Chapter 17
"The Return (Part 1)"

City of Vale, five days after FoB

The sun had just started to set as Blake made her way into Vale itself. Her approach had taken her right towards the heart of the Residential District. Overall, things had gone smoothly for the most part, but Blake soon saw that her plans weren't going to be nearly as easy as she expected. Once she had reached the Vale River on the southern end of the city, Blake had discovered that the bridge she had planned on using had a section destroyed.

There was not a doubt in her mind that this was done intentionally. Upon reaching the hospital several days ago, Blake had overheard Port and Oobleck discussing the possibility of destroying the bridges. While she didn't know who originally came up with the idea, she at least knew it wasn't one of them. Both men had seemed extremely distressed over the fact that such a thing was even being considered. Blake completely understood the mindset that they had. It was the district that sat closest to Beacon. From a tactical standpoint, it would drastically slow the advance of Grimm into the other parts of the city. However, attempting to evacuate anyone by ground would become impossible. While there was still the option of using a Bullhead or Airbus, any plan involving one would be tricky. The Residential District had not been designed with major air traffic in mind. While it would be trivial to drop hunters or Atlas troops in, actually landing one of the vehicles would be another story. The streets in much of the district would be too narrow, and very few buildings were designed with a landing in mind. That left very few locations where a proper evacuation could be performed.

Blake steeled herself for what she would no doubt find. This was a major Grimm attack on a city. The best escape routes were closed off. Almost on cue, the wind had shifted just enough to send a terrible smell towards Blake. Even without that, she already knew what all this would mean.

Blake knew it would only be a matter of time before she found bodies.

For a moment, Blake considered changing her plans and heading towards the coast. While it would actually be quicker to get back to the hospital from the southern part of the Industrial District, it was a risk she didn't want to take. She had no doubt that she was listed as a missing huntress by now. Plus, with the involvement of the White Fang, she wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of checkpoint set up. The last thing she needed to do while being pressed for time was answer a bunch of questions. Finally, there was the chance that Adam's goons would be watching. Blake didn't want to announce her arrival to the White Fang. Even if Adam was bluffing, Blake wanted to have the element of surprise on her side. After fighting her way out of Beacon and spending nearly four days in the wilderness, no one would expect anyone to willingly travel through a disaster area.

This is my best chance at remaining undetected.

Blake looked at the damage to the bridge. Even at a full sprint with the aid of a clone to leap off of, the gap would be far too wide to jump over. There were street lamps along the side of the bridge, but even with Gambol Shroud, the distance was just too much. Just then, she remembered that she brought the rope with her. It still wouldn't be enough, but if she swung from the rope, then used Gambol Shroud on the next lamp, it had potential to work.

If it doesn't, then I guess I'll at least get that bath I desperately need.

Thankfully, the lamp itself was small enough to get her arms and legs around. Climbing it took almost no effort, despite the protests her wounds were making. Once she was at the top, Blake had managed to pull herself into a sitting position. In less than a minute, she had the rope tied securely around the street lamp. Carefully standing up, she tested it before jumping backwards off the lamp. On the first attempt, Blake could tell she didn't have enough distance or momentum, so she let herself swing back and forth a couple of times. On the fourth swing she let go. In one swift motion, Blake had drawn Gambol Shroud and launched it towards the next lamp. Everything came together effortlessly and before she knew it, Blake was on her feet and on the other side of the bridge. The only problem was that this had left her rope on the opposite side of the bridge. As rough as the last few days had been, she briefly allowed herself to smile as she thought of what Yang might say in this situation.

"'Hey, that's water under the bridge. We'll come up with a plan when we get there!'"

The smile quickly faded once Blake reminded herself where Yang was. She was supposed to be there for her. Instead, here she was running around in a city district that now belonged to the dead and the Grimm. By now, Yang had to be awake. Blake couldn't stop asking herself questions that she didn't have answers for. What were her first thoughts? How did she react once she discovered how badly she had been injured? Most importantly, what was her reaction to discovering Blake wasn't there? While she never really outright said it, Blake could tell that Yang had issues with abandonment. The few times they had discussed her mother was proof of that. After the inital discovery that she was a faunus, Blake didn't want to run from her friends again. On that note, what was everyone's reaction for that matter? Blake had been on her own for a long time. Beacon was the first time in her life that she truly had friends she could trust and rely on. Blake didn't want to be seen as someone they couldn't trust. She didn't know when she'd find him, but she knew that Adam would have much to answer for when she finally did catch up to him.

Blake buried her thoughts and feelings at she turned a corner. The outer edges of the district didn't look too bad, but the deeper she got, the more it started to look like a war zone. There were a few burnt out buildings down the street. Eventually, Blake came across the body of a young woman. Her eyes and face were frozen in a terrified expression. Blake saw that her throat was ripped open, no doubt by either a Creep or a Beowolf. She hoped that the woman's death had been swift. Upon seeing the body, Blake knew she shouldn't take any chances and quickly had Gambol Shroud ready.

As she continued down the street, things only got worse. Blake knew as soon as she laid eyes upon the carnage before her that this would be an image that would haunt her for the rest of her life. The dead were everywhere. She wasn't sure how many there were, but Blake knew there were far too many for her to count. Eventually, she gave up at around twenty. Humans, faunus, civilians, Atlas soldiers, huntsmen. It didn't matter to the Grimm, everyone she came across was a target for them. Blake even saw the bodies of people who bore the uniforms of Haven and Shade. Despite the orders to evacuate, it appeared that some of the students of the other academies had elected to stay and fight. Blake hoped that they had managed to at least get someone out of this mess, but as she walked along she slowly came to terms with the fact that this part of the city would be a total loss. Deep down, she knew that those that didn't get out of the district within the first hours of the attack were most likely trapped here until the bitter end. It was taking everything Blake had to not get sick over the sight of it all.

As she stepped over another fallen fighter, a sound to Blake's right drew her attention. Instinct took over as she quickly found herself in a fighting stance. She didn't see any Grimm, but Blake remained on guard as she searched for the source of the sound. After a few tense moments, she actually saw movement among the dead. For a second, she thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her, but Blake eventually saw something move from underneath another body. She watched for a moment in shock. Had someone actually survived this chaos? As she made her way over to investigate, Blake stopped and felt her heart sink.

Among the dead were a pair of faunus children. Next to them was the body of Reese Chloris.

Blake had battled her in the Vytal Festival Tournament. While she didn't know Reese personally, she was at least able to see that she was a fairly skilled fighter. As far as Blake could tell, she died in a vain attempt to protect the children. Several small wounds covered her body, but the apparent death-blow was a large gash across her stomach that had left the young woman disemboweled. The bodies of the children were even worse off. The sight of Reese's wounds along with that of the children were too much for Blake. Turning away, she finally threw up.

The sound this apparently got the attention of whoever was still alive. Within seconds, a weak, pitiful cry for help drew Blake's attention back to the task at hand. As she made her way over, Blake did her best to not look at the children again. After several moments, she managed to get the dead weight off of the person who was trapped. The person was a boy with a green mohawk laying face down. Blake quickly realized who this was. "Russel? Is that you?" she asked. Under normal circumstances, she'd have walked the other way. Of course, laying injured in the middle of the street among so many dead bodies was far from normal. While she had an extreme dislike for his team and their anti-faunus views, Blake wasn't going to just leave him there. As she flipped him over, Blake took a step back in horror. Russel had been slashed across the face by a Beowolf and was completely blinded. Another slash went across his chest. While the wounds weren't as deep as Reese's, it was obvious that they were fatal. "B-Blake?" he asked in an extremely uncharacteristic voice. Blake could tell from the tone that she was the last person he had expected to find him. Before she could confirm that it was her, another question came from him.

"T-the...the children. Please tell me...did Reese protect the children?"

Blake was shocked at the question. Russel Thrush was not someone she expected to protect a faunus. Despite not wanting to look back at them, Blake couldn't help herself. Now she was barely able to hold back the tears. She didn't care that this was Russel she was dealing with. As much as she disliked the boy, Blake couldn't let his dying thoughts be about the total failure of what was apparently a rescue team. Sighing, she said, "The kids are fine. Reese..." Blake stopped, unsure of how far she could take this lie before it didn't sound truthful. Pulling herself together, she continued. "Reese didn't make it. She bled out before we could get her the help she needed. But, she managed to get them to safety. You did good Russ." Despite his wounds, Blake could see that he relaxed a bit at the news.

"That...that's good. I thought we were...done for...once Cardin and the others ran. He said...that the animals...weren't worth saving."

While she shouldn't have been surprised, Blake still felt anger at the revelation that the rest of Team CRDL had once again ran away once things got dire. Cowards like that had no business being at Beacon. This time, it might have actually cost some folks their lives. Blake knew she was going to have some choice words for them if she ever came across them again. However, as she kneeled next to Russel, Blake had to know why he chose to stay. "What exactly happened?" she asked. "And why the sudden change of heart? Last time I saw you at Beacon, you were harassing Velvet until the moment Yatsuhashi showed up to beat your ass." Russel gave a pained chuckle as he spoke.

"R-r-really? You're...giving me the 'holier than thou' attitude...right now? Look around. Faunus or not...do you really...think I was going to leave kids here? It was a rescue mission. Get in...get out. But...there were too many people. Even...more Grimm. Airbus managed to drop a...ramp on a building. Got some out. But...the rest? It wasn't happening. Think I've been lying here for...at least a few hours."

Blake was about to say something, but she was interrupted by Russel's hand reaching out. It was obvious that he was looking for Blake's hand to hold, but without his eyesight, he hadn't realized she was kneeling next to him. His hand had shot high up and found Blake's bow. She froze for a moment. Despite the damage to his face, Blake could clearly see the confusion and shock as Russel continued to poke at it. With a sigh, Blake reached up and undid the bow. She had no doubt that if this had been even a week or two ago, Russel would be yanking at her ears with all his might and calling her a freak. "They're cat ears. I'm a faunus" was the simple response Blake gave him. She wasn't sure how Russel would react. Part of her expected to see the Russel she really knew emerge, but instead he just started to weakly laugh. "It's...a shame, isn't it?" he finally managed to ask. As he rested his hand on his chest, Russel spoke his final words.

"W-why...did it take something...so horrible...for me to see...we're not so different?"

Blake stared at him for a few moments. Aside from the wind, the area around her was now silent. Blake knew he didn't deserve to be left there. None of the people who littered the street did. But, there was nothing she could do for any of them. Never in her life had she felt so helpless. Standing up, she tied her bow around her ears once more. Blake knew what she was about to say would fall on deaf ears, but she did it anyway.

"I'm sorry I lied to you Russ. But, one thing I did say was true. You did good. Perhaps in another time, another place, maybe we would have been friends."

After that, Blake turned her attention back to the north. While she hadn't seen or heard any Grimm, she knew she had lingered for too long now. Blake had to keep moving forward. As terrible as this whole situation was, Blake's encounter with Russel had given her a new resolve. She was going to make sure that the White Fang answered for their part in the events that led to this, because deep down, she knew Adam was completely wrong. During their battle at Beacon, he scolded her like a child. Blake had just spoken to someone who hated faunus. He was able to see past his racism long enough to try and help those in need, and as a result, he paid with his life.

Blake's dream for equality wasn't impossible.

AN: Hey look! Another multi-part chapter! But this first part? That was a depressing bit to write.

Overall, Blake's return to Vale has quite a bit of ground to cover. As much as this sucked to write, I felt I had to show how badly things had gotten. This was the first chapter where I felt we needed more of a punch. You can only throw so many nameless characters at situations like this. Reese and Russel might not be major characters, but they were at least well enough known to give that sense of "Holy crap! Things just got real!" without a need to kill someone people really liked. I can only imagine the hate I'd have in my inbox if I had tossed Velvet into this instead. That being said, sorry if you're a fan of either Reese or Russ (does Russel even have fans? XD)

I'd love to say more about the chapter, but as this is only the first part of a multi-part chapter, I'll need to hold off a bit. More to come later!