So this is the first RWBY story i'll be posting here. I've got more, but haven't been posting, just writing. Decided to finally upload this one today in memory of Monty Oum. RT asked us to start something creative in honor of him, and while I didn't start this today I decided to start posting these. Might even start writing on something. Anyway, this is based on something I don't think is canon, but I felt would make a good story. It also fits somewhat with Monty's advice to keep moving forward. Hope you enjoy it.
It wasn't hard to hear; pretty much the entire cafeteria could make out at least part of it. The latest news report on the total damage done, from the scroll of a nearby student. It wasn't looking good.
"The fire continued to spread to many buildings before it was able to be quelled, with major damage to at least three shops, and minor damage to a few surrounding structures. The White Fang is taking credit for the attack, the first since the Grimm appeared from underground." Spoke a reporter, who's face they couldn't see.
Blake sighed and closed the book she had been reading. "I think I'll head to the room where it's quieter." She said to the others. The rest of team RWBY looked on with concern, as did team JNPR, even though they were unaware of Blake's past.
"You think we should go talk to her?" Ruby asked once she was sure Blake was out of her considerable earshot.
"Let's give her some space first. We can go after we finish eating." Weiss answered.
"Yeah, she probably needs a breather first. You know how she gets when something's bugging her." Yang added.
"Alright." Ruby said, picking at her food and resting her head on one hand. She always worried about her teammates, and it seemed like Blake was the one who stressed out the most.
It wasn't long before Ruby, Weiss, and Yang reached their dorm, stopping to discuss before going in. They decided to plan this out, as an emotional Blake was a big deal. The first time had led to her missing for a weekend and the second and gotten them involved in a White Fang plot that didn't end until grimm attacked the city.
"So, what's the plan here?" Yang asked. She knew Blake could be reasoned with, she'd done it before, but it was better with a plan. Winging it was the cause of the problems the first time.
"I got it." Ruby said.
"Oh this'll be good." Weiss interjected.
"We go in, Yang stands by the door in case Blake tries to run so she can catch her. She'll probably be on her bed, so me and you" she gestured at Weiss, "will sit on yours. We talk to her, calmly, and get her to let everything out instead of building up until she explodes like a mint dropped in a soda."
"That's not much of a plan." She chastised.
"It's better than nothing." Yang said, "You ready to go in?"
At two nods Ruby scanned her scroll over the lock, opening the door. Walking in she moved straight over to Weiss' bed, dropping onto it with a bit of bounce. She was joined a moment later by Weiss, who sat down with much less abandon while Yang followed, closing the door behind her.
"Heya Blake, you doing okay?" Ruby asked with a concerned tone.
Blake looked up from the book she had been pretending to read. "I'm fine." She lied. She sat up, putting her feet on the floor and closing the book. "I think I'll go read in the library." She moved to stand up and head towards the door, but stopped when Yang stepped in front of it, arms crossed.
"Nope." She said simply, staring down her partner.
Blake's eyes flicked over to Weiss and Ruby who sat on the bed opposite her, back to Yang who blocked her exit, and to the window. She could probably survive the jump down, but it wasn't worth it. She let out a sigh and sat down on her bed again, putting the book on top of the bookshelf nearby. She was trapped and she knew it.
"Blake, we're worried about you. You're doing that whole 'shutting everyone out' thing again." Ruby said.
Weiss cut in just as Blake opened her mouth to speak. "And don't you dare say you're fine, we know that's not true."
"Don't go back to this Blake, you just got out of it." Yang said from the doorway.
"Is it about the report we heard on the news?" Ruby asked, "You left right after it."
"I just…" she started, looking down and gripping the edge of her bed, "I just hoped we could make a difference. After we stopped Torchwick, I thought we had done something, that we might have stopped them, or at least slowed them down. Now they're back at it again, setting fire to shops just like before, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Well of course they didn't stop." Weiss said, "They're an organization. Cutting off one person isn't going to stop them, no matter how important that person is."
"She's right." Yang agreed, "Sure, we can't stop all of them, but we can take out the biggest threats. We stopped the grimm, we caught Torchwick, and for about a week there weren't any attacks at all while they reorganized. That's over a week without shops burning, dust stolen, or people attacked. I call that a win."
"Well I don't!" Blake shot back, looking up now. "One week is all we could manage? We killed dozens of grimm and put a stop to his plans, and what did we get? One week without a mass fire? One week without assassinations or bombs? That's not a win, that's barely even a reprieve. I've been in there, on their side. If I can't figure out how to stop them, how can anyone? If I can't stop them, how do I make up for what I did when I was with them? What makes me any different than Torchwick?"
"Blake, you're nothing like him. He's a thief, and probably a murderer too." Ruby said.
"And you think I'm not?" Blake asked, "I was a member of the White Fang almost from birth. I watched them turn into what they are." She looked at Weiss now, "What did you call us? Liars, thieves, and murderers?"
"Blake, you know I'm sorry about that." Weiss tried to put in, but Blake wasn't done yet.
"I know, but that's not the point. The worst part about it was that you were right! I am a liar. I lied to all of you about my being a faunus, about my past. And you think I'm not a thief? That train full of dust that you mentioned was stolen. That was me!" There were wide eyes around the room, but she didn't stop now that the gates had opened. "I was the one who cut the cable. That was the day I left. I watched all that dust just get left behind while I rode it away, and that's not even the worst part. I wasn't alone on that train, they wanted to blow it up, crew members and all! If I hadn't cut them off there would have been a body count."
"That's what makes you different." Ruby said when Blake stopped, "They wanted to blow it up, but you didn't. That's why you're different."
"She's right. A bit of dust stolen isn't near as bad as a bomb planted on a train full of already volatile materials." Weiss added.
"You're a good person, Blake. You left behind the only life you knew to save the lives of people you didn't, who worked for a man who even Weiss said isn't in the right." Yang put in, "You helped those people because you wanted to do the right thing. That's why you're not the same as them."
"But I'm not." Blake countered, "Just because I chose that moment to leave, because I happened to stop one bomb on my way out, that makes up for all the other things I've done? What makes my crimes any less than that of someone else? Why should I get away with these things while Torchwick gets arrested?"
"Um, murder for one." Ruby said, gaining the attention. "I mean, Torchwick wanted to kill me. Besides, you said liars and thieves, but you're not a killer. Right?" She said, offering up a tipping point. It didn't work as well as expected.
Blake wanted to answer, she really did, but when she opened her mouth to speak nothing came out. She chanced glances at each of them. They were all watching her, expecting her agree, but she couldn't. Faces started to drop.
"Right?" Ruby asked again, voice weaker this time.
Blake couldn't look at any of them now. She looked down and to the right, gripping the bed tightly, eyes clamped shut as tears started to form. Silence fell like a heavy fog on the room, making it difficult to breath.
Yang widened her stance at the door, lest Blake try to slip past her, but it wasn't necessary. The young woman appeared immobile to the other three as she sat there fighting back tears.
"Blake?" Ruby asked, almost non-believing.
Weiss simply sat in shock. She may have believed the things she said about the White Fang, but she never would have expected such of Blake.
For a moment no one said anything, simply letting the gravity of the situation sink in. Then Yang realized she didn't have to guard the door and decided to move. She sat down with Blake on her right, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright." She said.
Blake turned towards her, looking her in the eyes as the tears ran down her cheeks. She hesitated, and then latched on, holding her and burying her head in her shoulder as she cried. Strong arms wrapped around her as Yang returned the hug.
Ruby watched for a moment before taking the few steps to cross to the other bed. She sat on Blake's other side and did the same as her older sister, holding her friend and comforting her as she cried.
Weiss didn't move. She wanted to help, but she didn't know how. She was still in shock somewhat, and it wasn't like there was any room left to join in the group hug. So instead she simply sat there, giving her time.
"It's okay." Yang comforted, stroking Blake's hair gently as she cried into her shoulder. The young faunus didn't respond, simply clinging tighter as she continued to weep.
"We're here." Ruby said, still hugging her from behind. Blake was stuck between the two sisters as they attempted to comfort her.
Minutes passed and nobody moved, the only sound being tears shed and comforting words. Finally though, Blake began to calm down. "I… I think I'm okay now." She said into Yang's shoulder, a few small sobs still slipping out.
"You sure?" Her partner asked, relaxing her hold and putting her hands on her shoulders.
Blake sat up straighter, Ruby moving away to let her while Yang kept both hands on Blake's shoulders and looked her in her still tearful eyes. "Not really, but I'm better at least." She said, wiping away a few more tears.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Ruby asked.
"No, I… I'm fine." She said, though her tearstained face, and her team, disagreed.
"Blake, you just broke down crying from just remembering it. You're not fine." Yang said firmly.
"Then I will be." She countered, "But this isn't your problem, its mine."
"Yes it is." Weiss said, matter-of-factly, "You're our teammate and our friend, if it's your problem, then it's our problem too. You can't just drop something like this on us and expect us to leave it alone. You need to talk to us; it's why we're here."
Blake looked down, sighing deeply. "Are you sure you guys want to hear about what a terrible person I really am?"
Yang gave Blake's shoulder a squeeze where her hand rested. "You're not a terrible person. I'm sure whatever you've done has been for a good reason."
"Even if I had a reason, was it right?" Blake questioned, as much to herself as to the others, "I killed people, Yang!"
"People." Weiss interrupted, "You mean, more than one."
Blake looked at her, mouth open, and then closed it without speaking, looking away. She gave a small nod, wiping away a few more tears.
"How many times have you…?" She asked, letting the sentence trail off as she didn't want to finish it.
"Twice." Blake answered.
"That's not so bad." Yang said, "I mean, I can count that on one hand." Leave it to her to try and lighten the mood.
"Right, because crimes are only bad once you get more than a handful of them."
"There you're coming back to us." Yang said, giving her shoulder a squeeze, "That sassy sarcasm we all know and love."
She was tense, legs together, hands on her knees. Even with her friends here she didn't like thinking about it. She usually didn't have a choice though. Nightmares waking her in a cold sweat weren't exactly something she had control over. Maybe they were right though, this might help. Getting it out there. She just hoped they wouldn't hate her.
"Alright." Blake said, "If you really want to know. But once it's out there, you can't go back to before."
"You're our friend, Blake. We care about you. We just want to help you get this off your chest." Yang offered.
"And you're sure you want to know." She looked pointedly at Weiss, "YOU are sure you want to know what a White Fang agent did?"
Weiss hesitated. She understood what Blake was saying. There was a good chance it had involved attacks on the SDC. Though luckily it was only for a second. She gave a nod then. "Yes, I'm sure. We all are. You're our teammate and our friend. It's important we're there for one another."
Blake let out a sigh. "Okay, I just, don't really know how to start. How do you go about telling people that you've… taken a life?"
"Who was the first one?" Yang asked, "What was their name?"
"I… I don't know." Blake said, "He was a catcher that had been around lately. They figured I would be good bait so they sent me to take care of him."
"What's a catcher?" Ruby asked.
She sighed again, she'd forgotten that they grew up in different worlds. "There are people, terrible people, who think of faunus as not only less than human, but as actual animals. Catchers, they call themselves animal catchers, they kidnap faunus. Then they break them. They beat and starve and lock them up and all kinds of other horrific things. Once they've been broken of all humanity, completely subservient, they sell them to the highest bidder. Wealthy people who want mindless slaves who will do as they order and can be disposed of easily."
"That's horrendous." Weiss said, a clear understatement.
"And they sent you out to be bait for this guy?" Yang asked, shocked.
"Yeah. I was thirteen at the time. Not long after I'd been training. I just had to walk down the street, into an alley, and he followed me. Thought I was an easy target. He wasn't very good though, or they'd have sent someone better. He came at me with a crowbar, trying to knock me out. I kicked him in the stomach. He tried again, and I pulled out a knife and stabbed him. He didn't even have his aura." Blake appeared far off as she spoke now, "There was just blood. So much of it, everywhere. It got on my hands." She turned her hands palm up. "I can still see it. Still feel it. It was so warm. He had this look of surprise on his face. Then I saw it in his eyes. I saw that bit of life leave him. He was dead, and I killed him."
She stopped talking now, staring down at her hands in silence. Everyone waited, but she wasn't with them anymore. She was lost in the blood on her hands, feeling it slick her fingers again. Staining them in a way that would never wash out.
"Blake?" Yang broke the silence, snapping her out of it.
"huh?" She looked around, she was the dorm, at Beacon, with friends.
"What happened after that?"
"I, uh, I ran." She said, "I dropped the knife and ran back to the White Fang. I stripped, threw out my clothes, and washed my hands. I washed them again and again and again. Until I realized I couldn't see anymore. I was crying. Then I threw up." She put her hands back on her knees and took a deep breath. "That's how I spent the next few days. Just crying and throwing up. Sleeping only when I was too exhausted to stay awake anymore. There were breaks, I'd eat food that others brought me, but I couldn't keep it down. It was weeks before I was allowed to go out on missions again."
"That's horrible." Yang said, "I'm so, so sorry you had to go through that."
"Why?" she wondered, "I killed him. I deserved to be sick."
"That was self-defense." Weiss said, "He attacked you."
"I was bait." Blake argued, "I knew he was there. I knew what he would do. I was sent to kill him."
"But he still attacked you first. If he hadn't been doing what he did, if he hadn't attacked people, he wouldn't have tried you, and he would have lived. He made the wrong choices, and you defended yourself."
Blake took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "I know." She said, "I know you're right. I just can't help it."
"It's okay, Blake." Ruby said, "We're here for you."
"Should I, should I keep going?" She asked.
"Only if you want to." Weiss answered.
"Yeah, we're here for you, but you're clearly shaken. If you don't think you can handle it, you can stop." Yang reassured her.
Blake reached up and put a hand over Yang's on her shoulder. "No, I think I can keep going. Thank you."
"So, who was the other person then?"
Blake drew her legs up onto the bed, wrapping her arms around them. "His name was Grün Viele."
Weiss gasped, her jaw dropping and covering her mouth with one hand. In barely a whisper they heard "No." Blake simply nodded.
"What, who was he?" Ruby asked.
"He worked with my father." Weiss said, earning a look of surprise from Ruby and Yang.
"He bought property." Blake said, "He would buy up a lot of it, and sell it to the SDC to use for plants, mining, housing, whatever they wanted."
"Why would the White Fang target a guy like that?" Yang asked.
"He only bought up faunus property." Blake answered. "He would find poor districts with lots of faunus and buy the empty lots and unfinished buildings so no one could move in. Then he'd start influencing the area, and the faunus would either move out or get foreclosed on. The second they were gone he'd buy that property too. Once he had them cleared, he'd sell it to the SDC. He's the reason so many faunus have to live outside the walls."
"It wasn't even a business agreement." Weiss added, "He didn't work for or with the SDC. He was just a close personal friend of my fathers. Between that and the amount of money the SDC has father always had the first chance to buy."
"I didn't know that part." Blake said, "I just knew all was that the property always went to the SDC. That's why there's a Schnee Dust Purification Plant where there house my parents lived in used to be. We had to move out of the walls and take up White Fang housing back when I was so young that I barely remember it."
Weiss cast her eyes down at this, reminded of some of the things her father had done. "I'm sorry about that."
"It's okay. Not like you're the one who built over it."
"So, how did it happen?" She asked, "I mean, how did he, you know?"
"How did he die you mean." Weiss nodded, not willing to say it, and Blake continued. "We broke into his home, Adam and I. It was supposed to be his mission; I was just there to help. He didn't need me, but he thought I could learn from it. So we went in, and worked our way through. He was supposed to be in his room. Adam went that way, I went to the office to see if I could find anything useful. I guess he picked that night to work late. There was a fight, but I'd been training with Adam and had Gambol Shroud now. He had aura at least, but still was an easy fight. Took it out pretty quickly. He still tried to keep fighting. It was instinct at that point, he attacked and I lashed back out with my sheath. I never knew it was that easy to take a person's head off. Adam found me not long after, curled up against the wall staring at his body. He helped clean up the mess and congratulated me. I mean he did most of it and I was in shock. He said I did good, that I'd get the credit. I didn't cry or throw up that time. Just a lot of shock for a while."
Silence fell over the room again. For a moment everyone was just taking in the information. This time, Weiss broke it. "If it helps, he was a terrible person."
"Did you know him?" Ruby asked.
"More than I'd have liked. He used to visit the estate often. He and father would smoke these God awful cigars and drink the most expensive scotch they could find. I always did my best to avoid him. He's had four wives you know. He would sometimes give me this lecherous look and say that when I was 'ripe and ready' I'd be number five." She gave a small shudder. "He even had the audacity to slap my rear on one occasion after a bit too much alcohol. Needless to say I did not miss him once he was gone. Father was furious though. I smiled when I found out he had died. When Father saw that he was…" she paused as if searching for the right word, "displeased. Nevertheless I was glad he was gone. So, I guess I have you to thank for that."
"Well, see, you helped someone." Yang said. "I bet you didn't think about that, but there you go. You helped out a friend before you even met them. May have saved Weiss from having to be married to that guy. You did good."
"I hardly call rudeness and arrogance as a justification for murder." Blake said, "If it was there wouldn't be near as many people in the world." She pressed her forehead into her knees, hiding it for a moment, and sighed. She rose up again and spoke. "I can't even say it was self-defense that time, I broke into his home as part of an assassination attempt."
Yang ran a hand through her own hair. "Yeah there's really no way around that one."
"It doesn't matter though." Weiss stated simply, "You were doing what you thought was right, to help many people. I'm not going to say it was a good thing, or that it was justifiable, but you were helping people. It wasn't even completely intentional, you didn't mean to kill him yourself. You were in a terrible situation and made the best choice you felt you could make. I'm sure you helped many people, even if you had to pay a high price to do it. Sometimes there is no right choice, you just have to do what you feel is best."
"But what if what I felt was best was wrong? What if what I thought was helping was actually hurting people? What if what I did wasn't worth it?"
"Doesn't matter." Ruby said, "Sometimes you make mistakes. You try to help and it just makes things worse. You can't dwell on it though. If you need to make it better, then you do. If you made a mistake, and you can't take it back, then you learn from it. You did what you thought would help. That's what makes you different than those other people, Blake. You weren't doing it because you were angry, or greedy, or wanted power. You just want to make the world better, to help people. Now you're upset because you're not sure you did the right thing. If you were really as bad as the others, you wouldn't care about that. That's why you're a good person."
Blake didn't speak. She simply looked. She looked at Ruby, her innocent silver eyes completely honest in her speech. Even after confessing what she'd done, Ruby wasn't scared of her. She looked at Yang, her lilac eyes and smile radiated warmth. The darkness of her past seemed like nothing under that light. She looked at Weiss too. She concealed so much, but her eyes spoke as well as the sisters'. Acceptance and understanding even though they had once been on opposite sides of a war. She started to tear up again, letting out a small choking sob.
"Hey there, no more of that." Yang said, "You're gonna dehydrate yourself."
Blake let out a small laugh through another sob. She took some deep steadying breaths and wiped her eyes. "I… I just… thank you. I've had this for so long. I still have nightmares about them."
Weiss sighed, "Really? You've got to stop keeping things from us. I know what it's like to try and shut things out, but you can't do that here. You're one of us, whether you like it or not."
"Yeah, we can't have team RWBY without the B." Ruby said, "And if you ever have nightmares again, just ask Yang or me for help. She always helped when I had them, and I probably won't be as good, but I'd be glad to help. Weiss is grumpy when you wake her up though, so I don't know about her."
"Ruby!" Weiss said, offended, "I'm not that cold." She looked at Blake again, "I'm here if you ever need me too. Just, don't hold it back anymore. We're not going to suddenly be angry about what you are or what you've done. I know I may have… overreacted in the past."
"Understatement of the year." Yang muttered.
"Quiet you!" Weiss directed at the blonde. "As I was saying, I overreacted, but so did you. You let everything build up until it exploded. This time, I need you to promise to talk if something's bothering you. We're not going to turn on you, we're not going to run, and we're not going to kick you out. You're our friend, no matter what you did in the past. Besides, you were a member of a terrorist group, it's not like you could just say 'no thank you, I'd rather read today' when they asked you to do these things. It's not all on you. It was do what they say or live in the wilds. We can't blame you for that. We're not going to leave because you had a hard life, so don't hesitate to tell us if you need help."
"Okay. I promise. If something big comes up again, I won't wait." Blake agreed.
"Now what about secrets?" Yang asked, "That's what this all came back to. Is there anything else you're worried about? You don't actually have to tell us what it is, just know you don't have to hide it."
"No, there's nothing else." She said, "It's really all part of one big, twisted package. Faunus who killed people for the White Fang. Former terrorist. Criminal at large."
"Hmm, you're saying that wrong." Ruby said with a thoughtful look on her face.
"What do you mean?"
"It's like one of your books." She held out an arm like she was gesturing to words in front of her, "Former assassin, fleeing from their dark past, seeks to redeem themselves as a warrior of justice. With her new friends to aid her she faces against her old accomplices to make the world a better place. It'd be called like, Black Nightshade or something and have a night sky and maybe the moon and a person in all black on a rooftop as the cover."
"That sounds like a good book, I would read that book." Yang said.
Blake let out a small laugh. "It does sound better when you put it like that." She set her feet back on the floor, letting out a deep sigh and relaxing visibly. "Thank you, again. I couldn't have asked for a better team."
"Sure you could." Yang said, "You can ask all you want. Just doesn't mean there is a better one."
"Right." She agreed with a small nod. After that nobody knew what to say and it fell into silence once again. This one didn't last near as long, broken once again by Yang.
"So, uh, I'm not really sure where to go from here. What do you do after your teammate confesses to being an assassin? I don't think that was in any of those trust exercises."
"Oh, I know!" Ruby said excitedly, putting both hands up. "Ice cream!"
"Really Ruby?" Yang asked.
"Well it can't hurt, ice cream always helps!" She said, and then paused, "Actually I suppose it can. If you get a brain freeze that is. I get those sometimes. Only if I eat to fast though, so it's fine if you go slow. I guess you could still get a brain freeze like that, but not as much. So, uh, yeah, ice cream."
"The dunce is right." Weiss said, "Some fresh air will do us good." With that she stood up, Yang and Ruby followed, and then slightly slower Blake. The faunus went to take a step, but was stopped by small arms from her right side. Ruby had her in a hug.
"It'll be alright, Blake. Just don't worry us like that again."
Blake returned the hug for a moment before they separated. "I won't, Ruby. Thank you." She turned around only to be wrapped in a much larger and stronger pair of arms. She returned that hug as well, relaxing into Yang.
"She's right. I know you're not the chattiest of people, but we do care." Yang said before letting her go.
"I know, I'm just still getting used to that. Thank you." Blake decided to preempt the next hug, even though odds are it wouldn't have come anyway. She stepped forward into Weiss, embracing the shocked heiress. "Thank you too, Weiss."
After a moment of surprised Weiss relented and returned the affection. "We mean it, you know. We're here for you."
Blake stepped back now. "I understand." She looked at the group at a whole. She really shouldn't have doubted them. There wasn't a team in the world she'd rather have. "So, ice cream?"
"Oh yeah, team RWBY, go for awesome feel better snacks!" Ruby said, bounding over to the door, abd then she turned back, "Uhh, Who's buying? I spent all my extra money on ammo."
Yang shot some finger guns at Weiss, "Ice Queen buys the ice cream."
"What, why do I have to pay?" She protested.
"I promise not to make a Weiss Cream joke this time?" Yang offered.
"Deal." Weiss consented.
With that Blake followed Weiss out the door, led by Ruby, as Yang trailed behind her. Classic RWBY formation. She rubbed her throat some, a little sore from crying. The ice cream really would help. She smiled a bit, listening to the other three converse and enjoying their company. She hadn't even realized that she forgot her book.
There you have it. Thanks for reading. I'd appreciate a review, they're great motivators. If you liked it, spotted a mistake, or just have something to say. I do have other stories already written, a few unrelated one-shots so far unseen, and two on my tumblr that were gifts for others. So if you'd like to see more of my RWBY stuff, let me know. And for anyone who knows my FFXIII stuff, I haven't been working on it, sorry. I do plan to update it, but i've been stuck in rwbyverse for a while now. I'll get to it, but probably not soon. My apologies, but that's kind of expected given my previous update schedules. Anyway, Have a nice day, and don't forget to keep moving forward.