It was several seconds before Roy could see clearly. Blinking tears out of his eye, he looked towards the bay and felt his jaw drop at what he saw. The leviathan was standing stock still, petrified with its massive head reared back.

"What the hell?" Roy said, his voice full of wonder.

Aster gripped his shoulder and pointed, "That's the silver eyes! That's what they do!" She turned to face him, her eyes gleaming with curiosity, "I wonder who it could be!?"

Roy shook his head, "I have no clue who. I'm just glad they stopped the grimm, whoever they-"

The beast suddenly twisted its head, sending massive chunks of its petrified shell tumbling into the water. Roy and Aster both took a step back, heart rates soaring as the grimm roared again. Suddenly, with the pounding of gigantic footsteps, the mech from earlier appeared. It looked a little worse for wear, now missing its left arm and covered in dings and scratches. Raising its right arm, the mech's hand transformed into a massive drill. The metal giant charged toward the still trapped grimm and plunged the massive bit into the monster's neck. The leviathan gave a final, strangled roar as the drill chewed through its neck. With one final spasm, it disintegrated into dust that scattered to the eastern wind.

A massive wave of relief cascaded over Roy and he had to grab onto Aster's arm to keep standing. He turned to give Ebony a tired, yet triumphant smile. The smile vanished as he took in the scene before him.

The woman Ebony had been trying to save lay still, her eyes staring sightlessly at the sky. Ebony was clutching a small boy to her body, seemingly transfixed by the dead woman's body. The child was gripping her like a lifeline, sobbing hysterically into her shoulder. Ignoring his burning ribs and aching back, Roy hurried over and dropped to his knees beside her.

"Ebony?" he said softly, gently touching her shoulder.

The female faunus gave a shuddering gasp and tears began to flow down her cheeks, "The grimm distracted me, I only let go for a second...I went back in to try and heal her but she...she." She couldn't finish, pulling the child closer to her.

Roy bowed his head, his ears drooping sadly. "What about the others?" he asked.

Ebony wiped her tears away with her hand, "They'll live. She was the only one I l-lost"

Dahlia knelt beside the female faunus and laid a comforting hand on her other shoulder. Aster stood behind them, watching their backs in case any grimm decided to return. A few minutes later, several white trucks pulled up and began to load the injured civilians. A medic in a white coat with blue detailing walked up to Roy.

"Who's the healer in your group?" he asked.

Roy pointed to Ebony who was releasing the child to a nurse. The medic removed his hat and approached her.

"Thank you for your assistance." he said kindly, "Many of these people will live thanks to your efforts."

Ebony nodded shakily, not meeting the medic's eyes.

The man turned to Roy, "You're the team leader?" The faunus nodded and the medic grunted, "I assume you and your team are unlicensed?"

The faunus crossed his arms, "What gave it away?"

The medic offered him a small smile, "I've never seen licensed huntsmen this young before. Anyway, you guys should go. Atlas doesn't take too kindly to unlicensed weapon users running around."

Roy nodded and gently took hold of Ebony's hand, pulling her away from the woman's body. Team SDE+A slowly made their way back to the Blue Dust. Roy could feel eyes on them as they walked and shot a quick glance back at his team. They all looked very tired, covered in dust and grimm ooze. He noticed Ebony was lagging farther and farther behind and turned to Aster.

"Can you take Dahlia back to the blue dust?" He asked, "I'm going to hang back with Ebony."

The pilot nodded and caught up with Dahlia, throwing her arm around her. She murmured several words to the smaller girl, who turned to shoot a questioning glance at Roy. The faunus motioned her to keep going and the two women continued off down the street. He watched them go, then turned to watch Ebony. The female faunus seemed to be in a daze and staggered forward rather than walked. Her face was still horror stricken and her hands were clenched into fists.

"Ebony?..." Roy began tentatively.

His teammate stopped for a moment, then suddenly dashed towards a street-side garbage can. Throwing the lid open, Ebony violently vomited into it. Roy bolted forward and quickly swept her braid out of the way. She heaved several more times before she finished, slumping down beside the garbage can. Roy placed a comforting hand on her back, feeling Ebony's body shake as she sobbed.

"Ebony…" he began again, but the female faunus spun around and pulled him close, sobbing brokenly into his shoulder.

"She...just went out," she choked out, "one moment, her aura was vibrant and warm. The next, it was a cold, empty blackness."

Roy felt her grip his coat and try to engage his aura. It sputtered weakly and fizzled out, causing Ebony to cry harder. He wrapped his arms around her, and gently ran his hand through her hair.

"Hey...hey, let it out," he whispered, "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

Ebony gripped his coat harder, "I always wondered why Cobalt told me to be careful treating the dying; now I know."

Roy ignored the questioning stares of the passersby and gently pressed a kiss to the top of Ebony's head. They sat there for a long time, Roy doing his best to comfort Ebony as she struggled to get her emotions under control. Eventually, she had no tears left to cry and she fell silent.

Roy looked down at her, "I think we should get you back to the tavern," he said softly, "you need some sleep."

The female faunus nodded silently and stood, keeping a vice-like grip on his arm. The two faunus eventually made it back to the Blue Dust. As they neared the building, Roy noticed that the front window had been smashed in. He hurried forward, pulling Ebony along with him. They entered the tavern and came across quite a sight. A manticore lay sprawled in the middle of the floor surrounded by shards of glass. Its head was blow clean off, a black splat mark marring the otherwise pristine blue wallpaper. Dahlia and Aster were sitting at the bar, watching Azure in awe as he hefted a large, double barrel shotgun.

"Looks like he picked the wrong tavern to break into," Roy said as he and Ebony walked up.

Azure laughed boisterously, gesturing to the grimm's corpse, "Didn't see what hit him."

Dahlia was watching Ebony, the concern evident on her face. "What kept you?" she asked.

Ebony shrugged nonchalantly, "it was nothing."

The smaller girl gave her a stern look, "Ebony Winterhold, if there's one thing you're bad at; it's lying. What's wrong?"

The female faunus sighed and sat at the bar, "I've seen people die before. It never gets any better, but in a messed up way it doesn't get any worse." She held her shaking hands up as if inspecting them, "This was way worse. When I am healing someone, I can feel every detail of their body. They glow brightly and give off warmth if their aura is strong. I was healing the woman when she died and her aura just went out. My vision went black and I was overwhelmed by this intense cold that went all the way down to my bones. I could only see again when I held the woman's son. His fledgling aura seemed to chase the darkness and chill away. But for a good two minutes, I was completely blind and so cold…"

Ebony shuddered and gripped Roy's arm again. There was silence for a good while; no one knew what to say. Eventually, Roy decided to take Ebony up to their room. As they entered, Roy heard Ebony's scroll buzz. The female faunus took the device out and checked the caller ID.

"Roy," she began, "It's Qrow"

Roy took the scroll from her and read the message,

"This is Qrow messaging for Roy."

Before sending a message to Qrow, he made sure Ebony was settled in bed. "Do you want me to wait with you until you fall asleep?" he smiled softly, "for old time's sake?"

Ebony nodded and Roy settled down into bed next to her. Reopening the scroll, he shot Qrow a text,

"This is Roy, I'm listening."

The scroll chimed a few seconds later and quickly read the message,

"Looks like we're getting into Atlas after all. I'll talk to James about letting you all through. I'll assume this will be the number to reach you?"

Roy sent back a quick, "Yes."

"Good," Qrow responded, "we should get there sometime tonight. Expect an answer tomorrow."

"Will do,"

Roy answered, "BTW how did you get this number?"

Qrow's response came a few seconds later, "Apparently one of my niece's teammates had Winterhold as a study partner. Tell her Blake says hi."

Roy grinned and passed the scroll back to Ebony. "I guess we'll know if we're allowed into Atlas tomorrow, Blake says hi by the way."

Ebony nodded silently, still curled up in her tight ball. Roy sighed and placed his hand on her arm, "Do you want me to sleep here with you?"

Ebony uncurled and sat up, giving him a sad smile, "No, I need to deal with this on my own." She looked down at her hands again, "This semblance is such a blessing, but it carries a huge responsibility with it."

Roy gently took her hands in his, gently caressing her fingers with his thumb. "I know we've know each other for a long time," he said, "But I don't think I've ever asked what your semblance is."

Ebony gently squeezed his hands, her smile returning, "I can infuse other people's aura with my own and triple its healing capabilities. When I focus, I can fashion my aura into little scalpels. Under the right circumstances, I could even mend nerve damage." Her smile faded slightly, "At least that's what Professor Cobalt always told me. I don't know nearly enough about human anatomy. I have so much to learn…"

Ebony slowly turned over, a silent signal to Roy that she was going to try and rest. The faunus felt torn, "Are you sure you didn't want me to stay?"

Ebony nodded gently, "I'm sure." She turned back over and gave him a warm smile, "Don't worry, they'll be plenty of chances for you to be my shining knight."

Roy's cheeks grew rosy and a small flicker of hope kindled in his heart. "Would you...like to have dinner with me tomorrow?"

Ebony fixed him with a look that was, for lack of a better word, incredulous, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Roy nodded quickly, "Yes, I'll pay. I think we should take some time to relax before we head off to Atlas."

Ebony's smile returned and she nodded back, "I would love too."

It took all of Roy's self-control not to jump for joy. Flashing Ebony a smile, he turned and left the room. Before he closed the door, he turned and whispered, "Sleep well Eb,"

Sorry for the short chapter! This used to be a part of the last chapter, but it seemed so long that I decided to turn the ending into its own chapter. School is going to start again soon and I for one can say that I am not looking forward to it. I'm just tired and feeling less than motivated. but hey, I'll do my best; I always do. Thanks again for reading!

Catch you later!

-Ar3mRising.