Yang saw Nora waiting at the gate as soon as she rounded the corner. She called out to the orange-haired Huntress, but received no response. The sun was shining almost directly into Nora's face, which made it even more odd that she was gazing into the distance with her arms at her sides.

The ground under her feet trembled, and Yang turned around, looking in the same direction as Nora. Raising a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun, Yang eyed the rooftops of the city.

There was nothing out of the ordinary.

The tremor faded away, and Yang turned back to Nora. The Huntress was still looking out over the city, but blinked and turned to Yang as she approached the gate.

"You okay?" Yang asked.

Nora flashed a smile and nodded. "Yeah. I just…" The smile faded as she trailed off and peered over Yang's shoulder once more. Then she shook her head, and the smile returned. "Never mind. Come on."

The pair started up the stairs at a jog. By the time they reached the top, they were both breathing heavily. Nora stopped at the top while Yang climbed the last few steps and leant back, hands on her hips, and sucked in a deep breath. Yang did the same when she joined the orange-haired Huntress, so she was looking up at the sky when Nora spoke.

"Huh… Where is everyone?"

Yang looked back down at the area around them and, sure enough, there was no one around. She and Nora shared a confused look. Yang pulled out her scroll and checked the time.

"First period has started," she said, looking back up at Nora.

"There should be some people out here, though," Nora said with a bemused look.

She was right. Even when classes were on, there were always students out on the grounds. Some had free periods, some had certain classes outside, and some ditched class entirely. Regardless of the reason, Yang had never seen the grounds so empty before.

"Do you think Ren got through to them?" she asked.

Nora nodded. "That's the first thing Ren would've done!"

Then why'd they send us here? Yang though. She knew the answer, really: Beacon would need as many troops on campus, ready to gather should the need arise. She just didn't like being separated from Blake when something like this was happening.

She'll be fine, Yang tried to convince herself. Blake can look after herself. Besides, Ren's with her. They're on their way here. Nothing will happen to them.

Logically, Yang was convinced, but she couldn't stop the niggling worm of doubt that burrowed into her stomach. A shiver ran up her spine, and Yang forced herself to move, if only to distract herself.

"Come on," she said. "Let's see what's going on."

They headed around Beacon, cutting through the ground and near a small grove of trees on their way around the hulking structure. If they were gathering their forces, they'd be in the amphitheatre; it was always used a staging ground in the event of an attack on the kingdom. Yang had never seen it used that way before, but four years of the teachers drilling it into her memory during her time as a student had made her destination an instinctual choice.

Yang came to a sudden stop near another grove of trees. It was a densely packed group of some sort of evergreen—Yang had never been into dendrology—and it was impossible to see into the clearing in the middle, designed as a quiet place for students to study.

Not that Yang was looking.

Her attention was directed towards Beacon's main building. Nora gave her a confused look, and Yang held out a hand and craned her head to the side, listening intently.

There it was again.

The sound of clashing steel.

Yang frowned. Was someone sparring? Had Beacon not been warned? If they were busy getting ready to defend the city, then no one should be sparring…

Yang's blood ran cold.

Had the attack already begun? Were they fighting inside? No way, Yang told herself. How would they get inside Beacon?

"Yang?" Nora's voice was concerned.

Yang pointed towards the school. "Do you hear that?"

They paused, utterly silent, until the sound of steel reached them once more.

Nora nodded. "We should hurry." Yang could see Nora's usual eagerness for battle spring into her eyes. No matter how serious the situation, Nora was never happier than she was at the prospect of a fight.

Yang nodded. "Let's go."

A breeze blew as they turned towards the amphitheatre; the leaves rustled above them. A chill touched Yang's neck. She heard something. Or a hint of something. Nora had taken a few steps away and turned back. It wasn't Nora…

It was behind her.

Yang spun.

Ember Celica unfolded and clicked into its combat form as she brought her fists up, just in time for something large and black to crash into her. Her gauntlets got in the way, sending up a shower of sparks, and blinding her for moment. The force of the blow sent Yang crashing backwards, where she slammed into the cobblestones. Her aura protected her from any physical damage from the impact, but it was enough to hurt.

"Well, now," a disturbingly familiar voice said. "Didn't expect to see you here, Yang… Or the fuzzball for that matter."

Yang swung her legs, using the force to spin around on her back, flipped over, and pushed herself back up to her feet. Something clanked on the ground as she straightened, but Yang forced herself to focus on the figure before her.

A large body stepped out of the grove of trees, swinging its large, double-bladed battle-axe onto its shoulder. Yang glanced around, examining the soon-to-be-battleground. Nora's hammer was out, and the Huntress looked ready for combat. There was no one else in sight, and there was still the occasional clash of steel coming from Beacon behind her.

Only once her brief scouting of the field was over did Yang focus on the man before her.

"Raud… You're still alive."

The mercenary gave her a lop-sided smile and scratched his cheek. "Well… yeah. I'm one of those 'hard to kill' types. Always have been."

Yang gave him a vicious grin. "Good. Now I get to kill you myself."

"You still upset about the whole Ruby thing?" Raud asked, rolling his eyes. "Come on. I told you, it was nothing personal. Look, I swear—on my honour—killing her is not on my to-do list. She's safe! As long as… you know… the monsters don't get her."

Yang shot a glance towards the west—towards the wall—where a cloud of dust was still visible.

"You led Grimm here!?" she hissed.

"Me? No. Take that one up with my boss. I just have to keep people from going into Beacon. So we can settle this easy if you just walk away now. No killing. No fighting. Just go back down the stairs, and you'll be fine."

Yang laughed. He was trying to offer her mercy? "No killing? No fighting? No thanks. You tried to kill my sister! Like hell I'm going to let you get away again."

"Yang… you're in no condition to fight." Raud's voice sounded genuinely sad.

Yang raised an eyebrow and looked down at her body for an instant. What was he talking about?

She realised immediately.

The clattering sound at her feet… One of her gauntlets was lying in pieces on the ground before her. Her right hand was still wrapped in steel, while her left hand had only a ring of torn and broken metal. Yang looked down at the wreck of her Ember Celica in shock. Years ago she'd crafted her weapon, and now…

Raud screamed.

Yang whipped her head up.

The mercenary was lunging towards her, axe swinging in a deadly arc towards her. With barely enough time to think, Yang raised her surviving gauntlet and bent at the knees, ready to take the blow.

It never landed.

There was a loud explosion, a flash of pink, and Raud was tumbling away. Nora stood in front of Yang, Magnhild at the ready, eyeing Raud with more excitement than she usually had. Yang eyed the Huntress for a moment, then stepped back. As much as it galled her, Raud was right: she couldn't fight properly with one gauntlet.

She glanced towards Beacon as she stepped back, getting ready to bolt to the amphitheatre.

"I wouldn't go that way, either," Raud said as he got to his feet. "You don't want to see the mess the Talon is making of your precious school right now."

Yang's heart sank.

So the attack had begun after all. Ren and Blake had been wrong: it wasn't happening later. The warning had come too late.

Seething anger filled Yang's chest and heat wrapped around her as her hair burst into flames. She stepped next to Nora, facing Raud, and brought up her fists, ready to fight.

A small, rational voice in the back of her mind tried to tell it was stupid, that she couldn't fight with one gauntlet. Another, semi-reasonable voice replied that if she teamed up with Nora, she could take a supporting role, or could balance out the loss of the gauntlet with Nora's attacks. But none of it mattered to Yang, she was lost in the inferno now. The man before had tried to kill Ruby twice, and was now helping a terrorist organisation attack their home, and he even had the gall to smile about it.

Raud grinned, his eyes turning wicked. "Alright… Let's do this." His grin turned into a wide baring of his teeth and he let out a battle cry as he leapt across the gap between them, swinging his axe in a black blur towards Nora.

Axe met hammer and the clang of steel on steel echoed across the grounds. A fraction of a second later, Magnhild's head exploded in a burst of pink, and Raud was knocked back a few metres. He maintained his footing this time, and stepped forward to attack again.

This time he let Nora swing first—she brought the massive hammer crashing down from above—and he spun to the side. As Magnhild crashed into the ground, he swung his axe at Nora's exposed side. Nora stepped forward and wrenched the haft of her hammer up, knocking Raud's blow up and over her head. She flipped forward and brought her hammer up as she right herself, then turned to face her opponent from across the small crater Magnhild had left in the ground.

Raud glanced to the side and collapsed his axe into a shield, raising it just in time to deflect Yang's punch. Her right fist, fuelled by her rage, slammed into the shield with a loud crash, and the shot that fired from Ember Celica slammed Raud into a tree. He bounced off it, unfazed by the impact, and smashed into Yang shield-first.

It was like getting hit by a truck.

Yang was launched up and back, then crashed to the ground on her side. She looked up in time to see Raud lunge towards her, only to be intercepted by Nora once again.

The orange-haired Huntress was like a whirlwind. Magnhild danced around her, a blur of grey punctuated by bursts of pink. It was all Raud could do to hold her flurry of vicious blows at bay. Shields were poorly designed for confrontations like this one; Nora was attacking so fast that Raud barely had time to lower his shield and see where the next blow was coming from before he had to raise again, blocking his view of the next one.

Yang got to her feet and glanced towards Beacon. The sound of battle were getting louder. She could hear people yelling, screaming. Damn it, she thought. How did they get inside? With a roar of frustration, she turned back around to the battle.

Nora was lying on the ground, and Raud's axe was swinging towards her face.

Her instincts took over, and Yang dodged to the side, barely avoiding the blow. Her hair was tussled by the wind of the axe blade slicing past, ever so close. As Raud stepped forward, following his axe, Yang grabbed the haft with both hands and spun away from the mercenary. He was pulled forward and around to the side, off balance. Something lightly caressed Yang's left wrist. She let out a angry roar as she swung around with all the strength she had and flung Raud into the grove of trees.

He crashed into a tree again, cracking the trunk this time, and let out a loud cry of pain. Yang's wrist tingled. She looked to the side for a moment and was relieved to see Nora getting back to her feet, eyes glued on Raud.

The two stood a few metres apart, facing their opponent, who was dragging himself to his feet. His breathing was ragged and sounded rough, like he was breathing through gritted teeth. He staggered towards them, his ace dragging along the ground. When he stood no more than ten metres away, he looked up.

His face was twisted in a horrific snarl. His teeth were bared and clenched tight; spittle flew out of his mouth as he breathed. His eyes were blood-shot and red; the fury behind them was inhuman. A thin trail of blood was running from one temple and down his cheek.

Yang almost took a step back in shock. Her hair blazed hotter as she stepped closer instead. Raud stepped towards them. Nora followed Yang.

Then they were charging.

Yang attacked first. She jumped the last metre of their approach and brought a fist down. Raud raised his shield and pushed Yang off to the side. Something slammed into legs and she screamed as she went down.

The pain was excruciating, but Yang forced herself back to her feet. Strangely, the pain didn't get any worse when she stood. Taking a moment to look down, she was confused to see nothing wrong with them. She looked unharmed.

Something slammed into her right shoulder, and Yang fell to one knee, crying out. She clutched her shoulder with her left hand and rolled to the side, away from the danger. When she got back to her feet, she saw Raud and Nora locked in battle almost twenty metres away.

Yang watched in elation as Nora rolled away from the fierce battle, collapsed Magnhild into its launcher form and fired a grenade straight into Raud's chest. The grenade exploded in a cloud of pink, sending Raud flying back.

Then Yang's chest caved in.

She shrieked in agony at what felt like a wrecking ball slamming into her chest. She fell to her knees and hunched forward until her forehead rested on the ground. Hunched over like this, Yang expected to see blood dripping to the ground from whatever wound she had on her chest, but there was nothing.

She was utterly unharmed.

Raud let out a cold, cruel laugh. Yang looked up and met Nora's gaze as the orange-haired Huntress gave her a concerned look. She looked back down at her chest. This time she saw something strange: a small, black mark on her left wrist. What the… It was only when Raud let out another laugh that she realised. Raud's semblance made other people feel pain for him. And Yang had been marked.

"Damn it," she hissed as she got to her feet.

Raud laughed again as he dragged himself to his feet. It wasn't until he looked up that Yang realised he wasn't laughing at her. His face was twisted, leering and bloodthirsty. The man had gone utterly insane. A drop of spittle ran from one side of his mouth; a drop of blood from the other. He began to laugh again, more of a low chuckle this time. The laugh escalated, growing louder, and he threw his head back as he laughed loud enough to drown out the sounds of battle inside Beacon. A moment later, the raucous laughter became a scream, and he was running at Nora.

Sparks flew as their weapons collided.

Yang was torn by indecision. She didn't know if she should tell Nora about Raud's semblance—that anytime Nora hit him, it would hurt Yang instead—or if she should just let them battle it out. Her fury burned, eager to see him defeated, but the pain made the choice a hard one.

Another surge of agony lanced through her side. It took all she had to not cry out. Nora needed to win. They couldn't afford to waste time worrying about Yang.

The two combatants parted, panting heavily. Both of them were grinning. Nora's expression was seemed more joyous than Raud's bloodthirsty snarl, but it was just as frightening in its own way. Yan shuddered at the sight and looked away, towards Beacon.

I should go and help, she thought. I'm no use here… But before she could move, another lance of pain drove her to her knees once more. When she looked up, Nora was kneeling on the ground nearby.

"You okay?" Nora called out, panting.

After a moment's hesitation, Yang nodded. "I'm good."

Nora nodded and turned her attention back to Raud. "This guy's tough." The guy in question was stalking towards them, breathing heavily.

Yang nodded. There was nothing for it, she realised. Nora needed help. Pain is temporary, she told herself. Get up, Yang. Fight. FIGHT!

The two Huntresses got to their feet and braced to leap once more into battle against the enraged mercenary. Nora swung her hammer back and leapt forward. Yang took the first step to follow—and then a white hot flame of agony lanced through her head as something slammed into the hollow where skull met spine. She heard a loud crack, saw the ground rush up to meet her, heard Nora call her name, and then everything went black.

A/N: Apologies for the shorter length of this chapter. There's a lot of things going on in different areas of the city, and I'm having to tell it all in shorter snippets, though I think the next chapter will be a longer one. And, alas, we are coming nearer to the end of this story. I think I'll have to have at least three or four more chapters, but I can't see it being any more than that... Anyway, hope you continue to enjoy it while it lasts. See you all next week.