Finally meeting her family in her old home was the only thing that ever mattered to her in this journey, but the past couple of days has led her to put her attention into more pressing matters.
The warm summer air was ever present in the environment as she gazed upon the sights of the streets of menagerie.
She can feel the heat that comes with the rising sun that is ever looming above her, reminding her of the certain someone that she left behind that certainly shined brighter than what this giant star presented to her.
Blake observes the bustle of activity that is present among the small area of her hometown, merchants selling their products, children playing games, hardworking people trying to make a living in order to support their families.
She admires this scene as it feels like a breath of fresh air to her consciousness, she feels distracted from her thoughts keeping her from thinking about the events that transpired in the last couple of days.
The amber eyed girl closes her eyes and reminisces about the events that happened that lead to this time, this time in which she will have to make a decision, to fight back against the enemy with insurmountable odds stacked against her, or to simply wait and do nothing and risk the lives of countless innocent people and the people that she cared for the most.
Blake painfully remembers the time in which she realized that her past has finally caught up to her, and running from it will not change the fact that it will always come back to haunt her for the choices and mistakes that she has made in the past.
There is fire everywhere, I can smell the smoke that is surrounding the area as it fills my lungs and starts to painfully start choking me with the flame's smouldering hot fumes. I am standing on the ground which was once the cafeteria that was contained inside the mighty walls that I considered safe, the walls of beacon academy. But as I see them now, I realize that we were not ready for the burden that was placed into our shoulders, the burden of the war that we had to fight.
As I searched through the burning ruins of the destroyed cafeteria, amongst the panic and confusion, i see one of my most horrifying nightmares come into fruition, one of the nightmares that I force to keep buried amongst my deepest and most personal thoughts. I will never forget the moment, when my past has finally came back to bite me, the time where i would finally see the monster that I used to love, Adam.
"I see you're running once again, is that what you have become my love?".I shudder as I hear these words come out from his mouth. I ask
"Why are you doing this Adam? what do you hope to gain out of this destruction!?".He responds with:
"It seems that you have forgotten, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO LEAD A REVOLUTION! you and I side by side making a new world where we would stand at the top!"
"I wanted equality!"
"What you want is impossible!"
I watch him as he unsheathes his sword and traps a man under the mercy of his boot. Preparing to enact an execution that will plunge the Faunus and the humans to another century of war.
As he prepares his strike against the innocent soul beneath his heel, he mutters "And this will be the spark!"
Without hesitation I quickly ready my weapon and dash towards Adam, prepared to face the past that I was running from all these times determined to defeat him and put an end to this madness.
"I am not running away from you!"
"You will", Adam mutters as both of our blades clash fighting for dominance against the other.
Adam sends a kick coming from his right leg and catches me off guard, sending me tumbling across the side. As a Grimm is about to devour me and finally end my life, Adam quickly dispatches of it, preferring to savour the punishment and suffering that I am feeling right now.
"Why must you hurt me like this Blake?"
As I lay there, powerless to do anything to change the fate that has befallen me, I look around and notice the fiery blonde with the lilac eyes, desperately calling out for my name. Even amongst this madness, I can't help to notice her as she stands out among the chaos in our surroundings.
"I will destroy each and everyone that you love and you will be there to watch them, and you will be powerless to stop me"
Adam notices yang off in the distance as she still desperately utters my name, hoping to find me in this time of despair. I try to scream with every fibre of my being for her to run away and leave me behind, because deep in my mind no matter how i am sickened by it, I still believe that Adam is a man of his word. And he will do everything to hurt me for leaving him before.
"And I will start with her". As Adam states this he lightly plunges his sword into my abdomen, sending a thousand waves of pain throughout my body. Forcing me to inevitably scream and draw the attention of yang towards Adam.
With a fiery look in her eyes, she screams at the top of her lungs "LEAVE HER ALONE!".
But this is what Adam planned all along, she enticed yang into a trap in which she had no hope of escaping. And sadistically manipulating my beloved partner's emotions by using me as bait.
In a fiery burst of anger, yang is fully engulfed by the flames that have resulted from her semblance. With massive anger in her eyes manifesting with a change of color, turning her once pretty lilac eyes into a reflection of hatred and anger that can seer a person's soul.
Adam has absorbed the force of my futile attacks against him, and channelled it into his semblance that returns the brunt of his opponents attacks tenfold. He diligently sheathes his blade, patiently anticipating the careless attack that yang would throw against him.
I lay there, physically helpless to protect the woman that has been with me through thick and thin, the girl that has refused to give up on me when i forcefully pushed everyone away from me. My friend that bought out the best in me and made me experience true happiness that I would cherish with my new found family. I was about to witness the grim fate that was about to befall upon the girl that I treasured the most, Yang Xiao Long
In a flash of rage, yang readies ember celica and leaps furiously. Quickly covering the distance that was separating her from completely decimating the face of the opponent that was facing her. As she spins through the air and readies herself to deliver a devastating right hook. I see Adam unfazed and ready to fulfil his promise
I witness as Adam prepares the blow that will inevitably damage a member of the family that I have found among the halls of this academy. I witness as he inches his dominant foot forward and channel the pent up energy that he has built up with his semblance directly into his blade.
As yang comes inches to coming in contact with Adam, he finally twists to his left side and unleashes the brunt of his pent up energy, slashing towards the direction where yang was situated at. I watch in horror as a myriad of red and gray flooded my vision, and watch as yang falls to the ground, with her arm cut off due to the force of Adam's attack.
I quickly rush over to her and pick her up into my arms, as I know that Adam will not stop unless he takes the both of our lives. I use my semblance to quickly dash towards the shadow's, with yang in my shoulders, desperate to find help for the both of us.
As I reach the platform containing the rest of the surviving students, I collapse with yang on the floor, guilt overcoming my conscience as I realize that I was the reason on why yang suffered this horrible fate.
"I'm sorry yang". These are the last words that i muttered before running of once again, never leaving a trace for my friends to follow so that they may never feel the suffering that I might bring upon them.
Blake quickly snaps back from her daydreaming, still feeling the heat through every inch of her skin that was brought by the warm climate that was present in menagerie.
She thought to herself that wearing less clothing would help alleviate some of this discomfort, as her wardrobe was replaced with a top that slightly showed off more skin that she would like and covered by a long white jacket opposed from her previous clothing that was composed of a black dress that appropriately covered more skin that was more suitable for the environment in beacon academy.
But this lead to a couple of stares and glances from a couple of people and most certainly was not approved by his over protective father, Ghira belladonna.
The thought of her father reminded her that the day contained an important task to be done. A choice that she had to make.
To fight against massively unfavourable odds, or to wait for another inevitable disaster that could rival or surpass the fall of beacon.
"The time has come". Blake mutters to herself as she proceeds to her family's study, to talk with her father regarding the decision that will change the lives of not only herself, but the lives of countless other people who would be mixed in with the war that they don't even know is already taking place.
Blake slowly opens the door to the familiar site of their families study, the study that their family had in their possession was quite spacious, it had enough room to accompany a plethora of bookcases that showcased a surprisingly high amount of books.
The design of the room was also inviting much to her liking, it had many comfortable chairs that were comfy enough to sleep in, the study even contained a sofa which could fit her whole family even when they sit at it at once. The aura inside the room was quite relaxing as the space that it contained could make a person forget about their worries for a brief amount of time and the books contained within the varying amount of bookcases could keep a person occupied for a whole day, as they Wisk you away into different worlds that were bound within the ink that was contained in each unique book.
But no amount of relaxation and thoughts of reading which could cheer her up in almost any situation could alleviate the pressure that she was currently feeling in her chest, she was about to talk with her father regarding the recent happenings regarding the extremist Faunus group, claiming to want equality between the Faunus and humans, The white fang.
But Blake knows that deep inside, the white fang has turned into the thing that they were originally fighting against in the first place. The white fang is turning into the humans that they used to despise, using force in order to get what they want, and now fighting for dominance against the human race instead of the noble want for peace that they have once yearned for in the past.
She needed to win her father's favour, she needed him to let her get in contact with other hunters and huntresses to inform them about the white fang's plan to attack mistral in the following months.
As the idea of contacting other hunters crosses her mind, she fondly remembers the second family that she made during her time at beacon. The family that helped her get out of her comfort zone and truly learn the value of putting your life in to the hands of others because of the trust that each and everyone of you shared, and this family taught her that she had the strength to do the same. Oh how she misses her time with her team, her friends, her family, Team RWBY.
She reminisces fondly about the appearance and attitude of each and every one of the friends that she made in beacon.
She remembers the sight of a crimson cloaked brunette, the leader that she learned to love and respect despite her younger age and lack of maturity that came with it. But deep inside, she knew that this girl had a heart of gold that simply put the lives of others before her own and the strength in order to push through with her convictions. Although a lot of people see her as small child that was given special treatment, she knew this girl as Ruby Rose, her red-cloaked leader that would vanish in a flurry of rose petals and deliver an unsightly faith to any grimm that came face to face with her when she wielded her signature weapon, Crescent rose.
But if ruby was a bundle of joy and innocence rolled into a human person, she remembered the heiress that she despised for quite a time because of her bad attitude and thinking towards other people. This girl is Weiss schnee, the heiress to the schnee dust company which is one of the leading manufacturers of dust that is currently dominating the competition in the world of remnant.
She remembers the white haired girl, sporting her matching white dress and heels, arrogantly walking around and using her status as a way to establish that she is the best and that people would dream to swap places with her.
But as she spends more and more time with her, Blake realizes that Weiss's life is really not all about sunshine and rainbows, she eventually learns that despite of her constant boasting about her family name, Weiss truly despised her family and most importantly her father. Her childhood was spent preparing her to be a bargaining chip that her father would eventually use in order to further his goals to expand their family monopoly on the dust industry.
Blake learns to understand that Weiss and her aren't that different, they both shared a past that they wanted to renounce. And being with a team that genuinely cared for each and everyone of them helped bring out the more caring and kind side that the both of them didn't knew existed within the fibre's of their personality's.
But the last member of the team that Blake fondly remembers is her partner, the person that truly bought out the best in her, the person that she deeply cared about that gave her emotions of true happiness and pain whenever she reminisces of their time together and the fate that she has set upon her.
This girl was the fiery blonde that produced the light that would shine across the deepest parts of herself. The girl that would brighten up her day and would refuse to leave her alone even when she used harsh words in order to forcefully push her away. This girl was Yang Xiao Long.
She could describe the blonde for countless hours as she would remember every characteristic that this girl has ever possessed. The beautiful mane of blonde hair that she refused to cut no matter what the consequences and even received harsh scolding's because of the sheer amount of space that it would occupy. The way on how she nurtures it like a tiny infant of her own, delicately washing it and giving it the love that it needed to be maintained.
She would remember that she often felt hot and bothered whenever she saw yang's body in full display. She would often admire the curves that the blonde had in her disposal, often getting glimpses of the slender waist that the blonde maintained and the slightly over-exposed chest that she would accidentally stare at from time to time. She didn't know if the blonde caught her in her acts of guilty pleasure but she would sometimes see yang blink at her in a flirty way whenever she stared at her for a prolonged period, often making her blush when she snaps back from her trance.
But Blake did not value the looks of yang over what she truly admired within her partner, what she loved the most about yang is that inside her rowdy and fun loving personality, she was a person that valued each and everyone of her close friends and loved ones as an object that she needed to protect, this attitude would even go to the lengths of taking the hits that were meant for her allies and use it in order to fight the threats that loomed around them, clearly reflected by her semblance to take damage and use it for her own valiant purpose.
And this is what makes Blake hurt the most when she remembers yang, despite the happiness and warmth that she feels whenever she thinks about her partner, feelings of pain and guilt would always overrun her as she remembers the awful fate that she has given her. The fate of losing a physical part of her just because she risked everything during the fall in order to protect Blake from the past that she kept running from and the secret that she hid from the rest of her team.
As she feels the familiar feeling of grief and sadness overflow her once again for thinking about her old partner, she stands up from the comfy sofa that she was once sitting on in order to address the big, muscular man that had opened the door, producing a long squeaking sound that alerted Blake of his presence.
This was her father, Ghira belladonna. A man filled with honor and respect for the people that are around him regardless of his status as the chief of menagerie. He was an old man that wore a violet colored jacket that was enough to cover the large amount of body mass that was contained above his waist. But also contained an opening that showed off all of the years that he had spent working hard as it displayed his proud chest in full glory, present for everyone in the vicinity to see.
This made Blake chuckle a bit as she laughs subconsciously about the ridiculousness and impracticality of showing ones chest of like that, but she also remembered the bare chested monkey boy that she bought into her home that made her snap back into reality as she remembers that she almost lost another friend the night before.
"Good morning, Blake"
"Good morning to you too dad"
The two exchange pleasantries before the older man sits on the chair across the sofa that Blake was sitting on. A small table made of mahogany separated the two but still maintained the distance that the two needed in order to share an important conversation.
"Dad, I need to ask you about something"
"Let me guess, it's about the white fang ?"
Blake was slightly surprised about the revelation that her father was already onto her about her plans regarding the white fang. But it didn't completely catch her off guard as her father already knew about the encounter that she and sun experienced with one of her former associates the night before.
"Please hear me out, let me contact the active hunters and huntresses regarding the plans of the white fang to attack mistral"
"You do know that you would need to travel to mistral in order to contact the concerned people right? and you know that you're mother and I are concerned about the fact that our daughter will travel a long and treacherous journey that can cost you your life."
"I was trained for this type of work dad, when will you realize that I'm ready to fulfil my duties as a huntress!?"
"I know that you are ready Blake, I realized that a long time ago when you decided to choose your own path, to join the white fang at a young age because you believed that it was a cause worth fighting for."
"I knew that you were ready the moment that I saw you in our front door just recently, I saw in your eyes that you were ready to make a difference and fight for your own values. I saw that you had the courage to fulfil your duties and goals when you chose to return to us, not knowing what we would think of you since you left us."
Hearing this, Blake's eyes start to water up, as she is deeply touched by the speech that her father had delivered to her. These words were genuine thoughts of care and pride that he wanted to express to Blake because he believed that her daughter was already grown up and is proud of the woman that she came to be.
"The reason on why I am so hesitant to allow you in this mission is because... "
"I am the one who is not ready."
Blake tilts her head in confusion as she hears what her father had just said. Not understanding what he meant by this until he continues his words.
"I am not ready to see my little Blake to grow up and finally posses the ability to stand on her own feet, I am not ready to see that you don't need us anymore in order to make your own decisions and live the life that you have always wanted"
After hearing this, Blake immediately rushes over to her father's side and gives him a heartfelt hug as tears run down her face.
"You don't understand!, I still need you in my life, that's why I am determined to do this on my own. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you if I ever be the cause that leads to your demise".
Blake continues "I would rather take my life a thousand times rather than see both you and mom suffer a terrible fate just because of my mistakes"
Ghira takes the full blunt of her daughter's words and lovingly comforts her and reassures her that they can help her better if she would just let them help her in her journey.
But Blake profiously declines his offer, once again remembering the terrible promise that Adam would fulfil at any cost. Knowing this, she decides to do what she does best, to push everyone that she loves out in order to convince herself that this is for the best.
"Dad, you know that I can't let you come with me right?"
"But why not? you will definitely be safer when you have me and your mother by your side right?"
"YOU DONT UNDERSTAND!"
In a flash of anger, Blake uncontrollably screams at her father, unable to tell him about the fact that Adam has put a mark on them that would cost their lives if they came closer to her. She couldn't tell her parents of the terrible situation that she was currently stuck in. No matter how much she hated being alone, she needed to be strong and face the sadness of solitude in order to keep the ones that she loved safe.
"You will only be hurt when you come with me to mistral, the world has changed ever since the fall of beacon. It has become more dangerous and our enemies are lurking at every corner, whether it be the Grimm or the white fang".
"But Blake"
"I'm sorry but this is what I have decided for myself right now. You said it yourself i am ready to fight for myself and I am brave enough to face the consequences of my actions".
And with that, Blake quickly ends the conversation and storms out of the room. Relieved that her father has assured her that she is capable of doing this mission but also guilty, for once again pushing out one of the people that she held dearly in her heart.
"This is for the best". she told herself.
Blake decided to get some fresh air outside the balcony of their home. It was already getting late and the sun was about to set in the distance. She admires the view as she wonders on why the sun would always be beautiful even when it starts to slumber and momentarily leave the world at the hands of the shattered moon that loomed over the night sky.
"So what's got you down kitty cat?"
Speaking of the sun, she notices that her blonde friend was hanging from one of the trees surrounding their household. She notices the blonde man sporting his white shirt with the buttons undone as usual, almost mirroring the look that her father also regularly sported.
Blake did not have many friends, and she certainly did not try hard to make any. But sun was one of the people who entered her life that utterly turned her life upside down and made it a little bit brighter than what it used to be. Blake could describe sun as her polar opposite. Always active and does not run out of energy, loud with his words, and more expressive than what Blake would ever be.
But despite these differences, the two of them would often fill the gaps of what the other lacked. When Blake needed to relax and have some fun, sun would always be there, prepared to do the best that he can in order to bring out the more laid back and fun loving side that Blake would usually hide.
While Blake is there for sun when he needed to be more logical about his thinking. Blake would often be there in order to enlighten sun about the things that are happening around them. Whether it be the current news that is happening around the world of remnant or small things like how sun would unconsciously try to look for bananas when he was hungry.
Despite her lack of vocal praise with sun, Blake was truly thankful that sun was there to follow her throughout all this time. She was thankful for him that he even abandoned his own team just to accompany Blake through her journey to menagerie.
"Well without him, this would be an awfully boring journey". Blake thinks to herself as sun uses his tail that he used to hang from the branch that he hanged from and swung using it in order to launch himself in to the balcony where Blake was situated at.
As sun leans next to her on the railings of the balcony, he can't help but notice that Blake was looking beautiful as the sunset reflects on to her pristine eyes, and the light coming from it magnifying the beautiful features that the boy adored gazing at whenever he had the chance.
But sun can't help but notice that Blake was looking distraught, as she blankly stares at the impending sunset that was occurring in front of their gazes.
"So you look a bit down? they run out of fish in the market?".
Sun jokingly remarks as he knew that Blake had an obsession when it came to eating fish, obviously coming from her Faunus heritage.
"Do you think that I am a bad person. You know, for pushing everybody out?". Blake asks
"Well making friends is not really your strong suit, but I wouldn't really call you a bad person".
Blake looks at sun with a swollen look in her eyes, desperately looking for a small sign of assurance that leaving her parents in the dark was the best course of action that she could take. In the end, she just wanted to keep them safe and if this is the only way to do it, then she would gladly run away once again not considering the sadness and longing that they would feel if she once again ran without leaving a trace.
"Look Blake, I don't exactly approve of you once again trying to be all emo like trying to be alone and stuff, but I know that you don't like the situation that you are in right now. I know that you hate being alone but in your head this is the only way to keep the people that you love safe."
Blake just looks at her blonde friend, trying to understand and rationalize the advice that he is trying to give to her.
"But despite your way of thinking, I still believe that you got the best of intentions for the people around you. I can say that you trying to isolate yourself is just a reflex coming from what your life was before, you can even call it a little phobia of yours. And I believe that like all phobia's, you can outgrow them with just a little push from your friends and family. And always remember that whenever you need that small little push to get over your fear, I will always be here for you."
Blake looks at sun perplexed and confused, despite her friend's goofy and outgoing personality, he often gives the best advice whenever she needed it the most. She always remembers sun to be one of her most loyal and closest friends going as far back to the start of the Vytal Festival.
At first, she was annoyed at sun for stalking her for a HUGE amount of time without her even knowing until recently when they fought the giant sea Grimm that attacked their boat along the way. Blake did not like the fact that sun followed her all this way without her even allowing him to come wither her in the first place.
But eventually, she learned to appreciate the blonde boy's presence as he is a constant reminder that people can still be cheerful and carefree despite times of great trouble and conflict, as she has never seen the boy frown in sadness and would always sport a smile on his face that could be considered contagious as she would often smile when in the presence of sun. The same thing could be said about her mother who is actually quite fond with sun accompanying Blake throughout her journey, and from time to time would hint about their relationship together as being more than just friends.
Her father on the other hand, is not quite fond of having sun in their household especially because of the reason that he was a boy and often becomes overprotective when it comes to their relationship saying that "I will not let some immature and boneheaded boy get close to my sweet little darling".
But despite her parent's opinions of sun, the fact will not change that Blake regards sun as a very close friend and appreciates him for being there for her especially in times like this. Times like this when she needed a shoulder to lean on and ask for comforting words. And sun often did an excellent job of doing this task as he always knew the words to make her feel comforted and loved.
In a quick flash, Blake hugs sun with a smile as a sign of gratitude showing her thanks to the blonde boy for comforting her and for being there despite her cold attitude towards him sometimes.
"Thank you sun, I really appreciate you being here for me"
"Don't mention it kitty cat, after all what are friends for?".
Sun mutters under his breath while trying to shake off the fiery blush that was now apparent on his face due to the sign of affection that he would rarely see and undoubtedly experience coming from the girl that he had deeper feelings despite her lack of knowledge of them.
Sun admired Blake from the current position that they were sharing. Admiring the smooth sea of black hair that was running across her back. The way that he felt the warmth of her body connecting with his own, almost giving him the feelings of euphoria as he gladly enjoys the scarce privilege of being close to the girl that made him fall in love for the first time.
But his feelings of joy quickly run out to the backdoor as Blake quickly pulls out from the hug and heads inside of the house, with the sun already down Blake waves at sun and properly bids him goodnight.
"Goodnight sun, thanks for... everything".
"Don't mention it Blake, now have some rest, we have a couple of big days ahead of us".
And with that, Blake decides to turn in for the night and heads over to her room in order to get a good nights sleep, so she would have the energy to fight the past that conflicted her every single day that she lived and breathed.
As she enters her room, she quickly removes the large white coat that is enveloping her body and quickly undresses and changes over to the comfortable nightgown that she was always delighted to wear as they offer a level of comfort that is more suitable when lying down on her bed and try to drift away on to her consciousness and fall asleep.
But as she plops down on her bed and gaze at the shattered moon that was laying steadily outside of her window. The moonlight that was shining through her window revealed a small little letter perched at the side of her windowsill.
Confused and curious, she picks up the piece of paper and examines the contents that were bound within the letter in ink, the letter read
"I can offer you a way out, a way out where we will both be happy and where precious blood that you value the most will not be shed. Meet me in the wastelands when you feel that the time is right. I will be waiting... My love".
As Blake receives the dawning realization of what this letter implied, she tosses and turns as she encounters a new problem that she would inevitably face once again and another decision that she had to make that weighed a ton in her shoulders. Would she go to the place where Adam had stated in the letter alone, or would she tell her parents and sun about the letter and risk the lives of the people that she valued the most.
"I will destroy each and everyone that you love and you will be there to watch them, and you will be powerless to stop me".
These words echo throughout her mind for the rest of the night, worrying her to death about the fate that she had bestowed upon her loved ones. And what made it worse is the fact that she would have to face this problem alone once again for her fear of losing someone dear to her again was too great of a risk rather than receiving help from the people that she wanted to protect.
She goes to sleep, conflicted as she once again is forced to shut everybody out in order to fulfil the task at hand. No matter how much she wanted to tell her parents about this, no matter how much she wants to tell sun, she just couldn't bear the thought of being the reason on why their once happy lives will be put to an end just because of Adam's determination to get her back.
Blake finally gives in to her need to sleep, her last thoughts being the idea that she would have to face the demons that she had contained within her, and the thought of facing it alone frightened her even more.
But at least that's what she thought.