"Hey, where's Yang?" Ruby asked, laying on her sleeping bag. It wasn't comfy at all but it was definitely much better than sleeping on the ground. The two teams split off into their tents after leaving team ANJN's luxury tent. They spent the rest of their unforgettable day inside, their mind left alone with their thoughts.
None of them got in contact with their families either. Ruby and Yang asked around, but neither of them got any information about survivors from Patch. Even Ozpin was clueless on their whereabouts. The two sister's weren't too worried, knowing how strong their father and Uncle Qrow were, but they wished they knew that they were safe. Though, they were fortunate that their family was close by. Pyrrha and Weiss' family were in different kingdoms, Pyrrha's family being in Mistral when it surrendered to the Cizinec Sovereignty.
Yang didn't want to deal with her thoughts, so she left to find her friends from team SPIA and SHDW. Blake spent her time reading any book she could get her hands on, which were only boring military training books. All Weiss could do was try to cheer up Ruby who was still depressed from the loss of her friends from team RNBW, though Weiss was the one being comforted by their team leader half of the time.
Blake looked up from a military tactics book and shrugged. "She hasn't come back yet. Maybe she found them and is spending as much time as she can with them. I would…" Blake scolded herself silently for making herself depressed. That was the reason she delved into the book in the first place.
Ruby got up and peaked outside of the tent. The sun was setting, the only noise being heard was the idle chatter from the Hunters in their tents and gunfire from fending off wandering Grimm in their area. Since they were forced out of the safety of the walls, Grimm have been drawn to the base because of all the negative emotions in the air. Ruby sighed and looked at the darkening sky, thinking about her friends from RNBW. "At least you're in a better place now…"
Yang walked up to the large tent of team ANJN, the sky turning darker and darker. She slowly opened the flaps of the tent, peaking her head inside. "Hello…may I come in? It's Yang."
She was met with a groan coming from the other side of the tent. "Come on in." Jibril replied over the groan. Yang walked inside the luxurious tent. Jibril and Noir were sitting on couch chairs in front of the lit fireplace, reading a book. Nova was on his bed, a pillow over his head. The almighty King had an arm around Jibril, pondering as his eyes stared into the fire. All of them changed out of their armor and mobile suit and into some more casual clothing.
"I-I'm here for the drink Nova offered earlier." Yang whispered. Luckily, she was loud enough for everyone but Nova to hear.
Gilgamesh moved his gaze to Yang. "What makes you think you are worthy to drink my swill?"
The blonde Huntress almost scowled at him before deciding it wasn't worth it. Jibril leaned in close to Gilgamesh and kissed his neck before whispering in his ear. The King rolled his eyes and growled under his breath. Jibril smiled and point at the dining table. "Whatever you do, don't spill it."
Yang silently thanked Jibril before walking over to the table and sat down. Three golden ripples appeared on the table as two golden goblets and a pitcher of wine rose up. It gently rested on the table as the ripples dissipated. Yang may never get use to that if she would make frequent trips in the tent.
The Huntress poured the wine into the goblet and drank it in one go. Her eyes widened at the taste of the red wine. It wasn't terrible, in fact, it was amazing. The fruity taste of the wine didn't burn her throat, yet she could feel her body become more and more intoxicated. She could easily fall in love with this and become an alcoholic if she wanted to.
Yang continued to down goblet after goblet of wine, the pitcher showing that it wasn't going empty any time soon. She quickly drank her seventh goblet and poured her eighth drink. The blonde, however, stopped and stared into the wine. She could barely see her reflection from it. She could barely see at all because of all the alcohol she consumed. From what the blonde could see, though, was a face of misery that reflected off the wine.
She couldn't tell how long she sat there when Nova joined her and sat across the table from her. Yang looked up, her vision blurry. "Hey…you looked like a mess earlier." The Huntress mocked.
"Don't remind me…so what's with you?" Nova asked. He groaned again as the hangover got slightly worse.
Yang hesitated to answer, her hand shaking as she tried to lift up the goblet. "I'm…"
The broken moon replaced the sun as Blake finished a chapter of her military handbook. She looked around the tent to see who was still awake. Ruby was snuggled inside her sleeping bag, hugging Crescent Rose. Weiss was passed out next to her, sleeping soundly despite the emotions that plagued her so. Blake closed her book and turned off the dust-powered lantern on the table.
She noticed that Yang still wasn't back from her hunt to find her friends. Blake walked out of the tent, using her Faunus eyes to see clearly in the darkness. Only soldiers were roaming around, patrolling the area. Blake started to worry about her partner. Normally, Yang would let her, Weiss, Ruby, or Nora know if she was going to be late. Yang and Nora were surprisingly great friends, spending some of their Friday nights together in nightclubs partying, forcing their team to join them if it was team night.
Blake announced that she was coming inside in front of team JNPR's tent before entering. Jaune and Pyrrha laid on top of their sleeping bags, cuddling each other. They, too, refused to wear the strange looking military clothes and slept in their clothing. She saw Jaune and Pyrrha's armor off to the side. Since the night was cold, Jaune lent Pyrrha his hoodie so she wouldn't sleep half-naked.
Ren and Nora were around the table, a dim lantern lighting the room on it. Nora was fast asleep in Ren's arms and he kept a free arm to turn pages of a military book he found. The Hunter made a small smile to Blake before quietly tiptoeing over to him.
"Have you seen or heard from Yang? She was looking for team SPIA and SHDW." Blake whispered to not wake his teammates.
Ren shook his head as Nora snuggled closer to him, almost falling off her chair. The Hunter closed the book before lifting Nora up and placing her back down on top of her sleeping bag. He took off his long sleeve shirt and tried to put it on her so she would stay warm. Ren would put her inside the sleeping bag, but Nora would complain if they didn't sleep together. The sleeping bag could only fit one person, after all.
Blake inspected Ren's bare back as he took off his shirt. There were no scars, bruises, not a single trace of a bullet entering him. Ren smiled and stroked Nora's hair before walking over to Blake. "If she is looking for other Hunters, ask Ozpin where SPIA and SHDW might be."
The Cat Faunus agreed and left the tent. Ren turned off the lantern and began to snuggle Nora in his half-naked body. He really wished they had blankets, but the army can only have so much to spare.
Ozpin and Goodwitch were in their own tent, going over casualty reports. Stacks of paper filled every inch of flat surface inside except the ground. The headmaster had a list of his students that reported in the base. Grief filled his very soul as the names only filled two sides of one piece of paper.
The attendance list in Beacon Academy was at least twenty or thirty pages of names. Ozpin's eyes scrolled down the names that had survived the invasion. Most of them weren't even legal age to drink alcohol. He took a pen and slowly crossed out one of the names on the list.
Goodwitch watched Ozpin from her side of the tent. She watched from afar, her closest friend diving deeper and deeper into despair. She walked up beside him and set down a steaming hot cup of coffee. "Ozpin, take a break. This isn't good for you."
"Thank you, Glynda, but I can't. We have a job to do as Hunters and Huntresses. We need to reestablish communications with James and Atlas, plan a counter-offensive to retake Vale, set up a perimeter to keep Grimm out, raise morale so Grimm are less likely to be attracted to us, speak…" Goodwitch stopped Ozpin by spinning his chair to face her.
"You can't handle it yourself. We've been coworkers for a long time and I haven't seen you work this hard ever. We may be keepers of the peace, but we are still human." Goodwitch dictated, taking back the coffee she made. "Now, please, call it a night."
Ozpin sighed, setting the list aside. "Maybe you're right…"
"Hello? Headmaster, are you in there?" Blake's voice could be heard from outside the tent.
She walked inside after receiving the approval of entering. "I'm sorry to bother you late at night. I was wondering if you know where team SPIA or SHDW's tents are."
"Have you talked with your partner Yang?" Goodwitch asked as she began organizing some papers for tomorrow.
Blake shook her head. "She left to find her friends, but she hasn't come back yet."
Goodwitch snapped her gaze from the papers to Ozpin. He rested his chin on his hands, closing his eyes. "We have to find her before it's too late." Goodwitch immediately began searching for her riding crop.
"Calm down, Glynda. She has her little sister, Ruby, and the rest of her team. Yang wouldn't act so drastically." Ozpin added. Goodwitch stopped her frantic search, but she still felt worried.
Blake's amber eyes darted back and forth between the two adults. Too late? Too late for what? What does Ruby and team RWBY have to do with anything? Yang… Blake started to feel distressed at how Ozpin and Goodwitch were acting.
Ozpin stood up from his chair and cleared his throat. "Yang came earlier today and asked the same question. The only member to report in from either team was Iris from team SPIA."
"I'm…I'm scared." Yang muttered to Nova. There was only one reason she could be scared before today. That was if Yang found her mother and she either was dead or didn't want anything to do with her. Today, however, introduced all sorts of new fears to her. Fears that she needed to drink down. Fears that needed to go away.
"Scared…to think I would admit that. Yang Xiao Long, the fearless Huntress, is scared." Nova stayed silent and waited for the blonde to continue. Yang managed to drink her eighth cup of the red wine without spilling it.
"Earlier today, I asked Ozpin where my friend's tents were. They were strong Hunters and Huntresses, so I thought they would all make it back. It turns out only Iris managed to live." Yang reached for the pitcher of wine before being stopped by Nova. The blonde gave a nasty glare at him and his dark violet eyes. She needed more, much more to drown down her sorrows. The Demon bit his lower lip and, against his better judgment, poured her more wine.
Yang took a small sip as she resumed her story. "When I visited her tent, she was nowhere to be found. I got worried, so I began searching for her. One of the soldiers saw her heading for the river, and so I found her, sitting under the shade of a tree. I couldn't imagine how she felt after losing her team and her friends."
"Iris was always a quiet girl, but she knew how to party. The color of her eyes is the same as her name. Those eyes always knew how to attract people, both guys and girls." Yang felt the tears trail down her cheek. She didn't know if it was her doing or the alcohol, but she wanted it to stop.
"I called out to her, but she didn't reply. She didn't glance at me, wave, or do anything. She just sat there, her eyes focused on the flowing river." Yang rested her elbows on the table and her forehead on her hands.
Instantly, Blake barged into the tent, her eyes darting around. "Jibril, we need your help! We can't find…Yang?" Her frantic amber eyes found the blonde Huntress sitting across from Nova on the dining table. The King glared at the cat Faunus for rudely coming in, but she ignored it. She rushed over to Yang's side, her breath ragged from sprinting around the base.
"Yang…I heard what happened to Iris…I got worried since you haven't come back…our friends started a search party…and Ruby is freaking out…" She managed to say before running out of air. Blake took a deep breath and sat down next to her.
At this point, Yang couldn't tell who Blake was. She was so wasted that Yang almost mistook her for a Grimm. Luckily, Yang recognized the voice. Her state of sorrow left her mind, the alcohol finally getting to the blonde Huntress. "Hey, kitty, want some milk?" She asked, clearly not in her right mind.
Nova rubbed his temples, the sudden loud noises irritating his head. Yet, he still wished to know what happened to the girl named Iris. "What happened to Iris?" He asked the alarmed cat Faunus.
Yang wrapped an arm around Blake, the alcohol taking an effect. The blonde's cheeks flushed as a smile dawned her face. "I almost thought you were a Grimm, ya know. That would have been a cat-astrophe."
The cat Faunus didn't like the jokes, but she was just relieved that her partner was safe and sound. She didn't even care that team ANJN was listening in. She, miraculously, still had her bow on throughout the series of events.
Blake put her hand around Yang's waist so she wouldn't fall off the chair. "I don't know the specifics, but Ozpin said Iris committed suicide right in front of Yang. When I told Ruby, she started to panic and run around the base looking for her."
Blake took out her scroll so she could call Ruby. Yang's happy demeanor left her at the mention of Iris. Instead of sorrow, though, rage filled her eyes. The Huntress' Aura flared subconsciously as her lilac eyes turned red. Her grip tightened around Blake, causing her to wince in pain, dropping her scroll. It got the attention of the rest of team ANJN at this point as well.
"I was right there and I couldn't do anything. She ate the gun right in front of me and I didn't stop it." Yang let go of Blake, resting her arms on the table. She clenched her fists and grinded her teeth as the memory of Iris played over and over in her mind. Gilgamesh waved his hand, causing the pitcher and goblets to dissipate into gold dust.
"What good is being the best fighter in Beacon if I can't even protect my friends!?" Yang lifted her fists and smashed them down on the table, causing it to collapse under her strength.
Gilgamesh was livid now. This girl came into his home, drank his wine, and starts breaking his things. If Yang felt guilty or bitter from Iris and her friends' death, Gilgamesh had half a mind to let the Huntress join them. He rose from his seat, a glowering expression on his face.
"Who gave you the right to destroy my belongings, insignificant cur!?" His crimson eyes fell upon the startled Blake, who was on her scroll calling Ruby. "Get her out of my sight."
Blake slowly nodded as Ruby picked up on the other side. "Ruby? Yeah, I found her…she's fine, just smashed…okay, let Weiss tell Jaune and the others…ANJN tent, I may need help carrying her back…Right, see you."
The King crossed his arms and glared at the two Huntresses. Blake lifted one of Yang's arms and put it over her shoulder. The blonde Huntress was now calm, her Aura dying down. Noir walked up to the table and extended his left arm out. It began to glow and the next instant, it was good as new.
Blake would comment or think about it, but she was much too tired for her mind to register what just happened and too focused on Yang. Ruby rushed through the entrance, rose petals flying in as well. Her eyes darted around the room and found Blake helping the intoxicated Yang down the two steps that separated the tent.
Ruby rushed to her side and gave Yang a large hug. "I'm so happy you're all right. I knew you wouldn't hurt yourself, but I thought you would go to Vale and fight them yourself." The silver eyed sister took Yang's other arm and put it over her shoulder.
The three teammates walked over to the entrance and turned around. "Thank you for taking care of her. I'm really sorry about her behavior." Ruby apologized to the four members of team ANJN. Gilgamesh growled lowly and waved them off.
"Just leave before I take back my kindness." Ruby and Blake didn't stay any further and left. The shattered moon light shone on the three teammates, walking towards their tent. A few minutes passed before Yang spoke up.
"Hey, Rubes…" She whispered, her voice bare audible in the silent night.
"Yeah, sis?"
"Don't leave me, okay…?"
Ruby tilted her head as their tent came into view. Weiss and team JNPR were waiting in front, talking amongst themselves. "I don't understand, but don't worry! I won't ever go anywhere!"
"You're stuck with us forever, Yang." Blake grinned, waving to Weiss and the rest.
"Team RWBY forever!" Ruby cheered, fist pumping the air.
A/N: I promise it will get happier...maybe. Who knows? Oh, wait, I do ;). Questions, comment, reviews, concerns, etc. are welcome~