Her body woke before her eyes could open, and the scream that tore from her throat was cut short by the unforgiving impact with the floor that followed.

Her ears were ringing and she was sobbing.

...

"Ruby!"

"Let me go! Let me go let me go, please, please!"

Yang knew when Ruby was serious.

So the fact that she had no choice but to keep holding her pained her greatly. She smoothed Ruby's hair out of her face and her hand shook as she accepted the damp washcloth Blake had rushed to them, dabbing at her sweating forehead and cheeks, the perspiration that beaded down her neck and the front of her chest.

"Ruby, you fell-you're hurt, you need to hold still-" Blake tried to explain, unsteadiness seeping through the cracks in her voice where she'd tried to keep it calm.

"It's no use-don't, she can't hear you-" Yang held the flailing, shrieking girl as still as she could manage, "-It's always like this, all we can do is wait it out-"

"'Always'?"

Ruby screamed louder and Yang pushed a fierce, protective kiss to the crown of her head.

"...Night terrors." Yang admitted. "She gets them from time to time and-tends to sleepwalk-Ruby, I'm sorry, baby, I'm sorry, I know, I know-t... tends to sleepwalk and I think that's why she put her bed like this when we got here but I guess it didn't work-she's not herself when this happens and-oh Ruby, Ruby I'm right here, I'm right here-" Yang interrupted herself to go against her own advice and Blake held her shoulder firmly.

"Let me hold her. You've done it for so long-let me, Yang-"

"-I didn't say anything because I knew she was trying to handle it herself and-if I'd-if I had just-"

"-Yang." Blake's voice was firm but her expression was soft. "You don't want her to see you like this when she wakes up." Lacking anything else, Blake plucked her hair bow from her ears and handed it to Yang. "Use that. You're crying. It's okay. She'll be okay. She's been through worse. She'll go through worse. We're here for her right now and Weiss will be back any minute." Yang swallowed thickly and nodded, made sure that Ruby was safely wrapped in Blake's embrace before holding the ribbon to her eyes, squeezing the bridge of her nose as she tried to get a grip on herself, her heart slamming at the inside of her chest with every pained, terrified shriek she heard. The crying was intense and frightening to her-she could only imagine how Ruby was feeling, what she was seeing-her baby sister-

There were voices from out in the hall. Team JNPR was awake, and it sounded like the rest of the hallway was soon to follow.

"Ren, Nora!"

Pyrrha's voice had a certain effect on people.

"Go tell everyone else to stay in their rooms! Jaune! With me-!"

It was the kind of voice that no one argued with, though Nora's gave her a run for her money.

"PARK YOUR HEINIES BACK INTO BED, NOTHING TO SEE HERE, GO GO GO-!"

There was a distinct, wobbling twang followed by a sharp, girlish squeal.

Pyrrha's voice again.

"I'm sorry! Inside voice, Nora! Ren, would you-?"

"-Understood."

Yang glanced between Ruby and the door and realized that Ruby's eyes were starting to stay open longer.

"Sis-! Wake up, it's us!"

...

She needed to run.

Run, flee, escape, far and fast away-

She needed to find her again, the one who'd left her, the one she'd been torn from-

The word dragged its nails down her insides and she screamed with mortal terror-she couldn't move, she would suffocate, her head was ringing-

She needed to find her again-

The door slammed open, a figure clothed in white and red appearing in the doorway, backed by the light in the hallway. Her eyes went huge and her mouth dropped open, chest heaving as she pulled towards her-

...

"Professor Goodwitch is on the way!" Weiss called from the doorway, slamming her scroll shut and nodding to Pyrrha and Jaune, waving them ahead after handing them the hastily-scrawled combination to Ruby's locker. "How is she?! Still not awake, or-?!"

"Summer!"

Ruby flung herself into Weiss, dragging herself down her body until she was on her knees, arms locked tight around her hips. She wept sorely, obviously spent from her ordeal, shaking, red-faced and hysteric.

"R-Ruby-?!"

"Don't go, don't go don't let me go no no no please, please-"

No one moved. No one spoke.

"Don't-" Yang croaked, pleading, "-whatever you do-"

Slowly, unsteadily, Weiss sank into the embrace, holding her as close as she would allow, and Ruby did not resist, in fact clawing her way back up until her arms were around Weiss' shoulders.

"Dolt- Ruby-" Weiss stammered, trying to stay as calm as she possibly could.

She didn't do hugging, but-

"I'm right here. Don't you dare cry anymore." In a lower voice, she added, "I can handle anyone's tears but yours."

"...S'mmer..." Ruby's voice was weak and strained with exhaustion.

They sat on the floor together and Weiss swallowed, looking between Yang and Blake over Ruby's shoulders, breathing hard through her own cold sweat as Ruby went limp and peaceful, breathing normally once more.

"...Yang. Blake." Weiss exhaled, feeling keenly the creasing space between her brows as the headache of their whirlwind of an experience caught up with her.

"...Who's Summer?"