They're alive.
As they scramble away from the wreckage of the Grimm, Yang is practically shaking with relief. They'd come face to face with Salem and escaped. It's one of the closest brushes with death that she's ever had, and she can hardly believe that they all survived to tell the tale. The odds of them making it out seem impossible.
Well, almost all of them had survived. Oscar had made it out in time, but Hazel hadn't. He'd still been in there when the whale—and Salem—had exploded. Even though he'd been their enemy for the most part, he'd helped them, dying in the process so that they could escape.
They owe him a great deal. His sacrifice won't be forgotten, not if Yang can help it. He'd died so that the rest of them could survive and continue to fight against Salem, dealing quite a blow to their immortal enemy in the process. It wasn't enough to take her down for good, but it will take her some time to heal from. Hopefully, her recovery will take long enough that they have a chance to improve the situation in Atlas before they have to deal with her again.
Hazel's death bought them time. The best way to honor his sacrifice is to make the best possible use of that time.
Even with Salem and the whale out of commission for now, there's still plenty of Grimm lurking in the streets of Atlas. It's a relief to head down into the tunnels below the city and get out of being caught out in the open.
Not that the tunnels are a perfect paradise either. Yang winces as they walk past the countless people huddled up against the tunnel walls, shivering and crying. Refugees from Atlas, taking shelter from the attack on their city. It feels wrong to just walk by without doing anything, but there isn't much they can do for them right now. They need to tackle the root of the problem, and for that they need to regroup and come up with a plan.
Which means that they need to meet up with the others. Yang pulls out her scroll and brings up Blake's contact, drinking in the sight of her partner in the picture before pressing the button to call. "Hello? Yang?"
Gods, it feels amazing to hear her voice again. Even though they've been separated for less than a day, it feels like it's been much too long since they've last spoken. "Hey, Blake."
"Yang! I'm so glad to hear from you. We were trying to call you earlier, but it said that your scroll was out of range. What's going on?"
"It's good to hear from you too." Talking to Blake, it suddenly feels much easier to breathe, even in these dark underground tunnels. "Long story short, we made it back to Atlas and we were hoping to meet up with you guys, figure out a plan or something."
"Of course!" Blake responds immediately. "We're at the Schnee Manor—long story," she adds, before Yang can even ask. "I'll send you our coordinates, just plug them into your scroll and it should take you right to us."
"Sounds great!" Yang says, eager to be on her way to reuniting with her team. "We'll see you guys soon!"
She's still smiling as she ends the call. Turning to Jaune, Oscar, and Ren, she says. "Come on, guys. Let's go rejoin our friends."
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