Chapter Nine: Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back
Island of Patch, Vale Territory
Yang held her hands at the ready, batting away her father's punches before she spun around and launched a wide kick at him. Taiyang stretched back, his feet in a wide lunge as he leaned back and avoided her foot's arc, before he came back in with a quick but forceful punch. Yang crossed her arms in a block, catching the fist even as it forced her back a few feet in a slide.
From the sidelines, Zwei sat happily and watched his owners at work, panting as his head tilted back and forth to watch the fight. His ears perked up as Tai suddenly mimicked Yang's move with a kick of his own. Yang blocked the spinning leg with her crossed arms, then thrust them out. Tai used the momentum to flip in the air, but even as his feet hit the ground, Yang was on him, unleashing a powerful blow with her metallic right arm with a mighty cry.
Now it was Tai who slid back, holding his right arm as he stared at his daughter in pained surprise. "Woah!" he cried. "That thing packs a punch!"
Yang met his gaze with a confident smile. "We've been at this for weeks. I get it, you wanna make sure I can still fight." She banged both fists together in front of her cockily. "I think I'm doing just fine."
Taiyang straightened up. "You're close," he mused as he approached her and walked around her in a circle.
"Oh, really?
"You're still off balance."
"What? No I'm not!" Yang protested, but Tai merely chuckled a bit as he came to a stop a few feet away. She lifted the metal arm up a bit, studying the fingers as they gleamed in the sun. "Honestly, I'm kind of surprised." She smiled. "I thought it would just be this huge weight, but it feels… natural. They did a great job with this thing."
Abruptly, a fist to her face cut her off as Tai came in with a sneaky attack as she grunted in surprise. Reacting quickly, she brought up her arm to block his other fist as he struck again, spinning with the second blow for an elbow. Taiyang caught it with a grin, the smirk persisting as he deflected a series of kicks to his torso and two quick punches, before he lunged forward and grabbed the metal arm. He thrust his own elbow forward, leaning into her as she blocked while simultaneously pulling her right, metal arm forward, leaving her to balance precariously in his grasp.
"I wasn't talking about your actual balance."
With a quick sweep of his leg, Tai dumped Yang to the ground, leaving her there as he walked over to the small wooden stool that sat beside Zwei, upon which two white towels rested. Zwei obediently grabbed one with his mouth and extended it to his master with a wagging tail, and Tai gratefully accepted it with a fond ruby of the corgi's head. "Although," he said over his shoulder, "could use some work too."
Behind him, still on the ground where she had fallen, Yang let out a short sigh before she asked in annoyance, "Meaning?"
As he towelled off, Tai turned back to her. "I saw your tournament fights. During the Vytal Festival."
"Let me guess." Her tone turned mocking. "'I was sloppy.'"
He chuckled a little again as he said, "No, no, you were predictable. And… stubborn. And, maybe a little boneheaded." Yang sat up and looked at him before Tai continued, more seriously, "Do you realize that you used your Semblance to win every fight after the qualifiers?"
She spun on the ground to face away from him. "So what? How is me using my Semblance any different than someone using theirs?"
Tai tossed his towel to the ground beside him as he began to approach her. "Because not everyone else's is basically a temper tantrum." She didn't look up at him, and this time, he let out a full laugh as he came to a crouch by her side. "I'm serious! Once you take damage, you can dish it back twice as hard, but that doesn't make you invincible." She looked at him as he continued, "It's great when you're in a bind, but what happens if you miss? What happens if they're stronger? What then? Now you're just weak and tired!"
Zwei came close to them and sat down watching as Tai paused, then went on, "You've always been one to burn brighter than everyone else, whether it was with your smile, or," he grinned as a memory of a young girl with flashing lilac eyes running away from him and a pair of scissors sprang to mind, "well, I remember your first haircut."
Playfully, he tugged on her golden hair, pulled up in a ponytail, and she batted him away with a smile. He chuckled again and stood, walking over to a large tree that cast a shadow against the hot sun. He took a moment to become serious again before he said "But you gotta keep your emotions in check. Keep a level head, and think before you act. Your Semblance is a great fallback, but you can't let yourself rely on it." His head dipped a bit. "It won't always save you." He stared at the ground. "Obviously."
There was a long moment of silence before he inhaled slowly and said, "You definitely have your mom's stubbornness."
Zwei watched their conversation as he had watched their training, his head moving back and forth between them as the spoke. Yang perked up at the words. "Oh, so now we can talk about her?"
Tai had his back to her, facing the tree, and he put a hand on the old wooden trunk as he replied, "Well, as I have been informed, you're an adult now, remember?"
She looked away. "Well, sorry I remind you of her."
"Don't be."
His reply was so soft that she took a moment to realize he had spoken and look back his way. He still had his back to her, but the smile she couldn't see was wistful on his face. "Raven was great in so many ways - her strength, her ambition, her dedication to whatever cause she thought was worth fighting for." He turned back towards her, and now she saw the smile, warm and kind. "I'm proud of how much of her I see in you. But, I'm glad I don't see all of her in you."
"Why?"
Tai took a moment to respond, seeming to edit his reply in his head with a sigh. "Your mother was… a complicated woman. Like everybody, she had her faults, but those faults are what tore our team apart. And, it did a real number on our family." He pointed at Zwei, who was panting happily between them. "You both act like the easiest way to tackle an obstacle is through it. That strength is all that matters in a fight. But if you just take a sec and look, then maybe you see…" he walked towards her, stepping around the dog as he did. Zwei's head followed his motion as Tai finished, "There's a way around as well."
Yang remained quiet, staring into her lap, before he extended a hand towards her. "Come on. One more before dinner."
With a pull, Tai tugged his daughter to her feet, and the duo immediately began circling each other, arms held up in a defensive position. Tai came in first with two quick punches and a kick. Yang blocked both blows and leaned back to avoid the kick, cartwheeling away as he flipped in the air and kicked again. Yang dashed forward, blocking a fresh punch before she rolled beneath another kick and came to rest a few feet away. Quickly, she lunged back in, and their arms locked together in a standoff as they leaned into each other, each with their left hand holding the other's right elbow at bay.
As they strained, Tai said, "Heh, see? Alright! Now you're using your head instead of your– whoa!"
Yang grinned imperceptibly as she reached out with her front leg, copying her father's earlier move as she swept his leg out from under him. However, she caught his hand as he fell, the only thing keeping him from falling to the dirt. Tai looked up at her with a small, approving, "Hmm," and she smiled down at him. My point.
Schnee Manor, Atlas
It had been two days since the party, and Weiss had left her room only for the most necessary of matters. She didn't want to depart from her private sanctum for a second as she practiced for hours on end, building her strength as she tried to cast the Summoning glyph. She had done it during the party, when her adrenaline was at a high and she was confused and disorganized. If she could manage it while calm and collected… she stared at the picture of the White Knight on the far wall, remembering the metallic might of the Arma Gigas.
Myrtenaster's tip glowing with blue energy, she spun once, then dropped to a knee and planted the metal in the ground with a ting. The now-familiar white glyph winked into existence, slowly spinning under her command. Weiss held her eyes tightly closed, concentrating on the glyph even as a small wind emanated from the rotating emblem. White energy began to appear, the beginnings of the broadsword's handle forming, when a voice grated against her ears and broke her concentration. "Hello, sister."
Whitley stood against the doorframe of her room, leaning back and watching her with disdainful eyes. Her concentration shattered, the sword behaved likewise, disappearing into a hundred small fragments as the Summoning glyph faded away.
Weiss sighed. She knew she should have locked the door. "Leave," she demanded curtly, barely even glancing at her brother.
"How hurtful," Whitley replied, his voice dripping with condescension. "And here I am, about to offer you a favor." Weiss stood, removing her sword from the ground, as the thin boy continued, "Father's taking me to town to introduce me to some of his business partners. I'd thought I'd see if you wanted me to pick up anything since you're… well, stuck here."
She waited a moment after he spoke. "Are you jealous? Is that it?"
His eyes narrowed slightly as he blinked. "Whatever do you mean?"
"Is that why you hate me? Are you jealous of my abilities? Of Winter's?"
He straightened from his spot leaning against the door, his hand going to his chin in what seemed to be genuine thought. After a moment, Whitley replied, "No, not really. Honestly, I find it barbaric. It's beneath people like me. Like Father. What could a single Huntsman possibly do that an army cannot? That's why we have one…" He looked down for a moment in derision. "Even if it is run by a fool."
Even if Weiss hadn't wanted to throw him out before, hearing him refer to the General, the man who had stood up for her in the midst of the crowd of pompous socialites, in such a way caused her to tighten her grip on her rapier as she repeated through pursed lips, "I said, leave."
"Fine, fine," he said, putting his hands up in bored surrender. "I've got better things to do." He turned in the doorway, beginning to walk back into the hallway. "Enjoy your training, however pointless it is." He paused with his hand on the doorknob, ready to close it behind him. "What is your plan, anyway? What do you hope to accomplish while trapped in your own bedroom?"
In answer, a black glyph hummed to life on the interior doorknob and flung the heavy wood shut in his face.
Weiss lowered Myrtenaster, her sole friend in the house apart from Klein, and sighed, before resuming her Summoning position. Slowly, as her concentration was restored, the white glyph shimmered back to life on the floor. Her rapier hed vertically in front of her face, Weiss once again felt her gaze drawn to the portrait of the armor on the wall. Steeling herself, Weiss twirled as she had before and pierced the ground with her sword once more.
The glyph suddenly grew larger and spun more rapidly at her feet, beginning to build a blinding light as a tremor shook the room. The books on a nearby shelf rattled against the wood, one even falling out onto the floor from the shaking. Still, Weiss remained in her position, eyes tight in concentration. Whitley's visit had awoken something inside of her, a small, burning sensation. A seed of anger.
Weiss focused on the seed. It made sense. Winter had once told her that her emotions could grant her strength, but that she couldn't allow herself to be controlled by them. At the party, she'd been overwhelmed, and as a result, her Semblance went berserk, running amok without her guidance. Here, now, if she focused on that one, small piece of emotion…
Weiss felt the connection internally a moment before the wind whipped up fiercely and burst through her room's window with a loud crash, the light from the glyph shining with such intensity that she shielded her eyes with her arm. Once the overpowering glow subsided, she lowered her arm and took in the sight of her creation.
At once, the door to her room was pushed open, slamming loudly as Klein rushed in with urgent concern on his face. "Miss Schnee! Are you alright?!" he cried as he entered, but as his eyes settled upon the space before Weiss, he fell silent, his gaze widening in surprised awe.
Weiss allowed herself a small smile to the butler as she turned back and followed his eyes. Before her, steaming with the white energy of her Semblance, stood the Arma Gigas, pale blue-white and wielding its massive sword. Unlike the last time she had seen it, it's segmented armor glowed pure white, and it stood at attention, it's right hand resting on the sword, which was buried in the ground. Absently, she replied "Yes" to Klein's worried inquiry as the dazzling giant, over double her height, fell to one knee and bowed its head in subservience.
Weiss stared out the window, still smiling as she felt the crisp air of Atlas whistle in and revitalize her skin with a chill that wasn't unpleasant. "Klein, I need a favor."
Even through his shock, Klein managed to understand the sentence, and as he watched her staring intently out the window he gave her a simple, determined nod, needing no words to understand her desire.
Kuo Kuana, Menagerie
The shadowy figure was quick as she jumped from tree to tree, but Blake was still in hot pursuit, only a few trees behind the spy. The woman paused ahead in a beam of moonlight as she looked back at Blake, for a moment illuminating herself. She appeared to be wearing a skintight, black leather stealth suit with an assortment of small golden buckles and zippers, with a white and red Grimm mask, indicative of the White Fang, on her face. Similar to Adam's, it was a half mask, exposing the woman's mouth, but it seemed to be personalized with a set of gray horns that protruded from above the eyeslits. The strangest thing about the spy's appearance, however, was her skin, which blended in with the darkness. It was pure, obsidian black in the moonlight, and it covered her from head to toe.
A rustle above stirred the woman from her thoughts, and even as she looked up, Sun appeared above her with a cry of "Gotcha!" as he sprang down from above. However, the mystery woman quickly dodged him and sprang away through the trees, making for the rooftops of Kuo Kuana.
"Hey, wait up!" Sun called to Blake as she sprang ahead, who shouted back, "Don't let her out of your sight!"
Quickly, Blake burst from the leaves of the palm forest after the spy, who was a running silhouette in the moonlight as she dashed across the rooftops ahead of Blake. Eventually, the two girls came to a set of pipes, the spy sliding smoothly under them with Blake close behind. As the Belladonna girl came close, the spy's skin changed, revealing her Faunus trait as her skin color shifted from midnight black to normal like a chameleon's. Quickly, the spy withdrew her weapon, a strange, segmented rapier that narrowed like a horn at the end. With a quick flick of the wrist, the weapon's blade suddenly stretched out like an energy whip and sliced through the pipes in warning.
Blake slid through the cloud of steam the breached pipes released, standing to coldly regard the other girl. "Why are you watching me?"
Without answering, the spy lowered her weapon carefully, seemingly considering her options, before a thud on the rooftop behind her signalled Sun's arrival and she spun towards him.
"Give it up!" Sun ordered, hands raised. "I'm not above hitting a girl, you kno—ah!"
The light whip snapped forward like a snake where his head had been as he cried out and fell down to avoid the attack. In the moment of distraction, however, Blake dashed forward, her eyes fixed on the girl's other hand, tightly clenching a Scroll. With a quick kick, Blake thrust the Scroll from the girl's hand. Recovering quickly, the White Fang spy thrust out with a kick of her own that forced Blake back, then turned quickly to recover the Scroll before being tackled to the ground by Sun. The Scroll landed at the corner of the roof as they struggled.
"Grab the Scroll!" Sun cried to Blake. "Seems someone thinks it's important!"
"Get off!" the girl beneath him shouted with a headbutt, the plastic mask cracking from the impact as Sun fell back. Quickly, the spy stood, her cracked mask revealing her left eye, and raced for the Scroll against Blake, before a team of golden light clones suddenly tackled her again. Blake stopped and looked to Sun, who had assumed his Semblance position with his hands clasped before him.
"Quit staring and grab it!" he barked at her, straining to maintain so many clones at once. However, quickly overcome, Sun fell to his knees, his Aura spent, and the light clones disappeared, leaving the girl to rise to her feet and level the sword in her hand threateningly at Blake.
"Blake, watch out!" Sun cried from the ground as his friend scooped up the Scroll, Blake turned and met the weapon's point head on, her gaze narrowing and ears curling as the rest of the ruined Grimm mask crumbled from the girl's face and she grimaced.
Blake's voice held deadly familiarity. "Ilia."
Between the two girls to the side, Sun slowly go to his feet. "Wait, you know her?!" he cried. "But she doesn't even look like a F—agh!" His words ended in a cry as Ilia spun on him in rage, her whip striking him in the shoulder with an electrical burst as her skin flowed red from the intensity of her emotions.
"Sun!" Blake cried in alarm as she saw her friend fall.
"Give it to me!" Ilia demanded in a low, threatening voice as she refocused on Blake.
Blake turned back to the other Faunus, glaring. "No."
Ilia stared at her, her red skin and yellow hair, changing to green and blue respectively in apprehension as she backed away a step and shook her head. "You shouldn't have come back." With that, the chameleon girl swung her sword at the rooftop, kicking up a cloud of dust to mask her departure. When the dust cleared before Blake's eyes, Ilia was gone.
Instantly, Blake ran to Sun, who lay on the ground unconscious as a red flower of blood stained his white coat on the left shoulder. "Sun! Sun!" she cried out. "No no no, not again, please!" she begged to the wind, her voice thick with tears. "Help!" she cried out over Kuo Kuana. "Somebody!" Sun's head moved to the side with a small groan as she stared down at him. "Hold on, Sun," she said softly, pressing her hands to his wound beneath the glowing moon. "Just hold on."
Mistralian Countryside, Kingdom of Mistral
"Just hold on, Uncle Qrow," Ruby huffed as she walked forward, beginning to feel the fatigue that had set in over the past several hours truly take its toll. After Qrow had collapsed against the tree that morning, she had been hysterical, pleading with Ren to try and do something until Jaune calmed her down, saying there would be nothing Ren could do and that Qrow's best chance was for them to set out at once back on the road towards Mistral. So the team had hastily packed camp, set up a makeshift stretcher from someone's sleeping bag and a couple of sturdy branches, and walked through the forest until they found the nearest path and set off.
That had been hours ago. Now, it was early afternoon, and bleak gray clouds had accumulated overhead during their journey. Ruby carried the stretcher from the front, Jaune at the rear, both of them tired from the weight of Qrow. Nora came behind them with Magnhild held at the ready, warily watching the few dead trees around them for any sign of an attacker. Their encounter with Tyrian at Oniyuri had put them all on edge, and they couldn't risk not being ready when they were this vulnerable. Ren headed their desperate little band, being the most experienced with nature and navigation as he tried to tell if they were going the right way.
Qrow had been going in and out of lucidity since he had been loaded onto the stretcher, groaning and muttering to whatever phantoms his subconscious could see. Currently, he seemed asleep, tortured by a dream as he muttered, "Tai. She's not… coming… Tai!" He fell back into another coughing fit, remaining silent at it's conclusion as Jaune observed bleakly, "He's getting worse."
"How much farther?" Ruby called up to Ren. Behind her, Nora added, "We've gotta be close."
Ren turned over his shoulder. "Without the map, there's no way of knowing. But I feel like we're close to something." He didn't mention that the same feeling he'd had as they entered Oniyuri had returned in the pit of his stomach.
He stopped for a moment as he noticed a fork in the road ahead, sheathing Storm Flower at his side as he went to investigate. "What is it?" Ruby asked from behind. Ren looked at a large wooden post standing at the fork. A wooden arrow pointed behind them, the name reading Oniyuri. Two more signs extended towards the right side of the fork, reading Kuchinashi and Mistral. The path lead up into the mountains, while the one on the left stayed flat. The last sign pointed to the left path and read Kuroyuri, but the name had been crossed out with a deep x in the wood.
Ren didn't let it show on his face, but his blood turned to ice. No…
Nora came up beside him, her face lighting up in a smile as she saw the first sign. "Hey, hey!" she cried, pointing to the sign. "Mistral! We're on the right path!" However, upon noticing the sign of reading Kuroyuri, her face suddenly fell and she looked reflexively towards Ren. "Oh…"
"Does it say how close?" Ruby called, voice rising again in slight panic.
"No," Ren replied stoically. "And it looks like the path takes us up through the mountains."
Ruby and Jaune knelt to set the stretcher gently on the ground. Jaune looked at Qrow, laying in feeble sleep on the fabric. "Guys, I don't know if all of us can make that climb."
Ruby cast a worried glance upon her uncle before she ran up to the sign. Noticing the flat ground to the left, she pointed up at the wood. "Okay. Well, what about this place? Kuro… Kuroyuri? Can we get help there?" Jaune joined them at the post.
Ren glanced at the ground, hands balling into fists. "That village was destroyed years ago." Keeping his voice level was a challenge.
"But if it takes us around the mountains," Jaune said, "it's the best bet we've got."
"It will take to long," Ren replied sharply, hoping Jaune would hear the edge in his voice.
"The town would have had a doctor, right?" Ruby appeared desperate. "Maybe we could scavenge for medicine!"
"Right!"
Ren bowed his head and shut his eyes with a firm shake. "We're not going to find anything! We just have to press on!"
Ruby and Jaune stared at him in silence, surprised at his abnormal vehemence. Ruby's hands clasped in front of her chest as she stared at him and Jaune asked, "Ren, why are you acting—"
"We can split up," said Nora, who had been silent at Ren's side during the entire exchange.
Ruby's silver gaze shifted to her. "Huh?"
Nora put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Ren and I can cut through the mountains while you and Ruby take Qrow around through the village."
Jaune was immediately opposed to the plan. No, we're supposed to stick together. We keep each other safe!"
"We don't have time for safe!" Nora replied. "If we make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help. If we don't, we'll at least have a better view of the land! Up there, we can see if there's somewhere else we can go!"
Ren turned and gazed at Nora, his expression appreciative, and she replied with a sympathetic smile. Everyone was quiet as they considered the choice, before Qrow's wet cough behind them reminded them that there was no time to waste.
Reluctantly, Jaune looked around at his friends and said, "Okay." He stepped forward to Ren, who had become his brother, and embraced him in a firm hug. "Just take care of each other," he softly ordered in an emotional whisper, his mind flashing to the last time he'd split up from a member of his team.
Nora soothed him. "We always have," she said, smiling at Ren.
Jaune and Ruby quickly moved to retrieve Qrow's stretcher, nodding to Nora and Ren as they started down the path. Nora waved back to them, then ran after Ren as they took off towards the mountains. Jaune and Ruby continued down the path towards Kuroyuri and whatever it had in store for them, carrying the incapacitated Qrow between them.
"They're gonna be fine, Jaune," Ruby said firmly in comfort, trying a smile.
Jaune's head was low, an image of emerald green eyes outside the metal slats of a locker playing through his mind. "You don't know that."
Ruby's face fell as she went silent, understanding too well that he was right. Neither of the teens noticed, as they walked, the large hoofprint in the dirt of the path beneath them, left by something far bigger than both of them… and far more deadly.
Author's Note: Just wanted to take this time to apologize for something you may have noticed. I wrote this fic originally on Google Docs, and there would be an occasional stubbornness to the program that kept me from keeping some paragraphs together, instead splitting them up awkwardly mid-sentence. Again, I'm sorry, but I copy and pasted these docs here, and I really don't feel like skimming each and every one to fix every incorrect paragraph break. Sorry again! - Jek
