Chapter 39

Swan Song

The AA-22 bullhead was the finest aircraft in the Atlesian military and considered a symbol of the kingdom's immense strength and elegance. A lesser model had been produced for huntsmen purposes, but the Schnee Dust Company had kept the superior model for escorting the kingdom's elite, namely the SDC's namesake.

While many other military bullheads had a shock and awe approach to battle with loud engines to startle Grimm, the AA-22 preferred to take its prey out silently with as few survivors as possible. It had been described as a technical marvel and a break through decades in the making, but to the old man who'd spent most of his long life designing it, his greatest joy had come from having an airship that didn't give his two beloved granddaughters headaches.

As state of the art as the bullhead was however, even the SDC's finest had avoided conflict with the flock of Nevermores that had nearly destroyed a squad of inferior AA-17s before leveling an entire plaza. While the prized airship would've normally flown into battle without hesitation manned by the most experienced pilots and gunners the military provided, they were carrying a VIP and were under direct orders by the General himself to deliver her to the perimeter walls before they could fall.

Inside the cramped airship sat over two dozen soldiers in white, shiny armor giving their weapons and equipment one last inspection out of nervous habit. A young girl however had been given space by the open doors and seemed far more concerned about the those down below rather than her destination.

Her peculiar green eyes had a faraway look to them, but despite the smoke and ash she felt no physical discomfort. A part of her couldn't help but feel as though she should be on the ground fighting Grimm experiencing the chaos first hand. Something was drawing her out the open door and she felt something familiar the further she leaned out.

Excitement, and a rush that she couldn't describe. She had been feeling a lot of that ever since her last unsupervised day in the city.

A gloved hand fell atop her's which were positioned as if they were saying a prayer. She glanced up to see a soldier sporting red shoulder pads and accents across his chest denoting him as an officer staring back at her. His upper face was hidden behind a black visor that reflected curly orange hair that partially covered her glowing eyes.

She could see herself frowning, but the soldier gave a comforting smile and a gentle squeeze before releasing her hand.

"Are you alright, miss Penny?" he asked, keeping his voice low knowing she'd have no problem hearing him over the roaring wind.

The girl peeked down at the city before staring back at herself. She blinked several times as if to rid herself of tears that weren't there.

"I'm fine," she said, playing with her thumbs.

*hic*

She quickly covered her mouth making it look as though she was simply wiping her chin.

"It's just-" She glancing out the door again. "I don't understand what's going on, or why we left those soldiers when those blackbirds attacked."

Seeing the bullhead burst into flames seconds after being sliced in two was still playing in her mind and it hurt to think about.

"I could have helped." She reached for her backpack but the officer steadied her hand.

"I know you could, miss Penny, but General Ironwood and your father gave us direct orders to only engage the Grimm outside the walls."

She glanced down and bit her lip, a habit she had picked up in the past two weeks. "I should have been down there with that creature."

The soldier cocked his head so her features appeared crooked. "You mean with that Alpha Deathstalker?"

Penny nodded absently. She had felt a strange pull while flying over the white scorpion but couldn't understand why, neither could she understand the spontaneous fear she'd been overcome by when the airships had opened fire killing the creature before it could cause any more damage. When the blackbirds had appeared causing several bullhead to crash into a buildings, she would have jumped out of the airship if she hadn't been stopped by the red soldier and his blue partner sitting beside him.

"Those poor men..." She shook her head thinking of the soldiers who had always been so very kind to her. Another soldier sitting across from the pair overheard and smiled sympathetically at the young girl who looked too innocent to be a huntress in-training.

"Don't worry, kid," he said trying to brighten her spirits. "They were AA-17 bullheads manned by AK-130s. Nothing but scrap metal."

Penny cast her eyes down at her interlocked fingers and bit her lip with a little more force.

'Nothing but scrap metal...'

The soldier in blue stared back at their comrade giving him a silent command to never speak again while the one in red leaned over her shoulder.

"Miss Penny?" he asked worriedly.

The bullhead began to shake as if hitting turbulence, causing everyone to grimace and grab hold onto something. Penny on the other hand gripped the doorframe staring out to the ground below as if seeing through the black smoke and glanced back at the red and blue officers. She saluted and took a step back.

"I'm combat ready." She closed her eyes and let the high winds suck her out the door.

"MISS PENNY!" the officers cried, reaching out for her but had their heads whipped back as the airship came to a sudden halt. They had finally reached the fourth quadrant of the southern walls, or what was soon to be left of them.

As all the soldiers stood up and tied themselves to their cables the officers quickly blocked the exits.

"If she so much as gets a scratch Ironwood is gonna kill us," Blue muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Red ignored him and glanced at the soldiers he didn't recognize, doing a poor job of hiding his displeasure. Only he and his partner had originally been assigned to escorting their VIP, but as they were boarding the bullhead her father had ordered more security. Not that she needed it of course.

"Uh, shouldn't we follow her?" asked someone raising their hand.

"And why are we babysitting a Polaris student?" asked another.

'Believe me,' Blue thought to himself. 'She's not the one who needs babysitting...'

"Listen up!" Red yelled, cocking his shotgun for no other reason than effect as he highly doubted it would actually be needed.

"Two things you need to remember. One is your duty to not only Atlas, but also to all the people of Remnant. The civilians of Vale are depending on us to keep them safe tonight, and make sure they still have a kingdom tomorrow."

The soldiers nodded with a few giving inspiring hollers as everything was still fresh in their minds from basic training.

"The second is-"

"-is far more important," Blue interrupted raising his voice. "Do not get in miss Penny's way if you don't wish to die, and do not let miss Penny get a scratch if you wish to live."

The soldiers swallowed. Just who exactly was this strange girl with hiccups?

"Everyone understand?" Red inquired.

"Yes sir!" they all cried dutifully.

The partners nodded and stepped out of the bullhead secured by their cables and with only a moment of hesitation were followed by their comrades with sweaty palms.

Falling toward the ground the air was thick with smoke and ash causing several of the men to cough and choke while their white armor was quickly darkened. Flames highlighted what little could be seen and they began searching for the perimeter walls.

Just as the officers began to wonder if the pilot had made an error, they saw what looked to be debris laying every where. Casting their eyes to the side, they saw that a giant hole had been punched through the wall and things were crawling out of the ground, swarming the area and trying to enter the city while small flames floated in the air.

From the treeline in the distance they could see a wave of darkness rushing towards the city. Even if Grimm were cleared out daily around the walls the creatures seemed to breed during times of strife. These were mostly juveniles however with little to no armor, but what was pouring out of the ground was pure ivory.

"Creeps!" someone yelled as the nightmares came into view.

Large reptilian creatures standing on two legs and completely covered in ivory armor were staring up at the sky as if waiting for their next meal, and when looking at their enormous jaws and razor sharp teeth the soldiers' Mark VII armor began to feel like cardboard. The underworld dwelling Grimm were quickly forgotten however as what had at first been mistaken for small flames were turning out to be golden orbs hanging in the air swaying side to side.

"Deathstalkers!"

While all their eyes were on the ancient Grimm and the carnage, the red and blue officers were focused on the young girl who had just swatted a pair of Beowolves out of the way before stopping a Deathstalker's stinger from crashing down with a single hand.

Her backpack began to glow like her eyes and ten swords unfolded dancing around her as if possessed. With the flick of her wrist the scorpion begun dissipating before its head even had time to hit the ground.

As the soldiers fell closer to the awaiting jaws of forest and subterranean Grimm, several of the men began to scream causing the girl to look up and take a deep breath.

Penny's hair began blowing the opposite direction of the black smoke and she disappeared in a cloud of red. The soldiers were blinded by crimson as they landed and began swatting the air in front of their visors to disrupt the storm, but once it began to settle they saw the Grimm evaporating.

Several of the men began to question what they had witnessed and the only two who didn't seem surprised or alarmed were the officers who let their weapons hang lazily in their arms.

A soft hum was heard and everyone turned as the girl with glowing green eyes came into view surrounded by her blades.

"She's not human..." someone in the back whispered.

Penny cupped her hands around the rose petals before they could fall to the ground and hugged them tightly to her chest. She whispered something to herself before bouncing on the balls of her feet and glancing up at the gawking soldier who had spoken.

"Yes I am." Penny opened her hands and blew the rose petals away watching them scatter before turning to face the hordes of Grimm that were charging from all directions.

'Thank you Ruby.'

The residential district glowed orange like the rest of the city causing the rain clouds above to have a fiery hue. Before setting, the sun had tried to peek through one last time but now the shattered moon stayed hidden as if haunted by what it had briefly seen.

The City of Vale was renown for its bright and colorful lights, and it was not uncommon for those shopping in the commercial district to forget that dusk had fallen when their entire world was illuminated. The streets of gold brought joy to every heart and being able to see the CCT from across the city meant you could never be lost. And in the distance, the faint flickering of the Emerald Tower reminded everyone they were safe. But not any more...

Now it was difficult to see thirty feet without black smoke impairing your sight and causing your eyes to water.

It was this excuse that a fifteen-year-old girl wearing a red cape was using to explain her misty eyes as she stared at her partner's pocket scroll unable to blink the wetness away. Droplets fell through the hologram as her finger followed the thin line indicating a tunnel as it looped around the city before coming to a halt in the residential district.

She was good at reading maps, so following the tunnel from the mountain to the city was easy, especially since she could still remember how her empty stomach had sloshed at every bend the train had gone around. What she couldn't understand however was how she had missed seeing the line disappear at the river before reappearing on the other side where millions of citizens lived. Torchwick's words came back laughing at her.

'It's all my fault...'

She sat atop Crescent Rose letting her feet dangle as her right arm curled against her chest. Her boots were half-buckled and loosely tied so as not to put too much pressure on her injured feet, but just enough so they didn't slip off.

Her legs had long since fallen asleep which she was grateful for as it meant the pain was pushed aside for the time being. A bandage had been neatly wrapped around her right shoulder so tightly she couldn't raise the arm above shoulder length, but since she hadn't been able to do that without gut wrenching pain she didn't find herself minding too much.

The red tips of her dirty hair kept having to be blown out of her eyes and she had half a mind to rid herself of the problem with her scythe. She couldn't remember the last time she'd received a proper haircut, which normally involved the bathroom mirror and scissors. Her partner had tried to clean her face but was only able to scrape off one or two layers of dirt before the younger girl's uncooperativeness had forced her to give up.

The silver in her eyes looked exhausted, and despite the flames all around she didn't feel any less cold. Through the grime her pale skin almost shined due to aura exhaustion, and looked like she could fall over at any minute.

A familiar hand brushed her matted hair to the side and wiped away some of the wetness of her cheeks. The calloused fingers were rough against her skin but always felt soft in her mind.

"I don't know how you do it, Rubes." Yang flared her semblance as if she were lighting a candle. "Having my hair in so many knots would drive me crazy."

She wrapped an arm around her while continuing to play with her hair wishing to brush it out. Her hand grazed Ruby's bandaged shoulder and instinctively she began checking to make sure the wraps were still tight and that her stubborn sister hadn't loosened them. Once Yang was satisfied she couldn't swing Crescent Rose over her head, she began inspecting her countless other cuts, bruises, and burns she'd accumulated like a mother hen fixing her chicks' feathers.

When she licked her thumb to remove dirt from her face was where Ruby drew the line, but Yang ignored her causing the girl to puff out her cheeks, and she found herself pleased that her baby sister could still be embarrassed despite her dark mood.

Grimacing, Ruby glanced at her sister's muscular arm still around her and saw that the black tar of the Deathstalker had been removed from Ember Celica, and the metal around the right barrels were no longer bent.

The blonde followed her line of sight again pleased that her sister's unhealthy obsession with weapons remained. "Pyrrha fixed them with her semblance," she explained, "along with Jaune and her's shields."

Ruby nodded remembering how they'd been cracked in the fight but didn't raise her eyes off the chipped yellow paint.

"But these will be needing their mechanic when we get back to Beacon." Yang placed her larger hand atop Ruby's hoping the memories of sweating in Signal's machine shop helping her older yet mechanically ignorant and/or impatient sister build her gauntlets might bring a smile to her face.

If Weiss was the unofficial medic of the team then Ruby was without question its mechanic, or in her own words, 'Team RWBY's doctor of things that stab other things that are also a gun'. She even had a binder formerly belonging to Weiss stating as such written in red crayon, as well as a certificate she'd printed out to make it official.

The young girl had built one of Remnant's deadliest weapons before her fourteenth birthday and named it Crescent Rose like it was family, and had practically built Ember Celica to keep her sister from injuring herself with a power saw. After begging Blake on her hands and knees, the faunus finally had let her tinker with Gambol Shroud, and after only a few short hours had improved its firing rate to make up for its lack of power and made its transformations even more fluid. The only weapon she rarely touched anymore was Myrtenaster, but only because Weiss had threatened to freeze her in an ice cube if she ever caught her partner disassembling her beloved rapier again.

When the heiress wasn't looking however, Ruby still liked to pretend she was a champion duelist in the mirror, and despite her threat and catching her countless times, Weiss did find Myrtenaster's cylinder spinning much smoother after her partner's meddling. Even the' finest work of Atlas could be improved in the hands of the caped-girl, but right now Ruby didn't want to be in a machine shop fixing weapons. She wanted to be in the residential district killing Grimm with them.

"Is everyone ready?" she asked, causing her sister to shake the memories of better days away.

Yang's lilac eyes glanced back to their teammates sitting in a semicircle with JNPR and their dimly lit aura shields. A small conversation was taking place but as Blake massaged her throat Yang could see the black bow twitching in their direction, and from Weiss' sideways glances at her wrist scroll she could tell they were worried about Ruby, and herself. She on the other hand couldn't help but feel worried seeing their scars and how banged up her friends had become.

Blake no longer looked like the predator she had once been while fighting the White Fang or even the stubborn prey refusing to die against the Deathstalker. Weiss' Atlesian tan had somehow found a way to become even paler than Yang thought possible and no longer carried the air of an heiress. While they were both just seventeen-year-old girls, in the back of her mind Yang remembered the old expression her uncle used, 'trial by fire'. If their singed clothing and burns were any indication they'd been through just that, and she couldn't have been any prouder of her teammates. Especially its leader and smallest member.

Ruby repeated the question but Yang pretended not to hear, which was easy since her eardrums were still ringing from the multiple explosions she'd been a part of.

The blonde felt as though a building had collapsed atop of her and remembered one did in fact. Her semblance had been shut down by the Deathstalker's stinger exploding but could feel the embers starting to rekindle. She had to keep her breathing steady so as not to accidentally fully activate her semblance and waste any more valuable aura. Just flaring it occasionally was dangerous but it seemed to keep the flames content and made her sister feel better.

After thousands of hours of training she knew her body couldn't take much more punishment. Like her sister's semblance, Yang's put a massive strain on her body but didn't necessarily need much aura to use it effectively. The fuel to the fire was rage and her aura absorbing punishment, and while she wasn't looking forward to staring through crimson eyes and communicating in grunts and roars, she would do whatever it took to protect her baby sister and friends.

"Yang..."

"Well-" She scratched her neck. "Jaune's shoes took longer to get back on the right feet than we thought they would, but-"

Ruby glanced up causing Yang to pause and regard just how tired her sister was, and just how much she looked like Summer.

"Everyone's ready, Rubes." She ran her hand across bare skin were a Grimm had drawn blood. "Are you?" A part of her was praying she would say no and stay seated where she was safe from the monsters.

To answer her question, the caped-girl slid out of the embrace and off her scythe, but kept a firm hand around the barrel while waiting for the feeling in her legs to return. Afterward she seemed uncertain which foot to put pressure on or which one hurt more, but she took a cautious step forward reminding Yang of someone testing the waters by dipping their toes.

Finally when she trusted herself to speak, Ruby threw her weapon over her good shoulder and wiped her face. "As ready as I'll ever be," She answered honestly, pulling her hood over and taking the first painful steps back to rejoining the team. The blonde frowned hearing her hoarse voice before following.

It had been by Yang's order that the two teams had taken time to bandage their wounds, recharge some aura, eat or drink, and get some well earned rest, but in that same time Ruby had felt the numbness of her painkillers slip away.

Her major and many of her minor injuries had been treated against her will, but it had brought some relief as did being off her feet for so long, though her sore muscles had even been given time to stiffen. But what small amount of aura she might have reclaimed was little more than a drop in a bucket for her injuries, and since she'd moved ahead two years she still hadn't mastered controlling its flow. While her supply of aura was greater than Weiss' and just shy of Blake's, she had by far the slowest recharge on the team, and from Jaune's dull light brightening it appeared even his might be quicker.

An awkward step on uneven ground caused her to grimace and under her hood she could feel every eye watching as she did her best not to limp back to her friends. She bit her tongue so as not to make a sound and made it a point not to use Crescent Rose as a crutch or a walking stick. Instead to keep her balance she rested it over her shoulders, something that she'd learned from watching her uncle when he'd had too much to drink, meaning she had years of experience to pull from.

Just like how she could feel everyone watching her, Ruby could feel her sister's warm presence hovering nearby ready to catch her if she were to suddenly stumble. In the back of her mind there was some comfort knowing her big sis always had her back, but there was a greater sense of pride walking on her own tattered feet that reminded her that she was training to be a huntress at the finest academy on Remnant.

She had been made the youngest team leader in Beacon's illustrious history and had been recruited by the headmaster himself, but Ruby would never admit to being a prodigy and frankly detested the word. She knew she was talented and took a lot of pride in the fruits of her hard work, but everything she did was because she honestly believed that was what a huntress was supposed to be. It was what her mother had been, and what her teammates were in her eyes.

Her boots came to a halt just outside the semicircle kicking up gravel loose pavement. She took a moment to regain her breath, relieved she had made it so far and began focusing on standing upright.

Yang glanced around the weary faces and bloodstained clothes. The only one who seemed intact and still have their fighting spirit was Pyrrha who was as impenetrable-looking as her armor. The former four time regional champion had a reputation to uphold, but also needed to look strong for her friends who all looked up to her. Yang though could tell it was for show. She knew because she had been doing the very same for most of her life.

A heavy silence was in the air as was a dark mood that seemed to reflect what was left of their auras. While Pyrrha was sitting up straight and Jaune looking expectantly at his fellow leader, Ren and Nora were leaning against each other staring toward the south. The hammer girl had recovered a bit but still looked exhausted, a trait normally associated with her partner who for his part was no longer holding his cracked ribs, but using so much aura had left him severely drained and sluggish.

Ruby couldn't help but feel responsible for their condition, and when she failed to speak up Weiss got to her feet and pulled what remained of her jacket's sleeve over the wrist scroll. Myrtenaster was at her side looking recently been polished and it's vials refilled.

"Well," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "what's our next move?"

Yang snorted and couldn't help but appreciate her direct approach. She was about as subtle as her sister, just not as inadvertently so.

When she didn't get a response the heiress tapped her foot. "We're waiting." Ruby finally lifted her head letting everyone see the weary eyes of a girl two years and in some cases closer to three their junior who was to give them orders. She glanced around wondering if they could see all that she was feeling.

"Go on, Ruby," Blake said in a voice that had become as raw as her throat. Yang caught a hint of pink skin between her fingers and not for the first time wished she'd punched Torchwick just a little harder.

When the caped-girl remained silent Weiss spoke up again. "Well I happen to have a plan." She paused as if waiting applause but when none came she continued. "You and I have a bet to win, Ruby Rose," she reminded her partner. "I am covered in filth and plan on taking a scalding hot shower and bath when we return from saving the city."

JNPR glanced at each other confused by what she was saying as if she were speaking a foreign language, which with her Atlesian accent was almost the case at times. Blake and Yang on the other hand were hiding smirks while Ruby's face remained passive.

"Hear that, Yang?" Weiss mocked raising her chin. "Everyone else will be getting warm water while you're shivering in your birthday suit."

Yang grinned devilishly and blew the hair out of eyes which flickered between red and lilac.

"And you," Weiss turned to Blake, somehow looking down her chin at someone half a foot taller. "Are you going to let a Schnee beat you? Just so you know, I'll never let you hear the end of it."

The faunus' breath was haggard but she met eyes with the girl in white then her partner's. "Don't-" she cleared her throat. "Don't complain to us when you have to take a shower as cold as you are, princess."

Weiss huffed and looked over at their sister team who were bewildered by the conversation taking place. "Let's show JNPR why we're winning the Vytal Festival and why my partner will be the youngest champion in history."

All their eyes turned to JNPR who got to their feet realizing this was Weiss' way of motivating her team.

"We'll just see about that," Jaune said as he grabbed Pyrrha's arm.

She felt two other being tugged and glanced down to see Ren and Nora nodding eagerly. Everyone was grinning but Ruby, and her sister could sense what was bothering her and adding extra weight to her teammates' already burdened shoulders. She had learned everything there was to know about her friends along with their auras, and knew what was haunting them in a city full of monsters. Guilt...

So long as her baby sister was safe it was the one thing Yang was free from and the furthest thing from her mind, but she had watched as it made prisoners of her friends in the past. She'd seen the same from her dad and uncle, and step-mother.

"This isn't any of our fault," she said, letting out as much warmth as she could spare.

Guilt and condemnation were dangerous to anyone but especially huntsmen and huntresses. Aura was tied to the person's soul, and if it was suffering then so were their powers. And as it happened she also didn't like that her friends were kicking themselves in the butt when that was her job.

"If it wasn't for us, Torchwick would've attacked during the Vytal Festival when thousands more tourists were here and would have had another month to stockpile dust."

Like Yang thought, at the mention of her family's legacy Weiss' eyes lowered as she recalled the SDC logos in the tunnels and couldn't help but feel partially responsible. Her family had given the White Fang the tools to destroy the City of Vale, and she doubted her father cared more about the victims than he did the lost profits.

"If you want someone to blame then start with the SOBs who set the bombs in the first place, or heck maybe the Grimm." When she didn't react Yang let her eyes and voice soften. "No one blames you, Weiss, and you aren't your father's company. If you feel like you need to make things right then that's exactly what we're gonna do."

The heiress' normally icy aura was warmed by the blonde's and she nodded in thanks before looking away. Yang next turned to face her partner, and not for the first time noticed how Blake had lost weight in the months since her first encounter with Torchwick and looked as though she hadn't slept in months. She was the definition of guilt affecting aura, and Yang believed it to be a true testament to how much stronger the girl was than she gave herself credit for. She'd never have made it so far otherwise.

She gave a quick glance at the black bow atop her head that was keeping an ear out for trouble and smiled. "Blake," she said softly, squeezing her arm. "You have more than made up for your ghosts, and you never ran away like you say you do. You chased the White Fang harder than any of us, and we wouldn't be here without you."

The faunus swallowed unable to speak for various reasons but Weiss had a word to add. "I also highly doubt anyone really cares how an SDC train and cargo fell into the hands of the White Fang." She kept her eyes up at the gloomy red sky as if it were far more interesting than the conversation taking place. "Seems rather unimportant if you ask me..."

The two caught eyes and Blake couldn't hide her surprise while Weiss simply looked bored. "I never did care for train rides myself. They always gave me migraines as a child."

"Everything gives you a migraine," Yang quipped.

Blake's shadow danced on the pavement and despite the flames frost appeared on her outline. She noticed the heiress' left eye slightly out of view but this time didn't flinch away.

'I'm sorry,'. she apologized, knowing this was neither the time nor place.

Everyone turned as someone important hiding under their hood was being left out.

"And you-" Yang stooped down to look her sister in the eyes but her sister turned away. "You of all people have nothing to be ashamed of, Rubes."

Before her partner could argue Weiss spoke up. "Don't even bother arguing, dolt" she said with a lopsided grin. "You're the reason why we found the White Fang in the first place, and Yang's right. You probably saved millions of lives, so don't even think about blaming yourself."

Ruby didn't respond or even seem to acknowledge their words. She couldn't see the millions or even the thousands that might have been saved by her actions. Only those who had been lost...

Jaune coughed reminding the girls they weren't alone. He cast his eyes to the ground and kicked a piece of burning debris to the side. He could sense his fellow leader's unease but wasn't sure if it was in his place to speak up or not.

Seeing Ruby in the hospital had been a sobering experience and a reality check he hadn't been prepared for. In combat she was as ruthless as she was brilliant, and despite his countless hours of combat training with Pyrrha, Jaune had spent even more time learning how to a good leader by a girl over two years his junior and half his size. Neither one were supposed to be at Beacon but fate had made them leaders together, and now seemed as good a place as any to properly thank her.

"That Deathstalker would still be alive if it wasn't for you, Ruby." He glanced at Pyrrha who nodded earnestly.

"And we wouldn't be," she added, "and neither would half the city."

"If we had followed my plan we would be pancakes right about now." At the mention of food the Nora's stomach growled followed by everyone else's, including the heiress'.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is-"

"What we're all trying to say is-" Weiss interrupted.

"What's the plan, sis?" Yang straightened her cross necklace and pins.

Ruby was silent as she kept her hood covering her face which she wiped with her sleeve. When the red cape shifted despite the wind, a grin was shared among the teams and the smell of roses briefly tickled their noses. Blake smiled as they were no longer wilted.

She lifted her head so everyone could see her sparkling silver eyes and just for a moment the moon peeked through the clouds as if to watch.

"Team RWBY's specialty." She lifted her hood. "We kill anything and everything that gets in our way."

Yang laughed and fist pumped. "I've always like that one. Can we use Weiss as bait again?"

The heiress rolled her eyes but found herself amused. "Any ideas where we should start?" she asked, ever curious what insane plan was going through her partner's mind. Despite herself, she had begun to enjoy them.

Ruby nodded and turned her scroll for everyone to see. "The train did a loop around the city before stopping in the commercial district." She pointed with a shaky hand where the line halted then towards the other side of the district.

"At least that's where I thought it ended." She blinked and wiped her face again. "The tunnel must run underneath the river and follow it before rising again because it keeps going into the residential district."

She pointed but even Blake and Ren had trouble following the unlabeled line through the city. "I should have seen it," she admitted, causing Yang to massage her good shoulder.

"There's nothing we could've done anything about it anyway," Weiss replied.

Jaune waved to the fallen buildings and the giant crater in the plaza. "We were kinda busy with our own problems."

Ruby took a deep breath and nodded before continuing. "The line actually comes to an end here." She pointed again. "But it looks like there aren't any breaches from here to there so it should be a straight shot across the northeast bridge into the district."

Everyone glanced up and noticed there didn't seem to be too many fires between their breach and the homes in the distance.

Weiss swallowed. "That means most of the Grimm will have been drawn there."

Her partner nodded. Grimm had a way of sensing distress among humans, and if millions of people were afraid then every monster in the kingdom would've been able to sense it.

"Especially the older, smarter ones," she added reluctantly.

"Then what are we waiting for!?" Yang asked as sparks traveled down her mane and her flame rekindled. "Let's go!"

She was about to take off and lead the way when Pyrrha grabbed her by the arm. "Sorry," she apologized, glancing at her partner. "but we're going to show you why we're winning the Vytal Festival."

"And why Pyrrha's gonna be the first ever five time undefeated champion!" Nora shouted.

Yang motioned for her to lead the way and kept the fact she was also technically undefeated to herself.

"Be our guest," Blake rasped, knowing their sister team was fresher than theirs.

Jaune raised his sword and charged towards the dark smoke with his teammates following.

Yang watched them go and held out her hand and received a gentle slap from her sister. "Ah yeah!"

To Ruby's surprise, Blake uncharacteristically held up her hand next, and after a brief hesitation she struck it.

*slap*

"Huh?" She glanced down as something slipped between her fingers. Her heart skipped a beat as she quickly balled her hand into a fist hoping no one had seen the white pebbles.

Her breath caught when Blake gave her a slight nod. "Hey, sis?" Ruby asked in a scratchy voice. "Can I have some water please?"

Yang nodded and handed over what was left in her yellow water bottle. She waited for her sister to take a drink who stared awkwardly as if unsure which end to drink from.

"Uhhh…."

"We'll just be a second," Blake said, motioning for Yang and Weiss to follow JNPR.

The blonde gave her partner a curious glance while Weiss watched the pair impassively. Ruby nodded and slowly the pair turned and started jogging at a pace their partners normally walked at.

Once they were gone Ruby opened her fist and stared at the little white pebbles shaking her hand. "My painkillers," she whispered before glancing up. "But why?"

The bottle had been given to Blake and Weiss to help the injured, but obviously two had been tucked away by the faunus. A part of her was angry that a civilian had been forgotten, but the part of her in agony was more so relieved.

"Because we can't do this without you," Blake said simply.

"But someone else could have used it!" she raised her voice. "Someone who needed it more!"

Blake shook her head. "I saw you take the pills down in the tunnel, Ruby."

The caped-girl flinched as if she'd been struck and shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"You need that more than anyone, and your team needs you."

While Blake still couldn't help but view her as a kid sister, she knew Jaune was right and that they'd be dead without her. People were dying in the streets and she knew they needed the child prodigy if they were going to make it out alive with as many survivors as possible. She just hoped she wasn't making the worst mistake of her life.

Ruby stared down at her open hand with displeasure, but with a heavy sigh she popped them in her mouth and washed them down.

*cough, cough*

Blake's shoulders relaxed but she felt knives driven through her chest as she broke the team's commandment once again. "With your aura almost empty it should kick in faster this time and last longer," she said with a bitter taste in her mouth.

Ruby nodded and found it ironic that running out of aura was actually going to be to her benefit. "Thank you," she said, nearly moved to tears.

'Please don't thank me,' her conscious bemoaned. 'That's the last thing I deserve for doing this.'

She was the first person Blake had ever met to make her question whether pure good and evil could truly exist. If the caped-girl was pure good then she was afraid that pure evil might actually be real too, and it terrified her to think she'd seen glimpses of it underneath Grimm masks, and for a time in the mirror.

"Come on," Ruby said, swapping to a lower grade yellow ammo magazine. Something that would give her a boost but not waste precious heavy ammo. "Let's catch up."

Blake held out her hand for the caped-girl who accepted and both gave reassuring squeezes. With a nod the pair combined shadow jumping with Crescent Rose's recoil to quickly rejoin their teammates who weren't far away, along with Nora whose shorter legs were making it difficult keeping up with her team's longer legs.

Ruby's feet burned with every step feeling like sharp needles being poked through the skin, and not for the first time she was thankful for her specially designed socks and shoes that gave her extra padding. Blake had lost some of her graceful movements but being a faunus that hardly mattered, and although she sometimes exaggerated her strength and endurance, it did give her a natural edge over her teammates.

Letting go of each other's hands, Blake fell in line with Yang and Weiss while Ruby joined Nora who greeted her with a half-hearted wave.

"Welcome to the caboose," she said out of breath.

Ruby nodded knowing the stocky hammer girl was used to running in the back of a race while she was more accustomed to being in the front by miles. It felt to her as though she were running through peanut butter, which only served to remind her she hadn't eaten anything but one of her sister's protein bars all day.

Occasionally their teammates would glance behind to see if Ruby and Nora were keeping up, and more than once the stocky girl had to give Ren the okay to keep going without her.

With her own team only half a step ahead, Ruby positioned herself behind Yang's broad shoulders so she didn't have to see the occasional lifeless body or gory scene on the ground. All she had to do was follow her big sis and hope the painkillers kicked in soon. She could still remember the tingle they had given her, and knew they were the only reason she had made it to here.

Feeling silver eyes burning into her back, Yang craned her neck and saw Ruby struggling to keep up. "You want a piggyback ride, sis?" she asked seriously.

The caped-girl glanced up and mouthed something letting her sister know exactly what she could do with that idea. "Just wondering. No need to act like the Ice Queen." Yang chuckled but turning around her smile faded.

Her every instinct was telling her to grab Ruby and carry her back to Beacon's medical bay as her sister's huntress pride wouldn't let her rest until every Grimm was dead and every civilian safe even if it meant her life.

Her own huntress pride should have been saying the same, but her instincts as an older sister far outweighed years of training and vows to protect the weak. All that mattered in her life was keeping Ruby safe and the promise to her father.

'Keep Ruby safe, she's all we have left of Summer...'

Yang didn't have a noble reason for wanting to be huntress unlike her teammates who all fought for things much larger than themselves. She killed monsters because she was good at it and enjoyed the rush that only the life of a huntress could give her. Just so long as her baby sister was safe, her conscience would be clear.

As heat radiated off her partner, Blake looked for signs of life hoping she'd see a chest rise or hear a cry for help but none came. Grimm weren't in the habit of letting their prey live, and feeling Yang's violent aura rekindled was twisting her stomach in knots.

'You did the right thing,' she told herself. 'We need her in the fight and so does the city.'

She was trying to do the right thing but kept reminding herself she wasn't the moral compass of her team. Blake still wanted to believe in a world of gray despite her fears of pure good and evil existing, and if anyone had to make the morally gray decisions she knew it would have to be her.

Hearing gunfire her ears perked and up ahead she watched Pyrrha and Ren shoot a straggling pack of Beowolves while Jaune charged forward on the bridge with his sword held high to finish them off. They had finally arrived at the oldest river crossing in the city, and Blake tried not to think about how deep the water was underneath the old worn bridge. Instead she tried to focus on the other end but couldn't control her eyes which wandered down.

As they made their way across, Yang noticed her partner's legs beginning to slow and her eyes watching the fast moving down water below. A grin slowly tugged on her face as she found a way to amuse herself.

"Oops, sorry, Blake!" She bumped into her nearly knocking her over the edge. "I forgot you don't like open water."

The faunus grumbled something under her breath that was lost on Yang's still buzzing ears.

"Tuna don't swim in rivers," she answered helpfully. "We'll have to work on your fear of water after we're done working on the princess' phobias of calories, clowns, and changing in the locker room. And talking about-"

"For the last time I do not!" Weiss snapped, drenched in sweat and too out of breath to come up with a clever retort. Like her partner she too had aching feet but was too proud to admit wearing heels into combat wasn't the best idea.

Nora tucked her chin moving her short, stubby legs as fast as she could leaving Ruby by herself.

"Is it because you're a cat faunus?" she asked, mimicking cat ears with her hands. Remembering who had spilled her secret, Blake shot an accusatory glance at Weiss who grinned nervously and tried to whistle.

In truth Blake did have some fear of open water, but it had more to do with it getting in her cat ears. It was mildly painful, and she risked infection if the water wasn't clean, but it also left her faunus and human senses greatly disoriented to the point she couldn't tell which way was up or down when she was under. Almost drowning a time or two as a child and later as a teenager hadn't helped matters, but Yang liked to exaggerate her partner's more cat-like quirks.

*twitch*

Once again she heard gunfire and saw it wasn't by Pyrrha or Ren's doing. Without hesitation she took off running to join the other team as they crossed into the residential district and the first homes that had so far been untouched by the chaos.

Nora watched her go with sadness but Yang winked. "Totally, and don't even get me started on yarn."

Weiss rolled her eyes at both her immaturity and Nora's gullibility before drifting back to her partner who was starting to regret not taking Yang up on her offer.

"Your sister is being-" Weiss struggled for a word that would adequately describe her, but despite her immense vocabulary drew a blank.

"Herself?" Ruby asked lightheartedly.

"Quite."

While her partner continued to gripe about the blonde's rude behavior, and state multiple times that she wasn't afraid of anything she'd mentioned, least of all changing clothes in front of others or discussing intimate relations which by their very nature and her belief should be kept private, Ruby watched the team's scout catch up with Ren and mentally scolded herself for not thinking as her leader.

'I should have sent her up ahead earlier. With her senses we need all the help we can get.'

"Please stop filling her head with nonsense!" Weiss cried as the blonde started telling Nora why they always had to buy new couches. The hammer girl didn't seem to realize that her sister team neither owned a couch nor had room for one. "You've already ruined what was left of Ruby's brain so stop spreading the disease!"

"Hey!"

Weiss gave a sideways glance to the caped-girl who after a moment of reluctance bobbed her head. Finding out chocolate milk didn't come from chocolate cows had been one of the hardest days of Ruby's life, and her's for that matter...

While they enjoyed a moment of levity it immediately halted once they crossed the bridge officially stepping foot into the residential district. Not even Yang could keep up her playful teasing as they began to focus on the mission and how serious it was.

Ruby lowered her face as the flames were getting nearer but still couldn't warm her.

"It's okay." Weiss tilted her head down to see under her partner's hood. "This was the last stop for the train, which means the sirens would've been going off for close to half an hour giving everyone plenty time to get to safety."

She raised her head as she hadn't thought of that. The city had an alarm for a reason and recalled how the sirens had made her ears ring.

"And every neighborhood should have a shelter just in case something like this happened!" She exclaimed

Weiss smiled as her partner's eyes lit up with determination, and looking up she saw Yang covertly nod in thanks. Just for a moment the four felt relieved, until they heard the sound of familiar gunfire.

"What was that?" Yang asked, digging a finger in her ear.

Ruby and Weiss glanced at each other. "Gambol Shroud!"

"And Stormflower!" Nora cried.

The girls quickened their pace unsure how the rest of JNPR and Blake had gotten so far so quickly, but as they rounded a building they saw absolute mayhem. Ivory Grimm poured from the ground as scattered Atlesian Knights and soldiers from both Atlas and Vale fired from the streets and even rooftops. For every creature they slew it seemed three more took its place, and it would only be a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

Pyrrha changed her weapon into rifle form and began to fire like Blake and Ren while Jaune just stared holding his sword with uncertainty. He could see even more fires in the distance meaning there were likely hundreds of Grimm, but if this breach wasn't contained then the district could be overrun.

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang joined his side while Nora started firing her grenade launcher but quickly got frustrated when Grimm weren't falling over dead and instead charged with her hammer causing Ren to chase after her.

"This doesn't make sense," Ruby said. "The tunnel's supposed to run south of here." She stared at the hole and something looked wrong but she quite couldn't place what it was.

Weiss being a step quicker covered her mouth remembering her first day at Beacon in the courtyard. "There's no crater," she whispered. "Something else made that hole, not a bomb or the train."

Blake switched her weapon from pistol mode as it was clear it wasn't going to make a difference against such armored Grimm, and combined her cleaver and katana looking for orders like the others.

Jaune was gritting his teeth as he realized there was another breach out there with even more Grimm flooding the streets. He glanced back at Ruby who was biting her lip as her mind raced faster than she could keep up. She quickly took note of everyone's condition and their weapons confirming what she already knew.

"You-"

"You four stay here," he interrupted. "We'll find the other breach and clear out all the Grimm we can."

Ruby shook her head. "Not a good idea, Jaune. Your team is slower and built to hold enemy lines while ours is to push through them."

Jaune wasn't surprised by her argument as he had thought of it himself. "No!" he raised his voice. "You four are exhausted and wouldn't have survived that last wave of Grimm without us. Here you'll at least have backup, and reinforcements will be on their way."

"That was also a breach," Ruby reminded him. "JNPR will be better off here while we go hunting in the streets."

He wiped the sweat off his brow, his eyes looking almost desperate. "But you'll be safer here."

Yang was about to agree with him for her sister's sake when she spoke up again. "We're training to be huntresses, Jaune," Ruby reminded him. "And-"

"And the most important thing is that the civilians are safe," Weiss said dutifully, standing by her partner's side.

Yang regarded the heiress carefully. 'Not to me it isn't...'

Blake studied her face as lilac eyes shifted to red for a moment. "It's our job," she added, causing Yang to turn away.

"You four are exhausted!" Jaune repeated. "You could die out there!"

Ruby blew the hair out of her eyes and took a long look at Crescent Rose. If she was worried she hid it well. "Your team isn't much better off than we are."

"But none of us were in a hospital and that's where you belong!"

As the two continued to argue Yang finally glanced back and saw her partner still staring back at her.

'Your sister's right,' her comforting eyes said.

'That's what I'm afraid of.'

When she heard Jaune raise his voice to her sister Yang frowned. "Whatever made that hole could still be out there, Ruby!"

Yang took a step forward directly behind Ruby and cracked her knuckles to get everyone's attention. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, finally letting the flames fully rekindle.

'There's no going back now...'

When her eyes opened they were crimson and her hair lit up. "All the more reason Yang needs to go," Ruby said, feeling the anger and power radiating on the back of her neck.

Jaune cursed as once again his fellow leader was right and too stubborn to relent. Ren was the fastest on his team yet could barely move out of the way of his partner's hammer which was normally as natural as breathing for him, and even that seemed off. Nora was their heavy hitter who could kill even the most armored Grimm with a single swing from Magnhild, but was now having difficulty just dealing with the small pack of Creeps the two had gone off to fight, no doubt caused by her running off when he wasn't looking.

That left himself and Pyrrha but he knew even she couldn't carry the team by herself. He had used more aura fighting the Deathstalker than all his weeks at Beacon combined. His heavy armor was weighing on him and knew the same was true for his partner. Their place was here to be the front line defense like they'd been against the Deathstalker and when they'd protected their sister team. The Arc family symbol was on his shield and not his sword for a reason.

He glanced back at the soldiers and then at the breach that had to be contained. Finally his eyes settled back on Ruby who was standing on her toes to gain an inch while her teammates stood behind her. It seemed nothing short of killing the caped-girl would keep her from killing herself...

"Fine, just go!" He cast his watery eyes away and charged towards the biggest Ursa Major he could see with the intent of removing its head from its shoulders.

Pyrrha stopped firing and watched him go feeling pride swell in her chest, but also sadness looking back at her friends.

"Are you sure about this?" They all nodded in unison except Yang who caught her eye and for a moment her impenetrable armor opened a little.

'I'm sorry...'

Yang nodded knowing they had a kindred spirit together. She had heard of the great Pyrrha Nikos and her four regional Mistral championships at Sanctum Academy long before they arrived at Beacon together, and unless you lived under a rock you had seen her red hair and dazzling smile on a box of Pumpkin Pete's. Little did she know she'd been the cause of countless fights between her and her sister at the breakfast table for who would get the prize at the bottom of the box.

While Yang never considered herself intimidated by anyone, it was hard not to respect someone who had earned the title of 'The Invincible Girl' and lived up to the name. They had sparred a dozen of times or so in Goodwitch's class with the first time having been a humbling experience to say the least for them both, neither having faced someone their own age who was arguably stronger and better trained. It was always a violent affair that went to a time limit draw, and there was a reason why the freshmen believed one of the two could win the Vytal Festival. On certain days however even Yang with all her confidence and bravado found herself uncertain who would win in a non-exhibition fight. She was tall and muscular, and had always been the dominant student let alone female in all her classes growing up, but Pyrrha Nikos was considered an amazon by most their classmates being taller than most the boys as well as herself by several inches, and had a semblance and aura supply that was only rivaled by her own.

She glanced at Jaune who roared while taking a swing at a monster three times his size. At the beginning of the year Yang had made a steady income betting on how quickly his partner could knock him on his backside and how many blows she'd land, but as the semester progressed she found her wallet thinning and her sister's ammo collection steadily taking up over half the closet.

Even if he did occasionally have trouble telling his left foot from his other left, Yang was impressed how he had stood his ground against the Deathstalker with Pyrrha, buying enough time for her sister's plan to work. She also appreciated how quickly he and Ruby had become friends, and after a small talk asking him about his intentions with her sister where absolutely no threats or implications about breaking every bone in his body had been made, they too became friends...once it was clear he had no interest in her sister that is.

"Take care of them," Yang said.

Pyrrha nodded. "You do the same."

"We'll be sure to kill some Grimm on the way," Ruby promised.

"Don't bother." Her weapon changed back into spear form, and she turned and threw it through an armored Creep as it tried to flank her partner, and afterward it returned to her hand.

With a farewell salute she joined his side leaving Ruby to watch the battle from afar. Already she could see the other team creating a perimeter and rallying the soldiers to concentrate their fire, and relaxed knowing she had made the right decision.

"Come on," Weiss said, grabbing her wrist. "Unless you're thinking about changing your mind it's time to go."

The caped-girl took a deep breath before she took off running in the opposite direction with her team by her side. Despite the amazon's words they slew every Grimm that got in their way, or in Yang's case every one that looked at her wrong. Black tar and blood was trailing down her arms, and without gloves raw, bloody knuckles could be seen. Her eyes were turning darker shades of red by the minute and it seemed every other word was a curse.

Weiss and Blake exchanged worried glances regarding their partners. Yang's unstoppable rage and power coupled with Ruby's ruthlessness and speed made up for well over half of the team's offense and took pressure off their more supportive teammates. Blake needed room in battle to be effective and relied on agility and cunning to make up for her lack of power, while Weiss needed time to cast glyphs and recharge her small aura supply. Together they had been trying to fill their leader's role on the front line having their fair share of scars as proof, and were wondering how much longer they could keep it up, or how much longer the sisters could keep standing for that matter.

Once Yang's aggression had been released on another pack of unfortunate Grimm, she fell in line with Weiss and Ruby while Blake moved ahead several strides keeping her ears perked.

Except for the their heavy breathing, Yang's mutterings, and Weiss' heels clicking, the team traveled in silence as the gunfire and sounds of war faded in the distance. Although the subway tunnel appeared nearby on the map, the residential district alone was larger than most territories outside the kingdoms. Without JNPR their strength had been halved, and there was a feeling of vulnerability and isolation they hadn't felt before.

Their leader had made the tactical decision and they all knew Ruby was right in making it. None of them would say it out loud but they all believed when they worked together they were the better team and more suited for offense. They could move faster, kill more Grimm, had first aid experience, and from Yang's eyes and choice language they had her semblance in their favor.

Passing by a darkened window, Ruby pressed her face against the glass relieved to see no signs of life and the houses on the block all looking similar. Her partner had been correct about the sirens giving the civilians enough time to prepare, and seeing Yang and Weiss beginning to slow for her catch up, she took off again and saw Blake turn her head.

"We're almost there!" she called out as the air became thick with smoke. They were getting close to the next breach but would need to cut their way through first. Up ahead they could see the silhouettes of Grimm, and body lengths began to separate Blake from the rest of the team who were conserving their limited ammo and dust.

As the pack of Beowolves stood on their hind legs to howl, the faunus slid on her knees and shadow jumped forward, cutting several of their legs out from under them, and leaving them the perfect height for Ruby to remove their heads and Weiss to stab their chests. Yang however simply punched them with bare fists not even bothering to activate her gauntlets.

With cat-like reflexes Blake was back on her feet and fell back to their side not missing a beat.

"We're only a couple of blocks from the horde." Her ears twitched. "What's the plan?"

Everyone glanced at Ruby who licked her cracked lips tasting blood. "Same as in the courtyard of the school," she answered. "Freezerburn will be on the front line pushing forward."

Weiss took a deep breath getting herself mentally prepared while Yang stared straight ahead unblinking as though she hadn't heard.

"What about you?" her partner asked.

"I'll be on the perimeter with Blake killing Grimm and looking for civilians." She glanced back at her. "You and I will swap out whenever you need a breather or-"

Before anyone could argue, she was lifted off the ground by her hood. Everyone stopped and Ruby's head spun around to see crimson eyes that more resembled a Grimm's rather than her sister's glaring down at her.

"Yang!?" she cried, kicking her legs. "Put me down!"

The blonde shook her head as she continued to struggle. "This isn't one of your stupid games, Ruby!"

The caped-girl's mouth fell open by her sudden outburst but promptly closed it with a snarl.

"If you go in there like you are now you'll be torn to shreds." She set Ruby back on her feet but kept a firm grip around her hood. Despite being nearly a head shorter and having to tilt it to look her in the eyes, Ruby looked just as fierce and intense as her big sister.

"I'll be fine!" she yelled, trying to push her away to no avail.

The monochrome pair swallowed having seen the sisters in their fair share of scuffles, and Blake recalled her first interaction with the two involving Ruby punching Yang in the face as hard as possible, and her laughing it off.

"Look at me!" Yang pointed at her eyes as her pupils were slowly disappearing. "The only reason we haven't been swarmed by Grimm yet is because Weiss' aura is even colder than her personality and Blake's is about as conspicuous as her freaking shadow!"

Her friends winced but took no offense to the statement as they knew it was her semblance talking, and what she said was the truth. Their auras which were all contrary but intended to be complementary to hers in combat. Grimm were drawn to negative emotions, and Yang's were washing over them like title waves in Mistral. Without even intending to or being conscious of, they were helping keep her presence concealed from the monsters. At least for now...

"You're not fighting and that's final!"

Ruby growled as she swung her scythe around to create some space but her sister easily caught its blade barehanded. Ruby went to use its recoil but the barrel was quickly covered by the other hand.

"Yang..." she warned, scratching her finger on the trigger. When her eyes shook side to side she sighed.

Weiss screamed as the rifle fired but Yang didn't even flinch as orange smoke rose around her hand.

"Oww." She let go of Crescent Rose shaking her hand slightly. "That almost hurt."

The caped-girl embedded the blade into the ground and hung her head looking defeated. After a moment Yang bent down and pressed her forehead against her's.

"Rubes," she said gently, "I want you to stay back and give us covering fire. "

"But-" Yang lifted her off her feet again but this time placed her on Crescent Rose so they were looking each other in the eye.

"Sis, I don't care you are my teammate or my leader." She licked her thumb and wiped some blood off Ruby's cheek. "You'll always be my baby sister, and it's my job to take care of you and keep you safe."

Blake and Weiss knew those words stung. There was no question that Ruby had earned their respect and her title as team leader, but she'd always be treated like their kid sister.

Ruby stared down at the ground with watery eyes. Her body was exhausted, and knowing she was slowing her team down was breaking her heart. If she went into battle all they'd do is worry about her. They'd already proven that in the Central Plaza.

"I love you, sis, but I'm never going to lose you again." She brushed her matted hair. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me most, but I'm here now." Yang rubbed her hand across Summer's cloak thinking of all the words she couldn't take back, but at least now she could honor her dying act for her daughter.

Ruby glanced up. "If you three get in trouble I'm fighting with you."

Yang smiled cockily and popped her stiff neck. She was radiating power just as she had against the Deathstalker. "Then I'm not going to let that happen."

Her sister wiped her eyes and nodded. "Then I'll stay back I guess..."

"You'll be doing much more than that," Weiss informed. "You'll be our eyes telling us what's coming, where to go, and-."

"-and we couldn't ask for a better sniper," Blake added.

"Or a better partner," she readily agreed.

Yang smiled and just for a second her eyes flickered. "Or a better leader, Rubes."

The caped-girl felt a resurgence of strength as her great burden was shared among her friends. Without a word she slid off her rifle and took off running to lead the way, but found them by her side and something being placed in her hand.

"My wrist scroll," Yang explained, holding up her gauntlets. "I can't exactly wear it while fighting."

Ruby nodded and tied it around her arm going to the team's stats without looking so as not to see what pictures her sister might have. She wasn't necessarily afraid of what she might see, just what she might never be able to un-see.

Once it was safe to peek, she wasn't surprised to see her aura was practically zero and barely glanced at Weiss and Blake who were both hovering above fifteen percent. Her eyes went straight to Yang's who was obviously going to great lengths to burn her power off slowly. In any other situation she would've put the flames out hours ago as it was like containing wildfire behind flammable walls. Steam was rising off her skin and Ruby was scared not only as her sister, but her leader as well. Yang was their cornerstone who could turn an unwinnable battle into certain victory, but they might not have that for much longer.

'It'll just have to do.' They had a mission and countless lives were at stake.

Yang pointed ahead to a red bricked apartment complex that towered over the neighborhood. A small pack of juvenile Beowolves were in between but the team barely gave them a second thought.

"Ruby, you'll be our guardian angel up there keeping us safe and in position."

"Okay."

"And if you move so help me God, I will ground you from chocolate for-" The caped-girl fired her rifle speeding ahead toward the awaiting claws and teeth of Beowolves as they seemed friendlier at the moment than her sister, but in the blink of an eye they were sliced apart before she could even lift her blade.

At her side Blake gave her a knowing look but Ruby wasn't sure what to make of it. Perhaps the Grimm were a parting gift but she also noticed an extra bounce in the faunus' step. Maybe she was just happy the caped-girl would be safe and her pain masked.

Regardless she nodded in thanks and gave her friends a thumbs up before scurrying up the fire escape careful not to get her cape snagged. Peeking through dirty windows she could see families huddled together in darkened rooms praying, and she said a few of her own while climbing.

When she came to a window slightly ajar she went to close it but paused. The bedroom obviously belonged to a little girl who loved pink as it was the color of the carpet, walls, and even the dresser. Hearing the tell-tale sounds of whimpering she shined Crescent Rose's flashlight into the room and naturally under the bed.

Underneath, a girl no older than five wearing yellow pajamas was being held by another a few years older in pink. Ruby felt a lump in her chest at the familiar sight.

The elder glanced over but didn't seem to care that a stranger was looking in their window.

"It'll be okay," Ruby promised, knowing what was most important to her. "Your sister's safe now."

The younger girl opened her eyes and saw the rifle being pointed in her room.

"Are you a huntress, ma'am?" She sniffled.

Ruby almost snorted at being called ma'am, but had to remind herself she was probably twice her older sister's age and certainly looked the part of a real huntress even if she was two years younger than even the youngest freshmen.

"Of course I am!" she proclaimed. 'In training and technically still on my first mission...'

"Wow, you're like a superhero!"

"That's why I wear the cape." She spun letting red streak across the window and posed heroically like she'd practiced.

"Can I have your autograph?!"

"Me too?!" the elder cried, elbowing her sister.

Before Ruby could find a pen, her wrist scroll flashed white and was reminded this was her sister's scroll as a tag referring to a female dog appeared with its mouth opening comically.

"HEY, DOLT!" Weiss' voice boomed. "I could use some support right now!"

Ruby grinned sheepishly as the tag changed to other words that aptly described the heiress.

"Sorry," she said to the girls, "my team...of which I am the leader of, needs me."

They groaned but waved goodbye as she closed the window making sure it was tight before hurrying up the final ladder.

"I'm on my way!" she yelled, climbing onto the roof. "There were two little girls hiding under the bed scared and I just wanted-"

"They're scared!?" she snapped. "I have a Beowolf breathing down my neck and an Ursa Major that won't stay dead!"

*Wizzzz*

Weiss heard a bullet fly through the air and felt sticky tar on the back of her neck. A second later the bear in front of her finally fell over missing its massive head.

Ruby muted her for a moment as she didn't need it to hear her cries of disgust and displeasure.

"You're welcome..." she muttered as she chambered the next round.

With her partner momentarily safe, she glanced around from atop her sniper perch and saw the area swarming with Grimm. Fires were spreading but at least for the moment the smoke wouldn't hinder her view. This was going to be more difficult than she first thought, but was glad it was her team facing the unending hordes rather than her sister team.

Using her rifle she dropped to her knees and felt instant relief even before loosing her boots. Taking great care she brought her cape to the side so her right shoulder would have some extra padding before bringing the rifle to her left. Grimacing she lay on her stomach, but after only a moment her body relaxed as it found its most comfortable position in days. She enjoyed a slight tingle in her toes but knew that the pain was only in hiding.

While adjusting her rifle's functionable recoil mechanism, she found herself immensely grateful to have built her bolt action for both right and left handedness in mind, and while it'd mean the loss of stopping power and some accuracy, she could also rely on its fallback semi-automatic firing in a pinch.

With her baby's high recoil no longer an issue, she lowered her hood and held her breath until she could feel her heartbeat slow. As much as she enjoyed cutting Grimm apart with her scythe, she found almost as much satisfaction in sniping them from afar.

Dialing in her scope she began searching for landmarks so she could easily locate her teammates and direct them in the chaos. Yang as it turned out was easy to find due to literally on fire with Grimm barely giving her enough room to breath. Because of her short range, the beasts' teeth and claws all had to be within punching distance but that seemed to suit her just fine. Occasionally they would cut through her aura shield enough draw blood, but that would only cause her anger to burn brighter and her punches hit that much harder.

Perhaps for that reason Weiss was keeping some distance between the two while keeping her exposed back covered. Her blade was burning and flames were flying off her rapier surrounding the fireproof blonde and making her even stronger.

A black blur caught Ruby's eye and she dialed out to see around the perimeter. Smaller Grimm were disintegrating but the girl wielding a katana and cleaver was hardly acknowledged. All the monsters' attention was on the fiery figure killing their brethren for sport while another in bloodstained white guarded her flanks.

Ruby glanced down at her wrist and rolled her eyes at her sister's tag for Blake as it was both vulgar and a reference to her being a cat faunus.

'I thought you were more creative than that, sis...'

"Blake," she began, training her scope further up the street, "leave Yang and Weiss to the fighting for now and focus on the civilians. The Grimm are leaving you alone-"

She grimaced thinking back to Torchwick's foul words. 'Most Grimm think they're nothing more than animals...and they're right.'

"-because Yang is bringing them all to her," she finished, shaking her head rapidly.

From her cross hairs she saw Blake nod and followed her shadow as it flitted about the streets of Vale in between homes looking for survivors. Together they worked as a team with Blake crawling through broken windows while Ruby covered her killing any Grimm that approached. Whenever she ran into a beast too large for her to handle she'd signal for her sniper to take them out.

While she found more empty homes than she did occupied, Blake kept the tragic scenes to herself to spare the younger girl. Luckily those were even rarer than finding a house with living occupants, and those she would tend to their wounds and lead them to safety.

Ruby quickly lost track of time and was only vaguely aware of her body tingling. She lost herself in protecting her friends and making sure they were in the best possible positions. They had gained some ground but it seemed every Grimm in the city was wanting a piece of her sister. Sometimes a bullhead would fly over causing her heart to flutter, but they'd always fly toward the walls or another part of the city or district. She had even spotted a few Atlesian Knights fall but suspected they'd been destroyed soon after landing.

"Weiss," she said, spotting a glowing orb hanging in the air, "there's a Deathstalker to the east. Send Yang before it causes too much damage."

The heiress planted her rapier into the ground and spikes made of ice struck the nearest Grimm creating a perimeter and some breathing room.

"Why don't you tell her?!" she cried, doubled over and gasping for air. "I'm busy!"

Ruby turned the volume up so her partner could hear what was being picked up by her sister's pocket scroll, and made a mental note to put some lien in the swear jar for her when they got back home.

"That's why," she answered dryly, "plus I don't think she can hear me."

The heiress jumped as an explosion engulfed the blonde. Apparently she had run out of regular shotgun shells and was now using her projectile ammo at close range.

"Uh, Yang?" Weiss squeaked. Crimson eyes turned and a bloody mouth snarled. Without looking she closed her hand around a Beowolf's snout and squeezed.

*gulp*

"Um, Ruby, your sister, whom you love dearly," she stuttered, "tells me there's a Deathstalker that way."

Yang grunted and took off running dragging the Grimm and its broken jaws along for the ride. Weiss whimpered with relief that she didn't seem to recall all the times she'd called her a 'blonde bimbo', her sister an 'dolt' or all the times they had fought over trivial matters before following.

From her perch Ruby watched the pair charge toward the scorpion while monsters nipped at their heels, causing Weiss to slow them down with ice or gravity glyphs.

"Blake-"

"Already there," she coughed. "Could use a hand though."

The caped-girl found where she was pulling a family out of what had once been their home before the Deathstalker. She was covered in shallow claw marks from where her life had narrowly ended but had either been too quick or her guardian angel's accuracy too great.

An Ursa Major was slowly creeping up on her, and even though her bow twitched she paid it little mind as a moment later it fall to the ground and black tar spilled on her boots. She gave a thankful wave to the bricked building far in the distance where a red cape flapped in the wind.

Ruby pulled a fresh clip of ammo from the back of her belt and fed it into Crescent Rose. Empty casings littered the rooftop making her nervous. Her belt was feeling lighter by the minute despite doing her best to conserve ammo. If reinforcements didn't arrive soon she might have to break her promise and start tearing Grimm apart with her blade. It was hard to be an effective sniper without bullets.

She followed Blake in her cross hairs making sure she and the family of four made it to safety. The apartment from where she was sniping had been made a safehouse of sorts so she could keep a close eye on them while Yang led the Grimm further away. The plan had been to push forward until they found the breach but her sister was reversing it so that all the Grimm came to her.

Following the beacon of gold flames, she dialed her scope to where her sister and Weiss were fighting the Deathstalker, or to her what seemed to be a mercy killing.

Yang had ripped off one of its claws and broken through most of the armor atop the scorpion's head while Weiss was busy keeping the smaller Grimm at bay and focusing on a strong gravity glyph around the stinger. From afar their leader couldn't help but smile knowing they were copying her plan, but she doubted Yang was thinking that far ahead. More than likely she was just punching whatever she could reach.

Finally when the orb fell, Yang drove it through its skull and Weiss propelled her back to an ice barricade she'd created just before it could explode.

Parts of the Deathstalker flew everywhere but they didn't take time to admire their handy work as Yang charged back into the fray burning the monsters she hated while Weiss covered her back. Everything her glowing white blade came into contact with turned to ice, and her every moment deliberate and methodical, but she was tiring quickly having long since passed her usual rotation on the front line.

She stumbled as a Creep shattered to pieces, and all around her Grimm charged forward only to dissipate due to entering Ruby's cross hairs. Weiss waved her blade returning it to normal as ice surrounded her, creating a small barrier for her to kneel behind.

"Reloading!" she panted into her scroll.

The Grimm closed in but she didn't even flinch as bullets whipped her hair finding their targets. She wasn't sure if Ruby was showing off or if it was just her partner's subtle way of letting her know she was there for her, either way she found it oddly comforting.

Weiss opened Myrtenaster's chambers and dumped the remains of her vials which rose from the ground as colored smoke. She had been using her special, and expensive white vial as a last resort since her other cylinders had all run empty. It was her most powerful crystal and could kill even the most armored Grimm without her semblance or aura, but it never lasted for long. She opened her dust pouch and grimaced. Like Yang and Ruby, she was getting dangerously close to running out of ammo. Filling the cylinders with an assortment of the finest vials on Remnant, she gave it a spin and got to her feet now that her break was over.

"Reload, Yang!" she shouted, sending a pillar of fire to her aid.

The Grimm began to back away and the blonde did as she was told as if on autopilot, not noticing she'd spent the last few minutes killing Grimm without her gauntlets, or that her knuckles had become a bleeding mess long ago.

"Ruby, how are we doing?" Weiss asked, stabbing an Ursa in the neck and watching it burn.

The caped-girl moved her scope out and frowned. She still hadn't found the breach but it didn't seem to matter as they'd drawn most of the beasts to them. "Grimm just keep coming and-"

"Not that," she breathed tiredly, shaking her head. "I mean us. How much longer can we keep this up?"

Ruby had to blink several times to rid herself of the cross hair embedded in her eye. Glancing at her wrist she saw Blake's aura had dropped but wasn't in serious danger yet, and Weiss' was still hovering above red in the orange which made her partner proud. Despite being the support of the team and having the lowest aura supply, she was holding her own on the front line, protecting Yang and barely needing her semblance or even an aura shield.

Seeing a red tag labeled 'Qrow's second favorite niece' Ruby scowled but was more than a little surprised that her aura supply had risen some, then remembered that the painkillers were probably the culprit. Her aura might not have even known there was anything wrong with her.

"Specifically Yang," Weiss added when she was slow to answer.

Ruby's heart skipped a beat seeing her sister's aura shield almost completely gone and her mouth became dry seeing all of Yang's aura being used to fan the flames and her body a vessel to contain it. Her temperature was sky rocketing as was her heartbeat...

She gritted her teeth unsure what the right call was. Yang had already passed her limit but was the only thing keeping them in the fight. Weiss was doing her best and fighting magnificently beyond what anyone could've asked of her, but she wasn't even killing a fraction of what Yang was.

'At this rate you'll lose the bet,' her sister's playful voice teased, and as if by chance the red tag changed causing her eye to twitch.

"I haven't done that in years!" she screamed.

"Huh?"

She quickly muted Weiss so only the faunus could hear.

"Hey, Blake," she said after regaining her composure.

"Yeah?" answered a raspy voice.

Ruby quickly found her wiping a mix of blood and sweat off her face while taking a moment to breath. "Do you see any more civilians?"

She shook her head knowing she was in her sights, having had plenty of experience to know when a gun was pointed at her, friendly or otherwise.

"That's good because Yang and Weiss are in trouble and they could use-"

Before Ruby could finish her sentence, Blake was gone and Weiss couldn't hide her relief when a shadow appeared beside her.

"Glad you could finally join us," she greeted. "Welcome to hell, or as some call it Yang's fantasy." The blonde blew up another Grimm causing her to disappear in a cloud of red dust. "Minus the guys and beach of course."

Blake nodded and began sizing up the monsters that had them surrounded. She took a defensive posture knowing she'd have trouble holding her ground unlike Weiss and her dust imbued rapier.

A Creep launched itself wishing to tear through her chest, but she struck it between the eyes with her cleaver before driving her katana through its neck. Both her blades had a faint purple glow as she channeled her aura around the steel. Normally her fighting style was opportunistic in nature and centered around quick distractions and probing for weaknesses, but having to defend a line against waves of Grimm meant she would have to adjust.

While Weiss fought with surgical precision, Yang with aggressive brute strength, and Ruby with unparalleled speed and relentlessness, Blake had incorporated all their styles in her own and fell back on her leader's motto.

'Kill anything that moves.'

She combined her weapons and roared, lobbing off the head of an Ursa before splitting them apart again as a pair of Beowolves lunged forward. She stabbed one in the throat but the other caught her cleaver with it's teeth. The beast shook her arm violently as she tried to pull free and felt a claw rake her shoulder. She bared her teeth and a purple light filled its mouth, and pushing forward she cut through so that the creature laid in two.

Her head was dizzy from the sudden drop in aura, something that she wasn't used, and caused her to gasp for breath and backpedal into Weiss as more Grimm rushed forward. The monsters began dropping however as gaping holes appeared in their chests giving the pair precious seconds to regroup.

"Pull back!" Ruby commanded over the bellows of Crescent Rose. "You're getting overrun!"

As Weiss turned her head to relay to the order to Yang, she noticed the Grimm were now keeping their distance from the blonde as she continued to swing at monsters that weren't there. Turning back she saw Blake slice another Beowolf with her combined weapon but had to catch herself mid-swing when her next target retreated.

Keeping their weapons raised in fear of a ruse, they backed into Yang who continued punching invisible Grimm until Blake laid a gentle hand on her bloody arm lowering it.

"Huh?" she said in a drunken daze as her partner patted her shoulder, noting how her entire body appeared marked and stained red.

"I don't like this," Weiss muttered. Something didn't feel right, and it wasn't the black tar stuck to her clothes, skin, and even hair. "Ruby, do you see anything?"

The caped-girl looked all around but all she could see were Grimm and more on their way. The breach was supposed to be south but the beasts were also coming from the east and west.

"No, but I want you to make a break for it to the north back the way you came the first chance y'all get. I can cover your backs and meet you down there."

From Yang's low, primal growl she seemed to understand the plan and obviously didn't like it. She wasn't one to back down from a fight no matter the odds, but Ruby had also made her a promise to stay safe. And she had unfinished business here. Every Grimm needed to die...

Weiss wiped her brow seeing more beasts appearing but not attacking. Despite having breathing room for the first time in over an hour she was nervous and weary. She much preferred having been swarmed and to her horror realized she was beginning to sound like her partner.

Blake looked for a break in the lines but her keen eyes caught something on the younger Grimm's faces she didn't quite recognize.

'Was that fear?'

*rumble*

"Um, Blake?" Weiss whimpered. "Did you feel that?"

The faunus swallowed as the pavement beneath their feet rolled.

"I think whatever made that breach-"

"Just found us..."

*twitch*

Blake didn't have time to give a warning, and instead grabbed them both and shadow jumped before the ground could open up and swallow them.

She landed on her feet gracefully with her weapons drawn ready to be attacked but the Grimm simply backed away.

"What now?" Weiss groaned, rubbing her backside as Blake gave her a hand. Yang already had her chin lowered and fists raised while Ruby looked through her scope barely breathing.

*hisssss*

Everyone froze as a forked tongue poked out of the abyss tasting the ashen air. A serpent with an ivory head the size of a truck slithered out and the team's stomachs dropped seeing six foot long fangs that looked sharper than even Crescent Rose.

*hisssss*

A second head slithered out of the darkness also completely coated in ivory armor except for the red accents of a Grimm mask and a few black streaks across the top. Both creatures opened their mouths fully and the girls could see row after row of teeth all longer than them.

"An Alpha King Taijitu..." Weiss shuddered.

"Wow," was all Blake could say.

Red eyes enveloped the girls and they could see their weary reflections looking as though they were covered in blood. Yang put herself between her friends and the two headed beast letting her own crimson eyes reflect the world burning. Blake tried to stop her but the girl's violent aura knocked her hand aside and she felt as though she'd grabbed a hot stove.

"Ruby," Weiss whispered. "what's the pl-"

The heads snapped forward before she could finish. Weiss activated a panic induced ice glyph but the black accented head broke through with ease. Both she and Blake raised their weapons but were thrown across the street and landed hard on their backs.

Yang's feet slid through pavement while sparks and yellow paint flew off her gauntlets as she blocked the massive fangs of the other head. Her rage began tipping over but someone familiar sobered her mind just for a moment.

"Hold on!" Ruby cried. "I'm on my way."

Yang roared letting her voice carry to even her friends' scrolls. "No! Stay back like I told you! We'll handle this!"

"But-"

Her pupils disappeared as she grabbed the King Taijitu's fangs with her bare hands. Despite her ankles being buried in the pavement she was still being pushed back by its awesome force while her friends attempted to fend off the other head.

Weiss stabbed the titans's underbelly with her now fiery rapier but it harmlessly bounced off the thick armor. She plunged the weapon into the ground engulfing it in flames but all she did was char it. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she created a propulsion glyph for Blake to strike at the beast's eyes. She landed a series of hits but Weiss flicked her wrist before she could be impaled by a fang, and even the faunus seemed surprised by the King Taijitu's speed as she landed beside the heiress.

"Get out of there!" Ruby cried.

They dodged out of the way as a monochrome tail slammed the ground but fangs shot towards them. Weiss fell to a knee creating an intricate flame glyph under Blake's feet. "Shadow jump!" she strained. "NOW!"

The snake struck and a fiery shadow of Blake dived into its gaping mouth before exploding. High in the air the faunus combined her weapons and cried out as she gathered as much aura as she could, and with a gravity glyph pulling her down she drove the blade deep into the snake's head engulfing it in a purple light.

She could feel the armor cracking but her head whipped back as the creature turned upside down attempting to shake her off. Her eyes widened seeing the sidewalk quickly approaching and let go of her weapon before she could be smeared across the pavement like a road killed animal, or in this case over a dozen heavily armored Grimm.

Landing on her feet she stumbled slightly but had a firm grip around Gambol Shroud's extended ribbon and pulled it tight. "Weiss!"

She suddenly felt the weight of what felt like a hundred gravity glyphs on her muscles as she fell to her knees yanking the ribbon and the head it was attached to onto the ground. With a deft hand she caught the combined weapon and with a mighty overhead swing purple aura jumped off the blade and into its face. Black tar spilled onto the ground and onto their shoes while dust filled the air. Blake tilted her head back and smiled at the heiress who was holding the sides of her head attempting to smile back.

"Did we get it?" she asked.

*hisssss*

The massive white mask of the snake landed a few yards from the girls and a shadow fell over them. Craning their necks they saw the malevolent eyes of the King Taijitu piercing their souls as buckets of tar poured from its now armorless black head, and the girls could only watch in horror and comment with a simple curse as the beast struck again.

Yang felt the ground shake but all she could see was the monster's mouth and her bloody hand prints on its ivory fangs. Bits of armor were flaking off because of her power while larger chunks were being shot off by red dust explosions courtesy of Ruby. The caped-girl had began to concentrate on the snake's lidless eyes but as the smoke cleared they were focused on what was to become its first meal in centuries.

Her legs sunk another inch into the pavement and under the extreme pressure Yang's knees threatened to buckle. The clouds of rage in her mind were beginning to clear as she imagined herself standing on the edge of the world slowly leaning forward towards the point of no return. Her semblance had finally reached its pinnacle and her body could no longer contain the fire that could burn no brighter.

Her entire body felt feverish from her hair all the way to her toes and felt as if she were burning from the inside out. Her heart was pounding against her chest threatening to escape and she felt a rush like she'd never had before. Bullets were whistling beside her mane but since she couldn't hear Crescent Rose firing it meant Ruby was far away and safe. Only after this thought of her baby sister did Yang allow herself to leap off the edge into the awaiting arms of intoxicating power and unspeakable euphoria.

Looking up she saw lilac reflected in the Grimm's eyes causing her to grin. "Hey, beautiful," she said, watching the golden flames dance in her hair. "Anyone ever tell you you're hotter than the sun?"

Her eyes turned back to crimson and all she could see was fire, then darkness...

The ice shield protecting Weiss and Blake shattered along with windows across the district as the pair were thrown fifty feet and tar rained from the sky. They both curled into balls as they landed with Blake clutching her ears and Weiss wrapping her arms around her head as the last second glyph and its destruction left it pounding.

"What happened?" she asked between her teeth. A choking sound followed by the miserable sound of sobbing answered from their wrists.

"Ruby?" Blake groaned, brushing shards of ice off herself. "What was that?"

The black head of the King Taijitu howled above thrashing in torment. They watched the flames engulfing its belly and the shape of a body standing in the fire. As it began to fade both girls forgot how to breath as Yang Xiao Long, the greatest fighter they had ever seen, crumbled to the ground while black tar pooled around her from the snake's missing head.

Blake shook her head as her stomach sank and her heart nearly gave out. "No..."

"YANG!" screamed a voice sounding like a dying animal calling out for its family.

Once it's agony subsided, the remaining black head of the King Taijitu glared at the girl bathing in the blood of its stronger half. The creature screeched as it snapped its head back intending to finish her off but a broken fang was caught by Gambol Shroud's ribbon, and a strong gravity glyph knocked the head off its target slinging Blake across the street and landing beside her partner.

"Please be okay," she whimpered. "Please, Yang."

She dropped to her knees grimacing as the pavement had melted slightly. Carefully she turned Yang over and saw patches and small chunks of flesh missing on her face and body that looked as though a fire had burned its way out of her. "Oh God..." Blake held her breath as she pressed an ear against her partner's chest. After an eternity she finally heard a weak thump and felt the chest rise slightly causing her's to flutter.

"It's okay," she exhaled into her scroll. "Yang's still breathing."

'Just barely...'

"She's unconscious but-" Blake flinched as razor sharp fangs stopped within a yard from her face while a powerful ice glyph began to wall them off.

"Get her out of here!' Weiss cried as a propulsion glyph sent her tumbling to their side.

Blake felt a cold chill down her spine. Whether it was because of her partner's breathing or the heiress' frigid aura she wasn't sure.

Weiss plunged her flaming rapier into the ice causing a thick mist to cover the area before extinguishing the flames. She grabbed the faunus' hand and created an ice glyph around all three of them.

"Shadow jump!" she ordered as the fangs broke through the barrier.

The girls shattered into shards of ice as they were struck, and the black head cocked its head to the side tasting blood and burnt flesh in the air.

"We don't have much time," Weiss whispered, now on the other side of the snake facing north. Both were breathing heavily unlike Yang, and couldn't even raise their weapons as an impatient Beowolf leaped forward only to explode midair.

"I'm on my way," Ruby said, obviously trying to keep herself together but failing.

"No," Weiss ordered again, trying to keep her voice calm and low. "Blake, you need to get Yang out of here."

She knelt down to help lift the larger girl over her shoulder but paused as the girl's mouth moved.

"I'm sorry..." The blonde mumbled, barely audible even for Blake. "I screwed up..."

"It's okay," Blake assured her, wiping the girl's burnt cheek. "You were amazing, Yang."

Weiss nodded but eyed the dark shape moving in the mist. "Ruby, I need you to cover Blake while she moves your sister somewhere safe."

"What about you?" they asked, fear creeping into their voices.

The heiress faced the black beast and spun her weapon's cylinder until it landed on a light blue vial and chambered it. Blake glanced down and could see her and Yang's breath freeze in the air while goosebumps appeared on her arms.

"I'm gonna kill it," Weiss snarled, echoing the words of her partner.

When the faunus didn't move Weiss flicked her wrist and a small propulsion glyph caused her to stumble.

"Get going," she hissed. "The Grimm aren't going to wait around forever." Another Beowolf lost its head thanks to Crescent Rose's thermal scope getting the snake's attention.

Blake felt something rip out of her chest as she turned misty eyes away to carry her best friend to safety. Once again she was leaving a friend behind while she ran away. A Grimm leaped at her and she paused to watch its head explode. Closing her eyes she began to shadow jump forward even if it was only a few feet at a time.

Weiss turned her back on her friends hearing the howl of dying Grimm as Ruby covered them with her sniper rifle. Even if it would've only taken her partner a few seconds to enter the battlefield it was seconds Yang and Blake didn't have, and in her current condition she doubted the caped-girl could even run half as fast.

The King Taijitu was facing her general direction and beginning to draw near. Taking deep breaths she willed her aura to cool her body temperature while the rapier cooled the air. She remembered how snakes saw body heat and knew a King Taijitu wasn't an exception. When she took a step back however, Weiss mentally cursed herself hearing her heels click.

A propulsion glyph pushed her to the side as the snake struck and she whipped her blade around throwing shards of ice in its face and the air. On instinct she flared her aura and snowflakes began to fall. Swallowing the lump in her throat she took a gentle step back finding the ground now cushioned by a thin layer of snow.

Her head began to feel light and her body like lead. She could feel herself reaching her end like Yang and knew she didn't have much more to give. She was relieved to hear the sounds of dying Grimm further up the street which meant her distraction was working, but she buried the warm feelings deep under ice.

There was no way she'd let herself die looking like a train wreck without makeup or even a shower.

'Train wreck,' her mind chuckled. 'Yang would appreciate that one...'

As the mist faded Weiss backed up and heard something slither. Glancing behind her she saw the snake had her surrounded with its burnt body and the coils were beginning to tighten.

A forked tongue tasted the air above the heiress and she began losing ground rapidly. Before she could be crushed another propulsion glyph activated sending her flying into the air only to be caught by a black gravity glyph that broke under her weight. Getting off the snowy ground she stared back into the beast's red eyes and took a deep breath that quickly caught on the back of her throat. She could no longer see her breath in the air and the red eyes were looking directly at her. Her blade was no longer glowing and Weiss found it ironic that her partner had been right. She wasn't as cold as she pretended to be, and now it would cost her.

She studied the black head that was slowly dissipating and noted that one of the fangs had been cut in half while tar gushed out its sides. The snake was going to die but it wanted one last meal before being gone forever. The creature shrieked as it unhinged its jaw and the heiress cursed wanting the last word for a change.

It lunged and Weiss roared raising her rapier as the jaws fell around her. With a perfect strike she impaled the roof of the monster's mouth and sticky black tar showered her, but she felt something sink into her arm breaking the skin.

*snap*

Weiss' roar became that of a high-pitched scream and finally a primal growl as she pressed forward letting the broken fang sink deeper into her flesh until it exited through the other side, and clutched Myrtenaster's hilt now with both hands having lost feeling in the left.

She raised two fingers with her right and a black circle surrounded the creature's head. With her thumb she slowly spun the cylinder coming to a stop on its nearly empty white vial. The crystal chambered and the glyph instantly turned white as a blizzard blew through. Everything began to spin for the heiress right then, and she knew only seconds remained of her aura and life.

"There's a reason why they call me the Ice Queen, and you're about to find out why..."

The beast's head began to freeze and Weiss' rapier changed to that of a giant white claymore almost eight feet in length, piercing the top of the snake's head between its crimson eyes.

With a flourish of the blade Myrtenaster returned to normal and wrenching it away she felt as the fang was ripped from bone and flesh. She fell to her knees as the blizzard disappeared as quickly as it came, and the frozen head hit the ground shattering into millions of pieces while its body began dissipating for good.

Weiss clutched her left sleeve watching as it became soaked in scarlet. Closing her eyes and taking deep breathes she felt the wound freeze along with her tears which she desperately tried to blink away. H