Epilogue
The cloudy sky sheltered the green lands of Anima from the rays of the setting sun. Upon the dry dirt path travelled a sizeable group of hunters and huntresses; they travelled in formation along the road, two by two. Yet, in the centre of the formation, the column widened as a woman was carried upon a stretcher. The group was at the least fifteen people strong and everyone of them came to a halt at the behest of their leader.
With a weary sigh the man reached into his pocket and pulled from it a silver hip flask. He unscrewed the cap and took a thirsty gulp from it; though he knew the contents would do little to sate his parched throat. "Why are we stopping?" came a woman's voice. Crimson eyes blinked in thought as the man paused. He turned on his heel to regard his blonde-haired niece.
"Because this is the spot kiddo," Qrow answered as his gaze drifted to a set of flat stones barely hidden in the grass off to the side of the path. Yang's eyes were also drawn towards them and it was then that she realised that the stones were the markings of an old road; one that had been long since forgotten.
Yang narrowed her lilac eyes curiously as she looked back towards her uncle, "It'll be safe there?"
"Yeah, it will..." Qrow tilted his head up slightly as if to look over the crowd, yet it was hopeless as he knew that he couldn't see the woman upon the stretcher. He peered back towards Yang, "And it's not like we have a choice. She can't go on like this... That bitch really did a number on her..."
Yang frowned at the reminder as she turned to look upon the crowd of hunters. They were each people that Qrow had recruited to protect the maidens. Slowly over the weeks they had been gathering a small force of sorts; in order to rebuild what was lost he had said. The fact so many people knew of the secret of the maidens was unsettling however, as now there was more chance that the forgotten tale would be laid bare before the world for all to see. But there was safety in numbers, and for the enemy that hunted them that fact came as some shred of comfort.
"So we're splitting up right?" Blake had appeared from the crowd as she made her way towards the two. She lifted her bandaged right arm as she placed her hand upon Yang's shoulder. The blonde smirked softly at the Faunus before looking back towards Qrow.
"Yeah. It'll be easier that way and with any luck we can keep her out of sight and out of mind while the enemy chases nothing," Qrow gave a nod in confirmation towards Blake.
A thought struck Yang, "But what if it doesn't work?"
The crimson gaze of the tall man gazed over her and they narrowed ever so slightly as he spoke in a quiet voice, "Then make sure the last thing she thinks about is you. We can't lose her power, and if it means you need to become a maiden then to hell with it. You do it with a damn smile kid."
The blonde gave a firm nod in response to her uncle's words. Blake glanced back towards the group of huntsmen, "So who is on which team?"
"You're with me Blake. We'll take a few of the others too but we'll be leaving most of them with Yang," answered Qrow as he turned to look upon the path ahead.
Yang was ever so slightly shocked by the idea that she'd be the one left behind. "Wait, you're leaving me to defend?"
"Yeah. No offence to Blake here but I think you'd stand a better chance if it all went to hell. Not just for your fighting capabilities but your charisma too. Not as boring to sit in an abandoned ruin when your leader is easy to talk to. This isn't about picking favourites any more, you got a skill set that'd be better used elsewhere is all."
Yang still wasn't keen upon the idea but she sucked it up and sighed. She knew better than to argue with Qrow at times like these. Her lilac eyes were drawn to her partner as they were met with a golden pair of eyes looking back at her. She offered Blake a smile as the Faunus girl returned one. There was however no time for a heartfelt goodbye. "It won't be too long right? Don't wanna starve out here."
"You two are as clingy as Tai and Sum-... Heh..." Qrow paused in silence as his eyes scanned the distance ahead. "You'll see each other again, so let's get it over with."
Both Blake and Yang gave a nod towards Qrow before the group of hunters split up. Less than half continued down the dirt path, while more than half followed Yang off into a more obscure direction.
Inside the dilapidated ruins of an older civilization, the group of hunters and Yang found themselves in an open chamber. The clouds outside had parted only slightly and allowed some of the orange sunlight into the large room as the sun was setting low in the sky. Old and tattered flags blew in the intruding breeze; they were flapping against the walls that they were hung upon. They were banners of a long since dead people. Yang could see that the way ahead was one that required caution. The old ruins didn't seem although they held any malicious intent in regards to traps and the likes, but the path ahead was a narrow bridge that led to a wide open platform in the centre. It appeared as if it had once been an area of worship perhaps, as a ray of sun illuminated the area around it. With the particles of dust in the air there was an old and sacred feel to the place.
"Watch your step," commanded Yang as she was the first to start crossing the old stone bridge. The craftsmanship was fine with intricate and ancient markings in the bricks themselves. Upon either side of the bridge was a drop but nothing out of a fairy tale where it would be an endless abyss. She could see the floor and it held no pit of snakes or deadly impaling spikes; all that was below was flat stone brick. At worst you'd break a leg if you fell.
Cautiously did the group move however, and eventually they crossed it with no issue. The group of huntsman carrying the stretcher with the wounded woman upon it advanced further to the central position of the platform. They ascended five or six steps before placing the woman down upon the ground gently. The rest of the group took up idle guard upon both ends of the bridge and the open door they had entered through.
It seemed like everything was going fine, all they had to do was wait until Qrow and the others returned and they could continue on their mission. Yang noticeably avoided looking upon the wounded woman as her lilac gaze shifted to one of the hunters that approached her. The man was wearing a brown hood and seemed as old as Qrow, and with his stern voice he said to the blonde, "We don't have much supply left. If Qrow is more than two days gone we may have to search for food. If we start now there's a chance we could stockpile and make it easier for ourselves in the long run."
Yang nodded in thought. Leaving the ruin as soon as they had entered it would likely open them up to be discovered. She glanced around the dusty chamber they were stood in and she took note of another bridge leading further into the ruins themselves. "If there's another entrance to this place we could use that to head out. I get the feeling going out the way we came in is just asking for trouble..."
The man smirked, "In that case I'll grab another and scout out the rest of this tomb."
Another huntsman's voice sounded out from over the bridge, "Actually it's more of a temple."
"No, it's an altar," chimed in another voice.
"Same thing!"
Yang chuckled lightly at the banter between the other hunters before looking back towards the man before her. "Alright, but don't take any risks. We don't know what's in here."
"Hopefully just dust and webs." With that the huntsman turned and waved another over as they both vanished deeper into the ruins.
The rest of the group continued to wait and idle around.
Some took more relaxed poses and found places to sit or lay down.
And why shouldn't they be relaxed? It had been three hours now and nothing had happened. The other group was yet to return but that was to be expected. A search wouldn't be conducted until at least a little while longer. Yang leaned against a short pillar that served as some sort of post for the end of the bridge. Perhaps there was once a torch upon it that would light up the surrounding area as to avoid falling from the bridge itself.
Her lilac eyes stared down upon the ground. The sun was still shining and it came through small openings above; they were far too high to reach and seemed to serve no other purpose than allowing light into the ruins. She held out her artificial right hand to cast a shadow upon the stone floor. There was no reason to it, she was just starting to get bored.
With a heavy sigh she lowered her arm as her tired gaze remained glued to the light on the floor. Her expression grew slightly puzzled as she thought she saw something move against the light. She focused her eyes a little more and saw it again. A bird perhaps? A larger shadow passed the light and her eyes widened. She pushed herself up to her feet and turned to look upon the high window. Outside she saw only the glare of the sun and nothing more. Some of the huntsman looked to her in confusion while others took it as a sign of caution.
Something else was off about the room however. The banners that flapped against the walls were now barely moving as if all the wind that had been travelling through the chamber had suddenly ceased. Yang clenched her fists and stood in front of the bridge as she stared across it and towards the dark entrance that they had come from. This was enough to alert the other hunters as they took to their positions. Two stood right in front of the archway into the chamber while four stood upon the bridge and one was besides Yang herself upon the other end. A sudden quiet had formed over the room and an eerie presence was drawing closer, it was suffocating any atmosphere that the ancient ruins once held.
The first sound of a footstep shook the very hearts of those who heard it. Most of the huntsmen were trained and stern, but the mere break of the silence had unnerved them as it would any man. But they all knew they had to stand their ground and defend the wounded maiden to their dying breaths. If the power she held was to be given to someone... Undeserving... There was no telling what they would unleash upon the world of Remnant.
But the undeserving wasn't what worried Yang...
It was the greedy.
From the shadows a pale woman appeared, with silver-white hair and clothes to match. Weiss stood in the light of the door. She had come to a halt before the two huntsman who now aimed their weapons upon her, but her cold gaze seemed unconcerned as they scanned the room. Her sight landed upon Yang and she frowned. The blonde only seemed to grit her teeth and clench her fists. "Weiss, turn back. There's nothing for you here!" Yang called out to her.
Weiss breathed in a deep breath and sighed heavily, it even echoed through the room. "Stand down, all of you. No one else needs to be harmed. I've told you time and time again; this is for the betterment of us all. The betterment of Remnant."
"Don't give us that crap Weiss! Turn around and just leave!"
But Weiss had no intention of leaving as her frown deepened. "No matter what..." she muttered to herself as her cold gaze shifted between the two besides her.
"Weiss...! I don't want to see you hurt, so please just go!" Yang continued to try and have her once-friend leave without the need for bloodshed... But it was useless.
"And I don't want to hurt you, Yang. I don't want to hurt any of you. So drop your weapons. It only costs three lives to keep Remnant safe, please don't make it any harder than it already is..." Weiss' words seemed honest and pleading, but just as she wouldn't listen to them... They wouldn't listen to her.
The awkward silence drew for too long as the hunters stared down Weiss. Negotiations had failed and now everyone was waiting to see who would take the first swing. "Damn it...!"One of the huntsman raised his sword-like weapon to strike down upon Weiss, and as did the second besides her.
A large thud and a slice was heard as something white and burning fell from above. Its claws sheered straight down into the necks of the two huntsman and with a deep guttural growl the beast lifted the two into the air as its white wings spread wide. The Sire gave out a ferocious roar before throwing the corpses from the bridge.
"No!" yelled Yang at the sight of her friends being tossed from the height. The other huntsman were spurred into action and held the choke point upon the bridge. The Sire, proud and tall, stared down upon them with superiority. The temperature within the room started to plummet as behind the beast a sphere of white rushing wind had formed. With a beat of its wings the Sire launched into the air as from behind it a torrential blizzard was unleashed upon the bridge. Yang watched as the huntsman were consumed in the white storm; they were vanishing from her sight as she braced herself to meet the same force head-on. She was enshrouded by the white blizzard and she could feel the cold chilling her to the bone. She knelt down and steeled herself against the winds as she struggled to even maintain her own balance. Besides her the huntsman was in a similar position as the two stared on ahead.
Within the blizzard they could see a figure approaching, in fact it was stumbling. Another huntsman. He fell to all fours and seemed to grow still, in fact he had stopped moving entirely as if frozen on the spot. Frozen...?
Yang widened her eyes as she saw ice forming upon the stone ahead of her. She looked to the other huntsman and yelled for him to get behind something. Before she could even look to doing just that herself ice had already encased a good portion of her artificial arm. With all the strength she could muster she pushed herself behind the short pillar she leaned upon earlier for cover. The white blizzard continued to rage on and she saw the ice crawl further upon the ground and pass by her. She grit her teeth and looked to her right arm. The ice had frozen it solid and she could no longer move it.
The blizzard slowed to a halt as the winds died down. Not long after could she hear Weiss' footsteps once more; she was crossing the bridge unchallenged. Yang's lilac gaze peered across where she saw the other huntsman. He was thankfully unharmed and readied his weapon to meet the ice queen. Yang shook her head at him but he wasn't paying attention.
Weiss came into view and he lunged out from behind the pillar with a vengeful roar. A dash of white blurred towards him as a claw grasped his head and slammed him down into the stone floor. His weapon flew from his grasp and bounced across the ground as the Sire lifted him up into its fist. Weiss briefly glanced at the huntsman's limp body in the clutches of the creature before she stopped to regard Yang.
The blonde glared back upon her, "Weiss... Why!?"
The woman in question frowned back upon her. "Yang... You don't understand, you can't feel the power inside me... It's enough to save people. Save everyone... So I need the rest of it. I need to become... Whole."
"There are better ways Weiss, other ways to save people, you don't need to go around murdering them!"
"It's not murder!" Weiss snapped as she took a second to compose herself. "It's a sacrifice we all have to make for a better future. If you felt this power you'd understand," Weiss turned to face Yang fully as the white Sire behind her dropped the huntsman's corpse to the ground. The single burning blue eye of the beast glared down over Weiss' shoulder and at the blonde.
Yang looked from the creature and then to Weiss, "It's not-... You're still killing people Weiss, that won't change no matter how you look at it..."
"That's the burden I'm willing to shoulder, for everyone. I'll do everything, no matter what it takes, to save Remnant. Nobody will need to live in fear any longer. I could wipe out the entire race of Grimm myself, I'm sure of it," Weiss answered before turning towards the maiden she had wounded several days ago. She began a slow approach towards her as the Sire followed.
"Weiss you don't even know that! You don't even know what will happen, you're just basing everything on what you feel but how accurate is that!? It's reckless! It's insane!" Yang continued, but Weiss would listen no longer. So set was she in her goals and dreams of redemption. It was everything she wanted. A safe world, one that she could protect and be held responsible for. With that people would finally come to see the Schnee name in a new light, a holy light.
Weiss stopped before the wounded maiden of spring. She held her hand out as ice swirled and formed into her palm. The ice formed a replica of Myrtenaster and she took it into her grasp so that she might deliver the killing blow and gain the power of a second maiden. She could hear Yang calling her name, but she would have to learn to forgive her. What were three lives when compared to the millions that could be saved?
AN: I'll be seeing some of you in a few good months hopefully.