Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.
Author's Notes: Sorry there was no chapter last week. I couldn't think/write very well and decided to take a break. Should not have, it was a big mistake as it turns out. Hopefully this chapter is... satisfactory.
Pyromania hit 100 followers! Wow! Thank you everyone!
What a cruel and vile thing fate was. "Stay away Yang!" Blake screeched at the blonde girl standing just out of reach. "Stay back!" What a wicked, horrible irony. "Don't come near me..." Her hand tightly gripped the small crystal of red Dust, drops of blood falling from her thumb and splashing onto the floor. The pain was like nothing she'd felt before; an intense burning sensation had enveloped her hand and was spreading up her arm like molten metal being poured into a mold. Her mouth was clamped shut and her whole body was tensed as she tried to resist the creeping agony. "Stay away, Yang." she hissed through gritted teeth. Please. The expression of confusion and hurt on Yang's face nearly brought her to tears, the blonde frozen mid-step, hand still outstretched to comfort the grimacing faunus. This is to protect you.
"Just tell me what's wrong, Blake! Let me try and help you!" Yang begged, inching closer and holding her arms out in supplication. "I promise it'll be okay."
Those lilac eyes were ripping Blake to pieces. "I said STAY AWAY!" she screamed, straining her voice. She wanted to tell Yang, to let her help, but she knew that that small little crystal could bring untold devastation if the golden-haired huntress came into contact with it. Blake started to walk around the couches in a wide arc, trying to circle around toward a window.
Yang pivoted to stay facing her, creeping forward by a half-step every few seconds. "Blake, I don't care what's wrong, I just want to help you! It's all okay now. I'm better now!" A full step forward, leaving dangerously little space between the two huntresses. "I'm not sick anymore! I'm me again!" she gestured to herself, trying to show the faunus that she had changed, that she was back to normal. "So let me help you!"
"No!" Blake yelled, shaking her head. I'm trying to help you! The pain had crawled into her chest now; it felt as though acid had been dumped onto her heart. Tears of frustration and pain appeared in her eyes, sparkling in front of the scared amber irises. "No! You can't help me! I... I need to leave..." She had managed to get her back to the window, and now turned and prepared to jump through it. As her legs extended and she braced for impact, she felt herself jolted backward by a strong pull on her arm. The arm that had the Dust. Yang... please... no...
"I didn't die, revive, and then carry you all the way here just so that you could run away from me! I'm going to help you even if it kills me." Yang had grabbed Blake's wrist in both hands, forcibly holding her back. "And whatever it is..." she said as she started to grapple with Blake's tightly clutched fingers, "... that's bothering you..." Yang pried open the fingers. "...is in here!" she wicked her hand away, holding up the troublesome prize triumphantly. "Aha!"
Blake collapsed onto her knees in surrender. "Yang..." she uttered breathlessly. It's all over. Nothing has changed. She hung her head in defeat, shaking her head side to side as the pain continued to expand from her chest. Her breathing was irregular and her entire body was shaking as she strained herself to try and slow the fire's spread. Of course there had been no way to escape from the blonde; it was against Yang's nature to let a friend suffer without attempting to help. No matter how much she could have hoped or begged, the shining girl wouldn't have allowed her to leave. They both had struggled too much to leave each other now. But now it was all over.
Yang raised her hand in the air, smiling with victory. "There! Now, you're going to let me help you, or I'm going to- AAAAAAAaaaaAAAUGH!" Blake looked up in concern at the blonde's ear-shattering shriek, despite knowing exactly what she would see. The red crystal tumbled slowly in the air until it bounced gently against the soft carpet covering the floor, rolling to a stop several inches from Yang's booted foot. The blonde girl with the lilac eyes was clutching her hand as though it had just been cut off, howling in agony. The faunus' own pain had now consumed her entire body below the neck, gradually rising up her esophagus as she watched her girlfriend scream. "Why... why did you have that? Blake? Why?"
Amber eyes stared in despair at the terrified face of the brawler. "I'm sorry Yang. I tried. I tried..." she sobbed, hot tears cooling as they rolled down her cheeks. "You were dead..."
"Do you realize what you've done? Do you know what you've taken from me?" Yang asked, her expression twisting into a grimace of fear and betrayed hurt. "Now... now everything is... now I'm... I'm going to..." she stuttered in a voice of panic, stumbling away from the kneeling faunus. "What have you done, Blake?!" she shouted, staring at the amber-eyed huntress.
Blake was about to respond when she felt a surge of flame spike into her head, invading her mind. Her back arched in pain, her lips pulled apart to bare her teeth, and her body shook as every muscle was tensed to full. After a moment, she exhaled in a long sigh, leveling her head at the panting blonde. "What have I done?" she hissed, rising to her feet. "What have I done?! I tried to protect you! I told you to stay away!"
"Blake..."
"I told you to stay away, but you wouldn't listen would you?"
"Blake!"
Anger devoured her senses, furious power flowing from her heart through her arteries. "I told you to STAY AWAY! You didn't listen! This isn't my fault, Yang, it's yours!" her shoulders rose and fell to the slow pulse of her breath, shuddering in rage. She took a step forward, her face twisting into a snarl. "I put up with all the torture you've given me, and the second I try to help you, you blame me?" she growled as she took another step. "What have I done? What have you done? You've tormented me! Haunted me! Left me!"
"Blake!"
The look in those purple eyes was disgusting. It left a bitter, sour taste in her mouth. She wanted it to disappear, that putrid expression of fear, sadness, and apology. "What?! What could you possibly have to say now? 'How could you do this Blake?', 'You've hurt me so much Blake'. Spit it out!" She wanted to strangle that pitiful look off her face, crush it into nothingness.
"Your eyes are red..."
If she had known that the only thing that could make the pain of succumbing to insanity worse was the horrible, maniacal laughter that boomed from Blake's mouth, Yang would have ripped her own ears off. As it was, she watched in panic as the black-haired girl doubled over in deranged mirth, the boiling fire crawling along her veins the only distraction from the awful sight. "That's what you wanted to say?" the faunus asked between giggles. "Was that supposed to... scare me? Intimidate me?" Blake questioned, wiping away a tear with her bloody thumb. "Was it supposed to stop me?" She quickly completed her journey to the worried blonde, standing close enough that Yang could feel the heat of rage that radiated from her body.
Yang searched the fierce red eyes for a sign that the true Blake was still in there, still in control. She found nothing but fire smoldering in the deep depths of the black pupils; violent, frustrated rage that had been suppressed by sadness and depression finally freed by a small scratch. "Are you going to kill me, Blake?" she asked, her voice weak from pain and despair.
The red eyes sparkled with a wicked laughter. "Oh no, no I'm not." Gloved hands shot up to grip Yang's head, and she was shocked when she felt Blake's lips smash into her own. The kiss was hot and angry, stolen with vengeful lust rather than peaceful love. Any other time in any other situation, Yang would have welcomed the kiss, but instead she rejected it, trying to pull away from the sweet-smelling faunus. The hands grabbed tighter, pulled harder, and Yang nearly choked in surprise when Blake's tongue forced itself into her mouth. She strained her neck and pushed against Blake's body weakly as she tried to separate from the infected huntress, feeling disgusting at this perversion of their love. Finally, Blake allowed her to break apart, and Yang coughed, sickened. "Not yet, anyway." the deranged faunus said, licking her lips.
"What the fuck Blake?!" Yang gasped, sensing the beginnings of the chemically induced fury building in her chest. "Why did you do that?!"
"You're definitely on my list, but I have a couple names higher than you." Blake, unconcerned with the blonde's questions, strolled to the coffee table where her dual swords rested, picking them up and examining them. "My dear, my love, my sunshine..." These nicknames felt like pins being driven into Yang's skin. It sent chills down her back. Everything Blake said sounded fake; false words, false emotions, false meanings. "... surely you know that I like to save the best for last?" the black-haired girl said, giving the blonde an evil grin. She raised Gambol Shroud and fired a round at the window she had previously planned on jumping through, the glass exploding into hundreds of pieces. Getting a running start, she leaped through the opening, her boots and cloak knocking several remaining chunks of glass out of their frame. And then she was gone, vanishing from sight below the windowsill.
Yang stood frozen in complete shock, one hand half-raised toward the window in an unconscious attempt to stop the cloaked faunus from leaving her. Her lilac eyes, heavy with tearful loss and fear, glanced down at an unfamiliar glitter that rested among shards of glass on Ruby's carpet. Shuffling over as though in a daze, Yang discovered it to be Blake's scroll, the device having fallen out of the girl's cloak as she escaped out the window. Slowly and carefully, Yang bent down and picked up the scroll, squeezing it gently in her hand. I can use this. This is useful. I'll call... who? She unlocked the device, and swiped through Blake's contacts. Weiss! She began typing a message, fingers hunting for the correct letters. As she hovered over the 'send' button, a muscle spasm from the growing heat inside her shot through her arm, and her hand involuntarily clenched. With a small cracking noise, the clear surface of the screen fractured, white scars appearing across the screen. These are supposed to be bulletproof... Yang sighed and tossed the scroll onto a couch, cradling her head in her hands.
Tears broke from her eyes and she started to sob, her body trembling and shaking as she felt the burning begin to engulf her entire being. She pitched forward as she gagged, nausea making her stomach sink and her head spin. It's coming soon. It's coming soon. It's coming... There it was, that hellish heat that signaled agony. It pounced on her, exploding from her chest and racing along her veins in a flood of torturous fire. Every muscle strained, her arms whipped to her sides and her face pulled apart in a scream of violence, her voice echoing throughout the mansion. Every heartbeat spread more pulsing pain, each breath fanning the fire that burned inside; blood dripped from where her fingernails gouged into her palms, running along her white-knuckled fingers until they fell to stain the carpet. She felt her hair ignite, the golden locks rising on the rush of their own steam, hissing flames blazing at the edge of her vision. Finally, her body relaxed, and she tiredly slumped where she stood, drool and snot slinking down her face, her hair still fluttering over her head as though it had a mind of its own.
As she stared at the floor, Yang felt the creeping tendrils of fire approaching her brain. Everything she saw faded red, and the last thoughts of fear, sadness, and the smallest ounce of hope vanished under an inferno of rage. Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill Blake burn burn burn burn Blake. Red eyes glanced at the shattered window, and the blonde demon stalked toward the opening to the outside world. The click of a latch froze the fiery devil three steps from the exit, a murderous gaze turning to the far side of the living room.
"Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry I took so long, Drei decided he wanted to chase a cat up a tree." a familiar voice called from beyond archway separating the two rooms. Seconds later, an excited gray dog scampered into the living room, leaping over the back of the nearest couch and squishing the soft cushions under his feet. Drei, the thick leash still attached at his collar, twisted his head and stared his blue eyes at the glaring huntress standing in the middle of the room. Immediately, his bobbing tongue shot back into his mouth and the hair on the back of his neck started to rise. A low, barely audible growl rumbled in his throat, and he jumped off the couch, lowering himself to the ground.
"Heh..." Yang chuckled, an evil smile replacing the snarl on her face.
"So, is Blake awake yet?" The girl's voice returned, drawing Yang's attention away from the growling canine. The speaker entered the room, dressed in black with a red cloak. "Oh no! What happened to the window?!" Ruby zipped over to the mess on the carpet, staring at the glass in confused alarm. "Was anyone hu-" the words died in her throat as she looked up at the grinning monster standing over her. "Yang?"
"Ha, ha ha ha!" an excited, sadistic laughter escaped from the shining devil. "Ruby..." Yang said slowly, as though savoring the name. Drei barked at her and growled louder, his tail rising to stand straight up. Yang's eyes flicked over to the dog before switching back to rest magnetically on Ruby's scared silver eyes.
"Yang... oh no..." Ruby face settled into a mask of seriousness, and she began to rise from her knees.
"DIE!" Yang bellowed, launching into the air with a roar of rage, her fists aimed at Ruby's head. She smashed her hand into the ground, barely conscious of the slivers of glass that stabbed into her flesh. How disappointing, I missed. The only thing underneath her knuckles was a single rose petal slowly getting saturated with blood. Steam leaked from her mouth as she twisted her head, searching for her red-haired sister.
Red eyes widened in surprise when Yang found herself face-to-face with Drei, the massive canine throwing himself at the blonde demon. She was pushed onto her back by the 130-pound dog, his claws digging into her shoulders as his snapping jaws rained spittle onto her snarling face. She returned his growls and barks with a shout of her own, forcing one hand over his mouth while the other gripped the fur of his chest. Pulling a leg up and positioning her foot on the dog's chest, she kicked outward with a grunt of effort, sending the growling wolf-mix flying. Drei yelped as he bounced off the ceiling, crashing onto the floor with a loud thud.
Yang stood, her scratched shoulders rising and falling quickly with her heavy breath. "Where are you, Ruby? Come out and die!" she yelled into the air, twisting her head around to look for the taller huntress. There was a sound of rushing wind, and suddenly Ruby stood in front of her, now covered in pieces of polymer armor around her shoulders, knees, and elbows, black gloves fastened over her hands. Her face was hard-set, but the glimmer in her eyes betrayed her nervous concern. "There you are..." Yang smiled, stalking forward.
"What's the matter Yang? Less than an hour ago you were my loving older sister, and now you're..." Ruby looked her up and down. "Now you're not anymore." The redhead stood perfectly still as the flaming blonde approached, a slight flow of air making the ends of her hair wiggle.
A burning, bleeding fist punched toward the silver-eyed girl. "You're the problem!" Yang roared, throwing all her weight into the attack. Just as it was about to connect, Ruby seemed to slide in place, Yang's punch now completely off-target. She stepped through the punch, turning and attacking again. "You've always been the problem!" Ruby's face continued to avoid Yang's fists, the two girls wandering throughout the living room as the howling blonde fruitlessly assaulted the younger huntress. "I hate you!" The last punch caught the ends of Ruby's hair, several strands floating downwards on gentle currents.
Ruby's attention was briefly distracted by the contact, and Yang grinned. Before the silver eyes returned to their red opponent's, Yang shifted her weight and raised her leg, setting up for a powerful kick into her sister's ribcage. Victorious laughter collected in her throat, but died before its birth as Yang felt a tug on her boot. She glanced down and snarled as she saw that Drei, that miserable, cursed mutt, had clamped his jaws over her ankle, restraining her leg. Yang hopped and pivoted in the air, smashing her free leg into the dog's side, the gray-furred beast hurtling into a far wall with a sickening cracking sound. "Drei!" Yang heard the target of her rage cry out in worry.
She turned, a smirk of evil triumph affixed to her face. "Where were w-KUH!" All the breath was knocked out of her lungs and she bent over in pain, crimson eyes staring in surprise at the red-sleeved fist that had punched into her gut. Her breathlessness forced her onto a knee, and she glared up at the angry, silver-eyed woman standing over her. "I'll kill you..." she hissed, clutching her chest.
"You're not going to give up, are you?" Ruby sighed, shaking her head. "You can't beat me, Yang."
"Oh, what makes you so perfect? What makes you so great?"
"I didn't say I was perfect, just that you couldn't beat me."
"Oh, you said that, but what you meant was 'I'm perfect, I'm so much better than Yang'."
"No, I-"
"You've always thought that! Everyone has always thought that!" Her breath was coming back, but very slowly. The anger inside was trembling, boiling, ready to burst.
"Yang..."
Those disgusting silver eyes looked so pitiful. That sorrowful expression was hideous. I want to rip it apart. I want to destroy it. I want to burn it. "What makes you so much better than me? What makes you so perfect?" Yang asked, her voice quiet and hoarse. "Child prodigy. Getting into Beacon two years early. Team leader. Top of the class. Master-level scythe wielder." She started to rise, the screaming fury inside her craving release. "What makes you so fucking great?"
"Yang, I-"
"What makes you so much FUCKING better?" Yang screamed, her burning rage swirling through her veins. Tears collected unbidden in her eyes. I'm not sad, I'm angry. But the tears were of sadness. "WHY DID YOUR MOM STAY?" Deep in her mind, the sane part of Yang cried, intangible mental tears flowing from imaginary purple eyes. In reality, a red-eyed blonde wiped away sizzling unwanted tears from the side of her face. "Why? Why did your mom stay?" The fire inside surged throughout her body, furious energy cascading along her veins with brutal power. There was a crackling snap of flame as Yang's hair ignited, sparks and steam erupting from the golden locks. With a bellowed roar Yang threw herself at her taller sister, fingers outstretched like claws, aiming for the slender neck. "I HATE YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"
The mournful and heartbroken look on Ruby's face vanished, replaced with a stern, solid frown. Steam and droplets of blood showered out from the howling demon's mouth as the psychopathic blonde rejoiced in finally destroying the source of all her suffering, all her anger. A gloved fist crashed into Yang's jaw, her teeth clacking together painfully, quickly followed by a kick to the stomach. She flew backwards and landed on her back on the floor, scrambling back to her feet. She started sprinting back toward the red-haired girl, but slid to a stop when her target disappeared and she felt a brush of air on the back of her neck. With a yell, she whipped her arm around, planning to smash an elbow into Ruby's nose. Her attack met with empty air, and the look of frustrated confusion was wiped from her face by a strong punch to the side of her head. Yang grabbed at her enemy, fingers searching for a scrap of clothing or fleshy arm to grasp. A powerful push from underneath her elbow, accompanied by a dreadful cracking noise, sent overwhelming pain coursing through her arm and she screeched. She felt herself get shoved to the side just before her brain registered the impact of a boot knocking into her hips, her head bouncing off an arm of the couch before she face-planted the floor.
The anger wouldn't allow her to rest quite yet, stubbornly forcing her to try and lift herself off the floor. Flares of pain caused her vision to blur, but she continued upward, standing shakily with her good hand pressed to her head. "Where... are... you..?" All the air fled her lungs as another small fist smashed into her diaphragm, and she felt her stomach muscles tense in shock. She was about to roar again when something heavy knocked into her head, and everything went black.
Ruby sighed in relief as she stood over the unmoving, but still breathing, form of her sister, wiping her brow with a gloved hand. "Sorry sis, but you didn't give me much choice." She look around at her house; glass, blood, and rose petals covered the carpet, the walls and ceilings were sporadically marred by streaks of black, and all the furniture had been pushed around. "Drei!" She remembered, rushing over to the gray-furred canine. "You okay buddy?" she asked, petting his neck and sides. He wagged his tail weakly in response, twisting his head to nuzzle his snout against her wrist. "Good boy... good boy..." she soothed, stroking his head.
She stood and stretched, another sigh, of exhaustion this time, passing through her lips. "What a mess. Blake's gone, Drei's hurt, Yang's unconscious..." She stepped over to the couch and collapsed onto its soft pillows. "Today has been sooooo weird!" she mumbled into a padded cushion. She shifted uncomfortably, something hard and square poking against her chest. Rolling herself over and probing with her hands, she removed a scroll with a cracked screen from between her ribs and the couch. "Well its certainly not mine." she said to herself, being greeted by a half-finished message when she unlocked the device.
To: Weiss Schnee
"Wweis,. Prblms, Balke and I sikc again. Help"
Silver eyes, tired and heavy with morose sadness, brightened at the name of the recipient. "OhmygoshihaventseenWeissinforever I'mtotallygonnatextherlikerightnow ohbutwhatshouldIsayIdon'tknooooooow!" she kicked her feet in the air as she pondered her message, her tongue peeking out of her mouth as she concentrated. Finally deciding on a suitable note, she quickly began typing, fingers tapping against the broken screen.
To: Weiss Schnee
"Hi Weiss! I hvnt talkd 2 u in 4ever! Anyway, I hav problems. Blake n Yang r infected w/ Pyromania. Its an Atlas disease where they get angry. Help plz!"
Satisfied, Ruby hit send before closing the scroll and rising from the couch, placing her hands on her hips. "Got to clean all this up now. Thanks Yang." she huffed, rolling her eyes. As she turned to make her way to the broom closet, something sparkly and red caught her eye. A thin crystal of red Dust lay amongst a forest of broken glass, glittering in the afternoon sunlight. "Well that explains a lot..." Ruby mumbled, crouching down and gingerly picking up the small gem, careful not to touch the sharp points. "But how did you get here?" She stood and shrugged. She'd destroy it later, right now she had to make sure Yang was... restrained, and start cleaning up after their fight. "Wouldn't be much of a visit from Yang if something didn't get broken, I guess." Ruby grumbled, stomping to the broom closet. "I wonder where Blake is?" Surely she can't get into too much trouble, right?
Author's Notes: I really don't know how to feel about this chapter. I like it in general, but I don't think I captured the characters very well, I don't think I even got the disease right. There were too many little things I felt needed to be included that sounded wedged in. I hope everything made sense. Let me know what you thought.
No animals were harmed in the writing of this chapter.
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