Chapter 10 is here, and I want to preface this by saying I would have preferred this chapter and the previous one to be combined into one whole chapter. That said, it would have come out to be damn near 20,000 words for a single chapter, and I'm not comfortable with that length for a single chapter. So, I don't think this chapter hits the same highs-and-lows as well as the previous one, mostly because they're supposed to be apart of the same chapter.

I also had to overcome a serious case of writer's block to finish it. Because of that, I'm not entirely happy with how it turned out, but I rewrote the whole damn thing and was still unhappy, so it is what it is. I'll just have to hope that I'm overthinking, and that it is still up to standards. Thanks to my beta, ekaterina016, for continuing to read and help me out.

Also, I want everyone to know that I read every review I get, and I appreciate every single one of them. I've thankfully yet to get anyone flaming, and instead have gotten a large amount of constructive criticism from a few reviewers in particular. I've addressed a few of you personally in PM's, mostly because I don't want to clutter my author's note until it takes up damn near 1000 words. So again: thank you, for everyone who comments or just reads. I appreciate 'ya.

Fire Keepers.

Alone, the words didn't mean much, but combined, they had always driven Blake mad. Not because she knew what they were, but because she had no idea on what they were. She'd wondered about them for a long time, even coming up with a few of her own explanations on them and what they were, and why Adam was so seemingly obsessed with them. Even when he started calling her a Keeper opposed to her real name, she'd had no idea what it meant.

Even still, she had very little idea on what exactly they were. She just knew what it looked like to be a target of Adam's obsession, for him to try and transform one into a Fire Keeper. And, in the moment where Sibyl had explained what those odd, blue tentacle-headed things downstairs were,everything she had experienced felt weak in comparison.

She could imagine herself being that girl on the ground, transformed and abandoned by even Adam, unable to speak properly because she had been changed so fundamentally it was impossible to even recognize her. What if that had been her, and Sibyl shoved a sword through her chest? Would she have been grateful? Angry? Resentful? Or a combination of all three?

What of the fully transformed ones? Did they feel at all, or were they mindless? They had all been huddled together and making some sort of sound which resembled crying. Was it instinct, or were they conscious? Was the girl on the ground slowly going to transform into one, or would she remain in a half-human, half… that state?

Blake didn't know, and she didn't want to know. Thanks to Sibyl, she might never have to.

It was why she didn't say anything when he came up through the door from the basement, limping heavily and using the handrail to guide him up the stairs. It was why she didn't mention that she had heard everything he said, thanks to her Faunus hearing. She didn't even think about what he had said for more than a few moments, because it was clearly supposed to be private, and she was grateful.

…or, well, she tried not to think about it. A hard thing to do, given everything he had said was so concerning.

He had killed his friends? She didn't think it was necessarily in the context she heard it in, but he clearly felt guilty. And then, there was something about him… burning somewhere? She didn't know what to think, and so she did her best to not jump to any conclusions.

"It is done," Sibyl muttered, shutting the door behind him and forgetting the flames, smoke, and corpses left below. They stood there, and Blake didn't say anything for a few moments. The silence quickly became too oppressive for her to handle.

"Are you okay?" She voiced hesitantly, trying to meet his gaze but he kept on staring at the ground.

"I haven't been okay in a very long time, Blake."

She reached forward to grab his hand, to try and comfort him just as he had her, but he brushed her aside, using the hand she'd sought to hold to support himself against the wall. He began to walk, stopping to look over his shoulder when he realized she wasn't following. "It is time to leave this place."

Yes. Yes, it was.

Moving beside him, she hooked his broken arm around her neck. He nodded in thanks but didn't say anything. They continued to walk – who knew for how long, really. She used the time to think about what she was going to do when they got out of here, because they were going to get out here.

Sibyl was alive, even if in awful shape. Somehow, he was powering through his pain. He had mentioned the Abyss earlier, and while she had no idea what it was, she suspectedit had something to do with his eye.

When they got out of here and back to Beacon, she was going to apologize to Weiss… and to Yang, because her partner was probably beyond worried. And then, she was going to apologize to Sun and Sibyl, for dragging the both of them into this mess. Maybe then she'd leave Beacon. Could she do it? She was putting everyone in danger just by being there; that much was obvious. Maybe, after her team saw what they'd done to Sibyl, they'd want her to leave?

Sibyl needed an official team, too. They could just… switch. Sibyl didn't have to be by his lonesome anymore, and she'd be able to keep everyone safe by getting the hell away. They'd all been so kind; it was the least she could do.

Blake blinked, slowing to a stop as she heard something. Voices and footsteps, rapidly getting louder. "Someone's coming," she whispered to Sibyl.

The cursed boy muttered under his breath, unhooking himself from her and reaching for the catalyst at his side. "Stay close to me," he demanded, grabbing her and pulling her against his body tightly with his one good arm. She grimaced at the feeling of blood against her but didn't say anything as he closed his eyes and focused.

A moment later, he crouched, and Blake blinked. "We are under an illusion," he informed, scooting back and against the wall. "I have casted Chameleon, but we must be very quiet and still, lest they discover us."

Blake racked her mind on just what Chameleon was, then remembered him showing it to Sun before the White Fang showed up at the docks. They must have looked like some sort of object, then. Sorcery really was incredible. Maybe she could get him to teacher her something before she left Beacon, so if she ever got… captured again, she'd have a surprise in store and a better way to defend herself.

She slowed her breathing as Sibyl returned his catalyst to his side, and instead grabbed the handle of his longsword by going across her body. His one finger was still bent backwards with a bone protruding, but his grip didn't slacken. He pulled her a bit closer, and she could feel his own breathing slow until it became almost inaudible. Doing her best to mirror him, she stilled, because the footsteps and voices had finally gotten loud enough for Sibyl to hear, too.

Neither dared to speak, and as a group of a dozen or so White Fang got about halfway past them, she dared to think they might get out without any-

Sibyl threw her aside, breaking the illusion with a grunt and slashing at the neck of the nearest member; his blade got stuck about halfway in, and he pulled, splattering blood across himself and the wall, as well as her own face. He followed the motion with an upwards slice which cut the neck of one monkey Faunus, before thrusting forward with his blade into the center of the chest of another, female White Fang grunt.

Blake finally shook off her own shock when Sibyl turned around and tossed a fireball at the group behind them, their screams sounding so very, very loud. Nevertheless, she herself rushed forward, throwing her body and blade at the back half of the Fang members with a series of slices and blunt hits. She didn't have the ruthlessness in her to kill them like Sibyl did; in fact, she wasn't even sure how to feel about him killing them.

Kicking the gun out of one of her foe's hands before he had the chance to fire, she slammed the side of her blade against his chin, knocking him back before dashing forward and beneath the attempted butt of a rifle at her face. Kicking out at his feet, the White Fang member flipped forward before landing hard on the ground.

Sibyl, having finished his side of the group with a combination of steel and pyromancy, came in at her side and blocked a blow. He moved his face in close to the Fang member's face and headbutted him, sending the soldier stumbling before Sibyl thrusted his blade upwards and straight through his throat. A dozen White Fang members had fallen in a flash, most of which would never get up again.

Gazing at the few members still alive with a beating chest, Blake did her best to not shake at the feeling of warm blood on her clothes and skin. She could only blink when Sibyl, covered in a dark, black and purple energy, walked forward and slammed his blade into the chest of each surviving soldier.

"W-Why would you do that?" She hissed, daring to stomp her foot in rage.

The cursed boy shook his head, removing his blade from the chest of one member and turning to stare at her with blank features. "They knew what was happening here. They're not innocent."

Blake laughed, the supposedly joyful sound coming out rasping and choked. "That doesn't give you the right to just murder them!"

He paused, sheathing his blade and closing his eyes. "''Right'. I've heard a lot about rights since coming to this place." He met her gaze, and she saw his dark eye begin to swirl. "What right did these bastards have to do nothing for those women-turned-abominations in the basement? What right did they have to allow their own members to nearly violate you!?" Sibyl screamed, his black eye flaring in rage.

The Huntress didn't have a very good answer, and so she said nothing.

"No one except us is leaving this base alive, Blake. I am drawing upon the power of the Abyss to assure it; it dampens my pain, so I may enact vengeance for those unable to."

"So, you know it's not justice?"

"There is no such thing as 'justice'. I have seen murderers and thieves walk and live freely, while good men died horrific deaths." He paused, touching the blade at his side. "Vengeance and sin are real, however, and they go hand and hand."

She refused to believe that, but… if what she had seen in the basement was what Sibyl had to deal with out in the Badlands, then she couldn't blame him for thinking what he did. Things… things would be easier when they got out of here. Then… maybe then, Sibyl could explain some things.

He hooked his arm around her neck again, the furious energy around him dying down as they continued to walk. Still, Blake swore the darkness around his eye had grown further, if only just.

"…if I ever seem to lose myself, for lack of a better term," Sibyl began, still limping alongside her, "be very careful, and I might even suggest you flee for your life."

Blake raised an eyebrow, and while her running away from Sibyl and leaving him in this place was an impossibility, she couldn't help but find her curiosity peaked.

"Lose yourself?" She wondered aloud, and he nodded.

"You'll know it when you see it, rest assured."

Biting her lip, Blake tried to silence her worries. In the end, she succeeded.

Adam was very, very angry.

While he had been preparing a transport and everything they would need to take Sibyl and Blake somewhere far, far more desolate for the creation of the Third Flame, it seemed his prisoners had escaped. Someone had finally checked the security feed to find the undead, not in chains, but limping with Blake through the halls of his very own research facility, hidden deep in a cave north of Vale. It was an old White Fang base, abandoned until he showed up.

Not only was Sibyl and Blake escaping his capture inexcusable, Sibyl's own escape meant Adam's most valued lieutenant had to be dead. How the Chosen Undead managed to escape his secure-fastened chains, defeat his right-hand man after being cruelly tortured, the bull Faunus had no idea, but he intended to find out… right after he personally removed both the undead's damn legs and his good eye.

And Blake…. She hadn't taken his words to heart. She didn't stay put, and so his little Fire Keeper might find herself blind or becoming an amputee. For her being able to move didn't mean she was able to empower him, after all. And, once he had defeated Sibyl, recaptured Blake, and created the Third Flame, he would finally grow powerful enough to overtake Sienna and rule as the supreme leader of the White Fang.

It was his destiny. Everyone else was too weak-willed to do what was necessary. Sacrifices had to be made for their liberation, and he would make them come to fruition. Once he was strong enough, he could even kill that damnable Cinder who dared to force his cooperation. She had her uses, however, and he might even transform her into one of those abominations just to hear her scream. Before that, maybe his men could have a taste of her.

Afterwards, with a Flame created and himself empowered far greater than any other being in existence, he might finally be willing to teach others sorcery, and it would be their ultimate weapon against the humans.

Until such a time, however, he would wait. Because Sibyl was going to tear through his White Fang guards; he had no doubt of that. When they reached this hangar, which served as an exit and landing point for transports, however, he would be here to finish them. Both of them.

He shook in silent rage, squeezing the handle of his blade.

They would pay for what they had done in both damages and disrespect. They would pay dearly.

"How slow is this stupid thing?!" Yang hissed, resisting the urge to break a damn hole in their metallic transport with her fist. Just how far had the White Fang taken Sibyl and Blake?! As she grinded her teeth against each other, a hand gently laid itself on her shoulder. She spared a glance over her shoulder to see Ruby consoling her with a strained smile. Yang tried to stay angry before sighing, visibly deflating and slumping. Even with as much anger, disappointment, and irritation as she was feeling, the Flame she wielded never stopped glowing lightly in her palm, pointing where Glynda needed to take them.

"Sibyl's tough, and so is Blake. We're going to get there on time," her sister assured, and the brawler nodded in agreement. Sibyl was tough as nails, and she'd seen her partner in a fight against both Grimm and people before. She didn't doubt the two were out there kicking ass and taking names, but she was worried. Worried that, as Sibyl and Blake fought, one of them was shouldering the load and getting in a worse and worse condition.

Some might label it mindless paranoia – or justified paranoia – but Yang… she could feel it. Something about Fireball was changing, and it wasn't good. It was dark, and it was cold.

"I know, Ruby. I'm just worried. I can still feel him, but it feels different." She bit her lip, trying to think of a better way to explain it. It was hard to put into words, just as she had a hard time describing just what the Flame within her felt like.

"'Different' how?" Pyrrha wondered, the redhead having not stopped pacing since they started flying. The slight crease in her brow hadn't disappeared since hearing of Sibyl and Blake's capture, either. Yang decided to get to know the Mistral Champion a bit better after all of this, probably with more than a few Strawberry Sunrises.

"It's hard to explain. Usually, the Flame's warm and comforting, but… whenever I reach out, I just feel cold, and my skin crawls." She resisted the urge to shiver, instead opting to grip her knee loosely. What the hell could it mean? If normally pyromancy was warm and comforting, but instead she felt cold and near-dead, could… could that mean Sibyl's Flame was fading? Was he dying, and the last of his own pyromancy Flame dimming was what she was feeling?

Was there actually no Flame at all, and the darkness and coldness she felt was his dead corpse? Oh, god, she hadn't even thought about that, but it made sense. Pyromancy was a part of the soul of whoever wielded it, and his felt so dark. It had to be it. He was dead; they'd taken too long-

"-ang! Snap out of it!" Ruby screamed, shaking her harshly.

Yang gasped, collapsing back in her chair and allowing the Flame in her hand to dissipate. She slammed her eyes shut, grasping her face with both palms and still panting like a dog.

"H-He's dead. That's why the Flame's cold. He's dead, and I'm feeling his corpse…!?"

Her breathing began to quicken, and she started to hyperventilate. If Sibyl was dead, that meant Blake probably was, too. He had lied to Sun; he hadn't been able to take care of both of them. They weren't going to find their friends, alive and breathing. All they'd find is-

"Miss Xiao Long, do calm down." Glynda instructed softly, and Yang nearly leapt across the ship, slugged her in the face, and yelled at her to shut the hell up. The only reason she didn't was because Glynda's face was… well, it didn't look good. "I have a suspicion on just what is occurring with Sibyl, and while he isn't dead, he might soon be on the path to something worse."

"What are you talking about?" Weiss wondered aloud for all of them.

"Sibyl has an… infection, I suppose. He does a splendid job to keep it in check, but…" Their blond teacher sighed, reaching one hand up and running it through her hair. "It's not something to be taken lightly."

Yang felt her curiosity piqued, as well as a bit of anger that Sibyl hadn't told anyone except Glynda about it, but before she could ask the same question, Pyrrha spoke.

"What infection?" The usually confident champion asked, voice timid.

"I'm not at liberty to say, but he did once tell me if it overtook him, I should be ready to kill him, because he would try to do the same to us."

Yang shook her head, snarling at the suggestion. "Well, Fireball's a damn idiot. No matter what, we're not killing him, you bitch!"

Glynda didn't rebuke in outrage, instead giving Yang a long, cold stare. She felt her Semblance slowly die down, her hair casting off its fiery expression and turning back to the fine blond it usually was.

"That is both my student, my teacher, and a friend,Miss Xiao Long. I do not intend to kill him."

Yang opened her mouth to say something but shut it promptly, sighing softly as she moved back to the seat next to Glynda and held out her hand.

"Right. Sorry, Miss G. I'm just… stressed, I guess." She conjured her Flame again, ignoring the way she nearly flinched out of pure instinct when Sibyl's Flame connected with her, and her own flickered, pointing them to where they needed to go.

"As are we all. As I was saying, I do not intend to kill Sibyl. Rather, I have brought with me a pendant from his bottomless box." She reached into a pocket, removing a silver pendant and handing it to her to examine. Yang did so, feeling the energy within it. "He claimed it is a weapon against the Abyss. It is my hope it'll help fight off his infection."

Yang was silent when she finished speaking, turning to stare at the ground. "I really am sorry about what I said. I guess I forgot you and Sibyl are pretty close, too. He talks about you a lot, actually," Yang observed, and Glynda rose a disbelieving brow.

"Does he?" She questioned, and Yang nodded. Glynda's lips twitched upward in a smile, briefly, before straightening out.

Yang sighed softly, collapsing back in her seat and staring at the Flame which continued to guide and haunt her.

'Just a bit longer, you two. We'll be there.'

They were almost gone, and that was the key information which kept Blake afloat. It was what allowed her to swallow the bile in her throat every time Sibyl threw himself at a crowd of fellow Faunus, slaughtering them without a care of his leg wrapping getting damper and damper with blood, every movement and step aggravating the injury.

He'd mixed his attacks on the Faunus up, too. He had begun with using his sorcery and pyromancy to stage traps. A combination of Hidden Body and Toxic Mist had led to an entire crowd of Faunus having their lungs poisoned and their eyes bleed as the poison took effect. It was neither a slow death nor overly quick, and she had been forced to sit and listen as they all slowly died.

Still, overtime, his tactics had gotten more and more barbaric. The next encounter had ended with a few casts of Soul Spear piercing through Fang Members and ending their lives, before Sibyl cleaned them up amidst the confusion with pyromancy.

From then on, he had just… thrown himself at them. He used something to close the gap, like Hidden Body or even his Poison Mist to blind them. But, once he got into their ranks, he behaved like a Grimm, attacking whatever was near without pause or rest. His Aura had come back, so bullets were of no worry, but his Aura was also… different. Usually, it was grey, just like his eye color, but his new Aura was that same black and purple tinted energy which had surrounded him earlier.

Despite all of that, Sibyl was still Sibyl, and as he breathed heavily while leaning against a wall, she wanted to ensure he was alright. "Sibyl? Are you okay?" She asked, and he paused, turning to glance over his shoulder. She gasped at seeing his infected eye had grown jagged lines, reaching out across his temple and forehead. A particularly long one even touched the bridge of his nose.

"Shut up," he whispered, grabbing at his head and groaning. She took a step back as he mumbled to himself a bit more, his eye flaring up as he stood and slashed forward with his blade. "I SAID SHUT UP!" He roared, slamming his blade forward into a wall before pulling it out and stabbing it again and again.

She didn't say anything more, nor did she dare to move forward to comfort him.

Eventually, after a few more moments, Sibyl turned his gaze to her, and blinked. "You… you're not…" he murmured aloud, turning to his blade in the wall and pulling it out. "Where are we?"

Slowly, she stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We're getting close to escaping this place," she explained, and he nodded a few times, sorting his own senses back in order.

"R-Right, right. Do not fret, I will get you out of here safely."

She didn't fear about herself getting out; Sibyl would get her out of here. She just wasn't sure if, when they finally escaped, if Sibyl would still be Sibyl. Whatever that dark energy was around him, it wasn't good, and it was only growing.

She didn't hook herself around him, because she was afraid he might go back to… that, but she did walk a bit closer next to him as he hobbled – as clear a sign it was him in control and not the darkness. At least he wasn't completely lost in it, and they were almost out. There couldn't be many more Fang members left, so they just needed to-

"Finally. I was wondering how long I'd have to wait."

Blake froze up, and as Sibyl slowly moved forward, he gave her one final look.

"Leave, Blake. You'll only get in my way," he growled, the energy around his eye swirling.

He continued to walk forward, and Adam did the same with a confident swagger. "I am very angry," Adam began, and Sibyl nearly laughed. If Adam thought he was angry, then Sibyl would show him just what the essence of pure rage was. "You killed my-"

Roaring, the Chosen Undead didn't spend any more time for pleasantries. He closed the distance with a rapid dash, bringing his blade along the ground and slashing upwards, his limp arm swinging forward along with the motion. Adam quickly drew his own weapon and blocked it; Sibyl pushed his blade further forward, cutting against his foe's clothes before being forced to dash backwards to avoid having his legs kicked out.

He threw himself forward again without worry, thrusting his blade forward before swinging it up to redirect Adam's strike. He then slashed horizontally, his blade cutting across Adam's torso and causing the Faunus to jump back with a grunt of pain. Sibyl gave him no reprieve; he had already leapt forward and high into the air, stabbing his blade into the ground where the bull Faunus had been standing. Adam sought to use the opening to punish him, but it was no opening. As Adam dashed forward and sliced horizontally, Sibyl raised his hand, his blade still facing the ground, and blocked the strike.

In the same instant, he brought his leg forward to swipe out his opponent's feet-

And screamed when said opponent stomped on his thigh injury, laughing arrogantly above him. Who did he think he was? Acting as if he had already won, because Sibyl was on the ground? He was the Chosen Undead – the gods themselves had fell before him.

Dark energy began to swirl around him, starting from far out and circling closer and closer.

'Kill him,' a voice whispered in his head, and he dared to listen.

Screaming in a combination of pain and anger, the dark energy finally reached his person and exploded, sending Adam back a dozen or so feet. Slowly, the undead stood, looking at his hand and the energy around it. The Abyss was a mighty weapon, and it was one he'd need to slaughter the fool who dared to oppose him. So, he would continue to use the power to enhance himself.

Taking a deep breath, he blinked slowly and allowed the Abyss to spread freely. Oddly, it didn't numb the pain like using it briefly did. No, instead, Sibyl screamed, because as the darkness spread all over his body, it burned. It burned worse than the Flames of Izalith, than the sting of steel in his stomach, and it doubled the pain of any sorcery he'd ever been struck with. And so, as he fell to his knees, spasming in place due to the pain, his eyes shut.

When they finally reopened, they burned with rage. He stood, his senses enhanced. He could feel someone around him, someone closing rapidly. He turned to look to find-

He grunted as his head was slammed back into the wall behind him, his Faunus captor pulling his hair and twisting before continuing to speak, "…to create a Flame, the likes of which may even be greater than the ones detailed in Logan's books."

Sibyl stepped sideways, bringing the pommel of his blade forward and slamming it into Adam's stomach… or, well, he tried; instead, Adam spun aside, trying to hook behind the undead's ankles and knock him onto the floor. It failed when Sibyl rolled aside, landing on his feet and rushing forward.

The moment he got close, he struck in a flurry of slashes and cuts, each one getting angrier and angrier until he lost most of his form. Adam managed to block or avoid them all without much trouble. Still, he was on the back foot, and as their blades locked, Sibyl moved forward and overpowered him.

Adam fell on his back, putting his feet underneath Sibyl's bruised ribs and pushing off. The Chosen Undead was tossed forward, but he landed on the ground, screaming in anguish at the pain in his leg. His foe quickly rose to his feet, standing in a ready position and panting.

The Chosen Undead stared at that smug face and mask, slowly standing up to his full height.

"You're trying to recreate them?!" Sibyl demanded in rage, lunging forward against his chains and slurring at Adam with every foul word he knew – the undead felt his head hit the wall behind him when a fist slammed into his eye. He didn't allow the pain to stop him for more than a brief moment, continuing to lunge forward and promising to tear that bastard's heart out-

Slowly, dark orbs began to form around Sibyl's head, and they begged him for a target. He obliged, walking forward as the slow Pursuers sought the source of humanity in front of him. Adam dashed aside, circling the undead and seemingly unimpressed by the speed with which his sorcery cast traveled. He likely didn't know justhow long they lasted.

Parrying, Sibyl redirected the strike meant for his chest, only to get a foot slamming against his head for his troubles. He stumbled, and Adam slashed from his shoulder across his bare chest, preparing a thrust to follow up the attack. Sibyl, too off balanced to block it, instead twisted his body and sent his limp arm in front of him; the thrust caught his forearm, penetrating it, but not his chest.

He ignored the pain, swinging his own sword at Adam's outstretched arm. The bastard still managed to block it, even when his blade was stuck in Sibyl's limp arm. Still, the undead leaned forward, allowing a cast of Dark Bead to expel itself from his eye.

Adam had seen the dark energy gather, and at that moment, leapt back. It was the only reason he wasn't dead; instead, a few of the expelled Abyss orbs had hit him, but not enough to end the fight. It did hurt, however, and Sibyl took no small amount of joy from that.

"You are nothing. A weak-willed fool, who like a moth flittering towards a Flame-"

"…like a moth, flittering towards a Flame," taunted Lautrec, the golden armor-wearing knight who he had thought his friend. They had all thought him a friend, and he betrayed them, killing the Firelink Shrine Keeper. Sibyl felt himself shake in rage, and he unsheathed the blade at his side, readying to kill-

Adam was cut off as the Pursuers purred lightly behind him, the sound they made the onlything which kept him from having his chest explode from behind. The Faunus dropped to the ground, rolling backwards and allowing the sorceries to disperse against the ground, instead of his miserable body.

Sibyl leapt high into the air with such height and speed it might have made Artorias proud, the Abyss around him swirling more powerfully than it ever had before. He brought his blade down vertically where Adam was standing, but the bastard had leapt aside. Not wasting a moment and ignoring the squishing of his leg, he launched off the ground, slashing diagonally while ducking beneath a strike from Adam as he rammed into him with his shoulder.

The Faunus absorbed the blow, reached around and tried to put Sibyl into a triangle hold.

It was pitiful. Sibyl jerked loose easily, and this time, as he brought the pommel of his blade forward and straight into Adam's ribcage, it connected.

His opponent dashed backwards, space created between them again. He gritted his teeth at the fact all his effort getting close weren't resulting in anything significant. 'Pitiful,' a voice whispered in his head, one which sounded distinctively like his old teacher, Quelana. 'Is this the result of all my training? Unable to kill one simple human?' Her voice was the same as always, a mix of superiority and indifference.

He growled, tossing his blade on the ground and conjuring a ball of fire in his hand. It glowed not in its normal dark, red hue but rather a mix of black and red. Adam adjusted himself, sheathing his blade but keeping his hand on the handle.

Sibyl tossed his fireball, the great flame exploding violently a few feet from his opponent. Adam dashed aside, and Sibyl had already moved his palm and let loose a stream of fire from it to where he was going. It caught the back of the Faunus's legs, and he grunted, leaping back and patting away the flames.

'How long are you going to take?' Quelana continued to wonder in his mind, 'Was all my effort and time on you a waste?'

'My arm's broken,' he thought in return as he leaned down to pick up Solaire's longsword, giving his foe a clear opening. Quelana laughed at him.

'You really are an undead; your brain must be rotting and crumbling, just like the top of this cave should be. I can't believe my pupil is this weak and foolish,' she taunted, and Sibyl shook his head, dismissing the voice just as a blade entered his vision.

He didn't try to avoid it, ignoring the pain as it dug deep into his shoulder, clearly hitting bone. He dropped his own sword once more, never having really intended to actually use it again. Instead, his hand shot forward, wrapping around the steel of his opponent's weapon before it could get pulled out. Slowly, he bent his wrist, the steel stinging as it cut his palm and worked its way out back of his shoulder, resisting the way Adam continuously pulled on it.

When it was finally removed and curved upwards at the end, he turned his eye above. Adam would have just forgone his sword and dodged the attack, so there was no real point in even trying. His Abyss-covered eye promptly busted. Multiple casts of Dark Orbs and Dark Beads shot forward, slamming into the celling. Nothing happened for a few moments before it began to crumble, and Sibyl slowly turned his eye to the Faunus in front of him.

His attempted cast of Dark Bead failed. He had lied; there was a point in attempting it, just in case his foe didn't dodge. Still, the undead was disappointed he didn't get to watch Adam's face be splattered across the ground in bits and blood, but Sibyl didn't waste any time thinking about it. No, instead, he brought his foot forward, slamming it into his foe's sternum and finally let go of the blade he had held so firmly.

Sibyl turned around as Adam slid along the ground, reaching down briefly to grab Solaire's straight-sword, before scanning the area for a few moments, finding the exit as the ceiling fell in all around him. The cave ceiling fully collapsed as he stepped outside, and he smiled. The sound of a nearby gasp was the only thing to be heard outside of the cave collapsing behind him.

Blake gasped, and why wouldn't she? If Sibyl had been in awful shape before, now… now he might as well have been dead. Something had slashed into his shoulder a few inches deep. His leg wrap had come loose again, but she didn't even care about that.

No, the most concerning thing was his face.

His eye's… infection had spread further, and it hadn't done so in any way which could be considered 'geometric' or 'pretty' or 'clean. It branched out lines, bursting out and just… spreading like veins. One reached across his lip all the way down to his chin, while another wrapped its way down his neck and cheek. They spread from his brow to his neck, from his nose and lips to the nearest ear.

He stared at her for a few seconds, his brows scrunching. He began to reach for his sword, and that was when she acted, holding up two hands and speaking. "Sibyl! Sibyl, it's me. It's Blake; we've escaped, we're safe! We can go home, go back to Beacon, we can-"

The cursed boy took a step towards her, and though his sword still hadn't left its sheathe, she instinctively flinched back. He continued to walk, and she did his best to hold her ground. Eventually, he got near enough to her she could feel his panted breaths. He leaned against her, sniffing lightly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and it was after those words that he finally collapsed against her. She nearly fell to the ground under his weight but managed to stay upright by embracing him from below. She hooked him around her shoulder more properly this time afterwards, looking around and trying to figure out just where they could go. There weren't many options, so she just decided on a direction and went that way.

Eventually, Sibyl's hobbled self went fully limp, and she was left dragging him to somewhere as he moaned, groaned, and cried out in unconscious pain.

Help was on the way. She had to believe that, otherwise…

"G-Gwyn above, it's so cold," Sibyl mumbled, his body curling instinctively as he spasmed, "so, so cold."

Help would get there, that was the hope she had as she laid him on the ground, staring at the sunrise on the horizon. Sibyl, too, opened his eyes briefly with a panted sigh, looking around and staring at the sun before collapsing back on the ground, exhausted and… and something else.

They'd finally arrived a few minutes ago. Yang's Flame had stopped directing them, instead stilling into a sphere and only slightly pulling somewhere. They were at the base of some collapsed cave, and as she stayed at the front of the group with her Flame as the only guide in the dark night, she readied for a fight.

Glynda was right beside her, given she was the most experience Huntress in the group. Yang could feel Sibyl getting closer, and that was enough to let a bit of hope blossom in her. Eventually, she even began to hear something. It took a few moments of listening to realize just what it was: screams.

Blood chortling screams.

She spared a glance to those following behind her before sprinting, fighting through foliage until the screams got so loud, they were practically being yelled into her damn ear.

Clearing the last of the tree line, she felt her breath leave.

"S-Sibyl, Sibyl, it's fine," Blake insisted, trying to keep Fireball pinned on the ground as he flailed around like a damn fish! He arched his back, struggling against her grip before collapsing, muttering under his breath in rasped voice. "No, no! I didn't – this isn't real, none of this is-" his screaming started back up in earnest, and Yang finally felt her initial shock leave.

"Blake?!" She yelled, her wonderful Faunus partner looking over her shoulder with complete, utter relief. Yang didn't feel any of that, though, because Blake was covered in dried blood. It was on her clothes, it was in her hair, and it covered her face like paint. Yang gasped lightly as Blake let go of Sibyl, standing to a feet and sprinting at her. Yang didn't hesitate to wrap up her partner in the warmest hug she could muster, which wasn't anywhere nearly warm enough considering she couldn't stop feeling all the blood on Blake smattering on her body, not to mention her teacher was on the ground screaming in pain all the while.

"Y-Yang, thank god, it's Sibyl, he's-" Blake suddenly tensed up, reaching for the blade on her back on pure instinct as the rest of Yang's supposed rescue gang finally arrived. The black-haired Huntress relaxed at seeing just who it was, only to widen her eyes at Weiss.

Yang blinked when Blake suddenly threw her aside, rushing forward and embracing Weiss as she cried. It was so very… un-Blake like, and Yang watched for a moment before mumbled begs of "Lies, all of it!" reached her ears.

She turned to stare at Fireball, only to find Glynda was already standing over him, doing her best to calm him down. Sparing one final glance at Blake, who was talking in gasps and cries to Ruby and Weiss, Yang decided her partner would be fine for a few moments.

Rushing over, she slid to a stop next to Sibyl, and he was a mess. One of his fingers was wrapped, but she could see the little bit of bone jutting against it. His thigh, too, was wrapped, but the bandages were completely blood-soaked and loose. Every time he jerked forward, his left arm stayed limp, flopping along with the motion but not moving.

Not to mention the multiple cuts and new scars she could see on his torso, all of which looked very recent. Covering it all was blood. He looked like he'd bathed in it; his usually blue-tinted hair was instead soaked with dried crimson. Yet, the most concerning thing was his face. One of his eyes was swollen nearly shut, and the other… Yang wasn't even sure how to describe it.

Opposed to his eyepatch, there was a bursting darkness. Lines like veins ran from it all across his face, where previously they hadn't been there at all. Slowly, as Glynda felt his pulse and reached into her pocket, Yang laid her hand on his face and over his eye-

Sibyl suddenly grabbed her wrist and sat up, staring with one wide eye and whatever… whatever the black thing was. She could even see a glimpse of his eye beneath the darkness. He kept his gaze locked on her for a few moments, breathing heavily.

"F-Fireball?" She asked aloud, and he nodded, slowly. She didn't try and remove her hand, instead moving it down and cupping his chin and cheek. "It's Yang. You're… you're gonna' be okay, alright?"

Sibyl shook his head, muttering something about an 'Artorias'.

Suddenly, he screamed, laying back down and slamming his head into the ground multiple times. Yang was dragged with him for a moment, quickly adjusting her hand from his chin and cheek to under the back of his head to cushion his cranium.

Glynda had finally retrieved the pendant and was trying to put it around his neck, but he just wouldn't stop jerking around! "Yang, Pyrrha, Sun," their blond instructor began, and Yang finally realized that the redhead was sitting right next to her along with the monkey Faunus, "Keep him steady for a moment." The three nodded in unison, and Yang grabbed his shoulders while Pyrrha steadied his head. Sun kept his lower body from flailing around.

"What the hell happened to him!?" Sun wondered aloud, voice a mixture of anger and fear. Yang sure as hell didn't know what had happened to him, and she didn't want to know.

The pendant was slipped on quickly, and Yang waited with baited breath for it to do something. Instead, it just… sat there, against his chest, as he struggled to get loose from her and Pyrrha's hold. "It's not working," Yang hissed, turning to glare at Glynda who had an utterly helpless look on her face.

"I-I don't know," she admitted with a furrowing of her brows, "He never told me how it worked, just that it expelled the Abyss." It was utterly useless, then, and they were just going to have to watch as Sibyl continued to wiggle and writhe in pain until he probably died?

"It's not normal," Pyrrha declared, closing her eyes, "I can't feel it. I can't feel the metal."

Yang blinked, not entirely sure what the Mistral champion was talking about. Slowly, Pyrrha reached forward, grabbing the silver pendant in her hand.

It began to glow with some sort of energy, and Yang blocked her face when it exploded, the rush of air blowing her hair back. Sibyl had opened his eyes again and was busy gasping for breath on the floor. He glanced around at them after a few brief moments, with a hopeful expression appearing briefly before he went and squeezed his eyes shut again.

"More lies," he declared with a pained voice, "It's all lies! Quit taunting me! I am nothing more than a husk, just like Artorias," he choked on his own words, and for the first time ever, Yang heard Sibyl cry.

Sibyl! Her teacher, someone so incredible she thought he came from another damn world. Yet, as he laid on the ground, looking like a complete mess with tears staining his eyes, she realized what he really was. An eighteen year old boy, who, based upon his scars and his eyes, had been through more than what anyone should ever have to endure.

"Please, no," he whispered, reaching one hand up to clutch at his face and the darkness.

She cleared her throat, taking his hand in hers and squeezing. "Sibyl, it's me. This is real, we're real. You're safe; you and Blake are safe!" Whatever effect her words were supposed to have, she didn't know, because Sibyl stayed there and continued to shake, sobbing. Eventually, his sobs quietened down, and she realized it was because he had passed out.

Even still, he continued to shudder in his sleep with only brief pauses between

She tried to shake him awake, but nothing worked. She couldn't do anything to help him. She couldn't do anything to help him, and that hurt worse than damn near anything else.

"He's been like this for a while," Blake said from behind her, the sudden voice enough to make Yang flinch. She glanced over her shoulder to see her partner wiping away a few tears.

Weiss slowly crouched down next to them, staring at Sibyl for a few moments. "We need to get out of here," she declared, turning to look at Glynda. Their teacher nodded, and Yang didn't say anything when, as opposed to simply picking Sibyl up with her Semblance, she instead grabbed him from beneath and lifted, holding him close.

He struggled against the grip for a few moments before settling somewhat. Yang said somewhat because he still would occasional grunt or flail. Idly, the blond noticed the darkness around his eye seemed to have… settled? It wasn't almost glowing like before. No, it just shifted as if it was alive.

Had he been hiding that underneath his eyepatch? Whatever he had done had caused it to spread a lot, because she could see it all the way down towards his neck.

"…I didn't expect this," Pyrrha suddenly said from beside her, and Yang nodded. "Some rescue team we were," she continued, grasping the weapon held in her hand tighter.

Sun laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, shaking his own head. "At least we're here now. We can get them somewhere safe, right?" The Faunus said, eliciting a nod from the accomplished champion.

As they moved through the foliage, Yang slowly fell back from the group, walking next to Blake. Her partner had her arms crossed and was… not looking very composed or very Blake-like. She opened her mouth to say something, but Blake had already started speaking.

"He stopped them, Yang," she whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "He stopped them from turning me into that, but also he stopped them because I couldn't. If I can't stop a few White Fang soldiers, why am I even here?" The Faunus wondered aloud, and Yang laid a hand on her shoulder – only to have it knocked off with a quick swipe.

"No! You don't get it, Yang! I was worthless this whole time – and look at Sibyl!" She gestured ahead to the group, who had stopped briefly to glance back. "He handled everything. He stopped Adam; he slaughtered the rest of the White Fang in the base, and… and he saved me from that," she whispered, shivering lightly and staring at her own chest.

Yang still wasn't sure what exactly Blake was talking about, but-

Wait. Blake was staring at her chest, or more specifically, her left breast. Yang felt her breathing still, and she grabbed her partner on the shoulder, powering through the attempt to swipe it off. "Did they…?"

Slowly, Blake nodded.

"They tried. He… he was so angry, and he murdered them. He crushed one of their throats like a tin can, and he burned through one of their chests with his pyromancy." Blake stared ahead without any emotion, slowly thinning her lips. "And I liked it. I liked that he didn't listen to them, because they didn't listen to me. I was happy that he murdered them."

Slowly, her partner tried to speak, but all that came out was a choked breath. Yang didn't hesitate to pull her into a hug, squeezing tightly and rubbing her back. She whispered that everything was alright, but it wasn't alright. Nothing was alright, and nothing would be alright for a while.

"Wish I coulda' seen him rip them apart," Sun mumbled nearby, and Yang was hard-pressed to disagree. Because if Sibyl hadn't, she would have tracked those bastards down and broke every single bone in their body before killing them herself.

Blake just continued to cry, and Yang didn't say anything as Weiss and Ruby both joined in the hug. Glynda spared a glance back but given she was carrying a spasming young man in her hands, she didn't stop. Yang didn't blame her.

Sun slowed down and stood nearby, not coming too close, which was a good idea, because he was a man and Yang wasn't entirely sure how Blake would respond to anyone but Sibyl at the moment. Pyrrha stayed close as well, but didn't join in. She probably didn't think she knew them well enough to help comfort.

"I'm sorry about everything," Weiss declared, her own voice shaky, "If I had just listened, you wouldn't have run away. You wouldn't have been brought here, that never would have happened, and Sibyl… Sibyl would be okay," she whispered, closing her eyes.

Slowly, the hug broke apart. Blake wiped at her eyes, swallowing a lump in her throat. She tried to speak but shook her head, burying past them. "I'm… I'm fine. Sibyl's who we ought to be worried-"

"No," Ruby said firmly, "You're not fine. Nothing about this is fine! Sibyl isn't fine; you're not fine!" Her sister breathed heavily, and she alone then embraced Blake. "I just… I just want everything to be normal again."

Yang wasn't going to disagree.

Blake took a deep breath. "I'll explain everything when we get back to Beacon, but… please, let's just get somewhere safe."

Safety. That's what they needed- they needed to get Blake and Sibyl somewhere they could recover. They needed to recover, and she needed to help them. She'd done a piss-poor job helping rescue them so far, but she wasn't going to let that continue.

She was going to make sure everything was as fine as it could be.