A wall of flames erupted just Ruby was about to make contact with her scythe. The impact was like striking stone and it sent her flying back to the ground.
"Ruby!" Weiss screamed. She was by her side in an instant, holding Myrtenaster up protectively.
Blake and Yang quickly joined her, ready to face any attack, but Cinder just laughed in amusement.
"My, my, a sneak attack. I didn't think you had it in you, little girl."
Ruby leapt up immediately holding Crescent Rose, her hands still shaking from the force of the strike. She eyed Cinder and Adam nervously. There was just the two of them now, but they were the most dangerous.
Judging by the way the flames had instantly appeared without any motion of her hands or body, it appeared that Cinder had gained some sort of new power. Any wrong move at this point could lead to her friends getting hurt or killed, Ruby just couldn't let that happen. What to do, what to do?
"Hello Blake…" Adam said interrupting Ruby's train of thought. He smiled menacingly and added "My love."
"Don't call me that! You disgust me, Adam."
He seemed to frown ever so slightly at that, and turned his attention to Yang. "Blondie. How's the arm?"
Blake looked like she was about to lunge at his throat but Yang held out her hand and stopped her. Today was not the day to let loose her fury. She knew she wasn't strong enough yet.
"The better to smash you with," Yang answered, trying to sound confident.
Adam grit his teeth and took a step forward, his hand automatically going to the hilt of his sword but Cinder stopped him with the smallest of touches to his arm.
"Easy now, pet. We have more pressing matters to attend to."
"I told you not to call me that…" Adam muttered under his breath, relaxing his stance.
Cinder ignored him and turned to team RWBY who were staring daggers at her. "So what do we have here? Four little girls playing huntresses? Tell me, do you honestly think you can make a difference?"
Cinder smiled when she saw the uncertainty flicker in their eyes despite their efforts to hide it. "I mean, what could a little girl, spoiled brat, stray runaway, and crippled bimbo possibly hope to accomplish in this war?" she continued, feeling satisfied with the silence she received in response. But then she heard a determined voice,
"You won't win."
What?
"You won't win. We may not be the strongest or the smartest or the fastest, but there are others like us, and we will defeat you!" Ruby said solemnly.
Cinder scowled at the young girl's unwavering resolve. She tapped her finger to her chin, wondering what it would take to snuff out their precious spark of hope. Cinder eyed the tiny twinkling lights of the village in the far off horizon through the narrow passage of the canyon and got an idea.
"Have you heard the story about the creation of the Grimm? Darkness incarnate, feeding off humanity's deepest fears. Shadows in the night, people torn apart limb by limb, babies eaten out of their cribs… Before the Grimm, there was her, the one source of truth in the corrupted world of the humans."
Team RWBY glanced at each other nervously, confused at what she was talking about.
"Perhaps a demonstration is needed to make you understand how powerless you truly are…" she said raising her hands that were starting to glow a strange black and purple colour. "Let me show you the unparalleled power of my queen."
A dark shadow started to grow behind her, an ominous inky blackness spreading across the ground. Team RWBY watched in horror as the creatures of Grimm rose from the shadow. Beowulfs, Creeps, Ursas, and Goliaths, they just kept coming one after another, hundreds, red eyes glowing from their white masks, sharp fangs bared, and low growls coming from their throats. They hadn't moved yet, as if waiting for a signal…
"An entire village decimated and devoured by a horde of Grimm, what a fitting symbol." With that Cinder snapped her fingers and the Grimm started moving. There was so many of them that they lumbered forward at a slow pace at first.
"The village!" Ruby cried. "Everyone grab a hold onto me!"
Blake and Weiss grasped one arm, and Yang grasped the other. Ruby summoned all of her strength and launched forward in flurry of rose petals toward the village. She could still hear Cinder and Adam laughing in the distance.
Her semblance gave out just as they came through the canyon, and they tumbled onto the ground.
Ruby got up as quickly as she could, her words coming out faster than she could think. "We have to help them! We have to!"
Yang got up next, looking around frantically, trying to formulate a plan. An enormous overhanging boulder on the rock face of the canyon caught her eye. If she could just break it off and move it in front of the opening…
"You guys help evacuate the village, I'll block the canyon with that boulder," she said, pointing up at it.
"What? No!" Blake exclaimed. The idea was insane.
"You guys are the fastest, and I'm the strongest. I can hold them back..."
Ruby looked her sister in the eye with a serious expression on her face, the gears turning in her head, weighing the options, calculating the odds. If Yang could hold back the Grimm, at least for a little while, they would have a better chance at getting the people out. With a heavy heart, and worry afflicting her mind, she nodded. "We'll be back as soon as possible," Ruby promised.
Blake looked completely distraught, shaking her head furiously. "No," she said adamantly, stepping up to Yang. "It's too dangerous."
"Blake…" Yang said in a pleading tone.
"I can't lose you, Yang!" Blake burst out.
"I'm the only one who can do this!" Yang said gripping her arms.
Blake froze. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she had said the exact same words to Yang in that empty classroom. She looked into Yang's eyes, so full of determination and fire and knew she couldn't stop her. She never could. Like the sun she blazed a path into her life, gave her warmth and affection with patience and understanding, more than she thought she deserved.
A surprised squeak escaped Yang's mouth as Blake took her face into her hands and forcefully pressed her lips to hers. The kiss was rough, hot, and untamed. When they finally broke away, Yang made a frustrated high-pitched sound, not unlike a kettle boiling over. Blake panicked, feeling a blush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. She couldn't believe she just did that.
"I-I'm sorry Yang! I don't know what came over me-"
Before she could say another word, Yang silenced her with another kiss, slower and softer this time.
Yang pulled away, a soft expression in her eyes. "When we get out of this alive…" she whispered. "We're going to talk about this… And um, do it again."
Blake nodded and they stared deeply into each other's eyes for a moment.
Weiss cleared her throat loudly. "Ahem, we have to get going."
Yang broke out of her trance. "Right! Get those people to safety, I'll hold them off here!" she said, launching her gauntlets and leaping up the side of the rock face.
Ruby and Weiss dashed away to the village and Blake reluctantly followed, taking one last longing look at Yang. You better be okay, she silently pleaded.
Yang watched her friends leave from the top of the canyon and concentrated her aura into her fist. With one powerful strike, she dropped the boulder on to the ground and a loud boom shook the earth. She jumped down and stared at the size, making a mental note of how much power it would take to move it.
I can do this, she whispered to herself. Yang slammed her fist into her chest, activating her semblance. The flames of her aura surrounded her as she pushed the boulder with all her might.
Bit by bit it moved, a long drawn out groan rumbling through her gritted teeth as she exerted herself to the limit. She could already hear the tell tale growls of the Grimm approaching just as she covered the opening.
Yang pressed her back against the boulder, feeling them clawing on the other side, and slammed her fist into her chest once again. "Let's do this shit!"
A/N You can probably tell that Yang is my favourite character. Fun fact, "I can't lose you, Yang!" was one of the lines that inspired this chapter. For chapter 3, it was Weiss' line "That's obscene you oaf!" Funny how one line can inspire an entire chapter.
I think I'll have one chapter and a epilogue left for this shortish story. Apologies, if some of you think it is too short. This is my personal take on Volume 4, and I'm really excited to see what actually happens in canon!
