Chapter 14: Ground Zero

Yang stood there like a colossus; frozen in place by shock and awe, but never wanting to look away. The man before her was Impossibility itself, having survived a shotgun blast like he did. He motioned for the both of them to walk to the house. On the way, Nick spoke, words slightly slurred from the missing cheek, "You know, you've a fiery temper; sooner or later, it'll get the better of you." She clenched her teeth when he said that.

After a moment, as Nick was stemming his face with a black kerchief, Yang spoke up, her temper calmed. "Why didn't you raise your aura?!" she asked. Nick chortled. Turning to her, he explained, "Well, I gotta have a soul to do that." She looked at him with confusion. What the hell is he implying? She thought.

Nick was about to say more, but suddenly Taiyang charged him, slamming full-bore into him with a growl, taking him to the ground. Taiyang pinned Nick to the ground, forearm pinning his throat. "I don't know what you are," Taiyang muttered, "but if you pull off another stunt like this in front of my girls again, I swear–" He stopped as two pairs of hands tried to pull him back by his shoulder and waist; he turned his head and saw the owners of those hands.

It was his girls, pulling him off of Nick. Yang had her hands around his shoulder, Ruby had her arms around his waist; both were pulling with all their might, and he was resisting their efforts. "Dad, get off him!" Yang grunted through grit teeth. Reluctantly, he complied.

With a cough and a wheeze, Nick rolled over and sat up in the snow. It feels like I've overstayed my welcome. Unfortunately, I've got to make a decision… a few really. The most prominent right now is: am I going to accept or decline the role as Miss Xiao Long's guardian?

I don't know. He grimaced at his indecision.

He glanced over to where the two Atlasians were. … Uptight And Icey over there is probably gonna hound me unless I go with and see the general; she's probably either too scared of him or too stubborn in her duty to return empty-handed. At this point, I'm seriously getting pissed about this… If she keeps at this, I'll send her back to crawl to her general empty-handed anyway –in a box if needed!

Ruby tentatively stepped up to Nick. "Um, A-are you okay Nick?" she asked, then shot another question, "O-on a scale of one-to-ten, how –uh –much pain are you in?" he looked at her, silver eyes of youthful innocence meeting, locking on his gentle but battle-hardened ones. "Zero." They all stared at him, stupefied by his blatant answer. "What?! You're not in any Pain?! How is that even possible?!" Ruby asked. Nick was about to answer, when Yang went to action, saying, "He's in Shock!" grabbing him by his heels and hoisting them off the ground. Nick kicked free, rolling backwards into a crouch. "No, I ain't in shock," he said, starting to unfasten his right glove, "It's just one of the side effects of my curse." He took off his glove, raising his bare hand so they all could see. "And I bear the mark of the curse to prove it."

Yang absent-mindedly rubbed the scar on her new arm, but she was too fixated on the Black Spot on Nick's hand to notice. Blake, watching from a distance, however, did.


Yesterday…

Ruby Rose had been ecstatic when she showed her best friend the home she grew up in. Weiss –and, admittedly, Blake as well –viewed her excitement with amusement. Eventually, in a quiet corner of the house, a place where they could be private, Weiss sat Ruby down to have a talk. "Ruby," she started, "I feel there's something you should know." Ruby looked at her with her own kind of innocence; Weiss felt warmth and comfort in it. "My father –he took away my inheritance of his company, with the public appearance that I gave it to my brother, Whitley, trying to humiliate me for 'acting out in public' when I tried to defend Vale at a charity concert." Weiss took a breath. Ruby asked, "Uh, does that mean you're not a Schnee?"

"I might as well not be one," Weiss sighed. "Hey, it's not so bad; I mean, you've still got us, we're your friends, and we're like family!" Ruby encouraged.

Suddenly, an idea came to Ruby.


Present day… 3:32 P.M.

She had merely closed her eyes for a moment, sitting in a lounge chair; but then was hit with the urge. For the rest of that morning and into the afternoon, Nick's injury had bothered her. Now Yang felt the need to go back, to return to Beacon. The thing was, she didn't know why, she just felt drawn back by some insatiable desire.

Quickly getting out of the chair, she tried to slip out the backdoor; but as she reached it, someone behind her spoke up, "Going somewhere, Firecracker?" she turned around at the gravelly voice of her uncle. "Just going out for a walk, you know," she smooth-talked; Qrow wasn't convinced. "'Out for a walk,' huh? I thought you're exhausted after this morning." Doubt was laced in his words.

"Yeah, I can't ride Bumblebee yet, so… I thought…" she left her argument fall, sighing in defeat; she fully intended to take her bike, but didn't want to spill her plan. "I just need to clear my head." Qrow responded, "so, you're not gonna take anything with you, not even water? It sounds like you're gonna take a hike." She thought about that, and what she could bring along.

"Well, when you put it that way," she said, stepping away from the door, "I guess I could take a few things." Ember Celica for one, she thought, heading for the stairs. Qrow sighed, figuring she'd been trying to sneak out to go for a very long visit… and might've not returned.

Well, he thought, I won't stop her; but I'll try to convince Nick to stay with her… He took a swig from his flask.

She rushed to her room, breezing past the open bathroom door. She closed her door, trying not to slam it. Turning around, she surveyed the room, her eyes landing on the closet. It might be a good idea to take a couple changes of clothes, she thought, opening up the closet. Rummaging through drawers and hangers, Yang picked out a couple outfits with spare tees, cargo pants, and several sets of undergarments.

Hearing a noise outside, Yang turned to look out the window. Her dad and Nick had gone out to have a "friendly chat" after Nick fixed up his own face. Now they returned, one covered in mud. Both were in a fairly good mood, especially Taiyang, who she recognized as the "clean" one –although he was a bit dirty himself. Nick, apparently, was nearly unrecognizable covered in mud. She sighed in exasperation, turning back to her clothes.

Then she spotted it, lying open on the floor. The book of the Four Wolves… Well, I guess it'll be something to read on the ferry. She walked over and snatched it up, setting it with her clothes. Going back into the closet, she dug out a small gym bag and packed those spare clothes

She didn't pay any mind to the noise of the bathroom shower turning on.

Yang zipped up her bag, a spare outfit, clothes, book, and all, and tossed it on the floor. Then a glint of reflected sunlight caught her eye, drawing her to a picture frame. It was her team picture. She picked it up and stared at it, observing the details of her friends' faces. Even Ruby's childish enthusiasm showed.

Somehow, Yang was on the fence about bringing the picture. On one hand, it was a nice reminder of the good times they shared; on the other, however, it also reminded her of the trauma and catastrophe that split them apart. She sighed a heavy sigh, and then opened up the picture frame.


When Taiyang and Nick entered, the first comment out of Qrow's mouth was, "I see it went well." Just then, Ruby walked in. "Hi dad," she said as she walked to the fridge; they all looked on without a word as she dug out a container of red strawberries. She bit into one, then two, then she finally noticed Nick, standing there covered in mud. She chortled, "What happened to you?" he looked down at himself, then back to her, saying, "uh, I fell down." Qrow looked on, unimpressed. Ruby simply nodded, seemingly understanding. "Oh, okay. I guess it happens to the best of us sometimes, right?"

Nick shrugged.

"Oh, by the way Nick," Taiyang said, "you can use the upstairs shower to clean off." Qrow took note of that, taking an extra-large swig. Nick held up his hands in protest, "Now, I don't wanna take advantage–" "no, I insist!" Taiyang urged, "Go up there and clean yourself off!" Nick was about to further protest, but decided, ah, just drop it! He grabbed his pack and headed upstairs, unaware of who else was up there.

From the kitchen, Taiyang exclaimed, "QROW! What have I told you about drinking in the house?!"


With the Gym bag finally packed, Yang grabbed an outfit and opened the door. She walked back down the hall, but stopped when she noticed the bathroom door mostly closed, the sound of spraying water coming from within. She wondered who was in there for a moment; then something clicked in her mind. Nick came in muddy, she thought, of course he'd wash up after that!

Then and there, a devilish idea came to mind: I'll show him another kind of dirty , and have a little fun at it too. The plan took hold, and she gave a predatory grin. Opening the bathroom door as quietly as she could, Yang snuck into the bathroom. The first thing she noticed was the lack of steam, it won't stay that way for long; it'll get really steamy in here. She licked her lips in anticipation.

She stealthily stepped toward the closed curtain, the frosted plastic sheet revealing only a moving, flesh-toned form behind it. Glancing to the side at the pile of sopping wet clothes in the sink, Yang paused. Oh yeah, this'll be good. She licked her lips again and reached out for the curtain…

Fast as lightening, Nick's hand shot out, surprising Yang. Suddenly, a sharp point pricked the skin of her neck, and she froze at the sharp blade of Nick's ten-inch bowie knife at her throat. He peered around the curtain, and said, "Yang, you shouldn't have come in." she scoffed, smacking his blade away. The curtain slipped, revealing even more of his muscular body, and Yang purred at the sight.

Nick lowered his blade, but kept it at the ready as Yang said, "Oh c'mon, I was just playin'. Besides, I figured with the way you fight, you'd have really big –you know…" She stepped up to him and added, "And I wouldn't mind a feel." She started to reach out.

Nick's face hardened and he said, "I'm not here for your erotic entertainment." He slapped her groping hand with the flat of his knife. She jerked it back with a, "hey!" she stared at him, at first coyly, but the look on his face stopped her in her track; she'd seen the same look many times in the mirror: the fear and panic of a trauma episode.

Nick was visibly shaking, water dripping off his scarred form. I've gone too far, she thought, I thought he'd be embarrassed at most; something horrible must've happened to him before… she softened, reaching out to take his spot-marked hand. "Yang, don't–" he said, pulling away. "I'm sorry, I went too far," she said, gently holding his hand.

She let him go, turning around to leave. Nick wanted to say he was fine, but closed his eyes to calm himself, One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten. He opened them, his panic attack sated. She was gone.

Yang returned to her room, and sat on her bed; criticizing herself for being such an insensitive playgirl. She had the same felling as Nick before: the trauma from that night causing her to panic like he did. Her thoughts, still playing through her mind, portrayed her sympathy; I know what you're going through, I'm really sorry I caused it to happen.

She changed her clothes, opened her window, and tossed the bag out. She wrote a message to Ruby on a sticky note and placed it on her bedroom door. Then she grabbed her sunglasses and climbed out the window. Unfortunately she slipped and fell, landing in a heap in the snow. Yang sat up and grappled for her bag, and then she drifted to the garage, entering as stealthily as she was able. She looked upon the massive sheet in front of her.

A pair of mismatched eyes watched her slip in the door from the kitchen window, and the owner didn't make a move to stop her; but Nick knew he'd be following her. Half dressed; he finally made a choice that would change his world forever: I guess I'll be stickin' with her now. He put on his flannel shirt over his spare half-damp grey tee and blue jeans; finishing off with his gloves and boots. And he ran a shaky hand through his hair, half-regretting his decision. I better not get too attached to her…

The sound of a motorcycle starting bade him return to the window. Yang exited the garage riding Bumblebee, her yellow motorbike. Ruby rushed up to nick at the sound too. "Where's she going?!" she asked. Nick didn't answer her, but thought, not far, from what I gathered Yang's off to Beacon Academy.


Yang got off the ferry about an hour later. She did read more from the book, now about a third way through. She drove from the docks through the streets of Vale. Finally she saw it, through the haze and fog: Beacon, Ground Zero of the attack. It took a while, by sundown she finally reached the front lines.

She didn't realize it, but someone was already on her trail, closing fast.

It was disturbingly quiet on the west side of Beacon, only some distant fighting was heard. She shut off Bumblebee and parked it under a tree. Several pairs of evil eyes glared at her from the darkness as she set off into the school. The moon rose and night fell. She was reminded of the Wolves' pre-battle chant she had read about, "…Into the valley once more, now, we go; into the grave into the ground down below." She sort of sang it to herself, the words echoing into the distance; it comforted her, the feeling of fear being stemmed by those ancient words.

The sound of talons and claws approaching greeted her. I will tear through these monsters if they get in my way! she thought as she ran into the fray head on, anger rising inside her. Dodging the swipes and slashes of many Grimm, Yang ran on, varying kicks and punches into snarling faces.

She felt pulled toward the cafeteria, where she confronted Adam… and lost her arm. Finally, outrunning the hordes of Grimm, she reached the doors. Quickly entering, she closed them behind her, and turned around to what was left of the cafeteria.

Rubble and bits of charcoal littered the floor; the roof was missing, replaced by the skeletal, burned up rafters. The whole place looked like it could fall on top of her any second. Yang sank to her knees, overcome by a wave of emotion.

Breathing heavily, she got back up and started her search, looking through piles of rubble for anything that resembled even a part of her arm. Despair grew inside her as rubble and burnt wood were all she found. She was giving up hope, sinking to her knees, when she saw, beneath a bowl, a yellow-painted piece of metal.

She lunged for it, tenderly grabbing and holding it to her heart. Ember Celica, she thought, sobbing, the only piece left. For several minutes, she stayed there holding the plate-like piece close, weeping in the moonlight. Then something that was at the back of her mind sprung up, what happened to the Grimm?

Her answer came when a beowolf lunged through a broken window, stuck halfway through. She bolted up in surprise, then with a heavy emotional backing, fiercely charged it and tore it's jaw off, breaking its neck. As it vaporized, she leapt over its carcass and through the window, landing with a roll.

She took off in a sprint, Grimm giving chase, and she held onto the bit of metal like her life depended on it. several turns brought her to the courtyard, and she lost the Grimm. She stopped, looking around; no Grimm in sight. I don't have long, she thought, hands shaking, They'll find me eventually.

Heavy footsteps on pavement approached from behind. Yang whirled around, expecting to see a stranger… or even a White Fang soldier. The person who approached was one she'd rather not have seen, but was glad he was there all the same.

It was Nick.

His face was solemn, but his eyes held a knowing gaze; the look of, "I've been through this too, I know what you're going through." He never said a word, but simply walked up to her, knelt down at a patch of half-thawed dirt next to them, and drew his Knife; using it as a spade to dig a hole. As soon as she saw him do this, she knelt down too and dug with her hands. When the hole was about a foot or so deep, Nick stood up as Yang reverently placed the piece of scrap into its grave. Neither of them said a word; both shared the same feelings in that moment, the funeral of Yang's arm. Nick empathized with her, the pain of losing his limb seeping back from his memory. I was just about her age when I lost my leg…

They filled the shallow grave, clod of dirt by clod of dirt. Tears started to fall down Yang's Cheeks. She threw the last handful of dirt on the grave and shakily started to stand; trying desperately to control herself. Yang was holding back her emotions, thinking, I can't break in front of Nick; I have to show him that I'm strong and can handle myself.

She looked over to him, saw his gentle, rugged expression, and fell apart. Her knees gave out and she fell down; her face twisting in grief as it fell into her hands. She wept sorrowful tears, the penned up emotions spilling out, sweeping her away in their flood. Then, after a brief moment, she felt his strong, gentle hand on her shoulder, assuring her that he was there for her. She settled her weeping and looked back up at him, seeing a tear roll down his cheek; his eyes told her that she was okay.

He stepped back, giving her space. She felt her cheeks flush, and she looked away in embarrassment. Then, chiding herself for her perceived foolishness, she leapt to her feet and gave him a warm hug. "Thank you," she said, softly sobbing.

He put a hand on her back, underneath her hair, returning his gratitude.

Two tall, unseen strangers looked on, vigilant in their protective duty. Both knew that this could be the start to a beautiful thing.

A/N: My fellow readers!

...I have returned, on the eve of this fanfiction's first anniversary. sorry for the long wait, but I felt I needed to take a break before I hit creative and emotional overload. And again, I'm still not sure that my sick and twisted mind can be restrained in a T rating... what do you think? I'll be getting a poll up soon for that, maybe even today. and as always, I really love reading your reviews, you guys have been a great help for me.

speaking of which, and to wit...

THE REVIEWS:

KnightSpark: I could think of a few things... some of them a bit dark...

GamehunterMC: *chuckles* you and your gaming music... but It could work.

Anyway, Like it if you did, Follow if you're interested in seeing more content, and Review in the box below...
And I'll catch you on the flip side!