The Heart of Winter

IX – Ignite

Ruby Rose

Time had lost all meaning.

They'd been running for hours now and Jaune was still carrying her on his back although he seemed ready to collapse. Both had barely eaten all day and she'd long come to regret the decision. Ruby would gladly trade what Aura she had at the time to not deal with the madding hunger that was building inside.

Vernal was ahead of them, not looking much better than Ruby felt. Whilst her pace had being blisteringly fast earlier, she'd slowed to a rather laughable speed a while ago and it sounded like she was struggling to breathe. Rowan was the only one who didn't look ready to pass out. The man looked like he'd only just broken a sweat.

"We need to stop," Rowan said from the front of the group as they emerged from the treeline onto what looked like an old dirt path. Looking around the older Huntsman seemed pretty convinced they weren't going to find a better place to stop any time soon.

"Are you insane?" Vernal hissed as she staggered over to him, trying to muster the strength to glare. "We need to keep moving so that thing won't catch us." Her words might have had more of an effect if she didn't have to catch herself when she stopped in front of Rowan, grabbing on his shirt for support.

"There's no outrunning it," Rowan shrugged as he met the bandit's glare with a deadpan look, "if we keep pushing, we're only lowering our own odds of survival. Rest ten minutes and then we'll move on. Wherever we're headed isn't going anywhere."

"What was that thing?" Jaune panted as he bent down to let Ruby slide off his back. When she did, she let herself flop onto the damp grass at the path's edge without protest before her blonde friend fell into a crumpled heap next to her. Ruby mustered the strength to give the blonde's shoulder a squeeze. She hoped it was enough to convey how grateful she was. If he hadn't carried her away from that thing, she had no idea if she'd still be alive.

"Raven called it a Homunculi or something," Ruby said when she gathered the strength to talk before her gaze went to Vernal, who now stood slumped against a tree – whilst she might not have agreed with taking a break, she was in dire need of one. When the bandit noticed Ruby's gaze her face contorted into one of annoyance.

"What makes you think I know what that thing was?" Vernal demanded snappishly and Ruby might have shrunk back at the words had she had the energy to do so. Instead, she just let her eyes drop to the ground as Vernal went back to trying to catch her breath.

"The Homunculi," Rowan said, "or a Homunculus are a small handful of human-like Grimm. Each one is personally created by Salem from the fragmented remains of a human soul that died a particularly horrific death; most have some sort of lingering business that helped anchor their soul to this world long enough for Salem to find it.

"They feed on other Grimm, gaining power by absorbing their lesser kin. Each one is unique unto itself and possesses abilities no other Grimm has. They also think like people and are capable of broken speech. They only ever leave Salem's side to complete the most important tasks given to them directly by their mother. It's why Ozpin calls them the Children of Salem."

"So, what, it's a super Grimm…?" Jaune propped himself up on his elbows to look at Rowan and Ruby looked to see the older Hunter nodded slowly. "Well, great!"

"It's a little-oversimplified way of putting it," Rowan bent over for a second, taking a long breath, "but yeah, that about sums it up. Salem must be pretty pissed about something if she's sending out the Homunculus to massacre bandits. Now it's hunting us–"

"Hunting me," Ruby cut in and Rowan looked up at her. He held her gaze for a long moment before shooting a sideways glance at Vernal who wasn't really paying attention, his eyes narrowing, before he turned back to Ruby herself, and nodded. "But why?"

"The Homunculi are what hunted the Silver-Eyed Warriors to edge of extinction," Rowan explained, and Ruby felt something heavy settle in her stomach. She really should have guessed as much. "Your very existence is a personal insult to it."

Just what she needed, a super Grimm out for her head.

"It's a Grimm," Vernal snorted, "it can't be insulted."

"If you want to tell it that when it catches up to us feel free," Rowan smirked at Vernal who glared back but had no retort.

The four of them rested a while longer before Vernal started to look antsy to get moving again, but truthfully Ruby still didn't feel in any condition to move. It didn't look like she had much of a choice in the matter though when the bandit woman started glaring at her and Jaune. The message was clear: their respite was over.

"What's the plan?" Jaune said in a hiss as he stood back up. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby could see his legs shake. "I mean, you said we can't outrun that thing, right?"

"We keep moving a wait for Raven," Vernal said in a way that meant the topic was not up for discussion.

"Eh, no," Rowan replied as he shook his head. "If she's not already then Raven will be dead soon if she tries fighting that thing for an extended period. The first thing we'd need to do is get my other arm back."

"Excuses me?" Vernal stood upright and marched over to the towering Huntsman a knife appearing in her hand. "Want to repeat that? I thought for a second there I heard you disregard my orders, dog."

"Because I did," Rowan said in a way that implied they didn't have time for this conversation. Instead, he walked over and squatted down in front of her, Ruby could only grimace at the thought of what was probably coming next. "Do you reckon you could reattach an arm if we found it?"

"I have no idea," Ruby answered lamely, knowing it wasn't what Rowan had been hoping to hear. A look of momentary victory flashed on Vernal's face, having already won the argument in her own mind; Rowan wasn't so quick to give up as he looked at her pleadingly. "Putting a weapon back together? No problem. Robotic limbs? Not really my thing…"

"I can talk you through it," he shook his head and Ruby clasped her hands nervously, wringing her fingers. "We can't outrun that thing but if I can get my other arm back, I can slow it down long enough for you to reach a major population centre where you can disappear."

"You talk about Raven being dead already but then announce you can fight that thing?" Vernal shouted at him so loudly that Ruby was certain if anyone else was nearby then their own presences was no longer a secret. Raven clearly meant a lot to Vernal and it was clear her worries over her leader's safety were starting to get to her.

"Well, not me," Rowan face twisted into a look of revulsion. Ruby wasn't sure she liked where this conversation was going, her mind flicking back to Rowan's comments about being a time bomb. "-But Hyde could if I let it off its leash."

Even amid the darkness, Ruby saw Vernal go shock white: "You're out of your mind! We've already got one monster chasing us and you want to add another one to the mix!?"

"Who's Hyde?" Jaune asked, speaking for the first time in a while and Ruby wondered if they really wanted to know the answer to that question. "Scratch that, what is Hyde?"

"My Semblance." Rowan pinched the bridge of his nose. He was clearly uncomfortable but seemed resigned to the fact there was no way around not moving again without an explanation. "It's the primal animal inside, when I'm ever close to death the animal instinct would take over and I'd got into a berserk state where my ability to take hits became superhuman. Even without Aura, I'd be an unstoppable juggernaut who felt no pain and could heal rapidly.

"Then a couple of years back whilst I was still at Atlas my team had a run in with a nasty ooze-like species of Grimm known as an Oublieux. I was injured and the thing sort of mixed with my blood and Hyde manifested not long after. The primal part of my mind broke off and became its own being. Even right now I hear Hyde talking to me, telling me to rip your throats out. It's become a constant battle to stay in control."

"What!?" Jaune took a step away from Rowan and Ruby could only stare wide-eyed. Well, that certainly explained the whole time bomb thing. She just wasn't expecting something like that. "Your Semblance is a Grimm?"

"What? No!" Rowan looked panicked by Jaune's reaction. "I mean I'm alive and I have Aura so not a Grimm. Not exactly, anyway, I think…"

"Does my uncle know about this?" Ruby asked as she finally stood up on her for the first time in hours. "About Hyde I mean?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Rowan said, still squatting and looking at the ground. "He knows about the whole berserker thing, he's seen it happen. I don't know if Ozpin ever told him about Hyde though. I'd be surprised if he doesn't know, though."

Ruby could see Vernal did not like this conversation any more than Jaune did. But it wasn't like they had a better plan; she was inclined to agree that simply running would just delay the inevitable.

"Where will we find your arm?" Ruby said without blinking as she knew she needed to sound more convinced that she was. Rowan looked up, a little surprised at how easily Ruby had agreed to his plan. She didn't really care how the older Huntsman felt though because she looked over her shoulder to see the one reaction she did care about. Jaune looked hesitant and uncertain, but when their eyes met, she could tell he knew this was their best shot.

The blonde nodded at her, and she knew he was agreeing to follow her regardless of how the next few minutes went, and Ruby let out a sigh of relief. There was something so reassuring about knowing that Jaune would always have her back.

"You're all out of your minds!" Vernal hissed, dragging Ruby back to reality.

"What other choice do we have?" Ruby asked softly, a part of her honestly hoping that Vernal would provide her with an alternative that didn't rely on a literal monster as the linchpin of their only plan.

The bandit swore loudly after a while, kicking out a lonely stone before turning on her heel to head down the path itself instead of into the treeline; "Our original camp is this way." She glared over her shoulder when they didn't immediately start following her.

"Rowan," Ruby called after the older Huntsman, who was the first to follow Vernal, "please don't make me regret this." She recalled Raven's words about regret and second-guessing herself, but Ruby didn't think herself that cold and she wouldn't let herself become like Raven if she could help it. People counted on her and she'd be there for them.

"I don't make promises I can't keep," Rowan said as he refused to meet her eyes. Not at all what she'd wanted to hear, Ruby thought. "But I can promise I'll do everything in my power to get you to Haven. I owe Qrow that much."

Rowan's vow brought her no comfort as she watched him walk away as Jaune came to stand next to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him; "Well, at least we've got a plan now. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Yeah, it does." Ruby nodded her head, trying to recall her hope and confidence from a few hours ago. The whole being hunted by a super Grimm had kind of put a dampener on it. No, she shook her head, letting the despair take over now wouldn't do anyone any favours. There'd be time to feel overwhelmed later. "We've got to keep moving before we lose sight of the others."

Jaune gave her shoulder another squeeze and together they walked after Vernal and Rowan, Ruby silently praying that wherever the rest of her friends where they were safe and having better luck than she and Jaune were.

Yang Xiao Long

Yang swore loudly when she hit the tree behind her, her entire body aching from previous blows. The hulking gorilla-like Faunas was, as loathe as she was to admit it, kicking her ass. His sheer size made it all but impossible for her to land a solid hit thanks to his greater reach. She could feel her Aura flicker as she raised her fists back up, her prosthetic shaking.

Maybe she wasn't as combat ready as she'd convinced herself she was.

Well, too late now.

"What's the matter Lurch," Yang taunted as she gestured for her opponent to come at her once more, "waiting for an invitation?" the Faunus let lout a dumb grunt as he lumbered forward with surprising speed for someone so large.

Yang was still faster though and was able to duck around the tree. Her eyes went wide as she heard the old oak groan and buckle before falling towards the Faunus. The blonde knew from experience that this was her moment; dodging the tree would leave the White Fang member open to her counter-attack but she was more worried about Weiss. Her white-haired teammate was two on one against the other members of the White Fang.

Whilst she couldn't see the other battle waging when her head whipped around, she could hear a chain-blade whirling and grind against opposing metal which at least meant Weiss was still fighting. Good, Yang thought, but Lurch the giant was on her again and the blonde had to put the heiress to the back of her mind as the huge White Fang member swung at her with a piece of fallen tree.

Ducking under it was easy enough thanks to the size difference between her and her opponent, which in this instance worked in her favour. Okay, she thought with a long breath, trying to maintain some distance between herself and the Faunus whilst he wasted energy swinging around the tree trunk. It was clear from how he was attacking her that this guy had no idea how to properly approach fighting someone so much smaller than him; he'd dominated her early when she couldn't help but fall back on bad habits and charged head on to protect Weiss.

But being forced so heavily on the defensive, something rather foreign to her until recently had allowed her mind to clear.

This guy was her before she'd lost an arm.

All brute force and no thought or caution about the openings he made each time he attacked. She just needed to figure out how to abuse them before he could clean up his fighting and she was sent back to square one with no way to land a hit. She saw it when he swung at her with the tree again as she rolled out of the way – his footwork was sloppy.

Whether it was because of his improvised weapon or a deeper underlying issue Yang didn't care. She'd figured out how to win. She just needed to keep falling back, for now, drag the Faunus deeper into the treeline were swinging around that huge chunk of wood would be difficult. He followed her without thought, causing the blonde to smirk.

When they got to a tight cluster of trees, Yang knew it was time to make her move when she felt her back hit another tree.

This time Lurch used his improvised weapon like a lance, trying to impale her; but instead of ducking or rolling she jumped. The Faunus gave a growl of surprise as Yang landed on top of the tree and ran. That surprise turned to worry when it became clear he couldn't swing the tree around to shake her off with how tight the space around them was. He let go quickly, stepping back, but he staggered due to his poor footwork and lost his balance before toppling backwards.

Yang jumped again and came down on her opponent's chest like a cannonball, slamming her left fist into his chest so hard that she instantly saw his Aura crackle under the strain. Knowing she might get another chance like this she started laying into her enemy with wild abandon.

It felt exhilarating to finally be on the offensive again. So much so that she missed the massive fist that hit her right side until she almost went head first into another tree. Catching herself in time, she heard something creak and groan as she glared at Lurch.

She knew from experience her eyes were bloody red now as she could hear her hair crackle as the temperature suddenly spiked furiously as the area became more illuminated from the faint glow of her hair.

"That stung," Yang hissed before she threw herself out of the way of Lurch's shoulder charge. When she lifted her fists back up though only her left rose. Eyes going wide in panic, Yang looked down to see her right arm just dangling there, soaked in her own blood. "Son of a bitch!"

Stupid Atlas tech.

"Crush you."

"Huh, so you can talk." Yang couldn't help mouthing off despite herself. She could see the giant's beady red eyes narrow behind his mask. "I was starting to think that speech was beyond you." Lurch cracked his neck in response and Yang rolled her eyes.

Typical guy, she thought, adjusting her stance to protect her now useless right side. When all this was over, she was going to have some serious words with Weiss over the reliability of her countries supposed state of the art technology.

He came charging at her, a wild beast swinging furiously without real coordination and only the goal of pummeling Yang into a red puddle in mind. It was more of an issue to stay on the defensive now, without her right arm working her right side was effectively unguarded forcing her to burn even more energy dodging. On a more positive note, what hits she'd landed had done work, seeing as Lurch's Aura flickered and hissed which meant he didn't have a lot of it to get through. He was probably so used to being able to break people in one or two hits that he almost never got hit himself.

Her chance came when she tripped over a protruding root of all things. When she hit the ground, her opponent didn't think before clasping both hands overhead and slamming them down on top of her like a hammer. Yang was fast enough to tumble out of the way, the White Fang member roaring in outrage as his hands were now tangled in the mess of roots he'd created.

Ducking between his legs, Yang went to town by throwing her left fist repeatedly into the back of one of his knees. He came crashing down like one of the many trees they'd already ruined during their brief battle, shifting around to lay into his left side.

Chop 'em down. Yang coached herself before the mountain of flesh twisted as Aura shattered. One of his mallet-like fists came around, catching the blondes unprotected right side and blasting her into the air.

Yang let out a tirade of curses as she went skidding across the forest floor. Scrambling back to her feet, the blonde Huntress gave her right shoulder a twist before she could feel her right arm respond to commands again. Whatever had been knocked loose earlier was back in place and Yang was still raring to go.

Her opponent rushed her from behind, right hand raised for a huge overhead swing, but Yang didn't instantly turn to face him.

Instead, she took a moment to take a long breath as the world seemed to slow down around her. The old her would've given in to her rage, her desire to win, to meet Lurch's charge head on without thinking the consequences through by now. Not the new her. Whilst the new Yang couldn't help but still feel at home in the thrill of battle, that taking on Lurch hadn't reminded her of days gone by when she could be reckless and free, she also understood there was so much more at stake now.

'Don't think I'm not saying it's not okay to be angry,' he father's voice echoed in her mind, 'anger can be a great motivator but the second it becomes your sole driving force is the second you become no better than a Grimm operating on base instinct. To control that anger, you need to be able to step back and understand the consequences of each fight as they happen. Sometimes there's a lot more at stake than who wins.'

Yang had no intention of doing something as petty as simply winning anymore. She needed to take this guy out and regroup with Weiss before something terrible could happen. She would protect her teammate.

I am not my rage, Yang thought to herself as she parted her feet properly, it does not control me. I control it and right now it's going to help me save Weiss. She spun, and her eyes opened, and somehow, she knew they weren't red anymore nor lilac either, but caught somewhere between. Her hair was still aglow, roaring like fire though – no, now it was fire now.

She caught Lurch's fist with surprising ease like it was light as a feather.

"Uh-oh…" the Faunus audibly gulped and Yang grinned. Somehow her Semblance had seemingly evolved at that moment and manifested into a pair of additional arms sprouting from her shoulders made of roaring fire that helped to hold back the blow. It was new and strange, but she certainly wasn't going to complain. Where once she had but only one fist in this fight, she now had four.

Game on.

"Oh yes." She taunted back before turning on one heel and through the giant over her shoulder. He flew like a ball and Yang jumped after him, using shots from her gauntlets to help propel her.

Letting out a whoop of exhilaration, Yang began to pummel her enemy in mid-air, each punch propelling the giant higher as she used Celica Phoenix's shotguns to keep level whilst occasionally landing on a tree branch and springing back into the air.

The giant struggled against her, but it was futile. He'd lacked coordination on solid ground and in the air, he was worse, floundering like a beached fish whilst she danced around him with fleet footwork and practised aim that came rushing back to her as she'd never left the battlefield.

It was like playing keepy-up with a ball when she was a kid. She was pretty sure her opponent had long passed out, so she eased off until she could hear the battle she was looking for. So, she reared back both her right arms and punched with all her might and sent him blasting through the treetops before following him.

Crashing down on top of Lurch, burying him deeper into the crater he'd made when he'd landed, Yang found herself in another clearing not too far from their campsite. Well, it might not have been a clearing originally judging from all the tree stumps around them. Weiss stood clutching her side some ways away, rapier in hand but looking utterly exhausted as a large knight made from black ice stood over her protectively. The ground around the white-haired girl was equally blackened, glassed by black ice from which smoke arose. The Faunus dressed like a wannabe samurai was clutching his whirling death blade in both hands, although his stance seemed to fall apart as the battle reached a lull with Yang's sudden arrival. Even the bird Faunus who had been lurking in the treetops peaked out to see what was going.

Yang's Semblance conjured arms dusted her off as she smirked, folding her actual arms below her breasts to hide the unconscious rattle of her arm; "Yang one, White Fang zero." Her new arms shot finger guns at the two remaining White Fang members whilst Weiss could only stare mouth agape; "Sorry to drop in like this, hope it doesn't make you Yangry."

"Yang Xiao Long are you seriously making puns right now!?" Weiss just about shrieked, and the blonde winked back at the former heiress.

"Ah, come on," she smiled to herself, but she couldn't resist the low hanging fruit, "if I can't make Weiss cold puns in battle, then, when can I?"

The samurai-wannabe swore loudly as he pointed at her, clearly having had enough; "Cerise, kill that blonde bitch!"

And just like that, they were off again as a multitude of daggers rained down from above. But instead of running away as she had earlier, Yang dashed forward, jumping into the air and blasting herself into the air with Celica Phoenix.

"S'up?" Yang greeted with a grin as she landed in front of Cerise who hissed, spinning her daggers in hand before coming at the blonde. Yang's new-found confidence took a quick hit though as her mechanical arm gave a jerk and shook, refusing to obey leaving her open. Thinking furiously, she swung out with the blazing arms of Semblance but her coordination with the new limbs was atrocious and now faced with a normal sized person and not a giant her blows found only air.

"Where'd that confidence go, blondie?" Cerise taunted as she slashed at the back of Yang's knees, having danced around her right side.

Hissing, Yang threw her real left elbow back to catch her opponent off guard but Cerise was ready. Throwing a dagger behind her without looking, the Faunus woman transformed into red smoke and flew after the dagger. Her former retook its proper shape after the steel pierced the wood of a tree and the woman was yanking the blade free.

Whilst Yang might not have been able to see the other woman's face, she knew she was smirking.

Oh, great, Yang scowled, a teleporter. If there was one thing, she hated more than fitting opponents who fought with their feet, it was teleporters. Just her luck she went from a perfect matchup to a horrible one.

Thinking quickly, Yang started trying to work out the limitations of Cerise's Semblance. Teleporters always had a catch twenty-two and even if she couldn't hit the Faunus right now, if she could figure it out, she could turn the fight on its head. The only problem was she wasn't entirely sure she had the energy to last long enough to figure it out after having gone what felt like fifteen rounds with Lurch the Gorilla.

Cerise stood there, on the branch of another large tree clearly thinking the same thing as Yang and seemed content to drag things out.

Shame that wasn't going to be an option, Yang thought with a smirk; "Hey, watch out!" She cried out as she pointed behind Cerise.

"What kind of idiot do you–" Cerise never finished her sentence as the trunk behind her exploded in a shower of bark as a swirling green tornado sent her flying.

"I did try to warn you," Yang chuckled as she looked down to where her enemy had fallen. Sora had finally returned and wasn't letting up as she threw herself at Cerise with cold precision. Seeing that the older Huntress seemed to have things under control Yang made to turn back to where Weiss was still fighting only for a dagger to fly past her ear as the White Fang member reappeared in front of her.

"You and I ain't done blondie!" Cerise spat as two daggers suddenly materialised in her hands and she swiped at Yang's face. Throwing up her arms to defend, the blonde could only hiss as cool metal cut skin.

Her Aura was gone.

Backpedalling before Cerise could cut her again, the second danger having bounced of her metal arm, she plummeted. Cursing her own stupidity, there was nothing Yang could do in the time it took her mind to register how fast the ground was approaching.

Hitting the ground felt like a dull slap compared to what Lurch had done to her earlier but the wind was still knocked out of her. Staggering upright, the world was a dark blur with her hair no longer a roaring fire and her new arms having melted away to nothing. She screamed when a knife embedded itself in her left shoulder, the searing pain enough to bring the world back into sharp focus for a moment before she felt extra weight suddenly settle on her shoulders.

"I wonder if you'll look as good in red as I do?" Cerise sneered down at her but the blast of a shotgun threw her off Yang's back before she could cause serious damage.

Yang swore under her breath as she straightened herself out catching Sora skulking in the treeline, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

It looked she was on point then.

Grunting, Yang threw herself forward and back into the fight, swinging at Cerise with what strength she had to offer. The bird-Faunus was on the back foot, but more because she chose to be there, enjoying the futile attempt the blonde made to make her blows stick. Still, even if her attacks weren't doing much, she wasn't giving her opponent a chance to fight back and it seemed that Cerise had realised what kind of situation she'd put herself in.

So when Yang swung too wide, Cerise ducked under her punch and threw one of her seemingly endless supply of daggers to escape the blonde's reach.

"Your punches are feeling a little lacklustre, blondie," Cerise said with a snigger.

Yang stomped a foot in frustration, spinning around to resume her offence before a rain of steel crashed down on her as Cerise was back in the treetops and throwing blades. Yang could only deflect the storm of blades with practised shots from her gauntlets that created a hole for her to stand in safely. Swearing loudly, Cerise threw another dagger at Yang's head when she zeroed in on her with a barrage of return fire, tearing up tree branches as leaves fell around them.

Yang twisted as the dagger rocketed past her head, red smoke trailing and in a moment of perfect clarity, she knew exactly what to do. Putting in every ounce of energy she had left, Yang scrambled for the dagger and barely managed to catch it. Throwing it back the way it'd come, Cerise suddenly poofed back into existence mid-air, flailing desperately.

"Got you now!" Yang smirked at the look of fear on Cerise's face as the blonde reared back her right fist. With a hiss, the elbow guard began to turn and extend into a thruster that let off a roar as the rest of the gauntlet seemed to enlarge to twice its normal size as Yang's punch effectively became a point-blank miniature missile.

The massive metal fist crashed into Cerise's chest at such speed that Yang was pretty sure it took her mind a moment to catch up with what was happening. The White Fang assassin hit the tree behind her with such force that she went clean through the trunk with a blood-curdling crunch.

"That worked better expected," Yang noted with a hint of pride as she admired the damage she'd done before looking to the knew gauntlet only to find it heated to point of bending in places. Stuck between its smaller regular form and the enlarged rocket fist she bent to gather up some dirt. "Hot, hot, hot!" the blonde panicked as she tried to cool the gauntlet before serious damage that couldn't be buffered out could be done.

Note to self, Yang thought with a hiss, stealing Ruby's collapsible weapon design and reversing it was a nifty idea but I probably should have tested this first before using it. But as the gauntlet finally cooled somewhat and there was no sign of damage to her arm, Yang couldn't help but imagine the look on Ruby's face when she saw the right gauntlet change size for the first time. That'd pale in comparison when she saw the left gauntlets special features, the blonde smirked.

Following the White Fang member through the tree, Yang almost pitied the sight of the assassin struggling back to her feet. Her entire left side was scorched something fierce and her mask was ruined on the ground around her. If she wasn't so intent on killing her, Yang might've been able to say her opponent was beautiful – or rather had been until she'd nearly burnt off one side of her face.

"I'm not done…!" Cerise hissed as she staggered upright, Aura gone and left arm hanging uselessly at her side. But both parties knew she was wrong. It was amazing that she was still standing; almost as stubborn as the blonde herself! But it looked like even breathing was taking an impossible amount of effort on Cerise's part.

"Yeah, I think you are." Yang began, seeing Sora coming up behind Cerise. She nodded to the older Huntress, intent on leaving the rest to her and finally getting back to Weiss but a sharp pain in her chest had her head to go light for a moment as she felt her legs turn to jelly.

"Sora you – traitor…!" Cerise said in a gargle as the Sora behind the bird Faunus faded into a breeze. "You set us up…"

Yang could only stare at Cerise in horror as the Faunus' life slowly faded away, a sword tip piercing her heart. The very same sword also pressed into Yang's back, buried to the hilt as Sora had used Yang as a smokescreen to assassinate the other Faunus and the blonde in a single blow.

"Son of a…" Yang began before the sword pulled back slightly, leaving Cerise's dead body to drop like a rock. "You – you back… stabbing bi – backstabbing bitch."

"Oh, please," Sora chuckled into her ear, placing a hand on Yang's shoulder, "don't act like you're surprised by this. Who do you think told the Red Claw assassins where to find you?"

"You're White–" Yang hissed in pain, "–Fang!"

"Hmm," Sora hummed in pleasure, "now you're getting it. See, I wasn't lying about what I said earlier. I just left out the part that I was spying on Lionheart for the White Fang, feeding them information on Haven so that when the time comes that cowardly traitor gets what's coming to him. To think he'd bow his head to the Mistral Council – those that enslaved our people!

"Not anymore. Now a new world is coming, and I will help usher it in, the White Fang has served its purpose, but it must evolve into something new if it is to survive what is to come. So, if nothing else, thanks for helping me weed out the weak: those loyal to the old who have no place in my new world. They'll die just like humans. Just the same as you."

Yang could feel the rage boiling over, but nothing came of it. Her legs couldn't hold her anymore as she fell to her knees. She was spent. But despite her rage, her overwhelming desire to punch in the snake's face her body just refused to move.

Why'd I have to be such a failure…? The blonde thought as all her shortcomings over the years suddenly came rushing back, so many things she could have done better, people she could have done better by. Maybe, just maybe, if she'd be a better partner Blake would have stayed. Or if she was stronger, she could have protected Weiss from the fate that now awaited her. And Ruby…

Ruby… she could only let out a weak sob, using her last moments to pray to whatever higher power that might exist that wherever Ruby was, she was safe. Why had she had to shout at her the last time they saw each other…?

"Now," Sora hissed into her ear as she twisted the sword, "be a good human bitch and bleed to death quietly." The world went white when the snake pulled the sword out of her chest, Yang feeling light as a feather as she toppled forward to the sound of Weiss' distant screams.

Song: Ignite as performed by Jeff Williams feat. Casey Lee Williams & Lamar Hall)