Yang

The ground shook underfoot as we stampeded across the courtyard. The horde of Grimm we'd left behind had recovered and was trying to follow us, which only served to spur us on. Thankfully, there weren't any other large packs around. So whenever we came across one of the smaller groups, given how many of us there were, we simply rolled over them like a wave, leaving mangled Grimm corpses in our wake.

I felt relieved to have Ruby at my side again. I'd been worried sick ever since Weiss dragged her away. I knew she was going to be upset about it. I knew that she'd have wanted to help. But there really was no way that I was going to let my baby sister leap into a pack of monsters that size. And while I'd felt relieved when Weiss had sided with me and pulled her away, I felt bad for what Ruby would undoubtedly put her through for doing it.

I shook those thoughts away as we rounded the corner and came around to the front face of Beacon, where Blake and I had seen Ozpin. We'd fled from the hall that was meant to be our rendezvous point and were chased upstairs. After a tangle of turning corners and running down corridors, trying to lose the monsters chasing us, we'd caught a glimpse of Ozpin's unit of teachers and senior students locked in battle from a second floor window. But, without any time to slow down, we were forced to pass them by. Then, luckily, we lost our pursuers just as we came across a window that led out to where our team was fighting for their lives.

Now, while I was relieved that I'd managed to save Ruby and Weiss—and everyone else of course—we had more pressing issues ahead. Ozpin's team, from what Blake and I had seen, was locked in battle with a pack of Grimm only slightly smaller than the one that was on our tail now. Which meant that, while getting reinforcements—especially the teachers—was likely the only way we were going to be able to take out the pack behind us, we'd have to face almost twice as many of them as well. But we really didn't have any other option. Even though this plan carried risks, we had to clear the grounds as soon as we could, so we could start the hunt for Myrka. Why had he still not shown himself yet? What was he up to?

I caught sight of the other team as soon as we rounded the corner, and was relieved to see that the group of Grimm they were fighting was on their other side. If we'd been cut off, and caught in between two swarms of monsters thatsize, we'd have been wiped out in seconds. But, fortunately, we were able to call out to Ozpin's team and meld into them, before turning to face our pursuers.

But even with back-up from so many, much stronger, warriors, it would still be a tough fight. There was still enough Grimm to surround us, which would be disastrous for us. Clearly Weiss was thinking the same thing, because she stepped forward, out of line, spinning Myrtenaster's cylinder. I heard a click as she locked in her chamber of Freeze Dust and spun to face us for an instant.

"Blake," she called out. "Pull me back!" Blake looked at her for a second, confused, then followed her out of line. I wanted to reach out, to pull her back, but I saw something out of the corner of my eye that made me stop. Ruby was staring at the ground dejectedly, and Crescent Rose hung loosely in her grip. She looked defeated, devastated. I hadn't seen that look on her face since…

I reached out and grabbed her shoulder, trying to snap her out of whatever she was thinking of.

"Ruby!" I yelled her name. "Come on, Sis, we need your head in the game right now." Ruby raised her head and my heart tore in two as I saw tears running down her face. But, true to form, Ruby shook herself and set her shoulders. She hefted Crescent Rose onto her shoulder and nodded at me. I gave her a questioning look for a second before nodding back. This was something to talk through later.

I turned back to the front just in time to see Weiss sail through the air, twirling gracefully. She landed in the no-man's-land between us and the charging Grimm and plunged Myrtenaster into the ground. Two huge walls of ice erupted on either side of her, at least fifteen feet tall. Spikes of ice jutted out of the structure, turning what was initially a wall into a fifteen-foot-tall line of pikes. She rolled forwards, towards the Grimm, and another spike of ice jutted up from where she was, completing the wall and sealing her off.

I took a step forward, about to go and rescue her, before I saw her slim figure appear, soaring above the lip of the wall. Blake fired Gambol Shroud towards her, the ribbon unfurling as the sickle rocketed through the air. Weiss deftly caught it as she twisted in the air and wrapped the ribbon around her wrist. Blake hauled back on the ribbon and reeled Weiss in, back over the newly formed wall of ice, until she landed safely on our side, a few feet away from our front line.

I saw the students around us gaping at Weiss in disbelief, while I just stepped forward to clap her on the back.

"That was awesome!" I said. She smiled her appreciation at my words.

"Thanks," she replied. "But I won't be doing anything like that again. I'm out of Freeze Dust now. And I've been running low on Burn for a while."

"Well then, the sooner we get this fight over with, the sooner you can restock." I said with a grin. "I've still got enough Gravity shells to last me a while, but I don't know about Ruby." Weiss' smile dropped off her face as I mentioned Ruby's name, which caught my eye and piqued my curiosity.

What was going on between these two? Ruby in tears, and Weiss getting upset at the mention of Ruby? The pair of them normally turned into giggling idiots whenever I mentioned the other's name. Well, Weiss didn't, but I'd get a blush if I was lucky. Now… I couldn't even begin to guess. But it would have to wait. We needed to survive this fight first. Then we could sort out emotional problems.

"Are you good, Weiss?" I asked bluntly. I needed her, and Ruby, at their best. "Cheer up," I said when she gave me a confused look. "Whatever's going on—no, I don't want to know—we can sort it out later. We need to deal with this now." Weiss nodded, turning back into her usual, composed, self. I clapped her on the back once more with a grin. "'Atta girl. Let's get this party started!"

Blake joined us as we turned to re-join our line.

"Did you really have to go outside the wall?" she asked Weiss.

"I was always taught that you don't know how well your fortifications will work until you see them from the outside." Weiss replied. "I needed to make sure it would hold them off." And by the frustrated roars coming over the wall, it sounded like it was holding them off perfectly. "That should give us some time," Weiss continued. "Enough time to clear out this other group at least."

"Good job, Weiss." I laughed. I was impressed that she'd managed to think on her feet that fast. We set off to the other side of our little army to look for Professor Ozpin. I looked around for Ruby as we waded through the students around us, but she was nowhere to be seen.

I flinched as someone let out a loud cry right next to me. I spun around just in time to see Nora land next to us and begin jumping up and down in excitement.

"That was awesome!" she squealed. "Oh my gosh, Weiss, that was so cool!" Weiss smiled her thanks as she politely stepped around Nora, who continued to follow her like an excited puppy. "I didn't even know you could make that much ice! How much Dust did that use? Must've been a lot. It looked so cool though!" Nora continued to gush over Weiss, but I tuned her out as I spotted Ozpin through the crowd.

"Hey, he's over there!" I called out. We pushed our way through the last of the mass of people and stumbled out into the open space around Professor Ozpin.

"Ah," he said with a smile. "Nice of you all to join us," I straightened up, dusting myself off, and was surprised to see Ruby standing next to Ozpin. Why was she already here? Why didn't she wait for us? Blake, Weiss and I stood next to Ruby, while Team JNPR lined up next to us. I would've expected Weiss to take her usual place next to Ruby, but this time she stood at the far end of the line, putting me and Blake in-between them. Urgh, what is going on with you two?

"Now that you're all here," Ozpin began, dragging me back to the situation at hand. "We can discuss our plans for our next move. We need to clear the grounds and get a team into the city. We need to get to the chapel, and find out what Myrka is up to over there."

"But sir," Pyrrha said. "The chapel is on the far side of the city."

"Yes that is true, but that almost gives it a kind of sense. He's been attacking us here, holding us inside the school, while he did whatever he's been planning on the other side of the city. That way, even if we get out, it'll still take us a while to get there and stop him."

"But what if it's another trap?" Weiss asked. "He's tricked us before with false information."

"That is also true. And, as such, we're going to leave your team here. The faculty and I will head over to the chapel and investigate. We'll leave all the students here, guarding the school."

I had to admit, it made sense. The teachers were undoubtedly the best fighters in Vale. They were trained Hunters and Huntresses. Send the best troops out and leave more of the less capable ones behind to defend. Even if we got attacked, we'd have greater numbers. But still, I had a growing sense of unease. How trustworthy was the information we'd recovered? Weiss was right, we had been tricked before, with near disastrous results. Who knew what could go wrong if we were caught out like that again? We didn't know how many Grimm Myrka actually had. There was every chance that he could overwhelm us, even with all the students here.

"In the meantime, however," Ozpin continued. "We need to focus on clearing the grounds. Excellent job fortifying our flank Weiss, now we just have to concentrate on one side." Weiss smiled at Ozpin's praise, her back straightening a little out of pride. "I need everyone to focus on wiping these monsters out as quickly as possible, we need to move on. The faculty and I need to plan out some more details of what we're going to do after this, but we'll lend you all aid as soon as we're finished." We all nodded and rushed off towards the front lines.

There was no finesse in this fight, no room for manoeuvres and clever tactics. All we could do was attack, and keep attacking until the enemy was gone. Ruby was slicing through Grimm with a passion, wearing a rage on her face that I'd never seen before. She moved rapidly, her cape a flurry of crimson, leaving crimson behind her. The ground was red around her feet, the blood of dozens of monsters soaking into the ground. And she was only getting faster. Crescent Rose spun in a blur, cleaving flesh and rending bone. The vicious roars of the Grimm around us were being drowned out by the pained screeches of those that died under Ruby's blade. She drowned even those out with a furious scream as she moved even faster. Sparks began to fly as Crescent Rose's blade skittered off the cobblestones. The Grimm foolish enough to stand in front of her were mowed down, like blades of grass that stood too high.

Weiss was just as terrifying. While Ruby was a vicious combination of speed and power, Weiss was all grace and precision. Myrtenaster was a needle, lunging back and forth into the mass of flesh before us. And everywhere she stabbed, her blade pierced flesh. No limbs flew where Weiss struck, but blood flooded around her. Whenever she attacked, she hit a vital spot, and all the wounds she inflicted wounds were fatal. A mound of Beowolves and Ursa was piling up before her; they didn't even have time to move between when Weiss struck and when they died. Spinning like a dancer, she whipped Myrtenaster around her, the sword seeming to flash in and out of existence as she lunged with lightning speed. Bursts of flame erupted as she swung her blade, an immense wall of flame rearing up in front of her. The half-dozen Beowolves that had, moments before, been about to overwhelm her were left in piles of smoking, seared flesh.

Blake seemed to hardly touch the ground as she fought. She leapt from place to place along the line, spinning Gambol Shroud around her by its ribbon. And she tore the Grimm's front line apart where ever she went. She leapt around the battlefront from monster to monster. I felt my heart leap to my throat on more than one occasion when I saw her riding on the back of an Ursa, slicing Gambol Shroud through the nape of its neck. Her shadows flashed around a Beowolf, confounding it, and blood gushed from at least four deep wounds across its torso. It fell in a heap on the ground, and she used its prone form to launch herself into another attack, decapitating a Boarbatusk that was rearing up to charge. She kicked off an Ursa, back-flipped through the air and whipped Gambol Shroud around her once again. All of the Grimm that were approaching her were torn to shreds by the viciously speeding sickle. She leapt away once more, leaving nothing but death in her wake.

And I was doing my best to watch her back. Once I caught my breath, I threw myself back into the fray. I enjoyed fighting monsters, it made me feel free. Fighting, or sparring, with people required a concentration and application of skill that just wasn't needed in this fight. So I could let loose. I didn't have to hold anything back. There was a part of me that started to feel sorry for the Grimm around us. Only a small part; Ember Celica never hesitated.

I lunged at an Ursa that Blake had just used as a spring-board. It was bent over at the waist from the force of Blake's jump, and I sent a vicious punch rocketing into its jaw. It seemed to hang in mid-air as I cocked my other fist and sent another punch into its stomach. The force of the blow sent it ploughing through the Grimm behind it, crushing them underneath its weight. I fired a few shells into the line of monsters in attempt to drag their attention away from Blake. A Beowolf that was about to slash at Blake's unsuspecting back turned to face me with a snarl as one of my shots hit it in the back of the head. It spun towards me and was sliced in two from behind as Blake spun towards the sound of its growl.

I spun back around after hearing an alarmed shout from Pyrrha. A Boarbatusk had taken the opportunity to barrel towards me while my back was turned. I fired a Gravity Dust shell into the ground as the charging ball of Grimm approached, and the tremor sent it into the air. I jumped up from my kneeling position and threw a punch at the Boarbatusk, sending it sailing through the air, away from us. It popped out of the ball it had curled into and let out a terrified squeal as it soared away.

I turned my attention back towards the monsters in front of me, just in time to block a blow from an enraged Ursa. The force of the blow was enough to send me flying backwards, but I turned the momentum into a backwards flip and landed on my feet, ready to lunge back in. But, before I could attack, a blast of pink erupted in front of me. I raised an arm to protect my eyes from the blast and brought it back down when I heard an excited yelp of joy. Nora leapt over me and, swinging Magnhild downwards with all the force she could, crushed the Ursa into the cobblestone.

"Thanks Nora!" I called out as she jumped back into line. She grinned and raised her hand for a high-five. I slapped her raised hand and threw myself back into battle. This time I heard a ruckus of explosions and laughter at my back. Nora was clearly enjoying herself. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. It was impossible to not smile when Nora was around.

Her cries and laughter seemed to rally everyone. Crescent Rose let out a high-pitched whine as Ruby swung it even faster. Gouts of flame and lightning flashed through the air as Weiss rallied herself as well. Blake leapt off the body of a fallen Ursa and, holding Gambol Shroud by the ribbon, spun herself into a series of rapid forward somersaults. Gambol Shroud spun with her, tearing through the monsters beneath her and filling the air with their screams.

The enemy line was beginning to thin out. I couldn't help but feel overjoyed. The onslaught of Grimm, which had been almost overwhelming at the beginning, was slowing down.

Then the ground trembled. I could feel something coming. Something big. I shared a worried look with Blake as the Grimm at the front of the line began to pull back. We took the opportunity to regroup, bunching together in preparation for what coming.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked. "Why are they pulling out?"

"I don't know," I replied. I gave her a reassuring pat on the head. I tried to smile, but I knew I wasn't hiding my concern well enough. "We'll just have to wait and see."

We didn't have to wait long. The retreating line of Grimm parted in front of us and we saw the cause of the tremors. A huge Deathstalker, at least twice the size of an ordinary one, was slowly walking towards us. It was flanked on either side by four giant Beowolves, each easily as large as the one we'd fought the previous week, most of them were probably larger. We all took an involuntary step—or two—back. There was no way we could handle this. This was insane.

Something moved in the corner of my vision and I turned to see Professor Ozpin, Goodwitch, and a few other teachers approaching the oncoming monsters.

"You've done well," Ozpin said. "But let us take things from here. You eight go and rest at the back. You've been working yourselves to the bone."

Part of me was eager to stay and watch. I wanted to know how the teachers fought. But, almost at Ozpin's command, the fatigue I'd been pushing away crashed over me. We'd been fighting and running almost non-stop all day. I was exhausted. So I fell back, with Blake at my side. I glanced back and saw Ruby, staying put, but swaying on the spot. I dashed over to catch her before she simply toppled over. She was that exhausted. I carried her back to the middle of our forces, where we were safest, and laid her down to rest.

I could hear battle cries and pained screams, so I knew that the teachers were winning. I still felt disappointed that I couldn't watch, but I was grateful for the chance to rest. Blake slumped down on the ground next to me. I leant over to rest my head on her shoulder, and she tilted her head to rest on mine.

"How're you holding up?" I asked.

"I'm coping, getting tired though. I don't know how much longer we can hold out."

"We have a fair few reserves. We probably didn't need to work ourselves as hard as we did. I'm sure they can take it from here."

"Are you okay with that?" she asked incredulously. "Won't you get bored?"

"No," I yawned. "I'm tired. I think I need a nap soon."

"Now you sound like Ruby." Blake chuckled.

"Yeah, she's already out."

"Didn't take her long."

"It never does."

It felt nice, relaxing, to be able to sit with Blake, and not have to fret about the battle. The teachers had taken over, we could relax. We'd been running ourselves ragged since the break of dawn, and we were probably all exhausted, though Weiss was putting on a show of hiding it. She was standing a short distance away, pointedly avoiding looking at Ruby.

"I really have to do something about those two." I muttered.

"About who?" Blake asked.

"Weiss and Ruby, something's going on between them. They're not even looking at each other at the moment."

"Well surely they can sort it out."

"Probably not. You know how good Ruby is with people, and how stubborn Weiss can be. Whoever's in the wrong, I can't see them sorting it out themselves."

"Good point. So, what do you want to do?" Blake asked.

"I'll wait until Ruby wakes up. I have a better chance of talking her around than I do Weiss. Let's just leave it til then." I replied.

Blake nodded and lay down on the ground. She stretched out, letting out an adorable little yawn, and shifted her arm around into a make-shift pillow.

"Then we have nothing to do but wait, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, you're right. We might as well get some rest." I laid down next to her and gazed up at the pure, white clouds that drifted past. It was funny how they still floating by, like nothing was wrong. As if this entire warzone didn't exist, as if no one had died today. The clouds just drifted past, uncaring. It seemed strange, with the screams echoing around us. The air around us was rife with roars, shrieks and the scent of blood, but once you got high enough, nothing was amiss at all. Blake and I lay there, as peacefully as we could in the middle of a battle, until the screams faded away and the fighting came to an end.

We hadn't even been resting for five minutes before Ozpin came over to us.

"No way!" Nora cried. "You beat them already?" Ozpin let slip a small smile at her words and chose not to answer.

"We've cleared the area around the front door," he began. "And we're going to move the injured and the fatigued back inside before we take on the rest. I'm fairly certain the school is empty of Grimm, but any that might be left will be few in number, and easily dealt with." I nodded and heaved myself to my feet, then reached down to offer Blake a hand up. I scooped up the still lightly snoring Ruby and followed Blake around to the doors, or what was left of them. We'd be in for an interesting fight if any Grimm made another attempt at taking the front of the school head-on. The wall around the door was collapsed and smashed in. There was almost no way we'd be able to defend it from a full-scale attack. So I found myself hoping that Ozpin was right about the second pack of Grimm being the last of them.

I carried Ruby inside and set her down lightly on a bench in the entrance hall. I sat down next to her and rested her head in my lap. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, with none of the furious rage I'd seen on her face earlier. I ran my fingers through her hair affectionately, and a peaceful smile spread across Ruby's lips.

The sounds of battle resumed outside as Ozpin and the rest of the faculty, as well as a few, more advanced, students, began the fight with the other pack of Grimm. The sound was close enough that we could hear it, but far enough away that I had no fear of the battle spilling into the building. But, all the same, when a dying Deathstalker let out a loud, piercing cry, I couldn't help but send a worried glance towards the doors, worried. When I looked back at Ruby, her eyes snapped open.

"Good morning, Sis." I said with a smile.

"Morning?" Ruby asked as she rubbed her eyes. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long. About fifteen, maybe twenty minutes."

"Oh, is that all?" She sounded disappointed. She sat up and spun around so she could sit back on the bench, next to me.

"How's everything going?" she asked.

"We're doing okay now. The teachers have taken over the offensive, so we just have to sit tight here, and wait it out."

"Well that's good," she yawned. "I was starting to get a little tired."

"A little, huh?"

"Yeah, only a little," We grinned at each other, sharing a laugh.

A teacher crossed over the threshold to tell us that the battle was almost over and that the teachers were going to go to the chapel as soon as it was. The students that had gone to help the teachers started filtering back in as the battle started to die down. Within ten minutes, the battle was over and we heard the teachers leaving the courtyard. It felt strange to not hear anything happening outside. We'd been hearing Grimm roaring and growling non-stop all day, now the silence was deafening.

"Hey, Ruby," I began. I didn't know how this was going to work, or what I should really say, but something had to be done. "What's going on between you and Weiss?" Ruby whipped her head around and looked at me in shock.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" she asked nervously. She'd never been a good liar.

"You and Weiss are avoiding each other. Normally, she'd be right here with you, by your side. But instead she's over there with Pyrrha, and even I can see how big a deal she's making of not looking at you. What's going on?"

"I…" Ruby muttered. "I don't know." She looked over at Weiss and I could see conflicting emotions flit across her face.

"Is this because she pulled you out of that hall when you wanted to try and save me and Blake?" I asked.

"Y-yeah… It was to start with at least. I was scared, Yang. I wanted to save you. I wanted to make sure you were okay, and she pulled me away."

"Because I asked her to,"

"I know that, but still…"

"We both want to protect you Ruby, that's all. You're my baby sister, so you're always going to be my number one priority. No matter what happens, I'll always protect you over anything, or anyone, else."

"I know that Yang. And you're my big sister, so I feel the s—"

"And Weiss feels the same way that I do." I cut her off before she could finish. I needed to get this out. "You're her best friend. I know she cares about you." Ruby's face turned pink at those words. I hadn't meant it like that, but I chose to not clarify the point. "She and I talked a few days ago. And we agreed that, if anything like this—" I gestured at the destruction around us. "—happened, we'd do our best to look out for you. That was all she was doing. You think she didn't know that you'd be mad? She knows you well enough by now. She chose to save you, knowing that you'd never thank her for it. She just wanted to protect you."

Ruby opened and closed her mouth, apparently lost for words.

"What if our places had been reversed?" I continued. "If I had pulled you out to protect you, but it prevented you from saving Weiss." She frowned and thought for a few seconds before replying.

"That's not the same thing, you're my sister—"

"Would you have been mad at me?"

"Yang, this isn't fair—"

"Would you have been mad?"

"Yang, this is stupid—"

"Would you?"

"Yes! Alright? Yes. I would have been mad."

"See?" I grinned triumphantly. "You do care about her."

"Of course I do!" Ruby said. I could hear her almost starting to choke up. "But, I don't know if I can fix things. I punched her, Yang. I was so angry and… I didn't think. I hit her." Well, that was surprising. I didn't think she'd ever go that far.

"So? Just go and apologise. I know she cares about you; just as much as you care for her, if not more."

"Can I really just apologise for that though? She doesn't even want to talk to me."

"Ruby, she's only ignoring you because she thinks you don't want to talk to her. If you go and make the first move, she'll come around. Just apologise."

"How can I just apologise for something like that?"

"She's your friend, Ruby. She's your best friend. You can't let something like an angry punch thrown in the heat of the moment—which I know she's already forgiven you for—come between you two. You worked hard to make her your friend, do you really want to have to talk to more people and make another best friend?" I threw the last bit in as a joke, but Ruby blanched at my words. But then she smiled, realising I was right, and looked over at Weiss again. Weiss cast a glance towards us and whipped her head back around when she noticed Ruby looking at her.

"Okay," Ruby said. "I'll go and talk to her."

"That's my girl." I said with a smile, patting her on the shoulder. Ruby grinned back, got to her feet and began crossing the wide hall, towards Weiss. Blake sat down on the spot that Ruby had just left, watching her too.

"Oh," I said. "There you are."

"Here I am." She said with a smile. "You're getting very serious and supportive today. It's not like you to go that long without making a quip."

"Yeah, well… The two of them fighting was annoying me. I wanted to fix it. Ruby needs Weiss, I just had to make her remember that."

"Looks like you did a good job, Big Sis." Blake said with a smirk. I shot a glare her way and flicked her ear. The yelp she let out afterwards made me burst into laughter.

"Yeah, I did." I bragged. "But enough of that, I hate getting that serious." Blake returned my smile and we sat back and watched Ruby as she approached Weiss.

Ruby was about halfway across the hall, and taking in a breath to call out Weiss' name, when the ground trembled. I shared a concerned look with Blake and got to my feet. We looked around the hall, but nothing seemed amiss. Ruby was looking back at me; she looked concerned as well. I shrugged at her, to say that I didn't know what it was either. I turned to look through the hole in the wall, maybe something was in the courtyard again.

A rippling mass of black fur rocketed through the doorway. My eyes could barely follow it, it was so fast. Before Ruby had time to draw Crescent Rose, or even react at all, it slammed into her with full force, sending her flying backwards. I watched in horror as Ruby crashed into the wall at the far side of the room, slid to the ground and lay still.