HA34

And if he had the upper body strength, while laying down, to force off the full weight of Tyrian Callows.

"Nighty-night headmaster! Salem sends her regards."

The stinger stabbed down.

White flashed from the edge of his vision.

Neo covered him, face down, one hand on his shoulder and the other his chest, balanced over him on her hands and knees. Her face was right before his, bruised and bleeding from her lip. His eyes stared into mismatched pink and brown.

Those eyes bulged. Her body jerked.

"N… Neo…?"

Her mouth opened and closed. No words ever came from it, but for once he heard a sound – a gurgling and desperate rattle of breath. The whites of her eyes turned red.

"Oops." Tyrian's tail bulged as his venom pumped down and into her back. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter which of you goes first. There's plenty to go around."

Neo's mouth opened in a silent scream.

"NEO!"

—HA33

[...]

Jaune was knelt with a girl against his knee, pale and bloody. Oscar gasped in his mind, fright and anger tinging their connection. Neo was pale, far paler than usual. Jaune was supporting her with one arm, his other holding a shield up between him and Tyrian Callows.

[...]

"Ozpin." Jaune panted in a rather unheadmaster-like manner. "Neo. She's been poisoned!"

Poison? That could be bad. She would need Tsune, who kept a wide array of medical supplies and antivenom despite her unusual proclivities. You could not tease and toy with patients if they died, after all. He thought of telling the boy to treat the wound but one look at Tyrian's stinger, and mostly the sheer size of it, told him that would be pointless. It wasn't going to be a small thing; the girl needed proper medical aid.

"Take Miss Sienna and Neo away," he said. "Move back the way I came and signal support. Get a Bullhead and take her back to Beacon."

[...]

The Bullhead touched down and Jaune jumped off, balancing the head of the gurney as Sienna and the co-pilot helped lift the other end out the aircraft and settle Neo down.

[...]

"ENOUGH!" he roared, sending them skittering back. "Get out my way. Where the fuck is Tsune? I told her to be here!"

"Prepping her antivenom for use," Peter said. "She's in her medbay."

Okay. Good. He wouldn't be shouting at her then. Placing his hands on the gurney, he pushed through the students with the full intent of bowling any that got in his way down.

[...]

Glynda met him outside the infirmary. Thankfully, she didn't try and stop him. She held the door open, earning a heartfelt smile as he pushed Neo through. Tsune was already bustling inside, a single bed set aside in the centre with machines and drips around it.

"What are you waiting for, idiot?" she said on seeing him. "Get her in here!"

Her impatience pleased him. He pushed the bed over, lifted Neo carefully out of it and laid her down on her front, turning her head to the side so she wouldn't suffocate on the pillow. Her back was bloody, and her black under-shirt was ripped. Her white coat had been abandoned in the forest. If she was strong enough to kick his ass for that, he'd be more than willing to accept it.

"Faunus venom," Tsune muttered. "Do you have any idea how many studies have been conducted on it? I'll tell you. None. Is it more potent, more diluted, dangerous in higher quantities? We know nothing at all." She pushed a needle into Neo's arm and drew blood. "It doesn't help how small she is. I'm going to be pouring antivenom into her. You should go rest."

[...]

Jaune watched Neo breathing evenly in the bed.

"I've done what I can," Tsune said. "So far it looks good and I think she will recover. Once her aura recovers, we'll have a better idea. I'd tell you to go rest but we both know you won't. I'll ask you to stay quiet and give her some peace instead. You can draw up another bed to sleep on if you wish."

"Thank you," he said, keeping quiet. "I'll keep an eye on her."

Technically speaking, Neo didn't need to be watched but the doctor rolled her eyes and accepted, slipping out the room. The drip feeding into Neo's arm bubbled. The heart monitor beeped. It was even, which seemed to his untrained mind a good thing. All the antivenom had been administered, so all there was to do was wait.