Chapter 39: Ghosts of the Past

AN: Well, you guys definitely seem to have taken last chapter well enough, which is a huge stress off my shoulders. Okay, now that we're out of the heart-attack-for-the-author-inducing chapter, back to the story.

Yang's point of view again. She's been trying so hard to make sure Kassidy felt like part of the team, but last night she relapsed. Now it's the big 'face your fears' test, and obviously our paranoid gunslinger is first in line. Time to find out just what's wrong with Kassidy.

(Perspective: Yang)

Fucked.

Her partner's final word last night perfectly described the situation as Kassidy's name was called to take the test first. As of twenty hours ago, one would think that Kassidy believed the simulator to be no big deal. Her partner was so sure that Ozpin could do nothing to her that could concern her. Ever putting up her front as a bastion of strength, keeping her own problems shoved into the corner so nobody would have to even realize she had problems.

But then, last night happened. Bob decrypted the drive, then panicked. The computer organized a meeting with the higher-ups at Beacon, and Kassidy went to the newly scheduled appointment. Kassidy came back down, ignored the seven of them, then ditched her stuff for a trip to Vale. She didn't think anything of it at first, but when Kassidy failed to show up for dinner, questions were asked. A cursory search found her nowhere on campus. Fearing the worst, Yang went back to the roof to indeed find her partner imbibing of the alcohol again.

Their time as partners had its ups and downs, but the past two weeks were such an up. Kassidy had come out to the training mission with renewed fire, and the girl didn't even let her team see any combat. The Garand cracked like mad, Beowolves and Creeps falling left and right as she cleared the Grimm around them with an almost religious zeal. A day and a half with good food, good friends, and good times did wonders for her mood, and by that Monday, there was no mistake: Kassidy Smith was back with a vengeance. Over the past thirteen days her grades had shot up, her training was going so well, and she even started interacting well with their little circle of friends. For the longest time, Yang had felt like a failure of a partner for being unable to make Kassidy feel comfortable. Recently, her partner didn't just look comfortable, she looked… happy.

It only took twenty minutes to take it all away. Kassidy was found drinking herself to sleep again, Bob refused to say anything at all, and neither Glynda nor Narud were willing to discuss the matter. When confronted, Headmaster Ozpin only said that something unexpected came from the girl's past that profoundly affected her. Because that really narrowed down the field of possible causes.

After ensuring that Kassidy got plenty of water for breakfast that morning, Yang did her best to cover for her partner while she recovered. Fortunately, Port's stories were both as boring and as useless as they always were, and Chemistry didn't have a whole lot going on at the moment. Kassidy finally seemed to get better around lunchtime, but she sure didn't cheer up any.

For now, though, it was time for Kassidy to enter the simulator. Upon hearing her name, she merely muttered, "How did I see this coming?" before dumping her backpack with the group, taking only her rifle, sword, pistol, and vest with spare ammo. Walking up like a doomed person walking to their execution, she stopped in front of Ozpin. The Headmaster gave no emotion, only wishing her luck before the simulator door opened.

"Oh, I hope she does okay. I'm worried about her." Ruby tugged her cloak nervously.

"Me too, Rubes. Me too."

Weiss flipped her hair over her shoulder as she always did. "What even happened this time?"

"Dunno. Couldn't get a straight answer from anyone."

The three Huntresses watched as the fourth member of their team walked through the door, before it instantly slammed behind her. Almost immediately, the device activated and started warming up. Interestingly, Ozpin seemed concerned about this. "Glynda, I didn't ask for you to start just yet."

"This isn't me, I've lost control of the simulator. Someone's in the system and won't let me access the controls."

Nervous grumbling sounded around the room, before mechanized shifting sounded. K's in trouble. If someone locked her in the simulator and the Professors can't control it… I need to get her out. Ember Celica fully deploying, she was about to leap in and bust her partner out before Weiss threw an arm in front of her. "Last I checked, you don't have the means to pay for a new simulator."

"We can't just leave her there, Weiss! We have to do something!"

"Your teammate is right, I'm afraid." Ozpin calling up to her got her distracted from trying to punch the simulator open. "While I'm sure we'll have the situation back under control shortly, I don't suppose Bob would be able to help us in that regard?"

"I just checked, Professor." Ruby was tapping on the tablet in question in a frustrated bid to get it to do something. "Her computer's in the middle of a bunch of updates right now. Um… estimated time until completion… two hours plus change." Her voice deflated with the last four words as she sank into her seat.

A loud humming came from the simulator, and the class' attention was fixated on a scene being created. Kassidy was standing on a road leading into a burning city. Right in front of her, a sign read 'Welcome to Baton Rouge, Population: ', with the population number being not attached to the rest of the sign. Kassidy sighed heavily, before loading a clip of ammunition into her rifle. "Welcome home, indeed." Bringing the Garand up, her partner started stalking along the road into the city.

Ruby tilted her head to the side and asked, "That's her home? Why is it on fire?"

"This is supposed to bring out her worst fears. It's probable that her home got attacked, and she's now reliving the moment." Weiss let her hand rest on Myrtenaster, the only sign she ever gave to tell others she was nervous.

Kassidy was stalking through a war zone. As she rounded another corner, she was forced to dive back as a machine gun tore up the road she had just stepped on. The source of the fire was an old, beat up pickup truck with a heavy gun mounted on the back in a haphazard manner. The guy manning the gun seemed to be shooting at nearly at anything that moved. A deep rumbling filled the air, and Kassidy actually seemed to relax at the sound. Suddenly, a gigantic explosion caused the truck to disappear in a cloud of smoke and shrapnel. Her partner ducked out again to see the cause of it.

"Wow. What'd you think it'd take to make that happen, Weiss?"

"I don't know, Yang. There's not many guns of that large a caliber, but possibly – oh my Oum…"

The entire class gasped at what could only be a gigantic bunker on treads rolling through the street. Mounted on it was the largest cannon anyone had ever seen outside of a capital airship, and the metal monstrosity continued to drive through the city. Kassidy chuckled grimly to herself. "Oh, boy. The M1A3 Abrams, sixty-five tons of depleted-uranium-plated pure badassery. How do I not miss getting shot at by you guys." After waiting for the tank to pass, she continued along the street. Occasionally, differently uniformed men would cross her path. Street clothes, military uniforms, everything in between, it didn't matter. Kassidy shot them all.

Ruby whimpered, "Why's she shooting everyone, Yang? Surely some of them are the good guys, right?"

"If you asked her, there wasn't such a thing as a good guy where she came from. Maybe she's just defending herself."

"Fancy meeting you here, Kassidy."

Yang was shocked. "Weiss, how could you forget that K's in the simulator?"

"I didn't say that…"

Looking back, the source of the familiar voice revealed herself. Kassidy was in the middle of the street, with Weiss Schnee walking up to her. However, Weiss was wearing a business suit and being escorted by nearly a dozen Atlesian Knights, which quickly surrounded her partner.

Yang audibly growled. "Weiss, what are you doing?"

"I don't know!"

"Didn't expect them to let you into the simulator, Weiss. Or for you to change into a business suit all of a sudden."

"I am a businesswoman, and I am here on business. I must admit, when I first heard of Project Colossus, I was skeptical."

"How did you learn about that?!" Kassidy raised her rifle on Weiss, only to have twenty Gatling guns aim at her. Reluctantly, she lowered her rifle, but still maintained a fierce glare on the heiress.

"I have my sources. It seemed too good to be true: a program dedicated to weaponizing humans, and in you, the star child of the project, we have a perfect test subject. You could be exactly what we need to push the Grimm back."

"Wait, is the other me saying… what is she saying?"

Kassidy sighed, "What do you want, Ice Queen?"

"Tut, tut, is that any way to address your new handler? I want to reactivate Project Colossus. With the Schnee Dust Company's limitless resources, and the finest Atlesian tech accelerating the process, I'm sure we can turn you into a relentless Grimm exterminator in no time. And from your DNA, we'll be able to create thousands more. A genetically engineered army to save Remnant from the darkness, imagine the possibilities!" Not-Weiss faked swooning.

"You want to turn her into a living weapon? Weiss, how could you?!"

"I don't want to do that! I don't even know where this is coming from!"

Pyrrha leaned in to the increasingly distraught Huntresses. "If I may interject with a fresh perspective, this test is designed to make us face what we fear most. Perhaps what we're seeing is what Kassidy is afraid Weiss is like?"

"Alright, enlighten me Ice Queen. Let's say you get your army of super soldiers that finishes off the Grimm. What then? Now we've got a company with an indestructible army, a highly aggressive tendency towards profit, and a severe lack of morality. No, I think not." Kassidy raised her rifle again, giving no attention to the androids aiming their weapons at her. "You're just like all the rest, I don't know why I thought you were different. I'll give you the same answer I gave them: I'm not fighting your wars, and I'm not going back!"

Not-Weiss was barely able to begin drawing Myrtenaster before Kassidy fired. Oddly, the heiress' aura didn't protect her from the bullet, and Weiss' brains were blown apart. Also oddly, the androids shut down after Weiss' death before dissolving much as a Grimm would. Everyone gasped, with Weiss putting her hands in front of her mouth. Through tense fingers, Yang heard her muttering, "I'd never do that. I'd never do that to you, Kassidy. I'm not my father, I'm not, I promise." Ruby had put her hand on her partner's shoulder and started murmuring to her. Yang got a sick feeling in her stomach. K just shot Weiss. And Weiss just tried to force her at gunpoint to get turned into an abomination. Is that really what she thinks about Weiss? Is she really that afraid that Weiss is going to cart her off to do something horrible to her?

"Glynda, what kind of progress are we making on regaining control of the simulator?" Ozpin was the closest to breaking his stoic demeanor that Yang had ever seen.

"No progress. I can't regain entry to the systems." Professor Goodwitch was typing furiously on her Scroll, making little headway as she snarled at it.

"Weiss! Where are you?" The yell coming from the simulator made everyone freeze, including Kassidy, who wore an expression of pure terror. Yang watched as her little sister, precious little Ruby Rose, darted into the street in a flurry of rose petals. Not-Ruby stopped, took one look at the scene, and changed demeanors instantly. The simulated construct of her little sister growled, "You."

"Ruby… she didn't give me a choice." Kassidy slung her rifle on her shoulder and started backing up with her hands raised in front of her. Not-Ruby started walking forward menacingly as the hood on her cloak blew up to cover her face.

"How could you!? We were supposed to be friends! How could you just kill her? Does none of these past three months mean anything to you?!"

"Yang?" Over to her side, her actual little sister was shuddering with tears in her eyes. "I'm scaring me. I'm not mean like that, am I? Please tell me I'm not like that."

Yang wrapped her up in a hug and held on tight. "You're nothing like that, Rubes. I promise." Why are you scared of Rubes, partner? What's got you so worried about my little sister?

Kassidy kept backing up. "Ruby, she was going to turn me into a monster. I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice." Suddenly coming to a stop, Not-Ruby unfurled Crescent Rose in all its terrifying glory. "You could have just died! Died like everyone else around you!"

"That was a low blow." Weiss was seated and trembling herself. Her hands were looking like they were trying to shake off her arms.

"What? I'd never say that! Yang, I'd never say that to anyone, would I?"

"Never," Yang assured. She continued watching the scene unfolding before her. Not even her fiery Semblance could melt the block of ice that had replaced her stomach.

Not-Ruby kept up her advance, sniper-scythe trailing behind her as its tip carved a furrow in the concrete. "How many, Kass?"

"How many what?"

"How many people have you killed? How many bodies have you left behind, how many families have you torn apart just to save your own sorry hide?"

"As many as I had to."

The simple declaration set the hair on the back of Yang's neck on end. How easily, how little hesitation was given with that answer only made it worse.

Not-Ruby chuckled evilly. "You said Weiss was going to turn you into a monster, but you're already a monster. Quit lying to yourself, and quit lying to us. You're worse than a Grimm." Suddenly stopping, Not-Ruby aimed Crescent Rose behind her in her classic pose when she was about to rocket off to the fight.

With shaking hands, Kassidy redrew her rifle. "Ruby, please. Don't make me do this. I don't want to hurt you."

"Oh, don't worry, you won't hurt me at all." Chuckling more, Not-Ruby readied herself for a fight. "I always did want to be a hero. And what do heroes do? They kill monsters."

"I'm begging you, Rubes."

"Don't beg, it's unbecoming of you." Not-Ruby scoffed and spat on the ground. "Take heart, Kass. I'll make sure you can't hurt anyone ever again." Wasting no further time with words, she fired behind her and used her Semblance to rocket forward, slicing with enough force to carve through a house. Kassidy had just barely rolled out of the way in time to keep from being bisected.

"Is… is she scared that I think she's a monster? That can't be right. She's not a monster, she's not!" Her sister was reduced to a crying, quivering wreck beside her, burying herself into Yang's embrace. For her part, Yang could only watch with horror as her partner fought not-her-sister. Is she really this terrified of us? Is this why she doesn't want to get close to us, she's afraid we're going to turn around and try to kill her? She's afraid that Weiss will try to lock her up and Ruby will try to purge her?

Yang's eyes widened as a truly terrifying thought crossed her mind. What's she's afraid of me for?

A cry of pain drew her attention back to the simulator. Not-Ruby crumpled on the ground, Crescent Rose flying from her grip. Kassidy stood with a bloody sword, her rifle discarded a few feet away. Staring and shaking like a twig in a storm, her partner slowly made her way over to Not-Ruby. The simulated team leader tried to crawl away, silver eyes wide with fear. Kassidy knelt beside her, said something nobody could her, and slowly, agonizingly, put her sword to Not-Ruby's back while covering her eyes. "Shh. Don't cry, it'll be over soon. It won't hurt anymore." With a final, anguished cry, Kassidy plunged her sword through Not-Ruby's heart, before collapsing in a fit of tears over the corpse rapidly dissolving into a pile of rose petals.

"I… I made her kill me. I'd never do something like that, would I? Please, I don't think you're a monster, Kass, I don't! Yang, please tell her I don't think of her that way!"

"I'm sure she doesn't. She's just had… some trying things come up lately, and she's scared." Glynda materialized beside them, with Headmaster Ozpin taking over the role of trying to shut the simulator down. "Once we get her out of there, I'll make sure you get the opportunity to tell her what you need to."

"What kind of simulation did you guys give her?!" Anger wasn't logical, and Yang was angry. The professor because the unfortunate target of her anger.

"This isn't the simulation we created for her. It loosely follows the same principles… if whoever made this had zero desire to preserve her sanity or her trust in others."

"Ruby! K! Weiss! Where are you?" Yang expecting her own voice to come from the simulator at some point did nothing to blunt the shock to listen to Not-Her shout for her teammates.

"No… please no…" Kassidy tried to duck into a building, but the simulator made that building disappear. In fact, the whole city disappeared, leaving only her partner and Not-Her on a flat floor.

"Partner… what did you do?" Not-Her growled.

"Yang, please, they didn't leave me a choice, they attacked me, you have to believe me!" Kassidy was in a full blown panic as she tried to find somewhere to run.

"I do believe you. I also believe that my kid sister wouldn't attack you unless she had a real good reason to." Not-Her expanded Ember Celica before taking menacing steps forward. At this point, everyone could see that her normally lilac eyes were already blood red. "All those lives you've taken weren't enough, huh? You had to start killing our teammates, didn't you?"

Yang watched on. She couldn't trust herself to move, to speak, to even think.

"They attacked me, Yang. They were trying to kill me! I was just defending myself!"

"Yeah, and I suppose that's the story every time, wasn't it?"

"It is!"

"How stupid do you think I am?" Not-Yang closed the gap, sneering in Kassidy's face. "Weiss… Ruby… who knows how many others."

"Ugh, how do I make you understand I'm not the bad guy here?" Kassidy turned around and took a few steps away in a huff.

"You can start by telling me how far you're willing to go."

"Yang, are you okay?" Weiss' question was ignored. "Yang?"

No matter what happened, no matter what she told herself, Yang couldn't have possibly prepared herself to hear the words that came out of her partner's mouth.

"How many people would you kill, if it meant keeping Ruby safe?"

Not-Yang took a step back in surprise, and slight fear. "This is about you, not me."

Kassidy sunk her head and closed her eyes. "The wars I'd start… the armies I'd crush… the cities I'd raze, if it kept the psychopaths that tore apart my home from gaining power in yours."

The blood red eyes returned to lilac, the flames in her hair extinguished, and Not-Yang took a few more steps back with her hands in front of her. "Partner…?"

Opening her eyes, Kassidy turned around and stared Not-Yang down. "I'd burn the world if it meant getting back what I lost." Turning the tables, her partner charged up into Not-Her's face. "You ask what I'm willing to do, how far I'm willing to go. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, willing to go wherever I need to, to get the job done." Stepping back, Kassidy actually chuckled and shook her head. "Man, it's a good thing nobody else can see this. Hooray for privacy. I'd be crucified instantly otherwise. So, since we have the privacy where I can speak my mind without having to worry how others will take it… yes, I am a monster. Yes, I've killed people, and no, I'm not a nice person. And you know what? I'm fine with that. Because nobody else has to do it. I'm perfectly fine with doing bad things if it keeps you, or Weiss, or Ruby from having to do them."

Complete silence was the rule as Kassidy went on her tirade. Yang's jaw was hanging open as she watched Not-Her back away. Is this you, partner? Is this what you think of yourself? You think so little of yourself you relegate yourself as the garbage collector?

What are you going to do when you find out we saw everything?

"You always did have a way with words." If there was complete silence earlier, then there was currently a negative amount of sound in the room apart from the simulator. Kassidy, a far cry from her earlier conviction, turned snow white as the blood drained from her face. Her knees knocked until they gave, and she crashed to the floor of the simulator. Not-Yang disappeared, leaving everyone wondering where the unknown voice was coming from.

"What's going on now?" Ruby tried to look around to find the source of the voice.

"Who would've known Kassidy was capable of this…" Weiss balled her fists in her lap. Her scathing remark was promptly ignored as Kassidy said four words that completely extinguished Yang's fiery Semblance.

"Matthew, is that you?"

"What, has it really been that long?" The voice called out again, and its owner stepped from deep shadows. Hazel eyes and messy blonde hair, the boy cut an imposing figure despite not being older than ten or eleven years old. The most obvious feature, however, was the giant hole in his chest.

"Wait, that's Matthew?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"He's who's been making Kass so upset?"

Kassidy, for her part, looked like she saw a ghost. Which, I guess, is actually pretty accurate. And why does he look so much like…

Yang's thought process halted at the Matthew figure's next words.

"Hey there, baby sis. Long time, no see."

AN 2: And so every reader theory I've seen about Matthew goes up in flames.

Coming up: Further down the memory hole, and further down the deepest recesses of Kassidy's mind.

Right after these Reader Responses.

mcd3424: Hopefully I can keep up with expectations. Glad you're enjoying it.

Matt Cyr: No, she didn't. All she really knew about herself was that she was beyond weird, but she attributed it to years of hard living and a chance mutation or two. She actually met Klaus in the Introduction, and flat out refused to believe him. Well… you're not wrong with Matthew, but their relationship goes deeper than that. Never read Divergence, so I can comfortably say I didn't base it off of that. As for using the accent she grew up with, it's gonna have to depend on if the team can talk her into it.

AgentDraakis: Killed her Aura? No. Came pretty damn close though. I can imagine the girls having some… interesting reactions to the news. As far as the simulator is concerned, we'll only see Kassidy's in such detail as what I'm doing now, but I'll brush on the others' as we go along.

Guest: Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much, here's to hoping I can keep entertaining you.

Akshka: Well, she got a hug. But after this arc is over? Uh… I might want to go ahead and place a bulk order on hugs.

James: Her soul's still there, but it ain't doing so hot. Even if Narud comes through, fixes the damage as best he can, and gets her Aura unlocked, it's probably a given that it's not going to be as strong as her peers' Auras.

AndJrew76: I'd keep an eye out for those angry rampaging elephants. If I wrote this properly we've got more twists on the way.