A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to I Am Blake. This is a NaNoWriMo 2014 story that will be published as it is written - no edits. I will finish it, then go back and revise it. Thank you very much for reading.
Lengthier summary: RWBY is devastated when their Fauna teammate, Blake, dies suddenly on a mission. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss must cope with the loss as they struggle to re-define their team, but scarcely a week after Blake dies, a mysterious figure appears in Vale, terrorizing bandits, the White Fang, and Hunters alike. The team must regroup to face this new challenge as a shadowy power descends on Beacon and the rest of the human world; a shadowy power that defines itself as Blake.
Chapter 1
Ruby screamed and thrust Crescent Rose into the Beowolf's head, killing it instantly. She pulled her weapon back with expert ease and whirled it around, cutting two more Beowolves in half as they lunged at her with slavering fangs. The fierce thrill of battle made her face glow, and rose petals fluttered around her in a storm of death.
She killed two more Beowolves, and took a moment's break to admire her team. Yang was throwing fireballs, setting the forest alight and illuminating the rapidly darkening sky. Weiss twirled around and gracefully jumped from rune to rune, her rapier piercing skull after skull. Blake whirled in the distance, fighting a giant Nevermore, its feathers even darker than her glossy hair.
Ruby caught movement in her peripheral vision, and twisted around to smash a rapidly approaching Beowolf in the chest with the blunt end of her weapon. The animal howled and collapsed, wheezing as its crushed lungs filled with blood.
Caught in the dance of battle, Ruby lost sight of her teammates for a few long moments. When she resurfaced, panting slightly from exertion, she realised immediately that something was terribly wrong.
Yang was running towards the Nevermore, screaming. Weiss conjured a black rune and shot after her. Blake was on the ground, Gambol Shroud glinting in the grass, and the Nevermore loomed over her
"BLAKE!" Ruby's scream was lost in the triumphant screech of the Nevermore. She shot Crescent Rose in the opposite direction, using its recoil to give herself an extra burst of speed as she used her semblance to move twice as fast as normal. The Beowolves had no time to react as she soared over their heads, towards her helpless friend.
"No! NO! YOU WON'T TAKE MY FRIEND!" Yang shrieked, throwing six fireballs in rapid succession at the Nevermore's head. Weiss ignored the monster and headed straight towards Blake, her lance turning black as she prepared to conjure a black rune to hurl Blake to safety. Blake scrambled through the grass, her hands seeking Gambol Shroud, her ears pressed flat to her head.
It wasn't enough. Ruby yelled with desperation as she prepared to strike the Nevermore, but she knew it was too late when the Grimm swooped down and swallowed Blake whole. Her last view of her friend was her terrified face, her mouth opened in a silent scream.
"NO!" Yang's hair began to smoke as she hurled herself at the Nevermore. "You can't just DO THAT!"
The Nevermore screeched, shaking off the fireballs as if they were burrs. Weiss sent a bolt of ice at its face, but it dodged and jumped into the air, its midnight wings beating heavily. Ruby shot Crescent Rose again and threw herself at the Nevermore's head, aiming to slice it off as she had done to a different Nevermore all those months ago – but the air currents from the wings buffeted her and changed her flight path, and she ended up slicing at its left wing, catching only feathers.
The thing gave a last screech as it disappeared into the gathering night, blotting out the stars for a moment before it vanished.
Ruby, Yang, and Weiss all screamed at the same time as they watched Blake, their Blake, fly away in the stomach of the monster. As they tumbled to the ground, Ruby couldn't bring herself to care when the Beowolves fled into the forest and an airship descended.
-x-
"What happened?"
Ruby stared at the floor dully, her ears barely registering the question.
"I will repeat my question. What happened? Where is Blake? Did she chase the Nevermore? Why won't you answer?"
"We can't answer," Yang finally spoke up from beside Ruby, her voice charged with emotion. "Saying it would make it true, Professor Glinda. You must know the feeling."
There was an audible gasp from the woman. "No…" she whispered. "I would never… Ozpin… stay here, girls." Heels clicked as she hurried away.
"As if we'd go anywhere," Weiss muttered from her chair on Ruby's other side.
"I'd like to go somewhere," Yang snarled suddenly. "I want to find that Nevermore and kill it. I want to FIND AND AVENGE MY FRIEND!"
"No!" Weiss stood up and turned to face Yang. "You know there's no chance of finding it now. I miss Blake just as much as you do, but we have to be reas-"
"This isn't the time to be reasonable!" Yang yelled. She was on her feet, too, and Ruby almost wanted to close her ears against all the noise. Fighting and screaming wouldn't bring Blake back.
"Neither will crying like baby and sitting around waiting for miss I'm-so-Goodwitch to come back," Yang snapped.
Ruby started and looked up – she hadn't realised she'd spoken aloud. "But Weiss is right," she said, hating how her voice sounded like a kitten's mewl. "We can only –"
Yang snorted and turned away. "I can't believe this. My own sister, giving up? This is ridiculous. I'm going to find that Nevermore and turn it into pulp." She stalked off, out of Glinda's office.
Weiss shook her head and looked at Ruby, tears pooling in her pale blue eyes. "I'm so sorry, Ruby…" she whispered, sitting down again. "It was my fault. If I had gotten to her with my rune faster –"
"There's no need to play the blaming game," a new voice spoke.
Both girls looked up and saw Ozpin stride into the office, cane in one hand and Yang's arm in the other. The door closed quietly behind him. His eyes were dark and sad behind his glasses as he steered Yang quietly back to her chair and gazed at the girls. To Ruby's surprise, Yang settled down without a sound, but tears were beginning to gather in her violet eyes. Ruby looked away, back at Ozpin.
"This isn't the first time I've had to comfort a team that has lost a member," Ozpin said softly. "It is the worst part of a headmaster's job – worse so, because I have to talk to first year students. I know it makes no difference to you right now, but I am sorry that Blake was lost. She was a fine Huntress and faunus, and she had a bright future ahead of her."
Ruby's heart twisted with grief. "Is that what you say to everyone?" she asked, her voice small and tight. "That their friend was a good Hunter or Huntress? We know Blake was good. You don't need to tell us how much we lost. We – we already know too well." Another tear dripped down her nose.
Ozpin sighed and sat on Glinda's desk, pushing aside a neat stack of papers. "That's why I said I know it makes no difference. But I say it anyway, because grief is best shared with more people. Then each one bears less of the burden."
"Blake wasn't a burden," Weiss snapped. Ruby turned her head, and saw her glaring at Ozpin. "We will remember her with honour. Besides – there's a chance that she's still alive, isn't there? She was – was swallowed, but the Nevermore didn't kill her. She could have cut herself out!"
"It's possible," Ozpin said gently, "but we won't know for sure unless you tell us exactly what happened. We must figure out the cause of her – ah – accident."
"You don't need to tiptoe around the word," Yang said dully. "Blake's dead. Deceased. Whatever. All that matters now is killing the Nevermore that did it and avenging her death by destroying all the Nevermores – no, all the Grimm – in the world."
Ruby stared at her sister. "What? But that's not even possible!" she cried. "And besides, there's still a chance that Blake is alive! Weiss and Ozpin are right. We need to tell them what happened, and then start searching. Maybe she's lost and alone somewhere, waiting for us to save her."
"No, Ruby!" Yang's eyes blazed red with fury again as she glared at her sister. "We need to accept that Blake is DEAD! Gone! Lost! Deceased! And then we can start planning on how to avenge her. I will never rest until the last Nevermore is destroyed!"
"Girls!" Ozpin raised his voice slightly, and everyone quieted. "That's enough. We cannot determine if there even is a chance until you tell us exactly what occurred last night. Can you please recount your story?"
"I'll do it," Weiss spoke up. "We were on a mission outside of Vale with…"
Ruby didn't listen to the rest – it was still too hard to think about. All she could remember was Blake's terrified amber eyes. She didn't think she'd ever forget the shade, as she relived the moment when the Nevermore's beak closed, again and again and again and –
"Ruby, are you alright?"
She opened her eyes, breaking out of the horrible loop of memories. Somehow, the world had tilted, and now Ozpin's head was framed by the ceiling, instead of by the blank purple walls of Glinda's office. "I'm fine," she whispered. "Can I please go back to my room?"
"Of course, my dear. Get some rest." Ozpin nodded to her and stood up. Strong hands helped Ruby stand as well, but her legs wobbled, and they caught her again. Suddenly, she found herself gathered in Yang's arms like a child.
"Thank you for listening," Weiss was saying politely. "It helped to cope."
"I know. Thank you for sharing." Their voices receded as Yang carried Ruby out of the room, and Ruby's eyes closed again.