Hey guys! I know it's been a little bit since the last chapter, so i figured you deserved to have another one! Hope you guys all like it, and thanks for reading this far, I truly appreciate it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"Speech"
Thoughts
Chapter Eighteen: Promise
Blake and Yang casually walked the streets of Atlas on their way to the weapons shop to repair Gambol Shroud. Blake was growing uncomfortable with all the stares she was getting from people as she walked. Yang finally sighed in annoyance.
"Ignore them, Blake"
"huh?"
"I know people are staring at you because you're a Faunus. Don't let it bother you. They're just stuck up snobs anyway" she waved off dismissively.
"I-it's not like that, Yang" Blake stopped short, waving her hands in front of her face frantically.
"Really?" Yang asked knowingly crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Well... I mean it is. But that's not what's bothering me" Blake corrected.
"Then what is?" Yang asked curiously.
Blake sighed, turning to continue walking towards the store "It's Slade"
"What about him?" Yang asked confused "Don't tell me you've got a crush on him too or something"
"Yang! You know that's not it" she laughed punching her in the shoulder lightly with a small laugh.
"Okay, what is it really, Blake?" she asked concerned.
"You all updated me on Slade's past aboard the Argus Limited... but there's just so much I can't wrap my head around"
"Like what?"
"How was he able to lose everyone he loved and not question Ozpin even once? Slade continued to fight with him and follow him unquestioningly until he discovered his lies. Why?"
"I honestly don't know, Blake" Yang answered honestly "I wouldn't be able to keep fighting if Dad and Ruby were killed because of Ozpin, and if you and Weiss were killed too? I don't know what I'd do. I imagine Jaune, Nora and Ren understand what Slade's gone through partly, but..." she stopped, collecting her thoughts before continuing "Try looking at it from his perspective. Slade's parents trusted Ozpin just as much as his sister did. When his family died, the only person he still had was Qrow and he wasn't even family at the time" Yang sighed "I really wish Uncle Qrow would've introduced him to us. We might've been able to be apart of his new family instead of separating us from him"
"He was probably just trying to make sure you and Ruby didn't have to deal with anymore than you already were. I know my parents tried their bests to stop me from fighting their battles or Adam's... but unfortunately I never listened to them. I always knew what was best" she shook her head shamefully "We all make mistakes, I guess"
"Yeah" Yang wiped a stray tear from her eye "Slade's with us now, and from what I can tell. He seems almost... happy"
"Probably because your here" Blake joked nudging her playfully.
"If only" she rolled her eyes with a laugh.
They continued to talk jovially until they finally reached the store they were looking for. Blake and Yang entered together.
"Hello, welcome to-" the store owner stopped dead at the sight in front of him "What do you think You're doing here?" he asked looking right at Blake.
"Excuse me?" Yang asked her eyes flashing red.
"We don't serve her kind around here" he spat "I suggest you look downtown if you want any service"
"We were told you were the best. I really need that right now" Blake tried holding up her broken blade.
"The answer is no. Now get out of my store before I call the authorities"
"She's a Huntress you idiot! It doesn't matter if she's a Faunus, she needs her weapon fixed right!" Yang yelled taking a step closer.
"License" the owner demanded surprising the two of them, Yang sputtered slightly "That's what I thought. Now stop wasting my time and get out"
"But Slade St-"
"Out!"
"Look pal! You're gonna fix this-" Yang yelled but stopped when she heard Blake's scroll ringing. Blake pulled it out, answering it "Slade-" she stopped suddenly. She looked up at the store owner "I-it's for you"
"Me?" he asked confused "I couldn't possibly be interested in anything someone associating with you could-"
"Hello, Mr. Takashi" Slade's voice spoke through on speaker stopping the man dead, he went pale white at his voice.
"M-Mr. Stroud! I wasn't aware it was you-"
"I know" he chuckled "I see you haven't changed much from the last time we met about four months ago. Need I remind you?"
"T-that's not necessary, sir. How can I help you?"
"You can start by helping Ms. Belladonna there with her weapon"
"The Faunus?!" he asked in shock "But they're- I don't think- I cannot serve her-"
"You think I care about your company policy Takashi? Either you fix her weapon for her or I make a call to your wife and see what she has to say about your nightly escapades"
"T-t-that's not necessary. I promise she will get the best service I can provide, despite her heritage"
"Good" Slade's smug grin could practically be heard through his tone "Next time a Faunus walks into your store, I expect you to serve them no matter what, understood?"
"Sir-"
"Free of charge for that matter"
"I cannot possibly-"
"Afford not to? I'm so glad you agree. Now get back to work before I come in there personally"
Blake took the call off speaker "Slade, I can't thank you enough-"
"Don't thank me, Blake" he chuckled "I'm simply making sure my friends are getting the service they deserve. Be sure to tell me if he's not meeting expectations"
"How did you even know he was giving us trouble?" Blake asked confused.
"I have my ways. I called because I knew he'd never serve a Faunus without... the proper motivation" he explained.
They were however unaware that Slade was only a block away at a small diner, he sat at a table in clear view of the store. Providing him the perfect place to watch them enter. Ruby was up at the hostess stand inside getting them menus and a server to come see them outside "Have Yang make sure he knows what'll happen if he doesn't get to work soon" he ended the call leaning back in the seat painfully.
"You doing alright?" Ruby asked sitting down with two cups of tea.
"You're too fast, you know that?" he asked with a small laugh, taking the tea gratefully from her.
"I've been told a time or two that I'm hyperactive" she shrugged with a playful smile.
"That sounds like Weiss all the way"
"You've got that right" Ruby laughed.
"Knew it" he took a sip from his drink.
"Everything go well with Blake and Yang?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah, I made sure the store owner knew it was in his best interest to make sure her weapon is fixed"
"Huh?" Ruby looked at him confused.
"Takashi isn't the type of guy to serve Blake's "kind" if you know what I mean" he made air quotes with his hands.
"You mean Faunus"
He nodded "Most people in this city are bigots" he sighed "Even Winter and Weiss I'm sure. Though it seems Weiss was able to move past it. Winter only seems to be politely not showing her distaste for Blake because she knows she's a friend of Weiss"
"What about Ironwood?"
"I don't think he cares all that much" he shrugged "He seems more like Ozpin than many people would think. He cares about doing the right thing, even if sometimes he doesn't look like it"
"I know what that's like" Ruby sighed.
"Qrow?" Slade asked curiously.
"Yeah" she looked down into her tea "He's always tried to keep work separate from his home life. Yang and I made that hard on him I guess" she laughed with a small smile "We'd always ask him about his missions when he returned from them. Sometimes he'd talk about them and other times he'd say it was official business and he couldn't talk... but there was a few times where he'd come home and just... he'd drink himself into a coma"
"Sounds like Qrow alright" Slade sighed "Guess he rubbed off on me more than I'd like to admit"
"What do you mean?"
"After I left Beacon, I drank... a lot. That's actually a pretty big understatement as it is. But ironically I haven't had much to drink since deciding to come back and fight with you guys" he smiled up at her "You girls seem to be having a positive affect on me"
"Good!" Ruby laughed. Slade looked down into his drink in disappointment "What is it?" she asked concerned.
"I imagine Qrow probably drank himself into a coma more often than not when it came to dealing with me"
"You mean because of what happened to you family?"
Slade nodded "He blamed himself for being too slow to help Malachite and again with my parents... I don't know about Elise but... he... he did a lot for me that night"
"So I heard" Ruby looked at him with a look of sympathy.
"Elise wasn't around much after becoming a Maiden... I chalked it up to her being on missions all the time and she always came back to visit before her next one, but..." he stopped as the tears began to well up in his eyes "I hadn't had someone actually there for me since my parents died, as much as she tried. Losing her was the breaking point for me"
"I can understand that. Losing Mom was hard, and Pyrrha was close to me as well. But if I lost Yang... I don't know what I'd do. She's always been there for me when I needed her to be, and I tried to be there for her when she needed me. But she always tries to handle things on her own instead of asking for help"
"It's who she is, Ruby" Slade chuckled "Raven abandoned her at a young age and losing your mother only made things harder for your father. Yang stepped in to hold everything together because of it"
"Yeah, I know. That's why she doesn't ever take time for herself"
"What do you mean?" he asked confused.
"Yang's never taken to boys very well. She's not like most girls, y'know" she laughed "Every time a boy liked her, she scared him off before anything could even start between them. The few that tried to stick around she forced to take a hike... I think she didn't feel like she could with having to take care of me all the time"
"What about when you went to Beacon? Surely she knew you were old enough to take care of yourself then, you were her team leader after all"
"I think me going to Beacon the same year as her only made things worse" Ruby sighed "She finally had a chance to be away from me and Dad and focus on herself, but I got accepted early because Ozpin saw me fight off some robbers working with Roman Torchwick"
"Roman?" Slade asked "You fought Roman?"
"Yeah, he got away though. That time anyway... anyway, Yang never allowed herself a boy during the year we were there. Weiss and Neptune started dating not long after Sun and Blake started though not officially of course. I didn't really have anyone to choose from when the dance came around but Yang had boys clamoring at our door to take her to the dance"
"She didn't go with anyone did she?"
"Nope" Ruby popped the p "As always, she didn't feel she could focus on dating if she had to take care of me" she looked down shamefully.
"It's not your fault, Ruby. I know Yang doesn't blame you for needing her, if anything it's Raven's fault she was in that position to begin with. Even your own mother is partly at fault, though I understand not intentionally"
"Yeah" Ruby sighed "Maybe you're right" she smiled up at him "Mom only ever did what she thought was right, but I guess sometimes what's right for everyone and what's right for your family aren't always the same thing"
"They usually aren't, but that's the job" Slade sighed, reaching into his jacket he removed a small zippo lighter, staring down at it with a look of sadness. Looking up he saw someone staring at them from across the street. It suddenly began pouring, the tarp above them keeping Slade and Ruby dry from the sudden downpour.
"What the heck!?" Ruby asked in shock as she looked around just as the rain started "I don't remember rain being on the forecast"
Slade stared at the one watching them in shock, it was Neo with Roman's hat on her head and her umbrella closed in her right hand directed behind her but she looked different. She wore a brown jacket that ends just below her shoulders and above her chest and has pink trimmings on top and is pink on the inside, two brown belt shoulder straps, a gray scarf similar to Roman's, and a vest, gloves, a belt, pants and heeled shoes of a matching white color. Her white vest stopped above her abdomen, showing off her stomach clearly. Neo looked sadly at him before turning her head down away, pulling the hat down lower over her face. Even in the rain it was clear tears were streaming from her eyes.
"Slade?" Ruby called gaining his attention.
"Yeah?" he asked turning to look at her.
"Are you okay? You just zoned out suddenly"
"Yeah, I just-" Slade turned back to see Neo had vanished "I thought I saw someone I knew... where's our server?" Slade asked curiously as he turned to look at the door.
"I told them to wait since we'd have two friends joining us. Figured we could wait for Blake and Yang before we eat right?"
"I guess that makes sense" he took another sip from his tea.
"So... you and Roman. Did you fight often?"
"Only a few times. He didn't really seem that thrilled to be working for Cinder but I guess he kept doing it nonetheless" she answered.
"Oh"
"Qrow said you worked with him after leaving Beacon and becoming a Bounty Hunter right?"
"Roman's actually the one who got me started Bounty Hunting. I bought a bike similar to Yang's when I left and drove out as far as I could before I needed gas. I stopped and bought a lot of alcohol… I was pretty smashed by the time I decided to head back out. There were several bandits there trying to strip it for parts, in my drunken state my Semblance wasn't working quite so well, but I managed to fend them off at the expense of the bike" he sighed "It was such a beautiful one too"
Slade paused and thought back to his first meeting with Roman and Neo with a small smile on his face "Roman watched the fight and asked me if I was employed, he offered me an opportunity to work with him and still take down bad guys like a "proper Huntsman" he laughed "Some of the jobs I took were anything but, let me tell you... but Roman, Neo and I... we were pretty inseparable… for awhile anyway" he looked down at the table, taking a small sip of his tea.
"Roman and I had a good deal going. He helped me build my reputation as a Bounty Hunter, and I helped him establish himself in his... "Business" Slade made air quotes "I stopped working with him not long before the attack on Beacon.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Roman had me work with people like Cinder, and Adam Taurus on occasion as a favor and not an official job while he was stealing dust in Vale. This was before Ironwood had hired me to weed out the criminal underground in this kingdom, I managed to score plenty of other high profile jobs in Vacuo and Mistral, but I mostly stayed away from Vale after taking down Roman's competition... one day I went on a job with Roman, Taurus, Cinder and her entourage. The job was simple, locate and capture the target. However once we arrived at the town, the White Fang had taken over and captured all of the civilians. Cinder interrogated and tortured the mayor of the town whom I later discovered was her father. She ordered the civilians to be executed, I stopped it... that's when I left. I left it all behind, then I heard about Roman's death"
"Unfortunately, yeah. Torchwick didn't seem like all that bad of a guy, just someone who was scared" Ruby sighed thinking back on her fights with him.
"He definitely was scared, and he wasn't a bad guy... he just certainly wasn't a good one" Slade sighed "Do you know what happened to Neo?"
"His partner?" Ruby asked "I don't know. After the attack on Beacon no one's seen or heard from her"
"Well you wouldn't hear from her" Slade chuckled "She's mute"
"Well that explains why she never talked!" Ruby shouted in realization.
Slade laughed "Neo is the physical representation of "Show don't tell" mostly because she can't tell but damn she can sure as hell show"
"She was very skilled, I'll give her that"
"Neo's taught me sign language and a few other tricks. Mostly fighting dirty" he chuckled "She was a good teacher for someone who never spoke"
"You sound like you miss her"
"I do" Slade sighed "Roman and Neo were... friends. As close as friends as I could ask for after leaving Ozpin. They never kept anything from me, even when they easily could've"
"The way you talk about them, they sound almost nice" Ruby laughed.
"Not exactly how I'd put it, but they were there for me when I needed someone. That's more than I can say for some people"
The two remained silent, Ruby looked down at her waist seeing the relic still sitting in it's place "Ugh, I am so tired of carrying this thing around all the time" she groaned.
"Then stop" Slade laughed "I can carry it for you if you'd like, or either Yang or Blake could. We could take turns" he chuckled.
"You don't mind?" Ruby asked.
"What's a little extra weight around the waist?" Slade shrugged. Ruby handed him the relic and he attached it to his belt as she had prior "See? Fits snugly"
"You don't think it's heavy?" she asked somewhat surprised.
"It's heavier than it looks, I'll give you that. But it is also carrying an entire person in there" he smirked.
Ruby's head hit the table in front of her "I cannot believe I didn't think about that"
"Wasted opportunity that" he laughed.
"Hey guys!" Yang called as she and Blake approached with her newly constructed weapon.
"Yang, Blake!" Ruby called getting up and tackling them into a hug.
"Woah there, Ruby! We haven't even been gone for an hour" Yang laughed.
"Sounds like Takashi worked fast then" Slade chuckled "Excuse me for not getting up, but..." he gestured to the massive bandage around his abdomen.
"You're fine" Blake laughed "Thank you, Slade. I really appreciate you doing this for me. I'm amazed he was able to finish it so quickly!"
"Takashi is the best there is in Atlas" Slade smirked "It helps to give him proper motivation. Think nothing of it, Blake. What're friends for?" he asked.
"I'll go get our server now" Ruby announced as she rushed inside.
Yang shook her head with a smirk as she sat down beside Slade, Blake following suit in the unclaimed chair between Yang and Ruby's chair. Ruby came back outside quickly sitting down "She's on her way out"
"Well?" Slade asked looking to Blake "Are you going to show us the weapon or are we going to have to wait all day!?" he asked.
"Oh, of course!" Blake took out Gambol Shroud to show it's new pristine look, it's design was the same as before, but it looked newer now.
"You'd never know Taurus even broke it" Slade smirked "Glad to see Takashi took my threat seriously.
"He looked like he was going to shit himself when he heard your voice!" Yang laughed "I'm just glad you took care of it and not me. I was about to kick his ass, probably wouldn't have helped us get Blake's weapon fixed though"
"No probably not" Ruby laughed.
"This rain really came out of nowhere didn't it?" Blake asked.
"That's what I said!"
The server finally exited the building out onto the patio "Hi, I'm glad to see everyone is here now" she greeted "Can I get you two started with drinks-" she stopped suddenly when she noticed Blake. No one failed to notice this. Slade placed Defiance onto the table casually.
"Is there a problem, Miss?"
"We have a strict policy against-" she stopped upon noticing the gun.
"Against what?" he asked innocently.
"Against... against Faunus not getting a free drink" she said trying not to anger him.
"Well, isn't that nice" Slade replaced his weapon into it's holster "You can let the owner know I appreciate their commitment to making Faunus feel welcome here"
"I-I'll be sure to let him know"
"Coffee please" Yang said trying to hold back her laughter.
"Would it be possible to get a glass of... milk?" Blake asked somewhat embarrassed.
"Of course, I'll have those both back out to you in just a minute"
Slade looked at Blake with an amused smile "What?" she asked confused.
"You're a cat Faunus and you enjoy milk" he cocked an eyebrow. Blake flushed red from embarrassment "I think it's adorable" he chuckled.
"You sound like Nora" Ruby laughed lightly.
"That was quick" Yang pointed out noticing a server coming out with a cup of coffee and a glass of milk on a tray. The server silently placed the items on the table in front of Yang and Blake "Thank you" they both called back politely.
This server was much shorter than the other one that had come out, she silently nodded to the group but didn't move from her place. She had platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes along with a small bowler hat on her head. Slade finally looked up at the server having noticed her silence and stared in shock at the woman staring back at him. she winked causing her eyes to change to one pink and one brown, her hair doing the same revealing herself to be "Neo!"
"Huh?" Ruby asked confused.
Neo twisted the server tray in her hand smacking Slade and Yang with it, knocking them both out of their chairs. Kicking the table over onto Blake pinned her and Yang down under it. Dropping the tray she removed her umbrella from behind her back with her opposite hand and placing her open hand onto side of the table, elevating herself over it and kicked Ruby in the chest as she stood up, throwing her onto her back. Neo pushed herself off the table as she removed the blade from the hilt of her umbrella poised to stab Ruby.
Suddenly Neo found she couldn't move just before her blade made contact with Ruby's chest. Looking back angrily she noticed Slade's hand outstretched toward her, trapping her with his Semblance "Augh!" Slade groaned from the pain in his side from having fallen on it. Neo took advantage of this moment to thrust her blade forward. Ruby had just enough time thanks to Slade's intervention to push the blade away from her into the ground next to her. Tucking her legs back, Ruby slammed her boots into Neo's chest, throwing her backward over the table into the rain. Standing up, Ruby removed Crescent Rose from her back, prepared to fight. Yang and Blake finally managed to get the table off of them.
"Slade!" Yang called concerned, rushing to see if he was alright.
Neo leapt over Yang and Slade continuing her assault against Ruby. Blake stepped between them to help, Neo hooked the end of her umbrella around Gambol Shroud planting her hand onto the ground to level herself. Slamming her boot into Blake's knee, forced her to drop before being thrown overhead by Neo's surprising strength for her size. Neo rushed toward Ruby with her blade in hand, stabbing forward. Ruby spun Crescent Rose blocking the blade before slashing for Neo's head. Ducking back away from her strike, Neo slammed her elbow into Ruby's abdomen then struck her umbrella across her face, followed by a swift kick to the chest throwing Ruby onto her back once more.
"Neo stop!" Slade yelled as Yang grabbed her shoulder from behind.
Twisting around, Neo twisted Yang's robotic arm and flipped her onto her stomach before flipping through the air and slamming her leg down onto Yang's back painfully. Blake got back into the action only to be thrown back again by Yang's weapon firing at Neo as she moved only to hit Blake square in the chest. Ruby launched herself backward as she stood back up with Crescent Rose to get some distance between herself and Neo. She didn't get a long reprieve with Neo closing the distance quickly. Ruby continued launching herself backward until she had nowhere to go. Neo slashed for Ruby's abdomen just as Ruby embedded her weapon into the ground balancing herself over Neo, launching herself up the building side.
Neo leapt toward Ruby striking ferociously propelling them both up the side of the building until they reached the roof. Blake and Yang followed not far behind barely keeping pace with the two of them. Slade groaned from his place on the ground, pushing himself up and standing from the table. Slade painfully chased after his friends as he watched them make their way to the building rooftop.
"Son of a..." he groaned as he focused his Semblance. Slade launched himself with tremendous force up to the rooftop in one bound, slightly overshooting it. He crashed into the rooftop painfully as the group continued fighting.
Ruby was barely managing to keep Neo from impaling her on the blade before Blake and Yang stepped in. Neo ducked under the collective strike by Blake and Yang aimed at her backside, planting her hand onto the ground she spun herself around kicking Yang, Blake, and Ruby in the face before placing her second hand in the same manner slamming her boots into Yang's and Blake's face throwing them back. Twisting around she kicked Ruby in the chest pushing her backward painfully before flipping onto her feet again and charging Ruby.
Slashing her blade for Ruby's chest she was surprised when Slade's gauntlet was the only thing blocking the attack "Stay back!" he called to Ruby as Neo angrily pushed with all her strength. Slade placed his other gauntlet underneath his first pushing her backward as he walked. Neo attacked with her umbrella only to find Slade sliding her blade back into the end of it as he blocked with his opposite hand. Twisting around he kicked the umbrella out of her hands onto the ground beside Yang and Blake as they rushed to help.
Neo grabbed Slade's arm and pulled him to the right just as Yang swung her fist toward Neo's back slamming right into Slade's abdomen, causing him to hunch over painfully from the metal arm "Slade!" she wasn't shocked for long as Neo slammed her boots into Yang throwing her back as Blake kicked for Neo's legs, knocking Slade over instead.
"Sorry!" she called rushing after Neo as she charged for Ruby.
"You're not helping!" Slade coughed painfully as he forced himself to his feet through the pain. Blake swung her blade for Neo's head only to miss and get a kick in the face. Using her Semblance, she avoided the attack and struck once more, arcing her blade upward. Neo shattered into glass from the strike before reappearing behind Blake, pulling her by the hair and slamming her into Yang as she approached, knocking them both over.
Slade slid between Ruby and Neo blocking her kick with his own matching one. Ruby used this opportunity to strike at Neo, having the perfect opening. Neo looked shocked, knowing she didn't have a way out of the attack. She was surprised when she felt nothing as she heard the scythe embed into the ground beside her. Looking down she found Slade's hands holding Crescent Rose still so she couldn't attack Neo.
"Slade what're you doing?!" Ruby asked shocked.
"I won't let her hurt you, Ruby. But Neo's my friend too! I can't let her get hurt either"
Neo and Ruby stared in shock at his words, Neo was the first to recover in her anger. Neo slammed her fist into Slade's chest, throwing him aside before attacking Ruby once more. Ruby deflected her kicks with her scythe and countered them with her own attacks, Neo easily dodged around them before countering with her own. Slade blocked Neo's kick with his gauntlet from hitting Ruby, doing the same with his opposite hand with Crescent Rose. Twisting with them in hand, he pulled Ruby to the right, away from Neo and kicked Neo in the chest just hard enough to push her back away from them.
Neo growled in annoyance, she twisted around kicking toward Ruby's face, ignoring Slade's presence. Slade caught Neo's leg in his right hand and Ruby's scythe in his left "Stop this! We can-" Ruby and Neo both kicked Slade in the abdomen pushing him out of the way toward the edge of the building so they could continue their fight. Blake and Yang launched themselves at Neo only to get easily avoided and then kicked once more as she turned around Ruby, forcing her to leap to her left to keep in front of Neo.
Slade started coughing blood into hid hands from overexerting himself and getting pummeled by his friends. Ruby took notice of this as he started to lose consciousness, his bandage clearly showing red "Slade?" she called concerned, realizing what she had done when she kicked him, having forgotten his injury. Neo's brow furrowed slightly "Slade!" Ruby called as he fell backward, going over the edge of the rooftop.
Ruby used her Semblance to chase after him down the side of the building. Catching him in her grasp, she twisted herself around so she would be the one making contact with the ground first and not him "Ruby, Slade!" Yang called rushing to the side with Blake shortly behind her "No!"
They watched as they crashed into the ground, Slade was knocked from Ruby's grip "Ah!" Ruby cried out in pain, her aura sparking from the impact. Neo leapt over Yang and Blake, using her umbrella to gently float down behind Ruby, rushing toward Ruby and Slade.
"Ruby, look out!" Blake called as Yang fired her gauntlet at Neo, she easily dodged it and passed right by Ruby.
"Huh?" They all looked confused as she arrived at Slade. Neo silently went to work unbandaging him and removing his clothes to show his under bandage was completely red with his blood. Neo never hesitated, she caught the newly fired shell from Yang's gauntlet as it fell from the roof, wincing from the heat and rushed back over to Slade. Pressing the shell casing to his wound she cauterized it with the heat from the casing before tossing it away quickly from the pain of holding it, stopping the bleeding. Running her hands up his chest she searched for any broken bones. Finding several broken ribs in the wrong place, she used her strength to force them back into place, snapping Slade back awake from the pain "Augh!" he cried out grabbing his abdomen in pain, but still couldn't breathe.
"Slade!" Yang called rushing down the building to his side. Blake did the same, placing herself between Ruby and Neo to make sure she didn't try anything, Slade stared up at Neo and Yang silently, he tried to speak but no words came out. Neo held up her hand gesturing Yang to back away. Neo placed her ear to his chest, working her way around until she stopped over the right side. Lifting her head up she looked to Yang and gestured for something.
"I don't understand" Yang was flustered. Neo looked exasperated and made a vomiting gesture "He needs to throw up?" Neo shook her head and made a circular motion with her hands as she repeated the vomiting action "Throwing up into a bucket?" Neo nodded profusely "Bucket! You need a bucket!" she yelled in understanding. Yang rushed off as Ruby started to come around.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked.
"I think she's helping Slade" Blake answered still unsure of the girl.
Yang came rushing back with a garbage pale she found nearby "It's all I could find quickly-" Neo shushed her with her hand as she pulled out a scalpel and a pump only slightly larger than the blade. Neo made a small incision on the right side of Slade's chest before stabbing the edge of the pump into it painfully "Mpgh!" Slade groaned. Neo quickly filled the pump with the blood filling his lungs before dumping it into the pale beside her, she followed the same process two more times until Slade's breathing was clearly heard. Neo and Yang both sighed in relief simultaneously.
"Hey... you're not trying to kill each other" he groaned painfully as she stitched the incision she just made with a needle and string she pulled from her pockets "Good thing you're still a walking med-kit" he sighed.
"What the hell were you thinking getting involved with an injury like this? You could've been killed!" Neo signed with an annoyed expression.
"When was the last time that stopped me, Neo?" he let out a pained chuckle.
"You're an idiot" she signed with a shake of her head.
"Uh..." Yang looked between the two of them confused "What am I missing?"
"You don't know sign language" Slade answered "Sister taught me some before I met Neo and she taught me the rest"
"For such a smart guy, you really are stupid" she signed.
"That may be" Slade sat up "But I'm not the one who just shows up out of nowhere and tries to kill your friend"
"She killed Roman" she signed. Slade stared in shock, Neo nodded "I came here to get revenge, I had no idea you would be here when I set out"
"That's not like Ruby at all" Slade shook his head not understanding "She wouldn't just kill someone like that-"
"Kill someone?" Ruby asked confused "I haven't killed anyone in my life"
"Liar!" Neo signed with a angry growl.
"Neo thinks you killed Roman"
"Torchwick?! I didn't kill him! The Grimm did that all on their own!" she shouted defensively.
"That's not possible" Neo signed to Slade "Cinder had full control of the Grimm the whole time, she wouldn't just allow them to kill Roman"
"I don't think you know how controlling the Grimm works, Neo" Slade sighed "Cinder might be able to control them in close proximity, but if she isn't close, they just act off of instinct. Roman wouldn't be any different than anyone else in that situation.
"I'm telling you, she's lying!"
"Ruby... what exactly happened when Roman died"
"I was on the airship he took over during the Fall of Beacon. After I tossed you over the side to give me a fighting chance, I got beaten by Roman pretty easily I'm embarrassed to say. Roman started making some speech about him doing this because he's more concerned with surviving than getting on the bad side of Cinder's boss. While he was distracted by his speechmaking a Griffon landed behind him swallowing him whole in the same action giving him no chance of fighting back. I barely managed to escape it myself as the airship started going down" Ruby explained sadly "I really am sorry he died. I didn't intend for him to die when I went to fight him, I just wanted the Atlas mechs to stop shooting at my friends"
Neo stared in shock at her story "Now do you believe her, Neo?" Slade asked.
"Cinder said she could control the Grimm!" Neo signed angrily.
"Cinder says a lot of things, Neo" Slade sighed "Remember the last time we saw each other? She said no hostages were to be killed, then she turned around and told Adam to kill everyone"
"I remember" Neo nodded solemnly.
"Cinder killed her father, a good man willing to sacrifice himself for someone he didn't even know. Yet she expects people to believe she cares about them. Mercury and Emerald are just like Roman, eventually they'll die fighting the same war for even less noble reasons"
Neo's eyes welled up with tears as she began sobbing, finally letting out her pent up sorrow over Roman's death. Slade embraced her comfortingly "I'm so sorry I wasn't there, Neo. There's a lot of things I wish I could've changed... but Ruby isn't to blame for what happened to Roman"
Neo broke the embrace with an angry expression on her face "I don't blame you for leaving, Slade" she signed "But Roman won't rest easy until his killer is dead. And I don't intend to stop until she is" she turned away from him.
"Neo-" she suddenly vanished with a white flash "Damn" he sighed.
"That was the same girl from the train back in Mountain Glenn" Yang pointed out.
"Yeah, she worked with Roman Torchwick, as you no doubt noticed from how angry she is at his death. I cannot understand why she'd blame Ruby though... she was usually the one who was level headed enough to see underneath lies and bullshit" Slade sighed.
"She's your friend?" Blake asked somewhat confused by that relationship.
"Yeah, Roman, Neo and I worked together a lot after I left Beacon. He left me out of the jobs dealing with Cinder and Taurus back then as much as he could, but they had a leash on him from before we met. I still don't know what Cinder had on him to make him do those horrible things... he robbed people sure but never anyone who couldn't afford to lose it and never did he just kill innocent people because he was paid to do it. That was one of the things I liked about him, he was perfectly capable of shooting a man in the face but would pay for the funeral..."
"When you put it that way, he almost sounds... decent" Yang said with a saddened look on her face.
"I know that wasn't the Roman you knew, but he was a better man than people give him credit for and a better friend than I could've asked for"
The group remained silent unsure what to say about what had happened. "C'mon, we should head back. We never even ordered our food yet" Yang offered, breaking the silence as her stomach growled loudly. The group laughed at this before following.
"Slade? Are you coming?" Yang asked as he never moved from his place.
"Yeah, aren't you hungry?" Ruby asked gesturing to the restaurant across the street they had been at when Neo attacked.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm coming" he turned, solemnly passing by the group toward the restaurant.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Blake asked concerned.
"I don't know, Blake... I can't imagine what he's feeling right now" Yang sighed "Imagine if you had to choose between helping Ruby and helping Weiss when it came down to a fight, and you didn't know if the one you're against would make it out alive" she explained, trying to understand his feelings at the moment.
"Wow... that'd suck" Ruby pointed out.
"Yeah... yeah it does"
Slade opened the front door to their safehouse entering with Yang, Blake, and Ruby following behind him "Hopefully Ironwood's got something for us for when Qrow gets back. We don't want to be here any longer than necessary"
"Yeah, it's probably for the best that we start packing" Yang agreed.
"I'll check in with Uncle Qrow and see what's going on" Ruby offered.
"No need" he called from behind them as he entered the building. Winter, Weiss, Nora, Ren, Jaune, Maria and Oscar all followed behind him closing the door as they fully entered the room.
"Good, you're back" Blake smiled at the group in relief "After what happened with Tyrian we weren't sure any of you were really safe out there"
"We're probably not" Oscar sighed.
"He's right, if Tyrian can just teleport anywhere he wants to it could be an issue" Jaune agreed.
"Fortunately it's probably not that simple or he would've found Ruby much sooner than he did while we were on our way to Mistral" Qrow explained putting the group at ease.
"Did you-" Ruby began.
"We were attacked" Slade interrupted causing everyone to stare in shock.
"Tyrian?" Qrow asked.
"Neo" Slade sighed.
"Torchwick's accomplice?" Winter asked surprised "No one's seen her since Beacon fell"
"She was the one Yang fought aboard the train right?" Weiss asked recalling her.
"What was she after? The relic?" Oscar asked curiously.
"Me. Dead" Ruby answered.
"What!?" the group shouted in unison.
"She attacked us while we were out fixing Blake's weapon and grabbing a bite to eat" Yang explained "She ignored us and went right for Ruby"
"Might've succeeded if Slade hadn't intervened" Blake pointed out.
"Then it's good Slade was here to help" Maria sighed "I hope you didn't strain yourself too much with your injuries still healing"
"I overdid it a bit but that's Neo for you" he groaned as he took a seat "I wasn't in any condition to be in a fight with anyone let alone her, she's tougher than she looks"
"He's right" Blake agreed.
"She made us look like amateurs today. Barely even focused on fighting Blake and I, just kept going for Ruby. Slade was the only one able to keep with her and he was injured!"
"I do know how she moves though, if I had never fought with her before. I'd probably have gotten my ass handed to me"
"I for one am still glad to have my head" Ruby pointed out.
"Why was she gunning for you? What'd you do to piss her off so much?" Nora asked.
"She thinks I killed Torchwick" Ruby answered with a sigh.
"That makes sense" Ren pondered aloud "She last saw you and him fighting aboard the airship before it went down and Roman died. Were you able to convince her otherwise before she escaped?"
"I'm honestly not sure" Slade answered.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked confused.
"Slade was injured as you know so when he fought Neo he managed to reopen his wounds-" Blake started.
"He did!? Slade, I have to take a look at you-" Jaune interjected.
"Trust me, he's fine" Ruby laughed.
"Ahem" Blake cleared her throat "As I was saying... Slade went over the edge of the roof and Ruby stopped him from getting any serious injuries from the fall. Neo followed after them and we assumed she was going to kill Ruby, but instead she ignored her when she was completely defenseless to help Slade"
"How'd she help?" Weiss asked.
"She cauterized my wounds, rebroke my ribs back into place so they'd heal properly, and drained the blood filling into my lungs" Slade answered getting shocked expressions from most of the group "She's got advanced medical training" he shrugged.
"Where'd she receive training like that?" Qrow asked curiously.
"Mostly from books, she taught herself. But she got experienced dealing with all the injuries I managed to get over my time as a Bounty Hunter. Roman got his fair share too" he explained.
"Well... is she gonna be a problem?" Winter asked.
"Most definantly, but there's nothing we can do about that. She's working with Cinder, who's also in Atlas it would seem" Yang sighed.
"Great, isn't there any good news today?" Weiss sighed in annoyance.
"What do you mean? Did you find anything on the Maiden?" Ruby asked.
"Not exactly" Ironwood answered from the doorway "I've got a bit of explaining to do" he sighed as he closed the door behind him.
"General Ironwood" Yang looked to Qrow in surprise "I wasn't expecting you to be here too"
"It was necessary. This wasn't something I wanted to share over a call, especially if someone bugged my office and or scroll"
"What is it?" Blake asked curiously.
"Qrow never went out to search for the Maiden because I know where she is"
"What?" Slade asked shocked "Well is she gonna be coming around to seal this relic away anytime soon?"
"She doesn't know she's the Maiden" Qrow sighed.
They stared at them with confusion "She... what?" Yang asked confused.
"The Winter Maiden doesn't know she's a Maiden because I believe her to be safer not knowing, when that changes I will alert her of her... unique condition"
"That's not something you just don't tell someone, what if Salem or Cinder goes after her?"
"No one but me knows who she is, therefore it's impossible for anyone to discover her without me. I made sure not to make any reports or calls about it, so no one knows about her"
"That's... that's not what you came to tell us about is it?" Ruby asked.
Ironwood smiled lightly "Sharp as ever Ms. Rose" he shook his head "No, that's not the reason I came to speak to you all today... Slade, you already know everything I am about to tell you, but it's news to everyone else here. Thank you for keeping this to yourself for this long, I appreciate your professionalism"
"Slade?" Yang asked looking to him surprised.
"Take my criminal record away if you really appreciate that, it certainly didn't help me after Beacon fell"
"I know... I will be sure to do that when I next get the-"
"Tomorrow" Slade insisted.
"Tomorrow" Ironwood agreed.
"What the hell am I missing here?" Yang asked confused.
Ironwood sighed "Allow me to explain" he took a moment to find where to start "When Slade left Beacon he started working with Roman Torchwick and established himself as a renowned Bounty Hunter as you no doubt know... but what you don't know, is the Fall of Beacon could've been prevented... by me" he looked down at the floor dejectedly.
"What!?" Jaune, Yang, Nora and Qrow shouted incredulously.
"Before you ask anything, allow me to fully explain the situation... I know all too well my mistakes and I don't plan on remaking them. After Slade broke away from Torchwick, I sought him out for a very important job..."
Deep in the forests surrounding Vale, the moon brightly shined down over the land. A hooded figure moved silently through the trees, the figure stopped upon hearing a low growl emanating from behind the figure. An Ursa charged toward the back of the figure only to receive a blade coated in fire slice through it's throat, severing it's head from it's body. The Ursa slumped down to the ground as the blade was sheathed, the figure looked down at the beast before removing the hood revealing herself to be Raven Branwen.
"Grimm are thick these woods now" she sighed "Salem really did a number on this place" she looked up at the moon above her. Her thoughts wandered between Yang, Tai Yang, Qrow and Summer. She shook these thoughts from her mind "It's not my problem anymore" she turned away from the direction of the city of Vale, making her way through the trees once more "It's not my problem anymore... I'm not a Huntress anymore" she repeated to herself barely above a whisper.
The sound of battle could be heard from where she was as the Huntsmen of Vale continued efforts to retake the city from them. The numerous waves of Grimm seemed to never stop for them. Many had already started to lose hope the fighting would ever end.
"..." Raven stopped when she heard a pained cry, she pondered what to do for several minutes before replacing her hood "Maybe... just this once"
Thanks for taking the time to read guys! Hope you all liked it, and stay tuned for more!