What Defines Us - Ch. 33 (Patreon)

Looking up the sheer rock face towering above them, Weiss frowned.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered under her breath while nonetheless creating a sequence of glyphs that would propel her safely up the side of a mountain.  

Unperturbed by Blake’s directions, Yang cracked her knuckles and latched onto a small outcropping of rock before launching herself upward for what anyone else would consider a terrifying free climb.  Blake was probably past the halfway point already, swinging herself from miniscule ledge to miniscule ledge with the help of Gambol Shroud and impeccable balance.

“Weiss!”

Turning towards her name, Weiss found Ruby making a series of quick hand gestures - pointing to the rock wall and the sky before grinning like a fool.  To an outside observer the rapid movements probably made no sense, but over the last few years Weiss had learned how to read pseudo-mime.

“You want to run up it?” she asked, earning a nod to confirm her interpretation was correct.

“Yes, please!”  

With a half-hearted sigh that was mostly annoyance leaving her system, she lined the rock wall and waved for Ruby to take the glyphs to the top.  With a happy squeal, Ruby hopped over and kissed Weiss on the cheek before disappearing in a cloud of petals. Sighing again, this time in content, Weiss used her own set of glyphs to push herself over the edge of the large plateau with a breathtaking view of Vale in the near distance.

Even though they’d been walking for a couple of hours now, they were still close to Vale - close enough that if she squinted, she might be able to see the gate they’d passed through when they’d bid safety goodbye.  But she’d have to save the sightseeing for later - her teammates were waiting for her at the top of the cliff face, ready to continue onward.

Maybe that was what annoyed her most about any situation that required climbing.  No matter how hard she tried (and sometimes she silently tried very hard), her teammates beat her to the top.  It wasn’t a race, but if it was, she lost every time. And she didn’t particularly enjoy losing - even if the only person who seemed to be competing was herself.

“This way,” Blake said quietly before leading them towards what looked like a random patch of thickly-wooded forest.

“The middle of nowhere…” Weiss grumbled while picking her way through prickly bushes that caught on her clothes.  “Couldn’t even fly us in…make us walk the whole way...”

“They could’ve flown us if you wanted to wake the Grimm and have them swarm the outskirts.”

Pursing her lips at Blake’s subtle reprimand, Weiss followed her teammates through the overgrowth in route to their destination.  This wasn’t like hiking on the weekends, where there were stamped down paths created by the people who’d walked through before. This was trekking through brambles and bushes filled with thorns that had been undisturbed for god knows how long.

It was slow going, which meant Weiss wanted to complain about just how slowly it was going.  That didn’t mean she didn’t fully understand the reasons why their hunt had been structured the way it was.  They could’ve taken an airship and been dropped off directly over the rocky terrain where the hive was located, but the sound could wake the sleeping beasts in the lair - which went staunchly against their objectives of stealth and safety.  Waking a hive was never something to be taken lightly...especially when this one was already too close to the city for comfort.

“Still,” Weiss huffed in defiance.  “Today, they’ll ask us to clear this hive.  Tomorrow, there will be another. Then the day after that, and the day after that. We’re going to spend the next month traipsing through the damn forest searching for Death Stalkers.”

“And that, my friends, is what we like to call a humble brag,” Yang called out from in front of Weiss.

“I’m not bragging.  I’m...”  When Blake turned around and gave Weiss a knowing look, she paused.  There was little point in lying. Her teammates knew her too well by now.

“I’m merely commenting on how we’re often asked to complete multiple important hunts in successive days, that’s all.”

“Humblebrag!”

“I’ve never claimed to be humble,” she sighed in faux exasperation.  “Although, I believe you’d be the worst person to be discussing humility.”

“Ohhh...the always timely Weiss burn.  I have an idea - instead of complaining about how awesome we are, why don’t you plan your wedding?” Yang teased.  “That all-important two-seven is gonna get here before you know it!” 

Instantly shutting her mouth, Weiss turned around and looked at Ruby.  Bringing up the rear of their hunting party with Crescent Rose clutched in her hands, Ruby didn’t hesitate in giving Weiss a big smile that warmed her heart and made her smile in return.  Of course, the lack of rebuttal only made Yang chuckle.

“I’m so going to miss when that doesn’t work anymore…”

As much as it annoyed Weiss to admit, Yang was right.  It was impossible to be unhappy when planning the wedding.  It didn’t matter if Ruby insisted upon having every color of rose because it would be ‘colorful’ or if Yang demanded at least half an hour blocked out for her ‘best sister’ speech.  They were getting married. Weiss would willingly tolerate the other nonsense if it meant she and Ruby finally got to put the period behind ‘eternity.’

However, the nonsense she would tolerate began and ended with the wedding.  Yang’s teasing wasn’t included in that category.

“What about you and Blake?” she shot back, grinning at the confused look Yang gave her.  

If Yang was going to tease, she’d better be prepared for the repercussions.  Just because the mere thought of marrying Ruby filled Weiss with thousands of butterflies didn’t mean she was a sitting duck when it came to Yang’s incessant jokes.  Certainly not. If Weiss had a weakness, Yang did too - the quiet girl walking in front. 

“Well…” Weiss began slowly, scowling when Yang hung back and intentionally released a branch early so it would snap into Weiss if she hadn’t been paying attention.  “How long have you two been together now? Five years? Six? Shouldn’t Ruby and I be receiving invites of our own pretty soon?”

Teasing Yang about when she and Blake would get married was one of Weiss’ favorite things to do - mostly because there was nothing else that would make Yang so uncharacteristically flustered.  It was commonly accepted that they’d eventually get married, now it was only a matter of when.  As wonderful as that would be for them, and as much as they both deserved to be happy, it would undoubtedly be a sad day for Weiss - after which they might never see this version of stumbling, flustered Yang again.

“I...uh, ya know, still gotta ask and stuff...” Yang mumbled, now looking like she regretted bringing up the conversation to begin with.

“She doesn’t even need to ask.  She already knows my answer,” Blake replied from up ahead of them, giving Yang a reassuring smile.

“See?  Don’t even have to ask,” Yang said with a nervous chuckle, running one hand through her hair and avoiding eye contact.

Fully prepared to ratchet the embarrassment up even higher, Weiss paused when Ruby suddenly gasped.

“Can we have a joint wedding??”

What? Weiss nearly yelped in surprise, but Yang beat her to the punch.

“Woah woah woah there sis.  One, Weiss would never let that happen.  And two...well, that first one is good enough.”

“But it’d be so cool!  Right, Weiss?”

Don’t turn around, don’t turn around, don’t - 

Failing, Weiss turned to glance at Ruby, whose silver eyes might as well be shimmering puppy dog eyes at the moment.  Opening her mouth to respond, Weiss struggled with her intense desire to immediately grant any of Ruby’s wishes.  If Ruby wanted to have a joint wedding...that wouldn’t be all that bad, would it? Sure, Yang would probably find some new way to mortally embarrass Weiss in front of a large group of people.  And yes, Yang would most likely be borderline inappropriate with Blake the entire time, but…

No.  She needed to resist.  Sometimes, rational heads needed to prevail.

“I...think I’m with Yang on this one…” she managed to reply, waiting to see how disappointed the answer would make Ruby - but when her pout was merely playful, Weiss relaxed.  

Thank grimm.  It was only a joke.  

“Have you started thinking about food yet?” Blake asked, expertly shifting the focus back to Ruby and Weiss.  “Because I can think of nothing classier than salmon or tuna as the main course.”

“You and your fish…”  Back to teasing, this time Blake was Yang’s target.

“There’s nothing wrong with fish.  It’s elegant and sophisticated. Plus, almost everyone loves it.”

“I know I do,” Yang replied, dropping back to walk beside Weiss and giving her shoulder a playful nudge - nearly sending her into a tree in the process.

“Ruby’s in charge of the food,” she announced, drawing Yang and Blake’s full attention in surprise.  

“Like...all the food?”

“All of it!” Ruby proclaimed.  “And dessert! We’re gonna have cake, cookies, pies, ice cream...ohhh maybe ice cream cake too!  And ice cream cookies...do they make those? Ice cream pies? Cookie pies??”

“Guess we should be worried if there’ll even be food at this wedding,” Yang teased Weiss.  Smiling, she shrugged nonchalantly - a gesture she’d almost certainly picked up from Ruby.

“I don't even care.  She wanted to be in charge of food, so she’s in charge of food.  She can get whatever she wants.”

The final menu wasn’t going to make any sense or follow any type of theme, but that was Ruby.  And Weiss loved her for that.

“What about what Weiss wants to eat?  Like some bland cereal or tasteless crackers?”

“I’m already getting what I want.  She agreed to marry me,” Weiss commented, feeling a smile appear that was impossible to resist.  

Realistically, there was no reason for her to worry about what she’d eat on the day of the wedding.  For as much as Ruby sometimes appeared or sounded scatterbrained, she could list Weiss’ favorite foods in order of frequency.  And if anyone believed Ruby wasn’t thoughtful enough to incorporate any of those things into their wedding...then they didn’t know Ruby very well at all.

That, and Weiss might be too nervous to eat much of anything on that day.

“Ugh!” Yang complained.  “When did you two get so sappy?  You’re gonna be sappier than Blake and me!”

“That wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Blake commented dryly.

“You’re right.  It’d be a horrible thing!”

The three of them chuckled at Yang’s over exaggeration before lapsing into a comfortable silence broken only by the sounds of leaves and bushes rustling as they passed through.

When Weiss and Ruby first got engaged, Yang commented on how Weiss would be a nightmare bride.  Honestly, she’d expected that of herself too. There was so much to be decided upon...so many little details to be ironed out.  Guest lists, linens, silverware, venue, officiating - the list went on and on and on. Everything needed to be perfect. Everything needed to go off without a hitch.  Every potential pitfall needed to be identified and mitigated in advance. Backup plans needed to be made for backup plans.

For the first several days, Weiss had been an obsessive mess.  Fortunately, that feeling faded away the instant Ruby got involved - because planning a wedding with Ruby was surprisingly easy.  If Weiss ever felt stressed or upset or overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options they had to wade through, she asked what Ruby wanted.  Whatever it was, they chose that. 

And Weiss couldn’t be happier.  Rainbow bouquets of roses? Done.  Red tablecloths? Sure, why not. Invitations with a cheesy joke on them?  Absolutely. Allow Yang to officiate? Well…

Fair or not, a great deal of external pressure was placed on them to make sure the wedding was perfect - the unfortunate result of Weiss’ social status and yadda yadda.  But that’s why they hadn’t invited anyone other than close family and friends. Her own parents had been lucky to receive an invite. 

Maybe it would end up being a mishmash of colors and styles and themes, but it would be a true celebration that both of them could enjoy with each other and with the people they cared about most.

A breath of roses and a soft kiss landed on Weiss’ cheek, abruptly pulling her from her thoughts.  She flushed at the unexpected affection, but by the time she turned her head, Ruby had already disappeared.  

When Weiss turned fully around, Ruby gave her an innocent little grin - one that made her question whether or not she’d imagined the entire thing.  

But that was Ruby’s plan - and its near success only further highlighted the new level of speed she’d recently discovered.  It was faster than anything they’d seen at Beacon - so fast that Weiss doubted Yang even noticed Ruby’s brief presence between them.  

It was a new skill and, as with any new skill, Ruby had been devoting hours upon hours to perfecting it.  But she’d been having some difficulty - as she tried to explain to Weiss, it was only possible to do if she let go of several learned habits and constraints.  After years and years of focused training, many of those habits weren’t so easy to circumvent, but she was trying regardless.

And, from the looks of it, succeeding.

When Blake suddenly held up a hand, the four of them froze in complete silence - another habit that had been ingrained in them years ago.  The gesture meant Blake heard something nearby, most likely a Grimm, and they needed to remain silent to avoid detection. It was like that game Weiss had watched the children at her grade school play - the one with the red and green lights.

“We’re good,” Blake whispered a few seconds later before continuing - the danger having passed them by.

As they moved forward through the trees, Yang caught Weiss’ attention.

‘You and Ruby,’ she mouthed before pressing her two index fingers together.  ‘Then I’ll -’ Holding up one finger and pointing it to herself, Yang then made the gesture of opening a small box before pointing to Blake’s back.

‘Really?’ Weiss mouthed back while Yang beamed and nodded.  Grinning at the news, Weiss gave Yang a small pat on the shoulder in congratulations.

When they got back, Weiss was going to tease Yang for taking so long to find the courage to pop the question.  But, now that she’d found it, they’d have to go out to lunch and discuss how she planned on asking. Knowing Yang, it would be some incredibly elaborate setup that she’d need help with.

Noticing the sudden silence, Blake turned around and gave them a suspicious glance.

“I’m already working on my best sister speech!” Yang announced.  “Wanna hear the beginning?”

“Do we have a choice?” Weiss teased, ducking another branch Yang snapped towards her and sending a patch of ice into the girl’s back in indignation.

“Not really.  So you know that feeling when you meet someone and instantly dislike them?” Yang began while shooting Weiss grin.  “Like they fundamentally annoy you? No big deal - first impressions aren’t everything, right? But then you meet them again and they still bother you?  So begins the story of Weiss and Ruby - the most unlikely partners at Beacon.”

While Ruby giggled, Weiss rolled her eyes.  

“I’d say Pyrrha and Jaune were the most unlikely.”

“‘Second most unlikely’ has no flair, Weiss!  I’m trying to paint you as star-crossed lovers!”

Chuckling, Yang wrapped one arm around Weiss’ shoulders and used the other to ruffle her hair.  Pretending to be annoyed, Weiss shoved her teammate away before smoothing her hair back in place.

“I can’t believe I’ll have to call you my sister-in-law,” she groaned, which only made Yang happier.  

Maybe they teased each other incessantly, but they’d grown remarkably close over the past few years.  If anything, they were already like sisters - complete with the bickering and arguing over who used the bathroom for too long.  

“And then Blake will be my sister-in-law!” Ruby quipped, the comment making Yang and Weiss share a look while Blake turned around and smiled at them in amusement.

“Uh, yeah!  Totally, Ruby!” Yang replied with a grin while Weiss shook her head at Ruby’s innocent mistake.  “Big happy family, how ‘bout that?”

When Weiss turned around, she caught Ruby’s happy nod and smiled in return.

“Mom will love celebrating her birthday with you guys,” Yang remarked, hopping over a wide tree that must have fallen over recently and offering an arm to help Weiss across.

“That was the idea.”  

Accepting Yang’s help, Weiss was basically lifted over the fallen tree through no effort of her own - set down on the other side to continue on.

One of her greatest regrets was that she’d never had the opportunity to meet Ruby’s mom in person.  From the stories she’d heard from Ruby and Yang, Summer Rose had been a remarkable woman and a loving, adoring mother.  And from the research she’d done on her own - collected through various older huntsmen and professors - Summer Rose had been a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield...just like her daughter.

“There’s a river up ahead; we’ll have to cross it.”

It was several minutes after Blake’s soft instruction that the sound of running water finally met Weiss’ ears.  This was why Blake always led. With her superior senses, she navigated the forest without so much as consulting a terrain map.  The rest of them would be glued to intel reports trying to decipher which direction to go when everything looked the same.  

These days, Weiss wouldn’t be shy in admitting how much she loved having Blake on their team.  Her sense of direction was unparalleled. Her hearing could pick out enemies from miles away. She could see in practically pitch darkness.  And she had a far superior sense of smell. 

Upon graduation, one of the recommendations Weiss made to the administration at Beacon was for more Faunus to be admitted and for at least one Faunus member to be placed on each team to promote diversity and inclusion.  She’d even gone so far as to suggest that remediated White Fang members be allowed delayed acceptance - under certain circumstances, of course. 

With a hefty donation, it became a reality - and thankfully so.  Weiss appreciated that Blake found the strength to make it on her own, but the path forward shouldn’t be so difficult.  If there were young Faunus out there who dreamed of making the world a better place, they should be given the opportunity to prove their mettle.  And now they could – since Weiss had pilfered from her prejudiced father and made sure there were funds available for the Faunus huntsmen of the future.  She hadn’t mentioned anything to Blake, but she wouldn’t be surprised if Blake already knew. It was her job to know these ‘ninja’ things, after all...

One of the greatest lessons Weiss had learned at Beacon was that everyone, regardless of who they were or what they looked like, possessed their own unique strengths.  She was a Schnee - privileged from birth, with the best instructors and training that could be bought. She’d done everything the ‘right’ way - studying, training, and following the rules.  Blake had followed a different path, yet that didn’t make her any less valuable than Weiss. If anything, their greatest advantage was that they had different skill sets and experiences that they were willing to share with each other.

Stopping at the bank of a surprisingly wide and rushing river, the four of them quickly decided how they would get themselves across.

“Alley-oop?” Yang asked Blake, receiving a nod in return before grasping her by the hands and easily throwing her to the opposite bank.  After Blake landed safely on dry land, Yang scratched her head and looked at the river.

“Ya know, I never really consider what to do after keeping Blake away from water...” she admitted with an embarrassed smile.  Rolling her eyes, Weiss set two lines of glyphs like stepping stones for the two of them to jump across. Meanwhile Ruby...Ruby backed up several steps and planned to run across the water using her semblance.  

It never worked.  Her boots would still get soaked, but one day...

When they reached the other side, Blake waved them towards another nondescript line of trees.

“We’re close,” she said in a hushed voice before disappearing into the shadows.  The rest of them immediately cut their talking and crept far more carefully amongst the trees, focusing their senses to be alert for any danger.

Making it to this location was the easy, albeit tedious, part of their hunt.  Now that they were approaching their objective, every footstep needed to be taken seriously.

Glancing up, through the top branches of the trees, Weiss caught glimpses of another mountain they were quickly nearing.  If they were close, then it was within the rock face of this mountain that a hive was hidden.

The mountain became more visible as the seconds ticked past.  The closer they grew to danger, the thinner the trees and brush grew.  How was that for irony? When they were being pricked to death by thorns, they were safe.  When they could walk freely, they were in danger.

Logically, this phenomenon was quite normal.  Clearings were almost always found around the site of a hive - a necessary consequence of the Death Stalkers’ massive size.  Because the Grimm didn’t particularly care about avoiding obstacles, nearby vegetation would often be pushed over and trampled in a hurry.

Keeping her breathing smooth and steady, Weiss made sure to mind her feet while stepping over the remnants of tree trunks and crumbled branches.  The sound of the river faded away - as did all other sounds. This section of forest was notably devoid of noise, likely due to the dangers lurking nearby.

Up ahead, just past Blake, was a large clearing.  As they stepped out of the safety of the trees, Weiss looked around and found that they were now standing in a section of woods that had been trodden down by hundreds of feet passing through the area on a daily basis.  The mountain was visible now - towering above them while extending who-knew-how far in each direction. The cave, if it was up ahead, was cleverly hidden in the shadows cast by large outcroppings of rock. 

The four of them wordlessly grouped closer together and crept across the clearing, towards the shadow of the mountain.  While Weiss couldn’t hear anything but a slight rustle as the wind passed through the nearby trees, she knew Blake’s ears were taking in far more information from the way they swiveled ceaselessly.

It wasn’t until they stepped back into the shade that Weiss’ eyes adjusted and struggled to find what they were searching for.

“There,” Blake said, pointing to a dark opening located nearly ten feet off of the forest floor.  “That has to be it.”

Knowing that Blake was most likely correct, the four of them inched over to the ledge underneath the cave and looked up.  

“Ok.  Let’s go,” Ruby whispered before looking at Yang.  On cue, Yang shrugged the backpack from her shoulders and handed it over to Blake, but didn’t let go when she reached out to take it.

“Be careful,” Yang whispered.  Smiling, Blake squeezed Yang’s hand before swinging the pack onto her back, silently scaling the ledge, and disappearing into darkness.

As soon as Blake was gone, Ruby motioned with her head for Yang and Weiss to follow her away from the mountain.  Doing as told, the three of them moved into the clearing while waiting for Blake to complete her part of the mission.  They stopped when they were far enough away to see the cave clearly, but not too far away that they wouldn’t be able to assist if necessary.

“I hate when she does this stuff…” Yang muttered to herself while pacing back and forth, her eyes never leaving the entrance to the cave.

If anyone wanted to see Yang Xiao Long lose her permanent cool, force her to stand more than ten feet away while putting Blake in a life-threatening situation.  

It wasn’t that Yang didn’t trust in Blake’s abilities - if that were the case, there’d be no way to keep her out here with them.  No, it was the mere idea of losing Blake - the long shot that Blake could get hurt when Yang had no way to help - that set her on an edge so precarious that Weiss was afraid to know what might happen should Yang ever fall.  Put them in a battle royale and she wouldn’t bat an eye, but separated from each other...her nerves showed.

This was Blake’s role though.  She was the stealthy one. She could go places undetected.  She accepted the danger willingly - they all did - but that didn’t mean Yang had ever gotten used to it.

While Yang paced a few feet ahead, Ruby stood motionlessly beside Weiss.  

“It’s quiet.”

What Ruby was saying without actually saying was that something felt off.  But what could it be? The mission was going precisely as planned. 

Trusting Ruby’s intuition, Weiss scanned their surroundings for anything out of the ordinary.  The cave in the mountain in front of them, the rock ledges jutting out in every direction, the wreckage of foliage left by the Death Stalkers, the trees in the distance.  Trees, trees, and more trees.

From the satellite imagery, she knew there was a lake somewhere behind them that the river they’d crossed flowed into.  Then there was the mountain, and trees, and rocks, and shrubs.

But Ruby was right.  It was quiet. Quieter than expected for a section of forest located so close to the city walls.  

It was another well-known phenomena that the more dangerous an area of forest was, the quieter it became.  Quiet in their world wasn’t a good thing. Unspoken dangers lurked in silence...

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Weiss finally replied.  Between the four of them, they should be safe. Plus, they had two teams on standby if needed - all they had to do was send out the call and backup could be here in minutes.  

After squeezing Weiss’ hand, Ruby walked a short distance away while silver eyes constantly prowled for danger.  As usual, Ruby was calm and undeterred by the magnitude of their mission. They were tasked with keeping Vale safe - no small feat when the Grimm did their absolute best to encroach upon one of the last bastions of humanity.  Their success in clearing groups of powerful Grimm from the near vicinity played a vital role in maintaining a buffer within which life could continue to thrive.

Weiss wasn’t sure if Ruby thought of their hunts as such important mission - or if Ruby embarked upon every quest with a singular focus on succeeding no matter the costs.  Understanding the impact of a successful mission might come later, when they’d returned safely home, but out here...Ruby was strictly business. Her ever-present composure had a way of rubbing off on the rest of them - a vital quality when they risked their lives on a daily basis.

A flicker of motion by the cave entrance caught Weiss’ immediate attention.  It was nothing more than a shadow, but on their team a shadow was everything.  When Blake hopped down from the ledge and jogged over to them, Yang visibly relaxed and finally stopped pacing.

“Done,” Blake said upon rejoining them.  

“How many?” Ruby asked.

“Fifty.  At least,” Blake answered quickly, allowing Yang to take her hand.  “It’s huge in there. Goes back further than I wanted to go. I don’t think we’ll get them all.”

“Then we’ve got a fight!” Yang added with a grin.  Any hint of unease had disappeared, placated by Blake’s presence.

“Ok, prepare to mop ‘em up,” Ruby agreed while pulling out the small device that would set off the charges Blake had just placed inside the mountain.  “Everyone ready?”

This was it.  This was one of the moments they’d spent years training for.  

Placing Myrtenaster in front of her, Weiss nodded.  Blake drew Gambol and swished the blade silently through the air.  Yang held up her fists and rolled onto the balls of her feet, bobbing in place like a boxer.  Ruby pulled Crescent Rose from her back and held the weapon in one hand while holding the detonator in the other.

They were ready.

“Ok, here we go.”  

After pressing the button, Ruby tossed the device aside as the charges immediately went off in rapid succession.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.  

The explosions were deafening, followed by the sound of crumbling boulders as the cave collapsed in on itself.  

BOOM.

Blake turned around while the rest of them watched the first Death Stalker charge out of the rubble.  It was covered in debris and already injured, but angry. Angry Grimm...far more dangerous.

“Something’s wrong,” Blake said, her head turning and ears swiveling in all directions while scanning the forest.  Yang burst forward to greet the Death Stalker, punching one claw into the ground before jumping out of the way of the stinger.  “That last one wasn’t -”

Blake turned around again, her eyes wide when loud cracks filled the air.  Several more Death Stalkers crawled from the rubble, shaking boulders from their armor plating, but Weiss could hear it now too.  There were far off cracks and thuds that shook the forest floor beneath their feet. And they were getting closer by the second.

“Yang!  Regroup!” Ruby shouted to her sister before looking behind them.

Reverberating cracks filled the air, sounding like the earth was breaking itself apart.  The treetops behind them swayed and toppled as the noise sped towards them. As soon as the sound cleared the tree line, they saw it - a fissure ripping its way through bedrock - the ground opening up and crumbling away.

“Back!  Back up!”

The four of them scrambled backward and jumped to safety when the ground suddenly fell away.  Summoning several glyphs, Weiss scaled the toppling dirt and debris and made it to a ledge of relatively stable ground...right in front of the hive they’d just woken.  

“Yang!  Engage them!” Ruby shouted over the suddenly thunderous section of forest.  Without hesitation, Yang shot back to the injured Death Stalkers to keep them at bay.  Weiss’ gaze went to the giant hole that had just opened up in the earth - and her heart temporarily stopped.

They’d been standing on top of an underground river.  The explosions must have destabilized the ground enough to open up the giant cavern to the sun, but that wasn’t what filled her with dread.

Death Stalkers were pouring out of the cavern.

“Another hive!” she yelled above the sound of rushing water and parts of the ground still cracking and falling away.  “Ruby, there’s another hive!”

Her foot caught in a hole that hadn’t been there a second ago, and she cursed under her breath while regaining her balance.  

This wasn’t good.  The environment was fighting them too.

“We can hold ‘em!” Yang yelled.  They had to yell if they wanted to be heard over the sound of so many feet and pinchers clacking in the air - with towering trees still toppling into the newly-created rupture.

“Are you crazy?!” Weiss shouted back to Yang, drawing a ridge of ice on top of the underground cavern that only slowed the Grimm’s progress by a second.  “We have to get out of here!”

Another section of earth broke off and fell out of sight.

“Call it in,” Ruby said.  “We’re leaving.”

There were no questions or complaints from Yang, she just spoke into her watch - “Hey guys, we have two hives here.  Gonna need a pickup.” 

As always, Yang was calm.  But Yang was always calm when things fell into chaos.

“Yang and I at the river!” Ruby directed them loudly.  “Weiss and Blake - get the stragglers and the edges!” 

It was the best strategy.  Ruby and Yang would cause the most havoc on the new Death Stalkers while Weiss and Blake mopped up any that tried to sneak around, and the injured ones from the cave.

Switching her view when Ruby slid into place behind her, Weiss locked onto a target burrowing its way out of the rubble.

“I can’t - believe - they missed this!” she shouted while shooting streams of icicles towards it, managing to lock down one of its claws before cycling to another target.

“Focus, Weiss,” Ruby gently reminded her. 

Gritting her teeth, she tried to do what Ruby said.  It did no good to dwell on other things while in a fight, but dammit if she wasn’t angry.  How many times had they been taught to know their limitations, both individually and as a team?  One hive was doable for them when it might usually take two teams. But two? That was asking the impossible, especially when they hadn’t been expecting two.  And the ground was crumbling under their feet, for Grimm’s sake.

Summoning three glyphs, she shot between them and disposed of the first Death Stalker before moving back in place.  

At least help was on the way.  They only needed to hold the creatures at bay.

“Blake, one - one, one, your left!” Yang shouted before a series of shotgun blasts broke through the air.

“Weiss - two coming your way!”

More rumbling filled the air as the two beasts roared around the edge and Ruby let them go.  One was already critically injured - enough so that Weiss destroyed it with a flurry of green Dust sent its way.  The second was less injured, but using a series of glyphs, she blasted around the creature in an intricate path that was designed to confuse.  As it tried to catch her, it exposed its weakest points for her to capitalize on. 

Just like they’d trained - one enemy at a time. 

Another Death Stalker scurried out of the cave behind them, its stinger already severed from its tail.  Stepping up to engage as it ran towards her, she briefly lost her footing when the ground gave a hearty rumble beneath her feet.  After regaining her posture, she’d lost the perfect point of attack - but diverted its attention from her team by catapulting overtop of it.  When it reared around to follow her motion, she dashed through it with the help of a glyph, sending it drifting into the wind as particles of black.  

“Two more!”

It was loud - way too loud.  They’d expected one explosion with a few stragglers to clean up in relative silence, not this.

“We need to draw them away!” Ruby shouted, coming to the same conclusion Weiss was drawing.  “Move now!”

They didn’t protest - they all knew it was true.  They were drawing too much attention, and they couldn’t have this fight spill towards the city walls.

Seeing Ruby take off out of the corner of her eye, Weiss ducked an incoming claw before turning to follow.  Blake catapulted up ahead, and Yang made it to Weiss’ side - the four of them running parallel to the mountain while it sounded like the entire forest came alive to chase them.

Pumping her arms and legs, Weiss wove between the trees on autopilot and jumped when a low pile of brush appeared in her path.  She could hear the creaking and reverberating pounds of trees being bowled over behind them - the angry Death Stalkers in full pursuit.  She had no idea where they were headed except that it was deeper - deeper into the forest with a horde of Grimm on their trail.

“We’re - moving -” she heard Yang huff into her watch while they sprinted through the trees, leaping a small stream in one bound.  “You’ll - find us!”

Help was on the way.  If they led the Grimm away from the city, there was a chance their backup could arrive and together they could clear this swarm.

A black shape suddenly appeared in her path - red eyes briefly glinting before claws slashed towards her throat.

“Weiss left!”

Reaching out her left hand, she blindly grabbed ahold of Blake’s ribbon before being abruptly yanked to the left, spinning away from the Beowolf’s paw and narrowly avoiding a tree trunk before releasing and stumbling forward.  She almost fell but managed to regain her balance and kept sprinting - feeling her teammates still around her.

“Keep going!”

A howl broke through the woods - loud and clear, but from a source unseen.

“I’ll get it - keep moving!” 

“Ruby, no!” Weiss yelled, but Ruby had already disappeared from view.  Weiss’ feet immediately turned to follow, but Yang grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to continue forward.

“She’s got it - keep going!”

There was no time to argue, so she kept running, pushing her legs to their limit while silently praying for Ruby to return soon.  It sounded like the Grimm were growing nearer - was that true? Were they gaining ground?

The howler was suddenly silenced, but had it been fast enough?  How many Grimm heard before Ruby found it?

“Ursa!!”

A second after Blake called out, a pack of Ursa burst through the trees in front of them.  They were everywhere - filling every gap and rushing forward with growls of anger. 

Skidding to a stop, Weiss flitted to the side to avoid the first massive paw swiping towards her head, only to duck as a second Ursa followed suit.  Using a glyph to move backward, she watched Yang barrel into one of the other Grimm before shotgun blasts started going off. Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss saw Blake jump and twist over another Ursa, slashing downward to wound it in midair.

This had just gone from bad to worse.

Hearing a loud roar as an Ursa lunged towards her throat, Weiss slipped to the side and darted underneath, jabbing upward with Myrtenaster and slicing from head to toe until the creature disappeared.  She wanted to press forward, but there was already another Ursa in her face forcing her to step backward and defend.

They didn’t have time for this.  They didn’t have time to stop.

When she turned to her right, an Ursa disappeared with a trail of rose petals left in its place.  Three more vanished in the next second before Ruby slid to a stop beside her. For a split second, their eyes met and, even though this wasn’t how the hunt was supposed to go, there was no fear in Ruby’s eyes.  There was concern, but determination.

They were going to make it out of this.

“Yang!  To the rear with me!” Ruby ordered.  “Blake and Weiss, hold the Ursa back!”

Following the commands, each of them slid towards their places - fighting all the while - trying to clear out the Ursa before more company arrived.

This was where they would hold their ground.

“Weiss!”

Spinning to the right, Weiss ducked as a Beowolf leapt out of the woods towards her.  A yellow missile met the Grimm above her head, pummeling it backward with a thud of two powerful forces clashing together.  Two shotgun blasts went off before Yang hit the ground, tumbled forward, and met the newly arrived group of Beowolves head on.  

Immediately turning, Weiss froze an Ursa mid-lunge before shooting through it.  She summoned a glyph that Blake used to leap past an Ursa and find Yang’s side - the two of them working through the Beowolves while Weiss moved closer to the mountain. 

If there was an advantage to being hemmed in by the mountain, it was that they only had three sides to protect.  The Ursa and Beowolves at the front and side - the Death Stalkers at the rear - Blake and Yang would hold the edges together.

The forest was growing louder and louder - and then the Death Stalkers broke through.

“Watch the trees!”

Hundreds of feet tall, the trees were tilting over, snapping at the roots and gaining speed while collapsing towards the ground.  Keeping an eye upward while whizzing around another Ursa, Weiss jumped back at the last second and watched as the Ursa and one of its friends were instantly obliterated under a giant oak.

“Yang, watch out!”

Another series of booms shook the ground as more trees crashed towards them.  Creaking and snapping filled the air while the clacking of pincers began in earnest.  

While Weiss used a glyph to attack an Ursa from behind, she heard that clacking right behind her - and knew that if she turned around, she would find the dozens of Death Stalkers pressing in on them.  

Calling Ronnie to life, she sent him to fight alongside Blake - the additional support allowing Blake to slide further right and help Yang with a group of three Death Stalkers.  Relaxing her mind, Weiss didn’t focus on Ronnie or herself - she merely reacted, trusting instincts that had been ingrained through years of practice.

She plunged Myrtenaster through the nearest Beowolf as Ronnie swung and severed an arm from an Ursa before following up with a death blow.  She spun and fired a stream of red Dust into an Ursa’s eyes before leaping forward and slashing downward - when the creature recoiled, she lowered her boots and sprang off of it when enough force to send it toppling to the ground.  Meanwhile, Ronnie lifted an arm and easily blocked an Ursa’s paw before jabbing his sword straight forward through the Grimm’s chest.

Keeping her semblance active was pulling at her energy.  It wasn’t draining, yet, but how much longer could they keep this up?

Blake threw Gambol towards Ronnie, and he caught the ribbon in his left hand, pulling upward to yank her out of harm’s way before two Death Stalkers clashed into each other in a bull rush.  Ronnie then spun Blake in a tight circle before releasing her towards the next unsuspecting Grimm before charging over to the two Death Stalkers himself.

Leaping over an Ursa, Weiss briefly glimpsed the battle waging behind her - with Yang and Ruby taking on the Death Stalkers trying to break through their defenses.  Landing in a crouch and killing the Ursa with three precision blows, Weiss created a glyph in the air as Yang sprang upward. Twisting herself around mid-air, Yang kicked off the glyph and shot back to the ground, smashing the Death Stalker into the forest floor with one super-charged fist.

As an alley opened between the Death Stalkers, Weiss rolled out of the way of a Beowolf while Ronnie charged back to support her.  She needed to wait for the opening to develop…

Spotting the perfect angles as Ronnie destroyed the Beowolf and two others, Weiss started creating more and more glyphs - five, ten, fifteen, twenty of them opened up around every tree.  

Ruby wasted no time blasting between them, leaving a trail of petals and destroyed Grimm in her wake.

“They’re crawling up the mountain!  Weiss!”

Turning to the left at Blake’s warning, Weiss found that the Death Stalkers were moving up and around Ruby - scrambling up the rocky base of the mountain in an overflow that Weiss moved to prevent from spilling into their midst.

One of the Grimm lost its footing and fell, nearly landing on top of her had she not jumped out of the way in time.  Taking advantage of the temporary daze, Weiss left Ronnie to deal with the Ursa while shooting forward to engage the Death Stalker.  It raised one claw and attempted to swat her away, but she leapt over and then twisted away from the stinger. Landing behind the creature, she summoned as much power as she could find and swept Myrtenaster across to separate the stinger from the beast.

Hearing a loud rumbling sound, she looked up only to cover her eyes and send herself blindly backward as a boulder dislodged from the mountain and fell towards her.

“Weiss, watch out!”

By the time she lowered her hands and spun around, it was already too late - the stinger was shooting straight towards her heart.  

A flash of red and the stinger detached from the Grimm, falling harmlessly to the ground at her feet.

But Ruby was pursued by three more Death Stalkers.  Weiss tried to rush to her partner’s aid but ducked backward when another Death Stalker suddenly dropped off the mountain and fell in between them - the creature landing on its back and wildly scrambling to right itself.  

More rumbling filled the air, and Weiss immediately knew why - the mountain was crumbled under the weight of the Death Stalkers, sending rocks and boulders shooting down towards them while bringing the Grimm right along with it.

“Ruby!” Weiss shouted - seeing the Death Stalkers about to avalanche on top of her partner.

Ruby dodged around the boulders while Weiss tried to reach her - but the Death Stalkers swept past her, lashing wildly and unpredictably while they tried to keep their footing.  One of them caught Ruby by the arm in its powerful pincher, and she cried out in pain, dropping Crescent Rose before the Death Stalker slid to the side and released her, flinging her into one of the falling boulders.  When she hit the ground, she was limp as a rag doll.

“RUBY!” Weiss screamed as untamed glyphs burst from her in all directions, shoving the Death Stalkers back and spraying rocks away from her.

Nothing.  No response.

“Yang!” she cried out while using glyphs to scramble over the slew of rocks still pouring from the mountain.  

Ruby was still down.  She wasn’t moving. Weiss had to get over there.

The Death Stalkers were swarming through the break in their defenses, collapsing their pocket of protection and moving towards where Ruby was lying.  Panicking, Weiss reached deep down in her aura and summoned Ronnie - but split him in two. She sent both soldiers barreling through as many Grimm as they could find - grabbing at them and shoving them back towards the woods.  

Out of the way.  Get them out of the way.

“Weiss, don’t!”  

She didn’t heed Yang’s words while racing straight into the Death Stalkers and unstable ground, trying to avoid tripping and falling on the rocks that were still sliding underneath her feet.  Her breathing was heavy as she struggled to maintain Ronnie’s duplicate image for longer and longer, but she was growing more desperate. A third version of Ronnie grabbed ahold of the last Death Stalker between her and Ruby and dragged the Grimm away.  

The moment she saw a shower of pink grenades fall from the sky, Weiss dropped her weapon and fell to her knees by Ruby’s side.

“Ruby,” she said, her stomach retching when she saw the blood flowing from Ruby’s arm and an awful gash in her head.  Gently tilting her head, Weiss saw that Ruby’s eyes were fluttering. She was still alive.

There were so many noises now.  An airship droning in the sky, blowing air down upon them that caused more rocks to tumble downhill.  People shouting directions to each other. The fight was still going full force, but to Weiss all that mattered was Ruby.  Boots raced over before a set of hands appeared and moved to pick Ruby up.

“Help me lift her.  Hold her head.” 

Obediently following Jaune’s orders, Weiss mimicked his movements so they could carefully lift Ruby off the ground.  It probably wasn’t wise to move her so quickly, but there wasn’t time to take every precaution. 

Walking as quickly as they could with the mountain of rubble still shifting underneath their feet, they got Ruby into the ship using the lowered stretcher and immediately laid her down on a row of seats once they’d moved her inside.

Weiss knelt on the cold metal floor by Ruby’s side, watching helplessly while her wounds continued to bleed.

There were lots of sounds, but they hardly registered in Weiss’ mind.  Boots clunking on the metal floor of the ship, the sound of Grimm below, the fight waging on. 

“SSSN’s here in twenty seconds.  You guys clean up, and I’ll get them to help.”

“I can stay -”

“No, stay with her.  We’ll be fine.”

The door to the ship slammed shut, and they burst into the air.  

“Blake, I need you to watch the skies.”

Leaving the cockpit, Jaune appeared by Weiss’ side once again and gently moved her out of the way while he administered the LOTT gel to the gash in Ruby’s head.  Next, he carefully wrapped Ruby’s arm in a compression sleeve. All emergency medical care they’d been taught, but Weiss was too compromised to recall right now. 

The only thing she seemed capable of doing was clutching Ruby’s right hand for dear life, their engagement ring pressing into the palm of her hand.  Ruby had never liked wearing the ring on her left hand...she was worried she might break it by hitting it on something...

“Please,” Weiss begged softly, openly crying now as the ship shot through the skies.  “Please, please don’t leave me...”

In a flicker of silver, Ruby’s eyes focused on Weiss before a sick gurgle came from her throat.  Her eyes blinked, and then Weiss heard in a voice lower than a whisper, “Weiss…”

When Ruby’s eyes closed, Weiss heard a strangled cry come from her.

“Ruby,” she sobbed, placing one hand on Ruby’s cheek while tears blurred her eyes.  “Ruby, please - please hold on, just a little longer. Please, you have to be strong...”

Jaune was sitting on his heels beside them, unable to do anything to help except lend his aura.  Weiss could feel the strength seeping back into her bones, but Ruby’s wounds were still bleeding.  The blood flow had slowed from the first aid, but Jaune’s aura should help Ruby stop the bleeding entirely.  Unless the damage was already too much.

Reaching out from Weiss’ side, Yang gingerly touched Ruby’s shoulder, as if afraid she might do more harm from the light contact.

There was nothing else they could do.  They had to make it to help soon. They couldn’t watch Ruby die this way.

“Hold on, Ruby...we’re almost there,” Jaune whispered before standing and racing to the front of the ship.  “Yang, Weiss. Get ready.”

The door to the airship opened while it was still dropping towards the top of the hospital, where staff were already waiting on the rooftop for their arrival.  The sudden influx of wind burned Weiss’ eyes, and by the time she was able to see properly two nurses were already rushing aboard to move Ruby onto a gurney. Seconds later they were racing down the ramp and through the open hospital doors with Weiss spurring her legs to follow.

One of the nurses was saying things that were unintelligible, while the other steered the gurney swiftly through the halls.  Several more people, looking like doctors, raced over and looked over Ruby’s wounds while they raced through the hospital. The onslaught of motion and activity had brought some bit of consciousness back into Ruby, whose eyes were fluttering again.  Weiss did her best to stay in Ruby’s field of vision while speedwalking beside the bed.

“Ruby, Ruby stay with me.  You’re going to be alright - you’re going to be fine.  Just hold on a little longer for me, alright?” she said gently, still holding Ruby’s hand.

Silver locked onto her for an instant, the effort looking considerable.

“Weiss.”

Her name was a slight gurgle, as if there was too much fluid in Ruby’s mouth.

“Ruby, save your strength -” she begged, her voice cracking with tears.  But Ruby was struggling, fighting to say something.

“Weiss...it’s o-”

When Ruby’s eyes rolled back to white, the nurses ran even faster.

“Get her on the table now!” one of the doctors shouted while shoving open the doors to an operating room.  

“Ruby!”  

A nurse grabbed Weiss’ arm when she tried to follow and, on instinct, she brought one heel down on top of his foot.  When he yelped in pain and released her, she rushed forward only for two pairs of strong arms to grab her and prevent her from following any further.  Lifting her right off the ground, the two nurses set her on the other side of the door.

“You need to wait out here,” one ordered bluntly before both turned and raced after the doctors, slamming the door shut between them.

Through the small window in the door, she watched the flurry of motion as doctors and nurses hurried around the room, preparing an attempt to save Ruby’s life.  Tubes and needles and glints of metal flashed impossibly fast - each person moving quickly but confidently.

Shellshocked, Weiss stood in the hallway and watched the chaos as it unfolded, all surrounding Ruby - who already looked lifeless on the flat metal table.  They were bracing her head, a set of razors buzzed to life. The sleeve of her outfit was cut off and thrown towards the garbage, revealing the true damage to her arm - where white bone showed through the sickening wound.

A soft but firm hand on her elbow eventually led her away from the door and out into a quiet waiting area - the peacefulness feeling fake after the tumultuous few minutes they’d just gone through.  At some point, she’d started crying without realizing it, her eyes now swimming with tears. 

She turned towards the warm presence standing behind her - a normally reassuring warmth that could only be Yang.  Hesitantly looking up, Weiss found tears falling from violet eyes. Blake stood by Yang’s shoulder, her ears flattened, one hand covering her mouth, her eyes filled with anguish.

“I didn’t...see it,” Weiss tried to explain as a sob slipped out.  “I don’t know...I don’t know how…” 

She wiped the back of one arm across her eyes, but it did nothing to dry her eyes.  Lifting her hands, she found them shaking uncontrollably, and covered in blood that wasn’t her own.

What happened?  What happened? Her mind was in shambles.  She couldn’t remember. Everything was a blur.  There was the Death Stalker. The mountain giving way.  And then...and then…

“I don’t...know how…” she struggled to gasp out.  Breathing was hard, like a vice was tightening around her lungs and strangling the oxygen right out of her.  And her heart...felt like it was bleeding in agony...

Reaching out, Yang pulled Weiss into a crushing hug.

“It’s ok, Weiss,” Yang whispered, although the way her voice cracked in the middle made it seem less so. 

“But I -”

“It’ll be ok,” Yang continued before a series of sobs shook through her entire body.  “She’s s-strong, remember? She’s so strong...she’s g-going to be ok...”

It was pointless trying to speak past the growing lump in her throat, so Weiss just cried into Yang’s shoulder, overwhelmed by heartache that seemed impossibly powerful but all too real.  

What was she going to do if Ruby wasn’t ok?  What if Ruby didn’t make it? 

What had happened?  Was this all her fault?