" Brothers of the White Fang ! Why are you aiding this scum ?! " Blake yelled in as she placed her blade to Roman's throat. Suddenly, the world around her began to physically melt away, leaving Blake stranded in black void as she felt what felt like a wall against her back.
She tried to take a step forward, but felt her movement restricted as the ground beneath her turned into an ocean of blood. The sight horrified her to the core of her being. She cried out for salvation as she sunk deeper and into the abyss of blood. The only things she could hear was her own screams. With one last attempt, she tried to reach out for something, anything, anyone to help and pull her from the brink. She cried and yelled again for help, holding onto that small fleeting ray of hope that something would save her. Soon, a feeling of cold overtook her as she began to hear a faint whispering voice.
You turned your back us !
YOU TURNED YOUR BACK ON ME !
Traitor !
She weakly opened her eyes, only to see a small beacon of light in an otherwise empty abyss of nothingness. Every instinct, fiber, and nerve in her body told her to walk towards it, but her mind was controlling her body and it didn't want her to move. Suddenly, she felt cold hands on her body forcibly shove her forward and before she knew it she was willingly walking towards the light.
In the middle of the light, was what remained of a familiar sword. A polished sword that gleamed like silver was impaled into the portrait of a women cradling a black scarf.
Blake simply looked at the woman and quickly recoiled in fear as the woman her mouth and spoke.
" Run..."
It was to late for Blake as she felt clawed hands pull at her legs and pull her down. The last thing she could hear were screams that belonged to her.
Blake shot upward in her bad as she took in several panicked breathes. She could feel cold sweats running down her face and she desperately tried to hold onto something, anything that was of comfort.
Luckily, Yang was the closest thing to her, having been watching over Blake during her nightmare. Blake gripped Yang tightly, panting rapidly while Yang hugged Blake tightly, trying to calm her down.
" I-I'm sorry ! " Blake stammered as tears and sweat streamed down her face, " I'm sorry ! I swear, i'm not a monster ! Please, don't abandon me ! "
Yang held her partner close and attempted to calm her down, the best she could.
" Whoa Blake it's alright ! It's alright, we're partners, I would never abandon my friend ! " Yang said as Blake's breathing became less frantic as she held onto Yang for emotional support, " What's wrong, Blake ? "
Finally snapping to her senses, Blake ceased her distressed fit as her heart rate returned to normal after a time. " I'm sorry... I had a nightmare. "
" About what, Blake ? Why would you think we'd ever abandon you ? "
Blake shook her head heavily and looked at Yang. " Do you trust me ? " She asked Yang who looked at her in shock.
" What ? Of course I trust you, Blake, you're my friend and teammate. What's bothering you ? "
Blake simply shook her and released her hold on Yang. She got up from her bed without looking back at Yang. Yang knocked on the door lightly and tried to get Blake to say something, anything, about her nightmare. When she realized that efforts were in vain, she sighed and admitted defeat as she left the room.
Blake was curled up, letting the warm water hit her body and wash away both her sweat and tears.
" I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...I'm sorry."
Yang had decided to meet up with the rest of her friends, along with Sun and Neptune in the library. When Sun asked where Blake was, Yang unintentionally froze. It was now or never so she decided to come clean.
" She's in the shower, but if you see here don't bother her. She..." Yang paused as everyone turned to Weiss who had dropped Scroll as her eyes were building up with tears. " Weiss, what happened ?! "
" My father...was nearly killed."
Everyone's sympathies immediately went to Weiss and her family, but Weiss didn't want to hear any of it. She couldn't hear any of it. She was in her own world, caught between grief and happiness. The former, because her father was her father regardless any differences they had. While the latter was because she found herself pleased at the news.
The fact that she found the slightest pleasure in her father's state scared her even more than she thought.
Without thinking she got up from her table and began to walk away without a word. Ruby and Yang followed behind her, attempting to get to say something, anything about how she was feeling. They continued and attempted, but when they made it back to their dorm they saw that they weren't the only ones there. Professor Ozpin was there along with two men dressed in cleanly pressed black suits were waiting knocking on Team RWBY's dorm and were waiting patiently.
The door opened as Blake stepped out with her head held low. Without speaking, Blake followed Ozpin and the two men without protest as they all exited the building.
Weiss, Ruby and Yang could only watch in silence and shock as Blake was taken away for reasons unknown to them.
Later that night, when Blake had finally returned from who knows where, she tiredly opened her dorm door only to be tackled and hugged by her concerned team leader.
" Oh my god, BLAKE ARE YOU OK ?! WE WERE SO WORRIED ! WHAT HAPPENED ?! "
Blake got her feet and allowed Ruby to lead her into the dorm and sit her down in a chair. Tears started to swell up in her eyes, but were quickly wiped away with a warm washcloth by Yang.
" No tears." Yang said comfortingly. " So tell us what happened ? This morning you were freaking out, then Weiss' father nearly gets killed and then suddenly you get taken away for whatever reason. It's all too coincidental, Blake. Do you know know something we don't ? "
Blake weakly looked up at Yang and then to Ruby, who nodded in agreement. Blake took a deep breath and began to recount what had happened.
" This morning, I had a nightmare, but that's not important I swear. I heard about Weiss' father from Professor Ozpin. You see, they thought the White Fang was responsible."
" Thought ? " Ruby asked Blake cautiously. Blake nodded and continued her explanation.
" They thought it was the White Fang, but in reality when they investigated the incident they found...a bloody handprint at the scene. The blood belonged to one of Weiss' father's bodyguards, but the handprint belonged to..." Blake stopped as the words caught in her throat as if she didn't believe herself.
Ruby and Yang gently urged her on and then she finally said it.
" It belonged to...my brother. We were both apart of the White Fang, but we had a falling out just before I left the White Fang. Shortly after, I heard rumors about him that he left Vale, but that was it. I assumed that he died, but it appears he was biding his time. It looks like he finally made his move and..."
Blake stopped as she put her hands in her head and began to sob uncontrollably, as she began to breakdown. Ruby and Yang brought her Blake into a tight comforting hug and attempted to calm her down, to no avail.
" It's alright, Blake. Even if your brother did this, he's not in Vale-"
" NO YOU DON'T GET IT ! " Blake snapped, breaking away from her teammates. " HE'S COMING TO VALE ! "
Blake angrily got up from her seat, walked over to the window and placed her hands at the edge.
" So if that happens, we deal with it. We're here for you, Blake." Yang told her, trying to reassure her friend to no avail. Blake simply shook her head and tightened her grip on the window sill.
" You can't, Yang. My brother, Nero, isn't someone you can just deal with. You have no idea what kind of monster he can be. They called him the Phantom of the White Fang and there was a reason for that. He doesn't get seen unless he want's to get seen. He has ZERO qualms over killing anyone that gets in his way. The fact he felt a bloody handprint that WASN'T even in his own blood means that he was sending a message."
" What kind of message ? Who would he even send it to ? " Ruby asked Blake nervously.
" I don't know." Blake answered in a defeated tone. " He always had something to prove, but I don't know anymore. I doubt he's the same person I remember. He's probably worse. Listen to me, if you ever cross paths with him you NEED to run. Especially Weiss...Oh god, how am I going to explain this to Weiss ?! "
" It's alright, Blake." Ruby said comfortingly. " Whatever happens, we're here for you."
Stitching wounds closed was not Nero's fortes, but it had to be done and he deserved it for being careless and cocky. The bullet was a clean entry and exit so it wouldn't hinder him anymore than the other scars and wounds he had acquired.
What bothered him was that a Schnee's guard was able to actually wound him, but he believed it had more to do with him letting his guard live when he should have checked and confirmed the kill. What really mattered now was securing an exit out of Atlas and it just so happened he knew exactly what to do.
General Ironwood was planning to visit Vale with his students for the Vytal Festival. Nero planned on hitching a ride along with the students and sneak into Vale, having already put the pressure on the Schnee Dust Company by putting their CEO in critical condition.
He steadied his bloody hand and tossed the needle aside, picked up a bottle of alcohol and doused his wound with it. The pain was a minor irritation so he pushed it to the back of his mind as he covered the wound with a fresh bandage and cleaned his bloodied hands off with a wet rag. He tested his shoulder and found that it worked well enough.
He soon set to work gathering all of his gear, taking what he needed the most and leaving behind what could be easily replaced. What he needed to keep with him, through hell or high-water was his prized blade, a katana who's blade gleamed with a majestic silver radiance. The rest was an assortment of knives, a customized bow and set of arrows that he could easily replace.
When Nero was set and ready, he put threw his hood on, strapped his blade onto his side and tied a black scarf onto the sheath of his blade. The scarf and blade were both gifts and reminders of someone important to Nero, someone that even he once felt a desire to protect, but soon began a deep hatred for.
The days seemed to drag on forever, but to Weiss school was a way to try and cope with the thoughts she had been having. Blake and the others had come clean to her and told her that Blake's brother was responsible for father's condition.
Instead of yelling, screaming or even shooting derogatory remarks towards Faunus and the White Fang as Blake assumed Weiss would, Weiss simply turned away from her team and left the dorm.
She simply put her mind to her schoolwork, doing whatever she could do to focus her time and energy to try and cope with everything that was happened. Everytime Blake tried to explain or apologize for her brother's actions, Weiss simply brushed her aside, refusing to listen to any explanation, but insisted that it didn't matter.
Ruby was trying her best to get her partner say anything about how she was feeling, but the Ice Queen was a tight-lipped as she'd ever been. When night came as it always did, Weiss returned to her teams dorm to find Blake and Yang waiting for her. She quickly tried to step outside of the room only for Ruby, who was hiding behind the door, to quickly shut it and lock it promptly afterwards.
" Weiss, we're a team and this is something we'll deal with it together, as a TEAM." Ruby said as she nudged Weiss over to the others. Seeing no way out of this, Weiss gave in and sat on the ground across from Blake.
Blake and Weiss locked eyes and simply stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence that neither of them were willing to break. Blake opened her mouth to speak, but Weiss put her hand up and shook her head. She didn't look sad, but instead she looked...hurt.
" How can I trust you ? "
Blake looked at Weiss in surprise at the question and couldn't formulate a proper answer, even when Weiss asked again.
" How can I trust you, Blake ? First, you hide the fact that you were apart of the White Fang. Then there's you hide the fact that you have a brother who ends up nearly killing my father. What else are you hiding, Blake ? How many more secrets are going to come to surface because you didn't want to tell us ? Look me in the eyes and give me a reason to trust you."
Blake took a defeated breath of air and got to her feet. " If you really want to see then I'll show you."