Hello everyone! How are you doing? Hope you are all fine!
Chapter 104 is here. As always, I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you all, like every time, for following/ favoring/ reading the story. You are all amazing; truly.
See you next week in chapter 105. Until then, be well and have fun!
The night sky, full of brilliant stars, illuminated Vale's dark roads. A crisp breeze had settled over the city, forcing everyone to stay inside. Only the army and SHU teams could be seen patrolling the restless districts.
Blake didn't share Ruby and Jaune's adoration for the street lights or the way they romantically dyed the city, but she had always been fond of the night. Silence and isolation had been great friends during her life.
But this was not a night she appreciated. Not after what she had seen and heard. Not after Weiss had come to them, announcing that almost ten people had told her the same thing with the same confused tone.
'There is no pillar. There is nothing visible inside the dome.'
They had decided to settle down and rest for the night and begin their joint operation tomorrow morning. Sun had then offered to take her out for a night ride on their bicycles to help her blow off some steam.
It was so kind of him and it had been months since she had the chance to enjoy a night ride. But, as she stared at her fiancé's muscular back, she only thought of one thing; would she ever enjoy a night ride again?
Sun led her down Cloud Avenue, the cool night air whipping her face. The sensation was far from pleasant, she felt like it stirred the endless worry that dwelled inside her exhausted, overworking brain.
If she had her usual awareness and observant mind, Blake would have noticed they were taking a particular, very familiar route. But, at this point her senses were preoccupied with searching around for nocturnal horrors that may be waiting to ambush her from the shadows.
The reason for her state was simple. She dreaded the night sky now. She dreaded the wicked stars, shining to reveal the path for the horrors that prowled on humanity. She hated the quiet district now, concealing fears from beyond logic. She abhorred the deceptive silence of the city.
But, most of all, she loathed with a burning passion the towering pillar of miasmatic light she could still see pulsing inside the dome- a beacon of eldritch green energy only her team, Nora, Ren, Lumia and Erik could see for some reason. She bit her lips and averted her gaze from it.
Are we truly seeing it? Or are we starting to lose our minds? She let out a sigh and pedaled a little harder when she realized she had been left a little too far behind the blonde boy.
"Lost in our thoughts, are we?" his warm, always supportive voice said as she caught up. "Sorry" she sent him a thin smile "can we take a small break to clear my mind?" "It won't be necessary; we are almost there."
Ok, that was a weird thing to say. "Almost where?" Blake suspiciously asked. "You really haven't realized where we are going?" he asked back in wonder "I thought you were just playing along- now I am worried."
"What are you-" all of a sudden, her mind took in all the information it had ignored up until now. They were taking a midnight stroll with their bikes down Cloud Avenue. Cloud Avenue? Where could Sun- OH!
"Are we going to the police station?" she asked in astonishment. The blonde boy winked playfully at her- and then sped up laughing at her embarrassment.
"Ok" Blake gazed at the grinning boy standing next to their parked and chained bikes in front of the police station. "Chasing you all the way up here was fun, but I think you have things to explain, Sun."
His face turned more serious "there are four people inside there who wait for you to visit and ask them about their experience." She opened her eyes "the city patrol members…" she whispered in shock.
"I knew you would spend the whole night thinking the case over again and again" he explained to her "so, I asked Velvet and Goodwitch to give us some private time with the Nyctos' ability victims."
She stayed gazing at him, mouth agape. "You may be able to find out something and if not, you will talk to people who can understand you better than I do. I think it will help" he admitted, slightly embarrassed.
"I swear" Blake hung her head "you always find ways to make me fall for you again and again" she quickly walked by him, hoping she could conceal her extremely red face. She magnificently failed to.
"That is my cue" Sun smiled and followed the black-haired beauty in, merrily greeting the two policemen who stood guards by the entrance.
"I swear, Ms. Belladonna" the brown-haired faunus with the beaver tail who had been introduced as Ken Bron from the night shift officers said. "I swear I can see a pillar of light. It pulses inside the dome, as we talk!"
Blake smiled at the man. "I bel-" "you are wasting your time, Ken" a short, brown-haired slender girl with large orange and black spots all over her skin scowled "she is not going to believe us; nobody is."
"Felis!" the man raised his voice "Ms. Belladonna took the time to come talk to us. Be more respectful!" Black orbs fell on Blake's yellow ones. A gaze full of anger, no, anger and heart-crushing sorrow filled her vision.
She is so much like I used to be Blake didn't flinch. Compared to Glynda, this girl had nothing to make her retreat. "I am here to help. You may think I am here to interrogate you some more, but this is not the truth."
"Well, I don't believe you" the girl spat "can I go get my pills and sleep now? Or is there anything else you want to ask me, Ms. Belladonna?"
The cat girl's ears dropped. She could understand the lashing out. She could feel the self-hatred behind it- and quite honestly, felt like she had no right to comment anything on that "no, thank you for your time" she stood up and forced a smile on her face "I wish you both the best."
"Be more honest, will you?" "FELIS!" Blake stepped out of the room, a loud conversation between the two faunus getting muffled from the door that closed behind her. She sighed deeply and started walking.
Honestly, she could understand the faunus girl. The images of Weiss, bloodied and beaten to a pulp by her own fists, her red, warm blood splattered all over Blake's face, still haunted the edge of her sanity.
I will never learn how close I got to killing Weiss she pondered. Those two were simply unluckier than I did. Her feet dragged her across the corridor, towards the main hall where Sun waited for her.
"You look like you saw a ghost" she turned around, her hand reflexively reaching for her sword. A split second later, she relaxed her pose as she saw a stern-looking blonde woman in SHU uniform walking up to her.
"Please don't scare me like that, Glynda" she comber her hair with her gloved right hand. "If I can surprise you while walking in these boots, then you are in dire need of a rest, Blake" the woman exclaimed.
Yellow eyes narrowed "isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? Or do you think I can't see black circles under your makeup?" she retorted. A quick scowl formed on the professor's face and she crossed her arms.
"Did you talk to them?" Goodwitch asked. "Yes; they had nothing new to add, but it helped me organize my thoughts. Thanks for letting me do it" Blake courtly nodded, omitting her troubled thoughts from her.
"When does your mission start?" the woman changed the subject. "In a few hours." "Then you should truly take Mr. Wukong and go rest. Your friends will need you in top shape if you are to survive this."
The faunus combed her hair once more. She needed some rest and a bath for sure. If not sleeping, she should at least lay down for a couple hours "I will do that; thanks for the advice, no, thanks for everything."
The stern woman gave her a swift, reserved smile and walked by. "Can you see anything resembling a pillar inside the dome?" Blake asked. A confused answer was Goodwitch's response "the thing the four patrol members talk about? No, there is nothing to be seen in there."
The black-haired girl's face darkened. "I see. Good night Glynda. And try rest as well." "Thank you. And good luck on your part, Blake."
-o—
"Yes, dad. Thanks a lot" Jaune's rasped voice had been filling the tent's interior for the last half an hour or so. Sitting next to him, tools spread all over the table, Ruby was performing maintenance on Crescent Rose.
She usually disliked noises while working, but after all that had recently transpired she wanted nothing more than hear Jaune talk for the rest of the night. In fact, she planned to do exactly that after she was done.
"Yes, tell mom I know. Saffron too; sorry I missed her calls" a fond smile formed on his chapped lips "love you too, dad. I promise I'll visit as soon as I am back in shape. Goodnight" he closed his scroll and sighed.
Ruby turned and stared at him. In the dim, lightly illuminated tent, her eyes shone like little stars "your father sounded really angry" she said, sending him a bright smile.
"For a former war hero and soldier of Vale, being denied to enter the city and visit his son is a big deal" the blonde boy defended his father "on the other hand it shows that General Nile is serious about all this."
"Yup" she commented, putting emphasis on the 'p'. "I will be by your side as soon as I am done with my baby." "I am fine; just hearing your voice again is a blessing, Ruby; I was afraid I was done for down there."
"I am glad you were wrong, then" she blinked a few times and kept her mechanical work of cleaning and lubricating the barrel. "Want to talk about it?" he asked her, calmly and honestly as he always did.
"I am not sure" she replied. "I am all ears, Crater Face." Ruby smiled softly "you always have. Since the day we first met. I have told you so many times" she turned to stare at him "I love this about you so much."
"I love your spirit and determination even more" he countered "this is why I know something is wrong with you, Ruby." She bit her lips and averted her gaze, hoping Jaune wouldn't notice her tear-covered eyes.
"I wasn't prepared to lose you" she finally replied, still working on her maintenance "and when I did, it hit me hard. Much harder than I ever expected it to. I couldn't deal with it; I barely was able to function."
"Ruby…" her hands trembled but she kept doing her work "deep inside my mind I always thought we would escape unscathed, you know. That we would take Salem down, return home and then live together with everyone else, kicking down Grimm while smiling at our children."
The brunette's shoulders sagged "of course, as General Ironwood said, I was naïve. One after the other, Uncle Qrow, Miss Winter, Aunt Ray, Pyrrha, CFVY, mom's legacy and our comrades- they all fell to the war."
"War is brutal. None of us wanted it" he concurred "losing you was the nail in the coffin. If not for Weiss, Yang and Blake, I think I would have gone mad. And I nearly did- until you miraculously came back to me."
She let the polished and clean parts on the table "so many people got killed because I- I slept next to a Grimm!" "Ruby…" she stared at the blonde, her eyes a mix of sorrow and self-hatred "I have never felt that disgusted in my life before; I want to" she stood up and walked to him.
"I want to tear off my skin and burn it until I am sure there is no trace of Grimm on it! I want to drown in a cleansing spring until my soul has forgotten everything!" she dug her nails in her arm, bruising her skin.
The bearded blonde boy slowly reached out and hugged her palms with his weak fingers. The contact seemed to draw Ruby out of her reverie if only for a moment "do you remember how we were when Jinn told us the truth about Ozma and Salem?" he asked her tenderly.
"Yes" Ruby replied "we were furious. Yang was ready to smack down Oscar. You even slammed him on a wall." He gave her a weak laugh "definitely not my proudest moment, I still feel bad for it I have to say."
His expression returned to its previous one "you were the one who told us we can only do what we can; nothing more, nothing less. You were the one who stood firm when everyone else was about to give up. And, let me remind you that we weren't in a much brighter spot back then."
"I- I…" she hung her head but her grip on her own skin softened "I just hoped I could for once go back to the normal life I always wanted to. I never asked to save the world- to be a hero" she trembled.
"How can I be happy when my happiness is bought with so much blood and death?" she finally admitted. Jaune squeezed her hands and tried to drag her to him. She didn't resist and sat on his lap.
"You are Ruby Rose- a huntress. You can be happy with everything you like. I feel so sorry for the people Avyssos killed, but as huntsman there is only one thing you can do and you know it."
She gritted her teeth "move forward and keep fighting." "I know it is-"
"I am angry Jaune" she cut him off. "I am scared as to how I can control my anger. Blake was right; I switched with Velvet because I didn't want to be an easy prey to Nyctos. I can barely stand calm as I am right now."
"And yet" he caressed her hair "in the middle of your anger you still had the mind to choose what you thought was best" he cupped her lips and they kissed "no matter how tough things are, you are still Ruby Rose."
She blushed and smiled briefly "and thank dust, you are Jaune Arc. And I wouldn't have it any other way" she whispered in his ear before she kissed him again.
-o—
"Aahhh~" Yang's melodious voice filled the steam-covered bath as she submerged her tired body in hot water "this is pure bliss, darn it. I didn't even realize how much I needed a steamy bath!" she moaned.
The blonde stared at the bathroom window and grinned. Despite all that had happened, her mood had improved significantly now that she could rest, bathe and take the stress off her shoulders for tonight.
She rubbed her chest and back thoroughly; her fighting style made her quite prone to dirt and other unmentionables. Another satisfied moan left her lips as she saw the crust of grime getting peeled of her body.
Her hand still itched, though. She groaned. "After all that I have been through, I can't fight an itch. Typical Yang Xiao Long" she grinned, taking the time to appreciate her skin return to its original clean color.
Yang closed the faucet and let her head rest on the edge of the bathtub while stretching her arms out "boy, Weiss wasn't joking when she said she felt better after it; we have forgotten how to live lately" she joked.
She let her mind drift at the events that had transpired after they had been summoned by Glynda to investigate Melia Pale's disappearance. It had been less than four months, but so many things had happened.
The blonde crossed her legs and stretched her body even more. Images of their latest exploits flashed back in her mind. Those images had been seared on her brain, despite her acting tough at the time- as usual.
She remembered Yugure. Blake and Weiss hugged together, covered in each other's blood. Ruby thrashed around by a vengeful monster that resided beneath the church of some poor, misguided people.
Grimmwater. Weiss stared at her with a one-eyed, hollow stare. Ruby cried over Alizar's malicious abduction. Blake saved her from Cherry's decapitating attack. Amphibian humanoid Grimm walked around them as they tried to rest in the middle of Red's family graveyard.
Then, Atlas. Ilia saved them from Carmel's guards. The frenzied search for Weiss. The Morkvind towered over their chained bodies as eldritch green fire circled the altar. Ed Spot licked her metal arm.
Cornfield. It was the place where Cherry had saved their lives with her unexpectedly honorable actions. Yang closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth even more. The Hag, spores, the temple, zombies, a sacrificial chamber. A pink-haired faunus covered for them in front- she shivered.
Yang's lilac orbs opened. Nice job, making yourself unable to relax even while bath…ing? She was truly feeling cold. She stared at her chest and muscled arms; she had goosebumps all over her body! What the eff is-
Yang's heart stopped. Her brilliant lilac orbs stared at the bath water's surface, where her reflection was formed. And what she saw took the cake from all the harrowing, impossible things her eyes had seen so far.
Her reflection was there indeed. But, instead of returning her gaze with the same lilac eyes, she was lying down with her body submerged in the bathtub- dead.
Her skin had changed color from healthy pink to a bluish-grey. Her lips were swollen and chapped, blood dripping from her half-open mouth and nose. Her blonde hair had fallen on her side, dripping dark water.
And her eyes- God, her eyes- were large white orbs, dripping thick red goo inside the bath water! Huge purple circles surrounded her eyelids. Blood oozed out from her left ear. Her hand hung lifelessly in the tub.
Yang gulped. Her heart beat like a dog's. Her corpse, in all its drowned glory, stood just before her eyes. In the same bathtub she was currently sitting in. She blinked, trying to comprehend- the corpse's mouth shook and opened, dripping more viscous blood and dying the image red!
"GAH!" Yang jumped out of the bathtub, slamming her naked body on the floor. Ignoring the vivid green pulse visible from behind the bath window she ran out towards the kitchen, calling for her girlfriend.
Said girlfriend had finished her bath some time ago and now sat on her makeshift lab bench- former kitchen table- wearing a lab coat over her nightgown. Glasses were on her cyan eyes and her hair was tied up.
In front of her, placed on a stand, were a few little glass spheres full of the blue liquid she had taken out of Azure's first tube; glass grenades of unknown potential. Hopefully they would prove valuable at some point.
The second tube was currently set in front of her on another stand. She was holding a pipette and was in the middle of transferring the tube's contents to ten glass tubes she had in a third stand in front of her.
After she finished, she would store them inside the fridge and then, if they survived their mission inside the dome, she would try persuading the kids at the lab to let her run a few identifying tests on them.
This thing was able to hurt the Hag. And, if what they said stands true, it was the main substance that started to corrode Cherry's magic and the Grand Mother's aura. This might be our greatest chance yet!
So great was Weiss' concentration, it would take a real emergency to break it. "WEISS!" -like her naked, drenched fiancée bursting in the kitchen while shouting her name at the top of her lungs, for example.
Weiss raised her glasses "I hope there is a good reason for this- wait, what happened? You are pale as a ghost!" Weiss dashed to Yang, her irritation having been replaced with worry.
"Yang! You are freezing!" the pale girl protested. "Why did you get out without a towel?" she turned around to go fetch one- until the taller one grabbed her arm "sweetie, listen to me for a moment, please."
Weiss stopped and stared at her girlfriend "what's the matter? You are acting weird; I mean weirder than your usual nonsense." "Could you come with me to the bathroom, please? I need to verify something."
A few minutes later, Weiss and a pajama-dressed Yang were checking the bath water, searching for any indications of the blonde girl's dead-looking reflection in the still steamy bath.
"I can't see anything- neither weird images nor blood in the bathtub" Weiss told Yang, who was currently standing in the middle of the room rubbing her still aching palm. "Did I imagine things then?
"I don't think so" the serious reply came "check the water please" she requested and Yang complied. "What the shit, this is almost frozen!" she quickly retracted her arm in shock. "You didn't imagine things; truly something happened here" the petite huntress informed her.
"What could it be then?" the blonde, visibly shaken, asked. Weiss took a deep breath "could be anything at this point. Do you remember what Alizar did to Ruby in Grimmwater?" she asked back at her lover.
"Shit" she rubber her palm even more furiously. For some reason, it hurt even more now that she was agitated. "What are you, a child?" in a moment, slender cool fingers slapped Yang's metal arm away and the alabaster huntress soothed her palm by rubbing it gently.
And the next moment, lilac and cyan orbs opened wide in shock and horror. "Wha- what is this?" they stared at each other, failing to even register what they could both now see.
On top of Yang's palm, her rich and lively skin was scarred. Thin, black lines with a sickly green charred outline were clearly visible, forming an alien and horrifying sigil that resembled a huge, bulging eye.