Volume Five, Chapter Two: Gravitas
re:Bound
Allison Illuminated
Chapter Publish Date: 12/13/19
Beta: Vixie
[TW] Vivid descriptions of PTSD.
Augustus? Mom?
"Who said that? Who said Augustus?!"
No. No no no no no. Not another one of them.
"Am I hearing you?"
Please say you aren't.
"You aren't."
…
…
Roman Torchwick. Your name is Roman Torchwick. I guess you killed Augustus, then. What are you going to do, finish the job he started? Murder me? Take the rest of the goddamn memories out of my head? Maybe you could cut off a limb this time. It'll be hard to top cutting out the tongue but you can do it.
"What is this?"
Don't play games with me, Torchwick. You just want my aura bond, just like all of the other fuckholes. How are you going to use me now, huh? I could murder every single criminal and thief in this building, I know you'd like that. It wouldn't even be that hard, I'd just…
"What's your name?"
What? My name? I… My name is…
"What's wro-"
HE TOOK IT! THE FUCKING BASTARD TOOK IT AWAY!
"Took it away? What the fuck?"
GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT YOU IN MY HEAD! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!
"Got it, I'll be leaving now then."
GO!
…
…
You listened to me.
"I do prefer living, so yeah?"
Thank you. Please, I need… space right now.
"Sure, works for me."
…
…
They call me Neopolitan.
Ruby jolted awake with a gasp. That dream had been too lucid, too grounded. She knew the sense of Bella's memories, the qualitative shift between their perceptions, her pressure and gravitas and the ever-so-slight color changes. The fear was acidic on her own tongue. She gagged, overwhelmed by the presence of flesh in her mouth.
She lived a violent life, but she had nothing on the skeletons in Bella's closet. Ruby forgot that too often. She forgot the dull phantom ache of a missing tongue.
She never shows me Roman. Ruby looked to Bella; Bella slept restless on the other half of the bed, across a pillow buffer, the covers balled up in her fists. For a moment, Ruby forgot herself, forgot why there was a physical wall of pillows dividing their bed in half, and tried to reach over to comfort Bella. Then she froze.
We're on a break. That means no cuddling, no sleeping together. Otherwise, we'll fall right back into how we were before.
It hurt her heart, but Ruby pulled herself back onto her own side of the bed. This was for both of them, she had to remind herself. Things had to change. Unsettled, she rolled over, trying to close out the afterimage of screams echoing around the room.
I still don't know what Roman was to her.
Sleep was hard to come by that night.
Weiss sat in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea. It was dark outside – past eleven – but she had no intention of retiring for the night. There were too many things on her mind, problems, questions, ways forward. Besides, her bedroom had filled up fast. With Yang and Blake returned from the Branwens, there were now twice as many people as beds in the house. Pyrrha had volunteered to spend their last night on an air mattress, which left Weiss sleeping with Nora. It made sense, her and Nora being the odd ones out, but Nora was restless while awake and Weiss didn't want to deal with her tossing and turning.
If only Father could see me. Weiss scoffed, taking another long drink. Sharing a bed, staying in crowded accommodations. He'd be throwing a fit.
Jacques was throwing a fit. Not an hour after the Vale CCT had gone online, he'd started blowing up her scroll, spamming her about how befitting her actions were as an heiress and how she was endangering the Schnee family by displaying her semblance for the world to see. Never mind that Jacques didn't have said semblance. Weiss knew his petty jealousy was just that, hot air. She'd ignored him.
Still, her thoughts stayed her family and her role. Weiss' desire to fix the SDC had only grown this summer. She wanted it, more than anything. Maybe the peril of how close she'd come to losing everything she'd worked for her entire life, her inheritance and her team, her life, had made it all the more real. The technology the SDC made was fallible. Their image could rise and fall – but she could improve it, too! How distrustful the faunus had been of her when she had started working at the protest! She'd shown them that a Schnee could make a difference, and promptly thrown that all away the moment Atlas' troops had opened fire.
Sombering, Weiss took her empty teacup and put it by the sink. Myrtenaster in hand, she slipped out the backdoor. There was too much work to do. Too little time. Too much danger on the horizon.
Jacques had been easy enough to manage. Winter, less so.
Not bothering to leave the porch, Weiss waved her sword and started casting glyphs. All together, twenty appeared at once, a meager scattering across the backyard. Not enough, she thought, dispelling them and flexing her aura. I only managed ten in battle and it barely slowed the dragon down. I need more.
She cast again; two more appeared than the time before.
Winter had reached out to her too after the CCT had gone back up. She had been less willing to talk over text than her father, which irked her to no end.
Winter: Call me.
That was it. No how are you, no was your summer well, no I'm so glad you survived your encounter with the Lich. Weiss knew Winter was reserved, but gods did she feel like chucking her scroll after she'd read that. Hell, she knew more about Whitley from Jacques' rantings than she did about her sister's well-being. It had been with no small annoyance that she'd begrudgingly picked up the phone the next day to call Winter.
Twenty four glyphs. She wouldn't go to sleep until she'd doubled her first twenty.
"Winter! What the heck?!"
"My time is short, Weiss. I don't have pleasantries for you when we're fighting a war on two fronts and we're in disarray at home. I have intel for you and Glynda, and I have to deal with the council in ten minutes."
"O-okay. What do I need to know?"
Weiss hated war. That was her nuanced, thought-out decision. It was a financial drain on everyone involved, cast a general pallor over the population, and it made her angry. The fact that Raven was leading one half of the defense and Winter was leading the other half did nothing to calm her wild mind.
Twenty nine. A poor rabbit got caught in a time dilation glyph and froze in place, and Weiss allowed herself a soft laugh.
"They're strong. They've got firepower. Worse, they're unpredictable. Some days they send Fall our way, and she's a monster like nothing I've ever seen. Our huntsmen are dropping like flies. The only ones who can contain her are the Ace Ops, and even they're struggling. The Lich doesn't even engage with us. Just his presence is enough to drive our lines back. We're losing. At this rate, they'll reach Argus' doors in a month. There's talk of a mass evacuation."
"You picked a bad time to become general, Winter."
Harsh, bitter laughter. "James picked the best moment to turn traitor, more likely. We have no idea what's going on. Branwen won't communicate with us. We're hearing rumors that the Fang is recruiting in Menagerie, that they're taking entire villages prisoner until they agree to fight, that they've been executing people daily. Nobody knows where Taurus is. From what intelligence says, Branwen isn't faring any better than us."
"We're going to lose, Weiss."
Weiss gritted her teeth. Thirty four. Not enough.
"What about Vale?"
"Vale- We don't have time for Vale. Atlas can't afford to lose our presence in Anima. And if they can take Argus, Mantle is lost. Atlas could fall too. If Vale can't stand, we can't help."
"But-"
"We have options. Weapons. But they aren't meant to be deployed. We might have no choice. The Winter Maiden, the Relic of Creation, Project P.E.N.N.Y. Things from the Great War. Unless something shifts, the council won't give me a choice."
"You have the Winter Maiden?"
"I have the Winter Maiden."
Thirty seven.
"Winter, no."
"I may have no choice."
"NO!"
"She's too old to fight, and I trust nobody. I trust no one more than James, and he betrayed us. I am the only one who could take one the mantle. If I have to, I will. We proved in Vale that our machine works. Pyrrha is proof. We can only hope it works on a live transfer too."
"It's destroying Pyrrha! She's like a different person after the assassination attempt! You- you can't-"
"I have no choice, and you have no power. Not yet. Branwen has Spring, and they're scared of her. With Winter, they're scared of us too. If Nikos fights for her country, that's three Maidens against two abominations. We can win that fight. End of conversation."
"...Winter."
"Tell Glynda I blocked an embargo for her. That's what I have for Vale. Goodbye, Weiss. I will call you if there are relevant developments for you to know."
Forty felt so hollow, staring at the glowing white glyphs blanketing the backyard floor. Weiss brushed them into nothingness. 75% of the world was at war, and she was about to take her team back to school. They had power, they could fight, they could help, and they were going to waste their time in a classroom.
At the same time, Weiss felt they needed a break. It was a maddening dilemma.
"Nice lights show."
Blake leaned against the door behind her, arms crossed. Weiss turned back and gave her a tight smile. "Thanks."
With ease, Blake slipped down the porch to her side. She moved silently with grace. "You're brooding. That's the look Yang accuses me of all the time. What's wrong?"
"I feel helpless." Weiss sheathed Myrtenaster and crossed her own arms. "How are we still students? Ever since we were ambushed on our training mission, the stakes have been so high. This feels like we're wasting our time, our abilities. Beacon doesn't need us – this war does."
"We're only eighteen."
"I know."
"We've been fighting all summer."
"I know!" Weiss exclaimed. She threw her arms in the air. "Like I said, helpless."
"Hey, hey." Ears flattening against her head, Blake held up her own hands, defensive. "I'm not blaming you. I want to help. I get like this all the time, and, well, talking about it usually makes things better."
Weiss pursed her lips, searching for words. "I'm trying to do what Qrow told me," she admitted. "I'm trying to learn to let go, like he said. But it's hard, and I feel so guilty. All the time. I look at everyone and I see the lines under their eyes and how nobody really sleeps well anymore and this guilt, it eats at me. I can't escape it. All I can do is keep fighting."
"You care. You care way more than you like to let on." Blake guided Weiss to sit on the steps next to her, giving her a smile she had trouble appreciating through her aggravation. "I've always admired you for it, Weiss. I'm not like that. I get selfish. But you, you can't help but care."
"Not always."
"What do you mean?"
Looking away, Weiss tried not to be hyper-conscious of Blake's ears. "I used to hate the faunus," she said. "Not dislike. Not tolerate. Hate. And I know I've moved past it, but I still remember every stupid comment I made. I remember it every time my father decides it's a good time to talk to me. It makes me feel so… dirty, like- How can I care about fixing the SDC's reputation if I didn't even understand its worst problems?! And then there's the protests. Every last person who died, I-" Weiss shuddered, looking down at her perfect, pale hands, pulled into tight fists over her dress in her lap. "I feel their blood on my hands. I see that street when I sleep. Sometimes it feels like I'm still there, pulling bodies out of the wreckage."
Blake didn't respond. Instead, she looked away, skyward. Searching for something.
"I never apologized," Weiss murmured. "To you. I feel like I owe you an apology. I know last fall feels like an eternity ago, but I remember how panicked you were when we found out. I ran away. Then we never talked about it again. I know we've never been close close, not like you are with Yang and Ruby, but I-"
"Please, don't. I don't want you to apologize."
Weiss blinked. "You don't?"
At a glance, Blake looked uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable, in a way that made Weiss want to apologize. Of course, because she had just been asked not to do exactly that, she bit her tongue and waited for Blake to talk.
Blake hugged her knees to her chest, looking up at the stars. "I'm sorry.
Weiss looked at the stars too. Atlas was too bright to see them, no matter how close to the sky the floating city got. All she could recognize was the north star and the moon. "Why are you sorry?"
"I don't know."
"Oh."
At least the north star was bright tonight. Two for two, Weiss supposed. If she had to be ignorant about the world, the least she could do was do a good job of it. Dark trees airbrushed the skyline, backlit by the moon. Shattered bits of stardust hung between the cracks.
"I feel that way about the massacre too," Blake admitted. "Not every night. I've been seeing awful things since I was a kid. They don't feel real anymore in the same way. Or normal. I'm not sure which. But I see them."
"The bodies?" Weiss asked.
Blake shook her head. "I can't. I can't see the bodies. All I can feel is how painful it was when Yang tackled me to the stage. I see my parents following monsters into the woods."
"They're safe now. You got them out of Mistral."
"And thousands of people are dead."
"…and thousands of people are dead.
"I hate the indifference the most," Blake said. "The hate, I can deal with. I'm tough. I was a lieutenant in the White Fang. If the hate was gonna kill me, I would never have kept going after the video of them beating me went viral. But the indifference is what kills me. What kills us."
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.
"What I mean," Blake said, "is that there's nothing worse the lady at the store last week who told me how sorry she was, but at least they didn't kill all of us, right? It's the people at the demonstration who ask us politely to get out of the way of traffic. And I hate the apologies. Because what I've learned is that people only see things on a people level, and more often than not, that person is themselves. You're a good person. When you're trying to apologize, it's because you think I feel bad. You want to change. You want things to change. But most people, it's because they feel bad and think that telling us sorry and shooing us away is the easiest way to get rid of us and stop feeling that way. To a bunch of protesters, it's infuriating. To the homeless kid getting thrown out into the trenches in the middle of winter, it's malicious. I've seen that kid too many times."
Weiss' gaze dropped. She felt chastised and a little hurt.
Blake groaned, scratching her ear in agitation. "Ugh, I- I didn't mean that as an attack on you. Look, come here." She hugged Weiss, who stiffened for a moment before hugging her back. "You're the best of them, Weiss. It's not everybody who would put their life and reputation on the line to support a cause. Don't you dare think for a moment that because I've been away all summer I've been, I don't know, resenting you or something. You're amazing. But this is bigger than you, too."
"I want things to be different," Weiss said. "I want the world to be a better place."
"And we're gonna make it happen!" Blake said. "That's why you shouldn't apologize. Apologizing is like saying 'there's nothing I can do, cause I've already given up.' You haven't. We haven't. And that's why everything feels so painful right now. That's why you feel helpless. If you weren't still fighting, you would feel a single thing but apathy."
Weiss wrung her hands together. "We've seen too much for apathy."
"Yeah." Blake stood up, clasping her hand on Weiss' shoulder. "So don't give me any of that self-doubting nonsense. You've saved my life, and I've saved yours. We're a team, and we're gonna do this together, no matter what. If Beacon can't handle that, we'll leave. We're huntresses. Glynda knows that."
"Me? Doubt myself?" Weiss stood up too, rolling her eyes fondly. "I would never."
They laughed together. Blake shot the backyard and the sky one last look with a sigh, then tugged her toward the door. "C'mon. Big day tomorrow, right? Let's go to sleep."
"Thanks, Blake," Weiss murmured, the flicker of the kitchen lights catching in her eyes.
Blake gave her a soft smile. "Anytime."
Ruby stood in her usual spot by the transport's wide window, Vale's skyline receding into the distance behind them. She felt tired, a little spacey, but it was nice to watch the view and think about nothing. Her eyes could lay unfocused, fallow; clouds were gentle on the sight. Her necklace felt heavy around her neck.
"Here we go again."
Behind Ruby, Blake walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. Ruby shot her a smile, but her gaze didn't linger, miles distant and fathoms deep. "Yeah."
Blake's hand dropped. Ruby had never been as good as Yang at reading Blake. She could be brooding or happy or harboring some secret resentment and Ruby wouldn't be able to tell – at least not from her expressions.
"We never got to talk about it," Blake said, her eyes steeled in the glass. No nonsense, and no room for Ruby to dodge the subject. "What happened. One day everybody found out about everything, and the next, I was with the Branwens. We knew about Salem and Ozpin for the longest, right?"
"I don't know how we could have discussed the attack," Ruby responded. "I was comatose, and then the only time I saw you for two months was at the funeral. It's not your fault."
"Fault? No, that's-" Blake shook her head. "I just mean to say that I've dealt with it. Me and Yang together. We're ready for Beacon to start again. But I care about how you're feeling too, Ruby. Weiss and Bella and Pyrrha all have their own issues."
Damn it Blake. Groaning, Ruby turned away from the window to give Blake her full attention. Blake had all of her weight on one leg, cheek propped against a finger, her ears twitching with innocent concern. She fought her instinct to shrink away. Ruby didn't know how to approach Blake – she'd grown used to, well- something was different between them. For a long time, Blake had needed Ruby, needed her to keep secrets and plan protests and stop evil conspiracies. The tables had turned. A summer apart and she felt like a child again, clinging to her mom and dreaming of playing huntsman, putting on a brave face for her older friend. Blake and Yang's relationship felt way more serious than before the attack, and it had opened up a gap between her and them that she didn't know how to breach.
Ruby was transparent. Fragile. She saw herself in the clouds. Once everything could have been an illusion, fading away with the brush of a finger, but now everything Ruby saw was real. She was the brittle one, and Blake made her ready to crumble.
"I've dealt with it," Ruby deadpanned. She had dealt with Bella. That counted.
Sort of.
Blake huffed a laugh, smirking. "Of course you have. You've probably managed to put the Atlesian council in your pocket and come up with a plan for world peace while I haven't been watching too." Ruby blushed, remembering a certain promise she and Bella had made in Bella's penthouse, and Blake snorted. "Look. I know better than to try and pry. But I'm here for you, y'know?"
"I know." Ruby knew Blake was right on both counts. If Ruby wanted to tell Blake anything, she could, but she could keep her in the dark just as easily. She knew that from experience.
Ruby's stomach twisted a little. Is that good? she wondered, uneasy. I don't want to keep secrets again like I did last year.
Unwittingly, her eyes trailed through the crowds of huntsmen-in-training and found Weiss. Weiss was laughing with Yang and Nora. At her waist, the Relic of Knowledge was clipped to her belt, glowing with an eerie, blue light. Hidden in plain sight, Glynda had murmured. The vault is gone.
Nowhere is safe.
"I'm fine," Ruby murmured, entrancing by the dancing light of the magic. "Really." She spoke, but in her far-off mind, the world dissolved into glass and illusions over and over and over again. Harkan. The dragon. Bella. Her outstretched arm, blowing away into the wind.
Blake watched her, shifting helplessly, and Ruby knew she could see right through her but wouldn't act. She couldn't. It wasn't in her nature. Ruby's first year at Beacon had taught her about power and action, and Ruby knew when that power was in her hands.
It's okay, she told Blake, but only in her mind. We've got a plan. We're going to save people, do what we couldn't with the protest. Once Harkan is gone, their plans will fall apart. Raven will win the war in Anima and Bella can change everything with what Roman left to her. Trust me. I won't give up. I won't stop fighting. And I'm not broken.
Ruby saw how Blake and Yang looked at each other. She knew the shadows of distrust in Blake's demeanor were born from how close she had come to tearing them apart with her lies. Ruby didn't have much to give to Yang anymore, but she could make sure she held onto Blake, held onto happiness.
The relic whispered sweet nothings to her across the room.
"Thank you, Blake."
"Oh. Oh, yeah, it's nothing. Any time. How do you think initiation's gonna go this year? Do you think they'll toss the initiates off the cliff again?"
Smiling, Ruby turned her attention back to Blake and forgot her worries.
Everything would be perfectly fine.
Students milled around in the pit below the outdoor stage, waiting for Glynda's opening remarks. Team WYBR stuck together like a pack, and the rest of students seemed perfectly happy to give them a wide berth. They had a reputation. Pyrrha, Weiss, and Blake were all famous, and everybody was terrified of Ruby as the Black Rose, combined with more than a few rumors about the fate of one Cardin Winchester. As such, they had free leave to stroll right through the crowd and up to the stage.
Team SSSN was back in Vacuo for the year. Team CFVY was popular with their own year, and had a crowd of third years around them. But more importantly, there was an empty feeling to the crowd. Missing faces. Teams of two and three. The atmosphere was heavy, dark. Beacon seemed to loom behind the stage, new masonry and the damage to the side of the CCT glaring in the broad daylight.
Pyrrha kept her most professional face on. Nora stuck to her side like a bodyguard, a hand resting on Magnhild. After the assassination attempt, Nora had discovered a new serious side, an imposing sense. Pyrrha recognized what she was doing – she could see the fear when Nora thought she wasn't letting her in – and let her. They were there for each other. If the war was a game of chess, Pyrrha was the queen, and Nora would knight for her.
This feels wrong. Pyrrha's lips pressed thin; she ignored the searching eyes around her. This is a school, and we're making the kids feel like soldiers. We're too much. We shouldn't be here.
"You feel it."
Behind Pyrrha, Weiss had her business face on. Pyrrha dipped her head in acknowledgment. She and the heiress weren't close, but they played the same game. "I do."
"We'll have to make ourselves scarce after the ceremony," Weiss said. "Stick to our suites. We shouldn't have any trouble entertaining ourselves, but we need to give the school space. This isn't gonna work. We need to find a way to defuse the tension to make our presence here acceptable, but it's not gonna happen today."
The rest of the team came up to form a tight circle, Blake nodding along in agreement. "This sucks," Yang muttered. "First the bandits spend the whole summer staring at us, and now everyone here's doing it too. I want to go back to not worrying about anything but learning."
"Some of us don't have that luxury," Weiss said.
"Let them watch us."
Everyone looked at Ruby. Ruby's eye was narrowed, red-tinted hair swept over her silver skin. Crescent Rose poked out from under her cape. Pyrrha had a hard time imagining how Ruby was dealing with the animosity she was getting from the returning students around them. Really, she had a hard time reading Ruby – ever since she'd broken Ruby's arm at the beginning of the summer, Ruby had been distant from her. Ruby was a dark person, though. Pyrrha wouldn't put anything past her.
"We're going to have to fight again, this year," Ruby said, her voice low but firm. "If we're at the center of it, Beacon's gonna get involved again. If they're here, they're here to fight. So let them watch us. We'll show them how we beat Harkan and Adam and Cinder."
Yang frowned. "We're kids, Rubes. We're not-"
"Don't be like that." Ruby cut Yang off sharp, shouldering her roughly. "You know we, and they, don't have a choice. If there even was a choice, we've all already made it."
Flinching away, Yang went to Blake's other side, her expression hurt. Bella looked disturbed on Ruby's other side too. Pyrrha bit back a sigh. Oh, Ruby. "She has a fair point. We should be mindful of the position we're in."
"Yeah," Weiss agreed. At least the two of them were on the same page.
A low laugh from Nora brought all eyes to her. She drew Magnhild, giving the circle an evil grin. "If they want a show, let's give 'em one."
"Exhibition matches."
"What?"
Nodding to herself, Blake pushed her hair back over her shoulders. She had her plotting face on; the same expression that had led them all to the protest. Crafty, crafty. "They know us because we're strong," Blake said, eyes darting from person to person. "We fight back. And people feel powerless right now, between the war in Anima and Harkan and the Grimm. They're looking to us because they know that none of that's ever stopped us. So let's run exhibition matches. Training. We can invite the whole school and show them how and why we're fighting."
Everyone absorbed the suggestion. Weiss and Yang both were nodding, and Nora cracked her fist against her palm, grinning. "Sounds like a plan to me," Pyrrha said.
"Good." Weiss lifted her chin, keeping her gaze regal. "Then we'll make it happen."
"Students of Beacon, welcome to another school year."
"This has been a year of challenges and trials. We are battered but unbroken, and we will not stop fighting to protect our world and striving for peace. That is why we are huntsmen. That will be my prerogative as your new headmistress."
"You have chosen to be here. These are your proving grounds."
Beacon Hall flowed in toward the elevator banks. Grand arches framed the gleaming bronze doors, newly repaired. The metal danced in the torchlight. Students poured into the hall from the ceremony, first years peeling off to the cafeteria as everyone else headed up to the dorms. The moment Pyrrha caught sight of the elevator doors, she froze.
The elevators.
She was sprinting into the school, her team at her side. The elevator dinged twice before going silent as they plummeted into the school's underbelly. She was under the school with Ozpin and Glynda and Ruby and Ironwood- No, Ozpin and Jaune and Ren and Nora- No, Cinder- She was burning, she was on fire, the vault was on fire, the elevator was in shambles! Up, up, they had to go up- Her semblance-
Haunting notes hung in the air. Destiny Blue. Jaune had taught her how to fly.
"Pyrrha?" Was Jaune saying something to her? She couldn't hear him – Cinder was there, and Emmy and Merc- They were fighting- She was angry, so angry, and then- and then- and then-
And then-
"Pyrrha!"
A sharp ringing buzzed in her ears. Pyrrha blinked, disoriented, nauseous; why was she on the ground? Her circlet felt like it was burning into her scalp. Her vision felt distant, rushing in and out of focus. She caught a flash of red hair. Nora?
Live, Pyrrha. You've got to choose to live.
The Bullhead was going down. Pyrrha was falling out of the sky.
"Pyrrha, listen to me," Weiss said. A hand rested on her shoulder. "I want you to breathe for me, okay? Take a deep breath. Try to slow down. In-" Pyrrha sucked in breath, curling tighter against the foot of the grand pillar. How had she gotten to the edge of the hall? Was her Maiden's corona active? "Out." She exhaled.
Faces swam around her. All of her friends stood around her in a protective circle, unconcerned that her power was burning around her. Weiss was using her aura to shield her hands from the heat. Behind them, people streamed past, never casting her a second glance.
Bella noticed her frantic gaze. {It's fine. I've got an illusion up. Nobody sees us.}
The emotionless nature of Bella's illusions, the toneless writing, made it easier for Pyrrha to claw into her emotions and shove them down. Her panic eased, enough for her to throw Weiss' hand off and struggled to her feet. "It's nothing," she said. "I'm fine."
She was met by a sea of concern and skepticism. It curdled in her chest, right next to the knot of I-shouldn't-be-here and this-is-wrong. She wasn't unbeatable. Not anymore.
"We're here for you," Blake murmured, stepping back to give her space.
Yang frowned. "Do you know what set it off?"
She couldn't look, so she stared at her toes. "The doors. I can feel them with my semblance. They're new. I guess the old ones were scrap, but-"
Arms flew over her shoulders; Pyrrha staggered back as Ruby tackle-hugged her in a flood of rose petals, squeezing tight. Weiss' face flashed alarm. For a moment, blind fear swept Pyrrha's thoughts, then calmed. She hugged Ruby back, trying not to telegraph her inner turmoil. Ruby was a good person, she knew it, no matter how much Nora had cast their friendship into doubt. Ruby was stability. She closed her eyes.
Milo had only shifted an inch in her scabbard.
Only an inch.
We never should have come back to Beacon.
I never should have come back.
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang stood shoulder to shoulder in the entryway, staring at their dorm room.
Four pristine, made-up beds stared back.
"This is wrong," Weiss said.
"Yup," Yang agreed.
Blake hoisted her bag of her shoulder and cracked her knuckles. "I'll go get my books."
"I'm on rope!" Ruby exclaimed. Yang snickered. Ruby smacked her, then sped off with her semblance.
Weiss sighed, rolling her shoulders. "You know, I never thought I'd say this," she muttered, kneeling down to push the far bed to the wall. "But the sooner this room gets bunk beds, the better I'll feel." There were other things too – like the blank walls, or the window facing the wrong direction off the dorm hall, or the uncluttered bathroom. The beds were as good a place as any to start.
"I knew you had it in you," Yang told Weiss with a grin.
"Shut up and help me."
The elevator hummed as it sped skyward. Inside, the silence was hard for Bella to bear. She stood awkwardly off to the side, shifting from one foot to the other. She ached for Ruby – a losing desire – and stewed in the same circular thoughts she'd been having for a week.
Johann and Aurora Green. Her parent's names. Graduated from Beacon a year ahead of Team STRQ and got married straight away. Spent the rest of their short lives in the active-duty corps, taking on international missions for Vale, mostly humanitarian and defensive. Tai had said Johann was a serious man with a strong sense of duty who had fallen for Aurora because of how sweet she was. Good huntsmen, good people.
Nobody ever found their bodies. They were still on the missing list – Tai hadn't even known they were dead until Raven had brought her in for a bath one day.
So Bella had a few things on her mind. Like the fact her mom was fighting a war, or that Ruby barely ever took her mental walls down anymore, or that she was standing in an elevator with Pyrrha and Nora, neither of whom seemed to have any interest in striking a conversation.
Ding. The doors slid open; Glynda stood across the room, with Qrow behind her, staring out the window.
"Glynda," Pyrrha said, gesturing for Bella and Nora to follow her out of the elevator.
Glynda gave Pyrrha a tired smile. The gear chair, Ozpin's legacy, wasn't proportioned right for a woman of her size. She projected an aura of discomfort, not that Bella could blame her. Still, it was a problem to be solved. Mulling it over helped distract her, and she started casting chair illusions over the gear chair visible only to her, trying to find a better design.
"You are well?" Glynda asked.
Pyrrha inclined her head. "Our injuries are gone. We're ready to do what has to be done."
"Good." Glynda nodded to Nora, then turned her attention to Bella. "Miss Valkyrie. Miss Branwen, are you comfortable with this arrangement?"
Not with your chair, I'm not. A cushy old brown armchair did look good on Glynda, Bella thought, but perhaps not in the headmistress' office. Bella moved on to more modern styles. {It works,} her distracted illusion read.
"And you and Ruby want this?" Qrow came over from the window and leaned on the desk with both hands. Bella didn't bother wondering what her uncle was doing in Glynda's office; he most likely had reasons on reasons and wouldn't share a cent of them.
{Yeah.} Ruby does, at least. I understand necessity.
Nora tapped her foot against the glass floor, newly repaired, impatience plastered into her frown. "What's the point in calling us up here? I need to unpack so I can get Magnhild tuned up before tomorrow."
Glynda leaned over the desk, narrowing her eyes behind her spectacles. "I won't get in the way of your training. I need to have proper teams, though. Rearranging everyone who lost team members is a delicate task. I… understand your team's pain better than some. My request will be a burden to you, and I won't foist it on you if you refuse."
Pyrrha closed her eyes. Nora looked down. Sighing, Bella took it upon herself to talk, not that she was a part of JNPR. What was left of it. {What?}
"There's a boy. Oscar Pine. Raven rescued him from Anima and sent him to me. Problem is-" Glynda stopped short and took a long drink from a glass of water. "Well, there's a lot of problems. For one, he's too young."
"Ruby is young," Pyrrha pointed out.
"Fourteen. With no prior combat experience."
There was a moment of stunned silence. Bella ignored her sinking feeling and watched Qrow, trying to read his reaction. Nothing. He was stoic – sobriety had done wonders for his poker face.
"You're joking." Nora gave a fake laugh. "That's a joke. Please tell me you're joking."
Qrow shot her a serious look. "This isn't a joking matter, Nora. Trust me, the last thing we want is to put this kid anywhere near you kids, especially Ruby. But, if you hadn't noticed..." Qrow waved at himself and Glynda. "We're a little short-handed. We don't have many options, and, like it or not, Pyrrha is one of our best ways to protect Oscar."
The pressure in the room dropped. Pyrrha took a dangerous step forward, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, especially Ruby?"
Oh no. Bella drew the connection and she didn't like it one bit. Please say it hasn't happened already.
Glynda's lips drew to a thin line. "He comes with a passenger."
"Ughhh..."
Ruby received three identical looks of annoyance when she slumped into her seat, nearly drooping into her Cookie Crunch, hair first. Her entire team, clearly, had betrayed her. She was too tired to care. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Weiss drawled, her hair already done up.
"Oh, shut up," Ruby muttered. "I know none of you slept at all last night. And are we really gonna eat in the exact same place we at last year again this year?"
Everybody surveyed their table. It was rather unremarkable, and blessedly free of traffic. The school, it seemed, was still giving their team a wide berth.
"I don't see why not," Pyrrha offered. "Breakfast is an important time for socializing and nutrition, of course."
Yeah, well maybe you can take your stupid smile and cheerful attitude and-
Ruby snorted, almost choking on her cereal as Bella started creatively cursing Pyrrha across their bond. Of all of them, Bella was not a morning person. She wasn't an afternoon person. She was a 3 AM I'm-gonna-ruin-your night person and apparently rooming with Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie had only made her grumpier.
"Meh. Sleep is overrated," Blake muttered, raking a spoon through her tea.
Yang leaned over and rested her head on Blake's shoulder, closing her eyes. "Easy for the insomniac to say."
"...I thought the nightmares would have gone away by now," Nora said, her voice low.
Nobody had a response to that.
"Heads up," Yank said. She jerked her head over to the entryway, where Hazel Arc and a boy were angling right toward them. "We've got company."
Hazel looked good in her full combat outfit, Ruby decided. Of course, she'd only met Jaune's sister once and briefly, but she seemed to be in her element. The eerie resemblance to Jaune and Crocea Mors strapped to her back had her looking away to the boy fast. He was tall and had a fluffy, rich-boy haircut that made her scrunch up her nose. She didn't know him.
Weiss did.
"You! You're that boy from the docks!"
"Me," the boy said, his smugness evident. "Shocked you remember me, Schnee. Or noticed me. Are we still clumsy, cause I hear that in this occupation..."
"Why, you!" Weiss spluttered. Her face was taking on a peculiar shade of red.
The boy drew two fingers across his throat and smirked. "Hazardous."
Weiss growled, straining against Blake, who latched onto her arm to hold her down. Pyrrha had a traitorous smile for a moment, caught Weiss' glare, and hid it behind her hand. "And who are you, exactly?" Nora asked.
"Drayden Viris. Pleasure." Drayden followed his twirling hand into a mock bow, earning another giggle from Pyrrha.
"Really," Yang said, unimpressed. "How much product do you use in your hair?"
"Ignore him," Pyrrha laughed. "He's always like this. The more you egg him on, the worse he gets. He used to come to my parties in Mistral."
Drayden shot Pyrrha a shit-eating grin. "And you're looking well, Nikos. I must say, you've taken the glow-up from tournament brat to god-tier savant well. I know you too, Schnee. I used to come to your daddy's parties too – not that you'd have given an only modestly rich-"
"Stinking rich," Hazel butted in for the first time.
"A modestly stinking rich gentleman like myself the time of day."
"I think I hate him," Weiss muttered to Blake.
"Well, he's gonna be sticking around." Hazel shoved Drayden behind her not-so-lightly, rolling her eyes. She was dressed in full battle armor, ready for initiation. "I picked him up at a rave in Basin three years ago and that's as much say as he's getting in the matter. Total asshole. Absolutely irredeemable. But he's my kind of asshole, got it?"
Drayden beamed like Hazel had just given him a declaration of love.
Ruby leaned over to Bella. I don't get it.
Sure you don't. Bella shook her head. Even I know that kid. He's everywhere. I think his parents do international relations for the Bank of Atlas, maybe. The Viris family is famous for standardizing international currency, like, three hundred years ago. He's old money, like Pyrrha. No wonder she knows him.
Gross.
Yeah, yeah. Don't forget that me and Weiss and Pyrrha are all at least as rich as he is. Bella shot Ruby a look. If you're trying to cling to your middle class dreams, you're in bad company.
Ruby tried not to pout too much.
Turning her full attention to Pyrrha, Hazel gave her a severe look. "Have you recovered?" Pyrrha nodded, but Hazel pressed further. "Do me better than that, Nikos. I'm not just talking about the assassin."
Pyrrha froze, and an uncertain look Ruby had almost never seen passed over her face. Did something else happen the night they went to dinner? Ruby wondered. Pyrrha's eyes flickered to Nora, then she answered, "I'm recovering. I can do what's necessary."
"Good." Hazel nodded. "Then I'd like my formal challenge. Sooner rather than later, preferably."
Ruby's brain short-circuited. Around the table, everyone stared at Pyrrha in shock. Weiss turned white; Yang gripped the table; Blake squeaked a little bit. The only one who didn't seem surprised was Nora, who sighed.
First Jaune, now Hazel. Bella crossed her arms. Whoever taught the Arc kids that a formal challenge was an acceptable way to settle issues was crazy.
"You're gonna fight a death match?" Yang shouted, drawing fearful attention.
Drayden let out a long, low whistle. "Damn, Arc. I knew you've got balls of steel, but challenging Pyrrha Nikos to a duel is next-level. See, this is why I like this girl. She's a freaking badass."
"Shut up, Dray." Hazel shoved her friend back behind her again, intent on Pyrrha. "So?"
"I accept." Pyrrha met Hazel's eyes and brought her maiden's corona to life. The flames licked at the edges of her circlet. "I propose this Friday. Three o'clock. Public audience. No holds barred."
"Acceptable." Hazel nodded, unfazed by Pyrrha's powers, and shook her hand before anyone else had a chance to interrupt.
Weiss gaped between Pyrrha and Hazel for a long moment, then buried her face in her hands. "Insanity," she mumbled. "I am surrounded by insanity."
Drayden put a comforting hand on Weiss' back, rubbing in soothing circles. "Don't worry, Snowflake. I know the matters of us plebians must be foreign to you but I can assure- WOAH!"
Without bothering to look, Weiss raised two fingers in the air and flung Drayden clear across the cafeteria with her glyphs. People yelled and pointed when he elegantly soaring into a bowl of soup, crashed through the table, and landed with a banana peel on his head. When people shot Weiss wild looks, Ruby stood up and let her red aura flare around her body until they looked away.
"Guys, I think things like this are why the whole school is afraid of us," Yang said.
Weiss groaned into her arms. "Freshmen."
The one distinguishing feature of their new room was an exposed air vent that ran from one side of the room to the other. It was ugly and aluminum and hummed like a swarm of Lancers hovering over roadkill. The air it pumped in was cold; some kind of check against the summer heat, only it was cold at night and nobody had remembered to kill the AC. No blanket was thick enough to block sound. Blake hadn't bothered trying to sleep in the room with her hyper-sensitive hearing – she was curled up on the common room couch under Yang's bomber jacket, taking a rare moment of sleep before, presumably, a long night of reading, or thinking, or nothing. Weiss had stormed off to complain; she was in a truly foul mood, and they'd all steered clear of her. Ruby hated the buzz, how it felt physical, like a vibration up the length of her forearm, making the exposed skin crawl. How none of them had noticed it the first night was beyond her. She sank with the tension.
Yang jumped off the top bunk and discarded Gambol Shroud with a disgruntled huff. "This fucking sucks," she muttered.
Tossing her scroll beside her, Ruby slumped back onto her pillow, covering her ears. The noise was driving her crazy. "I can't believe I forgot my headphones," she said, staring up at where her canopy should have been. They hadn't hung the loose canvas above her bed yet. "I could be listening to something else, but no. Why can't we have our old room back?"
"You want to shack up with the first years?" Yang asked, throwing a punch at some invisible enemy.
Ruby grimaced. "Ha ha. Very funny. I don't want to be here at all."
"None of us do." Yang ducked an invisible punch, falling into a familiar pattern of weaves and jabs Ruby recognized as one of her training routines. "I spent the summer plotting to make Mom some kind of ruler and dealing with bandits. This is like a step backwards. Three steps backwards. Which is crazy, because this is what we signed up for. It's not like Beacon was gonna be a one year and done deal. Hell, Uncle Qrow and Mom made it through four years without a problem!"
"I guess this is our new normal."
Yang stopped and stared at Ruby. "Do you really believe that?"
"Believe what?"
"That this is normal."
Ruby sat up and dangled her legs over the edge of bed. There was an edge to Yang's voice that told her she needed to pay attention. Ruby had barely talked to her sister since she'd come back from Raven's camp. There was a new distance between them, maybe because Yang had finally found her mom, and Ruby felt it to an acute degree. Yang felt like a half-sister, not her sister sister, and she didn't like that feeling.
She didn't like it at all. But what could she do?
"Yeah."
Yang scowled, like she'd expected that answer. "Well, it's not. We're students. We shouldn't be responsible for all of this. I'm honestly getting kind of sick of it."
Ruby frowned. "But… If we've got a chance to make a difference, to help people, shouldn't we take it? Isn't that what we're huntresses for?"
"Yeah, but- We're barely even huntresses anymore!" Yang exclaimed. "We're, we're celebrities! Or conspirators! I feel like a pawn half the time! When I went looking for Mom, I wanted family, not to be some kind of bandit princess or something!"
"Maybe it's not about what we want," Ruby murmured.
Yang glared at her. "Easy for you to say."
Ruby had geared up for a long conversation. She was entirely unprepared for Yang to stomp out of the room, slamming the door behind her and leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts and the annoying humming. She deflated, lying back on her bed.
Yang…
[A/N] Dude my anxiety's been popping the last two weeks – I'm getting my college descision back this weekend and if that ain't a stressor I don't know what is. In any case, I like this chapter a lot – Blake killing it with her confidence boost from talking Raven into conquering Anima, Weiss continuing to be the best person (both in this fic and in general), Team WBYR generally being celebrities, and Yang generally not being okay with that. Also Winter!
Who likes Drayden? His personality is 'rich' and 'asshole.' Poor Weiss… Best girl can't catch a break.
Merry Christmas! Happy Thanksgiving! Spooky Friday the 13th?
Cheers, Allie
Estimated Update Day: 12/28/19