Oranges, that is all.
REWRITE:
Some changes to Ozpin here and there.
Broke up a lot of moments where there was a solid paragraph of italics for thought.
The man turned to face his visitor. I still have no idea how she does that, and I feel like I've earned an explanation at this point.
Suddenly, the cloud was gone, and in its place stood a woman, dressed in red, with an absurdly large Grimm mask on her face. Still wearing that enormous thing, I see. Show-off.
"You took your time." The man spoke first, his voice low and gravelly. "I've been waiting for over an hour now."
The woman laughed. "Aww, did you miss me? That's so sweet of you." Her tone was cocky. Not entirely unfriendly, but he doubted an apology would follow.
"That's cute, but unlike some people, I have a sense of professionalism about my work." Raven approached him, crossing her arms, pouting slightly though he couldn't see it.
"It would seem that you've got it about your play too. I would know." This made the man smirk slightly. "I guess you would, though I wouldn't mind another chance sometime soon, in order to prove you wrong for once."
"Looking forward to it." Raven said, poking him in the chest. The man grabbed – not all that roughly – at her hand.
"But now, I need you to tell me what She said. What are Her orders for how we're to move ahead?" The man was all business once again.
Raven rolled her eyes and let out a defeated sigh. "You're not going to like it."
"Just, tell me," he said calmly as he released Raven's hand.
"She says that we'll have to proceed more cautiously from now on, starting with a slowdown in operations." The man raised an eyebrow at this. "Apparently word of your involvement has gotten out, and certain people are beginning to take notice of us."
The man groaned. Damn it! Someone must have given us away. "Who talked? I'll make sure they get what the deserve."
"Save your strength, that isn't the main problem."
Momentary silence fell.
"I'm listening..." He doubted much was worthy of higher priority than a traitor, but decided to humour her this time.
"Ozpin has been informed of the White Fang's resurgence, and some of his students who were directly responsible for our failure last time have taken specific interest as well."
Seriously, he thought. That's all?
The man waved his hand dismissively. "That stupid old man is too passive to take any sort of action against us. He'll just sit behind his desk and order his pawns around like he always has. And if any of those pawns come looking for trouble," the hand that grasped his weapon twitched. "I'll deal with them accordingly."
Raven gave him a long, searching look. "You know, I've always admired your confidence, but this time...I'm worried about how things might play out." Raven was looking at him strangely now. He thought he could see pity hidden somewhere deep behind her expressionless mask.
"What?"
She sighed, drawing her sword. "One of the students in question is Blake Belladonna."
"...I see." The man's voice had become unnaturally hard. "What of it?"
Raven slashed at the air, creating one of her mysterious portals. "Should she get too close to this operation, our leader expects you to do what is necessary." She glanced at him with something that might have passed for sympathy.
"I'm sorry, Adam."
And she was gone, leaving the man alone once more. One hand tightened around his weapon as he ran the other through his red hair, wrestling with the thoughts that had sprung, unwelcome, into his mind.
Blake. I'd hoped never to see you again after that day. I'd hoped that you could finally find what you had been looking for...whatever it was that we couldn't give you.
But if I have to tear you down to save my-...our people...
I will.
The nightmares were back.
Every time Blake closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take her, she would be brought back to that day. A day of destruction and chaos, a day of regret. The day that had changed her life forever.
Once more, she would be forced to re-live the pain of leaving him, forced once more to see the look of betrayal on his face as she severed their connection for good. Again she would know the feeling of simultaneously wanting nothing more than to return to his side, yet also to never see him again. Then she would awake with a start as his silhouette faded from view, hand still outstretched in silent plea.
Then she would find Yang's arms wrapped securely around her, as if trying to ward off the demons that haunted her girlfriend's unconscious mind. But no matter how tightly Yang held her, or how desperately Blake clung to her one source of comfort, the same train of thought would flow through her mind, over and over.
He's back. He's back, and he's planning something big.
Blake knew he had to be stopped, but did she have the strength to do it on her own? If she found him, how did she know that old feelings wouldn't resurface? How did she know that she would be capableof seeing him as an enemy?
She didn't, but what Blake did know was that she had to find him. The Faunus looked over at her sleeping girlfriend, who had a small smile on her lips as she snuggled against her kitty-cat.
Blake sighed and buried herself deeper in Yang's embrace, not that it would help to dispel the thoughts that still buzzed around in her head.
I need to find out where the White Fang is based. Once I do that, I can find Adam, and hopefully I can stop him. But how? That was of course, the main problem Blake faced.
Raven probably knows, but I'm not sure she'd be willing to talk to us after what Yang pulled last time. I don't even know how to contact her...
Blake's eyes shot open as she realized...
Ozpin. She's his spy right? He may not want to tell me anything, but it's the best lead that I've got at this point.
Blake grimaced. Yang will want to come too, but I can't involve her in this, I can't put her at risk like that.
Blake knew that the blonde would go to the ends of the earth for her.
But she didn't want to ask her to.
Blake woke up early the next morning, so early that even Weiss wasn't awake yet. Just as well, Blake thought.I don't need any unnecessary interruptions.
The Faunus gently slipped out of her partner's embrace and silently dressed herself. Though a pang of guilt shot through her at the thought of leaving Yang out of her plans, Blake was certain that it was the only option. She couldn't ask Yang to sacrifice anything more for her than she already had, and the fact that Blake knew the blonde unquestioningly would sacrifice more,only made it worse.
Blake could hear the school begin to wake up as she quickly made way down the silent corridors. Occasional bumps and crashes came from behind closed doors as students stumbled around in their early-morning daze. Blake hoped that Ozpin would be awake this early.
But as she began crossing the courtyard, she couldn't help but smile to herself as a thought came to mind. With the amount of coffee he drinks, I wonder if he ever sleeps at all.
"Miss Belladonna, what a pleasant surprise this is. You're up rather early." Speak of the devil...
Blake turned to find the man himself, who conveniently seemed to have gone out for an early morning stroll in the courtyard. "Hello professor, I was actually wondering if I could have a word with you."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow at her as he took a long sip from his mug, his eyes seemingly piercing straight through her. "Very well, walk with me."
They rounded a corner which took them to a less conspicuous part of Beacon's courtyard, and Ozpin stopped abruptly. "You want to know where you can find Raven Branwen, is that correct?"
Blake's jaw dropped. "How could you possibly-" Ozpin cut her off.
"It was only a matter of time until you learned of Mr. Taurus's involvement in our enemy's operation, and given what I know of your 'heritage', I believe that it is your intention to confront him." Once again, Blake was astounded at how well-informed the man was, she opened her mouth to speak, but Ozpin wasn't finished.
"When I spoke to Miss Xiao Long about the matter, I specifically advised her not to take any untoward action based on the information Miss Branwen has presented, but given the reputation of team RWBY as a whole, I would be unwise in assuming that anyone will actually listen to that advice." Ozpin's eyes twinkled over his mug as he took another sip. Blake shifted uncomfortably.
"So you'll help me then?" Ozpin sighed pointedly, making his clear his feelings on the matter.
"I can tell you where she will be tonight. It is rare that she elects to share with me her movements, but tonight, I know that she will be meeting with a contact down at the docks, in an abandoned warehouse, specifically number 12."
Quite honestly, Blake had not been expecting him to be this accepting of her plan. Her mind strayed to their private conversation after the incident with Torchwick at the docks., and she couldn't help but wonder of the man knew more of her than he'd originally let on. I wouldn't be surprised.
As Ozpin turned to leave, he looked back over his shoulder. "Please Blake, whatever you choose to do with this information, be cautious. I don't believe I need to remind you of how dangerous these people truly are." And he was gone.
Still rather taken aback by his willingness to assist, it took Blake several moments to rouse herself.
An old warehouse by the docks. Sounds cliché enough for a secret meeting.
Blake quickly returned to her dorm and slipped back into bed with Yang, hoping that her temporary absence would go unnoticed. She smiled as Yang wrapped her arms back around her and whispered "Hey kitten," clearly still half asleep.
Blake twisted around and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "Shh. Go back to sleep." Yang hummed, pulling her closer.
"Mmmmm, okay." She immediately nodded off.
The rest of the day passed as more of a blur than anything else, all of Blake's attention focused on the night ahead of her. One major problem presented itself: How would she prevent Raven from immediately leaving as soon as Blake confronted her?
It's kind of hard to get information from someone who has the power to disappear at the drop of a hat. I guess I'll just have to make my intentions clear. She seems like at least a semi-reasonable person, and since she took the time to find us before, she must at least partlywant the White Fang to fall. I just hope her contact is easy enough to deal with.
As the day wore on, her teammates couldn't help but notice that Blake was being extra quiet, even when compared to her usual standards, but she was able to brush off Weiss and Ruby's concerns by claiming she was "up late last night."
Yang on the other hand, wasn't so easily convinced, and kept pressing Blake for information, partly worried for her girlfriend, partly frustrated that she refused to share whatever it was that was bothering her. After several hours of repeatedly being shut out by the Faunus, the blonde became increasingly distant, and by the time they all returned to their dorm in the evening, she was barely speaking to Blake at all, which broke the girl's heart.
I'm sorry Yang, but it's for your own good.. Trust me this time.
As the members of team RWBY dropped off one by one, Blake knew that her opportunity to slip away was fast approaching. When she finally heard the snores of her blonde teammate, she silently crawled out of bed and got dressed, making sure to grab Gambol Shroud as she would probably need it. After one final glance down at her partner, she gave the sleeping girl a quick peck on the cheek before opening the window and slipping out into the night.
I'll be back soon Yang, I promise.
So suspense, much cliffhanger. Chapter was a bit shorter than usual, sorry 'bout that :/
What did you guys think? Let me know.
Do you like the direction I'm taking? Do you HATE it? I WANT YOUR OPINIONS!
Peace out.
