"Morning, Rubes," Jaune's voice whispered softly through the wood as three soft raps came a tapping at the door. She called that he could come in and it swung open as he stepped in, the light of the other room igniting his hair for a moment. "You got a minute?"

"Seems that all I have are minutes right now. Not much else I can do with my time." She answered, looking down at her fidgeting hands. She was growing restless.

"Well, tomorrow might be an exciting day for you."

"Why's that?" She inquired as he sat down on the soft, cushiony surface of the sofa next to her.

"The other day Pyrrha sent a message to Yang, Blake and Weiss." Ruby's heart skipped a beat at the mention of her ex-lover's name, but Jaune took it as excitement. It also explained the message on her - no, Weiss' - scroll. "I don't know where Weiss is, but Blake and Yang are going to be here later today."

Ruby stared for a moment. Her sister and her teammate. They would be there… Gleaming, gold hair bloomed in her memory, followed by a velvety black, shining and shadows, red eyes, and amber ones. Happy memories for the most part, but also some sad. Yang had been there through all the hard times in Ruby's life. Like… leaving all her friends at Signal behind. Or the first few weeks of class. Or when Summer-

And like that, it was gone.

Was that good or bad?

"Are you alright?" Jaune's voice refocused Ruby's mind. She was far from sure if she was. She gave a curt nod anyways.

"It's just the memories. I… It'll be good to see them." She forced a smile.

"Ruby…" Jaune's voice trailed off as he looked towards the door.

"What is it?"

"Are you happy here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Living with Pyrrha and I. We're glad to have you here, of course, and you can stay as long as you want, but if you're back for good…"

"Well," A thought occurred to her, one that actually sparked a little burst of joy. Something she knew she could do that would be good. "Maybe I could try hunting again."

"No!" Jaune exclaimed, whirling on her. Ruby jolted back at the sudden movement. Jaune closed his breath and let out a long sigh. "Sorry, that wasn't fair. But Ruby, last time you hunted…"

"I'm not going to die again Jaune. I promise." She assured, reaching forward to touch his shoulder gently. He jerked away from the contact and stood.

"There's cereal in the cupboard and eggs in the fridge. The bread and bagels are in the pantry. It's there when you feel like breakfast. Get a good one, I have the feeling it'll be a big day today." He gave her a thin smile as he walked back to the door, closing it gently behind him.

Suddenly, despite Jaune's words, Ruby wasn't so sure she was entirely welcome there.

Blake was going to be there, Yang figured. She hadn't seen the faunus since their altercation at the bar. Dust, she did regret that. But if Pyrrha wanted to see her about Ruby, Weiss and Blake would be there too. Weiss, Yang would be fine with seeing. The heiress had become cold and distant since Ruby had been torn to shreds. Yang was fine with that. Curt nods and concise answers were all she needed. No checking in to see how she was emotionally, no questions about what she was doing with her life, just business of a sort. The business - task - that was everyday life.

Blake wasn't like that. Blake cared, somehow, after all that had happened. How she managed to get up and think about others and not the unending, ever-present, never-lapsing pain, was beyond Yang. It was like something was constantly grinding her insides to a bloody pulp, not too unlike what Ruby's corpse had probably looked like. They had never let her see it. And her ex-partner thought it kind to ask what she felt like. Yang wondered if she had ever been able to fully explain just how hopeless life was to her partner, and if Blake had ever listened. Because Blake seemed to believe that there was some… joy, or life, or something left in Yang. And she was wrong.

Yang was surviving.

And now she was going to have to see her again. It would be emotional, probably, for at least one of them. It was not that she wanted to hurt Blake, it was simply that she knew she would, and she could ill bring herself to care.

Yang sighed, looking out the window as the dust plane's engines roared to life. The thin, two seat isles were hardly as luxurious as the ones Beacon had used, and paled in comparison to those that her team had used after become huntresses. Truth be told, she could actually afford to travel in one of those. She did not have copious amounts of money, but she would have been able to scrape together enough for food and other necessities even after such an expense. She did not want to though. She enjoyed being around others that were like her. Those that didn't much care, or were too busy trying to care that they wouldn't give her a second thought.

Her hand drifted to the little zipper that rested to the side of her jacket and fingered the contents of the pocket absent-mindedly as the grass was blown away from the plane. Some of the nearer strands began to blacken as they were charred by the heat generated from the engines, and Yang watched as veins of char snaked through the grass before the plane finally began to lift off the ground.

Her pocket had three little bumps in it, and she found her thoughts drifting to them. Seeing Blake again would be hard. Blake and the packages now resting in the cargo hold were the only things that Yang had kept to remind herself of who she had once been. She thought that perhaps she had finally lost one of those remaining memories. It had not been easy, and Yang would have preferred not to have to remember their reacquaintance.

She found that she had unzipped the pocket, and she slid a finger into the pocket pausing as she felt one of the objects inside. It would be easier like this.

"I'm sorry, is this seat taken?" Yang yanked her zipper up. It would not do well to be caught with those on a plane. She whipped her head towards the newcomer and her stomach sank as she met a pair of amber eyes.

Pyrrha smiled as she squeezed Ruby's arm slightly. Though Jaune may have argued that it was Ruby's choice, Pyrrha believed there were more parties involved in the decision. Yang should have been the first to learn of Ruby's return, followed closely by Blake. It was only by so stroke of fate that they had ended up as her first reunion. Her teammates had always been closer with her, and they would be able to help more with Ruby's condition. Perhaps, some of them might even be able to help shed some light on what was happening.

Pyrrha wished that Weiss would have come. She was sure the heiress was busy though, and she could not possibly know of Ruby's return. Nor was it the sort of thing that Pyrrha could simply say over scroll without it coming off as some cruel joke. She never would have believed it had she not witnessed the young woman standing in front of her with her own eyes. But the others had come, and that would hopefully be enough for her friend.

The tarmac landing pad was set in the middle of a large field with a red hangar at the far end for recreational fliers. It was somewhat ruddy, cracked and unkempt, and haphazardly merging with the tall straw-like grass of the field. The ship itself was small with four wings branching off of it, perhaps four times the size of a bullhead. None of it was particularly luxurious. Pyrrha was used to this place though, she had been there once a year to meet Yang. She had been surprised that the two had taken the same flight - Blake could certainly afford much more with her status - but perhaps they had talked about it and Blake had decided to accompany Yang.

She thought of twists of fate as she considered the difference between the other times she had been there and the reason she was there now. Before, it was for Yang to grieve for her sister's death. Now though, it was to celebrate her return. Pyrrha was excited to see the happiness on both Yang and Ruby's faces when they saw each other. She could see exactly how it would play out. There would probably be some life-endangering bear-hugs, a lot of laughing, maybe some tears of joy, but if Pyrrha knew Yang, she knew the happy-go-lucky woman would be over the moon. Blake, perhaps, would be a little more toned down, but she did not doubt that everyone would laughing and having a good time. She would be worried about the shock value, but Yang had always been one to take the unexpected in stride. She had perhaps drank a little too much when visiting, but it was always out of partying and having fun. Ruby had seemed a little down since her return, and if anyone could be a beacon of happiness and joy, it was Yang.

She turned her attention back to the plane as she heard the hissing of the door coming unlocked. The metal slid to the side and a ramp extended. Pyrrha spotted a glimpse of golden hair in the doorway and waved. Yang stepped out of the shadows of the interior, shielding her face with a hand for a moment, gazing into the crowd. Their eyes met and Yang grinned, waving her hand at the scarlet haired woman. Pyrrha lowered her arm, and Yang, as expected, looked around for Jaune as she continued to wave. Her eyes tracked to Pyrrha's side, and found Ruby. Pyrrha's heart welled in her chest as she saw recognition in Yang's eyes.

And then Yang's arm dropped. Her smile vanished, as it she had been stricken. She took a half step back, and looked like she wanted to run as her eyes flicked to the side. Pyrrha's stomach dropped and she frowned. That wasn't what she had expected.

The blonde recovered quickly though, a shaky smile appearing on her features as she began walking down the ramp. The smile grew strength as she walked forward, and Pyrrha began to relax again. Everything was great. Her gaze broke from Yang briefly as she saw a dark haired faunus descending the ramp. Pyrrha bounced on her toes, waving at Blake, who smiled and waved back.

Pyrrha's gaze returned to Yang as she reached the ground about thirty feet from them. She took long, strong strides towards them grinning even wider, but it almost seemed to not reach her ears. Pyrrha noticed how Yang almost looked angelic walking towards them. Tall and strong, her hair fanning in the wind, almost glowing in the sunshine.

Yang slowed when she was about two paces away. "Ruby?" She drifted a step closer. "Is…" The blonde smiled, but Pyrrha saw her chin tremor slightly, her lips turning down. "Is it-" Yang reached out, her hand shaking as she reached forward towards her sister's face. Ruby for her part, was just looking shyly up at her big sister.

"Yeah," Ruby murmured with a small smile, obviously not at ease. Yang didn't even seem to register her sister's words.

Yang closed the distance with a last step. Her fingers hesitated, as if Ruby were a mirage that Yang was afraid of breaking. Yang began to withdraw, her face twisting in pain. Pyrrha watched as the smile completely evaporated a moment before Yang's fingers brushed Ruby's cheek, the the blonde's finger started to reach forward again, curled, as if she were to brush an invisible tear from Ruby's cheek. Ever so slowly, she drew closer and closer, a hairsbreadth at a time, until there was no space remaining.

It was like that touch was an electric shock. Yang collapsed, clutching at her sister, falling to her knees and grasping at the fabric of her dress. Pyrrha saw the blonde's chest heave and a garbled cry escaped Yang as something wet splashed onto the ground.

"Ruby..." The choked sob ripped from Yang's throat as Yang clutched desperately at the woman, groping at her sides, crying into her sister. "Oh Dust," A sob. "Ruby..."

Ruby just stood there shocked, looking at her sister, on her knees, broken. She stroked Yang's hair, trying to calm her. "Hey sis," She murmured, shellshocked by the reaction.

Yang just pressed herself tighter at the words, as if staving off some terrible, primal pain, the crying getting louder. Some incomprehensible, almost hysteric message tried to escape the agonized heaving. Pyrrha took a step back as a few people began to look in on the scene. Yang didn't notice though, she just kept sobbing and trying to speak, the message becoming clearer and clearer as Yang repeated it through hyperventilated breaths. She gasped out the mantra as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered, as if it was all that existed. There was just some inexplicable pain, and what she needed Ruby to hear. And it tore itself from her throat in a garbled heap of syllables, hardly distinguishable from the weeping.

"I'm sorry," She sobbed, voice muffled by her sister's clothes. "I'm so sorry Ruby…"

Hello there!

Raise your hands if you hate school! Everyone? Oh good, thought it was just me. So yeah, I've just been insanely busy lately, and I have had almost no time to write. The times that I have had to write have mostly been occupied by nanomo's monthly novel thingy that's happening. I hit a stump there though, so figured I'd get my creative juices going again with some RWBY! I'm glad to get back to writing in.

As for this chapter, it's the end of the first act as I understand it. Of Ruby getting back to civilization. I also love the thought of having Yang break down when Pyrrha thinks she's the strongest one. Having her break down upon seeing Ruby is something I had pictured for a long time. And I'm not happy with it. Idk, maybe it's because I have it pictured perfectly in my mind, and can't quite convey it or what, but I hope it's not too bad. Maybe I'm just rusty. In terms of the rest of the chapter, we'll learn more about Blake and Yang's conversation on the plane (maybe) later, depending on a few choices I have to make. It will be explained though, one way or another. And Jaune's disposition... Well, we'll continue to explore that.

Even though it's short, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you're thinking! Oh, and we're getting to the edge of the first act, so all of you wanting me to stop with the constantly.. sad(?) chapters, don't worry. Just given the nature of the story, it will never have a super jokey and fluffy mood, but there will be breaks in the tension coming up. Just don't get too comfortable!

Cheers,

Unjax