"R- Ruby! Ruby stay away from him," I shouted as loud as I could, but Roman Torchwick grabbed her by the throat, lifting her high up off the ground. Crescent Rose slipped from her grasp and clattered loudly against the cracked pavement. Ruby kicked and flailed as hard as she could, but Roman was practically invincible as he strangled the life out of her.

"All you have to do is tell me where your sister is," his cocky voice sounded even more arrogant in his excitement. He knew he'd won, and wanted nothing more than to kill the girl that'd ruined so many of his criminal operations. But there was something he wanted first. Me!

"I'm here! Leave her alone," I screamed, trying my hardest to move forward. He'd set some kind of trap- quicksand or something- and my boots were being sucked down into the pit with every step I tried to take. I struggled to lift my right foot, but it just pushed my left even deeper.

Why can't he hear me?

Ruby gasped for breath, her face turning red and her kicking to escape grew even more desperate. She clawed and bit at his hands and forearms, kicked at his chest and groin, but he just wouldn't let go. I tried my to shoot him, but Ember Celica was out of shells. The terrifying click-click of an empty chamber was all I could hear from them, and I couldn't find my spare ammo belts.

"LEAVE HER ALONE," I screamed even louder, sinking faster into the the sand as I struggled more to get to them. Roman didn't even flinch- it was like I wasn't even there.

"Last chance, Little Red. Wouldn't want me to snap that pretty little neck of yours, would we? Tell me where Yang Xiao Long is." Suddenly he was a lot less smooth and arrogant and a lot more terrifying. I could see the fear in Ruby's eyes as she tried to scream for help. I could see her look at me, her gaze meeting mine. She shook her head, refusing to give me up to Roman.

"RUBY, NO!"

"Hm, such a shame. You might've made a great crime lord some day. Snip away all of those pretty little petals until you'd become someone a whole lot more respectable than you are now. Oh well-" She came at him like a flash, just like I'd seen her do hundreds of times. Blake was less than a blur as she swiped at him, Gambol Shroud flashing faster than even I could see. Roman definitely felt that. He dropped Ruby and grabbed his cane before kicking Crescent Rose out of Ruby's reach. The collapsed scythe skated across the pavement and stopped a few dozen feet away under a car.

"BLAKE, STOP, NO!" I knew Blake. I knew she wouldn't be able to take Roman- not without help. Roman was just too fast, too experienced at fighting cops and Hunters alike. Blake tried her hardest, slashing and dodging as best she could, but two shots from Roman at the ground beneath her feet caused her to trip forward as she tried to strike at him. He whacked her over the head with his cane and kicked Gambol Shroud out of her hands before she'd had the chance to recover. With another hit, he knocked her to her knees, stunning her again as he walked over to where Ruby was crawling along the ground trying to get to Crescent Rose. Roman picked her up and tossed her at Blake, the two of them landing on the ground in a twisted pile of limbs.

"So, the easy way or the hard way? Either you tell me where Yang is, or I kill one of you and make the other tell me where she is. What's it gonna be, hmm?" Roman crouched down to their level, using the end of his cane and tilting first Blake's face, then Ruby's to meet his lecherous gaze.

"I'M HERE! I'M RIGHT HERE YOU FUCKING CREEP! ROMAN! LOOK AT ME YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" I tried everything as I sank deeper and deeper into the sand. I was up to my chest and sinking even faster as I tried my hardest to claw my way out. But as hard as I tried, the more the sand sucked me under.

"Ugh. Fine, fine. I'm a reasonable guy. I'll let you two pick which one I kill first. Is that fair?" Roman waited for a response, as if he were doing them some kind of favor by offering them something like this. Blake lunged at him, her body a blur as she sailed through the air, but Roman simply side-stepped and clotheslined her, knocking all of the wind out of her as she fell to the ground, doubled over in pain.

"Looks like someone's just elected themselves out of the elimination round," Roman sang excitedly. He kicked Blake over, rolling her onto her stomach and stepped on her back, pinning her to the ground.

"ROMAN, PLEASE, NO!" I begged as loud as I could, my voice somehow only reaching Blake's ears. She looked into my eyes, a small, bloody smile on her face. Slowly, she reached out towards me, as if she wanted nothing more than to take my hand one last time. I watched as the crosshairs lifted off the chamber of his cane, readying his next shot.

"I love you." Her voice rang in my ears, sad and terrified as she felt the muzzle press against the back of her skull.

"Blake-"

My eyes snapped wide open as the sound of the gunshot faded away in the cold night air. I was in my bed, sheets wrapped tight around me, a gross layer of sweat stuck to my skin. My eyes darted to my left, and there was Blake, watching me with the most concerned look on her face.

"Yang? You had a nightmare. Are you okay," she whispered quietly. She reached out and wiped away some sweat off my forehead with the palm of her hand. I could feel my heart racing, it felt like I'd run for miles without stopping.

"Is Ruby-"

"She's fine… Ruby and Weiss are both fine and asleep. Zwei's been whining to come up here since you started talking in your sleep but… sorry, I'm still a little afraid of him- whoa!"

I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her chest. I listened to the beat of her heart, the sound of blood rushing through her veins. I reached up and felt the back of her head, the yellow ribbon hiding her Faunus ears the only irregularity there.

I swear I tried to stop them-

But sometimes there's just nothing you can do.

I cried into her chest, big, salty tears staining the sleep-shirt I'd loaned her for the night. I cried like I'd hadn't cried in a long, long time.