When Yang and I got to the base, everything was in a state of chaos. We paused brief moment at the entrance of the hideout, which had been blown wide open. The sound of gunshots and explosions echoed below us. I looked to Yang, who's lilac eyes showed no fear.
"You know we might not make it out alive right?" I asked softly.
Her eyes moved to stare into my own. "My little sister and our friends are down there. Does whatever happens to us really matter?"
I didn't hesitate to reply. "No."
"Then lets go," she said, jumping into the hole and down the stairs. I followed not a second behind her and we raced down the steps. The inside of the base was lit up like fireworks. I ducked to narrowly avoid being hit by a ricocheting bullet. The place was filling with a dark black smoke, and seemed to glow orange. A fire had been started.
"I didn't sign up for this!" a newer White Fang recruit shouted, not even knowing what he was shooting at anymore.
"Let's get out of here!" his friend shouted. They and a few others ran past us. Only a few bothered to shoot as they retreated, but the shots were sloppy and I didn't even have to move to dodge them.
"Ruby!" Yang shouted for her sister as my eyes scanned among the giant shelves of crates for our friends. One of the crates caught fire and fell to the ground, causing a large explosion that forced Yang and I back a few steps. I quickly jumped back a bit farther to avoid having one of the flaming splinters go right through me. I glanced to the side to make sure Yang hadn't been hit. She punched aside a large piece with her gauntlets and reloaded them.
"We don't have a lot of time," she said, setting the fire starting to spread towards larger crates. "You ready?" she asked, looking to me. I gave her a determined smirk and a nod before we charged into the smoke.
A white Fang member jumped out at me, pointing her gun in my face. I kicked her gun aside and punched her in the gut. She fell forward onto her knees. I waited a moment for her next move, but a large explosion went off, causing the whole place to shake as another create burst into flames. The White Fang girl rose to her feet, but instead of trying to fight me she ran past me towards the exit. I let her go. We needed to find the others and fast before the rest of the bombs went off.
My attention was drawn to my left by the sound of coughing. I turned ready to fight with Yang on my heels as two figures emerged from the smoke. It was Weiss and Pyrhha. Weiss was badly injured, a red gash in her side was staining her white dress. Pyrhha was holding the heiress up, though she herself looked like she could collapse at any moment. Yang and I rushed to their side to try to help.
"Where is Ruby?" Yang asked anxiously.
"W- we split up," Weiss said weakly.
"Jaune went looking for her," Pyhhra panted, "along with Ren and Nora."
"Don't worry, we will get them," Yang told them with determination.
"Can you make it out on your own?" I asked calmly, though I was on the edge of panic. They were in really rough shape, the place could explode at any second, and there was no sign of Wolf or the others anywhere.
"I think so," Pyrhha replied as Weiss coughed up blood. I took a deep breath to steady myself as we watched the redhead and the the girl in white go towards the exit. I paused for a moment in confusion. I was used to panic and the ciaos. I was used to the danger of death being so close. So why was I feeling so on edge?
Dammit, I thought, realizing that Yang's look of worry matched what I was feeling. I let myself care about them. I wasn't worried for me, I was worried for them. Worried for Wolf, for my team, even for Yang and team RWBY. I needed them to be alright. I pulled my emotions back in and focused myself on the task at hand. Yang's look of worry focused into a look of determination. She nodded at me and I nodded back as we continued forward.
It didn't take long to find Ruby. Yang rushed to her side and nearly wrapped her into a form of bear hug, but stopped, realizing that Ruby was bleeding from a wound in her side. She had been grazed by a flaming box shard. Blood covered her hand as she pressed it to her wound. Jane was barely standing by her side, exhausted from all of the running and fighting. Nora was kneeling between them, clutching an unconscious Ren, but I could tell that he was still breathing from his chest movements. There was only one person missing now.
"Wolf?" I asked, so worried that my tongue felt numb. I had to choke his name out as a question.
"He went that way," Ruby said, jerking her head to indicate that he had gone father in. "There were some really tough guys, like the general of the White Fang. He led them away from us." I looked towards where she looked but with the flames and smoke it was impossible to see.
"Can you guys make it out?" Yang asked, helping Nora lift Ren.
"I-i think so. What about you?" Her sister replied. Yang glanced at me, thinking for a moment before answering Ruby. I waited for her too say that she would help Ruby out or that she'd help carry Ren.
"We're going to find Wolf," she said determinedly. I glanced up at her in surprise. I was used to people leaving me when things got dangerous. I'm my line of work, it was every girl for herself, especially if that girl was risking her life for a friend's. A light blush crept across my cheeks as I gained a new respect for Yang. Luckily it was covered by the glow of approaching flames.
Jaune and Nora balanced Ren on their shoulders and Ruby limped beside them. Once we were sure that they could make it Yang and I entered what seemed to be like a wall of smoke. It became nearly impossible to see. I blinked rapidly to keep as much smoke out of my eyes as I could, and one of my hands came up to cover my mouth as I choked. The heat around us was intense. This place could blow at any moment. I glanced to my side to see Yang still beside me, despite the danger. She squinted through the thick cloud, clearly seeing something. I followed her gaze and could barely make out a figure of a person that was clearly much to big to be Wolf.
With a giant sweeping motion of a black umbrella, the figure blew away the smoke. I froze in a mix of fear and disbelief as my heart threatened to pound out of my chest. I instinctively clutched my umbrella tighter. No, it couldn't be! The smoke in my eyes must have changed what I was seeing. He couldn't possibly be here! He was dead! I watched him die!
"Neo, who is that?" Yang asked me, seeing the recognition on my face. I quickly composed myself as the man turned to face me with a giant smirk on his face.
"Excuse me miss," Nick Sleeplicer said to me. As my old mentor turned, his cloak revealed an unconscious, possibly dead Wolf beneath him. "Is this your dog?"
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Hey guys! Sorry that this update took so long! I took a break from Wattpad so I could try to keep up with my online classes. I hope you like the update! I'll try to do it more often!
