RWBY: MRRN
Volume 4, Chapter 9: Dark Dream, Sad Reality
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.
Author's Note: I've noticed several people thinking that I hate Ozpin. I don't really hate him; I think he's a very tragic figure who's endured many years of pain. What I hate is how he uses his pain to justify his lies, half-truths and omitting important information, which often gets people killed. I don't hate Ozpin, but I do hate his bad habit of telling lies of half-truths.
Glaucus blasted two Beowulves with a blast of Gravity Dust, followed by throwing a wave of fire at three more. Beside him was Corcra Kendrick, cutting through the Grimm with her weapon in its guandao form. They were easily beating back the Grimm that had been attracted to Vale by the recent Humanity First and anti-Huntsman antics.
Glynda used her crop to summon a stormy cloud from above, which rained ice shards on the Grimm charging at the Huntsmen. It dealt a major blow to their numbers, but they were still coming and it seemed that the bigger Grimm were already arriving.
"Mork Gigant!" one of the Huntsmen warned. A giant humanoid Grimm could be seen stomping into sight, carrying a large tree as a weapon.
"Aim for its head!' Anrydd cried out, armed with his longbow and large quiver of Dust arrows. He pulled two arrows out from his quiver and shot at the Mork Gigant's eyes. The colossal Grimm raised its large arm up and the arrows instead landed in its wrist, causing little damage.
"Corcra, Anrydd!" Glynda called out. "Take down that Mork Gigant! It'll tear through our defenses! The rest of you, hold this line!" As ordered, Corcra and Anrydd took on the Mork Gigant before the colossal Grimm could do severe damage to the defensive line of Huntsmen and Vale Military.
The Mork Gigant's dermal armor made it difficult for Corcra and Anrydd to take it down at first, but they were able to come up with a strategy to take down the colossal Grimm.
Corcra went for the back of its legs, which were mostly unarmored, but still very thick for her guandao to cut through in one swing. Instead, he used her spear form to thrust into the Gigant's knee, causing it to roar in pain. Anrydd then used the opportunity to shoot another two arrows at the Gigant's head. Because it was distracted, it didn't catch the arrows in time and they pierced both of its eyes. The colossal Grimm roared in agonizing pain as it fell onto its hands and knees.
"Now we take its head!" Corcra shouted as she activated her weapon's guandao form and Anrydd activated the blades in his bow. The two of them leapt over the Grimm and used their bladed weapons to lop its head off in one powerful blow.
"Push them back!" Glynda called out as she summoned another dark cloud that rained ice shards on the Grimm. The Grimm that weren't killed by the ice shards were killed by a Fire Dust blast from Glaucus as he let out a shout.
When all the Grimm were defeated, the Huntsmen and Vale Military took account of their losses. Out of the fifty Huntsmen and Huntresses present, nineteen were dead. As for the five hundred military, 138 were dead. The Grimm were growing more and more numerous by the day, leading to more casualties from both the Huntsmen and the Vale Military.
"Are you okay, Corcra?" Glaucus asked the mother of his student.
"I'm…I'm doing better," she answered. "Math and Pyrrha received prosthetics from Atlas, courtesy of my brother, Gormen."
"What about your sister, Fiolett?" Glaucus asked. "Have you heard from her lately?"
"Things have gotten bad in Mistral," Corcra replied. "The whole Kingdom's in a state of chaos ever since the Fall of Beacon. The atrocities that Humanity First are committing here are much worse in Mistral."
"That's not surprising, considering Mistral has very racist views on the Faunus," Glaucus stated. He sighed heavily as the two of them sat down to catch their breaths from the battle they had just fought.
"Every time I leave the house, I'm scared that something will happen to Math and Saf," Corcra told Glaucus. "The Humanity First, the anti-Huntsmen groups…any of them could come to our home and burn it all down without a shred of remorse. Even with the braces they received, which thankfully allows them to move around functionally again, they still haven't forged their new weapons. Even after that, they'd need time for practice; they haven't fought in months."
Her fear was very understandable. With her children and Pyrrha all recovering from their traumas from the Fall of Beacon, Corcra was the only one in the house who could fight against anyone who would threaten her. The only reason she wasn't staying at the house was because she had to make money to pay for what they needed.
"It helps that you've stopped by whenever you can," Corcra told Glaucus. "Thank you…for everything you've done for my son."
"Of course," Glaucus replied. "Speaking of son…have you considered telling Math the truth?"
There was something Corcra had been keeping from her children for a very long time, a secret that she wasn't sure how she'd tell them. Both Forest and Glaucus had learned about it when they were training Math after his expulsion, though she was adamant that she be the one to tell her son.
"I don't know," she answered with immense uncertainty. "He deserves to know the truth, but…after everything that's happened, I don't know if he or Safirlas are ready to know."
"Sooner or later, you'll have to tell them," Glaucus insisted. Corcra frowned at the Gray Wanderer.
"I know what I have to do," she told him sternly. "I don't need to be told how to parent my own children. I will tell them when I know they're ready."
Corcra immediately regrated her outburst towards Glaucus. She knew what had to be done, but she was afraid of how Math and Safirlas would react to the secret she had been hiding from them for years. It was one of the many pains she had bore for years.
She and her two children lived with an abusive man who refused to take responsibility for his actions, who always made everything about him. She had watched her son be expelled from Aurum for something he hadn't done and was unable to do anything about it. The worst was when she had seen both of her children on medical beds during the Fall of Beacon. She had never been more afraid in her life than when she saw Math and Saf unconscious and possibly die from their injuries.
"Glaucus…I'm sorry," she apologized. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."
"I didn't mean to push you," Glaucus assured. "Perhaps I could keep an eye on them while you're away if that helps."
"But that'll mean you won't be earning your keep," Corcra brought up, but Glaucus dismissed.
"I have more than enough," he insured. "I could keep an eye on them until they're fit for combat again."
"Glaucus…thank you," she replied. "I'll talk to Math and Safirlas about it when I get home. Oh, and be careful around Siocled; she can be…rather aggressive towards strangers."
"I'm sure your dog will like me," Glaucus replied with a smile. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk with Glynda. Take care."
The Gray Wanderer took his leave of Corcra and walked on over to Glynda, who was currently directing the other Huntsmen on where to go for the next skirmish. When she noticed Glaucus patiently waiting for her, she stepped away from the Huntsmen and towards the Gray Wanderer.
"What is it?" she asked him.
"I visited Math and Pyrrha a while back," Glaucus informed. "While I was there…they told me something that disturbed me…about Ozpin."
"Ozpin?" Glynda asked. "I know we didn't tell them the whole truth, Glaucus, but they had to understand-"
"Ozpin forced Pyrrha into the machine during the Fall of Beacon," he interrupted. "When she refused, Ozpin knocked her unconscious and placed her in the transfer machine."
Glynda's eyes were wide with horror and shock at this revelation. It couldn't be true. She knew Ozpin had considered doing so, but she didn't believe he'd actually go through with it at all. She couldn't find the words to express her reaction to this information, but her scowl said it all.
"No…" she replied softly. "Ozpin…he wouldn't…he'd never do such a thing. He had considered it, but-"
"He did it," Glaucus replied. "Pyrrha told me…and she told me in very vivid detail."
"Ozpin…he wouldn't…" Glynda spoke softly. She shook her head as if she was in denial. She couldn't believe Ozpin would ever do such a thing. It was true that they were desperate, but she never would've considered it an option.
"I didn't know about it," Glynda claimed. "I…I thought Ms. Nikos would agree to it. But it doesn't make sense; why would she refuse? She knew what was at stake."
"No, Glynda, she didn't," Glaucus responded. "Because she didn't know the whole truth…and because she had found people she loved. We asked her to sacrifice all of that for us and we didn't even give her the luxury of a full explanation. Maybe if we had, she would've been more likely to accept it."
Glaucus's words were harsh, but true. Math had been suspicious of Ozpin ever since their mission where Alan Kura was killed. They had only made him more suspicious of Ozpin by refusing to tell the whole truth until Pyrrha agreed to accept the Maiden powers.
"No doubt Mr. Kendrick dissuaded her as well," Glynda assumed. "Perhaps we shouldn't have involved him."
"He did what I always think he'll do: protect those he loves," Glaucus replied. "He felt Pyrrha's life was in jeopardy, so-"
"This is about all of Remnant, Glaucus," Glynda replied. "You've seen what's happened out there. Can we really say Math made the right choice by dissuading Pyrrha? He put his feelings for her ahead of what was best for Remnant, above Vale's safety."
That was arguable. One could see why Math did act selfishly by dissuading Pyrrha from taking the Maiden powers. Had she accepted to go into the machine, there was a stronger chance that Cinder never would've gotten the Fall Maiden's complete powers.
On the other hand, as Glaucus stated, Ozpin's group had only told them half the truth of the reality of the Maiden situation. Considering Alan Kura's death and how Ozpin had sent them against an enemy they weren't ready for, Math was bound to be suspicious. It was only made worse when they wouldn't say the whole truth.
"Being a Huntsman means making sacrifices for the greater good," Glynda replied. "Is Mr. Kendrick capable of making those sacrifices? If he's not, then perhaps you never should've trained him."
"Perhaps Ozpin should've stopped lying, telling only half-truths and keeping important information from his allies," Glaucus shot back. "And I KNOW Math and all his teammates are capable of doing what's needed." The Gray Wanderer then walked away as Glynda did the same to direct the Huntsmen to where they'd be for the next skirmish.
-0-
Cinder knelt on the floor, exhausted from the constant Grimm Salem was throwing her way. Her training had been difficult and very dangerous, though her control over her Maiden powers had grown exponentially. As of right now, she was out of breath and needed time for a break.
"You're improving, Cinder," Salem told the Fall Maiden. "But you still have much to learn. You will need complete control of your powers if you're ever to stand a chance against Ruby or Pyrrha again."
Again, Cinder hid her anger towards not being able to kill Ruby. Why did Salem want her alive? Why would she want a girl who had a power extremely effective against Grimm? What was the point? It was only made worse by the fact that Salem wouldn't give her reasons for this decision.
"I see your frustration, Cinder," Salem pointed out. "But your feelings don't change reality. Ruby is valuable at the moment and until I say otherwise, she will not be killed."
"Y…yes," Cinder responded weakly. "Pyrrha…Pyrrha…will…" She couldn't finish her sentence before she started coughing up blood onto the floor. She coughed and gagged from the blood that dripped from her mouth like vomit. As she looked down at the small splashes of blood on the floor, her anger began to rise again.
Ruby had maimed her body severely with her power. She couldn't stand being in this state: defeated, barely able to fight…weak.
"Your body will heal in time, Cinder," Salem assured. "But you must take care, Cinder. The next time you're caught in a Silver Eyed attack like that, you may never recover. That will be enough training for today." Salem then walked off, most likely to contact the other members of the Circle.
The sooner Cinder was healed, the better for her. She could already think of the various ways she could kill Pyrrha for scarring her face the way she did at Beacon. She intended to make her suffer as much as she could. Perhaps she could kill Mathdon first before she killed Pyrrha.
It wasn't the first time she gruesomely killed someone nor would it be the last.
Cinder started making her way to her room, where she planned on resting for the rest of the day until she was needed. The training Salem had put her through had taken a heavy toll on her and she barely had any energy left in her weakened state. This prompted her to fall asleep, to let her mind and body rest.
"Cinder!" a soft female voice cried out to Cinder. She was five years old, her hair loose onto her shoulders and wearing a child's Mistrali robe. She giggled before running up to the woman and hugging her.
"Mama!" she cheered. Cinder giggled as the woman hugged her back, followed by another pair of male arms.
"Daddy!" Cinder cheered again, hugging her beloved father as well. Suddenly, her mom's arms broke away from her and she fell onto a bed, where she lay immobile. Cinder remembered this like it was yesterday: the day her mother died.
"Mama?" Cinder wept as she walked over to hold her deceased mother's hand. Before she reached her mom, she disappeared and all she could see was a tombstone with her mother's name on it. When she looked to her left, there was suddenly another grave, one belonging to her father.
"CINDER!" an angry female voice shouted from behind Cinder. The young girl, who had suddenly turned twelve, saw three shadows behind her, all with green eyes. She recognized their silhouettes easily…they were her stepfamily. Her stepmother and two stepsisters that became her family after her mom died and her father remarried. He thought that by remarrying and giving Cinder a new mother along with siblings that everything would be okay.
He was wrong.
"Get back here and do your jobs!" the shadow of the stepmother shouted. "You will do as I say or you will be punished!"
Cinder ran to get away from the stepmother, but accidentally wound up in a closet where the door shut and locked behind her.
"No," Cinder cried. "No. Not…not this again. Please not this!"
Every time Cinder had done something to offend her stepfamily, she was locked in this room. She was left here to starve for hours, sometimes even days. She would pound on the door, begging to be let out. She cried and begged and pleaded, but all of her pleas fell on dear ears.
Now at the age of 15, Cinder broke through the door and was greeted by the sights of her dead stepmother and stepsisters. Cinder's mind had finally snapped that day and she decided to make her stepfamily pay for all the pain and suffering they put her through for their amusement. She had gruesomely murdered every last one of them and made sure to make them suffer.
"Cinder!" a voice cried out. "Cinder!"
Cinder woke up from her dream and woke up panting and sweating. That was not the first time she had a dream like that, one where she remembered everything she once loved…and everything she had lost.
"Cinder!" Emerald called out, knocking on the door. "Are you okay!? We heard you panting in there!" Cinder got out of her bed and walked over to the door to greet Emerald as she opened it.
"Fine…" she spoke in a very raspy voice again. "Leave me…"
"Yes," Emerald complied before walking away. Cinder closed the door and went over the dream again.
She had been born to a very loving mother and father, both of which who treated her like a princess. Unfortunately, when she was young, her mother died and her father remarried. At first, everything was going alright and Cinder felt that her stepfamily would make her happy. The untimely death of her father proved that wrong.
For years, Cinder's stepfamily abused them, mistreated her, often locked her up like an animal for the smallest offenses against them. One day, she snapped and grabbed a meat cleaver, then used it to murder her stepmother and stepsisters.
Something changed in Cinder the day she murdered her stepfamily. She thought she'd feel remorse or regret of any kind. She thought that once she saw herself stained with the blood of her step relatives, she'd feel horrified at the thought of committing murder. But that's not what happened.
Instead, Cinder felt immense satisfaction. She was happy as she looked upon the corpses of those she killed. A sadistic grin often stretched across her face as she watched people suffer, especially those who had made her feel weak.
Never again would she be among the weak as she had when her stepfamily abused her. She would be strong and destroy anyone who made her feel as she did when she was a child, all the while spreading pain and misery wherever she went.
That's what she wanted: to be strong so no one could ever victimize her again and to make everyone feel the pain and suffering she had endured for so many years. Salem could give her that and she had no intention of stopping…even if it meant disobeying Salem and killing Ruby Rose.
-0-
A boat had been scheduled to leave today and Ruo was all packed up to leave. During the two days he had waited for the boat that would take him to Vale, Yang hadn't spoken to him nor had he spoken to her. If she intended to apologize, she had made no effort to do so.
He had already informed Taiyang that he would be leaving. At first, Tai was understanding of Ruo, but after he stated he wouldn't come back, the Xiao Long was shocked by what he said.
He knew that he and Yang had gotten into an argument, but what Ruo omitted was that she had punched him into the wall. He feared that if he had told him that, a bitter argument would've broken out between Tai and Yang, which was something he didn't want.
Ruo heard a knock on the door just as he was about to leave. The White Tiger walked over and, as expected, Tai stood there with a solemn expression.
"You're serious about this?" he asked Ruo.
"I am," he answered. "I'm not coming back."
"Ruo…Yang needs you," Tai insisted. "I know she's being difficult right now, but she needs you. She loves you."
"Mr. Xiao Long, she has a chance to become a Huntress again," Ruo replied. "But all she wants to do is waste away, feeling sorry for herself. All our advice has fallen on deaf ears."
"I agree with you, Ruo, that Yang has had more than enough time and that she should get back on her feet," Tai replied. "But leaving her is not the way to do it. Why should one argument cause everything to fall apart?"
It wasn't just one argument, it was the fact that Yang had hurt him similar to the way his mother had when she became barbaric and bloodthirsty. Ruo knew Yang had a temper, but even in her worst moments, he never thought she'd ever raise a hand to her friends or family. He couldn't forgive it, not after all the pain he had suffered at his mother's hands.
"She said she doesn't want me here anymore," Ruo told Tai. "I'm just a waste of space to her now."
"Oh, come on, she can't really mean that," Tai responded. "Sometimes, she just says things because she's angry. She could've just said in the heat of the moment just because-"
"Mr. Xiao Long," Ruo interrupted. "Don't try to convince me. My mind's already made up. I'm going back to Vale."
He loved Yang with all his heart, but knowing that she had lashed out at him the way she did made it too hard for him to be near her. He was afraid that she'd do it all over again, just as his mother had. He couldn't allow himself to be convinced to stay, not after what happened.
"Will you at least tell Yang goodbye?" Tai asked the White Tiger. "It's the least you can do." Ruo wanted to say 'no', but he couldn't ignore the sincerity in Tai's voice, so he replied 'Yes'. He walked over to Yang's room and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He knocked again, yet still no answer from Yang.
Ruo patiently waited for several moments, but Yang still would not answer. Ruo shook his head in frustration and walked back to his room to collect his belongings. When he walked out of the room, Yang had answered the door and was now standing in the hallway.
There was a mix of emotions on her face: sadness, anger, regret, guilt, loneliness, hurt…it was impossible to tell which emotion she was currently feeling the most out of all of them. He was uncertain whether Yang was silently pleading for him not to go or silently demanding he leave the Xiao Long home.
"Yang…" Ruo spoke quietly, but didn't find any other words to say.
"Ruo…" Yang replied softly. "Dad, could we have a moment?"
"Already gone," Tai replied. He walked down the stairs and then went outside, leaving the two young adults alone.
"Why did you do that?" Ruo questioned in a quiet, yet stern voice. "When we argued, I never thought…" He sighed.
"Ruo, I didn't mean to," Yang claimed. "I…I was just…I was angry-"
"Have you ever thought that your anger causes you more harm than good?" Ruo interrupted. "I learned that the hard way when I tried to murder Grant Denim."
That was easily one of Ruo's greatest screw-ups. He was blinded by his anger and rage and attempted to murder someone. This act nearly cost him the trust of his teammates and friends; they never suspected someone like him would ever try to commit such an act when he was often a strong advocate for nonviolence. To twist the knife, it had hurt everyone he cared about, not just himself.
"I thought you would've learned that the night you lost your arm," Ruo brought up. "You lost your arm because you attacked an enemy in a blind rage."
"He tried to kill Blake," Yang replied. "That monster…that evil monster…and Blake, that…that stupid coward…" The sun dragon's breathing became strained and heavy as she remembered waking up only to find out that Weiss had been forced back to Atlas and Blake had run away.
"Blake, that stupid coward," she growled. "She promised she'd never run again. She broke that promise…twice. Right now…I wished I hadn't even tried to save her if all she was going to do was run."
"It was Blake that carried you out of Beacon," Ruo brought up. "By no means am I justifying her running away, but-"
"But nothing," Yang interrupted. "All my life, people have left me. Raven left me for Gods know what reason. Mom died when I was young, so Ruby and I grew up without a mom. Ruby and Blake…they both left me."
"Maybe Ruby wouldn't have if you hadn't lashed out at her," Ruo stated. "She was only trying to help you and all you did was lose your temper. Did you hit her too?"
"NO!" Yang roared, her eyes red with anger. "I would never hit my own sister for any reason!"
"The same way you wouldn't hit the man you love for any reason!?" Ruo shot back. Yang's anger immediately dropped and her eyes returned to their natural lilac color, left with no response to counter Ruo's question.
"What you did really shocked me," Ruo stated, his eyes starting to swell with tears. "I always knew you were hotheaded and often thought with your fists, but I never thought…I never thought…" He shook his head as he remembered Yang punching him into the wall in a fit of anger.
"Ruo…I'm so sorry," Yang apologized. "I didn't mean to. I just…"
"You were just angry," Ruo said. "Well, I'm angry at what you did…but I'm not going to hit you for it." Ruo then started making his way down the stairs as Yang watched from the floor above.
"This isn't see you later, Yang," Ruo responded. "This is goodbye."
Those words hurt Yang's heart, as if searing hot arrows had burned through her chest and pierced the organ that kept her blood pumping. Yet another person was walking away from her, but unlike Raven and her mother, he had been pushed away because she violently lashed out at him in a fit of anger. She wished desperately to find the words to make Ruo stay, but there was nothing she could do to persuade him otherwise.
"Ruo…I don't want you to leave," Yang weakly said as if desperately looking for any words she could to get him to stay with her.
Ruo's heart tugged at him, begging for him to stay with Yang. He loved her, cherished her and saw someone in her that he could fall deeply in love with. His heart ached so much from his decision to leave her for good.
"Yang…" Ruo spoke. He looked back at her and tried to force himself to say that he was gone for good. But he saw something that made him change his mind: the sincere regret and guilt for what she had done to him during their argument, regret and guilt he had never seen from his mother after joining the White Fang.
He wanted to believe that Yang had done exactly what his mother had done: hurt him without regret and believed that he was responsible for deserving it. He had never seen regret in his mother for any of the abuse she had put her son through, no shred of remorse. She descended into self-righteous rage and brutality, giving herself into the toxic mindset of the White Fang.
Yang's eyes were filled with immense regret for what she had done to him. She wished she could undo what she had done, wished that she had never hurt him. It nearly drove their relationship into the ground, something she cherished and desired. She didn't want to be left alone, not again.
His love for Yang and seeing the guilt in her eyes made him change his mind.
"Yang…I'll come back," he gave in to his love for Yang. "I'll…I'll come back when I can, but…but I need to see my friends."
That was enough for Yang to walk up to him and wrap her arm around him, prompting the White Tiger to do the same. The two held each other for several moments, Yang letting tears fall from her eyes onto Ruo's clothes.
"I'll…I'll see you again, Yang," Ruo replied before breaking away from the embrace and making his way to the door. After walking outside, he could see Tai practicing his martial arts, but stopped when he saw Ruo walking out with his belongings.
"I'm going to Vale," Ruo informed. "I'll come back when I can."
"Thanks," Tai replied. "I don't know what happened between you and Yang, but…take care, Ruo."
"You too, Mr. Xiao Long," Ruo responded before walking away from the Xiao Long house.