AN: Sorry for taking so long to update, I had a bad case of writer's block. I do plan on seeing this fic through to it's end so no matter how long it takes, if you don't see a label saying this fic is complete, then there will be an upload coming.
Beta reader/Editor: Wyncrer the Sage
No one spoke a word among the twelve mages gathered at the edge of the crater that had once been Merlot Industries, with Ruby kneeling at the precipice of where the road fell away into the undercity.
While on the outside she was silent as tears pooled in her eyes, inside her head she raged at herself. If only you'd been stronger, she berated herself. Jaune's dead because you were weak. The words circled around endlessly in her head as she wallowed in self-pity.
A quick look around the other wizards revealed a similar mood. Team CFVY, the ones that knew Jaune the least, stood removed from the others but in reverent silence no-less.
Nora held tight to Ren, as though he too might suddenly be taken away. Pyrrha sat against a nearby wall, with her head leaning back against the bricks and her shoulders slumped in defeat.
Yang leaned side-on to the wall near Pyrrha, her gaze fixed between her feet. Weiss stood by herself, the only outward sign of her emotional state came from her hands, where she had formed fists so tight her nails were cutting into her palm. Blake stood in the middle of it all and apart from team CFVY, she knew Jaune the least, so while she too was saddened by what happened, she was not as affected as those that had been closer to him.
Oobleck looked over the younger wizards, looking like he had aged ten years in the minutes following the tower's collapse.
Jaune was woken by the feeling of something dripping onto his face. He didn't open his eyes immediately, instead squeezing them shut as his body made him painfully aware of the mass of bruises covering his body and the fact he was feeling a weird tightness in his left hand.
He opened his eyes to see a dome of white light surrounding him. He vaguely remembered creating it before losing consciousness as the building collapsed around him. It was by the light of this construct that he saw what was causing the 'tightness' in his hand. Having pierced his dome, a piece of steel reinforcement had stabbed straight through the palm of his left hand.
It was then the pain registered and Jaune could do nothing to hold back the scream that tore out of him as the pain nearly had him blacking out again. On reflex, he tried to move his hand away from the source of his pain, only to send another burst of pain through his palm that had him seeing spots.
It took Jaune several minutes before he could form a coherent thought through the pain, and when he did, it was for his guildmates. He needed to know if Yang and Ruby made it out, and if Blake had escaped. So, with small and careful movements, he tried to reach down to his scroll without setting off another wave of pain in his left hand.
"This is bullshit!" Yang finally snapped, shattering the silence. "There's no way he's dead! He can't be!"
"Yang!" Weiss shouted, the one word warning her to be quiet.
"Shut up!" Yang roared back. "You might be willing to give up on him, but I'm not." With that, the fire wizard stormed towards the crater's edge, only to be stopped by Blake grabbing her arm.
"Yang please just stop. There's no way he could have survived that and you know it," Blake tried.
"No! I don't!" Yang snapped as she pulled her arm from Blake's grasp, not noticing how Ruby put her hands to her ears to block out the argument. Yang only made it a few steps before Weiss stepped in front of her.
"Out of my way Weiss," the fire wizard growled down at her smaller teammate. Instead of backing down, Weiss slapped her across the face. The strike didn't hurt so much as it caught her off guard, and it was in that moment where her surprise outweighed her anger that Weiss spoke.
"Get your head together Xiao Long!" The words weren't quite a shout, but they came out loud and commanding. Weiss took a deep breath before continuing in a calmer tone. "You're in denial. None of us want him to be gone, but we have to face the truth." The words had their desired effect as the anger visibly faded from Yang, being replaced with the most defeated look Weiss had ever seen on the brawler. She went to comfort her friend, but was interrupted by the sound of Ruby's scroll suddenly bursting to life.
All heads turned towards the girl in the red cloak as she pulled the scroll from a pouch on her belt. The moment Ruby opened the scroll, a gasp escaped her mouth as the scroll dropped from her hands. Yang rushed towards her sister only to freeze as a voice came from the dropped scroll.
"Ruby? Ruby are you there?" Jaune's voice rang out from the device loud enough for all to hear. The response was immediate, with the rest of team RWBY rushing to gather around the scroll as Ruby picked it up with shaking hands.
"Jaune?" Ruby's voice was quiet, as though scared to hope, but Jaune heard it.
"Ruby! You're alright! Thank the Gods. How's Yang?"
Yang couldn't stop a short laugh from escaping her. "Seriously Jaune? You just had a building dropped on you and you're asking if I'm alright? We should be asking you that."
"She's right," Weiss cut in. "Are you alright? Were you able to get out of the building?"
"Uh, I got close," Jaune answered. This time Yang could hear something in his voice, something she was used to hearing after a fight. It was the sound of someone pushing through pain to speak through gritted teeth.
"Jaune, are you hurt?" Yang asked seriously. Jaune was silent for a few seconds, during which Pyrrha, who was leaning heavily on Nora, and Ren joined the huddle.
"Well I've got bruises in just about every place you can have bruises," Jaune tried to joke. His poor attempt at humour fell flat in the tense atmosphere that had descended on those gathered around the scroll.
"This isn't the time for humour, Arc. It's a miracle you even survived the collapse," Weiss scolded.
"Yeah, you're right," Jaune sighed. "Truth is, I'm trapped. My magic is holding back the rubble for the meantime, but I've no idea how long that will hold out." And just like that, any relief they had felt at finding out that Jaune was alive was replaced with dread. "And then there's the case of a piece of metal sticking through my hand."
The wizards were silent for a moment before Ruby spoke up in a determined voice, "Don't worry Jaune, we're going to get you out of there." The rest of team RWBY nodded in agreement and stood to leave, but were stopped as Oobleck's voice called out.
"Not so fast girls." When they had all turned to face him he continued. "While you may be raring to go, not everyone here is in a condition to follow."
The words had team RWBY looking at Pyrrha. Dr Oobleck had done what he could in terms of first aid, but it was impossible to miss the heavy breathing and the blood staining her bandages. It wasn't just her, though. Team CFVY, after being stuck battling Grimm outside the tower, were running on fumes.
"Doctor Oobleck, I can keep going," Pyrrha argued.
"While you maybe the 'Invincible Girl' Miss Nikos, you are not the 'Invulnerable Girl'. Your wounds need medical attention, team CFVY need rest, and the rest of you need a guide." The last part of the doctor's words had team RWBY looking between each other in confusion so Oobleck elaborated.
"If you were planning on jumping straight into that crater I would have to advise against it. The remains of the tower down there are about as far from stable as you can get. If you jumped down there, not just would you risk getting yourself trapped in a smaller collapse, you risk setting off a chain reaction that could crush Mr Arc." Team RWBY looked down at their feet guiltily, as jumping straight down was exactly what they had been planning. Oobleck continued. "Luckily, I happen to know a nearby entrance to the undercity, and my way around it."
With Oobleck's announcement finished, Coco walked over and took Pyrrha off Nora's hands as RWBY, Ren and Nora made ready to leave with Dr Oobleck. As they set off at a brisk pace, Weiss called over to Ruby, who still had her scroll call to Jaune going.
"Keep him talking," Weiss told her. "Chances are he has a concussion so we don't want him losing consciousness."
"Got it," Ruby said confidently. She turned to her scroll and realized she had no idea what to talk about. "Uh, hi," she said awkwardly to the scroll. She was pretty sure she heard the sound of Wiess facepalming, but Jaune replied with a slightly less awkward "Hey." I said something and he responded, that's what conversations are, Ruby reassured herself, don't know what Weiss is facepalming about, I'm doing great.
However, between following the fast-moving doctor and avoiding tripping over on the crumbling road, Ruby was struggling to come up with something else to say. In the end, it was Jaune who gave her inspiration.
"Why don't you tell me about your team?" Ruby's second favourite blond asked, his voice sounding slightly strained through the scroll.
"What's there to tell," Ruby said in what she hoped sounded like her usual cheerful self, "Blake likes reading, Yang likes setting things on fire and Weiss likes yelling at people."
"Hey!" Weiss yelled.
"See what I mean?" This managed to get a small, but slightly pained laugh from Jaune.
"So, what kind of books does Blake read?" Jaune asked.
"Well mostly she reads books about souls and stuff, but this one time when I was in her room I found this book called 'Ninjas of Love', I decided to give it a read and-"
"Ruby!" Blake called out, her tone threatening.
"What about Yang? Do you have any embarrassing stories about her?" Jaune asked, sounding a lot more interested than he did when asking about Blake's taste in books.
Ruby couldn't fight the smile that came to her face. If there was one thing she could talk about more than weapons, it was Yang. Mostly because weapons didn't mess up nearly as much Yang did. "You could say I have a few stories," Ruby said, a ting of mischief sneaking into her voice despite the situation. "For example, there's the fact that Yang wet the bed until she was-"
"RUBY!" Yang's shout was far worse than Blake's, threatening death should Ruby ever finish that sentence.
"Give that here you dolt," Weiss said as she pulled the scroll from Ruby's hands.
She looked down at the scroll and Ruby's contact picture for Jaune, a photo of him shovelling chicken nuggets into his mouth, stared back. Rather than mentally stumbling around for conversation ideas like Ruby, she already had one thought up and it was, somewhat ironically, Ruby that had given her the idea.
"So Jaune, do you have any siblings?"
"Yeah, I actually have seven sisters," Jaune replied quickly. Weiss' brain momentarily ground to a halt. Seven sisters?! How was that even possible? Weiss had hoped he would have a few siblings to keep him talking for a while but she never would have expected that many.
"That's quiet a few," Weiss replied diplomatically. "Could you tell me a bit about them?"
"Not much to tell. They're all older than me. None of them are wizards though," Jaune answered. "They use to teach me a bunch of things like dancing and sewing."
"You know how to dance?" Weiss asked incredulously. She had seen how clumsy and awkward Jaune was during their training and struggled to believe he was capable of dancing.
"That's, uh… do you have any siblings?" Jaune not so subtly tried to redirect. Weiss would have to be blind not to see through Jaune intentions, but decided to spare him any potential embarrassment and answer him.
"Unlike you, I only have one older sister," she said with a small smirk, which then fell from her face as she continued, "and I used to have a younger brother."
"Oh." Jaune was silent for a few seconds. "Sorry if I brought up something you don't want to think about."
"It's fine," Weiss said quickly. There was silence between the two of them once again until Jaune spoke up.
"Is it okay if I ask what happened?"
Weiss sighed. Her goal had been to start a conversation that would keep his interest, and she could tell he was genuinely curious about what happened. If it meant keeping the idiot awake and alive, she supposed it wouldn't hurt to tell him.
"It happened a few years ago…"
Weiss Schnee strode confidently through the main hall of the Atlas Guild, with the guild crest of a spear over two cog like circles, the crest of the Atlas Guild, proudly adorning her left Weiss knew that, as a Schnee, she was supposed to always have her emotions under strict control, she couldn't help the slight skip in her step as she made her way over to where she knew Winter would be waiting.
Weiss felt her eagerness was perfectly justified, for today she would be going on a quest with her sister. Not just any quest, an S-class one.
It had taken a fair amount of convincing and proving herself to Guild Master Ironwood to get permission for this, but today all her hard work would be rewarded. Today she would get to glimpse the heights her sister had achieved and would know what she was working towards every time she trained.
As she approached the notice board her good mood only increased as she saw her sister was accompanied by her little brother. Unlike her and her sister, Whitley did not accel in the use of magic and Weiss saw this as a perfect opportunity to lord her abilities over him.
"Hello Winter. Whitley," Weiss greeted as she drew close.
"Hello to you too Weiss," Whitley replied with a polite smile. "You seem to be in an unusually good mood this morning."
"Not really, I'm just relishing in the feeling of hard work paying off. Maybe one day you'll know how that feels," Weiss said with a small smirk.
Whitley failed to stop the grimace that flashed across his features as Weiss spoke. "Just because I don't have the same aptitude for magic as you do, doesn't mean I don't know about hard work. And quiet honestly, I find all the fighting you do barbaric and beneath someone like me."
"That's enough you two," Winter cut in. "Weiss, you know better than to tease your brother about his magic, and Whitley, you shouldn't be demeaning the effort your sister and everyone else at this guild has put into honing their craft."
The two younger siblings sighed and looked down, faces burning with embarrassment from being scolded in public. "Yes Winter," they muttered in unison.
Satisfied the matter was resolved, Winter turned to address Weiss fully "Now, am I to believe you came all the way over here just to tease Whitley, or would you like to know the quest I chose for us?"
Weiss' mood instantly returned to its previous heights, but she was fortunately able to keep it in control enough to manage a polite response. "Of course, sister."
Winter smiled at the answer and held up a piece of paper in her right hand. The writing was facing towards Weiss, with the words 'S-class' printed in red across the top. The young mage eagerly scanned the document and found herself feeling… underwhelmed.
"A King Taijitu? Are you sure about this?" Weiss asked apprehensively.
"What's wrong dear sister? Is the quest not up to your standards?" Whitley asked in a smug tone.
"You shouldn't be so quick to underestimate this quest Weiss," Winter answered before Weiss could give a biting response to Whitley's question. "I know you have defeated a King Taijitu before, but I assure that this will be noticeably more difficult. For one, this Grimm appears to be rather old and has no doubt developed a certain level of cunning."
"Cunning? From a Grimm? Surely you can't be serious Winter?" Whitley laughed. "Everyone knows the Grimm are mindless."
"Shows what you know," Weiss said with a huff.
"Maybe Weiss was right in her claims about you and hard work," Winter said coldly, shocking Whitley into silence. "If you had bothered to spend any time researching Grimm, you would know that the older they get the more intelligent they get. Grimm are not called mindless because they lack the ability to think, but rather because their desire to kill humans lacks rational motivation."
"Maybe you should join us on this quest Whitley," Weiss chimed in. "Even if for nothing more than to use it as an opportunity to clear up some of your ignorance." The comment had Whitley heatedly glaring at Weiss.
Winter spoke up to once again clear the tension between the siblings "Weiss, I don't believe that-" only to be cut off by Whitley.
"Actually, I think it's a wonderful idea." Seeing Winter open her mouth to argue he continued. "Don't worry, I will be sure to stay well clear of the fighting so not to get in the way. I will simply be there in order to observe the two of you at work, and see if the 'cunning' of a Grimm is anything next to the intelligence of a human."
"So, you admit that we're prime examples of human intelligence?" Weiss asked with a smirk.
"Winter, yes. You? Well… every experiment needs a control." It was only Winter's hand on her shoulder that stopped Weiss grabbing Whitley by the collar and giving him a piece of her mind.
"Are you serious about coming along?" Winter asked, her voice deadly serious. Whitley nodded with a smile.
"Winter, I was joking when I suggested he come along. You know that right?" Weiss asked, a slight note of panic creeping into her voice. Winter ignored her and continued speaking to Whitley.
"You must agree to stay well clear of combat and obey every instruction I give you to the letter. Understood?"
"Of course," Whitley agreed with another nod and a slightly bigger smile.
"Get your snow gear and meet us in the hangar," Winter commanded. With one last mocking smile to Weiss, Whitley left to get ready.
As soon as Whitley was out of earshot, Weiss turned to her sister.
"Please tell me this was some elaborate joke and we're not actually bringing Whitley with us?" Weiss asked hopefully.
"Weiss, have you ever known me to jest about a job?"
"No, of course not. It's just… I had to work hard and prove myself to get this opportunity, yet it's just being given to him. I'm sure you can understand while I might feel cheated by this."
"You're right," Winter reassured. "You have proven yourself, which is why you will be fighting by my side as an equal, while Whitley will be watching as nothing more than a spectator. Whether you know it or not, you raised a valuable point in your arguing with Whitley. He lacks knowledge of the world outside the city walls, and as more experienced mages, it is our responsibility to educate him."
Winter's words filled Weiss with pride and made her even more eager to start the mission than before.
As it turns out, Whitley was a terrible travelling companion. The entire bullhead ride out to their destination, the remote town that had put up the request, had been spent listening to Whitley complain about how uncomfortable the seats were, clearly unaware that seats alone were a rarity for those travelling by bullhead.
And it didn't end when they disembarked either. Between the less-than-impressive appearance of the town, the biting wind and the ankle-deep snow, Whitley had found no end of things to whine about. So far, the only time he had managed to stay silent was when they were getting information from the town's mayor.
It was there that the Schnee siblings learned that their prey was lurking in a nearby woodland and had attacked any of the town's people that tried going there to gather wood or hunt.
The following trek had been another half-hour of complaints, only stopping when they finally arrived at the forest. Weiss was certain this was the first time she was relieved to have finally arrived at the hunting grounds of a possibly ancient and definitely murderous Grimm.
Without a word being said, Winter and Weiss removed the coats they had been wearing, revealing thinner jackets underneath, and dumping their coats at the base of a tree. It would make the experience of hunting the Grimm a lot colder, but when the fight started the coats would only slow them down, especially as the snow was deeper out here. To this end, the Schnee girls had also exchanged their usual heals for hiking boots.
"Whitley, stay close to us and be careful," Winter ordered.
"What?" Whitley asked, sounding aghast. "Wasn't the deal that I stay far away from the fighting?"
"It was," Winter agreed. "But while we're looking for the beast, it will be best if you stay close so the Taijitu doesn't try going after you."
"If you don't like that idea, you can always stay out here by yourself," Weiss offered.
Whitley grumbled but moved closer.
The three moved into the forest in a single file. Winter, as the most powerful and most experienced, led the group, while Weiss followed close behind and Whitley reluctantly trailed behind.
The siblings entered the forest in silence, listening out for anything that might give away a hidden or approaching Grimm. Five minutes later, Weiss was left to mourn the silence as Whitley spoke up.
"So, what exactly are we looking for?"
"A King Taijitu is a large Grimm, and if it's in a forest it has most likely set itself up in a clearing where it can fully spread out. If we see any broken trees, that is usually a sign that it, or another Grimm has been through," Weiss answered, making no attempt to hide her irritation. Fortunately for her, the knowledge that the Grimm they were hunting might not be the only one out there was enough to convince Whitley to remain silent.
It wasn't long before they spied a clearing ahead. Staying low and moving slowly they approached. Winter approached the edge of the clearing, drawing her weapon as Weiss did the same.
As Winter got within a few feet of the clearing, she came to a halt and held up a hand. Seeing the signal for what it was, Weiss stopped in her tracks, only have Whitley bump into her back. Before she could turn to snap at him, something tore through the air towards Winter, with the eldest Schnee barely rolling out of the way in time.
Weiss and Whitley, less prepared for the attack, were knocked off their feet as the large object smashed into the ground. As snow rained down around them, Weiss looked towards what had attacked them to see the white head of a King Taijitu rising off the ground from where it had tried to smash her sister.
Winter had been right when she said not to underestimate this quest. The head she saw in front of her easily twice as long as she was tall and had a plethora of bone spikes rising from the top of its head like a crown.
Hearing Whitley scream, Weiss whipped her head around to see Whitley staring into the face of an emaciated corpse that had been uncovered by the impact. Before she could shout a warning, Whitley was on his feet and running away from the dead body, and into the clearing.
Trusting that Winter could handle the white half of the Grimm, Weiss chased after her brother. As she ran, she noticed unusually large mounds of snow in the clearing. Realising what the mounds were hiding, Weiss activated a glyph, rocketing towards Whitley and tackling him to the ground, just in time to avoid the black half of the King Taijitu lunging up from beneath the snow.
With panic ruling his mind, Whitley pushed Weiss off of himself and resumed running, quickly reaching the end of the clearing opposite to where they had come from. Knowing she couldn't leave Whitley alone in the wilderness, Weiss gave chase. As the two raced into the trees, the sound of trees being crushed by a great weight followed them, a clear giveaway that the Taijitu was still after them.
As they ran, Weiss could see a break in the trees ahead. As Whitley reached it he slid to a stop and as Weiss got closer she realised why. The break in the trees was caused by a ravine several metres wide.
Changing tactics, Weiss turned to face the pursuing creature. As the gargantuan Grimm closed in, Weiss spun the chamber of Myrtenaster to select the ice dust stored inside, she then plunged the tip into the ground, putting almost all of her ice dust into creating a wall of ice to stop the beast.
Believing she had brought them some time, Weiss turned to hurry over to Whitley, only for her barricade of ice to explode as the black half of the King Taijitu smashed through it. Weiss was knocked off balance by the force of it, and had no time to recover before the Taijitu, blinded by the kicked-up ice and snow, ran into her.
The only thing that stopped her being crushed was that the Grimm's head was facing down so she was sent tumbling over the top of its head instead. The crown of bone spikes tore through her jacket and cut into her skin, before she was past them and left to uselessly bounce off its round body.
It was as she lay on the snow, winded and bleeding, that she heard Whitley scream, the sound barely registering over her ringing ears.
She tilted her head to see her brother, incapable in that moment of doing anything else. All she could do was watch as her brother stood paralysed with fear, directly in the path of the monster. Weiss screamed out to her brother to run, to dodge, to do anything, her own words inaudible through the ringing in her ears.
Whitley's eyes made contact with hers, his eyes begging her for help she could not give, and a moment later he was lost behind the head of the Grimm.
"Weiss, we're getting close!" Ruby called out, the young girls words bringing an abrupt end to Weiss' story. As Weiss looked ahead through the crumbling buildings that made up Mount Glenn's undercity, she could see the almost literal mountain of rubble that was all that remained of the once proud Merlot Industries Tower.
"Hey Weiss?" Jaune spoke up through the scroll, his voice noticeably quieter and more strained then it had been earlier. "I can hear something moving above me. Is that you guys?"
It only took a moment for Weiss to deduce what Jaune was hearing. Trapped, bleeding and in pain as he was, the young wizard had essentially become a Grimm magnet.
"Just hold on a bit longer Jaune, we're almost there," Weiss answered before raising her head to address the rest of the group. "We need to hurry!"
The wizards nodded in unison and their fast jog turned into a sprint. At the increased pace, the team made it to the ruins in seconds. Once there it was easy to see what area Jaune was buried under, because it was the same area that had a pack of Beowolves furiously digging away at the rubble.
Without hesitating for a moment, Yang hurled herself at the pack with a roar. The closest Beowolf was sent flying accompanied by the sound of Yang yelling, "Fire Magic: Blazing Strike!"
Before the monsters could react to the new threat, Yang had moved to her next victim, getting in closer than the Beowolf's long arms could deal with. In an impressive display of strength, Yang grabbed the Grimm and lifted it over her head before using blasts from her gauntlets to launch the beast at one of its pack-mates.
Another Beowolf took a swing at her, only for Yang to catch the strike on her right gauntlet, while her left hand released a stream of fire that vaporised the Grimm's head. The enraged fire-wizard turned to the few remaining Beowolves, and with a shout of "Dragon's roar!" she wiped them from the face of Remnant.
With the threat dealt with and Jaune's rescue imminent, Weiss handed Ruby her scroll back and stepped closer to the rubble.
"Blake, see if you can get Jaune out."
Weiss' words came out as more of a command then a question, but Blake nodded regardless and sunk into her shadow form before disappearing into the rubble. With that dealt with, Weiss closed her eyes to focus on gathering her magical energy. When she felt she had gathered enough, she pointed Myrtenaster towards where Jaune was buried and called out "Gravity Magic: Low Gravity!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, a large white glyph appeared over where Yang was standing. Needing no instruction, the rest of the group converged on the scene, dust and small rocks kicked up by their steps staying in the air, as they started to move the now significantly lighter rubble away. As they did this, Weiss held her position, keeping the spell in effect as the others worked.
Blake soon returned, but to everyone's concern, she returned alone.
"What happened Blake? Did you find him?" Yang asked, making no effort to hide her worry.
"I found him, but I couldn't get him out," Blake replied, obviously frustrated by her lack of success.
"Why couldn't you get him out? There should be plenty of shadows down there," Yang demanded
"He's set up a barrier," Blake explained. "It's what's stopping the rubble from crushing him, but the light it's giving off is also stopping me from reaching him."
"Then there's only one thing we can do," Ruby cut in. "We keep digging until we reach him. When he was talking to Weiss he said he could hear the Beowolves, so he must be close right?" Ruby directed the last part at Blake who nodded in confirmation.
With the knowledge that their goal was close, the wizards dug with increased intensity. At the increased pace, it was only a few minutes later that Nora lifted a piece of concrete bigger than herself and white light shone out of the newly unveiled space. The relief and excitement that spread through the wizards was almost tangible.
"We've almost got you out Jaune!" Ruby cried out excitedly.
Yang grabbed hold of a large piece of reinforced concrete, but when she tried to move it a scream echoed out from beneath the barrier of light that had everyone freezing in place. Remembering Jaune's words about a piece of metal through his hand, Yang looked under the piece she was holding to see a steel rod coming from it disappear into the barrier.
Knowing she couldn't move the rubble while it was connected to Jaune, and she couldn't get him out until it was moved, and so she attempted to get his attention.
"Jaune? I'm going to try cut the metal going through your construct, ok?"
Unsure whether or not he heard her and unable to hear a response, Yang had to go ahead anyway. Straightening out her hand as though going for a karate chop, Yang gathered magic in her hand, strengthening the muscle and bone, as well as creating a flame as hot as possible around the appendage. With a swift strike, Yang's hand cleaved through the metal, leaving two glowing ends in her wake.
Yang barely managed to catch both herself and the debris she had been about to lift when the barrier of light gave out. After taking a moment to throw the piece clear, Yang dropped down next to Jaune.
"Jaune?" She asked as she knelt next to her friend. When Jaune didn't respond and she noticed his eyes were closed, she quickly checked his pulse, releasing a breath she didn't realise she was holding when she felt a steady beat.
Looking at his left hand, she deduced he had passed out from pain as there was a section of the bar smeared with fresh blood. His hand was far from his only injury. While not much skin showed through his outfit, his jeans and hoodie were severely torn and his armour was a mess of dents and scratches.
As she raised her head to call for someone to help get him out, Oobleck appeared in a blink on Jaune's other side. The older wizard lifted the unconscious teen as easily as he would a small child.
"I shall get Mr Arc back to the Bullheads. The rest of you make your way back to the surface together," was all he said before disappearing in another blink.
Weiss had released her spell when she had seen Yang toss the last piece clear, however holding the spell for the duration of their excavation had taken its toll and the gravity mage was down on one knee, supporting herself with Myrtenaster, trying to catch her breath.
"You okay?" A voice asked.
Weiss looked up to see Ruby squatting in front of her, her face filled with genuine concern.
"I'm fine, just a little exhausted," Weiss reassured.
"I wasn't just asking about the exhaustion," Ruby added. Weiss confusion must have shown because Ruby continued. "That story you told Jaune. I know talking about your family isn't something you like to do."
"I'm fine," Weiss repeated, sterner than last time. "That all happened three years ago, and it's hardly a secret." With more effort than she cared to admit, Weiss pushed herself to her feet. "Let's just hurry up and get out of here, If I never see this place again, it'll be too soon."
"Same here," Ruby agreed as she rose to her feet, before the company followed Oobleck out of the cavern.
AN: So Weiss gets some backstory. I know the backstory Weiss gave is very far from canon, but this is an AU so expect everyone to have an at least slightly different backstory. Some might have also noticed a bit of a parallel between the Schnee siblings and the Strauss siblings of Fairy Tail. Both are a set of three siblings, all with white hair and a German last name starting with S. And so Weiss' flash-back was meant to echo the quest where the Strauss family lost their youngest, without the Edolas element.
As always, constructive criticism is appreciated.
Next chapter: Team CRDL