Note: Trying to keep the updates coming as fast as possible. Enjoy.

Ruby wanted to sprint through the rest of the Vault as fast as she could. If she had her way, she would already be at the entrance, pulsing through the corridors on clouds of rose petals. Unfortunately, she was burdened by those she was sworn to protect. Penny had difficulty traveling on one leg. She hovered a few inches above the ground, the jet engines in her heel keeping her upright, but she was unable to balance herself properly. Going too fast caused her to careen into the wall, and she constantly flailed her arms to adjust her trajectory. Weiss had difficulty walking as well. They learned something new about her Fable powers, she supposed: When enough chains were broken, Weiss suffered something with similar side effects to a concussion. Coco helped keep her steady, though she paused every few feet to catch her breath.

Ruby felt bitter—and that bitterness made her guilty. It wasn't either of their fault this had happened, and she understood she needed to keep them safe. Still, with Yang's life on the line, she wondered if she couldn't nudge them a tiny bit more, push them ever so slightly faster.

As such, they moved through the corridors of the Vault at a brisk walk. Ruby stayed at the front of the pack. The very front. Several yards ahead.

Weiss didn't like holding Ruby back, either. She could see the quickness of Ruby's stride and the subtle way she pushed off her left foot to stay on her toes. It wasn't long ago that Winter's life was nearly lost, and it was easy to place herself into her girlfriend's boots, so desperate to save Yang that she would give anything. She knew it was an impossible ask, but she needed Ruby to stay focused on whether they were going to escape the Vault alive. She didn't need any more surprises.

"Hey, Weiss?"

Coco spoke up, catching the heiress off-guard. "Yes?"

"I just want to say… sorry for snapping earlier," Coco said somberly. "That was uncalled for."

Okay, maybe a few surprises were welcome. "I think Ruby's the one you should apologize to."

"Yeah, but I don't think she wants to talk to me right now," Coco reasoned. "When Yang is safe, I'll let her know. Still, she's your girlfriend and I did attack her. So, I guess I should apologize to you, too."

Weiss sighed. "I've been on enough of these wild missions to know that people sometimes do dramatic things they don't mean. We're all under a lot of stress."

"Yeah… still not cool though."

"You can make it up to me by letting me lean on you."

"Fair."

Weiss wasted no time, and soon, Coco was acting as a third leg, taking the brunt of Weiss's weight. The girl was heavier than she let on, likely from all of that metal supposedly grafted to her skeleton. Now was not the time to complain, though.

"Thank you," Weiss sighed.

"You're welcome. Thanks for not instantly trying to kill me when I attacked your girlfriend. I can't believe you had that much restraint."

Weiss shrugged. The headache definitely helped hold her back, though she was still confident in her assertions. "I knew you weren't going to do anything to her. You don't have that in you."

"Eh… you'd be surprised."

"Trust me," Weiss insisted. "If I thought you were really going to hurt her, you wouldn't be standing here."

"That, I believe."

Further along down the corridor, Penny was thinking. The android had a lot of time to herself these past several days. It was rare she had the privilege to think. Usually, her days were filled with training, studying, and maintenance, a constant juggle of orders from her superior. Alone in the quiet of the Vault, she was allowed to reflect on things. It helped put her place in the universe into perspective. She frowned and sped up her rocket boosters, propelling herself several yards forward. Ruby turned as she heard the whoosh of the fire, and suddenly Penny was floating with her, side-by-side, trying to keep herself from tipping over.

"Ruby, may I say something briefly? Or is that an impediment?"

Ruby turned her head, keeping her focus straight ahead. "I don't mind."

Penny started awkwardly. "I understand that you were misled into coming to my rescue. I hope it is apparent that I would never summon you into this situation, and I sincerely wish for us to all escape the Vault unharmed." She paused, struggling to find the proper words. "However, I am… flattered that you would come to rescue me."

"Flattered?" Ruby said, confused.

"Perhaps that is not the right term. Honored? Grateful, maybe?" Penny shook her head. "I am of no value to you. Once again, I feel like I have brought you into a horrible situation. Yet, not only have you tolerated my presence, but you were willing to risk your life to protect me. I know there were additional motivations as well, but the gesture is extremely meaningful nevertheless."

"Well, you would have done the same for us."

"I am not sure that is accurate."

Ruby almost cracked a smile despite herself. At least she was honest. "No one deserves this, Penny. I know that your loyalty is with Atlas, but there's a lot of good in you. That's worth protecting."

"I appreciate that," Penny smiled. "I am going to make this up to you. I am not quite sure how, but I… I want to do something to set this right. When we get out of here, I will give you something worthy of all of your effort."

Ruby kept moving straight ahead. "I'll hold you to that."

Blake had removed the wrong pair of ears.

That was the conclusion she was forced to reach. One of them anyway. She wished she could stick her claws directly into her ears and pierce the drums, cutting out all the noise from her life forever. She wished she could drown in a sea of utter silence, never having to worry about these people and their stupid fucking droning. Her other option, she determined after checking her ammo, was a triple murder-suicide.

Jaune was alive somehow. Was she wishing he had gotten crushed underneath the rubble? Of course not. That'd be ridiculous. She merely wished he wound up anywhere else, including the afterlife. It was a degree of luck that was unheard of and, quite frankly, unfair. She had to deal with so much bullshit being a member of Team RWBY, and this Semblanceless little prick got a mountain dropped on him and came out mostly unscathed. Sure, he walked with a limp, but compared to some people, that was hardly a scratch. Velvet was tending to him as they walked down these endless fucking corridors, soothing him and telling him how goddamn special he was, praising his quick wit. He would smile sheepishly and act all brave and honorable and humble and all that bullshit, and every time she saw the whites of his teeth she wanted to hurl.

And then there was What's-His-Name. He was the leader of the pack, proudly marching through hallways he couldn't recognize, taking on the role he was too talentless to achieve in his regular life. Every few seconds, he would make some kind of commentary, quipping about the contents of the chambers they passed through, or the stillness of the corridor, or the unstillness of the corridor, or Jaune and dirt and rocks and Blake wanted to fucking throttle him. Every two seconds, he felt the need to liven the fucking mood. And, just because it could always get more insufferable, Velvet and Jaune would occasionally laugh.

Yang was dead, and these assholes were laughing.

Like a specter, Blake hung behind them, her feet heavy. She merely watched them with her dull, golden eyes.

"So… what do you think the Fables did to entertain themselves down here?" Fox wondered aloud. "Did they have, like… Fable board games or something?"

"I would be surprised if they didn't have a chamber devoted to leisure," Velvet speculated. "If Fables had to live a long time down here, I'm sure they would get bored like anybody else."

"Could you imagine being a God and being bored?" Fox said, disbelieving. "Like, seriously, if I was a God, I don't think I would ever not be entertained by myself."

"You're already always entertained by yourself," Velvet reminded him.

"That is true. But I'd be… extra entertained."

"I would be interested in seeing that."

"Hey, Velvet," Jaune said suddenly. "Do you think Yatsu is going to be okay?"

Velvet paused for a moment, taken aback by the bluntness of the question. "Why, yes. Yes, I am sure of it."

"Yatsu's a tough guy, Jaune," Fox said confidently. "He's gonna pull through just fine. I'm sure when Vytal starts, he'll be right as rain."

Velvet groaned. "I forgot we have to do Vytal after this. That's going to be a hassle."

"I say we rub it in our competitors' faces," Fox said boldly. "Bet those Vacuons think they are so tough? Get what, assholes? We just fought a giant freaky robot, and came out unharmed—"

The slip-up happened before Fox even realized it. He locked his body facing forward, acting as if it didn't happen, though the sudden quiet gave away the truth. He felt Blake's sharp glare on the back of his neck.

He was never one for sensitive matters in the best of times. He fought pain with humor, sometimes crass, often untimely. He needed the distraction, and he was pretty sure the others needed it too after what happened. And it wasn't like they weren't all struggling. Did Blake not think Velvet was constantly worried about Yatsu bleeding out? Was Jaune not sure if Pyrrha had been crushed beneath the rubble just like him? They were all terrified. No one wanted to be trapped here, separated from people they cared about, waiting for the inevitable moment when they would reunite with their friends, and one face wasn't there to greet them. The best thing they could do for their mental health was stay busy. Humor was a crucial part of healing.

Of course, Fox didn't say any of this. He knew the moment he opened his mouth, Blake would be on top of his, trying to gouge out his already useless eyes. So, he went silent for the next few minutes, letting himself take in the surroundings.

One unforeseen aspect of the Vault's design was how, in capturing the various sounds and silencing them for the Fable's convenience, it interrupted his A.D.A. The sonar would go only as far as the end of the corridor, leaving him to wander and wonder what would lay in the next chamber. He felt more blind than usual, and with that came a certain kind of helplessness he didn't enjoy. He knew he would get it back when he left this forsaken place, and he was thankful for that. It made him luckier than the others.

He felt the end of the corridor approaching, and with it, his sonar began acting properly. He could feel the formation of the next chamber before the others could make it out—and he froze at the corridor's end, dumbfounded.

This… this couldn't be right, could it? That didn't make any sense…

"Fox?" Velvet asked. She approached him slowly. "What's the matter… huh?"

She saw what lay in the next room, and like Fox, she had to pause to take it in. Jaune followed her, standing at the edge of the corridor, baffled by what he saw inside. He had become so used to the abstract architecture of the Fables that seeing this sent a shiver down his spine. The three stood by, hesitant to enter the room—until Blake pushed past them undeterred. She marched straight into the unknown, incapable of being shaken.

As she entered, Velvet noticed a sign hanging on the corridor wall next to the entrance. It was the first clear sign she remembered in the entire Vault—only it looked strange. Its unspeakable letters were sloppy. Distorted. Even in an alien language, she could recognize they weren't formed quite right. If Ruby had been here, she would have translated it for her, which only would have left her more confused.

It read in bold letters: Kindergarten.

Moving Yang turned out to be less difficult than Nora thought. There was no good solution. They needed to get her out of the Vault, and they basically had no equipment on them. Carrying her was the only practical option, and Nora, of course, served as the volunteer. Hoisting into a fireman's carry wasn't too hard, though Yang's constant squirming and gasping sent twinges of guilt through Nora's chest with every subtle move. With Yang supported on her shoulder, she was able to move carefully as the group backtracked through the Vault chambers.

She wondered how bad the damage really was. Spinal injuries… those were the kinds of things one shouldn't play around with. A single wrong move, a tweak, anything as much as a misstep, and Yang could lose all the feeling in her legs. Then what? There were options afterward. Prosthetics, surgeries, enhancements. None of them good. There was also that medical guy Team RWBY knew, though Nora imagined bringing Yang back into the city could be risky and more complications could emerge, given the guy was supposedly a wanted criminal. She felt Yang's heavy breathing on her shoulder and tried not to feel any guilt toward her condition. Yang got caught because she was trying to rescue her team. She would never forget that sacrifice, no matter how badly she wished it never happened.

Nora could see the kitchen up ahead. Not far now. Ren was following behind her, giving Yang small boosts of Aura whenever he could. Yatsu and Pyrrha hobbled behind them. They said nothing. Hell, none of them had said anything to each other since the call with Coco and Ruby ended. The quiet was getting to her, almost like some unspoken acceptance of death. So, as she passed beneath one of the huge, abstract tables, Nora decided to fill the space.

"Just a little further, Yang. You've got this." Nora took a deep breath. Yang didn't respond to her, but she knew she was listening. The subtle ticks in her throat meant she was awake. Suffering, but awake. "You know, I feel like I haven't told you this before, but you are one of the strongest people I know. Not like physically strong—okay, well, I mean, yes, you are like actually physically strong as well. You are also at the top of that list. But I mean like… tenaciousness. That's the right word, I think. You are a real tenacious gal. You've gone through all this stuff that honestly kind of blows my mind. Like, you got eaten by a frog once. That was crazy. I was there when it happened and I still can't believe I saw it. But you pulled through that, so… you are definitely going to pull through this. And then you are going to get better, and we can all laugh about it. Okay, I don't know why you'd want to laugh about the time you almost got, like, crushed to death. But I assume that eventually, this is going to become funny somehow. It's not funny now. I'm not saying it's funny now. In the future, it will be funny. Like, in that way tragedies eventually become funny to joke about in that sort of dark way? Like you know you shouldn't joke about them but you can't help it because the joke wanders into your head, and it's okay if you make the joke because no one around actually was a part of it—except for that one guy who actually still takes the tragedy incredibly seriously and he just stares at you. I feel like you know what I'm talking about—"

"Nora," Ren said suddenly. "I don't think Yang needs to hear about any of this."

"No, I'm totally distracting her," Nora insisted. "Right, Yang?"

Yang let out a soft groan. Her body was limp, and through her tangled golden hair, Nora saw her grimace in pain. Truthfully, she didn't know how to interpret that. She erred on the side of caution and kept talking.

While Nora babbled to pass the time, Pyrrha supported Yatsu as they slowly followed behind them. The weight of the giant was nothing to the Aura-charged strength of a Huntress, but their pace was weighing on her in a different form. Marching slowly through the claustrophobic corridors and the vast, empty chambers, her mind was free to wander. One moment lived freely in her mind.

Why did she run?

Why the hell did she run away?

Jaune was still in that chamber when it collapsed. He pushed her to safety, and how did she repay him? She fled. She barely checked to see if he was alive, and instead of trying to do anything, she just escaped. Maybe he was trapped under the rubble, desperately calling out for her, waiting for her to return and rescue him from a terrible fate. Instead, she was leaving him still.

Sometimes, her body did things her mind didn't understand. It was a consequence of her Semblance. She didn't fully understand how it worked, but she knew its effects. Her subconscious would recognize patterns, map out the optimal movements to take in any given circumstance and drive her body to action. Thinking about those patterns sometimes took far too long, so her brain created shortcuts. She would sometimes find her limbs moving on their own, masterfully navigating the danger without any input. It was terrifying, at times, losing control for those brief moments, having intervals of her life where her being just slipped away from her. Like the rest of her mind, whether it was a blessing or a curse was a matter of perspective. Today, it was a haunting reprieve. She didn't abandon Jaune. Her instincts did. Her instincts guided her to safety, and Jaune was merely the collateral of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She wasn't responsible for what happened.

And she wanted to scream. Today, as she had felt some horrible days before, she wanted to cut out parts of her brain and throw them away. Her gift just got her boyfriend killed. And now, in studying that moment and learning from it, her gift was making her relive it.

"Jaune is okay."

Pyrrha was snapped out of her trauma by Yatsu's soothing words. She looked up at the massive Huntsmen, who despite his pain, was remaining calm.

"What… how do you—"

"Because he's resourceful," Yatsu said as if it were plainly true. Pyrrha held back a scoff. Jaune was many things, but resourceful? Sensing her doubt, Yatsu explained. "He had the foresight to get you to safety, did he not? That means he's resourceful. He has an insight into his environment that we did not realize. As long as he has that, he should be fine."

"I… I wish I could believe that," Pyrrha confessed. "I should have been the one to save him."

"And I am sure if you had, he would be here, wishing he was in your place," Yatsu stated. "He did what he thought was best for you, and I'm sure wherever he is now, he wouldn't want you to worry about him."

"He would know that's easier said than done," Pyrrha sighed.

"I guess that's the downside of love, then."

"We're not in love."

"No?"

"No," Pyrrha said slightly too quickly. "We're just… dating. We don't have to be in love for that." Pyrrha didn't know why that detail bothered her. It meant absolutely nothing, especially now. But every ounce of brainpower spent focusing on that semantic detail was a distraction from the crushing reality of his absence. She dug in deeper. "What you and Velvet have… that's love. I don't think we are far enough along for—"

"I don't love Velvet."

Pyrrha felt like she was kicked in the head.

"What?"

"Actually, before we came here, I was considering breaking up with her," Yatsu admitted.

Pyrrha stared at him, dumbfounded. Yatsu didn't seem particularly heartbroken. Perhaps he was. He and Ren were always in tight competition for the Huntsman who showed the least emotion. But he seemed very comfortable with laying this on Pyrrha without warning, so much so that Pyrrha had to instantaneously reconsider everything she thought she knew about the man. "You… but… why?"

"It's not obvious?" Yatsu said. "Velvet hasn't been the person I thought she was. I do not appreciate her keeping her secrets from me, especially not about something so awful."

Pyrrha had genuinely no clue what he was talking about until her memories of their vacation slapped her frontal lobe. "You mean… her and the Faunus from her childhood? But… you defended her at the villa."

"Yeah, because it seemed appropriate at the time," Yatsu shrugged. He seemed to walk with a little less pain than before. "But I take my time with these decisions. After spending the last week sleeping on it… I don't think I can commit to a long-term relationship with her. Hiding something of that magnitude instead of trying to atone for it… I know everyone has their demons, but the more I think about her response, the more off-putting I find it."

Pyrrha wanted to explore that tension. She almost never got an insight into Yatsu's mind, and this sudden turn was enough to saddle her with something new. He and Velvet—along with Ruby and Weiss—were the only other couple in their unit, and was the one she could most closely relate to given her usual distance from Team RWBY. Seeing a relationship implode in on itself was fascinating, enlightening, and honestly, a little scary. If she and Jaune escaped here, she would use Velvet as a perfect example of how to destroy a good thing.

Unfortunately, Pyrrha did not get the chance. Before she could ask Yatsu anything more, chaos unfolded in front of her.

"Nora, put Yang down."

Ren's command was so sudden that Nora thought she misheard him. She turned to face him, only to see him in a way she had rarely seen: terrified.

"Ren—"

"Put her down, Nora!"

His order came more frantically, and suddenly, Nora realized why. In her lengthy babble… Yang had gone still.

Nora put her down as quickly as she could without causing further harm, though she wasn't sure it mattered. She splayed Yang out on her back and tilted back her head. Her eyes were shut and her face was blue. Blood and foam spilled at the ends of her mouth. Her twitching had stopped. Sometime in the past few seconds, she had stopped breathing.

Ren and Nora huddled over her, and their concern caused Yatsu and Pyrrha to hurry by them. Ren placed his hands over Yang's chest. Nora thought he was trying to boost her Aura, but then she saw him pressing rhythmically against her broken sternum. Chest compressions.

"What… what happened?" Nora said. Her confusion overpowered her fear.

"I don't know," said Ren. He pressed down on her heart in a steady rhythm, feeling the cracked bones beneath his palm. He wasn't sure if this would do any good, but it was the only thing he could think of.

"What's wrong with her?" Pyrrha asked fearfully.

"We don't know!" Nora shouted. "She was fine a second ago! I mean, not fine, but—"

"Too much fluid in her lungs, I think," Yatsu stated. "Blood. Look at the corners of her mouth."

"Shit. Shit!" Nora panicked. "We gotta get her to the entrance now."

"No, she needs CPR," Ren explained. "If I stop, she could die."

Yang didn't move beneath his palms.

Press.

"If we don't get her a doctor, she'll die!"

"Can we try to drain it somehow?" Pyrrha asked.

"I don't know. I-I don't think so," Ren said.

Yang didn't move beneath his palms.

Press. Press. Press.

"You can't do that forever!" Nora cried out. "We have to move her!"

"Nora, I'm trying to focus!"

Press.

"Maybe an airway," Pyrrha suggested. "What's that procedure we learned in Field Medicine? Thoracentesis!"

"We don't have the equipment for that!" Yatsu exclaimed.

Press.

Nora stood by, helpless. Pyrrha shouted off every idea she could think of from her training, but everything required too much time, too much training, or supplies they lacked. Yatsu, usually a voice of calm, became increasingly worried as he shot down idea after idea. Ren kept focusing on the chest compressions, possibly the only thing keeping Yang alive. And Nora… she just stood there, incapable of doing anything. She didn't have a useful Semblance. She didn't have expertise—hell, she barely paid attention in Field Medicine. There was nothing she could do but watch her friend succumb to her injuries. For all of her talk about Yang being tough, it was hard seeing her so weak. Nora almost couldn't bear to look at her, her eyes refusing to drift away out of respect.

Yang, the most powerful among them, reduced to this, in only a few minutes. Nora thought of all of that life within her, that power, that meant so little in the face of something so much greater than them. She thought of their fleeting memories together, however few they were. Their stupid little competition at the pier in Vacuo. Running away from giant toads. Cheering on their friends at beach volleyball. Yang seemed invincible back then—a woman who only got stronger the more life threw at her, who could take a punch and use it as fuel to wallop the world right back in its stupid face. Her entire future ahead of her, all of those gifts… and just like that, she stopped breathing, kept alive only by a few stupid chest compressions. She finally met a blow she couldn't absorb.

Absorb.

Absorb.

Absorbasorbasorbasorbasorbasorb—holy fucking shit.

"Guys."

No one heard over their arguing, so Nora screamed.

"Guys!"

Pyrrha and Yatsu turned to Nora, and on her face, they saw madness. Pure, indescribable, wicked, and brilliant madness. They didn't know what Nora had to say, and their confusion only grew when Nora pulled out her sledgehammer.

"I know how to save Yang," Nora said confidently. "But I'm gonna need a lot of electricity…"