And here's the finale. I'm really looking forward to working on Vol3, it's (atm) my favorite volume. Hope you enjoy!
He snorted as he was shaken awake. Pyrrha's worried face filled his vision when he opened his eyes. He groaned, covering his ears, as an ear splitting alarm hit him a moment later.
"Jaune, get dressed, it's the Grimm." She said, her voice steady. His eyes widened, and he all but leapt out of bed, dashing over to the closet. He stepped out a moment later, straightening his hoodie. Ren and Nora stood in the middle of the room, their faces solemn. He nodded at them and at Pyrrha before heading to the door.
Students hurried past him, shoving each other out of the way, talking on scrolls, barking out orders, as he led his team out of the dorm. The sun was rising, the world a pale orange. There was static, interrupting the alarm, and Ozpin's voice spoke over the school's intercom. Jaune came to a stop, the students around him stopping as well.
"Students, disregard the Grimm alarm. The city of Vale has enough local Hunters to defend itself." Jaune looked up at the tower where Ozpin's office resided, staring in disbelief. He turned to his team, a look of horror on Pyrrha's face, Ren's face blank but disgust in his eyes, and Nora angrily stared up at the tower.
"Guys," he said. They looked at him. "We're going into the city."
She threw open the doors of his office, storming into his office, slamming her hands down on his desk, glaring at him. He glared back at her.
"What do you think you are doing, Ozpin?" she demanded. His voice was even when he spoke.
"My job, Glynda."
"Our job is to protect the people! We're Hunter's, we need to-"
"Keep Amber and the Relic out of Salem's hands." She stared at him in disbelief.
"You're worried about those at a time like this?" He nodded.
"Salem's forces have attacked Beacon before, this is just a diversion to empty Beacon of its fighters so she can steal the Relic and remainder of Amber's power." Glynda shook her head in disbelief.
"People are dying, Ozpin!" He sighed, spinning his chair to face his window.
"I know, Glynda. But even more people will die if we allow them to fall into her hands." She stepped back from the desk, shaking her head. She turned on her heels and stormed off, slamming the doors shut behind her.
A cigarette dangled from her lips as she loaded her bandolier, the alarm blaringly loud in the small room. Ash fell from the cigarette as she took a drag from it, setting the bandolier aside and starting to fill her second belt.
"Have your shit ready, we leave in two." Coco ordered, flicking the cigarette butt away. She looked up from the bandoliers to see Yatsuhashi and Fox nod at her, Velvet looked at her, her ears drooping.
"Are you sure you're ready to go back out there?" Velvet asked. Coco stretched her leg, forcing a smile and glad her glasses hid her eyes as she teared up.
"Never better." Velvet shook her head.
"Not just your leg, Coco." Velvet looked down at the floor, as Yatsuhashi looked from Velvet to her. "Your drinking's been getting worse," she said. Coco frowned.
The Grimm as it butchered that poor boy in the forest during the Test.
Her leg as it was ripped open, those teeth burying themselves in her calf.
The burn of the whiskey as she chugged it from the bottle.
She shook her head, looking from Velvet to Yatsuhashi to Fox. She continued to frown.
"Just get ready, I know my limits." She said. Velvet's ears drooped, and she sighed, before giving a nod.
"Yes, ma'am," she said.
The door to the armory was thrown open and team JNPR burst in, freezing, their eyes going wide at seeing them. Coco turned to them, giving them a cocky grin.
"Didn't ya hear, Ozpin? We're supposed to stay here, and let the city fend for itself." Jaune scowled and shook his head.
"We're not letting that happen. We don't care if we get in trouble, we're not gonna sit by and let all those innocent people get hurt."
"Yeah!" Nora shouted, throwing a fist into the air. Ren nodded solemnly.
"It's our job to protect the innocent from Grimm, what kind of Hunters would we be if we didn't do something," Pyrrha said. Coco stood up, draping one of her bandoliers around her torso, wrapping the other around her hip.
"You guys fight any Grimm since initiation?" They shook their heads. "They're just as bad as you remember." She motioned with her head to the lockers. "Ya got two minutes. Be ready."
They were ready in one. They left the armory together, Coco grimacing as she kept pace with the others, trying not to limp.
"When we're out there, you four will listen to us, no ifs ands or buts about it, clear?"
"Crystal," Jaune said.
"Don't hesitate when fighting the Grimm, don't get sentimental to any civies nearby, just focusing on stopping the Grimm. Got it?" They glanced at one another before Pyrrha gave her a tentative nod. "Good."
They reached the air docks, a bullhead sitting unattended.
"You eight do know the penalty for stealing Beacon equipment, don't you?" A voice behind them asked. Coco froze, her eyes widening. Oh fuck, not her. She slowly turned around to see Glynda standing behind them, her arms crossed, an eyebrow raised. She gave her a sheepish grin.
"We weren't gonna steal it, Glynda, just borrow it." Glynda smiled, and walked past them, towards the bullhead.
"Either way, you all would be taking Beacon equipment without proper permission." She turned back towards them, smirking. "So let's make this an extra credit assignment for my class." She grabbed her riding crop, and flicked her wrist, a purple light enveloping the pod bay doors, opening them.
Coco grinned, and motioned for the others to get in. They loaded into the ship, and Coco gave Glynda a nod before boarding the airship, Glynda coming in after her and closing the latch.
She watched a bullhead fly off towards the city, and frowned, the Grimm attack alarm blaring in her ears. She turned to Mercury and Cinder.
"You don't think…?" Mercury nodded his head, not looking away from the city.
"Looks like it."
"The attack wasn't supposed to happen until the Vytal Festival, why is it happening now?" she asked. Cinder narrowed her eyes, annoyance flashing in them.
"So, what's the plan, Cinder?" Mercury asked.
"Let the Grimm have their fun, we can't blow our cover." She said. Mercury looked disappointed, a pout on his lips, and Emerald sighed. At least she wouldn't have to see any of that carnage up close.
Her hands were shaking as her scythe popped into place, her breathing unsteady. She swallowed; a Taijitu hissed as it lunged into a bakery, crashing through the window, screams and cries of pain coming from the building as the snake reared its head back, dragging a man out of the window, its fangs embedded in his legs. He screamed, clawing at the ground as he was raised in the air and the snake' second head bit onto his torso, jerking back, ripping him into two.
She swallowed the bile in her mouth, gripping her scythe tighter. She tried to keep her voice steady.
"Weiss," she said. Weiss glanced at her, her sword drawn. "Stay close to me, your aura's still really weak." Weiss opened her mouth to protest, but closed it and nodded. She looked over at Blake, who had her sword and sheath drawn, watching in horror as a Beowolf ripped a small girl's head off. "Blake," Blake glanced at her, her eyes darting at the various Grimm surrounding them. "Take care of Yang." Blake nodded. "Doctor Oobleck," He adjusted his glasses when he looked over at her, a white flame sputtering from his weapon. "You do you." He flashed a smile.
With her legs feeling like gelatin, she charged towards the closest group of Beowolves, yelling. They turned towards her and Weiss, ignoring the people fleeing from them. Ruby swung her scythe, slicing off the head of the closest wolf. Weiss lunged forward, stabbing a wolf through its mouth, and yanked her sword back, blood coating the blade.
"White Rose!" Ruby commanded. Weiss looked back at her and nodded, flicking her sword at Ruby, summoning a speed glyph. Energy coursed through her, and using her semblance to speed herself up even more, she launched herself at the wolves, slicing them apart; heads, arms, legs, blood, and entrails spurting into the air as she hacked through the crowd. She felt a chill, and saw a wall of spiked icicles shoot past her, impaling a multitude of wolves, their bodies squirming on the ice. She turned back and saw a wolf lunge at Weiss, its jaws' wide open, and its claws thrown forward. Weiss caught her eye, her own eyes widening, and she spun around, stabbing forward with a yell. The wolf let out a gurgled cry as Weiss's blade went through its throat.
"Fuck!" Yang screamed. Ruby and Weiss spun towards her voice, and Ruby's hands began to shake; Yang was standing in the beak of a Nevermore, well above them in the air, her arm's straining as she kept the beak open. Blake looked up from the wolf she had stabbed and looked back at them, panic in her amber eyes.
"Checkmate!" Ruby ordered. Blake nodded, and a glyph appeared in the air above Blake. She leapt onto it, and was launched into the air a second later, yelling, and her swords drawn. The Nevermore's body went rigid, smoke billowing from it, as Blake swung her swords as she shot by it, slicing its head off, its blood painting her black.
Yang tumbled from its mouth with a yell, flailing as she fell through the air. She grunted as she landed on a glyph, groaning in pain. Blake began to fall, silent in her descent, and landed without a word on the glyph Weiss placed in her path.
A thunderous hiss filled the air and Ruby spun around, her eyes widening, her scythe unsteady in her grip; the Taijitu stared at her and Weiss, it's dual heads caked in gore. The white one opened its mouth, blood and saliva drooling out, and began to gag a second later as a pink object shot down its throat. Ruby cocked her head to the side in confusion for a second before there was a boom, the snake's head exploding, blood shooting out, its body convulsing in pain, the black head screaming. She looked into the air to see a bullhead soaring above them, the side of the ship open, and Nora grinning as she took aim at the snake with her grenade launcher. She fired with a laugh, the pink grenade shooting down its throat.
Its head exploded, blood raining down as its body thrashed about, crushing the bakery, rubble, dust, and glass flying everywhere. Ruby smiled for a moment before her face drained of color, her blood going cold as a Nevermore attacked the ship.
She was thrown against Jaune as the ship rocked, the Nevermore's screech deafening.
"Jump!" Coco shouted, bracing herself against the side of the ship.
"But-!"
"Fucking do as I say!" Coco yelled. Pyrrha grit her teeth as the Nevermore's talons sunk into the roof. Nora leapt out of the side of the ship, Ren following after her a second later. Jaune glanced at her, terror in his eyes. She rested her hand on his shoulders, and gave him a reassuring smile. The ship lurched again, and he leapt out. Pyrrha took a breath a leapt down after him, drawing her spear and shield as she fell.
She landed on a Creep, stabbing into its head with her spear. She yanked her spear out and looked up to see Nora crushing wolves skulls wither her hammer, and Ren slashing into Creeps with the blades on his submachine guns. She gasped, and began to run; and Ursa stood before Jaune, its body covered in thick bone armor.
He took a step back, raising his shield up in front of him. The Ursa roared at him and stood up on its hind legs. Pyrrha switched her spear to its rifle form, and began to fire at the Ursa, her bullets indenting on the armor surrounding its face. It fell back onto all four, looking over at her and growling.
Jaune charged forward with a yell, jabbing his blade into the part of its neck that was exposed. His blade barely went into its neck before the Ursa roared in pain, jerking back, and yanking the sword from his grasp. Jaune fell, scrambling backwards as the Ursa turned to him.
Pyrrha sprinted faster, switching back to her spear, and lunged at the Ursa's neck when it stood up again. Blood dripped down her spear, and a gurgled growl escaped its lips, blood and drool running down its chin and into its fur. It turned towards her, its claws massive.
"Jaune!" she shouted. He looked at her, terrified, and she motioned with her head towards his sword. He nodded, the terror still in his eyes, and he jumped towards his sword, grabbing it and pulling it down. The blade cut through the Ursa's neck, slicing its neck open, blood gushing out. The Ursa slumped over, limp and smoking, and Pyrrha jerked her spear out. He was shaking and breathing hard as he pulled out his sword, the blade stained black. She clapped him on the shoulder, eliciting a startled yelp. "Just stick close to me," she said. He nodded vigorously, his eyes growing wide as he looked past her shoulder. She stabbed back, feeling her blade lodge itself into something, and heard the weak groan of a dying Boarbatusk. She yanked her spear out, and smiled at him reassuringly. "I'll protect you."
An alarm beeped in the ship as the Nevermore's beak broke through the roof, its screeches ringing in her ears. The ship shook, and she was thrown against the side of the ship, she could smell smoke. She frowned, smoke starting to fill the ship.
"Go, go, go!" She ordered, pointing at the open door. Yatsuhashi, and Fox leapt out without hesitation, Velvet gave a concerned look before leaping out. She stumbled to the cockpit; Glynda was fighting the controls, scowling. "Glynda, we gotta go!"
Glynda ignored her, grunting as the ship lurched again. Coco frowned, and left the cockpit, and leapt from the ship.
Crippling pain shot through her as she landed, and she collapsed, grabbing her leg, screaming in agony. The ground shook, and she strained her head to look back, panting, to see the bullhead crash into a building, fire consuming the building and ship, smoke billowing from it.
"Fuck," she whimpered. She glanced around her, trying to keep her panic at bay; Ruby was defending a kid under a car from a beo, Oobleck was burning a crowd of Boarbatusk's, Nora smashing the brains in of a Deathstalker. She could see Yatsuhashi struggling to keep an Ursa at bay with his claymore, Fox facing a pack of beowolves and slashing them to ribbons with his blades, dodging and deflecting their lunges. Velvet stood between an Alpha Beowolf and a mother and son, a sneer on her face. She hissed in pain as she tried to move.
You can do this. Fuck, you can do this, you're Coco Adel, bitch!
She grit her teeth, biting her lip and tasting blood, as she forced herself to stand. With a pained breath she unslung her purse, and transformed it into a Gatling gun.
"Velvet, duck!" She yelled. Velvet ducked down low, covering the mother and son with her body. Coco pulled the trigger, cursing the few seconds it took for her gun to start going, and felt courage course through her as the bullets rained from her death machine. She grinned as the wolf was filled with holes, its body making an enjoyable squish as it collapsed.
Velvet stood up, gave an appreciative nod, and proceeded to lead the mother and son to a nearby building, kicking a nearby Creep in the head and breaking its neck.
Coco turned, feeling tears well in her eyes. She smirked as she saw the Nevermore in the sky.
"Say goodnight, bitch," she said, taking aim. She opened fire, smiling as the bullets ripped the oversized bird to pieces, its body being reduced to mulch as it came crashing down in a shower of blood. She turned towards her teammates, limping forward, and firing at wolves as they went after an old man.
You can do this, you're Coco Adel. You can do this.
She opened her eyes with a groan, her vision fuzzy. She pushed herself up, the world spinning. She grabbed her head, it feeling like it was going to split apart, and staggered to her feet. Smoke filled her lungs and she coughed as she limped away, looking back to see the building she had woken up in front of was on fire, the remnants of the bullhead sticking out of the building.
She leaned against a building, her riding crop in hand, trying to catch her breath. Her breath caught in her throat; Ruby was fending off a Beowolf, unaware of the Ursa coming up behind her. Ruby sliced open the wolf with a yell, her eyes growing wide when she heard the Ursa roar. She staggered forward, scowling, nothing was allowed to hurt one of her daughters. Ruby spun around, backing away and holding her scythe in front of her. The Ursa opened its mouth to roar, and gunfire filled its mouth, black blood spraying behind its head.
She came to a stop, Atlesian airships filled the skies, their mech's landing on the blood stained streets and opening fire on the Grimm. She looked around the plaza, the streets littered with corpses, blood, and the smoldering remains of dead Grimm. Huge pieces of rubble littered the street, several large holes in the plaza's ground.
Gritting her teeth she flicked her wrist, a purple light enveloping the rubble and debris. She groaned, sweat trickling down her face from the strain. With a grunt she plugged the holes, screams of pain coming from the Grimm trying to crawl out of them. She fell to her knees, gasping for air, and she saw her aura flickering around her; damn it, she'd used too much of her semblance.
"Professor?" She looked up, her vision blurred. Ruby was looking down at her, Grimm blood covering her face and clothes. "Professor, just stay there, and catch your breath. I'll take care of you." Glynda smiled at her, collapsing.
The roars of the Grimm filled the air, the gunshots from the mech's, and the grunts of her student's as they finished off the Grimm. She felt her aura stop crackling around her.
She opened her eyes; Ruby was nearby, holding her rifle. Glynda weakly got to her knees, and coughed, causing Ruby to look back at her and smile. Glynda's eyes widened and she forced herself to her feet, flicking her wrist. The Creep lunging at Ruby's head was surrounded by a purple light before it was flung against a wall, its head smashing against it and painting the wall with its brains. Ruby stared in shock at the Creep before looking back to her. Glynda offered a weak grin.
A sharp, jabbing pain in his side woke him up. He groaned in annoyance at the guns aimed at him by the Atlesian tin can army man. One of them grabbed him by the arm and jerked him to his feet. He scowled at them, and looked away. A crowd of people, bloodied and injured were staring at him, dumbstruck. He offered them a smile. The scowl returned as he saw those stupid kids watching him as he was forced onto an Atlas ship. He narrowed his eyes as he passed Red, who glared back at him.
They really didn't pay him enough to deal with that kid.
She sat at the edge of the tarmac, her knees tucked up to her chin, her cape fluttering around her. The sun was setting, casting golden lights over the lake. Smoke rose from Vale City; Yeti's, Chione's, and Yuki-Onna's soaring through the air around the city. She watched the waves of the lake separating Beacon from Vale, at the aquatic Grimm that occasionally popped out of the water only to splash back down.
She squeezed her eyes shut, covering her ears with her hands, shaking her head gently.
The screams as all those innocent people were butchered
The blood staining the ground
The parts of the Grimm as they were torn apart by her blade
The cries of pain
The roars from the Grimm
The look in their eyes when she couldn't save them
She hiccupped, tears starting to run down her cheeks.
"Ruby?" She looked back, lowering her hands. Penny stood a distance from her, her hands interlocked, concern in her green eyes. Ruby smiled at her, feeling the tears drip down.
"Hi, Penny; what's up?" she asked. Penny walked over to her, playing with her hands.
"I told you that I would wait for you until you got back." She sat down next to Ruby, tucking her legs in, her arms wrapped around her legs. "Are you back, Ruby?" Ruby looked at Penny's face, at her green eyes, her pale skin, her freckles. Her lip quivered; the blood, the screams.
She forced a smile.
"Of course I'm back, Penny." Penny gave her a look, sighed, and rested her head on Ruby's shoulder.
"I worry about you a lot, Ruby." Ruby rested her head on top of Penny's, reaching out for Penny's hand. Penny unwrapped her arms and held Ruby's hand, rubbing her thumb over the back of Ruby's hand. "You're acting like the way you did when we went to go visit your mother." She nuzzled Ruby's head. "While you were away I did some research, and found that looks of distress and profuse sweating in one's sleep is a sign of recurring nightmares." Ruby's expression fell. "I am not a good liar, Ruby, but I can tell that you are lying to me." Ruby sighed, tightening her grip on Penny's hand.
"Penny, I…." she took a breath. "I'm not good at talking about my feelings." She closed her eyes. "All my life, I've wanted to be a hero, to fight the Grimm and help save people. But I never knew it would be like this." Tears started to fall. "All the blood I've seen, Penny, all the people I've seen killed; I never thought it would be like this." She shook her head. "And I'm a team leader, Penny, I can't afford to show any weakness in front of them; I've always gotta be happy go lucky Ruby, nothing ever gets to her, always ready with a pep talk to lift the team's spirits."
"Do you want to quit, Ruby? Do you not want to be a Huntress anymore?" Penny asked. Ruby shook her head.
"I'm not giving up, Penny. I'm going to be a Huntress; I'm going to make my mother proud. I just…. Wasn't expecting it to be this bad. With how bad things are these days, people need a hero. I can't afford to give up." Penny moved her head out from under Ruby's, and stared into her eyes. She smiled at Ruby, and Ruby smiled back.
Penny's eyes closed and she began to lean towards Ruby. Ruby's heart started to pound in her chest, her breath catching in her throat. She swallowed, her throat dry, and leaned forward, closing her eyes.
Her lips were soft, and tasted like cherries to Ruby. The kiss lasted for a moment before Penny broke away, and Ruby opened her eyes. Penny opened her eyes, adoration in them.
"Do you feel better now, Ruby?" she asked.
"A little bit," she said.
"I want you to know, Ruby, that I believe in you, and that when…. When things get bad for you, I will be around to help you handle it. You are not my leader, you do not have to be strong around me at all times." Ruby smiled, more tears running down.
"Thank you, Penny." Penny smiled at her, and did a salute. Ruby giggled.
They sat together, resting their heads on each other for a while, watching the lake and the sun set. Ruby blushed when a growl came from her belly. Penny broke away, and smiled at Ruby.
"You and the others must be hungry. I will try and get some food for you all." She stood up, and looked back towards the dorms. "I will meet you back at the dorm." She began to leave, before stopping, and turning back to her. "Oh, I almost forgot." The light caught her eyes as Ruby stared at her, Penny smiled, causing butterflies in Ruby's stomach. "I love you."
Blake and the others found Ruby sitting by herself at the end of the tarmac, staring over the lake, twilight falling on her. Yang sat down next to Ruby, Blake taking the spot next to her, and Weiss sitting on Ruby's other side. Blake let her legs dangle off the side as Yang pulled Ruby into a hug.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm…. I'm gonna be okay." Ruby looked from Yang to Weiss. "How about you two, what did Sorrell say?" Weiss held up her hand as she spoke.
"No fractures, or cracks, and no signs of a concussion. I should be okay." She said. Yang pointed at the pinkish brown scar on her belly, grinning.
"My aura took care of this before anything serious happened, I'm good to go." Yang patted Ruby's shoulder while she hugged her. "Ruby, about the other night, with Raven…" Ruby frowned, and looked away. "I want you to know that we are still sisters, it doesn't matter that we have different moms."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Yang hesitated, her expression falling, before she sighed.
"Sorta the same reason why I never told you about the fight clubs. When mom died, I had to take over raising you, and… I didn't want you to worry about me, or worrying about the family. I wanted you to live a semi normal life; not having to worry about your sister, not worrying about a dad too depressed to function, not about how many fights you'll have to do in one night to pay the next set of bills, not worrying about a mom who abandoned you and left you wondering why you aren't good enough for anyone." Yang sniffed, lowering her head, her hair hiding her face. "I'm so sorry I never told you before, Ruby. I'm sorry I told Weiss and Blake before I told you. Can you forgive me?"
Ruby threw her arms around Yang, nuzzling her.
"Of course I do, Yang. I'm sorry for running off the way I did. What happened today… it's my fault. If I hadn't run off Vale would be okay."
"It's not your fault, Ruby. The White Fang and Torchwick were planning that attack for a while. If we hadn't been there it would have been a lot worse." Blake said.
"If you say so," Ruby mumbled, her voice muffled by Yang's hair. Weiss put a hand on Ruby's shoulder.
"At least we'll probably be getting extra credit for saving the city." She joked. Ruby snorted.
"We put Torchwick behind bars, and stopped the Vale White Fang. We should be proud of what we did today, Ruby."
"If anyone tries something like this again, we'll be able to stop them, Ruby." Weiss said. Ruby sighed, her face still buried in Yang's hair.
"With the White Fang here taken care of, we won't have to worry about anything like this happening during the Vytal Festival, Ruby." Yang said. Ruby chuckled, and Blake cocked her head to the side.
"About the Festival, you guys wouldn't be mad if I said I put our names in to compete in the Tournament, would you?" She said, lifting her head from Yang's hair. Yang grinned, pumping a fist.
"Sounds fun!" She said.
"I doubt we'll be selected, but after this, I doubt we would lose," Weiss said.
Blake's blood ran cold; her face plastered over every tv screen on Remnant, her parents, her aunt, ever member of the White Fang seeing her, learning where she is. Blake shook her head, grasping her arms. Weiss gave her an odd look.
"You okay, Blake?" Blake shook her head.
"I don't want to compete." Yang and Ruby looked at her.
"Why not?"
"I don't want to be on tv." Yang frowned, and held up her hand.
"We don't even know if we're gonna be in it, why are you freaking out?"
"Blake…" It was Weiss. Blake's hand moved to her arm sleeve, her emblem feeling like it was burning. "Do you remember the promise we made? About not keeping secrets from each other?" Blake nodded, her emblem growing hotter. Weiss paused for a moment before she continued. "Back on the train, that Faunus I fought called you Traitor, and he didn't kill me because he wanted you to watch. And now you're saying you don't want to be seen on tv." Weiss paused again, looking into Blake's eyes. "Is there anything else you haven't told us?"
Blake swallowed, her eyes darting down, the waves and rocks staring back up at her. Nowhere to run. Torchwick's words repeated in her mind. She looked at their faces, at the confusion on Yang and Ruby's, Weiss' face a mask. She took a deep breath, lowering her arm sleeve as she spoke.
"I'm not who you all think I am. My name isn't Blake Belladonna." She closed her eyes, the cool air hitting her long hidden skin. She heard a sharp inhale from Weiss, Yang and Ruby gasping. She opened her eyes, looking at them. "My real name is Hōzuki Blake, daughter of Hōzuki Ghira, and niece of Sienna Khan, the former and current leaders of the White Fang."
Weiss' mouth hung open, shock in her eyes. Ruby covered her open mouth with her hand. Yang scowled.
"Why have you been fighting the White Fang if you're one of them?" Yang asked.
"I left it; I was on a mission with…. with Adam and the things he wanted to do, I just couldn't. I wanted to bring equality to my people, I didn't want to kill innocent people."
"Have… have you killed people, Blake?" Ruby asked quietly. Blake sighed, and nodded her head.
"How many?" Yang asked. Blake hung her head.
"More than I care to remember." She said.
"I thought you said you didn't kill innocent people?" Ruby asked.
"I didn't; I only killed people who were going to kill me or posed a threat to my people." Yang turned to Blake, still scowling.
"How long have you been with them?"
"I was practically born into it; my father didn't want me getting involved so young but he couldn't stop me from participating." Yang motioned with her head at the branding on her arm.
"Your dad give you that?" Blake scowled.
"No, my father would never hurt me." Yang snorted.
"No, but he'll let you kill people."
"Don't talk about my father like you know him! You don't know anything about the White Fang!"
"I know they've killed a ton of people, and just caused that!" Yang pointed over at the smoke billowing from Vale City. Blake narrowed her eyes.
"The White Fang hasn't always been like that. It wasn't when my father was in charge, it wasn't like that when I joined, and it's why I left." Ruby played with her hands, looking at Blake.
"What was it like when you were in it, Blake?" Blake sighed, turning and looking at the city.
"You have to understand a few things first, the White Fang was never meant to be a terrorist group. It was formed after the Faunus Rebellion by my great grandmother, Hōzuki Ai, and was meant to serve as a kind of race relations group between the Faunus and Humans, to relay to the Kingdom's governments any grievances the Faunus had with humans not following their nondiscriminatory laws, which they didn't. It stayed that way until Jacques Schnee took over the Schnee Dust Company, and he used the Company to oppress my people even more. Some started to fight back against the SDC, but they weren't united or had any kind of leadership, they just were all members of the White Fang. That's where my father comes in. He's the founder of the group as we know it today." She took a breath.
"My father… I haven't seen him in so long. But he hated the violence being used. He certainly didn't like the Schnee's or what they were doing to his people but he didn't agree with using force. So while my grandmother was running Menagerie as its Chief, he changed the White Fang into a protest group, and held boycotts and marches across Remnant against the Schnee Dust Company and other prejudice companies. My parents met during that time, and after I was born, my dad wanted me to stay home at Menagerie, he didn't want me experiencing the cruelty of humans so young. But I ignored him; I was at the front of every rally, at almost every protest, at the front of the crowd when the police would let loose dogs or get the hoses. I met Adam during that time, my parent's didn't know I was seeing him, he wanted me to keep it a secret from them."
"But my father's ways weren't getting the results my people wanted, and people started going back to attacks, against my father's wishes. About five years ago, after my grandmother died, he ultimately resigned, letting my aunt Sienna take over. She never believed in civil protests, and under her the boycotts were replaced with organized attacks. But she never went after innocents, she only attacked those who had it coming."
Blake's lip quivered, her eyes growing wet as she thought back to the devastated look on her father's face when they got home, at his normally cool demeanor dissipating and replaced with fury when she called him a coward, that he was a slavosá to try and be civil to people who would sick dogs on a young girl like herself. At him yelling at her to get out, at her mother yelling at him to calm down. Her father calling out for her to come back when she ran, and the look on Adam's face and the feel of his arms when she went to him.
"I ran away from home then. I thought that what my aunt was doing was right, and that Adam would help her lead the way for my people's equality. When I got with Adam, I changed my name. I wasn't Hōzuki Blake anymore, I was just Belladonna; Adam didn't want my parents learning where I had run off to or my aunt recognizing my name in his reports." She pointed at the branding on her arm. "Adam gave this to me, it's his group that started that trend, along with wearing the Grimm masks; if humans want to see us as monsters, we'd become monsters." She snorted. "And you want to know what happened when we started to use force? The humans listened. It's still common to see stores that don't allow Faunus inside, but it's a lot less than it was before; the threats of having your building blown up or burned down certainly make you change your policies quickly. I thought we were becoming equals with the humans, I didn't realize until I was a bit older that they weren't changing those policies out of respect or desire to be our equals, they feared us, thought of us as dangerous animals who would kill them if we didn't get what we wanted. I didn't want a human to see me that way, and Adam was changing, he was getting more violent, and when we were together he would yell at me a lot, usually over nothing. I left during a mission where we were destroying cargo on a Schnee train, and he wanted to butcher the innocent people on the train. After he… after he hit me, I threw him onto the other car and severed it from the train. I was done with the White Fang, with him, I didn't want to be a part of a group that relied upon violence and fear to get a false sense of equality."
She squeezed her eyes shut, tears running down her face as the memories came back to her. Her eyes fluttered open when she felt Yang and Ruby hug her.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I… I didn't know about any of that stuff with the White Fang." Yang said.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with all that, Blake." Ruby said as she nuzzled Blake.
"I have a question though. How… how old is Adam?" Yang asked. Blake took a breath to steady herself.
"He's six years older than me." Yang and Ruby's grip tightened on her and she continued to cry.
"Did he… did he ever force you to…?" Blake nodded her head, closing her eyes, the memories of their first time together replaying in her mind; she was fourteen and never felt more like an adult then when they were together like that. She heard heels click against metal, and Blake opened her eyes and looked over to see Weiss stand up, tears running down her face, disbelief in her eyes. Her lip quivered as Weiss straightened her back, and turned, and started to walk away.
"Weiss?" Blake called out. Weiss kept walking away. Blake untangled herself from Ruby and Yang. "Weiss!" she called out again. "Weiss, please!" The Schnee crest stared back at her. "Mattä!" She cried. Weiss hesitated for a moment, before she continued forward, growing farther away. Blake tried to take a step forward, her legs giving way beneath her, and she fell. She watched Weiss leave through tear blurred vision, her body barely registering the hugs Yang and Ruby were giving her, her body shaking as she sobbed.
The Vale Councilwoman glared at him from the screen, a news broadcast of the relief efforts in Vale playing in the corner of the screen, Ironwood's solemn face in the other corner.
"You've left me with no choice, Ozpin. I've spoken to the other Kingdom's Councilors, and it has been decided that the Vytal Festival shall not occur unless we are absolutely certain about the security and the safety of our people."
"Councilwoman-"
"Enough!" She exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table, her video feed shaking. She glared at him, her eye twitched. "I have tried being reasonable with you in the past Ozpin, but your blatant disregard for the people of this city has tried my patience. I have spoken with the Vale Council, and the Faunus will be put under curfew until the Festival is over, and we will be receiving extra security from the Atlesian military. It was their troops who stopped the Grimm, not the three, THREE, Hunter in training teams that you had in Vale." She glowered at him. "When this Festival is over, the rest of the Council and I will be reviewing your status as Headmaster of Beacon. General Ironwood." Ironwood nodded as he spoke.
"Ma'am."
"The Vytal Festival is now under your supervision."
"Understood, ma'am." Ozpin took a sip from his coffee mug, watching the Councilwoman from the rim.
"Will that be all?" He asked when he lowered the mug. She scowled, her eyebrows knitted.
"For now, Ozpin." The call ended and her video feed went blank. Ironwood's face was grim as it took up his screen.
"I'll keep your people safe, Ozpin. You have my word." Ironwood's feed went blank, going back to its place in the corner. The news feed of the reconstruction in Vale filled his screen. He watched it for a moment before turning in his seat to stare out the green window of his office and at the Yeti dreadnought hovering in the air near Vale.
He sighed as the video call ended, turning his back to Beacon, and walked own the long corridor of his ship.
The two soldier's saluted him, standing at attention as he stopped in front of the holding cell. The door slid open, his prisoner sitting in shadows.
"Leave us," he ordered. They left, their bodies rigid as they marched off. Torchwick continued to stare at the floor. He crossed his arms. "I've been informed that so far, you have not been cooperative." Torchwick looked up at him, his makeup tarnished, and a smirk on his face.
"It may be a bit hard to believe, but I'm not a big fan of authority, or the law." He chuckled, looking around his tiny cell, his hands shackled to his seat. "And I have to say, for the world's strongest military, you're certainly giving the worst terrorist in Vale's history a really cushy cell." He made a tsk, tsk noise at him, feinting disapproval. "I'm unimpressed, General." Ironwood took a step forward, lowering his arms.
"You get one chance to tell me this." Torchwick cocked his head, smiling. "Who is really behind this, who are you working for?" Torchwick laughed, pointing at himself with his thumbs.
"Never underestimate the capabilities of a street rat like me. This was all my doing." Ironwood snorted.
"Very well." He began to walk away, the door closing.
"What's wrong, General, I thought you wanted to talk?" Torchwick shouted from his cell. Ironwood smiled as he walked.
"I have been given full authority by the Atlesian Council to do with you as I please for as long as you are detained. I have people who will get you to talk," He said. He heard Torchwick laugh.
"I like your style, General. But trust me, it's not gonna work." Ironwood chuckled.
"We'll see."
The sound of construction vehicles moving debris filled the air as they stood on the building's rooftop. He glared at them, his lip curled into a snarl, his hand resting on his sword. Cinder glared back at him, her expression cold.
"You told me that wasn't going to happen until the Vytal Festival. You wasted all of those lives for nothing!" He took a step towards them, popping his sword from its scabbard, the red blade shining in the light. Cinder took a step towards him, flames engulfing her hands.
"It wasn't supposed to happen, those stupid kid's made Roman panic." He sneered at her.
"Remind me why I'm working with you," he said. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Because, my dear Adam, we have the tools to give you the revolution you so desire. And I promise you, you will have your revolution." They stared at each other before Adam sheathed his sword. The fires in Cinder's hands died; she smiled at him.
"Good boy," she said. Adam grunted, turning and walking away. She turned to them while Mercury watched Adam leave.
"What are we going to do for the Tournament, now?" Emerald asked. Mercury cocked his head to the side as Cinder giggled, looking over in the direction of Beacon Academy.
"Oh, I still have plans for Beacon, rest assured."
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Yang groaned, her eyes opening. The room was dark, moonlight filtering through the window. Weiss' bed was empty.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She got out of bed, rubbing her eyes. A raven was at the window, its eyes a dark red. It tapped at the window again.
"The fuck you want, bird? It's late," She said, stifling a yawn. The bird jerked its head back, in the direction of the courtyard. It looked back at Yang and cawed. She cocked an eyebrow; this wasn't the weirdest thing she had woken up to. She shrugged and went to go get dressed.
The bird was waiting for her at the window sill when she stepped out of the closet. It tapped at the window and cawed, jerking its head back towards the courtyard. It looked at her one last time before flying off.
The courtyard was empty, the leaves on the trees starting to change from green to red, yellow, and orange. There was a chill in the air as she walked towards the statue of the Hero King, the statue casting long shadows from the lampposts. A murder of crows sat on the statue, their beady black eyes staring at her she as she came closer. The largest bird, staring at her with red eyes, cawed loudly, flying behind the statue. The murder dispersed, cawing and squawking. There was silence. Yang's brow furrowed when she heard a jingling behind the statue. A tall figure dressed in black and red armor slowly stepped out from behind the statue, a bone white Nevermore mask covering her face, red eyes peering from the eye slots, her hand resting on the odachi on her hip, her mane of black and gray hair pulled back into a messy ponytail.
Her blood ran cold, her knees growing weak. It was her. Her lips curled into a snarl, clenching her fists, her nails digging into her palms.
Raven stopped in front of her, staring, unblinking.
"Hello Yang," she said, her low voice muffled by the mask.
"Take that mask off you coward," Yang spat. There was a pause before Raven chuckled, the sound unfriendly. She reached up and grabbed a hold of the beak of her mask, lowering it. Her eyes burned red, glowing slightly. Crow's feet raked at the corners of her eyes, and her thin lips were stuck in a frown.
"It seems we have a lot to talk about."
And that's it, the end of Vol2!