Chapter 95: Small breath
-o-
It was a relief to see a familiar ceiling by the time I woke up. I felt a little lethargic, but only that. No fever or body so sore that you can't raise my hand. I think the only annoyance was the light coming through the window, which was open and allowing a gentle breeze to was the room I shared with Oscar and Qrow, seeing the clothes I could see in the closet, but usually I slept on a futon and not on Qrow's bed.
There was someone else in the room besides me. Someone was arranging a vase of flowers on a desk. Mostly I could see soft dark hair that descended gently and on top I could see cat ears that made me want to pet them. She hummed a soft song as she arranged the flowers in the vase so that they were as presentable as possible.
"Blake?" I spoke, but my voice sounded raspy.
The cat ears perked up hearing my voice and the girl turned to see me. Those big amber eyes looked at me in surprise before she ran to me.
"You finally woke up," she said cheerfully, pouncing on me for a big hug, which I responded in kind. Then she pulled away suddenly, "Excuse me. You may be a little sore."
"No. Actually, I feel fine," I replied feeling my throat dry.
"Let me get you some water," she told me, heading over to the desk and filling a glass with the pitcher that was beside it. It was so good to feel the liquid rehydrating my throat.
"Thanks," I said, returning the glass. "How long was I gone?"
"A day and a half. It's almost 2 in the afternoon," Blake informed me, putting the glass on the table and sitting on the bed.
"Good thing I didn't stay in bed for a whole week like that time."
"What happened?"
"Well... let's say I found out about a thing when I was at Ruby's house in Patch. I got out of control and the Overdrive made me sick with aura deficiency, so I was in bed for a week with a fever."
"Oh, was it about Alice being your mother and Ironwood being your father?"
"Who told you?"
"Ruby."
"Well at least this time I was able to control it better in the end."
"Everyone keeps moving forward," she said with a wistful look that then turned sad. "Kaiden, I'm so sorry."
For a moment I didn't understand what she meant, until I remembered, "Blake, you don't have to. You did what you thought was right to protect us from Adam."
"But I left without saying anything to you," she replied with tears in her eyes. "Didn't even make sure you guys were safe. As soon as we got to Vale, I left. I couldn't bear to see you and Yang hurt because of me."
"Listen to me well," I took her by the hand, "nothing that was your fault. Neither Adam nor Yang. It doesn't matter what happened, but how we become strong with that. Besides, this was not done by Adam, but by Ragna. And to tell the truth, I have no right to judge you for what happened, since I did the same as you. "
"What do you mean?"
"I imagine Qrow and Ozpin already brought you up to speed on everything."
"You mean about the maidens, the relics and Salem? Yes. Although hearing it from Oscar with the professor's voice was somewhat unsettling."
"Tell me about it. When that boy arrived he arrived a month ago, we almost lynched him. Well, putting that aside, all you know now I knew the part about the maidens during the Vytal festival from Ozpin himself, plus I was there when Pyrrha was offered Fall's position. "
"Pyrrha was going to be the Fall Maiden?" Blake exclaimed, shocked.
"And it was my duty that she was okay, which I failed to do. After my brief moment of madness in Patch after who my parents were, Qrow gave me a look at the whole picture and honestly, I was terrified."
"It's normal to be afraid of hearing that."
"Yeah, but I was also afraid for everyone. After what happened, I didn't want to drag anyone into this. Yang was broken and didn't want Ruby to get involved, so I went to Atlas on my own to settle some unfinished business. "
"You mean see Irondaddy?"
"Have you been talking to Qrow?" Blake just shrugged, to which I continued, "Well, I spoke to the General to ask for an arm for Yang and my eye repaired, I met Weiss and then I embarked to Mistral, in addition of repairing Requiem and I found Ruby and the boys on the way. "
"You had an interesting trip," Blake breathed, her gaze fixed on the scar on my eye. "I'm glad you're okay now."
"The miracles of Atlas's cutting-edge technology."
"So you took advantage of being the General's son?"
"When you say it that way, you make me look like Weiss in the early days."
As soon as I said that name, I remembered what had happened before. Weiss being impaled by Cinder's spear.
"Weiss is fine. Everyone is fine," Blake informed me, apparently out of my very obvious concern. "Apparently, Jaune has the ability to amplify the aura of others by transferring a bit of her own. As a result, Weiss was able to heal her wounds."
That made me feel a great relief as I lay down on the bed. Weiss was fine. Blake was back with us. I felt such intense joy that I felt it overflow from my eyes.
"Kaiden?" Blake sounded concerned.
"Sorry, it's just that I feel really happy that everyone is well and that you are here. That I have not lost anyone again and we are all together again."
"I also feel the same way. I felt terrified when Adam pierced you with his sword. It was like in Beacon. But then I felt a little hope when you woke up wrapped in your aura and saw you fight even with Ragna and Adam. It was like a reminder of how you are: getting up strong after hitting rock bottom."
"Just because I knew you were there with me," I replied, once again glad that my friend was there.
It was a really nice feeling. Blake was there. We were all together already. For a moment it felt like the good morning in Beacon after the Soul Reaper and Torchwick getting caught. During those next few weeks before the Vytal festival they felt I just wanted to cook longer with Ruby and the others. It might not be the same at the time, but the feeling was similar.
Someone knocked on the door and Blake answered.
"Blake, darling, everything okay? I thought you would be putting the flowers soon," a woman spoke, but I couldn't see well since the door was in the middle.
"Kali, give her her time. She wants to be with her friend," a man spoke as well.
"Actually, he's already woken up. Do you want to meet him?"
The door swung open, allowing me to see the visitors. One is a tall, muscular man with dark hair and a thick beard. For his top, he wears an open dark-violet coat with white fur trim, exposing his hairy chest. Over his beige pants is a matching sash that wraps around his waist and is secured with a large, silver metal buckle. On the shoulder of his coat is a silver metal spaulder, which through a pair of curved strips across the chest attaches as a clasp on the opposite front panel of the coat.
The other was a woman, whose resemblance to Blake astonished me; even their cat ears were similar except for the earrings on the woman's. While Blake had long dark hair, the woman opted for a short one of the same color. She wore a black hakama and sandals with white tabi socks. Over her outfit, she wore a black shrug with a long right sleeve and a short left sleeve, gold-leaf trim adorning the opening on the front.
"Kaiden, my parents: Ghira and Kali Belladonna. Mom, Dad, you already know Kaiden."
"Sure we do," Ghira replied, watching me closely. "The boy who was impaled by Adam and who then beat him and another on his own."
I felt a little embarrassed that that was my first impression, "Nice meeting you, sir."
"Blake has told us so much about you that it's like you're family now."
"I hope they were good things, because I also have a few curious stories about her," I said, giving my friend a mischievous smile.
"I want to hear those and what better way to do it than with a good meal," Kali proposed kindly. "Lunch is ready now, how about I serve you a plate while you tell us."
I enjoyed the fear in my friend's eyes when I said, "Food and snitching on Blake. How can I say no to that?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
They gave me time to dress appropriately, because, except for a T-shirt and the boxers I was wearing, there was nothing else under the sheet to cover me.
I had already put my jeans on when they knocked on the door again, which I indicated they could enter.
"I see you feel better."
I turned to look as soon as I heard her voice. There was Weiss, alive and well. I could only think of those horrible moments when she was on the brink of death from being impaled by Cinder.
"Weiss..."
"I brought you your cloak," she indicated with the neatly folded piece of dark cloth in her hands. "I had a bit of trouble getting my blood out, but it's like new."
Without saying anything, I walked over to her, taking my cloak to put it aside on the bed and hugging her tightly.
"I was very scared of losing you too," I exhaled in anguish.
Weiss stroked my hair, "I was scared too. I could hear you and Jaune from afar as if I were in a tunnel and I couldn't respond. The good thing is that Jaune was finally useful and discovered her semblance."
"Yeah, I still can't believe that," I wiped my eyes. "But are you okay?"
"All good. What about you? First you were kicking Ragna's ass with the Overdrive and then you collapsed after that Salem illusion."
"Yeah well I think the blood loss and then using the Overdrive twice in less than 1 hour was too much for me."
"Oh yeah, they already told me about that. Nora says you freaked out when I...," Weiss stopped in mid-sentence, but I knew what he meant.
"When I saw you fall, I remembered Pyrrha. When Cinder put that arrow through her. I couldn't bear to see anyone else die in front of me, so I lost control." I took a deep breath, "But everything's fine now. You're here and so is Blake. For me that's a small victory. How are the others?"
"They're fine. Ruby and Jauner went with Qrow and Oscar to Mistral to inspect the academy. Yang went out to buy some stuff for her bicycle. Ren and Nora are put for a walk. I think you already know Blake's parents."
"Yes, they are good people."
"Plus they brought in half the Menagerie to help defend Mistral."
"I see. And how are things between Yang and Blake?"
"Well, at first they were a little uncomfortable until they sat down to talk. There are still some wounds to heal, but there will be time now that we are together again."
"I just want her not to be too hard on herself. She blames herself for what happened to Yang and for leaving."
"The good thing is that her parents help her to recover. By the way, the food is ready."
"After you," I stated as I pulled on some dark blue slippers.
As soon as we stepped out into the hall, my sense of smell was flooded with a scent that finally made my stomach ache for the day and a half I hadn't eaten. Don't think bad of me: The food during our stay at the house has been good, regardless of who is cooking, but what I was smelling was on another level.
We made it to the kitchen, where Kali and Blake were putting the finishing touches on the food, accompanied by someone else: Sun.
"Oh, they are here," Kali said as she stirred the contents of a large pot. "Sun dear, can you set the table?"
"Sure, Mrs. B," the cute boy replied energetically. "What's up, Kaiden?"
"How have you been, Sun?" I greeted him by bumping fists.
"Between escorting Blake to the Menagerie and bringing in an entire armed force of faunus to defend Mistral? Great."
"Escort?" Blake exclaimed, amused. "You followed me on the sly until I found you in the boat on the way."
"But I helped you take down the Sea Feilong that attacked then," Sun objected, taking several plates, glasses and silverware that were on the cabinets.
"Let me help you," I offered but suddenly several copies of the boy materialized, taking the items, and carrying them to the dining room.
"I'll take care of it," he replied, taking the jug of water.
"Have a seat and the food will be on in a moment," Blake pointed out as he finished chopping up some vegetables.
I wanted to help them with something, but neither would be rude when arguing, so I did what I was told and went to the dining room, where a girl was checking her scroll. Her skin had somewhat darker spots on her arms, legs, stomach and face, resembling chameleon scales, with her brown hair tied back in a ponytail that curls at the end like a chameleon's tail, and her eyes are a light gray with a faintly bluish tint. She was wearing a short black cropped jacket with two tails, a gold zipper, buckle, button straps to keep the sleeves rolled up in place revealing the white lining with brown pants and black over ankle boots.
"Kaiden, this is Illia, a friend of mine," Blake introduced the girl.
"A pleasure," I greeted with a nod.
"Same."
"Watch it, Kaiden," Sun warned, setting down a bowl of salad and then lifting the left side of her shirt to reveal a circular scar. "If you are careless for a second, she will stab you."
"Did you stab him?" I questioned her in surprise, to which she responded by nodding, embarrassed. "I've only known you for a minute but I already like you."
"Then will you help me to do it again?" Illia said with a smug grin directed at Sun.
"Just say the place and time."
"Good. They're both already planning attacks on me."
"By the way, where are your other babysitters?" I asked, surprised that the monkey faunus was alone and not with her team.
"Well, it's a funny story-" Sun was already starting to say when she heard the front door closing.
"We are here!" Ruby's voice announced.
As if it were a call to me, I quickly stood up and headed towards the room. The girl and Jaune had arrived, with the latter setting aside a huge sack that seemed to be containing something metallic from the sound it made as it settled on the ground. Along with them were Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage.
The girl's silver eyes lit up and in a blink she was already pouncing on me, her arms around my neck.
"You are awake!" she exclaimed with glee.
"I just woke up. I'm glad everyone is okay." I turned to see Jaune, "Hi Mercy. They already told me about your great discovery."
"Mercy?"
"You are blond, your armor is white, and now you have an ability that allows you to heal others. You are Mercy."
"Great, another nickname."
"Yeah, putting the jokes aside, congratulations."
"It just appeared suddenly. I just wanted to heal Weiss and it happened. Obviously it was nothing compared to you freaking out with the Overdrive and then taking over like a badass."
"Look who we meet at the academy," Ruby gestured at the boys as she slid off me.
"What's up, Neptune?" I greeted the blu haired guy.
"Good to see you again, buddy," he returned the greeting. "By the way, haven't you seen a certain monkey faunus who left his team for several months?"
"He must be in the kitchen- wait, months?"
"I'll explain later," the blue-haired boy told me before marching inside the house. "Wukong! I saw you! Don't you dare run away again, sir!"
"Months?" I said again.
"It's already a regular thing with him," Scarlet chimed in. "No problem for us, but Neptune becomes acting leader and gets a bit bossy."
"More than usual," Sage added.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Soon the house came alive. After Sun repeatedly apologized to Neptune, with Blake as the go-between and Sage recording everything while Scarlet held back a laughter, Kali invited them to lunch. Later Nora arrived and Ren arrived, then Yang and finally Qrow with Oscar. Due to the number of people, the dining room table was moved to the living room, where we could all settle in and catch up on our lives while we ate.
From what I heard, the entire armed force of faunus that Blake brought in from Menagerie had set up camp outside of Mistral as a measure to protect the kingdom in case of another attack. According to the official story, it was thanks to them that the assault was in vain and they were the true heroes, while our group was just passing through and helped with the defense of the academy. Maybe it bothered me a little that they took away the credit, but I figured it was the best to avoid raising doubts about our true motives.
Once the Belladonna, except for their daughter, retired to their camp with Illia, and SSN dragged their leader away, we were able to have a meeting to discuss other more private matters. Apparently Blake had already been informed of the group's secret.
"Alright, since Dark Boy is up and we're all reunited, we can catch up on what we know so far," Qrow announced.
"What is the current situation of the academy?" Ren asked.
"The council is working on finding a replacement for Lionheart while rebuilding work begins."
"Yeah, we did a good number on the front of the main building," Nora commented, more satisfied than sorry. "Let's not forget that Kaiden blew up a corner upstairs."
"I did what I had to do to get away from Ragna," I objected. "Could you get something out of Lionheart yet?"
They all looked at me in alarm for some reason I didn't know, as if I had just insulted everyone's grandmother.
"Get something out?" Yang replied.
"Information, sure. Something that can predict Salem's next play."
"Didn't you tell him?" Jaune asked the others.
"Tell me what?"
"Kai," Ruby's face clouded, "Lionheart is dead. They found him in his office with stab marks."
A deathly silence fell in the room. For a second I felt my heart stop beating.
"What? How? Was it Cinder?"
"We don't know," Qrow replied. "Everyone we fought was in our sight when Leo escaped. The only thing we can speculate is that someone working behind the scenes was the assassin. However, in order not to taint the growing acceptance of the faunus in the kingdom, the official story is that died defending the academy. "
I was frustrated. The man who had betrayed us and who was one of the culprits of what happened in Beacon died without giving us answers. If that wasn't enough, he would be a fucking martyr.
I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes, exasperated, "Now what's next?"
"The relic must be taken to a safe place. In this case: Atlas."
"Atlas?" Ruby repeated.
"That's what Oz said."
Then we all turned to see our figural Schnee, whose face paled more than it was, "You've got to be joking."
"I mean, bright side, we finally get out of this house," Nora chimed in, earning an irritated sigh from Weiss. I didn't think the white-haired reaction was strange, because of what she told us about everything she had to do to leave the mansion and get away from her father with a Lorax mustache.
"Well trust me, I'm not crazy about it either," Qrow assured, "And, without the Spring Maiden here to seal the relic back in its vault, it's our best option."
"What happened to the Vernal girl?" I inquired. "Isn't she supposed to be the maid?"
Nobody answered.
"Come on, something else you haven't told me?"
"You see, Vernal was another casualty, but wasn't the maiden..."
"It was Raven," Yang declared. "She was all this time. It was the last thing she said to me before she disappeared."
On the one hand, I felt angry at the woman for what she did by siding with Cinder, but I also felt bad for Yang, because her mother had not only left her again, but had also betrayed her. Adding she's the Spring Maiden to the math wasn't good either.
"Atlas may be the safest kingdom we have at the moment, but the borders are closed," Ren changed the topic. "General Ironwood called everyone back."
"Hey, not everyone," the huntsman replied, displaying a hologram of Anima, zooming in on the north shore. "The city of Argus is a way north of us and it's the primary trading port between Anima and Solitas. They've got the largest Atlas military base outside of the kingdom. There's no way they'd leave it abandoned and if we play our cards right. I think there's a good chance we could convince them to escort us straight to Ironwood. "
"I mean, we do have the missing heiress to the Schnee Dust Company," Blake said with a mocking smile directed at Weiss.
"Ex heiress actually. "
"True, true, But if there's a chance of reward money I say we go for it," Yang seemed encouraged as she said that comment, although Weiss was not.
"Plus we have Ironboy with us holding an ID from the R&D department that can also be our ticket to meet with his Irondaddy."
"Qrow, unless you want to have laxatives in your drink, don't call me that."
"Hopefully the first option will suffice," Someone else spoke. Oscar was firmly on his feet, although from his gaze it seemed that Ozpin was present.
"Glad to see you're feeling better," Qrow lo saludó.
"Likewise. Even if we still have much more to do, I'm sure we could all use more time to recover. After using a lot of energy during the fight when my union with Oscar is not complete, I will need a little more to fully regain my energies. I'll only be with you for a few minutes before resting again."
"Professor, what will we do with the relic?" Blake asked. "As long as that thing's out in the open its power could fall into the wrong hands."
"Speaking of..." Jaune interrupted, "What does it do exactly? Qrow never really told us."
Jaune was right. As far as we knew, relics were objects of great power, but nothing else. Qrow didn't even say a word to me about it.
"Of course," Ozpin smirked at us confidently, picking up the object hanging from his belt. "The Relic of Knowledge has a wonderful and incredibly dangerous ability. Its user can ask any question, and the lamp will provide an answer."
The object slowly began to grow as it was placed on the table, where it remained levitating. I recognized the item, as Yang was carrying it when she returned from Haven's vault the other night. It was a type of golden lamp with a blue sphere inside.
"That's incredible," Balke exclaimed, amazed.
"Indeed," Ozpin agreed. "However, it's not without drawbacks. The lamp cannot tell you of events that have yet to happen, and it will only ever answer three questions every 100 years."
"Wow," I sighed, trying to process the data on the relic. "Then it couldn't be used for term exams."
"I've seen your grades and I know you wouldn't need it. Even Miss Valkyrie, despite falling asleep in every class, according to the reports."
"You know those self-help recordings you listen to while you sleep? It's the same principle," the redhead defended herself.
"Well, I guess that's not so bad if those are the conditions," Yang said. "Adds a lot of pressure, though."
"Then let's put it to a vote!" Nora exclaimed excitedly, looking psychotically at the relic of all knowledge. What should we ask first ?! Can we ask for more questions ?! Can we ask for more questions ?! "
"They're not wishes," Ren scolded the girl.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to ask it anything at the moment," Ozpin explained, earning Nora's anger. "The questions were used before I sealed it away."
"Well, at least now we know what it is," Ruby exhaled, staring at the lamp, "and we'll be sure to keep it safe."
"For as long as I have entrusted Oscar with taking care of the relic," Ozpin told us, picking up the object that began to shrink back to keychain size. "I don't have to remind you of the stakes if we lose it."
We all nodded, agreeing to what he meant. A relic like that had to be of great importance to attack two academies in less than a year.
"Having explained this, I will be away for a while as I regain my energy. Rest until then," was the last thing he said before that personality change occurred that Oscar seemed to experience when the two souls within him switched places.
"You heard the man/boy," Qrow said, setting his coffee cup on the table. "We will be on hold for the time being until Oz is in a position to head Atlas. For the time being, the session is closed."
There was an effect with those words, as if the serious atmosphere faded from the room and everyone could relax with everyone dispersing to their activities.
"Hey, Kaiden. How are you feeling?" Qrow asked me.
"Well, I thought he would fall into a fever and sore like Patch."
"You have the blond boy to thank for that. His semblance was of great use in treating you while you were unconscious."
"It's a shame that nothing could be done for Lionheart, although I don't know if I feel bad about what happened to him."
"Unfortunately fear controlled Leo and made him make unfortunate decisions, but I prefer to hold on to the memory of when he was a good partner who cared about us."
"But still-"
"Rest for now, boy. You put up a great fight, so you deserve some time to relax."
"Not yet. I still have something to do."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The moon was up when I finished digging to the side of the terrace, a little away from the edge that overlooked the mountain. The little shovel I found in the house wasn't going to work for me to make the hole I needed for what followed, so I wanted to try something.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I remembered the feeling back then. I cleared my mind, calming my thoughts as my aura slowly ignited. The Overdrive was back, enveloping me in a dark flame that burned softly.
Concentrating on my face, I used the shadows to excavate a hole of considerable size, which was easier than expected even though they had taken the form of huge hands.
I took out the remains of the weapons that Ruby and Jaune had brought from the academy and carefully placed them inside the hole. Maybe they were already broken, but I wanted to give them a little delicacy that they had when they were in Ragna's hands (although he would only have one now). Then I used the same dark hands to cover the gap.
By dissipating the Overdrive, the fatigue was minimal, perhaps having used it for just a few minutes and only using my semblance, without having to move. I was about to leave when the mound suddenly lowered, as if the weapons that were buried had been sucked into the ground. I assumed they had already been sent to Arumatsuri, where Muramasa would be receiving them and beginning to restore them before sending them back to the world to be found by their new owners. For my part, I was happy about it, hoping each weapon would find someone to wield them rightfully.
