I don't know why I made this chapter tease fans of certain ships so much. Enabler, Freezerburn, whatever the hell Emerald/Mercury is called...
Odd way to start an AN, I know. But this one's very brief, barely qualifying as such. Since this chapter is the start of things truly kicking off, let's just kick it off in return, shall we?
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
She's here. 3rd and Artemis.
It was all the text message said, but Ruby knew that Torchwick could only be talking about one of two people. Either way, she knew she needed to know more.
"You don't have to come with me, you know," Ruby told Neo as she tossed her backpack into the backseat of her car. Neo did the same as she gave the slightly younger woman a weak scowl, then climbed into the passenger seat before Ruby could protest further. "This won't be anything interesting; just some scouting."
And if it isn't, I have your back, Neo signed at her, making Ruby sigh.
"Fine, fine," Ruby said, letting out a giggle as she got into her car. "Can you text Yang, then? Please?" she asked sweetly, making Neo shake her head in her version of a giggle. "Thank you, sweetie," Ruby said, giggling again as she kissed Neo's cheek.
They left Beacon High a moment later, and, after mere minutes, Ruby parked her car against the curb on Artemis Way, facing the corner it made with Third Street and the active crime scene that had cordoned off one of the recently renovated houses on it. Police tape had been wrapped around a slender tree in its front yard, then tied to one of the few sections of white picket fence that was still intact; as the other side of the yard was littered with smoldering wreckage from one of the house's destroyed walls, it was enough to close the area off to the public.
"Gods alive," Ruby mumbled as she took in the scene. Next to her, Neo bit her lower lip, her multi-colored eyes flicking from the ruined house to her girlfriend. "Okay, so, fire," Ruby said, swallowing at the lump that had formed in her throat as worry and fear fluttered through her - evidently, she wasn't quite as prepared to face down Raven and the Family as she thought. "That means it's probably not Raven, unless she's working with someone again. No blood or bodies I can see from here, but the house was busted open from the inside, judging by... that," she said, gesturing to the still smoking wood littering the yard. "Which means... someone got away. I think."
She took a deep breath, then unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. "Let's go see what we can learn from whoever's here," Ruby said softly as Neo followed her lead, the two of them walking to the first police officer that caught Ruby's eye.
Only for them to be intercepted by a woman wearing a white blouse and a pair of black trousers, whose black hair bore a red accent, much like her daughter's.
"What are you doing here, Ruby?" Detective Summer Rose asked with a sigh, her silver eyes tiredly meeting her daughter's and making Ruby shift awkwardly on her feet; although she was used to looking up to see her mother, Ruby had grown a few inches over the last two years, resulting in them being more or less the same height.
"O-oh, you know," Ruby said, a nervous giggle falling from her lips as she scratched her cheek. "I, uh... noticed something was wrong while Neo and I were... uh... on our way to the mall?"
"Yeah, nice try," Summer said, smiling only briefly before her stern frown returned. "Get home, now."
Something in her mother's tone made Ruby realize something, making her eyes widen and her heart begin to race. "Mom... why are you here? You work in Vice."
Summer took a long, deep breath, then let it out in a sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "All I can tell you right now is that this is a multiple homicide tangentially linked to what appears to be some sort of drug, something new. But that's not why I want you home, Ruby."
"Mom?" Ruby asked, taking a shaky breath as she realized there was fear lurking in her mother's eyes.
"Go. Back. Home," Summer said slowly, turning to stare at the partially destroyed house behind her. "Please, Ruby."
"It's her, isn't it? Raven?"
Summer sighed again, then faced her daughter and nodded. "She's back, Ruby. And I want you and Yang safe at home whenever possible, do you understand?" she asked, her tone far more aggressive than Ruby had ever heard it before. "If I have to hear that she's gone after you, either of you, I... Just go home, Ruby," Summer finished, turning back to the crime scene and starting towards it again. "I'll explain everything else when we're all there."
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
"We all know why we're here, right?" Summer Rose asked, looking over the people she'd gathered into her living room. Ruby and Yang sat next to each other on the couch, so closely that their legs pressed together, while Ghira Belladonna, Yharnum's chief of police and Ruby's godfather, sat on a reclining chair next to it, his wife Kali pacing restlessly nearby. Summer's partner, Carlos Santiago, stood behind the couch, his expression both stern and worried as he leaned on the sofa's back. "I don't need to tell any of you what kind of person Raven is, or what she's done, or what she might do in our city?"
"No," Ghira said, his deep voice rumbling with unease. Despite the loosening of his tie and the unbuttoning of his three-piece suit's dress shirt, he seemed nervous and tense, both by the topic at hand and the nature of the discussion itself.
"I might like to hear it," Winter Schnee said, seated primly on the other side of the couch Ruby and Yang were using. She wore a pristine white lab coat, her similarly colored hair done up in a bun, and a pair of sneakers that had seen a considerable amount of wear - her self-appointed uniform for her job as a mortician, which she had been on the way to when she'd received Ghira's text. "I haven't been as involved in this city's recent history as the rest of you, so there may be things I've missed. If I'm to help you, I'd like to make sure I know what I need to."
"How exactly would a mortician help out, anyway?" Carlos asked, glancing between his boss and partner.
"By giving us any information she can as soon as she can, rather than waiting for it to be neatly filed away in a report," Summer explained, drawing a nod of acceptance from Carlos. Meeting Winter's deep blue eyes, Summer added, "To summarize, Raven is strong enough to juggle tanks, hardy enough to survive being shot by one, and can turn into a small bird capable of flying in excess of forty miles per hour. She has trouble distinguishing between right and wrong - speaking from a moral perspective - and is capable of holding a grudge for more than a decade. From the records we have of her misdeeds, she prefers to kill with her hands and feet rather than using other weapons, though she is perfectly capable of wielding firearms - provided she doesn't crush them in a fit of anger," Summer finished, her lips twisting with anger of her own.
"I see," Winter said, frowning thoughtfully as she turned her gaze away from Summer's heated silver eyes. "I'll keep an eye out for blunt trauma in the shape of knuckles, as well as other feats of superhuman strength."
"I'll give you my number," Yang offered in a quiet voice, having huddled closer to Ruby after Summer's description of her mother. "I've got the same power, so I might be able to tell you if something is within our capabilities."
"Thank you, Yang," Winter said, her voice gentle - though the effort she'd put into making it gentle was also clear to the blonde.
"So, to get back to the main topic: how do we stop her?" Summer asked the room. "Without harming civilians, without destroying the city, how do we deal with her permanently?"
"Permanently?" Carlos asked, straightening as he stared at his partner. "You're talking about killing her?"
"If need be," Ghira said, resting his chin on the back of one hand as he glanced at the not-quite-rookie detective. "Ideally, we find a witch who could curse her to permanently evict her from Yharnum, but witches are rarely willing to work with law enforcement on anything, even something that could give them something to hold over our heads. I know Zephyr knows of at least one, but she's refused to work with us before; I doubt she'd be willing to work with us this time."
"Where is he, anyway?" Kali asked, her feline ears pressed flat against the top of her head as she glanced around the room for effect. "I thought you contacted everyone in town, Summer?"
"Which is exactly where he isn't," Summer said, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she let out a sigh. "He's over in the fishing village, hunting down a few missing kids. You know how private investigators can get about their cases."
"I can go through his and Dad's notes this weekend," Ruby volunteered, her hand gripping her sister's tightly - more for Yang's benefit than her own; the blonde had started shaking barely a minute into the conversation, and both knew it wasn't from a chill. "I can even start tomorrow, if you let me call in sick, Mom."
"I'll make the call in the morning," Summer said, nodding approvingly at Ruby. "Thank you, Ruby."
"I think I'll make some hot chocolate," Kali announced, shaking her head as she drifted towards the kitchen, glancing at Yang one last time. "Does anyone want something?"
"We'll have some, too, auntie," Ruby said, sending the Faunus woman a grateful smile.
"Anyone else?" Kali asked, looking at everyone else in turn, only for them all to shake their heads. "No? Okay then."
"So, any thoughts on how to do this?" Summer asked, meeting Ghira's eyes before looking over to her partner. "Whether we decide to kill her or not?"
"Well, if you're looking for another angle on that whole 'witch' thing," Ghira said, scratching a finger at his chin through his short, well-kept beard as he stared at the three young women seated on the couch, "I think we can approach it without involving anyone in law enforcement."
"I'd be willing to speak to this witch, assuming she operates during similar hours," Winter offered. After a moment, she frowned, then added, "I'm the first to admit that I'm not the best person to assign to a diplomatic cause, however. I tend to speak in ways that tend to be rather off-putting to most people."
"I can do it, then," Ruby said. "This weekend, if I need to."
"Not without me," Yang said quickly, clinging even more tightly to her sister than before. She'd encircled Ruby's arm with both of her own, and her head was now firmly planted on the brunette's shoulder.
"Then we'll do it," Ruby corrected herself, smiling reassuringly at her. "Together, just like always."
"Thank you," Yang mumbled softly, feeling her cheeks heat as she realized nearly everyone else in the room was looking at her.
"Well, that's decided," Ruby said, both in an attempt to take some of the attention off of her sister and to move the discussion along. "What's Plan B?"
"Killing Raven... it'll take some doing," Summer said, letting out a sigh. "Goliaths have a natural resistance to foreign bodies that makes them nearly immune to conventional poisons, as well as any disease I can think of that wouldn't turn into a plague. And she's a Steel Soul on top of that..."
"I'd be willing to look through government databases to find any diseases that could have a more controlled distribution," Winter offered. "I doubt I'll find anything useful for our purposes, but it could potentially yield useful results."
"Since when does a mortician have that kind of access?" Ghira asked, squinting at her.
"They don't. I'd be doing it as a daughter of Jacques Schnee. I still have a few connections within the company, and most of them owe me favors."
"You'd have to try to mask what you're trying to learn, though," Carlos said, making the Schnee turn to face him. "If you start poking around for dangerous diseases, and then someone happens to die from one of them in the city you live in... well, we'd have to arrest you, and that'd be awkward."
"Glad to see you're on our side here, Carlos," Summer said, making her partner chuckle.
"It still likely wouldn't amount to much, but I'd be willing to give it a try," Winter said. "If nothing else, I'll be better prepared to identify potential viral outbreaks in the future."
"Then we're back to trying to kill her with violence," Ghira said. After a moment spent idly chewing the back of his hand, he asked, "What about fire? Or acid? Steel Souls gain resilience only to the things they've had to deal with before, right?"
"I think so, yes," Summer answered with a frown. "I'd have to check with Zephyr to know for certain, but I believe that's the case. It wouldn't be too difficult to shield herself from flames and the like, if she actually tried to improve herself like that, but... some form of acid, or liquid nitrogen, or something along those lines would be much more difficult, wouldn't it?"
"Hah!" Ghira belted out, a fierce grin crossing his features as he leaned forward in his seat. "Now we're talking!"
"Ruby, Yang," Kali's voice drifted in from the kitchen, momentarily interrupting them. "The hot chocolate's just about ready, if you want to join me."
"Coming!" Ruby called back, lifting herself to her feet - somewhat awkwardly, with the way Yang continued to cling to her arm. "I'll start looking through Dad's journals to see if I can get a lead on that witch, okay?" Ruby asked her mother, drawing a nod from her. "Okay, then. Good luck!"
"Remember to stay safe, you two," Summer said before her daughters could leave the room. "I know you two don't need to carry guns or knives to stay armed, but don't let anyone catch you by surprise, either."
"We know, Mom," Ruby said, giving her a wink just before she disappeared through a doorway.
"Is that a common occurrence?" Winter asked, frowning after the two sisters.
Summer frowned, then let out a sigh and shook her head. "It was for about a month after their father was..." she trailed off, sighing again. "It took both of them a while to get back on their feet after that, and... I suppose they'll be trying to stay close to each other again, until we can deal with Raven permanently."
"Speaking of which," Carlos chimed in, "you two mentioning acid got me thinking about something... Has anyone else here ever had a mercury burn?"
In the kitchen, Ruby sighed in relief as she managed to get Yang to sit down at one of the chairs surrounding the dining table, though the blonde was still shaking so badly that her knees occasionally bounced the table. "It'll be okay, Yang," Kali said, giving her best, most motherly smile as she set a pair of ceramic mugs full of steaming cocoa in front of them. "She won't take anyone from us ever again; I can promise you that."
"H-how?" Yang mumbled, swallowing timidly as she stared down at her own lap.
"Because we're not going to let her," Kali said, her smile widening and closing her eyes with its broadness. She twitched the ears atop her head and, as a devious glint entered her gold eyes, added, "These little things aren't just for show, you know: I can hear every word they're saying in the living room, and I think they're plan will work. Mercury takes such a low dose to be survivable that it's unlikely Raven would've been able to build a tolerance for it, and even then it can cause muscle weakness and trouble with vision and hearing. Splashing her with a bit of it should make her easy to deal with in a straight fight, if it comes to that."
"Oh, so that's why they had us wear those thick gloves in chemistry yesterday," Ruby said, giggling. "Wait, why do you know all that stuff?" she asked after a moment, blinking up at her godmother as she giggled.
"I write stories, remember?" Kali asked, tilting her head to one side. "I did a lot of research into toxins to write my murder mystery series and break away from all the smut I usually write, and some of it stuck with me. Speaking of smut and things sticking to things..." Kali changed the subject, her smile turning outright devious as she glanced between the slowly calming Yang and a now blushing Ruby. "Did you know that there's a few copies of my books in your room, Yang?"
"What?" Yang asked, her head whirling to face her sister. "Ruby, did you...?"
"Look, I had Neo over and didn't want her to see them, okay?" Ruby asked, ducking her head - and hiding her smile, happy that Yang was coming out of her funk. "I thought about stashing them in a few other places, but... well, let's just say I decided not to hide them in the bathroom."
"But in my room?" Yang asked, making Ruby's cheeks turn an even deeper shade of pink. "What if I find out which pages are stuck together, sis?" she continued, making Ruby's head snap up to face her, silver eyes wide with a mixture of embarrassment and alarm. "I don't want to know what things got you going!"
"Stop," Kali said, giggling behind her hand as she shook her head. "I might get too much inspiration to not write smut if you two keep going like this. Especially since you're still holding hands," she added teasingly, making the two sisters realize that they still, in fact, had their fingers interlaced with each other's.
"Ew, auntie!" Ruby groaned, a deep grimace marring her features as the older woman laughed. "Don't think about us like that!"
"I'm so tired of perverts thinking things like that," Yang grumbled, scowling up at the Faunus.
Neither of them let go of the other's hand, though.
"Okay, okay!" Kali said, still laughing behind her hand. "I won't write anything based off of this, I promise!"
"Good!" Ruby said, still grimacing.
"I'd have to write it as step-sisters anyway," Kali continued, moving her hand to show the two her smile. "You can't get away with writing actual incest in this country, no matter how lovey-dovey you make it, and that would just ruin the feeling, I think." Ruby sighed and Yang groaned, both shaking their heads in tandem. "Now, drink your hot chocolate already; take much longer and we'll have to call it cold chocolate."
Ruby groaned, cradling her head in her hands, but Yang just frowned and stared down at the mug full of steaming brown liquid. "Don't make jokes like that, please," Yang asked in a quiet voice, her violet eyes shimmering. "It just... it reminds me of Dad."
Kali winced, then mumbled, "I'm sorry, Yang. I... I wasn't thinking about that, about him." Ruby said nothing, instead leaning over to press her shoulder against Yang's, and felt the blonde lean against her in return.
"I know, I just..." Yang trailed off, closing her eyes. After a long, tense moment, she sighed and reopened them, reaching out for her hot chocolate with a shaking hand.
Only for it to break under her grip. Shards of ceramic fell from between her fingers, several opening cuts along them; Yang winced and hissed in discomfort as the still hot liquid spilled across her now open wounds, stinging in ways that made her eyes water all over again.
"Oh, no," Kali mumbled, backing away from the blonde. "I'll... I'll go get some bandages and things, okay? Back in a jiffy!"
With that, she left the room in a hurry, leaving Ruby to clean Yang's hand with a napkin.
"Hey," Ruby said softly as Yang began to cry. "Don't do that. I'm still here, Yang."
"But you won't be forever," Yang mumbled. "You, and Mom, and Blake, and everyone else I love... Even if... even if everything goes right, I'll still be alive thirty years after all of you," she continued, letting out a pained whimper as Ruby set down the napkin she'd been using and brought a fresh one to bear on her hand.
"Hey, you don't know that," Ruby said, giving her a small smile - one that showed just how little she believed what she said. "Maybe Weiss can fix all of us, Yang. Maybe she'll find a treatment for Lupus that Blake isn't allergic to, maybe she'll figure out a way to keep Mom's and my metabolisms from killing us."
"No, I don't... I can't put that on her, Ruby," Yang croaked out, pulling her hands away from Ruby's and settling them in her lap. "Not when she... I won't do it."
"I know, Yang. I'm not going to do that to her either. All I'm saying is that the future isn't set in stone, that there's always going to be a chance to fix things going forward."
"I... Okay. Okay, I can... I can believe that," Yang said, smiling as she looked up and met her sister's eyes.
"Good. For now," Ruby began, picking up her mug of hot chocolate. With her other hand, she grabbed one of Yang's and placed it over her own on the mug, then moved it in front of Yang's lips. "For now, if there's ever anything you need help with, Yang, I'm here for you."
Yang choked out a laugh as tears began flowing from her eyes again, and she took a sip from her sister's drink. "Thank you, Ruby. I... You don't even know how much I love you."
"Of course I do, Yang; it's nearly as much as I love you."
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"This is getting ridiculous," Adam grumbled as he stared down at the blood puddled in front of him. "I thought you said this was supposed to be one of our safe houses, Troy."
"It is!" the corpulent man beside him said, grimacing as the scent of blood touched his nose. He wore a three-piece suit that had to stretch to accommodate his expansive bulk, despite being specifically tailored for him, and his black hair was kept as trim and neat as it could be, given its curliness. His thick, finned tail thrashed anxiously behind him as he continued, saying, "It's in the bloody Harpy district, and only four people knew about it other than me. Five, now, with you."
"Who were the others?" Adam asked, turning his gaze to the body the blood had come from - or, rather, the closest piece of it. An arm, skin unnaturally pale and the nails on its hand painted a bright shade of blue.
"Her, the boss, Azazel, and Scarlatina," Troy said, his pale cheeks steadily turning green. "Look, man, I can't stay here for much longer."
"I get it, Troy. Try not to puke within a hundred feet of here," Adam said, nodding to his subordinate.
"Thank you," Troy said, hastily making his way out of the abandoned house.
'Formerly abandoned house,' Adam corrected himself as he looked around the room. The building, as well as the three adjacent to it, had been converted into one colossal safe house by one of Roman Torchwick's ideas and a number of his flunkies. Rotted wood and busted pipes had been torn from them, replaced with fresher materials of high quality over the course of three years. The door was the only real evidence of the armored plating in the walls, though, being half a foot thick and opening on six heavy-duty hinges, but the entire converted building seemed to have an isolated feeling about it, one that Adam was not fond of.
Though that might have been the corpse scattered about the building.
"Poor girl," Adam mumbled, stooping down to examine the arm more closely. "Rough around the edges," he mumbled, frowning at the tattered flesh and shattered bone at the end of the limb. "It was torn off, not cut off." He sighed as he stood back up, shaking his head. "Still can't believe some of the shit that goes down here."
He moved on from the arm, looking around at the blood-splattered plastic sheeting covering the thrift-store couches and chairs scattered around the room. "The furniture's still covered," he mumbled, frowning, "meaning she wasn't using any of it. She must've stopped in to make a dead drop, then. Or to collect one. But she was interrupted by... probably Raven, unless the Londal's have another Goliath on their side. She didn't even get that far in," Adam continued to speak aloud, stepping over another pool of drying blood, "unless she was on her way out."
Adam paused, tapping the steel toe of his boot against one of the footprints left in the dust covering the floor. "She spun here," he said, glancing over at one of the severed legs to check that it was wearing the sneakers he'd been seeing in the footprints. "Meaning this was when Raven kicked the door down. Call it... seven seconds from the front door to here." He put his foot down on the cleared spot, then spun to face the door, only to cock his head to one side when he looked back down. "No, this was something else..." he mumbled, trailing off, as he turned his head to the ceiling.
He frowned at the smooth patch of drywall above him, then cocked his head to the side as he noticed that the blood covering one inch-wide square of it looked quite a bit older than the splatters scattered around the rest of the ceiling. "I wonder," Adam said softly, reaching up to tap it with his finger. It didn't budge, but the sound his tapping made caught his attention; rather than the dull thunking he'd expected, it made a sharp click.
"June sixteenth."
Adam tilted his head again as he stared up at the chunk of ceiling, then did something he still had a hard time getting used to: adjusted his vision. His cybernetic eyes whirred in their sockets as they zoomed in on the lone panel, which was indeed separate from the rest of the ceiling - now that he had a much closer look of it, he could see the faint lines where it didn't quite mesh with the rest of the drywall, as well as the only barely visible mesh-like pattern that told him it was a speaker.
"I found out who's guiding the operation. I left the drive containing everything I've uncovered with the Knight. Closed Circuit, out."
"Interesting," Adam said once the woman's voice had finished echoing through the room. "But," he mumbled, looking from the speaker to the black-haired head jammed partway into what was left of the building's fireplace, "it wasn't you, so who was it?"
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
"Hey there, my Knight."
Jaune Arc sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he turned to face Pyrrha Nikos. Her scarlet hair was tied back in a ponytail, and was much shorter than he remembered, falling only to her shoulders instead of the small of her back, and her light grey tank top and knee-length skirt were far less conservative than the blouses and trousers he was used to seeing her wear. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that, Princess," he said, unable to keep himself from smiling at her beaming grin. She cleared the step between them and wrapped him in a hug, one which he gladly returned, and then pressed a kiss to his lips, which he also returned. "Glad to see you back," he said, resting his forehead on hers as she giggled. "How'd you do?"
"I think I aced most of them, but the biology final might have gotten away from me," Pyrrha said, still smiling at him. The two broke their hug, though Pyrrha made sure her arm encircled her boyfriend's as they walked through the park. "It's weird, I think."
"What is?"
"Being in a long-distance relationship with my best friend, who didn't want to be anything but my best friend until I wore him down over the years," Pyrrha said, letting out another giggle as Jaune rolled his eyes.
"You say that every few months, Pyrrha," Jaune groused, throwing her a sideways smile. After a moment, though, it morphed into a frown.
"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, frowning as he did.
"The city," Jaune said with a sigh, turning his gaze skyward and taking in the dark clouds that were beginning to form there. "There's been talk in the bar, recently, that one of the Cainhurst families is making a move on Yharnum. I didn't believe it until I turned on the news yesterday."
"The murders? Or that... what was it called? Queen Mab's Greed?"
"All of it," Jaune mumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose again. He lowered his head and kept quiet as he felt a wave of determination brush against his senses, carefully keeping himself from staring at the jogger nearing them; he didn't speak again until after her emotions had faded from his perception. "Even the weather's going wrong," he continued, gesturing up at the storm clouds brewing overhead. "It's never rained this much in summer, not in Yharnum."
"Maybe it just means someone new is in town? I don't think anyone will be as good at getting in touch with and helping powered people as Taiyang was," Pyrrha said, letting out a sigh of her own. "Which reminds me, actually: how is Ruby doing? And Yang, too, I suppose."
"You really need to tell me why you hate Yang so much, Pyrrha," Jaune said, shaking his head as his girlfriend scowled at him. "Yeah, they're doing... okay, I guess. I don't exactly keep track of them. Although... Yang did run out of work about an hour into her shift yesterday after she got a text. The way she was feeling... I've never felt anyone that afraid, ever."
"Really?" Pyrrha asked, blinking at him. "Why, what happened?"
"Dunno. Haven't heard from her since."
"Great, now I'm worried about Yang."
Jaune snorted out a laugh and shook his head again. "So, what're you doing here, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, making Pyrrha eye him suspiciously. "What?"
"Asking your girlfriend something like that makes you seem suspicious, Jaune," Pyrrha said, tightening her grip on his arm. "I came here looking for you."
"Why here, though? I don't usually come here."
"I called Nora, asked where you were, and she said that if I couldn't get a hold of you, that I should come to the park," Pyrrha said with a shrug. "I don't know why, but she was right, wasn't she?"
"Huh," Jaune said. After a moment, he said, "Well, in case you're wondering why I'm here, it's for work."
"Going the extra mile to bounce someone, huh?"
"Not that work."
"I know. Is it fine if I stay with you, or will that just make them nervous?"
"It'd probably be for the best if you find something else to do for a minute or so, Pyrrha," Jaune said, wincing as she sighed. "Sorry, but... you know how these things go."
"Unfortunately," she said, letting go of his arm as they neared the stone fountain in the park's center. "Well, I've got a penny in my purse, so I might as well go make a wish. Good luck, sweetie," she added, kissing his cheek before striding purposefully to the fountain.
"You can come out, now," Jaune said softly, causing the man standing behind a nearby tree to chuckle. He turned to look at him, blue eyes unwavering as he sighted the man's horns, red hair, and metal eyes. "Adam Taurus, right?" he asked, glancing down to take in the fairly typical black three-piece suit he wore, though he'd folded the jacket over his arm rather than wear it - a concession to the summer heat.
"And you must be the Knight," Adam said, looking over Jaune in much the same way the teenage blonde had examined him. His black T-shirt was loose, as were his dark blue jeans, but the lack of any sweat on him despite the dark colors told Adam that he'd either gotten used to high heat or had an ability that made him not feel it.
"The Candle's burning at both ends," Jaune said cryptically, making Adam chuckle.
"Meaning those who try to unseat him will get doused in boiling wax," Adam said, drawing a sigh from Jaune.
"We have these codes for a reason, you know. I'm not even supposed to get directly involved, just report anything I think is relevant to my handler," Jaune complained, pulling a thumb-sized USB stick from his pocket and handing it to the older man.
"Sorry about that, kid, but I am glad for the help," Adam said as he tucked the device away. "What's on here, anyway?"
"How would I know? I don't look at these sorts of things," Jaune said with a shrug. "Plausible deniability."
Adam snorted off a laugh and nodded in acceptance as he walked off, waving goodbye over his shoulder. "Good talk, kid."
"Your contact?" Pyrrha asked as she rejoined Jaune, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.
"Apparently," Jaune mumbled. He sighed, then put on a smile and turned to his girlfriend. "So, what'd you wish for, Pyrrha?"
"If I tell you, it won't come true. Now, to change the topic: do you have plans for dinner tonight?"
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
Smoke tinged with the metallic scent of blood filled her mouth with every breath. Haphazard piles of burning wood spilled light up into the cloudy sky, even as the screams of those bound to the metal poles in their centers screamed to the heavens. Dark shapes, more monster than man, moved at the edges of the bonfires as they watched the people burn.
It was enough to make her sick to her stomach, but that didn't stop her from straying from the light and into the darkness surrounding it. Her silver eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting near-instantly, and she saw the first of the dark beasts start to circle towards her, purple electricity spilling like drool from its jaws.
When it lunged, so did she, her sword screaming as it cleaved through the air.
And then through the beast.
The creature fell to the ground in two halves, split from the tip of its nose to the bottom of its rump. Dark blood gushed from its corpse, seeping into the gravelly dirt beneath it, and her sword was drenched in enough of the foul substance that it dripped from the blade.
She brought the sword up, letting silvery moonlight reflect off of it and into the eyes of the beasts remaining before her, then licked some of the blood from her blade, the way she might have licked a lover's finger. As the foul taste coated her tongue and crept into her roiling stomach, she felt the power it contained seep into her, making her stronger than ever before.
"Next," she hissed. As the remaining beasts cried to the heavens, her laughter flew up with them.
Summer moved to the edge of her bed and vomited, the scents and tastes she'd experienced during the dream so palpable that they'd stuck with her after she woke. She didn't know whether to consider it a blessing or a curse that it wasn't the first time she'd had that particular nightmare - though the trash can she'd stuck next to her bed would almost certainly consider it a curse. Once she'd finished her retching, she rolled back onto her back and closed her eyes, trying to relax as adrenaline and nausea roiled inside of her, a potent mixture that made her sweat herself dry and jump at every small noise.
After several long minutes, she let out a sound that was halfway between a groan and a sigh as the alarm she'd set on her phone went off, telling her that it was time to get up. "Getting more sleep, at least," she muttered darkly, taking care not to step into her trash can as she swung her legs off the side of the bed and got up off of it. "Not good sleep, but more of it."
One quick trip to the attached bathroom later, and Summer returned to her room, freshly bathed and wearing a white bathrobe. As always, her eyes caught onto the framed picture she had on her nightstand - specifically, the tall blonde man smiling back at her from it.
"Oh, Tai," she mumbled, a mournful sigh leaving her lips as she fell to her knees beside it. She closed her eyes for a long moment, and when she reopened them, they were damp with unshed tears. "Our daughters are strong, Tai, but... No matter how strong they are, it will never be enough for what comes next." She sighed again, shaking her head. "I wish you were still here. I wish you could still be here for them, like you are for me."
Summer ran a finger over her husband's face in the picture, then rose back up, smoothing out her bathrobe as she schooled herself. "Okay, okay," she mumbled. After she brushed a tear from her eye before it could fall, she said, "Okay, I need to make breakfast for the girls, then go grab your journals from your office before I head into work, Taiya."
Having said all she wanted to say, Summer stared at the picture for another few moments, as if hoping to hear him respond. But, finally, she bit her lower lip and turned on her heel, leaving her bedroom behind.
"Morning, Mom," Ruby mumbled when Summer stepped through the door to the kitchen. She was already nursing from a mug of tea, though the steam coming from the kettle on the stove told Summer that she hadn't woken up too long before her; that she was still wearing her sleepwear, a black tank top and a pair of white pajama bottoms, only reinforced that.
"Morning," Summer said, wincing when it came out as a grunt. "Sorry. Good morning, Ruby," she said, forcing herself to speak in a more respectful tone. "Did you sleep well?"
"With Yang, if that's what you mean," Ruby said, drawing a sigh from her mother. "I know, I know: you want us to be more independent and less reliant on each other, but... after learning that she's back... I think we needed each other this time," she said, letting out a sigh of her own. "I mean, at least we got some sleep."
"I know that feeling," Summer mumbled, opening up a drawer next to the fridge and pulling a small plastic bottle from it. She opened it and upended it into her palm with the same motion, letting a single clear capsule fall into her hand before she sealed it back up and set it down.
Ruby sighed again when she saw Summer swallow the pill dry, eyeing the bottle disdainfully as she put it away. "Didn't you always say Bloodmakers shouldn't have things like caffeine?" Ruby asked, drawing a hard look from her mother, only for Summer to sigh again herself a moment later.
"I know, but it's a time release capsule, so I'm not getting all of it at once," Summer said, leaning on the counter as she spoke to her daughter. "After... After Raven killed Taiyang, I've been... having the nightmares again, Ruby. I started needing them just to get through the day, and I've been weaning myself off of them for a little while now, but... some days are harder than others."
"At least have some water or something when you take it, Mom," Ruby pleaded, drawing another sigh from her mother. "Please?"
"Yeah, you're probably right," Summer mumbled, turning again and standing on her toes to reach up into the nearest cabinet for a glass. "Did you wake Yang up, or is she still sleeping?"
"Yes to both," Ruby said, giggling as she took another sip of her tea. "At least, I think she fell asleep again before I left. She looked like she needed it."
"At least our nightmares aren't contagious," Summer said, the corner of her mouth quirking as her daughter giggled again. "I'm planning on making breakfast," she said after filling her glass with tap water. "Is there anything in particular you want, Ruby?"
"Maybe pancakes?" Ruby asked as Summer chugged down her water in one long pull. "We still have some eggs, right?"
"They might not be any good," Summer said, grimacing as she glanced over at the fridge. "It's been too long since any of us did any real cooking."
Silence reigned for a long moment, until a muffled thump from upstairs made both of them jump. When it repeated, again and again in a rhythm, Summer frowned and looked at Ruby again, asking, "Is that... Is Yang exercising?"
"Probably, yeah," Ruby said, staring down at her tea again - mostly so she didn't have to meet her mother's eyes. "We... talked, about a few things last night, and..." she trailed off, then let out a sigh before she continued. "She's planning on working out for half an hour every morning and an hour every night until Raven's gone."
Summer stiffened, her eyes widening. "Ruby," she said slowly, her tone making Ruby flinch and seem to shrink into her seat, "why is Yang doing that?"
"Because she... Because we think that getting her strong enough to match Raven is a good idea," Ruby said, swallowing as she lifted her eyes to meet her mother's stern gaze. "Even if you manage to hit her with enough mercury to do anything, she'll still be tough, Mom. Tough enough that bullets won't be able to stop her, that a missile won't be able to stop her. And if she's still strong enough to... to..." Ruby trailed off again, blinking back tears as she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. "If she's still that strong, you'll need a countermeasure. A Goliath, to hold her down while we stuff something poisonous down her throat - or while I shred her brain with wind," she growled out, her next breath coming out hard enough to make Summer's bathrobe sway from nearly a dozen feet away.
"Not a chance," Summer scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm not letting either of you go anywhere near her."
"No offense, Mom," Ruby said with a grimace, "but it's not really up to you, is it? You can't keep up with an aerokinetic, much less two of us."
Summer sighed again, then cleared the space between them and gently grasped her daughter's cheeks. "I know, but that doesn't mean I want anything to happen to you," she said. She pressed a kiss to Ruby's forehead, then straightened and said, "To either of you. And if I need to slap a pair of cuffs on you and haul you in to the precinct to protect you, I will. And... if Raven's here for the reason I think she is... she can have my Yang over my cold, dead body."
"Our Yang, Mom," Ruby said firmly, prompting a snort of laughter from her mother as she opened the fridge. "And I won't let that happen, either."
"I'm glad to hear it, Ruby. Oh, these eggs are still good. Looks like we can have pancakes after all."
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
"Look, just... make sure it gets to her, alright?" Mercury asked the purple-haired bartender, making her sigh and nod. "Thank you, Daisy. You're a hero."
"Keep talking like that and I'll figure out a way you can repay me," she said with a giggle, winking at him in a way that made her wrinkles seem to stretch.
Mercury chuckled, winked at her in return, and left, sighing in relief the moment the bar's door swung shut behind him. "Sweet fucking death, what is it with me and older women?" he mumbled to himself, shaking his head as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking away. "What, are Assassins candy to them?" After a moment, he said, "I'm not talking to myself here, Emerald."
She appeared nearby, wearing a scowl and with her arms folded over her chest. "What makes you think I want to talk to you?" she asked without moving her lips; the words buzzed uncomfortably in his ears, making him groan as he realized she'd crafted an illusion to say it.
"Emerald, let me ask you a question," Mercury began, only to let out a sigh when she disappeared from his sight and he felt his head begin to pound behind his eyes again. "That's not gonna stop me from asking it, you know."
"Then do it already. Asshole."
"What would you say we were, before we came here?"
"Boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Really? What makes you think that?" Mercury asked, half-mumbling as he continued to walk along; he ducked into the first alley he could find, avoiding as much of the public's eye as possible in an attempt to keep people from noticing him seemingly talking to himself. "It wasn't the Chambers debacle, was it?"
"Of course. That was when we first started dating."
"Yeah, as a cover. Cinder's the one who established it for us, remember? 'Two lovers, lost in a strange city, who just happen to stumble across Emilia Chambers.' Those were her words, right?" When Emerald said nothing in reply, Mercury sighed and continued, saying, "You know what a cover is, right? It's fake, Emerald. Cinder didn't put us there to get us to hook up; she put us there to kidnap a six-year-old girl, and gave us the excuse we needed to avoid detection."
"Shut up."
Mercury groaned and grimaced, his headache growing worse with every second he spent next to Emerald and her illusions. "Look, Emerald, I'm gonna say something that you're not gonna want to hear," he said, pausing halfway through the next alley he'd decided to cut through and leaning against a wall. "You need help. You've been... deteriorating for years now, mentally. Psychologically. I don't know what happened to you, but I know you weren't like this when we first met."
"Back when we were five?" Emerald asked disdainfully, reappearing next to him. Her crimson eyes were full of disgust and dislike, but the effect was all but ruined by the oversized T-shirt that had sipped partway off her shoulder and was large enough to nearly completely cover up her shorts; for a moment, Mercury thought she'd forgotten to get dressed before leaving the apartment. "Gee, it's almost like I should be different from that pathetic little runt I was back then."
"You weren't pathetic," Mercury said firmly, making her flinch and take a step back. "Not once. Not to me. You'd just lost your home, your parents and older brother, to a fire, but you had enough left in you to look up and meet my father's eyes when he spoke to you. You were strong enough to glare at him, to his face, when he yelled at you for breaking a plate the next day, and you were brave enough to try to trick him into leaving me alone when he decided to beat me for it. That... None of that was pathetic, Emerald," he said, letting out a sigh and shaking his head as he turned his gaze to the ground between them. "You know... Back then, I looked up to you. You could say no to him. You could ignore what he said and do your own thing. I wanted that... more than you could possibly imagine."
Emerald glared at him for a moment longer before her eyes softened and she let out a sigh of her own. "I cried every night for a year, Mercury. I broke down in front of people all the damn time until I finally got my shit together. I was nothing, until she made me strong."
Mercury snorted out a laugh and shook his head. "No. She's just the person who finally got it through your thick skull that you were always strong, Emerald."
"Then why did you leave me for that... for that thug?!" Emerald shouted, making Mercury look at her and raise his eyebrow.
"Just like I've never been with you, I've never been with her," Mercury said slowly. "Limb's a pretty good friend to have, but I'd rather not take things any further - with her, with you, or with anyone - until I've got a better handle over myself. I mean..." he trailed off, shaking his head again as he looked to the sky. "I don't even know what I want to do with my life, Emerald. I can't go into sports, or anything athletic, or this whole side of things'll get exposed. I don't really have any interests beyond comic books, but I can't draw for shit and my one attempt at writing was the worst thing I've ever seen, so I can't get involved in them." He sighed deeply, shook his head again, and met Emerald's eyes. "I can't do anything but live the life I'm living, and I don't even want it, Emerald."
"What?" she asked, suddenly very aware of how quickly and forcefully her heart was beating. "Wh-what do you-"
"No, not... not that," he interrupted her, making her sigh in relief. "My legs were built for running, not for hanging."
Emerald frowned, searching his eyes with her own as she softly asked, "You... you know how you'd do it? That's... not good, Mercury."
"Nothing about our lives are any good," Mercury mumbled, only to sigh. "Look," he said after a moment, trying to force some cheer into his voice, "I know that things have been rocky between us for... a damn long time now. It's partly because we weren't on the same page, and mostly my fault, I bet; I get real flirty whenever I'm alone with a pretty girl, so I probably made you think that there was something going on between us that wasn't there. I'm sorry about that, but, honestly, I don't put a whole lot of thought into that sort of thing. Odds are it'll keep going on. But," he added, taking a deep breath before he continued, "I never wanted us to be anything but just friends, Emerald. I thought you knew that. I mean... gods alive, how many times did you turn me down when I wanted a quickie by saying that you wanted someone who could show a bit of commitment? And how many times did you get fucked by Cinder while you thought you were with me?"
Emerald blushed and ducked her head, then turned away from him entirely. "I... I didn't realize how I was coming off, I think. I thought I was chastising you for being so flirty with other women, but... I didn't think that you didn't think we were together. I'm... I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted," Mercury said, letting out a chuckle that made Emerald scowl at him. "Now, at the risk of it sounding like I'm asking you out - which I'm not - wanna go get some brunch together? My treat?" he asked, grinning as she snorted out a laugh.
"You're the only person I know who cares about brunch, Mercury," Emerald said, letting out another laugh. "And isn't it a bit early for brunch?"
"Fine, breakfast then. And just because I'm a huge badass doesn't mean I don't like having croissants and orange juice," Mercury said, his grin only growing wider as Emerald laughed again.
"Sure. I could go for something to eat. I had to skip breakfast to tail you, after all."
"Glad to hear it, Emmy."
"Never call me that again."
"Sure thing, Emmy."
"Asshole."
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
Winter let out a sigh of relief as she stepped through the door to her apartment, trying to focus on how much overtime she was soon going to be paid for through a layer of exhaustion as she locked it behind her. She made her way through the living room to the kitchen and started working on making a cup of coffee. As she poured a carefully measured amount of water into the coffeemaker she was using, she asked, "What happened? Did he cancel something?"
Weiss raised an eyebrow at her older sister, then let another moment pass by before she asked, "What, no 'welcome home, Weiss?'"
"I felt that was implied by my tolerating you in my home," Winter said, slumping back against the counter as she looked at her. Due to the work she'd just put into assessing the conditions of corpses, Winter's mind was still in an analytical mood, and she felt herself comparing herself to her sister in a way that had long since become familiar to her.
Both had deep blue eyes and long white hair, but while Weiss's was tied in a braid that fell far down her back, Winter had hers in a tight chignon at the back of her head. Both had pale skin, due to both genetic inclination and the lack of sunlight they got from due to their strong work ethics, though Winter's was a few shades paler. They even had similar clothing, though Weiss's white blouse bore their father's company's crest on its breast and she wore a black skirt rather than the black trousers Winter was wearing.
"You're bigger than I remember," Winter noted in a grunt, her eyes fixing on her sister's chest for a moment and making the younger Schnee blush. "Not much taller, though."
"Shut up," Weiss mumbled, folding her arms over her chest self-consciously. "I had to buy new bras. I haven't needed to do that since I was fifteen."
"Well, welcome to the world of there being almost nothing actually cute to wear, sis," Winter said, gesturing vaguely with a hand. "At least you didn't develop as late as I did. I was twenty-two before I got to C's; if you keep at this pace, you'll be there before you turn twenty-one."
"Great, so I have a chance of being as big as Grandma," Weiss mumbled, her arms tightening as her cheeks warmed.
"Or as big as your crush," Winter said, making Weiss look at her with wide eyes, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. "What? It's quite obvious, Weiss. Even to me," she added, rolling her tired eyes as the coffeemaker let out a pair of soft beeps. She turned to face it and, as she poured it into a mug and added a bit of milk, continued, saying, "I know that I might not be the most romantically inclined individual - or sexually inclined, for that matter - but I know a crush when I see it in someone's eyes, Weiss. And you care for Yang in a way that I haven't seen Mother care for Father in years."
"Have you seen them in years?" Weiss asked sullenly, sitting down at the kitchen table. She sighed and mumbled out a "Thank you," when Winter set a cup of coffee in front of her.
"Not at once, thankfully, and unfortunately more of Father than Mother, but I've seen them talk about each other and not enjoy it," Winter explained as she sat across from Weiss, her own mug in hand. "However, I've also seen you talk about Yang without enjoying yourself, especially in our latest video call. I know that I'm a bit tired right now, but if you would like to talk about it... well, I made coffee for a reason, dear sister," she said, smiling warmly at Weiss.
"I doubt it'd go any differently than the last time we talked about her," Weiss muttered, staring down into the dark brown liquid in front of her. "I like her, she refuses to like anyone who can't survive having sex with her. End of story."
"No story ever truly ends. The writer simply reaches a point where they feel like stopping," Winter said, making Weiss scowl at her. "What I mean is that doesn't have to be the end of this tale, Weiss. Have you thought about using your ability to counteract hers?"
"Not the discussion I wanted to have, but... yes, I've thought about it," Weiss said, her cheeks warming again. She blew on her coffee, took a sip, and then continued, saying, "I've... I've tried practicing it, too, I guess. Form-fitting hard-light armor. But... But that wouldn't let me feel her, Winter. We wouldn't be able to touch each other, we'd just be pretending that we were, and that... I don't want that."
"There's more to our ability than rigidity, dear sister," Winter said, lifting a hand and pointing her palm at the ceiling. Above it formed a ball of roiling white miasma, emitting just enough soft light to make her pale hand seem to shine. "Mother's talents lie in making threads and weaves, in creating a whole from many small things, but mine differ from hers quite dramatically despite being the same gift. My creations are hollow and hazy, but they prefer to be larger than a hand," Winter continued to explain as the orb of misty light swelled above her palm, its convulsions growing less dramatic until they stilled entirely when it was as large as a beach ball. "Do you not remember taking flight on the heron I made when we were younger? How it felt like a true being, flesh and blood and feathers beneath you?" The orb changed shape, turning into a long-tailed bird with misty blue eyes. "Broaden your perceptions, Weiss, and you may find that what you want is within your reach."
Weiss stared at the bird for a moment longer, only for her cheeks to turn pink as she remembered the nature of what they were discussing. "That's probably not the right phrasing for the discussion, Winter."
"Hmm?... Oh, I should refrain from discussing 'reaching out and grasping' something when the context of a conversation is sexual in nature?" Winter asked, causing her sister to nod and her blush to deepen. "Ah. Thank you, and my apologies."
"You're welcome."
"However, it doesn't change my point. Try thinking about your ability in a different way, and you might just find something that allows what you want."
Weiss took another sip of her coffee as she mulled over what her sister had said, then let out a sigh. "Thank you, Winter. I'll... I'll try seeing it as something else, if I can."
"You are quite welcome, Weiss. In the meantime, would you care for breakfast? I'm sure Whitley will be up before much longer, and he'll be thrilled to see you here."
"Sure. Thanks."
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
"Thank you for making sure that she followed her orders, Winston," Cinder said as she stared at the haggard-looking man before her.
"It was of little issue. One quick display of my ability was all it took to reign her in," Winston said. He let out a yawn, then drank deeply from the tall cellophane cup in his hand. "I left her in the Harpy District after we made our escape from the scene, in case you're wondering where she is at this time. She expressed a desire to stay behind, and I've found that granting a measure of freedom to my subordinates allows for a greater degree of control over them. Not that she is my subject, of course, but the point stands."
"It's quite alright. I've learned the same thing, though Raven tests that belief to a degree I hadn't thought possible two years ago."
"Creatures like her need someone to balance them. That's not me referring to her paired abilities, or to her sex, but to the nature of her mind. She doesn't perceive morality in the same way as we do, and that alters her perceptions of the world."
"Unfortunately, I didn't call you here to discuss her," Cinder said, sighing in discontent as she looked at the room they were in. It was extravagant, full of silk and lace, and even the couch she sat on - made from rich brown leather and decorated with beaded plush cushions and a pair of black velvet blankets too small to actually for an adult to use - put her on edge. For reasons that she herself wasn't sure of, Cinder had never grown to appreciate the comforts and charms of the wealthy; her apartment back in Cainhurst was barren and hard, what little furniture it held made of stone that she'd used her talents to disguise as softer materials. "How are things progressing?"
"Recruitment is slow, even more so than expected: for a large city, Yharnum is much like a small town in how displeased its citizenry is with outsiders. What little evidence of police corruption won't be able to turn any empowered to our side, either, as the entirety of it is covering up the existence of the empowered in accordance with the old ways. And, despite us placing as much evidence as we could at the scene, the official police reports make no mention of Ms. Branwen being a potential perpetrator."
"Wasn't there a meeting at the Rose household?"
"We don't know for sure what type of meeting it was. The only outlier who would potentially be invited to such a gathering debating what to do with Raven, but not a less important one, was Winter Schnee, a mortician who usually works the graveyard shift, but even she would have a reason to be there: our digging into her background revealed that her younger sister, who lived with her during her attendance at a local high school, was quite close with both Summer's daughter and step-daughter. It is theoretically possible that it was merely a gathering of pleasure, rather than planning, designed to help them relieve tension by sharing a meal together. It's not uncommon for those in more mundane fields than ours, Cinder."
"I'm aware. Continue observing them, then. Devote as many personnel as it takes to keep eyes on them all at all times."
"I already have people watching their homes and places of work, but I can free a few people from less important duties if you decide it becomes necessary, Cinder. One of them has already reported another development, though: Winter's sister, Weiss Schnee, has returned to the city."
"When?"
"Less than an hour ago. It seems that several of the events her father had planned were canceled due to acts of terrorism, so she fled to the safety of her sister's stronghold - excuse me - apartment, rather than continue to face danger in Mantle. As far as my black hat was able to tell, she paid for her ticket less than half an hour before boarding."
"I had Mercury stationed in her class at Beacon during her senior year. From what I recall, she was closer to the Rose family than your digging revealed, Winston; she might be a useful source of information, especially given how easily Mercury can weasel affection from women."
"Are you speaking from experience, Cinder?" Winston asked, a sly smile stretching the bags beneath his eyes.
"To an extent. There's a charm to him, one that isn't present in his father... I might have to reopen the investigation into his mother, just to see if we can uncover what other abilities she may have had," Cinder mumbled, letting out a sigh as she turned her eyes to the ceiling.
"That might be easier, now that we know a potential ability. I imagine it wouldn't be difficult to find a woman who appeals to other women in such a way." He snorted out a laugh, then added, "It brings a new meaning to the term 'Matriarchal' as we commonly use it, doesn't it?"
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
"Could you get that, Yang?" Ruby asked when the doorbell rang, giving her sister an apologetic glance before returning her attention to the leather-bound book full of sloppily handwritten notes in front of her. "I'm technically playing hooky, so..."
Yang chuckled and stood, ruffling Ruby's hair as she said, "Sure thing, sis." The brunette made a discontented murmur and playfully scowled up at her with one eye, which only made Yang laugh again, then picked up a nearby blanket and wrap it around herself in their agreed upon disguise - if someone saw her, a blanket would indicate to them that she had a fever, and a prolonged stay beneath it would have her sweating in short order, which would only further cement that assumption.
When Yang opened the door, she blinked in surprise, her mouth opening, closing, and the opening again for her to say, "Weiss?"
Weiss giggled shyly, idly reaching up a hand to toy with one end of the blue ribbon she'd used to tie her braid. "Hi. Uh... Surprise?"
"Get in, quick," Yang said, glancing out worriedly at the street behind her. Weiss frowned and blinked in confusion, but did as instructed, her frown deepening when Yang shut and locked the door behind her. "What are you doing back so soon?" Yang asked, seeming to calm down considerably now that the door was closed.
"Huh?" Ruby asked, looking up from her father's old notebook. Her eyes widened when she saw Weiss, and she tilted her head to the side. "Weiss?"
"Most of the events Father wanted me to go to were canceled, so I booked an earlier flight," Weiss said, her smile coming back as she looked between the two sisters - only for it to fade again after a moment. "Wait... Ruby? Shouldn't you be at school?"
Ruby glanced at Yang, who had already returned to her seat next to her, then told Weiss, "It's Raven. She's back." As Weiss stiffened, fear settling into her eyes, Ruby continued, saying, "Mom and Uncle Ghira have a plan, and we're trying to help them, so she called the school and told them I was sick. Yang and I are trying to sift through our dad's old journals and find out everything we can about a witch."
"A... A witch?" Weiss asked, bewildered by the frankness in Ruby's tone. "Wh-what for?"
"The nonlethal solution: a banishment spell. As much as I want to kill Raven for what she's done..." Ruby spat, then closed her eyes and spent a moment focusing on her breathing, trying to calm herself down. Yang leaned against her, pressing their shoulders together, before Ruby reopened her eyes and continued. "As much as I want that, I know it's one of the hardest things in the world. She's strong, tough, fast... So, we're looking through Dad's old journals for a witch in order to ask her if she'd be willing to banish Raven from Yharnum permanently."
"Sweet fire alive," Weiss whispered, swallowing as she met Ruby's hard gaze. When she turned her eyes to Yang's, the blonde huddled up against her sister in a blatant display of fear, Weiss bit her lower lip. Then, she said, "What can I do to help?"
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX
As I said above, things are beginning to kick off. When it starts with murder, well... You know things are gonna get fun.
Blake will return in another week or two (in-story, I mean; it might be another couple of chapters before we see her again). She won't really have anything going on worth talking about until then, unless you think that Yang cowering in fear isn't enough and you want to see Blake do the same on another continent.
I'm aware Neo was all but abandoned after the first segment of this chapter. Most of it was either centered around a family or a Family, neither of which Neo fits into quite yet. Like Blake, she'll be more involved in events going forward, though for her it'll be by spending nearly every day with Ruby, both to protect her with her metal-based power and to keep her informed of things that her father can't be direct about.
Until next time, folks. Good hunting.
