Jayde's ears rang as Krimson disappeared into the shadows of the moonless night. She heard Kasune shouting but despite her being right next to her, she sounded so far away. She slowly breathed in. It was a shallow breath. Weak. Without Krimson keeping her blood inside her body, Jayde was bleeding out.
Her heart rate rapidly increased. Everyone was scared of death no matter who they were. And being so aware of her death made her all the more terrified. Oddly enough, it wasn't as painful as she imagined. It honestly wasn't painful at all.
The pain across her chest was gone now. It was a distant feeling. Her fingers and toes grew numb and tingly. She tried desperately to flex her hands but couldn't even find the strength. The shouting around her was growing quieter by the second.
She stared up at the star speckled night sky and slowly blinked. She couldn't keep them open anymore. She was tired. She was completely exhausted and out of energy. Even if she had to, she couldn't have kept her eyes open.
This was it.
Death loomed over her shoulder.
The stars in the sky started to fade.
There was no swan song.
This was the end.
Jayde's body suddenly jerked and she let out a pained gasp. With one eye closed, she glanced over her shoulder. Rather than death, it was Kasune kneeling over her. The blue Huntress had her fingers digging into the sand and was pleading with the Gods with tears in her eyes.
"Kasune..." She sharply breathed in and shifted her arm up to grab her friend's. She wasn't losing blood anymore but the blood in her veins felt like it was boiling. By the Gods it was burning. "Kasune...!" She hissed. She tried to move but couldn't. The aching pain in her chest returned. She wasn't dead. There could only be one reason why she wasn't. "Kasune! Magic eyes!"
Kagami fell to her knees the second she mimicked Krimson's semblance. The pupils of her blood red eyes dilated and shook as she stared with wide eyes at the ground. Her fingers slowly dug into the sand as she lowered her head farther and farther down. Her limbs started to tremble.
Her body felt like it had turned inside out. She could feel each and every single blood cell in her veins. It was like sticking her arm into a container completely full of little bugs. They crawled around. They moved and pulsed. Jayde's semblance had been overwhelming but this was something else entirely. She felt nauseous and sick to her stomach.
Not only could she hear her own heart pounding inside her head, but she heard everyone else's. Kris' heart was strong and fast. She could feel how desperately she wanted to help and do something but couldn't out of fear. Melony's heart was thumping hard like a drum from rage. She really hated all of them. Kasune's heartbeat was rapid. Kris was scared but Kasune was desperate and terrified. And Jayde's heart was slow...
Jayde's heart was slowing down.
Kagami flashed her teeth and closed her eyes. She let out a blood curdling scream and reached up to dig her fingers into her scalp.
With shallow breaths, Kris took a step towards her. "Kagami...?" She held out a hand. "Ka-guah!" She flinched and took a step back as pain shot through her arm. She dropped her weapons and reached up with her left hand and firmly held onto her right forearm. Small red dots formed in splotches across her skin. One of her blood vessels had burst.
Kagami flinched. She could feel the blood pooling underneath Kris' skin. She had done that. Hearing her call her name had distracted her. One wrong thought. One wrong move. She had to focus.
She had to focus.
Her body trembled as she tensed up every part of her body. Tears swelled in her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. Pain went through her left arm and then her right thigh as she felt her arteries break. She had to focus.
She had to focus on Jayde. Her blood. Her veins. The Huntress' heart needed to keep beating. She had to push her blood through her body and keep it inside her.
Kagami let out another scream as she curled up and tucked her head into her knees with her elbows digging into the sand. She was going to focus.
"Kasune! Magic eyes!"
The words rang in the fox Faunus' ears. She remained still for a second and stared at her friend on the brink of death. She then whipped her head around and looked over at Kagami. Her eyes widened. Very slowly, she stood up with her arms out.
"Kasune..." Melony very quietly uttered while backing up. Both her weapons out and in her hands at the ready.
"We're not dead. Just stay quiet and calm." Her sister replied while reaching up to rub her eyes dry. "Just..." She took a few uneasy breaths.
"I could teleport beside her and kill her before she got the chance." She suggested with a hint of fear in her voice.
"Don't talk like that too loudly." Kasune swallowed hard. She could feel the blood in her veins. It felt thicker and heavier but that was it. "She seems in control. Don't startle her."
"And you know..." Jayde took a deep and painful breath. "Don't stab the person keeping me alive..."
"Barely." Melony eyed her.
"Alive is still alive..." She glared back and then winced. "She's not going to be able to hold this for long though... we won't make it to Pithaya..."
"There's no other healer in all of Vacuo like her." Kasune looked down. "Where are we supposed to go?" Her mind was everywhere. She couldn't think clearly. Krimson was who knows where with who knows who and two of those reckless girls. She was thinking about everything and everyone.
Taking a few deep breaths, Melony looked around before back at her allies. "Auran." She exhaled.
Kasune and Jayde eyed each other.
The Faunus' brow furrowed. "If anyone would be able to, it would be her. But she's still too far."
"She's closer than Pithaya." The purple Huntress narrowed her eyes. After taking a deep breath, she slid her sai away.
Seeing her coming towards her, Kris took a step back. "Can... Can someone explain what's going on? Like, fully? Like, I'm pretty sure I know but I'm still..." She trailed off as a finger was placed against her lips. She froze.
"Silence, please." Melony slowly exhaled. "Help Kasune pick up Jayde. She'll tell you which way to go." She ushered her away by tapping her shoulder before slowly stepping towards Kagami.
The purple Huntress breathed in through her nose before kneeling down in front of her. "Kagami." She bared her shark teeth and winced as she felt something pop in her left calf. She eyed the bruises forming under the girl's skin. "I'm going to pick you up and carry you. Whatever you do..." She gulped and cautiously reached out with her hand. "Please don't stop."
Inside the Kingdom, a woman with shoulder length white hair and tanned skin quietly stepped through a pitch black house. She was an armadillo Faunus with armor on her forearms so the darkness didn't bother her. She could easily see everything around her. She let out a silent sigh of relief before flinching and flashing her teeth as she heard a harsh knock on the front door. Her body stiffened slightly and she shook it off. She turned on her heels and quickly stepped over. "Whatever it is, no-"
She blinked as she partially opened the door and looked outside. Seeing two kids, Melony, Kasune and Jayde with the injury on her chest, she sharply exhaled unfazed. "No." She pushed the door closed.
"What?!" Kris' eyes widened.
The door cracked open and the woman narrowed her eyes. "Quiet." She hissed.
"Manis..." Kasune lowered her voice.
"No." The Faunus looked between them. "No. She's finally asleep. Do you know how hard it is to make her go to sleep?"
"You can literally see Jayde's heart!" Kris' voice cracked as her eyebrow twitched. "What do you mean no?!"
She bared her teeth. "I mean-" She cut herself off as a light switched on behind her. She sighed and lowered her head and shoulders. "Whatever..." She tossed the door open with a flick of her wrist.
"What's... going on?" Stepping out, a woman with messy orange hair in a braid rubbed her eyes. As she lowered her arms, she stopped dead in her tracks and blinked with a tired gaze at the group at her door. "Oh." She blinked a little more before suddenly appearing in front of Jayde with a red scarf tied around her mouth and nose. "How are you alive?" She asked while tilting her head with an intrigued look.
Reaching over, Manis grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back slightly.
"Auran, can you help her?" Melony asked while shifting her weight to better hold Kagami. Kris raised an eyebrow at the name.
"I mean, yeah." She shrugged a bit while pulling her scarf down around her neck. "What's wrong with her?" She eyed Kagami.
"She's keeping me from bleeding out..." Jayde flashed a weak smile.
"Okay." Auran gave a nod while examining her injuries more. "How long can she keep doing that?"
"Like ten minutes ago." Kris clenched her jaw and eyed her leader. She had never seen Kagami hold a mimic for so long before. There's no way it could be good for her.
"Oh... okay. Okay." She nodded a few times before quickly stepping back and running into a different room. "You can put Jayde on the kitchen table! I'll get things ready!"
"I'll put down a table cover." Manis mumbled while walking away from the door. "I'm getting real tired of all of you barging in here and asking for something. Auran. Needs. Sleep."
"And I need all my blood in my body." Jayde winced and closed one eye as she was helped inside.
"And I need a break..." Kris let out a small whimper.
Gently stepping inside, Melony carefully set Kagami down on the couch and laid her back. Slowly, she pulled her hands away and crouched down. "You're doing alright... keep it up..." She spoke with caution. "Auran works fast. Just a little longer."
Kagami couldn't even hear her words anymore. With the migraine pounding away in her head and the piercing ringing in her ears, she couldn't even if she wanted to. Her limbs were tingling and the pulsing of her blood through her veins was deafening. She felt so out of breath and like she would pass out at any moment. She couldn't even open her eyes. The light burned.
But she could still feel Jayde's heart. The way it flinched when air brushed across it. She had to focus on it. It was the only thing she was focused on.
Suddenly, the blood in Jayde's body felt different. It was moving easier. It flowed much more smoothly. It felt like everyone else's. Flashing her teeth, she curled up and hugged herself. It was fine, right? It would be fine. Jayde was fine. She could stop. But what if it wasn't fine... A wave of panic washed over her. She knew she couldn't panic with Krimson's semblance.
With a shout, she dropped her mimic. Her aura shattered and she completely collapsed.
"Kagami!" Kris ceased her pacing and ran over. She slid beside the couch and placed a hand on the jadette's shoulder. "Kagami!" She shook her a bit. She was breathing albeit not easily.
Looking over from the kitchen, Auran stared at her. Her breaths were both uneasy yet calm at the same time. She had her scarf around her face and an orange short sleeved cropped utility jacket on. In the pockets of it she had a few medicine tools. "Blood loss." She mumbled while precisely placing the last few stitches on Jayde's chest.
"What?" Kris glanced over the couch at her.
"She's pale. Heartbeat is probably rapid. Breathing looks sporadic." She set her stuff down which Manis quickly picked up and placed in the sink. "If she's out cold she's lost at least half her blood."
"She was copying Krimson's semblance." Jayde had one eye closed and was slowly breathing in and out to keep herself calm. Her chest still burned.
"And Krimson's semblance lets her control someone else's blood, but at the cost of her losing blood." Kasune added while keeping a firm grasp on the green Huntress' hand.
"Why wouldn't you say something like that earlier?!" Kris snapped while shooting to her feet.
"There was a lot happening." Melony narrowed her eyes.
"That sounds like an important detail you left out regardless!!" She raised her voice.
"Shouting solves nothing. What's happened, happened. All we can do is decide what happens next." Auran barely even raised her voice as she stepped with urgency behind the couch. She leaned over and grabbed Kagami's hand. "Anyone know her blood type?" She asked. Being given no response, she sighed and pulled out a needle to stab her finger. Once it started to bleed, she pulled out her scroll. It was a newer model. She got a bit of the blood on it and stepped away. She then paused. "Oh you're kidding."
"What? What is it?" Kris quickly moved around the couch and stepped over.
Meanwhile, Melony exhaled and glanced outside the window. She then teleported away outside.
"What's the problem?" Jayde went to sit up slightly and flinched harshly.
Instinctively, Manis pressed a finger against her forehead and pushed her back down. "Rest."
"O negative." Auran mumbled. She then eyed the short redhead who stared up at her confused. "Your friend has O negative blood. It's pretty rare. And the odds of finding someone else with it for a blood transfusion is..." She trailed off. With a groan, she started to pace around. "Come on! Think. Think!" She pulled her scarf down around her neck and bared her teeth in frustration.
I'm sure all of you heard the news by now.
VIZ has acquired RWBY! And Ruby destroyed their microwave.
I never lost hope, but I won't lie, it was rough. But if I've learned anything from RWBY and it's creator, we can never give up. Things may look impossible, but if we endeavor to achieve it will happen, given enough time. So, you know,
Keep moving forward to the edge of infinity.
And remember her message.