Chapter 26 – Eruption

Before I know it, I'm in front of my dormitory room.

Beyond its door's wooden frame, I can hear the scratching of ren to paper, intense scribbling dotting the line from top to bottom and the hurried whop of textbook pages. A plain, ordinary studying night for the person inside.

Stillness grips me.

A nerveless hand digs into my pocket and slides my Scroll in front of the scanner. Light gleams green. The door clicks unlocked. The handle turns, and my feet pull me forward. My head tilts right.

There she is, scribing away.

Weiss turns my way, opening her mouth about to say something when her lips suddenly jitter shut.

She stares at me. I stare back, the moment perpetually stuttering to a slow as neither of us make a move to break eye-contact. Her individual facial muscles jostle perturbed. Though ordinarily my face should be burning into a fever, it doesn't shatter its seized-up expression, it's numb to the point that it feels like hardened sculpture wax.

Weiss's eyes dart away. She turns back to her desk and begins studying anew.

My eyes linger as I refit the strap of my bag on my shoulder. Certain that she wasn't going to look back at me again, my legs drag myself away towards my dormitory bed.

"You're back late."

Crash!

Metal supports twang and buckle, carved wood thumps and folds, dozens of books bump and tumble, and the entirety of the shelf comes crashing down, smashing straight into the floor in one gigantic clash, shattering the eardrums of everyone around it.

My breath comes out in rags. I glance down at my bag, now buried under the rubble of what it destroyed.

Feeling overwhelms. My skin burns like an alit flame and my stomach curls inward. Before, I barely felt a thing, now I feel everything, a sensory overload of shaking nerves and a blazing raging bonfire erupting inside like exploding molten metal.

I growl out my words, "That's it? That's all you have to say for yourself?"

"Ex… excuse me?" Weiss stutters. I turn on her, her form retracting into her chair as if it were a proper retreat.

"No. No, I won't," I say, slowly approaching her. "Do you know where I've been for the last eight hours, Weiss?"

She edges further away from me.

"I've been at the hospital, sitting right next to my teammate as he lay unconscious with the back of his head burst wide open. They're keeping him in for more tests because they're unsure if his brain has shards of rock imbedded in it that could screw up him up for the rest of his life." I eye her coldly. "You would've known all of this already had you cared to visit him."

She lifts up a hand, "Now hold on-"

"Shut up!"

Weiss leaps up, her chair springing back so hard it tips over. The smoke begins pluming out from my mouth. I try to scavenge up the will to stop it but…

No.

She doesn't deserve that restraint.

"I'm talking! You shut the hell up and listen!"

There are no excuses, no justification for what she's done. Screw holding back. Screw keeping it in for her sake. She doesn't deserve it.

With the fire blazing in my stomach, I let everything out.

"Jaune is your partner. He spilled his guts out to you! He fought Cardin to earn your respect! All he ever wanted from you was to acknowledge him, to treat him as though he weren't worse than the dirt on your heels but apparently that was too much to ask! You couldn't even be bothered to see him in the hospital!"

Seething heat thrashes from my throat, a scathing glare directed straight at her.

"What the hell did he do to you, Weiss?! What did Jaune do that you took so personally for you to care so little about his wellbeing?! To not even check that he wasn't put into a coma or something messed up like that! What did he do?! Do you hate him that much?! Is that it?! Do you just want him to leave?!"

Weiss tries to step back, further and further away from me, but I don't let up. I keep encroaching not allowing her a single millisecond to breathe.

"Well, congratulations! You got your wish. He's quitting Beacon!"

"Wh-what?" She stammers.

"You heard me. He's quitting. He's giving up his chance to become a Huntsman. He's leaving!"

My fist cracks the desk. Pain shoots up my arm, but I don't feel a thing.

"And it's thanks to you. You and your big bloody mouth! You couldn't say one good word about him, could you?! No, no. That would mean coming off from your ivory tower and using that chasm you call a heart! You're supposed to be the leader, it's your job to care about your teammates. How dare you not be there!"

We stop. She's backed herself into the corner of the room. I stand in her way. Nowhere left to run.

"He believed in you! He believed there was more to you than being a cold-hearted witch! That was something in there worthy of respect! He was crushed when I told him you didn't show. He looked as though he let the entire world down. He even wanted to apologize, for failing. For not reaching up to your standards."

A small gasp of air inflates my lungs.

"…Even after everything you've said and done, he still had faith in you."

The image of a broken blonde in a hospital bed flashes in my head.

And the bile in my voice is replaced with snide bitterness.

"You know what's sad about that, though? He was the only one who did. Everyone else can't stand you: Blake, Yang, even Pyrrha looks like she'd rather be anywhere else when you talk to her. You pushed away the only person who wasn't deterred by your raging superior bitch complex, and you only have yourself to blame."

A final, incensed roar loosens from my chest.

"You're alone!"

Smack!

I reel back a step. A stinging sensation pulses in my right cheek, swelling and burning as I lift a stunned hand to touch it. The dorm door swings open and slams shut, footsteps racing away speedily down the corridor. It takes my head a moment to register what had just happened. I scowl deeply at Weiss' disappeared frame. That's her response? Fine. Just fine. I never expected anything more from her.

Whatever.

I massage my cheek, the bitter, rage-filled thoughts rummaging around my head as my Aura soothes the pain away.

When I feel it disappear however, something else creeps in to replace it. A horridness I instantly recognise – The reality of my actions and the true severity of what I have done comes crashing down on me.

I lost control.

I shut down. I stopped thinking. I don't know what happened. Once I opened my mouth, I didn't want to stop. I just kept going, kept saying things. It's like a pressure valve was released in my chest and I couldn't shut it again. I was so mad, I didn't even consider what I was saying was true or not.

'You're alone.'

Why did I say that?

Why on earth did I tell her that? Why did I tell her that everyone hated her? How could I have so livid as to feel as if that was in any way justified?! Why did I shout at her? Why did I break the bookshelf? Why did I do any of this?! I'm supposed to be better than that! I'm supposed to be better at this!

I'm not supposed to be like that anymore!

"Oh god…" I gasp. My feet give way from underneath me and I end up lying against one of the dorm beds, clutching my head tightly.

Stupid. Stupid, Eren. You should've kept it contained and kept your dumbass mouth shut…

"Eren?"

I seize still. Horror mutes me as several chaps knock the door. An uncertain voice speaks up from the outside. During my rant, I never once considered the volume of my voice, the time of night, or even which room would be in close enough proximity to hear me.

Ruby.

No.

No.

No, no, no, no, no!

"Eren. Please open the door. I-I'm not sure what the right thing to say is right now b-but… I just want to help."

I don't speak. I don't even move. Doing anything otherwise would be as though I'm proving to her that I currently exist, that the last few minutes really happened.

I don't want that. I don't want her to see me like this. She doesn't deserve it.

"Eren?"

She continues chapping in vain, her every call sounding more and more pleading after another.

Even after every cruel, vile, ugly thing she heard, she's still trying to get involved with me.

"Talk to me?"

What kind of friend even I am to her at this point, anyway? Why does she even bother with me?

"Please?"

I'm not worthy of her.

I'm not worthy of any of them.

"Are you stupid, Eren? Are you stupid?!"

"Honey, I know you loved her very much, but she was very ill and in so much pain. She was suffering, sweetie."

"This is my son, Eren. My family's very own boy genius."

"I don't need you! I never needed any of you!"

"Kids? We both have something we need to tell you."

"I'm trying to get my family back! Our lives were great! We were all so happy before! Why am I the only one here fighting for that?!"

"You need to wake the hell up, Eren. Before you really do lose everything."

"Goodbye…"

I awaken to a mouthful of marble.

I push myself off the floor, feeling a crick up in my neck and as I lift my head up from the ground. Sleep pricks my eyes as they shudder into pure darkness and my shoulder shunts against an unseen wall. Head's so hazy. Can't even remember falling asleep.

Four pats, I pluck my Scroll. Illuminating light blinds me.

Twenty-five past six. Dinner will have finished. Or, is it still on?

Double-check the date. Still Thursday. Not losing any days at least. Course, that's assuming I can get some decent sleep that doesn't include a stiff neck.

There are fewer worse places to fall asleep in than the hard floor of a cramped single public stall.

Beacon Academy have community stalls like these scattered all throughout campus. It's practically a necessity, given how bloody big the place is. Makes for a great hideaway, though. Overnight accommodation… less so. I've never been hit by a truck before but, if I had, well, this would still be pretty awful.

Haven't changed out of my uniform. Forgot to grab some spare clothes before I left. Probably smells putrid. I'd be lying if I said I cared.

The device vibrates. Yet another text pops up in my top-bar, amongst many others along with missed calls.

They're still trying.

I hash out a sigh and type a reply.

'I'm fine. Be back soon.'

Send.

…I rub my eyes dourly.

I haven't talked to anyone since my blow-up. Ruby, more than likely, had told Yang everything that had happened. Once she found out, I'm certain she would've come for me and Yang's not the kind of person to let the student identification authenticator get in her way.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't face her like that. I left my dorm as soon as my mind was made.

I'm not going to show my face to them again until I solve this debacle. Alone. Nothing will change otherwise. They shouldn't be forced to put up with my bullshit any longer.

With there being so much stalls on-campus, it wasn't hard to be somewhat troubling to find. There's been a few close encounters with a few forceful students and Goodwitch patrols but otherwise, I've made myself sufficiently scarce.

I skipped today's and yesterday's classes. They'd be there. Wasn't feeling it anyway. Haven't been to lunch or dinner either. Barely eaten a cup of instant noodles from the sophomore's common room.

I feel horrid. Inside and out, I feel absolutely horrid.

…But hiding away in toilets won't solve anything. I haven't just wasted my time feeling bad and gorging myself on self-pity. Not when there's someone else out there sitting in a bed, unable to change anything.

When everyone else is in class, or eating, I've been searching. For the last thing that could help me turn it all around.

My Scroll pings. I consider skimming over it, more messages telling me to come back, until I spot the name of the sender.

Jaune.

'Meet me in the locker-room. We need to talk.'

It's not him.

But I already knew that.

I've also known for a while who'd taken his Scroll too.

And knowing they still have it burns me up inside. Impersonating Jaune? After all they did to him?

How dare they.

They're not keeping that Scroll. I won't have it. It's an ambush, a very obvious one too, but I'm fed up with hiding, fed up with being cautious. I'm going down to those lockers and I'm taking back what's his.

Thanks to the Academy's training rooms being available until an hour before curfew, I arrive to a still unlocked locker-room and its dozens upon dozens of lockers amongst its pitch-black innards. I tug at my hood and delve inside.

Footsteps treble across the barren walls. Night-time wind whistles through the piping. Thin rays of beaming light from the Vale mainland trickle through the windows, offering some kind of guide at least. I keep moving forward, worn wary eyes scanning the room for life.

"Wow. You were actually stupid enough to show."

I halt.

A silhouetted man moves closer, a smug grin etched on his face as he saunters forth from the darkness into the shallow light. Coincidental entrance, or pre-planned melodramatic staging.

Sky…

"Ooh! Not surprised?" He says, more amused than genuinely shocked. "That's a first. Bit disappointing, though. Your girly shrieks are amazing. It's like a guy's crotch getting rolled over by a Boarbatusk." A feigned high-pitched squeal strangles from his throat and he begins to laugh at his own joke.

I lour deeply at him. Still a total asshat.

Who else but them could've had it? Friday's sparring class, that's when it happened. They took it right from his person before they stuffed him into that locker. I lived in hope that they either discarded it or simply left it somewhere after failing to access it but, neither of those things came to pass. No other choice now.

I ask, "Where's Jaune's Scroll?"

"Hm? You're here for this little number?" Sky slips into his pocket and takes out a Scroll, waving it about like some crumpled dollar bill. "No idea why you think it's so important, there's nothing interesting in this thing, but I can let you take it off my hands fo-"

So I do, snatching the device out of his hands before he could even finish whatever proposition he had planned. Doesn't matter what it was. Something obnoxious and anger-inducing, I'm sure.

Sky's glares incredulous at me before letting loose a scoff, "Hmph. Someone's time of the month?"

I grit out an unconcealed scowl, no point in hiding how I feel anymore, before diverting my attention to the newly reacquired Scroll. My eyelids narrow, scrupulous. How much am I willing to bet that they did something to do it after they brute-forced into it?

I glance back at Sky. He feigns a shrug. Definitely did something. Won't tell me what either. Would have better luck prying a carcass away from a coyote pack.

Put it in my back pocket. Deal with it later. I need to grab the other thing I came here for.

I stick out a hand to him. He looks at it, "…What? Want me to read your fortune or something? Down low? Gimme paw?" His brows scrunch together. "Okay, now you're boring me. What are you doing?"

"Jaune's sword," I demand. "Give it here."

"Can't. Pretty difficult to hand over something I don't have," he replies.

"You stole his Scroll."

He balks exaggeratedly, "That is a completely unfounded accusation, Liddell! For all you know, we just so happened to find it and were keeping it safety in our possession."

I narrow, "Well, aren't you just the perfect Samaritan."

His face sours, "…Mouthy."

A strange sense of pride wells within me, oddly humming in my chest, but I remain focused, "I want the sword back. Where is it?"

Sky's gaze dips to my fingers, flexing expectantly for Crocea Mors. He gurgles an irritable growl as though the act physically curdled his stomach twice over. Did he expect this encounter to go a different way? Did he expect something different from me? His mistake.

"You know, coming out here by itself was a dumb move Liddell-boy but," he smirks cockily. "You really shouldn't have come alone."

Here it comes.

Charging footsteps. From behind. Dodge!

Fatigue falters my reflexes. A palm presses on my skull, pushing me back. The back of my head bangs locker steel. Sensation short-circuits. The hand releases its grip and I crumble, my arm making a bone-shackling smacking sound on-contact. My voice throws out.

Aura soothes the wound. Awareness slowly creeps back to me. I hiss and creak my neck up. Russel, my assailant, cracks his knuckles intently as both he and Sky bare over me like ravenous hyenas. Blood drains from my face. I make a move to flee from the inevitable when a kick sucks the air from my lungs, and a stampede of boots begin to follow.

Pain. More pain. So much that I can't register anything but. Cheekbone shattered, knees disjointed, ribcage ripped into. Aura tells me this is untrue; body tells me the opposite, consciousness drifts loosely. I begin to forget where I am.

I can't breathe.

A voice yells out, "Bronzewing. The hell are you just standing there for?"

Another voice, huffing and puffing, chimes in, "Come get your licks in, man. Come on! You gotta take the opportunities you're given in life. No matter how-" My intestines sear. I cry out. "-Small!"

A third voice stutters, "Uh… L-lookout. Yeah. I should keep lookout. For anyone."

Grumbling. "That again."

"Suit yourself, Bronzewing."

I half-expect another kick. It doesn't come.

Rough hands tear off my blazer. I question, in my panic addled mind, what the purpose of that is. They grab hold of my hoodie.

They want my hoodie. They can't have my hoodie. I'll never let them have it. They took away Jaune. They're not taking it away from me. It's mine. They gave it to me.

My arms snatch at pincering hands. An instinctual defence mechanism. Fingernails dig deep into their skin.

You're not taking it from me. You're not taking them from me!

A blow, my chin snaps back but I refuse to let go. Another strike. Two. Agony jitters my arms weak and fell. My body is hurled around mercilessly as my hoodie is stripped away from me and I'm thrown raggedly back to the floor.

The stomping begins again. Harder. Faster.

"Uppity. Asshole!"

Face. Neck. Crown. Teeth's knocked down my throat. I choke on my own tongue. My eyes threaten to water.

"Sky."

I'm suffocating. Drowning. Pain turns dull. Can't feel. Can't think. Can't do anything.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! You don't talk to me like that! You never, ever, talk to me like that, you snivelling little pile of cowshit!"

I just want it all to stop.

"Hey!"

The blows halt. There's a break. Blue fades over me, crackling like static. Aura's gone. No defence anymore. No energy left. I feel like a corpse.

"Knock it off."

There's a second of inaction. Then, a puff of sucked in oxygen quickly followed by casual laughter, "…Heh. My bad. Got a little carried away there."

My dry throat hacks up dusty dirty saliva. I heave in deprived oxygen, but I don't try to stand. I'm given a moment's peace and I'll savour it gladly. I wait as consciousness crawls back to me.

Sky stretches, sighing in satisfaction, "Ahh! That's much better. Beating the crap out of someone really does make for great stress relief. I can see why you and Cardin do it so often, Russel."

"We're here because of you, man. You're the one who wanted to 'cheer up Cardin'. Don't piss all over that before we've even gotten started," Russel says, mildly annoyed, but only that. He's not bothered in the slightest that Sky almost crushed my larynx. It's not like he was dragging him back, physically holding him back from finishing the job.

"Mm-hm. Thanks Mom," Sky hums half-heartedly. He picks, what I assume to be my hoodie, off the ground and tosses it. "Bronzewing. Hold onto this. Could use it for a dumpster fire or something when we're finished."

My fingers twitch. That's mine.

"Wh-what're we gonna do?" Bronzewing asks.

Sky prolongs a hum, loud enough that I can hear him clearly, "Hm. I'm not sure. How about we undress him, stuff him into a locker and send him to Vale?" He pops his lips mockingly. "Oh! Wait, we already did that to his buddy! Course, Cardin wanted to do that to him but hey, Jauney made a decent replacement. Am I right?"

My hand balls into a fist. He thinks he's so damn funny.

Footsteps close in. He kneels right above me, barring a smarmy grin, and whispers in my ear, "I can see why you keep him around. Anyone would feel better about themselves standing next to crap stacked as tall as him."

"...Y-you."

He blinks, "Come again?"

I shudder with tension, my strength slowly returning, as I gradually begin to push myself until I'm on hands and knees. I repeat myself, clearly for them all to hear.

"Fuck. You." My head snaps up and I snarl, "You manipulative, self-absorbed, dickhead!"

There's a delayed reaction among the three as my voice resounds within the piping. A moment of observation, as if searching for something to change, for me to retract my statement and begin sniffling and cowering for them to step all over. For that much present panic and fear I felt every time I've had the misfortune to run into to overwhelm and corrupt me once again.

"Ew. Foul-mouthed," Sky tuts. "Don't use such filthy language, Liddell. You'll ruin your demure femboy image."

"Go to hell."

Nothing. The heat in my chest doesn't waver. I'm not afraid. I'm too angry to be afraid.

Russel bares his teeth, "When the hell did you grow the balls, Liddell?"

"The moment you bastards screwed over Jaune!" I roar at him as I continue slowly climbing back to my feet.

"He told you?" A distant Bronzewing queries, coating himself in the darkness.

"You're not subtle," I spit, using the locker to steady myself. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?! You harass: you humiliate, you assault! What's the point?! Nobody did anything to you, Jaune didn't do anything to you! Do you think people are just your punching bags you can beat over and over and expect nothing to come from it?! Well you're wrong!"

Bronzewing takes a step away from his teammates. Not to run away, but as if subconsciously distance himself from their actions. You played your part, asshole.

"You pushed Jaune too far. He's leaving Beacon," I narrow. "A man is about to abandon his dream because you arseholes were too stupid to understand that people aren't your damn toys! You're all responsible for this!"

Weiss may have been callous and ultimately apathetic towards him, but I would never forget everything CRDL has done to Jaune: the alleyway, the incident, everything they did to him that I couldn't see. They're just as responsible for destroying his dream as she was. They've warranted all this anger.

"Hear that, Russel? Cardin's got one already," Sky laughs merrily. "You're falling behind, buddy!"

He grunts, grumbling something under his breathe, somewhat irritated.

Sky laughed. Russel's irritated? That's it? That's how they react to the reality of their actions?! They just confirmed that this was the first time they had heard of such a decision and that's how they treat this? Like a bloody football game?!

I scream, apoplectic. "I-is this some sort of game to you people?!"

"Yeah, I don't think you're as clued in as you believe you are, Liddell-boy," Sky says, somewhat bemused by my reaction. "People break. We're not morons. We know exactly what we're doing."

They… knew?

They actually understood what they were doing to him? To me? To everyone else they're going after? The revelation is mindboggling to me. Every other bully I'd been forced to deal with back home have never been this self-aware. To them, and I assumed to CRDL, it was a spot of fun. A chance to play around with people however they liked because why the hell not? CRDL knew the damage they were doing to people? 'They got one already?'

Then, the reason they were going after Jaune is because, "You wanted him to leave."

Sky hums, neither fully agreeing nor disagreeing, "That's generalizing our motivations a bit. One of us wanted him out, the team just works together to get him out. Makes for a great teamworking exercise if you ask me," he grins. "It also means less competition when we graduate. More work for little old me? I sure as hell won't complain."

That's what they've been doing. One of them doesn't like someone? They haze them until it becomes too much to bare and they leave. To them, what happened with Jaune is considered a success, and something they want to replicate with the other students.

They were never going to leave me alone. My plan was doomed from the start. I was wasting my time.

I cling to the locker's edge. This is all so screwed up.

"Sky, the hell are you doing?" Russel smacks him across the shoulder, frowning. "You're monologuing. Reel it in, damn it."

"Yeah, seriously," Bronzewing calls from the darkness. "You're starting to sound like a comic book villain here, man."

Sky rolls his eyes, "Oh, shush. I'm having fun."

"Your idea of 'fun' might as well be pulling the limbs off of insects!" I shout at him. The very idea that any of them could find any enjoyment in ruining people's lives makes me feel gross.

"Insects? Bleh. Never," he says, before appearing contemplative. "Though, I have ripped off the wings off of butterflies before. You ever seen the way they squirm once they lose the first arm? It's hilarious! It's like they're drowning, and they forgot how to swim!"

I retch. Can't tell if he's lying or not but, the fact that I have to question his character like that is sickening all the same, "You're disgusting."

"And you're still talking," he narrows. "It's getting pretty annoying."

I straighten up, staring right back at Sky's daggered eyes. It was always an non-reactive response he wanted, for me to stew quietly while his words dug away at me. He found that thrilling, I'm sure. He doesn't like it when I actually fight back. It pesters him, niggles away at that fragile ego he owns.

He wants me quiet and angry. I'm only giving him half. I'll contend with whatever they have planned when they attempt it, but I won't give him that satisfaction anymore.

"I had a thought," Sky begins. "See, now that Jauney's gone, Cardin has an open slot in his timetable that, after that incident during class is dealt, he's very keen to fill in and I think he knows who with. Someone's been bothering him, personally. Someone you seem very close to."

"Pyrrha?"

He shakes his head, "No, not her. She's annoyingly talented but, Cardin thinks she fits. He wants to surpass her, not destroy her." He folds his arms. "Think, Liddell. Who doesn't fit so well in your bunch?"

I gaze down in thought. Assuming they've been watching me socialize then, there's four people that I consider myself decently acquainted with: Jaune was already a target and he's leaving, Pyrrha's been debunked, there's no possible way they would think going after Yang is a good plan so, via process of elimination…

No.

No he's not.

"He's a bit on the fence about it but, with a little push here and there," he grins. "Bye, bye, little re-"

Crack!

Sky reels back, forcingly bitten down on his tongue and cursing up a storm. Distant pain shoots up my knuckles and I feel the smaller two pop into places they shouldn't but, I don't care. I don't care. I'm not letting them touch Ruby. As long as I'm still breathing, they will never touch Ruby!

A fist collides with my jaw. I fold and tumble to the floor again. Through my heated adrenaline, I move to bound back up again when a boot pins me on the neck and my right arm is pulled back. Further. Further.

"Russel, no!" Bronzewing cries.

"We all want him gone, right?! A marksmen's no good to anyone with a shattered fucking arm!"

I panic, wriggling to fight out of his grasp. He applies more pressure to my throat and I'm choking. He bends my arm back further. Further. Even further! My feet kick wildly but connect with nothing. Foot to back and he's pulling my arm back further than it ever had any right to be. He's going to tear it off. He's going to tear my arm off!

Suddenly, the pressure stops.

Like untightening rope, the agony rupturing my arm begins to ease away Finally, it's released, and I instinctively cradle the strained limb with my other arm. Sounds of crackling bone catches my attention. I gaze up finding Russel, his wrist grinding and wrestling against a vice-grip, grunting as his face contorts and churns.

A blanket of golden hair stands between us.

"Y-Yang?!"

"Oh shit! Not you!" Sky screams. He scurries down the hall, towards Bronzewing, scuttling behind him with his fingers latching onto his shoulder blades. A human shield.

The act startles Bronzewing, "W-woah! Sky?! What are you-"

"You were supposed to be on lookout! Shut up and stand still!" He hisses. Such an extreme reaction. I flicker between him and Yang and I begin to piece the dots together. So, that's 'her way' huh? Probably squealed the moment she got her hands on him.

Russel squirms, his futile attempts at breaking Yang's grasp fuelling a frustration that grows and grows.

"You bimbo bitch!" He snarls, curls up a fist and swings for her chin.

But, before the blow could even be considered to make contact, Yang pulls his arm in the opposite direction, hurling his balance out of proportion, slides into a battle stance and slams her entire fist downward straight in the side of Russel's head. His skull cracks the locker floor, rebounding from the sheer force, as his body weightlessly tumbles like a sack of potatoes.

I eye him, waiting to see if he'd try to stand.

He doesn't. What a shame.

Yang pulls back, flexing the fingers of her thrusted fist. Unusually quiet, she turns to Sky.

Red. Her eyes are alight with scorching red, searing away the once pale lilac, a torrid blaze burning brightly a blistering fury beneath them. Darkness shrivels away under their fiery light. My gut twists at the sight of it. I've seen Yang angry before; at stupid things like video games, pointless arguments, or cockroaches.

This. This is a deathly rage.

"What the hell did you say about my little sister?"

Sky's terror-stricken. His gaze fixes at Russel's, still unmoving and I can almost read his thoughts to a tee. 'If that's what he did to him, what the hell is she going to do to me?'

He shrieks, "Oh, screw this!" And boots his human shield in our direction.

Bronzewing bounces off of Yang like a basketball hitting a wall. Barely phased, she immediately grabs for his scarf and collar, preventing him from fleeing. He gazes up at her fearfully.

"Uh. H-hello," he waves tensely. Her red eyes narrow and he flinches. "Oh man, those eyes are so angry."

With his tormentor momentarily occupied, Sky makes a beeline for Russel, heaving an arm over his shoulder. "Russel, get up. We're leaving!"

"Ah'm…" Russel rasps, swallowing some teeth. "I'm not finished with her yet."

"Yes, you are," snaps Sky. "Shut up and bolt it!"

Forcibly dragging his partner to his feet, Sky lurches in retreat, fleeing like a scampering rat, ramming the locker-room door open as they both make their escape.

Without their teammate.

"G-guys!" Bronzewing calls out. "Guys! I'm caught! Man down! Come back! Don't leave me alone with the scary girl- They're gone."

His hand lowers. He knows it too. They're not coming back for him. Sky didn't even glance back at him when he was staging his retreat. Guy was their sacrificial lamb.

Not that I have any sympathy to give. My pity pond's drained at the moment.

I push myself back up, massaging my bruised jaw, before turning my attention to Bronzewing. Yang pulls him around to face me.

"H-hi, Liddell," he chuckles nervously. I notice, gazing down, that clutched tightly between his quivering is my dark blue hoodie. He hadn't let go of it during the whole debacle. The passing thought came when I was on the ground why Yang would bother holding onto him of all people but, guess that answers that question.

I scowl at him. He shirks, offering the hoodie to me like it's an olive branch.

"Here. Take it. Please don't hurt me," he shakes.

I grab it away, turning it over in my hands. A quick analysis. Seems to still be intact, no loose threads or noticeably marks.

I return to him, business in mind, "Jaune's sword. Where is it?"

"I-I don't know."

I glare, "Liar."

"No! Seriously! Sky wasn't lying! We never took Jaune's sword!" He squeaks, hands flailing. "During sparring, what Cardin did, that wasn't supposed to happen! He didn't plan to do that! None of us did! We didn't even think about the sword when he did that, we thought Cardin was getting expelled! The sword didn't even seem worth stealing anyway!"

…No. It wouldn't be, would it?

None of them would know.

I sigh, "Let him go."

"Hear that?" Yang says, fixing Bronzewing an evil grin. "Start running."

He trembles, "Gladly."

As soon as Yang releases him, Bronzewing scuttles out the door and out of our hair.

I pat my pockets, checking both Scrolls which are thankfully unharmed -What would I do without you, Aura?- and I let out a relieved sigh. Somehow that whole exchange ended up going both better and worse than I expected.

Guess Russel didn't take what happened at Tukson's store too personally if he and Sky are cool again. Not like I care or anything, just didn't expect him to be there for those reasons.

I was so sure they took Crocea Mors but, with all the heat Cardin had and without knowing its true personal value, there's no way they would've risked it. Not for an ordinary sword and shield that's basically dollar store commerce compared to their tech. Somebody would've noticed something.

So, working off of the logic that the person who took it knew about its personal history, there's only two people here at Beacon that would take it. But then, if either of them took it…

Why haven't they given it back yet?

"Hey."

Yang's voice reaches me, and my eyes shut in instant regret.

Right. In my relief, I've forgotten that her being here was a bad thing. A very bad thing.

She had to save me again.

Running the cloth texture through my hands, I silently put my hoodie back on and pluck my uniform blazer from off the ground, all while feeling her fixed gaze trickle over me.

I glance at her over my shoulder but not anything more. I made a vow and I intend on keeping it.

"…Thanks," I say. "See you."

I make a move to leave but before I take even three steps, Yang steps in to stand in my way. I feel a ping of chagrin. Did I really expect her to simply let me leave? Yeah, better luck teaching penguins how to fly, dumbass.

"You want me to move? Make me," she says. "You know how."

…Too fatigued: Can't outrun or outmanoeuvre her like this, not if I couldn't dodge Russel. Can't push through, because that ever had a chance of succeeding, and I doubt she'd accept a 'I'll tell you later' after ditching her twice so, therefore, the only course of action available to me is to say,

"No."

"No?" She parrots.

"No," I repeat. "I have to go."

I swerve to the right, hoping that my final answer would be enough to let me pass.

A hand snaps up and hooks around the inside of my arm. Stupid bloody optimism. The one thing that never works out for me.

"Yang-"

"Before you ask: Yes. I can and will do this all night," she says matter-of-factly.

It's not boasting, either. She's not even using her full strength right now. Her grip's apparent but, I can still feel the circulation running through my arm. I know that if Yang wanted to grasp it harder, she's totally capable of it but, with our divide in power, it wouldn't be necessary. She wants to keep me here, not hurt me.

I sigh, "This doesn't change anything, Yang. You're wasting your time. Let go."

I push my arm into her hand. Not genuinely in an attempt to escape, A sign of defiance. Just because she had me, doesn't mean I'm going to roll over and give up.

Red eyes flash at me. I'm uneasy, but I stare back at them.

So we stand here, uncomfortably close, stuck in almost perpetual darkness with the only source of light being the disapproving glint of her burning red eyes. Minutes pass at a trepid rate as we stand in a close standoff, staring down the other, waiting for one of us to forfeit first. It's tonight of all nights that Yang's decided to be extra stubborn. Boredom would've toppled her on a normal day, she hasn't even said a word since we started.

My stomach growls painfully. She's just had dinner. In a war of attrition, I've already lost. That's why she's not saying anything, she already understands that I've lost.

I'm not going to get anywhere this way.

I exhale softly, "It's nothing you have to concern yourself with, okay?"

Yang's eyes widen, "What."

"This isn't your problem to fix. It's mine," I tell her, averting from her gaze. "You heard what Sky said, you have your own things you need to deal with."

"You can't be serious."

"She might be surrounded by strong fighters and it's pretty redundant to tell you so but, you should look after Ruby. In-case Cardin decides to go after her," I say earnestly. "Don't let them do to her what they did to Jaune."

"Eren-"

"It's fine," I coax, smiling gently. "You don't have to worry about m-"

"Stop it!"

I flinch, taken aback. Her red eyes are scathing, seething. Her voice cracks, "Stop telling me it's fine! It's not fine! You're not fine! None of this is fine! It's a mess! Everything is a total mess! Stop lying and telling me it's fine!"

I stutter, "I-I'm just trying to save you the troub-"

"Well, don't! Okay?!" She cuts me off. "I never asked you to, so don't!"

I wince. Bad. This wasn't what I was aiming for, the complete opposite really. I jerk back in an attempt to gain some much-needed distance but, Yang's grasp refuses to weaken.

I swallow, "Wh-why are you getting so angry?!"

"Because I thought we were beyond this!"

Tremors, slight tremors vibrate through her arm. The intensity in her grip remains true but, something more than ordinary anger resonates through it. I gaze, confused, at her, searching for it.

"I thought I wouldn't have to do this anymore, to keep fighting you to be there for you but you're still not letting us. You're still pushing us away. I thought that you finally trusted us," she says, a weary frustration cools her furious grimace. "It's like nothing's changed."

The feeling registers and I gasp.

"You don't need to push me out."

Hurt. I hurt her when I did that. They put so much work in getting me to open up to them all the months ago and I made it feel like we were relapsing, that her efforts were a waste of time and I rejected her.

That wasn't what I meant. This isn't her problem.

Maybe… I should tell her that. At the very least, I have to make her understand why I did what I did. My shoulders rise and fall hesitantly.

"…This isn't about trust," I admit. "This is about self-reliance."

She appears somewhat puzzled. I keep talking, "I do trust you. I trust you guys more than a lot of friends I've made in my life. After everything you've done for me, I know you'd do your best to look out for me, even if I don't ask for it."

It's a fact: One they've made clear over and over. They gave me help when someone else would've cast me out, when someone else would've ignored me, when someone else would've… had malicious intentions.

Pessimism and distrust aside, they earned that trust. It's not empty pleasantries. They would help me every time I'd ask for it.

"And that's the problem," I say. "Have you ever considered it strange that Ruby managed to find me that night? In the wilderness?"

Yang shrugs, "Not really, maybe once. Honestly, I just thought it was a stroke of good-"

"Luck," I finish, bitterly. The word tastes so cheap said out loud. "It was, wasn't it? Really good luck. It happens sometimes, it's not so weird, so I accepted it. Took a while, but I accepted it."

Miracles happen. They're rare, but not extinct. Shockingly, not every story on the news is about how shit the world is and how it's getting worse. I was just one of the rare ones. It was only the one time after all…

That's what I thought.

"Then it happened again: when you housed me. Then again, with Qrow, and again, when you all befriended me, and again, with the Entrance Exam, and again, when I was accepted, and again: again, again, again, again-" My voice loudens with every uttered word. "I'm too damn lucky!"

I suck in oxygen, "I should be out on the streets, but I'm not. I should be dead five times over, but I'm not. I should be all alone, but I'm not!"

Instead of homelessness, I got a comfortable woodland house. Instead of death, I squirmed my way into Beacon Academy.

Instead of loneliness, I found friends. Something I haven't truly had in years.

Yang eyebrows scrunch up, baffled, "That's not a bad thing! Why are you treating it like it is?"

"But I never earned any of it!" I shake my head. "I didn't do anything to deserve what I have, I couldn't even properly repay any of you for your help. My fortune just fell on me!"

It was Taiyang's kindness that let me live in his home. It was people with ten times the amount of training I had that have been keeping me alive. It was the initiative of others who had little reason to involve themselves with such an awkward, anti-social idiot.

Not me. Never me.

"What I have isn't because of me; It's because of everyone else, my dumb luck and that's not right. It's not fair. All I'm doing is dragging everyone else in to solve my problems and reaping the rewards once that's done without any consequences," I breathe. "And I can't accept that anymore."

In my gratitude, I've become too dependent. I'd pretend that this wasn't the case, that I was doing my part, but that's not true at all. They've never had to depend on me the same way I've depended on them.

They'd deny it, out of politeness or because they're just that damn altruistic, but it's the truth and if they don't need to depend on me to solve their own issues, then the very least I can do for them at this point is to become self-reliant so that they never feel like they have to deal with mine. I'm supposed to be their friend, not their problem-child.

That's why I have to do this. If not for my own self-respect, then for their peace of mind.

"CRDL is my problem and I have to deal with them myself," I nod, determined. "I'm going to fix this."

"How?"

I blink, somewhat phased by the sudden critical glint in Yang's eyes. I fidget, "I-I don't-"

"What's your plan?" She clarifies. "What are you doing? How are you 'fixing' this?"

Th-that, um…

"W-well, I got Jaune's Scroll back," I straighten up. "I tried to get Crocea Mors too but-"

"That was just there? Right now?" She asks bluntly.

"Y… yes," I nod.

"And you got it back by…?"

I'm aware of the answer but I'm reluctant to admit it, like it would hurt my cause by acknowledging it. I look away shamefully. I wasn't focused on a plan when I came down here but, that's little excuse.

I sigh, "I didn't quite think it through."

"By walking straight into an obvious ambush and, surprise! Getting ambushed," she frowns, unimpressed. "Come on, Eren! I can afford making those kinds of mistakes but you're smarter than that. What else did you do?"

There's a long silence…

"I was trying to be cautious."

"You didn't-"

"Jaune was involved, okay?!" I shout. "I couldn't risk making his life worse. I had to be careful!"

"You did nothing!" Yang yells back. "You handed your leadership over to Weiss, kept lying to everyone about how 'fine' you were and did nothing!"

I… It wasn't…

She pulls me closer and scowls, "Your team is in shambles: Jaune is apparently leaving, your partner is nowhere to be seen and Weiss is shutting herself away from anyone who asked her about what happened. She spends so much time studying in your dorm that she's practically a shut-in."

W-Weiss?

She… What? Did I…? What I said to her…?

No.

"Th-things weren't supposed to go this bad," I say desperately. "I-I didn't want to make things worse."

That was the point, wasn't it? My involvement would've made things worse.

That's how it was back then, wasn't it?

"Well," Yang throws up an arm, as if shrugging. "Things seem pretty crappy from where I'm standing."

…Nothing worked. I was trying to prevent everything from getting worse but, it got worse anyway. I didn't do anything.

No. It's far worse than that.

I knew Jaune was being bullied. I knew who was doing it too, but I did nothing.

I knew nothing good would've come from Weiss constantly antagonising him, but I did nothing.

I knew exactly what he going through, how he felt, how much anguish he must've been in, but I did nothing.

And what I did do, I did just so I could guarantee I'd do nothing.

Everything Weiss did as leader of Team LABS wouldn't have happened if I didn't give the position to her. I enabled her, I empowered her, stroking her ego and deluding myself into thinking that nothing would go wrong and that everything would be okay with her at the helm.

But the truth is, I didn't do that for LABS. I didn't do that for the team.

I did that for me, because I was so afraid. Because I didn't want to lead. Because I didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of three people under a leadership that I didn't even want. I gave up the leadership for me. I hid and let everything transpire for me. I pushed everyone who could've helped away because of my desire for self-reliance, for self-respect.

I did nothing for me.

And that's so selfish.

Guilt rains heavily upon me, and my head dips, eyes downcast. I screamed at them, Weiss and CRDL, blaming them for what happened to Jaune, when the reality is that I'm just as much to do blame for him leaving as they are.

It's my fault Jaune's leaving, because I stood and did nothing.

Now that's pathetic…

"You promised her, you promised me that you would talk to us," Yang says, narrowing in on me. "Let. Us. In."

…Give it up. You've hurt her enough already.

"You can let me go now, Yang," I say, barely above a mumble. "I'm not going to run."

"Not yet." She pulls me forward…

And strong arms embrace me.

My blazer slips out of my hand. My mind doesn't even register it, I'm too shocked to. After having to chase my stupid self around these last two days, she's… comforting me.

Why?

"You need this," Yang whispers in my ear.

"I-I…" I choke. "I didn't want this. I wanted to deserve you. I didn't want to lose you."

"We were never prizes you had to win. We never thought you were a burden. The only thing I ever really wanted from you was to be honest with us," she says. "You can be a pretty cool guy when you're honest."

She always liked it when I was honest…

"You know," she says. "We never said we were going to solve it for you."

A-ah. Of course.

H-how stupid of me…

"I'm sorry," I apologize.

"I am so, so sorry," I say it again, because there aren't enough times I can say it. I wrap my arms around her waist, and repeat my apologies over and over that they stop sounding like words anymore. Just the manic ramblings of a smelly, hungry, tired, hypocritical idiot who deserves far less than he has. But, that line of thinking is what brought me to the mess that I am in the first place. At some point, I bury my face into Yang's shoulder, embracing her tightly.

She feels so warm. She's always been a sunny person, her smile, her eyes, her glowering personality. She's the light, here in this barren darkness. I know I'll have to let go eventually, and I'm prepared for all the embarrassment I'll have afterwards, but, right now, I don't want to ever let go.

"So," she whispers. "How did you feel now?"

"Like shit," I murmur, a small smile tugging at my lips. "But I'm starting to feel better now."

A/N: Fuck. This. Chapter. This will either be the emotional height of the arc and the story so far, or it will be the most melodramatic trite ever and the signal that I really shouldn't have made drama a central focus. The amount of time I spent paining over Eren-Weiss rant scene and the Eren-Yang breakdown scene has been painful.

These are scenes that could ruin the characters if handled improperly and lord knows, I'm already on thin ice with Weiss' depiction so far, which is especially worrisome because she's actually my second favourite character in the show. Ruin my main character or ruin one of my favourite characters? The potential for failure is rife here. Thank god that this will be the last heavily emotional chapter for the next while. My god.

Ugh. Anyways, thank you all very much for waiting for this train-wreck and thank you very much for reading. What do you think of the story so far? Good? Bad? Makes you want to eat cyanide? Know it made me want to. Be sure to let me know in the reviews. As always, constructive criticism is encouraged!