Chapter 18

Seven Years Ago

Yang and Ruby got out of the taxi and crept down the drive. It was dark out, a little past midnight. Getting in without their father noticing would be key. Earlier in the day Yang had run her first real race. It was a kart race in the top kart racing series on Patch. She hoped it would be the first step on the path to F1. At 15 Yang was already a little old to be just starting out, but she made up for her inexperience with her tremendous natural skill. Driving a kart for a friend of Qrow's, she had won her first feature race. Qrow was holding onto the trophy because bringing it home would give her away. Yang hoped she could run a few races, prove her talent, then convince her father to change his mind. He had threatened to disown his daughters if they raced but Yang could not stay away. She was stubborn like that, and she hoped her father would give in before she did.

Yang slipped the key into the door and turned it. Every little noise was amplified by the surrounding silence. She turned the knob and pushed the door open. It swung in with a creak. The floor creaked too when she and Ruby stepped into the house as Yang carefully closed the door behind them. "Uh...Yang." Ruby said as Yang closed the door over as silently as possible.

"Quiet." Yang whispered.

"I don't think it matters." Ruby sighed.

Yang spun around. Her father was sitting on the couch in the dark, staring at her. "Oh...hey dad." Yang said.

"How was your race?" Taiyang hissed.

"Race?" Yang laughed uneasily. "What are you talking about?" It was worse than Yang had feared. Several bags of luggage were positioned near the door. She knew what was inside.

"I'm not an idiot." Taiyang said. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice? You've been avoiding me for days, disappearing at weird hours and skipping school. All I had to do was call the track and ask if you were racing there."

"I'm sorry I hid it from you but I knew you'd be mad." Yang said. "I have to race. It's in my blood. I've always dreamed of racing. You know that."

"I thought this day might come." Taiyang sighed. "I can't believe you dragged Ruby along with you. It's bad enough that you'd defy me, but including your sister...what kind of example are you setting?"

"If it helps I won." Yang said.

"Well that's good." Taiyang said. "I bet that prize money will be enough for a hotel room. Take your things and get out." Ruby started crying. She was just 13 and her family was breaking apart before her eyes.

"Dad...you can't...I…" Yang stammered.

"You can stay if you promise never to race again." Taiyang said.

He looked Yang straight in the eyes. She knew he was serious. "Dad...I...I can't." Yang said. "It's all I've ever wanted to do."

"Then get out!" Taiyang shouted.

"Dad…" Yang started.

"Stop calling me that." Taiyang cut her off. "As far as I'm concerned, you're no longer my daughter. Now get out of my house."

"Dad please." Ruby pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "Don't make Yang go. I'm sure she's sorry and she didn't make me go. I went on my own. I don't want her to leave, please."

"It's okay Ruby." Yang said. She had steeled herself and now stood impassive. She gave Ruby a hug. "Come visit me sometime." She turned back to Taiyang. "Can I make a phone call before I go?"

"Make it quick." Taiyang replied.

Yang walked into the kitchen, made her call, and returned to the living room. She picked up her bags. "Ruby, if you'd get the door for me…" She said. Still crying, Ruby opened the front door for Yang. Yang carried her bags out and waited in the driveway. A few minutes later an old Nevermore sports car pulled up. Taiyang recognized it. It was Qrow's car.

Qrow got out and opened the trunk, helping Yang with her bags. Yang got into the passenger's seat and waited while Qrow walked to the house. His and Taiyang's eyes met. "I thought you were better than this." Qrow said. Taiyang just stared him down. Ruby was still bawling off to the side of the room. "I'm really sorry kiddo, but it looks like your father wasn't the man I thought he was. When the time comes, my door's open for you too." He looked back at Taiyang. There was no emotion on his face. "I wonder what Summer would say."

Taiyang's fists clenched and his face contorted with rage. "Get out of my house!" He yelled through gritted teeth.

"Gladly." Qrow said. He walked away, got in his car, and drove off with Yang. It was the last time Taiyang would see either of them for years.

Present Day

"Pyrrha and Yang have had an accident." Ozpin explained. "We don't know much but it looked bad."

Just then Professor Glenn arrived. "I wanted to update you on the drivers' conditions before informing the press." He said.

"Go ahead." Glynda said.

"Ms. Nikos suffered some head trauma - a probable concussion - and a fracture to her lower right leg." Professor Glenn explained. "We won't know the exact details until we do some scans but she should be fine." He paused and looked at Ruby. "Ms. Xiao-Long suffered...severe injuries." He did not have the heart to tell Ruby the full extent. "I'd classify them as life threatening. I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Ruby said, wiping away a few stray tears. "I'm sure she'll pull through."

"I need to go." Professor Glenn said. "I'm heading to the hospital to oversee their treatment. The race will resume when Dr. Hart returns." With one last glance at Ruby, he left.

"We're prepared to retire both your cars." Ozpin said. "We've arranged to get both of you to the hospital immediately."

"It's up to Ruby." Blake said. "I'll do what she does."

"I'll keep going." Ruby said. "Racing's dangerous and Yang knew the risks when she got in the car. We can't quit now."

"Are you certain?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes." Ruby replied. "Yang would be pissed if I quit on her account."

"Very well." Ozpin said. "I'll make arrangements to get you to her as soon as the race ends. I need to make a few phone calls." He looked at Glynda. "We both do." Glynda nodded but said nothing. She knew exactly who they had to call.

Taiyang sat at home alone. It was a sad existence. He had driven his daughters away, afraid of losing them. He had lost them anyway. Now he was just a sad old man, alone in a big house. Once the house had been filled with such joy. Now it was empty. The phone rang. He answered it. "Hello?" He said. No one called him anymore.

"Taiyang, it's been a long time." Ozpin said on the other end. Taiyang immediately hung up. He had no interest in talking to the man. He would sooner strangle him. He put Ruby in a race car. Then there were the memories. No, just hearing Ozpin speak caused him too much pain.

Minutes later the phone rang again. Taiyang answered it. "Ozpin, don't call me again." He said.

"It's not Ozpin." Glynda said. Taiyang once again hung up. She had put Yang in a race car. And she had been the one to replace Summer at Beacon GP all those years ago. No, he could not speak to her either. Taiyang pulled the phone line out of the wall and returned to the living room. He sat there in silence.

A half hour later there was a knock at the door. Taiyang sighed and got up. He walked to the door and opened it. Qrow stood before him. He had not seen the man - once his best friend - in seven years. "Hello Taiyang." Qrow said. Taiyang tried to slam the door in his face but Qrow pushed forward and stopped him. "No, we're talking. You can hang up on Ozpin and Glynda but you're not getting rid of me."

"What do you want?" Taiyang asked.

"I'm guessing you weren't watching the Grand Prix." Qrow said.

"You know I wasn't." Taiyang confirmed.

"Yang had an accident." Qrow said. "It's bad. We need..."

"I don't care." Taiyang cut him off. "I don't give a damn what happens to her."

"I really hope you're lying." Qrow said. "I've seen you as a lot of things, foolish, cowardly, stupid, but never heartless. She's your daughter."

"I have no daughters." Taiyang said.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to do something I should have done seven years ago." Qrow sighed. In a flash he punched Taiyang in the jaw. Taiyang tripped and fell on his back. He stared up at Qrow in shock. "You never could take a punch."

"Fuck you!" Taiyang shouted.

"Listen to me." Qrow demanded. "Yang might not survive. If she does, she's going to need her father. There's a jet waiting at the airport to take us to Forever Fall. Either we're getting on that jet together or you really are a heartless monster." Qrow offered his hand to help Taiyang up. "So what's it gonna' be?"

After an hour long delay, the race was set to be resumed. The cars filed out of the pits, passed the now cleared accident scene, and rounded the track before lining up on the grid. Ruby lined up in the pole position. She was followed by Weiss, Penny, Reese, Velvet and Blake. Coco's car could have been repaired but she chose not to continue, heading to the hospital instead. Not only had Coco witnessed the terrible scene, she felt personally responsible. There was no way she could keep racing after that. The red lights above the track lit up one-by-one before going out. The cars again rocketed off the grid and headed for Central.

By the time the field reached that first chicane, Weiss and Penny had already passed Ruby. She held on to third for a few corners but by the time the cars came around to start the next lap both Reese and Velvet had passed her. Ruby and Blake were able to keep up with Reese and Velvet but were unable to pass them. With no serious challenge from behind they were left to fight for the last two points paying positions among themselves. Up at the front, Weiss and Penny picked up where they left off. Weiss pulled out a small lead before the gap stabilized and then the teammates proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field.

Weiss cruised to an easy win - the first of her F1 career - with Penny second. Reese managed to hold off Velvet for the final step on the podium. Ruby finished fifth ahead of Blake to take the final points. Arslan, Ciel, May and Nora rounded out the top 10. Once again the podium was without celebration. The top three finishers took their trophies and put on fake smiles for the promotional pictures, but there was no joy. Weiss felt robbed, her first win had come under a cloud. At the same time she felt sick for feeling that way, knowing how selfish it was. Just a few weeks after they had helped her overcome her own issues, Yang and Pyrrha were in the hospital, presumably fighting for their lives. It was awful, and though Weiss felt it more acutely than most, all the drivers were shaken.

Standings After Eleven Races

1st - Yang Xiao-Long - 50

2nd - Pyrrha Nikos - 47

3rd - Winter Schnee - 37

4th - Weiss Schnee - 32

5th - Ruby Rose - 27

6th - Blake Belladonna - 21

7th - Penny Polendina - 20

8th - Coco Adel - 13

9th - Velvet Scarlatina - 10

10th - Nora Valkyrie - 7

11th - Reese Chloris - 5

12th - Arslan Atlan - 3

13th - Lie Ren - 1

13th - May Zedong - 1

Ruby and Blake took Ozpin's helicopter to an airfield near the hospital. From there they were driven the rest of the way. Blake took a seat in a waiting area while Ruby headed in to see her sister. The first person she ran into was Coco. Somehow Coco had procured some liquor and was quite drunk. She was in tears, incoherently babbling her apologies over and over again. Ruby tried to calm her but given Coco's inebriated state, there was little Ruby could do. Eventually she pulled herself away. At the door to Yang's room, a doctor informed Ruby that Yang was in an induced coma. She was expected to survive but her condition was serious. The doctor advised against seeing Yang, at least until Ruby had someone with her for support.

Ruby asked about Pyrrha and was led to her room. Pyrrha was awake, sitting up in her bed with a cast on her right leg. On impact with Yang's car, Pyrrha's pedals had been slammed back and broke both bones in her lower leg. "Pyrrha!" Ruby called.

"Ruby!" Pyrrha replied. "Are you alright?"

"I should be asking you." Ruby said, rushing to Pyrrha's side.

"I have a bit of a headache and my leg still hurts, but I'll be fine." Pyrrha said. It was a major understatement. Her headache was almost debilitating, and she was feeling dizzy and nauseous. "I'm more worried about Yang."

Ruby broke down crying and embraced Pyrrha. "The doctor said she'd live...but I know it's bad and no one will tell me anything." Ruby sobbed. "I don't know...I don't think…"

"I'm so sorry." Pyrrha said, crying too. "This is all my fault. I hit her…"

"It's not your fault." Ruby said. "It's nobody's fault. Accidents happen in racing." Ruby tried to compose herself but failed and the tears kept flowing. "I'm afraid...I'm afraid to see her. The doctors didn't even want to let me in her room."

"If it helps, I'll go with you." Pyrrha offered.

"I'm not sure...I don't think I can handle it." Ruby cried. Pyrrha was at a loss. She swiveled around, hanging her legs off the side of the bed even though it was incredibly painful. She invited Ruby to sit beside her and Ruby did. "What if she doesn't make it?"

"She'll make it." Pyrrha assured Ruby.

"What if she never wakes up?" Ruby asked.

"She'll wake up." Pyrrha replied. "Yang's tough. She'll pull through."

"What if...what if she's hurt so bad she can't drive anymore?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha really had no answer to that. From what little she had heard, that scenario was highly likely. "You shouldn't worry about it until we know more." She finally said, not really sure the answer was helpful. For a long while they sat there embracing, crying, trying and failing to console one another.

After quite a while Ruby worked up the courage to go see Yang. Pyrrha got ahold of a wheelchair and went with her. On the way to Yang's room they ran into Coco. Coco seemed to have sobered up tremendously, but she was obviously quite depressed. Ruby and Pyrrha had never seen Coco depressed. Her emotional range tended toward the manic end of the spectrum, generally either joy or anger. Usually she would joke and flirt, even at entirely inappropriate moments. "I'm sorry." Coco said. "To both of you. I started that crash. If I hadn't been adjusting the car…"

"You don't have to be sorry." Ruby said. "It was just a racing accident. No one's to blame. This kind of thing just happens sometimes."

"I appreciate you saying that, but I still feel guilty." Coco sighed. "If there's anything I can do...just say the word."

"Thank you." Pyrrha said after seeing that Ruby was at a loss. She and Ruby proceeded to Yang's room. Ruby stepped inside, took one look, and raced out crying hysterically. Pyrrha looked at Yang and sighed. Some of her worst fears had been realized. After a moment she chased after Ruby. Now was not the time to leave her alone.

Yang woke up and looked around. She was initially disoriented but quickly realized that she was in a hospital. She had no recollection of the crash, her last memory was coming in for her pit stop. She knew she must have had an accident and that it must have been a big one. Most crashes at Forever Fall were big ones. Her head ached but she felt like she was floating, probably the result of painkillers. She looked to her right. Ruby was sleeping in a chair. Beside her, sleeping in a wheelchair was Pyrrha who had a large cast on her leg. Pyrrha must have been in the crash too. Coco was sleeping in a chair a little bit away. She looked unhurt but must have been involved somehow. Yang looked to her left. Her father was sleeping in a chair pulled right up to the side of her bed.

Now Yang was worried. If her father was there her accident must have been very bad. Given the strange way her body felt, Yang feared she may have been paralyzed. She lifted her arms and they responded, if a bit sluggishly. That was a relief. She tried to move her legs. Something moved but it felt strange. The way the blanket covering her moved was odd as well. Yang got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was very wrong with her legs. She was afraid to look but forced herself.

Yang pulled back the blanket. It moved farther and farther but still she saw nothing. Finally all was revealed. Both of her legs had been amputated above the knee. Yang screamed and the monitors tracking her vital signs went wild. Alarms blared as those surrounding her were shocked awake. Nurses rushed into the room, followed by a doctor. They conversed briefly but Yang could not hear them over the sound of her own screaming. The nurses held her down while the doctor approached with a needle. He injected something into her IV. Yang's screams died down as she felt suddenly sleepy. Her world faded to black.

Inspirations

- Niki Lauda was forbidden from racing by his wealthy father who saw it as beneath his station. To fund his career, Lauda went deep into debt and had to take loans from one of his father's business rivals. At one point things were so bad financially that he contemplated suicide, but he stuck it out and things soon turned around.

- Yang's accident and injuries are based on Alex Zanardi. He lost both legs in a 2001 Champ Car race in Germany. He has since gone on to be a touring car champion and Paralympic gold medalist in hand-bike racing. If you look up the accident be warned, it isn't pretty.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- F1's top doctors would not have left the track before the race was complete, just in case there was another accident. They would also leave treatment to the local authorities unless the drivers requested their help, usually only involving themselves in follow-ups and re-certifying drivers to race.