Chapter 3: She Burns Out
It had been a full year since Ruby's final stand, and Yang was barely there anymore. She was in a hospital in Vale, and she knew she would spend her last few days there.
It happened last night. She was out with Blake and Weiss on a mission to clear a legion of Grimm from Beacon Academy. It turns out that the gods didn't take the soulless creatures away when they left Earth. It was to ensure that humanity would keep a common enemy to work together to fight against. While the Grimm were less frequent in attacking, they were still strong when they were. Beacon was still being rebuilt, but every year around the time of the Fall of Beacon and the Final Fight against Salem, Grimm would appear out of the blue on the campus grounds. Yang was just finished blasting an Ursa Major to smithereens when she saw Blake unconscious, with an advanced alpha Beowolf about to finish her.
"Blake!" Yang cried, as she flew herself over to take the hit for her partner, an unhealthy habit of jumping in on attacks meant for others. It caused Adam to sever her arm, and it caused Neo to throw her into the void. The Beowolf chomped on her collar just below her windpipe, her aura breaking as it shook and clawed at her while she shrieked in agony of the growing wounds that were shredding her flesh. Suddenly, the Grimm let go. Yang looked up to see Weiss' Arma Gigas summon impale the Beowolf, causing it to disintegrate like any other Grimm. Before she passed out, she saw Weiss rushing to her, and the most raw look of horror on Blake's face.
"YANG!"
Back to the hospital, Yang's condition hardly got any better. She had suffered from a new type of venom the Beowolf somehow injected into her immune system. Because it's never occurred before, there was no known treatment for alpha Beowolf venom. On her final day, Blake came with Weiss, Jaune, and Oscar.
"I'm sorry Yang," Jaune said sadly. "My semblance only works on aura. And considering that aura doesn't heal poison, there's nothing I can do to help you…"
"I've already made peace with that, Jaune," Yang replied. "But there's one thing you can do to help me, all of you."
"What is it?" Asked Blake.
"Stay…"
"Of course we will… of course I will…" and Blake held Yang's hand in her own, as the tears were already running. "Didn't I promise I wouldn't leave?"
Yang gave her a fond smile. "Yes, and I feel so much better here knowing I can have one last look at my friends." She turned towards Weiss. "Take care of Blake until either her or your time comes. You were there to support Ruby, I will always trust you to look after the ones I love."
"Thank you, Yang," Weiss said, forcing a smile as she cried. "I'm happy to have been a part of her life, and yours."
"Me too…" Yang was growing weary. It was time. "Blake, I was blessed to have you in my life… I will always cherish… our moments together, long after… my final breath… Goodbye…"
Her eyes closed, and her hand went limp in Blake's and began growing colder. Blake still held it for a few more minutes, openly sobbing as she did. The monitor flat-lining, marking the bitter reality of this day.
"I'm still here, Yang. I love you…"
"Yang… Yang…"
Yang didn't know how long she was resting after her passing, but she came to as she heard a voice whispering to her. She woke up to find that she was in a house frighteningly similar to her home in Patch. She was in her bed, looking at her arm to see that the prosthetic was gone. She had her human arm again, soft skin and muscle that she had never seen since the Fall of Beacon.
"Hi Yang."
Yang gasped as she saw the person that voice belonged to.
"R-Ruby?"
It was indeed Ruby. She was mostly familiar with her outfit from their Beacon days, except she looked as old as she was when she died, with her hair being as spiky as it was in Atlas.
She then opened her arms, and Yang couldn't get out of bed to hug her fast enough. They were reunited, with a whole family to be with again. Yang was crying, but the joy of being with her sister again was unlike any she felt in her life.
"I missed you so much…"
"I missed you too, big sis."
Author's Note: First off, the whole Beowolf venom thing I came up with was just something I came up with for the plot convenience. You can say that Salem created and modified new Grimm with deadlier attributes and powers, using the relic of creation after Atlas fell. As for Yang, I wanted to give her a death that just about screams in character of her. She had the habit I mentioned of jumping in and getting hurt in the place of her teammates. That's why she wears a prosthetic arm and why Team RWBY fell. And Ruby's back to being a young adult because she grew up again in the afterlife, where the time flows differently compared to the living, enjoying every day with her mom, dad, uncle Qrow, and mommy Raven.
