In RWBY's Shadow

Fallout

Warm. It was weird how warm Yang felt given the situation. Heat seemed to ooze down her arms as she reached out to Randi, the glistening reflection of the nearby flames against her skin clueing her in to exactly where her warmth originated. Her breath caught as she mindlessly shook Randi, small droplets of blood sprinkling against her face from each jerking motion as she tried to wake the girl that had just saved her.

Randi's eyes remained shut.

Pink tears fell from her eyes, mingling with the blood upon her face before falling to the ground as she sought to pull her friend back from the brink. Yang shook harder, her throat drier than Vacuo. Finally, her voice broke through the parched blockade. "Ra–" she coughed, before trying again. "Randi?" Her voice barely rose above a whisper in the still air of the cafeteria. She violently shook the girl one more time and shouted, "Randi!"

Randi slipped from her grasp, her fingers desperately clutching the air as Randi fell onto her back once more, face rolling to point away from Yang. Adam, intent on savoring the moment, stood beyond them, still facing away as he whipped his sword downward, flinging Randi's blood from the crimson blade before turning to them. His face tilted down to the two.

"Tch! What a persistent nuisance." Far from being annoyed, though, Adam briefly cracked half a smile at the downed girl. "The Wolf had claws after all."

Blake threw herself in front of them, blocking Adam's approach with her injured body as the steady drip from her side splashed into Randi's puddle below. With no weapon to speak of and aura long gone, she couldn't hope to last against Adam, yet she refused to yield.

"Why must you hurt me, Blake?" Adam questioned, taking a slow step forward.

"Blake, run!" Yang ordered, not willing to lose another friend so quickly. "I can hold him off." Even as she spoke those words, Yang knew it was a lie. If Randi and Blake had already fallen to him, then what chance would she stand? Even so, Yang pushed herself up to one knee, shifting her weight to rise and stand before Adam.

"Yang, no!" Blake kept her eyes locked on Adam as he watched them closely. "He's my problem. Take Randi and get out of here!"

Yang hesitated at the name, eyes glancing at her fallen friend. She didn't want to leave her behind, but rescuing what was left of Randi meant sacrificing Blake. The price was too high. She could imagine Randi agreeing, coldly pointing out that Blake's survival would mean more than her funeral. After all, only the living could remember the dead. Randi would want it that way.

"Yang, hurry! Randi doesn't have much time!"

"Huh?" Yang looked to Randi once more, forcing her eyes away from the bloodied face for once as she studied the girl closer.

There! It was faint, but Yang could swear she saw the girl's chest rise and fall as Randi clung to life. With a determination that would make her ancestors proud, Randi refused to let go, her body fighting to remain in the land of the living. Yang had failed to notice the subtle signs, but now each screamed at her. The shallow breathing. The small twitches on Randi's lips. The firm grip of her fingers around Verteidigen, clutching the ruined shield in defiance of death.

However, Blake was right. With every second, her grip on life slipped a little more. If she didn't get help soon, the abyss would swallow her once and for all. Someone would need to carry her out, but moving the armored girl wouldn't be easy. Yang doubted Adam would just let them gather their things and leave. Plus, Blake wasn't doing so great either. She couldn't hope to get them both out and hold off Adam.

No. Her best bet would be to keep Adam busy while Blake got Randi away. With any luck, she'd find a way to retreat after they were gone, escaping Blake's former boyfriend that Yang definitely didn't recognize from Blake's diary – the one hidden under Blake's mattress that Yang pointedly did not read when Blake wasn't looking. Otherwise, she'd die to save the two, granting them time to escape. A two-for-one special.