A Loyal Companion

An idea requested specially by a patron! very interesting idea, and I'm proud to say I wrote this entire fic in just over seven hours flat because I had a lot of fun with it!

Could be considered a sequel to Overcoming Differences.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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							A Loyal Companion

The dawn was just breaking when Blake was woken by a soft prodding.

With a small moan, she turned over and blinked open her eyes, her vision instantly adjusting to the faint sunlight pooling into the dorm room. A glance at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table told her it was still an hour too early for any of them to be awake; even on a day when they had a mission, it was still far too early for a team of freshmen to be nudged into action.

And there was definitely something nudging her.

Peering over her shoulder, she found a small, pudgy shape next to her arm, a big black nose poking at her elbow.

She jolted just a little bit in sheer surprise – typically, Zwei stayed on Ruby or Weiss' bed. The only time he'd ever ventured up to Blake's was the time several days ago when she'd fallen ill and the dog had actually been the only one around to help her through it.

Even so, for Zwei to be the first thing she saw that morning was a little startling, and her ears followed the instinctive reaction and went flat.

"Zwei!" she hissed in a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

It was still only the third or fourth time she'd ever actually said his name, and it still felt a bit weird on her tongue.

In response to her question, Zwei whimpered softly, his ears drooping and stub of a tail motionless.

Blake flinched simply in seeing the wounded expression on his face, and she knew he'd quickly leave her if she so demanded it.

But a glance behind her showed that Ruby's bed was a mess, with sheets and blankets strewn all about and Ruby herself sprawled out every which way. Meanwhile, Weiss was curled up on her side with her blankets pulled down to her hip. She could imagine Yang looked much the same as her little sister did, and Blake understood the dog's dilemma quickly.

Looking back to him, she saw he was shivering pitifully, and Blake was the only person who was still using blankets at this hour of the morning.

With a sigh, she laid her head back down against the pillow, and Zwei yipped softly.

"Fine..." she mumbled.

With one arm, she lifted up the blankets for him.

Instantly, his tail and ears shot up, and the dog wiggled underneath. Blake still wasn't terribly comfortable with him slobbering all over her clothes and touching her, so she turned her back to him.

Even so, Zwei plopped himself down at the center of her back, pressing his warm, chubby body against hers. She let the blankets fall, and Zwei didn't seem to mind being completely covered. Just a few seconds later, the dog was snoring softly behind her.

With a sigh, Blake closed her eyes and tried to savor the last fifty minutes of quiet.

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It had only felt like five minutes before the alarm clock started blaring.

Blake could hear her teammates shifting about as they got out of bed and stretched. With another moan, the Faunus girl rolled over in an effort to avoid her responsibilities-

-and came nose-to-nose with her sleeping companion.

A cold, wet sensation was the first thing she felt, and her golden eyes flew open to find themselves staring into beady black ones. Blake's ears stood erect, the hair on the back of her neck rising up just before-

"Arf!"

"Ahh-"

In contrast to the happy greeting from the dog, Blake's response was much less pleasant. She went reeling backward, right over the edge of the bed, crashing to the floor in a tangle of blankets and hair.

Yang had just been about to jump down onto the floor, and she cried out when she almost landed on top of her partner.

"Whoa!" With a last-second twist, she made sure she landed to the side and avoided Blake. "What's going on there, Blake? You okay?"

"Ow..." With yet another moan, Blake put a hand to her head and rubbed. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Yang reached down a hand to help her up to her feet just as Weiss recovered from the shock of seeing someone as collected and stoic as Blake fall out of bed like Ruby.

"What's gotten into you?" the heiress wondered.

"Nothing," Blake sighed. "It was just-"

"Zwei!" Ruby's shriek was immediately followed by a thud as she jumped down from her mess of a bed. She hurried over to Blake's bed and scooped up the happily-panting dog in her arms before carrying him away. "Bad doggy!" she scolded. "I told you Blake doesn't want you near her things! Or herself! Bad, bad!"

As she chastised him with stern eyes and a firm voice, Zwei's speedy tail quickly came to a stop, his ears fell, and his smiling mouth closed as a whimper was released.

Blake was surprised to find it actually kind of hurt to watch, and as she righted herself with Yang's assistance, she took the dog's defense.

"Ruby, don't," she sighed. "It's fine. I let him up."

The other three sputtered.

"You what?" Yang blurted

"You let him?" Weiss exclaimed.

"But I thought you didn't-" Ruby cut herself off when she remembered a certain scene from not too many days ago. Blake had been sick at the time, and the others had had no choice but to leave her and attend their classes. But when the three of them had returned to check on Blake, they'd found her curled up in bed with Zwei close beside her.

As the rest of her team seemed to share the same memory now, everything clicked into place.

Blake was starting to warm up to the dog.

"I never thought I'd see the day..." Yang mumbled.

"See what day?" With a grunt, Blake pouted at her partner briefly before turning back to face her leader. "Either way Ruby, you don't have to yell at him. It was my own fault I forgot he was there."

"Okay. If you say so. I don't like yelling at him, anyway." Ruby looked back down at Zwei and lifted her tone, her smile returning. "I'm sorry, Zwei! Who's a good boy? You are!" She rubbed her nose against his and cooed, and in a split second, the dog was panting happily once again.

Blake looked away at the sight of Ruby bumping noses with him so easily, and casually wiped her sleeve over her own nose.

Now that the mystery of the morning was solved, Weiss cleared her throat and addressed them all.

"Alright then, shouldn't we be getting ready? We've got a mission today, must I remind you all."

"Oh, right!" Ruby put the dog on the floor and zipped over to her drawers to pull out her combat skirt.

Her teammates followed suit, preparing for the long day ahead as they took turns in the bathroom, poured cereal, and munched on fruits.

Ruby fed Zwei his usual morning can of food, but was sure to give him a little extra, both by means of apology for yelling at him, and because he'd need it with the day they had ahead.

Technically, she probably wasn't supposed to even have a dog on campus, let alone be taking one along with her on mission. But Dr. Oobleck would be their overseer again today, and he hadn't seemed to have any issues with Zwei the last time; quite the opposite.

So when she was certain all of her teammates weren't looking, Ruby subtly left her backpack on the ground with the zipper wide open, and it just so happened that a certain dog crawled inside.

After about ten more minutes, Weiss had just finished tying up her hair, Blake had finished fastening her bow, and Yang had just tossed her own mane over her shoulder elegantly.

Finally, Team RWBY headed out on their second mission with a huntsman, with an extra member riding behind their leader's back.

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"Now then, ladies!" Dr. Oobleck said loudly – as he could only ever seem to say things. "Be sure to check and double-check that you've brought along all the basic necessities with you! This may only be a one-day mission with no overnight stays, but!– must I remind you – there aren't any vending machines in the Emerald Forest! Only Grimm, Grimm, and – you guessed it – more Grimm! You've all stopped at your storage lockers to collect your weapons, am I correct? Splendid, simply splendid, isn't it? A good day for hunting, wouldn't you say?"

He rambled on as per usual as the four girls waited beside him at the Air Ship docks for their flight.

Yang reassured him they had all they needed.

"Don't sweat it, Doc. We got this covered."

"Excellent!" he exclaimed. "It is good to see that you girls are starting to get the hang of mission preparation! Just what I'd expect from such an exceptional team of young girls, such as yourselves!"

Weiss was basking in the praise for all it was worth, and even Blake felt her own lip curling up a little bit. Oobleck carried on about their mission as they waited for the ship.

"Now then – as I'm sure you all know by now – today we'll be visiting the Emerald Forest as per Headmaster Ozpin's request to exterminate an excessively-aggressive and rapidly-expanding pack of Grimm. Now, he told us to expect mainly Ursai, but don't be surprised if we find much, much more than that within those trees. It isn't uncommon for Boarbatusk or Beowulves to roam those parts, so don't be caught off-guard!"

"Yes, sir!" Ruby said with a salute, while the rest of her teammates nodded.

"Good, very good!" the professor said. "Now then, our Ship's just arrived, so let's board!"

As the large door opened and slid down to make a walk-on platform, Oobleck took the lead and started the march up onto the ship. Ruby followed behind him, and the rest of her team filed into line.

This was a much smaller Air Ship in comparison to the ones used for mass public transport. This Ship was for private, Beacon-authorized students and staff only. As it took off, Oobleck urged the girls to take seats.

"It'll be about a thirty-minute ride, so have a rest until we get there. You'll need all of your energy – every last shred, do you hear? Fighting Grimm isn't as easy as it might've been back when they invaded Vale. They were in our territory then, but now we're invading their's so the advantage goes to the beasts. So again, rest up, girls! Ruby!"

The shout of her name had the young leader freezing with a yelp. She whipped around to face him, pausing on her way to the seats.

"Y-Yes, sir, Dr. Oobleck, sir?"

"Put your backpack down, you silly girl. You can't possibly sit comfortably in a seat with that thing on you."

"O-Oh, um... right..." She knew it was inevitable now; putting her backpack down onto the ground was her silent cue to Zwei that he could come out.

But she hadn't anticipated the Air Ship ride. So she tried to put it down slowly, with extra care, as to make the dog believe he was still on her back.

But when she stood again and started toward her seat, she heard the unmistakable grunt coming from her bag. Ruby groaned and smacked a palm to her face; this was twice now she'd failed to sneak him along.

Zwei used his teeth to pull open the zipper and pop out his head with a bark.

The rest of her team and Oobleck stared at the dog, and then all simultaneously turned their heads to Ruby.

"Really?" Weiss hissed at her. "You snuck him along again? What in the world were you thinking, you dunce?"

"You're gonna get him confiscated!" Yang groaned. "What am I gonna tell Dad?"

But their mumbled disapproval was overpowered by Dr. Oobleck's voice, though it was a bit quieter than usual.

"Ruby..." he said calmly. "Would you mind telling me what that is?"

She swallowed and put on a wide grin.

"That's Zwei!"

"I see. And did I permit you to bring him along?"

"Well... you didn't say I couldn't. So I did."

Her teammates all groaned and banged their heads back against the cushioned chairs. When Oobleck spoke again, his voice was back to the usual volume.

"Miss Rose," he said. "...What a clever young girl!"

The older three nearly fell out of their seats.

As they muttered disbelief, Oobleck went on, slinging an arm around Ruby's shoulders.

"You know, Ruby, in all my years I've never known a student to use such wit against me twice! Indeed, I never said you couldn't bring him along for the ride, now did I? Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable that he accompany us on this mission!" He left Ruby to scoop up Zwei, holding the dog at face-level as he went off on a rant. "Why, dogs are humankind's best and most loyal companions! Plus, they have a superior sense of smell and-"

"Uhhh, Doc?" Yang mumbled. "You gave us this speech last time Ruby snuck him along."

"Hm? Oh, you're absolutely right." He set Zwei down on the floor of the Air Ship, and the professor cleared his throat. "Well then, you all know that it is fine by me that he comes along. Now then, as I said, rest up, girls! We'll be landing in just over twenty minutes!"

And with that, Oobleck strutted off to the front of the Ship to chat with the pilot.

At last, Ruby took her seat beside Weiss, wearing a sheepish grin all the while.

"I can't believe you..." the heiress muttered.

"I can't believe she got away with it!" Yang said. "Again."

"Somehow, I can," Blake said.

The three of them looked at Ruby again – with her innocent smile, excited eyes, and the dog hopping up into her lap to lick her chin, it would be criminal to separate this girl from her dog.

They all sighed.

"Welp," Yang said. "Guess we should take Dr. Oobleck's advice and chill while we still can."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "Oooh, but the view is so cool!" She stood and let Zwei off her lap, making for the window. But Weiss grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down into her seat.

"You dolt! Don't stand up so suddenly! And don't switch seats! Keep your seatbelt on, for goodness' sake!"

"Awww, but Weeiissss!"

"Don't start with me."

As the two of them went about their usual whining and scolding, Blake noticed that Zwei had ended up on the floor again. He waddled about, weaving between legs and under seats until he came to her.

Blake blinked down at him as he stared back. The stump of a tail started wagging again, and the pink tongue lolled out.

With a sigh, Blake sat back.

"Fine," she muttered.

With her consent given, Zwei happily curled up at her ankles, lying his front paws over her boots.

Blake turned her face away from her team for a moment, ensuring they wouldn't catch her smiling.

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When the Ship landed, it was in a large clearing in the Emerald Forest.

Oobleck shared one last conversation with the pilot as the girls roused themselves. Ruby grabbed some energy bars from her backpack and tossed one to each of them, and after having a few sips from their respective canteens, the four girls headed to the exit.

Ruby left her backpack behind on the Ship, knowing it would only be unnecessary weight on her back now that Zwei's presence was known by all. The dog walked off the ship with them, and then paused as they all waited for Oobleck.

Once he'd gotten off the Ship, the platform retracted and folded back into place before the aircraft took off. Once the cutting winds caused by the vehicle had died down, Oobleck spoke quickly.

"Now, you may be thinking what sense there was in landing an Air Ship in the heart of the Emerald Forest. Well girls, it's a good question to ponder, but it was intended! You see, ideally this mission shouldn't take more than an hour or two, and landing the Ship in such a manner merely draws the Grimms' attention in this direction, leading them to us! This may seem foolish and perhaps even counterproductive, but in fact it is strategy, ladies – strategy! The beasts will come to us, and hence we won't have to expend our energy trekking through the forest to find them," he explained.

The girls had been preparing their weapons as he spoke, and they all saw the sense in his words.

"Huh," Yang said. "I guess that does make things kinda easier."

"Indeed," he confirmed. "Now, this mission will be short and simple! However, it is a mission for you girls alone. I ask you all to fan out around the perimeter of this clearing in different directions to scout the surrounding area. You are permitted to engage Grimm individually, or if a teammate is nearby, you may go to assist her. I won't be interfering unless absolutely necessary. Should any of you require my assistance or the assistance of your teammates, simply press the distress button on your scrolls. Are there any questions?"

Unanimously, they shook their heads.

"Excellent! Don't forget, our purpose here today is to eliminate as many Grimm as possible, but Headmaster Ozpin sent us out mainly for the task of dealing with overpopulated Ursai. Now then, if you'd all do as I requested and fan out in different directions. I'll be waiting here should any of you need me."

With that, he crossed his legs and sat down in the grass, having said all he'd needed to say.

With the rest of the mission up to them, the four girls converged to share thoughts on directions.

"Okay," Ruby grinned. "I'll go to the right. Weiss, you go forward, Blake go left, and Yang go behind us."

"Should we encounter anything," Weiss said. "Don't forget we'll be alone."

"Right!" Yang cheered. "So we can go all-out without having to worry about hitting each other by accident."

"That wasn't my point, you oaf!" Weiss snapped. "Firstly, we're never so uncoordinated that we hit one another, and secondly, I meant that we won't have our partners there to back us up. So don't do anything dim-witted and take on more than you can chew."

"Um, I think you mean 'bite off', princess."

"Whatever."

As Yang and Weiss finished their little squabble even in the midst of planning their strategy, Blake had waited until the end to speak up.

"And remember, the best way to kill an Ursa is to attack its spine. With the way they run, it's more difficult to get at their throats, and even if they stand on their back legs, it's pretty risky to go up against those claws. So stay behind them."

"Right!"

"Got it."

"Everyone ready?"

With nods all around, Ruby gave the signal to move.

Weiss darted off through the trees in front of her, while Yang went in the opposite direction to the back. Ruby had turned to her right, and Blake to the left, but just before she or the Faunus girl could make a move, a little bark stopped them.

Blake looked down to find that Zwei was standing at her feet rather than Ruby's, and her leader shared a curious glance with her.

"Zwei!" Ruby called. "C'mere, boy!"

The dog looked to his owner, then back to Blake and yipped again. Ruby smiled in response to Blake's confused look.

"He wants to go with you. I understand if you don't want him to, but he's really starting to warm up to you!"

"...I see," Blake sighed. "Then I guess there's no stopping him, right?"

"Mm, probably not," Ruby chuckled. "He's a free spirit. Even if I dragged him along with me, if he wants to go with you, he'll find his way there."

"Fine..." Blake nodded, looking down at Zwei. "Come on."

Zwei barked again and scampered over to her boots.

"Take care of Blake for me, Zwei!" Ruby said with a wink. Blake caught her eye and nodded to her leader; she knew it was actually her responsibility to take care of Zwei.

At last, the pair parted ways, Ruby vanishing in a haze of red petals as Blake dashed off into the trees in a blur of shadow.

Surprisingly enough, Zwei kept pace with her, darting along through the undergrowth at an incredible speed, given his pudginess and short legs. His ears stood tall and alert now, his eyes focused, and Blake realized his countenance was much like her own.

They came to a halt just a few minutes later, and Blake perked her ears beneath her bow to listen to the surrounding sounds of the forest.

As per usual in these Grimm-infested woods, no birds were chirping, no small mammals were rustling in the trees. It was just the faint rush of the wind, and nothing more.

Even Zwei kept his tongue in his mouth and his panting to a minimum so he could hear better, and Blake took advantage of the silence. She closed her eyes and focused on her hearing and her gut instincts.

After a moment, she reopened her eyes and headed off slowly in the direction her feet decided on, the direction that felt the most unsettling.

Within the next minute, she felt compelled to reach for Gambol Shroud and drew it, keeping it at the ready.

Surely enough, a growl from up ahead alerted her to her targets.

She was about to proceed with caution, to scout out the area ahead and devise a plan of attack on the beasts.

But before she could advance so much as another step, Zwei tore off into the bushes.

Blake couldn't hold back a gasp.

"Hey!" she hissed furiously. /He's going to blow my cover!/

With a growl of frustration, Blake hid behind the nearest tree and waited for the dog to come yelping back with a pack of angry Ursai on his tail.

But as the seconds ticked on, no sounds of a struggle or disturbance reached her keen ears, no panicked whimpering or raging roars. Everything remained just as quiet as it had been, until a little rustle signified that the dog had returned unharmed.

Without a hoard of beasts on his heels.

He found Blake behind the tree and grunted softly, scratching his front paw into the soil. Blake looked curiously at him, her frustration at his running off now dissipating as she tried to figure out what he was doing. She counted the swipes of his paw – ten times he scraped the earth.

At last, she realized what he'd done; he'd snuck around the area ahead and figured out how many Grimm were there. So Blake now knew she had ten opponents, and from that, she could start thinking of a plan of action.

She squatted down briefly to pat Zwei's head just once, something she never would've dreamed of doing a week ago. But ever since the time several days ago when she'd been bedridden with only the dog to keep her company, she'd grown closer to Zwei than she ever thought would be possible.

"Good boy," she whispered, then stood again.

During their initiation, it had taken both herself and Yang to take down a single Ursa, but during the Mountain Glenn incident, Blake had managed to take down at least five of them entirely on her own, in between all of the other Grimm she'd killed with the assistance of her teammates and colleagues.

But she felt she could handle ten of them now on her own - if she came up with an appropriate strategy.

Then again, she wasn't exactly by herself this time.

Looking down at Zwei, she devised a plan.

"Alright," she whispered. "I know you can understand me. So here's what we're going to do..."

She crouched down again and kept her voice low as she explained everything out loud. She had to admit it felt more than a little odd talking to a dog, but there was comprehension in his eyes, enough to let her know he truly did understand every word that left her lips.

When she'd finished talking, Blake stood once more.

"Alright, got it?"

Zwei grunted in affirmation.

"Okay. Then be careful. Now go."

At her command, Zwei took off in the same direction, where the Grimm lurked just beyond the bushes. Blake moved forward quietly, prowling until she could see the beasts for herself.

Just as Zwei had indicated, there were ten of them, all average-sized Ursai scattered between the trees. She was sure to remain hidden as her eyes stayed trained on Zwei.

He streaked across the forest floor, darting around the trees as he headed for the monsters. A few of the Ursai looked up, but being that they didn't require sustenance and were only interested in killing humans, they weren't hostile toward the dog.

Though – just as Blake had anticipated – they were curious about him.

The beasts lumbered over to Zwei, and the dog barked at them. The sound both confused and aggravated the beasts, and they advanced.

Blake tightened her grip on Gambol Shroud, waiting just another second until the last Ursa had turned its back and given its attention to the dog.

But then, one got close enough to sniff him, and caught human scent.

With a roar, the seemingly-docile Ursai suddenly turned savage.

Letting out a shout, Blake dashed from her hiding place, effectively drawing the attention of the monsters so Zwei could run to safety. She landed on one of the beast's backs and dug her katana into the nape of its neck, killing it even before it knew what had happened.

The corpse collapsed to the ground just as another Ursa swung at Blake. She leapt up and sliced at its face, then transforming her weapon into its gun form and shooting a round into its eyes. With a bellow of rage, that Ursa also went down, and Blake was satisfied in knowing her decoy-ambush plan had already gained her two victories out of ten.

But now the advantages of the element of surprise had worn off, and the remaining eight were upon her.

She utilized the special, Dust-infused rounds Weiss had given her before they'd departed, and presently shot a round of ice at the ground before jumping back. One of the Ursai slipped and crashed to the ground, making it easy for Blake to dart around and land on its back, once again stabbing her sword into the back of its throat.

Another bear had gotten its front paw iced-over, rendering it stuck, and Blake slashed its neck open.

Now there were four massive corpses surrounding her, providing a barricade of sorts. The other Ursai who longed to get at her now needed to scramble over the bodies of the deceased, blundering about with almost comedic clumsiness.

Blake smirked – this was almost too easy.

She readied a round of flame, taking aim at the nearest Grimm and fired into its bone mask, making it roar so loudly it shook the forest. The sound temporarily deafened Blake's sensitive ears at such close range, and she winced, lowering her weapon unintentionally.

The Ursa shook itself and raised a massive paw at her, and Blake tripped over one of the corpses.

But before the paw could slam down on top of her, a sudden blur stopped the Ursa from completing its attack.

With a massive leap, Zwei jumped onto the creature's shoulder, clamping his jaws down into its ear. It was more of a whimper that escaped the Ursa's mouth this time, and it fell back down onto its forepaws in an effort to shake the dog off.

With the ringing in her head dying away now, Blake scrambled back to her feet and watched the scene. The Ursa didn't shake Zwei off – he let go willingly, allowing himself to be tossed high up into the air.

Blake couldn't help but chuckle; he'd just wanted a bit of a ride.

Blake took advantage of the dog's actions and fired at the Ursa again, whipping around to fend off another just seconds later.

Zwei ended up landing on another's back, and he ran all up and down its spine, nipping along the thick fur. The beast roared, but didn't have the required flexibility to be able to turn around and bite the dog. Instead, it crashed onto its side and rolled over in an effort to crush him, but Zwei easily jumped to safety.

Meanwhile, the Ursa had exposed its belly to Blake, and she ripped her blade down from the base of its throat to its hind legs.

Zwei raced past her, barking excitedly, and Blake smiled.

"Good boy!"

With the number of opponents now more than halved, the remaining beasts became angrier. They actually shredded the other corpses and tossed them aside to clear the obstructions out of their path.

Blake had lost her barrier of flesh, but she had plenty more tricks up her sleeves.

She unfurled Gambol Shroud in one swift motion, slinging its ribbon up around a sturdy tree branch. Blake used that to swing herself forward, just out of reach of the Ursai's claws. She landed on a branch and took a second to catch her breath, assessing the situation.

She'd sustained a few scratches here and there, but her aura was already getting to work on healing them. An additional Ursa had appeared, but at this rate, she didn't think it was anything she couldn't handle.

Zwei was still running around beneath the monsters' paws, antagonizing them and leaving them distracted for Blake to get at. But she could tell that the dog was starting to pant excessively.

Better to finish this quickly.

She readied Gambol Shround back into its katana form and jumped down, landing squarely on the shoulders of the Grimm that Zwei was presently harassing. Blake managed to dig the tip of her blade into the back of its skull, and then the beast did the rest of the work for her. It reared up with a baleful roar, and Blake slid off of it. But she kept her grip on her weapon, and as she slid down, her sword followed, cutting all down the Ursa's spine to its haunches.

With a gurgling bellow, the beast collapsed to bleed out, and Blake shot a combination of ice and fire at the next one. She found herself now faced with three of them, charging her and trampling the dead Grimm beneath their massive, bulky bodies.

Blake readied her stance, holding her ground and preparing to jump up and fire at all three of them from the air at the last second.

But just before she could make her move, a sudden, rapid barking caught her ear and distracted her.

She naturally turned around to glimpse Zwei, but that left her a second too late in dodging the Ursai. With a grunt, she leapt just inches away from their extended claws, but the timing was off and she didn't get to attack their backs as planned.

Slightly miffed, she sought out the dog who was still yapping frantically.

"What is it?" she snapped. "I'm kind of busy at the moment."

The three Ursai rounded on her just then, rearing up and aiming to slam down on top of her. Blake could only fire a few shots that were ultimately useless before she needed to dodge once more.

She cursed under breath; she was just wasting ammo now. It was a bit difficult to focus now with three massive beasts towering in front of her and another circling somewhere behind them. Zwei's insistent barking hadn't stopped either.

One of the Ursa swung at her again, and Blake just barely managed to evade it, disoriented now as Zwei's barking grew louder.

Blake couldn't take it anymore.

She turned her back on the trio of monsters to seek out the dog, shouting in exasperation.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

Her yell echoed out around the forest, mixing with the roars of the Ursa and the dog's flustered barking.

And then – in a split second – everything fell deathly silent.

The beasts behind her paused in their attack, and Zwei's barking stopped abruptly.

Just a few feet away from Blake lumbered a massive Ursa Major, standing at its full height on its back legs, bony spikes of several feet in length protruding from its back and forearms. It bore a mouthful of elongated fangs, crimson eyes dripping with savage fury.

Frozen in sheer terror for a second too long, Blake couldn't make a clone nor raise her weapon in time to block the oncoming blow from its massive paw, five knifelike claws reaching out toward her exposed chest.

She closed her eyes.

There was a collision – a breathtaking impact as the giant paw slammed into her side, the tip of one of the claws scoring into the top of her shoulder, piercing the side of her neck.

And there was a whimper, but it wasn't her own.

As she was knocked across the forest floor like a lifeless rag-doll, Blake knew.

Gambol Shroud had fallen from her grasp, and as she landed heavily on her side and her head slammed against the ground, she could hear the weapon spiral away somewhere and hit the base of a tree.

There was a concussive pain in her skull, throbbing deafeningly in her Faunus ears, assaulting the sensitive fur and nerves so she couldn't even open her eyes. Warm blood swelled at her shoulder, and pain pulsed all along the side of her neck.

Winded, she gasped weakly for breath as she all but forced her eyelids up, her vision blurring in and out of focus multiple times before focusing.

The Ursai were marching toward her, the Major as well as the other normal types. She could see their massive black shapes drawing nearer by the second.

And she could see blood.

It stained the grass in a large puddle before her and beneath her.

But she knew it wasn't just hers.

A small, warm body lie crumpled at her chest, unmoving.

Blake let out a silent, strangled scream of agony, horror, and grief.

/Zwei... oh god, no.../

The worst, most awful kind of panic overcame her in that instant as the Ursai drew closer.

She didn't have much time.

She drew an arm up to her chest, cradling the limp body against her.

Blake didn't look down.

She couldn't.

She was too scared to.

Forcing down a cry of pain, she pushed herself up with the other hand, sucking in a sharp breath as pain shot through her shoulder. She scrambled to keep her footing on the grass slicked with blood, her hands pressing Zwei to her chest tightly to ensure he was still there.

But even as she moved frantically to gather Gambol Shroud and unavoidably jostled the dog, he never let out so much as a whimper.

She sheathed her weapon and just ran without looking back.

She pelted through the trees as fast as her legs could carry her, ignoring the searing pain as best she could for as long as possible. Every step sent shockwaves of pain throughout her body, but she was sure to keep both arms around the dog.

Still, she didn't look down for fear of what she'd see.

The sounds of blundering and roaring from behind told her that the Grimm were still chasing her, and she couldn't afford to slow down.

She shouldn't have been far from the clearing where their Ship had landed, but she hadn't thought about running back there specifically; she'd simply bolted for wherever her legs could take her. She hadn't even thought to press the distress button on her scroll, but there was no time for that now.

She continued to run, vision blurring now as the pain started to take over, and her legs felt they could give out at any given second now.

It was then she spotted a possible place of refuge up ahead. There was a very small mountain just past the next grove of trees, and carved into the side of the rocks was the entrance to a cave.

She didn't know what might've been lurking inside, but it was a risk she didn't have much choice in taking.

Blake headed for the cave, using her last shreds of energy to form a clone of herself and send it off in a different direction in hopes to draw the Ursai's attention elsewhere.

At last, she reached the haven of rock, stumbling as she skidded to a halt, and her bad shoulder slammed against the rigged stone. She swallowed down a scream as she pushed her way in through the narrow entrance, her eyes adjusting to the darkness within.

It seemed far too narrow for any kind of Grimm to be able to get inside, but it was also very shallow. If the Ursai found her here now, it wouldn't take long for them to reach their paws inside and drag her out.

She could only pray they followed her clone.

Blake came to a halt at long last at the back of the small cave, pressing her back against the cold, hard rock. Her heart was throbbing in agony, her injured shoulder seeping more and more blood down her arm, chest heaving as she fought shallowly for breath.

She had to clamp her jaws shut when she heard movement from outside. The Ursai were hunting her now, sniffing around in the forest beyond.

Blake knew her clone's diversion had failed.

It was only a matter of time before the beasts found her now.

She slumped to the ground with Zwei's motionless body in her arms, one hand reaching down to find her scroll was gone, likely fallen from her pocket at some point during the fray.

But that was the least of her concerns right now.

With pained, fearful eyes, she finally looked down at the bundle in her arms.

Even in the darkness, her superior eyesight could see the damage Zwei had sustained for her sake.

It was gruesome.

A long gash from one of the Ursa Major's claws had sliced down the length of his belly, and even now it was still bleeding. A large stain had spread across Blake's torso from his wound.

But that wasn't all.

His front right paw was...

Blake felt her stomach twist, and she had to swallow down bile.

His paw was mangled and coated in blood, barely hanging on by just a few tendons now.

When she realized what had become of the once-peppy little dog who had brought life and energy to their dorm room, she started to cry.

"No..." she whispered. "Oh god, no... This can't..."

Guilt raked her body as hot tears poured down.

"I was... supposed to protect you..."

Sobs ripped through her body, and she didn't even bother to try and keep them quiet anymore. She didn't care if the Ursai found her. She deserved to meet just as awful a fate as Zwei had.

Several long, agonizing minutes past until she realized she had no more tears left. She reopened her eyes and looked down over his little body, matted with blood.

"Zwei..."

And then, like a miracle, the sound of his name seemed to have revived him – or at the very least, woken him up.

He stirred, shuddering in her arms, a weak whine passing through his jaws.

Blake's eyes went wide and she gasped aloud. She'd been under the impression he was dead.

If he was alive... that meant he was suffering all of this immeasurable pain right now from his dire injuries.

But it also meant she could still save him.

Instantly, and without a second thought, Blake activated her aura. It automatically tried to go to her shoulder to start healing it, but she didn't let it get that far. Using every shred of strength left in her, she concentrated on channeling it to Zwei, watching as the light blue glow encompassed his little body.

"Hang on..." she begged. "Please just... just hang in there..."

She focused, ears perked beneath her bow, tearstained eyes narrowed in on her task. She spread her aura to the dog's belly, intent on healing that wound.

It took several painstaking minutes, but she managed to more or less stitch his skin back together until the bleeding stopped.

But even so, this would only be temporary, and if he was going to survive, he'd need better treatment than this.

He twitched in her arms, and he was probably in horrible pain, but at least he was still alive.

"Hang on..." Blake panted. "J-Just... don't die on me... I've gotta... take you home to Ruby..."

Using her aura so excessively was starting to take effect on her, but she couldn't stop until she was certain this dog was going to live.

She redirected the flow to his mangled front paw, not knowing if aura could even help this wound.

But the second her aura even touched that part of him, Zwei howled in pain.

Blake froze; the roaring from outside indicated the Ursai had heard and were now aware of their location.

She scrambled back, pressing herself tightly against the far wall of the cave, clutching Zwei to her just as the first massive paw dove in. Bloodied claws reached for them, scooping at the air just inches from Blake's nose.

She closed her eyes and hunched forward, pressing her lips to Zwei's forehead.

"I'm sorry..."

There was a roar, and then a commotion from outside.

The Ursa's paw was withdrawn from the cave as if by force, and a spray of blood replaced it.

Blake looked up instantly as the sounds of familiar voices reached her ears.

Her team had come.

Relief washed over her, but in the scheme of all that had transpired, it was very short-lived.

She could hear Ruby grunting and shouting victoriously as she brought down one of the Grimm.

Blake would have to show herself to her young leader, with the broken body of her beloved dog in her arms. Above all else, Blake feared Ruby and the others would hate her for what she had done.

Whatever hope she'd felt only became dread, and she hunched forward once more, shielding Zwei as she poured whatever last ounces of her aura she could into him.

After a minute, the fight outside was over, and Blake could hear as her team put their weapons away; Weiss flicked Myrtenaster clean of blood, Yang clicked Ember Celica, and Ruby retracted Crescent Rose.

And then, the young leader called into the cave.

"Blake...?"

The response was a strangled sob.

Ruby's voice instantly grew concerned and strained.

"Blake? Are you okay? Blake?!"

Still, the Faunus girl didn't move, too ashamed, too terrified of what she'd see in her friends' eyes.

Ruby's voice was soon replaced by Yang's.

"Blake? C'mon, if you're hurt we need to get you treated. Can you move? Should we come get you?"

Blake could only whimper again. But she knew she had to face this. Whatever came of this, she would take full responsibility.

Even if it meant being rejected by the people she'd grown to love and trust most of all.

Slowly, cradling Zwei in her arms, she stood, leaning her good shoulder against the rock walls for support as she moved her legs stiffly. The last bits of her aura were still trickling down to Zwei, but she didn't look down at him again.

She could see her teammates now, all peering worriedly into the cave. They could hear her crying, Blake was certain, but they couldn't see her yet in the shadows.

The second she stepped out of the cave and into the light of day, Blake collapsed to her knees, her shoulders hunching forward, knotted hair blocking Zwei from view.

And she wailed.

"I'm sorry..." she gasped. "I didn't... I..."

"Blake?" Yang dropped to her knees beside her partner and put a hand to her back. Blake had half a mind to shy away, but she realized this could very well be the last time Yang ever touched her so tenderly.

She could sense Weiss kneeling at her other side, frantic and flustered.

"Blake! What in the world happened to you? Look at all this blood! You need to be treated!"

Blake heard as the heiress pulled out her scroll and started pressing buttons.

But the next thing she heard broke her heart.

"Blake...?" Ruby whispered. "Where's Zwei?"

Blake bit her lip until she drew blood and swallowed it. She shook her head and gasped for breath, forcing herself to lift her torso and reveal what was in her arms.

She watched as Ruby's expression crumbled, her silver eyes going wide and round, tears jumping forth within seconds. She dropped to her knees in front of Blake and reached out with both hands, quivering terribly as she scooped Zwei into her arms.

With nothing left to do with her own shaking hands, Blake's dropped to the ground, her nails digging into the dirt as drops of water stained the soil around them.

She didn't want to be here anymore.

She wanted to disappear.

Weiss and Yang had seen Zwei now as well. She heard Weiss gasp, a small, meek voice murmuring weakly.

"Oh, no..."

Yang was clearly distraught as well.

"No... oh god... Ruby don't-"

And then it happened, just as Blake had anticipated it would.

Yang's hand left her back and she went to her little sister instead. She wrapped both Ruby and Zwei in her arms, holding her sister as she began to cry.

Blake knew they blamed her for this, and probably hated her too.

And she knew she deserved it.

But... she didn't want them to hate her.

So she desperately lifted her face and threw her gaze around to all three of them, her voice feeble.

"I-I didn't-"

But Ruby's wailing drowned her out.

Blake flinched and recoiled.

"I'm sorry..."

Yang continued to hold her sister, petting her hair as Ruby cradled her beloved dog in her arms.

Blake wanted to fall unconscious and never wake up. She swayed, but just before she could hit the ground, a soft body was there to support her.

"Blake..." Weiss murmured, helping her straighten up. "What happened? Tell us."

Blake felt as the heiress started sharing her aura, letting it flow onto Blake's bloody shoulder. She flinched until the cooling sensation started to battle the heated pain, and Blake sobbed again.

"He was... trying to warn me... But I didn't understand and... he got hit..." she mumbled. "I gave him my aura to heal him, but... I don't..." She trailed off, changing the direction of her sentence. "That Ursa should've hit me. It would've torn my throat open. I'd be dead. Zwei... saved my life..."

She couldn't find the strength to speak anymore, and her weight slumped sideways. Weiss caught her gently, letting Blake rest her head on the heiress' shoulder, her eyes still trained on Ruby and Yang.

But Blake closed her eyes once Yang pulled away from her sister to look at her instead.

"Blake..." she whispered. "You-"

"It's my fault..." Blake rasped wretchedly. "I know it is. I'm so sorry. I didn't..."

She knew what was going to come:

/You never liked him!/

/You did this on purpose!/

/You let this happen!/

Just at the thought of it all, Blake buried her face in Weiss' shoulder and sobbed. Yang slid closer to her, coaxing Ruby with her. Blake sensed their presences and flinched.

"N-No... d-don't, please..."

"Blake..."

She felt Yang's hand on her back once more, but it wasn't searing or hurtful.

It was as tender as ever.

Her partner gently moved Blake from Weiss' arms to her own, and Yang pulled her into a soft embrace.

"Thank you."

Blake's ears flicked beneath her bow.

"Wh-What-"

But when she reopened her eyes, she finally glimpsed Ruby once again.

Her leader was smiling.

Tears still drenched Ruby's face, but she was smiling, looking fondly down at Zwei, who had opened his eyes and grunted a greeting to her.

"He's alive..." Ruby sniffled. "He's alive. You saved him, Blake."

It was then the Faunus girl realized what was happening. Ruby had never been crying from sadness at all. It had always been relief.

And the same went for Yang, as was clear by her gratitude.

And Weiss had only wanted to heal Blake's wounds and make sure she was alright.

None of them had rejected her.

None of them hated her.

Blake hated herself for ever thinking they might.

With trembling arms, she clung to Yang's back and cried, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks as she hiccuped.

Weiss stayed close and continued healing her wounds, and Ruby shuffled closer to Blake's other side. She met her teammate's eyes with watery silver ones.

"Blake..." she whispered. "You saved him. You gave him all your aura and healed his belly, and you didn't even use it on yourself. You could've died from your injuries and depleted your aura, but you... you chose to save him instead... thank you..." Ruby shuffled closer, holding Zwei in her lap with one arm as she wrapped the other around Blake's shoulders and cried into her onyx hair.

For a moment, they all cried – even Weiss shed a few tears of utter relief that her team would all be going home safely.

"But still," the heiress said aloud. "I've called Dr. Oobleck and requested emergency medical personnel on our Air Ship. Your injuries need to be treated professionally, Blake."

"So do his..." Blake said, glancing at Zwei.

The others followed her line of vision and nodded glumly.

Though his belly was more or less healed, Zwei's right forepaw was still hanging on by threads. Looking at it now in the light of the forest rather than the shadows of the cave, Blake didn't know if his paw could be saved.

Either way, her thoughts were cut off as the sounds of cutting winds came into earshot, and a glance at the sky told them their Ship had arrived.

Dr. Oobleck emerged from a grove of nearby bushes just seconds later to find the four girls and the dog huddled together, covered in tears and blood. He simply asked if everyone was alright and got a unanimous nod of heads. He told them to explain the full story to him on the ride home.

Together, the four girls stood, Yang and Weiss slinging one of Blake's arms each over their shoulders as Ruby hugged Yang's other side with one arm, and kept Zwei close to her in the other.

And together, they limped toward the awaiting doors of the Air Ship that had landed and come to take them home.

-----------------------

On the ride, the girls' injuries were treated, but most of what ailed Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were a few minor scratches and worried hearts.

Blake had been laid down on a stretcher and taken to a large medical room aboard the ship to be treated by experts.

Yang stayed with her for support, holding her hand as they administered a few stinging needles here and there to help regenerate her aura. They cleaned out her wounds, then bandaged her shoulder and the side of her neck.

When at last they'd finished, Blake requested that her bed be reclined so she may sit up. Yang positioned pillows behind her to support her back, pulling up a small stool so she may sit at her partner's bedside.

Once the last of the nurses had left the room, Blake flashed her gaze to the blonde at her side. She inhaled shakily and sighed.

"Yang... I can't say it enough, but I'm so sorry about-"

"Hey..." Reaching out, Yang covered Blake's hands with her own, squeezing them in the Faunus girl's lap. "None of that, okay? It's like Ruby said; Zwei would've died if you hadn't given him all your aura like you did. And you could've died or been seriously incapacitated by doing that. I know you did all you could to keep him safe, Blake. Don't think I don't understand that. Sometimes things happen during a fight and it's unavoidable..."

She trailed off, lavender eyes going blank for a second, and Blake knew she was reflecting on old memories. Blake slid one of her hands on top of her partner's and rubbed her knuckles gently. Yang snapped from her trance and went on.

"Like I said. I know you did all you could. And you ended up saving his life. And I can't thank you enough for that. If he'd died... Ruby would've..." Yang wiped an arm across her face and sighed. "I don't know what she would've done. What I would've done..."

Still, Blake couldn't ignore the guilt clawing at her stomach.

"...But if it hadn't been for me... he wouldn't have gotten so hurt in the first place."

"Hey..." Yang slid closer, standing up a bit just so she could pull her partner into a soft embrace. "Don't go thinkin' like that. He's gonna live and he's gonna be fine. We all are. And that's what matters."

A swell of emotion came over Blake, and she clung to Yang's back with shaking arms, feeling the tears rising up once again.

"But Yang..." she whispered. "What if... what if she hates me...? I can't... If Zwei had gone with her, this wouldn't have happened..."

"Blake..." Yang ran a hand up and down her partner's back, stroking through her hair. "Don't think about 'what ifs'. It won't do you any good. He could've been injured anywhere at any time. It could've happened if he'd gone with Ruby today, or if he'd gone with me. And y'know what? I might not have been able to save him. But you did. Because he went with you, and because you thought quickly and risked your life to save him. And you both came out of it alive."

She hugged Blake a little closer, lowering her voice. "And Ruby could never hate you. You know that. She loves you so much. No matter what, she always will. She loves Weiss, too. And of course she loves Zwei, and if he hadn't made it back home today, of course she would've been sad... all of us would've been... But Ruby would never hate any of her friends for something they had no control over. And besides..."

Yang pulled back slightly, so she may look down into Blake's eyes. "All of us are going home alright. What else could she be but happy?"

Blake couldn't think of anything more to say. There was no more grief or guilt inside of her; Yang had dashed all of her fears and calmed her.

With another whimper, the Faunus girl buried her face in Yang's collar and wept for a moment longer. Yang smiled and held her, thanking her over and over again for all she had done today.

Once Blake had stopped crying, Yang let her go and sat back down, though she kept her hands over Blake's in her lap.

A few minutes later, the door opened.

Ruby and Weiss entered quietly, faces downcast.

Yang all but blurted the question.

"How's Zwei?"

Weiss looked up at her with an unreadable expression in her eyes. The heiress pulled two more stools over to the opposite side of Blake's bed and had Ruby sit beside her. When she realized her leader wasn't going to answer, Weiss took the liberty upon herself.

"He's going to live. He's going to be fine."

The atmosphere in the room instantly lifted, and Blake even cracked a small smile as Yang sighed in relief.

But there was clearly more to this, and as Ruby lifted her head, they found out what it was.

"They healed his belly, and after a week or so of rest, he'll be alright again. But..." She looked first to Blake and then to Yang. "They... They couldn't-"

Her voice hitched a little, and Weiss immediately put a hand on her shoulder, indicating Ruby didn't need to say this part. The heiress took over, speaking softly.

"They couldn't save his paw."

Hearts dropped at her revelation, and Yang felt a shudder go through Blake.

Weiss continued quickly before the negative emotions could settle.

"They needed to amputate his front paw. But there's still a solution," she declared. "They're going to make him a mechanical one, specifically constructed just for him. They can connect it to the nerves and use his DNA to cover it in his own fur. It'll be as good as the original. I'll make sure of it."

Ruby sniffled, but her lips had curled into a smile as she looked up at the others.

"Weiss said she'd pay for everything," she murmured.

Blake and Yang both gave shocked looks to the heiress.

"Really?" Blake asked.

"Weiss, that's... gonna be really expens-"

"It's actually not that much," Weiss said, purposefully cutting Yang off. "If financial assistance is the best I can do in this situation, then of course I'll do it. And covering these expenses will merely be pocket change. It's no trouble at all."

Ruby laughed lightly, then threw her arms around her partner, nuzzling into Weiss' collar. The look the heiress gave Blake and Yang then told them this procedure would actually be a bit costly, but Weiss didn't mind at all.

Blake cast a smile at Yang, and was glad to see she returned it.

The Faunus girl looked around at all of her precious teammates, meeting Weiss' gaze next. The heiress nodded to her, and the smile never left her lips either.

At last, Ruby pulled away from Weiss and looked to Blake.

A pang went through the dark-haired girl's chest, just an irrational fear that Ruby still might end up blaming her for all of this after all.

But Ruby only leaned forward to hug her as well, sighing into Blake's shoulder.

"Thank you, Blake."

Ruby let her go, only to hug Weiss again.

"Thank you, Weiss."

She then grabbed the heiress' hand and brought her around to Yang's side of the bed and hugged her sister, too.

"Thank you, Yang."

Finally, Ruby sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled all of her teammates into a hug to the best of her abilities.

"I have the best team ever."

And as they all hugged one another softly with smiles on their lips, their response was the same.

"So do we."

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A/N: There's one little epilogue chapter, too!