RWBY: MRRN
Volume 6, Chapter 19: A New Ally
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth
"Okay, we're almost there," Tai told Raven as they cautiously approached the area where the Iron Knights were reported to be. "Just watch my back, okay?"
"I will," Raven assured, but she could tell that Tai wasn't at all convinced by her claim that she would stay by his side. She sighed, realizing how much harder it'd be to earn back his trust than she realized.
"Tai…" she addressed, but before she could continue, Tai spoke up.
"Why didn't you come back? Why didn't you help Yang when she needed you?" Tai stopped and looked at Raven in the eye, demanding an honest answer. There was no room for Raven to lie, knowing that her former lover would not be easily fooled.
"Tai…could you have really pictured me as a housewife?" she asked. Tai raised an eyebrow, silently demanding more to her answer.
"I was never the docile type, Tai, and you know it. I'm a fighter, not…I was never cut out to be a mother in the first place. To be honest…Yang was better off without me."
"No, she wasn't," Tai argued.
"Yes, she was, Tai," Raven claimed. "I wasn't raised to take care of others, I was raised to be a killer, a survivor."
"Then why did you attend Beacon Academy? They don't train ruthless killers there." Raven shook her head.
"Tai, not everyone who attends the Academies do it for altruism or good intentions like you, Summer and Forest. Some only do it for fame and fortune; others because they want authority over those 'beneath' them. Qrow and I didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen…we did it to learn how to kill them."
"What?" Tai almost gasped. "So all that time…you were just learning how to kill them just to protect your tribe?"
"At first, yes," Raven confirmed. "But then…"
"So what about us?" Tai questioned. "Did you only go out with me just so you could learn how to kill me?"
"NO!" Raven barked angrily. "What we had was real, Tai…but that was years ago. I've changed."
"And not for the better," Tai responded. "You're still making excuses when you know the real reason why you didn't come back, even after Yang lost her arm. If you were uncertain about becoming a mother, then why didn't you say so?"
"I…I couldn't say no to you," Raven answered. "Tai…I'll never earn your forgiveness. Or Yang's or Qrow's or-"
"Stop it," Tai demanded, crossing his arms. "It is very hard to forgive, especially in your case. But it IS possible, but only if you truly own up to what you've done and make things right with those you wronged."
Raven was unsure if she could believe that or not. She strongly felt that forgiveness was beyond the reach of her short hands; she could never be forgiven for the things she had done. Whatever sympathy Tai has for her could easily be destroyed once he learns the truth of what really happened at Haven, of how she sold out her family to get the Relic.
Suddenly, Raven picked up on something: it was quiet…too quiet. She slowly walked a few feet away from Tai, reaching for her sword's hilt.
"Raven?" he asked.
"Tai…we just walked right into an ambush," Raven explained.
"Grenades!" a voice cried out. Tai and Raven rushed to dodge a barrage of Fire Dust grenades. When the explosions subsided, several Iron Knights came out of hiding, aiming their firearms at the two veteran Huntsmen.
"Fire cables!" the Knight lieutenant, Headshot, ordered. The Iron Knights launched the electric cables on their rifles at the two Huntsmen, but they quickly dodged them and disappeared into the forest.
"Looks like they don't have Aura Breaking ammunition anymore," Tai pointed out. "But we still need to be careful; they've been fighting Huntsman even before they got their hands on it."
"What are we waiting for?" Raven asked.
RRRRROOOAAAARRRRR!
"What the hell was that!?" Raven gasped, startled by the inhumane roar. "Was that a Grimm?"
"Doesn't sound like it," Tai claimed. Suddenly, a large, muscle-bound figure crashed through the trees, covered in black and red armor. At first, they thought it was a Grimm, but the tubes going into the arms and the gauntlets with Dust compartments said otherwise.
"What…what is that thing?" Raven asked, wondering what the beast in front of them was.
"Berserkers," Tai deduced.
"What?" Raven asked her former lover. A grenade was thrown between the two warriors; when it went off, it blinded both of them and left them vulnerable to attack.
Tai felt a great force push him into a tree, causing heavy damage to his Aura; when he shook his head to wear off the effect of the flash grenade, Tai realized that the Berserker had pinned him to the tree and was now squeezing him heavily.
"Tai!" Raven called out. She rushed to help Tai, but was stopped when she was hit with an incendiary round, causing damage to her red Aura. She caught on in time to use her sword and block another round, but cracked the area where it was hit.
"Soundwaves!" Headshot commanded. Before Raven could catch on, her ears were pierced by this excruciating high-pitched sound. She was left screaming in pain as she couldn't handle the soundwaves, leaving her open to another blast that dealt more damage to her Aura.
Our of desperation, Raven threw her sword in the direction the soundwaves. Given a quick moment, she changed into a bird and disappeared from sight, much to the Knights' confusion.
Tai activated his gauntlet's flamethrowers and unleashed them on the Berserker's helmet; to his surprise, instead of screaming in pain, the Berserker merely groaned in discomfort before releasing the fighter. When he looked around, he noticed that Raven was missing.
"Raven, don't tell me that you-"
"There she is!" one of the Knights shouted before Raven reappeared in her human form, grabbed her weapon and killed the Knights holding the soundwave devices. The Iron Knights opened fire on her, but she quickly dodged the projectiles and made quick work of the attackers with her blade until it broke.
"I'll give her that one," Tai admitted before rolling to dodge the Berserker's attack as it brought its fists down. The elder sun dragon leapt up and dealt a powerful punch to its helmet, knocking the Berserker back a few feet.
Before this, Tai had been informed by Huntsmen from the Beacon rescue mission of the Berserkers the Knights had unleashed on them. They had been defeated by deactivating the pain nullifiers on the back of their necks, causing them to die from the overstimulation of pain.
Unfortunately, the armor the Berserker wore obscured any sighting of what could defeat him. The Knights had obviously learned their lesson from the Beacon rescue and were determined not to repeat it, nor did their lack of AB ammunition prevent them from being deadly against Huntsmen.
"I need to get through that armor," Tai believed. "There has to be a pain nullifier somewhere."
As Tai battled the Berserker, Raven flawlessly took down the other Iron Knights until her attack pattern was interrupted by an explosive round from Headshot, leaving her with little Aura left.
"You fanatics," Raven spoke with scorn. "You honestly think you're making things better?"
"Who are you to judge?" Headshot questioned. "I know who you are, Raven Branwen; I've seen the things you've done. How much blood is on your hands?"
"I have enough," Raven responded, slowly getting up.
"Including the blood of a young girl you murdered," Headshot brought up. Raven's eyes widened in shock. There was no doubt that the little girl Headshot was talking about was the Spring Maiden.
"You call yourself a survivor, but you're nothing but a murderer and a hypocrite. You're just one of many who abuse their power to serve their own selfish benefits. You'll never change."
For once, Raven was not so quick to agree with that statement. Indeed, she believed that her actions had made her unforgivable and unworthy of redemption. Even now, she was running from her problems like a coward.
But this one small instance proved that she could possibly be forgiven. She had an easy opportunity to run and abandon Tai, but guaranteeing her own survival; instead, she stayed and helped fight against the Knights who were seeking to kill her former lover.
"Maybe," Raven agreed before switching her Dust blades. "But I can at least try." Just as Headshot fired her next round at Raven, she rushed to the side. In a flash of movement, Raven swung her blade and decapitated Headshot.
"No!" one of the Knights shouted before pulling out a Fire Dust grenade. "Kill that bitch!" He threw the grenade at Raven; when the explosion subsided, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Raven!" Tai called out before punching the back of the Berserker's helmet. Upon looking down his torso armor, the sun dragon saw the pain nullifier on their back that allowed the Berserker to transform without passing out or dying from the pain. But in order to get to it, he needed to destroy the armor, which was tougher than he anticipated.
"There she is!" one of the Knights shouted as Raven appeared from behind them and killed three of them with one swift strike of her sword. With their numbers dwindling, the Iron Knights had no choice but to fall back; Raven considered pursuing them, but seeing Tai struggle against the Berserker made her stay.
"We need to destroy the torso armor," Tai told Raven. "There's a button on its back; if we can deactivate it, it'll pass out or die from the pain."
"But that armor's much stronger than you anticipated," Raven deduced. "Have you used your Semblance on it?"
"I haven't had time to charge it," Tai answered.
"Then I'll distract it," Raven offered. "Focus your Semblance."
As much as Tai had distrusted Raven, this was no time to argue. He knelt down and started focusing on his Semblance, building up energy while Raven kept the Berserker's attention on her.
The bestial fighter swung wildly at her, roaring loud as it did, but Raven was too quick. Raven constantly looked over to Tai, watching as he built up his Semblance enough to shatter the Berserker's armor. He only needed a few more moments until it was ready…but one moment's distraction got the better of Raven and she was pounded into the ground by the Berserker, depleting the last of her Aura.
"You…Iron Knights may be fanatics, but you're no pushovers," Raven admitted.
In this moment, Raven felt she was getting what she deserved. The strength from the Berserker would be more than enough to make her death full of pain and agony, just like many of her victims. She had wished for a death worth being remembered, but there was nothing memorable about this…which is what she most likely deserved as she felt herself unable to move.
Boom! Tai unleashed his Semblance, shattering the Berserker's torso armor in an explosion of gold light. With the creature dazed by the attack, Tai rushed and pressed the button on the Berserker's back, reactivating his pain receptors. It screamed in pain and agony, unable to handle the amount of Dust flowing into the body before passing out.
"Is he…dead?" Raven asked, finding the strength to get onto her feet. Tai checked for a pulse on the Berserker, but found nothing.
"He's dead," Tai answered. "These must be the Iron Knight group we were told about. We better get back to the city and let them know."
"Yeah," Raven reluctantly agreed. "What was that thing anyway?"
"Berserker," Tai answered. "A long while back, some Huntsmen were led by Glaucus into Beacon to rescue friends that had been captured. During the rescue, some of the Knights turned into this. They must've changed it from last time since I was told their pain nullifiers were on their necks."
"Well, that's certainly grotesque," Raven commented. As the two started to walk back to the city, Tai spoke to Raven.
"Thanks…for sticking around."
Tai had found a little more hope for Raven. She could've easily run away from the fight and left Tai to fend for himself against the Knights, but she stayed and fought with him. While it wasn't enough, it was a start.
"You're welcome," Raven replied.
-0-
"Nice place," Yang commented after Grayson led the group to his hideout, which consisted of cots, food and other supplies, the only source of light being a bonfire in the middle that was kept aflame by the Fire Dust crystals in the crates. The masked archer shed his blue outer coat, leaving him in only white clothing.
"How'd you get all this stuff?" Qrow questioned, inspecting everything.
"This is used to be a smugglers' den until they were killed by Iron Knights," Grayson informed. "Their leader was someone called…what was it? Renegade."
"Renegade?" Math asked, sitting down on a stool. "These IKs really love nicknames."
"Thanks for your help," Blake spoke, cooking a fish over the fire. "We really appreciate it."
"You're welcome," Grayson answered. "What brings you this far from the Kingdom?"
"Had some trouble," Forest answered, cleaning his blade. "We're making our way to Argus."
"Argus?" Grayson asked as he made some Dust arrows. "Pretty far from here on foot."
"We know," Nasser responded. "What were those Grimm?"
"Furies," the masked archer answered.
"There are some Grimm in Remnant that can induce negative emotions in living creatures. One such is the Fury, which can induce anger and rage into others; direct eye contact will immediately make a person feel nothing but anger. By the time anyone catches onto the Grimm nearby, it's already too late."
"Yeah," Math agreed. "We were in a pretty bad situation back there."
"So what brings you out here?" Oscar asked. "Are you a Huntsman?"
"I was trained by one, but I don't consider myself a Huntsman," Grayson answered. "I'm not looking to become one either." He then looked over to Ruby.
"Those were the Silver Eyes, right?" Everyone's expression became shocked, confused, and surprised all at once. None of them had brought up Ruby's Silver Eyes, yet this Grayson knew immediately about them after witnessing the flash of light back at the manor.
"How…how did you…?" Ruby asked, unable to finish. Qrow was close to reaching his weapon, but Yang silently insisted that he not.
"I know about them," Grayson answered. "And that means you're in danger."
"We know," Luna responded. "Wait…are you saying…?"
"If I know about Salem, then yes. I learned about her when she sent assassins after my mentor during my training." Ruby's eyes widened.
"Your mentor had Silver Eyes?" she asked.
"Yes…but I left her long ago. I don't speak to her anymore, but I'd prefer not to go into detail; what I would like to say is you're going the wrong way."
"Wrong way?" Saf questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I don't understand. Argus is northwest of here, right?"
"Yes, but the way you were going means running into more of those Furies," Grayson explained. "They have several breeding grounds in the wilderness here; to have kept going that way would've meant running into more of them."
"What are you getting at?" Qrow questioned, leaning on his knee.
"I know a way around the breeding grounds," Grayson offered. "I've traveled around this area many times."
"Why would you want to help us?" Ruo asked. "We appreciate you warning Luna and I about the Furies, but this offer…it's seeming to come out of nowhere."
"I don't like seeing people get needlessly killed," Grayson replied. "I can help you safely get to Argus and then I'll leave after that. Think it over, but you don't know the area like I do."
"We'll think about it and give you an answer in the morning," Forest answered. Grayson nodded his head and then picked up his weapons.
"Where are you going?" Yang asked.
"To take first watch," the archer answered.
"I'll take it with you," Luna responded. She expected the archer to argue against it, but instead, he simply shrugged and gestured for the Wolf Faunus to join him.
"So…are we not going to discuss what we saw in there?" Weiss asked the group.
"What are you talking about?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yang," Ruby addressed, making her sister turn to face her.
"We found a journal in the house…belonging to Cinder."
"Cinder?" Blake gasped. "As in Cinder Fall?"
"One and the same," Ruby confirmed. "She used to live there with her parents until they died. When she lived with her stepfamily…they abused her."
"Abused her?" Saf asked. "As in….?"
"Beatings, torture," Nasser spoke up. "Math and I found a room upstairs. They kept Cinder there, locked her away like an animal."
"To make it even worse, the stepmother kept an account of what Cinder was punished for," Math added. "It…I could barely read it. The way they…" He sighed heavily, remembering those horrid words he read from the journal.
"That was…Cinder's home?" Blake spoke, her tone filled with horror at what her friends were revealing.
Until now, everyone only felt hate and contempt for Cinder Fall. Her actions had led to the Fall of Beacon, the deaths of many innocent people, and the possibility of war between the kingdoms. She had set up Pyrrha to kill Penny, maimed and murdered an innocent girl to steal her power, and tried to kill both Pyrrha and Ruby.
After this, they realized what Cinder truly was: a festering mess of hatred and rage. The reason why she was so filled with anger was because it was the only thing she ever knew since she lost her parents and was left in the cruel care of a horrible stepfamily.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Yang spoke with disbelief. "I feel bad for her."
"I think we'd have to be pretty heartless not to care," Ruo replied. "To be raised in an environment where you're treated horribly and you feel nothing but rage…it's horrible."
"Yeah," Qrow admitted, his sympathy showing as well. "But we have other things to talk about. First, can we really trust Grayson?"
"He already knew about the Silver Eyes and Salem," Ruby brought up. "Maybe we can trust him."
"I don't," Qrow responded. "If anything, him already knowing of that stuff makes me a bit suspicious of him."
"Possibly," Forest agreed. "But if there are more Furies out there, we need to avoid them. We saw how dangerous they are."
"What if he's lying?" Weiss brought up. "He could be saying that to convince us to let him join us. What if there are no more Fury breeding grounds?"
"That's not a chance we can take," Blake insisted. "Yang and I…well, when we fell under their effects, we…"
"We got pretty violent," Yang spoke with open remorse, regretting the harm she and Blake had inflicted on each other. "What if that happens again? We could end up fighting each other to the point that we won't see the Furies coming until it's too late."
"I'm guessing either way is risky," Nasser spoke. "Either we put our faith in a person could betray us or we wander aimlessly."
"I'd choose the former," Math spoke, gaining everyone's attention. "If something happens, we can easily take him. Forest and Qrow are professional Huntsmen and we're quite formidable ourselves; if Grayson does betray us, then we'll at least be ready to take him."
"Let's not think too much about it right now," Ruo suggested. "It's been a long day and we all need to rest."
"I'll relieve Luna when she's ready," Ruby offered. "But I wonder who his mentor was? Especially since they had Silver Eyes."
"As I said, let's not think on it right now," Ruo repeated. "Let's get some rest and discuss it further in the morning."
-0-
"So here's where the train crashed," Silvio spoke after he, Cole and Aria arrived at the site of the crash. He turned on his scroll light to check the area for footprints, which he found luckily.
"They made it out," Cole breathed, happy that his teammates were alive. "Looks like they're making their way onto Argus by foot."
"But this doesn't make sense," Aria replied. "Why would they need to be separated?"
"What matters now is finding them," Silvio responded. "Aria, can you use your Semblance to find out where they'll be?"
"Just a moment." Aria focused on her Semblance, watching into the near future of where the group would be. To her surprise, a masked man had joined them, armed with a bow that appeared also like a pair of scythes. She kept watching until something unexpected happened.
The group was suddenly attacked by warriors; they didn't appear like Iron Knights, more like Huntsmen. Aria watched the vision further, listening to some dialogue between Weiss and the lead Huntsman until it ended.
"Well?" Cole asked. "Where will they be?"
"They'll be further north of here, but I couldn't make out a specific location," Aria responded. "But that's not all; they'll be attacked."
"Attacked?" Silvio questioned. "Grimm? Iron Knights?"
"Neither," Aria denied. "I think they may be the mercenaries Jacques Schnee sent to bring Weiss to Atlas."
"Then we should hurry," Silvio insisted. The three warriors walked back onto the ship and up to the pilot.
"Head north," Silvio commanded. "And keep your eyes out for anything suspicious."
"Yes, sir," the Steel Elite complied before taking off and slowly flying over the dark forest.
-0-
Salem made her way to the chambers where the child Disciples were. They were all fast asleep, snoring quietly as they laid comfortable under their blankets. For once, Salem smiled motherly before tenderly moving some of the strands of hair on one of the children.
"You'll grow strong one day," she whispered, seeing how they were growing quickly.
The smile quickly died for a moment as this reminded her of what she lost thousands of years ago. She had everything: she had the man she loved, four beautiful daughters, a large and comfortable home…and control over the human race.
"We had everything, Ozma," she whispered. "But you chose those wretched Gods over me. You…you were all I had."
Salem's mind tried thinking of anyone who had also treated her with any form of genuine kindness, but none were thought up. Her mother, her father, her servants…none of them showed her kindness that she craved as a young woman. Only Ozma had shown it to her when he rescued her from that wretched fortress.
"Why wasn't it enough?" Salem asked. "We could've united humanity. We could've forgotten about those Gods. We…we could've been together." Her sadness was replaced with growing rage and anger, the emotions she was now most familiar with.
"But I cannot be killed. So, tell me Ozma…how do you plan to win against me?"
Author's Notes: If you have any constructive criticism to share, then message me or leave a review. Also, make sure to support writers Je'daii1298, Lorenzo the Maelstrom, Chance Green G King, Kurt50Alien and Red Eyes Shadow Dragon.
A shoutout also needs to go out to all those who have helped me with ideas for the series so far! Keep on reading, fellow writers!