Athazagoraphobia

Things were finally going well for them. They got out of Atlas relatively unharmed, saved almost everyone in Mantle(Robyn stayed behind to help everyone else), and they even were able to get into Vacuo territory without much resistance.

They should have known things were never going to be that easy.

They were making good time trekking through Vaccuo when Blake suddenly stopped, a strange expression on her face.

Yang noticed right away, and she stopped right next to her. “What is it?” She asked, concern evident on her face.

Ruby and Weiss stopped as well, turning back to look at them, while the rest of the group continued moving forward.

“I don’t know, I just have this, weird feeling,” Blake replied, shaking her head. “It’s most likely nothing, though.”

Of course, it was something.

Up ahead, Penny stopped suddenly. “I believe there is an Earthquake about to happen!” She announced, strangely cheerfully.

Everyone froze on the spot, not sure what to do. Atlas never had earthquakes, and Vale's were so rare that they hadn’t experienced one yet.

When it started a few seconds later, they still had no idea what to do.

Jaune crouched to the ground, holding his head and having his semblance ready to go at a moment’s notice in case someone got hurt.

Nora braced herself against a nearby rock and dragged Ren with her. Ren immediately went to shield Nora, wanting to protect her as much as possible.

Qrow turned into a bird and flew up into the sky with Penny, who had Oscar and Maria in her arms.

Blake instinctively reached out and held onto Yang in a death grip, her ears pinning back.

Yang gritted her teeth, pulling Weiss and Ruby close to her as well, barely even registering when a giant crack in the earth split team RWBY and everyone else.

Then, the crack spread, encasing the team. 

Yang couldn’t tell when they started falling, but she heard Ruby, Weiss, and Blake crying out, and the rest of the group moving to try and help them. 

Then, it all went dark.

Yang woke up around ten minutes later to her team, whispering to each other. She opened her eyes, or she thought she did. She couldn’t tell; it was pitch black either way. She sat up with a groan, waiting to see if her eyes will adjust.

“Yang! You’re awake!” She heard someone, most likely Ruby, say from somewhere to her right.

“Thank goodness. I was worried we’d have to lug you around while we try to get out of here.” Ah, that was definitely Weiss.

Yang was about to stand up when she realized something. She couldn’t move her right arm.

She looked around in the darkness for any sign of it. Where is it? Where is it? Whereisit? Whereisitwhereisit- Just as she was on the edge of panic from not finding it, she felt a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I have your arm,” Blake said softly, rubbing small circles calmingly into Yang’s shoulder, “It got damaged in the fall and automatically detached itself from you so that you wouldn’t accidentally get electrocuted.”

Yang relaxed and flashed Blake a small smile. She knew that Blake could see it with her Faunus vision.

“Yes, yes, we’re all glad that Yang’s not getting shocked anytime soon. But, we have a bit of a problem.” Weiss said, getting everyone’s attention back on her. “We’re trapped in a cave with no light, no reception, and no idea of where we are.”

“Can’t you use your dust to light up the area?” Yang asked.

“No, I used up all of my fire dust, remember?” She replied, and Yang could tell that she was shaking her head.

“What if we let Blake lead us?” Ruby suggested.

“That could work, but if we were to get into a fight, I couldn’t fight and tell you guys what’s happening,” Blake responded.

They continued to spitball ideas around when Yang had an idea.

“Hey, Blake! Is there any dust around?” She asked. If her idea worked, she didn’t want to blow them up accidentally.

Everyone went silent at her request, wondering what it was that she was thinking.

Blake answered a couple of moments later. “No, there doesn’t seem to be any dust around.”

Yang nodded, and a moment later, the cave that they were in was suddenly flooded with light. The source of it coming from Yang’s hair as she activated her semblance.

Ruby facepalmed. “Why didn’t we think of that earlier?”

“Are you sure you can keep that up for a while? Doesn’t it take energy to keep it lit?” Blake asked. And now that she could see again, Yang could clearly see the concern on her partner’s face.

Yang smiled and waved Blake off. “I’ll be fine. I’ll tell you guys if I get tired at all.”

Blake still looked hesitant, but then she nodded. “Alright.”

Ruby got a good look at her surroundings now that she could actually see. “Maybe we should follow the tunnel. There could be a way out.”

“Are we sure that’s safe?” Weiss asked, eyeing the end of the tunnel that was obscured in darkness. “There could be anything down there.”

“Do we have any other choice?” Ruby asked back, unconsciously reaching back to make sure Cresent Rose was still in its place. “Everyone else can’t get to us down here, and we have a better chance of finding a way out if we follow the tunnel.”

Weiss looked like she didn’t like it, but nodded anyway, seeing Ruby’s point. “Fine. Let’s just hope we don’t run into anything too dangerous.”

“Even if we do, I’m sure we can take it,” Ruby replied with an encouraging smile on her face. She then turned to Yang. “Since you’re the current light source, how about you lean the way?”

Yang nodded and began to walk down the tunnel; she moved most of her hair to the front to light up most of the tunnel ahead of them.

They walked in silence for a while, giving Yang some time to think.

I wonder if the others are trying to dig us out or not. I hope everyone is okay. Soon, she found her thoughts drifting to Blake. Was her first reaction to cling to me? Or just the person closest to her? Yang asked herself but stopped herself from thinking about it anymore. I was probably just the person closest to her. I’m also pretty strong. Maybe she thought I could hold her up or something.

They came across a fort in the tunnel a couple of moments later.

“What do we do now?” Ruby asked, looking between both of the tunnels in front of her.

“How about I walk down the right one for a little bit, and Blake goes down the other. If we run into a dead-end, we turn back, and if we can see or hear anything in the distance, we come back and gather up everyone else to check it out?” Yang suggested, already edging towards the right tunnel.

Ruby seemed hesitant to agree, not liking the idea of splitting up, but she nodded anyway. “I can’t think of anything else. Just be careful and come back if you get into trouble.”

Yang smiled and gave her sister a playful salute. “Yes, ma’am.” She said, then jogged off down her tunnel, hearing Ruby mumble something grumpily, but Yang couldn’t make out the words.

Yang jogged down the tunnel for a couple of minutes before it widened out into a room. She perked up, thinking she had found a way out, but she found no other exits except the one that she came in from when she circled the room. 

Dang, it. She thought, crossing her arms over her chest. I hope Blake had better luck than I did.

Sighing, she turned back around and was about to head back to her team, when she heard a soft In the ceiling above her, and seconds later, felt something sharp hit the back of her neck. Mother-

She instantly smacked the place where she felt it, only to find nothing there. Yang looked up at where she heard the crack and saw nothing there either. She sighed and shook her head; itwas probably just a pebble. A really sharp pebble. She thought, then walked back out the tunnel and back to her group.

Weiss and Ruby looked up as she approached. “Find anything?” Ruby asked hopefully.

Yang shook her head. “Just a dead end.” She pushed her hair back over her shoulders, so it was back to its normal hairstyle.

“Well, luckily for you, then, I think I found a way out,” Blake said from right next to them, making the rest of her team jump.

“When did you get here?!” Ruby asked, her eyes wide.

Blake shrugged. “Just a few seconds ago.”

“Forget about that, what did you say about finding a way out?” Weiss asked.

“I thought I saw sunlight down that tunnel, and I felt a breeze, so it’s a good bet that that way is the exit,” Blake replied.

Ruby grinned and started making her way down the mentioned tunnel. “Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!”

Blake and Weiss followed after Ruby, with Yang bringing up the back. Their positions reversed from before.

After a couple of minutes of walking, and with Yang making sure her thoughts didn’t wander off again, they saw what appeared to be sunlight ahead. They picked up the pace, and soon, the tunnel was light enough for Yang’s hair not to be needed anymore, so she dropped her semblance. 

She stumbled when she felt her energy drain. She was so sure that she would fall over, but she was held up by a pair of strong, warm arms.

“You okay, Yang?” Blake asked, her amber eyes swimming with concern.

Yang flashed her a smile and stood up straight. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired from using my semblance, is all.”

Blake nodded, “Alright, if you’re sure.” She said with a smile. They smiled at each other for a couple of minutes before Blake realized that she still had her arms around Yang, and quickly moved them away. “Sorry.”

Yang tried not to show her disappointment at the loss of Blake holding her. “Oh, It’s fine.” She probably doesn’t want to touch me more than necessary.

The thought surprised Yang, and she shook her head to clear it. Where did that come from?

Blake put a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Yang, are you sure you’re okay?” 

Yang took a deep breath, then nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Blake looked like she was about to say something, but was cut off by Ruby yelling from down the tunnel.

“ FREEDOM!” 

Yang smiled fondly and continued through the tunnel with Blake following behind her. 

She could think about that weird thought later. For now, they were getting out.