Chapter III: Meltdown
The dining hall of Beacon had always been the beating heart of the school, especially around that hour, when all the inhabitants of the Academy used to gather for their first meal of the day, filling the whole place with casual chatter and laughter. This time around, however, the usual, lively buzz that echoed in the room during the breakfasts was nothing more than a soft murmur of a few hushed voices. There were no students to be seen nor heard in this place illuminated by the morning sunlight that seeped through the eastward windows - only a few weary Huntsmen and Huntresses were present, talking quietly over their brunch. None of them paid any mind to the mildly disappointed gaze of a pair of silver eyes that silently watched them over a rim of a mug of hot chocolate.
Dressed in her deep crimson pajamas, Ruby stood with her arms crossed, leaning her back against the kitchen counter. Having already finished her preparations for breakfast a while ago, she patiently waited for her companions to get their own meals ready, absentmindedly listening to their playful banter, too occupied with her thoughts to actually participate in the conversation.
The absence of the other students hit her as soon as she had walked past the doorstep of the dining hall, but back then she had just shrugged that off, thinking to herself that more people would come as the time passed by. And so she waited, one minute after the other, her anxiety growing with each fleeting moment. Now, seeing that they'd been here for a longer while and yet none of their friends had appeared, she began to feel just uneasy, ultimately earning a worried look from a certain blonde.
Yang gently nudged Ruby with her elbow, trying to get her attention. "Why the long face, Ru?" she asked her little sister, grabbing the teapot and pouring the amber liquid into a cup partially filled with milk.
"I just had hoped that I'd see some of our friends," muttered the silver-eyed girl, taking a sip of hot chocolate from the mug she was holding in her hand. "That means everyone is in the hospital, huh?"
Yang passed the cup of tea she had just poured to her Faunus girlfriend, then smiled wryly at Ruby. "Told ya that no one's gonna care about your PJ's."
Blake thanked her with a grateful nod, taking over both the offered drink and the task of answering Ruby's question. "Yeah, most are either hospitalized or tending to their wounded... or mourning the dead, like team CNMN." She sighed and put her cup down on the tray with the rest of her breakfast. "They have already disbanded. Their leader, Claret... she sacrificed herself to buy them enough time to retreat after they got outflanked." A strange melancholy filled her amber eyes when she said these words, looking at Ruby with unusual intensity. Both pride and sadness were hidden behind the gentle smile that appeared on Blake's face as she explored various what-if scenarios in her imagination, thankful that the fate had been as kind to them as it had. "Former second-years, like Coco."
A short, humorless laugh made its way through Blake's parted lips and she shook her head, her gaze downcast. "Coco. All members of team CFVY are with her now... she still can't even stand on her own, you know? According to Velvet she tries to play it cool, but... well. Neptune woke up just two days ago, too..." She glanced at Ruby; the girl was listening to Blake intently, standing almost completely still, with her head hung low and her eyes closed, taking a deep breath as the news were sinking in.
"And JNR?" Weiss chimed in, having placed the last slice of tomato onto her sandwich.
"They are well and kickin', just busy in Vale; they help older Huntsmen with securing the area and making sure that no civilian runs into a pack of stray Beowolves," Yang said quietly, her lilac eyes looking away as if in a show of shame or guilt. "Should be back home before the nighttime."
For a moment Ruby remained silent, then let out all the air from her lungs through her nose and nodded. "Thanks, Blake," was hers quiet reply. Saying nothing more, she lifted the tray with her breakfast and walked away, heading towards the less populated section of the dining hall. The remaining trio exchanged a few concerned glances and then took their cue from their leader, talking among themselves as they followed a few meters behind Ruby.
"So, the Grimm are still in the city?" Weiss inquired as she trudged beside Yang, sounding a little bit more disappointed than she knew she should.
"Yeah, but from what I've heard they're more of an annoyance than a real threat at this point," said the blonde with a small shrug, seemingly not worried in the slightest. She was simply restless, torn between the desire to help people still fighting in the city and looking after her teammates, between feeling bad that she was sitting at Beacon doing nothing and being ecstatic that her little sister was finally awake and well. "Mostly younglings, too dumb to not pick the wrong fights. It seems that all the clever ones ran away once we've killed... well, y'know." Her voice trailed off towards the end, her expression darkening. And indeed, Weiss did not need her to explain.
"Any reports on the casualties?"
Blake shook her head, watching as Ruby ceased her walk and sat down at one of the secluded tables. "Nothing official as of yet. We've lost one safepoint and two more were breached, but that's pretty much all we know."
Weiss seated herself next to her partner. "And what about the other Kingdoms?"
"Atlas is, well, Atlas, so they obviously held up," Yang said, then both she and Blake plopped down on the bench across the table from Ruby and Weiss. "And so did Mistral, for the most part at least. Vacuo, though..."
That got Ruby concerned. "How bad is it?"
"Bad enough that you can hear people saying that there might be no Vacuo left by the end of next year," Blake replied, her voice just as flat as the pair of cat ears atop her head. "Apparently about one third of the city was leveled with the ground... Vacuo was not the most hospitable place to begin with, even when everyone had working electricity and water in the sink. Now... They might be unable to remain independent."
After that the silence fell around them for a few minutes, interrupted only by the quiet clanging of cutlery as the four girls ate their breakfast, each of them pondering what the future had in store for the world of Remnant. Would Vacuo rise up from their knees, or perhaps were these indeed the last days of a falling Kingdom? And if so – what would happen next?
Eventually the mood lightened a little and the small talk returned to their table; only Weiss remained quiet, completely engrossed by her thoughts, seemingly not even aware of the fact that her teammates had spoken. Her icy blue eyes stared straight ahead, their gaze unfocused and absentminded. She seemed to be literally frozen in time, absolutely passive, with the cup of coffee suspended in both of her hands an inch away from her lips.
Ruby frowned a little bit at the sight, then proceeded to wave her hand in front of her partner's face. "Team RWBY to Weiss, roger." Weiss blinked a few times when the younger girl snapped her fingers, and although no eye contact was made, it was enough for Ruby to assume that the heiress was listening. "Hey, is everything ok? You kinda spaced out a little."
"I just wonder what my mother is going to do now," Weiss said, still not looking at anything in particular. "SDC's presence is strong in Vacuo, and its Dust deposits are vital to the company. Instability of the region creates both risks and opportunities. And should Vacuo cease to exist as a country... well, things could get really interesting." She took a sip of her coffee.
"Are you gonna call her? To, y'kno, let her know that you're fine?"
The heiress shook her head, her gaze fixing on the blonde that had asked the question. "No, not yet. If the situation in Vacuo is half as bad as they say, then I don't believe that SDC was not hit in one way or another during the attack. It means that saying she's 'busy' would be a most severe understatement." She sighed and looked down, at her own reflection dancing on the surface of her drink. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that she already knows I'm well and awake, so there's no point in wasting her time, especially now."
"Taking it easy, eh?"
Weiss' eyes flicked back to Yang. "Oh, I don't know about that," she replied in theatrically thoughtful tone, hiding a smirk behind her cup. "I do plan to call Winter later today, after all."
"And you, Blake? Did you call your parents? How are they?"
"Happy that I'm alive and a bit mad that I signed up for, how my father had aptly put it, 'a suicide mission'," Blake replied nonchalantly. "Mostly happy, though."
Ruby let out a short laugh. "Can't say I blame them."
"Yeah," Yang chuckled, nodding in an agreement. "Well, at least your folks dunno what exactly was the mission about. Our dad... let's just say that for a while I honestly thought he was gonna rip Qrow's head off as soon as we got out of the airship." She hummed softly as she rested her chin in her hand. A somewhat dreamy expression appeared on her face. "Ahh, what a sad death would that be. Lending a hand in killing the Big Bad One and surviving the ultimate battle with evil only to die by the hand of pissed off Tai."
Ruby could feel how the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. "He still did punch Qrow, huh?"
Yang grinned. "Sure he did. Dad never fails to entertain."
Weiss, too, cracked a smile, albeit a weak one. Something tightened inside her chest at the reference of Salem, suddenly making her anxious. 'The way Yang mentioned her... don't they know? Or perhaps they do, and just don't know how to break the news to Ruby? No one has told her yet, after all...' The heiress cast a sideways glance at her merry partner and the knowledge of what she needed to do broke her heart all the more. 'I'm going to hate myself for this, but of all the people... you should know the truth. And there's no point in waiting, either.' She took a deep breath and mustered all her resolve, clinging to the hope that Yang would not shoot the messenger, and praying that Ruby would handle the revelation well.
"About that 'ultimate' part... when I woke up, I talked with professor Ozpin for a bit..." Speaking became harder for her the moment she had opened her mouth, but it was only after she had noticed how quickly Yang's expression had changed when the difficulty truly hit her in full force, words getting stuck in her throat, almost choking her.
The look on blonde's face was one of defeat. It seemed so strange, so out of place... Weiss has never seen her like that and the sight frightened her, squeezing her insides without the sliver of mercy. Yang's smile was gone, the warmth of her eyes replaced by the sorrow, anguish and disappointment as her irises flashed red for a single heartbeat. One brief look at her was more than enough for the heiress to be painfully sure – Yang knew.
The two of them just stared at each other, none of them uttering a single a word. After what felt like an eternity of heavy silence, Yang closed her eyelids and nodded, pulled into a side hug by her girlfriend.
"She'll be back one day," she let out a hoarse whisper. "Yeah, we know. Ozpin told the two of us already."
The three pairs of eyes fixed their gaze on Ruby, each prompted to do so by a mix of both curiosity and worry. What they saw, however, was certainly not what they had expected to see.
Ruby was sorrowful, but strangely calm. The girl's jaw moved up and down as she slowly chewed a piece of a chicken cutlet, seemingly deep in thought, with her eyes staring at some distant, unspecified point behind the window in the opposite wall.
Watching her leader, Weiss found herself unable to shake off the feeling that she was not looking at someone who had just heard the most distressing news. She could sense the sadness emanating from her partner, but there was no sign of shock nor even the slightest surprise to be noticed. No; Ruby's was the face of a person who had just learned that their fears were well-founded, who was proven right the one time they wanted to be wrong.
Weiss was confused. "You don't seem all too surprised either, Ruby."
"Coz I ain't," came the answer just as simple as it was shocking.
"Wait what?!" the three girls exclaimed in unison, their sync virtually perfect. Ruby just raised one of her eyebrows, observing the trio with a gleam of mild amusement in her eyes.
Yang was the first to recover from her bewilderment. "You knew?!"
Ruby sighed, poking at her meal with a knife. "Well, suspected at least. Given what we knew about the Two Brothers or the Wizard... it just seemed, well, logical, y'kno. If anything, I'm more surprised that the three of you didn't figure that out yourselves." She gave them a long, inquisitive look, watching as the girls exchanged guilty glances. Truth be told, each and every single one of them had their suspicion; they simply lived in denial, unwilling to acknowledge that such an unwanted scenario was also a possibility. After a short while of awkward silence, their gaze returned to their leader, and Ruby's knowing smile told them that no explanations on their part were necessary. "But hey, it's not like all we did was for nothing, right? Think about it – life is priceless, no? And how many priceless lives we've saved when we took care of her, even if only temporarily?"
Yang frowned. "Many. For now. But how long will these lives last?"
"Longer." Ruby smirked. "And I'd say it's a pretty good deal." With that, she stabbed at her plate with a fork and soon enough another piece of the cutlet disappeared within her mouth.
"Far from ideal," blurted out the blonde, only to bite her own tongue right after she saw how Ruby's smile had drooped. For a second the younger girl literally froze, the piece of silverware still held between her lips, then she turned her gaze downcast and stared at the tray that was laid in front of her, chewing slowly.
Blake shot Yang a sharp look. "Perhaps. But it seems that it was also the best deal we could get."
"I, too, had hoped for a happily ever after, Yang." A soft murmur eventually left Ruby's clenched throat. She took a deep breath, and when she finally spoke again, the bitterness and hurt in her voice actually caused everyone at the table to flinch. "I wanted to be wrong about the Witch. But it seems that our life is not a fairy tale, after all. And you know what? I don't fucking care."
She looked straight into her sister's eyes with such intensity that Yang almost immediately turned away. "It's a painful truth, sure, but I'm not gonna let it eat me alive. Not now. Not after all we've done. There was supposed be no tomorrow, and yet we've changed it – that alone is an outcome good enough for me. A day or more than a lifetime, be it as it may; we've given everyone an opportunity to enjoy their lives just a little longer." Her glare had been gradually losing its sterness as she continued, eventually softening into a gaze both worried and caring. A delicate, warm smile found its way back onto her lips. "Might as well take it ourselves."
"She's right, Yang, and you know it."
Yang glanced at her black-haired beloved, then sighed loudly and rested her cheek on her fist. "Yeah. It's just... I'm pissed off that Oz didn't tell us sooner. Not that it would be the first time."
"Well, in his defense, it's not like we've ever asked," Blake remarked calmly, then snickered at the sight of the look of betrayal Yang shot her.
"It just wasn't important at the time. Y'know, 'let us focus on the present threat' and all that. We had more than enough reasons to worry as it were, even without adding more things to the plate. Besides," Ruby said, pointing at Yang with her knife, "how would you feel about the whole mission if you knew for sure that all we could do was to postpone the inevitable?"
Yang straightened up a little and opened her mouth as if to speak, but in the end the words never came. Finding no good answer, she pouted and slumped onto the table with a groan of defeat, laying her head on top of her crossed arms.
Ruby smirked with a certain degree of smugness. "Case in point."
Weiss just stared at her partner in silence, completely flabbergasted, not saying a thing ever since she, Yang and Blake simultaneously expressed their own amazement. She didn't even know what to say, to be honest – she had expected many different outcomes, but Ruby still managed to catch her by surprise, somehow.
It were the moments like those that truly reminded her that Ruby was no longer the naive, acting without thought silly little girl she had used to be. She had grown up into a young woman who Weiss not only respected and trusted, but was also proud to be a partner of; she was both the voice of reason among those who acted purely out of fear and the bright, unwavering flame that guided people through the darkness, giving them the courage to believe that not all hope was yet lost.
But Weiss also knew that before everything else, Ruby was just a seventeen years old girl who had borne too heavy of a burden for far too long. And that knowledge worried her. If there was one thing the heiress was sure of in that very moment, looking at her partner, it was that she wanted with all of her heart to ease Ruby's hardships, and, despite the fact that she was not even sure if she would be able to do actually anything, she promised to herself that she'd at the very least try her best.
With that thought Weiss finished her contemplation, suddenly noticing that while she had been spacing out the chatter had returned to their table. She smiled at the sight, feeling just a bit more hopeful, then, after a while of listening, she managed to tune in to the conversation, before long getting carried away by its current.
Even though the prospect of Salem's return hung like heavy clouds over them, they did not let it bring them down, smiling and laughing in defiance as they talked about both everything and nothing at all.
The four of them stood in front of the entrance to the dining hall, talking quietly and enjoying what was one of the last warm days of autumn. The soft breeze didn't bother them at all; it was a pleasant sensation, actually, even though the wind did carry the first breath of winter along with red and golden leaves.
"So, what now? After Ruby gets changed, I mean," Weiss asked, glancing at her pajama-clad partner. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to go for a walk."
Blake seemed quite willing to follow the idea, her ears twitching eagerly. "I'd not mind that. Yang?"
"Anywhere you go, Kitten." Yang laughed off the lighthearted punch Blake threw at her, then pulled the girl into a side hug.
Ruby interlaced her fingers and stretched out her arms, popping her knuckles as she did so. "Yeah, I sure could use some stretching. Count me in," she said, then sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "But I think I need a shower first, if that's okay with you...?"
"Sure, no problem. Want me to go and fetch you some clothes?"
"Yeah, if you could. Love you, sis."
"Sure you do," Yang chuckled, ruffling Ruby's hair as she strolled past her, then headed towards the ballroom. After a few steps she turned around, continuing her leave as she walked backwards. "Oh. Our old bathroom is now usable, by the way. You should shower in there. Your shampoo and the rest of the stuff are already there, in the cabin that's furthest away from the entrance."
"Okay. Thanks, I guess."
Just when Yang was about to head out, she was stopped by the sight of the quickly approaching heiress, who, as it seemed, was intent on not letting the blonde go alone.
The surprised look Yang gave Weiss did not remain unnoticed. "What? You know how the saying goes: you want something done, do it yourself." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And I want my weapon back."
"I told you I was sorry I forgot!"
"Speaking of weapons," Ruby chimed in, only partially because she wanted to defuse the situation, "could you also grab Crescent Rose for me while you're at it?"
Weiss' glare softened significantly as she glanced in Ruby's direction. The corners of the heiress' mouth twitched ever so slightly, then she simply nodded and walked away with Yang in tow, followed by the gaze of her silver-eyed partner.
For some reason, Ruby found the sight of Weiss' elegant figure slowly fading in the distance incredibly distracting. It was Blake's voice that roused the girl from her preoccupied state, startling her a little. "You really miss your little girl, huh?"
Ruby blushed slightly and blinked a few times before she realized that the Faunus was just referring to her scythe. "Y-Yeah, you could say that." Ruby chuckled sheepishly, but soon enough her expression darkened, shifting into a more serious one. "But it's not just that. We were in constant danger for so long that now I feel... I dunno, kinda uneasy without her, I guess?"
"I think I can relate."
Ruby gave her friend a sideways look, smiling slyly at the other brunette. "Said the team's lead paranoiac."
"Hush, you," Blake snickered, playfully bumping Ruby's shoulder. Both of them cast one last glance at the silhouettes of their partners fading away in the distance, then, together, they headed towards the dorms.
"That wasn't exactly reassuring, is all I am saying."
The door closed behind her after Yang had casually waltzed into the bathroom, carrying a small load of black, red and beige in her arms, with Crescent Rose and a pair of combat boots lying on top of the bunch of neatly folded clothes and towels. After one quick glance to her left, she pressed onwards, passing by the first three dim, half-transparent doors and coming to a halt in front of the one that was opaque and tinted deep red, with the image of a black, flaming rose emblazoned on the glass.
"Hey, Ru."
Yang fished her Scroll out from one of her pockets, then pressed the device against the card reader and entered a small changing room between the common space and the shower her sister was in. She placed the bundle on a short, metal bench and promptly stepped out through the rose-emblemed door, locking them back. She leaned against the crimson glass pane. "A'ight, the package got delivered. Ya done yet?"
"No," came the muffled reply.
"Soon-ish, then?"
"Nope."
"You'll use all the hot water there is at Beacon, sis."
"Don't care."
"Means no rush for us, got it," Yang muttered under her breath, chuckling. "Alright, we'll wait for you in the courtyard, next to that cool statue. Noted?"
A soft hum of acknowledgment could be heard from inside of the shower and Yang found it to be a sufficient answer. "Mkay. See you in a bit, then." With that, she walked out of the bathroom.
Outside, she was greeted by a questioning look of the heiress. Sensing a great opportunity to mess with Weiss, she said: "Whatever she's doing in there sure does feel good."
Weiss blinked rapidly a few times then blushed profusely, imagining things she knew she definitely should not have been imagining. "...What do you mean?"
One glance at the heiress' face was enough for Yang to burst out laughing. "She just likes the hot water and apparently wants it all for herself, so won't be coming out anytime soon. You little perv." Committing the image of the very red and very embarrassed heiress to her memory, Yang turned to Blake and continued, trying to keep her voice steady. "I told her that once she feels like honouring us with her presence, we'll be waiting for her in the courtyard."
"Well, to be fair, she just got in. We talked for a bit. But yeah, fine by me." A sly smile appeared on Blake's lips. "Lead the way, Firecracker."
"That's what I get for calling you 'Kitten', huh?" the blonde asked. Receiving a look both playful and defiant for the only answer, she snickered, then simply shrugged and interlocked her arm with Blake's. "Oh well, I guess it's still worth it."
The two of them started heading towards the exit. Weiss followed a bit behind them, marching very slowly, suddenly and for no apparent reason having very mixed feelings about leaving. She sighed and cast a last, uneasy glance at the door next to her, then, shaking off her premonition, she turned away and trotted in the direction of her teammates, quickly catching up with the bumblebee couple.
And so the trio walked down the hall, knowing not of the quiet sobbing that soon poured out of one of the shower cabins.
Once she had heard the soft click of the doors closing, she let out a long, shaky breath of relief, releasing all the air from her lungs. She stood under the stream of pleasantly warm water, supporting herself with both hands pressed against the wall. She was trying everything to calm herself down, even though she knew that it was already way too late; the wild torrent of emotions swirled and raged inside her chest, ready to be set free and not willing to wait. Soon her eyes felt as if they were set aflame under the closed shut eyelids. She clenched her teeth and bit back the wail that tried to escape her throat. It was like trying to hold back a river - she was hopeless, but she had to endure, just for a little longer... just long enough for Blake not to be able to hear her.
Eventually the first cracks in the dam had appeared and hot tears began to trail down her cheeks. She fought the current and she fought bravely, but even though her floodgates were sturdy, they would not hold forever.
And before long they did burst wide open.
It was freeing – to finally let go of all the facades and to just cry, to be selfish for that one, single time. And so she cried the tears of sadness and tears of relief, cried for the lives wasted and innocence lost, for the heroes and victims, both nameless and known. She cried for Penny and Pyrrha, and the others who would not see the new day come as they were sleeping under the cold gravestones. She cried for those who were hurt, she cried for her team and her dad, for Jaune, Nora and Ren, for CFVY and SSSN... and for her own, torn apart self.
Part of her was happy that it was all over, but the other just wanted to scream in despair because of the price they all had been forced to pay. All those deaths, all the suffering both experienced and caused... was it truly worth it? Ruby believed so. She felt she would break into pieces if she didn't. But, in the end, all she knew for sure was that they'd have to live with the consequences of their actions... and the memories of those they had lost.
She only hoped that the time would heal at least some of the wounds.
Eventually her wailing became less intense and slowly turned into quiet sobs, then into occasional sniffles as her tears began to run dry. She felt... empty, but not in a bad way; it was good to finally get all these emotions trapped within her out. Inhaling seemed to be easier now, more natural, as if a great weight was lifted from her chest. To be honest she didn't even know what caused her outburst, but she was glad it did happen. She needed it.
With her mind clearer and breathing steadied, she grabbed the bottle of her shampoo and poured the content onto her left hand, then began to lather up her hair. Once the familiar scent of roses filled the shower cabin, Ruby let out a long, relieved sigh.
She and her friends still had each other, and that's what really mattered.
Author's Note:
It's already after 4 AM at the time I'm typing this A/N so please, bear with me and any potential silly mistakes.
It took me two months. Two. Effing. Months. I hate myself.
Well, that's not quite true. I mean, I still hate myself, but I suppose there are some attenuating circumstances for my tardiness. First of all, it's only a half – well, a bit more - of the monster I've written; total word count was sitting at freakin' 8484 words, so I decided to split it up into two chapters. I supposed it would be easier to 'digest' that way, but it'll also allow me to build some buffer and draw a proper cover for the story. The good news? The next chapter is already done and will be posted within a week, along with the cover. Yay!
The truth is, I've written the whole thing in the past two weeks – hell, I've typed more than 1200 words just today (and lost my sanity somewhere along the way). Why did I begin so late, you ask? Well, partially because I'm a lazy bum, but there were also... other reasons. Long story short, I had a lot of things on my plate lately – burying my godfather among them.
Well, anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I am actually kind of excited to post it, you know? Mostly because of the last part. If you could spare a moment and write a short review I'd really appreciate it; I promise I'll read and consider them all!
At the end I would like to thank both Alynna Peta and MariZainforth for their reviews (you truly made my day!) and Darkbring3r for answering my language-related questions and providing me with reasons to take sanity breaks (in other words, posting updates to his own stories). And bearing with me talking off his ear.
See you in a week!
Total offtop: has any of you playread the yuri visual novel "Flowers – le volume sur printemps"? No? Then don't. Unless you want to be backstabbed right in the heart and get to feel the knife twisting inside your chest for the good measure, then to join me among those who are condemned to wait a few years in the cliffhanger limbo till the next three volumes are finally translated into English.
You have been warned.
2017-03-04