Yo! Welcome back! This chapter took longer to write than I initially thought, but with this, concludes the two-shot that is "The Boy with Blood Red Hair"

I enjoyed writing this chapter a bit more than I did the last chapter, mostly due to the content. But I think I did a good job with the concluding chapter. After all, we saw Blake go through all of the abuse, now we have to see her road to recovery.

This is not cannon. I don't know what Yang and Blake actually told their teammates. For all I know, the rest of the team don't know the two of them killed Adam. But that's just some speculation. Don't quote me on this.

If you wanna make this chapter into a game, how about you take a shot every time I accidentally tease a ship. I only noticed upon re-reading that I accidentally teased a ship between Blake and nearly everyone on the airship at least once. Plus between Blake and people who where not on the airship.

Jokes aside, I've got some disclaimers. Firstly, RWBY isn't mine, bla bla bla, you know the drill. SECONDLY; there will be descriptions of abuse, multiple mentions of rape, and other unpleasant and possibly triggering topics. I want my readers to have a safe journey down the pothole that is fanfiction, and if this fic will inhibit that, PLEASE do not read.

And without further ado, on with the show!

The Boy with Blood-Red Hair

Part 2

It's not my fault. It's not my fault. It's not my fault.

It's not my fault I couldn't turn off the signal like I was supposed to. It's not my fault Adam stalked me all the way here. It's not my fault my friends where forced to fight a giant robot. It's not my fault they where forced to take out the only thing that could kill the Leviathan.

Oh god, it's all my fault!

Ruby said I'm fine. She said it didn't matter. All that mattered was that I was safe.

They all said that. They all say it's not my fault. Why can't I just believe them and shove this to the side already?!

I killed Adam. I killed him. He was defenseless; he didn't have his sword, he couldn't use his semblance. But I killed him.

"He won't ever hurt you again," Yang had told me.

But I deserved what he did to me. I turned him into that monster, I deserved the price—

Stop it Blake. You know that's not true. Remember all those phycology books you read at Beacon? This is what happens when you go through abuse. Your abuser will do their best to make you think you brought it on yourself. That you deserve all the shitty things they're doing to you. It's always the victims fault, when it comes to them. They'll lace their fingers into your brain and twist your conscious, until all you can think about is how horrible of a person you where.

My self-esteem was going down hill. He was slowly making me destroy myself. The three months after he raped me? I wanted to die, then. I kept eyeing the trees we camped around, wondering how quickly I could tie the ribbon on Gamble Shroud into a nose before Adam caught me. If someone truly cared about you, they would never make you feel like you wanted to die.

My friends built me up. It was so weird, being around other people who where kind to me. Ruby made me feel like an important part of the team. Weiss fought through the prejudice installed into her head since a child just because we needed her too. Yang is the best friend I will ever have, and I'm not sure what I did to deserve someone like her. Jaune, Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, Velvet, Cocoa, the teachers at Beacon. Sun; who gave me so much care and support, and only asked that I take care of myself in return; my parents, who still loved me and stood by my side despite everything; Ilia, who came back to me, even though I was horrible to her during those three months, and even though I left the White Fang without even saying a thing to her. Even Qrow, Maria, Terra, and Saphron, even though I barley know them. These are the people who really care about me.

Yang and I haven't had time to explain what happened to us yet. We simply said there where "complications", and that we would explain after everything settled down. The rest of the team left it at that, which I'm glad for. I'm exhausted, and I don't think I have enough energy to tell them what happened just yet.

Ruby is so small. She's so strong, but she's still small, and young, and innocent. Well, more innocent than I am. What is she going to say when she learns what we did? Her trusted team member, who she shared books with at Beacon, and who she didn't dismiss as a "lost cause" just because I didn't want to talk. She always thought I was cool; mysterious, quiet, and calm. The hero with the tragic past, if I recall. I wouldn't call myself a hero, but to Ruby, I slid right into that category. And I we shared our love for fairy tales. What is she going to do when she learns I killed someone? I'll no longer be a hero to her. I don't know if I can take that.

But then there's Yang. Ruby's big sister. She killed Adam too. Ruby always looked up to Yang. She admired and adored her big sister. The two where close as can be. Yang protected little Ruby, and was always there for her. And Ruby did the same. She loved it when Yang was proud of her. But now... What will happen?

I'll just take the fall for it. It's the least I can do. Yang kept a cool head during the fight. But I panicked and killed Adam. Yang had nothing to do with his death. Yeah, that'll do.

I've never been more thankful for Ren's semblance. The swirl of negative emotions in my head would be enough to attract any grim. It's thanks to his mask on our ship that they can't see it.

We're getting closer to the leviathan. Ruby is going to use her silver eyes to turn it to stone. Like she froze the Wyvern at the top of Beacon tower. Like she used to save us from the Apathy. We're exhausted, and all of our Aura is depleted. But we're still going to try. Because that's what we do.

"Pull up!" Qrow suddenly shouts.

The Leviathan spits out a large stream of fire, so close to our ship that I can feel it's heat. We all almost fall right out of our seats. The grey tint the ship took on when Ren cloaked us disappears, and both his and Jaune's aura's officially deplete. I almost choke. Jaune has an incredible amount of aura! What happened while Yang and I where gone that caused it to deplete like that!?

"What now!?" Someone shouts, though I'm not sure who.

"I have an idea," Comes the familiar voice of Ruby. I don't know how, but those words somehow calm me. Ruby always carries through, even in the worst of odds.

And right now, her tenacity was all we have.

The ship flies around to the side of the giant grim, and the doors open up. Yang and Nora draw it's attention using their weapons, and I find myself wishing I could do more. Gamble Shroud, my trusted weapon, my sister in arms, is gone.

I cannot allow myself to miss it. That's not what we need right now. Maybe I can strengthen my semblance at some point, and allow myself to not just leave shadow's behind in my clones, but also my panic and desperation, so I can stay calm in a fight. I was fifteen when I unlocked it, while the average semblance unlocks as young as six years old. There's no way I can say it's fully developed as of now.

I grip onto Weiss, as she summons a Lancer for Ruby to stand on. I give her as much support as I can, though I can't give much at this point. I try to steady my breathing, so that I don't distract my teammate.

"Ruby, hurry up, it's coming towards you!" Yang shouts desperately into the earpiece we're using to contact Ruby. "Ruby!" Yang shouts again, hearing no response. I'm guessing Ruby threw out her earpiece. "Ruby, tell me what's happening!"

No response. "Damn girl!" Yang snaps, throwing her own earpiece down.

I have my eyes squeezed shut. "She'll be fine," I hear Jaune say. "She's done this before,"

"Its turning towards her," Oscar whispers to himself.

"OH MY GOD!" Qrow suddenly shouts. I opened my eyes, watching him leap out of the seat, pressing his face into the ship window.

I turn to see what he saw. I run towards the open door as Yang screams out her little sisters name, nearly falling out of the ship when reaching out to her. All my options run through my head as the Leviathan, jaws open wide, targets our young leader.

But I didn't need to panic. Nobody did. There is a small flash of blue light, that I probably would've missed if it weren't for the keen eyes fanus where blessed with. And then there is the white glow. The same lit up the night sky at the top of Beacon tower the night our school fell. The same light that pulled me out of the abyss of darkness and misery that the Apathy's spell had caused. I knew that light; it was warm and familiar. It's the power of the silver eyes.

The leviathan is turned to stone.

"Yes!" I shout out, my legs finally giving out on me. By back hits the cold floor of the airship, which smarts, but I don't mind. A flood of relief washes over my body, and right now, I'm not thinking about anything. It's a wonderful feeling, having your mind completely empty. Especially for a girl like me, who honestly thinks too much.

The Leviathan roars again.

"How!?" Yang shouts, in shock, as everyone runs to either the door or a window to see what just happened. Not me though. I stay on the floor.

"Of corse this happens," I mutter to myself, slightly amused to hear Qrow muttering the same thing to himself as well. I guess we have that in common; the poor luck.

I guess I just accepted what happened. I mean, we tried everything. What's left for us?

Adam never wanted me to live in a world without him. This is probably a cruel way of letting him get what he wants.

"I'll take it from here!" A loud voice shouts across an intercom. Funny, it almost sounds like...

I sit up to see if I'm right. It was Cordovan. She somehow got the busted arm off of her mech, and with the still-functioning arm transformed into a drill, she's leaping across the water, ready to attack. The drill pierces the Leviathan, and soon, all that's left of it is black smoke.

I sigh in relief, and lean over onto the person next to me. However, the person suddenly starts bouncing, making me regret my decision. I look up and realize that it was Nora who I leaned into.

Well, that explains a lot.

As soon as Ruby got into the ship, she told us we can leave, so we did.

And now, the sun is setting, and we're flying straight to Atlas.

"Goddamn it!" Jaune suddenly exclaims. "I left my favorite pair of socks at my sister's place!"

We all laugh at this. It feels good to laugh.

"Are you alright?" I hear Yang ask me.

I turn my head towards her, slowly. She's looking right at me, a face full of concern. She wants to know about my well-being. She cares about it.

It's the same look she gave me when convincing me to take a break from my obsessive research into what Torchwick could be doing. I was eating myself from the inside out, and I wasn't going to stop. Maybe it was because Torchwick reminded me too much of Adam, or maybe it was because everything I thought the White Fang stood for was shattered the moment he bragged about their "joint business," The case felt so personal; after all, for better or for worse, the White Fang had been somewhat of a family to me.

And Yang did more than understand; she helped me through it. Convinced me to put my health above all else. Something that Adam had never done.

"No," I tell her honestly. "But, I think, with time, I will be,"

Yang brings me into a hug, holding the back of my head in the motherly way she holds people. I missed it so much. I missed her, but I didn't think I would come back to her, because I was sure she hated me. It's a good thing that Sun and my parents where with me during my recovery. They gave me the courage I needed to face Yang again. And Yang forgave me.

"So, I'd hate to ruin the mood, or anything," Weiss says slowly, cautiously. "But, what did happen at the control tower?"

I take a deep breath, not prepared to say it. Yang starts explaining while I gather up my courage. "I'm not sure how, but that Adam guy found Blake when she was trying to disable the control tower. When I got there, they where already fighting. What happened next was... I can only explain it as a fight to the death, and—"

"I killed Adam," I blurt out. Yang turns to me, cocking an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I panicked, and I didn't know what to do, and—"

"We killed Adam," Yang corrects, her voice sounding firm.

I can feel the eyes of everyone on us. They all look shocked, Oscar almost looking sick to his stomach.

"Blake, sis," Ruby peeps out, her voice sounding small. "Are you ok?"

Yang sniffles, and I watch as she quickly wiped some tears out of her eyes. "We will be," Yang said softly, standing up and hugging her little sister. Qrow gets up from his spot in the airship and joins in on the hug.

"There's no worse feeling than being forced to take a life when you never wanted to," He tells them. Something in his voice hints that he had experience with this feeling. He was raised by bandits, after all. "Do not forget your actions, but don't let them define you either. It will keep you on the right path, for both yourself, and the rest of the world,"

I take these words to heart.

After the family hug, Qrow steps back, and our team has a group hug, which was soon joined by Ren, Nora, Jaune, and Oscar.

"I promis you, we don't think any less of you two," Weiss assures us. And it's what I need to hear. No reward, just some words of wisdom from the people who care about us. Maybe I can keep from turning into Adam this way.

We all sit back down, Weiss sitting next to Yang and I this time.

"I," I quietly speak up, sounding nervous. I take a deep breath. I have to tell them everything. "I met Adam when I was six years old, and he was ten. I was immediately infatuated by him. It was stupid, but I was just a kid at the time. We joined the White Fang together, and we slowly grew up, and even started dating. And no, before you ask, my parents where not ok with the age gap, but we didn't care. It all started when he killed someone for the first time. It had been an accident back then, and I comforted him. And things went downhill from there,"

I feel two sets of arms around me from both Weiss and Yang. I suddenly realized that I'm shaking; terribly at that. "You don't have to talk about it," Yang tells me.

"But I need to," I say, my voice quivering. I am about to cry. I'm surprised. Today was a rather emotional day for me. I had just killed someone; and it had been Adam, of all people. Why couldn't it have been someone else? I wasn't ready for that! But I need to get everything off my chest. I never wanted to share my burden with everyone, but I don't think I can carry it alone anymore. "I need to tell you all my story,"

I breath in, and breath out. "At first, he was just acting a little clingy. Then he was growing possessive. Then he became manipulative, and emotionally abusive. He would make me kiss him a lot. Sometimes I wanted to, but other times, he just, sorta jumped on me," Weiss squeezes my hand, steadying me. I want to stop here. I don't want to tell them that I was raped. I don't want to tell them how easily he made me into his puppet. It's absolutely humiliating, on top of traumatic. But I already started, I can't stop there.

"It got worse when my parents left the White Fang. He was starting to isolate me from everyone. He had me. I should've left then, but... and he once tried taking my clothes off—" I take a sharp breath, panic rising up in my chest. I don't understand why, I'm not even talking about the rape! Why can't I just function like a proper human being!?

"He didn't," Weiss spat, standing up, looking angry as hell. Yang has tightened her grip on me, her eyes flashing red. Everyone looks ready to murder someone. I can even hear Qrow cursing him angrily.

"Blake," Jaune speaks first, his voice uncharacteristically calm and serious. "Did Adam rape you?"

I don't say a thing, but they take it as confirmation.

"I'm gonna break every bone in his body!" Nora snaps, her voice dangerous.

"He's already dead," Ren reminds her. "Bastard deserves it,"

"I'll bring him back to life, break every bone in his body, then murder him again," Nora decides.

"This isn't a joke!" Weiss snaps.

"I'm not joking," Nora growls back.

"I gotta agree with the hyperactive one," Qrow angrily spits out. "I'd love nothing more than to punch the bastard in his fucking face,"

Everyone chimes in, all in agreement. I know I should be happy they're supporting me, but I'm terrified. Adam's voice is carving into my head again, demanding I defend him against these claims. But another voice, probably still Adam's, though with a hint of my own, is demanding that I tell the truth; that I'm dirty. Nothing but a plaything for the boy with blood red hair.

"Guys, stop!" Ruby suddenly shouts. "It's good that we're all in agreement about this, but we're making Blake anxious!"

I breath in and out, while Yang rubs my back in a soothing motion. Weiss sits back down and holds my hand. They all give me a moment to breath.

"You don't have to go on if you don't want to," Yang says.

I keep telling my story anyways.

"He didn't do anything that time," I explained. "I ran out of the tent before he could,"

"That time," Weiss interrupts, keeping note of my words.

"He started getting worse. He was treating me worse and worse, and he was also acting more violent. He turned into a killer, and I let it happen,"

"You didn't let anything happen," Yang assures me. "It's all on him, Blake. It's all on him,"

I take another breath and continue. "Then came the day," I say. "Everything started as normal. The White Fang had a mission, and I was sent in to turn off the power of the Schnee mansion. I didn't know the details, but I assumed that we where either stealing materials, or freeing some fanus workers. But it was much worse,"

Weiss takes a sharp breath. "Don't tell me,"

"I'm so sorry, Weiss," I whisper. "I had no idea they where going to do something like that!"

Weiss hugs me. "Shh," She says carefully. "It's not your fault,"

"What happened?" Ruby ask, concern showing through.

"I was kidnapped by the White Fang, once," Weiss says. "They beat me up a little, filmed me begging my dad to save me, locked me in a cage to draw Grim away from their camp, standard hostage situation stuff," She says this so nonchalantly I can't help but wonder if that was the first time she had been kidnapped like that. But I don't ask. I don't want to pry. "Strange part about that event is that in the middle of the night, someone knocked me out, and I woke up back home in my bed, like it never happened,"

She smiles slightly. "Would it be to far a guess to say it was you who got me out?" Weiss ask me.

I shake my head. "Not at all. Your spot on, actually. I felt sick, watching Adam beat you up like that,"

Weiss's smile then turns into a frown. "What did he do to you when he saw what you did?"

I don't want to tell Weiss. I don't want her to feel guilty. I don't want her to think her rescue was the reason I was raped.

"Blake, tell me the truth. Please,"

I don't look at Weiss as I continue to speak. "Adam and I got into a fight. A physical one. He chased me across the forest, and beat me up. I skipped dinner that night, so I was weak, which is why I lost the fight. I think that if I won, everything would've been fine. That day would've never happened. It was stupid of me to provoke him, running on so little food,"

"It was stupid of him to beat up someone he claimed he 'loved'" Yang corrects me, her voice leaving no room for argument. Maybe one day I'll finally believe it wasn't my fault, if she keeps on talking to me like that. Wouldn't that be something?

"After he beat me up, he took me to a motel, and..." I trail off. I don't need to say anything. They already know.

"Blake, I'm sorry," Weiss says.

"Please don't blame yourself!" I suddenly beg. "Please, please, please don't blame yourself!"

"The only one I blame is Adam," Weiss quickly retorts, and I feel a weight rise off my chest.

"That day was the first time he rapped me," I admit. I stop, taking a break. I want to finish the story, but I need to breath. Yang pulls me into her, and I rest my head on her shoulder. I'm ok, I tell myself.

"Hey," Ren tells me. "I know you think it's your fault, and nothing we can say will convince you otherwise. But, how about this; no matter what you've been through, we will take on all of it. We are happy to have all of you,"

I just nod, not knowing what to say. How the hell did I end up being around such good people?

"The story is almost over," I tell them. "Because, three months after that day, I left the White Fang. Those three months where the absolute worst days of my life. I mean, I have more nightmares about those days than I have about the fall of Beacon,"

"That's fucked up," Yang whispers. I continue.

"During those three months, he abused me mentally, and emotionally; though not physically. I think he knew others would notice if he was physical. And he demanded sex from me a lot. Every three days, I had to give it to him. I didn't know how deep I was. I was convinced it was all my fault. That I was in the wrong. I thought that I deserved to be raped, because I wasn't giving Adam sex when he wanted it. I thought I deserved him yelling at me, because it was my fault he got angry. And, I still do, but at least the logical part of my brain know's otherwise. And at least I have friends around me that don't treat me this way. And, I don't wanna die anymore,"

The eight of us share another group hug. I finally stop crying. I feel... relived. I finally put everything out in the open. I finally told them about the abuse; only Yang and Sun had known about it. And I finally told someone that I was raped. I wish my parents where the first one's I told, but this is good enough. And Yang finally know's about the rape too. I'll have to tell Sun at some point, which I'm nervous about. What will he think of me when he knows my innocence was taken like that? I don't imagine he'll like me any less, but there's always that fear that will be ever present within me. But I will tell Sun about what happened to me. And when he accepts me as I am, like all my friends have done, then I can leave that fear behind.

"Your so brave," Ruby says, which I don't expect. "Your so brave, Blake. Your so brave,"

I break down into tears, but not out of despair this time. I grip onto Ruby with everything I've got. Sweet, little Ruby. Who called me brave, despite everything. Even though I ran away. Even though I didn't stop Adam from digging through my mind. Even though I never did a single action I thought was brave. Even though throughout all my life, I was convinced I was nothing but a coward. And here she is, calling me brave.

I sit back down again, feeling tired. Yang and Weiss sit down with me, the former pulling me into her, so that I'm laying down with my head in her lap. She can tell I'm exhausted. "Take a rest, Blake," She says. "I'll tell the rest of it from here,"

My cat ears are pressed up next to her stomach. The sound of her breaths when she talks lull me to sleep.

When I wake up, Yang is almost done telling everyone what happened during our fight with Adam. The story of the boy with blood red hair is coming to an end. I slowly sit up.

"You good, Blake?" Yang ask me.

"I'm alright, I guess," I say. "Thank you, for letting me rest,"

Yang shrugs, laughing slightly, giving that typical Yang-like smile that I hadn't seen her give since we left Beacon. The kind she makes when she cracks a joke or makes a bad pun that only she will laugh at. "I can see you enjoyed the thighn'ite,"

It takes me a second to realize she was attempting to blend the words "thigh" and "night". I don't give her the satisfaction of even a face palm.

Faded moonlight falls through the window. Yang finishes the story.

"Anyways, Blake and I took the broken half's of Gamble Shroud and ran at him in, what I admit to be, a bit of a panicked rush of fear and adrenaline. Blake stabbed him in the front, and I stabbed him in the back.. The only thing he said was, 'oh'. Then he fell off the edge of the bridge, hit the rocks, and fell into the water. I'm pretty sure he broke his back. Anyways, if he's somehow not dead, I'm calling some voodoo levels of bullshit,"

Yang glances at me, wondering if I had anything to say, probably. "I hate this," I confess. "He tormented me since I was thirteen. I should be glad he's gone. But he also once was my best friend. I've known him since I was six. And I did love him at some point. And even when he twisted everything up..."

"Whatever feelings you have are fine," Yang says firmly. "No matter what, you are fine. I don't like him, not one bit, but if you say he was an alright person at some point in his life, I'll believe you. It doesn't excuse anything he did to you, but you don't have to feel guilty about having good memories with him, alright?"

I just nod, not sure what else to do.

"Well," Weiss finally says, after a few moments of silence. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," I'm not sure if she's referencing every part of my story, or just our final battle against Adam. "But I'm glad Yang was there for you,"

Yang takes my hand, her warm palm radiating into my cold hands. "We where there for eachother," She says with a smile, mimicking my words earlier. I just smile softly at her. Meeting this amazing girl was a blessing. I would've never been able to do any of this without her.

And then we're finally not talking about me. We're talking about Ruby, and her amazing accomplishments. We're talking about Oscar, and the fact that maybe Ozpin is really looking out for us. And we're invited by Maria to take in the breathtaking view of Atlas.

My name is Blake. I was once friends with a boy with blood red hair. I watched this beautiful boy grow into a twisted and horrible man. I was abused, rapped, and belittled by this man. I left him, and I met people who truly cared about me. I met Yang Xiao Long. I met Ruby Rose, and Weiss Schnee. I met Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Professor Ozpin, Ms. Lilly Friz (the school librarian), Velvet Valentina, Cocoa Adel, Oscar Pines, Qrow Bronwen, Maria Calavara. I met Sun Wukong, and reunited with my parents, and Ilia. I met some bad people in my life, but I also met some good people to.

Recovery isn't quick. I will probably spend the rest of my life blaming myself for Adam's abuse. I will probably spend the rest of my life with twisted feelings, a lack of self-worth, and that horrible voice in the back of my head telling me that I deserved each and every terrible thing that happened to me. That will never go away. I know this.

I know I've got a long road ahead of me. But I also know that I've got the most wonderful of people around me, that will gladly walk me down that road.

And for this, I am grateful.

Much happier ending, if I do say so myself.

Lilly Friz belongs to me. She is my own OC. She is also a homage to Ms. Frizzle from Magic School Bus. If anyone wants to adopt her as an OC, feel free to do so. I'm not gonna be doing much with her, so I would like to see her put into good use.

Now all that's left for me to do is to lie in wait and rot away slowly as the hiatus continues to drag on, and I fall into the pit of Beehaw and Yorse memes, cry while reading fanfiction, suffer the eternal Blacksun vs Bumblby war that is going on inside my head and inside the fandom, and slowly die from the depravation of RWBY content. Or I can write another fanfiction in attempt to delay my probably inevitable demise. Either way, enjoy!

Leave a review! Tell me your thoughts! Adopt Lilly Friz! Whatever. Goodbye!

~MotherUniverse signing out!