Note: Just so that no one is lost out the gate, this chapter will contain a flashback with in a flashback. (Inception orchestra blares in the background). Thank you.
Neo walked through the hall as the team scrambled about to prepare to retrieve Adam from prison, weaving through everyone as they rushed by. She noted Blake's door was open and walked into the room, approaching Blake's bedroom and grabbing the handle. As she began to pull it shut she stopped short, noticing one of Yang's Ember Celica gauntlets on the dresser beside Blake's bed. Neo stepped into the room, checking behind her to make sure that no one had followed her in. Neo picked it up and her mind flashed back to that night…
(Flashback)
"Yang!" Blake called out desperately as Coco, Neo, Sun, and herself wandered through the backstreets of Vale, looking for any sign of the blonde. Panic had set in several hours ago when they had set out originally to try and find Yang, but now Blake felt herself growing frantic.
"So what happened exactly again? I just want to make sure everything's straight in my head," Coco shouted out to Blake from down the block. Blake stopped for a moment, peering into the dark alley, before continuing on her way. Neo was several feet in front of her, teleporting up to rooftops for a better view on occasion, before returning to the ground and checking every stoop and window they passed.
"I sent Yang out here on a recon mission a few days ago. After a while she went radio silent and wouldn't reply to me, but I knew that she was okay, because the tracker in her ear piece was still active. Someone shut it off a few hours ago and I can't imagine why Yang would turn it off completely." Blake peered down another back street and kept walking as Neo peered down the next. She stopped in her tracks, dropping her parasol and sprinting down the pavement. "Neo?!"
"What is it?" Coco called out, jogging to catch up with Sun. Neo stood several feet away from the scene, covering her mouth as she quivered slightly in fear. Had they taken away the only person that cared about her? It was like she was losing Roman all over again, and she wasn't sure she could take it. Her knees hit the ground as Blake slowly walked past her and bent down, gingerly lifting Yang's mechanical limb in her hands, one half of Ember Celica still attached. Bodies of Rose Petal members littered the alley and Coco noted one that was trying to crawl away. She ran to him and picked him up by the neck, carrying him over to Blake. "Where's Yang?!"
"She found out too much and they got to her. Managed to take her down, though it cost us about 20 men," he groaned. Neo's eyes darted to the man and vengeance filled her as she teleported away. This man was responsible for Yang being kidnapped! "We've got more men than you could ever possibly hope to defeat. Why do you keep trying?" Blake slowly stood, slipping the gauntlet off of the arm.
"I don't believe Weiss is evil. I think she's just afraid and confused, and I plan on bringing her back," Blake told him as she finished slipping Ember Celica onto her own arm. "No matter how many of you I have to beat into a pulp." Blake slammed her fist into his chest, firing and sending him flying from Coco's grip. He rolled across the black top and came to a stop, blood trickling now from his mouth. He coughed. "You took my wife, and I can't forgive you for that. So until you talk, I'm going to cause you as much pain as I can." She lifted him up and propped him against the brick wall behind him. "You're going to wish you were dead." She stepped back from the wall.
"Neo!" Came a shout from Sun behind Blake. She turned in time to watch Neo run past her, blade in hand.
"Neo wait!" Neo slammed her blade through the man's neck, blood spraying everywhere as she lifted him above her head on the pike. Both of her eyes were pink and filled with a fury that Blake had never seen before as Neo's mouth skewered into an evil grin, blood splattering all over the girl as he coughed again, the sword blocking his windpipe. She held him there for a long moment, hoping that before he would die on her blade he would feel the same pain that she felt. "Neo…"
The blood trickled down her blade and ran down her arms, running the entire length of her body and she loved it. She could feel Roman standing beside her, giving a chuckle as he slowly circled her.
"Great work Neo! I think that you and I are going to have a great time together!" He told her as he moved close. She felt his cane touch the inside of her thigh as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "How did it feel? Wasn't it exhilarating?" She smiled and shuddered as he kissed her neck, the man still impaled on the end of her weapon. Roman disappeared and was replaced by Yang, who grabbed her hand and helped her to slowly ungrip the parasol.
"We shouldn't enjoy killing people Neo. We should only do so when we've ran out of any other options," Yang explained to her. The flashbacks faded and Neo was returned to the alley, the blood still running down her body. She looked back at Blake and her eyes both became brown and she turned back to the man she had killed and dropped her sword, letting him fall to the ground. A slight shock set in as Neo realized that she had killed their chance of finding Yang right away. She looked at Blake again, eyes pleading as she threw her arms around her, in an attempt to beg her for forgiveness.
"It's okay," Blake choked out through the tears that had begun falling from her eyes. Neo wept silently into Blake's leg, shaking her head in refusal to accept the fact that they had taken Yang. Yang had understood her when no one else could, and when no one else would bother to. Neo slowly found her feet and stumbled over to Bumblebee throwing her arms over the bike, and weeping again. Yang was the closest thing that Neo had ever had to a sister. The scene faded from Neo's mind, and she was taken even further back…
Yang laid in bed, not really thinking about anything in particular: Actually, she wasn't really feeling anything either. She was numb. She felt like she had lost everything. It had only been a week or so since the attack had happened, but it felt like months to Yang. Ruby had left shortly after that, and even though Yang knew and understood that she had to leave, it felt like a betrayal. Her father had even given up on her, deciding that leaving her alone was the best option. Weiss had gone back to Atlas with her family, and Blake? Well, no one really knew what happened to her, only that she left.
So she was alone. Yang felt her depression overwhelm her once again as, for just a moment, she thought that she had felt something with her right hand. Tears welled in her eyes as she imagined what her future could possibly be like now. She couldn't fight for sure, so what good would she be to anyone? The tears began to slid down her cheeks. The depression that she had gone into after the attack was immobilizing. The thought of living itself was daunting at times. Nothing she did felt like it was worthwhile. Turning away from the window, Yang snaked her left arm around herself, as though she could physically hold all the pain she was feeling inside. She sunk down again into her bed, burying herself under her covers and unconsciously curling into the fetal position as she did so. Her thoughts ran wild and her mood darkened causing her silent tears to turn to sobs. Her mind quickly went into a downward spiral and she was completely oblivious to everything other than her pain.
Neo sat on the sturdy tree branch that loomed outside of Yang's window, dangling one of her legs as she twisted her parasol around in her hands. She looked on with curiosity at the blonde girl that she had fought not so long ago. She had been so fiery when they had fought, strutting right up to her without a second thought to the consequences. Granted, it wasn't the best strategy, being that Neo was someone that she had never encountered before, but Neo admired the confidence that she had portrayed. Since that day, Neo had secretly kept tabs on the group of girls, especially Yang. She had come to admire the entire group. Ruby's innocence, Weiss's authority, Blake's intelligence, and Yang's confidence in every situation. The girls had grown on her more and more as time passed.
Despite owing Roman a debt which is why she had fought alongside him, he had started to care for her as more than an associate, but as a friend, if not more. Now that he was dead however, she was free to choose a new path. She never did trust Cinder and curiosity had brought her to the blonde's residence. She had been watching Yang for a few days now; observing her most of her day. The poor girl was really depressed about her lost arm, it was thick in the air even outside her room. Her father seemed anxious as well, not knowing how to help his daughter. Neo let out a sigh as she remembered back to her own loneliness. As she grew older, she had gotten used to being alone, but it definitely wasn't something that she would wish for anyone to experience. If it hadn't been for Roman, she would have been alone. He was the only one to ever really understand her, even though she didn't talk. He didn't look down on her or grow frustrated with her. Neo smiled warmly as she remembered Roman. She knew what she had to do.
"Huh?" Yang muttered as she heard something coming from the window. She looked around only to find a single red carnation on her windowsill. Yang pulled herself up into a sitting position on the bed before standing and moving towards the window. She gently picked up the flower, looking at it with wonder. "How did this get here?" she mused out loud, turning the fragile flower in her hands.
"Yang?" She turned to see her dad standing in the doorway. The quizzical look was apparent on his face, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt something other than sadness. "What is it?"
"Hey Dad. I'm not sure. I thought I heard something so I went to see what it was and found this." She said turning towards him. She was still delicately holding the flower in her hands. Taiyang smiled, happy to finally see something other than the overwhelming hopelessness on his daughter's face, even if it was only a fraction of her normal range of emotions.
"Come on, how about we get a glass and some water to put that flower in."
"Uh, sure, I guess." Yang replied, allowing her dad to lead her out of the room.
Yang was sitting on her bed, looking at the flower. It was a brilliant shade of red and the frills kind of reminded her of Ruby's battle skirt if she used her imagination. She smiled a bit at the thought. She really missed having her sister around. She looked out the window at the sun as it set, thinking about the rest of her team. She missed Blake and Weiss too. Maybe she should have gone with Ruby, or went to find Blake or something. But what use would she be without her arm?
Before she even had a chance to fully comprehend the thought, she noticed something appear out of the corner of her eye. Her battle reflexes took over and she immediately got into a fighting position. Her eyes widened as she realized what, or more accurately who, it was that she saw. Neo stood before her, parasol twirling over her shoulder. A warm smile lit her face as she waited for Yang to say something.
"You!" Yang shouted, recognizing the smaller girl before her immediately. "What do you want?!" Yang slid her left arm into Ember Celica that was resting on her nightstand and swung, shattering the clone. She felt Neo grab her from behind and they were teleported out into the yard where Yang glanced around her, processing what had just happened. "Why are you here?!" Yang swung furiously with her left arm, missing several uppercuts and jabs. She fired at Neo and the shots slammed against her parasol. Neo held out another carnation and Yang froze for a moment. "You left the flower?" She was puzzled.
Neo nodded and held up her scroll to Yang, the device on and a page open detailing the confirmation of Roman's death. Yang read it over and glanced around the scroll looking at Neo. Both of her eyes were brown now and she looked sad as she looked up at Yang. Yang sighed and rubbed the back of her head, looking away from Neo and focusing on the grass growing around the house.
"I'm sorry for your loss Neo, but I don't know what it is you want," Yang told her as she started to head back for the house. Neo teleported in her way and held a file out to Yang, holding it open so that she could check over the contents. It detailed where Blake had gone and that she was taking down the White Fang from the inside. Yang felt her eyes moistening and she looked at Neo who also had tears in her own eyes. Yang looked at the file again and slammed her fist through it, the papers and photos scattering everywhere as Yang stood with her fist extended, chest heaving. "She left me! Everyone leaves me when I need them most, and it's unbearable!" Neo looked at the pages as they settled on the ground and threw the file down.
Neo opened her mouth as though she was going to speak and she fell to her knees. She snatched up a photo from the grass and shook it at Yang. Her eyes pleaded and Yang looked down at her with rage. Neo was slightly terrified. She couldn't speak to let Yang know how important it was to her that they go find Blake. It would give Neo people to be around, and it would get Yang back to Blake, they could both be happy! Yang clinched her jaw and her fist.
"No." Yang walked past Neo back towards the house and slammed the door behind her as she entered back in. She passed her father in the hallway and opened her bedroom door, ready to shut herself off from the world again.
"She's right you know," he spoke softly before she could slam the door. Yang looked at him, fury still filling her. Her expression became that of confusion. She flailed her arms, closing the door behind her and staying out in the hallway with him.
"What? Dad, you don't even know her! She tried to kill me once! She would have succeeded if mom hadn't stepped in!" Yang shouted at him. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, unphased by her tantrum.
"You're exactly like you mother. When things get too hard to handle, you think it's just easier to shut yourself off from everyone who cares about you," he told her. Her eyes became red and she marched up to him, stomping out the last step and her hair flew back and ignited.
"I am not my mother!" She swung at him and he caught her fist. Nothing happened and Yang looked back and forth between her fist and Taiyang. "I'm not mom…"
"You're acting like her though. When she had you and life became stressful with balancing time between you and saving the world, your mother stopped doing both and simply left, not wanting to have to face reality. She thought it would be easier to ignore both and pretend neither had happened. I know her too well though. That's why she saved you Yang. Deep down she's hurting and she wants to know you more than anything, but she doesn't want you to be angry. But she knows you will be and you have the right to be. You need to face reality and go find Blake and take that girl out there with you." Taiyang slowly lowered his daughter's fist and threw his arms around her. She sobbed into his shoulder.
"I just want the pain to go away. You're right. You've been right, it's not my arm. I'm just afraid of what might happen next." He let her pull away and looked her in the eyes. "Everything makes me nervous! I jump every time that damn bird lands on the branch outside of the window and causes it to brush the glass! I jump at night sometimes at the shadows in the woods! I… I'm just not ready…" She shoved back from him and threw her door open, slamming it behind her and slouching against the door, crying into her right shoulder as she slammed her left hand against the floor.
Taiyang shook his head as he moved to the door and placed his hand on the knob, but didn't try to open it. He heard Yang jump to hear feet and stomp across her room, pulling her shades shut.
"Go away!" Yang screamed at the window. Taiyang released the handle and quickly ran down the hall, cutting across the living room and leaving the house.
"Stop!" He shouted out at Neo who was running down the path. She turned back for a moment to look at him, tripping over a slight rut in the path and losing the folder, the contents spilling everywhere again. She lay on the ground, holding her ankle as he walked closer. She looked up at him in fear, covering her face with her hands and bringing her knees up to her chest, preparing for him to attack. She shook for a moment, wondering when he would strike, before finally peering up through her fingers to see that he was no longer standing above her. She looked around trying to spot him.
"You must be Neo," he said. She looked above her, her view of him upside down, but she was able to make out that he was picking up her parasol. He examined it for a long moment before he brought it back to her. She found her hand and knees, standing up gingerly as her ankle was still causing her a tinge of pain. He held the umbrella out in both hands and she tilted her head slightly, looking him over before she slowly took the weapon back. "Here, let me help you with these papers." She watched for a moment as he gathered a few of them up, wondering why he would be so inclined to help her. She bent down and picked up the file, looking into the bottom of it and browsing the few pictures that hadn't fallen out. "Can I ask you something?"
She looked up from the photos, nodding her head slowly as he stood directly in front of her, holding a stack of papers out towards her. She took them and placed them in the folder.
"I saw the way Yang reacted when she found that flower that you left for her. I haven't seen her in such a state of wonder in a long time. She even smiled slightly when I mentioned that it looked like Ruby's dress," Taiyang told her chuckling slightly. He looked up from the papers and looked deep into Neo's eyes, his face pleading her towards something. "Please keep trying. Don't give up on her yet. That's her biggest fear. It's not her fault really, but when things get rough, the people in Yang's life have always left. Give it a few more days?" Neo understood where he was coming from. Neither of them had ever chosen loneliness, but it always managed to find them.
She nodded at him and he smiled, extending his hand. She looked at his hand and looked back up at him, slowly extending her own and shaking it.
"I can't thank you enough. I'd like to tell you that you could stay in the house, but if Yang find out, I don't think I'd ever be able to repair the place," he told her laughing. "There's a small treehouse down that path if you're so inclined to stay on the island. I can bring you some blankets and whatever else you might need." She nodded in understanding and he left her, heading back to the house and leaving her to wander down the path towards the fort. It was further back than she would have imagined and an old, rusted, red wagon sat outside of it. Neo looked at it, wondering what purpose it had once been used for, before turning to the old worn boards that had been nailed to the side of the tree.
Neo opted to teleport in, stumbling slightly as the small enclosure shifted beneath her feet for a moment before settling. There were two sleeping bags that had undoubtedly rotted out after being left up there for years on end, which she pushed out of the way, uncovering a small lock box. Neo picked it up, brushing off the debris that had settled on it and prying it open, the lock was rusted out. Inside was a letter that was clearly written by a child, stained with tears, asking for her mother to come back. It was from Yang to Summer. It explained how Yang wanted Summer to know that she was hurting and wanted her to come back.
Neo recalled the same feeling when she was orphaned, she recalled the bandits killing her mother for something simple. They had told her not to say a word, they planned on doing horrible things to her. However, her mother did speak, She told Neo to run. It was at that moment they killed her mother. It was at that moment that she was forced to be alone until Roman found her. It was at that moment that she chose never to speak again. Neo trembled as she dropped the box, something had moved behind her. She withdrew her blade, spinning to find Taiyang at the top of the ladder, a blanket and pillow under his arms.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Taiyang told her as he left the bedding and left the hut, leaping to the ground. She watched as he left before she grabbed the blanket up, spreading it out and falling asleep, dreaming of her mother and Roman.
"Morning Dad!" Yang called out from the kitchen as he passed by in the hallway. He yawned as he stretched, slightly confused to find Yang up before he was, and cooking of all things.
"Are you feeling okay Yang?" He asked. She draped a towel over her right shoulder and gave him a thoughtful look.
"I feel… I feel okay. As long as I stay here with you, I'm safe. I think I'm starting to see that," she told him. He hid his smile as he walked into the living room.
"Glad to hear it," he told her. He moved to the living room before he heard her shuffling quickly in the kitchen. "You sure you're alright?" Yang stormed out of the house without saying a word to him.
"What are you still doing here?" Yang asked as Neo walked down the path towards her. The night before had only made Neo more determined to see through her plans of getting Yang to join her in helping Blake, whether either of them wanted it or not. Neo waved the file in the air and Yang glanced up at it before looking back at Neo. "I told you to go away, I don't want to go find Blake!" She ran at Neo, smashing through the clone. Neo teleported, hooking Yang's arm with the parasol and leaping, both of her feet slamming into Yang and causing her to stumble away. Neo backflipped, landing on her feet and unhooking her weapon, allowing Yang to fall to the ground. She rushed Yang who threw her hands up, blocking her face. Neo's mind flashed back to Roman, looming over her as she found herself in the same position.
"You think you can steal from Roman Torchwick?!" He asked, his cane pointed towards her. She whimpered, shaking on the ground as she held the lien out towards him shaking her head. He looked down at her and actually saw her for the first time in that moment. "You're just a scared kid, aren't you?" She nodded. He snatched away the lien and she scrambled away. "Neo was it?" She froze at the sound of her own name and looked back at him as he tossed her the lien. "You can keep the money, or you can come with me." Her eyes lit up at the idea, she had lived on her own in the streets for years, no one had ever truly noticed her. "You wouldn't have to be alone anymore."
Neo stood over Yang, holding her hand out towards her, Yang still panicking on the ground. She looked up at Neo who gave her a concerned look, still holding her hand out and reaching closer.
"Why are you doing this?" Yang asked as she took Neo's hand. "What good am I? I'm just a one armed huntress who's afraid of her own shadow." Neo threw her arms around Yang and embraced her for a long moment before Yang shoved her away. "It'd be better if you go Neo. Please. I'm no good to anyone." Yang sulked back to the house where her dad stood in front of her bedroom door. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"
"Yang, you just don't see it do you?" He asked her.
"See what dad?" Yang asked.
"Blake needs you. Your sister needs you. Remnant needs you. And that girl out there, she needs you too. You can't act like you wouldn't be of use to anyone, I know how you felt about Blake and she's no better than you for running like she did. You have to put all of that behind you. You've got the same fighting spirit that your mother has," he told her. The comparison aggravated her and she shoved him.
"Stop comparing me to mom!" He sighed.
"Yang, do you know what I did the day after Summer died?" He asked her. "I went out, the same as I did everyday, and I protected you and your sister from the cruelties of this world. I didn't let the fact that there was someone much stronger that anyone we'd ever seen deter me from protecting what was important to me. I decided that life could only be worth living if I gave everything I had to keep both of you safe, even if it meant that I might die." Yang held back all of the tears that flooded her with the realization that her refusing to go out and live was selfish towards everyone she held dear. She collapsed into him.
"I'm still scared!" She gasped. He held her tight once again and kissed the top of her head.
"Sometimes you'll be scared Yang, and that's okay. You just can't let it control you," he explained to her. "I see the same scared look in the girl out there. You take her with you, I think it'll do both of you a lot of good. It won't be easy, but unlike your mother, you'll prove that you're a better person and you'll get the closure you need, one way or another." Yang sniffed nodding and pushed past him into her room, throwing clothes into a sack. "That quick huh?"
Yang laughed lightly to herself.
"I guess it's just another way I'm like mom." She looked up at her dad. "I'm going to find Blake and tell her know that I need her." Tai smiled slightly and nodded as Yang continued packing. "Would you tell Neo to come here?"
"I'm proud of you Yang," he told her as he retrieved Neo. She came into the room, setting the file down on Yang's dresser and lightly rocking on her feet.
"I don't completely trust you yet Neo. I'll be keeping an eye on you the whole time and if you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you." Neo's eyes grew wide in surprise as she nodded hopefully. Did this mean…? "This won't be easy. We might die. I can't promise you'll live." Neo nodded again, a smile slowly spreading across her lips as her excitement and joy filled her eyes in the form of tears.. "But I can promise one thing." Neo tilted her head.
I can promise you that you won't be alone.
There's our glimpse into why Neo was so attached to Yang, and why it hit her just as hard as Blake when she went missing. Next week Nightshade takes a risk to break Adam out of prison, in hopes to learn more about Jade in Chapter 22 - Uncaging the Bull!
Again, special thanks to alywint23 for writing the majority of this chapter, and a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!
Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.