A/N: Hey folks! Long story short, Defenestrator and I both somehow forgot to post the chapter last weekend. Ha! Yes. Good times. So here's last week's AND this week's installments all rolled into one slightly-longer-than-normal chapter.
Everyone's getting around to the plot!
- Fiercesomest
"Well we've come this far."
Ruby nodded, and she and Weiss picked themselves up off the ground and walked to the dark mouth of the maintenance hall, bracing against the wind as they did so.
Everything quieted once they got into the tunnel. Everything except a low, electric hum. Weiss called up one of her glyphs, granting the pair enough light to see a few feet into the darkness.
The hair on the back of Ruby's neck prickled up. She gripped Crescent Rose and tried to keep watch in every direction. There was just something about tunnels.
It didn't take long for them to catch up to Pyrrha. Even if the tunnel had branched, the dull staccato beat of her footsteps and the low scrape of Qrow sliding along the ground were a pretty dead giveaway for their position in the empty corridor.
There was no light this far in, but even outside of Weiss's circle of blue, Pyrrha could feel where she was going, following a clear metal path towards softer sounds coming from farther in.
Voices - or at least, once desperate pleading voice, and what sounded like guttural growls and snarls - gradually became clearer as they neared a sharp bend in the hall.
"Come on man, please, please say something." A low growl. "You have to be in there," the voice broke in a hiccuped sob, "you- you have to..."
"...Neptune," Pyrrha called gently as she passed Qrow to round the corner first.
The boy in question practically leaped to his feet, quickly swiping an arm across his eyes. His trident, activated and glowing a slightly brighter blue than Weiss's, lay on the ground before an enormous access door barred with slatted metal shutters. Small squares of aquamarine light patterned a small section of the floor beyond the shutters, the remainder cloaked in pitch darkness.
Still in the midst of trying to smooth out the telltale hitches in his breathing, Neptune ran a hand through his hair and fussed with the tattered sleeves of his once-pristine red jacket, "Jeeze, Pyrrha, you can't just sneak up on a guy like..." he tapered off at the sight of Qrow, Ruby and Weiss.
The heiress lifted her weapon, casting a little more light as she took in Neptune's ragged state.
He looked harried, almost broken. And had he been crying? Ruby took a step forward, intending to... what? Comfort him?
Something slammed into the shutters, causing her to squeak and leap back to Weiss's side.
A screaming, animal sound filled the wide, dark space. Red eyes gleamed, flickering in and out of view as coal black fingers clenched like claws and yanked at the slatted metal hard enough to shake it.
The cries died into the sound of heavy, huffing breaths. A distinctly humanoid form dragged itself back to the shadows.
Ruby swallowed thickly. She looked between Neptune and Pyrrha. Weiss was more vocal.
"What is this?" she twitched the hilt of her sword, indicated everyone present. Her free hand twisted the fabric of Ruby's sleeve, as if to unconsciously keep her away from the thing behind the grate. "Are you crazy? Why would you keep a Grimm in here?"
"Don't call him that!" Neptune snapped, his composure shattering under the unexpected duress of Weiss's sharp comments, "He is not- Sun is not a Grimm. He... he's not..."
Pyrrha went to him, letting the only slightly taller boy hide his face in her shoulder as a fresh wave of sobs wracked his body. Her eyes found Qrow's. "Can you fix this?" she motioned to the red eyes watching them from behind the grate. "Can you undo what she's done?"
Ruby stared at Pyrrha, at Neptune. He was crying. Her mouth went dry as she looked at the narrowed slivers of crimson behind the metal grating.
Qrow sighed and pulled his flask from his belt. He shook his head, unscrewing the cap with calloused fingers, "I hate to break it to you, but it's going to get worse. A lot worse."
"Okay, this is all very dramatic, but what exactly is going to get worse?" Weiss's voice had a hard, sleep-deprived edge to it as she disentangled her hand from Ruby's sleeve and pointed to the barred off section of the hall, "You're telling me that that is Sun, and then saying it's going to get worse? Who even are you?"
"Someone who cannot be trusted." Pyrrha said matter-of-factly, eyes tracking Sun's silent slinking form in an unspoken refusal to even look at the man still sitting on the ground.
Qrow tipped his flask back, taking a swallow. He gave Ruby a half grin and shrugged towards Pyrrha, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was mad at me."
The temperature in the corridor plummeted, a light breeze tousling Pyrrha's hair as finally turned her head, just enough to leer at Qrow from the very corners of her eyes. "Ruby... you called this man your uncle?"
Ruby found her voice at last. It was small but firm as she edged herself not quite between her uncle and her friend, but closer to that, protective of the seated man, "Pyrrha, why are you acting like this?"
Pyrrha blinked in surprise, trading hardened brown for tired emerald once more. "Ruby..." She looked away, "I... I'm sorry." She walked away, ushering Neptune along with her towards the entrance they'd come from.
Her footsteps echoed on the steel flooring of the empty hall. The light from Neptune's weapon vanished as they followed the curve of the wall, out towards the entrance. Myrtenaster's circle of pale blue light shifted as Weiss lifted her sword, stepping closer to the grate to look inside.
Ruby stayed at the edge, sitting down on the floor and biting her lip. Her cloak pooled around her. "Uncle Qrow?"
Qrow gave his flask a long look. He capped it.
"Hey," he gestured to the fraying ends of her cloak, "Looks like you had a long trip."
Ruby tried to smile but couldn't quite muster it. They'd been travelling for weeks in the ice and snow. They hadn't seen anyone else- anyone alive, anyway, besides that little girl- and they hadn't heard from anyone in all that time.
James Point might still be holding out for them, waiting for help- they had to be holding out.
She'd been so sure that they could fix everything if they just got back to Beacon.
Now at least it made sense why they hadn't been getting any signal on their scrolls. Vale, the wreckage, the smoke... she hadn't specifically looked for the CCT tower rising against the sky, but there was no way it had been left standing. She swallowed a couple of times, wanting to say something but not sure what. What had happened to the school? What had happened to Sun? She braced her hands on her ankles as the questions welled up in her. What had been wrong with Pyrrha's eyes? What was wrong with her own eyes? She rubbed them and her sleeve came away damp.
"Is dad okay?" she managed shakily.
A low growling emanated from beyond the gate. Weiss pulled away from it, paler than usual.
Qrow chuckled at her reaction and answered Ruby's question, "Tai's okay. He's picked up a couple strays leftover from all this, but as far as I know nothing crazy ever happens out on that rock."
"He's really your uncle?" Weiss asked, looking Qrow up and down. Her gaze lingered on the tattered remains of Qrow's cape. She moved to stand by Ruby, casting glances into the darkness surrounding them as if it might discharge some new danger.
"And you're really the little Schnee," Qrow smirked, watching Weiss frown. He held up a hand, "Excuse me- the middle Schnee. Unless we're talking about height here."
Weiss bridled at the comment, gripping her sword, "Why you-"
"Hey," Ruby broke in, her arm out at Weiss's knee height to stop her advance. She sniffed wetly, gave Qrow a reproachful look and crossed her arms. "Be nice."
Qrow's smirk turned rueful, still lingering at the corner of his mouth as he reached for his flask again. He just couldn't stay away long. "Yeah. Not exactly one of my strong suits."
The metallic sound of the flask's lid unscrewing was the only noise for a few beats.
He took a long drink and motioned to Weiss, "Your family's a real piece of work, you know that?"
Weiss's gaze hardened.
"Good old supporters of Atlas's defense tech," Qrow drawled. His red eyes narrowed and his tone slid into a darker range, "the same tech that turned on us when this all went down."
"What are you talking about?" the heiress growled. Ruby put her hand out again, her breath catching in her throat as she remembered the plane that had come to James Point. The plane full of 'malfunctioning' robots.
That had been weird at the time. Really weird. But somehow she'd just filed it away as a glitch in the system.
"Maybe we can trade stories," Ruby said. She cringed as her positive nature prompted her to tell about how she'd gotten to pilot a Paladin, as if that made up for the death of half a mountain town or more. As if that could be anything in the face of the destruction they'd come home to here in Vale. "Maybe you can go first?"
Qrow lowered his flask and wiped his mouth on his wrist, "Sure you don't want to wait for your friend to tell you?"
Ruby and Weiss exchanged a glance. They could always talk to Pyrrha later. If she would still talk to them.
"If I'm going to get into this, you'd better at least do something about the temperature," Qrow got up stiffly, rubbing the seat of his pants where he'd been in contact with the icy metal floor.
Weiss scowled at him, but she shifted Myrtenaster's chamber shifted to red. The blade thrust into the thick paneled floor and she channeled heat into it until a circle of metal two feet in diameter glowed orange.
"Happy?" she asked, freeing her blade and returning it to her side and shifting the chamber so it gave off a gentle blue glow again.
"Not bad," Qrow stooped a little, holding his hands over the warm spot. "So, how far back do you want me to start?"
Ruby settled a little closer to the circle- close enough to feel the heat, but not so close she'd be charring her boots on the burning hot section of the floor. "Um, at... the start?"
Her uncle stared at her a moment as the request sunk in.
"Good choice," he chuckled. The exhaustion came through this time, and Ruby noticed the lines around his mouth and eyes. They made the shadows on his face that much deeper. He combed his fingers through his hair absentmindedly, gazing at the dull orange glow as if he could find right words in the heat. At last, he sighed, "What's your favorite fairy tale?"
Qrow tipped his glass, the ice giving a pleasant clink as he considered the last few drops of alcohol. The tavern kept its lights dim. He inhaled the smell of smoke and alcohol, his red eyes wandering over the clientele. A game of cards ran at one table. The thin plastic snap of lien on wood carried distinctly over the low chatter. The thunk of metal in the mantlepiece came from knife-throwing competition going on over by the fireplace. This was his kind of place. His muted red cloak draped over his chair, full and long. Practically brand new, even though he'd spent the better part of a year in the field. Streaks of gray had just started showing in his dark hair.
Moonlight slipped in through the tavern's front windows. Tonight was a Huntsman's Moon. Those meant good or bad luck, depending on who you talked to. A wry smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he glanced at the girl he'd been watching all evening.
She'd come on a horse, just like Oz had said. Not that he believed everything Oz said. After all, what he'd been told was pretty crazy. He leaned forward, considering whether to call for another drink.
The girl was at the bar. Her brown hair hung neatly at shoulder length. She had a couple pieces of armor and what looked like an extendable staff leaned up on the bar next to her, but otherwise seemed pretty plain. White blouse. Some sort of leather vest/corset deal from what he could see past the pine green cloak. Not too hard on the eyes, if you were into forest ranger types.
Rising from his chair, Qrow decided it was time to see how much truth there was in this whole 'Maiden' thing.
The tavern's ambient noise wasn't enough to mask the distinct sound of footsteps coming right up behind her, and the girl in question turned just enough to look over her shoulder at Qrow. Deep brown eyes traveled from his face, down to his polished boots, and back again. She turned back to her half-empty tankard without a word and took a hearty drink.
Qrow took the spot at the counter next to her, dropping a few cards of lien on the smooth surface next to his empty glass. When he had the barkeep's attention, he tipped his head to the girl, "Fill hers up, while you're at it."
The barkeep nodded, his stately rack of antlers nearly scraping the tavern's ceiling as he set about pouring their drinks.
The girl couldn't have rolled her eyes harder if she tried. "Wow. Is that really the first step in your playbook? Lower her inhibitions?" She nevertheless allowed the barkeep to refill her drink, though she pointedly ignored it in favor of the small bowl of complimentary peanuts, popping a few into her mouth. "You must be a real catch."
"Yikes. Remind me to watch out for that chip on your shoulder," Qrow took a swallow of his drink, enjoying the burn of the alcohol down his throat, "Got anything to do with why you're travelling alone?"
The girl side-eyed him, slowly raking over his appearance once more. "I'll give you points for being easier on the eyes than most of the old men that try to pick me up in bars," she reached for her refilled drink and pulled it close, flicking away an errant bit of foam dripping down its side, "but you really know how to make yourself sound like a stalker."
"Okay, fine," Qrow chuckled, even as he shrugged in defeat, "You don't like older guys who buy you drinks."
You win some, you lose some.
"Seriously, though, a loner on the road makes a pretty big target," he leaned one elbow hard on the bar. He considered the condensation on his glass for a moment before shifting his gaze to her, "Oz says you're hot stuff, though, so maybe you don't worry about running into trouble."
"Ugh. Now there's a name I was hoping wouldn't come up," the girl pulled a face and sighed, finally taking a very long sip of her drink.
Qrow turned his glass in his hand, smirking at the memory of his last run in with his old Headmaster. "Gets on your case too, huh?"
"Might have been one of the reasons I left," the girl shrugged, returning to the bowl of peanuts. "And for the record," she spoke with surprising clarity around her crunching, "if you're the yearly envoy of choice sent to try and bring me back, the answer is still no."
"Bring you back? And have to deal with you on the way? I'll pass," Qrow ran his free hand through his hair, "I'm just here for the show. You're supposed to have some kind of magic or something, right? Or is it just a fancy semblance, and Oz is nuts? Wouldn't be surprised- he's been a little more out there than usual."
He'd told him a lot of stories... stories too crazy to be true. The four kingdoms, the Scorched Continent, black pools crawling with Grimm... nightmare stuff to go with the magic. Maybe some people believed the old man on faith, but Qrow needed to see these things for himself. He shifted, his cloak slipping off the handle of the sword at his back.
Despite her best efforts, the girl couldn't help but let out a short laugh, bright and clear for having found a kindred spirit of sorts. Anyone who was clear-headed enough to question Ozpin's sanity was immediately a friend in her books.
"You want a magic show then, is that it? Here," she reached over and grabbed Qrow's drink, pausing just long enough to wink at him, "the kids love this one."
Frost crept outwards from her fingertips, coating the glass in slow spiderweb patterns.
Qrow watched the patterns creep across the glass. He glanced back up without making a move to take the glass back, "Cute. But I've seen frosty semblance work before."
"Oh, pardon me, I didn't realize you were so worldly and experienced," she rolled her eyes, a smirk playing around the edges of her lips, "Is this more to your liking then?" Steam began to rise from the frost beneath her fingers, the once-intricate patterns melting away as the dark ale started to bubble. In seconds, Qrow's drink was boiling.
"Alright," Qrow drawled, leaning back from the bar, "so it's heat. You take it away, you put it back in. Still looks like a semblance to me," he added, nodding to his drink, "though I'd appreciate it if you didn't boil that all off."
"You really know how to take the fun out of magic," the girl released his drink, plopping her chin in her hand and arching a brow. Her other hand she clenched into a tight fist. "I've got one more though - my personal favorite."
With a flourished flick of her wrist, she released her fist and wiggled her fingers, small blue arcs of electricity dancing between them. "But wait, there's more-" quick as a flash, the girl reached up and combed her sparking fingers through Qrow's hair, flooding him with static electricity. "...t-..ta-daa," was all she managed to get out before dissolving into a fit of giggles.
Qrow laughed as she left him with his hair standing on end. Crazy, but hey. I've seen crazier. He tried to smooth it back down with middling success while he watched her snicker at the bar.
"Funny, but come on," he kept up his grin as he ascertained that the barkeeper was busy at the other end of the bar. He motioned to his hot drink, "I was under the impression that you had some kind of actual power. Is it just this small-time stuff, or what?"
Her laughter quieted down, the mirth in her brown eyes giving way to something more pensive. She reached for his drink once more, chilling it slowly to avoid cracking the glass. "I prefer the small-time stuff."
Qrow waited both for his drink to cool and for the girl to elaborate.
Unfortunately for him, the girl kept her silence, having slipped into what looked like a fairly deep train of thought. Eventually, she emerged long enough to flash an apologetic smile. "So, are you ever going to introduce yourself, or are we past that point?"
"Qrow," his smirk lingered at the corner of his mouth, "and you are?"
"Amber," the girl smiled back. She went to reach for her drink, but it wasn't there.
Gradually, all of the color seeped out of the walls, the ground, the people, her surroundings melting and shifting as they always did.
Amber...
A lone tree stood singed and smoldering on an empty charred landscape, surrounded by the burning stumps of the remainder of the forest that had not escaped her destruction. Beneath her, a Goliath lay in a heap, slowly sifting away into ash. Amber stared in wide-eyed surprise at the man standing beneath the tree.
Her powers... when her control over them slipped, they never left anything living in their wake... and yet, there stood Qrow, right beneath the only tree that her electric maelstrom had somehow missed.
How long had he been following her?
Somehow, she didn't mind.
She flashed him a sad smile. His face said it all. Now he knew why she traveled alone.
...Amber?
The walls surrounding Vale were more than impressive up close. Almost as impressive as her newfound traveling partner's ability to somehow survive being her traveling partner.
Amber tore her eyes away from the towering walls to look at Qrow. He was waiting for her at the city's gates.
How was it that her powers always missed him? Granted, lately she'd been missing enemies with alarming frequency as well. But with someone watching her back now... somehow, she didn't mind.
She followed him into the city.
Amber.
The city looked so small from this height. Gleaming silver gears hung overhead, spinning, endlessly spinning. How could he stand their incessant ticking? This was not where she wanted to be, this was not where she belonged... but she shook his hand anyway, a horrible sense of wrongness overcoming her when wary brown eyes met ancient bespectacled gold.
She made Qrow promise never to bring her here again.
By the light of the shattered moon, she left the city, alone.
Pyrrha...
Amber woke, but only darkness greeted her now. How long had she been like this? Her consciousness waxing and waning... How long since that woman...
She could hear voices. Qrow. Amber seethed at his presence. Betrayer. Why had she ever listened to him? More voices... a girl? They'd brought a girl to see her... Why? Why couldn't she open her eyes? Why couldn't she warn the girl to run - run as far and as fast as she possibly could?
Pyrrha?
Amber woke, her eyes finally opening, only to be blinded by pain. A familiar arrow protruded from her chest. At least she hadn't been shot in the back again.
Everyone was here, that woman, Ozpin, some blonde kid... and someone else... someone in her head... that is... which head was hers again? Deep brown eyes slid shut. It hardly mattered, she was so tired... maybe she would just sleep forever... surely nobody would mind...
"Pyrrha."
Emerald green eyes snapped open. Startled by the light touch of a hand to her shoulder, Pyrrha nearly toppled from her perch sitting atop the highest point of the stadium's walls, but she anchored herself with her javelin just in time.
The wind picked up, small sparks of nervous energy crackling between her fingertips. "Ren?..."
He stood beside her, looking at her the same way he always did, like he was just on the verge of asking something other than what he always asked, "...Nightmares again?"
She never knew how to answer. Fortunately, he never pressed.
"Ruby is looking for you."
Of course - the exact words she'd been hoping not to hear. Pyrrha leaned heavily on her weapon, excuses flitting about in her head, though none of them stood a chance against the simple hard fact that she couldn't avoid Ruby forever. "...Have her meet me here, then."
Ren nodded, turning to leave.
"And Ren..."
He turned back, his brow quirked.
"Thank you..."
His face briefly twisted in a sad half-smile, but he nodded once more and quietly dropped from the wall's edge.