"We're going to look suspicious soon."

Jaune shook his head. "We're fine. We're just two friends having a conversation."

"In the middle of the hallway, right in front of a heavily guarded door?" Yang rolled her eyes.

"It's a nice place to hang out."

"It's a hallway!"

"Don't raise your voice, that will look suspicious!"

"Then don't say stupid things!"

Jaune put his hands in the air. "Look, we just have to wait for someone to come with the codes and we'll make our move."

"Assuming Weiss' father doesn't see us and throw us out on our asses because we dared to be hunters and actually help people."

"Yeah what is that?" Jaune had just heard about the order. "Why is he so set on getting rid of hunters?"

"Because he can't control them." They both turned as Weiss approached. Yang immediately noted the red in her eyes and knew that she'd been crying. Still, she was here, which meant Ruby had convinced her to help them.

"How you doing?" Yang asked, stepping over to her sister's girlfriend and draping a hand over her shoulder.

Weiss lifted her head and nodded. "I'll be fine—for now we need to retrieve Pyrrha and meet up with Ruby and your uncle." Weiss glanced around. "Where's your father?"

Yang sighed. "He went to help my uncle with an airship. Hopefully they'll be waiting for us with one, assuming we get out of here alive.

"Here," Weiss reached behind her back and revealed a yellow gauntlet. "I picked it up on the way."

Taking her weapon, Yang held it in her hands and studied it. She'd spent so much time just staring at it, remembering how good it felt and how familiar it was. That was years ago, she hadn't been in active combat since the day Beacon fell. The day she lost the other one.

With a deep breath, she slipped it onto her left wrist and pulled her elbow back. It shifted and adjusted around her forearm and into position. It still worked, if that was any consolation.

"I don't have any ammo."

"Yes you do," Weiss said, this time revealing a full magazine of bullets.

"How did you—what?" Yang took the bullets with a dumbfounded look no doubt on her face.

Weiss shrugged. "I thought it would be best to be prepared if you might need your weapon again. Plus, Ruby's been bored and we made them together."

Yang couldn't resist, she pulled Weiss into her arms and hugged her. "You are such a bad ass Weiss."

A soft pair of hands touched her back to return the embrace. "Thank you, Yang. Though now is not the time for this. We have a mission."

"Right," Yang stepped back—loving the feeling of being on a mission again. Even if this one was extremely dangerous and might get them all killed.

Then again, that made it even more exciting.

"Guys, I don't know how this is going to work. Pyrrha is not in a great frame of mind." Jaune interjected and looked to the guarded door with a somber expression.

"You've been with her the most in the last few days. Do you think we can convince her to come with us?" Jaune shrugged and Weiss glared at him. "Jaune, you'll need to actually answer my questions. We cannot properly plan for a mission with—" she mocked his shrug, lame expression and all and Yang bit back a chuckle

He sighed. "I don't know, Weiss. I told you, she's not in a very good place. She thinks she deserves to be here. Worse than that, I think she thinks she deserves to die."

"That's crap," Yang began to pace. "She has done a lot of horrible things, but from what I've heard it wasn't really her, right? Just whatever this Salem chick did to her?"

"So it would seem." Weiss peered at the door. "Listen, we can sit out here and debate it all day. It won't matter unless we get her out. We'll make our move and then ask her if she wants to come."

Despite Weiss saying they would ask, the general consensus was clear—Pyrrha was making it out of this place alive. She was Jaune's partner and probably more. Yang wasn't about to let Pyrrha die and haunt Ruby forever and Weiss had no plans of letting her father win this one.

They all had their reasons—their mission and when Weiss started for the door with that familiar, authoritative walk, Yang knew it was on.

She punched in the code and the door opened. Seeing her walk in, the guards immediately stepped aside. This was Yang's first time actually being in here and being this close to Pyrrha. She hadn't even been there the day they captured her.

Despite the horror stories she'd heard, this seemed like an immense amount of personally to contain one person. Even someone as threatening as…whatever Pyrrha Nikos had become.

"This is intense," Yang said as she took in the room. Ignoring the fact that there was a giant, circular cell made of thick glass in the middle of the room—there were seven guards posted all around it. Not to mention a second floor above that circled around the prison where even more guards were hovering.

"There's more than usual," Jaune said. "They've doubled up in here."

Weiss sighed. "Of course they have," she moved towards the cell and gently tapped on the glass. "Pyrrha—c—can I speak with you?" She called out, clearly tentative and Yang forced herself to watch.

In the far corner of the cell, a figure started to shift and rise up to full height. The first thing Yang noticed was the cascading red hair and broad shoulders that formed from the darkness. She somehow looked so incredibly powerful and frail at the same time. The way she walked was timid, as if she might fall over at any moment. Yet her figure was so strong, like she could run through a brick wall

The black markings running up and down her arms reminded Yang of the diagrams she'd seen as a child of what venomous insects could do to a person. The way their poison ran through your blood stream and straight to your heart. These black veins crawled all over Pyrrha's arms and through the exposed parts of her stomach. From the neck down, she looked almost inhuman—but her face was still Pyrrha. Which hurt Yang even more.

"Why are you all here?" Pyrrha's eyes met Yang's and she frowned. "I had a feeling you were here as well, Yang. I apologize for what I did to your sister. For any harm I have caused her or your family."

If Yang had any doubts about the truth of what Pyrrha had become, they were gone now. That was Pyrrha Nikos. The way she spoke and the look in her eyes were both genuine. Yang Xiao Long knew how to spot bullshit and that was truth in everything she said.

There was no doubt now, Pyrrha was coming with them. "It's okay, Pyrrha. I forgive you."

Clearly Pyrrha had no been expecting that because she balked and took a step back. "How can you? After everything—"

"You're my friend, Pyrrha. You're Ruby's friend too. I know you would never hurt her unless you couldn't control yourself. I forgive you."

"But—" tears were brimming in Pyrrha's eyes. "Blake—I hurt her too. I didn't mean to."

Yang smiled. "I know, and she forgives you too, I'm sure of it. We're going to see her and she can tell you herself."

Weiss threw her head back. "Way to build up to it, Yang."

"We're what?" Pyrrha asked before taking another step back as it dawned on her. "What's going on?" She asked Jaune, obviously trusting him the most to tell her.

"Weiss' father is here and he's with General Ironwood who has pretty much rolled over and given Mr. Schnee control of this base and…apparently the entire military." Jaune threw his arms in the air. "This is seriously messed up, Weiss."

Yang watched as Weiss nodded. "I grew up with the man, Jaune. You don't have to tell me how horrible he is."

"What does this have to do with me? I'm a prisoner, a monster—I have no freedoms."

"Pyrrha," Yang stepped forward—agonizingly aware that the guards were starting to horn in on their conversation. "We're not leaving you here. They're going to execute you if we do."

Those bright green eyes glanced at the floor and Yang knew what was coming. "I deserve it."

"You don't," Jaune cried. "Pyrrha you don't."

"Hey!" A guard called out and Yang groaned. There was no other way around it. "What's going on? You're all too close. Back away from the prisoner."

"Excuse me?" Weiss barked in a shrill voice and turned on the guard. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"You're my daughter," a booming voice sounded through the room and they all turned to see Weiss' father standing with his arms crossed and his eyes focused on Weiss. "What are you doing here, Weiss. I told you to pack your things. You're disobeying me again."

The guards all around them had suddenly honed in with weapons at the ready and Yang started to survey her battlefield.

There were at least six behind them, but the prison itself would make good cover from the ones above. Weiss could take out four by herself, Jaune could maybe handle two and Yang was ready to fight off as many as needed. She was more than confident in her new arm to punch her way out of this.

Still, that left Weiss' father and the two guards on either side of him. Yang had played enough video games to know that they were probably better fighters than the average guard. Mini-bosses, she thought.

However, she thought if it, they were severely outnumbered.

"I am your daughter! I am not your prisoner! You can't lock me away!" Weiss was shaking as she spoke, her voice breaking and her fists curled so tight she was digging into her own skin.

Her father didn't flinch, instead shaking his head in disgust. "You're a child—more than that, you're becoming more trouble than you're worth. That academy and these…people…have put ideas in your head. I am telling you, for the last time, to stand down and prepare yourself to go home."

Yang watched Weiss glare at her father for a long time in silence. She waited and waited to see what Weiss would do, ready to react however she needed.

When he decision was finally made, Weiss drew her rapier and held it towards her father.

"That place is not my home. Not anymore."

Weiss' reveal of her weapon was all the guards needed to draw their weapons. Yang had to think of something, she needed to do enough to incite a panic and give them time to run. They could fight in chaos, but not like this.

Blake was going to kill her if she died.

Glancing back, she remembered what stood behind her. Yes, Pyrrha Nikos was a person and she clearly still had enough of a heart to feel compassion and pain and regret. Beyond that, Pyrrha Nikos was what she had always been—a very dangerous weapon.

The idea formed in her head when she noted the pouch on Weiss' back. She knew what was in it and immediately decided how to use it. Looking back, she locked eyes with Pyrrha and silently asked for help.

It took her a second, but eventually Pyrrha nodded and closed her eyes to prepare.

That was all the preparation Yang needed.

Just as Weiss was about to take a threatening step towards her father, Yang grabbed her.

"Easy, Weiss," she spoke to her and pulled her away. "There has to be a better way to handle this."

"Let me go!" Weiss screamed, she'd been driven to her breaking point. "I'm going to—"

"You're going to what?" Her father spat. "Fail, again? That's what you do Weiss, you fail and you disappoint and you ruin everything you touch. You're an atrocity and a disgrace to our family's name. Look at you! I cannot believe I lost my wife for you!"

"Shut up!" Weiss screamed with a sob in her throat. "I hate you! I never did anything wrong!"

Her father shook his head and drew his own weapon. "You exist—that is wrong."

Yang discreetly removed the pouch of dust from Weiss' back and stared a hole through Weiss' father. "Wow," she said to get his attention. "You really are a piece of shit."

Before he could say another word, Yang turned towards Pyrrha's cell and held the pouch of dust up. She shoved Weiss away and into Jaune, hoping they fell far enough out of range and wouldn't get hurt.

It had been a long time since she'd used her aura, she certainly hoped it still worked.

With her new arm, she swung as hard as she could at the pouch of dust and on impact it exploded into a dozen colors and elements. Fire flew with bits of ice and Yang felt the pull of gravity and solidity of stone. It was so loud that her eardrums felt like they might burst but the sensation reverberated through her body like a drug. The pain turned into power and she sensed the fire boil through her skin and ignite her soul like an inferno.

The glass shattered and fell—when the dust settled, Yang saw that everyone was cowering and covering their heads. After watching to make sure Weiss and Jaune were okay, she slowly turned to face Mr. Schnee and let her flaming hair act as intimidation.

If that wasn't enough, having Pyrrha easily tear her ankle free of it's chain and step up next to her certainly did the trick.

"We're leaving." Yang commanded and Pyrrha lifted her hand and used her semblance to rip the weapon from his hand. She caught it and without hesitation, broke his fancy rapier over her knee and tossed the remains on the floor. "You can let us go on our own or we can fight our way out. I don't think you want to fight her." She gestured at Pyrrha who had just snapped his weapon in half.

To his credit, Mr. Schnee did not seem afraid. If anything, he was furious. "If you leave this base, then you will be criminals. The force of the military, my military, will be after you. Nowhere will be safe and eventually I will find you." He turned to Weiss. "If you go with them, Weiss. You're no longer my daughter." It was a threat, one that carried more weight than no longer claiming her as his own. It meant he would target her.

Weiss never broke eye contact with him. "That's the kindest thing you've ever done for me."

CRACK!

The sound rang through the containment room and Yang watched Weiss stumble backwards at the impact. He smacked her right across the jaw and to prove how unexpected it was, her aura was down and she absorbed all of it.

Yang had never felt a spark of rage fill her so quickly. She couldn't even register her own movements—all she knew was that she was racing towards him, fist drawn back and suddenly she was punching him in the jaw.

His guards were on her in an instant and Yang kicked one of them in the stomach after ducking a strike and when the other grabbed at her hair, she was ready to kill him but Pyrrha was there to drag him away and throw him, literally, across the room.

None of the other guards made a move towards them. Yang grabbed the guard she kicked and head butted him, his nose breaking against her forehead before he crumpled to the floor.

Weiss' father tried to stand but had blood pouring from his mouth and couldn't find his balance.

Instead, he was lifted off the ground by his collar and Yang slammed him into the wall. "If you ever touch her again, I will end you." She spoke slowly, coldly and meant every single word. He could send every guard in the Atlas army after her, she would end his life if he looked at Weiss the wrong way.

Still, he held a defiant look in his eye—even if his earlier bravado was gone. "You'll regret this. This army will find you all…nowhere will be safe for you. Mark my words."

Yang knew he was telling the truth. After this, he'd send everything he had after them.

Before she could respond, Pyrrha strode up next to them. "Your army will fall." He glanced at Pyrrha and Yang watched her friend lower her head. "You have no idea what's coming. Chase us all you wish—it won't matter when she comes." With that, Pyrrha strode out of the room with Jaune in tow.

Yang grabbed Weiss' father by the scruff of his shirt and shoved him into the broken remains of Pyrrha's cell.

She then helped Weiss to her feet and escorted her out—she was trying not to cry and refusing to lift her head.

Once they were out, Pyrrha focused all of her strength and twisted a metal railing off the wall and wrapped it around the handle of the door.

The extra lock wasn't really necessary. None of the guards would dare make a move on Pyrrha.

As Yang helped Weiss down the hallway behind Jaune and Pyrrha—she knew their freedom had come at the price of their safety.

It was too easy. Yang knew they had firepower but this escape was just too easy.

Even now, as they sat on an airship that had been wide open and piloted by her dad—it just felt too easy.

She found a spot in the back, far enough away that she could watch everyone. Qrow was staring at his flask, occasionally taking sips but mostly just running his thumb back and forth over the lid. Yang noticed that Ruby's weapon was sitting next to Qrow—he'd offered it to her before they left but she declined.

Jaune had taken a seat next to the very stoic Pyrrha, who had not looked up since they took off. It was obvious that Pyrrha didn't want to be here. Perhaps she didn't feel she deserved to be, not that it mattered now. She was here and Yang wasn't about to let her lose herself. She had to credit Jaune though, he was patient with Pyrrha. He didn't try to speak to her or draw her out, just sat with her and waited.

Yang had a sinking suspicion that he would wait for her forever if he had to.

That left the other two. Weiss never did cry but she would occasionally touch her face with an empty expression that broke Yang's heart. She couldn't believe someone would do that—someone who was supposed to be family. The things he said, the way he looked at her, the fact that he physically struck her—it made Yang sick.

Weiss was shrill and bossy and could be a pain in the ass sometimes—but she was an amazing person. To overcome a father like that was unimaginable. Yang quickly realized that Weiss was the strongest person she'd ever known.

Thankfully Weiss wasn't alone. After a very quick conversation, Ruby had pulled her girlfriend into an embrace that turned into Weiss falling asleep in her arms.

When Ruby and Yang's eyes locked, Ruby frowned and pointed at her own knuckle. This caused Yang to look at her prosthetic arm and see that there was blood staining the yellow plates.

With the airship leveled out, Yang stood up from her seat and shuffled into the small restroom in the back. She shut the door behind her, twisted the lock and laid her head back against it with the sigh. She was exhausted and they hadn't gone through most of the fighting Yang had expected.

Pyrrha was their greatest weapon because she was so unknown. The guards were terrified of her, and her breaking Weiss' father's rapier was about as intimidating as you could get. It was enough to give them an easy escape and once they reached Vale, they could find Winter and tell her what happened. Yang wasn't sure how Winter would react—but news of her father striking Weiss had Yang feeling confident in which side she would pick.

Yang could spot a protective big sister from a mile away.

She put her hands on either side of the sturdy, metal sink and exhaled slowly. Her stomach was rot with worry and anxiety because she knew that what they'd just done would change so much. They were going to be hunted—but they couldn't just leave and let Pyrrha be killed or let Weiss be taken. It was in their future to stick together and that meant taking bullets for one another.

Still, whatever plans of a nice and quiet life any of them had once had were gone for the time being. Survival was all they had now and Yang was feeling the weight of that alone in this bathroom.

Retrieving her scroll, she laid it down on the sink and quickly pulled up her contacts.

She needed to talk to Blake, she was desperate to have someone to confide in and she hit send and listened to it ring.

The line clicked. "Hello?"

Yang picked up her scroll and slid to sit on the floor. "Hey, Blake." She tried her best to sound upbeat.

"What's wrong?"

This made her laugh. "How do you know something's wrong?"

"Yang," Blake sighed. "I know you, that's how I know. I can hear it in your voice. What's wrong? Is Ruby okay?"

"Ruby's fine, everybody is okay. I mean…we're not hurt or anything. We're headed your way."

Blake hesitated for a moment. "You mean to Vale?"

"Yep," Yang let the word drag out and laid her head back against the door. "Weiss' father showed up and…ruined everything."

"Oh no," Blake didn't need a full breakdown to know what the arrival of that man would bring. He was a bigot and power hungry lunatic. Even before this, the way Weiss reacted at all when she spoke of him was telling enough. "How's Weiss?"

Yang had a flash of the image of Weiss being struck by her father. It made her want to take control of this ship, turn around and go back just so she could punch that man in the face again.

"She'll be okay—Ruby's got her." Yang curled her knees up to her chest. "I'll tell you all about it when we get there."

One thing Yang adored about Blake was how well she could roll with whatever life threw at them. Yang had just told her that they were kicked out of the place they'd been staying and the only thing Blake wanted to know was if everyone was okay.

That and…

"When you say we, you mean?"

"Me, Ruby, my dad and uncle, Weiss, Jaune and…"

"Pyrrha." Blake finished. "How did that go?"

"Well she broke Weiss' father's sword in half." Yang wished she'd had the forward thinking to take out her scroll and snap a picture of his face in that moment. "She's dangerous, Blake. No way around that. I don't think she's going to hurt any of us but if she wanted to, she could. We just…I couldn't leave her behind. They were going to execute her." She knew it was a huge risk to bring Pyrrha along. Even though she seemed to be more or less in control and filled with regret and misery, she was still not entirely human. Yang knew enough to know that Pyrrha had not slept or eaten anything since arriving at the base.

"You made the right decision, Yang." Blake's reassurance meant a lot. If anything, it meant that Blake supported her and with so much falling apart, that was all she needed. "We can sort everything out when you get here. Winter is going to be furious."

Yang nodded to herself. "Good, she should be. That man—Blake I've never seen anyone like him before. He's awful, I feel so bad for Weiss."

"I know, the stories that I heard about the Schnee's were all pretty awful. I admit I made a mistake thinking Weiss was just as bad but her family—her father, is one of the most hate filled people in all of Remnant."

"He's not going to just let us go, you know? He'll send people after us." Yang hated the thought that her little sister couldn't feel safe again. It had nearly destroyed her once and now it was happening all over again. At least this time, Yang was around to take care of her. "I don't know what he has over General Ironwood but the once proud general didn't say a word when Papa Schnee was giving orders to his soldiers."

"I know what he has over him," Blake sounded as tired as Yang felt. "Beacon. That was a colossal failure for the Atlas military. The only person with the power to strengthen that army is Weiss' father and his dust company. He holds all the power and he knows it."

Yang suddenly remembered something that had been lost to her in the flurry of everything that happened. "Pyrrha mentioned something about his army not being ready for what was coming. I know she's not exactly stable but Pyrrha knows things and she's seen things. Do you know anything about the Salem person Ruby told us about?"

"I don't, I've never heard anything before. Your Father or Uncle might. They've been fighting this war longer than us."

A laugh bubbled in Yang's throat that she tried to bite back. "Are we fighting a war? I think we're just stuck in the middle of one and now we're taking it from both sides. If the military is after us that's one thing, but Pyrrha wanted Ruby, which means that whoever Pyrrha worked for wants Ruby and probably won't stop. What are we supposed to do now? We're stuck in the middle and don't even have a place to go."

"You know…Sun had a pretty good idea."

Yang sighed dramatically. "Of course he did."

"Don't be jealous." Blake returned with a smirk in her voice and Yang felt a longing to see her face. "He just said that it might not be a bad idea for us to go get some backup."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…if there really is a war coming then it's going to affect everyone right? We do have friends out there in the world who happen to be pretty proficient at hunting monsters. If something big is coming, I bet we could get a few of them on our side."

Yang couldn't deny the idea was good, even if the source of it was a small pain in her ass. "You want to go recruiting?"

"Couldn't hurt, could it? Like you said, we don't have anywhere to stay right now as it is. Might as well stay on the move if we're being hunted."

"It's going to be dangerous. Plus, traveling with Weiss." Yang was teasing of course, mostly. She loved Weiss but she couldn't imagine what extended travel with her would be like.

"You'll be fine. You guys get to us and we'll figure out where to go from there."

"Okay," Yang frowned—she hadn't expected Blake to be so eager to leave. "What about the White Fang?"

There was a long pause on the other end and Yang knew it didn't bode well. It had been a long shot from the start but she knew how much trying meant to Blake. Despite everything, the White Fang was Blake's family for a long time. Yang believed her when she said they weren't always as bad as they were now.

How could they be when someone as wonderful as Blake had come from them?

"It's a lost cause. They didn't want to listen to me, they didn't want to join up with us. They resisted and we…stopped them." Blake's voice softened to a whisper as she finished and Yang wanted to hug her.

"I'm sorry, Blake." It was all she could say. Yang knew well enough to know that no words could make her partner feel better.

"I'll tell you the whole story when you get here just…get here soon, okay? I miss you."

Those words brought a smile to Yang's face she hadn't felt in years. She'd come so far—she felt whole again. Even as her future seemed unsteady, at least she had control of it again.

"We've only been apart one day." She couldn't resist a little teasing.

"Yang…" Blake sighed and Yang relented.

"I miss you too." The airship jostled around a bit and Yang pulled up to her feet. "I better go find a seatbelt, sounds like Dad's hitting a little turbulence."

Blake laughed. "Your father always finds a way to ruin our moments."

"Well when I see you again, I'm kissing you and there's not a damn thing he can do about it."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"That's not the only thing you're going to be holding." Yang spoke provocatively and winked at herself in the mirror for good measure.

She was met with a pained silence, followed by a groan. "I don't even know what that means."

"Alright, I'll admit, not my best work. I'll see you soon."

"I'll be waiting."

And so concludes the first part of this series. I want to thank all of you for reading and for your feedback as we went along. I know Weiss' father was a bit...intense and maybe a little cliche, but he has his reasons that were sort of touched on in this chapter and will come up more later.

For now, the sequel is still probably a ways off, mostly because I want to get a head start on writing it so I can have chapters ready to post and keep this updating schedule going. It won't be too long off though and I tried to stay away from any major cliffhangers.

Anyway, thank you again for the support and if you have any final comments/thoughts I always appreciate it!