.

With Them, Without You

.

Ironically, more than our friends,

Our enemies may be the ones to understand us most.

For they are not disillusioned by loyalty,

And suspect our lies for what they truly are.

.

.

"…And that's the end of The Young Warrior and Her Friends," Yang finished the tale.

Sitting together in the last train car, Neo leaned her head against Yang's shoulder. The little girl had been listening to her recite the nostalgic story for the past hour. Nothing else but the gentle swaying of the carriage and the rhythm of the train's tracks to keep company.

"I can't believe I remembered it word for word," Yang sighed. "How many times did I read that book to Ruby?"

Neo reached up to tap her nose and held their finger there. Yang stared down at the smaller, reading into their expression.

"Yeah. I guess I'm a lot like the protagonist in a way. But if things go like the ending did, then…"

Suddenly, the lights in the shipping container began to flash. It was the alarm signaling an attack on the train.

The two stood with urgency. Yang switched on the intercom mounted to the nearby wall. Mercury's voice crackled immediately from the other end.

"We got problems."

"Grimm?" Yang asked.

"Something more annoying."

"Me and Neo are on our way."

"We'll meet in the middle car," Mercury ended the transmission.

.

(A few minutes earlier)

Emerald leaned her head out the window of the lead train car. She peered ahead to the approaching mountain, then back to the map in her hands. Her eyes scrutinized the tracks that wound the mountainside.

As she continued to trace the charts, a loud *Toot toot!* made her look up.

"—What? Don't tell me you never wanted to do this before."

*Toot toooot!*

Mercury pulled on the train horn again, causing the conductor to grunt at him with annoyance. Emerald rolled her eyes.

She went beside him and showed Mercury the map. Her finger pointed specifically to the bend ahead.

"If I was setting an ambush, that's where I'd do it," Mercury offered his opinion.

"Exactly my thoughts. Well? Get topside."

"What? Why me—"

*Toot tooooot!*

"What do you know, this is fun." Emerald pulled on the train horn.

"Hey, I—"

*Toot!*

"Don't—"

*Tooooot*

"Fine, I get it! You're on balcony watch next time!" Mercury begrudgingly climbed out the window and onto the rooftop. Once above, his eyes immediately caught something.

"Em! You're gonna wanna see this!"

Emerald quickly joined him above.

Together, they watched a rabbit Faunus jump alongside their moving locomotive. She looked to be communicating ahead via radio. Emerald followed the girl's line of sight to three figures barely visible on the mountain ridge.

Her attention focused on one individual in particular. One with a rather large Gatling gun aimed where the train was headed.

"Oh, crap."

Emerald immediately activated her Semblance, constructing a hallucination with haste. Her mind reached out and felt her target's perception warp. She willed herself to make it in time.

As the train entered the ambush point, Coco pulled the trigger. Her gun kicked hard with recoil, but she held its barrel steady. Rapid fire echoed the countryside. Contrary to the shooter's expectations, all her shots whizzed above the locomotive's engines.

"Coco missed?!" Velvet spoke in disbelief.

"We have to continue the plan!" Weiss called over the comms. "Blake and I will jump onto the last freight. Coco, Velvet, you take out the engine."

"Roger," Velvet confirmed.

And with that, Weiss and Blake leapt from the ridge and slid down the slope. When they reached the same elevation as the train, Weiss cast several Glyphs to serve as floating platforms. Together, they skipped through the air, landing safely onto the end car.

Velvet was on her way to the ridge, while trying to hail Coco on the radio.

"Coco! Coco! Are you there?!"

"…She's here, Vel."

"What? I don't understand. Who's here?"

"That girl! She's here! On the train!"

Coco couldn't restrain herself. She quickly retracted her Gatling gun into its briefcase and shot out a grappling hook to the lead carriage. The claw caught onto a stable edge, pulling Coco to it. Velvet followed shortly after.

When the two entered the carriage, they came face to face with a pair of familiar faces.

"We'll meet in the middle car," Mercury ended the transmission with Yang.

"Not. Going. To happen~ " Coco said with a smile.

"Still sore about losing?" Emerald taunted.

"I don't like to mix business with pleasure. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't gonna enjoy this rematch, kids."

"It won't be much of a rematch."

"—Coco," Velvet said worriedly. "We should disable the engine and rendezvous with Blake and Weiss."

Emerald and Mercury paused at hearing the names.

"Oh, what I would give to see what's happening back there…" Mercury chuckled. "Fifty lien says she bails on us."

"O' ye of little faith," Emerald grinned. "Hundred she's still on our side by the end of it."

"You sure have a lot of trust in the blondie. What makes you so sure she won't ditch us for her old team?"

"Hmph."

"Cause she's not that soft anymore."

.

X

.

(Meanwhile, in the last train car)

"Yang…?!" Blake gasped, unable to hide her surprise.

She and Weiss squared across the shipping container from Yang and Neo. For a while, the only sounds were the shifting carriage and the rails beneath their feet. The air went thick with tension.

What finally cut the awkward atmosphere was Neo.

The girl laid a hand on Yang's shoulder and began twirling her umbrella in playful fashion. This prompted the fighting edge to return in Yang's demeanor. Seeing this, Weiss shook off her own stupor and snapped to a fencing stance.

Were Yang's eyes always so red? Weiss wondered to herself.

Not once, since entering the carriage, did she see Yang's eyes have any hint of their previous purple light. Already, she could sense something fundamentally different in the former teammate.

"Yang...mind telling us what you're doing here?" Weiss questioned.

"Really? Not a word about my new arm?" Yang smirked.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

"Could ask you the same, Weiss. Thought your dad took you home and put you under house arrest."

"It's a long story."

"I'm sure it is."

"You still haven't answered me. This is a smuggler's freight heading for Mistral, supposedly transporting illegal goods for the White Fang. Do you have something to do with this?"

Yang's grin became a bit more serious.

"…And if I do?"

Weiss tightened her grip on her Myrtenaster and the revolver clicked into place.

"—Weiss?!" Blake wheeled on her, not believing what was happening. "What are you doing?! It's Yang!"

"Look at her! Look at who she's with!"

Neo threw them both a sharp grin, shifting the color in her eyes.

"I don't care!" Blake yelled. "There's no way she would join them! Something else is going on!"

"Blake," Yang called out to her.

"Yang, I—"

"You and Weiss should get off this train. Right now."

"Yang…?"

Tears began rolling down Blake's cheeks. The girl was heartbroken. Sorrow and guilt wracked her insides. She felt all of this was her fault somehow. Because of her and what happened with Adam, they were now in this situation.

"Yang, I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! Just, please—I didn't know what else to do. I'm trying to find Adam, so just—"

"This isn't about you," Weiss cut in. "This is something else entirely."

"Weiss is right, Blake. This has nothing to do with you or what happened." Yang grasped her mechanical arm with a sad smile.

"Well… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bitter. But it really isn't about that." She scratched the back of her head, trying to come up with the right words. "I'm moving on with my life. That's all."

"With them, you mean?" Weiss accused.

"Yeah…" Yang glanced to Neo beside her. "With them."

Her Ember Celica clicked into place from its standby setting to combat. The yellow and black alloys folded out from the wrist, all the way up her arms. Fresh rounds could be heard loading into their firing chambers.

"YANG! PLEASE!" Blake pleaded.

"Yang. I'm asking you," Weiss spoke in a calm, but terse tone. "Come with us. We're your teammates. Your friends. Whatever you want, we can help you. Think of Ruby."

Yang did think of Ruby. She thought of that night, reading her little sister the story of The Young Warrior and Her Friends.

After joining the enemy army who helped her, the protagonist met her old comrades on the battlefield, much like Yang was doing now.

Upon their fateful reunion, the young warrior forsook her new friends for her older ones. She forgave them for abandoning her, and they reconciled. Together, they defeated their original foes, including those who once nursed her back to health.

…

…

I never liked that ending.

"Sorry, Weiss—Blake. I won't find what I'm looking for with you. And to be honest…" Yang's eyes flashed with a burning crimson. "I can't trust any of you either—not anymore."

"You dolt…" Weiss said with a hot breath. Her eyes twitched, trying to fight the tears threatening to spill. "I'll hear your explanations after I trounce you."

Blake could only shake her head in rejection to what was unfolding.

"This can't be happening…!"

"Let's go," Yang prompted her new partner.

Neo nodded and closed her umbrella, ready to fight. Her expression was laced with unbridled joy.

"Blake, get ready. They're coming."

"Weiss, we can't do this!"

"We have to!"

Yang poured Aura into her arms and Ember Celica hummed with life. At the same time, her hair glowed a bright yellow. Seeing this happen so many times before, Blake and Weiss knew what it meant. The seriousness of their former teammate was unquestionable.

"I can't believe it…They must've brainwashed her!"

"If they have, there's no point in reasoning with her now. Get ready, Blake!"

The young Faunus took a shaky stance. Her sword held loosely in her grip.

Seeing such weakness was like blood in the water for Neo. She licked her lips and tapped the end of her umbrella. A disturbingly thin blade shot out its point and scratched the steel floor with an ear-piercing screech.

Yang stretched her fingers and curled them into fists. She loaded her weight into her legs. Her eyes gleamed redder with brimming excitement.

Sorry, guys.

I'm with them now.

And without you.