The Schnee Black Sheep
A/N
I'M ALIVE AGAIN!
Finally, I'm over that crappy sickness bug. Damn it feels so good to be back again. I originally thought about splitting this into two chapters but after feeling so much better I decided to just write and write and write. I had so much energy recently that I just couldn't stop and since it is coming to the end of a volume I just couldn't help myself.
But this is where I have to give you all some bad news. Because of this illness I haven't had the chance to plan out my draft for volume two like I intended to and because I want to do the best that I can, I might end up taking a week or two to sit down and draft up a story board the way I want this fic to go. Fret not! I will be continuing this fic and it will not be long before I can sit down and get the next chapter out. I'm am nowhere near finished fucking with Coal and his alternative personas, or his pairing with Blake, or his sisterly relationship with Weiss. Oh, damn there is a lot I need to fuck with… [insert evil villain laugh here]
*cough* Moving on…
THANK YOU TO ALL THE AWSOMELY BADASS AND BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE WHO FAVORATED, FOLLOWED AND REVIEWED THIS FIRST FIC OF MINE. Seriously without the support of you all, none of this would have been written. You all deserve a plate of Ruby's best cookies for just being awesome!
Once again I do not own RWBY.
Chapter 19: I Am… Home
"BLAKE!"
"BLAKE WHERE ARE YOU!"
"Weiss you're not helping!" Ruby complained. Since Blake ran off last night and had yet to return, the remaining members of team RWBY decided to go out and search for her, lest they would lose another friend. Ruby and Yang called out to the Faunus in means of finding her while walking around the city of Vale, Weiss had remained silent as they ventured through the city streets, almost uninterested.
"Why should I?" Weiss questioned folding her arms.
"Because you said you would!" Yang snapped back. "She is our friend."
"She is a Faunus, and a member or the white fang no less!"
"Weiss, we should hear her side of the story, we heard yours after all." Yang argued. Weiss pressed on in silence after that. She understood that Yang was right in that they had yet to hear Blake's interpretation of her connection to the White Fang from the Faunus herself but Weiss didn't care. Moreover, she didn't want or need to listen to the Faunus. She called back to her teammates who followed her as she continued walking.
"Fine once you hear her side then you will understand why I said those things."
"You didn't need to be such a bitch about it though!" Yang cursed getting annoyed at the Schnee.
"Hey! I had my own motives." Weiss snapped turning on the blond. "Coal isn't the only one who can be cunning you know."
"And what's that supposed to mean!" Ruby snapped also getting irritated with her partner.
"I ALREADY KNEW SHE WAS A FAUNUS!" Weiss snapped, getting surprised looks from her teammates.
"You mean the girl with the cat ears." Came the voice of Penny who appeared behind Weiss causing her to leap into the air and land in her partner's arms.
"Ah! Penny where did you come from?" Ruby asked when Weiss climbed out of her arms.
"Atlas." Penny stated the obvious, getting groans in response. "Where's Blake?" She continued.
"Well…" Ruby sighed. "We are looking for her."
"What did you mean by cat ears?" Yang questioned.
"Blake, was she the Faunus you were talking about?" Penny questioned rather innocently.
"Blake doesn't have cat ears, she wears a bow…" Yang trailed off just now putting two and two together. Weiss facepalmed out of annoyance.
"Yeah try looking at that bow the same way now." She deadpanned.
"How did you know!" Ruby questioned also getting frustrated once more. Though she only now realised just how much Blake liked tuna, how hadn't she or Yang figured that out when apparently, Weiss had.
"Coal told me."
"Oh, where is boyfriend Coal also? He should have returned by now!" Penny cheered clapping her hands together and bouncing on her heels.
"He hasn't come back yet." Weiss said quietly, being reminded by the fact that her twin was still missing also. Penny tilted her head in confusion, according to Ironwood he should have already been back in the city, but before she could ask what the Schnee meant she was interrupted by Ruby.
"Penny have you seen Blake at all?"
"No I have not, but rest assured my friend Ruby, we will not stop until your teammate has been located!" Penny claimed getting very close to the girl and tightly taking her hands. Ruby grew very uncomfortable at the close proximity of the girl.
"That's really nice of you Penny, but I think we…" Ruby cut herself off as she looked around the girl to see that both her sister and Weiss had vanished, leaving her with the eccentric teen. "Just great…" She mumbled to herself.
"Thanks anyways." Yang called back into the shop that she and Weiss had just left. "This is hopeless." When Weiss started walking once more without comment Yang decided to interrogate the girl. "You don't care if we find her, do you?"
"Don't be stupid, of course I do!" Weiss snapped back turning to face the blond with her hands firmly planted at her hips. "If I had that much of a problem I would have said something well before now."
"Then why did you get so bitchy with her yesterday?" Yang questioned also placing her hands firmly on her hips. Locking them in a standoff.
"Because I wanted to know for myself which side she would take!" Weiss yelled. "I trust my brother more than anyone else in the world, so when he made me promise not to say anything about it I got really pissed off! I needed to know Yang, I needed to push her buttons enough to see exactly who she was for myself. And what happened last night proves it, she still supports the white fang!"
"Don't you think you went a little too far though?" Yang questioned softly, using the same sisterly tone that she would have used if she was speaking with Ruby. Weiss backed down slightly and let out a deep breath that she didn't realise she was holding in.
"Maybe… But the innocent never run Yang." Weiss turned to walk away from her as Yang gave her a few more words to think about.
"Then why did Coal run?" Yang asked, Weiss however, already knew the answer to that question.
"Because he isn't innocent either…"
Penny and Ruby were also wondering the streets again in search of the Faunus.
"So, Blake is your friend?" Penny asked.
"Yes Penny." Ruby answered looking to the sky and cursing her teammates for ditching her with the girl.
"But your mad at her?"
"Yes… well I'm not. Weiss is."
"Is she friends with Blake?"
"Well that's kind of up in the air right now."
"But why?"
"Well Blake might not be who we thought she was." Ruby answered with a depressed expression.
"Is she a man?" Penny asked surprised
"No penny she not… she didn't exactly talk to us before she ran off."
"I don't have a lot of friends…" Penny replied. "But if I did I would want them to talk to me."
"Yeah me too…" Ruby sighed as she continued walking. A few minutes later she heard a couple of loud explosions and turned to see a lot of black smoke rising from the docks. "Oh no…" she said, fearing the worst.
"Well, well. If it isn't Coal Valiant." Roman remarked sounding confident. Though internally he was already planning several different escape routes. Coal merely laughed rather loudly.
"So you heard of HIS name?" The boy laughed.
"News travels fast." Roman joked twirling his cane. "I'll tell Adam you said hello."
From behind the boy, three white Beowolves emerged from the heavy mist, eyes glowing the same cobalt blue as the boy's eyes. The Grimm snarled angrily at the criminal as their master drew his revolver and pulled back the hammer.
"So, you brought reinforcements. Let me show you mine!" Roman remarked as he pointed off to the airship that had crash landed moments earlier. Out of the airship emerged around about two dozen members of the White Fang. Loaded to the teeth with guns and swords as they formed a protective wall between the boy and their leader. The ones who had been on the ground originally had also entered the fray. Along with the ones who had managed to climb out the sinking airship. "Boys! Go execute the executioner!"
As the Faunus charged at the boy, he showed an evil smirk as he growled to his pets. "Go play."
Blake watched from deep within the mist as Coal's summoned Grimm charged and met her brethren halfway. An all-out brawl between the sides began, gunfire, swords and claws all attacking furiously trying to kill the other. She looked at the back of the human who had told her to stay where she was in fear. This was Coal? No, this was someone else… Blake remembered him saying. 'Another thing you should know is that when I do summon, it feels like I'm tearing my soul in two halves.' So, if that was the case, would summoning three Grimm at the same time be the same as splitting his soul into four? Blake thought back to one of her book, the man with two souls, and couldn't help but realise what kind of position Coal was in… He was fighting not only the White Fang but also himself. Constantly. The amount of pain that he had been though already and that he was still going though must have been unbearable. No wonder he had tried to keep it all a secret.
Sun approached Blake and grabbed her upper arm and tried to usher her away from the fight, having noticed her frozen in place. "We need to get out of here, like now!" He said still pulling on the girl who was trying to remain in the same spot. Struck in fear and awe as she watched her own kind get outclassed by monsters.
"But Coal…"
"Leave him!" Sun yelled trying to talk some sense into the girl, the fear in his eyes and voice was obvious. "He's gone and there's nothing you can do to bring him back!"
"What do you mean he's gone?" Blake yelled back trying to break out of Sun's tight grip.
"I've seen him fight like that… Once. They may be blue now but once his eyes turn red, you do not want to be around him!" Blake finally gave in and leaped away, landing on top of a nearby where house so that she could still observe the fight and intervene if necessary. She looked at Coal and saw a familiar set of glowing blue eyes underneath the shadow cast by his hood, his right-hand twitching as he controlled his summoned monsters like puppets. Her vision switched as she noticed out the corner of her eyes that Roman was slowly creeping away. She remembered that Coal had passed her his headset and slipped it on herself. Sure, she had ears on top of her head unlike her human counterpart's, but she could still hear the music blasting against her temples.
[I Prevail – Scars]
Coal simply watched as his Grimm slowly took down the White Fang grunts. Being able to see through his pet's eyes gave him the miraculous advantage over the white fang grunts, who were being thrown around like a puppy's favourite toy. He had the advantage of seeing the whole fight while also being able to focus directly on a single target for each Grimm. Slashing and swiping away at the grunts who grew fewer and fewer by the seconds as each fell unconscious, to the attacks from his claws or tried to run away purely out of fear. Some of the grunts did manage to take down one of his creations, however, he would simply summon another to take its place. The white fang had no hope against his endlessly resurrected monsters, something that the boy not only feared himself, but also hated to use. He could already feel himself growing weaker with each new Grimm he summoned. When he noticed that Torchwick was slowly trying to make a discreet escape, he flicked his right wrist and fired a round of black dust behind him, charging right through the remaining Faunus and his own pets. Leaving a trail of his ice forged estocs behind him as he stopped just shy of a few yards away from the criminal.
"Torchwick!" He growled. Roman turned slowly to see the white coated teen remove his hood and look him directly in the eyes. "I need your corpse." Coal clicked his fingers. Causing the trail of estocs he left behind him to explode, engulfing the remaining members of the White Fang in a massive ball of red fire. Burnt bodies of the Faunus came flying out of the explosion in all directions, yet somehow, they were all very much alive. In a great deal of pain sure but still alive. Sending a bone chilling fear down the spine of Roman, he continued to slowly creep upon the criminal once again pulling back on the hammer of his revolver. Roman noticed that at the very centre of his glowing blue eyes was a very small and very dark, crimson red pupil.
"He's mine!" Came the yell of a Faunus girl, Blake dropped down in front of the boy and engaged the criminal in a flurry of exotic slashes which he blocked with ease. While the two exchanged blows, Blake dodging using her semblance most of the time while Roman stayed in one spot, Coal cheered to his inner self.
'HA! Fuck you Cobalt. I told you she would get involved.'
"Yeah, yeah, fuck you."
Coal noticed Blake take a few hard hits and decided to get himself re-involved in what was originally his own affair. He crafted two more estocs, storing one in his belt at his left hip while holding onto the second. He pounced, thrusting it towards Roman just as Blake was smacked away by his cane. But Roman was no pushover when it came to fighting, he was able to quickly block the sword and take a few quick steps back, blocking the consecutive thrusts that came with it. Coal thrust his weapon hard and let go of the grip just as Roman had blocked his strike and drew the one which he had stored earlier in one fluid motion, purely out of habit rather than strategy. He leapt into the air and preformed a full three sixty spin and thrust his sword downward at the criminal who was beginning to struggle to keep up with the boy's speed. Exchanging between thrusts and gunshots at the criminal, Coal was in complete control of the fight, he had been from the very start. He had completely overthrown Roman's goons with merely a flick of the wrist and had entrapped the criminal in a sense of fear that he knew from his own experience was a difficult nightmare to escape. This was his true style of fighting, breaking someone's spirit with fear so that they were too distracted to notice that they were playing right into his traps.
Blocking strike after strike Roman felt as though he was finally gaining the upper hand when he thought that he had once again disarmed the boy for the second time and tried to make use of it… Only for his cane to be force away by a small explosive shot from the boy's gun that was held across his chest. Leaving Roman wide open for Blake to finish him off with a quick slash, sending him flying backwards landing flat on his back. Roman stood up quickly and eyes an overhead container attached to a crane wire and fired his own explosive shot at the cable, causing the metal container to fall to the ground quickly… Right where Coal and Blake were stood. Blake noticed this almost instantly and made to dive away from the falling object, which she did. When she landed, she looked back to where the container should have landed yet something was off… Everything seemed to be moving in slow-motion. She noticed that on the ground was a golden glyph in the shape of a clock and she was still inside its radius. Standing at its very centre was Coal, who raised his gun, changed it to his white wind dust and took aim at Roman Torchwick who seemed to be frozen in place. An evil smirk plastered on the Executioner's face.
'Phase one. Send a message.'
"Exactly."
'Who better than the White Fangs business partner?'
He slowly squeezed the trigger…
His gun fired at the same time he was tackled in the gut by a black-haired Faunus, causing him to fumble and lose his grip on his firearm from its massive recoil and drop it where he once stood. The bullet flew through the air straight and true and pierced through Roman's bowler hat leaving a hole in the material inches above his head. Blake and Coal both fell outside the radius of the Glyph causing time to resume and a very heavy container to hit the ground where they once stood. Crushing the boys favourite gun.
Roman cursed under his breath as he lifted his hat off his head and inspected the damaged. Having seen the two somehow dodge the container and ended up on the other side of it out of his line of sight, he made to go round to the other side and get payback for his hat.
"Hey!" Came the yell of a familiar young huntress from atop a warehouse. Ruby approached the scene twirling her scythe in her own dramatic entrance. Catching the attention of the criminal.
"Oh, hello Red!" Roman said somewhat amused. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"
Ruby scowled at the man before she was distracted by Penny who was standing behind her.
"Ruby, are these people your friends?"
"Penny get back!" Ruby ordered turning away from the criminal for just a second, but for long enough to not see the explosive shot that sent her flying backwards, courtesy of Roman Torchwick who was now laughing manically. Penny stepped forward tot eh edge of the building. "Penny wait! Stop!"
"Don't worry Ruby." Penny assured narrowing her eyes at the man who hurt her friend. "I'm combat ready!"
On the other side of the container out of view, Coal landed flat on his back having been speared from his position by the Faunus, who landed on top of him, only increasing his rage. Not only had he missed, his revolver was flattened, he had a sore back and he was also being crushed by the very Faunus that disobeyed his orders of staying put.
"What the fuck Blake!" He yelled angrily at the Faunus who pushed herself off the ground and pinned him down using her own weight. "I had that! I could have KIL-"
*SLAP*
Blake cut him off with a very hard slap across the boy's face. She could have sworn that the second before her had connected with his face, the colour of his eyes started to change hue… To a dark red. She could have been mistaken though as after the slap his eyes had returned to their normal obsidian black.
"FOR ONCE WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP!" She yelled down at him. He look utterly stunned at what she just did. "How many times are you going to put yourself in meaningless, life threating situations just to scrape out of them barely alive. And it's not just tonight! You could have died diving into that gorge in the Emerald Forest and then, you took on an army of Grimm outside of Frostpoint by yourself and ended up hospitalized and out cold for hours! You even nearly let Ruby shoot you in the head after knowing you for almost a week and you basically told me to kill you too! Just how much do you want to die! WHO ARE YOU?" she yelled furiously, not budging from her position until he answered.
"People like me don't deserved to be saved…" Coal replied looking away from the girl as he remembered the words of the criminal he had executed on his first mission at Beacon and the words of his older sister. "I only have one job. To live so that I can die protecting the people I care about. That is who I am. That is what makes me Coal Valiant."
*SLAP*
Blake slapped him again for such a stupid answer.
"What is it with you and death!"
"It's what we deserve!" Coal yelled back. "You know who we are Blake. You have seen what we really are inside. Do you have any idea how much I want this pain to go away? How much this pain makes me want to just end it all! But that means breaking our promise to Weiss and that is something we cannot do!"
"Then promise me too!"
What?
"What?"
"Promise me that you will stay this way… Stay the stupid child that I found fishing off the pier and that no matter what happens, that I'll always be able to find you there!" She pleaded.
Coal didn't understand why she wanted that. Shouldn't she want to kill him like the rest of the world. After everything he had been through, he could only trust a handful of people and now, straddling him was a Faunus girl who had come from the very thing which he sought to destroy. Logic dictates that right now they should be enemies. They should hate each other with every part of their souls. However, here they were. Two broken teens from completely different backgrounds and cultures. One running from the dark trying to find the light. The other, residing in the darkness in an attempt to protect what light remained around him. On the other side of the container there was explosion after explosion but Coal didn't care. He just stared at Blake searching for an answer to give.
You know we can't promise that
I know… But we still want to.
"I promise." Coal finally said as softly as he could.
*SLAP*
That's it, I'm going to kill her
"Seriously Blake! What the hell!" Coal yelled at the Faunus. He hoped that this wasn't going to be a reoccurring thing, otherwise it was going to be difficult to keep that promise.
"That was for taking so long to come back." Blake stated, while also smiling down at the Human.
"I'm sorry, I took a wrong turn and ended up in Mistral." Coal shrugged showing of his childish grin. Blake rolled her eyes. Once again confirming that no matter what situation he could still always find a reason to smile. They just stayed there for a moment in a comfortable silence, staring into each other's eyes before Coal broke it once more. "Seriously Blake do you think you can get off me now… Before you make a different type of sword." Coal said raising an eyebrow. Blake grew a confused expression before she realised her position. She was straddling the boy, sitting just above his pelvic area…
Coal started laughing when Blake's cheeks turned red having caused the girls embarrassment. "That makes it 2-1 Kitten. I'm winning!" He cheered as Blake quickly stood up and turned looking away in frustration and embarrassment. Coal stood and held out an outstretched hand showing the girl her bow which she had removed earlier. "Thought you might want it back, but for the record, you look much prettier without it." Blake slowly took the bow from his grasp and retied it, covering her ears, trying very hard not to let the heat once again rise to her cheeks so that she wouldn't fall behind in their little game even further. She needed to think of a way to get him back somehow, then a thought hit her. Leaning in and closing the gap between them Blake stood on her toes and breathed into his ear.
"Thank you, Fluffles." When she backed off slowly she made sure that their cheeks brushed lightly just for good measure… when she was able to finally see his face again she almost doubled over in a fit of giggles at the sight of his beet red face and stunned expression. "2-2." She claimed through her own giggles.
"What are you two doing!" Came the screeching yell from Ruby who stared at the human and Faunus with wide eyes and red cheeks.
Coal looked towards the night sky and let out a very deep almost growling sigh. "We've got a lot of explaining to do haven't we?" He asked Blake, hoping she had some way of escaping the coming situation. Unfortunately she had no ideas that seemed realistic.
"Boyfriend Coal!" Came the call of an over exited Penny "It is sensational to see you once more!"
"Damn it Penny… Can't breathe." He managed to say. Not only was his body in tremendous amounts of pain from overusing his summoning, but the added slaps and spears from the females were not helping in the slightest. He was sure that in any moment he would pass out, but he was determined to stay upright to at least return home and see his sister.
Weiss was marching through the streets of Vale. After getting a message from Ruby that she had not only found Blake but also her twin brother, Weiss immediately set off to meet with them. A week and a half and her brother had finally returned. And she also had Blake to deal with. When she found them, Coal was sitting on a wooden crate speaking to a member of the police force… Hands behind his back in handcuffs.
"Look I'm telling you Mr. Police guy, I did not cause any of those explosions." Coal tried to explain.
*BOOM*
Everyone looked over to where the fight had just taken place. A large fireball erupted from the aftermath of the battlefield.
Shit, I think we forgot about one of the swords
"See! It couldn't have been me… Heh, heh" Coal said with a small sweat drop forming.
"COAL!" Came the shout of his twin, getting the attention of everyone. Ruby ran up to girl.
"It's ok Weiss, he's not being arrested yet they just needed to put him in handcuffs when he tried to run… Blake stopped him by holding onto his ear. Oh, and you don't have to be angry at her either, she explained the whole thing and she really does have kitty ears that are actually really kind of cute."
"Sup Snow Angel!" Coal shouted as he broke the handcuffs with his strength alone and opened his arms out wide. Weiss ran towards him, tears forming in her eyes. He was really here, he looked unharmed and genuinely happy. He had also reverted back to his original hair colour, one of the few things that confirmed them as siblings. She had missed him so much and was so worried about his wellbeing that she would cry herself to sleep most nights. Now that he was finally back she couldn't help but run to his open arms… And drop kick him square in the jaw.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" She demanded, parallel with the ground.
"Damn Baby Sis!" Coal said climbing back to his feet resetting his jaw. "Them heels are painful." He said but was quickly engulfed in a hug from his twin.
"You dolt! I was worried sick about you!" She cried into his chest. Coal's expression softened as he returned the hug to his sister who refused to let go of him. "I don't know what I would do if you never came back."
"I'm sorry Weiss." He apologised.
"Welcome back Frosty." Weiss said though her voice was muffled due to having her face in his chest. She was so glad that he had finally come home and seeing that he had also reverted back to his original hair colour she was overcome with joy. Though she did have one other person to deal with. Weiss released her brother and turned to face the Faunus of her team who held a worried expression. Coal noticed this and moved to stand beside the Faunus in support, only to be tripped by his twin and land face down in the dirt. "Stay out of this one." She said emotionlessly.
Once again, we are floored by one of our sisters…
'Least things haven't changed while we were away'
"Weiss I -" Blake made to explain herself before she also ended up on the floor only to be interrupted by the Schnee girl. Something that Blake was starting to realise that they both did regularly.
"Blake I don't care … I already knew you were a Faunus and also part of the White Fang."
"How did you…" Blake said confused. Weiss kicked her downed brother in the side lightly with the side of her heeled boot to gesture him.
"This dolt told me, before he told you guys about our past."
"That was nearly two weeks ago!" Blake said surprised. As coal stood back up, she sucker punched him in the gut out of annoyance. Once again putting him on the floor. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT SHE KNEW!"
Weiss answered for her winded twin. "It was quiet the shock to say the least but he did make me promise to not say anything about it until he came back. I should also apologise for some of the things that I said about the Faunus, so for that I am truly sorry. But just so you know… I really do despise the White Fang!" She got right up in Blake's face and continued. "I don't know why he trusts you. But I trust his gut more than I trust whatever it was you were about to say. So long as he is ok with you… then so am I." And with that, she backed off from the Faunus with a small smile. She would hold her brother responsible for her and her actions, she really did not understand how her twin could trust the Faunus so much. However, she would bury her doubts, for now at least as Blake had yet to actually do anything wrong. The fact alone that her twin had come back and sought out the Faunus was enough for Weiss to also try and have faith in the Faunus as well. Though she did need to beat her brother senseless for not telling her that he was back. "Oh and by the way… The next time something this big comes up, don't get this idiot involved. He has a bad habit of blowing things out of proportion, both literally and figuratively. Instead you come to us, your teammates, we are your friends after all." She finished once again playfully kicking her downed twin.
"Of course." Blake smiled also at the assurance that she was once again part of the team. She was still slightly pissed at Coal for revealing her secret without her permission, but, because he had done so Weiss had been given a lot more time to accept her than the rest of her team. She sent a small genuine smile to the boy who was once again attempting to stand up. his own childish smile still present.
"Yeah Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby cheered as she jumped at her teammates and engulfed them both in a hug at the same time. A small control box fell out the Faunus' pocket. Ruby bent down to pick it up out of politeness. "What's this do?" She questioned as she pressed the button.
Coal woke up to the smell of disinfectant and a very uncomfortable bed. His eyes were heavy and he could barely make out anything in the room but seeing that the walls were a pale blue was enough to ensure him that he hadn't woken up back in the asylum. That was good enough for him.
Grunting as he sat up, he was ushered back down by someone who he couldn't quite see clearly. Though he did recognise the scent of the person, along with the voice that ordered him.
"Just lie down Frosty! You're not well enough to move yet." Weiss ordered her twin. Refusing to listen to the girl he forced himself into a sitting position, grunting in pain all the way. "Seriously will you just lie down!"
"What happened?" Coal growled through gritted teeth. The pain behind his voice worried his twin. His vision was too blurry to make it out clearly but he could smell it. His sister probably hadn't showered in days.
"You've been unconscious for five days…" Weiss said quietly giving up on forcing her brother back down and casting her eyes down to the ground rubbing her arm. Coal knew she was hiding something. Her voice was shallow and haunting, a voice which he had not heard since he had first returned from the institute all those years ago.
"What. Happened?" He asked again, daring her to hide the truth again with his tone.
"YOU DIED OKAY!"
Coal's eyes widened in shock, though he still couldn't see past his nose. "What?"
"You died… The collar you were wearing sent enough electricity though you to stop your heart." Weiss said quietly as she remembered her brothers lifeless body lying in the streets. "Electricity not only killed you, but it also brought you back."
She threw herself at her twin and wrapped him in a crushing hug. The hug sent more pain through the boy's already sore body, but he hid his fear well for the sake of his sister. She buried her face into his shoulder as she started to cry a river of tears. "You reckless idiot! Why were you wearing something like that!" She demanded to know. Increasing the pressure of her hug almost strangling the boy.
"I couldn't take the risk." Coal said softly wrapping his left arm around his sister. his right hurt too much to move it. "If something were to go wrong I needed to be put down."
"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN!" Weiss shouted.
Coal regretted saying that. He had no intention of saying anything like that to his twin, but at least he was honest. He rattled his head for something to say, anything to reassure the girl. However, nothing came to mind. He just sat and let his sister cry into his shoulder, stroking her snowy hair unable to say anything at all.
"Come on." Weiss said, releasing him from the hug when he never answered her. "Everyone is waiting." She stood up and walked to the door expecting her brother to have followed. She looked back to see her brother looking down at his legs, fists tightly clenching the bedsheets above his legs. His right hand was twitching furiously while his left remained perfectly still, almost lifeless. Weiss smiled knowingly at the sight, knowing the reason behind the different subconscious actions. In one hand, he held his fear and suffering which he had been bottling up for years and in the other, he held his courage and determination to remain himself. She knew that her twin may have been in a lot of physical pain, but it was a pain that she knew all too well herself. She had been in that position many, many years ago herself. Unable to move, confined to a bed in a great deal of pain. She walked to the opposite side of the bed where a wheelchair was waiting and carefully wrapped her brothers arm around her neck helping him into the chair with many grunts and groans escaping from his throat despite his best efforts to keep them down. She moved behind the chair and began to wheel him outside of his room when she said. "How the tables have turned."
Coal gave a soft laugh. "Enjoy it while you can sis… I don't plan on staying down for long."
"You never do." Weiss smiled. She wheeled him further through the hospital in silence after that. And eventually outside into the warm daylight of the sun. Coal blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the natural light, his vision returning slightly as he was wheeled into the courtyard. To be met by a sight that would stay with him for the rest of his life.
Outside the doors of the hospital stood all his friends from Beacon. Teams RWBY, JNPR, even Velvet and Penny made an appearance, all holding a large white banner with hand painted pictures of his swords, gun and Grimm with the words: Welcome Home! As soon as he was within range they all shouted at the same time.
"WELCOME HOME!" Though he did ignore Yang's addition of "Dumbass" at the end of her shout.
They all waited for a response from the boy. he was just sitting in his chair silently staring at them with a dumbfounded expression wondering if he was actually dreaming all of this. They were all surprised when he just started to quietly laugh. His volume increased until he abruptly stopped, clutching his stomach in pain having laughed so hard. He looked back towards them with a kind childish smile as tears started to form at the edge of his eyes. Blurring his vision once more.
Blake stepped forward from the group and presented the boy with small case, placing it on his legs in the chair.
"This is from all of us." She said as she opened the case for him showing him what was inside.
A revolver. Much like his previous one. The entire weapon was a dull matte black even the grip of the gun was black. His vision may have been blurred but he could just about make out the inscription along the barrel of the weapon. Inscribed in a piercing, lightly illuminated frost white was its name: Forgiven Sins.
Weiss watched from above as a few of her brothers tears fell and landed along the gift. His breathing became quick and uneven, as the tears fell quicker and quicker along down on his new weapon. He lifted his head and showed his tear ridden face and the most thankful and happy expression that even Weiss had ever seen.
"Good to be home." He said though a shaky voice. Realising that for the first time in five years, he had no headache, no voices and no place he would rather be.
By leaving, he had found himself. By coming back, he had found his home.
Roman walked into his hideout, beyond frustrated that his heist had been foiled by a bunch of kids and that damned executioner. He knew as soon as the boy had shown up that he would probably not make it out alive yet he did somehow escape with his life by literally a few inches. He placed a case containing all he had managed to steel that night and left out a relieved yet annoyed sigh.
"How very disappointing Roman."
"Whoa!" Roman jumped turning to face the alluring voice that came from behind him. "Wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon." He chuckled out.
"We were expecting more from you." Said a beautiful raven haired woman in a form fitting red dress. Roman laughed some more.
"You were the once who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the white fang."
"And you will continue to do so." The woman said igniting a small fireball in her hand. "We have big plans for you Roman. All we ask is a little cooperation."
"You expect me to go back in there when the Atlas Executioner is roaming around… Oh hell no!" Roman argued. He noticed the woman twitch ever so slightly at the name. "I value my life a lot more than that! He almost killed me, you do not understand how lucky I got!"
"Don't worry about him…" She said. "I know someone who will want to see him again."
