Resurgence: A RWBY Fic
By Kraven Ergeist
Chapter 37
It had been a long day, and Blake was restless. She was not at home at all in these pristine city streets. Everything in Atlas was either slate gray or brushed steel, and all so impeccably clean, it was almost unnerving. There was a disturbing lack of smells around her, and instead, her senses were flooded with the aroma of chemical cleaners and perfumes, with a vague background scent of engine grease.
As she walked the city streets, Blake was getting a real sense that appearances meant more here than that had in Vale. She hadn't gotten to see Mistral when it wasn't in flames, but this was a city built on prestige, etiquette and nobility. Oh, it had its slums to be sure – most of the triage units were stationed in the poorest parts of town, which is where Blake was spending most of her outing – but even in those areas, those people who were native to Atlas gave off an air of pride and sophistication, as if deep down, the poorest Atlesian citizen felt like they were leagues ahead of even a comfortably situated immigrant or refugee.
It was all very strange to Blake, and while she did see a good deal of Faunus, they were not well integrated with the rest of the citizens, and tended to group together into isolated communes. Yet even when she went to visit one of these communes, Blake did not feel welcomed. Everything was just a bite above some arbitrary standard that no one could ever really point to. An elusive atmosphere of artificial accentuated quality permeated the very air, as it was cycled and recycled through a complex filtration system to eliminate pathogens and dampen the odor of toxic fumes generated by all the industrial plants. The entire kingdom felt staunch, dry and flavorless, and so did its people.
Of course, that could have been because everyone was just scared, and had doubled down on their base values as a result. Either way, Blake felt like an outcast, and the kingdom of Atlas was making no attempt to alleviate this feeling in her.
Finally, she gave up trying to mingle with the citizens and leaped up to the rooftops of the slums, electing to observe the people around her from afar, where she felt more secure. She supposed she would always be cold and aloof when it came to interacting with others, particularly strangers, Blake admitted to herself. But it was still difficult not to feel bad about it, as if she were somehow failing to live up to some unspoken social contract that she had never signed but everyone assumed she had.
Then she spotted some familiar figures sitting at one of the outdoor dining areas below, and she crouched down at the edge of a nearby rooftop to investigate. Below her, Ren and Nora sat across from one another at a plastic table, one of only seven available place settings, at what appeared to be a hole-in-the-wall type restaurant. The smells wafting from the small eatery made Blake's stomach curl in on itself, as it reeked of fried oils and boiling fat. It was a sickeningly sweet aroma, one that she was not particularly fond of. And from the looks of her classmates below, it was not one that Ren cared for either, but Nora seemed to be in hog heaven as she scraped a wad of fried noodles from a bowl with a pair of chopsticks, while Ren watched in helpless wonder.
Blake caught herself smiling as she watched the two of them. They seemed such opposites; such a stark contrast between one another. One loud and boisterous, the other withdrawn and refined. One a health food nut, the other with a stomach like a garbage disposal. It was honestly astonishing to Blake how well the two of them got along, though she supposed it may have had more to do with their upbringing.
She was well out of earshot from the pair down below, but from Nora's gestures and body language, she could imagine what she was saying. And with Ren's resigned smile, and patient refusal to eat anything offered to him, his eyes overlooking the other bowls that passed by him in disgust, she could just imagine the thoughts going through his head at that moment.
Blake flinched when an abrupt clanging noise caught her attention, and she looked around to see what appeared to be an odd looking grappling hook of some kind clinging to one of the chimney pipes lining the rooftop she was occupying, its tether leading back down the far wall, bobbing with the telltale sign of someone climbing to the rooftop.
Blake got to her feet abruptly, thinking it was some kind of attacker or authority figure come to chase her down. But she relaxed when she saw Yang clamoring up the side of the roof. She suddenly realized that what she had thought was a grappling hook was actually Yang's mechanical hand, attached to the rest of her arm with a tow cable. One of the many new toys in her arsenal, it seemed.
"Hey Blake!" she smiled cheerfully, releasing her hand from the chimney and retracting it back into her arm, bringing it back to normal – or at least, as normal as it ever got nowadays. "What's up?"
Blake calmed her breathing, her hair still standing on edge from the sudden surprise.
"Not much," she said, dismissively, looking back down at Ren and Nora. "Just people watching, I guess."
Yang nodded, stepping over to her and peered down at the young couple sitting below them. Nora seemed to have acquired a cup of bubble tea, and was insisting that Ren try some. Ren was politely declining.
"Sounds like fun," Yang nodded approvingly. "I've been busy mucking about town, trying to get my bearings and see as much of the city before we ship out. Ironwood says we're going to deploy in another day or so."
Blake nodded and sat back down on the edge of the roof, not having anything to add to the conversation. "Hmm…"
Yang's smile did not abate. "Also, check it out…"
She pointed down to the street off to one side, and as Blake followed her line of sight, she saw a familiar looking motorcycle.
"The general's men fixed her up for me!" Yang exclaimed excitedly. "Good as new! Plus they installed a bunch of kick-ass new tools and weapons! It's now equipped with a digital tracking system, all-terrain treads, a harpoon and tow cable, an upgraded nitro boost, a pair of machine guns that deploy out through the nose, and a little surprise stored in the rear pod…"
Yang leaned in close to Blake to whisper conspiratorially.
"Spoiler alert," she said in a playful manner. "It's a missile launcher."
Blake had to smile at that. "You can never have too many missile launchers, can you?"
"I know, right?" Yang grinned to herself.
When Blake said nothing, Yang sat next to her, smiling congenially.
"Sure are a lot of people down there," she commented idly as the bustle of people passing down below them.
"Yeah…" Blake muttered.
Ren appeared to be asking for the check while Nora seemed inclined to order seconds.
"So…" Yang said, pursing her lips.
Blake sighed. "Sorry, sorry. I'm brooding again, aren't I?"
Yang shrugged. "Yeah, you are. But that's not a bad thing. I mean, normally I'm fine just sitting together in comfortable silence…"
Blake rose an eyebrow. "I'm sensing a 'but' coming next…"
Yang let out a breath, choosing her words carefully, tilting her head as she tiptoed over her words. "But…I was…hoping we could maybe…talk?"
Blake felt her stomach clenching. "One of those kind of talks?"
Yang scratched her head. "Maybe? I dunno…I just…kinda wanted to ask you something…"
Blake drew her knees to her chest, sitting sideways along the ledge of the rooftop, looking forlorn as her eyes focused on the couple down below. "Okay. I…suppose I owe you that much at least…"
Yang let her legs dangle over the ledge as she began.
"Blake…" she said somberly. "What happened to you?"
The Faunus girl rolled her eyes. "Going to have to be a little more specific, Yang…"
The blonde shook her head. "I mean…I know you've had a pretty messed up childhood. And there's this guy…Adam, right? And he was your…friend?"
Blake didn't say anything. Clearly the subject was making her uncomfortable.
"Mentor…?" Yang offered, trying to pick the right term.
Blake offered the weakest of shrugs, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.
Yang bit her lip as she carefully tried not to step on a verbal landmine.
"…Boyfriend?"
Blake got to her feet and began pacing the rooftop, massaging her forehead as she did.
"Look, it was complicated…" she explained as Yang watched her pace, looking curious but helpless. "The White Fang was my life. We were supposed to change the world together, and bring freedom to the Faunus! He took me under his wing, so to speak. I looked up to him. I believed in him. And he taught me everything I know. I wouldn't be the person I am today if not for him! I even thought that maybe, when it was all over, the two of us could have carved out a life for ourselves somewhere…spend the rest of our days together…"
Yang crossed her arms, watching Blake as she sorted out her feelings as they came.
"But for Adam, it was never going to be over," Blake sighed. "There was always some new target to go after. Every little victory never seemed to satisfy. It was at a point where, as long as there were any humans around who were doing better off than the Faunus, he seemed to resent them for it."
Blake stilled her pacing as she came to a memory that weighed on her most heavily of all.
"Then one day, on a mission…" she said soberly "I realized that he had gone too far. He was ready to murder countless innocent lives just to complete his mission. These were human beings that may well have never so much as even met another Faunus in their entire life. But it didn't matter to him. They were human – and that meant that they were disposable to him."
Blake shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.
"So I did the only thing I could do…" she said, sounding more ashamed than relieved. "I ran away…"
Yang got to her feet, giving her partner a comforting smile.
"You keep ragging on yourself for running away all the time, Blake," she shook her head. "But even I know that sometimes, running is the only option."
Blake frowned. "For me, it seems like it's always the only option."
Yang shrugged. "Eh, that's just because life dealt you a shitty hand, and you've had more running to do than usual. Look, you said yourself, running was the only thing you could have done in that situation, right? I mean, it's not like you were strong enough to fight him back then, were you?"
Blake looked uncertain. "Well…no…"
Yang smiled. "And back at Beacon, when I first fought him…I mean, I went flying in like an idiot, and I paid a price for it. But what did you do after I did?"
Blake didn't like thinking back to that day, and made an uncomfortable face.
"Umm…" she muttered. "I, uh…"
"You grabbed me and you ran away," Yang said simply, nodded contently. "He could have easily finished me off right then and there, but you had the good sense to get the heck out of there! I'm still alive today because of that decision, Blake."
Blake blinked in confusion. She hadn't really thought of it that way before.
"Oh…" she said.
Yang placed a hand on her shoulder.
"So don't give yourself such a hard time for running away," Yang squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "All it means is that you're smart enough to know when it's too dangerous to fight."
Blake tried to smile at Yang's comforting gesture, but the expression was strained.
"But I feel like I'm never going to get stronger if I just keep running," she sighed helplessly.
"You won't just keep running," Yang said firmly. "One day, you'll be strong enough to face him. It probably won't be today, and it probably won't be tomorrow. But one of these days, you'll be strong enough to fight back. The mark of a true Huntress is knowing when that day is."
Yang gave her a companionable pat on the back, which may have hit harder than intended and caused Blake to let out a grunt of surprise.
"And until then…" Yang smirked, jutting her thumb at herself. "You've got me. I kicked his ass last time, and I'll kick his ass for you next time too. If there's ever anything too tough for you to handle, Blake, I'm more than happy to handle it for you."
Blake shuddered. "But Yang…I don't want you to get hurt again…"
The blonde girl sighed. "Look…I know I'm not invincible…"
She held up her mechanical arm by way of demonstration.
"Case in point: Exhibit A," Yang droned, sardonically. "But that's why I need you, Blake. I need you there to keep me grounded. I need that overdeveloped sense of caution you have. If I'm ever about to leap headlong into the deep end, I need you there to stop me and tell me when to reign it in."
She placed her hands on Blake's shoulders.
"You're my partner," she said simply. "I trust you. And I'll listen to anything you have to say. If you see me biting off more than I can chew, just tell me."
Blake felt a weak smile creep its way onto her lips.
"I don't…think I ever properly thanked you for jumping in to save me like that," she said, tremulously. "I mean…it was a foolish thing to do…"
She caught herself blushing, and began tugging at her hair.
"But also…it was really sweet of you, too…"
Yang smirked and winked. "Hey, we're partners Blake. That's what partners do. And if I had to do it all over again, I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"Yang…" Blake sighed.
Blake felt a tear trickle down her cheek. They seemed such opposites; such a stark contrast between one another. One loud and boisterous, the other withdrawn and refined. One ablaze in fire, the other secluded within the shadows. It was honestly astonishing to Blake how well the two of them got along.
And for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why.
"Anyway…" Yang stretched her arms up over her head. "All this depressing talk is making me hungry. What do we say we go for a ride? I think I passed a seafood joint on my way here."
Blake let out a tiny laugh as she raised an eyebrow.
"Seafood, huh?" she asked coyly. "This feels like a bribe, somehow."
Yang shrugged innocently. "For the pleasure of your company? I'd say a little seafood dinner is worth that much. It'd be out in public though – you'd have to sit at a table like everyone else."
"Hah-hah," Blake snorted derisively. "I can sit around people just fine, thank you. I just prefer not to."
Yang clasped her hands in an exaggerated expression of gratitude. "Aw, you're even willing to step out of your comfort zone for me? That's so sweet of you, Blake!"
Blake crossed her arms, turning away, a soft pout on her lips. "Hmph…maybe I don't want to go for a ride with you."
Yang shrugged coyly as she walked the ledge of the rooftop. "Oh well, then. I guess no seafood dinner for you after all."
Blake hurried after her, her bow flattening as her ears pressed down against her head. "Oh, quit teasing me, will you!?"
Yang laughed as she grabbed onto the chimney with her mechanical arm, uncoupled it from her arm and used the tow cable to rappel her way down the rooftop to the street level where her bike was parked.
"Come on, slow poke!" she called up to Blake, retracting her arm. "Time's a-wasting!"
Blake shook her head as she climbed down to where Yang was standing. Ren and Nora seemed to have wandered off somewhere, though she would have had a hard time spotting either of them in this crowd, she thought idly.
When she made it down, Yang shoved her yellow helmet into Blake's hands.
"First things first, though," Yang said with a wink. "Let's stop by the bike shop and get you a helmet. Maybe one with kitty ears?"
Blake awkwardly slipped the yellow bike helmet over her head. It fit her, but it did press her ears down uncomfortably. That had definitely been one of the more unpleasant things about her experience driving this bike cross country.
"As long as it doesn't give me away as a Faunus," she nodded, smiling appreciatively. "Just drive safe until we get there."
"Relax, it's not far," Yang nodded, before swinging her leg over Bumblebee's seat. "Hop on."
Blake slid onto the motorcycle behind her partner, wrapping her arms around her waist. Despite herself, she couldn't help leaning against her back, pressing her body against Yang's.
It felt…nice.
"I'm ready…" she said.
Yang revved the engine, and the two of them drove off into the city together.