"Markus..." Yang said, her voice quiet and shaky, only able to be heard due to there being so little noise in the vault, the only other sounds being the leaves drifting off the trees above the open interdimensional door. She hadn't detached her prosthetic arm either this time . "What's going on here?"
"Yang," Raven said, taking the chance to change the topic away from the relic. Kind of annoying, to be honest. "I've heard of your exploits in Beacon. You're one of the strongest before the school fell to the Grimm. If only you were smarter as well."
"Markus," Yang said, making Raven frown for a brief moment. "What's going on?"
"Your mom-" I said before Yang's eyes flared bright red. For a moment, I backed up nervously, fearful of facing Yang's wrath once again before regaining my resolve. "Raven wants to steal the relic. It's important to stop the enemy. I'm telling her why taking it now would be such a bad idea."
"Hmmph," Raven said as she pushed past me, adopting a warm smile on her face. "Look how you've grown," she praised. "I heard about what you did at Beacon. About everything you've done. You truly have gotten stronger."
"Save it. I'm not here for you," Yang said, her tone dark as she stalked forward. "The kid upstairs told me I needed to bring the lamp up. So that's what I'm gonna do."
Raven growled indignantly at her. "And what makes you think you can take this from me, daughter? You haven't reached my level of power," she said haughtily.
"Power? Is that all you can think of?" Yang asked. "I talked to dad before I left. He told me you weren't worth chasing after. And I see he was right. How could you be, after everything you've done? Summer was my mother, not you."
And the two had started a conversation. A conversation that the both of them desperately needed, but still completely pushing me to the sideline. My scroll pinged, and I quickly pulled it out while Yang and Raven had their much needed messed up family talk. "Hello?" I asked quietly.
"This is...Ozpin..." Oscar's voice said in Ozpin's composed yet clearly exhausted tone. It sounded like the fighting was done now, but I wouldn't get my hopes up until I confirmed it. "Do you have it?" he asked, clearly referring to the relic.
"It's...complicated. Raven has it. Yang's trying to convince her to hand it over," I said quietly, hoping neither Yang nor Raven would notice me on my scroll while they argued. "And...I think they both have some things they need to get off their chest."
"Understandable. But I fear Raven may try something drastic, especially with her maiden powers," Ozpin said. "But better Raven than Cinder, I suppose. Cinder is defeated, correct?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she'll survive, though. And there's no way for me to confirm it without dropping down the height of a mountain," I said. "Is the fight still going on?"
"No, it's done. Reinforcements have arrived in a rather unexpected but not unwelcome form," Ozpin said. "Miss Khan airdropped dozens of her own troops and began assisting us in fighting off the enemy. Mistral's forces are rounding up the Grimm, and Ruby's silver eyes have finally activated, defeating the wyvern. Salem's minions retreated from the academy, but Raven's forces and the White Fang are being dealt with. Leonardo has fled, but if what you're saying is true, no doubt he's dead." Sighing, Ozpin continued. "I'd say this was a victory, but with the academy in shambles and the CCT destroyed, there's no doubt going to be a lot of panic. Panic that she will benefit from."
I sighed. "Look, can I call you back? Yang and Raven are arguing and if we're lucky, this won't take too long. Make sure everyone's alright, okay?" I asked.
"I will. Thank you," Ozpin said, sighing tiredly. I hung up and turned to see Raven and Yang still talking.
"You don't understand the world like I do. You don't understand what we're up against," Raven growled. "You're just a sad ignorant child who lives blissfully unaware of the enemy. You don't have the right to claim you have the willpower to do what I've done."
"And what have you done? What makes you so much of a hero for abandoning us? For leaving dad in so much pain? For leaving me lost for so many years? How can I know? You. Left. Me. Alone," Yang shot back. "You. Left. Dad. Alone. You aren't a hero, you're a fucking coward!"
"I have a responsibility to the tribe!" Raven growled. "My true family needed me. And I saved them. I turned their weakness into strength. I raised them from the brink of destruction with my return! You don't understand the true meaning of responsibility!"
"Yet you couldn't even be responsible for raising your own daughter. You left her to die to the Grimm, your bandits, and the terrorists fighting up there. How is that responsibility? That's saving your own skin," I said, conveniently forgetting that Yang wasn't even here until I used a portal to bring her and Blake here.
"I'm not like you, mom," Yang said. "I don't abandon my friends, my family, for a clan of thieves, rapists, and murderers."
Raven grinned. "Oh, really? Because I hear you abandoned this boy here," she said. "But not before hurting him with the same pain you felt."
Yang turned to me. "It was...a mistake. It was something I never meant to do," she said, her resolve faltering for a second. "And I made a mistake. I'm trying to work past that. I'm trying to make things right."
"Oh, really?" Raven asked, and she smirked towards my direction. "Does she not know what she did to you?" she asked, the question clearly directed at me. "Does she not know what she took from you?"
"Markus. What is she saying?" Yang asked. I really regretted snarking at Raven about my prosthetic arm back at the hotel.
"That's not the topic right now," I said, sternly. I wasn't about to let her change the topic to throw me under the bus. "You're going to give me the relic. For both our sakes."
"And you'll back off. For your sake, boy," Raven threatened as she brought up Omen to my neck once again, the cold red blade forcing my chin up an inch as it began to gouge through skin. For a moment, I almost believed she would cut my throat.
"Raven!" Yang shouted, not taking her threat to me very well.
Raven smirked. "I'm simply telling him that I'll run my blade through every orifice in his pathetic body if he continues to be an obstacle in saving my tribe," she said. "I won't leave him in pain for long, unlike what you did."
"Your tribe is gone!" I shouted. "If you keep that damn lamp, Salem will come after you with everything she has. And your maiden magic will be no match for the type of magic she has. She has an endless army of Grimm. Immortality. You can't kill her because she's been living on this planet for as long as time itself. She will never stop going after you."
Raven quickly clenched her fist, angrily shaking as she attempted to regain control of her emotions, control of the conversation. "Or she'll come after us. And we'll be there to fight her," I said. "If you give us the relic, you will be off the grid. No one will know you're the maiden. And Salem won't care. She only wants that." And with that, I pointed down at the lamp.
Raven looked at the Relic of Knowledge in her hand, finally seeing the sense and truth behind my words, as well as the reality of her situation. However, she was just too proud to admit it. So with a condescending "tsk", she dropped the lamp, which impacted the ground with a loud ringing "clang".
"Take it, then. Follow Ozpin to your deaths. I warned you time and time again, and you continually refuse to listen. So see if I care. It's you choice to doom yourself," Raven said.
"You don't. That's your problem," I said as I picked up the relic, dusting it off and latching the handle to my belt. "And because of that, you don't have your tribe. You don't have your brother. You don't have your husband. And you don't have your daughter."
Raven growled before looking at Yang, who stared back at her with clear defiance. Her anger softened to an uncertain expression. "Yang...you don't want to do this," she said quietly, pleading to her daughter, in an attempt to dissuade her from this surely destructive path. This only confirmed one theory of mine - that despite everything Raven had done, her ideals, and what she did against her family, she never truly stopped caring for her daughter.
But it was too late for Yang to start caring about Raven's words. It was too late for Raven to start acting like a mother. For all I know, Yang likely saw Raven trying to replace Summer to get her to do what she asked. "Nope, I don't. But I have to do this. Because someone has to be strong enough to do it," Yang said, and she came over to me, holding my left gloved prosthetic hand with her right hand, the prosthetic one.
Raven looked down and sheathed Omen with a loud click, her expression unreadable. Her eyes trailed from the floor to our conjoined hands, then to her daughter's defiant expression. Then she looked away, her shoulders quivering for a split second. One second she was there, and the next, she was gone. The raven in her place took off up the elevator shaft, leaving behind a feather that slowly drifted to the ground. Like she had done before, she fled. I wasn't sure if she'd run to Taiyang, or if she'd go off and do something else.
All was quiet in the vault.
All that was in the vault was Yang, me, and the relic.
Yang collapsed against me, crumpling to her knees as she embraced me for the first time in so many months. Her body was trembling violently with sobs and whimpers as she clutched me for dear life.
There wasn't much I could do other than hold her. I couldn't repel Yang even if I wanted to. To drop her now would be downright cruel, after all. "I...I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I abandoned you. I'm sorry...please don't leave me..."
My heart wrenched, no...shriveled up and died as I listened to Yang's heartbroken begs and pleads for forgiveness. It didn't change the fear or the memories of what happened at Beacon, nor did it take away the pain of my missing arm. But for a moment, all of that felt rather inconsequential compared to everything that happened in Mistral.
So I couldn't do much other than bring Yang to the elevator, letting her continuously hug me as we began our ascent back to surface level. Not one word was said as the vault below disappeared from view, approaching the Grand Hall of the academy.
When we arrived, everything was calm. The bandits were all kneeling and cuffed by several Mistralian policemen. Hazel, Tyrian, and Mercury were gone. Oscar sat against the base of the stairs, with ABRN resting up by a collapsed pillar. Weiss, and Blake were with Qrow, all three of them lying around an unconscious Ruby. Team JNPR were talking to each other, checking each other for injuries. Emerald sat against the wall, a bandage wrapped around her forehead under her bangs, with Liya unharmed and looking after her.
Up above, the ceiling was destroyed, a massive hole with planks of wood torn up. No doubt that the wyvern had done this, but it was difficult to tell if the wyvern was destroyed or if it had run away. Either way, it's gone now. Sienna Khan was here as well, talking to several Mistralian policemen before she spotted me ascending. "Hey!" she shouted.
"Hey, Khan," I said. Qrow rushed to check on Yang, letting me hand him the Relic of Knowledge as he came over before I walked towards the tiger Faunus. "When did you get here?"
"About ten minutes ago," Sienna said, looking out the door. "Arrived just in time to assist Mistral forces in defending Haven." There were several White Fang troops, all of them wearing new pure white White Fang masks to differentiate themselves from the normal grunts that Adam had commanded. Several Bullheads painted in silver with the White Fang logos across the doors were hovering around and landed on the campus as well.
"Think this will earn some good points with the public?" I asked.
"Likely not," Sienna said sardonically. "Humans will forever find a way to ignore the fact that the White Fang helped save human lives. From ourselves." She huffed in amusement. "Besides, it's not like I was a good representative of the White Fang. No doubt they'll have to arrest me now."
"I believe that I can help vouch for your sincerity and proof of your assistance," Ghira said, as he approached Sienna and I. "She and her forces arrived with haste and protected dozens. That's something not even the news can edit out."
"I appreciate it, Ghira. Despite our...checkered past," Sienna said, somewhat awkwardly.
"It's all in the past. What matters is your actions now," Ghira comforted.
"So, what's the plan now?" I asked.
"We'll be coordinating efforts to rebuild Mistral, as well as work on improving the image of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has tarnished what our organization stands for, and we'll have to fix it ourselves," Sienna said. "And Ghira will be helping."
"It's only right. I may have stepped down, but I have never stopped caring about our cause, or our people. You know that, Sienna, it's why you always left Menagerie alone when you were high leader," Blake's father said. "And so, that is what I will do, to repair our image the public has of us."
"That's great," I sighed. "And Adam?"
"He ran into the forest. We have others going after him, but it looks like he'll escape," Sienna said, and I frowned, knowing how dangerous he would be if he was left to run free. Especially since there was a chance we wouldn't have to go through the fight at Argus if we planned things carefully. Either he'd stalk us to Atlas or end up continuing to cause more havoc throughout Remnant.
He had to be stopped here. My aura was low, barely being able to regenerate, which meant I'd have a disadvantage. But given how harsh Adam had to fight against so many others, he must be very low or even depleted of aura by now. It was a risk, but it was one that I definitely had to take advantage of.
Growling, I headed outside at a quick pace. Ignoring Ghira's confused inquiry, I bolted for the forest. It was very dark now, and I was glad to have night vision. Running through the trees, I searched throughout my vision. It was hard to track in the forest, especially with the noises of the search crews from above, with airships scattered throughout the forest, spotlights combing the trees as they flew around the area. Adam had to be nearby, especially with so much searching going on.
Then I realized what situation I was in. Alone in the woods with a psycopathic murderer. "Damn," I mumbled. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
A guttural yell caught my attention, and I jumped back from a devastating slash from Adam's sword. "You!" he snarled as he dashed forward. Bringing up an arm shield like the ones Captain America used in Avengers: Infinity War in the Battle of Wakanda. I blocked one hit, then another, before he slammed his firearm scabbard into the side of my head. I felt searing pain across my face, and I stumbled away before he could get a good hit on me.
"You should have died at Beacon!" Adam roared. "Why did you have to destroy my plans?!"
"Are you serious? Haven Academy was destroyed! You blew up most of the damn school, you won!" I shouted, angrily wiping my eyes as my vision came back. Adam's eyes likely narrowed behind that ornately decorated white mask of his. Then he charged once again.
I dodged again in succession, attempting to form a staff, one end with fire Dust and another with ice Dust. I barely completed it before he slashed it in half. Barely able to keep the Dust from falling apart, I swung one half of the staff - the fire end - and managed to send him back with a burst of flame. Quickly slamming both ends together, I created a small smokescreen dense enough to stay hidden. Adam reacted quickly, dashing in with a wide swing.
Unfortunately for him, I was in the air, and I slammed both ends of the staff down on him while he was unaware. Damaging some of his aura - a bit more than I thought capable with the Dust. Adam responded in kind, bringing up his rifle and firing. I was forced out of the smokescreen, which was already dissipating, as my broken staff pieces finally turned back into neural Dust.
Adam lunged at me swinging. I panicked and brought up a copy of the swords from Shadow Fight 2, which were basically two chokutÅ blades like Adam's, single edged blades that were thin and straight, ideal for quick stabbing and slashing. And right now, it was ideal for the latter, slashing away Adam's insanely fast combos of blows from both his sword and his scabbard.
"You and Blake are the same," Adam growled as he pushed forward, forcing me back as all I could do was deflect and parry his hits. "You had to come in and ruin everything!"
He roared and swung once again, this time activating his semblance, before I could speak. My Dust swords shattered as I was sent backflipping harshly. Adam didn't wait for me to recover, not even in the air. He leapt forward, rushing to end me quickly before I could land. He wasn't going to give me the chance to prepare.
So I wasn't going to give him the chance to strike. I brought out all my Dust, including my electric, wind, fire, ice, earth, and hard-light Dust into a massive two handed cudgel, before swinging. It smashed across Adam's side, creating an explosion that forced him to fly to the right as I landed. The cudgel, damaged from the sheer amount of volatile Dust that had ignited, turned into a pair of four pronged long claws, kind of like Wolverine. Taking the advantage, I dashed forward as Adam landed and bounced right back at me.
Claws were an ideal weapon for lightning fast attacks. Because they were so short ranged, the smaller weapons were easier to attack and block with than swords or other large bladed weaponry. The fact they were attached at the wrists as well also meant they were much easier to control, as the only thing you had to really worry about controlling was your wrist.
This meant that this time, I had Adam on the defensive, being on the offense with claws able to adequately keep up with Adam's sword, even with his speed. However, Adam had a few tricks up his sleeve as well. He was constantly rolling or jumping left or right, even landing a kick in the split second intervals between attacks. Luckily, those kicks weren't too hard, as they were more or less quick jabs between the hits.
Unfortunately, I was forced to back off when Adam's hair and sword began to glow again with the area around him darkening. I narrowly dodged another swing, ducking as the huge red arc of energy flew over my head horizontally, cutting down several trees behind me and creating plenty of noise which hopefully alerted someone to the ongoing fight.
I jumped forward, claws turning into a spear - specifically a Magari Yari, which was a spear with wind Dust crossblades near the front. Adam swung, and I parried before I began spinning the polearm like a staff, using what practice I had from copying Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang before the attack on Haven started. Adam was able to parry every strike I had, but he had to dodge when my blades came close. Whenever they hit the ground, they formed their own gusts of wind strong enough to send Adam back, giving me some space to rush in and attack harder. The staff turned into twin nunchucks - still with the wind Dust - and I bolted closer against him.
Nunchucks were hard to use, but since I control neural Dust, I could control how they swung, and they only swung like fans as they bounced off Adam's blade, deflecting all his attacks while forcing him to back up. Now I knew why Sun liked to use them. It was only a pity that I didn't have nunchucks made of lever action shotguns.
The sound of an airship approaching hit my ears, and I knew backup had to be close. Adam didn't notice as he rushed me once again. Switching from the nunchucks to a pair of small one handed battle hammers, I swung. Each hammer had Earth and wind Dust in them as well, adding plenty of weight and force to my attacks. The force was heavy enough to deflect the sword wide enough to leave him wide open. However I wasn't able to take advantage of this opening, as he fired with Blush, forcing me to deflect the bullets with the hammers and allowing him to bring his sword in for the kill.
I ducked the first strike and backflipped away from the second strike before I immediately swung the hammers once again, this time with more caution. I was using the hammers like swords, and I was actively blocking low, high, inside and outside, left and right. Adam wasn't tired somehow, but I knew his aura was low. He'd used Moonslice several times back at Haven. Just how much aura did he have left?
I'd never get my question answered as several gunshots from above interrupted our fight. Sienna's White Fang was firing from a Bullhead, machine guns and pistols. I leapt back to give the gunners room to fire, and soon Adam was deflecting bullet after bullet with intense precision and accuracy, before he made a dash through the forest.
"Shit!" I growled as the airship gave chase. While they could keep up with little to no issues, they had no chance of actually taking down Adam with potshots from the air. I gave chase immediately, running after him as the airship above shined a spotlight down on Adam with its occupants still firing down at him.
I heard a "swoosh", and suddenly Qrow was running alongside me, Harbinger in hand. "So, what brings you around these parts?" I asked, slightly out of breath from the earlier fight.
"I heard aout a block brained idiot fighting an unhinged bastard without any aura," Qrow said without missing a beat as he gained extra speed to his sprint, passing me and vanishing into the deep forest ahead. I did the same, though I could only speed up so much without getting too tuckered out. I was already exhausted, no doubt running on pure adrenaline by now.
I really needed more endurance training. Qrow vanished beyond my sight, and all I could do was follow the Bullhead above and where it was aiming its spotlight. After a few minutes of more running, the Bullhead finally stopped, hovering in place a hundred meters ahead of me. When I arrived, I saw Qrow and Adam parrying and swinging like madmen.
Wilt and Harbinger bounced off each other more times per second than I could hope to count, sparks flying rapidly as they fought. The two were evenly matched, Adam's tenacity, speed, and unpredictability being locked against Qrow's experience, skill, and semblance. Qrow was winning, however, likely due to having more aura and more energy.
But Adam wasn't giving in. "Out of my way, human!" he snarled as he activated Moonslice yet again, intent on sending Qrow to his maker. Qrow ducked and swung Harbinger, knocking Adam's arm aside and forcing the huge stored up blast of energy off to the side. The trees and rocks shattered at once, revealing the edge of the mountain. I hadn't realized just how far we'd come from the academy.
The very top of the mountain was several hundred meters up above ground level, with maybe a six hundred or seven hundred meter fall down the side. And we were all very close to the edge. Adam pressed the advantage of having the high ground over Qrow, kicking and forcing himself back before he turned and went for me. I leapt back from an overhead slash, before I dashed forward, rolling and sliding near the edge of the mountain as Adam turned back to where I landed and began to run.
I conjured up a hard-light Dust shield in front of me, and some more neural Dust to surround my feet with. Adam clashed, and I felt myself tipping backwards over the edge, though the Dust surrounding my boots kept me from plummeting to my death. I had no more aura, or so little of it that it wouldn't even matter if I fell.
Qrow gave a lunge and tackled Adam away from me. With a sigh of relief, I tipped forward, away from the edge and towards safety as Adam and Qrow continued to fight. This fight was taking way too long. I had to finish it.
And I'll forever remember having the stupidest idea I'd ever had in a fight. Even with what aura I had, this was a very bad plan.
I jumped onto Adam's back and began elbowing down on his head. He was shocked enough that Qrow managed to swing Harbinger and nail the terrorist leader in the gut with the handle of his weapon, before rearing back and throwing a heavy punch, sending me and Adam toppling to the floor, with his aura finally breaking under the impact. If I knew anything about Qrow, it's that his bare kicks and punches do way more damage than any weapon could hope to deal.
I jumped to my feet while Adam backflipped, and the two of us once again began our dance routine - forgive me for saying it but I'd been fighting Adam for almost a half hour in total, including back in Haven.
Only this time, Adam was slower. He was tired. And he was exposed. I punched him in his left side, and elbowed his shoulder. Wilt carved through the air to get to me, and missed me by an inch or two. Bouncing back, I punched him again before spin kicking Adam towards the edge. Adam teetered for a second before he chucked his arm and threw his sword at me with lightning fast speed.
Eyes widening, I held up my left hand as the sword pierced right through my glove, as well the palm of the prosthetic, up to the hilt. The tip of the blade was inches away from my face. Quickly stepping forward and reaching over, I grabbed the barrel of Blush just as Adam was about to fall back.
Soon, Adam was leaning over the edge of the mountain, only held up by me, spotlights from the Bullhead focused on the both of us as Qrow approached."Kid...you've done enough," he said. "Pull him up and let's get outta here."
I was about to before Adam chuckled. "You think you can lock me up. After everything that's happened..." he said. Chuckling, he looked at me, darkly. "I won't be defeated, only to be thrown back into an animal cell to be tortured again."
"It's over, Adam," I said. "No use fighting now."
"Who said I'd fight my way out of this? I know I can't win," Adam whispered. He leaned a little closer, before smirking. "But I can take you with me."
Qrow yelled.
A gunshot rang throughout the air.
Qrow stumbled forward in shock. I toppled backwards as the shot impacted me. All the while, I never let go of Blush.
Adam did, however.
I watched as he plummeted over the edge as he let go of the grip on his rifle, which was the only thing keeping him from falling. I didn't hear a scream, or anything really. I could only hear my ears ringing from the loud "bang" guns tended to make. Qrow slid to his knees beside me, saying something, though I couldn't tell what it was.
Slowly, my hearing came back when the ringing gunshot echo finally faded away. "Kid," Qrow said, panicked as he checked me over. "Kid, you alright? Say something! Kid!" he yelled.
I gasped for air as I looked down. My stomach was...fine. No bullet wound, no bleeding, no real pain whatsoever. All I saw was the spot where I'd been shot glowing with what little aura I had managed to regenerate before it finally shattered. Guess it was barely enough for me to block that point blank shot. I felt extremely lucky. Looking to who I was next to, I wondered if my semblance copied Good Fortune from Clover before my aura broke without me knowing.
Come to think of it, I feel like I should have seen that coming. Getting shot and dying just because I didn't notice the gun aimed less than a foot away from my gut was a rather stupid way to die. Either way, I was fine now. "I'm...I'm fine," I said once I got up to my feet. Qrow helped me steady myself as the Bullhead - which had never left - lowered. Qrow and I entered, and we were looked over as the airship began to make its way back to the academy. "I think I'm low on Dust."
"I thought it would never go away. Goes back to your belt or something," Qrow remarked.
"Oh, yeah it does. But I meant the other Dust. Wind, Earth, fire, ice, etcetera etcetera," I said tiredly. "Maybe Atlas has some more."
"Ah, ol' Jimmy helping out, eh?" Qrow remarked.
"What can I say? I am his favorite after all," I jokingly replied. Qrow snorted in response to that little quip.
When we arrived back at Haven Academy, it was nearly abandoned. The fires were put out and we could see the devastation of the school in its entirety. A few Mistral airships and a few dozen Mistralian armed forces were investigating the academy, all while keeping the vast majority of Sienna's White Fang under close supervision.
When we landed, I'd gotten over the shock of the bullet wound well enough to get to my feet, only to be greeted by Reese with a big hug. "Markus, did you see Ruby kill that dragon?!" she gushed. "I think you were still here when that happened!"
"What?" I asked, confused before remembering Kevin as Reese let go of me. "She used her silver eyes?" She must have petrified Kevin while I was down in the vault.
Reese gasped. "How do you know her eyes did the-no, no, no, I should know that you know stuff that I don't know yet, stupid me!" she grumbled before calming down. "But...she killed it and it was super bright, I think I went blind for an hour. Or a minute, so..."
Ozpin chuckled. "She indeed used her silver eyes. Miss Rose possesses a powerful gift. Use it wisely," he said.
"Uhh, what do you mean?" Reese asked, confused.
"You will, in time," Ozpin said cryptically before walking away, leaving a puzzled Reese. I just chuckled as Qrow went back to Yang. "So, how're you doing?" I asked.
"Oh, I'm fine. Nadir got shot in the leg, but he'll pull through," Reese said as she looked around the academy. "Son of a bitch..." she muttered. "They destroyed the dorms. Almost everything. And to see Headmaster Lionheart working for the enemy?"
Prying Wilt out of my hand, I shoved the sword back into Blush before hitching it to my belt. Unfortunately, I was stopped when I was approached by someone else. "Excuse me. That was Adam Taurus's weapon, right?" a Mistral officer said. Without waiting for my answer, he yanked it off of me. "This is going into lockup for evidence."
Seriously? Man, the police are no fun. I didn't say anything as I quickly made my way to the others. Yang was busy with checking on Blake, who now had a thin scar going up her entire front. Ruby was still knocked out, likely from using her silver eyes for the first time. Weiss was being healed by Jaune's aura amplification semblance. I smiled upon seeing him get the hang of his power rather quickly.
Pyrrha was asleep by Jaune's side, and Liya was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Liya?" I asked upon walking over to Jaune.
"That scorpion guy stung her. It was bad but I think she'll pull through. She was taken to the nearest hospital," Jaune explained quickly. "She'll be alright. We're getting sidetracked since we have to be questioned later, but...they're letting us recover before that. We need to get back to the house anyway."
I sighed, glad to hear that my partner was being taken care of. Still, I couldn't help the jolt of fear that I felt upon hearing about in the first place, especially considering an injury by Tyrian Callows of all people. I was really glad he decided to run off.
Blake and Yang came over, Yang looking longingly at me. It hurt to see her, and I realized just how unprepared I was to face her. "Is Adam..." Blake asked.
"He's dead," I said. "Right off the edge of the mountain." Blake nodded, trying to push away her trembling shoulders.
"I...I'm glad," Blake choked. That was a lie, and she knew it too. As Blake collapsed, Ilia rushed over and grabbed her before she could hit the ground. Sobbing, Blake held onto Yang and Ilia, desperate for comfort. I didn't blame her sorrow. Adam may have been an abusive and bloodthirsty killer, but he was someone who was close to Blake before all of this. And it was easy to overlook that it wasn't Blake who'd changed to dislike Adam's ways, it was Adam who changed.
Sighing, I turned to see who else was here. Roman and Neo were gone obviously, and Reese had gone back to teams ABRN and SSSN to get checked up. Emerald was still sitting on her lonesome, rubbing her wrists. Making my way to her, I sat next to the former thief, leaning against the wall and looking up. "Are you feeling alright?" I asked.
Emerald looked over at me. "Is Cinder really gone?" she whispered. She sounded pained somewhat pained, but mostly tired.
I sighed. "I dunno. She's probably still alive. There's a lake all the way down there and I don't feel like diving down a hollow mountain to check," I said, eyeing the dissipating smoke, as the fires throughout the academy campus had been put out. "And you didn't answer my question, Em. Are you feeling alright?" I turned to the green haired girl to see her lost expression. It seemed she was still conflicted over Cinder, but given how she's been, she might really be on the right side of all this now.
Emerald sighed. "I don't know. I was out for most of the battle," she said. "I honestly thought I'd be dead with the way she started burning everything in sight. I'm surprised no one died. Then again, you're all a stubborn bunch."
I leaned on Emerald gently. "We're a stubborn bunch," I corrected. Emerald huffed in amusement as several officers approached us for questioning.
Several hours passed, and after Qrow was pulled into a virtual meeting with the Council of Mistral regarding the reasons of the attack on Haven, we were finally allowed back into our residence. Everything was left untouched, meaning everything was still a mess around the house since we'd all left in such a hurry. Qrow reminded us that we needed to pack up, as we'd be moving to a hotel for the week to prepare for our trip to Argus.
Before we could go inside, Ozpin had some things to say. "When I first reunited with all of you, I was...to say the least, doubtful. I believed through our enemy, we would be continuously overwhelmed, even with all our efforts, the knowledge we'd been granted, and the will of our spirits," he said. "But you have shown me that I was right to entrust the fight with you. All of you went up against Salem's lieutenants and the Grimm. And you all persevered and powered through her obstacles. But you have also seen what she is capable of."
Sighing sadly, he looked down as he leaned on Long Memory in front of him, his finger tapping as he closed his eyes. "She infiltrates. She manipulates. She turned one of my own trusted lieutenants, and my close friend, against us. She works on fear and mistrust to turn us against each other. So as we continue on our journey, we must continue to build up trust. We must continue to work with each other and build unshakable bonds to ensure that Salem never breaks our spirits like she did with Lionheart."
Ozpin looked at me, and I knew exactly what he was talking about. "That is all," he said. "I only wish to congratulate you, and commend your efforts tonight. Now get some rest, we've all earned it." Ozpin's eyes flashed, and Oscar came back, toppling over and falling against Qrow. The normally drunk huntsman chuckled lightly before he turned to the rest of us. "You heard him, go to bed."
When I entered the house, I saw Reese packing her things up. "You staying with Arslan?" I asked.
"Yeah. Apparently with Haven down and out, we need to transfer," Reese said. "So all of ABRN will be going to Shade. SSSN too. I'm not sure if anyone else is going, but-"
"Yeah, no," I said. "Only ABRN and SSSN transfer to Shade. And it'll be rough, not just because it's the desert, but more or less because Vacuo's already suffering from a problem of its own." Reese gestured for me to continue, and I explained as much as I remembered from the books. I told Reese about the Crown, about Jax and Gillian, and the politics of the Crown's intentions.
When I was done, I was greeted by a blank faced Reese. "Yeah, I didn't understand a damn thing other than Jax being able to brainwash people," she said before shuddering. "But thanks."
"As long as you know what you're up against," I said before sighing. "So this is goodbye, huh?"
"I mean, you're not leaving forever. You're just gonna take the relic from Atlas and then come to Vacuo for theirs, right?" Reese asked before blinking. "Wow, that sounds a lot like theft now that I think about it."
"No, we aren't gonna take the staff. It's what's holding Atlas up in the first place," I said, chuckling. "But we will have to stay there for a while. Atlas will be under attack soon. But it should mean Shade Academy should be in the clear for now. Plenty of time to prepare for incoming Grimm. Well, more Grimm than Vacuo already has."
Reese grinned, before the skater girl looked away. I could tell that easygoing smile of hers had gone away now. "I wanted to go with you. But-"
"I know. I wouldn't complain if you stuck with me as well, but it gets rougher later," I said. "I'd rather you stick with your team and out of danger." Reese pouted, and I laughed for a bit. "We can't text from kingdoms apart since the CCT is busted but...you'll be remembered."
"Jeez, I'm not dying, you know?" Reese mumbled before lightening up. "I'm gonna miss you, you know?"
I huffed. "Same here. Keep yourself safe," I said. The two of us hugged, Reese rubbing my ears affectionately for a few seconds before she grabbed her things and hopped out on her board. She waved goodbye and winked before she zipped out of the room. I left the now empty bedroom as Qrow yelled at Reese to slow down.
I went into my room later, after texting Liya that I'd visit tomorrow. We had a long day tomorrow for interrogation and further detailed questioning regarding the White Fang. As I removed and set my belt by the bed, I reached into my bag and opened it to see if I still had everything.
A black hilt entered my vision as I peered into my bag. Wait a second, when did I have a sword?
I blinked as I opened my bag all the way. Wilt and Blush sat in my bag, fully sheathed. Surprised, I took it out, looking it over before I noticed that it came along with a little scuffed note. Taking the note, I unfolded it and began to read.
"Noticed you wanted to keep this. Thought I'd help out. RT" it read in small relatively neat handwriting.
RT.
Roman Torchwick.
I huffed in amusement at the gift. "Thanks," I whispered. As I sealed my bag again, hiding Adam's weapon as I decided I'd have to tell the others I was going to use Wilt and Blush from now on in tandem with my belt. I wasn't too certain how Blake would handle the news, to be honest.
My thoughts were interrupted as I heard a knock. Turning, I got up. "Come in."
Yang entered the room after opening the door. "Hey...Markus? Can we talk?" she asked. Taking a deep breath, I slowly exhaled and turned around.
I had to know this was coming. I wasn't sure why I thought I could avoid it forever, but I was wrong. Still, bringing Yang and Blake and the others from Menagerie was the right call. It was just tough to think about dealing with Yang now, even with all the pain seeing her brought me.
Well, best to get this over with.
"What about?" I asked, subconsciously and nervously gripping my left arm.
"Well...uncle Qrow asked me to tell you to make a portal to Menagerie so we can get our things and properly join you guys," Yang said.
"Yeah, I'm not too sure how that will work since no one I'm bonded to is in Menagerie at the moment," I said, remembering the specifics of Raven's semblance. "Did you have anything important?"
"Uhh...no," Yang admitted. "I guess we can always buy new stuff. New gear and whatnot. Same with Blake. Blake doesn't have anything, she never brings much other than those books of hers."
I chuckled, reminiscing about Beacon and some of the things I did before the fall. "Yeah, I still need to get restarted on my story," I said. "It's been months since I updated."
Yang sighed. "Look. About what my mother-about what Raven said down there. What did she mean by 'hurting you with the same pain I felt'?" she asked. "Is this because I left you? The way she left dad?"
I looked down at my left hand, the large slit in my glove showing the hole Wilt had carved open in my prosthetic hand. "Not exactly," I said, knowing there was no real use in hiding it any longer.
Pulling off my glove and rolling up my sleeve, Yang got a full uncensored look at the sleek and silver prosthetic arm I had. Her eyes widened, and her breaths sped up. I didn't blame her, I'd panic if I was the one who caused Yang's loss of her arm.
"I-I-" she stuttered, her face slowly losing color as she buckled and slid down to the floor against the door. "I never, I didn't mean to-"
"You blasted my elbow to pieces," I said slowly. "It hurt a lot after I woke up, you know. Bone fragments pierced my upper arm. My bone was crushed."
"Stop it," Yang whimpered. "Please, stop."
"You got a clean cut when you lost your arm, but it took me weeks to recover. I was unconscious for entire weeks. I had to go through therapy for months. I had to deal with phantom pains, and they could be very bad. I had to feel my arm explode at the elbow over and over again," I continued.
"Please!" Yang begged, her hands clutching her head as she looked down, desperate to look away from what she'd done.
"No, I've harbored these feelings for months! I'm mad, Yang! I'm mad at you! I'm mad at Ruby, Weiss, Blake! Nora, Ren, hell, even Liya! I'm mad at you all for abandoning me! I almost died!" I yelled. "Hah, I thought I forgave everyone except for you! But I haven't! Despite every happy ending letting bygones be bygones, I can't forget it! Not...not now, at least."
"I know that!" Yang screamed. "I know what I did, and I don't have an excuse! I don't have anything to say that will save me because I don't deserve to be saved." She whimpered before beginning to cry, her sobs sounding not unlike how she did when we were leaving the vault.
"Then why? Why did you attack me? Without letting me say a thing, without listening? You didn't hesitate. You just...saw me as an enemy. You took what Adam had said at face value, before I could explain," I said. "I thought I meant more to you than that."
"You do!" Yang cried. "You mean the world to me, you mean Remnant to me! But I fucked up, I was too mad and ignorant and-" She let out a sigh. "I'm sorry."
Sighing, I turned away. "I get nightmares. Flashes. I see you, red eyes and hair on fire, rushing me before my arm starts hurting again," I said. "I have trauma. Probably some phobia. Of you!" I chuckled before I let out a shaky gasp for breath. "I'm scared of you. I never thought I'd say that, but I'm scared of you."
"I'm sorry," Yang repeated.
"We can never go back to how things were before, you know that?" I said. "It's ruined. And it's both our faults. I kept secrets from you, and that temper of yours is too much."
"I know," Yang whispered, her cries softening to small shakes and hiccups. "Can we maybe try and be friends again?"
I didn't answer for a bit. "I honestly don't know," I said slowly. "But I want to. I want us all to work together because we have an enemy to fight. And that enemy wins by dividing and picking us off one by one. But before we can work on that, we have to work on ourselves. And I think that'll take a long time."
Yang nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. Long ago, in Beacon, I would've kissed those tears away. Now, I couldn't even look at her.
"You should check on Blake," I said. "Probably room together. She could use her partner to get her through this."
"What about you?" Yang whispered.
"I'll be fine. I made it this far, haven't I?" I asked. Yang didn't answer. She slowly left the room and closed the door behind her. Lying on the bed, I pulled the covers over me.
And I began to sob. All the emotions I suppressed, longing, sorrow, anger, fear, they all began to flow out in the form of soft stifling cries. I cried alone for a long time, soaking the sheets with tears. I was tired. I was exhausted. And I was alone.
At least until an intruder quietly entered in my room, too quiet for me to notice at the time. She climbed into bed behind me and slipped under the covers before slowly pulling my head against her bosom, arms wrapped around me as she held me close. She was warm, welcoming, all that I needed.
"It's alright," a voice whispered softly to me. "I'm here to help you."
I shuffled back comfortably as Emerald held me close, returning the favor for what I did for her after saving her life. "Thanks," I whispered.
"Let's just call it even," she replied.
Smiling, I fell asleep warm and comforted, rather than cold and alone.
I knew Yang and I would have one hell of a rough patch to get through. Heck, I had a lot to work with for everyone. But things turned out alright. I managed to vent out my feelings, Roman and Neo were safe, the Relic of Knowledge was secure, and I just had a feeling that Atlas was going to be a breeze.
I could only hope that the trip to Argus, then Atlas, would be so smooth.
(AN: I will be taking a short pause to prepare for Volume 6, as well as work with the betas on future planning, such as romance, fights, and major events such as the arc for Atlas and what will potentially come after. By the time this chapter is out, it will have been exactly 5 months since I started this story.
Markus and Yang have a lot to work through, as well as the rest of the characters. Markus hasn't fully forgiven everyone for leaving him at Beacon, so he has plenty of work cut out for him. Emerald is confirmed to really care about Markus, and Roman and Neo are safe and fully off the grid. Adam is dead, though Mistral is under the same devastation Beacon went through months ago. Some things changed for the worse, while others changed for the better.
I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up the story, so thanks for reading - it really means a lot to me. See you soon!
Also for those wondering, no, Markus isn't going to become your typical femboy bottom. His feminine appearance is nothing more than a gag.)