I saw a tweet from RTX that they're announcing a RWBY YA book series that's gonna be published by Scholastic. I'm really curious as to what that series will be like, and who RT hired to write it.
The world was on fire, screams surrounding her, the air choked with black smoke. Yang looked down at her hands, flexing the fingers of her right hand. She glanced up, hearing Ruby as she ran from her, the flames parting as she ran through them.
Yang reached out, gasping as she felt something grab her feet. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropping. Jet's headless body was clawing its way out of the burning ground, latching onto her legs, his fingers burning her skin. She tried to pull herself free, screaming as Sterling, Violet, and Drey's blood soaked bodies burst forth, latching onto her, clawing into her, their mouths opening and closing in soundless screams.
Yang struggled, thrashing, straining to free herself. She saw Ember Celica materialize on her wrists, and she screamed as she punched down, her friend's disappearing in a red smoke. She stood gasping, clutching the side of her face, Ember Celica a heavy weight on her right arm. Her body went numb; a deep growl emitting from behind.
She spun around, screaming as she was knocked to the ground, the Ursa roaring in her face, saliva splattering all over her. She swung her fist, her eyes widening in horror as her arm disintegrated. The Ursa growled, pinning her arm down, drooling as it glared at her throat. Yang screamed, trying to yank her arm free, kicking against the Ursa. The Ursa lunged, its jaws wrapping around her throat, her screams cut short as it ripped her throat open.
Yang's eye's shot open, her body slick with sweat. She felt her heartbeat start to slow as she looked around her room, at the moon and snow casting cool light into her dark room. She looked over at her nightstand, at the mechanical arm that rested there. She sat up, her legs dangling over the edge of her bed, a phantom pain in her right side. She sighed, stood up, and left her room.
The house was dark, moonlight filtering in through the windows. She climbed down the stairs, yawning. She looked over at the railing, knitting her brow. The kitchen light was on, voices coming from inside.
Glynda sipped from her coffee, smiling as its warmth spread through her. She set the mug down on the table, looking over at Tai.
"Thank you for letting me come over on such short notice," she said. Tai smiled, taking a sip from his own mug.
"It's no problem, Professor." He said. She giggled.
"Come now, I haven't been your teacher in such a long time." She took a sip. "And it's Headmistress now, if you still want to be polite." She lowered the mug, and adjusted her glasses. "Have you heard anything from Ruby?" she asked. Tai shook his head. "Have you considered going after her?" Tai chewed on his lip, and shook his head.
"How are things going with Beacon?" he asked, looking away.
"As well as you would expect. The Council has thankfully been giving me whatever supplies I need, but it's still…" she paused. "The Grimm arrive faster then we can kill them. With Port, Oobleck, and Peach gone, we're low on Hunters who are familiar with the campus."
"What about students?" Glynda narrowed her eyes at him.
"I lost too many of my children that night. I won't endanger another one."
Her head snapped over to the doorway as she heard a board squeak. She smiled as she saw Yang hanging in the doorway. Yang backed out of the doorway slightly, her hand going to her stump, rubbing it.
"Hello, Yang." She motioned to the empty seats around her. "You're more than welcome to join us." Yang hesitated before entering the room, going to the counter and hopping onto it. Tai moved his mug out of the way as Yang situated herself.
"Sooo. What are you doing here?" Yang asked.
"Despite popular belief, I do take breaks. I was overseeing a timber shipment here on Patch and thought I would stop by." She glanced at the tied up jacket sleeve on Yang's right side. "It's good to see you, Yang. How have you been feeling?"
"Okay, I guess. It's just." she rubbed the end of her stump, her expression falling. "It's hard, ya know? Getting used to this." Glynda nodded. Tai cocked his head to the side.
"Wouldn't it help if you started wearing the arm?" Glynda's eyebrows shot up in surprise and Yang turned to her father, her mouth open in shock.
"What?"
"You said it's hard getting used to it. Won't the replacement help with that?"
"I told you, I'm not ready to wear that yet. It… it feels wrong."
"Wrong? Having two arms feels wrong now?" Yang stared at her father, disgust and shock on her face.
"You want me to what? Act like nothing fucking happened? That I'm perfectly okay when a part of me is fucking missing?" Tai scowled.
"Watch your language," he said. Yang scoffed, hopping down from the counter.
"Oh sure, let me go out and get the shit kicked out of me as a kid but say fuck and ooo, now you start acting like a dad."
"I said watch your mouth!" Tai shouted.
"Or fucking what? Huh?" Yang shouted back. Tai snarled as he turned to his daughter.
"You're a child, Yang, and you need to listen to me!" Yang snorted, clenching her hand into a fist.
"Sure dad, I'm the child! It's not like I'm the one who fucking raised Ruby because you couldn't!" Tai's lip twitched as he glared at Yang.
"What Yang, you think you're so grown up? You think you can take on the real world?" He shoved a finger at her stump. "Well look what happened the last time you tried."
"Taiyang!" Glynda shouted. Yang started to tremble, before turning and running out of the room, tears welling in her eyes. The anger on Tai's face dissipated, and he went to the doorway. Glynda stood from her chair, glowering at him. "What is wrong with you, Tai?!" she demanded. She heard a door slam upstairs. He gripped the doorway, not looking at her.
"I'm sorry, okay! It… it just slipped out. I-I didn't mean it." Glynda looked past him as she heard Yang stomp down the stairs, and throw open the door. Tai glanced back at her before leaving the kitchen. Glynda followed after him. The snow and cold nipped at her as she stepped outside. Yang was stomping through the snow; Glynda saw a metallic flash on Yang's right side. "Yang? Yang, where do you think you're going?" Tai called out.
"Leave me alone you prick." Yang said.
"Yang, wait, I-"
"I said leave me alone." Tai held up his arm, reaching out to her.
"You're my daughter! I can't let you go out at night; not in this weather." Yang looked back at him, her eyes glowing red in the darkness. She scowled at him.
"That's never stopped you before," she said. Tai stiffened, his arm falling to his side. Yang turned, and started to run. Tai fell to his knees, watching Yang as she ran from them.
He kept his hands in his pockets as he trudged through the swamp. Mosquito's buzzed around him, the air thick with the scent of rotten eggs. His hand shot out of his pocket, smacking his neck, feeling the bug squish and blood trickle down his neck. Of course Ruby would go through here.
Qrow pushed through a set of bushes, stopping, his shoulder's slumping at the sight before him.
The buildings were burned out, glass covering the boardwalks. The trees encasing the village had been uprooted, the limbs snapped off and flung throughout the village. Bodies floated in the bog water, being gnawed on by Sobek's. Corpses were strewn throughout the village, ravens picking at them. He grimaced as a raven plucked an eye from a dead man wearing a pendant. The decapitated body of a woman was nailed to the largest building, her belly slit open, her entrails dangling from her body. Salem's Eye was drawn in blood next to the woman, 'FALSE GOD' written in sloppy handwriting below.
Qrow sighed, pulled out his flask, and took a long swig from it. Whiskey dripped down his chin as he pulled the flask from his lips. He wiped at his chin, closing his eyes.
Brother's damn it, Raven.
Ruby thumbed the straps of her pack as they walked, the skies dark with rain clouds. She grimaced as she watched the clouds. She glanced over at Ren, who had his face buried in their map.
"Hey Ren, what kind of place is Higanabanana? " Ruby asked. She saw Ren smirk.
"Higanbana."
"Right, that's what I said." Ren lowered the map, still smiling.
"It's a well-protected village and has a popular ryokan. It's one of the largest settlements in Anima, like Kuchinashi."
"Which means no more camping in the rain!" Nora said cheerily.
"Assuming it's still there." Pyrrha said. Ruby looked back at her. Pyrrha was staring ahead blankly, trailing behind them. Ruby forced a smile, faking a laugh as Pyrrha looked at her.
"Of course it will be there, Pyrrha! You'll see!" Ruby said. Pyrrha grunted. Ruby turned back to the road, forcing the smile to remain as Ren and Nora glanced at her.
i hope it's still there
They continued on in silence for several hours, and Ruby sighed in relief as the village came into view as the sun began to set. A large stone wall encircled the village; she noticed Hunters eying them from the walls top as they entered. People were hurrying into their homes, buildings beginning to light up as twilight descended. Ren pointed at a large building with a sign in front of it, and Ruby smiled.
They went to the ryokan, Ruby's stomach growling as the scent of various foods hit her. A man was behind the counter and smiled at them as they entered.
"Welcome to the Flowering Spring. Room for four I assume?" he asked. Ruby nodded. The man's smile faded, squinting past Ruby. "Are you… Pyrrha Nikos?" he asked. Ruby looked back. Pyrrha's expression didn't change, and she blinked slowly at the man. The man fidgeted under her gaze.
"No. She died back at Beacon." Pyrrha said.
"My apologies. I used to be a big fan of hers, and you look a lot like her. If your hair was longer, and if you had less scars you could be her twin."
"I get that a lot." She said. The man laughed nervously and turned his attention back to Ruby.
"Here's your room key. Help yourselves to the food and the bath. You'll pay on your way out." Ruby took the key, and led the way into the next room; oh she could really go for some rice right now.
She kept her eyes closed, steam wafting past her face, the air thick with humidity. Her legs felt relieved as the hot water kneaded her flesh. She heard the bath door slide open, and someone enter.
Pyrrha opened her eyes as the person entered the water. Nora submerged herself in the water, her face solemn as she took the spot next to her. Pyrrha cocked an eyebrow as Nora stared at the water.
"Did you need something?" Pyrrha asked. Nora glanced over at her, the cheerful glint usually in her eyes missing.
"Pyrrha…"
"What?" Nora looked back at the water.
"What you said to the inn keeper. About… about dying back at Beacon. What did you mean by that?" Pyrrha frowned.
"I don't want to be dealing with fans right now, Nora." She narrowed her eyes. "Didn't you tell me I need to get them to leave me alone? Why are you upset I'm doing that now." Nora shook her head.
"It wasn't just to get him to leave you alone, was it?" Nora asked. Pyrrha turned away, looking over at the wall, her lip tugging into a frown. "Pyrrha, I… I can't say that I know what it's like, what you're going through. but… I'm worried about you." Pyrrha's frown deepened. "I loved Jaune too. But would he want you acting this way?"
Pyrrha whirled, water splashing onto Nora's face as she stood.
"How would you know what he would have wanted?!" Pyrrha yelled. "He was the first person to ever see me as a person!" Nora shrunk back as she yelled. "I was the first person who treated him with any type of respect! He was nothing but a big joke to you three!" Pyrrha's cheeks felt wet; Nora's mouth hanging open in shock as she backed farther from her. "You have no idea what I've been through! You still have Ren! You didn't have your destiny ripped from you!" She stopped, her chest heaving. She sniffed, her legs feeling weak. She felt her legs give way, her arms wrapping themselves around her chest. She struggled to keep her voice even. "You're not a murderer like I am." she said.
She placed a hand over her mouth, silencing the hiccup as she felt the tears slide down. Nora hesitated before coming to her side. Pyrrha squeezed her eyes shut as Nora wrapped her arms around her, nuzzling her shoulder with her head. Pyrrha lowered her hands, sniffing.
"Why?" Nora tightened her grip around her. "Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it have been me?" Nora didn't answer her, only tightening her grip, gently rocking the both of them.
Qrow shuddered as he strode into the village, the rain pelting against his skin as it poured down. He stuck close to the buildings; they blocked the worst of the rain at least. He glanced up at the large sign in front of the ryokan; Flowering Spring.
He opened the door to the ryokan, the lights stinging his eyes. He could hear laughter and a multitude of voices in the other room. He cocked his head to the side as he approached the front desk. A woman was standing at the reception desk. She gave him a wary look as he approached.
"Where's Kuro? Is he not working today?" he asked. The woman's expression fell.
"He was killed a few days ago by one of the patrons. I've had to take over in his place." Qrow exhaled, rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry to hear that." He reached into his coat, the woman flinched, and he pulled out his scroll. He held it up to her, and the woman cocked an eyebrow. "Have you seen this girl?" The woman glanced from the photo to him. She crossed her arms.
"Why are you looking for her?"
"She's a relative of mine. She ran away from home with a couple of her friends and I'm trying to find her and get her back home before she gets hurt." The woman's expression softened.
"She was in here a few days ago, right before Kuro died. She said she was heading to Mistral City." Qrow pocketed his scroll; so he was right about where she was heading. The woman uncrossed her arms, resting them on the desk in front of her. "Do you want to stay for the night? You look exhausted." Qrow shook his head.
"I'll be fine. Thanks." He gave the woman a polite nod and left the ryokan. He stood under the porch, watching the rain as it came down. He rested his hands in his pockets, closing his eyes. He told her not to get involved; she had no idea what she was going up against. Qrow sighed and opened his eyes, looking over at the bar across from him. He wasn't going to be able to make much progress in this weather, best to wait it out.
He went to the bar, giving a nod to the bar tender as he took a seat. It was quiet; the rain pitter pattering against the roof, an occasional cough, the scraping of the chairs against the floor. The other patrons were solemnly staring at their drinks, or watching the rain through the windows. Qrow rested his hands on his table, staring at the lantern in front of him.
He glanced up as a glass was set in front of him.
"Sorry, I didn-" he started.
"From the woman upstairs. The one with red eyes." The waitress smiled at him. "She said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf, but I went ahead and gave you top." She winked at him. "Lucky you." Qrow looked down at the glass, watching the ice cubes float in the whiskey.
"Thanks, I guess." He said. The waitress seemed disappointed and left his side. He glanced up at the second floor, sighed, and grabbed the glass.
Qrow climbed the stairs, running his hand against the railing. He stopped at the top, taking a sip from the glass. Raven sat at a table in the middle of the second floor, the lanterns around her snuffed out. The lantern on her table glowed dully, shadows flickering across her face. Raven smiled.
"Hello, brother," she said.
"Raven." He said. He took the seat across from her, resting his arm behind him. "What do you want?"
"Can't a girl catch up with her family?" She asked. Qrow set his glass on the table.
"She can, but you're not. Why are you here?" Raven leaned back, her smug look fading.
"Has she found it?"
"Why do you care? I thought you were staying out of this."
"I want to know what we're up against, brother. Now tell me. Does Salem have the Relic?" Qrow shook his head. Raven exhaled, relieved. Qrow traced his finger around the rim of his drink.
"I thought your rule was you only help people once. Why did you save Yang that night?" Raven crossed her arms.
"I didn't save her. She saved herself." Qrow snorted, and took a sip.
"Sure," he said. Raven glowered at him before smirking.
"And how are things going with your" she threw up air quotes "'niece', hm?" Qrow scowled as Raven smirked.
"She is wandering around Anima. Do you know where she is?"
"I don't." Qrow took a long drain from his glass. He looked at the ice cubes, the condensation on the glass as he spoke.
"I- We really need your help, Raven. With Oz gone, I-" Raven snickered.
"After everything you've done, brother? You would ask me to help you?" Qrow kept his gaze on the ice. "I told you and Summer that Ozpin would fail and he has. I told you that Beacon would fall, and it did." She snorted. "And yet you remain his loyal little lap dog."
"It wasn't my golden fucking moment, okay?!" He snapped, finally looking up at her face, at the hate in her red eyes. "You think I'm happy about any of this? Do you think I don't know that life would be so much simpler and less painful if I just ran off and went back to raiding like you did?" he said. "But if we don't follow Ozpin, if we don't fight against Her, then we are all going to die." He took a breath. "If I don't try and stop her, then that means Summer died for nothing." Raven glared at him.
"She did." He drained his glass, the whiskey burning his throat as it went down. He set the glass down with a clang, glaring at his sister.
"If you're not taking sides, why'd you do that?" he asked. Raven cocked an eyebrow. "Yami." He said. Raven shrugged.
"Salem's cult is dangerous, we can't have them spreading into the villages near our tribes territory."
"So Shion was just for fun then?"
"The weak die. The strong survive. That's how it works." Raven said. Qrow chortled.
"I'm living proof that that's bullshit." Raven glared at him before standing, her chair scraping against the floor. A black and maroon portal materialized on the wall behind them. She began to walk over to it. "Raven," he said. His sister stopped, looking over her shoulder at him. "I saw the damage in those villages." He leaned forward. "You have the Spring Maiden on your side, don't you?" Raven smiled, and looked ahead with a laugh. The light on the table died, casting the room into darkness.
"What makes you think I would tell you that, traitor?" Qrow frowned as Raven disappeared into the portal.
Qrow looked back at the sound of glass hitting the floor, and a woman gasp. The waitress from before stood at the top of the stairs, staring in shock and horror at where Raven had been, several drinks shattered at her feet. Qrow grabbed his glass, and held it up, catching the waitresses attention.
"Mind getting me another?" he asked.
She rested her head against the bus window, her eyes half lidded as she stared out at the city. The yellow city lights stared back at her. Her hands rested in her lap, her metallic arm cold against her pant leg. She craned her head, looking at the rest of the bus.
It was empty, it usually was at this time at night, especially for this part of town. She looked down at her lap, flexing her metallic fingers. This felt wrong; it was such a heavy weight on her. She looked up as the bus slowed, hearing the engine hiss as it stopped. The bus door opened, and Yang mumbled a 'thanks' as she stepped off it.
She wrapped her jacket closer as the snow drifted around her. She trudged through the snow, the yellow lights of the buildings slowly winking out. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, walking past the worn down buildings, feeling eyes watching her as she walked.
She took a turn down an alley, nodding at the homeless huddled around a fire. She took a turn down another alley, and then another, her body on autopilot as she made her way through the labyrinth. Anxiety nipped at her stomach as the Hole came into view. People lay groaning in front of the entrance, puddles of blood in the snow. She stepped around them, grasping the railing as she descended into the darkness.