Chapter Eight: Collapse
Written by: JayEmEl
Edited by: Cowjump
NOTE: This chapter was emotionally painful to both write and edit.
Er…enjoy?
It was a magnificent day on the island of Patch. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky and the sun shined brightly, casting its light and warmth over the tranquility of a certain meadow surrounded by tall trees and underbrush. Birds chirped joyfully, leaves rustled periodically, and butterflies fluttered undisturbed – pleasant testaments to the calm that reigned.
Yang was happy. Her dad was on their house's porch, preparing barbeque on the grill as he whistled a cheery tune, Ruby was outside exploring with her, and, more importantly, her mother – Summer – would be coming back tonight. Food on the horizon and a delicious smell in the air, spending time with family, and seeing her mom again soon…they might have been simple things, but Yang's spirits were high and nothing could ruin that for her. She'd been impatiently waiting for this day ever since Summer had left, anyway, just two weeks ago.
"Ruby!" Yang giggled and quickly went to fetch Ruby from the edge of the woods. Ruby could walk now and her little legs sure carried her far if someone didn't keep an eye on her. She was an extremely curious baby and had taken her first steps at a very young age, as if she couldn't wait to start her own adventures without anyone's help. It was a recurring theme between the two siblings at this point – Ruby somehow managing to eclipse herself and Yang bringing her baby sister back to safety. It was fun to a certain extent, too, because Yang always knew where to find Ruby, anyway – exactly in the places she shouldn't be, mischievous as she was.
Yang hopped in front of Ruby before she reached the trees and grinned. "I gotchu!"
Ruby's silver eyes widened and she took a few wobbly steps back. "But de woods! I wanna see de woods!" She made an attempt at getting past Yang. Whatever had caught her attention seemed like an important matter.
The six-year-old girl wasn't going to let her reach her destination, though. Yang laughed and took Ruby's hand, trying to return her focus on the house. "C'mon! Daddy's almost done cooking supper! Aren't you hungry?"
"But I saw someding! Lemme go, Yang!" Ruby twisted away, urgency in her tone and fascination in her eyes.
Her own curiosity piqued, Yang turned back to the forest and took a moment to search for whatever it was her almost four-year-old sister could have possibly seen. "Was it a bird?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
Ruby shook her head vehemently. "It had legs! And it flew!" she spread her arms wide, mimicking a winged creature.
Yang now scratched the back of her head quizzically. "So, like…a bird?"
"No, Yang!" the little girl in red creased her eyebrows, thinking. "It was like a…a skwel!"
"What's a skwel?" the blonde looked at the trees again, befuddled. She paused. "Is it like a bird?" The teasing smile she gave her sibling was utterly obvious.
"Yaaaaaang," Ruby wailed. She slumped her shoulders, defeated. The soft breeze played with the short strands of her chestnut hair. "It's prolly gone now…" she sighed.
That was when Yang saw it. A little furry animal scurrying up one of the trees at the speed of lightning as it made squeaky chittering sounds. "A squirrel!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Silly Ruby, squirrels don't fl…"
The "skwel" suddenly jumped off the trunk and sailed through the air, all four webbed legs extended wide, and landed on another branch further off.
"…y. Oh."
"See? I told you! I told you!" Ruby hopped up and down excitedly. She kept pointing at the small animal, following its rapid progression through the trees with her finger. Yang fully conceded that it was adorable. Just like her little sister, in fact.
She giggled, watching the squirrel go. "You sure did, Rubes. It's so cute!"
"Girls!" a voice suddenly called from the house further behind them. "Come over here if you want to eat! It's ready!"
Ruby's eyes widened. "Daddy!" she exclaimed – as if he hadn't been there all along and she was surprised to hear him – and let go of Yang's hand to quickly turn and make her way towards their home.
The blonde's amused lilac eyes watched her go – Ruby was quite fast on her feet for her age. But Yang was still swifter than her! "I'm gonna catch youuuu, Ruby!" she called out, grinning from ear to ear as she began to go after her sibling.
The younger girl glanced behind herself, silver eyes round as coconuts, and immediately tried to speed up. Her run looked bumpy and teetering on the recently mowed lawn, but she was definitely determined.
"I'm gonna get chuuuu!" Yang teased further, hopping closer. This caused Ruby to start laughing, high-pitched and unrestrained. They would reach the balcony steps soon, and Yang was quickly gaining on her sister. "Go, Ruby! Go, go, go!"
Ruby screamed in her excitement, her baby-like voice causing Yang to guffaw – it was just so adorable. Just before they reached the stairs, the six-year-old caught up to the shorter girl and hugged her tightly, declaring, "I got you! I got you!"
Both siblings were giggling uncontrollably, and it wasn't until their father – chuckling, himself – said, "Alright there, troublemakers. Calm down. Let's get you two seated at the table," that Ruby and Yang pulled away from each other enough to climb the three steps onto the balcony, Yang making sure Ruby didn't fall by holding her hand.
Their father, Taiyang, gathered the smallest of the two into his arms and carried her to the high-chair fixed to one of the wooden seats at the modest table nearby. Ruby immediately started telling her dad about the flying "skwel," her speech eager and curious and amazed all at once. He laughed as she recounted the story like it had been some great adventure, the marvel still evident in her eyes.
"Well, Ruby," he replied lightly as he made sure she was buckled in securely in her high-chair, "I know something else that's even faster than the squirrel."
Yang watched him waggle his eyebrows as she sat down next to her sibling and found herself beaming in amusement and fascination, too. Her dad made the funniest faces sometimes.
Ruby's eyes widened again. "What is it? What is it?"
Taiyang turned slightly and winked at Yang before bringing his attention back to Ruby. "It has two legs –"
"It's a bird!" Yang exclaimed, grinning hugely and then turning into a helpless pile of cackling when two pairs of eyes stopped to stare at her.
"No, Yang! No birds!" Ruby wailed and gazed at her father pitifully. "Daddy, it's not a bird, is it?"
Taiyang was chuckling heartily now along with his eldest daughter. "No, it's not, Ruby," he snickered. "Your sister is being a troll. Yang, give me a high-five!" He raised his hand towards said troll. Yang didn't have to be prompted twice. She reached out and smacked the palm of her father's much larger hand, still laughing.
"I'm telling mommy when she comes back!"
"Daddy won't tell you what's faster than a flying squirrel if you do that…" Yang leaned towards Ruby, trying to waggle her eyebrows like her dad had done earlier. She wasn't sure if she'd succeeded, but she'd keep trying with time.
Ruby seemed mortified. Her face scrunched up adorably as she thought about the ultimatum, but then Taiyang ruffled her hair with a chuckle, his large hand covering the entire top of Ruby's head. "You tell mommy you're the fastest in the whole world. You'll see." He straitened his stance, cobalt blue eyes grinning, and then went over to get the plates.
Ruby was smiling again, and Yang couldn't help the simper on her own lips, either. She turned her head to gaze out at their vast front yard, squinting slightly because of the sun and feeling the soothing breeze play with her hair and caress her skin. Sometime after they were done eating, their mom would be driven up the long dirt road and dropped off near the house by a chauffeur. Yang imagined Ruby and herself running up to her and hugging her tightly, this hero, this slayer of monsters, and the best mother ever. She couldn't wait!
Yang turned back towards the table as their dad put their plates in front of them – cut up pieces of steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli. It smelled so deliciousssss...but ew, broccoli. "Daddy, when is mommy coming back?" she looked up at Taiyang curiously after cringing at the vegetables. She already knew the answer – the two sisters having pestered their dad all day with that same question – but maybe it had, in some awesome intervention of fate, changed.
He sat down opposite her with his own plate of food and looked at his wristwatch. "Well, Yang, maybe in an hour or two." And then he took his fork and wagged it at the blonde, arching his eyebrows. "Also, don't think I didn't see that face you made. If you want to be strong like your amazing old man, you gotta inhale that broccoli like your life depends on it."
Yang pouted, observing her dad's powerful build critically – this man that seemed to tower above her when he was standing and could lift her high onto his wide shoulders, making her feel as invulnerable as he surely was. No one could touch her when she was up there. She could even reach for the sky.
Her gaze returned to the broccoli on her plate, and she winced. Yang did indeed want to be like her dad – invincible. That way, she could always protect and look out for Ruby.
She would leave the broccoli for last, though.
Because…well, ew.
"Yang, you do it like dis!" Ruby exclaimed, and took a vegetable to bring it towards her nose. She attempted to breathe it in, but ended up smearing it on her face, which caused the two siblings to start laughing again.
The moment of hilarity didn't last long, though. The three family members stopped when they heard the distinct sound of a car approaching on the dirt road to their house. It soon came into sight, the black armored vehicle that huntsmen and huntresses were usually driven in.
Supper completely forgotten, Taiyang stood slowly from his chair while Yang's eyes grew wide once more in excitement. She jumped from her seat just as Ruby started hitting the surface of her high-chair. "Lemme out! Lemme out, daddy! Please! I wanna go see mommy!"
Yang impatiently waited for her dad to wipe Ruby's face and get her out, continuously glancing at the car as it drove closer and came to a stop nearby. The tinted windows made it impossible to see who was inside. But that didn't matter. "Hurry up, daddy!" she urged.
"I know, I know," he replied with a grin, and finally lifted Ruby from her highchair.
As soon as Ruby was on her feet, Yang grabbed her hand, and the two girls hurried down the steps and ran as fast as they could towards the vehicle, simultaneously shouting joyfully, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"
The car was much bigger up close than it had seemed from the porch. Yang wasn't intimated, though – she was so excited! Their mom had actually come home earlier than the time their dad had been telling them all day!
They came to a halt by the passenger door but didn't have to wait long for it to open.
The person who came out wasn't their mother, though. Their gazes traveled up the man's frame until they saw his face – a familiar one, actually.
"Uncle Qrow! Uncle Qrow!" the two sisters exclaimed enthusiastically, bouncing up and down, as they were happy for his visit even if he wasn't the person they had initially thought they'd see.
"Hey there, kiddos," he greeted them rather tiredly, crouching down to be at their height. Yang and Ruby tried to hug him, but he kept them at arm's length for a moment, observing their beaming faces with an incredibly sad look in his red eyes. Yang couldn't figure out what he was doing, and her grin faltered. But then he sighed and attempted to smile a bit, himself, before accepting their hug, pulling the two girls in and holding them tightly.
"Qrow?" came Taiyang's voice from behind them, sounding disturbed. "What are you doing here? Where's Summer?"
"Did you see mommy? Huh? Did you?" Ruby demanded, silver eyes fervent.
Qrow opened his mouth as if wanting to answer, but then he watched Taiyang approach and deliberately stood, holding Yang and Ruby by their hands. "Tai. We need to talk. Privately." His rough voice was stern, and Yang found herself glancing between both adults in worry, sensing the growing tension.
Taiyang didn't seem to take kindly to Qrow's words, however. He briskly stalked up to him. "I asked you a question, Qrow."
"Please, Tai. Not here."
"We aren't going anywhere," Taiyang retorted with an audibly upset growl.
Qrow stepped forward, letting go of Ruby and Yang and glaring at their father. "I said I need to speak to you privately."
Yang took Ruby's hand and both backed away from the two men, intimidated by their anger and unfriendly stances. Ruby even edged behind her older sister slightly, as if seeking to hide. Yang wished she knew what was going on – their uncle and their father had never been this aggressive towards each other. Not in front of them, at least, and she wondered if it was somehow her fault.
Why had Qrow looked at her that way? Had she made him sad?
Taiyang and Qrow continued their silent confrontation only for a few more seconds before the taller of the two backed away some and lowered his eyes. Taiyang turned towards Ruby and Yang, and upon noticing their frightened faces, his own expression softened.
"Go inside the house, girls," he said gently. "Yang, take care of your sister. Make sure the two of you finish eating."
Yang glanced at Qrow, who gave the subtlest of nods, and then she incited Ruby to follow her. The two didn't run this time, and Yang looked back at her dad to make sure everything was alright. It didn't seem like it was, and she didn't understand why. She could guess, though, that whatever it was, it was bad. But she had a mission now – like her mother did. Take care of Ruby. Yang could accomplish that task – she knew how, too.
The house seemed oddly quiet and still without the presence of their father. Once they were at the table with their unfinished plates of food – having grabbed them from outside – Ruby asked in a hushed tone, almost fearful, "Yang, what's going on? Why are dey angry?"
"I dunno, Ruby," the six-year-old replied. Curiosity willed her to look out the window and find out, but Ruby had become her priority. "Eat your food. I'm sure daddy and uncle Qrow are gonna be alright."
The young brunette gazed up hesitantly at her sibling. Without her highchair Ruby had to almost keep standing in order to reach her food properly. "Okay," she agreed, but she didn't sound convinced. Nevertheless, she brought her attention back to her food and began eating again – much more slowly than before, though. Yang knew a joke was in order, or even some sort of game to entertain her little sis, something that would distract her and lighten the mood. Anything, really.
However, no sooner had Yang opened her mouth to speak that furious shouting was heard from outside.
"What do you mean, she's not coming back?! No! That's impossible! You have no right to come here and just announce –"
"You think I'm joking? No, Tai! Why would I come all the way out here just to –"
There was the muffled sound of someone getting punched and then two car doors opening and slamming shut. Every fiber in Yang's being urged her to watch and see what was happening to clear her confusion and insecurity.
"Yang?" Ruby squeaked. "What does dat mean?"
Once again, Yang wished she could explain. But she didn't comprehend the situation anymore than Ruby did. Plus, Ruby had to stay safe before anything else. Heart pounding, Yang jumped from her seat and got her sister to hop down, too, and then grabbed her hand once more. "It's gonna be okay, trust me," she tried to reassure her, like their dad and Summer had often done when their children were scared. Yang wasn't really certain if she managed to be convincing – she was in need of reassurance, herself, and incapable of believing her own words, there was no one else to help her.
They paused when they heard their uncle start talking again.
"Listen to me! They found her body, took it in to verify her identity, and it was her. I saw her, Tai. I…I saw her. Summer is dead."
"You're lying!" Taiyang retorted, but he sounded desperate and less sure of himself now.
"I have no reason to lie to you, Tai… I'm sorry."
Whatever was said next was too quiet to be heard.
Ruby had begun to sniffle, and Yang's heart was thudding hard in her chest and in her ears. She felt a tight ball in her throat, but she couldn't cry. She didn't even know why she was feeling this way, this confusion and upset, she didn't know what any of it meant, but they were all probably the cause of her distress. It must have been even worse for Ruby.
"Follow me!" Yang prompted weakly, tugging on Ruby's hand. "They're just having a conversation, Ruby," she assured as confidently as she could as they entered their shared bedroom a few moments later. In the presence of her sibling or not, Yang was beginning to feel very alone and helpless. She couldn't let Ruby see or know that, though.
Yang was able to get Ruby into her crib thanks to all the times she had watched her dad do it. Lifting Ruby wasn't a difficult task, either – Yang was a little taller than most six-year-olds and she had proven to be strong for her age, too. Plus, well, Ruby wasn't exactly heavy and she hadn't experienced any recent growth spurts. She was just small.
Ruby didn't seem to comprehend why she had to be put in her crib, but she thankfully didn't fight Yang about it. Which was good because Yang didn't really know why, either – she was just trying to imitate her parents. The older girl figured Ruby would feel safer there, and being here in the room meant they would be isolated enough from the outside that they wouldn't have to hear the commotion happening. That said, Yang's fear didn't relent. She knew what dead meant, but it just wasn't processing in her mind. She thought Ruby knew, too, but – maybe – if they stayed calm and if Yang did what her father had instructed, they would find out that everything was okay. Uncle Qrow and her dad both liked teasing and playing pranks, after all. That had to be it…right?
Right?
Unfortunately, it seemed it wouldn't happen that way.
Ruby and Yang heard the front door open, followed by Taiyang's uncharacteristically slow, heavy footsteps on the wooden floorboards. Both girls waited in silence, almost holding their breath, but he didn't walk very far, nor did he call out to them. Instead he pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, making it creak loudly before the house returned to utter quiet once more.
Yang glanced at Ruby. They were holding on to the bars of the younger girl's crib and had been looking out their shared bedroom door even if they wouldn't – and couldn't – see into the kitchen. Ruby still appeared like she was on the verge of tears, bottom lip quivering, and Yang swallowed hard, fighting her own urge to cry.
"Yang?" Ruby whispered, voice breaking.
The blonde blinked several times and did her very best to give Ruby a smile. Yang had to be strong for Ruby. That was what she had been asked to do, right? Take care of her little sister. "I promise it's gonna be alright," she said, putting her hand overtop of Ruby's and squeezing. She thought she actually sounded reassuring that time.
Considering how frightened and useless Yang felt and how hollow her promise seemed, Ruby wiping her eyes and nodding came across as somewhat of a tiny miracle.
The front door suddenly opened again and the two girls knew it was Qrow without needing to find out. Nothing was said for a strangely long while, until Qrow's voice was heard, sounding gruffer and graver than usual, "Summer was there for all of us, and especially for you. Don't let that go to waste."
Yang craned her neck to hear better, but it became evident that after a moment of lacking response, her dad wasn't going to speak. She didn't know what was wrong – he usually always had something encouraging or optimistic to say.
Qrow took a few steps and then opened the front door. There was another pause. "Tai, you have two girls who need you. You aren't allowed to shut down again. I'm leaving, but you have to take care of them." On those words, their uncle walked out and let the door close behind him.
Ruby and Yang listened to him descend the porch stairs, and a little later, a car door slamming shut. And still no other noises coming from the kitchen. Yang's heart wouldn't calm. She needed to see her dad and find out what was wrong. Desperately. She was scared.
Yang first made sure Ruby would be okay. She gave her little sister her favorite teddy-bear – it was a small dog – saying, "Here, Zwei will keep you company. I'm gonna go make sure daddy is alright and ask him what's going on."
Ruby took Zwei and hugged the stuffed animal firmly. She nodded, closing her eyes tight and plopping down in her crib. "Okay."
Yang pursed her lips into a thin line, creasing her eyebrows as she turned towards the door. She hesitated, unsure if leaving Ruby was the most appropriate course of action – what if not completing her task properly made everything bad? Then it would be her fault for sure! – but Ruby looked like she could handle being alone in the room for a few minutes. Yang wouldn't be gone long – she was going to get her dad, and he would reassure them both.
And then mommy will come home. She would smile, hug them, and tell them everything was okay, too. There was no reason to be scared or feel alone. They could be happy, and go play outside together while the sun was still bright. Ruby would be alright and she'd be able to tell mommy all about the squirrel, too.
It was with these frail beliefs in mind that Yang pushed herself to take the steps necessary into the hallway. Still, her heart refused to stop pounding. She heard the armored car outside drive away, signaling the assured departure of her uncle Qrow. Her socked feet made no sound as she padded slowly closer to the kitchen, and she had a moment of hesitation before actually turning the corner. She stopped, holding her breath.
Taiyang was indeed sitting at the table on the chair closest to the entrance door. The sunlight filtered in through the window nearby, but he wasn't looking outside. His burly form was hunched over, his face hidden by his strong arms on the table. Yang's eyebrows creased in concern when she saw that his shoulders were shaking a bit. Was he sick?
"Daddy?" she murmured, uncertain. She took a step closer, once again wishing she knew what to do.
Her father made a bit of a strangled noise as his body tensed, and Yang realized what she was seeing. He was crying.
No, this wasn't right. It just wasn't. Yang's eyes filled with tears and she ran towards him, putting both of her hands on one of his forearms urgently. "Don't cry, daddy," she begged him, voice hitching in her distress. "Please, don't cry…" She lowered her eyes, swallowing with difficulty. The ball in her throat had reappeared, making it hard for her to speak. It felt like she was just telling those words to herself. She had never seen her dad like this. She didn't understand what was happening. He was strong, solid as a rock, and had always comforted his children. This wasn't normal. He wasn't supposed to cry.
There was no prank. He wouldn't smile nor would he offer comforting words.
"It's okay, daddy," she tried again in a whisper, but the tears escaped her eyes and instead of helping, her attempt at reassuring him seemed to only make him worse, broken sobs forcing themselves out now. He wouldn't show her his face. There was nothing she could do.
Yang stared, blinking to clear her vision, but it was useless. She was useless. Maybe this really was her fault. Silently, she sat on the chair next to her dad and retracted her hands from his arm, putting them between her knees tightly. She gazed down at her lap, waiting, even if all she wanted to do was hide, somehow, just some way to make herself feel more secure. Nothing made sense anymore.
"She's gone," Taiyang choked out between sobs. "Summer –"
Yang's eyes widened and her head snapped back up to fixate on her dad. "But daddy, you said she was coming back tonight. She can't be gone!" What was he talking about? It couldn't be –
Taiyang suddenly slammed his hand down on the surface of the table, startling Yang from her inner turmoil, and he finally looked at her, eyes bloodshot and expression filled with pain. "She's dead, Yang." He stared at her in his upset, and Yang recoiled, intimidated. Her dad saw this, and his shoulders slumped, his voice becoming just a lifeless murmur. "She isn't coming back."
Yang's mind was reeling, trying to process the information. She knew what dead meant. Dead was not moving. It was…it was…
Not here anymore.
Mommy wasn't coming back home. Not tonight, not ever again. Yang couldn't hold back or ignore her pain this time. The ball in her throat expanded and her whole chest felt constricted. The overwhelming sense of loss that took her was suffocating. "Mommy," she whimpered desperately, covering her face with her hands. It was so hard to breathe.
And as if that wasn't enough, Yang heard Ruby in their bedroom, crying for someone to hold her. She must have heard what was happening in the kitchen – Ruby was clever, she had known something was wrong, too.
But what was Yang supposed to do? She couldn't do anything! She had even made the whole situation worse! It felt like the foundations she stood on were gradually crumbling beneath her, and there was no one around to help her find safer grounds. She was on her own and she was scared to death, trembling in her despair. There was no way she was strong enough to keep holding Ruby when Yang was barely even keeping herself together.
Sniveling through heaving breaths, Yang looked at her father, silently pleading for him to at least go reassure her little sister. Hearing her cry so loudly was crushing. She didn't want Ruby to feel alone. Ruby needed to smile again.
But Taiyang just sat there, his cobalt regard now dull and empty as tears continued to stream down his cheeks. He didn't even seem to know Yang was beside him anymore.
Yang, take care of your sister. That was what he'd told her. And now she was failing at that, too. But she loved Ruby too much to give up. No matter how weak and destroyed Yang felt, her baby sister needed her. If their dad couldn't do it, then there would be no one else who would be there for her. Because Summer was gone. She wasn't coming back. Yang was all Ruby had.
The blonde jumped off her chair, shaking and still sniffling, but she forced herself to take a deep, painful breath in before carefully exhaling. It didn't do much to calm her, but Yang's wellbeing didn't matter now. She would not make Ruby's crying her fault – she would be there for her. She'd protect her.
Yang quickly went back to the bedroom, finding Ruby wailing and rattling the bars of her crib, trying to get out. Zwei had been thrown on the floor, unhelpful. When the little girl saw Yang, she became somewhat appeased. Her face was red and wet with tears, but she asked hesitantly, voice hoarse, "Yang… Where's mommy? I want mommy."
It was in that moment that Yang was truly faced with the impossibility of her naïve determination. How was she supposed to tell Ruby that…? The tears swelled up in her eyes again, and she ran up to the crib to help Ruby out. But Ruby was much less cooperative this time around.
"I want mommy!" she shouted, and began to cry again, fighting Yang so she'd let go of her.
"Ruby!" Yang choked, desperate and feeling powerless. She forced her little sister into a hug, holding her as tightly as she could despite the younger girl's struggling. "It's gonna be okay, Ruby!" How was she even saying that? "I'm here. I'm here, Ruby. Everything is okay. Everything is okay."
Everything is not okay. It never was.
They'd learned to move on, of course, and live happily despite Summer's absence, but even that was a lie. Taiyang had never recovered entirely. Ruby still spoke to her mom's gravestone. Their uncle Qrow was constantly drunk. Yang…
Well, Yang had been told, shortly after the news of her death, that Summer hadn't even been her biological mother. Fancy that. Yang had wasted years of her life searching for the woman who had given birth to her, seeking answers and closure that she thought would mend the rift made by Summer's passing. None of it had been granted to her. All she had was a picture and a name. Everything she had thought to be true had been ripped from beneath her at a formative stage of her life, where stability was most important, and she'd been charged with the far too heavy responsibility of making sure Ruby was cared for. Yang had been forced to grow up much faster than any child should have and build her own foundation to plant her feet upon. But it had never been solid. At every other moment throughout her life, she had felt like her world could crumble without warning and there'd be nothing left to hold on to.
And now, in this ironic twist of fates, it wasn't Ruby who needed Yang. Yang needed Ruby. She wanted to find her mother, she wanted Summer to come back, but she needed Ruby – the only constant, the only sure presence she had – the most.
Except Ruby was lying in a hospital bed not three feet from her, hooked to an IV and other instruments, breathing through an oxygen mask and having been declared comatose. It was a miracle she had even survived, and there was no guarantee she'd ever wake up.
And whose fault was that? Raven Branwen's – the coward of a woman who had abandoned Yang at birth. Once again, Yang was lost. Without Ruby, without the one person who had always been there, Yang had nothing – nothing except a smoldering anger towards her biological mother and a need more pressing than ever before to pry answers from that woman's mouth.
But even that had dulled after the initial encounter. Now Yang was just sitting here, staring at her half-sibling's pale, unmoving form, unable to accept that this was true. Ruby's head was heavily bandaged – they'd been forced to operate to relieve the pressure accumulating in her skull, and her hair was partly shaved off where the injury had been stitched. The medical treatment she'd received on the airship had boosted her aura levels to prevent brain damage from the trauma, but the consequences were what the doctors called an auric coma. She would either wake up when her body was done healing, or she wouldn't wake up at all because the injury sustained was too great and her aura was only able to protect her, not cure her. They couldn't disrupt the process – her aura was the only thing either keeping her alive or stopping her from turning into a vegetable.
And Yang was once again left alone to cope, every beep from the heart monitor a small jab to remind her it wasn't all just some awful nightmare she'd wake up from. It was reality. Weiss and Blake had gone…somewhere, after they'd been treated for all that smoke they had inhaled. Yang hadn't been listening. She was supposed to have followed them – probably – but she refused to leave Ruby's side. They'd been gone for about an hour now. Or maybe five hours. Yang didn't know anymore, and it didn't matter, either – she'd lost track of time after realizing her little sister was hurt. It just felt like one moment she was wreaking havoc on her surroundings at a Grimm-infested facility, and the next there was just the empty, oppressive sound of silence. Silence, and Ruby in an aura-induced coma.
None of it made sense. None of it was okay.
The door into the hospital room suddenly swung open, someone quickly saying, "I came as fast as I could after hearing the…" Taiyang slowly stepped inside as his voice trailed off, and then he froze upon taking in the scene. The door closed behind him. "Ruby, no." He rushed to her other side, eyes wide and panicked. "How did this happen? Is she alright?" He looked at his older daughter, eyes pleading for an answer.
But Yang only spared him a glance before returning to fixate on Ruby. She felt so far removed from the entire situation, like she was staring at a body, a stranger, through a window in another room, another life. "Raven," she murmured, but her voice was hoarse and weak. Yang's eyes felt dry and they continued to burn, but she hadn't cried – she wouldn't, either. As long as Ruby was breathing, there was still hope. She wouldn't give that up. She'd be there.
"Raven?" Taiyang repeated in disbelief. "You mean Raven did this?" He sounded like he had more to say, but then he looked down at Ruby and the words seemed to die in his throat. He swallowed hard, and sat down too, shaking his head in denial.
Yang had long ago developed an indifference to her father's pain. She hadn't had a choice. She understood him, understood his reasons, but had ceased to offer sympathy when it became obvious he couldn't stop wallowing in self-pity instead of pulling himself together and doing his job as a parent should. He didn't expect comforting words from her anymore – Yang had eventually made it clear to him she wouldn't handle his burden on top of everything else, especially when none of it was hers to bear to begin with.
"Is Ruby going to be okay?" Taiyang asked, voice sounding a bit gruffer.
"Auric coma," was all Yang replied. He would know what that entailed.
And indeed, he did. The shaky sigh he exhaled was evidence of it. He observed his younger daughter desperately and massaged his forehead, blinking back tears. "Yang, we can't lose –"
"I know," Yang interrupted him. "Dad, I know." She didn't want to talk about it, either, and made sure the firmness in her voice transmitted that message. She didn't need nor want his hopelessness.
Taiyang caught on. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and staring at Ruby in his upset. They lapsed into silence for a while, both adults falling into their private ruminations. It wasn't too long, though, before Taiyang muttered, "I don't understand why she would have done this."
Yang raised her eyebrows. Was he actually going to finally talk to her about Raven? "Hurt Ruby, or abandon me?" she retorted, losing patience at the topic of that coward. "Did you even know her, dad? Because the number of crimes she's committed are accumulating, and you're still here, shaking your head like you can't believe it. But maybe it's totally believable that –"
"Raven was my assigned partner!" he objected, as if that somehow justified his opinion, but then he looked down and didn't say anything else.
Yang didn't bother to question him anymore about it. She knew nothing he could say would be helpful in any case. He was a man blinded by love and by his own belief that there was always something good to be found in others. To a certain extent, Yang was similar – but she'd also stopped being naïve about it over six years ago. Ulterior motives were a thing, and not everyone was genuinely kind – a lesson she had learned the hard way, unfortunately. Some people successfully played the nice card for years, in fact, before their true colors were revealed.
A terse rapping on the door managed to switch Yang's attention away from Ruby. Father and daughter watched as the familiar form of Qrow opened the door. He stayed at the doorway for a moment, his expression grim but apparently not surprised to see either of his nieces in such bad states. He must have already been aware of the situation.
"Your emo friend followed me," he finally declared, opening the door wider and rolling his eyes as he stepped out of the way.
After only a brief moment, Blake walked by him. "Thanks." She shot him a bit of sarcastic look before going over to sit beside Yang. Discreetly, Blake slipped her slender fingers between Yang's and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
Yang barely noticed. Qrow had been gone on a mission. His presence here meant he had been recalled early specifically for this case and had important information to transmit to them concerning what had happened – and Yang wanted to know. She needed to know. If there were any leads that would guide them to Raven, she was going to hunt that woman down for what she had done to Ruby.
Qrow closed the door slowly and then paused for a moment. He eventually turned to look at his small audience of three, and his gaze stopped on Yang and Blake. "Thanks to your entire team's swift communication and efforts, we were able to capture some of the huntsmen at the facility and take them in for questioning. Following that, we verified the identity of their leader and found her. Raven has been taken into custody."
Yang immediately rose from her chair, letting go of Blake's hand. "Where?" she demanded.
Qrow calmly put his hands up a little. His tone was a bit inappropriately light when he spoke. "Whoa, calm down, firecracker. You can't –"
Yang took a step forward, glaring as she grated her question again, "Where is she? Tell me where Raven is being held so I can tear her –"
Qrow crossed his arms and frowned. "It doesn't make sense to give you that piece of information, especially after that. There are no visitors allowed."
Yang clenched her hands into fists. She wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Look at Ruby!" she seethed. "Look at her! Raven did that! My baby sister is in a coma and may never wake up, all thanks to my mother. I have every right to want answers!" Did he not understand how important this was for her? Or how messed up the situation was?
Blake reached for Yang's arm, grazing the brawler's skin softly, apparently attempting to appease her. "Yang, please –"
But Yang retracted her arm. "Don't." Her eyes felt so dry. Revenge. Closure. Raven held the key to all of it. As Blake put her hand back on her lap hesitantly, Yang returned her attention to her uncle. She took a deep breath in, trying to calm herself, but her blood felt like it was boiling in her veins. "Raven – your very own twin – abandoned all of us. Not just me. She just up and left you, my dad, Summer, and me. And now we discover her in the Emerald Forest, capturing Grimm for who knows what reason, ordering her guards to kill us." Yang could feel her fury burning cold, turning her eyes to crimson. "We finally have an opportunity to get answers, and you're just going to follow orders?"
Unlike what she would have preferred, Qrow didn't bite. He leaned his shoulder against the wall, his expression darkening. "I know Raven better than any of you in this room. I can't tell you why she did what she did, but I can tell you her reasons for doing things have never been senseless."
Yang recoiled a little, her eyes first widening in incomprehension before narrowing angrily. "Why are you defending her?!" she vociferated, a jab of betrayal making her rage spike. "Nothing excuses what she's done!"
"I'm not defending her," Qrow growled, straightening his stance and finally letting go his air of indifference. His red eyes became stern and unreadable. "I'm just telling you to trust me. No visitors. Do you understand?"
The blonde glowered at him, breathing rougher as she sought to keep control over her turbulent emotions. But Qrow's indecipherable expression remained unwavering, and it was through this silent confrontation that Yang realized she wasn't going to get what she wanted – what she needed. Even if she tried to fight him, her uncle wouldn't budge, and she knew that despite the terrible frustration it caused.
Yang finally lowered her gaze and swallowed with difficulty, forcing her fingers to relax by her sides. "I understand," she murmured. It had never been so hard to admit defeat. Without Ruby, without this, she had no purpose. She was just as helpless as she had always been, her insecurity worse than it had been as a child. She had nothing but old wounds tearing open again, and she couldn't do anything to make the bleeding stop.
But she wouldn't let it go. She would see Raven eventually. And when she did, Yang would make her pay.
Qrow relaxed his stance and seemed relieved that his niece had backed down. He sighed and turned back towards the door. "I need to leave now. Before I go, though… Yang, Ozpin still needs to debrief you about your mission. And Blake, you'll have to go with her, since you left early." On those words, Qrow left the hospital room.
Yang stood still for a moment, the heart monitor's beeps ringing in her ears until her legs lost their strength and she decided to sit back down again. Her gaze automatically drifted back to Ruby, and her eyes started to burn once more. Still, there were no tears that came. Her anger simmered, and Yang slowly lapsed into the absent state of mind she had been in since the accident, staring and not understanding how this could be possible.
Taiyang and Blake didn't say anything either for a long while. The three of them just sat there, caught in their own thoughts. Yang found that she didn't even care. They were all useless. Every single last one of them.
At some point, Blake finally spoke up. Her voice was gentle and hesitant when she asked, "Yang, do you want to come eat something with me?"
Yang only shook her head. "No." She wouldn't leave Ruby.
Blake exhaled softly, and after a brief instant, she carefully put her hand overtop of Yang's. "Yang, please. It's the middle of the afternoon and I'm sure you haven't –"
"I'm not hungry," Yang interjected, beginning to feel a bit unnerved by Blake's insistence. There was a bigger problem than food right now.
Blake didn't seem to grasp that, though. She made her voice even more tentative, as if she didn't quite know how to express herself, saying, "Maybe… Well, I think getting some fresh air would help you, at least."
At that, Yang yanked her hand away from Blake's and glared at her. "I can get food later!"
The Faunus' golden eyes widened, bowless cat ears leaning backwards in her confusion and shock. "Yang –"
"Just leave us alone, Blake." Fed up, Yang refocused her eyes on Ruby. How could Blake not understand? Yang needed to be here. She didn't want Ruby to wake up and be alone. That was a feeling she didn't wish upon anyone. Yang would know, having spent years feeling exactly that way. Completely on her own. It wasn't until Ruby had been a bit more grown up that Yang had been able to start relying on her more. And that was one of the reasons Yang needed her. Ruby would wake up – at least, that's what the older sister desperately tried to convince herself of.
Yang came back to the present moment. Taiyang was still sitting on a chair on the other side of Ruby's bed, observing both of his daughters sorrowfully. He noticed Yang looking in his direction, and then he asked, "Are you…in a relationship with that girl?"
Yang blinked, strangely feeling like the topic of that question seemed so foreign and faraway – part of a conversation that might have happened in a different timeline, one that wasn't amidst a world of hurt. "Uh, yeah," she muttered. "Yeah, I am." She glanced to her side, expecting to see Blake and hear a response from her but…
Blake wasn't there anymore.
She had left.
Writing child-Yang's perspective is hard. As much as we've all been that age, the psychology is different. I really don't know how well I did with that scene, even now. It felt harsh to me, even if I wrote it, but I also feel like it could have been even harsher and realistic. Let me know what you thought?
See you in chapter nine!