Ruby was missing.

That was the only thing that Blake was completely certain of when Zwei ran over to the giant sinkhole in the middle of the street. It had become abundantly clear when her amber eyes spied Crescent Rose laying forgotten on the ground… something that Ruby would never do willingly.

At first, Blake had tried to logically calm herself down; it's an old city, of course there are going to be sinkholes, she'll be fine! Never mind the fact that they couldn't get a hold of her with their scrolls, Blake was confident that Ruby was fine.

It was as Doctor Oobleck started to lead them deeper into the underground complex that Blake's confidence in Ruby's well-being was shaken. Ruby hadn't been found at the bottom. Had she maybe gone into one of the tunnels to find a way back up? Why hadn't she called?

What if Ruby ran into Grimm? Blake was all too aware as to how combat capable her girlfriend was without her weapon. But she could run away! Her semblance is speed, after all. And for a while, Blake was able to quell the rising anxiety.

That changed when the group encountered the White Fang members guarding the entrance to the subterranean city. That frustration that grew from their progress being slowed to fight them was marred by panic.

What if the White Fang captured Ruby?

There was no stopping that panic.

The thought that a bunch of extremists who hated humans currently had Blake's very human girlfriend made her cold with fear, her ears flattening under her bow. Her girlfriend, who was quite defenseless as the weight of Crescent Rose on her back reminded Blake.

It was a sudden rush of fear that Blake had felt before. Sure, she had friends during her White Fang days who had been in peril or had been captured or killed… it wasn't to say she hadn't feared for them, but on the other hand, she never had someone she cared for as much as she did for Ruby.

What had once been a well-founded but slightly detached fear that Blake had been able to suppress, now spilled over as her mind raced through the possibilities – one more gruesome and terrible than the last.

Ruby, the adorable teen who didn't accuse Blake of anything when she found out about her ears. Who had kept hidden that fact from their teammates. Ruby, who just wanted Blake to have fun, to go to the dance and get some sleep. The same Ruby who Blake had started dating not more than a day ago after having a crush on the girl for almost as long as she knew her.

And now someone like Adam, or maybe even Adam himself had the possibility of finding her, alone and defenseless, maybe even trapped under some rocks deep underground away from any of her friends…

The only that Blake could do was run faster. Faster than Ruby's own partner, faster than Ruby's sister. Even faster than their professor.

She couldn't even imagine what would happen… or rather that was the exact problem, she could. Blake had been a member of the White Fang, she knew precisely how they operated and what it had become; humans were never treated well.

What happens if they figure out Ruby knows me?

That was another thing altogether – Blake was a traitor to the cause, she'd abandoned them mid-mission. Not only had she betrayed the cause, but she had betrayed the leader on a very personal level given he was her mentor.

Ruby was perhaps in the most uniquely horrifying position if the White Fang found that out; not only would be she a human but a human dating a traitor to the cause…

Blake's knuckles went white from their grip on Gambol Shroud as she sped deeper into the cave system, out pacing even the normally blur-like Oobleck.

Slash, stab, shoot, dodge, slash...

The Faunus threw herself into the running fight in a desperate attempt to keep her mind from thinking too much. The mechanical nature muscle memory drilled into her for years, the flash of a gun, the swing of a sword… that was what Blake tried to focus on.

Blake could hardly believe her eyes when a fluttering red cloaked figure started running towards her, breaking her sole focus on who her next opponent was… only for a line of White Fang soldiers to jump in between. Before they could even bring their guns to bare, they were already in the air, having been swept away by Blake as Ruby nearly rammed into her looking only slightly worse for wear.

Once more, instinctive muscle motion took over as Blake wrapped Ruby in a bear-like hug. "Ruby!"

"Blake!" Relief flooded her senses and the fear, the panic, the overwhelming anxiety finally started to abate with her girlfriend in her arms, as Blake could finally put her fears to rest. She could finally get her hands to stop shaking. "Uh… Blake?"

"I was so worried." Blake could only hug Ruby tighter. "They didn't hurt you or anything?"

"I'm fine!" It was only then that Blake started to loosen the embrace. "That Torchwick guy was trying to get me to talk but I wasn't saying anything!"

Amber eyes flickered towards the bowler hat man who was booking it towards the train further into the cavern, seething with an overprotective anger that she hadn't felt before. "He won't be doing that again." Blake's focus resettled on Ruby adopting a far kinder expression. "I-"

"Hey lovebirds, they are getting away!" Yang's voice finally pulled the two out of their little moment. "You can save that for later!"

Blake couldn't help but give a guilty blush as the two broke apart.

At least Ruby is safe.

AU: Hey look, a new chapter. Neat.

Blake fearing that Adam has Ruby is a scary thing.

A new chapter cometh. Though, to be fair, a lot of the reason this came out a bit later was because trying to make this chapter seem interesting was hard. In the end I'm moderately happy with this. It gets what I wanted done.

Guess what that means?

RETURN TO FLUFF LAND IS SOON.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D