CHAPTER III

Blackening the Torch

"Okay, Yuan, we're up," Penny said as she headed to the middle of the training hall with her pupil. The others watched anxiously as they squared off. This was the first training session they had had since arriving at Haven Academy, the first time they would be able to see Yuan in action with his new powers without the chaos of battle distracting them.

"Do you think they'll blow up the building?" Leon said.

"If Yuan has the same power that Lilly's got, maybe," Perseus said. "You remember what happened between her and Ivory, don't you?"

"You should focus on the sparring right now," Ivory said. "Idle chatter will not help you improve."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Leon said, stiffening.

"Jeez, you're whipped," Ingrid sighed.

"Should I go ahead and transform?" Yuan asked Penny.

"Do whatever you're comfortable doing," she said. "I told you before that I have no clue how your powers work. I'm pretty sure Lilly and Weiss are the only two beings in all of Remnant right now who have any idea how any of that works."

Yuan was quiet as he gripped his Ji halberd, the Heaven Scorcher. It was true that he still had a lot of growing to do with this new power of his. That explosion of energy from his awakening was a one-time deal it seemed. Since that day, Sir Elyan, his Wraith-Knight, was silent, and the bond between them had hit a plateau.

Here goes nothing, he thought before dashing at Penny with his polearm held forward.

His instructor allowed him to come within striking distance before she materialized a spear in her own hands, deflecting his attack and countering swiftly, but not swiftly enough. Her student was markedly faster than the last time they had sparred. As they exchanged blows, she wondered if it was all the fighting they had been doing since leaving Beacon Academy or if his fusion with his Wraith-Knight had anything to do with it. As far as she could tell, though, his techniques right this minute were his own. Not a single magical rune was visible on his body.

She decided to increase the intensity of their fight, rapidly turning the tables on Yuan, who struggled just to defend against her onslaught. She attacked an opening in his form and swept his legs out from underneath him, but he was quick to block her follow-up strike, finding himself in a blade deadlock with her.

C'mon, Yuan, Penny thought as she continued to push into him, the tip of her spear inching its way to his face. There's more to you than this. I know it.

Yuan gritted his teeth as he continued to fight against Penny's strength, but her technological advantage was simply too much for a mere human body to compete with. No matter what, he refused to give up. The desperation transformed into determination and an ancient power began to burgeon up from within, just like that day he fought against Adam Taurus and that Daemon in the Labyrinth that took over his hometown.

Penny gasped as she looked into her student's eyes, whose jade color was overtaken by a golden light which seemed to emerge from his pupils outwards until the entirety of his irises glowed with a flame-like golden shine. With a single push, Yuan was able to throw Penny's full weight several feet away. She somersaulted before landing in a crouch, amazed to see her student rise to his feet through some unseen force. Although nothing showed on the visible spectrum of light, her sensors, which could pick up what human eyes could not, detected a phenomenon that now surrounded his body like a flame.

"Yo," Leon said.

"That was," Astor said.

"Pretty crazy," Perseus said.

Ingrid inspected Yuan closely. A thin, black, mist-like aura rose from his feet into the air, barely visible, yet undeniably present. It was the same as before, when he first awakened to this power. Although it saved their lives that time, she still couldn't shake this terribly dark feeling that accompanied it.

"You thinking the same thing?" Echo said quietly.

"Yeah," Ingrid said. "Is your danger radar going crazy, too?"

"Not super crazy, but yeah, something about him gives me the creeps."

Yuan closed his eyes, sighing as he allowed the power to rest once more. He fell to the ground, dropping his weapon.

"Yuan!" both Nora and Penny yelled before running to him.

"Are you all right?" Nora asked as she tended to her son.

"Y-Yeah," he panted. "I think so."

"Your stress levels are elevated," Penny said, "more than what I'd expect from our training bout just now."

"It's that damn Wraith power, that's why," Nora said.

"N-No, it's not..." Yuan began, "...it's not what you're thinking, mom. I just need to get used to it, that's all. Lilly went through the same thing when she first discovered her rune magic. I just have to get better."

"Don't overwork yourself," Ren said, extending a hand to help him up. "We don't have any clues as to the nature of that power. Our old friend had a Wraith, too, but that thing was downright evil. You say that this Wraith-Knight isn't evil, and I trust in your judgment, but as your father, I'm still going to warn you to be cautious."

"Of course," Yuan said. "I'm not as reckless as mom, after all."

"Really?" Nora said sardonically, throwing her hands on her hips.

Penny couldn't help but giggle.

"All right, all right," Qrow said. "You guys clear out the ring so the next two can have a shot."

"That's us," Athena said to Perseus, who stood up with his team leader, following her to the center of the room.

Perseus was quiet as he shared the ring with his captain. He picked up on her tension even before they arrived at the training halls earlier today. There was no doubt that she was about to put him through hell right now.

"Okay, kids," Qrow began, "you decide when you start—"

Before he even finished his sentence, Aegis was already flying through the air. Perseus barely managed to bring up his own shield to deflect it, but Athena was already upon him, swinging Pallas at every opening he had. He parried and blocked with his own sword and shield, but there was no way he would ever match his team leader's speed and ferocity. She was the one who had a shot at defeating Ivory Schnee this past Vytal Festival Tournament, after all. There was no way in hell he could even hope to hold a candle to the Golden Girl of Vale.

"Hey, your boss could take it easier on Perseus, don't you think?" Ingrid said. When she got no response from them, she turned to Echo and Xanthus, who were watching the fight closely.

"What's with them?" Astor said.

"You don't remember?" Leon said.

"Remember what?"

"Perseus's story," Ivory said. "No doubt, she's taking it out on him right now."

"It's not actually his fault, though," Ingrid said. "Lilly made her choice. He didn't force her."

"Doesn't matter," Leon said. "I think out of all of us here, no one wanted to protect her more than my sister did."

Athena dashed at Perseus before putting her full weight behind Aegis. He brought up his shield to block, but ended up falling to the ground instead with the force of her attack. There was no time to recover and she stepped on his arm to prevent him from bringing his shield back to bear. He stared up, his team leader's face silhouetted by the ceiling lights. She was holding her spear with both hands, ready to pierce his chest. He could barely see her face, but it wasn't necessary. He could feel her eyes burning holes in him.

"Athena!" Ingrid yelled as she rose to her feet.

Athena drove her spear downward with full force, causing their audience to gasp. Perseus could feel the blood dripping from the side of his neck, where her weapon just barely nicked him. Her face was now only inches from his and he could see the totality of her hatred in her midnight blue eyes.

"You didn't try to dodge," she said quietly enough that only he could hear. "Were you hoping I'd kill you?"

He didn't answer.

She let out a heavy sigh before yanking Pallas out of the ground and marching out of the training hall. Perseus sat up, remaining on the ground for a while. The sound of running made him turn his head slightly. Echo knelt beside him.

"Are you okay?" she said.

He gave her a silent nod.

"C'mon, let's get you up."

He accepted her help without any protest, walking back with her to the benches. The whole room was quiet as he sat down between Xanthus and Echo, the latter of whom gently rubbed his back with one hand in a futile attempt to comfort her teammate.

—

Athena let out a heavy sigh as she leaned forward against the guard rail which separated the Haven Academy dorm's garden from the sheer drop overlooking the valley below. She closed her eyes, listening to the rush of the waterfall which fed the whole city. Soft crunching of grass sounded behind her as someone approached. The footsteps stopped a few feet away.

"So, were you really gonna kill your own teammate?"

Athena turned around to face her aunt Yang, who stood with her arms across her chest.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"No, I wasn't gonna kill him," Athena said.

"Everybody was pretty convinced that you were gonna."

"Where did you come from? I thought you were down at the Forge with the rest of your team?"

"I figured I'd come up here to hang out with you guys. You know we stayed in this dorm twenty years ago, right?"

"Mom and dad told us stories about those days. You tryin'a relive old times or something?"

Yang shook her head. "Nah. I just heard Ren was cooking and I got hungry."

Athena let out a chuckle.

"I made it to the training halls just as you knocked Perseus flat on his ass. Like I said, I wouldn't blame you if you did kill him. But as the good aunt and all that shit, I should probably tell you that it's not actually his fault."

"Yeah, I know, Aunt Yang. You don't have to tell me."

"I know I don't. You're not the dumb twin."

She chuckled. "I won't tell Leon you said that."

"Still. I can't believe Lilly would just up and leave like that without telling anyone. And convincing Perseus to keep his mouth shut? She must've threatened him or something."

"No, I think he just...I don't know. She must've had a good reason to keep it all under wraps. And if Perseus actually kept her secret, well, he wouldn't do it for shits and giggles."

"If she was persuasive enough to get him to do what she wanted, I'm not surprised at all. That's probably something she got from her dad."

Athena watched as her aunt walked to the guard rail and leaned forward against it.

"Penny and Qrow still haven't told you guys, have they?"

"About Lilly's dead dad? Nope. But I'm not dumb. Neither are the others. We've all pretty much figured out that it's that knight statue in the middle of Beacon's quad, right?"

"Yup. Bedivere. That's her dad."

Athena noticed the look of longing that washed over Yang's face. "Sounds like you were pretty close to him."

She chuckled. "Yeah, I almost became a fucking home wrecker."

"Wait, you mean you and him had a fling?"

"No, it never went that far. It was...we were all going through a rough patch. A really rough patch. And he and I found some common ground, that's all. But neither of us let it go any further than just friendship. After all, it was Weiss who summoned him, not me. It was her that he swore to, not me."

"Summoned?"

Yang nodded. "It's a long goddamn story, but I guess I should tell you. You're not a kid anymore. I think you could handle a little drama in your life."

Athena scoffed before leaning backward against the guard rail beside her aunt.

"Eighteen years ago, just before the war ramped up, Weiss accidentally summoned him into our world. She was up against the ropes and she went to summon her knight, the one you saw at the tournament last summer, but she couldn't do it. Her aura was broken and her Semblance failed her. But, just as she was about to get killed by a swarm of Grimm, something swept her up into the sky. I mean that literally. At least, that's how she tells the story."

"That was Lilly's dad?"

Yang nodded. "He accompanied her on their way to Mistral, saving village after village, until I ran into them, anyway. As in, I literally ran into them. The motherfucker smashed my bike."

"What? How?"

"He was standing in the middle of the road and didn't dodge, so I crashed right into him."

"Holy shit!"

"Yeah, the dumbass. Funny thing, though. He bought me the one I ride now."

"You mean the one that transforms into a giant robot armor?"

"That's the one. Anyway, long story short, Weiss and Bedivere fell in love and then they fucked."

Athena's face and tone instantly went sarcastic. "Wow."

Yang chuckled. "Yeah. He gets one of my best friends pregnant and then goes off and dies."

Athena looked down at the ground. "How did he die?"

Yang thought about it for a while. "He gave up his life for our world."

Athena sensed a lot more behind the story, but she refrained from prying. "So, it's because of his death that we're all alive right now."

Yang nodded silently.

"I mean, why don't you guys just tell her? I'm pretty sure she's dying to know about her dad."

"Weiss hasn't talked about him at all. There aren't even any photos of him in her house. She's got a reason for not talking about him with her kid. I'm not gonna be the asshole who breaks my friend's trust." She sighed. "Weiss has been through enough. The last thing any of us want is to break her heart even more."

"So, that's why."

Yang looked over at her niece.

"I remember something weird happening at the tournament last year. When Lilly summoned her knight for the first time ever, Weiss was on her feet. And, I coulda sworn the look on her face was, like, longing mixed with a lot of pain. At first, I had no idea what the heck it meant. I figured maybe she was just super fucking proud of her daughter, you know? But knowing what I know now..."

"Yeah. When Lilly first used her runes during that match against Ivory, that was when we all knew. She inherited her father's magical power. And then, all in the same hour, she summons a magical familiar in the shape of her father, the knight statue that stands in the middle of Beacon's quad."

"Fuck, this is heavy."

"Tell me about it."

The pair spent some time in silent reminiscence. Yang looked down at the valley below, where the river rushed beside the lower town. This city was nearly decimated all those years ago, saved only by powers that were beyond their comprehension. Yang didn't notice the smile that had formed on her face, wondering what conjured it until she remembered the reason the city was spared.

"Did you know that your dad's a hero, too?" Yang said, turning to Athena.

"What do you mean?" the younger one asked.

"Jaune was his squire."

"Wait, what?"

"Yup. Bedivere took your dad in as his squire. He was the one who shaped up your dad into the warrior he is today."

Athena drew her spear and looked at it. All those times she sparred with her parents, her mother always exuded a kind of confidence and wildness, but it was her father who was unnaturally tranquil even in the midst of battle. She always wondered what it was about him when he would train her. But knowing that he fought alongside and was taught by one of the best warriors they had ever known, it all made sense.

"Didn't mean to drop all that pressure on you, b-t-dubs," Yang said with a chuckle.

"No, no, it's not..." Athena began. "I don't actually think of it that way. Hell, nothing pressures me like that stupid title."

"Golden Girl?"

"Yeah, that stupid shit."

"Well, hey. Wanna go at it?"

"Training halls, you mean?"

"Yeah. Let's see how your spear work does against my fists."

Athena grinned as she led the way back to the building. "Nah. I'm not gonna use my spear or my shield."

"Oh?" Yang said, following after her. "You think you're good enough to take me on empty-handed, huh?"

"Penny taught us something a while back. 'I am the weapon. Everything else is nothing more than a tool.'"

"Penny says that, huh?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Funny. That's what he used to say to us, too."