Now this is a finale.
I may have gotten carried away, but I at least wanted to wrap everything up in a way where I touched up on all the plot holes. I feel as though I did that, though how I did that is ultimately up to you.
Enjoy!
She slipped into a slumber, her body finally worn. As she closed her eyes, she could make out a shadowy figure moving towards her. Before she finally slipped away, she heard a deafening whine, but the pitch only got lower and lower.
And then, blackness took over.
Pyrrha helped Ruby to her seat next to her teammates. The younger girl wasn't sure what to feel.
Pyrrha kept assuring her that Yang would be fine. Ruby had warned Jaune and Ren, who had volunteered to retrieve the brawler, to be careful. Yang's body would probably be hot to the touch. Having known from experience that Yang going to the "second sun" level, as they called it when they first discovered Yang's semblance, that it does indeed take a few minutes to cool down. Also noting that there was no water around, save for the swamp water, which was determined to be a terrible, terrible, horrible idea.
Though the pilots of both Bullheads wanted to get out as fast as possible, Teams CFVY and JNPR had both noted the lack of Crokolisk's since Crokzilla had fallen. A sight for sore eyes, for sure.
Jaune and Ren quickly picked Yang up, practically running back to the bullhead quietly saying "Ow, ow, ow." repeatedly. The steam emanating from the fallen brawler indicated that Ruby's assumption was correct.
Yang was still really hot.
The duo did their best to set the blonde down lightly, but the moment she hit the cold steel, a hiss was heard and they both let go, shaking their hands in the air. "Oh, come on now," Pyrrha admonished, "She can't be that hot."
"Oh, really?" Jaune challenged, raising an eyebrow, "You put your whole hand on her shoulder then."
Pyrrha flinched momentarily, her eyes widened. She wanted to accept the challenge her leader put before her, but the look the rest of her team, as well as Ruby shaking her head, told her it may not be a good idea. "I- Uh... Pilot, let's get them out of here!"
"Good cover," Jaune rolled his eyes, "No, really. Outstanding excuse." Pyrrha waved off his obvious sarcasm and began to secure Yang. The pilots started the engines and began to take off.
Ruby looked to her team, tiredly. Weiss had fallen back asleep and Blake was faring no better. Ruby knew that she would be in the same position soon. Only this time, she could actually stay asleep. Nothing was keeping her or her team awake; no Grimm, no rescue, no swamp... Nothing.
They could all finally rest.
She looked down at her older sisters' resting form and smiled. If it weren't for Yang, they'd all have burned alive in their crashed Bullhead. She and the team would owe her big time, even if Yang wouldn't allow whatever they did to repay her.
Ruby tilted her head back, took both Blake's and Weiss' hand and closed her eyes.
'Now...' She thought, 'Now we rest...'
Blackness... That's all she saw around her...
Yang floated through emptiness, not really sure what to think. At this point, part of her knew she was sleeping, but part of her thought she was dead at the same time.
In this realm she was tired, but also not awake. She wanted to move, but instead kept floating on. She wasn't sure how long it had been since her battle, she wasn't sure how her team was doing either. She really wanted to know, but her body wouldn't obey her.
She couldn't wake herself up.
'I wonder... What if I am really dead? Did I push myself too hard?' She thought, panic struck her voice, 'Oh no! What about Ruby? What about dad? How will they react?' She kept going through all the people she knew and cared for, wondering how well, or poorly, each person would take it.
'And what about Weiss? I never did apologize to her! Oh she probably thinks I hate her! And Blake?' She thought back to her partner, whose face had now appeared in Yang's mind, 'We were so close to breaking her out of that silent, distant shell she's known for! She kept saying how she had the best prank for team JNPR!' Her shoulders slumped as her face fell, 'Man... Now I'm bummed that I won't be able to see that...'
Throughout her entire experience through what she believed to be purgatory, she began to reflect on what she had done. Mostly over the past year. She most certainly wasn't an angel, but she wasn't always a troublemaking anarchist, either.
As she began to think back, she heard voices. Some familiar, some new. She couldn't make out what they were saying, though. All she knew was that there were people nearby.
All she knew, was that she was close to the world, again.
Medical staff awaited the team's arrival in the hanger. Personnel with stretchers and a few makeshift ambulances that Beacon had, all waited patiently as the Bullheads touched down. As soon as the engines powered down and the doors opened, the staff took over.
Fox, Yatsuhashi, Ren and Nora all exited first before the rush could make its way to them. They waved off any medic who asked them a question, pointing them back to the Bullhead.
Pyrrha and Jaune had stayed inside, choosing to help their fallen friends. Weiss was out like a light, as was Yang. Ruby and Blake, however, were still clinging to consciousness. Surprisingly enough, it appeared that neither could actually stay asleep. This would pose big problems for the medics; they would have to sedate the two so they wouldn't hurt themselves later on.
"Ok, miss?" One medic said to Ruby, "Can you tell me your name?"
"I- uh... Yeah." She said tiredly as the medics began to take Yang and Weiss away on a stretcher. "Hey, be careful with those two!"
"It's alright, they're in good hands. I need your name." He insisted as his partner and Pyrrha began to undo Ruby's harness. Jaune and Pyrrha had already done Blake's; she was getting looked at now.
"My name... Yeah. Ruby." She finally let out.
"Alright, Ruby. We're going to give you a sedative. This should ease the pain and let you sleep for a while."
"Alright." The hooded girl nodded, "Let me have it."
The two medics looked at each other, "We, uh... We already did."
"Oh..." Was all Ruby could say before being lifted onto stretcher. As she was being strapped in, she noticed Blake, who had already been given her sedative and was being carried away. The faunus met her leader's glance, gave a smile and wink with a thumbs up, letting Ruby know she was all right.
Ruby smiled as the medics began to carry her away. It had been a long flight back to Beacon. One where she had tried, and failed, to sleep. Even now, as the sedative began to take effect, she tried to stay awake. Only so she could make sure that this was really real.
And yet, sleep seemed so bliss right now...
She sighed and made her decision: Sleep now, find out what's real later.
Pyrrha and Jaune exited the Bullhead, meeting their team in the hangar. Team CFVY approached them as team RWBY was being sent to the school's infirmary.
Velvet, out of everyone, appeared to be the most tired. The amount of Aura she used on the King Crokolisk, let alone of buffing Yang, left her beyond all comparison beat. Not bad enough to go to the infirmary like her friends, but bad enough to allow her to sleep very well tonight.
Nora was the first out of the group to break the silence, "So... Did we do good?"
"I would say so." Pyrrha confirmed with a nod. Jaune gave a thumbs up alongside Ren, who gave a small smile.
"I would also say so." A voice called from behind the group. Everyone turned to face the owner of said voice. None other than Professor Ozpin. "You all performed exceptionally. Especially against that beast in the end. What was that you referred to him as, Miss Valkerie? 'Crokzilla'?" He chuckled. "Cute as that name may be, it was actually an Elder Crokolisk, aging over three-hundred-fifty years old."
All present went wide-eyed. Older Grimm were difficult to take down, let alone hurt. "He seemed more content on sleeping than fighting. Hence why he only made his presence known when you disturbed his pond."
"Wait..." Coco said, raising a finger, "Go back a moment... Where you listening in?" Ozpin nodded, "...That whole time...?" Another nod. Coco blushed a bit, taking a step away. She had made some... Interesting remarks during that mission.
"It's quite alright, Miss Adel. We know you have a rather... Explicit language set." Ozpin assured, much to everyone's laughter.
"Professor Ozpin," Ren called, "No disrespect, but why were you listening in on our mission? Also, where's Professor Goodwitch?"
"Ah, Goodwitch is with your friends on their way to the infirmary. She's making sure everyone is alright at the end of the day. Which reminds me, it's just after nine. You should all rest."
"Answer his question and we will." Coco demanded, coping an attitude.
Ozpin smiled and shook his head. "I listened in because Crokolisks are rather... Dangerous Grimm. I wanted to see how your teams would fare against such a powerful enemy." Coco crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow. Ozpin sighed, "And I was interested in seeing how well you'd all fight them off. There, Miss Adel, are you happy?"
"Quite." The brunette said with a smile and practically skipped away. Her team followed, Velvet waving goodbye.
"Aww. No after-mission party." Nora's shoulders sagged. She was hoping for Victory Pancakes with both teams; an after-mission tradition for her team. CFVY, however, had different plans. Mostly including rest.
"I'm sure we'll find time later, Nora." Ren assured, "But for now, I think we should do our mission report and rest up, too."
"You need not worry about the mission report." Ozpin interrupted. "I recorded the entire mission from your end. I only need a brief retelling from team RWBY once they awaken. You and team CFVY will report to my office tomorrow morning for a debriefing. Let's make it ten in the morning?" The team nodded at the suggestion, liking a later start. "Excellent. You are cleared from attending classes tomorrow. Sleep well."
With that, he left. Team JNPR followed suite soon after. It was a lot later than they realized, and they're morning debrief would come a lot faster than they'd expect.
Glynda rode to the infirmary, keeping her eyes to her scroll. The first year team before her came up on her screen with Aura readings of all four. She wasn't very surprised to see that they were all very low, if there was any at all. Tapped out would be a perfect way to describe the teams' situation.
Luckily, they were all finally resting. Glynda knew there would be no way any of them would rest, regardless of doctors orders, until they knew their whole team was ok. The bond they shared was, believe it or not, more common with Hunter teams. You need a certain level of trust and faith in one another to be a successful team, otherwise you will fail and ultimately parish.
"Glynda," A voice called, knocking the mage out of her stupor. She turned to face the owner of said voice; the lead medic. "We'll need to take Miss Schnee in for further examination. We don't actually know what's caused the bruising on the abdomen." The blonde women nodded as he continued, "Miss Xiao Long is going to go in for a bit of Aura therapy for a few days while she's out, which she will be unconscious for the next two to three days. Miss Rose and Belladonna are going to getting bandaged up and then we'll see them when they awaken in about eighteen hours."
Glynda nodded, "How long on Miss Schnee?"
"She'll be up with the others, provided there's no surgery."
Again, Glynda nodded, "Alright. Keep a constant monitor on these two," She pointed to Ruby and Blake as their vehicle pulled up to the infirmary, "Just because they're better off than their friends, doesn't mean they're better off than their friends."
"Hey, what do you take us for? A bunch of rookies?" The older medic joked, earning a not-so-pleasant stare from the taller women before him. He got the message right quick, though; she wasn't in the mood to mess around. "Right. Alright, boys! Treat 'em well! These kids earned a nice rest.
'You could say that again,' Glynda thought to herself as she returned to her scroll. Each member of the first year team had something wrong with them in some way. Yang, obviously, was out of aura and needed Aura therapy, which is just something to help someone safely recharge their Aura after it running dangerously low or even completely out. If not, her body would try to heal itself whenever Aura came back, leaving her drained for a long period, which can lead to serious injury or even death.
Weiss had a bruising on her abdomen that nobody could explain. Glynda, as well as Ozpin and the head medic, all thought it was because she had her harness on too tight. If that were the case, however, the bruising wouldn't be there anymore. A few other theories are flying around, but it's all speculation until the doctors and nurses can have a look. She may be in need of Aura therapy, too.
Blake had a few deep scratches over her body, probably from fighting too close to the Croks. A few stitches and she'll be fine.
Ruby apparently hit her head on the doorframe of the Bullhead when they crashed. The prospect of a concussion was the biggest fear among the medical teams, but that thought died away, as it appeared to have been no more than a knock on the head. 'She truly dodged a bullet, didn't she?' Glynda thought as she examined Ruby on the scroll. 'How she walked away without serious injury is beyond me. Her Aura probably kept her from serious harm.'
She shook her head and began to call the Headmaster to inform him of what she had been told.
'It's just a game of patience, now.' She thought as his face appeared on the screen,
Rain began to patter the window, gray light shining through the curtains. The nurses tried to keep the overcast skies out of sight from their patients. They could keep the sight of the rain blocked, but the sound wasn't so easy.
All four members of Team RWBY was present. Yang was currently tied to special machines for her Aura therapy. That would keep her unconscious for the next two days, though no one thought she would mind the extra sleep, really.
The order in which the team was laid out in the room was based on who required the most attention. Yang, obviously, was closest to the door, followed by Weiss, then Ruby, then Blake. There was enough of a gap between each member for chairs, along with a side of the room totally dedicated to guests. It was a nice, spacious room.
Within the room sat Pyrrha who was reading a book, in between Ruby and Blake, and Nora listening to music, at the opposite side of Blake. Against the wall sat Ren. Jaune was currently trying to figure out how the vending machine at the end of the hall worked. The team had just gotten back from their debrief with Ozpin after a long nights rest. There, they had discovered how the Bullhead went down.
A 'one in a million' fluke, as General Ironwood assured, where the fuel line separated from the main fuel cell. This allowed a massive leak to occur that eventually caught fire, causing the craft to go down. Then, after they had crashed, the already compromised fuel cell ignited completely. Yang's quick thinking saved her team from certain incineration.
Pyrrha flipped a page of her book, rather, the magazine hidden within the book, and chuckled. Ren, who was undisturbed in his meditation, only responded with a slight raise of his brow. As she began to read on, she heard the door click open and saw her leader enter off the corner of her eye, a defeated look on his face and no treats in hand. It was apparent that he couldn't figure out how the machine worked.
Jaune sat next to Ren and slumped in his seat. The green clad boy responded with a light pat on his leaders head, saying "There, there." Pyrrha giggled as she used her semblance on the door, allowing it to close silently. The nurses informed the team that RWBY would awaken at any point, so they should stay quiet until the team wakes up naturally.
They hadn't been waiting long. Actually, they were hoping Team CFVY would get there soon. Team JNPR skipped breakfast because someone (may or may not have been Pyrrha, but she'd never admit to it) forgot to set the alarm right, making them almost late for their debrief. Needless to say, they were hungry, and CFVY was their meal ticket.
"Aw, was the machine being mean, Jaune?" Nora asked, removing her headphones.
"I don't wanna talk about it." Jaune held his head up with his hands, still clearly upset with his defeat. Nora chuckled, trying hard not to make fun of her leader.
As her team had their fun, with what little they could, at least, Pyrrha looked over to the two girls resting beside her. Ruby looked so still it was almost scary. The heart monitor, however, told her that her friend was still alive, though sleeping on her back. Pyrrha knew Ruby slept on her front, and had done so for a long time (information thanks to Yang) so sleeping that way she was now would probably lead her to being soar later on.
Then she looked to Blake, whose look was far better than the red-themed girl in the bed next to her. Her ears... Her cat ears, we twitching. Her facial expression indicated a rousing out of her, her eyes clinched shut repeatedly. It was apparent she was deciding whether or not she should wake up or stay asleep. A common fight with anyone.
The faunus brought her arm to her face and rubbed her eyes, "Uhhg..." She groaned, "What's with all the noise?"
"Guys!" Pyrrha tapped her foot to the floor with a resounding smack, gaining the attention of her team. They all looked to Blake who had barely opened her eyes.
"Blake's up!" Nora cheered loudly, much to Blake's annoyance. The hammer-wielder was met with a wave of 'shushes', causing her to fall back into her chair.
"Well, I guess I am up, then..." The black haired girl tried to sit up. To her failure, however, she could not. Pyrrha put a sympathetic hand on her friends shoulder and shook her head. "So, who else is up?"
"Just you." Jaune said, sitting back, "Weiss and Yang haven't moved really, I don't think. You and Ruby have been the most... What's the word?"
"Animated?" Ren said, more than asked.
"Yeah!"
"Alright... Do I even have a book, or something?" Blake asked, tiredly, "Something to keep me occupied?"
"Eh... No." Nora replied, "But I can go get you one from your dorm!"
Just as the energetic girl jumped up to leave, Pyrrha made a realization. "Nora, no!" The orange haired girl stopped in her tracks and stared at the gladiator. After a moment, she realized why Pyrrha had stopped her. "You, uh... You shouldn't enter their dorm! You don't have permission!" Pyrrha thought that was a pretty good cover. Nora clearly forgot about the elaborate traps they had set. "How about we find something from the library?"
Blake looked at the two quizzically, trying to figure out if this was actually real. 'These two are acting very strange...' She thought, 'What... Ah, never mind...' "Uh, I dunno, something, anything will do. I don't know how long it'll be until Ruby wakes up." Pyrrha and Nora left, knowing what their friend was looking for. As they left before the door closed, she could hear them start to argue about something. All she could make out was 'How could you have forgotten-?" There was more, but she couldn't make heads or tails of it.
They all sat in silence; Jaune, Ren (who was still meditating) and Blake, who was in and out of consciousness. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she wanted to stay awake in case someone else woke up. But damn if it was too quiet! Normally she would enjoy that but she actually wanted to stay awake!
She didn't have to wait long, thankfully. The duo had found something as quickly as possible, charging in with a single book in hand. "We found one!" Pyrrha said, clearly out of breath. Their entrance did the job, though, and woke Blake up even more. "Here you go!" The gladiator handed the tome to her friend, who nodded in thanks.
"Uhg!" A groan of disgust was heard. Or maybe one of annoyance. "What is with all the noise?!" All eyes turned to the second bed, only to find its occupant, Ruby, rolling in her bed to face away from the group, covering her face with her sheets.
"Well, you woke two of them up." Ren piped, finally breaking from his meditation. "And I don't think either of them are happy about it."
"You think?" Jaune added.
"Like you're helping?" Ruby finally mustered, curling up tighter, finally working her sheets to covering her entire body. "I'm just laying here sleeping and I get all of you yelling as a wakeup call!"
"I don't think I've ever seen this side of you before, Ruby..." Blake said in disbelief, "Normally you're the cheery one."
Ruby rolled over and faced her teammate, "You have now borne witness to the worst kind of me..." She said cryptically, "The tired, heavily medicated me..." She got a response out of the group, causing a wave of chuckles. "When did you wake up, Blake?"
"A few minutes ago. Same way you did." The two looked at their friends, who all got the memo right quick.
"I, uh... I think we should go..." Jaune said, slowly moving towards the door. His team followed in unison and made their quick exit, leaving the reaper and the faunus.
"So," Ruby started, "That was fun."
Blake lightly laughed, "Yeah, depending on how you want to define 'fun'." The two had a laugh over the events that had just transpired, both of them trying to figure out if what just happened actually happened.
As Ruby divulged earlier, she was still heavily affected by the meds she had received. Blake understood and stopped the young leader from keeping herself awake. It wouldn't be long until Blake would join her either, as Pyrrha and Nora decided to pick up a rather uninteresting book on dogs.
She shuddered at the thought. It had to be a sick joke, right? They knew she was a faunus, a cat faunus, so why did they get a book about freaking dogs?! 'They must not have been paying attention...' She thought.
Blake threw the book aside and laid back. She peered at her leader and the rest of her team, all were still slumbering. It was at this point where she realized that it was raining. It didn't bother her, though. It might even help her get back to sleep.
She heard a click from the door, and watched the knob turn. As the door crept open, she could barely make out Professor Goodwitch's signature hair. The mage peered into the room and locked onto Blake's amber eyes. The black haired girl put a single finger to her mouth, silently making a 'shush'. After realizing that the leader had fallen back into slumber, the instructor nodded to the faunus and closed the door. In a single, wordless glance, Blake realized that she just bought herself and her leader a few more hours of sleep.
'Use it well...'
She was cold...
Every breath she took turned to fog before her face...
Yang walked on, the world around her still dark; the only light seemed to her illuminating a very short diameter. She kept rubbing her arms against her shoulders, trying to produce heat from the friction. To no avail, however.
She kept walking on, not knowing where she was going. Not really caring where she was going. Trying to find the end of... Whatever this place was...
"Is this purgatory?" Yang thought out loud, "Am I really dead?" No response. She dropped to her knees, finally giving in, "What did I do? What can I do? How can I make up for what I've done, give me a sign!" She yelled to the heavens, though she wasn't sure if they could hear her.
"Did I not love Ruby enough? Did I make someone angry with me? Did I forget to do something, or owe someo-" She stopped in her tracks, remembering her teammate. "... Weiss..." She breathed, "I forgot about her, didn't I? Oh, she probably thinks I hate her! I can't go yet, please, anyone up there! Summer... Mom, anyone, give me a second chance, I'm not done here yet!"
A bright light shone in front of her, gaining her attention. She covered her eyes from the blinding light with her arm, after a moment, the light dimmed to just below blinding. "Aren't I not supposed to go towards the light?" She joked.
"You aren't dead yet..." A voice called. Yang looked around, trying to find the owner of the strangely familiar voice, but saw no one in the darkness around her, "...You are just resting. It has been two days since you entered this state; a state of deep rest." Yang thought hard, trying to figure out who owned that voice. She could put a face to it... But she just couldn't figure out a name.
"Where are you?" She called. A gust of wind blew behind her. The brawler turned, taking a fighting stance, only to find... "Professor Goodwitch?"
"Hello Miss Xiao Long," The older women greeted, "Fancy meeting you here,"
"H-how- Where... Wha-... What's going on?!" Confusion filling Yang's voice as well as her mind. Goodwitch chuckled as she approached her student.
"I'm sure you have a few questions, so I'll get right to the chase. You, miss Xiao Long, expended all of your Aura. There wasn't a drop left in the tank."
"I don't think I've ever heard that analogy from you..."
"Enjoy it while it lasts." The mage smirked, "Anyway, I'll start with how: I know of a few spells that allow me to visit the dream of a student who is either deep in sleep, or who is hypnotized."
"Neat."
"Indeed. This is actually very, very, difficult and requires a lot of concentration. So I need to make this count." She folded her arms and continued her previous explanation, "Yang you saved your team. They all go out alive, as well as you, but because you spent too much Aura, you-"
"Went into a coma." Yang finished, to Goodwitch's annoyance.
"You know this would be a lot easier without the interruptions, I actually rehearsed this as a solo act." Her left eyebrow twitched as she chided the brawler.
"Sorry."
"Anyway, you wound up in an Aura-fatigued coma. The doctors have been doing Aura therapy on you over the last two days. Your body has recovered quite well, actually. Much better than the doctors anticipated in such a short amount of time."
"Alright, Professor, enough about me, tell me about my team."
Glynda sighed, "Oh, fine. Your leader and your partner were the first two awake, though they didn't wake up on good terms. I caught them later at night. Weiss woke-"
"Wait, wait, wait... Caught them doing what?" Yang interrupted. Glynda kept a blank stare on the brawler, not understanding what she said, "You said you caught them later at night... Doing what?"
"Uh... They woke up fully later at night and I caught them awake. They were talking... That's it." She said flatly. "Why are you-"
"Nope, no reason!" Yang blushed. Glynda realized what she implied, but chose not to pursue it.
"Alright, anyway. Miss Schnee woke up earlier this morning, the wound her abdomen fully healed. Before you ask, we concluded it was her safety harness that caused the bruising. We don't know why it didn't heal earlier. She is the only one of your conscious members who isn't mobile. Miss Rose and Belladonna are both able to move."
Yang sighed in relief. Her team was safe and they were getting better, too. That was a win for her. "Now, we're back to you." Glynda clapped, "You are going to have to wait a while longer, I'm afraid. Your body still hasn't fully recovered. Luckily, you gained enough Aura that you no longer need the therapy, but your body still needs more time."
"So I can recover Aura on my own?" Yang asked, to which the older blonde before her nodded. "So... If I can recover on my own, how long should it take? I'm, uh... It's kinda boring in here..."
Yang's rather sheepish behavior didn't surprise the Professor at all. An experience like this had a tendency to test the mind. "It should take about a day. So to you, that'll feel like an hour, maybe two. Just don't think about it too much and you'll be fine."
"O-oh, alright. What are you going to do?"
"Miss Xiao Long, I'm going to leave before the spell wears off. I'll be around when you wake up, alright?" Yang nodded in agreement, "Alright. We'll be seeing you."
"Thanks professor..." With a wave, Glynda Goodwitch left, the bright light fading. Yang once again found herself in the dark. Though this time, it wasn't as cold.
Professor Goodwitch stood up, her meditation over. She peered over to the conscious members of RWBY, all of whom were sitting on Weiss' bed, watching everything unfold. "Well?" Ruby piped after an unbearable silence, "How is she?"
Glynda sighed, regaining her composure. A spell like that is very difficult, no matter how deep in sleep the party is. "She's aware. She knows where she's at and what's happening, and I think she can feel her own strength returning. She knows you all are ok, so she should sleep better."
The team took a collective sigh of relief. Blake took a breath and spoke first, "So how long do you think it'll be until she wakes up?"
"In a few hours. For now, I would enjoy the quiet you have left." The professor chuckled as she exited the room, leaving the team behind.
"So..." Ruby began, "How long do you think a few hours will be?" Her teammates shrugged, "Yeah... Me neither."
"Um, as much as I like you two... Could you get off of my bed now!?" Weiss cried, causing her leader and friend to jump. Ruby decided to lean against her slumber sisters' bed, whilst Blake stayed standing. Weiss stayed seated in her bed and stared at Blake. "If you're going to stand you might as well lean against my bed." Blake quickly accepted the offer and took a spot next to Weiss.
"So..." Blake said, rubbing her cat ears. The nurses were kind enough to give her bow back, which made her less self-conscious.
"Yup..." Weiss whispered. Despite the ordeal that they had just been through not two days prior, the team still had to find ways to make small talk turn into conversation. The monochrome duo were avoiding eye contact, not only with each other but with their leader. Ruby watched the two practically squirm in their seats. It wasn't that awkward, was it?
The red-clad girl began to laugh at her teammates, gaining the attention of both. "What's so funny?" Weiss yelled more than asked.
"You two! Isn't it obvious!" Their leader clapped, "You're so awkward together, still!" Weiss gave the younger girl an annoyed look, up until she realized that her faunus friend to her left was laughing too. Weiss shook her head, pinched the bridge of her nose and gave in. She too broke down with the rest of her team.
It took a few minutes for the team to regain their composure, each one laughing when the other stops. "I needed that..." Blake said, wiping a tear from her eyes, "I don't know why that was so funny, but it was."
"We need more random moments like this." Weiss and Blake agreed to their leaders suggestion. "That was fun."
Silence returned to the room, and each one of them hated it. There was just nothing to talk about until Yang woke up. "What do you think Professor Goodwitch saw?" Ruby asked, staring at her older sister's resting form.
Blake and Weiss looked to each other and shrugged, the question catching both of them off guard. "Whatever it was..." Blake started, "I hope it wasn't bad."
"Maybe she jumped into a dream?" The heiress suggested, "She didn't tell us because we don't really wanna know about those. Let's face it."
Ruby giggled, "No, you don't wanna know her dreams." Her two teammates stared at her for a moment, "They can be dirty... Very dirty..."
"Oddly enough, I'm not surprised." Blake chuckled. The brawler always had a... Different mindset. Sillier, more vulgar, more... PG-thirteen. How Ruby found out about that is not something the faunus would like to know...
"So," Ruby began a new subject, "I have to be honest with you two, and I know you're not going to like what I have to say, but-"
"You think we need weapon upgrades?" Weiss interrupted.
"That, or strategy updates." The two were stunned, they were sure their leader would go for weapons over anything. "Let's face it, we were good, but clearly not good enough."
"Well... Blake sat, rubbing her chin, "You also have to remember we had almost no ammo from the start. Generally, I'd agree after something like that happened, but only if it was a mission, and not a crash-landing survival trip."
Ruby pondered this as Weiss began to discuss her point. Blake stayed in the conversation, but something caught her eye . There was slight movement in Yang's bed. Her eyes clenched as her head moved slightly. This caught Blake's attention, but not Weiss' and certainly not Ruby's. Lilac eyes opened slightly as Yang peered around the room. Blake had stayed quiet and played dumb about the whole thing, not wanting to break the conversation her teammates were having, also not trying to draw attention to the blonde. She may want to go back to sleep, after all.
Yang finally looked at Blake, who met her freshly-awakened partners' eyes. Yang turned to Ruby, sinister smile grew to her face. 'Oh boy...' Blake thought, 'Ten seconds awake and already she has an idea... At least we know she's ok.' Weiss had also noticed Yang's awakening and almost blew her teammate's cover. The only thing that stopped her was a single finger pressed against Yang's lips. It was her own, silently telling both girls to be quiet. The two silently agreed.
Slowly, Yang raised her left arm to reach around her sister, who was facing away from her. Her partner and teammate were interested to see what the brawler was going to do, but tried their best not to announce her consciousness to their leader.
Slowly, Yang's arm lifted as she snaked her way into position. Ruby had passed the torch of the conversation to Weiss, who immediately passed it back with a quick retort. Yang was ready and in position...
a grip around her abdomen, pulling her back. It didn't take her very long to realize what was happening as a second arm wrapped around her. "Blake!" Ruby cried, "Help!"
The faunus jumped in, grabbing Ruby's right arm, which had broken free before Yang could grab it. Blake tried to pull her leader free, only to be yanked into the fray when Yang pulled her sisters arm back.
Blake landed on top of Ruby, the two facing each other. The close proximity caused the two to blush as they cried for help. "Weiss!" Blake laughed, "Help us out!"
The heiress sat back and pondered her options. She could: Help and be pulled in, or give in and jump right in. 'What would be the best plan of action...?' she thought long and hard, relishing in her teammates dismay. Watching her partner and teammate squirm as they tried to break free was a funny sight. "Eh, why not?" She shrugged, making up her mind. "Banzai!"
Weiss jumped in, managing to leap over her two teammates, but still getting caught in Yang's embrace. The brawler pulled all three onto the bed with her and began a practical death hug. "Yang!" Ruby cried, "You're killing us!"
"I survived a Bullhead crash and a murderous swamp!" Weiss complained, but in a joking tone, "I don't wanna die like this!"
"Oh, you're all no fun." Was all Yang said as she continued the embrace. "I heard you all woke up and started a party without me?"
"We were," Blake grunted, "But you had to ruin the party."
Yang rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah, nice part you got here," She said sarcastically, "Did Ruby set this up?"
"Hey!" Their leader whined. Much to the reapers annoyance, her team got a bit of a kick out of the joke. She decided to accept her fate and not argue the comment; instead she chose to remember it for a later date.
As the team still struggled to break free from the blondes near titanic hold (which was surprising to say the least, considering she just came out of an Aura-fatigue-caused coma), the door opened up, revealing the figure of a certain blonde instructor.
Glynda Goodwitch walked into the room after hearing a commotion from outside. She walked in to find a rather... Interesting sight. The lack of context that accompanied the instructor into the room made this event before her all the more interesting. "Um..." She closed the door with a resounding slam, bringing attention to herself.
"Professor Goodwitch!" Ruby choked for air, reaching out for help from the mage, who smiled at the sight.
"I'm sorry, Miss Rose but it appears that you have everything under control here." She chuckled while opening her scroll. She began to type a message to Ozpin amid a wave of cries from the team, aside for one voice; a hardy laugh, easily Yang's.
"Professor, please?" Weiss begged, "She's choking us!"
Goodwitch sighed and raised her crop. A purple glow formed around the pile. Yang felt her muscles relax as they were enveloped by the mages magic, her team being effortlessly raised away from her. Glynda glided her crop to the right, in between Yang and Weiss' bed, and simply dropped the team with a thud.
"Ow!" Ruby cried, feeling the full weight of her partner and teammate on top of her. She was at the bottom of the pile since the beginning, and things just didn't get easier for her. Weiss, being pretty much on the outer edge of the group, found ease in getting up, whilst Blake found herself right on top of her red-themed leader. She opened her eyes, meeting silver and blushed once again. This time, though, Weiss nor Goodwitch missed it. Blake scrambled to her feet while Ruby tried to figure out what was actually happening.
Weiss offered a hand to her partner, who gladly accepted. As Ruby rose off the ground, she rubbed the back of her head, "Couldn't have let us down lightly?" She grumbled. Her instructor simply shrugged as the team rearranged themselves. Yang finally sitting up in her bed with a groan.
"So, is it tomorrow yet?" Yang's team looked to her with curiosity, not knowing what she was asking. Goodwitch, on the other hand...
"No, actually Miss Xiao Long. You woke up a whole day early. Your doctors will be elated to hear that." Yang nodded with an impressed expression. Moreover, she was impressed with herself, but that was pretty much normal. "I've contacted Professor Ozpin; he should be here to give you all a final debrief from your last mission." The team nodded and got comfortable, as they weren't sure how long it would take their Headmaster.
Luckily, it didn't take long for him to arrive to the teams infirmary room. He walked into the room after knocking on the door a few times. Glynda gave the 'ok' call as the headmaster entered. He greeted the team centered around a certain blonde, who was currently sitting upright on her bed.
"Hello Team RWBY," He said, pulling out his scroll, "I see you've all awoken. Sleep well?" The unanimous groan from the group before him indicated that no, they did not sleep well. Ozpin chuckled, "I don't blame you. I'll make this as brief as possible, and then I'll let your doctors take care of you.. I am aware that Teams JNPR and CFVY told you all about why your Bullhead crashed?"
"We know a few details," Ruby answered, "They told us as much as they could remember."
"I see. Miss Xiao Long? Would you be interested in this story?"
Yang sat back and thought for a moment. "Nah, if it's important, someone will tell me." She decided. Ozpin found humor in her comment, but shook his head regardless.
"Alright then." Ozpin continued, "You all managed to evade serious injury, despite the condition you were formerly in. I want to congratulate you all and commend you for your effort, bravery and teamwork during that terrible ordeal. Likewise, I would like to commend you on fighting off such an adversary like the Crokolisk Grimm, as they are truly beasts of horror.
The massive Grimm you defeated, Miss Xiao Long, is... Sorry, was referred to as a King Crok, according to Professor Port. At first, we thought it was an elder, but he told us differently."
"Wow..." Yang looked away, stunned, "Professor Port said something that wasn't him on an ego trip?" The team, even Goodwitch and Ozpin, laughed at the comment.
"Now, now, Miss Xiao Long," The headmaster called order, "You best hope that he doesn't hear about that little comment of yours. You never know what he might do." He continued, "Now. Considering your ordeal two days ago, the instructors and myself offered you all a week off of classes to recover. It starts on Monday, which, if I must remind you, is tomorrow."
"I have a question!" Ruby's hand rose, "What did Velvet shoot at Yang? I didn't get a good look at what happened..."
"Quite alright, Miss Rose." Ozpin cleared his throat, "Miss Scarletina blasted Miss Xiao Long with the remainder of her fire dust." He explained, "Yang absorbed the dust, giving her the power for one supercharged attack, which she used very well." Yang bowed her head in appreciation. "Any other questions?"
The team collectively shook their heads. CFVY and JNPR had given their bed-ridden friends a run down on everything from the debrief from earlier, per Ozpin's request. That made this meeting much more easier and much less time consuming. "Very well, ladies. I will turn you over to you doctors now."
With that, Ozpin left the room. Goodwitch bowed and did the same after the doctors and nurses entered for one more check-up with their patients.
The doctors gave the team the 'ok' to return to their dorm the next day, once Yang had adequate rest. The team refused to leave her side, however, stating that they should all return together.
The nursing staff returned the teams clothes. They had been dressed in special attire the infirmary gave patients that were there for more than one night, rather than the traditional gowns. It made many students more comfortable, as the gowns, admittedly, had a draft and didn't hide much when laying down. The infirmary's attire was just made from the same content as the scrubs were, but were designed differently to identify them as patients rather than staff.
As the sun rose the next day, the team awoke early, wanting to get back to their dorm as fast as possible. They all got dressed behind their respective divider curtains, save for Yang, who was still pretty sore. Ruby came in to help her sister get dressed. "You know," The younger sibling said quietly as Yang put on her coat, "Weiss is still really beat up about earlier." Silver eyes tried to match lilac, but Yang chose to look away. "Blake told me how apologetic you were about this whole thing, she said she could see it in your eyes. Just, please apologize before we get home. Please?"
Yang looked up, finally, and saw the pleading look her sister was giving her. Yet under those pleading eyes was a leader about to give an order. Ruby had this look to her that made her sound so sincere, but be so serious as a leader at the same time. "Alright," The blonde nodded, "I'll apologize."
Ruby nodded as the two walked out from behind the curtain, finding their respective partners to be waiting. "Weiss, Blake," Ruby called, "Can you two help Yang get back to the dorm? She's still limping a little. I'll get all of the doors for you." The two agreed and took a side, wrapping Yang's arm around their shoulders.
Team JNPR met RWBY as they exited, saying they would 'escort' the team to their dorm. Weiss and Blake helped Yang walk on whilst Ruby led the way. It was a fairly short walk from the infirmary to the dorms (Oh, wonder why?).
As they walked through the quad, Yang looked over to a very tense Weiss. 'Ruby was right?' Yang thought. She knew exactly what she had to do...
"Weiss?" The heiress peered up at the blonde, "I'm sorry... About everything. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did, and I'm sorry if you thought I didn't like you..."
Weiss was clearly caught off guard by the apology, "Oh, uh... Thanks, Yang... Th- that means a lot..." The blonde smiled at the reply. "Really, it does."
Weiss eased up after that. Blake had pretended she didn't hear any of that, as it wasn't her place to speak. 'Good job, Yang...' She thought, 'Ruby will be very happy for that.'
The two teams walked all the way up to their floor, which took a while considering Yang had to take every step with both of her feet. It honestly felt like a longer period of time past getting up the stairs, than it did getting to the dorm building.
Once they got to their floor, however, they were home free. Team RWBY gave JNPR their thanks for walking home with them. Jaune waved them off as the rest of the entered their dorm, keeping the door open for their leader. Ruby went to unlock the door.
With a click, the door opened. However, a second click was heard. Before Ruby could react, a force tackled her to the ground as a powdery explosion erupted from their dorm. Ruby opened her eyes to see black hair in front. Peering up she could barely make out Blake's face. "Fancy meeting you here..." The faunus chuckled nervously.
"Twice, eh?" Ruby and Blake stood up and looked behind them. More students had exited their dorms to see what the commotion was. Yang and Weiss were blown back, both sitting wide-eyed as the powdery substance made its way downward. All for looked over to JNPR's door, finding Jaune completely covered in... Whatever this stuff was, still holding his arm up for a wave. His team had swiftly closed the door to avoid taking a hit too. Pyrrha opened it up, peeking outside.
"Oh... Oh, uh..." She stuttered, "Whoops... Surprise?"
"Yay!" Nora cheered, "It didn't work!"
Yang stood up and examined the powder. "It's flour..." She said simply... "Very messy, very easy to make, very amateurish..." She shook her head, "What's worse, your prank failed to hit the mark. And now we know what you tried to do..." A sinister smile grew on her face, "You started a war, you know..." It was a fact, rather than a question.
Blake helped Ruby to her feet as they eyed their would-be pranksters. Both of them shook their heads as well as Weiss. "We'll get you all." Ruby said cryptically, "Another day, though. I'm tired."
Her team agreed as they all walked into their powder-filled dorm. "When you least expect it..." Weiss said, grabbing the doorknob, "Is when we strike." The door closed, leaving a stunned hallway and a terrified JNPR.
Inside RWBY's dorm, the team looked absolutely heartbroken. JNPR's 'prank' had resulted in flour getting everywhere. "It'll take hours to clean this up..." Weiss sighed. As she did, a knock was heard at their door. Blake answered, finding Pyrrha.
"We, uh... Now we feel bad..." She admitted. "You guys go sit in our dorm while we cleanup..."
The team shrugged and accepted, rather quickly. They entered their sister teams' dorm room, finding the decor to be much more... Spacious, in a way.
"So..." Yang said as Weiss closed the door. The blonde turned to look at Ruby and Blake, who had curious, yet fearful expressions on their faces, "Wanna explain something to me?"
"Oh..." Ruby said, rubbing the back of her head. The leader knew exactly what her sister was going to get at. She looked to Blake, who shrugged. "So... Here's what's up..."
Ah, ladybug hints. So nice.
I want to give a big thanks to my collab partner Karmahhhhh who took time out of his last two days to help me out with this, as I was having trouble with some filler points.
And with this chapter marks the end of Downed. It was a hell of a ride and it actually went for a lot longer than I thought, and hoped. I didn't want to have been finishing this story in the middle of August, but I guess that's the way the world works, eh?
This ending will also mark the return of Amnesia, which is now in the works once again! Expect that soon... Hopefully.
Finally, I want to give a big thanks to all of you who read this story. You were patient with me the whole way, gave me critiques when I asked and told me how it was, never imposing your ideas onto me. You all kept me motivated to make more and more and I thank you dearly.
I hope this ending lived up to your expectations, as did the rest of the story. I know I'm not exactly the best writer but it means a lot to me that you all stood with me. Your patience and understanding was, is and always will be greatly appreciated.
I hoped you all enjoyed. One last time for this story, this is DemonoftheRoundTable, signing off.
Until Next Time.