Chapter 27 (S875)

The hallways grew more foreboding with every stride Celeste took down the ruined corridor. Painful as it was to run, she managed to keep a steady pace. Even so, the air felt as if it was growing heavier and heavier.

There was some sort of… Presence, ahead of her. But it didn't have the hostility of any Grimm she'd encountered before, or the warmth of a person. Her grip on La Massicot tightened - It was unwelcoming to say the least, but it was also blurry as if something else was mixing with it.

She stopped suddenly when she came to a thick trail of fresh blood leading down the hallway.

Is it…?

It went down the same path she was taking up to the roof - Could it be Azure? At the turn of another corner, she stopped in her tracks - A barely visible dark blue glow on the ground was slowly making its way to the stairwell. Celeste gulped, and raised her weapon, slowly and quietly stepping alongside the blood trail.

The closer she got, the more her heart pounded. Whatever it was was heaving and growling, pulling itself across the ground. When she caught up to it, her heart dropped. "Azure…?"

Azure's left eye was clouded in an unfamiliar dark blue aura, making its way even into the blood-coated Kusanagi. His left arm was twisted and bending in ways it shouldn't, and blood seemed to be seeping out from his leg.

"Azure hang on, I'll go get Optima!" breathed Celeste.

He didn't respond. It was as if he didn't even know she was there, as if he wasn't even in control. It certainly didn't feel like the Azure she knew. Whatever the case, she needed to stop him from moving. At this rate, he'd bleed out within the hour. "Please stop! You're going to kill yourself!"

Still no response. At this point, she put her weapon down and tried to restrain him. To her surprise, his Kusanagi-wielding arm took a swing at her, barely giving her enough time to back off. "Come on Azure, this isn't funny! You're going to die if you keep going! It's Celeste, your team leader!"

A frightened chill ran down her back as Azure shot her a soul-piercing glare at her, his only response a low growl.

Tears welled in her eyes as her pleas fell upon deaf ears. Was she so terrible a leader that listening to her to save their own life was too much to ask? She was literally watching the life drain from Azure's body, her teammate's body. "Optima! Please! Help!"

Was she going to watch another one of her subordinates die under her command? Was she going to relive that nightmare? Her deceased teammate's grave flashed into her head, and she covered her face. "AZURE! STOP!"

Finally, he stopped. The glow retreated from his eye, and the Kusanagi went dark. Azure took a brief exhausted look at her through the light of the flare on the floor, before his eyes rolled up and he fell silent.

Celeste rushed over, and put her hand over his nose - He was breathing, but barely. Her monitor beeped through her pocket, and she pulled it out with a shaky hand. His aura was dropping again, and worse-yet his life signs were failing. Where was Optima, or everyone else for that matter?

Oh no. She'd completely forgotten about Rin. She could hear the screeches of Nevermores soaring overhead, and what she thought was the sound of their spear-like piercing the roofing. How could she forget about her now of all times? At least Azure was out of harm's way.

Before she could get to her feet and up the stairwell, she heard something flop at the base of the staircase.

"Celeste?" came Rin's weak voice. "Where's…"

Celeste looked over at Azure's still body.

"Azure!" cried Rin.

Rin limped over, using the wall to support her before slumping at his side. She brought his head on her lap, and started surveying the damage. "Get medical attention. I'll stay with him."

After Celeste left, Rin spent what felt like an hour running her hands down Azure's back, trying to breathe some comfort into him. Maybe splitting up in general was a bad idea. Twice in one week, they'd nearly managed to get themselves killed because of it.

The first one with the Elementas was mostly bad luck, but nevertheless, things could've gone smoother if she hadn't locked Celeste and Picton out of the fight. Same with tonight - If they hadn't ran off, Azure probably wouldn't have come so close to going berserk like he did several years ago.

But it was over - They'd avoided catastrophe. Azure's aura had normalized, and though she was no medic, she knew he was going to be okay.

Of course this wasn't without cost. A few Nevermores remained, but in the middle of the fight they'd suddenly stopped attacking Beacon itself and focusing on her. That's how one of her legs ended up with a feather running through it. She cut herself loose just in time to avoid another barrage, but took a bad grazing hit to her back before making it down the stairs.

But more importantly… She'd used too much dust! Dust was rather expensive, and the type and quality she used was rather difficult to come by. What a waste.

No matter. At least Azure was okay, and they'd avoided the worst. There was no telling what could've happened had he gone berserk. She sighed, and wrapped her arms around Azure's neck.

Distant footsteps came echoing down the hall, and a wave of relief finally washed over her.

Better hurry up Celeste. I'm starting to feel very sleepy...