14

The Machinations of Fate

"Is she gonna be okay?"

Ruby looked at the doctor who was looking carefully over Yang, her eyes watering and flinching at every labored breath her sister took. The young girl's heart lurched sickenly in her chest and she felt Jaune's grip around her shoulder tighten just a bit as if he sensed her worry.

The doctor turned around, stowing away the medical scroll into his inside pocket, "No. At the current rate of proliferation the 'poison' in her bloodstream will kill her in a matter of ten hours or so. Her aura isn't regenerating because it's busy fighting off whatever this is."

The doctor turned to address Qrow who was worriedly fiddling with his flask but not drinking from it, "You said she was punctured by a scorpion faunus?" Qrow nodded, "Curious. Scorpion faunus, though possessing a stinger, do not actually produce a particularly effective poison. This. This is unlike anything I've seen. I can only assume it's some kind of semblance."

"No!" Ruby's knees threatened to buckle and would have were it not for Jaune's support.

"I've given her some shots to boost aura regeneration but at this point it's only a delaying tactic. Had the poison been administered when she had full aura or been at a significantly lower dosage then should would live but as it stands I have no way to combat the toxin. I am sorry."

With a quick bow the doctor excused himself from the room, leaving Yang on the medical bed she had been moved to. Ruby moved forward, he legs filled with lead, and grasped her sister's hand. It felt hot to the touch and sweaty. She felt another hand on hers and looked over to see Jaune had taken both her and Yang's into his own.

The blond looked like he was on the verge of crying, his face scrunched up as his grip tightened around their hands.

"I'm sorry Yang." Ruby whispered through the sobs. She fought to get the words out past the constriction in her throat, "This all my fault. I decided to come along. I decided to try and help. But in the end I was useless. And now you're going to pay the price."

The last of her words broke her and with a cry she pulled away and threw her arms around her sister.

"Don't leave me Yang. Please! I can't do it. If you're gone I just can't do it anymore. I still have to say sorry. You still need to teach me to ride Bumblebee."

Jaune closed his eyes, "I can't lose you either, Yang." He whispered into the air, "You're dear to me. Everyone is. Ruby, Ren, Nora, even Blake. I couldn't stand losing any of you. Not like Pyrrha."

The memories flashed through his mind. Of a bright red haired girl who had kissed him and then shoved him into a locker, sending him away to be safe while she went off to face danger alone. It wasn't the same situation but it was. Yet again he hadn't been around when a friend needed him and it hurt. It was devastating. If only he had stayed maybe he could have made a difference.

The blonde looked over at Ruby, he back heaving as she cried over her sister.

Anger. That surprised him. He was angry. It well within him like a tidal wave. Washing away his grief he just felt angry at everything. Pyrrha was gone and now Yang as well. When would it stop? Why did it alway have to happen to the people he loved. And that was it wasn't it? Another person he loved would be taken away. So abruptly and without good reason. And just like with Pyrrha he had realized his feelings far too late.

"Not again." He growled through his clenched teeth and closed eyes as he focused on the hand still in his, "This isn't happening again Yang. I'm not losing anyone anymore. You hear me?!" The last had turned into a shout that startle everyone in the room. Tears were streaking down his face as everyone stared at him.

He wished he could give his life for someone else. Even just a fraction. As long as it helped he would give whatever was necessary.

Ren from over the top of Nora's head as she huddled in his arms and Qrow had looked up from his position at the base of a nearby wall. No doubt the man felt responsible for this. Ruby gasped as she looked at his hands.

They were glowing. And finally the sensation hit him. Like water flowing through his body and being pulled out through his hands it flowed into Yang. The white light turned yellow as it ran into her. Her breathing started becoming more even and the expression on her face relaxed, the pain looked to be leaving her body. For several minutes everyone stood there in mute shock as they didn't dare interrupt what was happening.

A spark of hope lit inside him and it was echoed in Ruby's eyes.

"Kid. What are you doing?" It was Qrow who broke the spell of silence first and Jaune let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding when the light and feeling didn't go away.

"I don't know."

Sparing a glance that flickered between Jaune and Yang, Qrow left the room saying he was going to get the doctor.

"Are you healing her?" The hope in Ruby's voice was enough to break his heart.

"Not really. It doesn't feel like that. It feels more like I'm giving her my aura."

"Aren't you worried you might run out?" The concern in Nora's voice made him smile as he remember something he had been told when he first started Beacon.

"I've been told I have a lot of it. I guess I'm lucky I do, considering what's happening now."

"Your semblance is the best!" Ruby jumped up and hugged him tight, her eyes tightly close as she both cried and laughed.

"My semblance?"

"Of course it's your semblance. This is something that should be impossible to do normally." Even Ren smirked a little, affected by the sudden mood shift in the room.

Jaune turned back to Yang, who's hand was still in his as he focused again on the situation in front of him. He felt like he was pouring water into a hole that was slowly filling up.

The doctor came rushing in and made an exclamation at what he saw. Slowly he approached his patient, examining the point of contact between the two before moving on to Yang. He opened her eyes and took a look before taking her pulse and humming to himself. Next he pulled out his scroll and check the info from the machines she was hooked up to.

Everyone visibly relaxed when the doctor smiled at them, "Her aura is recovering at an incredible rate. Whatever you are doing boy, keep it up. If you can top off her aura it'll be enough to allow her to fight the poison."

Ruby gripped him tighter when she heard that.

Everything was pain when she woke up, one ice-blue eyes snapping open to take quick stock of her surroundings even as her head pounded like a thick spike had been driven through her skull.

She was in some sort of cage and when she made to move her hands she found them bound together. Panic welled up within her before she quelled it forcefully. Taking deep breaths she observed outside of her cage. Immediately surrounding her were tents and a large wooden barricade that acted a wall that her cage was set up against.

With some effort she sat up, her aura having repaired much of the damage from the crash but still leaving her muscles sore. It was then that she noticed the two men sitting on crates nearby. They were laughing and sharing a bottle of drink between them. One noticed her and slapped a hand against the other's arm.

"Well look who finally woke up." The pair grinned at her in a way that made her want to cover herself. Her mind worked overtime to come up with a solution but until she had more information she decided to play the dumb, rich girl card.

"W-where am I? What happened?" She put in a note of confusion into her voice and tinged it with a pleading whine.

"I never thought I'd see a Schnee in this camp, you know." A female voice sounded out as another person rounded the corner. The woman had very short hair and a tattoo on her sleeveless arm. And arm that Weiss followed down to see Myternaster held in her hand. The sight of someone holding her weapon set her insides roiling.

The two goons on the side straightened up when she arrived and Weiss made note of the fact that this woman must be important. She also filed away the name "Vernal" with it as the goons were muttering their apologies let the name slip. The woman before here had confidence and bordered on arrogance and Weiss may even have assumed it as such were it not for the way the woman carried herself.

This woman was strong.

She decided to abandon the facade of damsel in distress, knowing the woman probably wouldn't let her guard down anyways, and straightened her back while setting her face into a scowl. Vernal stopped just a few feet shy of the cage and idly ran her finger down the length of Myternaster, causing Weiss' teeth to grind together as she stood up, facing the woman.

"What. Do you want?" The woman was unfazed under her ice-cold glare. The woman merely smirked at her captive.

"Straight to the point. I can appreciate that. I like that look in your eyes. Heh, you'd do well around here, if you weren't a Schnee."

"I'd never sink to your level." Weiss filled the sentence with as much vitriol as she could manage.

"Oh? And what is my level, Schnee?"

"Bandit, I'd guess. Typical enough scum."

That got a reaction out of the woman. Her smile turned to a sneer, "Not your typical bandit, little miss. We're the Branwen Tribe."

Vernal smirked when it was Weiss' turn to lose her confident expression but not for the reason she thought. The white haired girl could remember that degenerate uncle of Ruby's, and his name. Not that she could be surprised to learn the man had come from bandits, it explained everything.

But it also meant something else to the ex-heiress, that these people must be related somehow to her blond teammate. Weiss began considering if she could use that as an angle as the bandit woman spoke up again.

"Don't worry. We'll contact your father and you'll be safe in your pretty mansion once again. For a price." A triumphant smirk crested Vernal's face but Weiss merely scoffed at the idea.

"You think my father would pay for my safety? I'm no longer heiress and my father doesn't negotiate with kidnappers, no matter what tribe they are from."

"We'll see about that, little miss."

"I came to Mistral to find my team and no one is going to stop me!" Weiss' frustration peaked as she snarled at her captor who smirked and turned away without another word. Striding away with Myternaster on her shoulder.

Weiss made a show of sitting down, back facing the two goons, in a huff. She held her hands out in front of her, a small glyph whirring to life. As she focused, her summoned knight arose and she took comfort in it's presence.

The young huntress decided that should would watch and wait. Bide her time until an opportunity arose where she would make escape.

A Schnee was not helpless. She would not be stuck here, waiting to be rescued like some princess locked away in a castle, awaiting her plucky hero.

A Schnee made their own fortune.

When Yang woke up she decided she was in hell.

Everything hurt, she felt dehydrated, and from her stomach came a dull throbbing that was most definitely not hunger. Though her stomach grumbled too when she thought of food. She pried her leaden eyes open and immediately closed them due to the bright light that was streaming in from outside. After blinking rapidly she managed to adjust her eyes to the light and looked around the room she found herself in.

It was a simple affair with wood paneled walls and sparse decoration. It didn't seem to be a hospital room or something. A curious thought struck her and she thought back to what exactly she had been doing.

Kutsuri. Grimm. Purple eyes.

A pang of fear and panic shot through her as she remembered her sister's attacker and she looked frantically around the room, spying the sleeping form of her sister on the second bed in the room. Something held her right hand though and she turned to look at it. Attached to her hand was a blond boy who was dozing in a chair with his head down on her bedside, his hand in hers.

Jaune was at my bedside the whole time?

She found herself surprisingly touched by the thought of it. She could easily imagine both him and Ruby being far to worried to even leave the room before she recovered.

Her attempting to move must have woken the boy up because one baleful, blue orb popped open and transfixed her with a studying gaze.

"You're awake?" His voice sounded groggy, like he'd only just gotten into deep sleep.

"Kinda hard to sleep when I've got a boy vice-gripped to my hand." She teased.

"Good. Was afraid you weren't gonna get up." A sleepy smile spread across his face and Yang's heart skipped a beat.

She furiously squashed it down. It didn't matter if he had meticulously taken care of her. She didn't like him, she told herself. This just went to show how good of a taste in men Ruby had. That was all.

"YAAAAAAANG!" As if summoned by her thoughts, a squealing, red bullet struck her and clung to her chest, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

The noise caused the other blond in the room to sit up ramrod straight like he'd been hit with a bolt of lightning. There was a pounding outside the room and a bleary eyed Qrow stumbled in after bursting through the door. Shortly after came Nora dragging along a yawning Ren.

"Shit, squirt. It's too early in the morning to be yelling like that. Glad to see you up firecracker." A grizzled man looked incredibly relieved. In fact so did everyone else.

"You guys look like you thought I was gonna die." Yang''s laugh petered off as she saw the nervous looks between the others, "Holy shit. It was close wasn't it." A slight shake sounded in her voice.

"You would have died if it wasn't for Jaune." She heard Ruby mumble in between crying into her shirt. She looked at the other blond, whose hand she still hadn't let go off, and blinked. She threw a questioning look towards her uncle.

He gingerly sat himself on the edge of the bed next to Ruby and wrapped an arm around her drawing her into a hug. He let go after a moment.

"It was touch and go for a bit but the kid here unlocked his semblance. What what a semblance it is. He healed you. Well not quite. He transferred his aura into you, boosting yours to full. If he hadn't you'd be dead right now. When that Tryian guy stabbed you with his tail he poisoned you with his semblance. It eats at the body and aura. Because Jaune gave you full aura…" He shrugged, letting the sentence fall off.

It was enough, Yang could figure out the rest. Her aura fought back and repelled the harmful, poisoned aura. She finally freed her hand from Jaune and placed it atop Ruby's head and embracing the sobbing girl who had gone slack in her grip. Jaune scratched the back of his head, only just now realizing how long he had been holding her hand. She made a mental note to never let him live it down.

For now she settle for mouthing 'thank you' to him as she comforted her sister. She was here with her sister and that was all that mattered. He didn't take her away. Tyrian had failed. Still something nagged at her as Qrow filled her in on what she had missed.

They were in Mistral apparently. Qrow had rented them an flat in the city while she recovered. Turns out she'd been unconscious for about two days. The bullheads had arrived soon after the Grimm had been defeated, they had been dispatched as soon as word had gotten to them about the attack. Amaranth had come with them, the little girl had put on a brave face during the attack apparently. The girl was staying at a nearby orphanage and had elicited a promise from Ruby to come see her once Yang was better.

Eventually everyone filed out except for Ruby who clung to her like a koala the whole time. With a chuckle she finally managed to coax Ruby off her. And by coax she meant threat to reveal embarrassing secrets to Jaune. With a pout that had all the effect of a kitten Ruby sat on the nearby bed.

That small look from Ruby assured Yang that all was right with the world and it was a look she'd die to preserve. Eventually her younger sister looked away and grumbled.

"...sorry…"

"Huh?" Yang blinked in confusion.

"I'm sorry." Ruby said more clearly, fixing her sister with a baleful stare, "It's my fault this happened. That guy came after me."

Yang laughed at that, "It's not your fault Rubes. He was after you, yeah, but it was my own fault for getting careless."

"No. Yang if I wasn't so useless. If I was just better, faster, this wouldn't have happened."

It dawned on Yang as she saw her sister shuffle nervously, waiting for Yang to yell at her or blame her. Her heart broke at seeing her precious little sister like this, "I don't blame you Ruby. None of us do. I'm your sister and I love you and never in a million, billion years would I let you be taken away. Next time, we'll beat him together okay?"

"MMkay." She got up and hugged Yang again, this one lasting for a while, "I love you Yang."

"I love you too Sis. Give Jaune a kiss for me. He deserves it."

Ruby reeled back at the suggestion before turning to go out the door. She hesitated, halfway out the door, "Give your reward to him yourself."

Yang was glad that Ruby hadn't turned back to look as heat suffused her cheeks, "Dammit Ruby"

A/N: Hey guy's here's the next chapter and the fate of Yang! I bet a lot of you probably saw this coming? Maybe no?

Honestly I just hope that my explanation of Tyrian's poison makes sense.

Also we have what many of you were probably waiting for. Yang blushed! Of course I'd also like to make sure everyone knows that blushing isn't a sign of liking someone. It's a sign of embarrassment. Of course with context it can reveal feelings depending on what you're being embarrassed about.

I keep getting small ideas in my head for new fanfics and it's a bit irritating because I can't go and write them even though they seem like great ideas. One I like is actually more of a prompt than anything else. I found it on Facebook, posted by a RWBY group. It was a fan art drawing inspired by Logan called Old Man Jaune and honestly I started thinking about it and thought it would be amazing to write.

Let me know what you all think about it.