Brief Author's note: I've reconsidered and decided to put this chapter out before the interlude.
Chapter 20: It's your Blood that's Red like Roses
Yang turned to face her sister, she'd grown a couple inches since Yang had last seen her, the baby-fat from her face had been worked away giving Ruby a slightly gaunt look that helped accentuate her grim reaper-esque style. She was standing on the sand with Yang rather than from atop the far-off roofs.
That was a fatal mistake Yang thought with her mother's cold logic. If she stayed up there, she'd have an advantage of range over me.
Release the dragon.
Ruby had unfurled Crescent Rose and was leaning on it just staring at Yang with her silver eyes. Yang's fist clenched and unclenched as she watched Ruby. She wasn't beating down the voice whispering in her ear this time, why bother? Tired as she was, she had been looking forward to this fight.
And some deeper part of her dreaded it.
"They're coming Yang" Ruby spoke with all the confidence of stating a well-known fact. "Atlas forces are on the way"
Oh, are they really Yang kept her mirth from her face as she patted herself on the back for her little play.
"If they grab you, they'll throw you in a cell" she glared at Yang with a pleading look buried beneath, her frustration. Slowly Ruby lifted her hand towards her sister. "Come with me Yang, we'll keep you safe"
Safe? Safe is just another word for Cage! They'll lock me up! Cage the dragon!
Yang could hear the blood rushing in her ears and she could smell iron in her nose as Ruby's voice was drowned out by the torrent of sounds and senses pouring into Yang's skull and all of it was made all the louder by her knowledge that Ruby's threat of Atlas was moot.
Yang inhaled deeply, and she could feel the dark emotions inside Ruby coming off in reeking waves. Fear, anger, regret, sadness, a tiny dash of hatred and a flood of shame.
So much shame it would almost spoil the meal. Yang took a second to savor the taste not just of the darkness within her own sister but the terrible nature of the city itself, the Grimm sense was a drug that couldn't be matched, its only competitor was the adrenaline of a good fight. The city stank, her sister was putridly sweet with the inner darkness and it filled both Yang and the Grimm with vindication.
Hurting something this rotten can't be wrong. The words slithered into Yang's ear as she just stared at her sister still talking to her and she felt an itch in her right shoulder get worse with each flap of her lips.
Ruby
"I miss you, Weiss misses you" Ruby knew this was pointless, but she had to make the effort she held crescent rose in her hands grounding her to adamant reality. "I know it's naive but please we can keep you safe or at least…"
Ruby looked up at Yang and her pleading died in her mouth. Yang hadn't unfurled her new Ember Celica yet, but her eyes had a strange glassy look to them and seemed to be looking through Ruby instead of strictly at her, occasionally a twitch would fly through Yang's face but that was all the emotion Ruby could see in her sister's eyes. The Grimm mask atop Yang's head sent a feeling of unease coursing through Ruby and she had a distant feeling that the metal mask was watching her somehow, the thing radiated menace.
Besides the mask Ruby noted how different Yang looked, her clothes weren't as attention-grabbing as before, she was as tense as a wire and her eyes which used to be a relaxing shade of lilac remained red. What happened to you Yang? What made you so… Grimm-like?
Ruby had heard the talk throughout beacon when it came to light that her sister had survived. Rumors spread from that revelation and every other student at Beacon had come up with some story about what the most dangerous Beacon dropout was up to next, stories about how she was a crazy hermit living in the woods or a drunkard in a slum. Then little by little some truth managed to filter its way in and when it did the stories took a darker turn.
She's rabid. They said. She's a killer for hire. Others whispered. She's a Grimm in human form. The most outlandish theory of the bunch whispered into Ruby's ear by some particularly vindictive students, trying to see if they could trigger the unstable girl.
Not so outlandish anymore Ruby thought, looking at the mask and the scars on her sister's body. Ruby took a deep breath, in that instant Ember Celica unfurled and Yang was springing towards her, arm pulled back. Her training and semblance took over and as Yang's fist crashed into the sand where she once stood, Ruby was already out of her sister's reach.
Ruby was unfazed, she expected this after seeing what Yang did to Blake she knew Yang was angry. What left Ruby unnerved was the fact that Yang seemed unbothered by Ruby's own serenity. All she did was glare at her with piercing red eyes.
"...I know you're upset" she muttered out still trying to pull her out of the rage. "I know you think…"
"You betrayed me." Yang's voice came out in a hiss as her eyes remained unblinking as she interrupted her sister. Her finger shot to her shoulder to the great pulsing scar. "You shot me, Ruby"
A flicker of a grey fire escape from Ruby's eye as her silver eyes matched Yang's crimson one, it was an easy point to press with her and used to trigger her episodes.
Used to
Ruby was still fragile in some places and hearing it from Yang's mouth did grip her heart, but Weiss had warned her that something like this would happen and her guilt and anxiety were beaten down by her anger that someone she loved trying to manipulate her. It made her eyes burn, both with tears and with her inner fire.
"Yang" Ruby started to speak when Yang's hand lifted towards her sister and pointed at her. Ruby's voice died at the accusing finger. That finger started to shake and shiver as it pointed towards Ruby.
"Just Shut up Ruby" her voice came out through clenched teeth and silver again met Red. Yang's non-pointing hand was set to twitching and curled into a claw as the sound of popping knuckles could be heard. "You think I'm WEAK!"
Yang's voice came out strangely there was the sound of some animalistic thing altering her voice as she spoke and it seemed to grasp towards Ruby. Hefting Crescent Rose almost unconsciously Ruby felt the seed of fear slither into her chest. Not fear for herself, but fear for what Yang had done.
"I don't think you're weak" Ruby spoke calmly, she knew the atlas forces were on the way but if they got here and saw Yang this manic, they might decide termination is better than capture. Ruby needed to take Yang down herself, secret her out of here and out of Atlas hands. Maybe Ozpin could help fix whatever was wrong with Yang. "but I need to bring you home, you're not well"
Yang threw her head back and let out a roaring laugh. She snapped her neck to look back at Ruby and the mania was clear on her face and in her insane grin.
"Come on sis, come and fight the Dragon"
And with that, she rocketed forward. Firing behind herself Ruby launched over sister and as she was carried through the air her mind furiously thought of a way to subdue Yang without hurting her further. As her feet hit the sand, she spun Crescent rose behind her and cut a shot from Ember Celica in twain, but Yang's assault didn't stop with one shell, no, she was sending a whole barrage. Ruby's semblance was once just a simple tool but over the past 2 years, she'd forged it into a more versatile state. The speed was in her arms and hands and even as rapid-fire shells came at her so too did her scythe split them out of the sky.
The blade whirled around her like a relentless hurricane and as soon as the shells stopped firing so too did Crescent Rose's rotation cease. Yang was just stood there an impressed look on her face and her gauntlets up in a defensive position.
I need to whittle down her Aura so I can subdue her. Ruby swiftly loaded a magazine of low yield rounds and cocked Crescent rose loading a round into the sniper. But a part of me still doesn't want to hurt her.
Without warning, Yang again sprinted towards Ruby zigging and zagging as she advanced on her sister, the sporadic movements coupled with the bulk of the scythe form made it impossible for Ruby to get a bead on her sister. As the Scythe shifted to sniper form, suddenly Yang's speed increased dramatically, and her sporadic movements shifted to a direct path towards her sister.
Yang's fist crashed into Ruby's gut with the force of a train and Ruby was launched into the sky. Yang's hand reached out towards Ruby's ankle but before she could grip it Ruby sped away in a flurry of rose petals. Skidding in the sand she didn't even allow her lack of breath to bother her instead using it to aim up a perfect shot right at the Grimm mask on Yang's head. The bullet struck the helmet and ricocheted off it while still knocking Yang stumbling back a step. Only after the successful strike did Ruby allow herself a swift intake of breath.
"Finally!" Yang roared at her lifting her hands into the air. "You finally hit at me, I thought I was gonna be left-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Ruby unleashed a barraged of shots at her sister, striking her in the ankles, hands, and ribs before Yang adapted and swiftly ducked and rolled from the oncoming shots. Ruby might have been using the oncoming Atlas forces to intimidate Yang but she had no intention of letting them take her sister from her again. I don't have time for your angst, Yang.
She knew that if she kept to her strategy, she'd end up on top. Keep distance, force Yang to expend Aura through physical boosts and don't give her a chance to talk. As Crescent Rose expelled a spent magazine and in the split second it took her to load a new one in, she saw Yang lift a red dust crystal from her pocket, right into her mouth.
As soon as the Crystal touched Yang's mouth Ruby was aware that something was off. She could see it in the air, the air around Yang was wrong somehow and she just couldn't put her finger on what it was, it seemed to glimmer like an aura but not exactly. Ruby shook her head she couldn't let something like this bother her she needed to keep to her strategy and look out for any of Yang's blitz attacks. Ruby slowed her breathing just in time for Yang to give a half-hearted burst of speed right at her, Crescent Rose first shot hit the side of Yang's foot right before it touched the dune, swept it out from under her and sent her sister tumbling to the ground.
Yang scrambled to her feet roaring through the crystal in her mouth, Ruby shot her in the arm and she went down again. Yang tried the other arm and Ruby shot that out too. She felt like crying watching her own sister struggling to stand up and being forced to knock her down again and again.
Please stay down Ruby almost mewled to Yang but decided to keep it in her head. Almost as if she could hear her thoughts Yang's head lifted out of the sand and she glared death into Ruby with one crimson eye. You're not Well Yang, I need to bring you home, back to Patch and Qrow and Dad. They can help you get better.
Ruby saw Yang's body shuddering in the dirt and she felt a cold tear drip down the side of her face and sizzle on the sand near her feet. Crescent rose began to shake in her hand.
Stick to the strategy Echoed in her head. You're a professional, this is just another bounty mission.
No! Ruby thought as flashes of a deep red forest flashed through her vision. She's my sister and I'm hurting her again!
"Yang…" her voice came out cracked and shuddering, her sister twitched on the sand without looking up at her. "Yang please stop, I don't want to"
Suddenly Yang sprung to her feet. Her hair gave off little gouts of ghostly flame as she glared at her sister. Ruby clenched her teeth and racked another round into Crescent rose' chamber, then something caught her keen eyes, heat lines were coming off Yang. It was like how the wind seemed to distort over hot asphalt, but it was all around Yang, she was burning up. Yang took a step forward and a crunching sound hit Ruby's ears, looking down she saw that beneath Yang's foot was glass.
Glass?
Yang took a deep inhale in through her nose and all her muscles flexed as she lifted her arms over her head, the ghost flames died down and the heat lines vanished for an instant. There was an eerie quietness over the dune as she held her arms there, then she flung them down and ignited right before Ruby's eyes. Fire poured out of her sister coating her arms, body, and Hair, in an instant Yang was like some elemental from the old Fairy-tales, the only thing not obfuscated by the shining golden flame was the wretched mask.
Ruby could feel the great heat for such a far distance and all-around Yang she saw the sand melt into glass, but worst of all the heat was so great that even with Aura she couldn't focus her eyes on her sister the flame was so bright. It burned to look at, though Ruby was able to make out the general shape of her sister through the blaze. That shape seemed to crouch down on all fours gripping the sand with flame-shaped talons.
She held like that for a second before flinging a storm of sand and glass into the air in front of Ruby. Unfurling her scythe as the sand swept towards her, she covered her eyes against the glass winding through the air. She felt the heat before she saw Yang, the wailing inferno that was once her sister had sprinted past the sand/glass storm and had flanked her. A flaming fist shot out and struck against the haft of Crescent Rose, though the hit was blocked the heat was unbearable and Ruby could feel her aura struggle to protect her from the licking flames. Jumping back, she fired a couple shots at Yang and struggled to regain her bearings on the sand that shifted around her feet.
It was in that moment of calm she noticed that the sand Yang had flung into the air was descending on her now, turning into glass from the intense heat and sticking to the edge of her aura. It looked like the scales of some giant rich beast.
Yang's not a Grimm, she's a Dragon Ruby mused as her sister resumed the onslaught.
Yang
The Dragon is Free! I am free! Run Ruby Run! The thoughts ran through Yang's mind as she struggled to deal with the intense adrenaline spike that was coursing through her right now, from the fight to the Grimm senses to the flame semblance too. Yang was on sensory overload at the moment, but like all highs, she knew it wouldn't last. Dust-semblance mixing never lasted long and while she'd trained herself to extend her time she knew that soon enough the red crystal in her mouth would be spent and she'd be stuck with her regular semblance. Not a terrible situation to be in but not optimal.
Especially how low on aura I am. She thought as the putrid scent of iron slag filtered through her nose. A devilish grin split through the flames. So Let's finish this now
Remember Yang dust semblance mixing is for bringing the fight to a quick end do not neglect it.
Yes, Mother!Yang, now a burning inferno, was relentless in her assault on Ruby. Ruby was fast, faster than she was during their sparring matches back at Beacon, she brought Crescent Rose to block Yang's assaults each time Yang swung at her. Yet her aura was still dwindling, because with each hit blocked by crescent rose an unblocked torrent of heat would hungrily feast on Ruby's Aura.
Slowly inch by inch Yang was burning away her sister's aura, turning the fight in her favor and weakening her sister. Ruby wasn't unaware of this fact it seemed and with a huge sweep of her scythe, she forced Yang to hop back but no sooner had Yang's foot touched the sand that she was springing back in to continue the attack.
What is she playing at? A twitch of annoyance ran through Yang, she had seen Ruby swirling that scythe much faster than that. That twitch turned into a roar as the realization hit her. She's Holding Back!
The scythe came in for another sweeping swing, this time, to Yang's mounting fury, with the blunt end of the scythe coming at Yang. Focusing her Aura to her palm Yang brought her arm up and caught, Crescent Rose's haft in her hand. Ruby Froze but didn't make eye contact with Yang, the heat was too great for that. Yang pulled the Scythe away from Ruby suddenly and as Ruby stumbled, she struck her in the face with the closed fist back of her hand.
Yang hit hard, she threw a ton of her aura into that strike and Ruby was knocked across the dune as her scythe was ripped from her grasp. Yang felt Ruby's Aura crack under that blow but she couldn't find it in her to celebrate, she was too angry.
"Are you a moron?!" she shouted at Ruby her Grimm voice absent from her words. Ruby looked at her confused, Yang resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she flung Crescent rose into the sand at Ruby's feet. "The blunt end? Really?"
Yang took a menacing step towards Rudy and felt her knee give a cry of misery, she'd spent a lot of Aura and as she looked to her arms she saw that her flames weren't as intense as they initially were. But it annoyed her so much that her sister was fighting like such an idiot, treating her like she was weak.
"Yang I-" before Ruby could finish that word Yang had launched a shell right at her. In the blink of an eye, Ruby grabbed up Crescent rose and cleanly sliced the shell out of the air. Yang pointed at her sister and betrayer, ghost flame's licking along her arms.
"I want That ruby," Yang purred letting the mask envelope her again. "Fight me for real Ruby!"
"But Atlas-"
"ISN'T COMING!" Yang roared feeling bile pour through her throat "NOW FIGHT ME!"
A part of Yang knew what she was doing was foolish, a part of her knew she shouldn't be wasting her time with giving Ruby lessons, a part of her wanted to kill Ruby right now. But deep inside her, some part she buried deep down was excited to see how her sister had grown and wanted to see which one of them would come out on top in an all-out battle.
And when Ruby lifted Crescent Rose, and a look of determination spread across her face, that tiny buried part sang loud.
Weiss
It didn't take long for the first gunshots to hit Weiss's ears, there were a ways south of her, but she recognized the sound of those shots, it was the bark of Crescent Rose. Panic and worry took her as she canceled her sweeping of Alleyways and sprinted towards the retort of guns in the distance. She neglected to utilize her aura to expedite her movements.
To conserve my aura she lied to herself as the dread began mounting in her.
Pulling out her scroll Weiss quickly called the rest of the 'Yang hunting team' as she ran.
"What's going on?" Jaune's voice came through first.
"Yeah, Atlas if flipping the heck out over here" Nora's voice cut in high and loud.
Weiss took a deep breath before speaking. "We found her, at the southern edge of the city. Ruby's already engaged Yang we'll need back up"
"Ooooohhhh baby I've been looking forward to this rematch" Weiss could almost see Nora cracking her knuckles as she spoke into the phone. "One delightful ass kicking coming up"
"We'll be there" Ren's Calm voice cut in for what Weiss suspected would be his only contribution to the conversation.
"Wait you said south?" Jaune spoke up over Nora's near insane giggling. Weiss let out an annoyed breath, she didn't have time for precise coordination. Ruby was in trouble right now and Yang was… unwell.
"Yes the southmost edge of the city, I'll send my coordinates to you for precise details-"
"Wait" Jaune cut her off, aggravating the once-heiress even further. "Then why are all the Atlas forces heading north?"
Weiss shivered as the words reached her ears, Atlas pulling away from their target only meant one of two things, 1. Atlas tech had been compromised in some fashion, meaning a robot revolt might be imminent or 2. Whoever was currently in charge of the Atlesian forces in Vacuo was about to unleash something on Yang and was making sure his forces wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. An image of brown and green eyes flashed in Weiss' memory and her racing feet slowed.
"Weiss?" Jaune asked fear clear in his voice, she hoped he hadn't come to a similar conclusion as her. "Weiss!"
"Just get over here," Weiss said hoping her impatience outweighed her terror.
"Yes Ma'am" Nora replied her voice a lacking its chipper tone from before.
"Roger" Jaune replied. Weiss snapped her scroll shut and sent a command to her Glyph knight, the giant creature nodded and sprinted back amongst the alleys before returning holding the Atlas specialist by the scruff.
"Hey, Wha's goin on?" the man said clearly unbothered by the manhandling. "we got a lead?"
It was just Weiss's luck that a roar resounded back to them from the south. Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose before grabbing both sides of her fellow Atlesian's head.
"Tell me are the Atlas forces retreating?" The man looked at her confused, Weiss shook his head looking intensely into his eyes. "Are we in danger heading south?"
"I don't have a clue what yer on about?" he said with what seemed like honest confusion. "Isn't the target down south"
"Does your commanding officer have the Fall maiden under their command?" Weiss asked digging her nails into his helmet. The specialist's mouth dropped open and he shook his head. Weiss held him still. "Don't lie to me, if you lie I can kill you and wring the truth from your ghost, DO YOU UNDERSTAND? IS PYRRHA NIKOS COMING?"
"No!" he shouted pushing away from Weiss with a slight shake in his step, quickly he checked his scroll for messages. "my commanders don't have IT in their possession and I'd at least get an alert if they were deploying her. I swear that's the truth!"
The specialist seemed exhausted, flustered and dreadfully worried but he didn't appear to be lying to Weiss. Weiss blew out a deep breath and could feel her heart-rate decreasing. She pointed back north.
"Go alert Flynt, either your system is hacked, or they left you out on a limb. All Atlas forces are headed north not south right now." she spoke with a calm voice. She couldn't see the man's eyes but at that moment she was sure they were the size of saucers. Swiftly he nodded and began sprinting back the way he'd come.
At least that lessens the chance of Atlas capturing Yang again. The thought left a sour taste in Weiss' mouth and mixed feelings flowing through her head. She tried to wave the feelings away as she landed on a roof overlooking the dunes. The sound of gunshots was now crystal clear and as Weiss ran to the edge of the roof her eyes widened at what she saw on the dunes.
Ruby and Yang were fighting tooth and nail and the sand around them was torn asunder from the efforts. Here and there were circles of glass in the sand, buck-shot holes throughout the dirt and a mini sand storm stirring around the two dueling sisters.
Crescent Rose was simply a blur as Ruby swung it around, cutting swathes through the sand stirring around her. Yang was no slouch either, her whole body was covered in an intense flame and despite the speed of Ruby's scythe Yang was dodging and ducking beneath the great weapon. Weiss gasped as Yang slid beneath horizontal swipe of Cresent Rose, rolled to avoid a vertical 2nd cut and grabbed onto Ruby's ankle flipping her into the air.
As Ruby was flung into the air she paused, looked down her sights and shot right at Yang. Though Yang blocked the shot with Ember Celica she was still sent into the dirt from the force of the shot. Yang fell onto all fours right as Ruby's foot hit the ground.
And for an instant, there was peace and Weiss released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. That exchange had taken place over a relatively small time and Weiss' mind tried desperately to analyze everything she'd just seen.
Ruby out play's Yang in terms of speed but Yang's risk-taking nature has clearly paid off since she can dodge Ruby's swings. How the heck is Yang on fire? Ruby's using the high yield Ammo? And… Weiss could notice it even from this distance, there was something off about both Ruby and Yang's stances, there was a relaxed energy between the two of them. Yang was rolling her shoulders as the two sisters stared one another down, while Ruby was hopping from foot to foot. And why are they so calm?
Suddenly the flames on Yang's back intensified turning into blue jets blasting forth from her back. Ruby in response swung her scythe behind her, but before even she could move, Yang shot forward. If Weiss had blinked she would have missed it, in that split second Yang had turned into a fireball and smashed through her sister's defenses launching Ruby across the dunes, and as she sailed a resounding boom struck Weiss' ears. Ruby hit the dirt with a befuddled look and tumbled through the sand.
Then the beeping hit Weiss' ears. A beep not often heard by the Atlesian, but anytime it was heard filled her dread, Ruby's Aura was in the red. The images of lost teeth, broken knees and worse injuries flooded into Weiss' head, along with soft lips, a soothing laugh and a smile that could just like up a cloudy day. Though conflict roiled in Weiss' heart she knew what she had to do, so she flung herself off the roof and headed towards the fray.
Yang
The flames of the dragon dissipated down to nothing and Yang was left feeling, very, very tired. That Ursa lunge was always a risky move but she needed to get Ruby on the wrong foot. The girl was getting too fast for her big sis. Despite herself a grin split across her face, Ruby was no push-over dammit and she had the common decency to go into this fight expecting Yang's best.
And after a little coercion, she'd been willing to give me her best too. Yang thought as she sprinted towards her quickly rising sister. She had to take this sprint slower than normal, no Aura boosts to her legs or anything, the Ursa lunge had eaten too much of her Aura and she was pretty sure that she was in the red now. Come-on Ruby, that can't be it?
A familiar bullet whizzed by Yang's head, and she crouched in her sprint and adjusted her position as she ran, focusing her Aura to her eyes and ears waiting for the sound of Ruby's finger pressing on the trigger. When the minute sound hit her ear, she'd instantly change her direction and keep clear of the shot. She was closing the distance fast. When she was within 5 meters of her sister, Ruby switched Crescent Rose to its scythe form and begin spinning it parallel to herself.
What are you up to? Yang felt with a tinge of excitement. Launching a right-hook at Ruby's head Yang found herself hitting only rose petals right before a wicked upswing from the scythe's tip smashed into her chin and launched her into the Air. Yang could feel her aura shatter in that instant, firing Ember Celica into behind her Yang launched herself back down to the earth barely avoiding the blunt backswing of Crescent Rose. She hit the sands on all fours and for an instant time seemed to slow down for Yang.
I'm out of Aura. Ruby's still got some moves up her sleeve. Her mind was rapidly taking stock of the situation, find the best way out of the situation she was in, then the smells hit her. Iron, Aura, blood, sweat and the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her veins. The thought that she was in danger at this very moment and that she would still crawl her way out of this miserable situation she'd put herself into. This is just what I needed.
Yang's legs kicked out and struck Ruby in the knees upsetting her sister fully necessary balance. As ruby fell Yang launched out a Lariat right into Ruby's face, cracking the girl's aura and launching her back a couple of steps. Yang couldn't let this moment pass, she was overloaded with energy, the mask was thrumming atop her head and she could feel the red aura flowing over her. Before Ruby could recover Yang launched an Ax kick at her sister, bringing crescent Rose's pole up to block the strike, Ruby unwittingly played into Yang's hands. As her heel hit the bar of crescent Rose Yang let out a roar and hooked the pole with the heel of her boot and flung the weapon downward.
Ruby, still gripping the weapon's haft was once again flung off balance and fell right into Yang's fist. The blow hit hard and struck Ruby in the side of the chin, shattering her aura. The blood was thumping in Yang's head now, filled with the excitement of the danger and the excitement over her victory yet to be.
And that buried part of her saw flashes of dueling her sister on
Patch. Their sparring matches where each gave the other their all and both learned from their fights.
Still reeling pack from the strike Ruby locked eyes with her sister and grinned, her teeth were tinted red with blood, much like how Yang assumed her own smile looked in that moment. This fight was exciting and fun and pushed both sisters to their limits and that look both shared for an instant said one thing: This isn't over till knock out.
Yang focused all her semblance power into her fist and she saw Ruby start to pull back Crescent Rose for the strike. Ruby's eyes started flashing a bright silver as Yang's fist launched forward.
Suddenly a Cold hand grabbed Yang's shoulder and in sudden shock Yang whirled about and launched her strike out full force.
Weiss Schnee screamed as Yang's fist smashed through her Aura, struck her in the face and rent a bloody gash across her cheek with the edge of Ember Celica. Weiss!
"Weiss!" Ruby screamed as the Atlesian was launched into the air and landed on the sand dunes in a heap. Yang froze as she watched Weiss laying in the sand, and shivered as the sand around her face started to stain. Ruby sped forward holding onto Weiss' unconscious form.
"Shhhh-shhhhh, It's gon-gonna b-be okay Wuh-Weiss" Ruby was a stuttering mess as she tried to comfort the unconscious girl and somehow stem the bleeding, as she lifted Weiss up Yang saw that her face was now painted with blood. Red, so Red.
Yang reached her hand forward to, do something, anything! But as she did she flinched back, it was the same hand that'd struck Weiss and she was afraid it might hurt her again. She tried to retreat into the Grimm mask, but it could only do so much. Ruby was cradling Weiss' head and mewling to herself trying to stem the bleeding with her cloak. Yang's head roiled at the scene before her and she could smell her own foul emotions in that instant and every time she looked at Weiss the redness frightened her.
Her blood, red, red like roses.
Author's Note
Ok this was a hard chapter to write I'll be honest, the most difficult thing to do was to try end it. The interlude will be next submission date. This is now the largest Chapter I've written so far and I'm kinda proud of it. Tovanori has made more Art for this fic and if you check their tumblr you'll be able to see a familiar scene form the first chapter of the fic. As always keep sending in your criticism, suggestions and speculation. Hope you have the dark type of fun. And as always keep spreading this around please!