"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
-Seneca
Yang sprinted ahead of her teammates, intent on finding her sister. This was no time for caution, Ruby was missing, and she knew her sister's lack of combat prowess without her weapon.
"Yang! Slow down!" Weiss's voice echoed down the tunnel, following Yang around each corner, and finding her standing at a fork in the path. Yang stood there, panicking, trying to discern which direction the hole on the surface led to.
"RUBY!" she screamed as her heart tried to tear itself out of her chest, each beat pounding in her ear with unbridled energy.
Blake was the first to catch up to her, followed closely by Weiss and Oobleck. Yang turned to the Faunus in desperation, anguish in her eyes as she searched for an answer as to where her sister had vanished to. "Blake, please, you've got to be able to hear something, can't you? There's got to be a way to find her! I can't lose her. I can't fail Dad," she pleaded while her eyes blazed red.
Blake nodded in silent understanding and strained her ears beneath her bow, intent on picking up anything that might give them a clue as to the whereabouts of their leader. She turned white as a sheet as her ears twitched, then sped off down one tunnel without a word. Yang took no time to process and hurried after her without question.
"What?! Wait! Where are you two going?!"
"Do not tarry, we must follow them! Blake must have heard something!" Oobleck's voice followed them as he spurred Weiss along.
Yang rounded another corner and was immediately yanked down and hushed by Blake. "There they are, but there's too many of them for us to take on alone-" Blake was cut off by a piercing scream.
Yang shot up immediately and barreled into the cavern, shooting past White Fang guards before they could even acknowledge her. By the time they managed to bring their weapons about to face her, the rest of the team was upon them. Weiss used a glyph to shield any fire directed at Yang, while Blake leapt forward to engage the White Fang soldiers as Oobleck focused on the Paladins.
As the fighting raged on behind her, Yang plowed her way through more White Fang guards. Not a single grunt was able to get a shot in as she approached the source of the screams. When she located the room that held her sister, nothing could stop her from entering. One shot from Ember Celica destroyed the door's lock, quickly followed up by Yang throwing her weight into the door, which knocked it clean off its hinges.
The room was dark save a spotlight above the chair in the center where Ruby was bound, bleeding profusely from cuts across her exposed abdomen. "Ruby!" Yang's eyes locked on her sister and she hurried over to free her. "Who did this to you?" Yang's question was answered by a sharp blow on the back of her head.
Yang staggered, momentarily disoriented from the sudden attack, but managed to get a glimpse of a White Fang soldier running through the back exit, coiling a whip. She tore her attention away from revenge and back to her sister.
Ruby was on the verge of consciousness. Yang's fingers accidentally brushed the back of her sister's skin as she untied the knots that bound her, causing Ruby to scream and shrink away.
"No! Please, no more!" Ruby cried.
"Ruby, hey, it's me! It's Yang. It's ok, I'm here now," Yang pulled her sister in a hug, shocked at the reaction. "Don't worry, I've got you. It's all over now."
Ruby blinked away tears, looking up at who was holding her and began sobbing. "I thought you would never find me. He kept saying all these things he was going to do to me and… and…" her voice was shaking and she shrank into herself at the memory.
Yang sank down to the floor to untie Ruby's legs. As she did, she noticed a small pool of blood on the seat of the chair.
Wait, Yang's eyes traveled up. That isn't from her stomach…
The sudden realization of what had happened hit her like a train. Yang hurriedly averted her eyes, trying to preserve what little decency her sister had left.
The rest of the group burst through the door, led by Oobleck. "Yang! Have you found her?" He quickly checked the rest of the room before returning to Ruby to assess her wounds. "There doesn't seem to anything that won't heal, but these will definitely scar."
The heiress approached and immediately began to question the younger girl. "Ruby, is there anything you heard from them that can tell us what their plans are? Did they mention their plans for the dust they stole from my family? What about the Paladins from Atlas? We have to stop these criminals."
"Back off! She's barely untied and now you're interrogating her!" Yang snapped at Weiss.
Weiss ignored the increasingly furious blonde and pressed on. "Well what about the men who did this to you? We have to focus on the mission. There were at least a hundred soldiers out there, and they looked like they were planning something big. If this is another attack on my family, that blood is on our hands. My hands."
"Perry… That's what they called him."
"Who?" Blake asked gently.
"The one who… did… did… this… to me…"
A klaxon sounded before a heavily accented voice came over the PA system, "Alright, everybody, get on the train! We're moving out!"
Oobleck muttered to himself, lost in thought. "Train? That track has been sealed off for years."
"Wait, Dr. Oobleck, where was the end of the line?"
"Why do you ask, Blake?" Oobleck's brown eyes lit up behind his glasses. "Of course! You're absolutely right!" Oobleck turned to the girls, "They must be trying to breach the city!"
"Then we have to stop it! We can't let these-" Weiss gave Blake a sideways glance before continuing, "-Criminals use Schnee hardware! There is no telling how much damage they could do, and they can not be used to further sully my family's name!"
"It's not about your family's name, we need to take them out or they'll destroy the city." Blake tensed, poised to jump down Weiss's throat if she continued her self important act, but Oobleck quickly jumped in between them, derailing the argument before it could even start.
"Girls, now is not the time for this! You're both correct, we must find a way to stop the train before it reaches the city."
Yang was the first to respond, and voiced her concern for her sister, "But Professor, what about Ruby? She can't fight like this."
"Yes I can."
Everyone turned to Ruby, surprised at the interjection. "Who has Crescent Rose?"
A somewhat incredulous Blake produced the scythe from off her hip. "Are you sure that you want to fight?"
"I have to, or else innocent people are going to be hurt." The young huntress-in-training accepted her weapon, not giving a thought to the damage it might have sustained while Blake fought with it on her hip. Ruby mechanically clipped it to her belt before turning back to the group.
Oobleck shouldered his pack. "Very well then. Let's go stop that train."
As the group exited the building, Yang hung back near Ruby, making sure to keep an eye on her as they ran through the now empty cavern towards the train. The engine lurched forward, but everyone managed to find a handhold on the side before they climbed to the top to regroup.
"Alright, children, we must get to the front and stop this train."
"Doctor Oobleck, I think we need to go. Now." Weiss was standing by the open hatch to the top of the car. Yang and the rest of the group ran over to her, curious at her discovery. A bomb on top of a train car full of dust was what greeted them.
"Right, on we go!" Oobleck led the rest of the team to the next car as the bomb started beeping urgently. "Blake! Detach the caboose!"
"Right!" Blake hopped down to disconnect the two cars.
Yang watched on as the train car drifted away from their own. Blake must have been quick, she thought.
"It decoupled itself!" A shout from below told Yang that she was wrong.
"I guess he really doesn't want us on this train," Yang replied as she helped her partner back up to the top of the car.
Yang looked up from helping her partner in time to see the now detached car explode. The resulting blast sent the train car to the ceiling of the tunnel and smashed a hole as wide as a Nevermore's wingspan. Before anyone could make another comment, an ominous beeping rang out from the hatch of the car they were currently standing on.
"Another bomb?!" Blake's response said it all. The group sprinted for the next car, barely making the jump as their car detached, which then drifted down the tracks and detonated like the first.
Yang looked back to see Grimm beginning to pour out of the openings in the tunnel. Beowolves, Death Stalkers, and Ursai were a few of the many species of Grimm that began to flood the tunnel, so much so that they spilled over each other as they pursued the train, intent on another meal. They crawled over the rubble and roared, howled, and gnashed their teeth, their blood lust spurring them onward.
Oobleck had yelled something about Grimm, but Yang was too busy watching her sister to even care. Ruby, though alert, didn't have the usual twinkle in her eyes. She stood holding Crescent Rose in its rifle form, which would undoubtedly have made her the most confident of all of them any other day, but now she looked… hollow. A hot feeling boiled up inside of Yang, and her eyes flared red with anger at the thought of the monster who did this to her sister. Her vengeful thoughts were interrupted when everyone started to move. She snapped out of her reverie and followed the group.
Oobleck raced to the hatch on their new car. "It's empty! Alright, we need to find some way to stop this train. You three," he nodded in the direction of Weiss, Blake, and Yang, "Go through the cars and try to find a way to stop the engine from there. Ruby and I will fight our way on the top and try to do the same." Weiss and Blake nodded quickly before they turned to drop into the car, but Oobleck stopped them with one final warning. "Remember girls. You are strongest as a team. You must fight together, or you will surely fail." All the girls exchanged a somber nod before Weiss and Blake lowered themselves into the vacant train car. Yang, however, hesitated.
"Professor, I want to stick with Ru-"
"Don't worry, Yang," Oobleck smiled reassuringly. "I will make sure she is safe. Now go!" He turned and sped towards the front of the train, Ruby close behind him.
Yang reluctantly watched as she and her sister were separated once again. I promise you, after all this is over, I will never leave your side, Yang swore silently as she turned to follow her teammates into the car. She dropped in as Blake was putting a clip into Gambol Shroud.
After a silent look between the three of them, they turned and began sprinting through the train cars. One, two, three, all empty. No such luck on the fourth as they burst into the next car to find a group of White Fang exiting from the opposite door, while the one that remained barked orders at them. "-don't care! You heard Torchwick, grab a Paladin and kill them!"
A voice squawked over the radio, "PERRY! GET THEM OFF MY TRAIN!"
"Understood, boss, we'll take care of it," Perry spoke into the radio, a slight edge in his voice. "Why are we taking orders from a Human?" he muttered as he turned around to face the new arrivals. "Well now, what do we have here? Three more playthings, hmm?" he removed his weapon from his belt and snapped it. He wielded a whip, with small blades along its length.
The mention of his name over the radio and the whip gave Yang no doubts. "You two go on ahead. This one's mine." Blake gave her partner an unsure look, but Weiss took off without a question, and Blake could only follow.
Perry snapped his whip sideways, cutting the room in half. Blake easily dove under the line, leaving her shadow as she rolled out and past the White Fang torturer. Weiss handled the attack just as easily, casting a glyph on the tip to hold it in place as she sprinted past, then hurried into the next car with Blake.
The door slid shut behind them, and Yang was upon him. A swift right hook to the chin, then a bone-crunching left uppercut to the ribs sent Perry stumbling back. He weakly snapped his whip up towards his attacker. Yang put up her left arm and let the whip wrap around it, the sharp blades on the length anchoring it in place.
"Yeah?! Is that all you got?!" Her eyes were blood red, the pain only fueling her lust for revenge.
Perry's eyes widened beneath his mask as she ripped the weapon from his grasp before she leapt at him again. She slammed her fist on top of his skull, cracking his mask with a blast from Ember Celica. His knees buckled, but she stayed on top of him, keeping her knee firmly in his chest when he collapsed to the ground.
One blow to the head. His aura was gone. She slammed her fist into his head. Another. He went limp. She felt something give as she delivered the next strike. Red tinted her vision, but she kept slamming her fist into what was left of his skull. With each blow she felt the beast inside her roar with satisfaction. This is what he deserves, it said.
Finally, Yang stopped, exhausted, with no more ammo left in Ember Celica. She looked down at what she had done.
Blood was everywhere. The train car was painted with it, as was Yang herself. It had soaked through her jacket and boots. Her vision was red, and when she saw her reflection in the pool of blood, her face was more sanguine than pale white.
This is what he deserved, the voice said. He hurt Ruby. He deserved to die.
Yang stood shakily, stunned by what she had done. This is what he deserved, she told herself. She took one step and slipped on the slick blood. She reached out to the wall to steady herself, and her hand came away red and left messy streaks on the wall. The thought of what she had done began to overwhelm her, and she sunk to the ground, and began to bawl.
I… I killed him, Yang's sobs wracked her body and she squeezed her knees to her chest. I can't be this person.
He hurt Ruby. This is justice. The voice was loud and strong, easily drowning out every gasp for air as tears flowed freely from her eyes. Yang latched on to the voice, desperate for some justification.
After a minute of rocking back and forth on the car's floor, Yang rubbed the tears from her eyes before she stood. She tore the whip from her arm. It had been in long enough to deplete her aura, but not long enough to scar her like Ruby would be. She wiped the blood off of herself as best she could, but the red still tinted her vision, no matter how hard she tried to calm down. A quick reload of Ember Celica, then she started toward the next car, intent on finding Ruby.
The steel door slid open, and Yang immediately jumped into action. A White Fang soldier that was twice her size and wielding a chainsaw as tall as her had slammed Weiss into the ground before he threw her into the air. The mountain of a man swung the blade toward her torso as she fell, a crushing blow imminent for the heiress.
The blow sent her flying into the door to the next car, and she crumpled while Yang moved to take on her attacker. Before she could reach him, he had swung the saw blade back around, slashing straight down toward her. She side stepped to her right, and came back around with a right hook to his abdomen. The blow from her gauntlet knocked him back into the train car's wall, disturbing the boxes around him. As he moved to stand up, several fell on top of him, hindering his progress, which gave Yang enough time to pull Weiss to her feet and move on to the next car.
Blake was standing over Torchwick, Gambol Shroud poised to strike. On hearing her two teammates enter, she quickly sheathed her weapon and delivered a crippling kick to the side of the man's head, knocking him unconscious and sending his hat flying.
"Yang! What happened?! You're –" Blake's eyes were wide, and locked on Yang's blood stained appearance.
"No time to explain, we have to go now!" Yang said while half dragging, half carrying Weiss, who was steadily regaining her aura and her bearings. He deserved it, she wanted to say. He hurt Ruby. There was only one way it could end.
Weiss shook off Yang's help as they made it into the next car. "You two get on top of the train, I'll seal the door off with a glyph." Yang used a blast from Ember Celica to force the hatch open, then another blast to accentuate her jump, and clambered up to the top of the car. Blake leapt up behind her, landing silently on her feet, followed shortly by Weiss.
Yang turned to see Ruby running toward them, away from Oobleck and several Paladins. The sealed entrance of the tunnel was approaching rapidly, and they didn't have time to move up any more cars.
"What do we do?" Blake's voice cut through Yang's relief at seeing her sister, and focused her back on the pressing situation.
Weiss took charge immediately, slamming Myrtenaster into the roof of the car, and enveloping all four of team RWBY in ice.
The train smashed into the iron gate, and the team's temporary shelter was shattered. Each member was thrown hard into the rubble at the new opening. Yang's vision was blurry and swam with black dots as she struggled to maintain consciousness. The black dots swarmed, and she faded.