Chapter 24: Too Strong to Take the Prize

Yang was sitting on the couch in Weiss's living room. She was finally clean again, and her clothes were freshly laundered, although there was still a hole in her jacket. But despite her much fresher outward appearance, inside she was still a broken and bitter mess. Ruby and Weiss were standing in front of her. She'd just finished explaining to them what had happened between her and Blake. Ruby looked devastated. Weiss looked judgmental. Yang didn't know which reaction she liked least.

Ruby said, "Yang, no! Oh no!"

Weiss asked, "You're certain there was no other way?"

Yang gave Weiss a dirty look. She didn't need Weiss to add to the pile of self-doubt she was already buried under.

Ruby said, "Maybe we can call Blake! Or at least message her! She might talk to me or Weiss!"

"Don't bother," Yang said, but Ruby had already pulled out her scroll.

Yang sighed. She said, "Ruby…."

Ruby wasn't listening. Instead, she was furiously tapping away at her scroll's screen. But no sooner had she hit send than a buzz came from Yang's pocket. Ruby's head shot up. Yang reached into her pocket and pulled out a scroll, Blake's scroll.

"Oh…" Ruby said, sounding disappointed. But she quickly perked up again. "But what if we—?!"

"Ruby," Weiss interrupted. "Blake has made it clear that she doesn't want to be found. And if someone like her doesn't want to be found then she won't be found. We can't help her right now."

"I guess so…" Ruby said. She put her scroll away. Her gaze fell to the floor. Reality was clearly sinking in for her, and she looked crushed. But then she suddenly lifted her head again and said, "But we can help Yang!"

Yang wasn't listening to Ruby. Her shoulders were slumped, and she was staring at Blake's scroll in her hand.

"Do you hear me, Yang?!" Ruby said. She took a step forward. Then she threw herself on top of Yang, giving her a hug. "Everything is going to be alright!"

Yang's head lifted up, but she still barely registered Ruby's affection. Her fingers squeezed in tighter around Blake's scroll. The scroll flexed ever so slightly as Yang hovered on the verge of crushing it in her hand, but then her grip relaxed.

"Yeah…" Yang finally said to Ruby. Her arm came up, and she hugged Ruby back. But it was a hollow gesture. She'd lost the ability to feel much of anything except a quiet rage that was simmering deep, deep inside of her.

"I'm so sorry, Yang," Ruby whispered into Yang's ear.

"It's not your fault," Yang said quietly. "It's mine."

A few minutes passed. Weiss shifted uneasily on her feet. Then she glanced over at a clock on the wall. She said, "I hate to sound insensitive, but if we're going to meet Jaune's team at the appointed time tonight, we'll need to leave shortly."

Ruby finally let go of Yang and stood. She hesitantly said, "Maybe…we shouldn't."

"No," Yang declared. She stood as well. "We're going. All three of us."

Weiss asked, "Are you sure that's wise?"

"It's either that or you leave me unsupervised in your penthouse," Yang said.

Yang had been deliberately trying to antagonize Weiss. It must have worked because Weiss narrowed her eyes at her.

Ruby said. "Yang, this is serious."

Yang said, "Yeah, I know. And it's personal. For me, not just you. I don't know why Neo was working for Yuma, and I don't care. She was part of what happened to Blake, and I'm going to make sure she pays."

Ruby looked concerned. She glanced at Weiss. In response, Weiss raised her eyebrow. Ruby's head then tilted a little to the side. But whatever silent conversation Ruby and Weiss were having, Ruby eventually said, "Okay, Yang. Let's put an end to this."

One awkwardly quiet car ride and a short hike later, Yang, Ruby, and Weiss were crouched behind a shrub near an old, rundown factory on the extreme fringes of the city of Atlas. In fact, the factory was so far away from the center of Atlas that it had likely been a part of Mantle before Atlas had been de-floated and had reabsorbed its grounded twin.

The shrub that the three remaining members of Team RWBY were crouched behind didn't provide much in the way of concealment, but it didn't need to. It was the dead of night, and the moon overhead was at the nadir of its shattered phase. It was hardly providing any illumination at all. And with none of the factory's external lights on, if they even worked, the darkness itself was just about all anyone needed to stay hidden.

Weiss was wearing her combat dress, and she had her dagger drawn already. Ruby had on her off-duty uniform, although seeing as she no longer had duties to perform for the Schnee Dust Company, it might have been more accurate to simply call the outfit her clothes. Crescent Rose was strapped to her back. Yang of course had Ember and Blaze buckled to her forearms. She was ready for a fight.

Yang looked out at the factory she and her teammates were observing. It was an excruciatingly boring piece of architecture, little more than a large, gray box with a few smokestacks jutting into the air. It somehow managed to make the White Fang's warehouse headquarters look high-class by comparison.

Yang asked, "Are we sure this is the right place?"

Ruby said, "This is the address Jaune gave us."

Weiss asked, "True. But where is Jaune? He's late."

A familiar voice unexpectedly spoke up, saying, "Actually, I'm right here."

Yang spun around in alarm. A blade sprung out of one of her bracers, and she pointed it in the direction the voice had come from. She suddenly found herself staring at a trio of newcomers. One was Jaune, to who the voice had belonged. The other two were a stoic-looking man dressed in green and an excitable-looking woman wearing white and pink. They both had matching necklaces on with rings hanging from them. Yang vaguely recognized Jaune's companions as the other members of the Arc Knights. The man in green was just letting go of Jaune's and the woman's arms.

"Whoa! Hey!" Jaune said to Yang, holding his hands up unthreateningly.

Yang asked, "How'd you sneak up on us?"

Weiss sighed exasperatedly. She said, "Ren's semblance. He can mask his presence and the presence of others. He also hasn't learned it's rude to sneak up on people."

The man in green said, "My apologies."

"Okay. So you're Ren," Yang said. She looked at the woman. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled and opened her mouth wide.

Ren clamped his hand over the woman's mouth. He said, "This is Nora."

"That's me!" Nora said, although her words were muffled by Ren's hand.

Ruby suddenly hissed, "Guys! Someone's coming!"

Yang retracted her blade, and Jaune, Ren, and Nora all crowded in behind the same shrub as Yang, Ruby, and Weiss. The shrub was woefully insufficient to hide a group of six, but everyone did their best to make do. Yang squinted, but try as she might, she couldn't see who or what Ruby had been talking about.

Jaune must have been having the same trouble that Yang was because he whispered, "Uh…. Are you sure someone's coming?"

"Yeah," Ruby quietly insisted. She pointed. "They're right there."

Yang strained her eyes even harder. Then she finally spotted a figure skulking about near the side of the factory. Whoever they were, they were exceptionally difficult to see in the darkness. Their clothes, hair, and even skin was the same color as the side of the warehouse. Yang had no idea how Ruby had managed to spot them.

"Ooh!" Nora said, semi-quietly. "I bet that's—!"

"Shh!" Jaune hushed Nora.

The figure reached a small door on the side of the factory. Then a kaleidoscope of light shimmered over them. When the effect had faded, it was plain to see that the mysterious figure was Neo.

Nora whispered, "Knew it."

Yang's jaw clenched. This was the first time she'd seen Neo without a disguise since she and Blake had crashed Weiss's gala nearly a year ago. Neo still had the same pink and brown hair that matched her eyes, the same white outfit, the same heeled boots that did nothing to make her look tall, the same everything. Yang really wanted to jump out from her hiding spot and sock Neo right across her perpetually smug face. However, she managed to restrain herself.

Neo's parasol was in her hand, and she was leaning on it like a cane. She glanced to her left and right. Once she was apparently satisfied that she was alone, she opened the door to the factory and walked inside. The door closed behind her.

Jaune said, "Good. Both Neo and Torchwick are here. That means we can take them down together."

Weiss asked, "How do you know Torchwick is here? We haven't seen him."

"Well he's got to be here, right?" Jaune asked.

Weiss looked like she was about to say something more, but Ruby suddenly stood. She said, "This is our chance! Let's go!"

"Wait, Ruby!" Weiss said. "We need a plan."

Ruby paused. She looked frustrated, but she didn't say anything.

Jaune stood too. He said, "There are six of us and two of them. And they don't know we're coming."

Weiss retorted, "We think they don't know we're coming."

Ruby said, "Weiss, please. I…."

Yang stood as well. She put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby turned to Yang, and Yang looked her in the eyes. She said, "Don't worry, Sis. We've got this."

"Ugh…. Fine," Weiss said, conceding that she'd been outvoted.

The group collectively made their way toward the door Neo had vanished through. It was a surprisingly solemn march to the desolate factory. Ruby reached behind her back and drew Crescent Rose. It unfolded into its rifle configuration, and Ruby hefted it in her hands. Jaune likewise lifted his left arm. His shield unfolded from his bulky bracer into its heater shape. Nora already had her grenade launcher in her hands, and Ren seemed content to rely on his fists.

Once everyone had arrived at the door, Jaune put his hand on the knob. He tentatively gave it a twist. The knob turned freely. The door was apparently unlocked. Jaune nodded to Ren and Nora. Then he quickly but quietly swung the door open.

The Arc Knights stormed through the door with a minimum of fuss and a minimum of noise. It was clearly a maneuver they'd performed many times. Yang was impressed. Suddenly, Jaune and his team were acting like the band of heroes their reputation said they were, and Jaune himself was giving off the air of a true leader. It was quite the dramatic change.

Still outside, Weiss glanced at Ruby and Yang. She said, "Everyone, please be careful."

Yang and Ruby both nodded. Then the three of them pushed through the door.

Inside the old factory, Yang was greeted by quite the sight. Rusting manufacturing equipment covered in a thick layer of dust—the mundane kind—was piled up everywhere, higher than was likely safe. It almost looked like this factory had become a dumping ground for other factories' unwanted junk. A scant handful of overhead lights were on, just enough to bathe the large space in a perpetual gloom rather than total darkness.

Yang scanned her immediate surroundings. Neo, much less Torchwick, was nowhere to be seen. But with all the junk piled up everywhere there were at least a dozen different corners that anyone could've been hiding behind, and the dim light made it difficult to tell what might have been an old piece of equipment from what might have been a person lurking about. There was a pang in Yang's gut as she involuntarily thought about how Blake would've had no problem seeing in conditions like these thanks to her faunus eyesight.

Jaune and his team hadn't gone far. They were standing close by, looking vigilant for any hidden dangers. Jaune turned to Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. He said, "This place is big. Let's split up. The sooner we find Torchwick the better. Ruby, Miss Schnee, come with me. Ren, Nora? Go with Yang."

Jaune's persona as a leader was still shining through, but then his confidence suddenly slipped. He meekly said to Weiss, "If that's okay."

Weiss said, "So long as it's understood that if either group encounters both Torchwick and Neopolitan together they should immediately call for help."

"Of course," Jaune said.

"Very well," Weiss said.

Ruby glanced at Yang. She looked worried for a moment, but then she confidently smiled. She said, "Be careful, Yang."

Yang said, "You too, Rubes."

Jaune said, "Ren. Nora. You know what to do."

Ren lowered his head. He looked strangely serious, even for him. He said, "Always."

Jaune turned to Ruby and Weiss. He said, "Come on. This way."

Yang watched Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune walk away until they vanished behind the remains of an assembly line. Then she turned to Ren and Nora. She said, "Let's go. I've got a score to settle."

Ren's mouth twitched into an almost imperceptible frown. For a moment, Yang wondered if he was about to spout off some cheap platitude about the dangers of seeking revenge. Fortunately, he stayed silent.

Yang and her companions started picking their way through the mountains of discarded equipment. Ren took the lead followed by Nora and then Yang. At first Yang was wholly preoccupied trying to keep an eye out for Neo or Torchwick. She had feelings that she intended to express through her fists. However, the deeper she followed Ren and Nora into the factory, the more a nagging feeling pricked at her that something was off. She had known Ren and Nora for all of ten minutes, but something was bugging her about Nora in particular. Ren might have been an emotional enigma, but Nora seemed like the kind of person to get excited about anything. However, since the group had split, Nora had been acting subdued to the point of being sullen.

"So…" Yang said, pretending to make small talk. "You guys are big-time heroes, right? You must do stuff like this a lot."

Ren did not turn around to face Yang, but he said, "All the time."

Nora muttered, "Yeah…. All the time."

Eventually, the trio climbed over a partially disassembled industrial press and ended up in a narrow corridor of sorts. The long strip of space was walled in by even more discarded equipment on both sides. High above there were lights hanging from the ceiling in a line directly over the makeshift corridor. Several of the lights were on, effectively creating a string of bright spotlights that ran down the corridor in both directions.

Yang peered into the distance. The corridor appeared to be empty, although thanks to the gloom Yang couldn't see all the way to the end of the long space, the spotlights notwithstanding. She turned to her companions and started to say, "So where to…next…?"

Yang trailed off. Ren and Nora were gone. It was like they'd vanished into thin air. She was alone.

A series of thoughts went through Yang's head as she stood there still as a statue. At first she assumed that Ren and Nora's disappearance had to be Neo's doing. But how? Had they somehow fallen victim to a trap? But if that was the case, surely Yang would have heard something. She started to wonder if Ren and Nora had simply chickened out. But that didn't make any sense to her either. People with the Arc Knight's heroic reputation weren't cowards. Or maybe they were. Maybe they were cowards of a different sort who were using her as bait to lure Neo out.

Yang supposed she should've been feeling something at that moment—fear or outrage perhaps—but after what she'd been through yesterday, she didn't have much capacity for either. She squeezed her fists together and blades popped out of Ember and Blaze. She picked a random direction and started marching that way down the corridor. As far as she was concerned, nothing had really changed. She was still going to find Neo and beat her within an inch of her life. If Ren and Nora didn't want to help her then so much the better. She was more than happy to take Neo down all by herself. In fact, she preferred it that way.

Yang's boots echoed off the factory's concrete floor as she walked. Every time she passed under one of the spotlights, the beam caught her golden hair and made it shine bright in the gloom. For one doubt-filled moment, she thought about calling Ruby and Weiss, but then she imagined Neo pouncing on her while she was distracted by her scroll. No, she was fine on her own, she decided. She couldn't let anything get in the way of her retribution.

The corridor continued to stretch out before Yang, looking just as long as when she'd first started walking down it. She began to feel like she wasn't moving at all. She raised her bladed fists, expecting an attack to come at any moment, but nothing happened. Her eyes darted back and forth, searching the darkness surrounding her for her enemy, but there was no one there.

Yang continued to walk forward, undaunted. But there was a nervous tingle slowly growing in the pit of her stomach. She felt unseen eyes watching her, and she could almost hear phantom voices giggling at her with mockery. But still, nothing happened.

Suddenly, Yang froze. The sound of chains quietly clanking behind her pricked her ears. She cautiously turned around, and what she saw caught her by complete surprise. In the beam of one of the spotlights, Blake was hanging a few meters up in the air, suspended by a chain tied around her wrists that snaked its way up to the factory's ceiling. She appeared to be unconscious.

Yang stared dumbfounded for a minute. But then she sneered. Her eyes turned red, and she took a few steps forward before breaking into a run. She jumped, lunging for Blake blades-first.

Seconds before Yang's blades connected, Blake suddenly opened her eyes. One was pink, and the other was brown. She grinned broadly. Then she tugged on the chains and twisted herself upward like a world-class gymnast. Yang sailed underneath the fake Blake, but she easily landed on her feet further down the corridor. She spun around in time to see the decoy Blake somersault out of her chains and gracefully set down on the floor. Then the illusion covering her fell away, revealing Neo standing in the doppelgänger's place.

Neo was holding her parasol, but she tucked it under her arm and clapped sarcastically at Yang.

Yang asked, "You didn't really think I'd fall for that, did you?"

Neo gave Yang a sassy shrug.

Yang scowled at Neo. She didn't know why she was bothering to try to talk to her when what she should've been doing was wiping Neo's incessantly smug grin off her face. She started marching forward.

Neo mirrored Yang's steps and strutted toward her opponent. She grabbed her parasol out from under her arm and casually rested it on her shoulder. She and Yang got so close before they stopped to stare each other down that they ended up standing almost toe-to-toe. Yang was over a head taller than Neo, but Neo didn't seem the least bit intimidated.

Both Yang and Neo continued to face off against one another. Neo blinked at Yang, and her eyes swapped colors. An instant later, the fight began.

Yang stabbed at Neo with her blade, but Neo almost seemed to know the attack was coming before it happened. Even as Yang's blade was in motion, a sharp metal point sprung out of the top of Neo's parasol. She jabbed it at Yang with inhuman speed.

Yang's strike went wide as she juked to avoid getting hit. The deadly tip of Neo's parasol thrust past Yang's side, just barely missing her. Yang wheeled around to attack again, but she already saw Neo's parasol swinging at her like a bat. She raised one of her bracers to block. The parasol hit with surprising force given Neo's small stature, but Yang's bracer easily absorbed the blow.

Anger began to boil inside of Yang even more than it already had been. She tried to strike at Neo again only to find another counterattack was already on its way, and the pattern continued. Yang found herself trapped in a ferocious dance as she tried to get the upper hand on Neo only to be thwarted at each and every turn.

The furious but ultimately fruitless exchange between Yang and Neo continued until Yang finally thought she saw an opening. She lunged in, fully committing to her attack only for Neo's foot to come rushing up and kick her square in the jaw.

Yang went staggering back, but she quickly found her balance again. She readied herself for the inevitable follow-up from Neo, but it never came. And not only was Neo not pressing her advantage, she casually leaned against some of the discarded manufacturing equipment and gave her parasol a whimsical twirl.

Yang had not had an overabundance of calm before the fight had started, and what little restraint she'd had left rapidly departed her. The long months spent alone with Blake in their cabin, wonderful though they'd been, followed by the need for her to stay out of sight during Blake's brief tenure as the High Leader meant it had been a very long time since Yang had been able to indulge in the pleasure of a good fight. And now that she finally had the opportunity, and the need, to really blow off some steam, Neo was going out of her way to be as infuriating as possible.

Deep inside of Yang her semblance was flaring up, fueled by nothing more than her emotions. She did her best to keep her power under control, but she didn't bother keeping her rage in check. With her eyes still red, she went charging at Neo like an angry bull, ready to beat her to a bloody pulp. Unfortunately, that turned out to be exactly what Neo had been counting on.

A sinister grin crossed Neo's face as Yang rapidly closed in. The gap between the two of them quickly vanished, and Yang stabbed wildly with her blades. However, Neo lithely slipped underneath Yang's attack, and as she rose back up, she kneed Yang in the stomach, precisely on the exact spot where Yang had been stabbed.

Yang suddenly saw stars as a wave of agonizing pain washed over her body. It felt like a live electric wire had been stuck into her abdomen. Her aura had protected her, but there was only so much it could do given how fresh the wound was. And unfortunately for Yang, Neo wasn't done. Neo pirouetted around Yang and clubbed Yang's back with her parasol, again on the exact spot where Ilia's rapier had punctured her body.

Yang collapsed onto her hands and knees. Tears of pure pain squeezed out from the corners of her eyes which had turned lilac again. Her head felt tingly in a very bad way, and she sucked in several heavy breaths.

Mercifully, no more hits came, and Yang pushed herself to her feet. She briefly wondered how Neo had known exactly where to hit her before realizing that thanks to the hole in her jacket and her still-healing scars it was plain to see for anyone with eyes.

Yang shook her head clear and refocused on Neo who was standing close by. Neo's parasol was open now, and she was turning it in her hand like she was a proper lady enjoying a sunny day. Despite what had just happened, in Yang's opinion, Neo had made a mistake. Two doses of debilitating pain had been just what Yang had needed to realize how stupid she'd been acting. Neo wasn't the kind of opponent she could just run roughshod over. She had to play it smart.

Yang approached Neo again with her guard up properly this time. However, Neo was apparently done messing around. Before Yang could finish closing the distance, Neo's gaze turned toward her. There was an evil gleam in Neo's eye. Her parasol snapped shut, and she suddenly surged forward. She leaped into the air, and her boot came rushing toward Yang. Yang hastily planted her feet and raised her arms to block.

Neo's boot slammed into Yang's bracers. Then, before Yang could so much as blink, Neo was back on the ground, and her parasol came rushing at Yang in a series of lightning-fast strikes. The attacks came in so quickly that there was no time for Yang to think. She blocked blow after blow with her bracers on instinct alone, barely managing to keep up.

Suddenly, Neo leaped up again and landed on top of Yang's shoulders. Then she jumped, doing a backflip off of Yang. The forceful motion sent Yang teetering off balance as Neo plunged toward her. Yang watched, helpless to defend herself as the heel of Neo's boot came rushing toward her abdomen.

Neo's kick connected right on Yang's stab wound. Yang stumbled, gasping in pain, but through a great deal of effort she managed to stay on her feet. However, Neo immediately spun around and delivered a second, even harder kick directly into Yang's gut. Yang was sent flying. However, she didn't make it far before she slammed into the heavy cast iron case of an old industrial drill press lying at the side of the corridor. She hit hard enough to make her aura flash. She sprung back to her feet, but just as quickly, she staggered backward and slumped to the floor.

Yang wheezed. Her head was swimming so badly that she could barely see anything. Her anger was long gone as was her thirst for retribution. This battle wasn't about vengeance or satisfaction anymore. Yang finally understood that she was in a fight for her very life, and she was losing. To her horror, she realized Weiss had been right to question if she should have come tonight.

When Yang's vision finally cleared, she hauled herself to her feet and raised her fists. Neo was standing close by, patiently waiting for Yang to collect herself with a wry look on her face. Yang frantically tried to figure out what to do. Neo had been able to keep her on the defensive for this entire fight, and even if Yang gave up on trying to attack, she knew Neo would eventually chip away at her until she had nothing left. This wasn't a prizefight. There was no clock for her to run out or referee to award her victory. Either she would win or she would die.

As Yang grasped at straws in her head, a crazy idea suddenly came to her. It was possibly the most insane course of action left to her, but it was the only one she thought even had a chance of working. She realized she had to try. She literally had nothing else to lose.

Neo put her free hand on her hip and looked at Yang condescendingly, but Yang was far, far past feeling the sting of Neo's nonverbal barbs. She slowly and conspicuously lowered her fists. Then her blades retracted back into her bracers. She started marching toward Neo at a slow but steady pace.

Neo actually looked confused for just a fraction of a second, but she seemed to quickly decide she wasn't going to question what Yang was doing. She waited a moment for Yang to draw in closer. Then she lunged and thrust the sharpened tip of her parasol at Yang.

Yang made no attempt to protect herself. She didn't block. She didn't dodge. She just took the hit like she was suicidal. The tip of Neo's parasol gouged deeply into Yang's aura, straining it almost to its breaking point, but Yang not only ignored the blow, she leaned into it and simultaneously threw as hard of a punch at Neo as she could.

Neo only appeared to realize what was happening once it was too late. By giving up completely on trying to defend herself, Yang finally had a real opening. She saw both of Neo's eyes briefly turn white for an instant before her fist slammed home. The hit knocked Neo sideways, and its impact reverberated all the way up Yang's arm. It was the most satisfying sensation Yang had ever felt.

Yang did not press the attack on Neo. That was what a rational person would do. Neo would've been expecting it. She would've had a plan for it. But who could hope to plan against insanity?

Neo had ended up on one knee, but she quickly stood again. She looked shocked and enraged. Yang savored the sight. It was a nice change of pace from Neo's otherwise unwavering smugness.

Suddenly, Neo's aura flickered across her body. It took Yang a second to realize the significance of what she'd just seen, but when she did, she couldn't believe it. Neo had a weakness after all. Her aura was pathetic.

Yang gave Neo an evil smile. She asked, "What's the matter? You can dish it out, but you can't take it?"

In response, Neo took a few hesitant steps backward. She drew a small sword that had been concealed in the stem of her parasol and brandished it at Yang.

Yang stepped forward and started closing in, radiating every last ounce of menace she could muster.

Neo didn't wait for Yang to approach her this time. She lunged for Yang with her sword. The blade's razor-sharp edge glinted, even in the dim light, but Yang once again just took the hit. She felt Neo's blade drag all the way from her hip to her shoulder. It was a singularly unsettling sensation, but her aura held, if only just.

Even before Neo's blade had finished swiping across Yang's body, Yang threw a jab. Her fist landed front and center on Neo's chest. Neo's eyes bugged out as she went skidding backward and bumped into some of the equipment lining the corridor.

Yang realized this was her chance. It was her only chance. There was no way her aura could take any more abuse. She had to act now. She broke into a run and charged. A second later, she plowed into Neo, shoving her against the pile of equipment and pinning her in place with her arm.

Neo's aura flickered again. She squirmed helplessly against Yang and mouthed several silent screams. Yang cocked her fist back. Her own aura might not have appreciated all the hits she'd deliberately let herself take, but her semblance had. And now Neo was finished.

Yang's fist flew, and she unleashed her semblance. Her hair erupted into flames, lighting up the makeshift corridor like a bonfire. Her fist rushed straight for Neo's head. But just before it connected, Neo's fearful expression vanished, and she mockingly stuck out her tongue.

Yang's fist slammed into Neo's head with bone-crushing force, causing the illusion Yang had been holding in place to shatter like stained glass. Yang realized what had happened in an instant, but an instant wasn't quick enough. Neo's foot suddenly slammed right into the wound on Yang's back. Yang felt like a dagger had stabbed her. She immediately lost control of her semblance, and the flames surrounding her fizzled and died.

Before Yang had even had the chance to yelp in pain, Neo kicked her again in the exact same spot. Yang collapsed to her knees, but Neo didn't relent. She stomped on Yang again and again. Yang's aura quickly gave out, but Neo still didn't stop. Yang feared she was going to pass out from the pain.

After what felt like an eternity, Neo finally backed away. Yang was all but incoherent, but as the pain started to fade, she regained some awareness again. She found herself sprawled out on the factory floor. The click of Neo's heels on the concrete echoed from nearby, and Yang heard the scrape of Neo dragging her sword along the floor. The sounds were getting closer.

A horrible realization dawned on Yang. She was about to die. Neo was about to kill her, and there was nothing she could do about it. She'd let Ruby and Weiss down, but worst of all, she'd never have the chance to see Blake again.

The thought that she'd never get to see Blake again echoed inside of Yang's head. She was suddenly desperate to live in a way she never had been before. She racked her brain trying to come up with something, anything that would get her out of this situation.

One and only one idea came to Yang. It reeked of desperation, but what else could she do? She took a moment to try to calm herself. Then she pushed herself up and slowly climbed to her feet.

Neo was standing a few meters back from Yang with her sword drawn. Every so often, her aura flickered over her body. Yang realized with some small sense of satisfaction that she actually had hit Neo. She'd even come close to outright beating her. But before she could fall into the trap of contenting herself with her near victory, she schooled her face into a stoic look and stared Neo down.

Neo arched an eyebrow at Yang. But then she raised her sword. She ran for Yang with her blade. Yang didn't so much as move a muscle. Neo's sword went rushing for Yang's exposed neck, but at the last possible moment, it and Neo suddenly stopped dead.

Yang was mildly surprised that she was still alive, but she didn't show it. She could feel Neo's sword pressing right up against her throat. She slowly turned to meet Neo's eyes, staring at her unwaveringly.

Neo looked utterly perplexed.

Yang asked, "What's the matter? It doesn't do anything for you if I'm not afraid?"

Neo's eyes flared a little. She pressed her sword into Yang's skin just enough to draw a trickle of blood.

"Go ahead. Kill me," Yang said. "But then you'll never get the chance to actually beat me."

Neo looked angry now. Her eyes flicked back and forth between Yang's face and her neck. She seemed to silently declare that she had beaten Yang.

"I know how people like you work," Yang said. "It's not good enough for you to walk around thinking you're better than everyone else. You need other people to know it too. You need to see it in my eyes that I know I never could've won. But you're not better than me. You never were. You're just a street punk who caught me on my worst day. So go on. Kill me while you can. Because this is the only chance you're ever going to get."

Neo actually took several steps back, and her sword pulled away from Yang's neck. Yang had to work very hard not to show relief. If she let Neo see any scrap of doubt, any weakness, she was dead. But denying Neo her satisfaction had only bought her a scant few scraps of time. She still needed something more before Neo would inevitably decide to kill her anyway.

Suddenly, as if in answer to Yang's prayer, a single rifle shot rang out from the other side of the factory. Neo's head snapped in the direction the sudden noise had come from.

Yang wanted to slap herself. There had been a clock she could've run out after all. Neo had a second weakness that she'd forgotten about. There was one thing, one man, that Neo cared about more than anything else in this world. Yang had only seen Neo together with Torchwick once, but it had been painfully obvious how powerful the twisted bond of friendship they shared was.

Yang gave Neo her best sinister smile. She said, "Sounds like my friends have found your partner. I wonder how long he'll last against them. Too bad you weren't there to protect him."

The expression that crossed Neo's face was the closest Yang ever expected she'd see to Neo outright panicking. Neo suddenly took off in a dead run. She was heading toward Yang, but she was really heading toward Torchwick. However, Yang knew that even now she still wasn't safe. Just as Neo drew in close, Yang threw herself backward. As she'd suspected, Neo swiped at her with her sword as she passed, clearly intending to take Yang's head off. But as Yang fell, Neo's blade passed right over her, missing her by a hair's breadth.

The moment Yang's back hit the floor she spun over onto her belly. She half expected to see Neo looping back around, but Neo quickly vanished down the corridor. She'd apparently judged that rescuing Torchwick was more important than finishing off Yang.

Stillness settled over the scene. It took Yang a second to realize that she'd done it. She'd beaten the odds and lived. The relief that crashed down on her was so overwhelming that she almost couldn't handle it. Her body trembled, and tears fell from her eyes onto the cold concrete floor as she took in several heaving breaths. But on the heels of her relief followed guilt. She'd almost gotten herself killed today, and it had been all her own fault.

Yang waited until she'd calmed down somewhat. She realized she couldn't lay there and wallow in self-pity. There would be time for that later. Ruby and Weiss might need her help, and she still had to sort out the mystery of what had happened to Ren and Nora.

Yang stood. Her body may have been battered and sore from head to toe, but her resolve was building. She took a step forward, but then in a flash of green and pink, a fist that did not belong to Neo slammed right into Yang's solar plexus like a sledgehammer.

Yang didn't have time to question what had happened. She only had an instant to be shocked as the air rushed out of her lungs. She crumpled to a heap on the floor, and the last thought she had before she lost consciousness was of Blake.

Author's Note: This chapter and the next one were originally all one chapter. But I've finally learned my lesson. If you have a chapter that's double (or triple) length, and there's an obvious break point in it, then you have two chapters.

I kept trying to fit a reference to Vernal in this chapter where Yang deduces how to save herself from Neo. I also wanted to reference Vernal during Yang and Raven's confrontation a few chapters ago. But since Vernal literally only showed up in Chapter 1 of Volume 1 of this story, the only way either of those references were going to work was if I'd slipped in an earlier reference to her way back at the beginning of this story during the various recaps. That is something I tried to do, by the way, but I couldn't get her to fit in there either. I guess she was just destined to fade into obscurity.

So do you guys prefer to think of Neo and Torchwick as friends or lovers? Surprisingly, I find their relationship to be more compelling as a friendship. They're kind of like a twisted and evil version of Frodo and Sam from Lord of the Rings, another relationship I find more meaningful when depicted as a friendship. I'm not adverse to Frodo and Sam being depicted as lovers (and if I were a gay man I suspect I'd be all over that) but themes of friendship and fraternal bonds are so central to Tolkien's works that friendship almost becomes the more potent force than romantic love.

Wait. How did I end up on a Lord of the Rings tangent?

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