Awakening the Dragon
Chapter 19 – What Must Be Done
Owain sat within Merlin's Spire—tapping the armrest of the lavish purple cushioned chair he was slouched in. He could do nothing but stare into space. Stare into space and think. The fated moment was barreling toward him like a freight train amid winter, hurrying to get much needed supplies to a starving town of strategic importance. He looked up at Merlin's strange new dust that he had created; it's strange rocky appearance as well as the lightened hues that contrasted traditional dust. The mages were going to be useful, he thought. Why Albus felt the need to cover for Merlin was beyond him, though it didn't really matter. What did matter was Albus taking so long to bring Atlas to heel. It could be sentimentality, though the Ice King was the last person he'd expect to still retain such a thing. However, that he could understand. He only hoped he didn't let it stall him too much.
He stood up and walked toward the television installed in the far, upper left corner of the room, and turned it on to the news. Several reporters were in the carnage, capturing footage for the world to see. Brave. Brave and admirable. Interestingly, the reporters refrained from blaming him or the New Dawn, and instead simply asked, "Who shot first?" Perhaps Albus hasn't been stalling as much as he thought. Though it could be Alexis, that old roach. He doubted it; the man was attempting to be a triple agent and has taken him for an idiot as he assumes violence always equates to stupidity. Regardless, Albus had him by the proverbial throat and that was good enough.
As he continued to watch the battle unfold through the eyes of the reporters, he hoped the good folk over at Haven had already taken precautions against civilian deaths.
"Excuse me, sir?" The Butler said.
I didn't hear him come in… "What is it, William?" He turned and gazed at the old man.
William looked down and off to the side. He even fidgeted.
"Speak your mind," He commanded.
"Well, you see sir. I was wondering if you were one day going to attack Atlas. You see, I have a family there—"
"If you have a family of non-combatants and non-political officials—somewhere in Atlas—then please feel free to inform them of the coming danger and have them move to a safer location. One of the towns away from the kingdoms ought to be safest at the moment."
"I—of course, sir, as you command."
He sighed. "Hesitation is something I will not tolerate. Please, speak your mind."
He saw a bit of fear in the old man's eyes as he seemed to struggle to find the right words.
"You are in no danger of harm, regardless of your words, that I promise." He had become a monster, but…
William seemed to catch his bearings. He stood up straight and stared him straight in the eyes. "Is this war really necessary?"
He tilted his head. "Tell me, what are your opinions on war? On peace and stability?"
"I—I haven't been involved in politics in quite sometime, but I…Well, war has its place, but only as a means of self-defense!"
"I understand. However, I must ask: As a person who is keenly aware of coming threats long before they arrive, is there good reason to sit idly by as the threat gains strength? Is taking the initiative not a justifiable action?"
"Is—is this conjecture, sir?"
"No, it isn't." He walked over to the bone white stoned desk in the far-right corner of the room—the one Albus would often sit at, writing letters—all to avoid catching the attention of certain prying eyes. He flipped through the letters and notes—none of them catching his interest. "I asked good Merlin a question not too long ago and he informed me of an interesting little detail. Not a very important one relative to you, however, the bit of information that I will share is that without Salem, the world is no longer held back from its true potential." He turned to face him.
"Potential, sir?"
"People are savages, William. Morality, justice, religion, hedonism, nationalism, revolutions—all of these are illusions and delusions people without an ounce of willpower use to justify their own existence. Things of incredible importance to be sure, but only in the right minds. Creatures born from wretched, flawed gods can't possibly overcome such a…shall I say, volatile mixture of light and dark. Now I ask you then: in your life experience, have you found any meaningful distinction between the corrupt and pure save for which of them has power?"
William paused. Clearly, he was disturbed by what he was saying. Such strong words coming from someone who not too long ago, strode right into a school of fighters and cut them down! No doubt, he was feeling more than just a bit of fear right about now. Though as the pause seemed to climax, he once again caught his bearings. "I don't believe in purity, sir. Never, in my 80 years of existence, have I met a person face to face that wasn't corrupt in some way."
"Indeed. And now, for the first time in this world's history, it has a level of peace and opportunity it has never experienced before. Opportunities for people looking for ways to fill the voids within their own souls. Such opportunity seeking will open doorways to wars never before seen. As an Atlesian citizen, have you not experienced one solution to such a dilemma? As an Atlesian citizen have you not experienced the virtues of strong, forceful leadership? As I recall that kingdom has more experience than any other in that respect; quite useful on a resume."
"I—the New Dawn. Does that mean—forgive me for failing to answer your question, but—does that mean Atlas will aid y—us?"
"Indeed, indeed, though Atlas is not my territory. The world needs strong leadership to guide it and it will not allow that, under any circumstance. Hence this war. This is just the beginning, William. There will be casualties, but I promise you to minimize them where I can. Death is not my aim; growth is my aim, and that can't exactly happen without the living, can it?"
William let out a heavy breath. "If that's true, then I guess I can't really worry much, can I?"
He smiled. "Go on. Take a break. I can take care of myself for a few hours. Though the mansion has been destroyed, if you wish, Albus can do all the work needed to transfer you safely to Atlas."
He bowed. "Of course, sir, thank you. I think I'll take you up on that. Stress is not very good for the heart for someone my age."
"Of course, I understand. Do take it easy."
With that, William the butler walked out of the room. Moments passed, then a few minutes as he continued to watch the news. Yang, soon, you will see what I see…A knock came at the door. "Come in."
The door opened as Albus walked through it. "The battle for Mistral has officially started as you no doubt already know. Also, I'd like to inform you that your mother and uncle paid a visit not too long ago."
"She's not my mother. My mother is gone."
"Of course, but you still see her as such, don't you? You still have an attachment, no?"
He glared at him.
Albus sighed. "Fine, fine. Well then, I should probably mention that I had Nero reveal the truth to Yang. About you at least. She remains ignorant about a lot of things, though your identity—and that of our dear leader—is not one of those things."
"Wonderful…" He knew what his doppelganger was going to do with that information. Had their positions been reversed he would have come to the same conclusion, yet it was not meant to be. Her reasoning was flawed, as she didn't have the full story. "And what of Nero?"
"Indisposed at the moment. He's locked himself in his personal quarters at the Black Claw headquarters."
"What about Haven?"
Albus clasped his hands behind his back. "Well fortified, and I'm certain our forces do not have the strength to break through and take control of it. All four of us are there after all. However, even they do not have the strength to stop you. Yang is currently asleep, though even should she awaken in time, she still has a gap to close, thus there is no one there to stop you should you bring down your full might upon them."
He turned to him. "How is it that you know Yang is asleep?"
"I have my ways. Regardless, will you do it? Or should I formally make my entrance?"
"No, no, you relax. Is my armor good and ready?"
"Indeed, it is."
"Then so be it. I'll enter the battle immediately." Another sin to add to the mountain. Let this be a message to his dear counterpart; redeeming him won't come so easily.
Blake walked toward the entrance to Haven, reaching near the end of the hardlight barrier that encompassed the area. She stopped near a few tattered buildings just short of the barrier's exit. She looked out onto the burning fires that crackled throughout the Upper City; the crimson flames and blackened smoke choked the air as the sound of gunfire, explosions, and armies clashing seemed to engross everything, even from here. Looking down below at a distance, the flames descended further and further down, almost like they would reach the Lower City. This is bad. If this lasts any longer, then—
"High Leader," a feminine voice interrupted.
She turned to the direction of the voice and noticed a light blue-haired girl walk out of the shadows of a building off to the side. The girl was young, a student perhaps? She was cloaked in black, and she carried twin sickles at her waist. "Who are you?" She asked.
The girl smiled and turned around, revealing the symbol of the Black Claw straight in the middle of her back. "The name's Frost Rosala. I'm one of Nero's disciples."
"Did he send you?" She couldn't tell what kind of faunus she was; her cloak hid it well. She'd like to think that the cloak design wasn't deliberate, and Nero wasn't having them hide what they were. "What's he doing by the way? I've been trying to get in contact with him."
She frowned. She looked off toward the battlefield. "You've been getting a little too friendly with the boss. You two are supposed to be enemies."
She returned the frown. "It was Nero who agreed to the alliance between us in the first place. I didn't even formally offer it before he accepted it."
Frost raised an eyebrow. "He did, did he?" She looked down and off to the side. "Why would he do that, I wonder…"
"Is that a problem?"
"Look, I know you are into the whole peace thing, but this is bigger than you, bigger than me, bigger than faunus. Sometimes peace just makes things worse. For example, would you make peace with cancer?"
Her frown deepened. "That sounds dangerously close to Owain's ideology."
Frost sighed. "I…didn't mean it like that. Look, just don't get the wrong idea; the boss is your enemy. When this battle is over, you'll do well to remember that. So, stop trying to contact him, stop trying to understand him, and trying to get close to him."
She crossed her arms. She knows an awful lot. Safe to say she isn't a low-ranking member. "I assume he sent you here because he didn't have the courage to face me. He seems to be that kind of person."
Frost's brow furrowed. "You know nothing about him. And as a matter a fact, I came here of my own volition. The boss doesn't know I'm here, though I can guarantee you, he approves."
"So, what then? Do you intend to fight me?"
She gave a strong smirk. "I'm here to demonstrate the difference between the White Fang and the Black Claw." She turned away from her and strode toward the battlefield, though she stopped just short of the barrier's edge. "And what you'll be facing!" With that, she leaped through the barrier and straight into the burning battleground that was Upper Mistral.
There were so many questions she wanted to ask Frost, but she knew she probably wouldn't get any answers. Nero's preoccupied himself with something else because I was too friendly with him? What was that supposed to mean? She pondered, considering the idea that he might have allowed himself to get too close, or perhaps someone else in the Black Claw convinced him to detach himself, or perhaps…Albus? He caught Raven and Qrow spying at that spire Nero told them about. Perhaps that meant he got caught helping them red-handed and now needs to lay low. She had no idea. She couldn't exactly read the guy, but either way. She looked off to the battlefield and pulled out Gambol Shroud. There was a war to win. Though first…she took out her scroll and contacted Ilia, who was quick to answer. "Ilia? I need you to open a dossier on a faunus named Frost Rosala. She's one of Nero's disciples."
"Got it. I take it you met her?"
"I did. She's told me a few things about Nero but nothing useful really. She seems skilled, so I need you to keep an eye on her. She has shoulder length light blue hair, wears a more elaborate version of the Black Claw uniform—it'll be obvious when you see it—and she has two sickles at her waist when they're not drawn."
There was a pause. One long enough for Ilia to have gotten all that down. "Got it. I'll inform our spies and team leaders to keep an eye out for her. Should they engage her at all?"
"No, just keep watch and lay low. I want to know more about her."
"Understood."
"Thanks, Ilia. I'll contact you if I need anything else."
"Got it. Careful out there, High Leader."
With that she hung up and charged out of the barrier—both to do her duty as High Leader of the White Fang and to see what Frost was capable of. Ruby should already be somewhere in the midst of the battle. Through the barrier, she quickly spotted Mercury and Emerald rescuing a few civilians that hadn't made it out yet. She motioned them over to Haven as they rushed to her. She sprinted in between them and the rest of the battlefield to cover their escape as she took a clear gander at her surroundings. The rampaging templar and dust-tuned seemed to be the only ones on the enemy side. Where are all the actual soldiers? She thought as she felt a twinge of worry.
A streak of red, bladed rose petals struck one of the dust-tuned as it erupted into a howling fury. Ruby? She looked up to where the streak came from as Frost landed near her, acknowledging her with a smirk as she looked back to the dust-tuned as it swung an arm, shattering the armor of another dust-tuned. The surrounding dust-tuned wasted no time in attacking their own, though the one struck with the petals overpowered them, grabbing one up with a single arm and crushing its throat, as it backhanded another one away. It charged at one of the templar as the templar sprayed it with bullets, though it simply charged right through the volley, seemingly unaffected by the pain.
As it fought, she noticed rose petals slowly falling from its body as it fought more and more viciously. It managed to take a large chunk out of the templar destroyer, as a few more dust-tuned pinned it down. It exploded into a roar as another rose petal fell. The roar died down as it seemed to suddenly get dizzy, as if it was about to fall over. Then, it collapsed onto the ground.
Blake looked over to Frost. "What did you do?"
"My semblance! I won't spill the beans though. You'll have to figure that one out yourself." Frost leaped back into the air and further into the field of battle. With that one attack, she managed to clear a hefty pack of enemy troops with the use of her semblance, whatever it was.
She broke away in another direction, still mindful of Frost, but not unaware of her own surroundings. She focused on checking each building—the ones that weren't complete rubble—as she checked around for allied soldiers, though most of them were either Atlesian troops, or people who had taken up arms against the New Dawn. Again, she noticed the lack of people save for her own side. The Mistral military was nowhere to be seen. Only the dust-tuned and templars of the New Dawn were present on the field of battle.
Cinder straightened her form and surrounded her left arm in blackened fire while she gripped her dark crystalline blade with the other as Ana walked out of the rubble unscathed, gasping out a breath in what seemed to be euphoria.
"Doesn't matter how much you hurt me, Cinder! It'll only make me stronger!" The last word came with a charge.
No, there was a limit, you idiot. She clashed with Ana—darkness against metal—as she parried her to the side, kneeing her away and batted her return charge to the side with her blade again. It's definitely there. A hint of Yang's semblance, though a far cry from the real thing. Does that mean I have a weaker version of Ruby's semblance?
Ana charged again, surrounding herself in flame, supplemented by wind. Like a comet, she tore through the streets as she barreled at her with a fat smile on her face, blade held out ready for a strike. Or does she have that only because it was Owain who gave her the blessing? Would the Summer Maiden have a different power? She swerved to the side the moment before impact as she brought down her left arm in a slash of darkness that was mitigated with a hardlight shield. Ana let out a roar as she buffeted Cinder away with an enflamed gust of wind, following it up with a charge and a fist to the gut, launching her back as she skidded on the ground, breaking it apart to slow herself down.
Ana heaved. "Don't you want to kill me? Where's your bloodlust? You're awfully docile, sister! Is it fear?" She laughed. "It is, isn't it?"
She brushed off the damage, dispelled the darkness on her left arm, and released it in the back of her blade, allowing her follow-up "shadow" strikes as she flew toward Ana, sword held back, ready for a stroke. Ana lowered into a fighting stance—right fist held back—as they collided, the follow-up strikes to her slash cut through the wind, flames, and metal on Ana's side as she reeled away in pain, letting out a pained growl as the metal reformed. This time though, it crystallized. Strange. "Had enough? Walk away, Ana. I don't bare a grudge against you any longer." She was above all that now. She saw her for what she really was. Someone she used to be.
"No." She regained her bearings, calmed her breath, and stared her down. "I won't." She clenched her fists as her aura erupted with power. It coalesced around her as red, green, light-blue, and dark gray crystalline dust streaked across her face as if forming over scars. She flung her arms to the side as if to say, Come at me! "You want this to be over? Then kill me!"
She furrowed her brow. "No more confidence?"
"I know what you think of me. I know what you're thinking. "Ana's just a scared little girl trying to act tough to hide those itty-bitty little scars inside her heart."" She spat. "Ana's just a whiny wretch, a spoiled brat who never gets her way!" right? Well, I won't give you the pleasure!" She charged again, her aura more powerful than before.
She sidestepped the comet-like attack as she brought down her blade in another swing of four strikes all in one. Ana blocked all of them—save for one—with her hardlight. An odd mix of colored liquid spewed on the ground beneath her as she coughed up more of it. Just like a dust-tuned? Were the mages just advanced dust-tuned? A hint of pity sparked in her heart. No, shut up. We're not one to talk. She got back into a fighting stance as Ana once again stood up straight as more streaks of that dust covered her body. We became a grimm monstrosity for power. How is this worse than that? "I don't pity you, Ana. I don't see you as someone I hate anymore. All you are to me now is an enemy in the battle for Mistral. It isn't personal to me anymore."
She laughed. "Not personal anymore? Liar. I treated you like garbage. For good reason too. There's no way someone like you would let that go so easily!" The end of her sentence came with another forceful charge that she simply sidestepped.
"I'm more experienced than you, Ana. Give up. Don't throw away your life for something so petty." Something she learned the hard way several times; power meant nothing in the hands of the wretched.
"Shut up!" She pivoted back into a ready position and unleashed a billowing wall of wind-empowered flame laced with razor sharp shards of metal toward her.
Cinder responded with a wall of the dark fire as some of Ana's attack forced its way through, cutting at her aura; she buckled from the impact as she noticed Ana charging at her flank from her periphery. With a loud roar, she struck her deep in the hips, launching her back, slamming onto the ground before she flipped back into a stand, shaking off the impact, but noting her near-depleted aura. Ana was still empowered by the blessing. She tried her hardest to ignore the questions nagging at her mind: "how did it work? What were the limits? How close to Yang was she really?" as she remained focused on her stepsister who took time to catch her breath.
"This is it, Cinder! I won't lose to you, I won't surrender, and I won't die!" She formed a blade with her right hand; a long blade made from swirling fire and wind made with an edge of the metal dust, hardened with the hardlight. It grew stronger and stronger, brighter and brighter, larger and larger. "To hell with the Fall Maiden! Let whichever poor girl unfortunate enough to get a grimy power such as yours deal with the consequences!"
Cinder furrowed her brow. Ana was hysterical. There was no talking her down. There was no talking down the visage of the girl who was remarkably like the old her. She extended her right arm, letting the dark flames form into their own blade. There was no hope for her stepsister. The darkened flames grew stronger. There was no salvation for the girl tethered to nothing save for a cause headed by a dictator. The flames strengthened, billowing with what seemed to be a darkened cry. This was the only way. Perhaps it was destiny, perhaps it wasn't; it didn't matter anymore however. The darkened flames grew even stronger.
Ana let out a crescendoing roar that came with another comet-like charge as she followed with her own calm, collected, quiet charge as they both swung their magical blades down at each others' chests. At the last moment, she pulled her blade up and parried Ana's as she—in that instant—formed a small, dagger like weapon of dark flames and sunk it deep into Ana's side, leaving it in place as she stepped backward, letting the dark flame blade dissipate alongside Ana's.
Ana lurched backward, trying to hold herself steady, her gaze in shock, as she gasped for air, coughing up blood. She grabbed the dark dagger with her metallic arm, only for it to destroy the fingers of the hand as she reformed it, this time with hardlight reinforcement, trying her hardest—while stumbling—to pull out the corrosive darkness stabbed into her abdomen. Her face cracked with more of that dust. She gasped again, and in that very moment, Cinder did in fact feel a sense of pity.
There was no other way, she thought. Was there ever? Did she ever think of this moment as one where it was going to end peacefully?
Ana fell to her knees, her coughed up blood changed to liquid dust, as she heaved out more and more until it seemed more and more like a regular dust-tuned. She was dying, this she knew. She said nothing though, nor did Ana. Their gazes never met, nor did either of them curse the other. Cinder just stood there silently, as Ana ironically heaved out her lasts breaths in an odd sort of silence of her own before collapsing entirely, the pool of liquid that should have been blood signaling the end of her life as her movements slowed to a halt.
For a moment, she continued to stand there in silence. "We could have been sisters, Ana, had you not blamed me for killing our father." She stepped toward the body of her sister when suddenly a yellow light enveloped her lifeless body before it erupted into a thin pillar of light that seemed to be more like a missile as it dissipated into the blackened, smoke-filled sky. Seems like the blessing is returning to its origin, she thought, turning back her gaze to the body of her fallen stepsister. Her thoughts were blank and so were her emotions. No joy, no satisfaction, no relief, no sadness, no anger—nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Raven and Qrow arrived back in Haven. The flight back in through the barrier allowed her a glimpse of the Atlesian onslaught against the New Dawn forces. The overbearing assault of a large portion of the Atlesian fleet practically made the battle a guaranteed victory for them. Yet, the prospect of that made her nervous. As she made her landing onto the white-stoned steps of Haven, she transitioned into her human form as her brother did as well. She was torn between heading straight into the battle and staying behind long enough for Yang to awaken to learn this supposed truth from her before heading off. "What do you think, Qrow?"
He looked to the fire and smoke off in the distance. "Let's go see what's been cooking back in the office before we make our decision."
"Sounds reasonable." As such, they walked to Ghira's office. Despite the ongoing battle, the people in Haven all seemed relaxed. Well, as relaxed as can be. The hardlight shield certainly gave them a lot of breathing room. Yet one thing was clear, and that was that everyone was clearly preparing for battle. Moving supplies in and out of their storage, warm-up exercises, drills to refresh battle tactics, logistical officers coordinating where things went and accounting for their removal from said storages—all of it spoke "This is going to get worse before it gets better," which was a healthy mentality to have. If nothing else, it did ease her uneasiness that this seemingly easy victory betrayed something yet to show itself. Like Owain for instance. His destructive power combined with his skill could turn the tide of the battle if Atlas was caught off guard.
They reached the end of the hallway and entered the office. "Did we miss anything?" She said as she entered along with her brother. The only ones present were Ghira, Oscar, Weiss, Percival, Hazel, and surprisingly, Arthur Watts.
"Right on time, Raven," Watts said. "I heard from Oscar here that your attempt at espionage was met with a bit of a setback from what I've heard is a frighteningly powerful adversary."
"We did. Couldn't get anything on Alexis for you unfortunately," she said.
He sighed. "Oh, don't worry about that. I figured it wouldn't be that easy, lest we wonder why this whole issue is well, even an issue. If Alexis wasn't such a slippery bastard, I would have been able to deal with him a long time ago."
"Well hopefully he doesn't spring up at the worst time," Ghira said. He looked over to her and Qrow. "Ruby and Blake went off to fight in the battle to aid the White Fang protect innocent lives. Meanwhile, we're…waiting for things to cool off with Atlas before we take any major actions."
She looked over to Oscar.
"Ironwood rode in fast and hard. Right now, we're going over the key areas that'll likely be the biggest hotspots for retaliation in preparation for the New Dawn's inevitable backlash." Oscar tapped a map with his index finger. The route to the elevators leading to the lower levels, the stairs between each section of the Upper City, and the remains of the governor's mansion."
She raised an eyebrow. "The governor's mansion?"
"Yes, well, as it turns out, despite its destruction, I've been able to spot some major activity going on beneath its foundations. Given what has been discovered about Argus, I'd assume that whatever it is was built recently by the same thing that managed to work Argus the way it did," Watts said.
"It's well fortified. Ironwood called a little while ago mentioning templar designs we haven't seen yet stationed throughout the front as well as its own hardlight barrier," Hazel said.
"Think Owain is there?" Qrow asked.
"No clue. Though I think we should stay on guard. Given what you've said about Albus, it's very possible Owain might show up anywhere. Even here," Oscar said.
"Meanwhile, for some reason, I haven't been able to get approval to send more dust shipments over to Haven or the Atlas military," Weiss said.
"What?" Qrow said in surprise.
"Yeah, I recently made a call simply to get a regular report only to find that someone is stalling the SDC's shipments! No one over there is able to tell me what's been going on save for the fact that a spokesperson from the council says that they will not allow such an important company in Atlas' economy get involved in a major war in another kingdom."
"Sounds like someone might have been interfering with the council," Percival said.
"And Ironwood has no idea what in the world that's about save for the fact that there's been a rising faction in Atlesian politics lately," Weiss said.
"Alexis?" Oscar asked.
"No," Watts said. "He's slippery, but one thing I'm certain of is that he's been putting all of his eggs in Mistral, as it were. He's not involved in Atlas. Not now at least."
"Well, while you guys figure that out, I need to go see Yang. She apparently has something to tell me," She said.
"Like what?" Oscar said.
"Something about the truth about Owain. No idea what it is, but Albus said Yang knew the truth about him and that she'd share it with me. Not gonna lie, I'm anxious about it and want to hurry up and know what it is so I can focus on the war," She said.
Oscar furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin. "Yang…knows the truth about him? Interesting."
"Yeah well, I'll get back to you later." She walked out with a wave goodbye. Though Qrow decided to tag along.
"I've got nothing better to do," Qrow said. "Besides. I'm curious about this whole truth business as much as you are." He looked over to her. "Albus only addressed you, you know."
She sighed. "Yeah. I caught that. Don't know what he's suggesting, but that's what I intend to find out." She quickened her pace. "Come on, let's go. Let's ask around to see which dorm she's in."
Yang opened her eyes slowly, stretching as she did. She felt amazing. Better than she felt in years or perhaps always. She had no idea how long she slept, but she figured any amount of shut eye was bound to make her feel refreshed.
"Get enough rest?" Mom said.
She jerked her head over to her. "Mom? What are you doing here?"
Qrow walked in. "Oh, you're awake. Good. Was wondering how long we'd have to wait. Any longer and I'd have killer anxiety."
She raised an eyebrow. "What? What's going on?" She sat up and let her legs hang off the side of the bed. She looked over to where Jaune's bed was to notice he wasn't there.
"Yeah, Jaune got up not too long ago. Went to get something to eat and to stretch before heading off to aid in the war," Mom said.
"War?" The hell happened since she fell asleep?
"There's currently a battle going on in Upper Mistral. The Atlas fleets came in full force. It's a mess out there and Cinder, Ruby, Blake, and a few others are in the middle of fighting," Qrow said as he pulled up a chair and sat beside Mom.
"And Owain?" She asked.
"I don't know. You tell us," Mom said. She looked worried. "We went on a scouting mission up north and found a spire in the inside of a volcano. Didn't learn much except we met Albus and before sending us off he said you knew the truth and that you'd tell us. Well me, more specifically."
Her eyes widened. "Albus? Albus said that?"
"Yeah, and he didn't exactly say I couldn't hear it, so don't think I'll step out. I'd like to know what's really going on around here."
She looked down, a bit in shock. She made a promise to Nero not to tell anyone, but now she was being told Albus said it was okay. She wasn't sure to be honest. Nero was supposed to be helping them; well, helping Blake, but they were all a team, weren't they? If Albus was okay with it, then why wouldn't Nero be? "What did Albus say to you?"
"Not much. He said a few things that were meant for Weiss, but as for this whole thing about Owain's identity, he said I in particular had a right to know since supposedly the final battle with him was approaching," Mom said.
"Don't forget the part about both you and Yang having a tough decision to make," Qrow said.
"Yeah, don't remind me," Mom said.
She had a right to know? Yeah. That was true. She did, didn't she? She closed her eyes and took a clear, deep breath, and breathed out slowly. "Well, here goes." Where did she even begin? "Owain…he's…" She scratched her head. "Man, this is hard for some reason." Every time she said his name, she felt a sting.
"Well, what is it? Spit it out! How hard can it be? Especially for you?" Mom said.
"It's kinda hard to believe," She retorted.
"You used Jinn, right? Then there's nothing hard to believe," Mom said.
She sighed. "Right. Well. Here's the thing. When I asked Jinn who Owain really was I was greeted with the usual. A vision from Jinn. Long story short, I saw another version of you and Vernal in a very different version of the camp of the Branwen Tribe."
Both of their eyes widened. "You saw another version of Raven and Vernal?" Qrow said.
Mom seemed to take the hint as her eyes transitioned into more of a realization.
"Yeah. That Raven was worried. Specifically, as a mother. Then, I saw him. Well, both of them. I don't know his name, though he was identical to Ruby, and well, was a dude. And…beside him was Owain, but…with lilac eyes. Beside him was me, Mom."
Her eyes wandered as if her thoughts were racing. She stood up and began pacing the room with her arms crossed.
"Yeah, and Jinn mentioned another world specifically." She furrowed her eyes at Mom, waiting for her response. Her eyes wandered over to Qrow who finally took to looking shocked. "They're us, uncle Qrow. That's why they look like us and have the same powers. You can't tell anyone. I made a promise to Nero, to Blake essentially, and I don't want to break it. You two telling anyone counts as me breaking that promise."
"So the dude in the armor with the dust dragon…" Qrow said.
"Yeah. Probably Ruby. Never got his name," She said.
Qrow leaned forward and took a deep breath.
Mom stopped pacing. "That's why he's been so interested in me…"
She leaned forward herself, letting her arms rest over her knees. "Yeah…"
"His armor, his sword, his fighting style, the fact that he hides his face with the mask of a monster? We knew for a while how weird that was. A creep was what I kept thinking of," Mom's voice cracked a little. "But every time I thought about his appearance, I could never shake how weird that was, how unlikely, how…" She let out a tremored sigh. "It's so damn obvious! How did I miss it?"
She solemnly looked down at the ground. "Yeah…"
"Yang," Qrow said. He paused as he looked at her with a serious expression. "What are you going to do about him?"
"I'm going to knock some sense into him, what else?"
He furrowed his brow and sighed. "Yeah…though not sure how possible that is. If and when we win, who's to say Owain won't be executed by Ironwood or someone else with a lot of political pull over in Atlas? Or what's left of Mistral for that matter."
Her face turned stern. "I won't let them." She wouldn't let anyone execute him.
"And what are you going to do, fight them? Yang don't be silly, we're supposed to be stopping this war, not exacerbating it! Look, I understand, I do, I—"
"He's my responsibility. I won't let myself get worse! I don't know what the hell happened to us over there in Shard, but I won't let them—I won't let him become worse than he already is, and I don't intend to let him go scot free either!"
"When you saw me over there…" Mom cut in. She looked over to her with a saddened expression. "What was I like? Was I exactly the same as I was over here?"
She knew what this was about, but unfortunately, she couldn't give her the answer she was looking for, and she wouldn't lie to her either. Her eyes widened. She just remembered something! "A revolutionary army! Jinn said a small boy helped turn the Branwen Tribe into a revolutionary army! For what, I don't know! But maybe that means, you know…"
Mom looked down solemnly with a smile. "I'd like to believe that…I'd like to believe that had I raised you, you wouldn't turn out to be a terrible person."
"It is, Mom. I'm sure Owain will tell you same thing." It was…weird treating him that way. But she felt like it was the truth.
She let out a low laugh. "Maybe I'll ask him…"
Yang got off the bed and stretched. She stretched her arms one by one, then her legs, then her back, gauging every minor sensation she felt. Nothing was particularly different. She did feel rested which was good, but did that mean she'd be ready when she fought her other half in a fight with nothing held back? Possibly to the death? Was she ready to prevent such a thing? Was she ready to overpower him enough to knock him out of that haze of his? She sighed. "Well, I'd rather not sit here and wait around. If there's a battle going on, I'm going to jump right in!"
"Yang. About this whole thing. We really should tell everyon—"
"No," She cut Qrow of. "Just…" she sighed. "Keep it a secret for now. I want to play this safe. And I don't want to break the promise I made to Nero, though I think I already did…" She sighed again. "Just, keep this between us. For now. Please."
Qrow sighed. "Alright. Yeah, I can do that." He looked over to Mom. "Raven?"
There was a pause. "Yeah. Though I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually. If not by themselves, then by how we'll be acting and by what we'll be saying." Mom said as she stretched.
"Mom?"
"I'm going with you. I get the feeling we'll encounter Owain out there somewhere. Maybe at his old mansion. I hear it's well fortified." She said with a smirk. She took in a deep, long breath and breathed out slowly. "Let's go finish this."