Chapter 1

Fleeting Shadows

(A/N: This story was inspired by the writing prompt "Blake's clones won't go away", and takes place after an alternate Volume 3 where Blake still ran away, but instead of losing her arm, Yang was severely injured in a brutal fight with Adam. She lost the use of her right arm, received a life threatening stab to the chest, and was in critical condition when Blake tearfully ran away. This narrative takes place a few weeks or a couple months after, and while it uses the same canon as "The Petals Scatter Now" and "The Patchwork Prodigy", whether it actually takes place in the same universe is up to you. I hope you enjoy. God bless)

Thunder clapped outside while the rain pummeled the stony outcropping. Nearby, a Beowolf howled signaling it had found prey, and the faunus who had seeked shelter hours earlier in the small cave hoped she was its target.

"Why did you leave?" the shadowy figure demanded. "Why do you always leave, Blake?"

"I-" her voice caught on the back of her throat and began to sob bitterly. She had been doing a lot of that lately.

As a child, her best friend had been her shadow. The only person who never judged her and was even more miserable than herself, until recently that is.

"Please go away!" she screamed, covering her ears and curling into a ball beside the pitiful fire. "Please..."

The shadow stretched across the cave's wall, almost like a monster hovering over its helpless prey. It haunted her everywhere she went and was merciless in its accusations.

"I'm sorry!"

"Is being sorry going to make her all better?" her voice snapped back. "Is being sorry going to make up for all your sins with the White Fang? In eighteen years, has running away from your problems ever solved anything?"

Blake whimpered, which the shadow took for an answer.

"You can hardly live with yourself right now. How do you think she feels? You left her, Blake. She was dying in your arms, and you left her dying in a hospital bed because you couldn't stand the guilt you felt looking at her. You left her when she needed you."

"Ya-" The name still hurt too much to utter. "She doesn't need me."

"Of course she needs you!" The shadow creeped across the cave floor toward her, causing the small flame of the campfire to flicker. "She woke up with her arm useless and a machine breathing for her to save your life, but you couldn't stay longer enough to thank her."

"I DON'T WANT TO THANK HER! SHE SHOULD'VE LEFT ME TO DIE! I WOULD'VE RATHER DIED THAN SEE HER-"

Something feeling like a boot was driven into her chest, and she curled up defensively.

"I wonder if Yang regrets her decision. I wonder if Yang can go a day without thinking about having a blade tear through flesh and cut through bone because of you."

"Please stop..."

"Not until you listen," her voice hissed back, feeling like venom in her ears.

Thunder crackled overhead, and the Beowolf howled again, closer than before.

"You haven't slept in days. You haven't eaten besides what you could forage for even longer, and at this rate you're going to die of hypothermia or pneumonia before that Grimm can tear you to pieces."

At this, Blake began coughing and her fit didn't stop for several minutes. Her clothes were soaked and her body numb, but her head was vibrant as it blazed hotter than the fire.

"Are you finished?" When she didn't respond the shadow continued. "Punishing yourself isn't going to help her, and dying tonight isn't going to redeem you."

A familiar presence lifted off the girl's shoulder, and she cracked her eyes open just enough to see a butcher's cleaver dangling above her.

"Would you like me to do the honors?"

The ribbon of Gambol Shroud wrapped around the girl's throat, cutting off any answer she might've given.

"How many times did she let you get lost in her aura? How many times did she say with and without words how much she loves you? How many times did she call you her sister, in front of her real sister, and when you didn't deserve it? Even now, Yang would take you back in a heartbeat and forgive you without a second thought, but if you do this she'll never forgive you. Is that what you truly want?"

The girl coughed, her face beginning to turn a shade of red, but the shadow seemed to understand.

"Blake Belladonna, you are self-loathing, self-centered, and selfish. Notice a pattern? Your best friend forgave you for anything you might've done with the White Fang before you could even tell her all the terrible things you'd done. She would forgive you even now, but you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself. That's the real reason you didn't blow up that train with all those passengers. Not because of the innocent lives taken, but you wouldn't be able to live with yourself, just like now."

The shadow turned just as a large figure lumbered into the cave. Blake's tearful eyes stared at the beast that had to duck just to enter, and the fire was snuffed out as an unnatural, evil chill filled the air. The Beowolf seemed to smile at its victim, revealing row after row of teeth, but didn't seemed to regard the shadow hovering above.

"What will it be?" she asked the helpless girl. "You have a choice, but not much time to make it."

The Beowolf howled and its helpless prey closed its eyes, perhaps content that while it wouldn't exactly be a painless death, at least it would be quick.

Blake gasped for breath as the ribbon loosened around her throat, and opened her eyes just in time to see the beast dissipate in the air above her. She glanced at the shadow wielding her blade, massaging her neck and gasping for breath. White teeth flashed where her mouth should've been, and for a moment she could see a reflection of herself. Something she hadn't seen or wanted to see since the day she ran.

The shadow gave her a hand to her feet and quickly embraced her. Warmth engulfed the girl, and a familiar, cheerful voice came from the shadow's mouth.

"Always remember, Blake," the memory of Yang's voice echoed. "Always remember that you are loved totally and unconditionally. When you don't feel like you deserve to be loved, or when you don't even love yourself, always remember that your friends love you. And it doesn't matter how far you run or what you do. We'll always forgive you even if you can't forgive yourself."

The girl sobbed into the shadow's shoulder, which had grown several inches since being embraced. A calloused finger touched her cheek, and gently began wiping away the tears. Gambol Shroud was placed back in its rightful position, and steadily Blake was raised so they could look each properly.

Amber eyes stared into amber, both with puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"It's not that long of a walk," one of them said. "If you hurry, you might still make it for dinner. On a windy day you can smell her dad's cooking, but you still imagine she's the one baking the burnt cookies anyway."

The other Blake nodded, and took a step toward the mouth of the cave and the unforgiving storm when a strong arm turned her around.

"I'll be waiting for you," said the girl with lilac eyes and beautiful hair, winking before disappearing. "I'll always be waiting..."

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. In all honesty this story just popped in my head one night and I decided to see where the idea took me. Originally it was going to resemble canon more, but writing a story with Yang having lost her arm just didn't interest me (for various reasons) so I decided to do a little bit of revising. I thought Yang nearly bleeding to death in Blake's arms would affect her more, and I liked the idea that her injuries were literally sacrificial in her hellacious fight with Adam. I don't expect this story to be very long, just a short friendship fanfic between Blake and Yang about forgiveness and sisterly love. RWBY and this story's cover image, the silhouette of Yang from the Yellow Trailer, belongs to Rooster Teeth. All credit for this story goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with a love for writing and a story to tell, but most importantly, wonderful readers such as yourself. God bless)