caused them to lose me as well.

The motorcycle accident had crippled me, and left me broken. I was in fragments on the road, and I selfishly made my friends try and pick up the pieces. Now I know, though, that we're all a little broken. And that we should help each other.

Because sometimes, if you have enough fragments, you can create a whole.

-Blake Belladonna

End

:Author's Note:

I should really be in bed right now. I wrote this story in two nights, and three days (January 26-29). I work until midnight, so I could only write between 1AM and whenever I go to sleep, which SHOULD be at 2am. Here I am, almost 4 in the morning with work in 12 hours, and I'm uploading this story.

What did you guys think? Did you expect Blake to have been in a wheel chair the whole time? I challenge you this: go back and read it again. You'll notice that the only instances of her walking are in the beginning, and in her dreams. That's it. Slapping her leg as a reality check? They say you can't feel pain in your dreams, but this is not true. I practice lucid dreaming, and a really, really good lucid dream will fell 100% real, from body movement to sensations. Pain is a thing.

Her reality check? If she can feel the pain from hitting the leg, then she's dreaming. If she can't, then she's awake.

I don't know why this idea popped into my head. It all started when I revisited a title, Fragments. I have a mental bucket where my failed stories go into, and if I liked the titles then they go in there too. Fragments is an old, old, title I've been tossing around for years.

Dream (character)? That's my subconscious, how she looks, and how she talks. Why she's Asian, I have no idea (I am not asian.) But, she appears in my lucid dreams regularly to help me move through tough times in my life. Her "cripple" speech is actually something that she, as my subconscious, has actually said to me in a lucid dream.

Please, leave a review and tell me what you think.

Fun Fact: I am exhausted because of this story, and I have to go and pack cake in 12 hours...oh my god kill me now.

Till next time!