Chapter 17) Blake Belladonna
A/N: A little later than advertised, but I'm back! And so is RWBY Re:Mixed! So let's not waste any more time and get right to it. Here we go with Volume 2!
CONTENT WARNING: this chapter includes graphic depictions of an abusive relationship.
…
Blake set her cup down on the ground in front of her and let out a long, slow sigh. Her shoulders sagged as some of her pent-up tension left her, the hot and sweet tea helping to warm up her cold and numb body from within. The oversized towel that had been draped over her slight frame also helped somewhat, soaking up the rain that still clung to her body, weighing down her clothes and dripping from her hair.
"Thanks, Ilia," she murmured. "I really needed that."
Ilia, sat across from Blake and sipping from a chipped cup of her own, simply hummed in response. The two girls were resting in an abandoned shack, its sagging roof and lopsided walls providing just enough shelter to protect them from the raging downpour going on outside. A small fire in between them flickered slightly, casting dancing shadows across their immediate surroundings and providing them with a small measure of warmth. A pot of thin soup suspended above the flames simmered away, giving off an aroma that made Blake's mouth water and her stomach growl. In all the chaos in her haste to get away, she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday evening.
"So," Ilia began, breaking the silence. Lowering her cup, she fixed Blake with a hard stare. "Are you gonna tell me what you're doing all the way out here?"
Blake clenched her fists tightly, averting her own gaze and scowling as the memory of what had been said replayed in her mind.
"He's a coward," she spat disdainfully. "And a fool. He just… sits there in his office and does nothing. Nothing, Ilia! People would listen to him; they'd follow him anywhere if he asked them to! But instead he just… he just…"
Blake supressed the urge to scream in frustration. But just barely.
Ilia just snorted in mock amusement. "Took you long enough. I've been saying so all along, Blake. Your father lost his edge years ago. He's not a fighter anymore, he's just a pencil-pusher now."
Blake stood up roughly and began to pace, her anger from earlier rising to the surface once again. "All those people in that mine, Ilia. All those Faunus who died because the humans just didn't care enough to give them the proper equipment. And all Dad will do about it is write a letter!? What does he think that's gonna do!?"
"Not a damn thing, that's what it'll do," Ilia said bluntly. "It never does. I bet the humans don't even read them."
"That's what I told him!" Blake yelled. "But he just brushed me off like he always does! It's like he doesn't even care that Kaa-"
Blake hiccupped, her breath catching in her throat and her eyes stinging as tears began to well up. The shock, the pain… it was all still so fresh in her mind.
"He doesn't even care that Kaa died, Ilia." Blake lowered her head and scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeves, sniffling.
Kaa was gone. She would never again visit Blake at her home, never again tell her stories of what it was like in Mantle, never again share with Blake a new book she had found while browsing the bookshops in Atlas…
A hand gently squeezed Blake's shoulder. She lifted her head and met Ilia's eyes with her own.
"I'm sorry, Blake. I know how much she meant to you."
"I though she meant a lot to Dad and Mom, too," Blake murmured. "She was like family to us."
Ilia pulled Blake into a hug, her arms wrapping around Blake tightly.
"I know you're hurting right now Blake, but for what it's worth, I'm glad you left home."
Blake stiffened at that, pulling free from Ilia's embrace and stepping backwards. "No… Ilia, I'm not leaving. I needed to get away from home for a while, but I'll have to go back eventually."
"No you don't," Ilia replied. "Actually, I think you shouldn't. You should leave for good."
Blake shook her head. "I can't do that, Ilia. I'm not like you. I mean, where would I even go?"
Ilia smirked, gesturing vaguely to their surroundings. "Well, it might not be as fancy as you're used to, but we can both stay here for a little while longer."
Blake scowled. "This isn't a joke, Ilia."
"No," Ilia replied, her smirk falling, replaced with a far more sombre expression. "It's not. I'm sorry, I was just trying to cheer you up, but I know that's not what you need right now."
Ilia seemed to pause for a moment, contemplating something to herself. Her own frown deepened, her brows furrowing in thought.
"I'm meeting someone in a few days' time," she said slowly. "At the old docks in the north. You could come with me, if you want?"
"Meeting who, exactly?" Blake asked, apprehensive.
"He's a new lieutenant," said Ilia. "I've heard that he's someone Sienna herself scouted for the cause. Apparently he's not that much older than we are, but he's already making waves in the White Fang. They say that he was the one who pulled off the Argus job two months back, with only himself and one other soldier."
Blake blinked. "Only the two of them? The news said it was a whole squad."
Ilia grinned at that. "Well, we can ask him ourselves when we meet him. So are you interested?"
Blake was interested, but she was also unsure. If what Ilia said was true, then whoever this mystery person was would undoubtedly be an extraordinary individual. But if she was wrong, then the two of them could easily be walking into trouble…
"You're sure this isn't an undercover cop or something?" Blake asked. "It wouldn't be the first time that's happened to you."
Ilia just rolled her eyes. "Please Blake, I'm not that stupid. I've spoken to him already via Scroll. He's genuine, and he's looking for recruits. Your last name alone should be plenty of reason for him to take you on board."
"If I even wanna be on board…" Blake mumbled to herself.
Ilia sat back down and took the soup off the fire. "Look, why don't we both sleep on it? Let's eat, let's get some rest, and then make a decision in the morning. Sound good?"
The offer of food made Blake's stomach growl once again. Taking her own seat, she accepted her bowl from Ilia with a nod of thanks and began to eat. She was hungry enough and cold enough to not really care that the soup was scalding hot in her mouth as she ate.
"Can you at least tell me the name of this guy?" she asked after finishing her soup.
Ilia set her own bowl aside, pulling out her Scroll and tapping a few buttons before handing it over to Blake. On the screen was a photo of a masked boy with red-and-black hair, with two pointed horns protruding from beneath his locks.
"His name's Adam," Ilia replied. "Adam Taurus."
…
Blake Belladonna was twelve years old the first time she ran away…
…
"And so I say to you all, my sisters and my brothers, my fellow comrades-in-arms… We will not be cowed by those who would look down upon us. Until the day comes when all Faunus are respected and free, we of the White Fang shall fight to the last, with every ounce of our strength, in order to seize that day by our own hands! So if any among you here today would aid us in our struggle, step forward, and march with us towards that promised day!"
Gainsboro finished his speech with a grand, sweeping gesture of his arm, the flag of the White Fang unfurling on cue behind him.
There was a smattering of applause from the small crowd that had gathered in the stadium, and one-or-two people even made their way towards the stand to take up Gainsboro's invitation, but for the most part the crowd were apathetic. A number had already started to leave before the speech had even finished, and the rest were following after them.
Blake couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at the lacklustre turn-out to their latest rally. The numbers had been dropping steadily for some time now, but this had been especially embarrassing. Maybe around two dozen people at most had showed up tonight, less than half the number they had managed to draw in a month ago.
The soldier standing beside Blake tsked with disdain. "Spineless cowards, the lot of 'em. They're weak."
"They're scared," Blake commented. "They just don't wanna get arrested for associating with us. It was risky enough for some of them to even come tonight."
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a few got stopped by the police on their way home right now.
Blake chose to keep that particular thought to herself, lest she further stir the ire of her comrade.
Before long, the last of the audience had left the stadium, and the two new recruits had been sent on their way with instructions to meet again when called.
Sighing, Blake began to assist with packing away the equipment they had bought, when she felt her Scroll buzz five times in her pocket, then another three times after that.
It was a signal system that had been agreed upon in advance, and they all knew what it meant.
Police.
"Leave it all here!" Gainsboro snapped, dropping the crate he had been holding. "Scatter, loose anyone following you, and meet back at the safe house! Go!"
Blake dropped the flag she had been rolling up and sprinted towards the rear exit of the stadium. She emerged into the empty parking lot and raced across the open ground towards the cover of the nearby trees that surrounded the area. If she strained her ears, she could just about make out the sound of several cars approaching in the distance.
She crouched low, concealing herself in the shadows as much as she could, relying on the black of her jacket and uniform to help her blend in even more. The sound of cars and sirens were closing in, and the faint flickering of blue and red from the police cars' lights grew brighter.
Three police cars came to a halt beside the rear entrance of the stadium, and a total of twelve officers emerged from them and swarmed into the building.
They were apparently so eager to rush in and arrest any Faunus they could find that they didn't even leave a single officer on lookout outside.
For once, I'm glad the Mistralian Police Force are terrible at their job.
Blake removed her mask and stowed it in her pocket, drew up her hood to conceal her ears, and made her way calmly back towards the main city.
In short order, Blake was far away from the silence of the old stadium and surrounded by the noise and crowds and bustle of the lower districts. Even this late into the night, these parts of the capital never slept. Merchants called out from their stalls, offering wares of dubious quality for dubious prices. A dozen different smells from a dozen different shops mingled in the air as various friends and families and acquaintances shared food and drink and conversation. In a nearby alleyway, the sound of a drunken brawl could be heard plainly, a sound so familiar to the locals of this district that nobody paid it a second thought.
Blake weaved among the crowds, head down all the while. She paused here and there to glance at a few stalls and shop windows, even bought herself a drink from one vendor to sip at as she navigated the winding streets. In a crowd as large and boisterous as this one, nobody would notice someone as inconspicuous as her.
About half an hour after she had made her flight from the stadium, she felt relatively certain that no-one was following her, if they even had been in the first place. Finishing the last of her drink, she tossed the empty cup aside and pulled out her Scroll.
Me: not being followed. in city, on way back to safe house
Several other messages had been sent over the group chat by others, all similarly indicating that the others had managed to avoid being followed and were making their own way back.
Well, that was a bit of a close call, but no-one got caught, so that's good.
Stowing her Scroll, Blake resumed walking, this time with a more purposeful direction in mind.
The crowds thinned out as Blake made her way towards the district where they had set up refuge for the time being. There were fewer open shops in these parts of the city, fewer reasons to be out late at night. The few who were still out were either going someplace else like Blake was, or…
"You lost, kid?"
Blake stopped. Two men had moved to block her path. One of them had a hand in his pocket, clearly holding onto a knife.
"Get out of my way," Blake huffed. "I don't have anything worth stealing."
"Did she just assume that we were thieves, bro?" the first man asked jokingly.
"I think she did, bro," the second man replied. "Now that's not very nice of her, is it?"
"It isn't very nice of her at all, bro. And after we were so kind to offer to help her find her way home."
"Maybe she ought to make it up to us. Y'know, for being so rude an' all."
The first man drew his hand from his pocket, revealing the small blade he had been unsuccessfully concealing. "Why don't we start with your Scroll? I reckon you at least got one of those. Give it here."
Blake seized the man's arm and twisted it sharply, and there was an audible snap as she broke his wrist. He cried out in pain and dropped his knife, spewing profanities at her all the while.
"You little gutter-rat!" spat the second man. "You'll pay for that one!"
Blake sidestepped to avoid his clumsy swing and tripped him with her foot, sending him crashing into his friend and knocking them both to the floor.
"Idiots," she muttered under her breath, resuming her walk back to the safe house now that she had dealt with-
A hand grabbed Blake by the back of her jacket and yanked her backwards, throwing her roughly to the ground. She just about managed to keep her head from slamming into the dirt, but in doing so her hood had fallen down.
"It's a stinkin' Faunus!" spat the one who had grabbed her, a third man who she hadn't noticed before. "What's it doin' here!?"
Blake felt her temper began to rise. "I'm not an 'it'. And I can go wherever I want."
The third man brought his foot down, and Blake rolled to avoid having her head stamped on.
"Shut it, you damn filthy animal!" the man snapped. "You're kind ain't allowed here!"
Blake leapt to her feet, her temper boiling over at the man's insults. "Don't you dare call me that!"
"I'll call you whatever I damn well want, you dirty-!"
Blake activated her Semblance, allowing her Shadow to push her forwards. The distance between her and the man was less than her minimum, so she slammed into him with considerable force, her elbow driving into his gut.
Just as he doubled over and began gasping for breath, Blake grabbed his head and drove her knee into his face, breaking his nose and sending him reeling backwards in pain. She followed up with a punch, and another, and another.
He fell to the ground, flat on his back, and Blake didn't stop. She knelt on his chest and punched him over and over and over again. Several teeth were knocked loose from the man's mouth, along with no small amount of blood.
"Why couldn't you just leave me alone!?" she screamed. "I never did anything to you! I just wanted to get back home!"
The man didn't respond. He had long since been rendered unconscious.
Growling, Blake stood and turned towards the other two men… one man, the one whose wrist she had broken. His friend had apparently decided to run for it and leave him behind.
All you ever do is come for us, every minute of every day! Why should we have to be scared of you!? You should be scared of us! You deserve to feel the same fear I felt!
Blake advanced on the remaining man, fists clenched, ready to make him pay, ready to give him everything he and his kind deserved…
"Please, don't hurt me! I-I'm sorry! Please! H-here, have my money! Take it! Take it all, just don't kill me!"
Blake stopped. "What are… kill you? I'm not gonna kill you I… I…"
The haze of her anger began to subside. In front of her, Blake saw a scared man with a broken wrist, holding out his wallet and begging for his life with tears in his eyes.
She looked down, and saw her hands, covered in the blood of someone she had just beaten senseless.
She turned, and saw the body of the man she had attacked. He was breathing, but his face was a mess, blood pooled around his head and teeth scattered across the ground.
I did that?
Blake suddenly felt very sick.
She ran, leaving the scene behind, but the images came with her, lingering in her mind's eye as she sprinted away.
"They deserved it, Blake. They brought it on themselves."
Blake shook her head. "I didn't mean to go that far. I… I was so angry… I lost myself to it."
The image of the man's broken and bloodied face resurfaced in her mind, and Blake felt her stomach lurch. If she still had anything left to throw up, she would have done so.
A hand grabbed Blake's shoulder and squeezed tightly. "You were defending yourself, Blake. You did nothing wrong. Those humans who jumped you, they're the ones to blame."
Blake lifted her head. "Then why do I feel so awful about it, Adam?"
Adam sat beside her on her bed, his hand never leaving her shoulder. "You were attacked. It shook you up, that's all. You'll feel better in the morning."
"Will I?"
"Yes," Adam said firmly. "Because you're strong, Blake. You're not the type to let something like this knock you down for long."
Blake stared down at her hands. She had scrubbed them raw to remove all the blood, but she could still feel it clinging to her skin.
"What if he dies because of what I did?"
"Then there'll be one less hateful human in the world," Adam remarked. "I'd say that's an improvement."
Blake's eyes widened at Adam's comment, but before she could even properly process what he had just said, the door to her room slammed open.
"Blake!" cried Ilia as she stumbled inside. "What happened!? Are you OK!? Did they hurt you!?"
"She's fine, Ilia," Adam snapped in annoyance. "No need to come barging in."
Ilia stood upright and schooled her expression. "My apologies, Lieutenant Taurus. I should have knocked first."
"Captain Taurus, actually," Adam replied, rising to his feet and releasing Blake's shoulder. "There are a few changes you need to get caught up on before we move out, Ilia."
Ilia blinked. "Oh, um… congratulations on your promotion, Lieu- Captain Taurus. But, um… may I have a moment alone with Blake?"
Adam nodded and made his way out of the room, nodding once to Blake before he left.
As soon as he was out of sight, Ilia rushed forwards and wrapped Blake in a tight hug.
"Seriously, are you OK?"
"I'm not hurt, Ilia," Blake mumbled. She did not return Ilia's embrace, her arms remaining limp at her sides.
"But are you OK?" Ilia repeated.
Blake paused for a moment, then shook her head.
Ilia let go of Blake and drew back, looking her up and down. "Wanna talk about it?"
Again, Blake shook her head. She had talked about it with Adam enough. She didn't want to start all over again.
"Can we talk about something else?" she asked. "How did your job go? You're back late."
Ilia waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, no problems on my end. We just got a little held up with the ship is all. Engine trouble, you know how it is with those things. But I do have something for you."
Ilia reached into her pocket and drew out a small paper bag. "I know it's a few days late, but… happy birthday, Blake."
Blake took the bag from Ilia an opened it up.
Inside was a length of black ribbon.
"I know it's not much, but I figured you could wear it in your hair as a bow. That way, you wouldn't have to wear a hood all the time to cover your ears."
Blake withdrew the ribbon from the bag and turned it over in her hands. "You keep telling me I shouldn't cover them up at all."
Ilia grimaced. "Yeah… I shouldn't have said that. I mean, I'm hardly one to talk. I hide my trait all the time, after all. So… I'm sorry for pressuring you over it. You can stop hiding them when you're ready, not because anyone says you should."
Blake made her way over to the small mirror set up in the corner and considered how to tie the ribbon.
"Here, let me," Ilia said, coming over and taking the ribbon from Blake's hands. "I'll show you how to tie it."
Soon enough, Blake's ears were neatly hidden beneath a black bow atop her head, the ribbon itself blending well with her hair.
"There we go," Ilia said. "Perfect."
It was, Blake had to admit. She quite liked the way it looked.
"Thanks, Ilia. I really appreciate it."
"No problem at all, Blake. Happy fourteenth birthday."
…
Blake pushed through the flaps of the tent and stepped inside. "You wanted to see me, Adam?"
Adam briefly paused in his sharpening of his sword to look up at her as she entered. "Yes, I did. Come on in, have a seat right over here."
Blake sat opposite Adam and watched as he resumed sharpening Wilt, drawing the whetstone along the edge of the red blade slowly and methodically. The sound of metal and stone scraping past each other filled the tent, an oddly rhythmic sound.
"I like doing this," Adam explained, continuing to draw the whetstone across the edge of Wilt in a practiced motion. "Other people might find tending to their weapon boring or monotonous, but to me it's a rather calming action. It helps me think, and the sound helps me to relax."
Blake scrunched her brow in confusion. 'Relaxing' was not the word Blake would have chosen. "Was there something important we needed to talk about? Or is this just a casual conversation?"
"A little of both, actually," Adam replied, not pausing in his actions. The red metal of Wilt glinted as he turned it over to sharpen the other side. "I heard that you and Ilia had a fight recently."
Blake averted her gaze from Adam and fidgeted slightly in her seat. "It wasn't really a fight. We… well, it's a little hard to explain."
"No need to explain," said Adam. "So long as it doesn't cause any problems with the squad."
Blake shook her head. "It won't. I promise."
"Good." Adam set his whetstone aside and examined the edge of Wilt. "You know you don't have to wear that bow around me, right?"
Blake's hand reached up and brushed against her bow. "You don't have to wear your mask around me, either."
Adam tensed slightly, then relaxed and let out a sigh. "Touché." He sheathed Wilt and set it aside, rising from his seat and striding across to the table set up in the centre of the tent. "Join me here for a moment."
Blake walked to the table and glanced at the map spread across it. Several areas had been circled. One of them was their current camp, but another area had been indicated in a similar manner. "We're moving again? We only just set up here."
"Not moving, no." Adam gestured to one of the points on the map that had been circled red. "We underestimated how many new recruits we'd have, so we need to make a supply run. There's a small outpost a mile from the rail line here. Huntsmen use it to stock up when travelling on foot. We're going to stock up from it ourselves."
Blake shot Adam an alarmed look. "A Huntsman outpost is a bigger target than anything we've hit before Adam, and it'll draw a lot more attention. Sienna says we should avoid targeting the Huntsmen altogether."
"There won't be anyone there besides a few volunteer guards. The Huntsmen themselves never stick around for long. We'll be in-and-out before anyone has a chance to even raise the alarm."
Blake wasn't so sure. "It's still a huge risk, Adam. If a Huntsman were to be there-"
"Blake," Adam cut her off. "Do you trust me?"
Blake blinked, taken a bit of guard by the question. "Of course I do, Adam. I've always trusted you."
"And I trust you, Blake," Adam responded. "So it's just gonna be the two of us."
Blake stared at Adam with wide eyes, and she felt her heart beat slightly faster. "You want me to… partner with you?"
Adam took a step forwards, reducing the distance between the two of them. "Yes, Blake. I want you by my side on this one."
Blake stepped back reflexively, her legs bumping into the side of the table as Adam backed her into it. Her heart quickened even more, but Blake couldn't tell if it was because she was nervous, or…
"Why me?" she asked. Surely there had to be better options he could take with him?
Adam stepped forwards again, standing very close to Blake, almost leaning over her. "Because you're amazing, Blake Belladonna. I've thought you were amazing since the day we first met."
Blake felt her cheeks flush. Now she was fairly certain as to the reason her heart was racing.
"I… I'm n-not that special," she stammered.
"You're wrong," Adam whispered, leaning in even closer. "You are so much more than you think you are, Blake. Everything about you that I've already seen is amazing, and I want to see more of it."
Adam reached up and pulled Blake's bow free from her head.
"I want to see more of you. All of you."
Blake felt a swell of something akin to confidence inside her. She reached up and took hold of Adam's mask, removing it so she could look into his eyes.
"Then let me see you as well."
Adam's mask fell from Blake's fingers as he leaned in and closed the remaining distance between them.
…
Blake paused outside the entrance to her tent. She knew for a fact that he would be in there, waiting for her. She knew that if she put this off any longer, it would only get worse for her. She knew well that the sooner she got this over with, the better.
But Blake also knew exactly what was going to happen as soon as she entered that tent, and she so desperately didn't want to have to face it again…
How did it end up like this?
How many times had Blake asked herself that same question?
She had been happy at first. They both had. They shared something that no-one else in the squad shared, and it was wonderful.
But now? Now it had turned into a living nightmare.
"Blake, darling…" Adam's voice drifted out from the tent, his tone cold, the term of endearment that had once made Blake feel warm now filling her with dread upon hearing it. "Come in. Let me see you."
Blake steeled herself as much as she could and entered the tent.
Once Adam had left, Blake picked herself up off the ground and staggered over to the chair she had set up in the corner, dropping into it and wincing in pain as she did so.
In the small mirror hung from the support pole, she saw the usual marks left behind by her's and Adam's latest argument. A noticeable handprint on her left cheek, and a split lip from where the hilt of his sword had slammed into her mouth. And of course, the bruises that were no doubt already beginning to form on the side of her torso from where he had thrown her roughly to the ground.
As always, she would have to wear these latest marks for at least a day before allowing her Aura to fix them up. He wouldn't accept any apology of hers if she didn't accept his punishment.
"It doesn't look too bad this time."
Blake turned her head. Ilia had entered the tent and was standing beside her. Her face was impassive, neutral.
"Get out," Blake said without any energy to her voice. "I don't need your input, Ilia."
Ilia shrugged. "You should've just done what he asked, Blake. How hard is it to just follow his orders?"
Blake simply stared at Ilia. "The shop wasn't empty, Ilia. People could have been hurt, or killed, if I set that fire."
Ilia rolled her eyes dismissively. "If they're dumb enough to not be able to get out of a building that's on fire, then that's their fault. Besides, they'd have deserved it anyway."
Before Blake could say anything in response, Ilia turned and walked outside, leaving Blake by herself once again.
For a short moment, Blake found herself agreeing with Ilia's remark. After all, if she had just done as she was told, behaved herself and followed his orders, then Adam wouldn't have had any reason to be mad at her this time.
But it was only a very short moment.
Because if she had gone through with it, and if people had gotten hurt, it would have been her fault. Just like it had been her fault way back in Mistral when that man she attacked had wound up in a coma from the beating she had given him.
She couldn't do that again. She refused to cross that line ever again. So every time she stood her ground and stuck to her principals, Adam made sure she paid the price for it.
Did she deserve it? Perhaps she did. Perhaps it was what she deserved for what she had done, for all the people she had hurt or helped to hurt ever since she had sold her life to the White Fang.
That line of thought was much more stubborn, rearing its head in her mind whenever she was at her lowest.
Blake shook herself out of her musings and reached for her book. It was an old and tattered thing; one she had read more times than she could count. But whenever she was feeling like this, it helped raise her spirits to re-experience such an enduring favourite of hers.
Opening to where she had gotten to last time, Blake resumed reading, allowing the events of the last few days to fade away as she escaped into her fantasy.
…
"Ilia, stay with me! Come on, we need to get out of here!"
Ilia didn't respond, because of course she couldn't. She was out cold, her Aura broken and her weapon destroyed.
ROAR!
The Beowolf closest to Blake leapt forwards, jaws open wide and clawed front limbs outstretched. Blake swatted it aside with her scabbard, only to find that another Beowolf was bearing down on her from the other side, forcing her to twist to aim and fire at it and force it back.
ROAR!
They were surrounded, Ilia and her. Over a dozen Grimm encircled them from all sides, cutting off any hope of escape. They had been utterly blindsided, completely oblivious to the approaching threat at they had argued with each other. They must have been the equivalent of a giant banquet of negativity to have drawn a crowd this big.
Blake swing Gambol Shroud in a wide circle around her, the long ribbon giving her enough reach to keep the Grimm at bay for now. But it was only a matter of time before the Beowolves decided to rush in as one…
They were out of signal range this far out in the wilderness. No-one knew where they were, and no-one was coming to help. If they wanted to get out of this alive, then they would have to fight their way out on their own.
Blake would have to fight their way out on her own, for Ilia's sake as well.
The Grimm closed in more, Gambol Shroud no longer deterring them from advancing on their prey. Blake withdrew her weapon and reset it to its sword form. She held both sword and sheath together, taking position and preparing to fight for her life-
A gunshot rang out in the air, and the Beowolf closest to Blake fell down dead, its body beginning to evaporate.
Two more gunshots felled two more Grimm, before the remainder of the pack turned and charged in the direction of the gunfire.
Blake watched as the new arrival met the small horde of Grimm by themselves and began to tear them apart, their knife carving through the Beowolves and bringing them down one by one. All the while they avoided each and every attempt by the Grimm to attack them, weaving in-between the monsters' swipes and snaps as if they were dancing.
When the last Beowolf fell and evaporated, the mysterious newcomer simply holstered their knife and lowered their hood.
It was a woman with red, messy hair and haggard-looking eyes. She wore a heavy scarf around her shoulders and was dressed in dark green slacks.
"You kids alright?" the woman asked, sounding just as tired and worn out as she looked despite the impressive showing she had just put up.
Blake pointed to Ilia on the ground beside her and began rambling, but she was quickly cut off with a wave from the woman… from the Huntress.
"She doesn't look badly hurt," the Huntress said after giving Ilia a cursory examination. "Get her home and she'll be fine after some rest."
The Huntress turned and began to leave, lifting her hood back up over her head and heading into the forest once more.
"Wait!" called Blake.
The Huntress stopped, but did not turn around. "If you're about to ask for a lift home, the answer's no. I'm on a job right now, I can't let you come with me."
"Why did you help us?" Blake asked.
The Huntress turned to look at Blake with a raised eyebrow. "Would you have preferred I left you alone? No offence kid, but you weren't exactly handling that very well from what I saw."
"I'm a Faunus." Blake pointed up at her ears, uncovered after her bow had fallen off in the chaos. "Why would you help a Faunus?"
The Huntress simply gave Blake a small smile, one that somehow looked both genuine and sarcastic at once. "We humans aren't all hateful bigots, kid. Some of us are at least halfway decent people. And besides, I'm a Huntress. It's my job to protect anyone I can, whoever they are."
Blake didn't know how to respond to that. She just stared at the Huntress, wide-eyed and open-mouthed and a little bit in awe.
"What's your name, kid?"
Blake blinked. "What?"
"Your name," the Huntress repeated. "I know I said you weren't handling the Grimm very well and all, but I can tell you have some skill. Ever considered putting it to good use? Because if so, I reckon you'd do well at an Academy if you felt so inclined."
"I'm Lily," Blake said finally, giving her current alias out of habit.
The Huntress nodded once. "Well Lily, if you ever find yourself in Vale, maybe consider giving Beacon a visit. If you mention me, I could help with an application."
Blake shook her head. "I'm not interested. Thank-you for helping me, but I don't think I'd ever want to be a Huntress."
The Huntress just shrugged. "Well, if you ever change your mind, my name's Ann Greene, and you know where to find me."
…
Blake double-checked that her bag was well-hidden in the undergrowth, then began to make her way back towards the rendezvous point. Adam would be arriving soon, she would need to look like she had been waiting for him the whole time if she wanted to convince him she wasn't planning anything.
It was all set up. She had a transport pass ready to get her to Vale, and a room in a cheap hotel booked in advance. It hadn't been easy getting everything in place without being noticed, but she had done it. She had her way out. All she would need to do now was make her disappearance look convincing to stop anyone from looking for her, and she would be free.
She had managed to get a second chance. A chance to fix her mistakes and do some real good. Not as a soldier for the White Fang, or as Adam's so-called 'partner', but as a Huntress. Someone who could make a real difference.
Blake arrived at the rendezvous point and sat on the rock in the centre of the clearing. She gazed up at the sky and allowed her mind to wander slightly.
She thought about Ilia, who would no doubt be hugely upset to hear that Blake was gone.
She thought about the rest of the squad. Yuma and Trifa and the rest, and pondered how they would react when they learnt of her desertion.
She thought about Gainsboro, who would absolutely brand her a traitor and demand that she be hunted down if he ever caught wind of her whereabouts.
She thought about Adam, who was about to watch her leave him behind. Five years spent fighting together, two years spent together as more than just comrades… the last year spent living under his control as he turned from a caring partner into a borderline monster…
Blake turned her mind elsewhere. She focussed on other things. On how she would no longer have to be a part of an organisation that had lost its way so much in recent years. She focussed on the fact that she would no longer be helping the White Fang to hurt people. She would be fighting not to tear down and destroy, but to protect.
Blake found herself thinking back to her old favourite story, the one she had read and reread ever since she was eleven. In the story, the warrior was a hero who saved everyone, and made everyone's lives better in the end.
A childish fantasy. Blake knew she couldn't change the world on her own. But maybe, just maybe, she could at least save anyone she could. Maybe the small difference that would make could make up for some of the terrible things she had been a part of…
"Blake." Adam's voice snapped Blake out of her musings. "It's time."
Blake sighed. Time to get this over with.
"OK."
…
Blake Belladonna was seventeen years old the second time she ran away…
…
Blake set her cup down on the table and let out a long, slow sigh.
"Well, I guess that about covers the gist of things," she murmured, keeping her head down to avoid her teammates' stares.
Yang exhaled loudly. "Damn, Blake. That was… a lot to take in."
Blake closed her eyes. "I understand if you don't believe any of it, but I promise you that it's true. Everything I said. No lies this time."
"We believe you, Blake," said Weiss. "Of course we do. We're just a little… well, like Yang said, it's a lot."
The table was silent for a long moment, no-one else saying anything.
"Did y-you really m-meet Prof-fessor Greene l-like that?"
Blake lifted her head and opened her eyes to see Ruby staring at her from across the table. She looked somewhat starstruck.
"Y-yeah," Blake replied. "She really did save my life. And she really did help me get enrolled as well. I owe her a lot, I guess."
"She sounds so cool," Ruby whispered to herself, but Blake heard her quite clearly, and couldn't help but smile at the younger girl's excitement at hearing about their Professor's apparent heroism.
"Yeah, she is pretty cool I guess."
Weiss snorted. "Maybe she used to be, but the Professor Greene we know now doesn't really seem like that anymore."
"Don't let her hear you say that," Yang quipped with a smirk. "She already kinda hates us for failing her classes."
Blake glanced around at her teammates, watching and listening as they bickered and joked with each other as if nothing had happened at all.
She felt a mixture of relief and disbelief at that.
"So… you're all really OK with… with me?" Blake asked hesitantly, afraid she might be pushing the wring button by asking directly, but unable to stand not knowing for certain.
Yang reached across the table and placed a hand over one of hers. "Blake, we meant what we said. We're not just a team, we're friends. No matter what, that'll never change."
"S-same here!" added Ruby, placing her own hand atop her sister's. "You'll always be our f-friend, Blake."
Weiss added her own hand to the stack, and Blake turned to face her.
"Blake," she began. "I want to start over. Can we do that? A clean slate from today onwards, now that we all know about each other?"
Blake smiled, and nodded.
"Alright then. From the beginning: I'm Blake, nice to meet you."
"And I'm Weiss. Nice to meet you to."
"Yang here. Looking forward to getting to know you all better."
"Ruby Rose. N-nice to m-meet you all."
The four girls fell silent for a moment, then all burst into laughter.
It had been a long time since Blake had laughed like that.
"Look, like I told ya, we got busted! Someone on your end must have let something slip about-"
The voice on the other end of the call cut Roman off before he could finish.
"I'm not interested in your excuses, human. Your failure has set us back weeks. So tell me why I shouldn't just have my Lieutenant kill you right now?"
Roman tensed. The boy's tone was unambiguous. If Roman said the wrong thing now he was a dead man.
"Atlas military will be arriving in Vale in the coming weeks," said Roman. "Might I be able to interest you and your friends in some proper hardware?"
The call was silent for a moment.
"I won't accept any more setbacks, human. You guarantee you can get your hands on Atlas tech without drawing the General's attention?"
Roman smiled and relaxed slightly, leaning back in his seat. He had him now. "Of course I can, kiddo. They don't call me the Crime Prince of Vale for nothing. Just send me some helpers, and I will get you all the toys you could ever want."
Another period of silence. Roman could picture the boy pondering his options…
"I'm coming there myself."
Roma sat up straight in his seat and tightened his grip on his Scroll. "I thought you wanted to keep a low profile? Isn't that the whole reason you've got me fronting this operation?"
"That was before you failed me, 'Prince'." The boy's voice dripped with condescension. "And besides, circumstances have changed. I need to be there to oversee this next phase of the plan."
Roman was about to offer his explanation as to why that would be a terrible idea, but the line went dead as the Taurus boy hung up on him.
A tap on his shoulder drew Roman's attention, and he turned around to face Neo.
[Do we have problems?] she asked.
[None that we can't handle,] Roman replied. [We just might wanna tighten a few things up.]
Neo frowned. [Are you telling me the truth?]
Roman flashed Neo a smile. "I never lie to you, sis… usually."
Neo swatted Roman on the arm and walked off with a huff, presumably to go and find someone else to annoy in the safehouse.
As soon as she left, Roman let the mask drop and lowered his head into his hands.
This is getting too crazy. We need to get out of here as soon as we can.
Just finish this job, and then Neo and I will head back to Mistral.
Let Taurus have the wreckage of this place.
Glynda sipped from her teacup and continued to read through her students' latest batch of assignments.
Seems I'll have to set remedial classes for the lot of them.
Setting aside the papers for the moment, she grabbed her Scroll and pulled up her class timetables to see when she could be able to fit in an extra session.
An alert on her home screen flashed, so she tapped it to see what it was.
TEAM RWBY BACK IN BEACON TOMORROW. REMEMBER TO SET CATCH-UP WORK FOR
THE CLASSES THEY MISSED.
Glynda sighed, opened up her files and began to pull together a work pack for the four girls.
Let's just hope that the four of them will have learnt a little more responsibility following their brief absence.
Hello again to my returning readers, and greetings to any newcomers we've picked up along the way! I'm Not Scot.
So here we are, the start of Volume 2, and we begin with a boatload of backstory on one of our main leads, in a chapter named after them. One of my long-term goals is to give every major character a chapter like this one, although I'll be spreading them out across the entire series rather than bunching them all up together back-to-back. There won't be another one this Volume, for instance.
I'm taking on board the lessons I've learnt from writing Volume 1, and this time around I have made sure to have a full, beat-by-beat plan drafted up for all twelve chapters before event starting. No more winging it like last time, though I guess time will tell if this new approach works any better.
On that note, I wanna give you all a bit of a preview of what's to come this Volume. So I've taken a page out of Dana Terrace's book and decided to announce all the Chapter titles for this Volume right now! In order, they are:
Blake Belladonna (AKA, this chapter)
Responsibility
Road Blocks
Girls' Night Out
World of Remnant Volume 2: Aura and Semblances
We Need to Talk
Put on Your Dancing Shoes
Important Announcements
Mission Start!
Career Counselling with Professor Greene
The Caverns of Mountain Glenn
Off the Rails
A Light in the Dark
I'm quite proud of these titles this time around. I'm glad I spent some time considering them properly this time instead of coming up with them at the last minute before uploading the chapters.
So, based purely off of these titles, which chapter are you looking forward to the most? Let me know in the comments if you feel so inclined, and while you're there feel free to share your thoughts on this chapter as well. Getting those notification emails telling me someone reviewed/commented on my fic is the best motivation there is to keep on writing.
That's all for now though, so I shall now take my leave.
Until next time,
Not Scot.
P.S: I wonder if anyone here can guess what will happen in this Volume based on the chapter titles alone?
P.P.S: On an unrelated note, Bleach TYBW Ep6 was INSANE! Hands down the best Bankai ever!