Chapter 23: That Which You Seek
Yang walked through the dark forest, mist swirling around her legs as she waded through. The only sound she could hear was her heart beating. She looked around, unsure and feeling like she was watched by hidden eyes. As she walked on, her skin began to crawl, and a chill ran up her spine.
A twig snapped behind her.
Yang whirled around, seeing someone she didn't expect. "Blake?" The figure stood before her, arms relaxed at her sides, face downcast. Her black hair flowed down her shoulders like satin. She looks quite serene, Yang thought, taking a step toward her. Blake raised her eyes to Yang, yellow meeting lavender. A soft smile curled on Blake's lips. Blake's bow moved, both sides curling downwards. Yang stood there a moment, and Blake timidly said, "Yang, I –I'm sorry." Yang rushed at her, and Blake moved her arms up to defend herself. Yang wrapped her arms around her, her head falling on her shoulder. Tears streamed as she sobbed. Blake slowly embraced Yang as she cried with her.
But as suddenly as she appeared, Blake vanished in Yang's arms. A sinister laugh echoed through the woods. Yang turned to the voice, and saw him. She clenched her fists, naked without Ember Celica. He stared at her through the eye holes in his mask, standing with a malevolent grin on his face. He opened his mouth as if to speak, and smoke poured out.
Yang suddenly found herself running through the forest, chest heaving for air. Her heart felt like it was wrapped in chains of complete terror. She looked behind her, and saw him chasing her, becoming dark, large, ominous. He was turning into a monster before her very eyes, his cloak unfurling into wings.
Her legs pumped against the ground, dodging the limbs and roots… except one. She tripped and fell hard, landing one her side. He was upon her in an instant, looming over her, savoring the kill. She looked up, into the Grimm mask, and in panic and terror, somebody help me, save me! Whether she said them out loud or not, Yang didn't know; but the monster above her reacted like she spat in its face. It smiled, revealing row upon row of triangular teeth. Yang scrambled away, backing up to a tree twenty feet away. The Grimm stayed there with an amused look in it's eyes, still grinning. Save me! She thought in a panic, Save me! Please!
Yang woke up with a gasp in a cold sweat, her heart thudding almost out of her chest, and she desperately looked around the room. Ruby was sleeping contentedly in her bunk, Weiss sawing logs in the bunk above her. But Yang desperately looked for someone else, and he wasn't there. Where the hell is Alice? She thought as she held her knees to her chin. She longed for him to be there with her, holding her tight in his arms. She started to calm down, and she resolved, If he won't come to me, I'll go to him!
She slipped out of the bunk, and put on some pants. Reaching out for them, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking from that nightmare. The image of Adam flashed through her mind, bringing her fear back up. She drew a ragged breath and tried to calm down. A noise sounded outside, and Yang jumped, heard pounding like an engine. "Alice," she whimpered, "where are you?"
It took a moment, but she mustered enough courage to open the door. She peeked out the doorway, down the hall, nothing. She crept along, terrified; but the farther she got, the less scared she became. She made a turn, sneaking down the darkened halls in a crouch. She breathed a sigh, trying to lose her fear.
She didn't know where Nick was sleeping, but she forged on. Almost instinctively, she turned corners and went through doors. What if I find him asleep? She thought, …I guess I'll crawl in with him if I do. After what seemed like hours, her eyes seemed to glide to a door and stay there. It was quiet, but as Yang approached, she could hear soft talking inside.
She opened the door and peeked inside. It was dark. She could hear a voice talking to someone. She quietly entered, unsure and uneasy. She crept along until the door closed behind her. She waited for her eyes to adjust, and then she saw him. Nick was on his knees, shirtless, fists clenched; his back was turned to her. "My God," he was saying, "protect them; hide them in the hollow of your hand. Don't let the forces of wickedness destroy them, for the wicked spit in your face."
She reached out and touched him, and he stiffened. "Nick," she said, trying but failing to keep her voice from quivering. He turned to look at her, catching the tremble in her touch and voice. "Whadaya doing' up at this hour?" he kindly, caringly asked, "You ok?" she withdrew her hand, "I–" she stopped herself, a part of her not wanting to show her weakness. "I wanted to see you." He held out an arm, and softly but strongly said, "Yang." She turned and saw his open, welcoming arms, and she broke.
Yang leapt into his arms, trembling, and wrapping her arms tightly around him. He closed his arms around her, as she said, "hold me Nick. Please hold me and don't let go." She buried her face into his neck. Nick felt tears on his shoulder blade, and tightened his hold as she started to sob. "Hey, it's ok. It's ok. Let it out. I'm here." He said. She spoke through her sobbing, breath escaping in hitches, "I-I'm not crying!" "I know," he replied, rubbing her back with his right hand. She responded by holding him, squeezing him even tighter, her breath hitching as she cried.
Time slipped by the two of them; both sitting on the floor of the quiet room, one comforting the other. Nick held her close, Yang breathing peacefully in bliss. She wasn't asleep, she couldn't after that nightmare, but she closed her eyes and settled in the comfort of nick's embrace. His heart thrummed beneath her head, steadily beating its rhythm. Breathing in time with his pulse, she caught the smell of his skin with every inhale, and breathed out all her fear with every exhale. Her arms had relaxed, but still held him close. One was getting tired, and when she moved it, she came to realize something.
He's not wearing a shirt!
Her eyes slowly opened, the pre-dawn light soft on them. She leaned away to get a good look at him, Nick watching her with curious eyes. Her eyes widened as she saw many discolored patches and stripes on his chest, arms and torso. She traced several straight but jagged scars on his chest, softly saying in soft wonder, "Oh Alice, your scars…" her eyes wandered over his muscular chest, stopping on a patch-like scar in the left corner of his chest. A bullet wound? He took his own hand out from behind her and held her caressing hand to his chest. She could feel his heart racing beneath her fingers; and he caressed her hand, her arm, and, finally, it's ring-like scar.
His touch sent shivers up her spine, and she caught her breath, letting it out in a soft moan. Yang felt, deep inside in her very soul, a fire ignite. She reached out with both hands and held his head, pulling him into a kiss.
Weiss, Jaune, and Ruby walked along on their way to the ship, meandering together to stall for time. "It's a beautiful morning," Ruby said, trying not to fidget. Jaune agreed, toting his backpack on his shoulders. Weiss stayed silent, a coat draped over her shoulders, her head on a swivel.
"Uh, Weiss, are you okay?" Ruby asked, "You don't have to worry, no one's around." "I," Weiss began, then sighed, "thing's don't… I don't know… quite feel… right." A man turned out from a corner and stopped in front of a store, unlocking its security bars and entering his business. As they passed, the lights turned on inside, and through the window, something caught Jaune's eye.
He stopped, the two girls pausing a step or two ahead. "I'll be right back," he said as he headed for the door. Ruby and Weiss looked at each other, then at the establishment. "Big Ben's pawn and trade?" Ruby said aloud. Weiss shook her head in bewilderment as they huddled near the door, "what could that klutz possibly want in there?"
Ruby caught a quick motion down the street out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look, but she couldn't see anything out of place. Weiss caught her motion and looked as well, "What is it, dunce?" "Mm," she replied, "I thought I saw something." That unnerved Weiss, and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "I feel like we're being watched," Weiss said in a low voice, and tightened her grip on Myrtenaster.
Suddenly, the door of the pawn shop opened with a clang, and made the girls jump. They drew a sigh of relief as they saw Jaune step out. Weiss was elated, relaxing her grip on her half-drawn sword. "Oh thank goodness," she said, "what on Remnant were you do–" She stopped when she saw his acquisition in hand.
"I don't believe it," she said, starting to turn a shade of pink, "you can't be serious." Ruby snorted, trying to hold back her giggling at the sight. They were remembering that night, not so long ago, when Jaune asked Weiss to the dance.
Their ship wasn't what they expected. It wasn't a bullhead, or a cargo ship, it was a mini warship. The group met at its boarding ramp. Jaune, after giving hugs to his friends, headed up the boarding ramp; as Ruby and Weiss hugged Yang, tears starting to fall. Then Ruby let go of her sister and turned to Nick, giving him a tight hug, saying, "Take care of my sister for me." Those words touched Yang, and she wrapped an arm around him. They touched her very soul, and she thought, why would Rubes say that? Nick was thinking likewise; he put his hands on Ruby's shoulders and said with a smile, "Here's looking at you, Potshot."
Then he did something none of them expected: he bowed his head, pressing his forehead with Ruby's, and whispered something. Whatever it was, it stunned Ruby into silence as he pulled away. "Excuse me," Weiss interjected, "What are you doing?" Nick was about to answer, but Yang returned, "I think he's praying for Rubes. Right?" Reaching out and touching his shoulder, she smiled and said, "c'mon, we're gonna miss the ship." Weiss looked on, shaking her head in exasperation, as Yang shouldered her duffel.
Nick and Yang headed up the boarding ramp. But, before they boarded, Nick turned around and called, "Godspeed on your journey, Ruby, behave yourselves, stay out of trouble till we return." And he waved goodbye before turning around and boarding the Atlasian airship. Jaune met them right inside the hatch.
Winter was inside, ready to chauffer them. Yang looked around; the corridor they were in was empty. "Uh, where's the crew?" she asked. "This airship has been equipped with an autonomous skeleton crew," Winter replied, "consisting of ten unregistered Atlasian knights. Their memories will be wiped after this mission, so will the onboard computers," she glared at them, her tone darkening, "and for the purpose of security, you will keep this to yourselves. We know where you, your friends, and your relatives live."
Nick rolled his eyes at the thinly veiled threat. Winter curtly turned around, "come, I will show you to your cabins." They followed. On the way, Jaune marveled at the ship. "What kind of ship is this?" he asked. "This is the new corvette-class warship, Mr. Arc," Winter explained, "Designed and manufactured by Dakkar industries. It will be made public next month."
She turned a corner and pointed to four doors down a short hall, two on each side. "Your cabins are on the left. Unfortunately, two people will have to share–" Almost instantly, Yang spoke up, "I'll share with Nick." Winter narrowed her eyes at Yang, but Nick gave Yang probably the harder blow: slowly turning to her, he gave her a "what are you talking about?" look of questioning surprise. Jaune didn't think anything of Yang's quick remark, saying, "Ok, I'll take the far one."
Winter rushed past them, "I will leave you to get your bags stowed; get ready for departure." She paused, "be on the bridge in ten minutes."
As Winter left, Nick and Yang headed into their cabin. It wasn't large, but it did have a bunk bed. Yang threw her duffel on the top bunk as Nick watched her with a curious aire. "Is there a reason," he quietly said, "that you volunteered to share this room with me?" she turned to him, "whadaya mean?" he sighed, "it seems a bit out of character for you: taking every chance to be near me, and snatching every opportunity to get me alone. When I first met you, you seemed a strong independent girl."
Yang inwardly winced, starting to get defensive. But what Nick said next shattered her defenses: "for some reason, you feel secure, even safe with me; I could feel your fear last night, and you wanted me for comfort." Nick looked into her eyes. Yang looked down, tears starting to well. She wanted him to say more, but he stayed silent. She slowly looked back to him. "I," she started, stepping toward him, he backed up, and she stopped. She took a breath and said, "All you said is true; I don't know why, but I do feel like that when we're together."
The ship suddenly lurched beneath them, and while Nick was caught off guard Yang closed the space between them, pressing him into the bulkhead.
She reached out and ran her fingers down the scar on his face. He reached up and held her hand. "Yang," he said, lips starting to tremble, "Don't start something we won't be able to end." She got up close, their faces nearly touching as she looked up into his heterochromic eyes. "What makes you think I'd want it to end?"
They stepped onto the bridge, Jaune, Nick, and Yang escorted by two Atlasian Knights. "Mr. Gadsten," Winter, in the captain's chair, pronounced, "Could you provide the coordinates for our destination." As always, it wasn't a question. "Even better," Nick said, "I'll tell you where we're going."
"Um," Yang started, "could anyone at least fill me in on what we're doing?" Winter spoke strictly, "We are on a 'search-and-retrieve' mission. There is someone of… high importance to Atlas and–" Yang burst out in anger, "who the hell are we going for?! What's her name?!" Yang looked between Winter and Nick. But, to her surprise, Jaune cleared his throat, "Uh, Yang, We're going to go get Pyrrha back."
Yang stared at him. "Jaune," she reasoned, "Pyrrha's dead. She's not coming back." "But what if she's not?" Jaune replied. "People," Yang, hair sizzling, said, "Don't just come back from the dead." Jaune looked at Yang in anger. "Why not?" Nick said behind her, surprising both of them, "It's happened before."
"Mr. Gadsten," Winter intoned," where are we going?"
Nick turned from the two blonds, and stared at winter. She sat straighter in her chair when she heard the name, her eyes widening to the point of bulging out of her head.
"The Island of Fire."
A/N: well, a few days after the two year mark of this story, and only twenty-three chaps! don't worry, I know these have taken a long time, but the next chapter's in the works! the thing is, I've been having thoughts of scrapping this story, and maybe replacing it with a more cannon-suitable one (p.m. me about the completely different cannon adaptation idea I've had for about a year now) but this one I'll do some things you might not like. things will happen, characters will be revealed, and not all in this "volume" or story.
in other news, things in my life may deem it necessary to postpone chapter updates.
AND NOW, THE REVIEWS:
KnightSpark: What do you mean, "Blake's status?" I know I've kinda written her out of the story. maybe she'll appear in the sequel.
LunaTheBlackWolf: I'm glad you got the connection, without losing your head i hope.
so, yes guys, until next time...
