Author's notes: this one is coming first, thank you for your patience, this chapter is twice the size of a normal chapter. WARNING there is some gore so beware. Please spread this around and enjoy :)

Chapter 57: Grimm Eye

Ruby

"What assets do we have?" the strange noise was permeating Yang's voice completely now and it set Ruby's teeth on edge, still her sister refused to meet her eyes. All these factors would be worrying Ruby if she wasn't so concerned about the Maiden standing right in front of her. Pyrrha had a long red scar across her chest and a long red blade to match it. Yang was breathing heavily too and Ruby herself wasn't in the best position in terms of aura.

"Jaune's on the way, Blake sent me a message, I tried to call her back but I think her phone was destroyed." That last part left a dark implication that Ruby couldn't afford to think about. "I saw Mercury… I saw his legs."

Yang's head twitched towards her as if she wanted to see her sister's reaction, but she halted herself before making that mistake.

"They aren't new Yang, older installs, I'd swear on it." Ruby continued as the maiden seemed in no rush to destroy them. "He had them during the Vytal Festival."

Yang shivered in joy. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Jaune's not much, I love the dude but he's not the best fighter" Yang responded chambering a new round into her shot-gun gauntlets. "Blake's Alive I know it…"

The question of where Weiss was remained unsaid, which Ruby was grateful for, though she wished that Weiss was with them now.

Add that to my list of regrets that I'll worry about later. Ruby thought.

"Any help from your end?" Ruby asked. Yang scoffed at that.

"They're a bit busy at the moment, and I'm sorry to say, but this was my intended outcome actually; that Pyrrha be here." Ruby stared at her sister, before reaching out and smacking her upside the head. "Yeah yeah stupid dangerous scheme, might get me killed"

"Must be a Xiao-Long family trait cause it sounds like one of my plans," Ruby admitted. "Well, we've made it work before."

"Yeah… we have…" Yang took in a deep breath. "I have a maiden Option Ruby, if this gets bad, I have something, but you'll have to stay away from me when I activate it."

"Got it"

The wind blew in through the many open windows and holes in the building making both sisters wonder how the building was still standing. Pyrrha gazed down at them, fire-spitting out of her eyes, her arms slack and relaxed, and the camera floating over her shoulder. Ruby held her weapon back and she could hear Yang starting to slowly move around Pyrrha, it was an easy obvious tactic, of coming in from two different directions. But Pyrrha, at least one part of Pyrrha, might not be opposed to fighting like that, Ruby couldn't predict her.

Yang rushed in first, as was her way with things, she moved quickly towards the maiden's left flank, though not so fast as to be aura enhanced, she just hauled ass. When Pyrrha's eyes shifted to her was when Ruby struck, Yang was quick but Ruby was the wind. Her semblance launched her at the maiden and the full blade of crescent rose slammed into Pyrrha's upraised blocking blade.

"Nice move Ru-" she was unable to finish her sentence when Yang's Fist collided with her chin. Yang dropped low and slashed Pyrrha across the ankle with her dust katana before popping back up and tornado kicking Pyrrha in the face. Pyrrha started to stumble back, joy on her face when her leg seemed to hold her to the ground. Ruby spun around bashed the blunt end of crescent Rose into Pyrrha's blocking sword, before twirling around her defense and raking her back with two slashes of crescent Rose.

While going for a third Pyrrha, turned her new red sword to parry it before thrusting one of her smaller green blades out towards Yang's face. As soon as crescent Rose Connected with the red blade, the black aura coated it and held Ruby's scythe in place. As Yang leaned back away from the thrusting green tip, Pyrrha ripped the green sword back and threw it at Ruby. As the little redhead vaulted over her scythe to avoid the blade, Pyrrha let go of her red sword and tackled Yang near the hips. Yang was pushed back by the force of Pyrrha's tackle, but instead falling Yang Grabbed Pyrrha's waist and lifted her legs into the air before turning and throwing her to the ground.

The wind picked up and Pyrrha levitated above the floor, only for Yang to smash both fists against her back and slam her into the dirt. Then the swords flew at Yang. The green one was parried but the red one slashed across her chest, leg, and back in its strange flurry. Yang struggled to dodge and parry both floating blades, when Pyrrha rose back to her feet and rushed in, to grab the red sword. As elegant as always, the slashing sword didn't miss a beat in its assault when Pyrrha snatched it out of the air.

Pyrrha feinted high and Yang fell for it, to be rewarded with Pyrrha punching Yang in the chest and then in quick succession the face. Yang spun with the punch and tried to strike the fall maiden with a spinning side-kick. Catching the kick Pyrrha couldn't help but smile. Yang apparently didn't care for the smile since instead of looking surprised she right-hooked Pyrrha thrice, all right in the smirk.

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Pyrrha shouted lifting the red sword high into the air when Crescent Rose was hooked around the gladiator's neck. Ruby pulled back on the blade, jumped up, and kangaroo booted Pyrrha's spine. As Pyrrha gagged, Yang jumped forward out of the grab, and jump kicked the fall maiden in the chest.

Again, the maiden escape by flying, this time her legs flew over her head into the air until she was upside down and had unhooked herself from Crescent rose. There the maiden floated upside down between the two Xiao-Long sisters.

"Good but needs improvement," Pyrrha said as she pointed towards both sisters and flame erupted from her hands.

Ruby threw her hands up around her eyes as the fire enveloped her, Aura was good but that much intense light would put her eyes out of commission regardless. It took her a second to regain her footing and speed away in a flurry of petals. She could feel the flames licking at her heels when the sound of a Grimm snarl reached her ears. Her eyes opened and she saw a Beowolf bounding towards her.

"INCOMING!" She shouted bifurcating the Beowulf with a quick swing, if she was lucky that creature would be the only one here, but she wasn't naïve enough to trust in that luck. "GRIMM!"

Another Grimm snarl echoed behind her back where Pyrrha was and she spun around quickly and loaded a round into her sniper scythe. There were no Grimm behind her Just Yang engaged in battle with the still upside down Pyrrha, and on the defensive. Her arms were up half the time in a boxer's shelled stance, sparks flying off her aura as Pyrrha slashed at her. All of Yang's spinning kicks had to be high and there was a strange imbalance that comes with fighting an opponent on a different plane than you.

Ruby ejected the round and slammed in a Black dust round before lining up a shot.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby shouted. The fall maiden turned towards her and Yang's head twitched and had to resist the urge to look. Ruby fired, the shot hit Pyrrha in the face, as the energy of gravity dust struck her with the full force of a sniper rifle shot.

Pyrrha slammed to the ground headfirst. Yang wasted no time grabbing Pyrrha's ankles and swinging her around and around, slamming her head through concrete pillars before throwing her through a nearby wall. Yang hopped back to stand next to Ruby.

"They're in there with her!" she said in a low rumble, Ruby glanced at her and saw a grin on her sister's face. "The Grimm, we've got some time."

Yang threw up a new set of shells before slamming her new Ember Celica into them. Now Ruby could hear the growls from the other side of the wall, as Beowulves, creeps, and Ursa attacked the fall maiden, then she heard the laughing. The whimpering of Grimm came after the sound of swords slashing and the manic giggling of the protector of Vale.

"It won't stop her" Ruby intoned, her eyes looking for a new vantage spot to turn into a sniper nest.

"Nope but every bit counts" Yang growled that Grimm growl and Ruby felt fear. "When she comes back through that wall, I say we hit her with a ton of rounds and shells."

"She'd block them."

"I have 4 gravity dust rounds left, how many do you have."

"3" Ruby was starting to get the picture. "After those floating swords of hers are out of the picture I say we unleash the S-st-st-strawberry S-s-s-sunrise!"

Ruby couldn't tell if that stutter was from fear or excitement, though she guessed it was the latter. Yang grinned and slammed her fists together, in evident glee.

"You're the leader Sis!" She said her arms held wide in a just as wide stance.

Ruby could hear the Grimm moving amongst the walls now and while she felt fear, her mind focused on the joys of her life, the happy moments, and all the good that she'd done and had been done for her. That last bit was becoming harder and harder to remember.

Maybe we should go with Yang. Ruby thought. It wasn't a depressing thought within her head, it was more like a new option had been opened up to her. Ruby could leave and still do what's right, right? Ruby smiled at the thought and her mind went back to all the heroes from her old storybooks that were lone gunslingers and errant knights and Ronin who all balked at authority and still helped the people of Remnant.

Ruby Gazed at her sister and smiled, maybe the person she needed to help now more than ever was Yang herself. Yang had been lost, but with Ruby's help maybe she could get Yang back on the right path, not force her to come back home but to eventually choose to come back. Ruby chuckled, it was an idealistic idea but one she could not help but imagine.

And all we need to do is take down Pyrrha and stop her from assassinating General Ironwood. Ruby thought not allowing depression to touch her. What the hell, what else are heroes for?

The growls and mewling of Grimm ceased and the Grimm smoke flitted through the air like so many butterflies on the breeze. Ruby could hear the heels against the ground as she approached, slowly, methodically, like she had all the time in the world to push the two sisters. Ruby took in a deep breath rested her cheek against Crescent Rose's side and looked down the sights. She adjusted the distance and toggled the heat-filter an overlay of bright spot locked over the silhouette of Pyrrha in the smoke. The bright spot grew brighter the closer she approached.

Ruby breathed out then and squeezed the trigger.

BANG!

She had to focus some aura to her ears since they were inside an enclosed space, but still, her baby roared loud. The first dust round struck home, but before it even reached Pyrrha, Ruby had ejected the spent casing and loaded in a new dust round. She could tell that the round had struck aura, by the strange electric nose aura made upon impact. When she fired again, she received a metallic slicing noise in return.

2 left. Ruby thought.

BANG!

Once Ruby heard the ringing sound of metal blocking dust. Ruby would be more precise with this last one and loaded in another round, taking careful precaution with her aiming. Yang roared the Grimm roar and started to unload Ember Celica into Pyrrha, though Ruby's fast eyes could occasionally pick up the multicolored sight of Dust rounds. Again, she heard the sound of spinning blades cutting down both dust and standard rounds.

Then she saw the black shells fire within the rainbow flurry. That was Ruby's que and she took her aim and stilled what she could, her breathing, her racing heart, and even her mind. All that existed in Ruby's mind was the shot. She aimed for the head and squeezed.

BANG!

Pyrrha's head snapped back from the force of the shot and she threw herself forward through the hole in the wall to stand amongst the sisters. Her armor was torn further and her tiara was missing, leaving her hair in total disarray. She stared at Ruby through her hanging hair, though her head started to tilt to the side a bit. She was still smiling.

"Strawberry Sunrise!"

Ruby cocked Crescent Rose, pointed it behind her and fired, she shot off like a bolt, fired again and her speed picked up as she headed towards Yang's back, her super speed picking her sister up as she approached. Soon she caught Yang up in her intense speed as the two siblings zigged and zagged towards Pyrrha, diversifying their attack position as they moved as one. Then they committed right towards the Fall maiden.

Ruby could feel the power that Yang had chambered within her. Despite the damage Yang had taken she'd conserved her aura extremely effectively and had focused it all over the place as they built-up speed. Still, Yang could not look her in the eye, and Ruby felt a spike of doubt. But doubt was for later when Pyrrha wasn't about to kill them. Ruby couldn't guess at the maiden's aura reserves but she knew that they still had a way to go.

They could see the strain Pyrrha's arm was under just to keep the red sword within her hand, the dust rounds had no doubt made it incredibly heavy. The Strawberry sunrise was going to hit her like a loose boarbatusk. Yang pulled her fist back, Ruby flung her sister forward at the last second.

And Pyrrha's head was gone.

The Maiden had flung her head to the ground and with nigh impossible strength managed to swing her sword forward in an arching overhand swing. The immensely heavy sword collided with Yang and smashed her to the ground, Pyrrha dropped the sword and faster than Ruby could blink she spun and side-kicked Ruby right in the guts. Both sisters had huge forward momentum behind them and it had made the punishment they'd just been dealt all the worse for it. Yang tumbled past Pyrrha while Ruby was knocked to the side, her aura flashed and she felt her stomach cry out. Ruby couldn't help but puke.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted turning towards her sister, making eye contact, the worry turned to extreme hate and Yang had to slam her head against the ground and cover her eyes snarling. She was struggling to keep the Grimm down. Then Pyrrha stepped into Ruby's view.

"Just us redheads then" Pyrrha Cooed, she stood by patiently as Ruby scrambled to her feet, trying not to step in her puke. She felt sick as she stood up as well, but that lunch she managed to keep down. Pyrrha's eyes shifted to Yang then back to Ruby. "She'd be up for it Ruby, she'd help me."

"You don't deserve to die Pyrrha," Ruby said.

"No we don't" the corpse voice answered, drowning in Ruby's ear. Pyrrha's face grew sad, the floating camera's position shifted higher. "No, but I want to."

She sprung at Ruby, in a fast flurry of attacks, feinting high and low, Ruby tried to create distance, but in this enclosed space there was nowhere to go, so the fall maiden was able to quickly crowd her. So Close it was hard to use Crescent Rose effectively. Pyrrha Slashed down, Ruby blocked the blade on the haft of crescent rose and took a step back. Her back hit a wall. Pyrrha pushed with unholy strength and slammed the scythe's pole against Ruby's chest.

Reaching past the handle, Pyrrha grabbed a chunk of Ruby's hair and slammed the back of her head against the concrete wall behind her. Ruby cried out in pain before lifting her feet and kicking her former friend in the chest. It was like kicking a brick wall that did deadlifts. Pyrrha yanked downward on the pole and Kneed Ruby in the face, smashing her back against the wall. Her aura flashed and she could tell that her nose had broken.

"Pyrrha… please…" Ruby murmured as she tried to make her head stop ringing. Pyrrha pressed Ruby's face against the wall again and her smile faltered, and she looked like the frightened woman once more.

"Then kill me, Ruby." Pyrrha pleaded, holding her golden-brown eyes shut as she begged and tears leaked out of her emerald eye. "Please I just want to die."

"I…" Ruby croaked as Pyrrha's hand squeezed tighter to her hair. "…I can't Pyrrha, I just can't do it."

"I know," Pyrrha muttered when her fluttering eye snapped open. "But Yang will."

Then the Fall Maiden was gone. Ruby held there for an instant in shock at what just happened, the pressure on her hair and scythe was gone the instant Pyrrha seemed to vanish. It took her a second to realize what had just occurred. Yang had done that strange power-boosting thing and tackled Pyrrha full force off of her traveling incredibly fast. Ruby turned to see Yang lifting her arms and slamming them against Pyrrha's upraised sword.

"Damn right I Will!" Yang shouted as she shot an uppercut underneath Pyrrha's guard and into her face. Bringing up her Dust blade Yang snarled and Ruby tried to collect her head before going in to help, lest she become a hindrance.

Pyrrha hopped back and lifted her hand, palm out towards Yang, Ruby rolled away from the blast zone and loaded a new magazine in, when a torrent of Flame spat from the hero of Vale's hand, engulfing Yang in fire. The fire moved strangely though, it traveled a ways past Yang before halting, then part of the plume seemed to cave in and pull inward towards Yang's face.

Both sides of Pyrrha's face seemed shocked, so much so that she halted her torrent of fire. The concave point pulled in the rest of the fire until it all vanished into Yang's open bleeding mouth. Her larger teeth snapped shut over the tail end of the blaze and she glared up at the still confused maiden, Pyrrha took a step back.

"Thanks" Yang rumbled as heat lines bloomed off of her. "I really needed that."

With a flick of her wrist a Metal piece of Rebar flew at Yang, Yang turned towards it and punched. Flames bloomed around her and the metal rebar was liquid before Yang even touched it.

"Neat little thing I learned Pyrrha…" Yang said, cracking her neck as Ruby lined up a better shot, though she could hear things moving amongst the walls.

More Grimm. She thought, ready to send the beasts Pyrrha's way should they arrive and not get them locked on her or Yang.

"See turns out something interesting happens when Metal is exposed to high enough temperatures." Yang grinned wide and set herself into a low stance with her sword held tight in her grip and her white Grimm weapons cocked and loaded. "They become demagnetized. I learned that little factoid, in case I ever had to fight you again."

Pyrrha matched the grin and the low stance as she stared Yang down. "I was right, you're the one to do it" She paused for an instant. "Thank you, Yang."

The skittering grew louder as Ruby lined up her shot, it was a standard round shot and aimed to pass through; the edge of Yang's heat waves. At the bullet's velocity, there was no way Pyrrha could catch it in time. Then dust fell off the wall above Ruby's head and something was flung down the hall from the stairs… well, two somethings actually.

The first was a dark shape and the second was a raggedy grey mass. Both coalesced into the images of Blake and… MERCURY! Anger breached Ruby's mind as she looked at the metal legged man who'd harmed her sister. Both newcomers had a surprised look on their faces to match Ruby's the only people who seemed unperturbed by the newcomers were Yang and Pyrrha.

Yang seemed disappointed judging by her body posture alone, Blake seemed scared at Ruby's presence and Mercury… Mercury had a glazed overlook on his face as he gazed at Pyrrha. The fall maiden gazed back and put her hands behind her back as if she were waiting for him to kneel to her. Considering her power that wasn't the biggest shock.

"RUBY!" Blake shouted, she seemed in bad shape with a couple of bruises on her neck and face, those injuries only infuriated Ruby further. "Get out of here, he's trying to kill you!"

For all that panic Mercury seemed uninterested in Ruby and fell to his knees staring at Pyrrha. The redhead smirked down at him and his hands went through his hair.

"It's you, isn't it? I saw you die but I know it's you." Mercury said in a high-pitched voice, crying. Freaking crying, Ruby was getting a little freaked out by the whole affair. "How is this-"

"Oh child, I hope you didn't think I was that weak" Pyrrha said back her voice taking on a sultry tone and her green eye shutting tight. She nodded her head upwards. "You've done good service for me now keep the animal and the Faunus busy."

"But I thought-" Mercury began to protest.

"Don't think…" Pyrrha interrupted him.

"Obey" Mercury finished. He ripped off his rags exposing his chest to the air, it was scarred and muscled to hell, in his hand was a green knife and on his robotic legs were his gun greaves. He pointed to Yang. "Come on Bimbo, lets finish this you and me! if you don't I'll have to pay dear old dad a visit when this is all over."

"If you think I'm goin-" Before Yang could finish Mercury had launched himself forward towards the blonde, his boots connected with Yang blocking hands and the soles turned red hot at the heat, before he blasted back towards Blake, spinning his feet in a hurricane kick towards her face.

Blake threw up Gambol shroud to protect herself, and as the heel of Mercury's boot met the blade sparks blasted off of it right into Blake's eyes. Blake snarled gripping her face. Mercury landed, turned away from Blake before vaulting backwards and kicking the back of her head with a scissor kick. Ruby started to rush towards Blake when Pyrrha lifted her hand and a black aura covered Crescent Rose.

"No no noo your fight is with me" Pyrrha purred at Ruby.

Yang rushed in behind Pyrrha wrapped her arms around the maiden's stomach and suplexed her into the ground.

"Wrong Bitch!" Yang snapped back. "Your fight is with me."

Ruby rushed in, she was fast but didn't waste too much of her aura on her semblance. Mercury kicked Blake in the back of the knee before spinning at firing a shot at Ruby. Ruby rolled with the shot only for her chest to be pushed back by some unseen force, it knocked the wind out as she was pushed.

"Careful Ruby!" Blake shouted. "He's go &(*&%^#$^#"

That was a strange thing to hear and Blake's lips seemed to mesh and distort almost to match her strange sounds.

Maybe he hit her head a bit too hard. Ruby thought, wondering how hard she'd been hit since Mercury's head had popped off his shoulders and was floating towards her as the body continued to engage Blake in a one-sided fight. What the…

"Sorry kid." The dripping head said in a conversational tone. "The boss called dibs. Maybe we'll fight after I'm done with the beast and the bitch."

The head smiled and the skin sloughed off exposing a full head of green hair, dark skin, and crimson Eyes.

Emerald.

Yang

As Ruby and Blake were Horrified, Yang had some issues of her own to deal with. Instead of rolling with the suplex, Pyrrha flew straight up, still upside down, with her hair scraping the floor. She grabbed Yang's scarf, spun, and flung the blonde right towards Mercury.

Oh, you're not getting rid of me that easily. Yang thought, firing ember Celica behind her to halt her momentum. As she stopped in midair, she had time for Pyrrha to smirk right before Mercury landed a heel kick to her spine. Yang tumbled to the ground rolling upward just aching to rip this smarmy bastard's legs off once more.

Yang kept her eyes on the prize: Pyrrha. The redhead was already sauntering towards Ruby. Yang started towards her former Amazonian friend when Mercury stepped into her path. Yang's knuckles turned white and as she jumped over him a barely visible heel swung for her face, she managed to block it with her hand. She rushed again and saw a few more illusory kicks and punches tossed her way.

I can see the illusion though. She thought not confused but prideful. She knew that it wasn't Mercury getting weaker it was the Grimm within her coming to the forefront.

I have to get past him though. She thought to herself as she was repelled once again. Then she heard a dripping and turned to see how bad a shape Blake was in. There were burn marks around her eyes and her body was bruised and blood was dripping out from random gaps in her armor.

Blake saw Yang noticing and stood up straighter. As she stood up she winced and Yang could see that Blake was trying to play off how injured she was. Guilt flooded through Yang's mind as she saw someone who had once been her best friend in such a situation and all she could think about was how to leave her to her doom.

"Go help Ruby I got this," Blake shouted trying to hide her aura-shakes. Yang shook her head and focused her aura on her semblance letting the flame bloom even brighter.

"How about we both beat the snot out of Mercury." Yang turned back to face the shirt-less assassin who grinned back and her and leered with 1 red and one grey eye. "Then we go help, Ruby."

Blake raised both parts of Gambol shroud. "Sounds like a plan."

They held there for a second when Yang and Mercury rushed one another. Blake held back and Gambol shroud spun in and around Mercury cutting at where his illusions had been. Yang tried to focus to get a better sense of what was an illusion and what wasn't but at Mercury's speed, it wasn't easy.

Mercury slid in low and Yang raked at him with her sword. Mercury blocked the blade with his heel, before standing straight up and kicking a spinning heel kick towards Yang's face. Yang ducked in time to see Gambol shroud spinning right towards her face. Launching her hand out she snatched the weapon up and slashed Mercury with the shorter blade. When she tried to press the attack, Blake ripped the smaller blade out of Yang's hand and Mercury started cutting at Yang with the small knife. Yang leaned back just out the blade's reach but not far enough away to avoid Mercury's crescent kick. As she spun Mercury Push kicked her back and she rolled with it.

"Easy…. Huh… easy…" he sounded out of breath and sweat was coating his face, his heels were turning red hot once more and Yang smiled, the heat was eating at him. He shook his head and turned it as if he were listening to some voice off to the side.

That was When Yang and Blake closed in on him. Yang didn't even need to tell Blake to strike, it was just serendipity. The Faunus slashed at Mercury's head and he hopped back, Yang jumped back with him and kicked right at his knee, he blocked by lifting his leg. Blake wrapped the tassel of her sickle around him, pinning his arms and his upraised legs to his chest and Yang kicked out his leg.

Yang pounced on top of him and raised her fist back.

"Fine!" Mercury spat in a higher-pitched voice. "Semblance against Semblance".

Then Yang was covered in darkness, there was nothing around her, Yang was just floating in the void. It was crushing and vast and enveloping. Yang felt nothing but an absence all around her. So… Yang punched her fist down to where Mercury's face had been. She felt her knuckles hit something, then she punched, again and again, each connecting with something, and each time the void faded back and she got an emotional echo of rage and fury.

"ENOUGH!" a voice echoed from below Yang and then she felt things go rather wonky. Her hair felt like it was being pulled back from her and could feel the pull of the world against her as gravity sucked her backward into a roll.

Yang focused on the dust blade in her hand into the black dust and her heat-enhanced semblance shifted towards gravity-enhanced semblance and she began to float. The pull of gravity was now inconsequential as she levitated there above the ground. In the darkness, she could start to make out an outline of people, Blake nearby, the outline of Ruby rushing back and forth away from Pyrrha who herself was distorted in this emotional world of senses. And on the ground struggling to untangle themselves was Mercury, he'd gotten his leg freed.

Like Pyrrha there was something wrong with his emotional resonance, sometimes his outline would be that of himself sometimes it would be that of a Young woman. It was easy for Yang to recognize Emerald there. The whys of it all were for later, the questions and conundrums were for another time and place. Yang simply floated in the strange void without a thing to tether her to the earth, she had work to do. She shot Ember Celica back behind her and flew at Mercury, he spun a heel kick towards her face, Yang shot her gauntlets downward towards Remnant, flipped and came down smashing her mask right into Mercury's smug nose.

The void evaporated as he stumbled back, his aura flashed at that moment and Yang felt the satisfaction of a successful hit. Blake shook her head and her eyes zeroed in on Mercury.

"Running out of juice Merc!" Yang chastised as Blake popped up behind Mercury and Yang herself rushed in. "It's going to get you killed."

Yang focused on her hatred, let her tunnel vision take over as she brought the pain unto Mercury. He was dodging them and untangling himself all in one swift action, but Yang felt confident, his illusions were weaker to her and she had him. She let the hate take her for now, for once Mercury was out of the Picture, she could go help Ruby against Pyrrha.

For now, she'd enjoy herself. Even as Mercury grinned

Ruby

Ruby had been in many fights in her life, dust the Xiao-Long/Rose family were all professional fighters and huntsmen. In a fight, there is a good back and forth between combatants of similar skill levels, great give and take as each one either adapted to their opponents or their opponents manipulate them. Ruby had fought people who'd outclassed her, and people who'd been foolish to fight her.

None of those fights were as one-sided as this one was for Ruby. Pyrrha was just pressing advantage after advantage against Ruby and Ruby couldn't find a sweet spot to strike back from. The fight in the streets of mountain Glenn had been her on the up, this enclosed space showed what the real fight was. The scythe was a great weapon; a strong unorthodox pole-arm that not many people knew about so not many people could plan around it. But it was long and in this enclosed space that made it a hindrance.

A weakness that Pyrrha wasted no time in exploiting. Even with Ruby's super speed, Pyrrha would block off exits and locations with either a thrown sword or a surprise lunge. When she floated off the ground she was nearly as fast as Ruby. The only Advantage that Ruby now possessed was that all pole-arms were great at parrying. But Pyrrha was no slouch in a fight and seemed to revel in the closeness of them as she hacked and tore at Ruby's defenses.

Ruby's speed semblance was certainly helping her but in a fight, it's not all speed, it's timing, when you strike when you feint, not how fast. And it was as if Pyrrha could watch the world in slow motion.

She was going easy on me. Ruby thought as Pyrrha Feinted high then sucker-punched Ruby in the stomach. Ruby had to swallow bile as she tried to roll away only for the wind to pull her back close enough for Pyrrha to rake her across the back with her new red sword. Ruby smashed away the second strike and tried to get a return slash in when crescent Rose's head caught itself on a hole in the wall. Pyrrha sneered when she grabbed Ruby by the throat and punched her through the wall.

Ruby hit the ground, she moved quickly and the fall maiden pursued, her speed semblance utilized her aura mostly but she needed it to create distance. She jumped in the air and fired a shot at the fall maiden, who simply lifted her hand and the bullet was deflected with a strange ring spreading out from the impact point.

Wait. Ruby thought as that technique brought back the memory she'd had when she first joined beacon. On the bullhead with Torchwick.

Pyrrha rushed right at her and Ruby swung her scythe back as if to make a horizontal slash, the fall Maiden merely flung herself up and over Ruby. Ruby grinned and fired her scythe behind her flinging her back through the wall with the momentum of her she reached the other side she turned around, towards the hole and slashed, the tip of crescent Rose smashing right into Pyrrha's chin.

Pyrrha hit the ground. Ruby shifted her baby into rifle form and unloaded into the fall maiden, targeting her arms, that were trying to lift her, as well as her face and neck. A green sword flung through the air spinning right for Ruby's head she ducked, fired a shot into Pyrrha's face and used the momentum to move her further away from the bloodthirsty maiden.

As she ran she caught sight of Yang and Blake's fight with Mercury and it was bizarre. There were flashing images appearing all around Mercury, copies of him bounding off in different directions and other more horrifying things shifting and curling on the wind. Some Ruby would've thought we so real were it not for Blake's bullets passing right through them.

"Wha-" Pyrrha pounced on Ruby gripping her chin in her hand and making the smaller redhead look at the madness coming off of Mercury, it was like some weird glitch in a video game.

"Isn't it fascinating to watch?" Pyrrha asked squeezing Ruby's face. "They've developed their semblance to such a degree that it acts passively when they wish to. Sometimes it's to make them fade into the background, other times its to make them seem bigger. They're going full out now, its all crazy and we can see the leftovers of it as they work."

Illusion semblance.

The tips of Pyrrha's fingers started to sizzle around Ruby's cheeks. Ruby pulled out a small curved dagger from her belt and slashed it across Pyrrha's stomach. The fall maiden yelped and her grip loosened enough for Ruby to pop her head out of the lock and start running again. She was running on fumes now, this was bad.

If this is what I'm seeing than what the hell are Blake and Yang seeing. Ruby thought as she checked Crescent Rose only to find one round left.

Yang

Now Mercury was showing off his A-game. Gravity and sense of space were fighting Yang, Gravity dust had beat those down well enough. She couldn't always tell exactly where he was but the heat coming off her was still taking chunks from his aura. The freaky things were when she'd lose all sense to her arm, or her leg and she could swear they weren't there.

But her worry would vanish each time she finally caught Mercury and smashed a good left hook into him. Blake wasn't faring as well as Yang. The Faunus had become Mercury's target now and when Yang pressed him, he'd press Blake. Pain, blindness, sensory overload, they all hit Yang half as hard but for Blake they were near unbearable. And yet the Faunus still stood up and fought.

Then there's Emerald! Yang grimaced to herself as the floating thief would hang around mocking Yang every chance she got. Yang could tell she wasn't real but she acted so real it was hard to ignore.

"How do you think this ends Yang?" Emerald asked as Yang tried to chokeslam Mercury into the dirt only to have his body break apart like a small doll complete with plastic joints. "With you somehow beating a true Maiden AND Mercury, and then you get welcomed back to vale with open arms?"

The real Mercury side-stepped in and launched a sidekick at Yang's head. Yang popped up, grabbed his leg, spun, and threw him towards Blake. Blake missed the slash by 4 feet.

"Maybe they'll even give you a parade" Emerald mocked floating after Yang. "Perhaps they'll even allow dear old mommy to join you… oh, wait she is a Murderer."

"Shut up!" Yang hissed to the illusion. Emerald grinned a smug grin.

"You're talking to an illusion, not the best sign for your mental health is it?" Emerald laughed and Mercury burst into a pile of King taijitus. Yang waited for the bite that was supposed to hide Mercury's return stroke. "She'd not just my murderer, but tons more. She is a true killer now that I think about it."

The knife strike came and slashed at Yang's dwindling aura, she cut back with her sword and felt like she managed to take a bite from his side, only for him to burst into smoke mostly clouding her vision.

"Really, she's killed so many people." Emerald prattled on and Yang focused on her Grimm senses to get a feel for where everybody was at that moment. The Grimm was angered by its inability to snag the prey. "I mean even legendary Summer Rose was at her mercy."

That made Yang's blood run cold, and she slashed at the Emerald illusion, the red was coating her now and she would make them pay.

"YOU DON'T GET TO SAY HER NAME! NEVER!" Yang screamed eliciting a laugh from the Assassin man. Yang could smell him there and rushed towards him ignoring the stenches and smells and tastes he'd put into her mind.

Blake ran to help before doubling over and retching on the ground, her sense no doubt overloaded with horrid smells and tastes and ear-splitting noises.

Raven trained me for this, Dust do I hate illusionists. Yang focused on her gravity dust and propelled faster towards Mercury and punched him in the side of the face, he didn't dodge or block, his head seemed to burst forth in a spray of blood.

And Weiss looked at her with pleading eyes and Yang's heart stopped.

"Yang?" Weiss asked holding the side of her face as it bled near her eye where Yang had struck her last.

"Weiss?" Yang felt fear and panic.

This is an illusion, it's an illusion. She tried to repeat to herself, but it wasn't working, she looked like Weiss, smelled like Weiss, and sounded exactly like Weiss. Then the knife came in under her ribs right past one of her aura shields, and it was ripped out. Weiss was holding a bloody Myrtnaster in her hand as Yang stumbled back and coughed up blood.

"Why did you make me do that Yang?" Weiss asked. And Yang felt hope drop out of her and fear threatened to take over.

"I'm sorry Weiss," Yang said and Mercury grinned behind Weiss' sobbing face.

Ruby

"I'm sorry Weiss" Ruby heard that clear as day, she glanced towards that battle and saw Yang on her back foot hand holding onto a bleeding side and the strange illusion fest that surrounded Mercury's true self was fast approaching her, a dozen dripping blades held in a hundred hands.

Yang! Ruby lifted her rifle, she could feel Pyrrha seconds behind her. She took in a deep breath and before she could let it out her vision filled with red leaves. She looked down her sights and she could see Bremer bearing down on a beaten Yang. No, Not again…

Ruby's breathing came in ragged and fear overtook her as the panic attack hit her, she was afraid she'd make the same mistake that she'd done before. Bremer started to pour off illusory copies of himself into the either and Yang's side started gushing out ichor once more. The fear and panic were in Ruby but when she saw her sister weakened there an image of a smiling face beneath a burning mane of Golden hair smiled back at her.

I'm okay, Ruby, you didn't kill me. It's going to be okay the smiling face said. Ruby let out her breath and flicked on the heat sensor. An outline of 'Bremer' formed in her scope as she matched up her shot. Pyrrha burst through the branches of the trees of the forest of forever fall, red leaves spiraling through the air. She slashed at Ruby's head.

No! Not Again! Ruby thought defiantly, using the last of her super speed to crouch beneath Pyrrha's slash, line up her shot and fire.

BANG!

Yang

The shot sounded loud and proud as a bullet tore through Weiss' knee, spraying pieces of metal and wires everywhere. Mercury fell to the ground where Weiss had once stood gripping his damaged mechanical legs in torment. The pain in Yang's side was great and when she lunged she could feel blood pulsing out of the wound. But she hit him, hard right in the chin, and smashed him to the ground face first. She grinned as she lifted her leg to finish it when her sister cried out.

"AHHHH!" Ruby cried and Yang's head turned. Ruby's eyes were closed and Pyrrha's fist had connected with her chin turning Ruby's head and shattering her semblance in a red-black display. Yang's heart dropped into her stomach as she stared. Ruby fell and Pyrrha's foot hit her in the side.

Crack!

Ruby gasped and blood sprayed out. The red was everywhere now. Red like Roses. Yang's hand reached up and flicked the switch to the Grimm agitator. The sound was excruciating, infuriating and it was what she needed at that moment. Pyrrha turned and Yang roared. She was the Grimm and she was going to kill a maiden.

Penny

"Please exit in a calm and orderly manner in keeping with Atlas assigned procedures," Penny said calmly as the hordes of Grimm that had been latched onto the base of the ruined mountain Glenn apartment buildings continued to claw and scrape their way up. They'd been moving like this consistently for the last hour or so unless an easy victim caught their sights, like the Atlessians and the white fang.

Penny Journal: Grimm become hungry (Note: Ravenous is a good word) when saturated by negative emotions. They will seek out any target they deem weak if the most saturated target is difficult to reach.

That had been Penny's fault really since she'd been working her way through the mounds and mounds of black flesh since the rest of Tyr squad vanished and she was put in charge of the retreat of Atlas standard forces. And now she was heading up the full retreat of All atlas forces with her recovery of Tyr squad.

"What are you doing?" Clover chastised her as she lifted him out of the ruined building with her filament wires. "I ordered you to get in there and apprehend the target before the fall Maiden slays her!"

While Clover had been talking Penny had assessed the remainder of Tyr squad, barring Clover and Neon, they were almost completely drained of aura. Marrow, Vivian and Bremer were out of it and Clover was afraid.

Penny Journal: a huntsman must not fear especially a team leader, panic does not make for sound decisions.

"Are you hearing me, Penny."

"Yes, captain my ears are combat-ready." She turned and skewered an Ursa through the neck, before spinning and ripping a Beowulf off the building and tossing it into a hole in the earth. She turned back to face him. "But I've been placed in charge of the retreat of Atlas forces and you are not in the proper state of mind to retake command."

"On vhat grounds…" Vivian gurgled out glaring at Penny, Penny smiled back that's what her father always taught her to do. Penny gestured to her chest.

"My gut" Penny answered everyone looked aghast but Marrow smiled and Neon grinned. "And that is all the evidence I need in this situation."

Clover paused, looked back to his group then back to Penny before nodding and running to join the rest of the retreating Atlas forces behind the barricade. The rest of Tyr squad followed him but Neon hung back. She skated over to Penny an out of place serious look on her face.

"Yes, Agent Neon Katt." Penny inquired, Neon's mouth twitched upwards but she still seemed lower than normal.

"While we were fighting Yang she signed something to me" Neon began. "We saw a girl in the ruins who initially fought us to get a chance at fighting Yang. She had green hair and red eyes and I swore I remembered her from somewhere."

Processing mission for later: look up known huntsmen/huntresses with that description.

"But Yang signed something to me, I never would've guessed that she knew sign language but whatever. She said that the woman was actually Mercury Black, the guy who's leg she broke 2 years ago who's supposed to be dead right now, and said that he had an illusion semblance." Neon looked at Clover worried while Penny compiled information.

Penny Journal: Green hair Red eyes, associates with Mercury Black… Emerald Sustrai! Penny saved that note inside her brain for later.

"Whoever they were they vanished once we started chasing Yang… if she's telling the truth you have to keep an eye out. Yang said he was dangerous."

"Noted friend Neon," Penny said as seriously as she could. The situation wasn't going the greatest but the evacuation was going well enough, they even managed to snag a few white fang members. Penny watched Neon go blending with the crowd that was retreating. But there was someone else, moving against the current of the crowd with blonde hair and a shield strapped to his arm.

"Jau-"

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! A scream interrupted Penny's words and she felt fear claw at her and could sense that something was looking at her. The Grimm at the building's base all stopped what they were doing, pointed their heads upwards, and started howling in unison. The fur on each of the creatures stood on end and the howling melded into a single note that sounded like humming. The retreating Atlas forces froze at the upsetting sound. The Grimm moved away from the building and turned their backs to it as if guarding it, no it was more like something had already laid claim to that hunting ground and they were seeking out other feasts.

The Atlas forces sped up their retreat, Jaune hesitated in his movements and Penny let her blades bloom out behind her and charged up her energy. The Grimm smiled and rushed the barricade.

Blake

Yang was stood there, the black of her costume had spread over her and enveloped her. Her hair had melded with the black of her Grimm-flesh flaming out behind her moving like an agitated flame, the only other colors on Yang were her pale white gauntlets and mask, and the Grimm red light emanating from the helmet's eye sockets. Her hair waved and flowed and twitches were flowing through her body as she stood there. It terrified Blake.

We've made a terrible mistake. Blake thought, looking at the current casualties, Ruby was on the ground holding her stomach shaking, Mercury's knee was everywhere and Yang was a monster. White talons crawled out of her fingertips, the place she'd been cut was sealing itself with a white growth pouring out of it to solidify into a Grimm plate. The only one who seemed happy by the whole affair was the Fall Maiden.

"Well well, wel-" Pyrrha started. When Yang threw her hands down and roared again, it shook the room and despite her Grimm appearance the human part of her cry sang through. "That's very-"

Yang pounced then, she was fast and left cratered holes in the floor where she'd lunged from. Pyrrha flew to the side, Yang fired ember Celica and altered her course towards the fall maiden. The gravity dust started pulling the two monsters towards one another. Pyrrha lifted her red sword and swung horizontally. Yang ducked the attack and her clawed hand sprung up gripping the maiden by the throat, before turning and throwing her to the ground. Pyrrha started to float back up but Yang slammed both feet down onto her back then with a wild abandon started hammering her fists down into Pyrrha's shoulder blades, lifting them above her head and slamming them down as one strike.

The building shook and Pyrrha's aura flashed. Blake didn't have time to be impressed by that display of raw power as she ran to help Ruby up. Her leader's armor had been ripped and dented in several places and she was still drooling blood. Blake tried to rouse her, feeling around for any broken bones.

I can't feel anything broken yet. Blake thought though the idea didn't bring her much comfort. Then she touched a rib and Ruby winced. Okay a rib is broken.

She shook Ruby a little and the red head's eye split open and silver look up at her.

"Hey… Blake" she croaked out trying to sit up when a black shape was thrown past Blake's view and a hurricane-force wind buffeted Ruby and Blake. Blake covered Ruby's eyes as Grimm-Yang hit the wall on all fours like a beast and bounced off back towards her target.

"Yes, this is exactly what I wanted!" Pyrrha screamed back and the building shook as they came to blows once more.

"We need to leave now Ruby," Blake said lifting up her leader. "What's that noise?"

Blake tilted her head and she heard two distinct noises on the wind, one was a low agitating thrumming noise that felt like a misplayed violin. The other sound was a howling. Ruby tilted her head and coughed up more blood, before shivering from Aura exhaustion.

"Grimm…" Ruby muttered. "Grimm howling."

The realization made the sound far more unsettling for Blake, but she pressed on when she heard the sound of scraping metal behind her and turned to see Mercury standing there his hip cocked in a rather feminine display.

"No no no," he said, wagging his finger back and forth. "You have something of mine Ruby." He held his hand palm up. "I need that picture."

Blake pushed the exhausted Ruby behind her, checked Gambol Shroud. The magazine was empty, she was low on aura, but she wasn't seeing any weird visions coming off of Mercury and he was injured the same as her. The strange thrumming noise was still bothering her ears.

What is that? She thought, lifting her Katana sure she was about to die in her last fight. Well if it's to protect my pack leader then it'll all be worth it.

Yang

It was right, so right. The world made sense now as the father's maiden continued to attack her with the great elements mastered under the father's design… no, the father had gone, now it was her design, her who sung to the Grimm. She ruled now and she demanded that the strongest live.

"I am the strongest!" Yang screamed though she knew no one could understand her, save her brothers and sisters, and her mother. The maiden was poorly chosen, they were 3 sharing the power meant for one, too much too much too much. The torrent of flame spouted from the Red Maiden's mouth, she pretended to be a dragon, but Yang was the Dragon and her mouth opened and consumed the flame. It tasted bitter yet joyful, apathetic yet more alive than ever, regretful yet vindictive.

This human tasted so wrong. When the flame was gone so was the maiden, Yang couldn't fathom where she'd gone until the heel smashed into the back of her head. The heel hit her right in the red aura, the old aura was all but gone and the Grimm ruled her that and the Red. She turned and clawed at the redhead. They were brutal swipes and her gauntlets helped her move, they wanted to rip into her, she wanted to rip into everyone, but this creature especially.

The Grimm were the father's favorites, not magic, magic was weak, magic fades, it fades quickly in this new world but the Grimm were eternal they were always eternal and with Her singing to them every second they were stronger than ever. The maiden spun away from the claws and slashed along Yang's stomach devouring what little remained of the old aura.

Good, let her take it I am stronger without it. She could see the colors now of fear and terror, of rage and worse in the fall maiden and Yang was happy to see it. Yang was stronger than her. Without her aura Yang was one of the stronger people on Remnant, she put many years focused on her physical fitness and how hard she could strike and be struck, with her aura she was an even greater powerhouse, with her semblance she was nigh unstoppable. But with the Grimm powering her, with her rage on full and the agitator driving the Grimm within crazy she was a monster.

Using the feat of her Ursa brethren Yang sped forward and tackled the maiden through a wall. Yang threw her head back and roared in glory again and her siblings roared with her. The scent of fear hit her ear and she turned, there were three of them, three prey standing there. She couldn't see their faces, could barely see them but she could sense them, sense the fear and the worry and the torment they had inside, and relished it.

Blake

Yang was staring at them with her glowing red eyes and Blake tried to stifle her fear, this was not a terror she could give into not now and not with Ruby.

"Yang?" Blake said cautiously. Mercury turned towards her, Yang's eyes zeroed in on Mercury. Her maw split open and the inside of her mouth was just as glowing red as her eyes, a red chasm in the black void around her. Then she moved.

Yang

Yang flew through the air, her arms thrown back with abandon as she propelled herself towards the faceless enemies that she was going to destroy. The first one kicked a spinning crescent kick to her face, her teeth clamped down on the leg, and with a twist and pull she ripped the metal apart and clear from the knee. She hit the ground and moved again, she was upon the other before the screams could register with her. She pulled her claw back and slammed it into the guarding sword of her opponent.

Strong? She grabbed the blade Yanked down and punched them in the gullet. They vanished and a smaller creature was left behind. Her eyes were covered. Weak!

No!

Blake

Blakewas propelled to the side with Yang's strike and her aura protested then failed. She looked up, her sword held in her hand as Yang stared down at Ruby her hair flowing in black tendrils. Blake shifted her sword to the sickle form but something confused her; Yang just stood there, her dark claws extended towards Ruby, and her head tilted as if in confusion. The darkness around her pulsed in a strange rhythm.

Like the sound on the edge of my senses. Blake thought, trying her best to pinpoint the noise. It was coming from above them, somewhere. Maybe if I-

Yang took a step towards Ruby and Blake's attention returned to the matter at hand. She was tired out of aura and Yang… Yang had gone wrong. Ruby still had her eyes covered with her hands but Yang was slowly walking towards her sister her clawed hand outstretched and Mercury was gritting his teeth in pain as he glared at the Xiao-Long siblings. Blake could've sworn she saw a grin on his face.

"Yang!" Blake shouted and the Grimm's head turned towards her instantly and the red pits that were her eyes seemed to gleam in recognition. "Yang that's Ruby! Don't hurt Ruby!"

"R-u-by," Yang mumbled out shaking her head a bit her mask twitching this way and that and her hair flamed behind her.

"Yes, Ruby." Blake pressed on. "Protect Ruby."

"Prey, raaah Ruby rasraga" Yang though a Grimm seemed confused, only a few words were even legible between her snarls and roars. "Ruby… Weak"

I'll take it. Blake thought, lifting her sword. Yang is afraid of being weak.

"Yes, she's weak!" Blake shouted waving her sword to make herself seem bigger and more of a threat. "You'd be weak if you fought her, you need to fight someone strong"

"RRRRRAAAAAAAA STRONG!" Yang snarled stalking toward Blake and away from Ruby.

Well, at least Ruby will be okay. Blake thought as Ruby's hands fell and she screamed towards Blake. Yang paid no attention as she rushed towards the faunus, but she stopped a hair's breadth from her former partner her head tilted to the side, towards Pyrrha.

The fall Maiden held the red sword in her hand. She paused then threw it, Yang batted it out of the air and rushed to Pyrrha, her fists flying in stunning combinations. Pyrrha blocked the rolling punches, before jumping up and kicking Yang square in the face. Yang's head snapped back before zooming forward and smashing her Mask right into Pyrrha's skull. The force of the blow shook the building and the walls and ceiling started to crumble as they hammered one another.

Blake rushed over to Ruby picking her up and moving her towards the stairwell.

We have to get out of here! Blake thought in panic as she practically dragged Ruby towards the exit. The wall split apart and Pyrrha and Yang rolled in blocking the stairwell. Pyrrha was launching out pinpoint strikes aiming for pressure points while Yang was returning the punishment with devastating combinations. Not that way.

Blake turned around as the building shook apart around them, she could still hear that strange thrumming and Mercury laughing. She brought Ruby up to a nearby window thinking risking a jump might be their only option. They peered out, the Grimm were there in hordes howling up while others near attempting to maul the fleeing Atlessians and White Fang to death.

"Not that way either," Blake muttered when Ruby gripped her shoulder tightly. Blake turned towards her leader.

"I… I think I can d-d-d-deal with them" Ruby managed to cough out, she pointed towards her eyes. "I think… maybe I can try to use this."

She bent over and coughed blood. Blake held her it was a risk but what choice did they have left.

"What about Yang, she'd pretty grimmified right now. It might… it might kill her" Ruby stared out as the window they were looking out of collapsed inward towards them and they were forced to jump back away from the falling debris.

"Maybe I can shake her out of it" Ruby mused though Blake could sense the doubt and fear in her leader's mind. Ruby struggled to her feet standing as tall and as straight as she could. "You'll have to get the picture of Mercury out, find that Camera Pyrrha was recording us with. I Can Do this!"

Blake took a deep breath and then nodded. Through thick or thin, she would trust Ruby, she would trust her leader. She just hoped it wouldn't get her killed.

Yang

Yang was on the back foot now, she was under pressure as Pyrrha slammed strike after strike at her. When they hit they hurt but Yang was weakening her. It was pure joy this fight, nothing else existed but Grimm-Yang and her prey. And each hit was Pyrrha building up to her doom. Every time the fall maiden rose off the ground Yang would jump up and grip her ankles only to slam her back down, for every pinpoint strike she'd hit with, Yang would hammer back a powerful shot.

The Grimm have a strength to them that so many people ignore, even the fall maiden who was a creature of three minds. That strength was patience. The injured Grimm will return stronger, the older a Grimm gets the smarter it becomes, and the Grimm endure. And Yang had been enduring, Atlas forces, Mercury, Tyr-squad, Adam Taurus, and Pyrrha. And building inside her had been her weapon, her thing to finish it and now that she was full into the Grimm she would endure until it was ready.

The building was crumbling around them, it would collapse in on itself any minute now and the other Grimm would have them. A collapse would destroy the agitator, even full into the Grimm she knew that. But despite being on a time table she inherently knew the lessons of the New Mother.

Wait my child wait. Was whispered into her ear as Pyrrha picked her up and smashed her through a pillar. The fall maiden slammed her against the wall again and again. Pulling her fist back and grinning out from her red hair, Pyrrha looked as maddened as Yang had been.

Good, we are sisters in this madness, sires of our lost father. Yang thought.

The maiden mewled. Then she sighed. There was disappointment on her face, that face that had hurt Yang, that had threatened her sister, HER MOTHER! HAD RUINED YANG'S as a Grimm she could see it behind the meat, the face of a sneering black-haired monster that had escaped her just punishment. Pyrrha reached her fist back winding up the strike.

She threw the punch as the ceiling started to cave in.

NOW! Yang ducked to the side and threw her punch over Pyrrha's own. Yang threw her whole weight behind it and most importantly threw the entirety of her semblance behind the strike. In that instant, Pyrrha seemed relieved. Pyrrha's punch slipped Yang as Yang's fist connected with the maiden's face it hit like a mountain being dropped on an anthill. Yang felt the force of the strike burn the muscles of her arm, the walls blew away the Ceiling crashed inward. But most importantly…

Pyrrha's aura shattered into nothing as Yang's fist traveled through and she felt bone break under her knuckles. Pyrrha was flung back through one of the few remaining pillars. As the building began to collapse on top of her.

Yang threw her head back and screamed in triumph, it had hurt but she'd done it the building was breaking around her now, she knew she should be worried but she wasn't sure she could care or wanted too. She was burning she was fire and she was the dragon. She'd beaten the maiden she was STRONG.

"Yang?" a voice said and Yang's head turned, red eyes stared into silver, and her mind went Blank.

Yang

Yang felt Groggy, Yang felt exhausted, she could feel every drop of blood flowing through her veins. It took her a minute to recognize her surroundings, there was nothing but rubble surrounding her now, concrete, rebar and Grimm smoke all around her.

Grimm smoke… Yang thought woozy, then the unclean feeling suffused her. Grimm?... I was the Grimm!

The feeling had been overwhelming, exhilarating she was the predator, the monster that everyone had said she was, and it had been power. Yang laughed, raised her fists into the air, and touched her finger to her chin, she felt sticky substance on her finger, she looked down at her closed fist, it was red with blood. Yang froze and felt a wave of sickness worm its way inside her, she could feel something within her closed fist. A young smiling face flashed in her mind.

"No…" she whimpered as her mind tried to fill in the blanks of what had just happened while she was out of it, she looked around everywhere, looking for any signs of other life in the hopes that this might all prove to be just a nightmare within her head.

She only found Mercury for her troubles, he was leaning against a pile of broken building.

"it's a Yes Bimbo" Mercury smirked before letting out a wracking cough, one of his mechanical legs had been torn off and he was bruised and bleeding. Pyrrha's body was buried under rubble, Blake and Ruby were nowhere to be seen, it was just Yang and Mercury here alone… and he was out of aura.

"You know," He continued between coughs of blood. "I'd hoped to give you the ultimate retribution for what you did to Emerald and Cinder, AND ME!"

Yang felt her heart drop out of her chest as she watched him sitting there in his neat little victory. She hated him, dust did she hate him, he was smug and arrogant and was willing to destroy her life.

"I wanted all that." He grinned, his smile was missing a few teeth. "But turns out I didn't need to take those things from you myself… you destroyed them all on your own." He slapped his face and giggled like a girl.

"You went full boarbatusk Yang and well you didn't disappoint." He spat out a wad of blood and nodded towards her closed fist. "Hell, you even got yourself a souvenir."

Yang's gaze returned to her hand and the THING she felt within it. There are some things that are objectively true in life, Gravity pulls things down, hard work leads to results and the Grimm are forever. But the difficulty of a task is always in the eye of the beholder, on any other day in any other year opening her hands would be as easy as breathing for Yang and any person on Remnant, but now it felt impossible.

Yang eventually opened her palm, the fingers felt like they were made of rusty machine bits as the splayed open. Yang looked at what was in her hand and it looked back. The silver eyeball stared at her from her palm, and Yang found herself too horrified to scream.

I… killed my sister… I killed my sister… The eyeball fell out of Yang's hand and onto the floor, it didn't bounce, it just kind of splatted there, but it fell in such a way that when Yang looked down the eye looked back up at her. It judged her. Yang's breathing came in Ragged and harsh and panic took her, the fear and regret, she screamed now holding onto herself. She screamed in horror and torment and screamed until her throat was ragged.

Then Mercury laughed at her. It was a shrill laugh, almost girlish and it mocked Yang, mocked her entirely. And it mocked Ruby. Yang's eyes slowly turned from the eyeball on the ground to Mercury Black resting against the crumbled pillar.

"HEHEHEH oh my god this is so PERFECT!" He shouted. "You KILLED your sister, oh my god, you went all Grimm to keep her safe from Pyrrha and you killed her yourself. HA! How can you not find this funny?"

Yang moved on automatic as she approached Mercury, still reveling in his mirth. He raised his hands in surrender, though there was mockery in that gesture as well.

"Heheheh… ok ok ok. I surrender." Mercury grinned then and turned his head as if he were hearing some far-off voice. Yang could've speculated on what that voice was, but now she couldn't find it in herself to care. "Go ahead, take me to prison, and clear your precious name, for all that's worth to you."

Yang just stared down at him and pushed her mask up her head and away from her eyes. She was crying she could tell, she couldn't feel the sadness though, she couldn't feel anything. The Emotions she'd experienced had been too much and her mind had left her numb.

I should bring him in and clear my name. a part of Yang's conscious mind thought. The Grimm inside growled but she beat it down into the dirt into silence, she couldn't listen to it now. She couldn't have it affecting her judgment now.

Mercury raised both his wrists, expecting a pair of manacles to be slapped over them at any moment. Yang stared at them her face blank as tears poured out from her eyes. Mercury Grinned.

"Come on Yang, she was dead anyway, the Maiden was going to rip off her head." Mercury sneered. "Emerald hardly got the same Favor, but then again she's still with me at least…"

Yang banished the Grimm from her mind, it had to be gone it had to leave her, or else she wouldn't be able to do this. She couldn't have it control her at this moment.

"Yeah Salem will kill me for failing, but you'll be free again." Yang reached down towards Mercury to lift him up. "Hear that you'll have your vindication, your freedom, and can rub it in Ozpin and Ironwood's face."

It'll never take the place of you Ruby. Yang thought, grabbing Mercury by the collar and lifting him up.

"Besides with her issues, she wouldn't last long in the real world. Maybe you did her a favor." Mercury's words were designed to hurt and they did, they were filled with mockery but each time the Grimm spiked up she slapped it back down. "She would want you to do the right thing!"

"Yes," Yang mumbled, before reaching her hand up and towards Mercury's mouth.

"What are you doing?" Mercury asked eyeing Yang's slowly reaching fingers.

Yang didn't answer, she was cold as her fingers pried open Mercury's struggling mouth, confusion turned to panic as Yang's fingers hooked onto his jaw. Mercury's fist swung at her trying to break her grip she let those blows get in, they hurt, they stung, but Yang couldn't care.

Yang started pulling on the jaw, pulling down, slowly making the pull harder and harder. Mercury's eyes were straining every which way now looking for some out, they flashed red for an instant and still, they were afraid as Yang pulled down. His weak hands still clawed at Yang's wrists as she stared almost disinterested at what she was doing.

"GHHHK!" Mercury spat. He sent an illusion of a snake crawling out of his mouth, Yang hardly gave it a glance, she was doing a job here.

The jaw resisted, harder than she thought it would, our bodies are so fragile yet resistant at the end of the day, but when his cheek started to tear and bleed she was certain she was making the proper progress. She pulled again and the tear in the cheek grew wider like some macabre grin and tears started streaming down Mercury's cheeks in fear? Panic? Pleading? Yang had stomped down the Grimm within herself she couldn't tell.

"I'm doing this…" Yang muttered in her voice. She was accepting the responsibility of what she was doing and she still felt nothing, except Mercury's jaw resist her.

His hand slapped weakly against Yang's arm, and this time she paused to give him a look, and his final word out. It was guttural and more of a feeling than an actual word but Yang recognized it all the same.

"Please?"

"No" Yang answered

Yang grabbed the jaw digging her nails tightly into the flesh of his mouth and the skin of his jaw and ripped down quickly. It came off, it just came off in a sound of ripping skin and shattered bone as Yang Xiao Long tore off Mercury Black's lower Jaw. He let out a loud gurgling noise that could only have been a scream and Yang glanced down disinterest at the lolling tongue in his mouth. She reached forward and tore that out too, then whatever was behind that, and whatever was behind that.

Yang tore and tore and tore into the meat and bone of Mercury Black or Emerald Sustari or whoever this was. She tore and ripped and broke because it was all she could do. She couldn't fix Ruby's eye she couldn't bring her back, all she had was her mission and her anger now. Mercury's head was separate from his body when Raven's portal opened in front of her and Yang's arms were coated in dried blood.

She glanced down at the corpse she'd made out of Mercury. He'd been without aura, powerless, at her mercy, and she killed him. She'd killed her sister… Yang could hear her mother's portal, she'd won, her mission was going to be a success… and like killing Mercury, it brought her no joy.