Chapter 62: Broken Champions

Ruby

The wind tore at Ruby's skin, it felt harsh and cold as it whipped past her cheeks, she had to close her eye as she clung tightly to Penny. She knew that next to her were Blake and Jaune, both of them like her had a layer of Penny's filament wire wrapped around them to keep them locked to the flying Android. The wind was cold but Penny was warm beneath her. She wished she could stop to see this great view, but she lacked the aura to protect her eyes, so she kept them closed.

At least with both eyes closed, I can pretend that I still have two eyes. Ruby thought rather bitterly, she felt a cool liquid brush past her cheek and heard Jaune Yelp. Must've passed through a cloud… maybe I should add goggles to the list of necessary equipment.

"Do you have to travel so fast?!" Jaune shouted over the roaring wind.

"Friend Ruby stressed the importance of Speed Jaune," Penny answered her voice not so much loud but somehow cutting through the wind. "so, I have endeavored to move as fast as I possibly can"

Ruby felt unconsciousness threaten her again but she shook herself, it barely helped.

Talk you need to talk to keep awake. She chastised herself, hoping that Pyrrha hadn't gotten to Weiss yet. Say something!

"We… need… goggles!" Ruby managed to spit out.

"What!" she couldn't tell if it had been Jaune or Blake who'd said that the wind was so loud.

"You know… Goggles, to protect the eyes from winds… and gas"

"And prying fingers!" that time she was sure it was Jaune and his anger was clear as day, she felt that anger.

"That too!" Ruby answered, pressing her forehead to Penny's back to shield her eyelid from the blade-like winds. "What's our ETA?"

The filament wires tightened around Ruby, not like a constricting snake but like a protective hug, they even warmed a bit. She felt Penny's speed decrease too and the whipping wind weakened.

"We're here Ruby!" Penny said, her speed dropping further and further until Ruby felt her drop down on solid ground. She heard Jaune and Blake hit to the ground and felt the filament wires slowly loosen around her until she gently slipped out and her feet touched the metal hull.

Only then did she open her eyes.

The wind was still biting but the view was worth it, Ruby's mouth dropped open like the first time she'd been on the airship to Beacon, not too far in the distance she could see the mountains that protected the city of Vale. The white metal surface of the gigantic airship also tickled her gun-nut side as she admired the craftsmanship of Atlessian work.

It was such a pity she could only see it with one eye.

Ruby reached her hand up towards her patch and her face soured as her finger brushed against it. Jaune had been using his semblance to staunch the bleeding at least giving her time to seek real medical help.

That can wait for later. Ruby thought as she took a step forward and felt her knee start to give out under her. Shoot!

The deck of the flagship quickly rose up to meet her face when a swift hand caught her arm and stopped her collapse. She looked up and Jaune looked down at her worry on his face, he mumbled something to himself before lifting Ruby so her arm draped over his shoulders. Jaune's hands started to glow again and Ruby felt the warmth spread over her as Jaune's semblance did its work.

"Blake help me with her!" Jaune shouted motioning for Blake to help him. She moved quickly limping slightly, though she tried to hide it.

She's almost as injured as me. Ruby thought as Blake stooped down and lifted Ruby by her other arm. What would I do without her?

They move towards an outside hatch attached to the ship. There was a small scan pad next to the door. Penny halted the group next to the door, removed her glove, and pressed her pointer finger right onto the small scanning pad. Greenlight emerged from the device scanning up and down. Penny turned to see Ruby's eye pinned on the device.

"Simple Atlessian built fingerprint scanner, required by all Atlas personnel to gain access through certain doors." Penny smiled. "My father is working on one that can read aura signatures but that's still in the experimental stage… and a bit expensive"

"Does the finger have to be living?" Blake asked.

Penny scratched her chin for a moment. "The specs say no, Why?"

The door slid open and the struggling huntresses and huntsman shuffled on in from the clawing wind.

"I may have an Idea how Yang got in then" Blake finally answered Penny as the door sealed itself behind them.

The inside was as pale white as the outside though the dusk lights gave it a more sterile feel as compared to the sun reflecting upon Atlessian white. Penny motioned for them to move and though she was being lifted Ruby and the crew managed to get up to a jogging speed. Penny led and Ruby's trio trailed behind.

"I'll take lead!" Penny shouted back as she mechanically scanned each hallway they passed. "You all are still my deputies."

It was true Ruby's badge was still pinned on to her cloak.

"We'll get you to Pyrrha and Yang and soon after have you in the ship's infirmary, rest assured friend Ruby." Ruby smiled at that and was glad for Penny's optimism.

Ruby's gaze shifted from Penny to Jaune and back again. She loved her friends so much and was so grateful for their helping her right now.

I hope we won't need to involve them. She lamented, knowing full well that with all the powerful parties involved, it may be unavoidable. A girl can hope at least.

They ran, moved as fast as they could without jarring Ruby too much, any Atlessian was instantly stopped by Penny who unleashed a string of military code regulations that Ruby had to tune it out or else it would make her head spin, then they'd be off like plasma out of a pulse rifle. They were rounding a corner when Ruby's hip dinged, she looked down in shock and saw a blue light on the edge of her scroll.

"Wait!" she said letting her hand off of Blake.

"What is it Ruby what's wrong?" Jaune asked worriedly. Ruby grabbed her scroll and pulled it out.

"I have a signal I need to contact Weiss!" Jaune reached under Ruby and lifted her up bridal style. Ruby was shocked for a second before she settled into his arms.

"Contact her while we move!" Jaune ordered as he ran off with Ruby held tight. Blake seemed a bit relieved and pulled out Gambol Shroud and followed after Jaune and Penny.

Dust if Pyrrha sees me like this she might misinterpret things. Ruby thought desperately flipping through her contacts to Weiss.

R: Weiss I'm alive, we're on the way!


Yang

The standoff was tense as Yang and Weiss stared down the madwoman who had wormed her way into their friend's mind. Yang pulled out her sword and held it in a tight grip.

I'm a great fighter. She thought as she felt the blade's perfect weight in her palm. But without aura, I need to keep it safe.

The lack of Aura was weighing heavily on her mind but it began to fade into the drumbeat of her heart. Yang could feel the exhilaration and the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she stared down The fall maiden without aura. That certain knowledge that she might die here and now, the few fights that brought this feeling out of Yang were few and far between and she relished them all.

In so few of them do I have help. Yang glanced over to Weiss, the ex-heiress' eye shifted to Yang for a split second. Thanks, Weiss.

It was then that they rushed in. Weiss was faster, she moved with speed and Grace, she lunged towards Cinder's side with the point of Myrtenaster. Cinder Sprung back and started to swing her sword down when an explosion erupted from Weiss's arm.

Yang froze for a second in shock only to realize that it had been the original Ember Celica that Weiss had fired. The shot adjusted Weiss' Trajectory out of Cinder's downward slash. With a quick flick, Weiss' Larger Glyph sword nimbly bit into the Fall Maiden's side. Pirouetting Weiss thrust Myrtenaster point up and towards the red head's face. Cinder jerked back batting the tip away with her own swords. It was clear to Yang that Weiss was leading this dance.

Evidently, the fall maiden had noticed it too because she crossed her arms over her chest in an X shape and snarled. Yang rushed around trying to get a shot at the fall maiden's back when Cinder roared and flung her arms out. A hurricane-force erupted from her and flung Yang back slamming her back against the wall, Weiss was pushed back only a black glyph beneath her feet holding her to the ground. Cinder spat at Weiss and Weiss gave her a disinterested look back.

Cinder raised her hands and dragged her finger through her hair as Weiss started to move in again. Once the fingers left her hair however the hair began to stand on end and Yang could smell Ozone.

Lightning! Yang thought her fingers gripping the ground as she pulled herself practically on all fours towards Cinder. Evidently Weiss could see that something was up since she slowed her approach. The fall Maiden's hands ripped downward and a blue bolt of lightning arced through the air right at Weiss. Weiss lifted her glyph armored arm and the lightning struck it hard.

The electricity didn't dissipate as the thunderbolts shot out from the fall Maiden's hands and into Weiss' arm. That was until Yang grabbed Cinder by the arm from behind and slammed her knee into the sorceress' side. Yang hit hard, she'd had a running start, the lightning stopped and Cinder stumbled back gripping her side. Yang wasn't one for letting her stumble, she spun and struck Pyrrha's cheek with a blind backhand.

Yang ducked low after the strike and lunged for the maiden's legs, only for Cinder's hand to stop her advance. She struck Yang across the side of the face with the pommel of her red sword and lifted it high to stab down into the blonde. It was then that Weiss rushed back in Cinder slashed at Weiss and wind chimes echoed throughout the room as Weiss caught it on her Glyph blade. The weapon's core glowed a bright blue until a arc of electricity jumped from the glyph weapon to the red blade and up Cinder' arm.

The arm spasmed and Cinder let out a yelp as she dropped the weapon. Yang tried for a kick to the heel only for the fall maiden to stamp down on her leg instead.

"AH! FUCK!" Yang screamed before Weiss rushed in and hammered at Cinder with her gauntleted fist. The maiden took a step back, off of Yang's leg, and caught the fist. She sneered at Weiss before grabbing her gauntleted arm under the armpit and flipping her over onto her back.

Cinder lifted her hand and a black aura covered it, though it wasn't the normal dark haze of her magnetism it was wild and spurted of her every so often. Still, the red sword began to rise towards her slower than her magnetism usually allowed. It was slow enough for Yang to close the distance.

In one swift motion, Yang slapped down the semblance infused hand and punched right at the red head's face. Cinder raised her other arm and blocked the strike, but before she could return an attack Yang crouched low and punched right at the fall maiden's knee. Pyrrha turned with the hit and Yang instead struck her upper thigh rather than the knee, she still hit hard but not enough to break something.

This time Cinder's return strike hit, but it Glanced off of Yang's Grimm mask, causing the rage to stir, but Yang bit it down. Rising up Yang sent an upper cut into the side of Cinder's rib. The woman lost her breath and Yang followed up with two more hooks to the same rib before Cinder grabbed her by the back of the neck and started to push Yang downward to the ground.

"You fight well trollop!" Cinder mocked, the Green blade back in her hand. Yang twisted out of her grasp slapping the gripping hand away.

"I'm better than you at hand to hand at least," Yang said bouncing on the balls of her feet keeping her hands raised in a tight guard. "What's the matter? Not used to fighting without your swords"

The closed eye twitched and Cinder muttered to herself, it sounded like she was hushing herself. It took a second for her to return to form.

"Swords aren't my only weapon dear" she chastised and the fire burst from her eye once more.

Oh yeah Magic! Yang thought readying herself to dodge out of the way of the oncoming sorcery.

"Yang duck!" She heard Weiss shout and without even considering it Yang dropped to the floor and rolled away. A roaring fireball sped past where Yang had been a second ago right towards Pyrrha. Yang looked back and saw Weiss lower her hand from a smoking red glyph.

The fireball seemed to hit the maiden in the center mass expanding and blooming over her. But the fire didn't dissipate instead into washed over Cinder like a wave pooling behind her held in place looking like a floating sack of liquid.

"My dear you're doing parlor tricks compared to me" The witch swung her hands quickly towards Yang and the fire rushed after her not in a neat fireball but a hungry torrent. Yang scrambled to her feet and mentally braced for the pain that would cover her once the fire started to blister and burn her skin.

Weiss rushed in and intercepted the blast, holding it at bay with another red glyph. The fire shot past them on both sides and above them as Yang stabilized her footing. The light coming off the fire set an orange glow against Weiss Pale skin and with the look of determination on her face, Yang felt her heart flutter at the sight of the Atlessian in combat.

"No more fire got it!" Weiss said through gritted teeth, evidently struggling against the pouring blaze. She flicked her other wrist. As if on command two smaller glyphs manifested beneath her larger one and the tension in Weiss' arm seemed to dissipate and the speed of the fire seemed to weaken.

Yang smiled impressed by Weiss' abilities when her gaze shifted past the heiress into the slowing blaze, she saw a glowing Golden eye from within.

"Weiss!" Yang shouted as Cinder burst through the torrent rushing towards Weiss' flank her red sword back in her hand. Yang rushed in and vaulted over Weiss like a leapfrog.

"Hey!" Weiss said a little indignantly. Yang would've smirked if it weren't for the danger at hand. Cinder slashed upward and Yang was able to raise her arms to block the incoming blade with her sword. But the maiden moved like a snake and the point of her sword shifted position almost instantly, deftly avoiding Yang's protecting blade.

Yang reacted on instinct taking a step back, right into Weiss, and blocking the new attack with her unfolded Ember Celica. The red blade seemed to lodge in between the gauntlets plates and as Cinder tried to pull it back she let go and thrust towards Yang's gut with the smaller green blade in her off-hand. Yang was pushed back as Weiss intercepted the cut, she attempted to parry with Myrnaster but the maiden was too close and both of Weiss weapons were too long.

Her aura sparked as the green blade slashed quickly and violently against Weiss' aura. Weiss attempted to jump back but instead ended up pressing her back against Yang's chest. They were tangled up together with a psycho witch trying to kill them. Cinder jumped forward still cutting at Weiss' aura and grabbed her by the cheeks.

"I'm not after your blood yet princess. Such a lovely semblance" Cinder hissed in a way that was too predatory for Yang's liking. The maiden pressed her blade against the aura around Weiss' throat. "Such a lovely face"

Yang moved on strange instinct, she took a step back and to the side, and Weiss fell, down towards the ground away from the pressing knife. Cinder moved to pursue but just as Weiss started to fall Yang was throwing an overhand straight punch. It hit Cinder right in Pyrrha's collar bone and Yang was certain she felt something snap under the might of her strike.

"KEEP AWAY FROM WEISS!" Yang felt the Grimm enter her voice again as her fist launched out.

But Cinder was grinning. Yang had a moment to recognize that when the Green blade pressed against the back of her arm and sliced down quickly. It cut through skin and flesh, and blood started to gush from the open wound, it hurt like hell. Yang screamed and grabbed the wound. Cinder sneered and reversed her retreat, before magnetically ripping the red sword from Yang's gauntlet and back into her grip. The maiden raised the stolen blade high into the air as she prepared to cut Yang from shoulder to hip bone.

That was When Yang knew to strike. Thanks to her mother's training she'd learned to deal with pain and a cut like this was a tiny nothing in the grand scheme of things. She gripped the blood in her hand and whipped her fist out at the speed of a professional boxer. The blood sprayed out and hit exactly what Yang had been aiming for: Cinder's one eye.

The maiden flinched as Yang's blood stuck home. In that flinch, Yang tackled the fall maiden in her midsection, lifted her up by her legs, and smashed her onto the floor. Yang went into a mad scramble to grab both maiden's arms to keep those swords neutralized. Eventually, she managed to get both wrists locked under her tight grip, she looked down at Cinder, the blood around her one eye was starting to boil and bubble.

Yang couldn't look away from the hypnotic sight of the blood starting to steam up. She was about to say something when Cinder's forehead swung up quickly and smashed into Yang's nose. She didn't hear a crack and her first instinct was to let go of the hands and hold her now bleeding nose, but Yang resisted. Instead, she swung down her forehead and it collided with Cinder's forehead as the maiden tried for another bash. They both struck but Yang's Grimm mask was harder than Cinder's skull and the Maiden roared in pain.

Father left them weak. Yang thought recognizing it was her thinking it but knew it was her Grimm-self. Let us out!

"…no…" Yang muttered to herself, she felt anxiety over the Grimm wanting to get out and guilt for keeping what had helped her survive for years chained up, she also felt… hot.

"Yang!" Weiss screamed as Yang felt gravity yank her backward just as the heat reached a fever pitch and Cinder burst into flame. The flames launched Cinder into the air where she hung floating.

Yang's back hit Weiss' Glyph and she was held in the air like she'd fallen into a giant catcher's mitt. The black Glyph was hovering right next to Weiss and she was staring up at the floating maiden gripped in a torrent of flame. Yang felt hungry as she rested in the Glyph and felt a strange pull beyond the pull of gravity.

"You're hurt," Weiss noted indignation in her voice.

"She got one by me, how's the aura?" Yang asked her adrenaline already numbing the knife wound.

"The Glyphs eat it up pretty fast, But I'm alright." The Pauldron on Weiss' armored arm broke away in the wind, she lifted her great sword up anyway. "You know I'm not convinced she'll go quietly."

"Might be Pyrrha talking in her head then, she wants to die," Yang answered a bit too callously. Weiss' face grew saddened and she let the black glyph drop, but instead of shrinking as soon as Weiss concentration dropped the Glyph merged into Yang's back and tiny black flames sprung up in Yang's hair. "Wow!"

Yang felt a cool pulse inside her as her aura barely registered within her. she touched her chest and look towards Weiss who seemed just as shocked as her.

"I didn't mean to do that!" Yang said shocked.

"Is your aura back?" Weiss asked. Yang felt and the tiny thrumming was there.

"A little" Yang admitted when the noise of flames stopped, both huntresses locked their eyes on the flying maiden. "It's better than nothing."

Yang redirected her tiny bit of aura not to healing but to protect her vital area around her heart.

"We can't keep getting in each other's way" Weiss noted spinning Myrtenaster's chamber. "I can open a panic room with my scroll, you should hide there."

"Not going to happen Weiss. I'm not going to let you fight this psycho alone, even if she is out of aura," Yang answered back. "Besides she'll just crush the panic room around me or heat it into an oven."

"You have no aura." Weiss countered

"Then its Aura-less psycho vs Aura-less psycho"

"She has magic" Weiss noted more in a playful manner now that she saw that Yang wasn't going to leave, better to laugh and accept it.

Yang smiled, she saw her opening at took it. "Well I have you and that's better than any magic out there."

Weiss blushed a bit and Yang thanked her father for his smooth as heck genes. The wind started to pick up around the pair and Yang could smell the ozone spike in the air. Cinder's Hair again began to float up.

"Lightning!" Yang hissed. Weiss readied a yellow Glyph.

"I'll catch it then, Freezerburn!"Weiss responded. Yang's grin spread wider and she cocked Ember Celica.

"I like it!" Yang snarled back. Cinder started pressing her hands together slowly spreading them apart with lightning arcs jumping between her fingers and palms. "Lightning incoming!"

Yang flung her hand back and fired a shot right at the floating maiden. Cinder raised her hand up quickly and blocked the incoming shot but the electricity all charged into one hand and her arm spasmed, her fingers curled around her bicep as she struggled to keep the power in check before prematurely firing at Weiss.

The Energy struck the yellow Glyph full force and focused and charged into it, the lightning arcing between the details of the symbol as Weiss maintained it. Yang jumped onto the Glyph, grabbed its edges, and bit into it. The energy flowed into her and again she felt Weiss cool hand on her heart as the aura in the Glyph poured into her.

Senses! She focused the aura to her senses then. Weiss stabbed her rapier into the floor and Yang launched herself upwards till her feet touched the ceiling. She held there for a second before pushing off towards the floor. The sheen of ice on the ground glistened right as Yang smashed it into a mist with a shot from Ember Celica.

Weiss was right next to Yang when she landed as electric shocks got thrown into the and Weiss could see the wind pick up pulling at their mist.

Make the most of your advantages while you have them.

We got this mom. Yang focused on her senses and could hear the heavy breathing of Pyrrha's body. She looked down and saw the golden gauntlet on Weiss' wrist. Weiss saw her looking at it and grinned. Yang nodded. Dust we think alike sometimes.

"I'll need a gravity boost off the back wall," Yang whispered lifting the old Ember Celica towards where she knew Cinder was. "She's there"

Weiss cocked the Ember Celica on her glyph armored hand and fired, the armor shaking under the weapon's force. She fired again and again always with the armored hand. Yang kept low and ran as the lightning started to get focused on Weiss.

She heard Cinder spitting insults. The calm the woman once held herself with was degrading fast, she was lashing out and growing frustrated.

Good! Yang thought with cruel satisfaction. Let's see how she likes it.

Yang emerged from the mist and she saw plastered across the back wall like a rebellious poster was Weiss's black Glyph. Cinder's focus was still on pulling the mist apart with her wind and returning fire to the shells blasting out from the said mist. Yang ran at the wall with abandon, jumped, and pressed her feet against the glyph. It held her and her perspective of up and downshifted slightly as the gravity glyph held her.

Then she launched off. The Mist was gone, Weiss was exposed and Cinder had started to spin towards the wall, moved by whatever magical force held her in the air. She was unable to see Yang until the Blonde's hands locked tight around her ankles. Yang yanked down as she fell and pulled the fall maiden along with her. When she struck the ground she slammed Cinder to the earth with her. The fall maiden caught herself with her hands and started to rise when a black glyph manifested beneath her.

She screamed in Frustration and Yang dropped on top of her holding her down.

"I may have lost Mercury but I'll keep you Cinder" She hissed in that maiden's ear. Pyrrha and maybe the previous fall maiden Amber were still in there, and as much as she wanted to kill her. Yang tried to consider those lost souls.

"'Lost' is that what they call it now" the maiden sneered back as Weiss weaved more intricate Gravity Glyphs. "Killed is more like. Just like Ruby."


Weiss

"Shut your mouth!" Weiss snapped back focusing energy to her Glyphs to pull her to the floor that much harder. She saw the despair start to form on Yang's face and she wouldn't allow that. "If we wanted to hear a liar like you prattle on, we'd both get our heads checked for brain tumors"

The Fall maiden, Cinder Yang had called her, struggled to look upwards at Weiss. Weiss glared back, this was another pompous upstart that Weiss Schnee would not stomach. Magic powers or no, Weiss hated any person who ruled over another's life like that, her father wanted her and her siblings to be clones of himself and this Cinder was wearing Pyrrha's skin.

"You won't kill me" a cold corpsy voice answered and the light faded a bit from Cinder's golden eye. "They all tried but I killed them, the bartender the gun seller, all of them, I'll kill you too"

Gun seller? Bartender? Weiss' ears were burning and she saw Yang grow visibly frustrated, she herself was getting angered by this. Gun seller…

She felt her scroll buzz against her hip and it came to her. One of Yang's "Victims"

"Poor Junior begged before the end Yang" Cinder laughed, her 'normal' voice returned. "It was pathetic."

Yang Pushed Cinder down to the ground sharply and leaned in close. Weiss started to step in but Yang raised a hand.

"…please yang…" Pyrrha's small voice escaped the green eye fluttering.

"Cinder…" Yang rumbled. "You think you're the only one who can play mind games?"

The Green eye shut tightly, and the golden flaming eye leered up at Yang.

"Wouldn't it be nice," Yang continued. "If Amber knew who killed her in the first place."

Cinder's smile dropped. Yang smiled a toothy grin down at the maiden. Weiss could feel the heat around the maiden start to rise.

"Pass me a Glyph please Weiss," Yang said not taking her eyes off of Cinder. Weiss obliged curious to see where Yang was going with this. The small flame Glyph manifested near Yang's head and she gripped it tight siphoning aura from it as she leaned into Cinder ear.

"Does she know it was you that tried to kill her?" Yang rumbled and Weiss felt the strain placed upon her gravity glyph as the Maiden tried to tear herself upward. She muttered her mantras to hold the Glyphs together.

"What?" the strange corpse voice said, it sounded scared.

"Quiet!" Cinder hissed. Yang twisted Cinder's head and forced open the eye.

"She wore red, wove Dust into her clothes and fought with Glass!, had a man and a woman as an accomplice.

"She's lying!"

"…she wouldn't…" Pyrrha's true voice poked through.

The heat started to build and the wind in the enclosed space picked up, the metal around them caved in on itself with a black aura around it.

"Shut up!" the voice hissed flames bursting from the eye.

"She had a white glove with Grimm markings" Yang continued as flames licked out of the downed maiden eating away her new aura. "She put you in the coma, Amber…"

Crack!

Cinder arm was flung up snapping with how much force was put on it but she managed to strike Yang in the side of the head with an aggressive Elbow strike. Yang flinched and fell off of her. Lightning spat at Weiss and she jumped back her mantras interrupted as the metal beneath her glyph was folded in on itself under the strain of Pyrrha's polarity.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS YOU PATHETIC WORMS YOU KNOW NOTHING AT ALL! SHUT UP!" She was hunched over as she glared at Weiss breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling in rhythm with her ragged breaths. Then Yang rose behind her.

"… That woman is inside your head." Yang said coolly over the heavy breaths. The room went silent the Cinder turned quickly raised her broken hand towards Yang's face, palm out, and… nothing came out.

"Lie?" it was a question the corpse asked, keeping the arm raised with magnetism and mystical wind. Weiss prepared a glyph to block the oncoming attack.

But I can let Yang play this out.

"Ask Pyrrha inside there with you… am I lying."

"YES!" Cinder screeched.

"no!" Pyrrha countered.

The broken arm held there for a second as Yang stared Cinder down unflinching daring her to call her a liar. The arm snapped around and wrapped around Cinder's mouth. The eye flashed between brown and amber-gold between each blink. Cinder stumbled back clawing at the hand around her mouth. Squeals and shrieks sounded muffled through the hand and Weiss could see the hand around her face drawing blood.

Yang started moving back from the struggling Cinder/Amber/Pyrrha. The maiden started to levitate off the ground. Weiss stared letting the rest of her armor disintegrate rather than maintain it. She felt her scroll buzz against her hip. Keeping one eye on the floating maiden who was now vomiting fire that turned to snow before it hit the ground, she checked the scroll.

New Message from Blake and Ruby (BFF).

Weiss felt her heart drop in her chest as she saw the message. Both were time-stamped Blake almost an hour ago, Ruby was recent. She just stared at the scroll in shock and hope.

"Ru-" She started to say.

"Get down!" Yang said tackling Weiss down as a lightning bolt struck the floor where Weiss had been a second earlier. Yang rose as the lightning and fires arced and curved around the maiden in the air, splashing her with bolts of electricity and gouts of flame tormenting her body. It was like she was in the middle of a hurricane capturing every natural disaster possible.

Yang's hair whipped and billowed all around Weiss and the aura-less Blonde bruiser put herself between Weiss and the force that was the fall Maiden in the throes of terrible madness.

"YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!" The Voice shouted.

"You were WEAK!" It answered itself. Weiss could see Teeth bite into hand and draw blood. The energy around them grew stronger and stronger and Weiss could hear the whole ship groan under the stress of the power upon it. Then she slammed to the ground in a thunderous roar and smoke and mist filled the place she struck.

Weiss swiftly brought up another Glyph shielding both Yang and herself from the explosion. The forces were pressed hard against the glyph but Weiss held strong.

I have to be strong for Yang and for Ruby! She thought with determination. Until the winds subsided and she the room became quiet once more. The lights on the ceiling flicked a bit as the system struggled to repair the daman the magic had inflicted upon them.

Weiss rose to her feet and Yang Followed suite, keeping herself in front of Weiss. Weiss touched Yang's shoulder, Yang turned, looking at the smoke where Pyrrha landed out of the corner of her eye. Yang looked terrified, so scared and worried as she turned towards Weiss and Weiss knew that this wasn't a face many people were permitted to see.

"Hey…" Weiss said reaching up and cupping Yang's cheek. "I'm the one with the aura ok… let me protect you."

Yang leaned into the palm she felt warm and comforting against Weiss' chilly palm.

"Okay, Weiss." Yang seemed so grateful as she spoke and glad that Weiss had her back.

"My Scroll!" Weiss suddenly shouted, causing Yang to flinch in surprise.

"What!?" Yang asked shocked expecting Cinder to somehow have gotten her hands on the scroll. "What is it?"

"I got a message fro-" the red blade came spinning through the air Smashing right into Weiss aura spinning like a buzzsaw. The weapon kept spinning as it was surrounded by a black aura. The sword hurt somehow damaging the aura more than regular weapons might've. Weiss quickly smashed the weapon away with her rapier only to have her arms pulled in different directions. It was polarity tugging on Ember Celica

"The hell?" Weiss spat as she was raised into the air by an unseen force. Pyrrha emerged from the smoke her hand extended coated in tendrils of black smokey aura. Both eyes were open now green and amber gold and they both were staring right at Weiss.

"I'm Sorry Weiss" Pyrrha's voice cried. "I can't take it anymore."

Oh no.


Yang

Weiss was hung in the air being lifted up by Ember Celica on her wrists. Yang started to move towards Cinder when the maiden twisted her hand and Weiss' wrist turned sharply, Weiss cried out in pain. The Golden eye shifted to Yang stopping her in her tracks.
"A fun thing your mother taught me" Cinder sneered back "its possible to aim beneath the aura of a person. I don't want to damage the body too much though so stay back."

The corpse voice was gone all that was left was Pyrrha and Cinder now. The arm that had grabbed Cinder by the mouth was riddled with claw marks and bite marks as it hung limply by her side. Amber appeared to have been beaten down. Still, the maiden just stared at Weiss.

"What happened to Amber?" Yang asked as her mind tried to find a method of attack. "Pyrrha tell me, please."

"She wouldn't let me die, Yang…" Pyrrha mewled. "You and Ruby wouldn't kill me no matter how much I BEGGED! But you couldn't do it… but She'll let us die"

Flame erupted from Cinder's eyes.

"Pyrrha deserves her rest after all" Cinder all but purred. "So do you, Yang."

"Let Weiss down, now!"

"Not yet…" Cinder finally turned toward Yang a sly grin on her face that reminded Yang of a shark. "I need to keep her in my thoughts."

Yang went cold, her mother had told her how the maiden powers worked and Weiss certainly was a young maiden. Pyrrha had made a deal with the devil for her Eternal peace, and Cinder was banking on what happened before happening again. The red blade lifted off the ground shaking and flew right towards Pyrrha's chest. Yang moved on instinct.

Red and white petals flashed inside her mind and she gripped them tightly in a mental hug. She battered the red sword away with Ember Celica and raised her hand to punch Cinder in the face. Cinder's remaining functional hand shifted from Weiss to Yang and Yang felt her shoulder bones scream as her arms were pulled in different directions and she was lifted into the air.

Think of Summer, think of Summer think of Summer. Yang tried to psych herself out there as she was strung up in front of the death crazed fall maiden. She could see Summer Rose's face clear as day in her mind, her white cloak warm smile and piercing silver eyes her arms were extended as if to embrace a little Yang. She dies then I die.

Yang prayed that once she did what she had to, that Weiss would stay out of her last thoughts. She looked away from Weiss and stared straight into the mismatched eyes of Cinder Fall and Pyrrha Nikos. She sneered at Yang and Yang felt her gauntlets being magnetically pulled in a different direction.

"Weiss can wait." Cinder drawled. "You've clearly gotten impatient and I'll be happy to make you pay for all that you've done to US!"

I'm sorry for forcing you into this decision Pyrrha, you didn't deserve that.

The stretching pain started to become unbearable as Cinder's fire started to sputter out in flame, her eyes occasionally flashing deep brown as Amber tried to fight to stay alive. Yang grinned her big Grimm grin as she stared down death.

"Think of Summer," she said aloud drawing a confused look from the maiden. Yang gave a sharp twist and Ember Celica 2.0 detached from her wrist cleanly. The gauntlets like a catapult with the catch removed flew away from her and into the Wall. Cinder had a moment to look dumbfounded and Pyrrha had a second to look relieved. Yang hopped forward right into Cinder's space. The door to the room flew open. Yang pressed her fist against Pyrrha's ruin of a chest, moved it back an inch then struck forward.

The fist hit with a resounding crack and Pyrrha was thrown back a couple of steps gripping her chest as she felt her heart stop. Yang on instinct looked towards the door.

Think of Summer think of Summer. Yang saw a Silver eye, but it was beneath a red cloak, not a white one. Ruby!

"Ruby!" Yang shrieked partially in joy, mostly in regret as her little sister became locked in her sight and mind.

"Jaune" Pyrrha croaked out, staring straight at him, before smiling and collapsing to the ground. The Golden eye started spinning in Pyrrha's skull looking for something to focus on and think about before the lid irresistibly shut.

Pyrrha lay on the ground in a heap and for a second the whole room was quiet. Then a wave of energy burst from Pyrrha's chest moving through the air tinged with gold and earthen colors but it flew not towards Weiss, nor Yang nor Penny nor Ruby. The energy screaming shot right towards Jaune who raised his hand as if to block the energy. But as it struck at him making this terrible screaming sound, it phased right through him like a ghost and dissipated in the air.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune screams running towards her side, he raised his hands and energy started to pour from him into the downed former maiden. Yang moved towards him, he turned and snapped his teeth towards her. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER! I can save you, I can save you."

Yang moved past Jaune and turned Pyrrha onto her back. Jaune started reaching for his sword but stopped when he saw Yang press her hands against Pyrrha's chest and begin chest compressions. Jaune's strange Semblance halted as he watched Yang work.

"Stop staring at me and get to healing Vomit boy!" Yang snapped as she bounced up and down against the scar-ruined chest of her dead friend. "We'll need all the help we can get."

Weiss summoned a time dilation circle beneath Pyrrha's body slowing down the former champion's decay. Penny held Pyrrha's head in her hands and small electric shocks moved from Penny's palm into Pyrrha's skull. Yang kept on trying to resuscitate the heart and as she was on the brink of exhaustion she felt Blake's hand on her shoulder.

Looking up Yang saw one mission on Blake's face: time to rest it's my turn. Yang moved out of the way obliging her former partner, she collapsed on the ground right next to Ruby. Ruby was standing nearby hugging her arms to her chest, her hair was a mess a string of cuts and bruises covered her body as her aura struggled to repair the damages. But most importantly she had a bandage over her left eye that was stained red like roses.

Yang stared up at Ruby and Ruby stared down at her Red eye met Silver. Yang started to move towards her on her hand and knees feeling the irresistible pull towards her sister. Ruby flinched back and Penny's head twisted toward the sisters, Yang could hear Penny's sword leave their sheaths, she didn't care.

Yang's hands reached forward and Gripped Ruby's knees, she rested her head against them and wept aloud. She shook, blubbered, and stuttered as she cried into Ruby's knees.

"I-i-i-I'm suh-s-suh-so s-s-sorry Ruby." She spat out in her weeping. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. I duh-d-d-didn't muh-mean to Ruby."

Then Yang felt the Grimm mask being lifted off her head and tossed across the room, her eyes lingering on it for a second. Then white pain came to the top of her skull. She flinched back gripping her noggin looking up at Ruby.

Ruby Hit me! Yang thought incredulously still gripping her head. Ruby looked down on her with such disappointment that Yang would've preferred she continue the beating instead.

"That was really stupid Yang! You've been messing with crap you can't control and it almost got us both killed!" Ruby roared, honest to remnant roared at her big sister. "How is it possible that 1 woman has made SO many enemies in such a short time and is stupid enough to fiddle with weird voodoo Grimm BULLSHIT?"

Yang's eyes widened as did almost everybody else's in the room just to hear Ruby curse so aggressively.

Ok, I deserve this. Yang thought as she saw the veins on Ruby's forehead push out as the anger hit her finally after 2 years.

"Couldn't have portaled out sooner instead of picking a fight with the freakin fall Maiden! And of course, I had to get myself involved and Mercury was there for some reason." Ruby spat pacing back and forth. "and of course, he wants to kill you, the white fang wants to kill you and Pyrrha wants to kill you. I swear if Nora were there she'd want to kill you too Yang and I'd let her! Then I get hurt and you turn into a Grimm, still not sure how that happened."

"It was a Grimm agitator actuall-" Ruby pointed a finger right into Yang's face and Yang went quiet.

"And what on Remnant were you doing messing with a GRIMM AGITATOR!" Ruby was breathing hard now. "Was that a smart thing to do!?"

Yang coughed into her hand. "…no I guess not…"

Ruby crossed her arms and glared down at Yang. Before reaching down and lifting Yang up to her feet. Grabbing yang's hand she pressed it against her bandage and she pressed her other hand against the scar on Yang's right shoulder.

"You saved me from Pyrrha, Yang," Ruby admitted her voice soothing out.

"You saved me from Mercury," Yang responded back. Before slowly bringing Ruby into a close hug. "I'm so glad you're alive Ruby."

After a second of hesitation Ruby's arms wrapped around Yang in return.

"I'm glad you're alive too Yang." She said burying her face into Yang's shoulder. "I'm so glad you're home, you stupid idiot."

Yang pulled back from Ruby and both sisters looked at one another, there were tears in their eyes. They tried to smile but despite being closer than they had been in years both siblings could feel the distance between them all the harder. This was going to take a long time to get past if they ever could.

Yang turned and saw the sweat on Blake's face. She tried to smile at Ruby again and Ruby tried just as hard in return.

"I'm tagging in Blake," Yang said, tapping Blake on the shoulder and getting back into chest compressions.

"That went better than I expected," Weiss admitted as Yang went to work.

"Wait till she tells dad Weiss, you may see a family member strangle me to death yet." Yang joked back though the idea of talking to Taiyang about this did leave a pit in her stomach.

"I'm reading activity!" Penny shouted. "Agent Niko's is stabilizing!"

Yang kept up her pace as Pyrrha breathed in on her own and her eyes opened revealing one green eye and one blind white.


Author's note

That was a fun one to write, with a call back all the way back to chapter 4 Woo hoo and yes that hit was planned since then. Good lordy lord I feel accomplished. Next chapter I'm thinking of a good confrontation with Ironwood, all suggestions are appreciated, reviews are treasured and thanks for sticking with me guys and gals it means a lot from the bottom of my heart.