This takes place in an AU where the events of RWBY Vol. 1-4 happened as shown, albeit with more thoughts going on inside people's heads. The story takes place roughly 3 months after the events of 'Vol4, Ch12 - No Safe Haven' and swaps between Yang's and Blake's POV
Cover Image Source: Tumblr - post/158279824843/long-time-no-see
Yang's POV
I found out from Qrow. He'd all but given up on trying to beat around the bush with regards to my mother's whereabouts, so he just flat out told me. We'd been through enough that he decided I'd earned that much.
"There's a small village about three days from here, been abandoned for years. Creatures of Grimm frequent around that place, so it was a perfect way to keep anyone nosey enough to wonder too close away. If she's not there anymore, I dunno where she'd be; she or one of the tribe is bound to leave something behind though."
So, I left. After meeting up with RNJR (which is a fantastic name) and Weiss when she arrived, then defending Mistral from assailants, I had a couple more things I needed to do. First, I had to find my Mom. I said my goodbyes – unlike someone – and promised that I would be back as soon as I had closure. I wasn't gonna break that promise, so once I had everything packed I saddled up on Bumblebee and set a course for the village where, after nearly 15 years of not knowing anything, I would get what I wanted.
Blake's POV
I found out from Adam's plans. She was a high priority target for The White Fang; dangerous if she knew they were coming, even more so if she was with her friends. Unpredictable, yet organised. 'The Crimson Blur', as some of the mainland members had so affectionately dubbed her, was last seen in a village around Mistral with talk of her heading to the Kingdom itself soon. I collected what I needed, sheathed Gambol Shroud on my back and headed there.
If she was going to be there, then they wouldn't be too far behind.
I needed to go now.
Yang's POV
Qrow wasn't kidding; this place was teeming with Grimm. Ember Celica made short work of them, just some Beowolves and the odd Ursa. But nothing can shake my feeling that there's someone else here. I can't stop now though, but I'm so tired.
As painful as it is for me to admit, I need to stop. I scolded Blake back when we were at Beacon for working herself too hard looking for Torchwick and The White Fang. I told her about when I did that same thing looking for my mother just as I am now, and how it nearly killed me and Ruby. I need sleep, and then tomorrow morning I am going to get what I came for.
The ground never really was or is my favourite resting place, but when you have no other option your sleeping bag really is your best bet. I just can't wait to be next to my Mom, conscious, and actually get to speak to her.
Blake's POV
Wow, she's not even subtle. She never was, but I liked that. I could just do it now, get it over with and have out of my hair. But I can't risk screwing this up. I'm done with screwing things up! I screwed up when Beacon fell; I screwed up when I let Sun get hurt; I am not screwing this up! I need to open up. I know what I must do. I have everything ready, so let's get this in motion…
Yang's POV
"Yang"
Gunshots wake me up suddenly. It's dark, but I know there is something up here. You don't just hear gunshots in the middle of the night with no one to your knowledge anywhere near you. I go to ready my gauntlets only to spot a note on my arm:
Old Church Tower. We've got a lot to say.
I'm not sure if I recognise the handwriting, but drowsy me doesn't care – I know exactly where she is now and I am not wasting any time getting there. I grab what I can and run to Bumblebee, cutting the silence of the night with the roar of her engine as I take off. The Church Tower is easy to spot, even from afar, and getting there is no big ask.
I park my bike as close as I realistically can without the church falling on top of me due to Bumblebee shaking the old bricks apart, then run into the tower. It's dark, so I can't see anything but I just head deeper into the hall towards the light near the far end of the hall towards the tower. But as I get closer I feel my body seize up with fear. Soon my eyes realise what my body was telling me. As I get close to the moonlit tiles of hall I drop, tumbling due my momentum, I see it glowing ominously from the back of the hall by the tower door. I see his mask. I was tricked and now here I am – tired from lack of sleep, exhausted from over-exerting myself to get here as quick as I can, petrified as Adam stares me down.
It can't be my Mom; I know she wears a mask like this but I'd recognise his mask anywhere. It haunts me to this very day and I shall never forget what happened as long as I live. And he is here again…
"Please…" I beg "just make it quick…" I can't believe myself, I'm begging for the man who took my arm to end my life. No fighting back, not remarks, just me on my knees and tears filling my eyes in fear.
"I never thought it'd get to you this bad, Yang"
Blake's POV
The blonde looks up towards me in sudden shock as she recognises my voice, though it's quite clear she hasn't quite found the courage or energy to speak. In all the time I've known Yang, never have I really known her to not retort with some sort of remark. Realising that it's time to come clean I remove the mask and throw it in front of her, with my ribbon following very shortly afterwards.
She manages to let out a soft "…Blake?" as she picks up the deep purple piece of fabric that landed on the ground. God, I've missed hearing her voice. Even now as she kneels there in terror of the sight of the mask her voice still exudes confidence in what she says. I'm sure she knows it's me, even though we both know she's questioning it.
"I honestly thought that something like this'd at very least pay you back for all those times with Zwei back at Beacon. Maybe I took it too far?" I walk into the light and see Yang's lilac eyes light up as she catches mine. She says nothing else as I sit down opposite her. "It was also so that I could tell you something Yang."
"Blake I…"
"No Yang, I have a lot to say. I want you to listen." She leans back supporting herself with her arms, her left very obviously shaking. The other is unflinching, must be her new one. "Adam is dead, Yang. I killed him."
Yang's POV
"What?" This can't be the same Blake I knew when Beacon fell. The girl who spent lots of our free time with her cute little nose buried in a book and actively arguing with Weiss over The White Fang's extreme measures like killing.
"That's why I brought his mask. I planned to take back The White Fang, so I knew there'd be conflict. We fought and at one point I got a lucky shot to his gut, so I ran in and grabbed his sword and took his arm..." She leaned in and grabbed my new arm causing me to stumble a bit; I was trying to support myself on that arm Blake. She interlocks her soft fingers between my metallic digits as she continues, "…just as he took yours." I could hear the anger coming out in her voice as she spoke about him. I'm actually quite glad that she was holding my robotic hand else she probably would have crushed my other hand. "Then I took his head Yang. The night he cut off your arm I protected you and got you to safety, but only because I used my semblance to trick him into thinking we were still there. I saw him cut my shadow's head off Yang. No remorse, no second thoughts. So, that's what I did to him."
Her amber eyes were welling up with tears; I can tell this is the first time she's really talked about it to anyone. She removed her hand from mine as she closed herself off again, the way she always used to do when I first met her. "I killed Adam for The White Fang. Not his twisted version Yang; mine. I am now the leader of The White Fang and I will lead us along the path of equality we have wanted for years the way we were meant to get there in the first place – peacefully! But I had to kill him to stop his poison spreading through the group! And I brought this as proof and as a reminder of what I had to…"
I stare down at the mask on the floor, a stark reminder of everything that has influences Blake up until this point. I glance at my arm, the result of the man behind that mask's warped ideas of 'peace' in the world. And I watch Blake, crying and failing to finish her sentence through streams of tears. Seeing that beautiful Faunus sobbing is breaking me inside. At that moment, I knew what to do.
Blake's POV
I couldn't stop myself; all my emotions just poured out all at once. It stung to the point that nothing was getting past the barrier I seemed to surround myself with. No sounds but my own crying, no emotions but my own sadness. But a hand reached out touching my face and that was all it took to snap me right out of that hole I was digging myself. Yang's hand cupped my chin before she got to her feet, strength and determination radiating from her once again.
"Blake, you were a bitch for scaring me by bringing this thing here."
"I …" No, she has a point.
"Everything that has happened since we got to Vale has brought us here in the circumstances we're both in; you seem to have come to peace with what you had done in the past and you took action for what you now believe is right. You are the new Leader of The White Fang Blake. I'm so proud of you. The secluded girl I first saw at Beacon would never have made it here. And I have come to peace with what has happened and I've accepted that my new arm is part of me. What's say we put the past behind us and move forward?" I don't even have time to react before Yang walks to the rear wall, her aura radiating from her.
The hall shone with a glorious golden light as she stepped ever closer to the rear of the church. In her glow, I could make out a lot clearer that Adam's mask was in Yang's hand, gripped firmly in her metallic grip. I also noticed that she had tied my ribbon around that arm as well, the matte purple starkly conflicting with the reflective gold of the metal. I liked it. And although I couldn't see them, I could tell her eyes were burning that crimson red they always do when she gets angry. She let out an almighty yell as she expelled all the rage she had clearly been feeling towards him into one solid movement and crushed the one reminder of my past life with her new arm against the crumbling stone work.
The shockwave from the impact rippled all around us causing the pillars supporting what was left of the old church to give way, starting to bring the church down around us. I bolted for the door as quick as I could, though I'm sure I never would have made it, had Yang not used her gauntlets to fire herself towards the exit and picking me up en route.
Yang's POV
Y'know, I really regret parking Bumblebee where I did – she is a very sturdy bike but I never realised just how much until I rocketed into her trying to escape a collapsing building with a beautiful Faunus girl in my arms. We both tumbled around that and came to a halt a few metres away from the impact. I look down to see Blake curled up, all vulnerable and scared in my arms. I know I needed her and I missed her when she left, but God I didn't know I missed her this much. She stirred and glanced up at me, amber eyes blinking at me innocently.
"You okay, kitten?" I felt the blood rush to my face as I wish I could retract what I just said– 'kitten'? I've never called her that! I barely had any time to process any words to respond with before her arms wrap around my neck and pull my lips to hers. They are just so smooth, I'd never realised how much I actually wanted this. As our lips part, she whispers "Much better now" through a giant grin on her face, "now that I've done that."
"So, does this mean we're official now?"
"Yeah, I guess so." She beams at me as I hug her shoulder, her old ribbon tied like a bracelet fluttering in the slight breeze of the dawn. I have waited so long for this. Her cat ears twitch with excitement as I gently rub her shoulder. "And don't you worry Yang; nothing is going to tear us apart again."
"Wait, what about Sun?" I question, even though at this point I am honestly beyond caring, just trying to be thoughtful.
Blake's POV
I knew this was going to come up at some point.
"Well… back in Menagerie, before I came to the mainland to confront Adam, I told Sun about how Adam mentioned he would stop at nothing to destroy everything I love – starting with you." I looked into the eyes of the girl cradling me, who for the second time in the past few minutes was completely lost for words. "He seemed a bit taken aback, but he realised there and then that he wasn't the person I was looking for in my life. 'You need Yang in your life Blake. You have done all this because of what happened to her, not because of me. I make it awesome, sure. She makes it complete. Go find her, make her yours'." As I expected Yang was just as confused as I was when I first heard him say that.
"Sun said that? Seems so…"
"Out of character for him? Well, he grew up a little in Menagerie." I don't exactly remember when I did this, but at some point, I must have started holding Yang's hand as I just now realise she's rubbing circles on my palms. I rest my head on her chest as I continue, "He still likes me, said there was no way that was going to change. But he mentioned how you are something special to me, after everything that's happened. 'I'm not right for you.' My head didn't want to admit it, but I followed what my heart said and agreed with him."
"Aww, did you Blake his little heart?" I just glare at her.
"How long have you been waiting to use that line Yang?!" She just winks and smirks her irresistible smirk, which then quickly divulged into full-on laughing from the pair of us. How could I stay mad at her? This punny little blonde was mine now and I'm just going to have to get used to this. I'm suddenly scooped up bridal style and carried over to the motorbike. Just before Yang puts on her helmet and we get ready for the brief ride back to where Yang was camping out, she stops to stare up at tree at the end of the road. I follow her eyes and see what she does, a black raven sitting on the branch staring back at us. 'The Crimson Blur' – Raven Branwen.
"Is that… your Mom?" Yang nods in response with a little grin. I know that she was the reason Yang came out here, I distracted her from what she had set out to achieve. "Don't you want to go talk to her Yang?"
"What's the hurry? I'm pretty sure she witnessed what I'd want to tell her anyway." She turns her head around and faces me. "Besides, I came looking for closure. And you were next on my list anyway." She kisses me on the cheek and then puts on her helmet. "Let's go home, kitten". Yang's bike kicks in with a roar and we start our journey back to Mistral.
As I hug her along the ride, Adam's words once again echo in my mind. 'I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love – starting with her'. I push the words back in my head one at a time until just four remain. I turned the words of my worst enemy into words that would stir me to fight until the end of days.
Coming to a stop at her makeshift campsite, Yang removes her helmet and I rush in grabbing her around the waist. Whilst initially surprised, she instinctively holds me close to her as well. Staring into those gorgeous lilac eyes, what little I have kept of Adam's words repeat one final time.
'Love – starting with her'
"I love you Yang." As we both lean in, she utters the words I have wanted to hear her say for so long, words my life has been missing:
"I love you too, Blake". And in that one moment when our lips met, I felt passion and a connection that I have never felt before in my life. I feel like the world has started anew with Yang Xiao Long, my Sunny Little Dragon, by my side.
Hope y'all enjoyed that. I had a brainwave at work so I just started scribbling down and when I got home typed this up in about 3 hours
Look forward to any feedback from those who want to give it
Might do more in the future, depends on how I feel ;)