Sun leaned his head back into the cool steel of the elevator wall as the carriage continued to slowly descend. The space was incredibly cramped, housing the faunus, Yang and her hospital bed, the two medical personnel who had come to transport her, Taiyang, and James all together. Despite his own injuries, Sun had refused a bed for himself in order to save space and make it down to the infirmary as a group in one trip. His left ankle felt like it was on fire, and he had a feeling that it was definitely broken. There were gashes all over his chest and arms, his pants were torn, and he had several abrasions on his sides and face. All in all, he felt like hell… and as though he was about to throw up. Sun focused intently on preventing exactly that as the ride continued, and he closed his eyes… only to see a burning red light behind his eyelids.
"Oh shit, no no, n-" the faunus began as he opened his eyes and the portal opened to Corsac and Jaune limping on through it.
The two additional occupants made the elevator even more cramped, and the gateway quickly dissipated as they both pressed up against their faunus friend. As much as Sun wanted to be incredibly annoyed as he felt a foot stomp onto his uninjured one, there was something much more prominent at the forefront of his mind- relief. Without a word, Sun wrapped his arms around both Jaune and Corsac, hugging them tightly as he let out a weary sigh.
"…uh…?" Jaune asked, not looking much better than Sun himself. "Hi…?"
"Thought you might be dead," Sun said as he squeezed tighter and then let go. "Things all happened so fast… where's Blake? And Neo, and Harriet?"
"We haven't seen them," Corsac answered as his gaze was drawn to Yang and her hospital bed. "Yang…?"
"I'm good," the blonde answered, an I.V. drip of painkillers already firmly inserted into her arm. She squeezed Corsac's fingers as he placed his hand in hers, looking incredibly concerned. "I mean, I'm not good, but… where's Mom? And by 'Mom' I mean Raven."
"She came and found us," Jaune answered. "Along with… I-I think it was Summer…"
"It was," Taiyang confirmed as the elevator reached its destination and the doors slid open. "That was definitely Summer. Forget about her for now. We need to focus on making sure all of you a-"
Once again, a portal appeared in the hallway near the elevator, and a figure stepped through. A very guilty-looking Summer walked on out, bringing along some sand and warm wind behind her as entered the Academy. The Maiden gave Taiyang an apologetic glance and stood off to the side to allow the party room to exit the elevator as she began to speak.
"Raven and… the other Maiden… are searching for your remaining friends, and will send them here before heading off to Shade Academy. Both of them can fly and should be able to reach the school without much difficulty. I've instructed the Opalines to help find the others and escort Raven."
"Then why are you here?" Yang asked, sounding less than enthusiastic about Summer's presence as she was wheeled on down the hall and Summer moved to walk beside the bed. "Go and help. Do something, if you're suddenly going to be part of the team again."
"That's exactly why I am here," Summer insisted as she put a hand on the railing of the bed before catching one of the medics' eyes. "Stop. Please."
The medic looked over to James, who seemed unsure.
"Miss Xiao Long needs medical attention," James insisted. "What she doesn't need is the stress of you being here, asking questions and complicating things."
"I…" Summer tried, only to look to Yang. "I-I can… part of the Summer Maiden's magic is healing. I can fix you, without need of all of this. Get all of you back on your feet within minutes, rather than days. Allow me to begin making amends by doing this. I need you to tr-"
"Don't," Yang warned, her tone furious. "Don't even think about saying the word 'trust'. Stop wheeling me."
The medics did as Yang asked, though not immediately. Summer moved to be fully within Yang's line of sight as she tentatively reached out a hand, her eyes beginning to alight at the edges with silver flames.
"I promise you, I can fix this…"
"Some of what you've done can't be fixed," Yang replied. "But go for it. If you're not feeding us bullshit, that kind of power is exactly what we need right now. We need to be in Shade, not wasting time injured. Heal me."
"Of course," Summer acknowledged as her hand, too, began to glow. The Maiden closed her eyes and gingerly laid a palm atop Yang's wound before adding the other atop it. Silvery wisps started to curl around her fingers, seeping from her digits and down into Yang's abdomen. "Just breathe."
Sun slowly walked around the bedside to where he could get a better view. Though most of the gash on Yang's stomach was covered by Summer's hands, a jagged, tapered end of it was visible near the girl's navel… and slowly receding to blend in with the rest of her flesh. Within seconds, Sun could no longer tell that there had been any wound there at all, let alone a life-threatening chunk taken out of the huntress' stomach.
"…holy shit…"
"It's working…?" Jaune asked. "My Semblance can boost someone's aura, so maybe if I add to it, I can help?"
"A Maiden's magic doesn't run on aura," Summer answered, her voice calm as she kept her eyes closed. "I appreciate the offer, but… please. Allow me to concentrate."
"I feel… cold," Yang said softly, sounding almost as though she was drifting off to sleep.
"I'm sorry," Summer offered, pressing a bit harder into the wound as she let a few tears slip. The woman paused, before speaking again in a much more sorrowful tone. "Yang, I am so sorry…"
"…we can't do this right now," Yang denied. "I especially can't. Just keep going, and we'll talk… later. I don't know when. You've got a lot to answer for, and there's a lot you need to know."
"Right," Summer acknowledged with a sigh as she lifted her hands. "This is the best I can do."
Yang leaned up to examine her stomach, finding a healed-over scar where the large, cauterized axe wound had been previously. Corsac lifted his hand from Yang's and very gently traced a finger along the scar, giving Yang a quizzical look.
"Does that hurt…?"
"…no," Yang answered, her voice full of surprise. "No, it doesn't hurt at all. Yeah, I'm with Sun on this one- holy shit. You can just…?"
"To an extent," Summer answered, finally opening her eyes and wiping them with the backs of her hands. "I only have so much healing magic available at any given time, and there are some sorts of things I cannot heal. I'll do what I can for all of you."
"Them first," Sun ordered as he nodded toward Jaune and Corsac. "Heal those two, and then… I want to make sure Blake and Neo are alright before you touch me."
"…her vitals are stable," one of the medics commented as he looked at the small monitor attached to Yang's bedside. "It does look like an almost immediate full recovery…"
"Sun," James began, shaking his head. "While I understand the sentiment, you don't need to be a hero, here. You're the leader of your squad, and the sooner you're healed…"
"I know, I know," Sun admitted as he kept a grip on Yang's bedside rail to stay standing. "But I'll be okay. I just need to know the others are alright, first. If she's still got enough magic in her by the time Corsac and Jaune are done, maybe I'll consider it."
"Summer?" Yang asked, catching the woman's attention. "Just heal him. Please."
"Seconded," Jaune emphasized as he remained leaning into Corsac. "Corsac and I aren't that bad, and just looking you over by comparison… you need it more than we do. Let us take care of you for once, dude."
Sun let out a long, shuddering sigh and shook his head.
"…fine. Once we're all taken care of, though, we're heading back to Vacuo to find Blake and the others. Then we can sort everything out."
He was the only one left, standing in the scorching sand in his shimmering armor while keeping a death grip on both of his curved swords. A field of bodies was all around him- some he knew well, and others only in passing. Still, taking a 'job' as a Vacuan bandit carried its risks, and the man knew that it would probably end exactly how it was about to, one day. He just hadn't expected it to be so soon… or in such a one-sided fight against so few opponents.
The cat faunus was covered in blood, her short, spiky hair caked with the coagulating liquid and streaks of it smeared across her short jacket, exposed stomach, and arms. She looked almost crazed, breathing hard and hungry for blood as she kept her back pressed to her huntress companion. Said companion was dressed in the most inappropriate combat outfit the bandit could imagine, her short-shorts and bathing suit top leaving enough flesh exposed to show that she, too, had suffered several wounds at the hands of his comrades. None of it mattered, though- the second they decided to move for him, he wouldn't even be able to tell where they were, let alone what they were about to do.
Seemingly every time the faunus moved, she left an afterimage behind. Sometimes, they were elemental and apparently trapped- a bandit swinging for one of her clones soon found himself on fire only minutes before. The other huntress somehow had the ability to obscure, move, and obfuscate her partner's clones, sowing confusion all throughout the battlefield. Their Semblances were made for each other, and the constant misdirection allowed the two teenage girls to go toe-to-toe with a band of ruthless killers and come out on top. The one remaining attacker knew that one way or another, he was going to die… and so he charged straight for the pair.
The girls reacted by breaking away from each other and rushing to meet him… only for the man to cut right through both of them as he swung his sabers in a wide arc. Instead of blood, the huntresses' wounds spilled forth what looked like glass fragments. There was an immediate understanding as to what had happened, but it came too late. The more colorful girl's sword pierced straight through his midsection from behind before she gave it a twist and wrenched it sideways, spilling the marauder's entrails down onto the sand as he fell forward, dead.
Blake felt almost numb as she stared out over the field of fallen bodies, her adrenaline making her own wounds feel inconsequential compared to those she had inflicted. Neopolitan simply flicked her sword to the side, splashing blood down onto the ground before she gave it a whirl and sheathed it. In stark contrast, she looked totally unaffected by the carnage, as though she was right at home. Blake took a moment to wipe some sweat and blood from her forehead as she came back to her senses with a shiver.
"…haven't killed anyone in a long time," the faunus said quietly. "But… we had to. Thanks for having my back, Neo. We did good…"
Neopolitan kept her eyes on the newest of the fallen, but offered her unoccupied fist sideways. Blake gave it a quick bump before reaching into her pocket to take out her scroll.
"We need to find the others. I'm gonna try Sun again, a-"
Neopolitan turned and tapped Blake on the shoulder while shaking her head. Blake copied the motion, only to see Raven and Harriet coming over the dunes, each with a trail of magical power propelling them through the air.
"…never mind. Let's get some answers…"
Author's Note:
Next week- answers will indeed come. It's The Summer Show.
-RD
