As much as Yang would have enjoyed a daring rescue attempt on the heart of Beacon Academy, the two of them weren't quite sure if Ruby was even there in the first place. Regrouping at their hotel, she let Trivia get to work scouring Beacon's security systems for any mention of an incident occurring at the academy. In the meantime, she was using her Scroll to learn more about the mechanics of Aura.
Apparently, everyone on Remnant innately generated an Aura, but a locked Aura was really only good for one potentially fatal blow before failing. Unlocked Auras could defend against any number of attacks, depending on the individual's soul of all things, but in return attracted the Grimm. And speaking of, Yang tried to look up any mention of Salem, but came up short. Maybe they really were just a force of nature here, just as Maria had once said?
In addition to Aura, everyone had something called a 'Semblance', which came with enough training. Actual superpowers were rare enough to come by on Earth, but not here. Initially she had thought that this placed her and Trivia at an inherent disadvantage, but as she compared herself against historical profiles of retired or dead Hunters, most of their Semblances didn't even come close to the amount of firepower she was capable of outputting. The forcefield was still bullshit, though.
As time passed, and Trivia continued to work around Beacon's firewalls, which were apparently 'last decade' as compared to 'two decades ago', Yang found herself continuously worrying over their mission. Remnant was apparently a place of great danger, as the Grimm here could sense negative emotions and track them. The Vytal Festival was an event that gathered together hundreds of thousands of people into one place, and she knew for a fact that terrorists were planning some sort of attack. Regardless of their true aims, the mere existence of the act would undoubtedly cause this powder keg of a city to go off. Why couldn't Ozymandias have sent them back earlier, so that they could stand a better chance of stopping the attack before the festival even began? And what would they do if, in the worst case scenario, they had to defend the city from both terrorists and Grimm?
"Okay, I've got something." Trivia finally said, walking up to her with a blueprint projected on her Scroll. "Looks like they're holding her on the Atlesian flagship flying over Beacon."
Yang looked closer at the model of the ship. Trivia had helpfully highlighted the holding cells in red, outlining a potential entrance and exit through the ship.
"So, I fly you up there, you sneak in, grab Ruby, and get out. Easy! Why'd this take you so long?"
"Because I was working on something else at the same time, Blondie." She replied, holding a small bead-like object in her palm. "Here."
"Micro earbuds?" Yang fitted the device in her ear, using her Scroll's camera to see if it fit properly. "Nice job, I can barely see it. How well does it work?"
"Communication should be instant. Works off of one of my own frequencies, too, so we shouldn't have any eavesdroppers, so long as they don't know what to look for. Even then, brute force should buy me enough time to switch things up."
Yang grinned. "Okay. Ready for your first flight on Sunfire Airlines?"
"Nope. How are we doing this?"
"You can either hang onto my shoulders or I can carry you bridal style."
Trivia poofed out of existence, and suddenly Yang felt a weight on her shoulders. "Not now, dummy!"
They made their way to the rooftop of the hotel. Yang could easily spot the flagship floating nearby, looming threateningly over the academy. In the distance, she marveled at the sight of the giant floating arena her other self had gotten framed in. It was like something out of science fiction compared to what she had back home.
"Can you hide us from view?"
Trivia scoffed. "Who do you think I am?"
After double checking to make sure her body was extra transparent, and with her passenger's arms and legs wrapped around her, she took off. They landed on top of the flagship with a soft thump, but hopefully the crew would register it as turbulence. According to the blueprints, they should be right above the holding cells.
"Honestly? That wasn't that bad." Trivia commented, fist bumping her shoulder. "Nice work, Blondie."
"I'll wait up here. Are you sure you have this handled?"
"Positive." She answered, walking over to the edge of the ship. "Just sit back and watch a master thief work her magic."
She clenched her fists as she watched Trivia tip over the side. If they had done anything to hurt her sister, nothing was stopping her from blowing this ship out of the sky…
"She can't have gone far! Let's move!" Ruby watched from inside the cell as Ironwood barked out orders.
One-by-one, her friends and family dashed out of the room, leaving her alone as alarms blared across the ship. Trivia materialized outside the cell, door sliding open as the thief punched in the password.
"Neat trick. I thought your effective range was five feet?"
"For people. Sterile environments are far more predictable."
Ruby stepped out of the cell, stretching her limbs. "Where's Yang?"
"Up top." Trivia replied. "Ready to go?"
She shook her head. "I need to retrieve my weapon from the ship's armory. Nonviolently. I'd rather we'd not cripple an entire Kingdom's aerial forces before an impending terrorist attack."
Trivia paused. "Okay, armory, armory, pacifism, armory…where are you…" Her hand flew up to her ear. "Blondie. I need you to move back a bit. Think of the midpoint between here and the engine room."
"Earpieces?" Ruby surmised as Trivia handed her one. "You've certainly been busy."
"Our lead got knocked unconscious. We had time." The air glimmered around them, and before she knew it she was wearing an Atlesian uniform. "Let's move."
They easily blended into the swarm of Atlesian soldiers scrambling about, looking for their missing prisoner, and moved with little resistance towards the armory. The entrance was locked, but that wasn't a concern with Trivia around.
"Are you two there yet? I'm in position." She could hear Yang say through her earpiece.
"Nearly there." Ruby responded as the door clicked open. The two of them burst into the armory: a large room bisected by a chain-link wall, guarding boxes, rocket lockers, and weapon racks alike. She easily spotted Omen near the gate, along with four uninvited guests. Team WBY, plus one other.
"See?" Ruby Rose waved triumphantly. "Told you she'd come for Omen 2.0."
The four of them entered a combative stance, with her double unfolding her own weapon, Crescent Rose.
"Wow! Big scythe. Biiig scythe." Trivia spluttered nervously. "Boss?"
"It's also a gun." Ruby added. "Sunfire? Time to go loud."
She looked up to see a white-yellow ring form around the ceiling between her and RWBY, before that section of the ship fell to the ground with a mighty crash, Sunfire landing stylishly beside it.
"I'm here! Who're we fighting—" Her jaw dropped, matching the stupefied expressions on Team RWBY. "Ruby Rose! Is that a scythe?"
Rose recovered from the initial shock, cradling her weapon gently. "Yang! It's not just a scythe! It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!"
"Well that's even worse!" Sunfire shouted, waving her flaming arms in the air. "You could get seriously hurt swinging that thing around!"
"I'm not a kid anymore, Yang! Stop babying me!" Rose whined.
"I am your sister! I'll baby you all I like—"
"Shut up!" Yang suddenly screamed, firing a buckshot at Sunfire. Ruby watched in awe as she simply exploded in a plume of fire, the bullets never reaching her. One badly deformed tip even found itself smeared all over the ground at her feet.
"Wow, she really can melt bullets."
"Not done yet, Trivia?" Ruby whispered under her breath.
"Don't rush me. You're the one who wanted to do this nonviolently!"
"Are you crazy? You could have killed me!" Sunfire turned to yell at her counterpart.
"Yeah, uh, that was a little much, Yang. I mean, Fiery Yang isn't even attacking us. None of them are!" Rose piped up.
"Just, shut up!" Yang fumed. "I'm Ruby's sister. You're just some fucked up copy, like her!" She finished, pointing a finger at them.
Rose gasped, and Sunfire placed a hand on her chest, putting on a false air of indignation. "Well, that was just rude."
"Your sister does have a point, Yang." Weiss spoke up. "These people—they haven't exactly been acting like villains."
"Got it! I'm waiting by the wall on your left. Ready when you are."
"Now, Sunfire!"
The image of Trivia beside her shattered into glass, as Sunfire powered up and aimed both of her arms at Team RWBY, spirals of fire seemingly ready to launch. The Huntresses-in-training all scattered, allowing her to switch targets, sending a tunnel of flame towards one of the ship's walls. The flames consumed everything in their path before dissipating, leaving a small exit for them to escape from.
Trivia popped into view once more next to the hole holding Omen, extending her parasol before hopping out of the ship. Ruby quickly followed suit, allowing Sunfire to scoop her up in a bridal carry before rocketing out into the evening sky, leaving Team RWBY to clean up the mess behind them. Hopefully they didn't break anything important…
"Alright. Let's go over what we know so far. I'll start." Ruby said, taking a sip of her tea. "General Ironwood and the Hunters of Vale have nothing on these terrorists. Or at least, nothing that we can act upon. Seems like their plan is to just react to whatever happens, and handle it accordingly."
"That's not good. I mean, even if we knew what was going on and told them, their lack of preparedness means more time for the bad guys to get away."
"Right." Ruby agreed, and Yang's heart sank. "But I wouldn't count them out just yet. It might just come down to luck. Trivia?"
"I found a virus in Atlas' systems while we were up there. It'll take me a while to dismantle it. Ten hours, at least."
"Can you trace its origin?"
Trivia shook her head. "No, it was uploaded manually. Someone got into the server room itself."
"Fine. We'll have to warn Ironwood when we get the chance. Anything else?"
"Other me and Roman Torchwick have a heist planned for tonight. But we diiid do a number on them back at Junior's."
"How much?"
"Blondie pinned Torchwick under a steel bar. I knocked myself unconscious and then some."
Ruby tapped her chin thoughtfully. "They'll be fine. Which means the job is still on."
Trivia whistled. "Aura's one hell of a drug, huh?"
"If we catch them in the act, we might be able to squeeze some info out of them. Or put ourselves back in Ironwood's good graces." Yang pointed out.
"Or both. Maria?"
"While you all were out there raising hell, I went and got us some supplies. Dust for Ruby and I, ammo for Trivia, first aid for the Earthlings, and more. They're all in the bag." The Grimm Reaper gestured to the large sack by the hotel room's doorway. "Also, I couldn't find the subway tunnel to Mountain Glenn."
Ruby nearly spit out her drink. "Maria, Mountain Glenn's been abandoned for years. The tunnel was sealed up ages ago."
She nodded. "I know. Point being, we probably shouldn't expect my counterpart or any of my contacts to help out. Unless you want an old hag backseat coaching you mid-fight. Though to be honest, I'm surprised I managed to survive for so long."
"How did that happen?" Yang wondered. "The age difference, I mean."
"Maybe our Maria was born on February 29th?"
"Yeah, no." She deadpanned. "Anyways, that's not all. I was curious about Mountain Glenn, so I asked some of the people living in the houses built over the tunnels. They complained that they could hear noises coming from below at night."
"Wait, slow down." Yang said. "What's Mountain Glenn? Why would they need tunnels?"
"An old settlement to the south." Ruby answered. "Vulnerable to the Grimm, built outside the city walls, but still connected through the…tunnels…"
"You think that's their way in?" Maria asked doubtfully. "Attack the city alongside a horde of Grimm?"
"I think it's too big of a risk to ignore." She declared, downing the rest of her tea. "Let's move, people."
As Yang and her sister were now technically wanted, they were forced to stick close to Trivia as they moved through downtown Vale, following Maria through the crowds. They eventually ended up at the city square, where the Vytal Festival tournament was being played on a raised platform. A crowd of civilians surrounded it, watching Pyrrha and Penny fight each other in a one-on-one duel. Were all of her friends badass Hunters in this world or something? Even Jaune and Ruby?
Yang stifled a yawn, but it still went noticed by the rest of her team.
"Tired already?"
"Let's just get this investigation over with so I can get some rest. It was already nighttime for me before Ozymandias teleported us here." She complained.
"Same. All of this action has me feeling a bit REM deprived." Trivia yawned, holding up an energy drink. "Thank God caffeine exists here too."
"Give me some." Yang snatched the drink out her hands, downing the rest of the can.
"You twip!" Trivia growled. "You're lucky I always steal two…"
Before Yang could argue back, she heard cries of shock and dismay coming from the crowd near the platform. Acting fast, she quickly pulled up the same stream from her Scroll, revealing the horrific display.
"Oh my God, Penny…"
The ground shook.
"Sorry, Yang, but bedtime will have to wait." Ruby said, gripping her sword. "Looks like they've made their move."
The rumblings grew louder, closer, to the point that the crowd had stopped watching the spectacle and started fleeing from the plaza, not even bothering to question why the four of them weren't following suit as they ran past them. Yang could even faintly see the scattering of debris and dust in the distance. And then the square exploded. And the Grimm came.
"Yang, take the skies!" Ruby ordered. "Maria, Trivia, kill them before they can clear the plaza!"
Leaping up into the night sky, she was soon met with several winged creatures of darkness. Some took the form of giant birds, while others resembled pegasi. Nevermore and Griffons were never used by her Salem, which meant she had no experience fighting these things, but still. They were all going down.
One of the birds screeched loudly, obviously recognizing her as a threat, before launching a flurry of black feathers at her. Yang dove to the side, a hair too slow as she felt something sharp graze her leg. She responded in kind with a blast of fire in kind, torching the offending monster before it could fire more.
This was bad. Each Grimm was just as dangerous as that one. She couldn't afford to take any more hits like that; she had to keep moving.
Turning up the heat, she flew through the incoming horde like a shooting star, twisting, diving, and weaving between beaks and claws that snapped at her. Landing on the back of a Nevermore, she gripped the joints connecting its wings and twisted, melting the limbs right off of it. She quickly jumped off of it, the act sending sharp spindles of pain up her injured leg, watching as several black feathers impaled the crippled bird's back where she once stood. Rocketing skywards, she threw an uppercut into the other Nevermore's beak, the resulting burst of flames point-blank enough to reduce it to ashes.
A truly gigantic Griffon dove at her, gaping maw wide enough to easily fit three of her. But if they were like the Grimm back home…
Her entire body warmed as she charged straight into its mouth, moving just fast enough to clear the threshold before its jaw snapped shut. Sparks flew off of her body as she overheated, exploding the Grimm from the inside in a bright flash.
Yang wasted no time with her next move. The bright sparks of the incinerated Griffon illuminated the sky like a firework, letting her fire off precision jets of flame at the surrounding Grimm. Turning off the fire keeping her suspended, she let her attacks move her through the air, each spin and flip through the sky turning her a new direction and letting her aim at a new target, turning the dogfight into a lightshow of burning Grimm and ash.
Of course, not every attack was going to counteract the force of gravity, and Yang slowly danced closer to the ground as she continued to snipe Grimm out of the sky. She was going to ignite at her feet to stabilize and return to the air, but as she did, she spotted a Beowolf sneaking up on Ruby, who was occupied slicing a scorpion to bits. Her sister was in trouble!
"Ruby, look out!" She yelled, even though there was no chance of her sister hearing her this high up.
She rocketed downwards, intent on crushing the Grimm with her landing. But to her surprise, Ruby reacted as if she knew the Beowolf was there the whole time, cutting it in two with a single strike without so much as a single glance. Yang panicked, throwing a burst of propellant fire at the ground in an attempt to stop her quick descent. The sudden expansion of air caused her sister to stumble forward, straight into the waiting fist of a Beringel. Ruby slammed into her, knocking the wind out of her sails as the two of them went careening into a building.
Ruby coughed, stumbling to her feet. "Yang, what the hell was that?"
"I-I mean, you were in trouble,I thought you needed me—"
"I know I'm just your baby sister back in your reality." Her sister stalked up to her, furious. "But she's not me, and I'm not her! I had it handled."
"I'm sorry—"
"Just get back out there, Sunfire." Ruby spat. "We still have a job to do."
Yang mentally kicked herself in the head as she flew back out into Vale. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She didn't think; she just saw her sister in danger and reacted. But of course she'd be in danger, they all were! Even if the thought of Ruby putting her life at risk was unbearable, this wasn't her Ruby.
She'd be fine. Yep. Absolutely nothing wrong with that!
Raging against the slowing tide of aerial Grimm, Yang redoubled her efforts as her flames cut across the inky night sky, until there was nothing left. At least, in her immediate airspace. Despite the darkness, she could clearly see that there were too many Grimm for the four of them; the chaos had spread throughout the entirety of Vale, and there was no doubt that Beacon and Amity Colosseum were under attack, too.
She descended, slowly this time, regrouping with the rest of the team as they exterminated the last Grimm in the square.
"You're all insane." Trivia said, gasping for air. "You choose to fight these things on a daily basis?"
"It's usually not this bad." Maria replied, having not broken a sweat. "But it looks like the terrorists used the tunnels to create multiple points of entry. We can't possibly contain them alone."
"We need to coordinate our efforts with Atlas and Beacon." Ruby agreed. "How's everyone doing?"
"I can keep going for a while."
"Running out of ammo. Also I chipped a nail."
"Small cut on my leg. No big deal."
Ruby nodded. "My Aura's taken a hit, but it'll replenish with time. We'll make our way towards Ironwood's flagship, rescuing any civilians we come across and dealing with anything else that gets in our way. Maria will take point, and Sunfire will cover us from above."
And so they made their way across the Grimm-infested streets of Vale, towards the two towering monuments in the distance. Yang struggled to curb the panic she felt whenever it looked like Ruby was a hair away from getting hit, and eventually she averted her gaze entirely, single-mindedly burning down any Grimm that flew near them while scanning ahead for any signs of life.
And as they neared the edge of the city, she found them. Uncle Qrow, in the midst of bisecting a Griffon behind a cyborg Ironwood. Even Ms. Goodwitch was there! But none of them saw the other one flying in!
She jetted forward, slamming into the second Griffon with a burning dropkick, searing its insides and sending it flying away before it could reach her uncle. The force of the impact stopped all her forward momentum, and she dropped to the ground with a roll. Ow. Probably shouldn't have done that with a hurt leg.
"Hi, Uncle Qrow!"
"Yang?" He paused, looking at her up and down. "Oh, great, another one!"
Ruby and the rest of her team appeared across the street, running up to them unhindered.
"As much as I'd love to rub it in your face and say 'I told you so', the people of Vale are in danger." Ruby said to Ironwood. "So what's your plan, General?"
Ironwood begrudgingly began explaining. "Glynda will establish a safe zone for civilians in Vale, while Qrow will assist in taking back Beacon."
"Holy shit, is that the Grimm Reaper?" The uncle in question said, staring wide-eyed at Maria.
"Not now, Qrow!" Ruby snapped, before turning back to Ironwood. "And you?"
"Someone's hacked my machines. I need to get to my ship, and find a way to shut them off before they can do any more harm."
Ruby nodded. "Trivia will go with you. She can neutralize the virus."
"What?" Trivia protested. "I said it would take ten hours. It hasn't even been one. I'm a thief, not a miracle worker!"
"I. Don't. Care." Despite Yang's presence, the air around them dropped several degrees. "Thousands are going to die if we can't turn this situation around. Make it happen."
Trivia's eyes twitched violently as she walked up to Ironwood and grabbed his cyborg arm. "Fine. C'mon Jimmy, let's go steal an airship."
While Trivia stalked off with the general, Ms. Goodwitch's Scroll went off. "Hello? What? Mr. Arc, slow down…Ozpin? I…see. Take your team and retreat with the others. We're on our way."
"Don't tell me…" Qrow started.
"Amber's dead. We need to get to Beacon as soon as possible."
"And the safe zone?" Ruby asked.
"You said we needed you." Her uncle rasped. "Prove it."
"Alright, then. The Grimm Reaper and I will head back to the square and establish a safe zone. We've already cleared that area of the Grimm. Sunfire, fly Professor Goodwitch up to Beacon."
Yang hesitated. "What about Uncle Qrow?"
"He can turn into a bird, he'll be fine." He can? "Let's move!"
Ruby and Maria disappeared down the street, leaving her with her former high school teacher and her Uncle. Qrow shrugged his shoulders before turning into a bird and flying off, much to her amazement. But a cleared throat snapped her back to attention, as Ms. Goodwitch stared at her expectantly.
"We don't have all day, Miss Xiao Long."
"Right, uh, climb on." She replied, offering her back. "Never thought I'd be giving one of my teachers a ride."
"And I never thought I'd accept help from a stranger wearing my student's face." She said, unabashedly slinging her arms around Yang's neck. "Bring us to the docks."
And to the docks they went. As the two of them landed, they drew plenty of surprised and strange stares from the students and civilians fleeing the school. Yang spotted Weiss, Nora, Ren, and Sun among them, treating injuries and helping with the evacuation effort. Sun had a monkey tail pinned on him for some reason. Worryingly, she couldn't spot Ruby, Blake, or herself anywhere in the crowd.
Ms. Goodwitch unhooked her arms, stepping up to take charge. "Everyone! A safe zone is being established in Vale. We'll need capable warriors to assist in setting it up. Anyone who can still fight should head to the city square!"
The docks became a buzz of activity as Yang walked up to her injured friends. Weiss' eyes lit up momentarily when she spotted her.
"Yang!" She paused, her face falling. "Oh, it's you."
"Where's Ruby?" Yang tried to hide the panic in her voice. "What about the other me, and Blake?"
"I don't know!" Weiss' frustrated expression said it all. "We lost track of each other in the chaos."
Everyone else finally got over their gawping, and Nora spoke up, pointing a finger excitedly at her. "Look everyone, it's Yang from a parallel world where she's a superhero!"
"What?" Ren said. "Nora, don't be silly."
"Er, no. Actually, she's completely right."
Weiss recoiled as if physically struck. "Wait, does that mean the other Ruby…?"
"Yeah. But she's not from my universe either. It's a long story."
"Well why didn't you say so last time?" Weiss squawked in indignation. "Do you realize how much trouble you've caused Yang—my Yang?"
"S-Sorry…we're kinda new to this whole reality-hopping deal." She said sheepishly. "Anyways—"
Her breath caught in her throat as she spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Three figures.
They'd been attacked. She could tell because of the way her sister and Blake was carrying her Yang, but something was off…
"Help!" Ruby cried out as they neared. "Someone help!"
"Oh my God…" Yang murmured as she and the rest of the gang ran up to them.
Her sister wore a nasty cut across her forehead. Blake's shirt was damp and red with blood. And the other Yang was unconscious, missing an arm and bleeding heavily where it once was.
Her arm.
"Who. Did. This?" She growled, the pain from her own injury forgotten as her temperature spiked with each word.
"Focus, Yang!" Weiss somehow kept her composure, despite the circumstances. "We need you to cauterize the wound."
"You want me to cauterize my own arm?!"
"I want you to save her life." Weiss pleaded. "Please."
As they laid herself down on the ground, Yang knelt down and moved her hand over the stump, trying hard not to gag. Her palm heated up as a small, precise flame ignited, hovering over the wound. Deep breaths, now.
"Do it." Blake whispered.
It was over in an instant, but it felt like it lasted a lifetime. Someone had crippled her. What would have happened if no one got to her in time?
Yang turned away and dry heaved, before dumping what little contents were left in her stomach over the grass. A sickening nauseous sensation came over her as her vision swam. When was the last time she ate anything? During their meeting with Ozymandias?
"Good news and bad news." Trivia announced over comms. "The virus has been neutralized! No need to thank me all at once!"
"We noticed." Her Ruby said. "How long until everything reboots?"
"Thirty minutes. That's the bad news."
"What? How is that bad?"
A thunderous roar in the distance caught everyone's attention. Yang turned her head in horror as the silhouette of a motherfucking dragon appeared over the city.
"Holy shit…" Someone murmured.
"It's headed straight here! We need to leave!"
"That's why, Blondie. The flagship's weapons are inoperable, too. What do we do now?"
"We stop it. If that thing gets to Beacon we'll never take back the city."
"Great idea, Boss!" Trivia responded sardonically. "How?"
To Yang's surprise, Maria's voice was the next to appear over comms. "Yang. Can you kill it?"
"You want me to fight that thing head on?" Yang stood up, her outrage drawing everyone's attention.
"Can you?"
Yang glanced around her, taking in the defeated expressions on all of her friends' faces. "…How big is it? I can't tell from here."
"About the size of a large building." Trivia guessed. "Maybe two."
"I'd need to hit it with everything I've got for about a full minute. But I don't think it's going to just sit around and take it. We'd need to slow it down somehow."
"Leave that to me." Maria sounded confident. "Just be ready to fire when I give the signal. Trivia, can you bring us a small airship? I'll need to get close for this to work."
"Now that, I can do! Stupid virus can't stop me now!"
"Wait, wait, wait." Yang said, following her friends to the docks. "What's the signal?"
"You'll know when you see it. Can't miss it. Trust me."
"Yang." She turned her head to see her other baby sister tugging at her arm. "Are you really going to fight that thing?"
Never had she ever seen her sister look so scared, so small. Like her entire world had been shattered, and in a way, it almost had. And that, made her angry.
A warmth surrounded her core, as her hair glowed gold and ignited.
"Don't worry, Ruby. Your big sis is gonna be alright. I promise."
Breaking away from Ruby's grip, she felt everyone's eyes on her as she walked alone to one of the empty landing pads. The paint beneath her chipped and blistered, the ground softening beneath her feet. She hated getting this hot; it always made her shine like a beacon. Though she could make an exception this time.
In the distance, she spotted an airship closing in on the dragon, keeping pace just in front of it, baiting it closer to the ground. She'd have to come in from above.
"Get ready…"
She clenched her fists. "Showtime."
The platform beneath her collapsed in a partially melted wreck as she took off like a missile, soaring high into the sky. The clouds parted before her as she floated in Remnant's lower atmosphere, waiting for Maria's signal.
The Grimm Reaper was right. No one could miss what happened next. Yang's eyes widened and she let herself drop, the image of the streets of Vale flooded with silver burned into her mind. The dragon itself was petrified, black scales now stone-gray and most importantly, unmoving.
So Yang let loose, a brilliant beam of blue erupting from every surface of her body as she fell. The continuous blast of fire struck true, slowing her descent as she continued to burn through every inch of the dragon's thick hide. The wings were the first to go, the petrified shell melting off before her flames took the vulnerable flesh under it, too. And the same went for the dragon's exposed back, frozen legs and head sealing its fate.
Seconds passed slowly. Yang stopped counting after thirty.
'Just keep burning and burning and burning until there's nothing left.'
She wasn't sure how long she stayed there, shining brightly like a star as the fires consumed everything below her. But eventually her endurance wavered, and she flickered like a candle burned down to its base before her powers gave out. So she closed her eyes and dropped out of the sky. She was so, so tired…
The noisy hum of spinning rotors and working engines neared, and Yang blinked awake to the smell of rose petals. She landed on a hard metal floor with an audible thump.
"Ruby? Did I do it?" She asked groggily.
"You did." Her sister responded in a clipped tone. "Good work."
"Nice work, Blondie! Remind me not to get on your bad side!" Trivia joked from the pilot's seat.
And then, silence. Save for the hum of the ship's engine, the three of them sat in a deeply uncomfortable silence.
Yang jolted up. "Where's…where's Maria?"
"We're about to find out." Ruby responded grimly. "We couldn't get the airship close enough without being swatted out of the sky. So she used her weapons to get within range. Point blank, right under its belly. You probably couldn't see it from up there, but the dragon fell like a rock once she hit it with her eyes."
Her stomach dropped. "No."
Ignoring her sister's protests, she leapt out of the airship before it could fully land, a weak spark generated at her feet barely shielding her from a nasty fall. Stumbling hard, she ignored the aching pains in her legs as she ran into the decaying ashes of the Grimm. The surrounding landscape had been utterly demolished as a result of either the dragon's impact or her own attack, making it look as if a bomb had dropped in the middle of the city.
No.
She spotted Maria's staff sticking up out of some rubble, and flew over, ignoring the scrapes she was subjecting her body to as she climbed through the hazardous terrain. Her hands, bloodied, battered, and bruised, nonetheless tore away at loose stone and brick, until finally, she pulled the Grimm Reaper free from the wreckage.
Her mask, cracked in two, fell from her face as Yang held her unresponsive body.
"Maria? Maria, wake up." Yang shook her limp body, but received no response. "Come on, this isn't funny. Wake up!"
A pair of footsteps walked up near her. A hand fell on her shoulder. And another placed two fingers over Maria's neck, checking for a pulse.
"Sunfire, she's…gone." Ruby said softly. "I'm sorry."
"No! She can't be…I-I, she had a plan and everything and—why did…?" Tears welled up in her eyes, hissing and evaporating as they hit the ground. "Why?"
But there was no time for Ruby to respond. There was never enough time.
"Boss? We've got trouble." Trivia said, pointing behind them with frightened eyes.
Ruby turned around, ready for combat, but was instead met with a glowing light in the shape of a person. A familiar hum rang in their ears as the light distended and burst, temporarily blinding all of them. When Yang opened her eyes, Blake was standing in front of them. But not her Blake, and certainly not this universe's Blake.
She wore a large black cloak, hiding all but her head from view. Shadows seemed to eerily creep out like tendrils beneath her, with no regard for physics or light sources. A funeral veil covered her pale face, crowned by a familiar black bow. The girl approached them with an air of regality, staring with unblinking golden eyes.
"Greetings. I am Lady Belladonna. But you may call me Bel. Ozymandias has informed me that my timeline has been rewritten, and that I must work with all of you to earn it back." She bowed deeply. "I am in your care."
For a moment, no one said anything. But the stiffening silence was soon interrupted by Ruby, who opened her weapon and flung one of her Dust blades into the debris.
"Gods fucking damn it! Why didn't I realize it sooner?"
"Realize what? Ruby, what's going on?" Yang cried.
Her sister whipped around to face her, flicking her in the forehead. "Think, Yang, think! What did Ozymandias say? 'Trillions of trillions of worlds'? 'Restoring balance to the entire multiverse'? Why would the four of us be the only ones affected?"
Ruby turned back to Maria's broken body, unable to keep the scowl off of her face.
"We're expendable."
Next: No Rest for the Wicked!
List of Timeline-Sensitive Individuals:
Yang Xiao Long (Sunfire), Earth-616
Ruby Branwen, Remnant-39
Trivia Vanille (Neo), Earth-55
Maria Calavera, Remnant-4
Lady Belladonna (Bel), Earth-666
A/N: First part of the story cleared! This Arc is just one of many…get it? Next arc will be released…when I get to it.
I have to apologize to all four (4) of Young Maria's fans. Someone had to set up the main conflict. Tensions are already running high for our crew, and breaks are far and few between. How will this affect their mission?
Thanks for reading!