Phantom Pains

By darthbobcat

Yang wished she'd thought further ahead. She never did, of course. There were better ways to bring down that Death Stalker than leaping from Bumblebee at top speed and smashing into it fist first. Thankfully, it had been a small one; as it was, her left arm felt like it had nearly snapped off. If she hadn't had her Semblance, she'd have been in as many pieces as the dead Grimm. "Slow down, Yang. You don't need two fake ones."

The blonde huntress rubbed her aching head as she surveyed the damage. Bumblebee was laying on its side at the edge of the clearing, engine still purring. The forest was oddly quiet, as though nature was breathing a sigh of relief. She reminded herself why she'd rushed into action. "Kid? Are you alright?"

Terrified green eyes ventured from behind a nearby tree. "Is it gone?" The little red-haired boy hesitantly walked into the clearing.

Yang wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and nurse her bruised ribs and throbbing arm, but the kid didn't need to see her down. She made a show of hopping to her feet and posing dramatically. "Yup! That Grimm isn't going to bother anyone else."

His face lit up. "Wow, you're amazing!" All his hesitation vanished, and he ran over to give her a big hug. He short boy could only just get his arms around her waist.

Yang laughed, despite a new jolt of pain. "Woah, watch your hands; most guys buy me dinner first."

"Huh?"

Yang laughed again. "You'll get it when you're older. Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "Nah, that big monster didn't even touch me."

Yang glanced about. "Are your parents around?"

The boy's face fell. "No, I'm alone. I got lost."

Looking to head off the tears she could see coming, she put a comforting hand on his head. "Not anymore, kid. And I can't keep calling you kid, kid. What's your name?"

"Nero," he said happily. "What's your name?"

She hopped back and posed again. "Yang Xaio Long, at your service. I'm taking you home."

He nodded. "Can we ride your bike? I've never seen one like it."

Yang shot him a winning smile. "I like the way you think."

Yang shut off Bumblebee's engine and helped the boy out of his borrowed helmet. She took in the decrepit mansion, with its boarded windows and peeling, black paint. "Are you sure you live here, kid?"

Nero grunted an affirmative as he hopped down. Yang was grateful that he let her go; as much as he'd enjoyed the trip, every time they'd rounded a corner, he'd squeezed her sore ribs harder. "Yup! This is my house! Do you like it?"

"It's… big." It reminded her of the ruins of Beacon more than anything, which made her think of Adam, which made her…

"Yang? Do you hear me?"

She pasted on the best smile she could manage. "Yeah, Nero. I was somewhere else for a minute."

Yang loved kids; they could go from worried to exuberant like the flip of a switch. Nero beamed at her and said, "Come on, I gotta show you around!" He grabbed Yang by her false right hand and pulled her towards the weather-worn main doors.

Something about the mansion beside Yang's own hang-ups left her with a sense of foreboding. Yang's gut didn't usually clue her in on danger, probably because her Semblance took up a lot of slack. When it did speak up, she was inclined to listen. "I'd love to, but I can't. I have someone I'm looking for, and I don't have a lot of time to get there. She moves around a lot."

Yang hated kids and their stupid, pouty faces. "But, you have to come in! It's getting dark outside, and you're not allowed outside after dark. You can spend the night!"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "You mean you're not allowed outside after dark. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

He shook his head. "Mom always says good boys and girls follow the rules, and you're a good girl, so you must follow the rules too."

Yang couldn't help but smile at Nero's flawed logic. His big eyes shone with hope. She sighed; there had never been a choice. "Fine, Nero, you got me."

The mansion was better maintained inside than outside. Nero had declared himself cold, so they put the tour on hold to let him warm up in a parlor near the main door. Yang said, "How old is this place? This furniture looks like something from last century." There was no sign of anything electronic.

Nero proudly patted a love seat with a clean, but threadbare upholstery. "Dad says they're all originals," in a confident tone that told Yang he had no idea what that meant. "We Spettros have lived here as long as anyone can remember. Well, us and the help."

As if on cue, a silent maid in a black and white uniform was at Yang's side. She gestured as if to take Yang's jacket, but the huntress declined. "Thanks anyway." The mansion had a chill she couldn't explain, despite the roaring fire not ten feet from her. The maid looked at her with scorn and left. Yang said, "When do I get to meet your parents?"

Nero looked down awkwardly. "They aren't here right now. I'm not sure where they are."

Yang cocked her head. "You don't know where they..." Her right hand flew to cover her mouth. "Oh. Oh." The best-case scenario was that they were on a trip. The mansion suddenly seemed even larger and colder.

Yang knew how to bury those thoughts. "So, you warmed up yet, squirt? I think you were going to give me a tour."

Nero's eyes brightened. "Yeah!"

Yang said, "Wow, this place is huge. It can't be just you here, can it?"

He said, "Nope. I've got the help."

"And they've got such... personality." Yang sighed. Poor kid. She had things to do, but he needed some attention. His every action said he was positively starving for it.

Yang was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed Nero saying, "Why is your arm metal?"

Yang's eyes widened. She hadn't met any children since her accident; everybody else she'd met on her trip had been too polite to ask. "It's a long story, Nero. Top secret." It was what Uncle Qrow had said every time she and Ruby had asked a question he didn't want to answer. It felt right pass along that old inside joke to Nero.

Nero said, "Oh, I get it. You're one of those mechano-men from Dad's stories."

Yang blinked. "Mechano-men?"

Nero blushed a little and said, "Oh, sorry, mechano-woman."

Yang shook her head. "That isn't it. Mechano-man? Do you mean a robot?" Taiyang had some old sci-fi books that used the term, but nobody had in decades.

Nero said, "You're a robut?" Yang smirked at his pronunciation. "I'll keep your secret, Yang." He opened the door to a well-kept room filled with old toys and pulled her metal arm. "Now come on, let's play! Then I can get some dinner and you can have motor oil or whatever robuts eat, then we can play some more!"

Yang wasn't sure what to say. She considered correcting Nero's misunderstanding, but there was something so adorable about it. Besides, it was easier than explaining her injury. So, it was time to play robot. How did a robot act again?

Yang saluted smartly and in a slightly stilted tone, said, "I'm playtime ready!"

Yang had always wondered if she wanted children, really. There was always the worry that she'd end up taking after her mother and leaving them behind. She didn't think she could do that, but she didn't want to risk it either. She'd be damned if she inflicted that hurt on anyone else. She wouldn't start if she couldn't see it through.

But, as she cradled a lightly snoring Nero in her arms, the idea seemed appealing. "Too much excitement today, buddy?" He mumbled something and tucked his head into her neck, and then the regular breathing resumed. She gave him a loving squeeze.

The silent maid was guided the two of them through the dark halls by candlelight. "You guys like it old school around here, don't you?" Yang was starting to get annoyed at the rudeness of the older woman, who hadn't responded once. "What's your deal? Did I offend you?"

As the maid opened the door, she said, "There is no point getting to know you. You won't be here long." She stepped out of sight.

Yang's dander rose at that. "Hey, lady, I don't..." She was gone. "Hello?"

The only sounds in the hallway were Nero's rhythmic breathing and the ticking of a grandfather clock. "That's impossible." There was nowhere to hide, and Yang would have heard her footsteps if she'd run.

Every instinct in Yang told her to run out of there. The boy in her arms was the only thing that kept her from doing just that. "You're just tired, Yang. Too many nights without a roof over your head," she lied to herself. She felt fine, but hallucinating was more comforting, somehow.

Like everything else in the old house, Nero's bed was extravagant and aged. The ridiculous thing could have fit all of team RWBY without them touching. "All of this for one kid... wow, it must be nice to be that rich."

Gingerly, she laid Nero down and tucked him in without disturbing his slumber. "See you in the morning, buddy," she said, stroking his head.

She hesitated. Would she? This was her chance, wasn't it? Nero wasn't worried by whatever was setting Yang off. She was sure he'd be fine. She could just sneak out and be on her way. She still had to track down her mother, after all.

A glance at Nero's sleeping face dashed that plan. No. That lonely child didn't need her to pull a Raven. She'd wait for the morning and give him a real goodbye.

With some annoyance, Yang realized the maid hadn't told her where her room was. "Your parents need better help," she groused. Not seeing a better option, she set herself up on the opposite side of Nero's bed.

Yang woke up and nearly had a heart attack. When her eyes first cracked open, she saw the wallpaper ripped, as though by giant claws, and red splotches everywhere. She blinked, and the room returned to normal. Hallucination didn't seem so comforting anymore. She tried to rise, but Nero had made his way across the bed sometime in the night and was wrapped around her metal limb. "You've got a great grip, kid." Not finding a way to free herself without hurting him, she tapped a release button and fought the anxiety she always felt when she was a southpaw. She told herself to calm down. After all, she'd get it back. She hadn't seen anything wrong. It was a dream. That's what it had to be.

Her gut didn't buy any of it. She padded her way out of the room as softly as she could and gingerly closed the door behind her. Once she was in the hallway, though, she broke out in a sprint to the front door.

Or at least, where the front door had been. "How the… it was right here!" She ran down another hallway chosen in her blind panic, tracing Nero's tour from the day before. Every door and window to the outside was gone, as though some mad architect had made a sealed house.

"Will the young miss be needing anything," the maid from the night before asked sarcastically.

Yang considered being polite, but panic got the better of her, since she didn't have Nero to placate. She grabbed the maid by upper arm. "Where did you go last night?"

The maid gave her a sardonic smile. "Oh, here and there."

"Bull!" Yang felt the fire of her semblance welling up in her gut and spreading through her limbs as her emotions rose. "You just vanished!"

There was a sound behind Yang. She saw nothing when she turned, but she felt something slip through her fingers. When she faced forward again, the maid was gone.

Yang finally let loose the terrified shriek she'd been holding back. "Screw this, I'll make a door!" Her body burned with energy, and she focused it all into a mighty blow where a door to the backyard had been the night before. With her Semblance at full tilt, she could almost ignore the pain in her arm and ribs.

The aged wallpaper and paintings vanished as the shockwave from her punch traveled, revealing a house on the edge of collapse. The ruined door revealed itself, but an unseen barrier kept her hand from the doorknob.

She took a step back to ready another punch, only to feel something solid behind her. Clawed hands closed around the back of her head. "Can't have you getting away, young miss." The thing that had been the maid slammed her face first into the floor. Yang could just see a creature like a Beowulf in a torn uniform out of the corner of her eye.

Yang found herself calming down. Having a familiar enemy helped to steady her, even if most Grimm couldn't talk. A sweep of her leg knocked it down, and a blast from her gauntlet ended its fight. She had to run, she had to...

"Nero!" She had to get him out of there! She didn't know why these Grimm had abducted the boy, but she'd be damned if she'd leave him behind. She charged forward as more of the help showed up, Beowolves and Ursas dressed like butlers and groundskeepers. For each one she slew, the true house revealed itself more and more. The originals that Nero's father had been so proud of were shown to be threadbare and rotting, and Yang almost worried she'd collapse the whole house with her blows.

The help did their best, but none of them were equal to her rage and determination. Still, she was bleeding from multiple wounds when she frantically kicked down the door to Nero's room. As she ran in, the walls shimmered, revealing Yang's vision from that morning. The scent of rot was overwhelming, worse than anywhere else she'd been. "Nero! We have to…"

Her voice died in her throat. The red-haired boy was gone. Instead, a humanoid Grimm with an oversized head and wild red hair the color of a fire engine was sitting up in the bed, holding her arm like a trophy. "Yang! You left your robut arm," it said cheerfully in Nero's voice.

Heart racing, she leveled her gauntlet at it. "You have three seconds to tell me where Nero is, monster!"

The thing dropped its prize. There was fear in its voice as it said, "Yang? It's me."

"No." She took a horrified step back as her Semblance dissipated. Her red eyes went back to their natural violet. "What the hell are you?"

Nero said, "I'm Nero. What else would I be?" He hopped down from the bed.

Yang's brain ran through everything she remembered from her lectures. She could hear Professor Port's voice saying, "Revenant." She steeled herself, taking another step back as the Grimm tried to approach her. "We both know that isn't right, Grimm."

Nero's mouth worked silently, and he looked at his feet in shame. "I remember being outside. So cold, so hungry. I remember being inside and scared too. Mom and Dad were fighting. I remember this huge, black thing coming for me, and I remember being the black thing. I showed up and… it… I… they're gone." There was real pain in its voice.

Her remaining hand trembled. "You were a young Grimm. You fed on negative emotions, but there was too much for you. The real Nero imprinted on you." Port had said it was so rare that some regarded it as a rumor.

A flash of black energy blew her hair back as the thing stomped its foot petulantly. "Stop saying that! I'm Nero!"

"No. You're the thing that ate Nero."

Yang had never seen a Grimm cry before. She wished she still hadn't, as it slumped to the ground. "You're a huntress."

"Yup."

There was confusion in its voice as it said, "I am a Grimm, aren't I?" It flashed Yang a sad smile full of shark-like teeth. "You made me forget that for a while. Made me want to forget."

She slammed her fist into the doorframe, cracking the rotten wood. "Stop acting like you're human, you little faker! I bet that Death Stalker was all part of the act!" She stomped over to it and loomed over the sitting monster. "How many people have you lured in who just wanted to help a child?"

"Lots. I've been here a long time." Yang followed its gaze as it took in the torn walls and dried blood. Its tears were flowing in earnest. "Are you going to kill me?"

Yang hadn't thought that far ahead. She never did. Objectively, it was a killer. But it talked and acted like the little boy she'd wanted to cheer up so badly, and she'd never seen a Grimm show fear before, much less talk back. Its soulless eyes looked up at her pleadingly. Finally, she lowered herself down and embraced the thing as well as she could with one arm. "I have to, Nero. For everyone's sake. You know you won't stop."

"You could just live with me. I think I can stay me if you're here."

Yang shook her head. "I can't. I'm sorry. People need me."

It returned the hug. "I get it. Just don't make it hurt, okay?"

Yang's eyes stung with her own tears. "Yang Xaio Long, at your service."

Whatever else Yang thought of herself as she rode away from the crumbling mansion, she could take solace in the fact that she hadn't run away. She was not her mother.

It would be easier if she was.

End

This was another entry for the Work in Progress Discord Server's monthly fanfiction contests. I didn't like any of the prompts this month, so I went with the general directive to be spooky. I had to rush it a little to get it into the three thousand word limit, which is becomming a trend. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed Phantom Pains.