Y'all know the drill, an idea that I just couldn't get out of my head so I'm writing it down. Set post v8, but no real spoilers except for them being in Vacuo. Content warning for brief mentions of alcohol and alcoholism. Enjoy!
Yang wakes up in the middle of the desert, squinting against the bright sunlight, her head pounding. It's not just her head—her entire body feels stiff and sore, as if she'd done a really intense workout. Or, as if she'd been fighting for her life.
With a jolt, she realizes that she has no idea where she is—or how she got here. She jumps to her feet, holding onto the tall rock next to her to steady herself as she sways slightly on her feet. Standing up makes her headache worse, but after a minute she manages to find her balance. Glancing around, she doesn't see any sign of her sister or teammates, or any of her friends. Just a bunch of rocks and sand.
What happened last night? Did she drink too much and black out? That doesn't seem likely. Although Yang loves a good party, she's always careful when she drinks, mindful not to drink too much or too often. She doesn't want to be like her uncle, at least not in that respect. Did someone spike her drink?
But no, the more she thinks about it, the less likely that seems. Slowly, scattered, vague memories are surfacing from the night before. She'[d been on a mission, she remembers. Team RWBY had been assigned to hunt down a Grimm that had been terrorizing the locals. She remembers hiking out into the desert to look for it, gloating about the awesome tan she was going to have and teasing Weiss as she complained about sand getting everywhere.
And then—nothing. She strains to try to remember anything else, but all that does is make her head hurt worse. What happened? And where is the rest of her team?
Well, standing around here isn't going to help. Might as well start looking around.
The hills of sand surrounding her seem endless, and the swift breeze whistling through the rocks means that there's no traces of footsteps for her to follow or even to give her some sort of hint of what happened. Her anxiety grows with every minute that passes without any sign of another person nearby, but Yang refuses to let herself panic. She's been in worse situations before, she reminds herself.
As she boosts herself on top of a rock, attempting to get a better look at her surroundings, she almost can't believe her eyes when she spots her partner. She blinks slowly, convinced that she must be seeing some sort of mirage, but Blake doesn't disappear. And better yet, she responds when Yang shouts her name. "Blake!"
"Yang!" It's hard to remember the last time she felt so relieved to hear her partner's voice. She scrambles down from the rock, relief giving her a burst of energy, and makes her way to where she saw Blake as fast as she can.
"Yang!" Blake calls again, rushing forward to hug Yang tightly as soon as she's within reach. "I'm so glad I finally found you!"
"Me too." Yang returns the hug with equal enthusiasm, pulling Blake close and savoring her presence. For a long moment, it's like nothing else in the world exists besides the two of them. But eventually, reluctantly, they pull apart.
Time to face reality. They need to figure out what kind of situation they've gotten into.
"Do you—" she begins, before being cut off by Blake simultaneously asking the same question.
"Do you remember what happened?" She frowns when Yang shakes her head.
"I was hoping you did."
Blake sighs, running a hand through her hair. "I remember little bits and pieces, mostly just us hiking out here and trying to track down the Grimm. But after that, nothing."
"Yeah, same here." Yang grimaces. They've really gotten themselves into a mess here. "Have you seen—"
"Blake! Yang!" she's cut off by a familiar voice shouting their names. Both of them whip their heads around just in time to Weiss hurrying in their direction, her expression full of relief. "I'm so glad I found you guys!"
She flings her arms around them both, causing them to stumble back a few steps. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"
Weiss appears to be in the same shape as her and Blake: exhausted and worried, with a few scrapes and bruises, but otherwise okay. "Well, you found us," Yang jokes lightly. Weiss rolls her eyes.
"It's good to see you, Weiss," Blake says warmly, smiling at their teammate.
"I thought I'd be stuck wandering around in this gross sand forever," Weiss sighs, before her expression turns serious. "Do either of you remember what happened? All I can remember are little flashes of us hiking out her, but after that, I'm drawing a complete break."
"No," Yang and Blake chorus. Weiss frowns.
"I'm afraid we're both in the same boat as you," Blake explains.
"Of course." Weiss' shoulders slump. "Because that would be too easy, if any of us remembered."
"Unfortunately, it seems that we're all in the dark," Blake agrees.
Weiss' frown deepens, and she tilts her head, looking thoughtful. "Speaking of being in the dark," she begins. "Where's Ruby?"
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