Everything was a blur of darkness and shadow. Yang cursed her human eyes, gripping Gambol Shroud's ribbon a little tighter - her tether to Blake. She'd already lost track of how long they had been following whatever they'd seen, darting through the forest with surprising ease, thanks to her partner's night vision.
Neither of them made a sound, and Yang would have smirked in pride over her silent stepping it if not for the adrenaline coursing through her. All the training Blake had given her on moving quietly had finally paid off.
The Faunus in question stopped suddenly at the edge of what looked like some kind of clearing. At least, that's what Yang assumed, as she peered through the inky blackness. A sickening thud signaled the beast's landing.
A gnawing sense of dread gripped Yang with each strange shuffle and snap, and she moved to stand right behind Blake in a desperate attempt to make out what was happening. It looked like... maybe there were some bushes? A bit of rustling - had the beast split in two? Three?
Yang froze - one of those shapes looked distinctly... human. Fire began to rush through her veins. A hand on Blake's shoulder revealed her partner was rigid as stone. "Blake," she wondered for a moment just how much the Faunus could see of the three forms disappearing beneath the clump of bushes, "Blake, is that a person?"
Blake's voice was strained, "It was."
"A person?" Weiss read over Ruby's shoulder back in the bell tower, "Not from here. None of the secondary watches have signaled us."
The scythe-wielder swallowed thickly. The handful of night watchmen the town had tasked with street-level protection could have missed something, or could have been attacked themselves. Weiss's nails were biting into her arm, even through her cloak. She flexed her stiff fingers and typed back, Still alive? Where are you?
A victim was a major game-changer. If he or she needed help, they all needed to be there, and fast. That meant finding someone to take main watch duty. Ruby snapped her scroll shut and handed it to Weiss, "I'll be right back."
"I'll get a map of where we're going," Weiss reopened the scroll, pulling up a picture of the area they'd covered since they'd begun searching the mountainside. Her blue eyes darted up as Ruby hopped to the top of the belfry railing. "Be careful."
Ruby bent her knees, the tread of her combat boots gripping the stone, as she braced for the jump, "If you see anything-"
"- I'll ring the giant bell," Weiss rolled her eyes, nodding towards the bronze instrument looming in the orange lamplight. "Just hurry up."
"Roger that," Ruby cracked a grin and vanished, leaving a scattering of rose petals in her wake.
The light of a single, flickering Dust lamp illuminated the porch of one of the residential cottages. A orange tom cat padded across the worn out rag rug, whiskers twitching as it investigated the smells in a tin by the door.
Its ears perked at a new sound, and out of nowhere a crimson missile hurtled out of the night. The tom streaked away, yowling as Ruby broke her fall on the house's front door, the force splintering the pine and ripping what was left off its hinges so the girl tumbled head over heels into the house's living room.
Light spilled in from the lamp outside. Ruby pushed herself up, groaning. She should have thought about how she was going to pull that landing off without Crescent Rose a little more. (Firing slow-down bullets in the middle of a town was probably frowned upon, after all.) Something crashed in another room and a light came on.
Next thing Ruby knew, an enormous woman with gray hair and a nightgown was advancing on her with the biggest kitchen knife she'd ever seen.
"Whoa! Same team! Same team!" Ruby scrambled up, knocking into a low shelf of books and scattered tools. She got her feet under herself and did a somersault backwards over the shelf to get some distance, holding her hands up for peace, "I'm with Team RWBY! We need Jack."
That stopped the woman, who narrowed her eyes without lowering her weapon. "You come blasting into my house, through my door, at two in the morning because you need Jack?"
"It's an emergency," Ruby squeaked. She cleared her throat, "I mean, it really is, and I know he's probably tired but we really, really need him to come keep watch at the bell tower while we're gone."
The woman, Jack's mother, seemed confused. "Isn't he already there?"
"Uh..." Ruby glanced down at a photo of the blonde haired boy she'd knocked off the shelf.
She got a sick feeling deep in her gut. Dread, like something black and slippery twisting in her stomach.
Jack smiled his crooked, uncertain smile from the shattered picture frame.
Yang snapped into action before Blake could stop her, crimson eyes trailing flame as she exploded from cover and disappeared after the three dark forms into the suspicious clump of brush. Teeth clenched, Blake managed to shoot a message to Ruby and note their coordinates before dashing after her partner. The cave entrance was hidden right beneath the bushes, no more than a slight crack in the earth, just big enough to slip into, the ground angling away like a rough earthen slide.
Blake dropped in without a second thought, reaching a hand up to keep track of the ceiling as she descended. It lifted away after a while, the narrow slide opening into a great chasm, where she rolled to a stop, crouched and ready. Her eyes landed on Yang standing stock still near the center of the cavern. The brawler was burning, not at full blaze yet, but just enough for both of them to see the broken human body lying before her.
Heart racing a mile a minute, Blake cringed at the heat starting to pouring from Yang - a degree-based measurement of the brawler's anger - all signs pointing to imminent meltdown. Despite the heat, a sudden thought made Blake's blood ran cold. She dared a glance upwards.
Hundreds, thousands of red pinpricks obscured the ceiling in a silent, watchful mass.
They'd found the Liliac's den. Amber eyes darted around the cavern, a sinking sensation weighing the Faunus down when she spotted countless openings leading in every direction. There was no telling how many caverns just like this might be down here. Even if a perfectly silent retreat wasn't possible, with numbers like this they had to at least try. "Yang-"
"You. MONSTERS."
The brawler all but exploded, illuminating the cavern in a burning flash of light and flame. Blake's cry of warning was lost in the chaos of endless Liliac descending upon them, though most were held at bay by the wall of fire circling around her partner. Wild shots from Ember Celica cut huge swaths of destruction in the flapping swarm, scattering the nearby Grimm, only for hundreds more to take their place moments later.
Plans officially thrown out the window, instinct took over. Blake shot forward directly into her partner's wall of flames, throwing her arms around Yang's middle, causing livid red eyes to glance down, surprised rage etched in deep lines on the brawler's face. She stopped firing just long enough for Blake to whisper a harsh command.
"Retreat. Run. Cover me."
Seconds felt like an eternity, but the instant Yang nodded in acknowledgement, Blake shot forward again, grabbing the person lying just outside her partner's ring of fire and making a mad dash for the opening they'd slid through, the shots surrounding her escape the only sign she had that Yang was following.
By some miracle, they made it to the entrance.
A roar of intent preceded Yang bursting through the slight crack in the ground like a living bulldozer, Blake following seconds behind. The pair sprinted across the clearing and crashed through the trees, any attempts at silence sacrificed for sheer speed. They ran until they were spent.
Chest heaving from exertion, Blake carefully laid their charge in the grass and collapsed next to Yang against a stately pine. Nothing had followed them. The forest was silent. Partly because neither of them could find the right words. Catching a light whiff of burning bark, Blake glanced over at her partner. Yang's eyes said everything the brawler wasn't able to voice. The Faunus found it hard to form words herself. She hazarded sending word to Ruby anyway.
Found the entrance.
Jack is dead.
Back in the thick of the pines, up the long, broken trail Yang and Blake had fled, the Liliac swarmed, pouring from the cavern like flying ants. Their sable wings filled the sky.
No connection.
"Stupid mountains," Weiss growled up at Ruby's scroll, the night breeze tugging at her coat as she stood balanced on the peak of the bell tower roof, holding the electronic device up as high as possible as if she could physically catch messages sent from Blake and Yang.
Just as she was thinking about using her semblance to gain an even higher vantage point, she noticed the cloud. It came in low and black and seemed to hover, roiling, growing in size until it obscured the stars all along the eastern rim of the valley. Weiss lowered Ruby's scroll, frowning as the darkness began to pour down, sweeping over the silent pines like a noxious mist.
A distant chittering sound filled the air, and a strange noise like rushing air. Weiss stood, hand straying to Myrtenaster as the dark cloud came nearer.
She watched it, horror slowly dawning across her features as she saw flecks of red in the fast-moving darkness. Grimm red.
Weiss shoved the scroll in her pocket and leaped off the slant of the roof, calling up a glyph to get her back inside the belfry.
The warning bell boomed over the town- not once, but repeatedly, and it didn't show signs of stopping. Ruby sprang to the ruined doorway, sticking her head out into the night. The air was charged, as if with static, but she couldn't see anything beyond the rooftops.
"Sorry about your door, I've got to- hurk!" Ruby gagged as she was dragged back by her hood.
Jack's mother lifted her clean off the floor with one hand, bringing her to eye level. "Where's Jack?"
"I-I don't know for sure but he's probably in trouble," Ruby dangled from the collar of her cloak. She grabbed the wrist above her head with both hands, straining to breathe, "Can you put me down?"
Bleak and low, the warning bell's toll carried across the valley, riding the winds to Blake's ears. Black velvet perked at the sound, rousing the Faunus from the blank shock she'd slipped into. Eyes lifting to the sky, Blake listened, glad for something new to focus on.
"...It's not stopping," Blake flinched at the sound of her own voice breaking the silence. She looked down at Yang for a response, finding the brawler's eyes trained resolutely to the ground. Opting not to disturb her, Blake leaped up into the trees to scope out the situation. She almost wished she hadn't.
A solid black cloud, not of water and vapor, but of Grimm, sluggishly descended upon the town.
"Yang," Blake dropped from the treetops to kneel before her partner, hands gripping at the brawler's rigid shoulders, "The town..." her words petered out as hard amethyst finally met searching amber. Yang stood without a word, moving past Blake to gather Jack into her arms. The bell continued to toll, putting the Faunus on edge. She grabbed for her partner's arm. "Yang, there's no time-"
"I'm not leaving him." Red flickered in the brawler's eyes, causing Blake to step back. Yang's words came through clenched teeth, "His family should... they should have..." flashes of memories from a darker time, the few times she visited Summer's empty grave, kept Yang from finishing her sentence. A solemn look from Blake told her she didn't need to. Gentle fingers secured Gambol Shroud's ribbon around Yang's wrist.
Blake held the other end, already planning their path through the darkness. "Let's go," she said with as much confidence as she could muster. She gave the ribbon a light tug and started forward, Yang's heavy steps behind her a painful reminder of the brawler's extra burden.
Weiss searched the rooftops as the legion of Grimm descended upon the town like thick, black snow.
Where was Gale and her lightning?
The heiress's ears were ringing from her proximity to the giant bronze bell. The instrument's rope hung neglected, its end vanishing through the space in the floor, as Weiss summoned another glyph. The sigil's bright blue washed out the orange of the tiny Dust lamp set on the wall as it propelled the bell into another ponderous swing.
One more time. Just one more. Weiss set her jaw, gauging the distance of the Liliac from her post as she readied a last repel glyph. After that, well. Ruby hadn't come back, and she couldn't think of a way to effectively rendezvous without their scrolls. Yang and Blake... was there even a chance they'd survived? The whir of leather wings filled the air. Weiss set her last glyph in motion and whirled, flinging shots of ice-Dust at the first Grimm as it came shrieking into the tower.
The cries of the giant bats blended into an overwhelming thousand-voiced screech as they swept over the rooftops. Three hurtled in through the remains of the broken door to Jack's house. Their fangs gleamed white and red.
Jack's mother dropped Ruby in surprise as the small girl circled Crescent Rose open. A flash of crimson, and the trio of Liliac fell to the worn carpet, bisected from tip to tail.
"Do you have a basement?" Ruby shouted, fumbling earplugs from the pocket of her combat skirt. The woman nodded, staring wide-eyed at the flurry of winged bodies outside. Ruby got one of her earplugs in, just in time to fire a sniper round into another bat's face. It fell, half of its skull blown away. "I'll cover you. Let's go."
Quiet, open pastures speckled with sheep hunkered down for the night - an image that should have inspired peace left Blake feeling cold as she sprinted by. The Grimm had passed right over this area. They had only one mindless intent, one destination in their blood-red sights; the town proper, and all the people within. Smoke was already climbing high into the sky, blotting out what little light filtered down from the shattered moon.
The warning bell stopped ringing. Both huntresses listened intently for it to ring again, even as they crashed through brush and trees. All they could hear was the overwhelming keening of the legion of Liliac, mixed with what sounded like the frantic cries of the townspeople.
"Ruby..."
Blake's ears flattened at Yang's whisper, torquing her bow backwards. It was the first word the brawler had spoken since finding Jack. Amber eyes scanned the sky for the flash of sniper rounds, swift streaks of red, flickers of blue - anything.
Anything, apparently, was lightning. A wild bolt of yellow shot through the sky, arcing up from the ground and rippling through the darkened sky above before descending in countless branches, tearing through the very edge of the Liliac swarm. A second bolt followed, then a third.
Baffled, Blake traced the bolts down to the forest - the source was surprisingly close by, moving towards town at a steady pace. Blake and Yang were faster - they broke through a thicket of trees just as another bolt flashed to life right in front of them, coming straight from a very familiar figure.
Blake skidded to a stop, Yang halting right beside her. "...Gale?"
The elderly woman whipped around, glowing yellow eyes shining through the dark. "Girls? What are you..." She went quiet at the sight of Jack. Tendrils of electricity crawled across her body. "...Which of you can get me to town the fastest?"
Blake and Yang shared a glance.
"I can," the brawler stepped forward.
With a curt nod, Gale addressed Blake next, "Take the boy to the mines. The stronghold there hasn't fallen," her expression darkened, "yet."
Yang's grip on Jack subconsciously tightened even as Blake nodded and turned to accept her partner's burden. Anxious waves of heat rolled off of Yang as she reluctantly settled the boy over Blake's shoulder. Splitting up was a bad idea. Splitting up was always a bad idea. The brawler's repetitive thoughts halted when Blake gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, offering one of those beautiful half-smiles. Before Yang could get any coherent words out, her partner had already turned to speed towards the mines. At least, as quickly as she could under so much extra weight.
"I don't care how you carry me, just get us to town - fast," Gale waved Yang over, hardened eyes trained on the cloud of Liliac twisting, dipping, swarming through the sky, "These old legs aren't built for speed."
With one last glance at Blake's retreating form, Yang rushed to Gale's side, pushing all the worst possible scenarios to the back of her mind. She smashed her fists together, eyes shining crimson, fueled by a clear goal. There were Grimm to kill. "Yes ma'am." In one fell swoop she hoisted Gale up behind her into a piggy-back ride, earning a surprised huff from the elderly woman. Both held their semblances in check as they took off towards town, trailing flame and lightning in their wake.
Twelve years.
It had been twelve years, more or less, since Summer had gone.
They'd never been able to find how she died. The Grimm she'd gone to fight shouldn't have stood a chance. She should have come home.
The streets of James Point were alive with Grimm, screeching, scrabbling at heavy shutters on buildings' small windows. The Liliac were fast and endless.
Ruby had always imagined it had been something big- a freak giant Grimm that had somehow... gotten a lucky shot or something. She sucked in air through her mouth, whirling Crescent Rose again, cleaving through another five- seven, fifteen Liliac while Jack's mother hauled open the cellar doors.
Maybe it had been more like this, though. Hundreds upon hundreds all throwing themselves on Summer's blade. Piling themselves on till the weapon got too heavy to lift. Ruby ignored calls from the woman to follow her into the cellar. She cut down swaths of Grimm, Crescent Rose's blade flashing. Her muzzle barked heavy rounds that sent the creatures reeling into chaos. Her shirt was soaked with sweat despite the cold, and blood from a half-dozen close calls. She was still okay, though. Still okay enough to wipe out a bunch of Grimm. Ruby waited only for the heavy thump of the wooden cellar doors shutting to call up her semblance.
The warning bell had done its job- everyone who'd heard had latched their storm shutters and barred their doors and so far it had kept the Liliac out. There were so many though, and they kept coming. Even through her ear protection, Ruby heard the screams, the breaking glass.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Gale. Ruby jerked sideways as a bat collided with her face, its claws scoring their way down her neck and shoulder. A roll, a sweep of steel and the bat was dispatched. Ruby looked to the sky, but the blackness was all wings and the stars were red and coming closer every second.
A sharp report from Crescent Rose echoed over the din of shrieking Grimm. The sound was a blessing ringing clear in Yang's ears, rising over the dull crunch of Grimm bone against Ember Celica. Burning fragments of Liliac barely hit the ground before Yang's fist backhanded another snarling bat, sending it crashing into yet another.
That sound meant Ruby was still out there, still fighting, still alive. Crimson eyes trailing flame, the brawler's head turned to track the sound's origin, ears unhindered by any protective plugs. Yang leaped down from the rooftop she'd scaled, crushing a bat beneath her boots and stepping heavily into her next punch. Her entire arm ripped straight through an oncoming Liliac's wide open jaws with an explosive blast, the incendiary aftershock rippling out into the swarm, burning, singing, and scattering the enemy. She had already survived a sonic blast from these things once, and now that they were playing for keeps, she would never give them the chance to use it on her again. Confident the earplugs would better suite Gale, Yang had left them with the elderly town leader.
Another arc of lightning reached up from the roof of the town hall, high into the cloud of Grimm, disintegrating some, crippling others. A slick shower of black fell from the bolt's path. Gale was still trying to reach the clouds - trying to reach the storm above, or so she'd said. Yang wasn't exactly sure what the old town leader was planning, and honestly, she hadn't been keen on leaving the old town leader on her own, but once they'd hit the swarm of Liliac, it became clear just how this town had remained safe for so long.
Summer used to read to her and Ruby, long, winding, ancient tales of hunters and huntresses who had infused themselves directly with dust, often paying a terrible price for the sheer power it granted. This was the first time Yang had seen it in action. Lighting surrounded Gale, kept her impossibly safe, tendrils of electricity instinctively reaching out to destroy any Liliac that dared come within five feet of her.
Two more bolts of lightning stretched into the sky, a resounding CRACK following each one.
It wasn't the sound she was looking for. Yang grit her teeth, straining to listen for another round of fire from Crescent Rose. The moments that dragged between each shot were torture - fear that each one was the last, that she would never hear another, fed the bloodlust driving her assault on the Liliac. Another round of explosives shot from Ember Celica, tearing a gaping hole in the cloud of Liliac swarming the rooftop Yang was gunning for.
Grimm had taken her mother. In a way, Grimm had taken her father as well. A bright vortex of flames encircled Yang as she stood tall on the roof of a half-crumbled home, staring down the oncoming wall of darkness. For all she knew, Grimm had taken her first mother as well.
She would never let them take Ruby.
Splinters of shingle flew as she kicked off from the roof towards the direction of the last shot she'd heard, fists poised to meet the looming mass of Liliac head on.
A/N: I fell asleep while sitting up while trying to write this author's note. It is time to sleep.
The rest of you should enjoy the chapter though!
HUGS,
Defenestrator