I1C11: Those Left Behind
AN: Welp, I promise fluff and instead I provide angst. At least the angst is a vehicle to the fluff, so you still get that.
In this Yang-centric chapter, it's a very… special day for the family, and they bring Kassidy along to visit Summer. What they don't know is that it's a very special day for Kassidy too.
EDIT: Jesus Christ that's the last time I try to copy-paste my chapters into document manager. Formatting should be fixed now.
(Perspective: Yang)
Yang shuddered another breath as she stood at the headstone before her. Today was the thirteen year anniversary of when Mom died… or at least the anniversary of when they got the news. Raven might've given birth to her, but Summer was Mom. Baker of cookies and slayer of monsters, always there for her and Rubes… right up until she wasn't.
No, that's not what happened, and you know it. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she blinked back a few tears and continued talking. About school, about her team, about anything she could think of that came up. Rubes and Dad had already said their pieces; she was the last.
Not exactly the last was the thought that came as she turned back and looked at her partner. Kassidy was simply standing with her head bowed in reverence; she knew how important and personal this was to the family.
Whatever was up between her and Kassidy at this point has been complicated ever since the lake trip two days ago. At this point Yang was pretty comfortable in saying that they both had feelings for the other, and both had recognized the other had feelings for her. They had been practically inseparable the past couple days, always spending their time together, but they'd never do anything. Yang would watch a movie or play a videogame or even just lounge on the sofa, and Kassidy would have her nose buried in Bob to either work on him or look up something interesting to learn on the RemNet. They'd even held hands once or twice, when they were sure they were alone. But that was as far as it ever got. Most of the time, they'd be in a semi-tense silence, with Yang wanting to display more emotion but holding back in fear of how Kassidy would react, and her partner seeming to be doing much the same.
Yang said her farewells and a promise to visit again next year before turning back to the group. Rubes was still clutching to her cloak; her sister visited more often than she did, but that made the occasion no less emotional for her. Dad hung behind everyone else, still as a statue, but she knew that he was hurting as much as they all were. Kassidy only nodded solemnly at her, and without a word they all began to make their way back through the woods.
The four were several minutes into their trip back to the car when she noticed that Kassidy had started to fall behind, craning her neck to see something. Yang followed her line of sight to a small clearing in the woods. She was about to ask her partner what was up to, but she was beaten to the punch as Kassidy called out to them, "Hey, do you guys mind holding on for a minute?"
Dad traded glances with her and Rubes, then nodded. "Sure thing, we're in no hurry. How come?"
Kassidy took a few steps forward, then said over her shoulder, "It's my turn." Dad and Ruby were left scratching their heads, but Yang had to stifle a gasp as her partner continued to stride into the clearing. Oh Oum, what is this? Is this a special day for Matthew, maybe? Yang took care to remain silent as she crept up behind her partner, making sure to stay at the edge of the clearing.
Kassidy stood stock still in the middle of the clearing, before slumping her shoulders, bowing her head slightly, and shoving her hands in her jacket's pockets. "Hey Ma, Dad, Matt. Been a while. Still alive, despite my best efforts. Heh." Shaking her head and scuffing her boot against the soft turf, Kassidy seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "Six years since Dad died, huh? It's a pretty long time, to be sure. So, here I am."
"Oh." Rubes and Dad had caught up, and he obviously didn't like what he was hearing. "I didn't even think…"
"It's okay, she didn't tell us either." Yang kept as quiet and brief as possible – this was obviously a very important moment for Kassidy, and she didn't want to interrupt.
"So… quite a lot's happened since last year. Uh, made my way to Baltimore, only got shot at a half dozen times or so, so I've been getting better. Some scientists forgot how calculus worked and more or less blew up the planet. So yeah, there's 11 billion fewer mouths to feed. I survived more or less through bullshit science ex machina. Y'know, like I always do."
Ruby went wide-eyed next to her. Yang turned to make sure her sister was okay, who also turned and mouthed 'eleven billion?'. She nodded, and her sister's lip started quivering as tears filled her eyes. Yang instantly wrapped Ruby up in a hug, all while continuing to listen to Kassidy's talk with her family.
"Found a glowy green portal, jumped through because why the hell not, landed in a street in some city I've never been to before. And imagine my luck when I arrive on the scene of a storefront robbery. But wait, there's more! See, because I had managed to find myself the most physics and biology defying planet possible to travel to, there was a kid with a scythe bigger than she was fighting the robbers, and the head bad guy had somehow stuffed a grenade launcher inside his cane. Yeah, I know, shouldn't be possible, well that happens a lot around here so what can I say."
Dad's brow furrowed. "Isn't that the Torchwick guy she's talking about?" Yang simply nodded, not wanting to interrupt.
"So, after getting some shrapnel in my gut, this whole Wizard of Oz character comes to talk to me. Hell, his name's even Ozpin. Wants to enlist me in this combat school deal. Figured I didn't have any better options, so I signed up. Right now I'm in college, learning how to be a super soldier or some shit like that. Not to say there's not your boring crap like history, and math classes that you taught to me when I was five.
"Part of the whole deal was gettin' put on teams." Everyone perked up when Kassidy said this. "Remember that kid with a scythe? Her name's Ruby, turns out she got moved two years ahead and made team captain to boot. A bit on the immature side from time to time, but she does a fine damn job regardless. I don't complain; she's a good kid.
"Weiss is… well, she's complicated. Heiress to a multi-billion dollar company. Easy to call her a spoiled brat, and to be frank she doesn't do much to make a first impression that isn't that. But she's a good person if you get to know her. Bit high strung, spends a bunch of time trying to crawl out of daddy's shadow, but she's alright.
"And then there's my partner, Yang. Combat partner – not, like, romantic partner or anything. That's…" Yang's breath hitched as Kassidy chanced a look back at her, before turning back around and scuffing her boot on the dirt again. "Well, it's complicated for now. Shame you guys aren't gonna get to meet her, I think you'd really like her. Would fit right in with the lot of us. Giant mess of blonde hair that you don't touch if you value your life, enough muscles to make most bodybuilders jealous, and she's a great gal to boot. I'd like to think you'd approve."
"Well, I think that answers the question as to whether or not she likes you." Ruby accentuated her point with a giggle and a poke. Yang shot her a fake glare before tousling her hair, then turned to focus on the rest of the talk.
"Well, what have I covered so far? Let's see, Earth died, went to a new planet because I like the whole living deal, signed up for college and got put on a team… oh, yeah, the big things around here are called Grimm. Yeah, they're literally called grim. You figure it out, I've given up months ago. Heh, and you thought I violated the laws of biology every chance I got… these things take the cake, hell they take the whole damn bakery. So yeah, I'm currently spending my times studying to fight these things.
"Oh! You'll also probably be happy to know that Yang's basically made me quit drinking. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're gonna say, but the shit really helped when things got rough. Still, things have been mostly quiet now. You know me, I'm not a drunk, I had my reasons and I made sure I was careful. Hasn't stopped her from busting my butt every time I so much as looked funny, though."
Yang felt herself getting spun around to face her father. "Your partner had a drinking problem?"
She shrugged, "Gotta agree with K, calling it a problem makes you assume things that aren't right. She wasn't a drunk, and she was careful." Dad opened his mouth to argue, but Yang beat him to it. "That still didn't mean that it was right, or healthy. I made sure she stopped."
His eyes watered slightly, and he nodded. "Good. Know from experience that drowning sorrow… drowning sorrow doesn't really work in the long term." All three of them grew more somber at the reminder, but Kassidy wasn't done quite yet.
"I know…" Kassidy had to choke back a sob to continue. "I know that you can't be too happy with how I've lived. I took everything you raised me to be and… and pissed all over it just to survive. I'm not the person you taught me to be, and I keep doing terrible things, and… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But…" Fighting through tears made it hard to talk, and Kassidy needed to take a quick break to try and get herself back under control. "But this Huntress business is supposed to be all about helping people, just like you taught me. So hopefully I'll be able to start doin' ya proud up there. Hopefully I'll be able to do some good around here.
"Also… if you lot don't mind having me even after all I've done, can you keep my seat open at the big table up there? Something's tellin' me I'm not gonna be around much longer. Well, hell, I'm surrounded by superpowered teenagers and biologically impossible demons, to be frank I'm surprised that I'm alive as is. While… while I'd like to say that I can't wait for some more of Dad's home cookin'…" Here, Kassidy turned back around and looked at the three people behind her. Yang could feel the heartbreak when her eyes met her partner's. Eventually, Kassidy returned to looking in front of her. "I've still got a job to do. Fight's not over yet, so I gotta keep fighting. Dinner's gonna have to wait. So… yeah. See y'all next year, I guess."
Yang watched Kassidy continue standing for about a minute, her shoulders shuddering every once in a while. Eventually, her partner turned around and walked back to them, returning a nod from Dad. The four of them started the now short walk back to the car, though Kassidy was hanging back a bit. Yang bit her lip as she shot another glance back at her partner, hands shoved into her jacket pockets and dragging her feet along. Dust, she's barely holding it together. I knew this'd be emotional for her, but… she's not taking this well. Chancing a look back at Dad and Rubes, she made up her mind and dropped back along with her partner. Tangling their fingers together and squeezing lightly, Yang asked, "How're you feeling, K?"
Kassidy squeezed back and brought her face up enough to show a small, far too forced smile. "I'll hold. Sorry for hijacking your trip to visit your mom."
Is she for real? Yang gaped at her a bit, before shaking her head vehemently. "You didn't hijack anything. If we'd known you were going to do that, we would've set aside some time and space for you specifically for that." Her partner grunted her assent, and the two continued following after Dad, neither willing to let go of the other's hand. Kassidy's hand trembled, and Yang wracked her brain to think of how to help. "Y'know," she started, "if you're worried about whether or not you're a good person, take it from me. You're a pretty good person."
Kassidy's hand tensed for but a moment, before relaxing. "Thank you, Yang." Yang's heart sunk when her partner's voice broke, but her worries were put aside when she spoke up again. "You have no idea how much that means to me, coming from you."
"Not a problem." They had arrived at the car at this point, and Yang crawled back into the backseat, with Kassidy joining her. "If there's anything else I can do to help, let me know."
Kassidy reached over and held her hand again. She offered a weak smile that was none too convincing and assured, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
(Perspective: Kassidy)
Kassidy woke up in a panic. Shooting to her feet instantly, she noticed something was wrong: namely, the setting. Last she remembered, she went to sleep in the Xiao Long household after a heavy meal and a couple hours sitting with Yang and working on Bob's code. A far cry from the burning forest she found herself in. Patting herself down, she sighed in relief when she found that she had all her gear on her: Rogue in its holster, her vest filled to the brim with ammo (despite the fact that she hadn't refilled her stocks from the four magazines she thought she had), and Baton in its sheath on her back.
A scream sounded through the forest. Perking up and zeroing in on where it came from, Kassidy ripped her gun from its resting place and tore off, staying low and doing her best to keep her mouth covered to avoid breathing in too much smoke. She couldn't remember how long she ran for; it might've been a minute, it could've been an hour. She didn't care how long it was as she skidded to a stop, because the answer was 'too long'. A trio of Hunter-Killers were currently hunched over a body, emanating smoke blacker than the forest fire was making and tearing apart the corpse. That corpse was none other than Matthew's, complete with the gaping hole the sniper put into his chest all those years ago.
That was all it took for her to see red. Screaming her lungs out, Kassidy drew Baton and rushed in to get the monsters away from her brother's body. In the fit of her rage, she didn't even notice that her sword was giving off the same black smoke her opponents were. Her fury temporarily gave way to confusion as her sword clove clean through the first Grimm, the normally resilient Beowolf variant falling apart with almost no effort on her part. Its two compatriots met similarly grisly and expedient ends. When she turned back, it was just in time to watch her brother's body disappear in a wisp of mist, just as a Grimm would.
Her attention was again drawn elsewhere, this time to a trio of thunderous blasts. That was Crescent Rose's report! Kassidy ran again, sprinting as fast – no, even faster – as she could. She didn't bother keeping track of time again, simply focusing on where she heard the sound, focusing on getting to Ruby before it was too late.
It was again too late. Her jaw dropped at the sight before her. There had to be dozens of Hunter-Killers, too many to count. The only things she even bothered to count were the seven Alphas. Two small groups of the beasts remained to tear at some things on the ground, while most headed deeper into the fiery woods, where the source of the blaze appeared to be some sort of fire tornado. A shredded red cloak and a broken Myrtenaster were both resting a ways in front of her. Yelling another battle cry, she rushed forward. The wind whipped past her as she darted to the Hunter-Killers faster than they could react, cutting them down to size instantly. It was almost like someone replaced Baton with a lightsaber that happened to look like it was made of metal.
Ruby's and Weiss' broken cadavers laid before her. Both had their throats slit. Both had their chests dug open. Both were as dead as could be. And it was all her fault. Kassidy didn't get to go deep into the thought process behind self-loathing when she realized what the source of the fire was. She started sprinting again, faster than should be possible, trees and bushes nothing but a blur as she pushed onward to save her partner. The smoke burned her lungs and the fire burned her flesh, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered but getting to Yang, making sure she survived. Nothing else mattered, right up until the forest exploded.
Her body screamed at her, but Kassidy didn't care as she forced herself to her feet. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered but getting to Yang. Ruby and Weiss were already dead. Matthew and Dad were already dead. Yang was all she had left. She wasn't going to lose anyone else, she refused to lose anyone else! Staggering to the crater, she saw the small number of Hunter-Killers that had survived the blast making their way to her partner. A great heave of Yang's chest told the story of her partner being alive, barely. Stumbling down the scorched dirt, Kassidy tore apart anything that came within arm's reach in her single minded drive to not let her partner die.
She wasn't fast enough. Her legs wouldn't go any faster. They got to her first. But they didn't kill her. Instead, one grabbed each of her arms and started dragging her. The Hunter-Killers were bringing Yang to her. The action made Kassidy freeze with confusion as she wondered what the hell was going on.
What was going on quickly revealed itself. They brought Yang before her and dropped her partner at her feet. Then, they waited, almost as if they were expecting something of her. Her sword seemed to have a mind, a will of its own, as it pulled itself towards Yang. Was it… they were expecting her to murder her own partner! She was about to kill them all when a third Hunter-Killer brought something else. It was carrying a mirror. Kassidy didn't care about why or how it had a mirror. When she looked into it, a bone mask and glowing red eyes looked back.
She was a Grimm. She was one of them. She was supposed to kill Yang. Baton dropped from her limp hands as she stared at the reflection.
Something pulled on her wrist, making her eyes shoot down. Yang Xiao Long, her partner, was on the verge of death. Her lilac eyes were wide, panicked, and pleading. Blood was everywhere. Her voice was hoarse, but it was the words that got to her the most.
"Wake up, K. Please, wake up!"
(Perspective: Yang)
Yang woke up with a start, before groaning and rolling over. Who the Dust is texting me at midnight? I'm trying to get some sleep here! Fumbling with her Scroll and eventually managing to flip the screen open, she was instantly awake. The message was from Bob.
Kassidy's having more nightmares, and I can't get her to wake. Need help.
She was so hurried as she tried to get out of bed that she managed to get tangled in her covers, and fell to the floor in a heap. It didn't take long to free herself, however, and soon she was down the hallway and throwing open the door to Kassidy's room.
Her partner's nightshirt was drenched in perspiration, and her eyes were screwed together so tightly it was a wonder her eyelids hadn't torn apart. Yang stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Kassidy's flailing hands, and now was close enough to hear her whimpering. This only made Kassidy start thrashing her entire body, threatening to carry both of them off the bed. Climbing on top of her partner and using her weight to pin her, Yang tried to hear if there was any reason, anything to her partner's whimpers. Among the occasional coherent words uttered were 'forest fire', 'Hunter-Killer', 'Yang', and 'no more'.
"C'mon, partner, don't do this to yourself." Yang leaned forward, whispering right in her partner's ear, trying to do anything to snap Kassidy out of it. "It isn't real. Whatever you think you're seeing, it's not real. Come back to me. Come back to reality. Wake up, K. Please, wake up!"
Kassidy's eyes shot open and she started gasping for air, Yang's strength the only thing keeping her partner from sitting up and dumping her off the edge of the bed. "What was… no, Yang… I'm not…" Damn, looks like she's still in it.
"Hey, K, come back to me. C'mon, deep breaths, that's it, get your breathing under control." It took a few minutes, but she finally talked her partner into a calmer state. Kassidy's eyes cleared up and focused on her. "There you are. Back with us in the land of reality?"
"That wasn't…?" Kassidy blankly stared ahead, eyes losing their focus, before Yang suddenly found herself being crushed in a bear hug that seemed more in place coming from Dad rather than her partner. "Oh thank God. Oh thank God you're still alive. I thought I…" Kassidy buried her face in Yang's shoulder as she started crying into it.
Yang returned the embrace, patting her partner and keeping her voice a comforting whisper. "It's okay. It's all okay. It was just a nightmare. I'm right here. We're all right here, and we're fine. We're just fine."
She had barely finished comforting her partner when the waterworks abruptly shut off and Kassidy's body tensed. Pulling herself up, her partner had forced back on a neutral expression. "Sorry for waking you up. Kinda rude on my part, it won't happen again."
"You couldn't help it." Yang finally pulled herself off from on top of her partner and sat next to her on the bed. "What did you see?"
Kassidy's response was automatic and mechanical, clearly trying to keep as much emotion out of it as possible. "Hunter-Killers. Dozens of them. I kept trying to get to you guys, to Matt, to Ruby, to Weiss, but I wasn't fast enough. I was never fast enough, could never kill enough of them in time. Then when I got to you…" Her partner took a few deep breaths, then shakily continued, "They brought you to me and expected me to kill you. That's when I saw… I was a Grimm. I was… a monster…" She broke down again and hugged Yang. When her partner finally calmed herself enough to speak, beady, shining hazel eyes looked up into her own. "I'm… I'm not a monster, am I Yang? I… I keep trying to do the right thing, but…" Suddenly, her partner broke the embrace and sat up against the headboard.
Yang's heart broke even more than her partner's voice did. Not just from the story, not just from how much it upset her partner, but from how Kassidy was internalizing it again. Forcing the pain down, bottling it up and hiding it from the world only to let it eat at her. Kassidy sat ramrod straight, and began chanting to herself, "Gotta be strong. If you're not strong, you're weak. If you're weak, you're dead. If you're dead, you can't protect them. If you can't protect them, they're dead. That's not an option. If you're not strong, you're weak. Gotta be strong. Gotta be strong…"
"Hey," Yang whispered, finally snapping Kassidy out of her self-hypnosis. "You don't need to be strong all the time. Sometimes you gotta be weak to let the pain go. Stop trying to force everything on yourself."
"I have to," was the simple, broken reply. Kassidy's breath hitched, but she managed to force out, "It's a dark world out there, Yang. It's dark out there. I'm used to it, my light's all burnt out. But your light, Ruby's light, it shines so brightly. I don't want to see your light burn out too. I gotta keep this to myself." Slumping against the back of the bed, she muttered, "As long as it's my problem and not yours, it'll be fine. You'll be fine, you can keep shining, and I don't…"
When her partner trailed off, Yang knew what had to be done. Shifting across the bed, she grabbed Kassidy and pulled her into a hug of her own, cradling her head against her shoulder. "It's okay. Go ahead and break. Go ahead and be weak. I'm right here. I can take it. Let it out. Let it all out."
"I don't want to lose you guys too. I don't want… I don't want to lose you too." Kassidy's composure was barely existent at this point. Ruby's been scared plenty of times too, partner. And this'll help you as much as it helped her, I know it. Yang kept her voice low, never above a whisper, dredging from the depths of her soul and pouring out every ounce of care, of strength that she had. Oum knew her partner needed it.
"Don't you worry about the dark, I will light up the night with the love in my heart. I will burn like the sun, and I'll keep you safe and warm."
The first part of the song was all that it took to break her partner's composure. Kassidy heaved and trembled as she sobbed, the waterworks flooding open as she bawled into her shoulder. Yang simply squeezed tighter. It was time for her partner to stop being strong. She needed to be strong for her, to let her have a break.
"Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day, I will be there to take all your fears away. And with a touch of my hand, I'll turn your life to Gold. Gold…
"Don't worry, I've got you. Nothing will ever harm you."
As she continued singing, Yang held on, letting her partner let it all out. Kassidy was a quivering, sniffling wreck at this point. It was more than likely this was six years of sorrow that was kept bottled up or drowned into an actual bottle, all finally being let loose.
"I'm close by, I'll stay here. Through all things I will be near."
Yang could feel her partner start to tense up again under her embrace, to start building her walls back up. She couldn't let that happen, Kassidy needed more time to let her feelings out. Dragging them both down to a prone position, they just laid next to each other, Yang keeping her embrace on her partner as they reclined.
"Don't you cry. Close your eyes."
Yang reached out with a tender thumb and closed her partner's eyes for her, wiping away a small stream of tears in the process.
"Love surrounds you, and in time you'll fly."
She didn't remember when Kassidy fell asleep. She didn't remember when she fell asleep. She didn't much care, either.
AN 2: Alright, so a whole hell of a lot got dumped on me this weekend. Still need to so much as start on next chapter. Big thing, though, is that I've currently got an interview lined up for a job at the university's tech support help desk. Welp, here's to hoping Wednesday goes well. Oh, and the whole "three quizzes, two assignments, and a partridge in a pear tree" schtick that's looking to be the name of this semester's weekends. What's this going to mean for the story? Honestly, I dunno. Worst case scenario is I need to cut down to once a week uploads, but I'm not convinced that'll be necessary yet. That's still in the future though, so for now let's get on to Reviewer Responses.
Coming up next: there will be blood. Oh yes, there will be blood.
Baconlord53: Which is real interesting considering that solid titanium probably would make a ship sink before it would make it float. Curse you reality defying RWBY universe!
Captain marvel 36: Honestly, it's neither, it's a ridge that raised itself up under her eye. Super weird, but it did complete the tic-tac-toe board that is her face. And that's not the only one: she has a vertical line going from the side of her eye down to her jawline. And the really big one? Actually… I'm saving that for next chapter.
AgentDraakis: I mean… don't get me wrong, I like some well-written White Rose as much as the next guy. But between my meager writing abilities, and the fact that I honestly don't see it happening to begin with? All signs are pointing to no Whiterose for this fic.
Matt Cyr: Farmer's tan best tan. Already sent you the PM about the romance bit, but I'm glad I could provide the humor regardless.
Tykene: Now that I've finally freed up an hour or so, let me send you a PM regarding appearance. And I'm still waving Qrow's death flag around, though Sun's and Nora's have gone down for me.
FloriteFlower: The current name we've been operated under has been Molotov Cocktail, but if you have some good ideas by all means let me know. That was just something I came up with when it came time to decide V1C23's title.
Firearm legume: Thanks again, my man, for the ideas and the laughs.
AndJrew76: Well, here's to hoping I've been able to meet expectations. I like where this went, though, so hopefully you will as well.