She knew what she felt. The immense, unbearable pressure from behind her, that malicious intent hanging in the air like the cobwebs. She reacted, instinctively, with an a counter attack, she was never the kind of person to hold back. That's when everything seemed to go wrong.
The Atlesian military surrounded her almost instantly, her shock and confusion ruled out her fear and she put her weapons to rest. There would be no point in fighting here. She cast her eyes to the monitor overhead, now showing a replay of what had just happened. Her eyes grew wide, shock and surprise and disbelief danced across her face. The stadium seemed to dissolve around her, the silence of the crowd deafening to her. She watched as she walked around Mercury, paused, and then broke his kneecap, completely unprovoked. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, it didn't seem real to her, she tore her eyes from the screen and saw them.
Ruby, Weiss, Blake. The three people most important to her at this school. Ruby looked shocked, surprised, incredulous, afraid. Each second Yang stared into Ruby's eyes was like an arrow through her heart, so painful and real she almost could feel her skin being shredded. Weiss looked concerned, but calm. She must know something was up, she was always the most aware of the team, and first to recognize when something was wrong, but in absence of an explanation, she couldn't help but appear confused and disbelieving. Then it was Blake.
Blake's eyes held Yang's stare for what felt like an eternity, and what Yang found there broke her soul. Betrayal played out across her face, her eyes beginning to water, Yang couldn't look away. She wanted to apologize, to explain herself, but all she could do was mutter "No. No. No. It wasn't me. It wasn't me." She knew Ruby and Weiss would believe her once they heard her story, but to Blake this was more than just a broken leg. To Blake this was something more, all the trust they had built up as partners had crumbled, when Blake looked away, Yang knew she had lost her. She remembered Weiss' words from what felt like a lifetime ago.
"The innocent never run"
With that in mind, Yang accepted her fate. With Ember Celica now resting as simple bracelets, she offered her hands to the Atlesian police and allowed herself to be cuffed. She didn't dare look up into the stands again, she didn't want to see her teammates faces. Even worse, she didn't want to look up and find them gone. She let her long hair fall over her face as she was led from the stage, only looking back once at Mercury. He was clutching his leg, in pain, but his posture wasn't what Yang was expecting. As someone who had broken a lot of bones in her life, there was a difference between a surprise injury, and an expected injury. The body would prepare itself if it knew it was going to be hurt, it would try to minimize the damage. The way Mercury sat now, it was almost like he knew Yang would break his leg. Like he planned it. She gritted her teeth and turned away. Something was going on.
She was taken to the Atlesian prison ship, and put in a holding cell. The holding cell was barely bigger than her locker back at Beacon, with only room to either stand or sit. Clearly comfort was not the main priority of Atlas. The only light source in her cell came from two slits in the door, letting in only enough light to give a clear idea of how impossible it would be to escape from her prison. The door was far too thick to even hope of breaking down, especially since her weapons had been taken away. There were no seams on the walls or floor, no potential weak points to exploit, the Atlesian military was not to be trifled with. Inside she had no clear idea of time, but if her internal clock could be trusted, which it usually could not, she was in her cell for at least a day. She would sleep, and wake up, with no change in the light cast into her room, no change in her surroundings at all. Sometimes she would scream, she punched the wall until her hands began to bleed, she was on the brink of going mad when she heard it, the first human voice since she left the stadium.
"You are not keeping her James. She's my student" Ozpin's familiar voice drifted into Yang's cell like a breath of fresh air.
"I have the most advanced system for dealing with criminals, Oz" General Ironwood distinctive gruff voice came into Yang's cell, sending a chill through her. That's what she was now, a criminal.
"She's not a criminal, James. You will return my student to me, and she will face trial in Beacon. Now open the cell."
Yang's door slid open moments later, almost blinding her. Ozpin stood in the doorway, his silhouette like some sort of angel. He reached in and grabbed her arm, once her eyes adjusted, she could see he was not smiling. He dragged her out, rougher than she expected, but she was still grateful to be out of her cell.
"You're coming with me, Xiao-Long. The rest of your team will be meeting us in my office." and with that the professor whisked her away, past Ironwoods defeated sigh, through corridors and out back into the world. It was night again, presumably only one day had passed since the fight, but Yang had no way of knowing. She was dreading meeting with her team again, but was glad she would finally get the chance to explain herself. No matter how poor she felt, her team must feel worse. They only saw what the rest of the world saw. They saw her hurting an innocent man without provocation, without reason. They saw someone they trusted betray them, betray their faith. Yang needed to explain herself, for their sake.
"Do not mistake my roughness for condescension, Miss Xiao-Long. We are in a hurry, but I fully intend to hear your side of his story." Ozpin whispered. "I'm sure your friends are waiting anxiously for your return."
Yang nodded, unable to speak. She simply did not know what to say. Ozpin's words breathed life back into her heart. There would be nothing to worry about, she was certain her friends would believe her. Her friends knew her, they knew she would never do something like that. Wouldn't they?
In the elevator up to the office, doubt was beginning to take control. What if they didn't believe her? What if no one believed her? Would she be expelled? What she did was in clear violation of Tournament rules. She disturbed an inter-kingdom event and disgraced her entire school. She wanted to break something, she needed to release all this pent up frustration inside her body, but she knew it wouldn't bode well for her cause. She clenched her fists so hard she could feel her knuckles cracking under the pressure, and then, her voice was boiling in her throat, just waiting to be let out, like steam. Her entire body felt like it was heating up, she couldn't stop herself from fidgeting.
She was long past her breaking point when the doors opened, but held herself together from some sort of willpower. Fear, or pride, she didn't know, nor care. What mattered was the voice that cut through her misery as soon as the doors opened. That voice was all that mattered to her. How could she have ever doubted that pure, unconquerable optimism?
"YAAAAAAAAAANG" Ruby shot into Yangs arms like a bullet. All that pent up frustration, fear, restlessness disappeared in an instant, the faint scent of roses wafted up from her sister as she clung tightly to Yang's chest. It smelled like home. Yang fell to her knees.
"Ruby" Yang managed to squeeze out of her throat. Mere moments ago she had wanted to scream and yell and punch and break but all that was gone know. All she cared about was holding her baby sister in her arms.
"We we're SOOOO worried! We didn't know where they'd taken you, or when you'd be back, or what happened at the Festival, or anything!" Ruby squealed, all in one long breath. "What happened Yang? You need to tell us!"
"We know what happened, Ruby." Blakes voice came from back at Ozpin's desk. The faunus had not even turned around when Yang had come in "We saw it"
"Come on, Blake. We need to know the whole story" Weiss said "I for one think there is far more to this than just what we saw at the tournament. We need to know the whole story before we make any accusations."
"Hey! You've have actually learned something Weiss!" Ruby chirped up, her head still tightly nestled in Yang's chest. "Remember, when Blake ran off that one time and you said the exact opposite?"
Weiss blushed faintly and squared her shoulders in indignation "I did no such thing" She stated firmly.
"Yes you did! It was right after we found out Blake used to be…"
"I'm going to stop you right there Miss Rose. I assume the rest of that sentence was not intended for my ears. Now I know this is a.." Ozpin cast his gaze over to Blake "Mostly happy reunion, but we have urgent matters we need to discuss here. Team RWBY if you please, come take a seat" Ozpin gestured to the four chairs positioned in front of his desk, before seating himself down in his own, and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
He waited patiently for the girls to be seated before continuing. "Now, Yang. I do think there is more to what's happened than what we saw at the tournament, I would like you to explain in your own words what occurred at the end of your fight with Mr Mercury Black." Ozpin asked, calm and concise. Yang launched into an account of what happened after she had landed the last blow on Mercury, the immense feeling of malevolence, the voice made of nightmares, and then the kick. The kick that had prompted her attack in the first place. The kick that no one saw but her.
"How convenient, that no one saw this kick but you." Blake said under her breath as Yang ended her recounting. She had kept her head away from Yang the entire time, using her long hair to hide her face from her partner.
"Come on, Blake. Yang wouldn't lie about something like this" Ruby said, clearly saddened by Blake's lack of faith.
"How do you know what Yang would do?" Blake spat back "Yang wouldn't have broken someone's leg for no reason either"
"And I didn't! Yang rose from her chair and faced her partner. "Why can't you believe me?! Why can't you just trust me?!"
Blake stood up so fast and so violent she knocked her chair back clear across the room "I can't trust you!" she shrieked, her head bent down, still refusing to look at Yang "Not after that. I can't trust someone like you. Someone who would attack the innocent"
"He attacked me first!" Yang shouted back. She didn't want to be angry with Blake, but she couldn't control her voice. She reached out and laid a hand on Blake's shoulder.
In a flash Blake's nails raked across the back of Yang's hand, taken by surprise, Yang withdrew her hand immediately, the deep scratches beginning to bead with blood. Blake finally turned to look Yang in the eyes. Blake's face was streaked with tear tracks, the area around her eyes inflamed and angry. But her eyes, her eyes almost stopped Yang's heart, they were feral, filled with all sorts of emotion. Anger, disdain, disgust, and above all else, betrayal. "Don't touch me" Blake hissed, before turning away. Yang stretched out her hand to her partner but paused before clenching her teeth and grabbing Blake on the shoulder, she spun Blake back around to look at her and held her.
Blake's hands became a fury of nail and blood, but Yang refused to let go. "Listen to me. I don't know why this is so important to you, but I guarantee you I did not attack Mercury first. I understand you not trusting me right away, but I can't believe you doubt Ruby too." Blake's scratching became less and less as Yang spoke. "You have every right to doubt every word I say. Sitting in that cell, I was doubting what I saw as well, but don't you dare ever insult my sister. She knows me better than I know myself, and if she trusts me, then I trust her. And you should too." Yang finally let Blake's shoulder go, her hand now dripping in blood. "Ruby knows me better than anyone else in this world, even if you don't trust me, trust her."
Blake turned away in silence and strode off, into the elevator and out of sight. Yang sat back down, her clenched fist causing blood to squeeze out of the innumerable cuts on her hand. Weiss sighed.
"Well then." Weiss broke the silence "Give me your hand Yang, I have a kerchief somewhere" Weiss grabbed Yang's bloody fist while rummaging in her jacket "Ah, here it is"
Ruby looked close to tears. This was exactly the same thing that happened when Weiss had accused Blake of being a terrorist. Ruby had the same confused, defeated look on her face as she did back then. As soon as Weiss was done patching up her hand, Yang reached over and shook her sister's shoulder. "It'll be fine, Rubes" Yang said, trying her best to smile reassuringly "She'll come round' eventually"
"I…" Ruby was a loss for words "I… I don't know Yang. This has something to do with her past, and I don't know how to help. I've never seen her act this way before." Ruby carefully removed Yang's hand from her shoulder. "I was hoping that when she heard your story she'd understand, but I don't know what to do anymore."
"Now, Miss Rose, as a captain you have many responsibilities, but the emotions of your teammates are not one of them. You must allow them to run their course and in time she will make up her own mind on how to process this. In the meantime, we…" Ozpin was cut off by the elevator doors openning.
Glynda strode into the room, practically dragging a worried looking blonde monkey faunus behind her. "I've brought Mr Sun Wukong, sir. He said he had something to say about the incident." Glynda said, in her typical, chilly tone.
"Ahh, well then, Mr Wukong, please have a seat" Ozpin gestured to the chair Blake had sent across the room. Glynda sighed and waved her crop, sending the chair back in place beside Ruby.
"Uhhh, Ok" Sun made his way to sit down "Is Blake ok? I thought she'd be here"
"Miss Belladonna is currently dealing with some issues, and has left us for the time being" Ozpin responded.
"Oh, uhhh, maybe I should go and find her then, can this wait?" Sun asked, already making is way out of the chair he'd just sat down in.
"No! Sun!" Ruby grabbed his hand "Please, tell us what you wanted to say first"
"Oh, right. Ok, so I dunno, but ever since I was little I've had this little trick where I could tell when other people were hiding something, like wearing disguises or whatever. It was the same when I came to Beacon and met Blake right" Ozpin raised an eyebrow, but Sun wasn't paying attention. "And ever since I met those two, Mercury and Emerald and their team, I felt something was fishy, like they weren't being real honest, but I couldn't really put a finger on it, until last night. When I was watching the fight right, I could see there was some funny business going on, I saw after Yang had finished the fight, it was like there were two Mercury's one right beside Yang, and the other one getting up and doing a flying kick right at her head. When Yang broke his leg I was like, hell yeah, he deserved it, but everyone got really upset about it and I didn't know why until I saw the replay. In the replay the second Mercury wasn't there, so it looked like Yang just punched the dude's leg. But I know what I saw and Mercury for sure tried to cheapshot Yang after the fight had ended somehow, although I don't know how cause his aura was all gone."
After Sun's explanation a flood of relief washed over Yang, she was right, someone else had seen the same thing. She didn't know how, or why Sun was the only one who could see what happened, but there was clearly something up with the transfer students.
"Thank you, Sun" Weiss said, crossing her arms "I knew something was going on." Ruby nodded.
"You would never hurt somebody without a reason, Yang, I just, I couldn't see what had happened, all the cameras where showing the same thing, but Sun proved it. He told the same story you did so you have to be forgiven, right Professor?"
Ozpin nodded, slowly "Yes, but there will be repercussions. The rest of the world doesn't know what truly happened in that arena, and I would ask you to not tell anyone else. We have enemies in this school, and I do not want them to realize I know who they are. We need time to investigate them properly."
"By enemies do you mean Emerald too? She's so nice…" Ruby said quietly.
"I'm afraid so, Miss Rose. There is something happening at this school, and we need to find out as much as we can before they realize we have found them out. I'm sorry, but for the time being, I would ask that Yang stay here, in the detention center."
"But, she's innocent!" Weiss said indignantly "You have no right!"
"That is true, miss Schnee, so I ask you, Yang Xiao-Long, will you remain here for the time being?"
All eyes turned to Yang as she mulled her thoughts over in her mind, she knew of course what she had to do, but knowing made it no easier. "I'll stay, but only if the rest of the team can visit me whenever they want. And I need Blake to come back too, after Sun explains everything to her"
Ruby swallowed hard "How long will it take, professor?" Ruby squeaked.
"I'm not sure, but I'll make sure she is released as soon as possible. We need to know as much as we can before they notice us, and for that to happen, Miss Xiao-Long must remain in my custody."
Yang nodded. It made sense to her, she'd always had a funny feeling at how nice those transfer's had been "Alright." Yang stood up and followed Glynda back to the elevator.
"Oh! Ruby!" Yang turned around suddenly "Make sure you explain everything to dad, I don't want him to come and break me out like last time!"
Ruby giggled "Yeah, that wouldn't go over too well" Yang smiled at her sister and waved to Weiss before the doors closed. This was going to be a rough time, but knowing her friends believed her made it all so much easier.