HA16

Cinder brought her hands up, summoning a great wave of fire above her head that burned like a second sun, melting rock above and around them as it hissed and bubbled, causing even her skin to char.

"Heh." The dead girl grinned, determined to go out with the last word. "I bet Jaune never thought you were sexy."

Cinder screamed, dragging her hands down.

"DIE!"

—HA15

[...]

So much fire. It wreathed across the burnt floor and black marks licked up the stone walls. The stench of it assaulted his nostrils and smoke pooled in the ceiling, coming lower and lower as the vault filled with noxious gasses. Blue and naked was remarkably unconcerned with it all, floating with crossed arms and a bored expression. Cinder was less so. Cinder stood panting and heaving, arms extended towards what appeared to be a blackened and charred lump by the wall.

"Yang…" Blake whispered.

Yang? What did-?

No.

Oh no…

Jaune stumbled forward, heart in his throat as he approached the shape and slowly realised that yes, it was vaguely humanlike. Or what once had been human. Burned beyond recognition and with the skin black and blistered, the figure, if one could still call it that, was well and truly beyond saving. Hair that had once been like spun gold was burned down to the scalp and her chest wasn't moving.

"YANG!" Crocea Mors clattered to the floor as he ran by, ignoring Cinder entirely. His hands found Yang's shoulders, rolling her over and into his arms. "Yang, please. No. Oh fuck. You can't be – This wasn't supposed to happen!"

A pointed cough came from the blue figure.

Jaune ignored it. There was a flicker of movement, a whispered breath – like a sigh exhaled. Desperately, he pulled her up against his chest and listened. There, he felt it. Movement. Drawn breath.

Alive. She was still alive.

[...]

"Blake," Jaune said, cradling Yang in his arms and standing. "I need you to get Yang out of here." He felt her push weakly at him, eyes still closed, and lips tugged down. There was life in her still, but she needed a doctor. Needed medical attention.

Jinn coughed another time. Really hacked loudly.

"I'm coming," Blake whispered, eyes frightened. Carefully, she reached for Yang.

Yang tried to kick Blake in the face, all the while pushing off from him at the same time.

Jinn coughed louder still.

"Yang!" Jaune hissed. "Relax, it's us. You're safe. Just let Blake get you out of here and mff-!"

Yang had stuck a hand in his mouth, silencing him. She then let out a frustrated sigh, one delivered in absolute silence, and opened her eyes to glare at him with a fierce pout. One pink eye and one brown eye.

He screamed and dropped her.

Neo bounced on her backside once, rubbed her behind and glared even harder at him. The burns across her body faded in mirror-like motes of light, revealing unharmed skin and her usual outfit. With one last pout at him, she stood and dusted herself down, rolling her eyes and drawing her weapon.

"It was a trap," Jinn remarked, a second after the realisation filtered into his head. "By pretending to be injured but still alive, she hoped to draw Cinder close enough to stab her." Apparently, she could reveal that information now that everyone within hearing knew, Cinder having figured it out soon after Neo revealed herself.

Oh. He'd kind of ruined her plan, hadn't he?

"Yes," Jinn said happily.

Neo just glared at him.

"Wait. Then where is Yang?" Blake asked.

"H-Hey," a weak voice called from the stairs. With a shattering of mirror-light, the bruised and slightly charred body of Yang appeared. Her clothing was worse for wear, her hair singed, but she was alive and well, if black and blue all over. "D-Didn't wanna say anythin' and ruin it," she wheezed. "B-But thanks for the bridal carry, Prof. Heh." The laugh turned into a wheezing cough, then a hack as she choked on the smoke. "Kaff! Hack! Ack!"

[...]

"Yeah? I don't know about Neo, but my aura is still pretty full – and there's a reason you're not burning us." He shot her a grin he didn't feel inside. "You're exhausted, aren't you? You used too much of yourself to try and kill Yang – except you didn't kill her at all. Hell, I bet Neo was dragging her out the way while you launched attack after attack on an empty bit of space. Nice work."

—HA16