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Chapter XLVI

Team Loser Performs a Ritual (Part I)

Yang staggered forward as the world of white around her faded, leaving her and her team back in the cave deep below Vale. Recalling Ozpin's words of caution, she immediately swept her gaze around the area in search of their quarry.

Her heart leapt when her eyes fell upon the fallen body of her sister. The events prior to Ozpin's discussion came rushing back to her, eliciting a screech of horror as she tossed her father's gun away from her.

"Yang?" Blake asked immediately, appearing at her side. "Are you okay?"

"I... I sh-sh-sh..." Yang attempted to explain, but her stutter had worsened beyond any possibility of speaking.

Weiss approached from her other side. "Yang... I doubt that was really Ruby. No... no, I don't doubt it- I know it wasn't her."

Yang turned to look back at her friends, gazing at her with mixes of pity and sympathy.

"She went missing a year ago," Ren pointed out. "There's no way she could have survived on her own this long."

"B-b-but... but N-N-Neo..."

"She lied," Pyrrha gave the obvious answer.

Jaune's face betrayed the same pity, but he didn't wait much longer, unsheathing the silver knife and moving forward. "Let me prove it- if it's really her body, she won't-"

Another loud screech echoed through the chamber- but this time, it wasn't from Yang. Everyone spun to see Ruby's corpse convulsing on the ground, her mouth opening far beyond human limits. In the black hole that was her steadily-widening maw, they swore they could see something stirring- a faint flicker of movement that they couldn't place. At her side, a new arm was growing back in place of the one she had seemingly lost all those years ago. Her clothing was altering, her cloak fading away as her skirt changed to a pair of pants, a white coat overtaking the corset, necklaces appearing around her throat.

At last, she stopped, returning to gazing up at the cavern's ceiling.

*POP! POP!*

One by one, her limbs stretched out- not by much, but enough to be noticeable. Her hair extended drastically in length, changing from black with red tips to a clean cut of pink and brown. Her face contorted, as if in pain, and when her eyes opened again, they had shifted to those exact same colors. Beside her, the paper boat shifted, growing drastically in size until it was a large parasol.

At long last, Neo Politan pulled herself to her feet, aiming a firm glare in Team Loser's direction. "That... was very impolite."

Anger surged through everyone's eyes- particularly Yang's and Jaune's, the latter of whom brandished the silver knife as he charged forward, only for Neo to deftly duck out of the way, practically cartwheeling into the cavern's center.

Nora hefted her hammer as she glared at Neo. "Die, monster!" she called out. "You don't belong in this world!"

Neo scoffed as she turned back to face them. "Monster? You see a few shadows of my abilities, and you think you know all about the scary things in the world?" Her lips broke into an all-too-familiar smirk. "You think you're ready to see me... to see me as I truly am? Well, who am I to deny you?"

She reached her hands up and placed them on her head- one on top and one just below her chin. She pulled as hard as she could, and with a series of sickening cracks and crunches, twisted her head around until it was dangling, upside-down, upon her chest, still meeting their eyes with that sick grin. She leaned back, and a series of appendages began to emerge from just beneath her breasts- whether they were spider-like legs or tentacles, they couldn't tell.

"Get her!" Yang shouted. "B-b-before she c-can f-finish, g-get her!"

Ren raised his bolt gun and fired off a shot, landing right in the center of the protruding appendages. With an unearthly roar, Neo moved, using them as legs to bring herself nearer to her attackers. Nora began swinging her hammer, aiming for the legs, as Blake moved to maneuver behind It. Pyrrha ducked in front of Yang and blocked a swing of Its legs with her old bedpost before thrusting forward with it, landing a strike not far from where Ren had landed his shot.

"Yang!" Weiss shouted as she stepped back slightly. "The lights!"

Yang nodded as she ducked forward, driving a fist towards Neo's head. Behind her, Weiss had stepped onto a glyph and was now rushing towards Neo, her rapier aimed at Its torso.

A cackling laughter echoed through the chamber. "My lights? You really are ambitious! Well, if you want to see..."

Jaune had just reentered the fight when Neo spun her head- around towards Yang, holding it remarkably steady for the broken neck it stood upon. Her mouth was opening again, growing wider and wider by the second- but instead of the darkness from before, yang could see a definite light within- shining brightly, yellowish-orange. She forced her gaze to remain on those lights, even as the rest of her team raised their arms to shield their eyes.

Her courage wavered slightly as she peered down Neo's throat, past rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth- it certainly explained the lamprey-like pattern etched into Blake's face. But deep down, beyond them all, she could see- she could see the source of the light, and despite all her instincts screaming at her to look away, she kept her gaze fixed.

A pulse of energy seemed to erupt from Neo's body, knocking Yang backwards across the room-

except it didn't end at the walls, or the floor. She continued sailing backwards, seemingly directly through the walls that made up the cavern. Her eyes widened as she saw the cavern vanish before her as she continued to move back- before long, she was back outside, and still moving. She caught the briefest glimpse of the upper streets of Vale, soaked in a downpour of rain, before it faded from sight as she continued. Further and further she went, seemingly rushing towards the sky- Vale had long since vanished among the rest of the landmass that was Vytal. Soon, she couldn't even make out her home continent- she was flying through space, and it didn't take long for Remnant to fade to roughly the size of a marble, before vanishing altogether from her field of view.

She had never been motion-sick before, but she thought this must be something like how it felt. She closed her eyes against the rushing wind and whirling color. By the time she opened them again, she was completely lost in her new surroundings- galaxies resembling whirlpools of light whizzed past, comets passing nearby but disappearing long before she could get a good look at them- and then, out of the corner of her vision...

The lights. She could see them approaching, a faint glow identical to what she'd witnessed within Neo. It was at the very edges of her vision, and she knew, without even remembering Ozpin's words, that she did not want to see it any closer.

But her trajectory was taking her right towards it. Surrounding the glow was a gate that seemed to shine with every color from the spectrum at once- trying to pinpoint one was entirely useless. She put everything she had into halting herself before she passed through those gates- that way lay death... if she were lucky.

She dug her heels into the ground- or whatever constituted ground in this bizarre place. Looking down, she saw nothing but still more space- but she didn't let that deter her. She felt something beneath her feet, and persisted- and to her relief, it wasn't long before she slowed to a stop. She immediately turned away from the gates- away from the light- and felt her eyes turn red when she spied a very familiar face behind her.

"Well, well, well... You managed to keep yourself away from my deadlights. Very impressive."

Neo's words were as condescending as ever, but there was something else there. It had only been for a fraction of a second, but just as Yang had turned herself to face her, there had been a certain expression upon the woman's face- quite different from her usual amusement and mockery.

Her eyes had been wide in surprise, and her lip had been curled slightly in... fear? Yes, there was no mistaking it- even if it was only for a split second, Neo Politan had been afraid.

Yang clenched her fists. She would see that expression again before this was over.

XXXX

"YANG!" Weiss yelped in surprise- the blond leader of their group had charged forward, and they had all seen the faint glow of the lights within Neo- until Yang suddenly collapsed, crumpling to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her eyes were still open, but were no longer lilac or red- instead, they had faded to a blind, milky white.

"She's begun the Fire Walk!" Ren called out, attempting to rally everyone together. "PROTECT HER!"

A hissing noise escaped It as it moved to drive its legs into Yang's prone form- only to let out a strangled cry as it found itself fighting against Blake and her chain again.

"Stay... the fuck... AWAY FROM HER!" Blake shouted, fury alight in her amber eyes, ears pressed flat against her skull.

Its head turned to gaze at her, an odd sound of barking and mewling emerging from its lips as it began backing up, causing the chain to slacken as it went for Blake instead- only to let out a cry of pain as Pyrrha charged forward, with the assistance of one of Weiss's glyphs, plunging her makeshift spear into its shoulder. Jaune followed up by diving towards its back, moving to plunge in the silver knife. He had almost landed his hit when he was knocked off course by one of the flailing legs, taking on a more tentacle-like caste as they slammed into him and sent him back to the floor.

It managed to pull its way out of the chain, retreating away slightly before beginning to shift again, dark wings emerging from Neo's shoulderblades, her feet curling into talons. It wasn't long before a large, ferocious raven had appeared within the cavern with them, beating its wings, not to fly, but to send its large feathers at them like projectiles. They all managed to dodge, with the exception of Nora, who made her way towards Yang's fallen body, using her hammer to knock the feathers aside and defend her friend.

"Get her out of the way!" Ren called, seeing what she was doing. Nora grinned and responded with an over-the-top salute.

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!"

XXXX

"I really should be applauding you," Neo smirked, her and Yang standing amongst the field of stars. "There aren't many who've managed to avoid my deadlights once I really wanted to show them."

"I've n-n-never g-gone d-d-down easy," Yang snarled, mentally kicking herself with every failed word.

"You s-s-sure about that?" Neo taunted. "Free from your body, and you still can't speak straight."

Yang met Neo's mocking gaze with a red-eyed glare.

Neo laughed. "Point taken- enough talk. If you won't look into the lights, I'll just kill you the old-fashioned way."

She focused for a moment- but nothing happened. Her eyes widened in confusion. "Hm? That's new..."

Yang advanced slowly, her arms raising up, hands clenching into fists. "I'm n-n-not h-here to f-f-fight m-monsters. N-no v-vampires, f-f-fell d-dragons, or w-weeping angels. I'm here for the b-b-bitch who t-took my s-s-s-sister- and th-that's what I'm g-going to g-get."

It happened again- for a split second, Neo seemed almost panicked- but she quickly hid it behind that damnable smirk. "If that's the way you want it," she grinned. She produced her parasol, removing the handle to reveal a long, thin blade. Yang ducked under her first swing and drove her fist forward.

Neo ducked back deftly, dodging left and right as Yang fought to make contact. Her adversary's smirk only grew with each missed strike- almost as if to infuriate Yang even more, she re-sheathed her blade, using her parasol to block several of Yang's strikes before finally responding with a kick that sent Yang flying momentarily, landing heavily on the ground. She moved to land another kick on Yang, only for Yang to roll out of the way, forcing herself back up and back on the offensive. Swing after swing hit nothing but the ether, until one particularly powerful blow intended for Neo's face was dodged via a graceful backflip. Neo landed, sitting on what seemed like nothing, crossing one leg over the other, parasol unfolding behind her, her smirk unbroken as she gazed up at her aggressor.

Ms. Xiao Long!

Yang's eyes widened as a voice sounded off in her head- a very familiar one. "Ozpin?"

"Ozpin?" Neo repeated, her eyes widening- before letting out a long-suffering sigh. "Oh, you just can't leave well-enough alone, can you, old man?"

She charged forward, launching another attack, drawing Yang's attention towards blocking and evasion.

Don't waste time trying to speak, Ozpin's voice said. I can hear your thoughts well enough.

Where are you?

Seeking your location- however, the macroverse is vast. I very much doubt that I will arrive soon enough to be of any assistance.

Well, that's great- any advice, then? I can't land a single hit on It!

You are still thinking of things as though you were bound by the laws of Remnant. You are not- you now stand within the macroverse, where faith and willpower reign supreme. Your friends must battle according to Remnant's laws- you are under no such restrictions.

As Yang ducked another swing from Neo, she thought on what that meant. Then... maybe, if I...

She gazed down at her brass knuckles- carried with her even into this odd place- and as if reacting to her will, they began to change- moving and extending, until they had been replaced with a large pair of gauntlets that fit snugly on her hands. Raising one of them, she managed to deftly block one of Neo's swings.

Neo sighed- "One of these days, I'll find something Old Man Stick-in-the-Mud can't fuck up for me..."

Yang drove her fist forward, and heard a satisfying crack as one of the guns built into the gauntlets fired- within this strange land, there was no recoil. She missed her mark- but it forced Neo to pull back slightly, allowing her some breathing room.

Well done... you are a fast learner.

Always have been.

Remain focused- slip too much, and she will undoubtedly transform.

Yang looked up to meet Neo's face. Neo tilted her head slightly. "He's teaching you all the rules, hmm? Fine by me- you just got here, but there's a part of me that's lived here my whole life."

She readied her blade and charged forward again, bringing her blade down only for it to be blocked once more- this time by a shield.

"I ever t-t-tell you about the w-war b-b-between the d-d-dragons?" Yang grunted, before pushing forward again. The new shield was made out of some sort of ivory or celestial metal, and inlaid with five stones of onyx, sapphire, emerald, ruby, and diamond.

She continued speaking as she kept up her offense- one benefit of having left her body behind was leaving behind her need to breath. "The d-d-dragon of l-light c-c-created h-humanity, b-b-but the d-dark d-d-dragon s-sought to undo wh-what she'd d-done. H-hearing h-humanity's c-cries, the d-d-dragon of l-light g-g-granted them a sh-shield imbued w-with her p-p-power- an emblem b-born from d-d-deepest flame!"

One after another, Yang blocked Neo's strikes with her new shield, continuing to narrate its backstory. Neo's eyes grew steadily narrower in agitation. "The s-shield w-w-was g-given to V-Vytal, along w-w-with one of the st-stones, while the r-remaining st-stones were s–split b-between the k-kingdoms and the f-f-faunus tribes!" Yang continued her narrative, finding- somewhat to her surprise- that as she continued to speak, her fear continued to fade. The words felt... comforting. She had spoken them to Ruby so many times- this story had been one of her sister's favorites. Even her voice was coming further under control.

"Wh-whenever the w-w-world was in p-peril, h-humanity was to unite and p-put their st-stones together, and the l-l-light d-dragon would r-return to restore p-p-peace!"

"Lovely story," Neo scoffed, alighting atop the shield and flipping off before Yang could force her off herself. "But there is no dragon- not out-"

She was cut off as, at long last, Yang's fist landed true, striking her squarely in the face and sending her backwards. Yang rolled her wrist, readying the shield again before rushing back in.

XXXX

Ren found himself herded to the back of his team as he rushed to reload his gun. Nora gladly provided him cover, deflecting feather after feather from the monster assailing them.

"We have to bring it down!" Jaune called out.

"Thanks for the advice, Lagune!" Weiss called out scathingly, struggling to dodge with her broken arm weighing her down. "Any idea how to actually do that?!"

"Your glyphs!" Blake called out, swinging her chain around in an effort to capture the bird, with little success. "If you can catch its tail or one of its wings in a gravity glyph-"

"Then one of us can close in for the kill!" Pyrrha finished the line of thought.

Ren looked up at Nora. "Nora- can you bring it to the walls?"

"You betcha!" Nora beamed, turning and rushing towards the beast, hammer swinging. Ren followed closely behind, bolt gun at the ready.

The bird noticed immediately, turning its attention towards her, and swinging with its talons- just as Jaune leapt on, slashing at the legs with his knife. The cuts he left were shallow, and never as damaging as what they'd dealt in the house above, but it was enough to draw the monster's attention.

Nora leapt as high as she could and brought her hammer down on the beast's skull. Weiss moved her rapier like a wand, calling forth a glyph that bound it to the ground as Ren leapt overhead, aiming directly at its forehead and firing his gun.

The bolt seemed to do little more than annoy the creature- it gave a great tug at its glyph, prompting Weiss- already struggling to hold it down- to lose her grip. Spying her out of the corner of its eye, the bird bore down on her. Weiss looked up with fear in her eyes as winged death closed in-

"AKIRA KURUSU!"

Blake was in front of her, a book held up in front of her like a shield, screaming the name at the top of her lungs.

"There are plenty of things I believe in," she snarled, meeting the bird's eyes as it seemed to stop mid-flight, pulling away. "In my friends... in the power of the written word... I even believe humans and faunus might be able to bridge their gap someday. But I do not believe in you!"

She raised the book higher. "David Bowman! Shinjiro Arigaki! Auguste Dupin-"

She was forced to abandon her assault and dodge another feather flying her way. The bird was changing again, and soon enough, the form of Neo was once more clear. Gone was her usual smirk- her eyes were filled with rage. "You're starting to piss me off!"

From her back, a series of tentacles sprouted as her clothing was taken over by a dark suit, her face fading away to a blank stretch of white.

XXXX

For a moment, Yang was certain she was gaining ground on Neo, but it didn't take her long to realize that she'd mostly just returned the situation to how it had been before- neither of them were landing any hits on the other.

You're getting closer.

She- won't- stop- dodging!

How did you land your last hit on her?

I suppose I just got lucky...

No! That was when you were the closest- think about what else was happening.

I was telling my story...

And taking comfort in its words. Whoever can overwhelm their opponent is the victor in the Fire Walk- that need not be physically. As long as you are afraid, the deadlights can prevail.

I'm not afraid!

Are you not?

Yang took a moment to analyze her opponent- the eternal consumer of worlds and children, older than her entire universe, and capable of assuming any shape she chose.

After what you have experienced, a stutter seems only natural. It is a sign of Its power over you.

"It d-d-doesn't have p-p-p-p-power over m-me!" Yang yelled, anger filling her- followed by a scream as that long blade pierced her shoulder. She managed to pull away and raise her shield again, but the damage was done- she could see Neo smirking overhead.

You must maintain control over yourself. You must look within... where lies your willpower? Do you believe in the stories you always told your sister? That when good battles evil, good will always emerge triumphant? That with the proper stance, a mortal can topple a god?

"Yes... y-yes, I b-believe that!"

I am not the one you need to convince. At the moment, only two beings' opinions matter- the deadlights... and your own.

Yang blocked another strike. She thought she saw... as long as she was afraid, she wouldn't get anywhere. To defeat a monster that seemed as though it had emerged from the stories she told to her sister... she would have to become a hero from those stories.

Come on, Yang... A new voice echoed in her head, and it surprised her far more than Ozpin's- this time, it was her own. Be the sister Ruby knew- the one she relied on. What do you do?

Yang looked up, eyes blazing. "H-h-hotter than the s-s-sun in the m-m-middle of July... I b-b-burn!"

Neo had been on the point of plunging her blade towards Yang again, when she seemed to halt in place, eyes widening. "What?"

Yang felt strength flooding back into her. She had been on her knees, her shield raised pitifully over her head- no longer. She rose back to her feet. "H-hotter than the s-sun in the middle of J-July... I b-burn!"

Neo took a step back, raising an arm as if to cover her ears. "St... stop that..."

"Hotter than the sun in the middle of July, I burn!" Yang shouted- she could almost feel the flames around her, burning hotter with every repetition of her mantra.

"Stop! Saying! That!" Neo screamed, lashing out with her blade- unlike before, Yang found blocking almost pathetically easy.

"Hotter than the sun in the middle of July, bitch! HOTTER THAN THE SUN IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY, I BURN!"

Neo screamed as Yang wrenched her blade away from her and shattered it over her knee. She swung a punch in Neo's direction, feeling nothing but satisfaction as it landed.

"Stop it! Please, stop it!"

"HOTTER THAN THE SUN IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY, I BURN!"

"You don't understand what you're doing! I'm protecting Vale! Protecting it from everything else that's out there! All those things that would love to make a move- but not while I'm protecting my home!"

"HOTTER THAN THE SUN IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY, I BURN!"

Yang reached out and seized Neo by the throat- the woman looked truly terrified at this turn of events.

"I'll leave!" she screamed, almost in desperation. "I'll leave and never come back!" Her eyes roved around, before focusing on her again. "Let me go- just let me go, and I'll make sure the rest of your life is happy! You and your friends... you'll all leave Vale and rise to success! You won't have to be losers anymore- the world will be your oyster! Just let me go!"

Yang narrowed her eyes. "You'll give me anything?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"We'll all be rich?"

"Of course!"

"And famous?"

"The most famous people in Remnant!"

"Anything we ask for, you'll give us?"

"Name it, and it's yours!"

Yang's eyes narrowed, flickering back to red before she twisted, breaking Neo's neck. "Then give me my sister back, you bitch."

Neo's eyes widened as she dropped to the ground- Yang quickly followed up by driving her heel onto Neo's throat, intent on ensuring the job was complete.

She felt her heel ram into flesh, before Neo's form dissipated, shattering like a mirror, the fragments vanishing as they flew off into the distance.

Yang took a deep breath, before looking around. "What now, Oz?"

Ensure that the job is finished- remember, you cannot let her get away! What can be done when you are young often cannot be repeated once age has claimed you!

"I understand," Yang nodded. "We have to finish It off on Remnant, too."

She closed her eyes, willing herself to return, and felt herself rushing through the macroverse once more, leaving it up to faith that she was returning to her own world.

XXXX

The majority of Team Loser recoiled, uncertain what weaknesses the Slender Man might possess. The sole exception was Weiss, rushing forward with anger in her eyes, rapier at the ready. She plunged her sword into Its chest... but It hardly reacted at all, raising one of its tentacles and swinging it at her face.

The others rushed in to pull Weiss back, flinching when they heard her scream.

"Weiss!" Jaune yelled, grabbing her before she could land on the ground. "Are you okay?!"

Weiss looked up at him- she could hardly see out of one of her eyes, filled as it was with the color red. "Is... is it bad?" she asked weakly.

"It nearly took your eye out," Jaune muttered. "But... we thought it would be worse..."

Weiss raised a hand and felt along her left eye, flinching when she took it away to see her hand soaked in blood. Far from her usual fear, however, she found herself filled with anger as she returned to her feet.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!" she screeched, seizing the nearest weapon- Ren's bolt gun- and aiming it directly at the Slender Man's forehead.

"Weiss!" Pyrrha called out. "It's not-"

"No!" Ren shouted over her. "Let her- let her do it!"

Heedless to the screaming around her, Weiss readied the gun and fired.

The Man recoiled, another earth-shattering cry filling the cavern as it flailed around, tentacles flailing wildly.

"What'd I miss?"

Everyone jumped and turned to see Yang rushing towards them from the hiding place Nora had left her.

"Yang!" Nora let out a scream of joy, leaping forward and pulling her into a hug. "You're back!"

"The deadlights are out!" Yang announced. "We have to finish It now!"

"The knife- where's the knife?" Ren asked urgently, scanning the ground.

"I- I don't know!" Jaune admitted. "I... I dropped it when I was fighting the giant bird!"

"You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?!"

Everyone turned to see Neo, back to her original form, a truly enraged look on her face. "A dozen or so people every twenty-seven years- that's barely a person every other year! Is that too much to ask for my undying protection?! Everyone else in your town seems to be with the program- why aren't you?!"

She broke into a run, moving on all fours as she charged right at them.

"There!" came a cry- Blake had seen a glint of silver across the cave, and dove for it as the others returned to defending. She reached out, grabbing onto the knife's handle and tossing it across the cavern.

Pyrrha watched as it hurled towards Jaune- she could practically see it in slow motion, spinning around and around. Her heart jumped when she realized, It's not going to make it!

Almost unconsciously, she reached out her own hand towards the knife, though she was nowhere near close enough to take it herself. In a daze, she saw a dark aura light up the end of her hand- an aura mirrored on the knife itself. Its spinning slowed- Jaune looked up to see it hurling through the air, and seemingly almost on instinct, reached up, turned around, and struck.

His aim was true, driving the knife's silver blade directly into the breast of Neo Politan.

Immediately, Neo recoiled. The shriek that filled the cavern was like nothing they'd ever heard before, as her hands raised and began scrabbling at the handle of the knife, protruding from her chest. Where her hand touched the precious metal, it steamed and smoked as though it was burning, but she made no move to stop until the knife finally came out, clattering to the ground before her. She pulled away from Team Loser, shoving a fist into the new wound as she crawled backwards.

Team Loser took far less time to recover than she did- they all rose to their feet, watching as she pulled herself desperately across the ground towards a small opening not too far behind her- it almost seemed to resemble yet another well. Her movements were odd, more like a spider than a human, but that didn't deter them. Jaune moved forward, wordlessly grabbing the silver knife on the ground and handing it to Yang, allowing her the honor of the killing blow.

They closed in swiftly. As they did, Yang thought she heard Neo muttering something. Straining her ears, she caught it-

"Hotter than the sun in the middle of July, I burn... h-hotter than the sun the m-m-middle of July, I b-burn..."

Fury built up in her as they closed in. Neo looked up to see them approaching and practically backflipped into the well, clinging on to the edge as she looked up at them.

Yang looked down, hesitating slightly as she noticed the odd transformations in Neo's form. Her eyes had changed, uniting in a bright yellow color as they gazed out of the well. Far more noticeably, however, she seemed to be... crumbling. It was as if her body was ash, and steadily falling apart- half her head had already vanished into the pit behind her.

"H-h-hotter th-than the s-s-sun in the m-m-middle of J-July, I..."

Neo's eyes- what was left of them, at least- locked onto Yang's, bright yellow meeting furious scarlet. Yang swung the knife around, holding overhand as she prepared to end this.

"Fear."

Neo released the edge.

Her body plummeted into the blackness, the wind rushing up at her back seeming to finish the job, breaking up what remained of her body and scattering it to the wind.

"We have to go down there," Yang said immediately.

"Are you sure?" Blake asked, not sounding at all keen on the idea.

"We have to make sure It's dead!"

"Looked pretty dead to me," Nora threw in her two lien.

Ren, however, spotted something else to capture his interest. "Guys... they're coming down."

The others spun to see the gelatinous membrane keeping the corpses fastened to the wall dissolving, fading away into nothing, the corpses steadily sliding to the ground in its absence.

"Can we... can we take that as a sign that it is dead?" Jaune asked hopefully, throwing a glance at Ren, who could only shrug.

Blake, however, gasped, her eyes fixed on an area of the cave separate from all the bodies. "Oh... no..."

The others followed her gaze- Weiss clapped a hand over her mouth, while Nora's jaw dropped. The most prominent reaction, however, came from Yang, whose eyes widened as she moved forward.

Against the cave wall, opposite from the well It had vanished into, was a large red cloak. Team Loser followed behind Yang as she took one slow step after another across the cavern floor, before finally kneeling and reaching out.

A rattling sound echoed through the small space as Yang turned the cloak over to reveal a skeleton, a pair of empty eye sockets gazing at the ceiling. The left arm was missing, and the bones that remained had quite clearly been picked clean long, long ago.

Team Loser's hearts grew heavy as Yang began to sob. It started slowly, a light bobbing in her shoulders, but before long, she was letting out wails of despair as she pulled what remained of her sister into a tight embrace. Weiss and Blake knelt down beside her, pulling her into a hug on each side, Nora following up as she attempted to wrap her arms around all three. Pyrrha knelt on Nora's left, Jaune on her right, and Ren knelt behind, everyone struggling to grant Yang any comfort they could- even the smallest amount.

And while it may well have been his imagination, but years later, Ren still felt that, for a brief moment, he'd seen the skeleton's remaining arm attempting to lift itself up, as though trying to return its sister's embrace.

XXXX

Gamer4 out.