Blood's heels clacked off of the pristine steel plating of one of the longer corridors of her facility, two of her men washing down an experimental room with a pressurized water hose, blood and other various contaminates swirled in the center of the empty space before being guided by gravity into the drain, the piping would then do the rest to ensure that it was transported to a holding tank that could later be dumped safely without repercussion. One of them nodded to her as she entered the room and she dismissed him, marching right past through the water to the control room which was confined behind Dust reinforced glass, checking a clipboard to find out if they were still on schedule to continue their research in that specific wing. A Manticore that afternoon, followed by a Lancer that evening. They were ahead of schedule, which usually meant something went wrong with the previous Grimm, but more often than not, it couldn't be helped.
"I don't see a single successful test on your report here!" she shouted out into the testing chamber as if they would be able to hear her over the sounds of the hose. She threw the clipboard down and ran her hands through her hair, taking a deep breath as she looked around her. Even though she had no reason to think so, time always felt as if it was running out and that any moment it could all be stripped away from her again, similar to the day that Strakh had burned down her last facility… Why did she even agree to help Abigor when she knew that the two men were in cahoots? She couldn't deny a need for lien and he provided it, all just because they wanted her to hold on to some militant who was getting a little too close for comfort in Vacuo. She didn't believe that to be the entire story, but when she began receiving payments, she knew better than to question the full reason. She had to complete her grandfather's work, and after going months without a breakthrough, she almost wondered if all hope for it was lost.
Perfecting Grimm was something that came with more trial and error than most science, as her grandfather had left very little of his results behind no thanks to his facility being destroyed at the hands of Team RWBY. She didn't understand the anatomy and composition of these creatures as much as he had, her experience had been with the effects of Dust on the human body in a past life, so long ago that she could barely remember it. When she first began her schooling, before he reached out to her for help, before the accident with…
"Should we come back later?" One of the lab coats asked as they wrapped up the hose and began preparing for the next subject. She waved him off and smiled.
"You're more than welcome to continue," she informed him. "You!" The other flinched as she directed her demand at him. "Fetch my brother. I require his presence at the holding cell." The man nodded and was gone before he could agree to her request verbally. Grimm fed off of pain. They didn't seem to bleed. They could lose a limb or two for a short time before turning to Dust, with some of the stronger ones being capable of maintaining scars. How could she alter them as her grandfather had? He had created exploding Creeps, and coaxed possession Grimm into being housed in proper combat armor, which they were intelligent enough to operate! So what was she missing? And time seemed to continue to run out… This anxiety was annoying, but it wasn't as if she couldn't work through it. She had tried so many times to alter the DNA of the Grimm, perhaps it was time to try and add something new to the mix. Her creations to this point had all come from one of Abigor's loving gifts.
She had invented five new Grimm in total, a vat of Grimm liquid from Salem's realm had shown up on her doorstep long before she agreed to keep an eye on the Atlesian officer, and she immediately put it to good use, finding what worked and what didn't for making new Grimm. She had introduced ultrasonic sound to the birthing chamber, which provided her with the Camazotz, the large bat creature that she'd decided to keep the first of while letting the next several roam free in the countryside of Vale to see how they would act in the wild. They were territorial and had the worst habit of getting too close to Beacon. That's when their damn doctor first realized that something was off.
"You called for me?" Fenris stated as he cracked his neck. She smiled and nodded.
"I thought that you might want to join me in interrogating Nero," she informed him. Fenris frowned and sighed.
"You really think he's going to talk?" Fenris questioned. "That Jett woman told us to ask him where that stupid stone is, and I honestly don't think that he even has a clue."
"These Children of Salem know more than they let on, I'm sure she knows exactly where it is and just wants confirmation of its whereabouts," she mentioned as she left, expecting him to follow as she headed down the opposite hallway.
"If he hasn't spoken yet, why would he speak now?" Fenris inquired.
"You have to know your enemy, brother," She called back, passing cages upon cages of Grimm that she was keeping. The cages were far larger than they needed to be, and the Grimm didn't seem to mind as she kept them entertained and fed with animals and trespassers that came too close to the facility. She stopped short of the holding cell and placed her hand on the nose of a Sphinx that was lying close to the wall of its cage.
"You're doing what's best," Fenris assured her. "If a few have to die so that you can ensure the survivability of their race, it will be worth it."
"I know," Blood agreed. "I just hate that any of them have to die." She released her pet and continued a few more feet, making a sharp right and throwing open the large iron door that scraped the floor as it allowed them passage inside. It was pitch black, Fenris turned the light on as his sister sat in a wooden seat across from Nero who was most likely sleeping, his head rolled back but covered in a black cloth to prevent him from seeing anything. Silvia sat in silence for a long moment, noting the scars and gashes out of Nero's skin, the man had truly been doing everything in his willpower to keep the information to himself, but she was running out of patience.
"Wake up!" Fenris demanded, slamming his hands down on the captive's shoulders, causing him to startle and thrash before remembering his situation and giving a defeated sigh.
"What do you want?" Nero asked weakly.
"Out of strength already?" Silvia questioned. Nero gave a dry chuckle.
"Once General Branwen finds out where I am your little operation here is going to be taken from you a second time," Nero informed her.
"I'm surprised at how knowledgeable the Atlas Military is about my prior projects, considering the fact that they never found me," Silvia boasted. "Not to mention whatever information Alex gave them had to have been limited as only ten minutes passed between the time he entered the building and when Strakh made the decision to burn the place down."
"That's right, Strakh did that," Nero jested. "Destroyed your life's work. Must have made you pretty angry. Really pissed you off. And yet, here you are, helping him again."
"I do what needs to be done in order to satiate my needs," Silvia fired back.
"But I bet it still doesn't sit well," Nero added.
"And you would be correct, Mr. Creel," Silvia agreed. "But how I handle my enemies is my business, don't you think?"
"Then why agree to hold onto me?" Nero questioned. Silvia sighed and shook her head, nodding for Fenris to open the far door. He did so, revealing a small crate which he brought into the room, filling it with the sounds of hissing and rattling.
"You have information that my benefactor would like," Silvia reminded him. He groaned.
"For the last time, I don't know where the Stone of Life is," Nero spat.
"And we don't believe you," Fenris noted as he opened the crate.
"Have you ever been stung by a Death Stalker before?" Silvia inquired. "Don't answer that. Of course, you haven't, their venom is lethal. See, there's this great thing, however, about Baby Death Stalkers. Their sting won't kill you, it just burns badly enough that you wish you had. It doesn't last terribly long, but the despair from a single sting would probably cause them to sting you more. By my count, there's at least twenty in that crate."
"I won't tell you anything," Nero maintained. Silvia laughed.
"We'll see about that," Silvia argued as she stood. "Fenris, keep an eye on him. If he lasts more than an hour, give him a break so that the cumulative poison doesn't kill him. But you probably don't need to keep an eye on the time, he won't last that long anyway." He nodded.
"Of course," Fenris agreed, taking her seat. As Silvia left she could hear Nero's screams ringing out through the facility before she closed the door.
Yang walked into the living room of the small school-provided apartment, pacing back and forth slightly, feeling a pang of regret for not being able to get around to it sooner, but she knew ultimately that there was nothing she could have done about it with how busy they had been since the new school year had started. She leaned over the couch, giving Blake a kiss on the cheek who was reading one of her romance novels, totally engrossed until her spouse had made physical contact, and she allowed herself to be pulled away.
"Heading to the cliffside?" Blake asked as she marked her page, setting the book down and looking up to give her wife a proper kiss. Yang smiled warmly at her before nodding, letting out a long breath as she stared across the room.
"I haven't been out there since we buried her. It feels wrong that I have been putting it off for this long but I need to go see her," Yang admitted. Blake turned her body to face her, eyes caring and loving.
"We can wait until Tai has Shadow if you want, and I can go with you to make it easier," Blake offered, eliciting a head shake from Yang.
"Thanks, but I don't think I can wait any longer. It'll be hard enough as it is but I have to get this off my chest," Yang noted, looking up to see Shadow peeking into the room from around the corner.
"Mommy, are you going to go visit Grandma Raven?" Shadow inquired, visibly excited.
"Yes, Kitten, I'm going to go talk about some things," Yang explained to her. Shadow scrambled to the couch, jumping onto the cushion beside Blake so she could be eye to eye with her blonde parent.
"I made some drawings for Grandma, could you give them to her?" Shadow questioned. Yang was instantly choked up, the request catching her off guard as she let a small tear slip down her cheek. She bent down and kissed her daughter on the forehead, laughing and mussing up her hair.
"How about you grab your favorite drawing you've made her and I'll take you with so you can give it to her yourself?" Yang offered. Shadow's eyes lit up and she leapt into the air, exploding with joy.
"I'll hurry I promise!" She exclaimed, forming a clone that helped vault her over the back of the couch before disappearing promptly, the real one running off to her room. Yang smiled as she watched her daughter disappear around the corner, not seeing Blake who moved up next to her and put her arms around Yang's neck. Yang turned to look at her wife, placing her arms around her waist.
"This is going to make her week. Great idea," Blake noted as Yang smiled at her.
"She really misses her, it would be wrong if I didn't take her with me," Yang surmised. Blake kissed her gently.
"Shadow is lucky to have you as a mom," Blake pointed out. Yang chuckled.
"I think her other mom is pretty great too," Yang offered before kissing Blake back, the two of them becoming more and more involved in each other before breaking into a makeout session of sorts. Shadow came back around the corner once more from her room, carrying a small stack of drawings and looking them over.
"I couldn't decide which one I like more, is it ok if I bring all of them?" Shadow asked, admiring her work. She waited a moment for an answer and when she failed to receive one she looked up, catching the two of them in the act. "Hey! I'm too young for this! Now is not the time for kissing, we're going to go visit Grandma!" They both stop abruptly, with Yang laughing and Blake blushing, trying her hardest not to laugh.
"You're right, Honey, let's get going," Yang agreed, opening the door after Shadow put her shoes on. The girl rushed out the door and down the hall, watching for her mother to follow after her. Yang stepped out with a smile, admiring her daughter's excitement before looking back into the apartment at her wife who smirked warmly from behind the couch. "Once we get back and drop Shadow off with dad we are totally picking up where we left off." Blake walked across the living room, giving Yang a long kiss and caressing her cheek.
"Looking forward to it," Blake assured her.
"Mommy! Let's go!" Shadow shouted down the hall as she leapt up and down impatiently. Yang laughed before looking back at Blake whose eyes narrowed.
"Keep an eye on her," Blake pleaded.
"Of course," Yang answered.
Shadow danced about in the leaves as the breeze kicked them up in the clearing set aside among the forest that graced the cliffside where Summer and Raven rested. Yang hadn't seen any Grimm there or on the drive up, almost as if Raven's notoriety was supernatural, her presence securing the area for threats in a way that only she could have done in life. The cliff had seemed peaceful in the past, but this time was different. Yang knew that it was safe without a shadow of a doubt, enough that she could lose sight of Shadow and the girl would still be okay… not that she would… she would never allow that to happen. Not again.
Since Athena had died it had been hard adjusting back to a normal life, both she and Blake knew that the girl was perfectly safe at Tai's while they were teaching, but that fear that they had both lost almost decades ago was relearned and ate at both of them relentless, though Yang hid it better than Blake did. When the final bell dismissed them at the end of the day Blake let nothing stand between her leaving immediately and picking up Shadow. She didn't go to the store. She seldom stayed for staff meetings. She needed to have Shadow near her. Yang wanted to tell her that she could let down her guard a bit and relax, the Fang was gone for good this time… but who was to say someone or something else wouldn't come along? Yang knew it was irrational, but, this was their daughter they were talking about.
Blake loomed over Shadow when she knew Yang wasn't there, keeping the girl close, it was how she coped. But Yang… Yang had started training again, harder than she ever had, even prior to them taking down Salem. She couldn't be weak in front of Shadow, never again.
"Come on, mom!" Shadow called out dramatically as Yang lagged behind on the edge of the woods, never once taking her eyes off of the girl as she reached the opposite side of the meadow. "You're so slow!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Yang insisted, drawing no more than a roll of the eyes from Shadow.
"Ugh. You keep saying that, but you aren't getting any closer!" Shadow replied. Yang waved her off with a laugh.
"Her grave is just there at the crest, you don't have any more room to get ahead of me," Yang pointed out.
"Touché," Shadow called back. Yang looked at her puzzled.
"Where did you learn that word?" Yang asked.
"Sissy said it once when she was talking to Titus," Shadow explained, swaying back and forth as her mother drew closer. "I asked her what it meant."
"What did she say?" Yang questioned.
"It means the other person is right, but you're more right," Shadow noted. Yang shrugged and nodded. That about summed it up.
"You're too smart, you know that?" Yang inquired. Shadow nodded.
"I know," Shadow agreed as Yang reached her and tickled her. The girl giggled and fought to get away. "Careful, my drawings!"
"Sorry!" Yang exclaimed, releasing her. Shadow regained her footing and looked at them. "They okay?"
"Mmhmm," Shadow said, nodding her head. "Which one is Grandma Raven's again?"
"The one with the feather," Yang reminded her. Shadow walked up to it slowly, examining the stone before wrapping her arms around it and lowering her voice.
"Thank you," Shadow whispered. She set the drawings down carefully in front of the headstone, each of them depicting Raven and Shadow playing together with the exception of the one Shadow specifically placed on top, a child's crude drawing of two people fighting each other with red swords.
"Is that Grandma and Athena?" Yang questioned. Shadow nodded.
"Grandma Raven was so strong," Shadow recalled. "Will I be that strong one day?"
"I bet you'll be even stronger," Yang informed her. Shadow's eyes lit up.
"Is that possible?" Shadow pondered.
"Guess we'll have to wait and find out," Yang offered.
"I get to use her sword, right?" Shadow pressed.
"Maybe…" Yang stated.
"Aw, come on," Shadow groaned.
"You'll have to ask Blake," Yang informed her.
"I can make her say yes," Shadow giggled. "I have my ways." Yang laughed as the girl moved to Summer's grave and also gave the stone a hug. "I didn't bring any pictures for Grandma Summer."
"That's okay, you can bring her one next time," Yang suggested. Shadow thought it over and nodded.
"I will," Shadow agreed. "One of her and me and Grandma Raven!" Shadow's eyes lit up. "I can draw one of us all fighting Grimm!" Yang smiled and knelt down.
"I'm sure she'd like that," Yang managed as Shadow reached out and touched her face.
"You're crying," Shadow pointed out. "Are you okay, mommy?"
"Yes," Yang assured her, wiping the tears away that she hadn't noticed. "I just miss Raven."
"Then just think of the good times you had together," Shadow instructed. Yang's eyes narrowed and she nodded, sniffing hard and failing to find her feet. I can't be weak in front of Shadow…
Just think of the good times you had together…
"Right," Yang agreed, patting Shadow on the head.
Mom… I'm sorry. For everything. I should have come and talked to you sooner, I just… I just don't know where to start or how to. I should have done this while you were still here, but I guess there's nothing we can do about it now. I know you're here, I can feel it. So I guess this will have to do. I talked to dad countless times and I still can't believe you were trying to make it right. You deserved better than the constant cold shoulder I was giving you, but it was hard forgiving you. But I do. Forgive you that is. I think I forgave you even before you saved Shadow.
I can't thank you enough for that. If you hadn't come back Athena would have gotten away with her and… I don't want to think about what would have happened if she had. I really am at a loss for words over it. So… with that out of the way, maybe I should start over? Pity aside that is.
How have you been? I would have come out sooner, but I was nervous and boy have things been busy at the school since the attack. I thought that we were really overworking those kids last year, but that's nothing compared to the curriculum that Glynda and Coco came up with for this year. I get it though, if it happens again they need to be ready, more ready than they were last time. Something is coming, something that Ozpin took to his grave, and if we aren't ready for it, it might end up like when Salem attacked. They're just kids… I don't know if they can handle it…
I wish you were still here so I could ask you what to do about Neela. You were full of wisdom, even if things weren't the best between us. She's having a rough time since Eliana left, I still can't figure it out myself even. That girl only did what she thought was the right thing, and Neela even forgave her for it, but I guess that's something she just has to work out. Neela just can't see it, and I wish that we could make it better for her, but nothing we tell her seems to get through. It's not like we did anything wrong, or there's anything we could have changed. You'd know what to tell her, but without you here, we'll just have to trust her as our daughter to make it through. Heh. Normally I'd ask Summer for advice with this sort of thing, but this just felt right, you know?
I'm scared. So is Blake. We have no reason to be, but after what happened… It's a natural response, right? I…
Shadow wrapped her arms around Yang.
"I love you, mommy," Shadow told her. Yang held her for a long moment, the breeze picking up again, washing them over and calming her.
But I can't be scared. You're right.
I love you, mom.
Will Nero stay quiet? Next week, Chapter 32: Trust!
A big thank you to AG_Nonsuch, Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. The artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!