NOTE: I DO NOT OWN RWBY!

Look Not with the Eyes

By thrillerartist

Chapter 11: All the Broken Places

Growing up on Patch, I was never intentionally looking for trouble. Trouble either found me, or I had just gotten lost in my own head long enough to find myself in it.

One time, I was playing Huntress in the living room of our house on Patch, and I had accidentally knocked over a vase that Dad always displayed on a shelf in the living room. I bumped into it, and the vase fell to the floor. Dad came running in at the sound of the crash, finding me on the floor trying to pick up the shards with my hands, cutting myself in the process. Dad scooped me up, and whisked me over to the kitchen counter. He bandaged my hands, and gave me a little scolding about why I shouldn't be playing Huntress in the house. I wasn't in trouble, exactly, but Dad was pretty disappointed in me, saying that the vase that broke belonged to someone special.

I asked him who the vase belonged to, but he only looked at me sadly, and sent me off to my room while he swept up the shards.

I found out from Yang that the vase belonged to my mother, that she'd used it to put her flowers in it during the summer.

I didn't want him to be sad, and I wanted to show him that I was sorry for what I did. I'd found the bucket he'd put the shards in by the trash, and hid it in my closet. When Dad went to the store later that night, I got a bottle of paste from my craft bucket, and started carefully putting the vase back together the best that I could. I gave myself a few more cuts on my hands, but they were scars that I was proud to have gotten.

The next morning, Dad walked out of his room to find me standing in front of his door. I was holding the vase behind my back, and when he asked me what I was up to now, I carefully pulled the vase out into the open. Dad was pretty impressed that a six-year old could pull off such a puzzle, but I think he was more touched that I'd thought to fix the vase myself.

It was my mistake; no matter how innocent it was at the time, it was still my mistake to fix.

That vase was never as strong as it once was. It broke several times after that, simply just by being handled. But each time it broke, I found better materials to use, better glues, stronger reinforcers, until it became less and less fragile.

It was never as strong as it was, but it was close enough. And in some places, that vase was more durable; but others simply couldn't be fixed. Chips and flecks and pieces that couldn't be found, or were swept up and thrown away.

The vase still has some holes in it that've been filled with adhesive, and I think that those little spots are what helps strengthen it.

People can be like that vase, sometimes. People can break, and be put back together into the same shape they were before, but they'll always have cracks in the varnish. In some places they're more fragile, and in others they're stronger. But the thing about putting broken pieces back together, is that there's no telling what type of shape the person can make the vase into. It can either be something painstakingly repairable, or can be considered unsalvageable and thrown away.

It all depends on the type of vase it once was, as well as the type of craftsmen tasked with putting it back together.

I wonder, which one am I?

Am I the vase, or am I the craftsman?

Lately, the only answer I can come to, is "both".

-Weiss-

She started to hear a dull ringing in her ears, followed by a fierce pressure right above where her spleen would be. Two hands emanating something warm, and also caked with something sticky and metallic smelling.

"-eiss?"

That voice, she knew it somehow!

Her breathing was becoming easier. It didn't feel like she was choking on air anymore.

"Weiss?" A male voice said, and Weiss recognized it as that doofus, Jaune.

She opened her eyes, and saw his blonde mess of hair and blue eyes staring down at her.

"What's-" She croaked before coughing to regain her breath.

"It's okay," Jaune said, sounding serious and relieved at the same time. "You're going to be alright, Ice Queen."

"Idiot." Weiss coughed out.

Eventually, Jaune lifted his hands off of Weiss's side, and held out his hands over her like he was casting a spell. A warm, white light emanated from his hands, flowing onto her, and replenishing her aura while healing her wounds.

"Jaune?" Weiss said once breathing was more controlled.

"Yeah." He says, glancing over her briefly, trying to keep his focus.

"Thanks." Weiss says, the words sounding weird on her tongue.

Jaune gently smiled at her, and said, "You're welcome, Ice Queen."

Huh...Have I ever said anything nice to him? Weiss thought.

Soon enough, she could sit up, and a few moments after that, she was standing and fighting. She even managed to summon a Lancer-this time cloaked in a white light, instead of the black figures of most Grimm-which she used to target the big man who kept stabbing himself with dust crystals.

When she scanned her eyes across the room, she found Ruby battling Mercury in close-combat (Which Ruby had vastly improved upon since the last time Weiss had seen her), but couldn't see Yang's wild blonde hair anywhere.

Yang left the fight, Weiss gathered, so she's probably chasing after Cinder and her mother into the vault of Haven. That short-haired vagabond-Vernal- isn't here, either. I hope Yang can handle three one one...Yeah, she totally can.

Out of the corner of Weiss's eye, she saw the headmaster of Haven, Lionheart, backing away towards the stairs, moving from the fight.

Not today, you cowardly lion! Weiss thought, focusing on her Lancer summon. Take care of him!

The summon immediately turned on Lionheart, spitting ice crystals at the older man. Lionheart immediately began blocking them with his shield/crossbow weapon strapped to his arm. When the Lancer stopped its attack to replenish itself, Lionheart took the chance to attack, shooting a blast of fire-dust at the ghostly Lancer. The wasp-like creature was blown backwards towards the middle of the room, where the big man was fighting three opponents. As soon as the big man saw Weiss's summon, he shot at it fire from his hands, and the summon vanished in a puff of steam.

Okay, Weiss thought, gripping her . So...the summons aren't fireproof, apparently. When she taps into her aura, seeing how much she had left inside. Weiss felt her brows draw in when she realized that she didn't have enough left for another summons. Not at this rate, at least.

Okay, new plan. Weiss thought. I can still-

A form clad in a white over-coat jumped through, and landed beside Weiss and Ruby, who was still looking straight ahead at...well, nothing in particular, but she was clearly focusing on the fight.

"Weiss, who just landed beside me?" Ruby thought. "Because she smells a lot like Blake's teas."

"It is." Weiss said. "Blake, I mean, not her teas."

"Are you hurt?" Blake looked at Weiss as she drew her weapon, then she turned to look at Ruby. "Ruby, what-"

"No time, later!" Ruby snapped. Weiss could see Ruby was gripping Crescent Rose so tight, her knuckles were white.

Definitely later. Weiss thought.

Weiss turned back, seeing the three remaining foes padding towards them. Mercury, the big man, and Emerald.

"What's the plan, Ruby?" Weiss asked her partner.

Ruby-for whatever reason-turned her head to the side, so her right eye was facing out. "Checkmate!" She called, and Weiss and Blake immediately sprung into action as Ruby followed behind them with her scythe.

-Yang-

So far, all Yang had received from her mother was denial, poor excuses for choices Raven had made and a contradictory sense of morality.

Raven was neither strong nor merciful-she was whatever she needed to be to stay alive. Yang could see that in the older woman's eyes, as red and angry as blood. It was then that Yang knew that there was no reasoning with Raven, only demanding. And if anyone was good at demanding things, it was Yang.

"You're going to give me the relic." Yang said, standing tall and making it obvious she wasn't asking.

Raven scoffed and rolled her eyes. "And why would I-"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID OF SALEM!" Yang shouted. "And if you thought being a maiden was putting a target on your back, imagine what Salem will do when she finds out you have a relic."

And there it was. Raven's breaking point.

Yang watched as Raven looked away from her, eyes still glowing a hot red color, if a little dulled.

"Which would you prefer, Mom?" Yang asked. "Salem could come after you. Or, she could come after me. And I'll be standing there, waiting for her."

"Yang…" Raven sighed. "You...you don't want to do this."

Yang wasn't sure if it was Raven's suppressed maternal instincts, or just her overall belief that the world was a terrible place, but for the moment, Yang believed her mother's warning.

But believing a warning is much different from acting on it.

"No." Yang said, walking forwards to face her mother eye-to-eye. "But I'm going to do it anyway."

Look me in the eyes, Mom. Yang thought. This is what strength looks like. I don't want to do this, and I'm terrified of what's ahead for me and my friends. But this is something that needs to be done, whether I like it or not.

Yang walked ahead, brushing past her mother. When she enters the relic's vault, she's immediately hit with a breath of fresh, hot air, and the earthy smell of sand. Even in this place far underground, there was a pure sense of the relic's nature. Of its power, how it felt as infinite as the sands before her.

"I…" Raven choked. "I'm...I'm sorry."

And again, Yang believed her.

Tears formed in Yang's eyes, but she only felt one fall down her cheek. "Yeah," Yang sighed. "Me, too." There was nothing Yang could do to change they way her mother was now. But maybe today was a good start.

There was a small shift in the room, and when Yang looked behind her, her mother was gone. All that was left was a lone, black feather.

Figures. Yang thought, turning back towards the sands. Not that I really expected her to stay, though. But Yang couldn't deny that she still felt disappointed, somewhat.

The air was hot and dry, and smelled like old books as she walked out towards the sands. There was a lone, golden pedestal standing before the dunes. As Yang approached it, the sands beneath her feet seemed to float upwards, instead of shifting outwards. As she got closer, Yang saw the relic in a clearer view.

Before her was the Relic of Knowledge, which had been kept at Haven Academy's Vault for who-knows how long. It was a very old, very grand blue and golden lamp. Yang wrapped her flesh hand around it, and lifted it quickly, expecting some sort of trap to attack her. But it was as cold and light as the antique kerosene lamps her father used to keep in the shed back on Patch.

Please don't drop a rock on me, please don't drop a rock on me. Yang thought as she gingerly held the lamp by the handle.

Nothing came for her.

Okay...a little anticlimactic. Yang thought. Not that I'm complaining, though!

She'd done it! Yang had retrieved the relic at Haven, and now she could take it back to her friends back at the school...

She should have felt more victorious, proud that she and her team were able to make it this far. Instead, all she felt was slight relief, and a growing sense of unease. Relief that she had not let the relic fall into the wrong hands, but also uneasy because of the underwhelming moment.

This is what all the previous fighting had led up to: a lamp.

A mysterious, very powerful lamp, but a lamp nonetheless.

This is what we've been fighting each other for? Yang thought. A stupid lamp?!

The tears couldn't be stopped, but Yang felt like she'd earned more than enough reasons to cry.

-Weiss-

They were all out of breath, except for the big man. As long as he had his crystals in his arm, he was unstoppable.

How are we going to wear him down if he just keeps stabbing himself with endless energy?

Ruby, her weapon locked in it's scythe form, was still engaged and ready for attack. Her back arched, her knees bent, and to Weiss, it looked like she was ready to dodge any attack that came her way. She was breathing slowly, Weiss noticed too, as if Ruby was concentrating on what was going on in the room.

"Just give up." Ruby said, turning her head to the side. "Stop fighting."

Always the negotiator, Weiss thought of her friend, her partner. Still trying to see the good in people. Or, at least rip it out of them.

Mercury pounded the floor in frustration, breathing heavily in anger.

Emerald gripped her weapons, shouting, "It's not over! Cinder will come back with the relic, and when she does she'll destroy all of you!" She sounded very desperate like she was trying to convince herself more than them.

A whirring sound diverted everyone's attention, and Weiss felt her heartbeat speed up. Who would emerge from the Vault? Cinder, or Yang?

Please don't be Cinder, Please, PLEASE don't be Cinder.

A wild mop of bright yellow hair was the first thing Weiss saw emerge from the vault.

Yang stood on the rising platform, alone, holding a glowing blue and golden lamp in her remaining hand. A look of tired triumph was set in her eyes.

Weiss could help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Yang," Qrow said, saying the name that was on the tip of everyone's tongue.

A clattering thud caused Weiss to look back, only to see Emerald on her hands and knees, breathing in a way that portrayed her instability.

Mercury and the large man started backing up very slowly. "Emerald," the silver-haired boy said in a warning tone. "Emerald, get up. We need to go, now!"

Emerald rose to sit on her knees, and threw her head back in a blood-curdling scream.

Immediately the lights flickered on and off, and the room began to fill with smokey shadows. The clouds collected in the center of the hall, pooling together to form a ghostly figure.

A large, pale woman dressed in black cloth emerged from the darkness. The veins along her arms and hands pulsated with poisonous red light.

To Weiss, the woman reminded her of the ghost stories she used to read in the manor's library, back before her father told her fictional stories were immature and unbefitting to an heiress.

At the mere flicker of memory of her father, all the fear Weiss ever felt towards him immediately came flooding back.

Being confined to the manor, separated from children her own age.

Fearing for herself and her family when her father came from bad company meetings.

Hearing him scream about the Faunus over dinner, hearing her parents argue with each other while she was supposed to be sleeping.

Catching her mother crying in the library, two bottles into a binge, sobbing and crying and cursing the day she married Jaques Schnee.

The ghostly woman screamed, her mouth opening a staggering amount, and she swept through them, bringing a sense of pure terror that made Weiss only want to run away and hide. Yet her legs wouldn't move. It was as if all of her muscles were frozen in place, cold and static and numb.

Then there was pitch-black darkness, followed by a feeling painful, heart-wrenching death.

Every nightmare Weiss had ever had, even if she had forgotten about it, came flooding back into the forefront of her mind, and it took everything she had not to throw up from the stress of it all.

In those few seconds, Weiss was six years old again.

And just like when she saw her parents argue and fight, Weiss shut her eyes to stop the terrors from coming.

-Blake-

When Blake opened her eyes again, she felt her hands trembling so much that she had difficulty holding on to Gambol. She raised her eyes, only to find Ruby staring off into an empty space, eyes practically glowing a milky gray color.

"Wha-What was that?" Blake choked out, feeling breathless. She wasn't really sure if anyone would be able to answer her, and honestly, she didn't really want to know. But the curious part of her just had to ask.

"An illusion." Yang's uncle-Qrow-said as he got up to his feet. "An Illusion, but an accurate one. That was Salem."

"Um…" Ruby interjected, "yeah, I didn't see that, but based on the feeling of absolute terror I just had, I'll take your word for it."

Blake started at Ruby again, getting a full grasp of the fresh scars running straight across her eyes, almost like someone drew a jagged line over the top half of her face. It was healing, but it would no doubt always be there, in plain view to everyone but Ruby.

That's...gonna take some getting used to. Blake thought.

Blake heard footsteps, and when she turned around, saw her parents running up to her. Sun wasn't far behind. Her father swept Blake and her mother into his arms, and Blake couldn't help the swelling sense of relief and gratefulness to have them back in her life. They broke apart, and Blake's mother grabbed her hands. "The police rounded up the remaining White Fang members. Haven is safe."

"Unfortunately, Adam's escaped." Her father said.

"It's okay." Illia said, walking up to them from the broken wall of the school. "He's the only one who ran away tonight. And the White Fang won't support a leader who abandons his people." Ilia looked towards the woods as she said, "Adam won't have anyone to help him after this. The White Fang will be divided."

Blake's father hummed in acknowledgement. "I think it's time we started a new brotherhood for the Faunus." He said. "A new family that will make all feel welcome."

"They're going to need a new leader." Blake's mom said, placing her hand around her father's belt.

Suddenly, Blake felt something strong and hairy wrapped around her waist, and pulled her from behind. Blake found herself stumbling for balance a little. When she looked up, Sun was giving her a 'shoo-shoo' gesture. Towards the three girls in the center of the destroyed room.

When Blake looked ahead, she saw her friends. Jaune, Ren and Nora were gathered around Weiss and Ruby. Yang was talking to her uncle, handing him a very big, very fancy lamp. And Blake couldn't help but notice how sad and tired Yang looked..

Blake was just taking a few steps forward, when suddenly, Ruby collapsed onto her hands and knees, and Blake found herself running ahead instead.

Weiss had managed to catch Ruby enough to keep her from face-planting. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Ruby laughed a little. "Shouldn't I be asking you guys that?"

Tentatively, Blake steeped forwards, trying to keep her breathing calm and even. Still, her heart raced, not completely sure on what her team's reaction to her return will be.

I can't really blame them if they're angry with me.

Her fears were confirmed when Yang knelt down beside Ruby, and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. She fixed Blake with a blank expression, but her silence spoke volumes.

Ruby sniffed the air, and said, "So, Blake, what're you doing here." Blake's heart lurched at the mere fact that Ruby was looking through her when she spoke to Blake. Nevertheless, Blake forced herself to look at Ruby's scarred face, the eyes that were a pale sheen of grey. And even though Blake knew that there was probably nothing she could have changed had she been with Ruby during whatever accident or attack that cost her her eyes, a tiny voice inside her couldn't be ignored and taunted her.

Your fault, your fault, you're at fault.

"I…" Blake was at a loss for words, not that she'd ever been chatty to begin with. "I was...going to ask you guys the same thing."

Ruby chuckled. "That's gonna be a looooong story."

Blake smiled, even though she knew her friend wouldn't be able to see it. "Well...I'm not going anywhere." Blake said.

"Well...that's all that matters, right?" Ruby said. "That we're all here together."

Blake found herself looking at Yang, because she was the deciding factor whether Blake would stay or not. If me being here will cause Yang more harm than good, then...I'll go. But I won't leave them to fight this thing alone.

And then she remembered Sun's words. Everyone needs a little help sometimes. And it looks like there are a few who could use yours.

No, I won't leave them again. I'll never run away from my problems again. I've done that too much.

Yang smiled at Blake, and nodded, "Yeah." Weiss beamed-well, as much as Weiss could beam- and opened her free arm up for a hug.

Blake knelt down and hugged her friends, a real Team RWBY group hug, something they hadn't done since Beacon.

This is my team. Blake thought. My second family. I'm not leaving them again, no matter what.

I promise.

To Be Continued...

"The world breaks everyone, and afterwards, some are strong at the broken places."

-Ernest Hemmingway

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys. I know it's been a long time. I'm back at school, working hard every day, but...to be honest I've been struggling lately, in more ways than one. My family member is now terminal stage, and has been taken off of chemo...it's been hard trying to accept that. Not to mention that the pandemic has been taking its toll on me mentally.

Everyday is different for me. Some days I'm alright, and other days it's like I'm in survival mode 24/7. It's been hard juggling the piling up schoolwork, along with all these other things. But I'm trying, and that counts for something. I have a great support system that's willing to help me whenever I need them, and even if I just need to talk to someone.

I don't mean to dump all of this onto your guys, but I just felt like I owed you an answer as to why I haven't been updating as much.

Thank you for all those who have been following this story, and for all of you who have messaged me.

Until next time!

-thrillerartist