Important!: This story uses my other fic RWBY V3C12 Redux as a base. If you have not read that, some of this will not make sense. It's not to long a read, only about half the length of my usual chapters. It's also a sequel to my fic Fires of Olympus.

Chapter 1

"Your time will come." Taiyang said.

"I may not be able to help the others right now, but I can help Yang." Pyrrha said.

"I certainly hope so." Taiyang sighed. "I'm hoping she can help you too."

"I don't need help." Pyrrha said.

"I knew you'd say that." Taiyang said. "Just wait here a minute, I'll get some crutches."

Pyrrha sat on the edge of the bed and waited. Ruby was in the next bed unconscious. At least she looked physically unharmed. After everything that had happened it was probably the best anyone could hope for. Her thoughts soon turned to Yang. Taiyang's evasiveness about her condition made her terribly worried. It made her sick to even think about it.

"Here you go." Taiyang said as he entered the room. He carried a set of old wooden crutches. "They might be a little short for you, but they should get the job done."

"Thank you." Pyrrha said. "They'll do fine."

"And if you need a change of clothes, I think most of Yang's stuff should fit." Taiyang offered. "Even if they're not quite your style."

Pyrrha was still in her armor, and after all the stress and at least a whole day of lying in it, it was certainly time to change out of it. A shower would be nice too. But that could wait. Yang was more important. "Thank you for all your kindness." Pyrrha said. She stood, supported by the crutches and made her way to the door. "I'll do everything I can to repay it." Taiyang smiled and returned to his chair, continuing his vigil over Ruby.

Pyrrha made her way to Yang's room afraid of what she would find. The door was open. Pyrrha entered the doorway and forced herself to look. Yang sat in her bed staring out the window. She looked alright. "Yang…" Pyrrha said. She could not think of what to say.

"Oh, Pyrrha, you're awake." Yang sighed. "I'm glad you're alright." Her characteristic energy and enthusiasm was gone. She did not even turn to face Pyrrha. Pyrrha remained in the doorway, standing there silently. "I guess you're not going to leave. Come on in."

Pyrrha took her first step into the room just as Yang turned around. Previously hidden by her body, her right arm was missing, amputated just below the shoulder. Pyrrha froze. "Oh my...Yang…" She gasped.

"I know, I'm hideous now." Yang said. "You can run away, just like Blake."

"No, that's not it." Pyrrha said. "I...I'm...you should be in a hospital!"

"I was." Yang said. "The hospitals are overloaded. They sewed up the wound and measured me for a prosthetic. Then sent me on my way."

"So you're getting a prosthetic?" Pyrrha asked.

"Maybe." Yang said. Her eyes said she was on the brink of crying but the emotion was not reflected in her voice. "With all the chaos they said it could be months. Until then I'll be useless."

"Yang, you're not useless." Pyrrha said. Now she was close to crying too.

"Oh no?!" Yang shouted. "I can't write. I can't fight. I can barely get dressed on my own. I can't even hug my sister! And even when I had two arms I couldn't protect my friends." There was no hiding the emotion anymore. Yang was angry, with herself more than anyone else. Worse, she seemed to have lost hope.

Pyrrha could not stand to see Yang like this. She was going to comfort her even if it did not really help. She had to try. "Yang, please, you have to…" Pyrrha started. She stepped forward without thinking, putting her weight on her injured foot. She groaned in pain, lost her grip on the crutches and fell forward. Before she knew it she was on the ground, flat on her face.

"Pyrrha!" Yang exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Pyrrha said. She slid herself into a sitting position beside Yang's bed. "I forgot about my foot."

"I'm a terrible person." Yang said. "Here I am complaining about my problems and I didn't even notice you were hurt. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, please." Pyrrha implored. She wanted to put on a brave face but the tears were already flowing. "I should be the one apologizing. I should have been there to protect you. Instead I was...just wasting my time. Jaune's dead and you're hurt, Ruby's unconscious and it's all my fault."

"Pyrrha, you can't blame yourself." Yang said.

"Why not?" Pyrrha cried. "If I would have stayed with everyone else you'd still have your arm. If I hadn't tried to be the hero Jaune and Ruby wouldn't have had to come to save me. Things would still be bad but...I made them so much worse." She buried her face in her hands. "I even started the whole thing when I killed Penny. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault." Yang said. "None of it's your fault. You have to believe that."

Qrow appeared in the doorway. "Oh good, you're awake." He said. "I'm sorry to interrupt you two but Pyrrha and I need to talk."

"I understand." Yang sighed.

Pyrrha remained on the floor crying. Qrow picked up her crutches and passed them to her. "Come on kid, we'll get through this." Qrow encouraged.

Pyrrha pulled herself to her feet and turned to Yang. "I'll be back." She promised. With that she followed Qrow out of the room.

Qrow led Pyrrha to the living room. He sat in a chair and gestured for Pyrrha to take the couch. Pyrrha sat down carefully and leaned her crutches against the side of the couch. "So, what happened?" Qrow asked.

"What do you mean what happened?" Pyrrha said. "You already know what happened. Jaune's dead, Yang's maimed and Beacon's overrun. Ruby's still unconscious."

"Don't worry about Ruby." Qrow said. "She's going to be fine. And I'm sure Yang will be too with your help. What I want to know is what happened with Oz. You went into the vault. He fought Cinder there. I'm trying to piece together what happened."

"I...I got in the pod to do the transfer." Pyrrha said. It was all painful for her to think about. "Ozpin started the process. It hurt. I screamed." The look on Qrow's face told Pyrrha he deeply regretted what had happened down there. "That distracted Jaune and Ozpin. Then Cinder was there. She shot an arrow. It hit Amber in the chest. She...died."

"I know that." Qrow said. "We found her body. What happened next?"

"The process reversed and I broke out of the pod." Pyrrha continued. "The rest of the maiden power went to Cinder. I wanted to help but Ozpin ordered me to take Jaune and run. So we did. Is Ozpin...dead too?"

"I don't know." Qrow sighed. "We didn't find a body, just his cane. Keep going."

"After Jaune and I got outside I saw flames shooting out of the elevator, so I knew Cinder had won." Pyrrha said. "I couldn't let her win. I...distracted Jaune, shoved him in a locker and launched him into Vale. Then I headed up the tower after Cinder. We fought and I lost. She was going to kill me but then Ruby showed up. At about the same time Jaune landed in the locker between Cinder and I. He stumbled out and she killed him. Then Ruby screamed and everything went white. The next thing I remember is waking up here. I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful, then or now."

"You need to stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault." Qrow advised. "If you keep blaming yourself for everything, it'll destroy you." Qrow stood and started pacing. "I should be the one apologizing anyway. What we did to you...what we tried to do to you, it was wrong. You're just a kid."

"I wanted to help." Pyrrha said. "What I did, I did of my own free will."

"You say that." Qrow said. "You might even believe it. It's not true. We manipulated you. We didn't tell you everything. You may still have made the same choice, but we didn't give you the chance. We just emotionally compromised you and sent you on your way. We set you up for all the bad things that happened to you. Sometimes I wonder who the real monsters are."

"Qrow, it's not…" Pyrrha started.

"Don't worry about me kid." Qrow cut her off. "I've been throwing these questions around in my head since you were a child. You've been more helpful than you know." Qrow stopped pacing. "Now, go take a shower - you need it - and collect your thoughts. I need you for another mission, one more important to me than anything I've ever asked of anyone."

"Anything, just name it." Pyrrha said.

"Help my nieces." Qrow said. "They need you and you need them." He headed for the door. "Oh, and sorry about the hack job Taiyang and I did on your foot. I'm more of a mechanic than a surgeon. At least the booze came in handy for once."

"To clean the wound?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, Taiyang has shaky hands sometimes." Qrow laughed. "Without a drink your foot would look like a jigsaw puzzle."

With that Qrow left, leaving Pyrrha with her thoughts. No matter what Qrow said she had a difficult time seeing how things were not her fault. So much of what had happened could have been avoided if she had not been there. The line of thought was a dead end and she knew it. She had to break it. Maybe that shower was a good idea. Maybe it would help her clear her head.

The shower did not help Pyrrha clear her head. It just gave her more time to think. At least she was able to shift the focus. Instead of thinking about how everything was her fault, she was now thinking about how to fix things. At least how to fix what she could. Qrow was counting on her to help Yang and Ruby so that was where she would start.

Pyrrha was still not in a great place mentally, but the shower was at least refreshing. She also came to know what Qrow meant when he said she really needed it. Sweaty leather armor stinks, particularly after an extended period of time wearing it. After her shower she put on a set of Yang's pajamas. They were probably the most modest clothes Yang owned. They also fit surprisingly well. Being exceptionally tall had meant finding clothes that fit had always been difficult, but Yang was tall too, even if not quite as tall. It was nice to be reminded of the things they had in common, even something as trivial as having trouble finding clothes that fit.

Pyrrha made her way back to Yang. It had not been an hour but it already felt like it had been too long. Yang was staring out the window again. "Can I come in?" Pyrrha asked.

"Go ahead, take a seat." Yang said. Her gaze lingered on the outside for a moment before she turned to face Pyrrha as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You're not hurt...other than your arm are you?" Pyrrha asked. "Physically I mean."

"No." Yang replied. "Not physically."

"You shouldn't sit her in bed all the time." Pyrrha suggested. "It's not healthy. I know you're hurting but if you don't do something you won't be able to get out of your own head."

"Speaking from experience?" Yang asked.

"Yes." Pyrrha confirmed. "Even taking a shower I couldn't keep my mind from going to a bad place. Until we can...come to terms with what happened, distraction may be all we have."

"If we ever come to terms with it." Yang sighed.

"What happened?" Pyrrha asked. "Don't say you lost your arm. What happened to...leave you like this?" Pyrrha paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, if you don't want to…"

"No, it's fine." Yang said. "How am I ever going to get better if I don't talk about it?" She heaved a heavy sigh. "Because of what happened with Mercury I was separated from everyone. It took me a long time to get through the chaos. I found Weiss. She was alright but Blake wasn't there. Apparently she had chased after some Grimm. I went to find her and...I did. She was on the ground, hurt. Adam...a monster from her past, was standing over her. When he saw me he stabbed her. I got angry and I attacked him and then...when I woke up my arm was gone and so was Blake. I thought we were friends but she just ran. She didn't even say goodbye. And Weiss was gone too. Her father came for her. And Ruby, Ruby's in a coma. I should have been able to protect them but I couldn't. I was supposed to be the strong one, but I'm not." She began crying. "Now I never will be. Everything I've ever wanted from my life is gone. I'm 18 and my dreams are dead. It's all over for me."

"Please don't give up." Pyrrha cried. She twisted herself around to hug Yang though Yang showed no enthusiasm for it. "Don't give up on yourself. Don't give up on life. You can't. And it's not over. There's still so much you can do. There are still so many people who care about you. It hurts me so much to see you hurting."

Yang pushed Pyrrha away. She was gentle about it but the message was clear. She wiped her face. "So what happened to you?" Yang asked. "Dad and Qrow wouldn't tell me anything about you and Ruby. All Qrow would tell me was that Ozpin and him used you."

Pyrrha wanted to explain the whole thing. She desperately wanted to talk to someone about it. She could not bring herself to do it, not yet. "Ozpin wanted to give me...special powers." Pyrrha said. "Before he could Cinder came and stole them. It's a long story and I...I can't say anything else about it. Ozpin sent Jaune and I away and I forced Jaune to safety. Cinder defeated Ozpin so I went to fight her. I lost. Jaune and Ruby came to save me and Cinder killed Jaune. Ruby freaked out and everything went blank. Jaune's dead and Ruby's in the condition she's in because of me, because I had to be the hero." She turned away from Yang, unable to face her. "How could I hope to fight someone who was more powerful than Ozpin? How could it have ended any other way? I just wish she had killed me before Jaune and Ruby got involved. I wish I...I wish I'd died a long time ago. If not for me killing Penny, none of it would have happened. It's all my fault."

"With fighting Cinder, you did what you thought was right." Yang said. "It's easy to see it as a bad idea looking back, but you couldn't have known what would have happened. I know Jaune was your friend and I'm sorry about what happened to him but…" Yang caught herself on the way to an 'I told you so' and stopped short. "Ruby's going to be okay. Dad and Qrow both said so." Yang wrapped her arm around Pyrrha's chest and pulled her back, letting Pyrrha rest against her. "And with Penny, there was nothing you could have done. They made you do that just like they tricked me into attacking Mercury. If it wasn't you they would have used someone else. Things wouldn't be better if you were dead. They'd be so much worse. You're the...you're the last little bit of happiness I have left."

"But I'm responsible for so much of what you've lost." Pyrrha wept.

"But you're responsible for so much of what I have." Yang countered. "Remember the last time you were here? Remember how happy we were? Remember all the fun we had before the tournament? Everything we shared? I wouldn't trade that for anything. Not even my arm. Even if we're never that happy again, it was worth it."

"I want to agree with you but I've caused so much pain." Pyrrha said.

"You have to believe that it's not your fault." Yang implored. She rested her head on Pyrrha's shoulder. "Cinder and Emerald and Mercury, even Ozpin, they're the ones to blame for all this. You were just caught up in all of it. We all were. If we blame ourselves, we'll just be doing what Cinder wants us to do."

"Maybe you're right." Pyrrha said. "If only it were so easy."

"I'll make you a deal." Yang said. "If you stop blaming yourself, I won't give up hope."

Pyrrha knew she would just be lying to Yang if she took the deal. All the argument, all the logic in the world was not going to change how she felt. Even if others were to blame too, Pyrrha had played her part. All she could do now was try to atone for it. But she had to do it for Yang. "You've got a deal." Pyrrha said.

"Good." Yang said. "I hate to see you beat yourself up like that." Yang was lying to. Hope? What hope was there? Her arm was gone. Her friends were gone. The world was in chaos. Pyrrha and Ruby having survived were the only things that even made the situation bearable. There would be no more wild adventures, no more fun. All that was left was the wait for the inevitable end.

"You shouldn't beat yourself up either." Pyrrha said.

"That's part of the deal right?" Yang said. She absentmindedly reached over to stroke Pyrrha's hair. Freshly washed it looked and smelled beautiful. Yang felt nothing. Then she realized she was trying to use her right hand. She could not help but start crying.

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked. She twisted around as best she could and saw Yang staring at what was left of her arm. She turned all the way around and hugged Yang. This time she was not going to let go, no matter what Yang said or did. "I know, I know." She said in as soothing a voice as she could manage. "We'll get through this together."