W/N: The previous chapter was edited after the post but the changes didn't show up until days later. If you read the chapter within the first two days of posting, you'll have missed a scene with Blake and Weiss detailing how they find Yang. It's not necessary now since reading part three already spoils where the tunnel leads but it will make some of the scenes in this chapter feel a little less out of left field.
Her two teammates merely stared at her, their confusion and terror were palpable. It hung in the air like a smog. Yang could practically touch it. She didn't need to wonder what they were thinking. It was written all over their faces. They imagined the worst.
Explanations and excuses immediately rose to her trembling lips, but nothing came out. What could she possibly say? Her guilt laid at their feet. Men and women who were just trying to make a quick buck. Words held no meaning next to a scene like this.
And there was no time. Roman was staring at them too. The surprise and anger on his face told her exactly how this would end. She saw his arm move. The cane caught her attention. She knew what it could do. And she could see how this would end. Wide, vacant eyes and blood pooling on the ground.
Yang lunged for the weapon, tripping over herself in her haste while Roman deftly jumped away, "Don't even think about it, Blondie. This is the moment of truth. Them or us!"
She couldn't choose. This wasn't what she'd wanted. They weren't supposed to be here. None of this was supposed to happen, "I—"
But she was saved from answering him by the roar of an aircraft as it flew directly over their heads. It was large and sleek, but common. The kind Beacon customarily used to get people on and off campus.
And it wasn't alone. Two more followed behind the first. All of them heading out over the water.
Roman took one look at them before grabbing her arm, "It's time to go!"
He immediately pulled her between two cargo units as they once again navigated the maze of metal. The movement seemed to wake her up as if from a dream. This was her chance. She would leave. Run away and never come back. Everyone would make it out of this alive. That was the only thing that mattered.
Roman pulled her left and then right. She lost her sense of direction but every so often she would see another body on the floor or leaning against a cargo container. Another reminder of what they had done. Of what she had done.
Before long the pair had arrived at the edge of the docks where a wall of mist seemed to hover over the water. Beneath it, Yang though could see the bottom of a large freighter tied to the docks. The planes flew back and forth, lifting the cargo containers off the yard only to drop them into the haze and presumably, onto the back of the immense ship.
"Over there!" Blake's voice loomed close. Much too close. Now that the cargo was leaving the moor, the area was practically an open field. Roman and Yang had nowhere to hide.
But they weren't alone anymore. All around them were Faunus. A red band on their arms and a Grimm mask on their faces. She counted at least a dozen swarming around them. Maybe more. Where had they come from?
"What are you standing around for?! Kill them!" Roman ordered impatiently.
"No!" Yang screamed back.
Behind her, Blake and Weiss had already unholstered their weapons as they charged forward.
"Try not to hurt them," Blake pleaded.
"I'm not making any promises," Weiss answered. This was what she imagined the White Fang to look like. Criminals hiding behind their masks as they committed acts of war on her grandfather's empire. She would take them down and they would thank her for not killing them.
She dived for the nearest grunt, fighting back a pair of swords with one swipe from her own. The nearest enemy was slow on his feet and she took him down easily. The rest of the mooks weren't much better as they rushed at her with no regard for her movements or those of their neighbors. Either their semblances were weak or ill-suited for combat because their defenses were poor. She danced around them like a ballerina, jumping over their heads and attacking them with projectiles from the air.
Beside her, Blake was trying her best to fight defensively, imploring them to throw down their weapons and talk this all out. She fought them one at a time, closing in on each enemy with Gambol Shroud's ribbon and keeping her weapon sheathed in her attacks.
"What are you doing?!" Yang screamed, "I thought we were leaving?!"
"I don't leave loose ends!" Roman roared back, "Those two will die here like the rest of them! Get on the boat!"
He raised his weapon into the air. High above where Blake and Weiss were fighting was another shipment of Dust, this one held up by the metal wiring of a crane. It was precarious already, swinging slightly as the air currents moved back and forth. One blast from Roman's weapon and it would fall. Yang didn't want to imagine the explosion that would come afterward.
"No!" She screamed. She reached for him again, pulling his arm down as the bullet left his cane. She didn't see where it went, but she could feel it. The effect was immediate. The force of the blast propelled her off her feet as fire, ice, and lightening fizzled off in a cloud of smoke.
Yang could feel her aura break and her flesh burning away underneath. On the other side of the yard, she saw Blake and Weiss fly in the opposite direction. They were too far for her to protect them. She thought she heard someone scream.
Neo shielded her eyes as a shockwave of energy shot through the air. Some people went flying, other stumbled into the floor. Behind her, the White Fang members were scrambling to pull themselves back together.
Where was Roman? He should have been on the ground keeping the guards quiet, but there was no point of that now. Everyone within a thirty-kilometer radius had probably seen or felt that explosion. So where was he? What had had happened to him?
The smell of burning flesh came wafting from the wreckage and dread crawled down her spine. He couldn't. He wouldn't. But she didn't dare risk it. Without wasting another second, she jumped off the freighter and into the fire.
The smoke immediately clouded her vision, making her eyes burn with pain while she rapidly tried to blink it away. The remnants of Dust powder clawed at her skin as the heat soaked through her sweaty clothes. Every time she breathed; she thought her lungs might collapse. Her aura couldn't protect her from this. That much was clear.
Debris littered the ground. Metal and wood. Bodies too. Most of them, Faunus. A few were Huntsmen. All of them were clearly dead. Glassy eyes. Faces covered in soot or dirt. Some burned off completely, revealing pink and red muscle tissue. Neo tried not to look at them. They couldn't be Roman. He was alive. Somewhere in this hell hole, she needed him to be alive. She kept one arm over her nose to keep herself from choking and trudged on.
As the clock ticked on without any results, Neo's mind dared to give her some hope. Perhaps he wasn't here. Perhaps he had already escaped on his own and was waiting for her back at the base. It was the only solution she was willing to accept now.
But then she saw it. Long golden hair. Smoldering against the flames.
Yang.
Neo took two steps toward her before a problem stepped into her path. She was short, dressed in a hospital gown with messy black hair and a giant scythe in her hands. Beside the little girl was a seasoned Huntsmen and one that Neo knew: Qrow Branwen.
"Hey! You! What are you doing here?" He demanded.
Neo didn't answer him. She couldn't. But even if she could, she didn't want to. She didn't have any time to waste being detained by these two clowns. There were things she needed to do and places she needed to be.
One glance between them told her the girl was the easy target. Her legs were straining with the weight of carrying her scythe and her face was pale. Sweat slid halfway down her face before disappearing into a hooded cape adorned over her clothes.
"Who are you?" The child asked demurely.
But Neo didn't answer. Within a half second, she had lunged forward in her attack. The kid didn't dodge. Her eyes merely widened in surprise as Hush's blade slid toward her neck.
But Qrow Branwen was faster. He immediately stepped into her strike as steel dragged against steel. His weapon was huge, taking the brunt of her attack as the man pushed her back shoving the girl out of harm's way.
"Ruby! Stay back!" He roared. The wheels on his weapon had already begun to spin as the blade of the sword started to curve into a scythe. His weapon clawed at her like the reaper. He was fast. Just as fast as she was. But her semblance was the deciding factor.
He attacked her illusions one after another and the mirages shattered like glass while she dodged out of his reach. He swung his massive weapon around like it weighed nothing. As the head of the scythe whipped by her face, she could feel the force of the movement alone burn away at her aura. She couldn't keep this up for long.
"Neo…"
It was only a murmur, but she jumped in surprise. It was Roman's voice. Her eyes immediately scoured the neighboring area before finding the man lying beneath a pile of rubble. He looked terrible. His face was covered in soot and his familiar bowler was nowhere to be seen. She would have dived for him if Qrow Branwen wasn't standing between them.
"Neo…" Roman murmured again, "Run…"
No.
She conjured another illusion just as the Huntsmen broke through it again. She wasn't going anywhere. She would rather die than leave him to be arrested by the Vale police. And she could still fight. She could still save him.
"You can't beat him…" He croaked. The man coughed into his arm before screaming, "Get out of here!"
But what will happen to you.
"I'll be fine. Just trust her," He gasped.
Anger pulsed through her veins. She didn't want to trust her. She didn't want to trust anyone. She wanted to get him out of here, but there wasn't any time.
Qrow Branwen's eyebrow twitched, momentarily shocked before some unexplained rage overpowered him too. He dived forward to attack her and Neo had only the barest second to protect herself. Her parasol wasn't going to defend her against his attacks. He would slice right through her.
"Run…"
Decoy after decoy shattered beneath the blade of Qrow Branwen's scythe. Her body felt heavier with each second. Her aura was running out. She needed to choose, and she didn't want to.
I'm sorry.
Roman didn't answer her. At least, not out loud. But in the back of her mind, she thought she could hear him chuckle as she turned her back on him and disappeared into the smoke.
II
Somewhere in the distance, Yang thought she could hear a familiar voice calling out her name over and over again. It sounded warm and sweet, like the cookies she used to bake at home. But that didn't feel right. The last time she had even touched an oven had been with her mom when she was seven.
Mom?
Was she dead? The idea didn't bother her as much as it should have. Death wasn't so bad. Just an ending to the miserable life she'd led thus far. Plus, she could see her mom again. She could apologize and they could talk. Like really, really talk. There was so much Yang wanted to tell her. So much she wanted to ask.
But even in the darkness, the image of her mother disappeared and even though the face she now saw was similar, they weren't the same. They would never be the same.
"Ruby…" Yang coughed.
The girl's face was covered in soot and dust, broken only by the tear lines making its way through the grime.
"You look like a mess."
Her sister laughed, choking on her tears, "Thank the Gods you're okay. I was so soo worried about you. When we found you, I- You didn't look like you were breathing. I was so worried about you."
"I'm fine," Yang answered as she coughed violently onto her side. It felt like there was a ball of acid in her throat. Everything hurt. The adrenaline was numbing most of the pain, but her head felt like it had been hit with a hammer and she could feel a tingling on her arm where she could see she was badly burned.
"Where am I? What happened?"
Ruby tilted her head to the side in confusion, "You… don't remember?"
Yang shook her head in frustration. Her brain was pounding, and every little movement hurt. She couldn't remember a thing.
"You're in the infirmary," Ruby started slowly, "At Beacon."
"How- How did I get here?"
"Uncle Qrow carried you on his back—Um… And then we called a plane. They had one bring us back. It's complicated, but um there was a Dust explosion. The police said a stray Dust bullet set it off. Uncle Qrow and I found you afterwards."
The police. An explosion. Uncle Qrow.
Her memories slowly pieced themselves back together in the ensuing silence. The mission. Roman. Those dead Huntsmen and then Blake and Yang staring at her in that dim light. The horror. The guilt. All of it flooded into place and Yang marveled at the power of the human mind to wipe something so horrifying from her brain if only for a few minutes.
"What- Argh…What happened to Blake and Weiss. They—I saw them on the docks. You need to save them…And I-" Every word felt like a thousand needs puncturing the back of her throat. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes, go back to sleep and never wake up again, but this wasn't over. There were things she still needed to do.
"Blake and Weiss are fine," Ruby whispered softly, "We found them first. Well, Blake found us, actually. Weiss had used her semblance to protect them from the explosion, but she was hurt pretty badly. Blake carried her out and we found them on the street screaming for help."
"Where—Where are they now?" Yang urged.
"We're right here," Blake responded from the other side of the room. The two girls were standing at the entrance to the medical ward, looking the worse for wear. Both were dressed in hospital plaids and Weiss was leaning heavily on Blake's arm while her other hand was wrapped around a crutch, "Professor Peach said we're fine."
Weiss rolled her eyes but didn't contradict the sentiment despite the cast around both her right arm and leg. The two girls made their way into the medical ward, choosing the bed adjacent to Yang's. It was already rumpled and used; the sheets tossed in disarray.
Yang turned her head away. It was strange seeing Weiss so quiet. After all their arguing and in-fighting, she had expected the Heiress to complain at the very least and demand her to be jailed at the worst. But instead, she was just quiet as she leaned her head against the wall while she cradled her broken arm.
"I think… I think we should talk about what happened," Ruby stated uncertainly.
"Yes. I certainly agree to that Ms. Rose."
The man had appeared without a sound. Despite the tapping of his cane and his heavy steps, Professor Ozpin had snuck up on them without any warning whatsoever. He had just appeared. Standing a few centimeters behind where Ruby was kneeling.
"Good evening ladies," He started jovially. His attitude was calm and amicable, completely contradictory to his emotionless and piercing gaze, "I'm glad to see all of you are safe and wide awake. I have been informed by the authorities and your uncle that the four of you have helped them catch a highly wanted criminal tonight, although not without significant casualties."
"…How many…?" Yang whispered quietly.
"Pardon? I didn't quite catch that."
"How many?" She repeated with a little more conviction. Her frustration was bleeding through into her question. Yang didn't want the answer. Not really. But at the same time, she felt she needed to know. How many lives had she taken? How many more eyes would follow her in the dark?
"A medical team is still by the water, but they've confirmed over a dozen people are dead and some more than thirty-two injured. Most of them were members of the White Fang, but we have found some civilians among the wreckage. Workers who appear to have been caught in the blast. Their families have been alerted."
"And the other Huntsmen…?" She urged.
"Ahh... So you knew about them as well?" Ozpin continued, perfectly nonplused. His eyes gleamed. How was he so calm and collected? It reminded her vaguely of Roman, "Subcontractors for the Schnee Dust Company so I'm told. Hired to protect the cargo due to the robberies happening around Vale as of late. Their deaths have all been attributed to one Roman Torchwick. He has confessed to all seven counts of murder."
Yang flinched.
"I—Do the police…Do they know why he did it?"
"He has so-far refused to tell his story but I hear he's a nefarious criminal who is wanted all over Atlas for both murder and arson," Ozpin explained, "They suspect it might a pathological madness."
That didn't sound right. After all those weeks of him looking after her and caring for her, it just didn't seem to fit. Yang tried to remember those little moments on the dock. She had come close to running away with him. If Weiss and Blake hadn't arrived, she would have. Perhaps in a different life, the two of them, along with Neo would be long gone in Mistral.
He wasn't insane… He couldn't be. But then she remembered the smile on his face while his clothes had been smeared with the blood of his victims. Madness.
"Is there something you'd like to tell me, Ms. Xiao Long?"
"I—"
What could she tell him? She could confess. She could tell him everything. Turn herself in and accept the punishment she so rightly deserved. Roman had seen something in her. What was it? Did she still have it? Would she be like him one day? Kind and patient, but also cruel and merciless. Was she also capable of killing innocent people without an ounce of remorse?
"Excuse me, Professor," Weiss cut in tactfully, "But I think my teammates and I would just like to rest. We've already told the police everything we know."
"Hmm…" Professor Ozpin seemed to mull over this idea, his sharp brown eyes glazing over each of the girls in turn. All three of them shrank away under his scrutiny, "Perhaps. However, I still have a few questions left unanswered. As an example, Ms. Schnee, how did the four of you know the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?"
"We didn't," Blake answered quickly, "We were just in the right place at the right time."
"You wouldn't be the first, Ms. Black," There was a deliberate edge to the way he said her name, and it was clear he knew more than he was letting on. Much more, "However, I believe there is more that the four of you can tell me."
"There isn't," Ruby stated. It was the first time she had spoken since the Professor had arrived and her voice held a certain confident finality to it that the other two girls had lacked, "We are all very tired, Professor. I'm sure whatever questions you have can be answered later. Or you can just ask the police or my uncle Qrow. He was there."
"True," He conceded pleasantly before his eyes narrowed again, once more surveying all four girls in a wide sweep. However, when none of them would give, he sighed and turned away with clear disappointment, "Very well. If any of you ever change your mind, please… Do not hesitate to come to me."
The loud bang of the door closing with his departure, echoed throughout the quiet room. Each of the four girls stared after him, listening for his retreating footsteps before turning to look at one another. They were all tense, waiting for one of the others to speak, but no one wanted to go first. It was clear what the others were thinking. They were liars. All of them, hiding the truth from the one man who might have been able to help them.
After an eternity, it was Blake who broke the silence, "Yang…What did we see…Earlier tonight…. Those people... Did you…. kill those people?"
"I—" Once again, she hesitated. The scene was still fresh in her mind. Blood seeping into the asphalt. The smell of the carnage flaring up in her nose. The feeling of Roman's gloves against her hands.
"I don't really want to talk about it. Can we just... pretend this never happened?" Yang mumbled. She didn't have the words for it. At least, not tonight. Perhaps, not ever.
But her teammates clearly didn't like that idea. Blake turned away in discomfort. Weiss opened her mouth to object, but it was Ruby who got there first.
"…No..."
Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. Their leader was usually the biggest advocator of just letting sleeping dogs lie. No trouble. No mess. But here she was, with that somber expression on her face, standing firmly in a different corner. It was quite possibly the third most shocking event of the night.
"Yang… We…You and I…" Her sister started to hiccup, her eyes shiny with unshed tears, "We've spent the last nine years pretending things were okay. You… me… Dad…. Uncle Qrow slapped some sense into me. I think—no. I know… I want to be better. I don't want to just be here for you. I want you to rely on me. I want you to talk to me…"
Yang sucked in a breath she didn't know she was holding. Talk. What good was talking? She wanted to scream but all of her body felt numb. She couldn't feel a thing. So when the words left her lips, she didn't even realize it until she was midway through her second sentence.
"I wanted to run away…. I didn't really care where… It could have been Vaccuo or Mistral or even the Front. I really didn't care. But they stopped me at the boats. I wasn't allowed to leave without a parent's permission. Since I'm just a kid, apparently... They wanted to send me back to Dad, so I was just stuck here. In this…place. I didn't have any money. I didn't know what to do or where to go. That's when Roman found me…"
She regaled her story in length, laying bare the events that transpired after she had met him: The weeks spent living with them, fighting those Huntsmen on the docks, and then everything in between. The only thing she held back was Neo. The young woman had escaped in the ensuing chaos of the explosion and while Ruby and Qrow had seen her, no one had asked about the small girl with the dual-colored eyes.
When she was finished, she let her eyes close in absolution. This was it. Her confession. They could hate her for it. That was fine. Maybe even throw some handcuffs on her and take her to the police. She didn't mind that either.
Instead, she felt her sister's head land softly on top of her chest. She could feel Ruby taking extra care not to touch the parts of her that were badly burned and oiled.
"Why…?" Ruby whispered, "Why were you so unhappy…? Why didn't you tell me?"
Yang sighed, her chest feeling lighter despite the 100IB girl lying on top of her, "Do you…remember the day mom died?"
Ruby hesitated, stuck between wanting to lie and the pressure of her sister's honesty. She didn't know where this was going but she wanted to see it through to the end.
"No…" She admitted with a sigh and a shake of her head, "I can't even remember her face anymore. I don't… I think about her sometimes…But I don't…When I try to imagine Mom… For a long time, I would just think about you…"
Yang could feel the pressure building behind her eyelids. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to talk about this. But she owed it to them to keep going. Yang pressed the palms of her hands over her eyes in an attempt to keep herself sane as she pushed the words out into the open.
"I hated you…And I hated Dad! Mom was the only person in my life who ever offered me any stability. When she died, the two of you just…escaped! Into your own little worlds while I was stuck in this shitty reality. I was the only one left to pick up the pieces," Yang croaked out. Everything ached. It would have been better if she never woke up.
"I… came to Beacon because I couldn't stand living with you and Dad anymore. I can't stand looking at you," The tears squeezed through her hands spilling over her face into her hair and ears, "You look… just like Mom… And it's a constant reminder that I… I'll never be good enough."
Yang expected Ruby to deny the things she was saying or console her with gentle lies. She got neither.
"I was always jealous of you," Ruby stated simply.
"…What?"
"I was jealous that Uncle Qrow was always training you and not me. I wanted to be a Huntress too, but no one was willing to teach me. It was always about you. You were tall and pretty. Everyone liked you and you had so many friends, so when Dad spoiled me, I just let it happen because I wanted to feel special too. It was nice seeing someone love me more than you. I was secretly really happy when Ozpin chose me to be Team Leader."
Yang couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ruby had never told her anything like this. She had always thought of her little sister as this sweet, innocent, and oblivious child. But maybe she had just seen the things she wanted to see. Just like Ruby had.
"I'm sorry, Ruby," Yang whispered, "I'm sorry for the things I said and for hurting you. I was just lost and angry. I know I said I hated you, but I want you to know that I love you too. I always have. Things are… just complicated… but I-I'll try to be better... I will."
"I'm sorry too." Ruby answered. crying softly into her sister's shoulder, "I should have talked to you more and I wish I had told you how I felt. I-"
Weiss snorted. Breaking up the illusion of this private and tender moment with her derision. She was still leaning back against the wall of Ruby's hospital bed, but she looked noticeably better. Her cheeks had some color, and her normal condescending expression was back, "…Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt this very sweet conversation. I'm just not sure how we went from crazy murderer to reconciliatory sibling rivalries."
Blake rolled her eyes with a frown, "Don't mind her. She's only saying that because this is a very nice and sweet, and it's making her awkward."
"Pfft. That's not why I interrupted them," She stated hotly, "I'm just saying. I think we have more important things to discuss than their very apparent emotional hang-ups. Such as you, Ms. Blake Belladonna. Don't you dare think I've forgotten about your promise. We'll get to you next."
Ruby giggled at their strange, but friendly exchange, "When did the two of you become so close?"
"We're not," Weiss rebutted, "But don't try to change the subject. Yang didn't actually kill anyone, but she's an accomplice. We're obligated to turn her in."
"We can't do that!" Ruby protested.
"Actually," Yang cut in suddenly, "I agree with her. I think we should tell everyone the truth."
It wasn't quite a spur of the moment decision, but it was close. She wanted to confess. She wanted to be punished. She didn't want to live like a fugitive where no one knew she was a murderer except for the people in this room.
"I don't want to keep pretending," She added.
Ruby pulled away, looking both dejected and worried, "What if you're charged with that Torchwick guy and the others. They... They might—"
She left the rest of the words unsaid, but everyone else knew what she was thinking. It was the highest penalty on Remnant, saved for only the worst of criminals. People like Roman and possibly, people like her.
"It'll be okay," Yang placed a light hand on top of her sister's, "I'll be okay."
Yang was surprised to find that she meant it. Whether or not people found her guilty was up to them, but she had already made the conclusion for herself. She didn't mind dying. She knew that now. Especially if it meant atonement for the things she'd done.
"I don't think you should go," Blake declared abruptly, "We need you here."
"You don't need me here," Yang answered with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes. We do." Blake stated firmly. She then turned to address Weiss directly, "This isn't over. We both saw the same thing in that shipyard. There were humans on that dock working with the Faunus. That doesn't happen. Ever. And we need to get to the bottom of it. Don't the rest of you want know what's going on?"
"I mean. Obviously," Weiss admitted, "But—"
"They got away with enough Dust to blow a hole through a mountain," Blake continued, "Whatever they're planning, it's going to be huge and Yang is our only hope of ever catching them. She lived with them for weeks. She was part of the plan. If she turns herself in now, then the trail goes cold and no one will be able to stop them."
"But what about Ozpin and the police," Weiss argued.
"We just lied to his face and falsified facts!" Blake shot back, "For all we know, they're probably going to be looking in all the wrong places!"
"But-!"
"We're the only ones who can do this!" Blake was on her feet. No one except for Weiss had ever seen her this passionate before, "We can't just sit around and wait for them to show up again. We need to find out what they're up to and stop them before anyone else gets hurt!"
"I can't help you," Yang lied, "The best thing I can do it turn myself in. I'm willing to accept the consequences."
"I know what you're thinking," Blake sighed, "Trust me. I've been there. Thinking exactly what you're thinking right now but throwing yourself to the mob isn't going to help anyone. If you want to make up for the things you did, then you need to be here. Helping us find the White Fang and stopping them from whatever it is they're planning."
"But—"
Ruby put both of her hands in the air defensively, "Okay. Okay. Everyone. Let's just calm down. I agree with Blake, but as the leader, I think we should put this to a vote. All in favor of Yang not going to jail and joining us to take down an evil underground organization… say aye."
Her sister's expression had gone from worried to downright mischievous. Any second now, she looked like she might break out into campy, maniacal laughter.
"Well, I suppose you have a point…" Weiss conceded with a sigh and another roll of her eyes, "And I can always turn the two of you in later."
No one bothered to ask what she meant. The other three girls had now turned to look at Yang, filled with hope, expectation, and worry but it was Ruby she was focused on. Her little sister still seemed unsure, but she was holding out her hand in expectation. A pillar of hope. It stalled in the space between them like a lifeline, waiting for her to grasp it.
To help people. To compensate for the crimes, she'd committed. Was there another, better way? Was this it? What would she find at the end of this mission? Peace? Redemption? She didn't know, but she could feel the possibility poisoning her brain. It felt wrong to hope.
But she did. She couldn't help but imagine a day when maybe all this wouldn't weigh on her like it did tonight. When she might be able to close her eyes without seeing the faces of the dead and the accusation in their every glance.
"We can do this together …" Ruby murmured, "All of us. As a team, but we need you there too."
She still didn't believe them. They didn't need her. Not really. The last four months had proven that pretty decisively. But it felt nice to hear it. Comforting even. And for all that, Yang wanted to believe them.
Not trusting her voice, she merely nodded, yielding at last to that terrible, contagious monster called hope.
"Alright then…" Blake sighed with relief, "So we're in this together."
"Yeah," Yang whispered softly, "Together."
W/N: And that is it. The end of volume one. There is the after credits scene of course, but that's currently being cleaned and will be posted on Sunday. I'd like to thank everyone who read, commented, liked, and followed this story. It really kept me typing even in the worst of times and I hope you all enjoyed it. This was something I had planned for a really long time and there's a lot more story to tell. 7 more volumes and a STRQ prequel to be exact. Please tell me which of the two you would like first.
Thank you again to everyone whose reading this message and I'll see you all at the next one.