Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions
Edited by ToxicExotic
Trigger warning: This story revolves heavily around abuse. If you aren't up for that, please feel free to skip :)
Abuse
Of all the little pleasures Blake missed since arriving in Atlas, nothing had filled her with sadness more than the absence of stars. Growing up in the wilds of Anima, she had become used to leaving behind many of the things she loved, but no matter where she went, the gentle twinkling of the stars above had always remained, providing her with some comfort as the days turned to night. During her time in the White Fang, she hadn't quite understood why she had felt such a kinship with them, but in the years since, it felt obvious.
As with nights to day, her time in the White Fang had been the darkest part of her life, and there was barely a moment of that period that she could look back on with pride. But even in those dark years, she still doubted her actions; and like the tiny lights fighting to be seen in the night sky, those doubts regularly shone through, exposing the holes in the lies fed to her. Lies she had chosen to believe.
Unfortunately, that comfort had not been present for almost two months. Even on her arrival, the sky had been wiped clear of any stars, the smoke from Mantle and the light pollution of Atlas turning the once beautiful vista into an endless void of navy blue; but even that had changed once Salem had arrived. Swirling black clouds crackling with red lightning filled the sky in the wake of her giant whale Grimm, and with each passing day the sinister clouds slowly moved to envelope more and more of the floating city of Atlas.
"Blake?"
Letting out a soft groan at the friendly voice in her ear, she tore her eyes away from the sky and raised a hand to her ear.
"What's up, Fiona?"
"I received word of a disturbance at Barley's Bar. Are you able to check it out?"
"You sure I'll be allowed in?" Hearing a tired sigh at her sarcastic reply, Blake stood up from her position on the roof and adjusted her weapon. "I'll head over now."
"Thank you," the woman paused. "And don't let Barley give you any trouble."
Understanding the woman's meaning, Blake stretched her arms above her head before taking off towards the bar.
It had been a stressful three days, to say the least. With almost every minute having been spent either evacuating the citizens of Mantle to the safety of the mines or fighting Grimm, there had been no opportunity to rest. As such, even though her aura dulled some of the pain, she could still feel her legs screaming at her to stop as she silently ran across the rooftops.
Within minutes however, the bright neon sign of Barley's Bar came into sight, partially obscured by a thick plume of smoke rising from the building. The black smog blanketed the area, filling her nose with the familiar smell of burning wood and causing the back of her throat to sting. The building itself was a wreck. Almost every window was shattered, brick and mortar filled the alleyway beside it from large blown out sections of the wall, and through the gaps she could see the wooden stairs and tables within were blasted to splitters. However, as the smoke cleared for a moment, she saw something else. Trapped under a large overturned pool table was a man, his pale gold hair matted with soot and blood as he tried in vain to pull himself free.
Springing into action, she activated her aura to help with the heat and smoke and leapt through one of the busted windows, landing delicately on the creaking floor and gently making her way over to the trapped man. As she drew near, she tapped him lightly on the shoulder to get his attention.
Upon seeing her, the man's eyes widened with terror and he began to struggle even harder to get free. From the way his protective aura shimmered, she knew it wouldn't be long before it faded and his flesh would be exposed to the searing hot wood beneath him.
"No." The man cried quietly, twisting his body at awkward angles. "I know nothing. I swear it."
His words confused her.
"Easy," She raised her hands in an attempt to calm him, "I'm here to hel-"
"Last chance, old man," Blake felt a chill run down her back as she heard the familiar voice "Tell me where they are."
She knew that voice. It was one of the many that haunted her nightmares, forever reminding her of one of the worst days of her life. Rushing to the edge of the platform, she peeked over the edge and immediately had her suspicions confirmed. Stood in the center of the room obscured by the black smoke was Cinder Fall, the person who had destroyed her home and murdered her friend. Her malformed Grimm hand was wrapped around the throat of an elderly man, and a wicked smile was on her face as she leered at him expectantly.
A green-haired girl Blake knew as Emerald took a step forward away from the front door where stood awkwardly with her arms crossed. "I don't think he knows, Cin-"
"I wasn't asking you, Emerald," the woman crooned. "But I suppose you're right."
Blake had to stifle a gasp as Cinder's hand burst into flames. The loud, agonizing scream of the man died out long before the smell reached Blake's nose, and he was tossed aside carelessly and a quiet gargling filled her ears.
"Bring me the woman from the back."
"But…"
"Now!" Small flames burst out of the raven-haired woman's mouth.
Having seen enough, Blake backed away from the balcony and returned to the trapped man's side. As much as she wished she could stop Cinder, to save the people downstairs and get revenge for Pyrrha; along with everyone she'd hurt, she knew she was no match. Nothing good would come from throwing herself at a pointless fight. Instead, she busied herself with saving the one person she could.
"I'm gonna get you out, okay?" She said in a hushed tone. "But you need to stay quiet."
The man looked her in the eye, and Blake saw a little bit of his fear fade away. Receiving a nod in return, she dug her hands underneath the table as he covered his mouth. Wishing Yang was with her to help, she slowly pushed the table up until it was resting on her shoulder and there was enough room for the man to wriggle free.
"Alright," she grunted. "Out the window. Go."
Stopping only to give her a quick thank you, the man pulled himself free and bolted towards the window, immediately jumping to the next rooftop before collapsing in exhaustion. However, just as Blake was about to follow him, she was struck by a sudden idea. Gathering as much strength in her legs as she could, she pushed off against the ground, flipping the entire table toward the balcony. The moment the table left her shoulder, she dashed toward the window and jumped just as a colossal bang filled her ears as the table slammed into the floor, causing the unstable wood beneath it to crumble.
With any luck, it would fall on Cinder's head, or at the very least it would block off their escape. Unfortunately, as she landed on the roof beside the man, the sound of an explosion filled her ears, and she looked over the edge of the building to see both of the women exiting from a new hole in the wall.
Crouching low to not be seen, she watched as they both brushed soot and ash from their clothes. Focusing her hearing, she listened as they cleared their lungs.
"That was close," Emerald coughed. "A few inches to the left and that table-"
"Would have been blasted to splinters," there was an unimpressed tone to the maiden's voice. "I'm more concerned about what happened with you back there."
"Me?"
Emerald sounded confused as Cinder took a step forward.
"You interfered," the woman scolded her. "Should I be worried about your dedication to what we want?"
A shiver ran down Blake's back. She knew those words. Knew the tone in which they were spoken.
"N-No," Emerald stuttered. "I just… They didn't know anything."
Cinder hummed thoughtfully, approaching close as Emerald shrank back towards the wall. "Maybe; but maybe not."
A wave of sickening familiarity washed over Blake as Cinder reached out and gently touched Emerald's cheek with her clawed hand. For a moment, she felt as if she was watching a years old memory from the eyes of a stranger.
"But why do you care about them?" Cinder crooned. "Have you forgotten where I found you?" Emerald looked down. "People like this never showed you any kindness. You were nothing to them. They tossed you aside; made you steal and beg for scraps. They don't deserve your mercy."
Emerald knew Cinder was right. Growing up on the streets of Argus, she had learned very quickly that she was worth less than the rats that scurried through the alleyways she slept in. People at least sneered at the rats, or treated them with disgust. For her though, there was none of that. Just ignorance to her very existence, ignorance that had felt more real than feigned on the coldest nights.
But Cinder wasn't like those people. Cinder cared. Where everyone else had ignored her, Cinder had reached out. Given her a home, a place where she belonged, and a purpose to her life. She didn't need to merely survive anymore, Cinder had given her the power to fight back. To be someone that people acknowledged.
"I'm sorry," she breathed after a second, not wanting to throw everything Cinder had given her back in the woman's face. "I don't know why I did that."
Cinder remained quiet, and Emerald looked up to meet her eyes. For a split second, she feared she would see disappointment in them. She'd seen it before, and every time it cut at her heart like a knife. But thankfully, a small hint of relief bloomed in her chest when she saw that the gold eyes had returned to their usual considerate gaze. The same gaze the woman had been wearing the day they'd met.
"Make sure it doesn't happen again," the woman smiled in her usual smirky way. "We can't afford any more mistakes."
Emerald gave the woman a confident nod. "I will."
"Good," the hand left her cheek and Cinder stepped away. "Now, go and meet Neo at the ship. I will meet you back on the whale."
Fighting back the urge to roll her eyes at Neo's name, Emerald gave her friend a nod and watched as the woman propelled herself into the air with her magic. Strangely enough though, as Cinder faded from sight, she felt herself let out a small breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Looking down at her feet, she saw her hands shaking slightly. Before she could question why her body was reacting in such a way though, she heard a soft thud further down the alleyway and spun to look at it. Drawing her guns, she pointed them towards the noise.
A pair of eyes shone through the darkness just beyond the flickering light, their yellow so close to Cinder's gold that Emerald almost did a double take.
"I'm not here to fight."
The soft, female voice was familiar.
"Well I might be," Emerald replied. "Who are y-"
"Has she always treated you like that?" The voice asked.
The question stunned Emerald into silence for a moment. "Like what?"
"You don't see it, do you? That's okay. I didn't for the longest time."
Her confusion only growing, Emerald repositioned her sights to between the girl's eyes. "Who are you?"
Not expecting an answer to her question, she was surprised when Blake Belladonna emerged from the darkness. Almost immediately her muscles tensed and she used her aura to feel the area around her. Blake and her group had been a constant thorn in their side, and rare was it that one strayed far from the other three.
"You!"
"Luckily for you, yes." The girl replied coolly. "If I was any of the others, you'd already be in cuffs."
"They'd try," Emerald retorted, using her semblance to show the girl three versions of herself walking away from her position. "But why wouldn't you?"
The girl didn't answer right away, but when she did, her amber eyes ignored the clones and locked effortlessly onto hers.
"Because I see you."
A shiver ran down Emerald's back as she stared into the girl's eyes. Flickering in the firelight, they look eerily similar to Cinder's, but there was something different about them. Something about the way they looked at her that she couldn't quite place.
"I've been you."
Emerald scoffed. Though she didn't know much about Blake, she did know that the girl was the daughter of the chieftain of Menagerie, and had spent her childhood raised as a princess on the Faunus island.
She scowled. "I doubt that."
"I have," the faunus hummed. "I grew up believing that the world didn't care about who I was. And like you, I met someone who tried to use that against me. Tried to warp how I think into something ugly, all so that he could get what he wanted. But he never cared about me, just like Cinder doesn't care about you."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Emerald spat. She was tired enough of hearing that from Mercury, let alone from someone who knew nothing about her.
"I know that someone who cares about you wouldn't make you do things you don't want to. You didn't want to hurt those people, Emerald."
"I don't care about stuck up Atlesians," she retorted adamantly, pulling back the hammers of her revolvers. "Just like I don't care about what you have to say."
"Then I'll leave," Blake nodded, though the girl seemed far from disappointed. "But just ask yourself this. Since she recruited you, what else has she actually done to help you without helping herself?"
With that final question, the girl disappeared back into the darkness. Scowling at the spot she'd been, Emerald lowered her guns and let out a sigh. She didn't understand why everyone had taken to commenting on her relationship with Cinder, especially when it was none of their business. She wished they would all just stay out of it and leave them alone… but she knew they wouldn't. Mercury of all people had become especially annoying with that intrusion, and she would no doubt hear about it again when she got back to the whale.
So, letting out another, more annoyed, sigh, she holstered her guns and took off towards the place they had left Neo with the ship. As much as she hated the small girl, Neo at least would stay quiet and out of her business.
Dropping onto a small patio chair on top of an abandoned building, Blake let out a small groan and rubbed her hands over her face. "What did you just do?" She thought to herself.
She'd had Emerald all alone. One of the main culprits responsible for the fall of Beacon Academy and the death of her friends. She could have easily taken her out before she even knew she was there. But she hadn't. Standing there on the roof ready to pounce, she had been unable to get the conversation she'd overheard out of her head. Everything about it was far too familiar to her, and as she had prepared to launch herself at the girl, she had seen it. The girl's hands were shaking.
Blake knew that feeling well. She'd lost count of how many times that Adam had left her shaking after a confrontation. Lost count of how many times she had rationalized it away. And when she had finally come to her senses and left him, she couldn't count how many times she wished someone had warned her sooner. Maybe she could have left earlier, maybe she could have hurt less people.
But there had been nobody but Adam, and it appeared that the same was true for Emerald. It was that thought that had changed her mind, convincing her to reach out instead. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. After all Emerald had done, she doubted many would side with her decision, but she was glad she had done it. No matter what she had done, there still seemed to be a good side to the girl, one that Cinder was trying to squash, and just maybe she could convince her to listen to that side instead.
So, despite the girl's rejection of her help, something Blake had expected, Blake felt a little relief. As nightmarish as her past had been, it could at least help her now. Help her to save another person from a situation that nobody should find themselves in.
A/N
Hello there Ladies, Gents, and Enbys.
It's certainly been a while, huh? Sorry for that. I took a bunch of time off to play some games, and during that time I realised just how much I had burnt myself out with Warmth and HIF, so took some extra time to myself. The downside to that was that I became a little rusty and it was tough to get back into it, but the upside was that it did wonders for my mental health... As did the therapy xD
Anyways. Yes, I am back, and with a story that I have been talking to toxic about for years. One of my biggest gripes with Volume 8 was how Emerald's redemption was handled, as it's something I was always looking forward to coming into play. So I have written how I would have liked to have seen it play out.
I can also say that this story is already finished, and while I would love to give you all of it now, I do need to buy myself some time to prep the next story. As such, this story will be updated every Monday at 8pm BST.
And as always, a huge thanks to ToxicExotic. He has been waiting patiently for me to start up again, and had been kind enough to continue editing for me.
Anyways, that's all from me. I hope you liked the chapter and are looking forward to the rest :)
