Whaaaaat another chapter the next DAY!? Also, yeah Ik this one's a little shorter but here *shoves it into your hands* I present this chapter to you.
BAM!
Viktoria slammed her glass down against the bar table, yet again; and exhaled loudly from downing her drink in under six seconds. She welcomed the familiar, warm feeling that she always got whenever she ingested any kind of alcoholic beverage, and sighed in content. As she continued to drink, everything around her seemed to blur and everyone's voices got all jumbled up together. She didn't know how long they've been at this bar. All she remembered after drinking Qrow's Ambrosia was passing out, and then waking up in the upstairs guest bedroom of this place. Viktoria didn't even know what day it was.
However, from what she could tell, the bar joint that Qrow decided to take them was a rather seedy place. It was dimly lit, and everything seemed to be falling apart; with the exception of the bar. There were wooden tables riddled all over the place, with chairs either poorly tucked in or haphazardly knocked over on the ground. Normally, Viktoria wouldn't be caught dead in such an establishment. But today wasn't exactly a normal day for the Schnee woman.
"Oh my god she drank that all in one go..."
"Yeah I did!" the white-haired woman boasted. Her exclamation was followed by a number cheers from the rest of the people who were also drinking at the bar. She soon found herself joining them with their hollering and nonsense. This particular relapse was unlike any other she had before. When she'd drink herself into a stupor in the past, she'd always be alone; but now, she was surrounded by like-minded people who probably had issues of their own. And the Schnee woman knew that these people had issues because who else would be drinking this much in the middle of the freaking day.
Regardless of being surrounded by similar people, the Schnee Matron still felt miserable.
"Oh they're all going to kill me," Qrow suddenly muttered under his breath, "Kali, Summer, Raven... and then Kali, again. Shit, maybe even your kids might kill me too."
Viktoria boisterously laughed at that, "Well... you might as well drink up, Qrow!" The man simply responded by half-heartedly raising his own drink and then sipping it modestly. The Schnee Matron furrowed her brows at the man, seeing that he was being a total party pooper at the moment. However, in the back of her mind, she knew that it would be wise if at least one of them would stay sober. But it sure as hell wasn't going to be Viktoria!
She was going to drink until she forgot everything.
She wanted to forget her problems.
She wanted to forget her bastard of a husband.
Hell, she even wanted to forget her own fucking name.
I don't want to be Viktoria Schnee for a while...
Viktoria then waved the bartender down for the umpteenth time, and he happily obliged by sliding another strong alcoholic drink right in front of her. Just as she was about to bring the glass up to her lips, she felt Qrow firmly place a hand on her wrist; preventing her from actually drinking the beverage.
"Vi... lets pace ourselves here..."
The Schnee Matron suddenly felt irrationally angry towards the man, and began threatening him through gritted teeth. She could feel that the arm holding her drink started to shake, as the two of them began to struggle against each other.
"Branwen... if you don't take your damn hands off of my drink, I'll fucking-!"
Qrow grunted, "You'll what, Ice Queen?"
Viktoria slammed the glass against the table at that stupid nickname. She was surprised that it didn't break with how hard she actually brought the glass down. From her peripheral vision, she could tell that some of their bar mates winced at the sudden commotion, but she ignored their discomfort with their escalating situation. She full on glared at the man beside her.
"Qrow..." Viktoria growled.
"I'm not telling you to stop. I'm just telling you to slow down!" Qrow basically yelled at her, "Christ, Vi! You're going to get alcohol poisoning!"
"Oh Fuck off! I'll do whatever the hell I want!"
The Branwen man rolled his eyes, "Fucking typical..."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Nothing, Vi..." Qrow scoffed in defeat, "Just keep on doing 'whatever the hell you want' like you always do."
Something seemed to snap in Viktoria. Like hell she was going to be lectured here today; by Qrow of all people. She could feel that her body began to shake with anger, and her jaw had set. She tried to alleviate her raging emotions by taking deep breaths, but it was too late for her to stay calm. Soon, all she could see was red; and she knew that she was going to regret what she was going to say to the man beside her.
"Oh you're going to tell me about how I 'do whatever the hell I want,' Qrow? That's rich, coming from you"
She saw that Qrow tried to stay calm. Because he knew where she was going with this argument. "Vi..."
"I mean, you did 'whatever the hell' you wanted, and look where that landed your fucking sister for ten years!" Before Viktoria knew it, she was laughing scornfully towards the man.
And she hated it.
She absolutely hated it.
But she didn't know how to stop.
All of these bad thoughts just came spewing out, and she couldn't do anything about it.
"Ha! She had to go to prison because you couldn't step up to the plate for your fucking family! She went to prison because of you!" she then smiled wickedly, "and don't get me started about Tai-"
WHAM!
WHAM!
Qrow brought his fist down against the bar counter with so much force that he actually made a few cracks on it. Viktoria's mocking expression transformed to one of neutrality and she started to analyze him. He had his teeth gritted in anger, with his hair covering his eyes. Qrow was trying desperately to take deep breaths to calm himself down. He didn't want to escalate the situation needlessly. He felt a throbbing radiate from his right fist, and noted that it was badly bruised and slightly bloodied.
Well... that's broken.
Suddenly, he grabbed at Viktoria's wrist again. He saw that the Schnee Matron winced from the pain by his death grip. But he didn't really care if he was hurting her at the moment. He had a broken hand now because of this woman.
"I'm taking you out of this place, Vi." He stated evenly, "I can see why your kid doesn't want you drinking this stuff. You change int- SHIT!" Qrow jumped from his chair and held his arms up at his sides when Viktoria splashed her drink all over his clothes. He then jumped back again when the woman smashed the glass against the ground, right next to his feet.
"Then leave me the fuck alone!" she screamed, "don't talk to me about my fucking children! I already know!"
"That's it! I'm calling Kal and them!"
He stomped out of the bar before he could subject himself to more of the white-haired woman's verbal abuse.
Qrow then whipped his scroll out, and dialed Kali's number.
The scroll rang at least three times before the Faunus woman picked up.
"Hello, Qrow?"
"Hey Kal... umm, it's about Vi..."
Qrow inwardly groaned.
I'm such a fucking idiot.
Kali stormed through the crowds of downtown Vale with her two friends in tow. She could feel that she was shaking; if it was from anger or fear, she didn't know. All The Faunus woman knew was that she was frustrated.
"Your brother's a fucking idiot."
Raven laughed humourlessly at that, "I agree."
Before they could continue to dwell on the Branwen man's absolute stupidity, Kali suddenly saw the bar in view.
Off all the places he could've brought the woman, he brings her to Tuksons!
Her eyes then narrowed at the stupid man who somehow thought it was a good idea to bring a chronic alcoholic to a bar. As the neared the facility, she saw that Qrow shrunk under her angered gaze. He opened his mouth to try and explain himself.
"K-Kal, I-!"
Kali wordlessly pushed passed him, and slammed the bar door open. Before the door had closed again, she caught a glimpse of the earful that Raven and Summer were giving him. Their argument outside of the bar became muffled, and soon forgotten when the Faunus woman remembered just why she was at this deplorable establishment. Her eyes scanned the place, and she quickly found the familiar sight of the Schnee Matron's white hair. Kali noted that she was situated at the bar counter, downing some more of that liquid poison that the Faunus woman hated so much.
The Belladonna woman began storming her way towards the unsuspecting Schnee. Once she reached the drunken woman, she roughly grabbed her by the arm without warning. Initially, the Schnee Matron struggled against her, but when she realized who Kali was she stopped.
"K-Kali!? What are you doing her-AGH!"
Kali yanked the woman out of her chair and dragged her out of the bar. When they left the establishment, the Faunus woman completely ignored their friends waiting outside for them, and opted to pull the Schnee woman near a secluded area down the street. They seemed to have gotten the memo, and decided to wait for the two women in front of the bar.
"O-Ow! Kali- Shit-! STOP that fucking hurts!" Viktoria yelled as she ripped her arm away from Kali's grasp. However, she used a little too much force to get away from the Faunus woman's grip, and ended up stumbling against the brick wall to their right. Kali immediately went to help the white-haired woman up; she felt a tinge of guilt when she saw that she kind of bruised Viktoria's arm.
Regardless... it still didn't take away from the fact that she was pissed.
Kali took in a deep breath... and then slowly let it out.
She locked her gaze onto the the woman before her.
"Why."
"What? Kali-"
"Why." Kali's voice began to rise.
"I don't-!"
WHAM!
Kali's fist landed right next to Viktoria's face; hitting the concrete wall behind her. Shortly after, the Faunus woman felt that her right hand began to throb, but she bit through the pain.
It's fucking broken...
She continued to stare the smaller woman down, and begged her with her eyes.
"WHY!?"
Kali wasn't just asking Viktoria why she basically threw a year of sobriety out of the window. Now, she was asking the white-haired woman for so much more than that. She wanted an explanation for everything. She wanted an explanation for all of the choices that the other woman made for the past decade. All of Kali's frustrations just came pouring out, and she knew it was too late for her to go back now.
Suddenly, Kali stumbled backwards when the Schnee woman roughly pushed her away. She then watched as Viktoria shot her an icy glare.
"I don't need to explain myself to you!"
Kali's anger started to take over and she pushed Viktoria back. Her vision began to blur, but she did nothing to wipe the tears of frustration coming from her eyes. She just let them fall freely while she glared at the stubborn woman before her. "No. I'm not going to take that bullshit answer from you any longer, Vi!"
"Fuck you."
"What the hell did I do?!"
"You LEFT!" Viktoria finally screamed. "You fucking left me, Kal! you just ran away!" Kali winced when the woman's voice broke. "I had to hear from Rae and Summer that you were gone!"
Kali stood there in shocked silence, but then she steeled herself into levelling her gaze towards the Schnee woman.
Viktoria wasn't the only one who was hurt.
She then towered over the Schnee Matron, and let a decade's-worth of pent up frustration out on her.
"Don't you dare start telling me about how I left!" Kali borderline screamed. "You were the one who gave up on our relationship! on us!"
"What-?"
"You were the one who didn't even try to fight back against Jacques!"
"It wasn't that easy-!"
"Oh but pushing me away was?!" Kali all but roared. "Y-You don't get to lecture me about choosing the easy way out! Vi, in the past I've ran away from a lot of things, but our relationship was the one thing- the one fucking thing that I would have stayed and fought for!"
Kali's declaration was met with utter silence. Both of the women were completely defeated, and worn out at that point. The Faunus woman used this as an opportunity to wipe away at her frustrated tears, but then she groaned when the pain from her fist began to take over. However, before she could even think about how her hand hurt like hell, the Schnee woman tried to walk away.
The Belladonna Matron stopped her by firmly placing her hands on her shoulders. Viktoria immediately fought back.
"N-No! Let me go." the Schnee woman demanded as she struggled to get out of Kali's grasp.
"I'm not letting you go."
Not this time.
"Kal, Please..." Viktoria begged. Something seemed to tear at the Faunus woman's heart when the other woman's voice broke once again. However, Kali was hellbent on solidifying her resolve and held the Schnee woman close. She was going to get her damn point across!
Kali then felt the sensation of the small woman hitting her chest. She grunted at incoming attacks, but her grip on the Schnee never loosened; if anything, she held her tighter.
"Let me go!"
The Faunus woman ignored her and rested her chin on top of the other woman's head.
"I said let me go!" Viktoria broke out into a sob, "D-Dammit, K-Kal!"
Kali shut her eyes and just let Viktoria continue with her small assaults. Soon, the two women were sobbing in each others arms; barely even stringing together any coherent words. They just kept on apologizing to each other throughout the entire time, letting the other woman know what had been on their mind for the past ten years.
Kali said she was sorry for leaving.
Vi said she was sorry for not fighting back.
Kali let Vi know that there wasn't a single day where she didn't think about her.
Vi admitted that there were days where she would drink herself half to death so she wouldn't think about her.
Kali told Vi about how she wanted to come back.
Vi told Kali about how she wanted to run away with her.
"I never stopped loving you."
Viktoria choked back a sob, "Neither did I."
Kali gently placed her forehead against Viktoria's, and shut her eyes.
"What are we going to do?"
"What you're going to do is go to the hospital with us."
Kali whipped her head towards the new voice, and became worried by what she saw. Next to Raven was a shaken up Summer, clinging on to the dark-haired woman's side. Even the Branwen woman seemed to be out of sorts. She was about to open her mouth to question the dark-haired woman, but she beat her to it.
"Yang's hurt."
Blake anxiously sat in the waiting room for god knows how long. In the far corner of the room was Ruby and Weiss. The younger redhead had basically cried herself asleep and was currently sleeping against the former heiress' lap. Weiss herself also seemed to be shaken up by the whole ordeal, but still diligently whispered words of comfort towards Ruby as she slept.
Blake, on the other hand, didn't know what to do with herself. Thankfully, her hands stopped shaking a while ago but she still couldn't get the feeling of nausea out of her system. When everybody heard Yang scream from the locker room, they all knew that something was wrong. But when they finally reached the blonde...
The Faunus girl didn't know if she could ever get that image out of her head.
When they found her, Yang's left arm had been bent at a very unnatural angle and she had dark bruises all over her neck. It was obvious that they were hand marks; and the dark-haired Faunus wondered in the back of her mind who would do such a thing to the blonde. By the time they got to her, she almost looked dea-
Blake pinched herself.
She's fine, Blake.
She then leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes.
"She' going to be okay."
BAM!
Blake jolted upright when the ER doors slammed right open. She was then met with the image of Summer and Raven, hysterically trying to find out where their daughter was. The Faunus girl's eyes widened in shock when she saw her own mother and Viktoria quickly follow after them; along with a man that she had never seen before.
"M-Mom!"
The Faunus woman immediately turned her head towards her child's voice. Before Blake knew it, her mother was right in front of her, trapping her in a tight embrace. The Faunus girl actually let a few tears out at the gesture. She had never been so scared in her entire life.
"How-?"
"I-I don't know, mom!" Blake's voice suddenly broke, "T-There was blood and her arm-!"
"Shh... Shh... that's enough, Blake."
Blake relaxed a bit when her mother began stroking her hair. However, when the Faunus girl caught a glimpse of the woman's hand, she became worried again.
"What happ-?"
"Broken hand..." her mother interrupted. The Faunus girl's eyes then travelled across the room, and landed on a certain Schnee woman; who seemed to be receiving an IV drip. Next to Viktoria was the man that she saw enter the ER with them, getting his hand checked out by a nurse. They both seemed to be speaking with each other, albeit begrudgingly.
"And Weiss' mom?"
Her mother pondered that for a moment, but then finally sighed.
"Broken liver."
Blake raised an eyebrow at that answer, and turned her gaze towards the former heiress. She was also staring at the Schnee Matron, but was observing her with an unreadable expression. The Faunus girl made a mental note of checking on her friend after this whole situation was over.
But for now...
They were just going to have to wait.
buwahahahahaha
Also: the whole 'Qrow sending Rae to prison' thing will be further explained in the Summer and Raven fanfic prequel that I'm working on ;)
Expect some needlessly dramatic angst for the main girls too ;P or... maybe not. Whoooo knowwwws~
Until Next Time,
MediocreWriter.
