Finally

Ringing.

Ringing and darkness.

Where was she, what had she been...? She shifted, and felt pain blossom from her left shoulder. She grit her teeth and pushed herself up on her right arm. Crimson hair cascaded down into the part of her vision that wasn't blocked by the cloud of dust and debris as she took a deep breath. The explosion must have knocked her flat.

Her sword and shield lay on the ground beside her. The blast had been powerful, completely taking her out just as she had finished off a soldier. Pyrrha stood, holding her left shoulder gingerly. It's dislocated. The warrior took a deep breath before yanking on the joint abruptly. She hissed through her teeth as the ball slid back into its socket. After a few rotations to be sure it had reset properly, she called her weapons back to her hands, before taking a good look at her surroundings.

She couldn't make out much. There was dust in every direction, obscuring the shipyard. The ringing in her ears had faded, but she couldn't hear any other noises besides her own ragged breaths and thumping heartbeat. The explosion seemed to have wiped out any remaining opponents. Small miracles, I guess. She just hoped that miracle hadn't taken her fiancé and her teammates too. Her emerald eyes slid shut as she concentrated and pushed her senses outward. She was no Ren, but she was familiar with feeling out others' Aura.

Please, please be okay.

It took only a few tension-filled seconds before she found them. Jaune's golden-white Aura pulsed strongly and steadily, and she felt herself release a held breath. He was okay. Nora's pink hue also flashed through her mind, but she couldn't feel Ren, and her relief was quickly replaced with dread. Without anymore delay she bolted through the smog toward her teammates. It didn't take long before their forms resolved from the murk. Jaune appeared to have just pulled himself into a sitting position, and Nora was still bent over the still from of her partner.

"Jaune," Pyrrha said breathlessly, her call quickly becoming a cough as a layer of dust coated her throat.

"Pyrrha!" he cried, leaping to his feet and running to her side. His arms slid around her and he pulled her tightly against his chest. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, holding her at arms length and inspecting her all over.

She waved off his concern. "I'm fine, Jaune. Nothing I can't handle. More importantly, Ren, is he...?"

The swordsman shook his head. "I don't know." He turned and moved to their fallen teammate. "Nora," he said gently, and rested a hand on the woman's shoulder. She didn't move, and Jaune looked worriedly at Pyrrha. Had the explosion knocked her out somehow? He turned back to Nora and opened his mouth to speak again but a small noise stopped him cold. The normally hyperactive ginger slowly looked up at them, turquoise eyes still watery. The dust and dirt has stuck to the tracks the tears had left down her face.

"Heartbeat," she whispered in a cracked voice, her fingers tightening into the red-stained fabric of her partner's jacket.

Jaune's eyes widened and he put two of his fingers to Ren's neck. The young man's face was pale, eyes sunken. He was so still. He didn't look good in any regard, but there was no denying the faint thrum of a heartbeat pulsing against his fingers. There was no more blood pouring from the bullet wounds either. As impossibly miraculous as it seemed, Ren was alive. He had survived.

Jaune's brow knit. As not dead as he might be, Ren was far from okay. He was still in critical condition, and the team leader knew that if they couldn't get him real medical assistance soon, this victory would be short-lived. He reached a hand into one of his pouches. Please tell me my scroll survived. Luck seemed to be on his side, though, as he extracted the device. He quickly punched the necessary buttons and held the device in front of him as the call went through.

There was a beat of silence before the other end was picked up. "Jaune?" Captain Reynold's voice was level, but Jaune could detect a hint of worry through the burst of static that followed. "Thank Dust you're alright, what's going on? That explosion wiped out a few square blocks."

"It was a trap. They were ready for us," he replied, and he felt the truth of those words tie weights around his stomach. Roman had known they were coming, and had planned out his countermeasures accordingly. If he had to take a guess, that explosion had been the surprise the criminal had prepared for his friends. Which didn't bode well at all. Before he could deal with that, though, he had to help his teammate. The woman of team RWBY were strong. They could take care of themselves for a few more minutes.

He hoped.

"Captain, we need immediate extraction. I'm sending you my coordinates. And have Jonathan ready."

"On our way. Is everything alright?"

Jaune glanced at Ren, still lying there motionless. He had never found his teammate's stillness so unnerving until this moment. "Ren's down."

There was hiss of white noise. "We'll be there in thirty."

A hand fell on his shoulder, and he turned to look at Pyrrha for a moment before sapphire eyes turned to where a column of black smoke still stood imprinted upon the sky.

"Do you think they're okay?" He asked, voice tired.

Pyrrha considered her words. "I don't know," she finally answered. "But if there's anyone who could survive that blast, it would be them."

"I hope so," he murmured. I'm sick of losing people, he added internally, and Pyrrha's grip on his shoulder tightened for a moment, as if she had heard him. "C'mon, the Shadowswift will be here any second. We need to have Ren ready to go." He stooped over, throwing one of the unconscious man's arms over his shoulder and hauling him to his feet.

The red-haired warrior stood still a moment longer, staring at the plume.

Please be alright, everyone.

Yang was alive. She wasn't really sure how, but she wasn't going to complain. Though, honestly, she wasn't one hundred percent certain she was alive. She could hear nothing, see nothing. Her head was spinning so hard that she may as well have been floating. Maybe that's what being dead felt like. Who knew?

But she could still feel the rough concrete of the warehouse floor chilling her back, and the acrid stench of smoke and burnt human hair lingered in her nose, so she was still pretty sure she was alive. She pushed herself up on her elbows and glanced around, trying to discern anything in the darkness. It didn't take long before her eyes began to adjust, but she was still confused as to what exactly she was seeing. Something surrounded her on all sides and over her head. It was haphazard and uneven, as if someone had just thrown together random pieces of scrap into a vaguely dome-like shape. Whatever it was, it had saved her.

Small beams of light shone down through the gaps in between different sections of the structure, and Yang could make out several broken pieces lying on the floor. It seemed the dome had only barely held out against the force of the blast. But what is this? Where did it-

All thoughts dropped from Yang's mind as her eyes settled on the still form of her partner, lying only a few feet from her. Her head stopped spinning, and her thoughts became crystal clear. Everything came back to her. Whatever this was, Blake had made it. The blonde leaped to her partner's side, ignoring the dull throb of pain her body gave her in response to the sudden movement. She could care less. The only thing she cared about was Blake.

One hand wrapped around the brunette's waist while the other gently cupped the base of her skull and lifted her up. "Blake," she whispered. "Please, Blake, open your eyes." There was no response from the young woman, and Yang could feel a horrible, clawing desperation began to tear at her stomach. She couldn't breathe, it felt like her world was shattering all over again. "God, no, please, Blake. Stay with me, please." Her face was so pale, so still. "Don't leave me," Yang whimpered.

With a stuttering breath, the faunus' eyes slid open. She coughed as the dust filled her mouth. "Yang," she said, when the it had resided. "What-" The brawler cut her off though by throwing both arms around her neck and squeezing. "Yang?"

"I thought you were dead," Yang said in a trembling voice, and Blake could feel her entire body shaking. She had been so scared.

Blake gently returned the embrace, burying her face in the crook of Yang's neck. "I'm okay," she said softly. "I used up too much Aura and passed out." She felt her partner nod against her shoulder. "I won't be moving for awhile, though." Her limbs had no energy left in them. It had taken everything she had just to get her arms around Yang. Her head was on fire and there was a piercing pain behind her eyes, blurring her vision slightly. Blake must have been a hairsbreadth from burning out her nervous system from overexerting her Aura. Yang didn't need to know that, though. She was distressed enough already. Besides, they had more important things to worry about. Blake glanced around, and was reassured to see Sun lying on the floor not far from them. He appeared to be breathing, through still unconscious.

Yang pulled back from her, and one of her hands came up to gently cup Blake's cheek. "I'm so happy you're alive. If you died I couldn't-" the words caught in her throat and she looked away, but a caress on her own face brought violet back to meet golden.

"I've told you before I'm not going anywhere."

The blonde nodded and covered Blake's hand in hers. She closed her eyes and focused on the warmth that flowed from the faunus into her, on the soft thump of her partner's heartbeat. Her mind calmed. "How did you save us?"

Blake looked up at the misshapen dome covering them and touched the belt of Dust crystals at her waist. "I infused my Semblance with the earth Dust and created as many shadows as I could before the blast. It took nearly all of my Aura, but it looks like it held." Yang turned to inspect the structure again, now able to pick out legs, arms, finger, and Blake's general shape copied over and over again. The amount of clones she had created in those brief seconds was unbelievable. "I couldn't get to Weiss, though," Blake continued, voice defeated and hollow. "I couldn't save her. I didn't have the time, I couldn't-" she choked as her eyes filled with tears. She had failed to save another teammate. She had let them take another. She was a failure.

Yang watched her partner began to break down, and couldn't think of a word to say. She was angry with herself. She had seen Weiss go into Aura rage, had watched her separate herself from them. She should have done something. Should have gone after her and dragged her back. Instead she had left her alone, and now she was gone. Another of her teammates was dead. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to Blake, but closed it as large boom sounded outside the dome, and the floor shook .

The two Huntresses exchanged looks, and Yang rose to her feet. Two quick jabs with Ember Celica, and the blackened stone crumpled beneath her fists, opening a large hole in the side of Blake's protective structure. The brawler stepped out, fists raised in a ready position. She didn't know what had caused that noise, but she wasn't going to be caught unawares if it was hostile. Behind her, Blake barely managed to pull herself to the newly-formed opening so she could see.

The warehouse around them was gone. All that remained to show that it had ever stood there was a screw large sheets of metal siding strewn around. Steel beams lay half embedded in the concrete, and there were even a few crates that seemed to have survived the blast. This bomb didn't appear to have been quite as powerful as the one that Roman had used in the Atlas proper a few days prior.

Boom.

A thick cloud of dust lay over everything, making it impossible to spot what was making the noise, but she thought she saw something move a ways off. Yang squinted through the murk, as her eyes adjusted to the brighter environment. She took a few steps forward. And juked abruptly to the side as an I-beam came hurtling out of the unknown, pointed directly at her head. She snapped back to ready position and fired off three rapid shots in the direction the attack had come from. The projectiles exploded, bright flashes illuminating the area around them. Their noise was dampened in the smog. The screech that answered Yang's assault, however, was not, and she felt a chill creep down her spine.

Around her, the air temperature dropped, and all the dust and small pieces of debris began to be pulled past her, as if they were being sucked in by a powerful vortex. As the air cleared and Yang could see everything around her, she found out that that was exactly what was going on.

There, not more than fifty feet from her, was a towering, swirling, blindingly white vortex. Ice coated the floor at its base, growing ever outward with each passing second. Yang exhaled, and was startled to find that her breath was fogging in front of her face. Violet eyes widened as they focused on the maelstrom of energy. She knew what this was, who this was.

"Weiss," Blake whispered behind her. The Aura Rage must have protected her somehow. To even withstand an explosion of that magnitude with no defenses except Aura itself…Aura Rage was much more powerful than she had ever thought.

Yang gritted her teeth and readjusted her weight. Her instincts were on fire, but she ignored them as she took a step forward.

"Yang?" Blake questioned. "What are you doing?" The blonde took another step. "Yang, stop! You can't fight her! She's too powerful!" Another step. "Your Aura's not even functioning. Yang, please!" She cried, and the crack in her voice nearly made Yang's feet falter.

But she was done running away. She was done fleeing and hiding and letting other people take care of everything while she just watched. She was sick of losing people close to her. Never again. She had abandoned Weiss once before. She refused to repeat that mistake.

And so Yang took another step forward. And then another, and another, until she was running, plunging headlong towards the wildly unpredictable, lethal, Aura-fueled monster that had taken her teammate's place.

Blake watched her partner charge at Weiss. There was no way she could stand up to Weiss as she was now. Anxiety and desperatation clawed at her heart, but she couldn't move. Her muscles were dead, there was no strength anywhere in her body, and she could summon no Aura. She was doomed to sit here and watch as her teammate killed the woman she loved. "Yang!" she screamed.

The first attack came as soon as Yang's foot touched the encroaching frost. A spear of ice shot out of the sheet covering the ground. The blonde spun around the icicle, but still felt the tip scrape along the bottom of ribs. She hissed in pain. It was so cold it burned. It didn't deter her, though, and she continued running, being careful not to slip on the slick surface. Two more ice shafts sprung at her, one from either side. Yang jumped, planting one hand on the spears where they crossed over each other.

She hit the other side and her eyes widened as two arrows charged with red Dust came straight at her from the center of the vortex. Yang slid to her knees and leaned back until her head was nearly touching the ice. Her momentum carried her forward, and she watched as the arrows soared over her face with only a few inches to spare. And then she was back on her feet. Another ice shaft shot at her, but she spun under it on a single knee, and moved straight into an uppercut, knocking another arrow into the air. The follow up arrow caught her in the left shoulder, punching clean through the flesh and leaving Yang's left arm hanging limply.

The brawler bit back a cry of pain. Two more steps put her at the edge of the swirling storm of Aura. She could make out the shape of Weiss within. Yang jumped forward, reaching out her hand as she did so. As soon as she passed into the overpowering white that surrounded Weiss, she felt the air disappear from her lungs. The area within was so cold it felt as though time itself has frozen. She'd die if she stayed here for more than a second. Fortunately, her aim was true, and she felt her palm slam into Weiss' face. Yang tightened her grip and burst out the other side of the maelstrom, dragging along the heiress.

They hit the ground, and she lost her grip on the other Huntress as she tumbled to a stop. Her shoulder ached and her muscles screamed at her, but Yang pushed herself to her feet, spreading her legs and bringing her one good arm up in defense. Across from her, Weiss rose to her feet, and Yang had to suppress a shudder at how unearthly it looked. As soon as the heels of her white boots made contact with the floor, however, Weiss darted forward in a flash, rapier extended and aimed at Yang's heart.

The brawler twisted out of the way, feeling the cold air as the Huntress blew past her. A second later something constricted around her throat and yanked her after the white-haired woman. She grasped at the thick fiber wrapped around her neck as she was lifted into the air and slammed back into the concrete. The blow knocked the air from her lungs and made her dizzy. Pyracantha shifted forms, leaving her airway open again, but Yang knew that was not a good sign. She rolled backward as three arrows slammed into the spot she had just been. She stumbled to her feet just as all of the arrows exploded, pitching her backward.

She hit the stone for what felt like the twentieth time that day. Before she could even recover, a line a ice swords came swooping down at her from above. The Huntress rolled to the side, managing to avoid the majority of them. One drove through her right thigh, though, momentarily pinning her to the ground. She slammed her fist into the frosty blade and fired a round from her gauntlets, shattering it. With a hiss of pain, Yang yanked herself off of the ice, ignoring the stabbing pain and warm blood trickling down her leg. She couldn't stop if she wanted to help Weiss, or even if she just wanted to live through this.

A glyph materialized above her, and she somersaulted forward without thinking. Not a second too late, as Weiss stabbed downward directly where her head had been. Yang landed on a knee and spun, firing a sharp blow from Ember Celica as she did so. Weiss didn't even flinch as she batted the projectile aside with her bare hand. Yang's eyes burned crimson as she glared at Weiss's pupilless ones.

I don't stand a chance if I can't get close to her. She'll dominate me at ranged.

Yang threw her arm behind her and fired her gauntlet, pelting straight at Weiss. The other Huntress lifted two fingers. A glyph appeared in front of Yang on the ground, and a five foot solid stone wall shot out of it a moment later. The blonde vaulted the obstacle with no issue. Upon clearing it, she felt an enormous force grab her and slam her to the ground. A black glyph rotated on the concrete beneath her.

"Shit," she spat. She looked up to find Myrtenaster already a few inches from her face. Yang's reflexes took over, and she moved her head to the left, barely dodging the tip of the sword, though it still managed to open a gash on her cheek. The knee that promptly followed the sword, however, she was not so lucky to dodge. It crashed into her face, throwing her head back into stone behind her, and after a moment of resistance, through it. The Dust-made wall shattered beneath the sheer force of the blow. Yang skidded along the ground and came to a stop. Her vision was going dark around the edges, and her body felt light. She couldn't move her limbs. Aw…fuck…so that's it then…

Yang's eyes fell shut. Why did I think I could save her? I couldn't save Ruby. Couldn't save anything.

Something flared inside of her, and Yang's eyes snapped open. She pressed her hands into the ground and threw herself backward through the air, narrowly avoiding the sword that impaled the concrete. Weiss howled in anger.

Yang landed on her feet and took a few unsteady steps backward. What just happened? She couldn't fully explain it, but she had known that attack was coming. And she had a sudden burst of energy. She could move again. Even her injured arm was functioning, albeit shakily. What was going on?

As Weiss ripped her rapier from the ground and glided toward her, Yang decided it didn't really matter what had just happened, just that she took advantage of it. Weiss stabbed at her, blade coated in ice, but Yang curved herself around the attack. The heiress went to draw Pyracantha to slash across Yang's chest, but the brawler's right hand landed on top of hers, keeping the second weapon sheathed.

"Not this time." Her left hand slammed directly into Weiss' face. Yang felt her arm tremble and threaten to give out, but she managed to follow through and let off a point blank round. It was Weiss' turn to fly backward and crash to the ground. She was on her feet a second later, though. Her face was steaming, but Yang's attack hadn't left a single scratch on her.

I have to end this soon. She's going to start doing damage to herself soon, and I'm not really doing so hot myself. Her body was aching, and it was taking all of her concentration to keep her left arm up. Weiss glared at her before launching herself toward Yang with a glyph. That's gonna be my best opportunity. Now or never. She brought her hands up in her standard guard and shot forward.

A group of ice swords flew at her, but Yang managed to duck, dodge, and weave through the assault. She didn't know why, but she could move better than she could before. Adrenaline's a hell of a drug, I suppose. The two Huntresses reached each other, and a flurry of blows followed that Yang had trouble keeping up with. She deflected Myrtenaster only to have Pyracantha rake its way across her abdomen. She managed to give a blow for every one she received, but her strength was beginning to flag. She couldn't sustain this much longer. But still, no openings for her to finish this had appeared. Hell, she didn't even know if she could finish this, just that she had to try.

Yang didn't notice the glyph until it was too late.

"Fuck!" she cursed as the gravity pulled her to her knees. She pushed against the force, but couldn't budge an inch. Weiss was too strong in this state. Yang looked up at the heiress, expecting her to attempt another killing blow while she was pinned, but was surprised to find she had taken a step back. She held Myrtenaster vertical and closed her eyes. Yang recognized that stance, and began struggling all the harder against the glyph holding her down.

The clock face sprung into existence underneath Weiss, and her form began to vibrate. White eyes snapped open as approximately ten glyphs appeared in the air around Yang. Weiss leapt into the midst of them, no more than a white flash.

The first attack came even faster than Yang had expected. Myrtenaster stabbed through her left knee as Pyracantha cut a line across her forehead. The next one placed two slashes across her back.

She was so fast, Yang couldn't even begin to hope to keep up.

Yet, somehow, she was managing to avoid damage to any vital areas. Dozens of cuts, holes, and wounds were appearing all over her body, but somehow she always had an idea where the next attack was going to come from. She moved as much as she could to prevent a killing blow.

Above! her instincts screeched, and Yang knew it was now. Now was her chance. If she could meet Weiss as she was coming down, she had a chance. She threw everything she had left into breaking free of the control. Her muscles strained, veins popped and bulged. Whether it was Yang's sheer strength, or that the glyph had been weakened by Weiss's concentration being elsewhere, she didn't know, but the glyph beneath her shattered, and Yang shot to her feet. She spun and drew back her arm. Weiss was already hurtling toward her from above.

Yang's fist shot forward as she felt Myrtenaster slide between her ribs and out her back.

The blonde smiled. "Surprise!" her hand clamped down on Weiss's arm, locking it there. The other Huntress tried to pull away, but Yang's grip was iron. The heiress tried to bring Pyracantha to bear, but Yang's left arm wrapped around her, pinning Weiss's right to her side. She could feel the heat pouring off of the white-haired woman's skin, and she knew she was at her limit. Any longer in Rage, and the damage may be irreparable.

Weiss struggled and fought, but Yang had locked her down. "It's about time you woke up, don't you think, Weiss?" The huntress didn't seem to notice her though, and continued to try and break free. "I said," Yang reared her head back. "Wake up!" She whipped forward, crashing her forehead into Weiss' with an impact that rattled down her spine. She felt her skin split at the point of collision, and could see that Weiss' had done likewise.

The last of her strength expended, Yang's grip on her teammate loosened. Weiss didn't step away though, a look of pure shock plastered across her face. Yang wasn't sure if what she had done would work, but it had been the only thing she could think of. Besides, her vision was growing dark again, and this time she didn't think she'd be coming back. She had done all she could.

Weiss stood there, pupilless eyes focused on seemingly nothing. The headbutt had clearly dazed her. Then she twitched, and Yang prepared to feel death's icy embrace, quite literally in this case. Instead, though, the temperature around her starting rising. The sheer pressure from Weiss' presence faded away to almost nothing, and Yang's nerves, even in their burned out and fraying state, calmed.

The heiress's eyes slowly unclouded, and Yang never thought she'd be so fucking happy to see that shade of ice blue in her life.

Weiss blinked, slowly becoming of aware of Yang, and Yang's current state.

"Y-Yang? What-"

Yang smiled. A real, genuine, smile. She had done it. She had saved Weiss. She had saved at least one person. And that was enough. "Good morning, princess," she said shakily, before coughing up a glob of blood.

"Yang!" Weiss cried, voice now positively filled with panic.

A shaky hand reached up and rested itself on the heiress' shoulder.

"I-It's alright, Weiss. You'll b-be fine now," Yang coughed again, and she realized she couldn't feel her limbs anymore. As her vision went black, she had one last thought.

I saved her, Ruby. I saved her.

And Yang slid into the abyss, satisfied that she'd finally made her sister proud.

A/N: Hello, everyone! I have returned yet again to destroy your emotions! Muahahaha!

Okay, but no, seriously, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I actually had quite a bit of fun writing it, whenever I finally managed to get past my block. It's been awhile since I did a real action scene, so I hope that came out alright. Please let me know what you guys think!

Couple quick things. First, some shameless self-promotion. In between the last chapter and this one, I wrote a little one-shot featuring Emerald and Mercury for the RWBY subreddit June MonCon competition called Green vs. Silver. In case of any of you would be interested in a more light-hearted sample of my writing, hahaha. Oh, and for those of you who read it and voted for me in the competition, thank you! I actually won that month! You guys are awesome! :D

Secondly, and I'm sure you guys might be sick of this, but I wanted to say thank you once again. You guys are amazing. It makes me so happy everytime I post a new chapter and there's such a large reaction to it, no matter how long it's been. Seriously, it's the best feeling in the world, and the reason I keep writing. So thank every single one of you for being, frankly, fucking awesome.

Until next time my friends!