Chapter 37

'That's it, everybody on board!' The stumpy professor shouted pulling his gun-axe close to his chest. 'This is a mandatory evacuation!'

'A safe zone has been established in Vale!' Doctor Oobleck interjected. 'Please, remain calm and listen to Atlas personnel!'

'Professor!' Weiss and Coco jogged forwards to their teachers, and Jaye pushed himself off his seat against a supply crate, limping up to meet the two. The rest of the pack trailed behind, and Weiss cantered to a stop in front of the two teachers.

'Jaye! Professor Oobleck, Professor Port!' She cried. 'You're okay!'

'Doctor.' Doctor Oobleck cautioned, holding up a stern finger. Letting his hand fall, he smiled at the girl. 'I'm glad to see that you're all okay.' His eyes trailed over to the group, noting the state they were in. 'Though I suppose we have a few injuries.'

'Velvet. Is she okay?' Coco said softly, stepping forward, her eyes glassy, and Doctor Oobleck smiled gently at her.

'She's already been sent out to the nearest medical facility. She'll be just fine.' He raised a cautionary hand. 'With that being said, we need to get moving. It's only a matter of time before the grimm make their way here.'

'Not us.' Jaye shook his head, easing himself onto his feet. 'With the majority of the Atlas army down, we're the last lines of defense against the grimm.' He waved a hand at the soldiers. 'We're better fighters than their army. We're easily worth a fighting force.'

'No children.' Doctor Oobleck pushed his glasses back onto his nose. 'On the contrary, YOU must be the ones to survive.' He glanced about the small gathering. 'Without powerful fighters such as yourselves, our future is doomed. We MUST ensure you survive.'

'And we will.' Jaye said, slinging his blades over his back. 'We always have. If we could be done in by grimm, we would've died a long time ago.'

He locked eyes with the Doctor, staring down the sonic-the-hedgehog reincarnate. Oobleck glared back, his mouth twisting into a frown, before he heaved a sigh.

'You will only stay FOR AS LONG AS NECESSARY.' He said, jabbing a finger into the air. 'As soon as I say go, we will leave. Are we understood?'

'Crystal.' Jaye grinned at the Doctor, and Oobleck cracked a slight smile. They jumped slightly as an orange flash burst out of nowhere.

'Get ready!' Doctor Oobleck raised his thermos in challenge as an orange hooded figure popped out of thin air, a purple wrapped lady by his side. He raised a hand defensively, his other hand wrapped around an unmoving figure tossed over his shoulder. Jaye recognized both in a moment.

'Kamina! Indigo!' He staggered to his feet. The faunus boy pushed back his hood, the mask falling away from his face. 'I thought you'd have gotten out of the city.'

'Couldn't leave you behind.' He said, but his trademark grin was missing from his cheeky face. 'Brought you something.'

He laid the figure on the floor, her blond hair spilling about her prone outline. Jaye swore loudly, staggering over to the pair. Yang laid unmoving, her eyes shut, and the stump of her right arm bled gently onto the pavement.

'I tried to help her as best as I could.' Indigo said, laying a black-clothed figure down beside the girl. Blake groaned as she moved, and Indigo placed a hand on her forehead.

'She's alive, but she's lost a lot of blood.' Kamina adjusted the tourniquet around her bicep, tightening it to stop the flow. 'The tourniquet's stopped the bleeding for now, but she won't survive without an infusion.'

'Blake's doing a little better, but she can't move or she'll pull out her stitches.' Indigo grasped the girl's hand reassuringly. 'We barely made it on time.'

'Adam Taurus was there.' Kamina's eyes darkened. 'I hate that guy.'

Jaye took Yang's hand gently, squeezing it in his grasp. He moved aside as the paramedics rushed over, grasping at his side as a jolt of pain flared through his body. He sat down heavily, groaning at the effort.

'You look like shit.' Indigo nudged the boy, and Jaye made a violent gesture at her.

'I feel like shit.' He shifted painfully, adjusting his boots. 'This has been the worst day, ever.'

'I can see that.' Kamina finally cracked a grin. 'Looks like you're adding another scar to the collection.'

'Piss off fox boy.' Jaye swore, dragging himself to his feet. He limped over to his pile of equipment close by, digging through his jacket. 'I think we'd better start thinking of what to do after this. No guarantee the CCT's gonna survive this crap.' He raised a small thumbdrive to the boy. 'Take it, both of you, and stick together. If we get separated, that's a list of the safehouses I have around. The closest one to here is in Haven.'

'We're not leaving here without you.' Kamina said, crossing his arms. Jaye waved the thumbdrive impatiently, and the fox boy blatantly ignored him.

'We go together, or not at all.' Indigo said, pushing his hand down. Jaye glared at the auburn-haired girl, putting the thumbdrive back into his pocket.

'You lot can be seriously stubborn sometimes.' He said, leaning against a nearby airship. His two team members grinned at him.

'A trait we learned very well from you.' Kamina punched the raven-haired boy on the arm. Jaye swore again as a jolt of pain rocketed through him and glared down the faunus. They glanced up as a flash of red caught their eye.

'Ruby!' Weiss cried, grasping the girl's hand. The tiny girl panted as she slowed to a stop.

'Oh! I found you.' She panted, glancing around. 'Don't worry, I'm fine! What's going on?'

Weiss glanced away from the girl, going silent. Ruby raised a concerned eyebrow.

'Weiss? What is it?' She asked, and the heiress stepped aside. Ruby gasped as she caught sight of the blonde girl sprawled across the floor. Blake grasped her unconscious hand, squeezing it tightly.

'I'm sorry!' She choked, tears spilling out of her eyes and onto the pavement. 'I'm so sorry!'

'Yang-!' Ruby stretched a hand out to the girls, letting it drop lifelessly to her side. She covered her mouth with a gasp, her feet rooted to the spot. She glanced up as Sun approached her.

'Hey. She's gonna be okay.' He said, balling his hands into fists. 'The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale.'

'But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!' Nora tried feebly to push herself to her feet, clutching her side painfully. Sun gestured angrily at the tower.

'Look guys, that giant Grimm keeps circling the school.' He said. 'Even the White Fang are pulling out!' He glanced across his schoolmates. 'We all have to go... now!'

'We're not leaving-!' Ren dropped to his knees in pain, squeezing the handles of his guns. Weiss averted her eyes as her did so, turning back to the red-hooded girl.

'I'll find them...I'll find them and I'll bring them back.' She said, resolutely. Weiss glanced at the girl, and Ruby glared back with determination.

'No. We will find them.' Weiss flipped her hair, nonchalantly, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Ruby smiled at her, and the heiress turned back to the faunus boy. 'Watch after Blake and Yang. We'll be back.'

'Ugh, you better be!' Sun yelled as they ran towards the tower. He slapped a hand into his face, grimacing.

'Idiots.'

Jaye stumbled as the ground shook. He took a shaking breath as a glint caught his attention, and shielded his eyes as a silver light erupted from the tower.

'What the hell!' He yelled, and Kamina and Indigo darted in front of the boy, raising their weapons defensively over him. The light vanished as soon as it came, and the onlookers watched, stunned, as it began to fade.

'What happened?' Kamina breathed, letting his claws fall to his side. Atop the tower, the dragon sat, frozen in a white crystal, unmoving. Jaye balked at the sight, almost sliding off his perch on a cargo crate.

'Ruby!' He gasped, staggering to his feet. He collapsed immediately, falling to the ground with a resounding groan, and Kamina pulled him up.

'We're getting you out of here, whether you like it or not.' He said, pulling the boy along. Jaye struggled in his grip.

'No! She could still be alive!' He locked eyes with the faunus boy, grabbing him by the collar. 'I couldn't face Yang if I let her die when I could have saved her.'

Kamina made a face of excruciating pain, and started retching onto the floor. Jaye raised an eyebrow at the faunus boy as he rolled around, pretending to vomit. Kamina eventually gathered himself onto his feet, laughing his guts out.

'Sorry, I'm allergic to cheesy cliché crap.' He said, wiping a tear from his eye. He seized the boy by the shoulders. 'Fine, I'll get the girl for you. But you owe me popcorn and a movie.'

'Thanks man.' Jaye sighed, slouching in his grip, and Kamina dropped him unceremoniously onto a crate.

'It's a date then.' He said, flipping his hood back on. 'You'd better not stand me up.'

'Wouldn't dream of it.' Jaye grinned as the orange light flashed across his eyes. Kamina vanished in a whirl of fur, and the raven-haired boy leaned back against the crate, groaning in satisfaction. He swore as someone stepped on his leg and glared at Indigo as she pretended not to notice.

Two Days Later, The Xiao Long Household

'Ugh, nothing.' Taiyang tossed the remote onto the table, flopping down onto the couch. Qrow swirled a drink in his hand quietly, leaning against the table.

'Just turn it off.' He said, raising the glass to his lips. 'Without the CCT there's no point.'

'Communication down across the entire kingdom...No way to contact the outside world...' Tai interlaced his fingers, squeezing them into a fist. 'And Ozpin's still missing.'

'Yeah.' Qrow placed his glass down on the table, pulling out the chair. Tai glanced over at his grim brother-in-law, pushing himself off the couch.

'This is bad, Qrow.'

'Yeah, this is bad.'

One Month Later, Back In Vale

'All healed up?' Kamina prodded Jaye on the shoulder. The raven-haired boy hissed as his finger ran over the still-raw scars, swatting at the boy's hands. They were currently outside of Indigo's apartment, gathering their belongings. Jaye had managed to retrieve his bike from the school, and he tied his bag to the back of it. He flinched slightly as a snowflake touched his forehead, and he paused a moment, watching the snow fall gently on the pavement around him.

'I'm surprised only two of those wounds turned into scars.' Indigo cocked her head to the side. 'The rest healed up without a hitch. Modern medicine is astounding.'

'It's really not that impressive.' Jaye rubbed his sore shoulder. 'It's probably just because I never got proper medical attention for any of my previous wounds.' He glanced at the sky. 'We're seeing snow a little early this year, we're barely out of Fall.'

'Ready to go?' Kamina tapped his claws on the windscreen of his bike, leaning over the dashboard. Jaye kicked his stand up, revving the engine. Indigo did the same to hers, pulling her cloak around her shoulders. Jaye smiled in her direction, pulling his own purple cloak out of his bag, fastening the clasp about his neck. His bike roared to life, and he took a deep breath, feeling the rumble of the engine beneath him. Kamina grinned at the boy.

'Haven, here we come!' He said, and Jaye chuckled, pulling his goggles on. He turned his bike sharply onto the road, flipping up the hood of his purple cloak. Cranking the throttle, he shot down the road, skimming the ashes on either side. Beside him, Kamina laughed, his own indigo cloak flowing freely behind him, and Jaye laughed with his teammates.

'The gang's back together, huh?' Kamina's voice crackled to life over the radio. Indigo laughed from the side.

'We're finally together again, for better or for worse.' She said, tapping her heels against her bike. 'I should probably get this tuned up though.'

'Yeah, me too.' Jaye glanced at his dashboard, watching the speedometer as they went. He stared down the road, titling to the side as a turn came up, and watched a road sign pass them by in a blur.

"Patch – 560miles"

He turned sharply onto the exit, following the highway down, and Indigo and Kamina trailed behind him.

'Making a stop on the way?' Indigo called, and Jaye nodded, staring down the vast expanse of road leading to his destination. He felt a slight pang in his chest as a flash of gold passed him by, and realized it was just a yellowing leaf caught in the wind. He watched the sun come up over the horizon, touching the peaks of the buildings as it rose, bathing the path ahead of him in a bright yellow light. Destruction stood wherever the light touched, covered in rays of gold, and he smiled as the world seemed a little less hellish, a little more human.

A little more hope.

'Yeah.' He breathed, watching the sun as it continued its journey into the sky. His thoughts drifted to blonde hair and a bombshell smile, and he smiled to himself, grateful for the helmet that covered his face.

'I need to go somewhere.'

CHAPTER 37 LET'S GO. I'm a little at a loss how to portray Jaye and Yang's meeting at patch, and wondering how to continue the story from here. I'll see how it goes, but I hope you guys enjoy it no matter what my decision will be.