A Once Lighter Heart
Pt. I
"Let it hurt. Let it bleed. Let it heal. And let it go."
― Nikita Gill
Qrow was no stranger to disappointment. A title that had been hanging over him since he had been born. He was the second of twins, more mouths to feed. He was struck by sickness when he was five; more resources had to go to him to keep him alive. When he finally learned his semblance, the chief was disappointed that it was not a more active ability. Even as the years passed, disappointment clung to him like a parasite. Grew used to it. It became a part of him.
Of course, just because he was used to it did not mean he did not hate it.
"What do you mean you didn't find her?" Jame's disappointment was barely being contained.
"James, please," Ozpin sat at the General's desk, his fingers steepled like the three of them were back at Beacon.
"Like I said, Jimmy. She's gone, and the vault's empty. The damn school looked like someone tore it to shreds trying to get it. And that was after Leo was deboned…" Qrow shuddered at the memory of seeing a person just, flat like that.
"So, we're down another Headmaster, a Maiden and a relic…." James sighed as he walked to the large window that covered the back wall. They could see Atlas in the distance, and with it, the entire fleet of Atleisan warships hovering around it, ready to attack at a moment's notice. "I told you we should have sent a search party for her, or at least sent a force with her to reclaim the lamp,"
"It took me a year and a half to track her down the first time she disappeared; I doubt you'd have gotten very far,"
"Maybe she's back with the tribe?" James continued to push the topic.
"The tribe's been wiped out for years. All thanks to the Champion of Mistral. Any location on him yet?"
"None, I've gotten a few reports but nothing concrete yet."
"You can't find one high-profile soldier and think you could find my sister easily?" Qrow sneered as he folded his arms.
"Gentlemen." Ozpin's soft yet stern voice cut through the building tension before James could retort. "We must focus on what we have rather than what we're missing. Atlas is now the last standing kingdom. We have thousands of refugees from the other kingdoms all gathered in one place. Salem is making her moves much faster and less subtle than before; we must prepare countermeasures and secure the people first and foremost."
"How are we expected to protect all those people within the borders? Mantle is already at capacity with its own dwindling resources, and we can't exactly extend outwards with Atlas. We need to decide who we can save and focus on them." Qrow could see how haggard the man had become. The beard he had grown had aged him more than the war had. Streaks of grey were beginning to make their way into his black hair, and he was starting to unravel. The incident Qrow had heard of earlier with the Faunus was not helping things, but to just abandon so many people when the Grimm would be coming in droves with the increased population was mad.
"James, take a breath; what you're saying makes sense," Ozping got up from his spot and held a hand to stop Qrow from interrupting. "But we cannot afford such narrow foresight. Who are we to choose who to save? We must do everything we can to save everyone, no matter the cost. We are all that's left for people to look to for guidance. If we turn away people, those we keep will do the same thing, and we will have finished what Salem had started."
Qrow watched as Ozpin placed his hand on James' shoulder and watched the man deflate and flop into his chair. "Our resources will be stretched so thin, there is no way we can save them all. We can guarantee the survival of some,"
"At the cost of the rest of the world, James." Again, Ozpin placed his hand on the General's shoulder to comfort him. "We cannot allow her to divide us anymore. Yes, heavy sacrifices must be made, and not everyone will make it, I'm sure, but we must be the example people look to."
"You're right," James spoke after some silence. "You're right, like always. I'm sorry, Ozpin."
"It's alright, your greatest strength is focusing on your goal and letting nothing distract you from accomplishing it, but it is also your greatest weakness. I have no doubt that you could have the people of Atlas, but there would be no point if the world was completely gone afterwards. The path to annihilation is paved with good intentions,"
Qrow watched as James rubbed his face, trying to push back how tired he looked before nodding. "You're right, you're right…" Qrow let out a breath of relief. It was hard enough to get James to change his mind when he was set on something; he could only imagine how much damage the General could do if he actually went through with it. "So, any ideas how we're going to protect all these people?"
"Well," Qrow finally chimed in as he walked up to the desk and pulled out his flask. "Since we're finally at peace, you probably won't need all those ships. I'm sure we can convert a few of them into reinforcements for the walls and temporary shelters. Use some of that Atlas tech to make some farms and get food production up."
"That will take time, something we have very little of at the moment," James scratched at his beard as they all thought.
"How was the gravity dust situation?" Ozpin asked as he stood at the window, staring out over the endless tundra that made up the land around them.
"The secondary generators were put on hold to focus on the war effort," James leaned back in his chair, and Qrow could see where the line of thinking was heading. "If we can get Atlas to float using gravity generators and utilize the staff to create food for everyone, we might just ride this out,"
"If we can get the generators to work, Atlas has been trying to utilize them for sixty years and still couldn't get the math right to hold that city up without the staff. If we try it now and it fails, everyone dies." Qrow would like to believe that it could work, but his experience said otherwise.
"We'll keep that on the back burner then," Ozpin approached the desk and set his mug down. "So, let's go over what we do have then. James, where is the Winter Maiden?"
"Under constant surveillance. She's old, Oz. Probably won't make it another year, if the doctors are right,"
"Summer is still MIA, but the relic is still in the vault, last I checked," Qrow added his scouting reports as he took a swig of his flask.
"We've got a few thousand people displaced heading towards one of the harshest climates in the world. More bullets than food and a fuse for a second Faunus war ready to be lit on a moment's notice," Ozpin tallied up what the most significant problems were.
"And, our ace in the hole is still missing with the relic that could give us all the answers to our questions," James closed up their inventory with a sigh.
"Hey, Raven will be back when she's good and ready," Qrow said as he capped off his flask. Of course, the universe would not be complete without his words being thrown back at him. Behind him, a spinning red portal appeared. "See?" Before he could say anything else, Raven came rushing through her doorway and grabbed the coffee mug Ozpin had set down and hurled it behind it and was caught by someone else.
Qrow did not recognize the man, but he could feel the hostility coming off of him. Ashen hair slicked back, and sunglasses that hid his eyes. He looked around at everyone and eyed up Qrow. "huh," was all he said before every weapon was drawn and pointed at him. Qrow pulled the trigger on his weapon and sent a spray of bullets at the stranger. James fired both barrels behind him, forcing him to cover his face and jump back into the portal before it closed.
Everyone stared at the spot the man appeared and disappeared before Qrow turned to his sister and saw her slip to the ground, her back against the desk. Crouching down to her level, he saw that she looked terrible. Dried blood and bruises on her lips and numerous cuts and dark splotches ran across her body. Her eyes wide and staring out as she struggled to breathe. "Rae?" Qrow whispered to her.
Raven flinched away from him, her eyes staring at him. He had never seen her so afraid before. "Rae, it's me," She blinked a few times before tears began to fall from her eyes, and she all but threw herself at him. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she cried against his shoulder.
"Raven, are you alright?" Ozpin came around the desk and crouched down to them. He put his hand on Qrow to steady himself as James began to secure the room, his weapons out and ready to be used again.
It took Raven a few seconds to collect herself before pulling away from her brother. "I will be," her voice sounded so rough like she had been screaming none stop. Slowly, Qrow helped his sister to get feet, where she dropped what she had been cradling in her chest the whole time onto the desk.
The Relic of Knowledge hovered above the wood, spinning gently under its own power. Everyone stared at the relic until James slowly walked up to it and picked it up by the handle. Everyone watched as it shrunk in size until it could be hidden from prying eyes and stashed a case James had in the desk. "Who was that?" James asked after the relic was secured.
"His name was Ash; he has a sister, Ember. They're part of Salem's Inquisition. They're Maiden Hunters."
At her words, the tension in the room rose. "Maiden Hunters?" Ozpin quickly pulled the chair out from the desk and brought it around so Raven could sit. Qrow watched as she winced and slowly sat down.
"They're skilled, very skilled. I underestimated them and paid for it." She held her shaking hand out, and Qrow's blood went cold. Dried blood and exposed flesh-covered where her fingernails were supposed to be. She rubbed her ribs and looked away from them. "They're torturers and very good at it…"
"I'll get a medic down here right away," James was already calling in a medical officer to the room when Raven started waving him off.
"There's more," She took a deep breath before continuing. "Their powers are dangerous too. She can phase through solid objects and people. I think she needs to focus on not falling through the ground, though. She can also augment herself with Dust Armour that she can take with her when she phases."
How quickly Raven talked and how shaky her voice was, Qrow could tell that she was really pushing herself to say these things, but it was something they needed to know. Someone who could just negate any attack by phasing their body in and out was dangerous. "And Ash, I still haven't gotten a full idea of what he can do, but it's something similar. He's able to reach and pull from somewhere and bring it right to his hand. On top of all that, their ability to manipulate Dust is the best I've ever seen…"
"That's enough, Raven," Ozpin quickly chimed in. "We're almost at Atlas now, far away from those two. We have time to let you recover and debrief you afterwards." Raven looked like she wanted to say more, but the door opened, and a medic rushed in and moved towards her. Qrow gave the officer some room to start working as she began to ask Raven questions about what was wrong.
"We'll talk later. Get some rest," Ozpin said again as he began to make his way out of the room while James gave a curt nod and walked off with a case that housed the relic, off to secure it somewhere safer. Qrow was about to take his leave as well when Raven's hand shot out and grabbed his. He stopped and looked back at her, only to see a fear in her eyes he had never seen before. With a nod, he stayed behind as the medic worked on cleaning and bandaging Raven's fingertips.
"Anything else hurt?" the medic asked as she disposed of the bloody wipes.
"I'm missing some teeth, and something was put into my ribs," Raven grimaced as she spoke. The medic used a small light to peer into Raven's mouth, and Qrow saw three gaps where teeth were supposed to be. The medic made a note of that, took out a pair of scissors, and began to cut away at Raven's bloodied top. Qrow quickly turned to the side to give her sister some privacy when she spoke up.
"Oh, grow up, Qrow. You've seen my tits before…"
That was true. Being siblings, they shared a tent in the camp and shared a dorm room in Beacon; it was impossible for privacy a hundred percent of the time. "It doesn't help when you would walk around the place topless while you were pregnant." He still could not believe she would do that.
"Hey, you try walking around with bloated boobs and sensitive nips," The medic chimed in when the shirt was cut through. "I got ya, sister. Okay, let's see what we've got."
Looking over the medic's head, Qrow saw a large, fresh cut that ran across her ribs that had been stitched together rather poorly, even for him. The medic let out a low whistle as she began to clean the wound a little bit before cutting open the stitches one by one. With the cut open, the medic got Qrow to hold the light as she spread the flesh open and peer inside while slowly sliding a pair of tweezers inside.
Raven hissed as she squeezed Qrow's hand tightly, and he had to focus his Aura to make sure she did not break any bones. After a few seconds of digging around inside the wound, the medic pulled out something that baffled Qrow completely. Covered in Raven's blood was a playing card. The back was an intricate pattern, while the front showed off a single person sitting on a hill. On the bottom of the card held a title: Hermit.
Raven quickly grabbed the card and tore it in half, and threw it to the corner. Before anyone could say or do anything, a green fire erupted from pieces and died out as quickly as it came. Qrow and the medic just stared in shock as they realized that it was positioned next to her heart. In silence, the medic quickly bandaged and cleaned all the Raven wounds before taking her leave from the room. Qrow took some time to look around the room and find a spare shirt that James had kept there from an extra uniform.
The couch set off to the side, meant for more casual meetings, became Raven's new home as she laid down with the loose shirt over her body and Qrow sat down on the floor, his back against the couch. They were silent with each other for a few hours, the sun had begun to set, and Qrow could see the lights of Atlas and Mantle getting closer and closer.
"How did you get out?" He finally asked.
"Like dad said before he sent us to Beacon," she said after a stretch. "Fake it till you make it. I've never been more degraded in my life. I was a pet to them, to be played with at their whims. All to try and get the power of the Maiden from me… The worst part it? It's working. I close my eyes, and they're there. With their smiles and claws all over my body…"
Qrow was quick to reach over his shoulder and grab onto Raven's hand, who took it immediately. "Can you just distract me or something?" Raven quietly begged; her voice wavered, and he could hear the tears beginning to form. Quickly, he began to rack his brain on anything he could possibly say to her.
"Remember when Tai asked you to the Vytal dance our second year?"
"You mean when he asked me out with those flowers and that terrible pun everyday for a month straight leading up to the dance?" She asked with some warble from her voice left.
"Yeah, I didn't know flowers could reach a terminal velocity like that" Qrow laughed a bit. "And yet, what did you do the morning before the dance?"
"I went to Summer…"
"You went to Summer and begged her to help you," Qrow chuckled at the memory of the whole ordeal. "She took you shopping for a dress and helped you with your hair."
"To think I hated her when I first met her," Raven lamented as he felt her start to relax finally.
"You hated everyone the first time you met them,"
"She put me in a chokehold every morning for a week straight!"
"You refused to eat breakfast with everyone for a week straight!" Qrow countered quickly.
"I didn't eat breakfast,"
"Well, Summer wasn't having any of that shit,"
"Summer didn't take anyone's shit, especially any of ours," Qrow hummed in agreement as the silence hung over them. "I still laugh when I remember Tai convinced you that the skirt was a kilt," She chuckled lightly, and he did the same.
"You're just jealous because my legs looked better than yours did. That's why you wore stockings, and I went bare-legged" Qrow earned a slap to the back of his head for that comment, and he just laughed it off.
"You're the worst…" Raven took a breath before speaking again. "What do you think she'd say right now?"
"Ooooh, that's a tough one," Qrow let his head lean back and rest against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "Probably something about fighting impossible odds and hope. Some swears and a threat or two…"
"Probably…" Raven sighed gently as her hand slipped from his and rested on his head, gently patting it. "Did we get Ruby back?"
Qrow knew Raven cared for Summer's child but knew she also feared meeting her. "She's onboard, but something's not right. She lashed out when she woke up from a coma and is being restrained in an isolation cell. Screaming about enemies and death,"
Silence lingered again; the ship's soft vibrations were beginning to put his ass to sleep, but he stayed in his place to keep Raven calm. "I miss them, Qrow, I miss our better halves,"
"Me too, Rae… Me too…"
Ash all but fell from the portal Raven had created as it disappeared in front of him. He stared at the space and willed his anger to a simmer as Ember finally caught up to them. "Where is my little bird, Brother mine?' She asked, her rage barely in tack as she brushed dried leaves from her hair.
He should have seen this coming; the breaking had gone far too smoothly for his liking. A few teeth and fingernails were all it took to make Raven a songbird and sing any tune they wanted. But it was all a trap to lure them into a false sense of security.
Walking through the woods, on their way to the transport that would take them back to their queen, Raven managed to break her bonds, knock Ember down a cliff and steal back both a blade and the relic before escaping in one fell swoop. The Maiden might have underestimated them during their fight, but they had underestimated her resourcefulness and her strength to survive. "She's flown away, sister dear," Ash said as he turned back to his sister.
"DAMNIT!" She screamed as she turned and slashed at a tree nearby with her blade. Cutting a deep gouge into its bark and left it to fall under its own weight. "WHERE THE HELL DID SHE GO?!" While his sister threw her temper tantrum, Ash lifted the mug he had caught moments ago. Turning it, he saw a grey spear in front of a cog on the simple face. The symbol of Atlas. Considering he had also seen General James Ironwood on the other side of the portal, he had a pretty good idea.
"Wasn't Cinder heading towards Atlas ahead of schedule?" Ash asked as he tossed the mug to Ember, who caught it and examined it. "And didn't she say she killed Ozpin back at Beacon?"
"She is, and she did," Ember said as she tossed the mug behind her, letting it shatter on the ground.
"Its been too long since we paid Cinder dear a visit, hasn't it?" Ash asked as they resumed their journey to their airship.
"Indeed it has," Ember conferred, her anger curbed with the promise of more chances ahead. "I can't wait to see her again,"
"We'll get what we want, Sister dear," Ash promised Ember. "Two birds with one stone,"
A/N: Woo! How bout that finale! Please comment no spoilers until after this coming Saturday as not everyone has a first account.
Not much to say for this one, and as a bit of a shameless plug, I do have another series that I started a while ago called "The RWBY crackhouse" where I take prompts of rare pairs and the like. So if anyone has any ideas, feel free to leave them there!
Beta read by StreetAngelJ
If you enjoyed, leave a Favourite! If you already have, leave a comment! I love reading them and I love replying to them. This story is also posted on AO3 under the same name. So if you read there as well, come show your support! I also have a tumblr: AngryFaceWritings come say hi!
And as always, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my slice of madness!
