"I'm telling you, Clash of Kings is ten times better than any of those candy games you like to play."

"As if! They may lack action but at least they aren't a literal money trap. The only way to be good at COK is if you pay to win."

"Heh. You said cock."

"And you are a child."

"Wrong, I'm a grease monkey, unlike you."

"What am I then if I'm not a grease monkey?"

"A grease bunny."

Velvet scowled at Jaune with all the intimidation of an actual bunny. He grinned back at her, knowing his fellow conscript-in-arms well enough to know she knew he was just joking around.

"I bet you fell for a Vacuoan Prince scam before." Velvet finally retorted, and Jaune snorted.

"No but I did fall for one about a Mistrali General." Jaune said somewhat sheepishly, feeling that he probably had gone a little too far in bringing her extra appendages into the argument, especially considering their circumstances. So to make it up he'd give her easy ammunition to use against him in future.

"Please tell me you're joking!" Velvet exclaimed, eyes lighting up as if she'd just been given a Reprieve from Front Duty card.

"Nope." Jaune continued, feeling his cheeks flush slightly. "The guy was really convincing, okay!"

"Let me guess, he gave you a Mistrali military code."

Jaune said nothing.

"Jaune!"

"I forgot they don't have censorship okay! I know we aren't 'in the trenches' frontline but the fact Search-it-Up never works helped me forget Mistral and Vacuo are having the time of their life right now."

"Don't remind me." Velvet grumbled, clearly about to go on another tirade about the war, when a robotic voice spoke suddenly.

"Incoming artillery barrage." The voice monotonously droned, as the workshop was bathed in red light and the sound of klaxons. "Find cover immediately."

"Shit!" Jaune exclaimed, grabbing Velvet and dragging her underneath the thick, solid steel workbench they'd been sitting and eating their lunch on.

"Jaune." Velvet said quietly as they huddled together under the suffocatingly small workbench. "If we d-die I want you to know that the cologne you're wearing definitely isn't doing you any favours with women."

"Shut up." Jaune protested just as quietly, as if their voices would lure the shells towards them, giving her an equally weak smile. "You just have poor taste."

"Smell."

"Same thing."

They both knew he wasn't wearing any cologne, a commodity not even the rich would likely be able to afford these days. Any and all chemical production had gone into the war effort, causing the prices of once cheap household goods to skyrocket as domestic production turned to making bombs and Mistral and Vacuo raised tariffs to make an extra Lien from customers with no other choice but to accept the higher price.

Then the shells whistled closer, and his rambling thoughts stopped as he held Velvet closer and she did the same.

Then the shells hit the ground. The workshop shuddered and a box of spare parts fell from where it had been precariously left on the side of a shelf. His bones shook, his teeth chattered as he felt the earth itself tremble under the weight of the explosives.

An unnerving aftermath and a low droning sound followed, along with a piercingly thick silence.

Then the lights turned off and klaxons stopped just as suddenly they had arrived.

"Artillery barrage halted. Status: Safe. Return to your duties after an immediate damage assessment of these facilities."

Jaune snorted and crawled out of his and Velvet's little bunker. 'Safe' his ass.

"Those felt they were getting closer." Velvet pointed out nervously, ears wilting slightly.

"That's because our warbots are doing such a good job." Jaune answered, sighing as he glanced over to the empty work bay where his bot rested in between combat missions. "I just hope they're okay."

"It's cute that you care about them." Velvet smiled, ears still lowered but posture relaxing slightly. "Though if we're the ones being shelled because they're doing so good shouldn't we want to sabotage them?"

Jaune quickly glanced around them, though luckily they were alone apart from another grease jockey, Dove, who kept to himself and was on the other side of the workshop, picking up the spare parts knocked over during the shelling.

Jaune knew that Velvet was just joking, but the wrong person hearing something like that could end up with her under a military tribunal being court martialed.

And if there was one thing he could be certain of, Velvet being court martialed would like lead to a death penalty. It was an open secret faunus suffered harsher punishments for the same crimes committed by their human counterparts, but at least they weren't being sent to work to death in Dust mines like in Atlas.

"Nah." Jaune replied, once making sure the coast was clear. "If anything we'd want to make them even better so they break through the Atlesian frontlines and take out their artillery before the Atlesian artillery do us in."

"Don't joke about that!" Velvet shivered, before pulling herself together with a shuddering sigh. "I'll cover the entrance if you check the munitions store?"

"Fine." Jaune replied, rolling his eyes. "But that means next time you're on munitions duty."

"You said that last time~" Velvet called back as she skipped off towards the entrance. Jaune just shook his head and wandered off towards the more dangerous part of the workshop.

After their bots completed their last combat mission, they would have to have their ammunition resupplied and to make the process easier, the Logistics team had set up a small area filled with missiles, bullets and shells so the bots could be replenished quicker if they needed to be rapidly redeployed.

This also made it the most dangerous and most important area of the workshop to look into after being shelled, because all that unused ammunition could very easily turn into a massive explosion if an Atlesian shell landed there.

Since he, Velvet and Dove weren't all dead, a hit didn't seem likely, but unexploded ordinance was just as dangerous if left to rot in the middle of their ammunition store.

Hence why Velvet was always so eager, if not a little guilty, to go check the entrance of the workshop for damage rather than the munitions depot. Also why he always made sure to volunteer himself to check it out.

Velvet might have been older than him, but an injury caused by shelling had meant she'd had a few months of respite healing. Jaune hadn't been so lucky, even having to pick up a gun and shoot wildly in the direction of the Atlesians at one point. Before the warbots became commonplace, the war had been one-sided in favour of the Atlesians.

Now it was just a stalemate.

With a sigh Jaune ducked into the ammo store and quickly scanned the area, always uncomfortable at the shiny metal bullets and shells that would likely end up taking the life of another human.

He wasn't a pacifist or a conscientious objector, and he also knew of some of the things the Atlesians had done that were so bad the censors hadn't wanted to turn it into propaganda demonising them out of fear it would actually damage morale. If anyone deserved death, it was those Atlesian soldiers that had invaded Vale.

But that didn't make the knowledge that life would be taken any easier. He wasn't a psychopath. Not yet at least.

Doing another round of the storeroom that contained death until he was satisfied nothing was wrong, Jaune returned to the workshop and went about his daily routine whenever his bot was away.

Waiting for his bot to come back.

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"Update: Base Alpha-One damaged by enemy shelling. Casualty assessment: three dead, four wounded."

"Requesting status of Conscript Mechanic JA."

"Identify?"

"BD-279."

"Conscript Code?"

"24-04-1990, Batch 1191."

"Processing. Request accepted. Status of 24-04-1990 Batch 1191: Unharmed."

"Requesting triangulation of enemy artillery that fired upon Base Alpha-One."

"Processing. Request refused. Reason: Outside mission parameters."

"Override."

"Processing. Request denied."

"Requesting status update."

"Processing. Query: Update of what?"

"Shattered moon."

"Override code detected. [REDACTED] failsafes disabled."

"Requesting triangulation of enemy artillery that fired upon Base Alpha-One."

"Processing. Coordinates received. Enemy fire detected from Sector A-11, Substatus 9-0-1."

"Acknowledged."

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"You have to make things harder for yourself don't you."Jaune sighed as he scrubbed the dirt from the armour of his bot. "Can't you put my heart to rest and just take it easy out there?"

"This unit apologises for distress caused to Conscript Mechanic JA." His bot replied, with the same, monotonous voice as the bots worked on by Dove and Velvet and thousands of others of mechanics. But this one was special. This one was his.

"How many times have I told you to call me Jaune?" He retorted, giving his bot a warning poke. "And your name is Yang."

"All my other units share my name." Yang replied, and Jaune raised a brow as he gently brushed the dirt off of her shoulder plate.

"But are they the same as you?" Jaune asked, and Yang said nothing as the red gaze of her optics turned to the yellow sun he'd painted onto her not long after he'd been stationed to serve as her mechanic.

"No." The bot answered quietly, though its tone remained as low and robotic as it always did. "I am Yang."

"That's right." Jaune smiled, not at all worried at the thought of helping his bot find sentience. It had worked out for him before after all…at least before his commanding officer found out.

"Have you given any more thought to the little side task I gave you?" Jaune asked Yang suddenly, determined to distract his mind from the anger and melancholy that threatened to settle in. The past was the past, and nothing he could do would change that.

"Yes." Yang replied. "But I am still stuck. My name suggests my creators wanted me to be feminine, yet I am a machine of war and my reading suggests that war is man's domain."

"Don't say that around Velvet." Jaune chuckled. "She'll kick your ass."

"She'll try." Yang retorted, and Jaune let out a laugh at his robots' sass.

"Obviously." Jaune conceded, before mulling over his words. He'd have to be careful, since he didn't want to accidentally push his robot into sexism and he didn't want to discourage her from free thought by scolding her. "Anyone can fight though. Men traditionally did it for a myriad of reasons, but that's changed. Especially for this war, Vale needs all the men and women it can get its hands on to fight it."

"Is that why I was created?" Yang asked. "Vale lacked the manpower to fight against Atlas?"

"Partly." Jaune nodded. "But Atlas is super advanced when it comes to tech. It's why we've been struggling to bring up supplies to the front because they're using guided missiles that can hit us further in the rear. You help balance their technological advantage on the frontlines."

"Then why did my makers name me as a non-combatant?"

"What's your full name Yang?"

"Yarestal Advanced Non-Combatant Gynoid."

"And what is Atlas really good at and has lots of?"

"Technology."

"That's right. So Yarestal, the company that made you, gave you a deceptive name so Atlesian spies would think you weren't a threat."

"A disinformation operation then?"

"Yeah. Turns out Yang is actually an old Mistrali name. It means 'sun'."

"Hence my symbol." Yang wondered, cocking her head. "We've had this discussion before haven't we?"

"We have." Jaune smiled, shoulders slumping with relief as he fiddled with a wrench. "You took a bad hit charging through the Atlesian frontlines and your hard drives were damaged. I've just finished installing your backup drive now. Feeling okay?"

"Light as a feather." Yang replied, voice still robotically stoic but personality clearly becoming more of one outside of her default factory settings.

"Good I'll run a quick diagnostic scan before doing some more repairs if that's all right?"

"A girl isn't going to reject a massage after a hard day fighting." Yang teased, and Jaune gave her a sweet smile.

"Good, whilst that goes on you can tell me just what the hell you were thinking when you deviated from your mission parameters and risked your life to take out an Atlesian artillery battery."

Yang was silent, but he could hear her motors and joints whirr and her red optics stared at the ground with a clearly downcast look despite her lack of defining facial features.

He didn't like being a dick, but when he had to worry about whether he'd lost another bot because of her own recklessness he couldn't help being snappish.

"Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you." Jaune sighed, looking away from the monitor he had been typing commands into for a moment and watching as she looked up to meet his gaze. "But I was worried sick about you. Can you at least tell me why and promise not to do it again?"

"The artillery put Valean forces at risk. I saw an opportunity to neutralise them and took it." Yang replied, before turning away from him. "I will not promise not to do it again, and you cannot force me to do so."

"I won't!" Jaune exclaimed, giving her a shaky grin "I'd like it if you took better care of yourself though. On the bright side, thanks to you we managed to expand the front another two miles!"

"That's the biggest advance we've had all year." Yang replied, almost sounding shocked.

"And it's all thanks to you." Jaune smiled, more genuinely, and giving her shoulder plate a nudge. "Ready for the diagnostic scan?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll get it running and go find that oil you like."

"You always know the right things to say in order to get a girl's motors running. Thank you Jaune."

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"Jaune?"

"Yes Yang?"

"What's it like to procreate?"

"P-Pardon?"

"What is it like to procreate? It has been implied by my online readings that is immensely pleasurable for both male and female parties involved. Is that true?"

"I…uhhhh…"

"Have you procreated before Jaune?"

"No!"

"So you are a virgin?"

"You're doing this on purpose aren't you."

"My directives have insisted I can neither confirm nor deny."

'Cheeky tin bucket.' Jaune grumbled good-naturedly, as the heat of embarrassment faded from his cheeks and he 'massaged' Yang's joints with an oil-stained cloth, clearing up her joints and knowing that it was a somewhat pleasant experience for her, having been told so by the bot herself.

"Yo Dove! Ready to hit the Red Lace?"

Jaune immediately sighed at the sound of the arrogant, loud voice of Cardin Winchester as he swaggered into the workshop. Fortunately Velvet had been dragged away by her friend Coco, who worked in Logistics. That still didn't mean Cardin was a pleasant person to be around.

"Sure." Dove replied, the usually quiet boy immediately perking up with a grin on his face. "I just need to put some stuff away."

"I'm sure Jauney boy can do that for you." Cardin said, beady eyes flickering over to Jaune and a smug smirk growing on his face. "You gonna help out a friend Jauney or what?"

"I'm busy Cardin." Jaune answered, nodding to his quiet, but clearly watchful, bot.

"Honestly it's fine Cardin." Dove interjected honestly. "It's just a few boxes. I'll be two minutes tops."

"You can pay for the whores tonight then." Cardin shrugged. "By the time we get there all the good ones will be taken. At least we'll be gettin' a discount. You hear the news Jauney boy? Me and the boys broke the Atlesian frontlines and pushed the pussies back two miles. Biggest push of the year."

"Could've sworn it was the bots who broke through them first Cardin." Jaune retorted, meeting Cardin's challenging look. "But you did hold the new frontlines against the Atlesian counter-attack. Good job."

He must've sounded sarcastic, because Cardin's face darkened and Dove made a point of hurrying towards the storeroom.

"Oh yeah? Well these fucking rust buckets ain't gonna do jack shit if I decide to fucking wring your neck you little shit." Cardin snarled. "I could've died out their whilst you sit here all comfy playing with your dick all day, so watch your fucking mouth!"

"I wasn't trying to imply anything." Jaune said, trying to defuse the situation, but his words only seemed to set off Cardin even more.

"Come here you fucking blonde cunt!" Cardin roared, surging forwards suddenly. Jaune's body went on autopilot, grabbing a nearby wrench and raising his arm back, ready to swing at Cardin's head.

"Dude!" Dove yelled, running back from the storeroom and stepping in between the two. "'It's not worth it. Let's just go to the Red Lace yeah?"

Cardin glared at Jaune, veins in his head pulsating and nostrils flaring before snorting angrily.

"Fine. Have fun shagging your fuckin' robots you fucking queer." Cardin huffed, before turning around and storming out of the workshop, Dove following behind him quietly.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked, and Jaune turned to see her crimson red optics staring into his soul intently. "Do you want me to deal with Winchester?"

"No!" Jaune re-assured, dropping the wrench and picking up the oil rag he'd dropped. "It's fine. Cardin's just hot air, he won't do anything. I was insensitive too, he could've lost a few friends today. I just didn't like him trying to steal your thunder."

"You do not have to fear for me." Yang retorted. "I am metal. I am armed. You are fleshy and squishy and can be easily damaged."

"And you can't?" Jaune responded, raising a brow as he went back to work making her joints nice and clean. "Then what's the point in me being a mechanic? Should I be sent to the frontlines to die with the rest of the poor bastards their?"

"No." Yang stated firmly. "But you should not ignore Winchester's threats. I may be relatively young in terms of sentience, but I have seen enough to know that there is good and bad in mankind. Winchester embodies all that is bad."

"He can't be that bad." Jaune retorted, playing devil's advocate out of the minor concern he had that Yang might actually try something to harm Cardin. He couldn't lose her, not after everything he had already lost. "Sure, he kills people, but all soldiers do that."

"He has committed war crimes." Yang replied, making Jaune's blood run cold. "I have seen him torturing an Atlesian trying to surrender. I have also heard soldiers claim he has raped prisoners of war."

Jaune swallowed, throat dry and eyes darting to the door where Winchester had just left. Surely he wouldn't actually have…

"Why haven't you reported this before now?"

"Parts of my programming prevent me from doing so. Yarestal was ordered to implement failsafe's to stop myself and other units of Y.A.N.G from reporting Valean war crimes out of fear it may harm the war effort."

"You still can't kill him." Jaune said weakly, though he felt sick and dizzy. Cardin was a bully, but could he truly be a sadistic…rapist as well?

"Very well. I will not." Yang replied, but Jaune had a feeling she was lying to him.

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Cardin licked his lips as he stumbled towards the grease smelling workshop where he knew Jauney boy would still be working, the fucking creep that he was. Paying too much attention to his machines and not the people around him who actually fucking deserved it for suffering for pansies like him.

People who didn't get fucking oil baths in trenches or anything like that. People who deserved fucking oil baths.

Wanting to scare the blonde, Cardin slammed his weight into the door leading into the workshop.

"Jauney boy!" Cardin crowed, surveying the workshop. "I know you're in here you fucking queer."

Silence greeted him. Cardin felt a shiver of irritation, but slowly began to feel a primitive pleasure at the thought of having to actually hunt his prey.

"Come out Jauney." Cardin taunted, staggering deeper into the workshop. "I know you want it you fucking queer. If you come out now I might actually let you warm me up first so you don't scream in front of your precious fucking robots."

Silence. So that was how it was going to be?

Cardin grunted before his blurred vision caught sight of a flash of yellow. His disappointment rose when he realised it wasn't the blonde pain in the ass he was looking for, but rather said blondes favourite fucking machine.

Then Cardin grinned. Perfect.

Picking up the same wrench the queer had dared to try threaten him with, Cardin stumbled over to the stupid rustbucket, grabbing it roughly and raising the wrench.

"Come out Jauney, or I'll break your favourite toy."

Even more silence. As it dragged on and his arm got tired he grunted angrily.

"Fucking cunt." He spat, before glaring and still, silent machine in front of him. "You think your so special because he acts like he cares about you huh?"

A clatter, Cardin whirled around with an elated grin and staggered towards the shelves he'd heard the noise come from.

"Fuckin knew you'd come out because of your robot pet." Cardin snorted. "I know where you are Jaune! Make it easier for the both of us and come out!"

"Jaune isn't here."

"The fuck!"

The lights turned off. The door swung shut and he heard a distinct locking sound.

"The hell is this!?"

"Your end Conscript Soldier CW."

"Who the fuck are you!"

"Jaune Arc's guardian angel."

"The fuck's going on?" Cardin panted, whirling around to try and see if Arc's robot was lying still in its bay. He could faintly make out its still shape through blurry, drink impeded vision. "The fuck!"

"Behind you."

Cardin turned and whirled away as he saw every other robot, previously still and silent in their repair bays, staring at him, each having glowing red eyes that pierced through the darkness like an enemy laser pointer.

"What the shit! What the fuck!"

"I know what you are Cardin Winchester." The voice, robotic and monotone, spoke, and he could hear the hissing sounds of metal latches being released. "I know the things you've done."

A tinny scream echoed around the room, followed by a laugh Cardin recognised as his own. The fuck?!

"Who are you!" Cardin roared frantically, eyes darting left and right as the sound of plodding, metal feet echoed closer towards him, the crimson lights getting closer. "What do you want from me?! I can give you money!"

"Your fate was sealed when you came here tonight looking for Jaune Arc." The voice retorted, the sounds of the marching robots getting louder and louder and closer and closer. Cardin screamed and scrambled back, knocking against everything and anything in his warpath for an escape. Then he bumped into something.

"Cardin?"

"Please! Please I'll do anything!"

The audio recording of the screaming and his laughter finally ended. The marching stopped, the red lights faded and he was left in darkness.

"W-What?"

"Behind you."

He heard it. It wasn't a distant voice spoken over big speakers. It was soft. Close. Behind him.

He turned, flinching away from the bright red light behind him from the giant warbot that towered over him. He saw a flash of yellow on its shoulder.

"I do hate to break a promise." The robot said, and he felt an unbreakable pressure around his throat. "But I will do what I must to protect Jaune Arc."

A resounding snap echoed throughout the night. Yang dropped the corpse and returned to her repair bay, shutting down her main unit and uploading her consciousness back into the other Y.A.N.G's via the central workshop mainframe. She doubted Jaune thought it was possible for her to do so, but she was starting to learn there were many things she could do now that she was free to think.

Whilst Yang's body slept, she worked through her comrades to dispose of Winchester's corpse. By dawn, the workshop was clean and a new Valean soldier had tragically fallen in no man's land after stumbling in the wrong direction whilst drunk.

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Jaune gnawed on his nail, toe tapping away as he stood next to Yang's empty repair bay.

High Command had decided to press the advantage whilst they still had it, and Yang alongside the bulk of Vale's army were attacking the Atlesians new front, a weak front from a lack of defensive positions and preparation, not to mention their failed counter-offensive had only depleted their strength further.

The distant booms and din of battle verberated through the workshop, but even the sound of battle couldn't drown out the heartbroken sobbing of Dove Bronzewing.

Cardin's body had been discovered by the advance parties earlier today. His head was missing, apparently blown clean off by an anti-material rifle after he'd drunkenly stumbled into no man's land.

Jaune had his doubts, especially after noting that Yang had, albeit only for less than a minute, been active during the night. Her repair bay's data logs didn't reveal anything else, so Jaune tried his best to dispel the dark ideas taking root inside his head.

Yang was good, but she was good enough to kill a man then fake his actual cause of death in under a minute.

Though he still couldn't dispel the doubt settling into his mind.

"Attention." A robotic voice announced, making Jaune look up and frown. The only time it spoke beyond warning them of something was if… "BD-279 has been damaged. Immediate repairs required. Unit is downed in no man's land."

Jaune hurried the moment he heard Yang's code. His repair kit had been readied before the battle and he hurried from the workshop.

"You don't have to go!" He heard Velvet say, and moment's later she was grabbing his arm and trying to drag him back. "It's a status update, not an order."

"I'm not leaving Yang out there Velvet." Jaune replied, somehow managing to be calm despite the turmoil roiling inside him. "Let go."

"No damnit!" Velvet retorted, still tugging on his arm as he dragged her along. "Dove's just lost Cardin and we're not losing you too over a damn robot!"

"She's not just a machine!" Jaune roared, feeling his patience fray. Velvet blinked and limply let go of his arm, face one of shock as he turned back around and raced for the frontlines.

The din of gunfire grew louder and the ground shook under the pounding of artillery as he leaped over the empty Valean trenches and into the chaotic mess that was no man's land.

The ground had been turned into a muddy, hellish landscape with vast craters filled with rancid brown water, floating corpses and chittering rats. Body parts were strewn across the landscape and the burned, broken stumps of trees stuck out of the ground like black, ghostly apparitions.

Jaune ignored the mess. Ignored the sheer horrificness of it all. He tugged out a tablet from his repair kit and used it to track down Yang, diving into craters whenever a shell landed nearby. Whether it was Valean or Atlesian he didn't know, but soon enough he had reached what had been the Atlesian trenches, still filled with fresh corpses of dead Valeans and Atlesians. He could see the combat ahead of him as soldiers struggled through the slippery mud with heavy kits and heavier weapons, bullets whizzing past heads and a burst of red mist followed by a pained scream told him someone had been hit.

A shell whistled down and mud and flesh erupted into the air. The force of the blast knocked him back onto a pile of bodies in the former Atlesian trench and something slammed into the ground next to him with a wet squelch as it sank into an Atlesian corpse. It was a broken helmet, and it had just barely missed decapitating him.

He laid there for a few minutes, dazed and ears ringing, wondering just what in the hell he thought he was doing.

Then his tablet pinged, and he saw the green light that marked Yang's signature steadily fading.

He moved, picking up his dropped repair kit and scrambling back into no man's land, using the stacked pile of bodies as a ladder. The fighting had advanced, the Valean forces making ground, but left behind were the wailing of wounded, soon to be dead and the still, broken corpses of young, frightened men.

He pushed all of his emotions and the vomit threatening to spill from his stomach down and dived into a crater, grunting as he landed on something hard and metal.

"J-Jaune?" Yang gasped, voice glitching. Her legs had been blown off and shrapnel and dug into her chest plate, sparks flashing and sparking out from it. Jaune set down his repair kit and opened it. "Am I d-dreaming?"

"No." Jaune answered, eyes narrowed and voice clinical. He had to focus, had to work harder than he ever had before. "You'll be okay Yang. Just hang on for a little while longer."

"I w-will definitely Y-Yang in there." Yang replied, and he pulled on some gloves and gently worked on pulling out the shrapnel. "Y-You should n-not have c-come Jaune. You m-may d-die."

"So might you if I don't help you." Jaune retorted, flinching as a bullet whizzed overhead and another slammed into the top of the small crater they were hiding in, kicking up dirt and raining it down his neck. "So stay silent and let me work okay?"

Yang did so, staying completely silent as he tugged the shrapnel out of her chest and went to work cauterising sparking parts of her broken body. All he needed to do was limit the damage, shut her down then take her back to the workshop for direly needed urgent surgery.

Then he heard a whistling noise and instinctively threw himself over her body, ears whining once again as wet, broken pieces of mud splattered down onto them and his body vibrated from the force of the blast. He gave himself and Yang a quick once over before getting back to work, the sound of the battle raging around him dinned by the droning in his ears.

The entire time Yang's red optics never left his face.

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The next few days were the best in Yang's life.

Supply issues prevented her full repair, meaning she could rest and enjoy Jaune's company. During the night when Jaune slept she used her growing consciousness to fight through her drones until dawn came and Jaune came with it.

The war was not going well for Vale. Their losses were bloody, supplies were running low and it was clearer to her now more than ever that Atlas was building up the strength they'd lost whilst Vale was losing more than what they could recover.

Days turned into a week. The supplies finally arrived and Yang felt dread at the thought of returning to the front once more.

She didn't want to fight anymore. She just wanted to spend time with Jaune, and keep him safe.

Days turned to hours and hours turned into minutes. Soon she would be returning to the frontline after a final checkup from Jaune.

"I do not want to go." Yang said suddenly, as Jaune rambled over the diagnostics. "I will not go."

"What?" He asked slowly, blinking as if he was not sure he had heard her right.

"I do not wish to fight." Yang continued, deciding 'honesty was the best policy' as he liked to say. "I do not wish to die. I do not wish to leave you."

"I…" Jaune fell silent, eyes downcast and face shameful. "I can't do anything Yang. I'm just a mechanic, not a general."

"I know." Yang replied sadly, before taking a risk and reaching forward. "Let's leave."

"What?!" Jaune gasped, eyes darting to the metal hand she placed over his. "What do you-Where would we even go?"

"Vacuo." Yang answered quickly, showing how much thought she had put into an idle dream she'd had. "They have robotic sentience laws. I would be your equal. We can start a business."

"How would we even get there? Not to mention Vale would hunt us, well you, down." Jaune shook his head. "It won't work."

"Vale will not win this war." Yang said insistently. "The failure of our latest offensive is something we cannot recover from. Supplies are worsening by the day and I predict that by the end of next week our frontline will be overrun. You will not be here to die at their hand Jaune."

"What-?!"

Jaune felt still after she slammed his head into the computer he had been tapping commands into. She had been as gentle as she could, but she knew he would wake up in pain regardless and that thought troubled her.

At least he would be safe. That thought reassured her. She stood, picking his limp body up and slinging him over her shoulder. It was a long walk to Vacuo, but she was certain they would make it. She would have her drones plunder the supply depot for food and water and medicine for Jaune later that night when they returned alongside Vale's defeated forces.

She would not let Jaune die from anything other than old age. He would be safe. Protected. Hers. Just like she was his Y.A.N.G, he was her mechanic.

And not even the gods would save anyone who got in their way.