A/N Here we go. It's been an interesting ride for me, and I hope you guys enjoy the story. On a side note, I was playing with my pencils and papers and said 'fuck it'. If you want, you can jump over to Deviantart and look up my profile there (Vengfulfate as well) and see my attempts at concept work for the Reaper outfit and creature. Act 5 is 6 chapters.
Act 5
The Return Pt. 2 – Burying the Past
They landed in Vale and Weiss left the airship to do her 'something'. Reaper and Neo stepped off together. The multi-colored girl turned to her friend and smiled. "Thank you for helping us, Neo." Reaper responded with her own smile. "Stay safe, okay?" Neo nodded and pointed at Reaper. You stay safe too. "I will, I promise." Neo vanished in a flash of light and Reaper re-joined Blake on the ship. Weiss had already 'returned' and they took off again for Beacon.
Blake was immediately sent to the infirmary upon arrival. The doctor on staff went to work to ensure her wound wouldn't become infected for any reason but beyond that, there was nothing he could do for a missing leg that the medic on-board the airship hadn't already done. He certainly couldn't grow Blake a new one.
Reaper and Weiss were allowed to go to their team mate's bedside before too long. Weiss did her best to be a comforting presence. Reaper stood back, her eyes staring at the stump. Blake's left leg had been severed above the knee, only half of her thigh remained. The fact of the matter, the one Reaper couldn't ignore, is that Blake was hurt because of her. That thing was there for the ex-criminal, had kept shouting her name.
Reaper walked up to the window. Night was falling, and Reaper could see her reflection. She had become a far more analytical person in the past year. It was necessary for her criminal career. Having a voice in her head to bounce her own ideas off herself sometimes came in handy, like now.
He kept shouting my name.
He kept shouting 'Reaper'. He never called you Ruby.
You're right… I had to have met him during the past year. But when? I think I would have remembered someone like that…
You're sure you met him?
Absolutely. His vibe felt familiar, his aura…
Do you think it was aura that stopped our blade?
No way. Aura wouldn't have bent Brutal Thorn.
"Reaper." Weiss called the scythe master over. "Who was that?"
"I don't know…" she admitted.
"He was after you!" Weiss shouted.
"Any number of people could be after me!" Reaper shouted back. "Crime isn't exactly a friendly community career choice!"
"He wasn't after Torchwick's organization." Blake pointed out. "There was too much emotion. He was after you specifically."
"I know, and there were plenty of people who might chase me, specifically, down. The problem is… I tended not to leave those people alive…" Reaper confessed.
"Just how many people have you killed…?" Weiss asked, unsure she wanted to hear the answer.
Reaper took a deep breath. It was times like this she hated her resolution to try and be honest all the time. A resolution she already broke once or twice, only to keep Neo safe. "Quite a few ex-Fang I encountered for the first few months after my leaving… before Neo found me and we freed Torchwick. After that, there was an occasional rival to the gang that got out of hand. There was a girl who tried to kill us to keep her shop, a pair of stubborn brothers, a member of our own gang who set me off before I had Ember and-" Reaper stopped herself before she said 'Neo was out'. That conversation would turn interesting, all right. "And Adam…" Reaper covered her near fumble.
"How can you talk about them all so… casually?" Blake asked. Reaper couldn't tell if her voice was shocked or disgusted. Probably both.
"It gets easier the more you do it. The first time was a Red Haze accident, and I threw up. Twice." Reaper saw the looks on her team mates faces. "Hey, there's a difference between enjoying killing and not letting it bother you when you do it." She told them angrily, her eyes shifting to red. "However I must sound right now, I don't go out of my way to end someone's life if I don't have to. It was the only option left sometimes. Other times, it just happened."
The looks of horror on their faces worsened. "What? You can't tell me you honestly haven't considered all this! Haven't thought about it! About me killing, about all the blood on my hands!" Their faces did change, but only a little. "I guess ignorance really is bliss." Reaper shot as she stormed from the infirmary. "Next time, don't ask questions you don't want the honest answers to!"
"Where are you going?" Weiss asked her.
"Where can I go!? I'm trapped here, remember!?" Reaper shook her head and sighed. "I'll be in the dorm. I need a drink anyway…" She left her team mates behind and strode quickly across campus. Her thoughts re-focus on the monster than nearly killed them all. She needed to remember who he was. She needed to find a way to stop him.
As she thought of him with hate, so did he think of her in the same way. In the darkness of midnight the Creature shambled into a decrepit apartment housing, one of many in Poor Town that are little more than squats where one could stay without paying.
She got away…
His fist hit the table.
She got away.
His fist broke the table.
She got away!
His arm shifted into blade form and sliced the dresser in half.
SHE GOT AWAY!
The wardrobe was his next victim.
"Hey! Shut the fuck-!" shlick "-up…?"
She got away…
"Reaper…" the Creature pulled his blade from the man who had entered the room to complain about the noise. The lifeless form fell and the blood pooled around it. He had waited. He was ready. And she got away. Reaper got away. He had his chance, and she fucking got away. He was tired of waiting. He had to draw her out… Reaper dominated his mind as usual, his hatred clouding his rationality.
A scream drew his attention back to the fresh corpse on the floor. This newcomer obviously cared for who it used to be. Creature would have smiled if he could. He shuffled out of the apartment. He was tired of waiting. He would wait no longer. He had to draw Reaper to him. And he knew how. He knew what he was going to do.
Reaper woke the next morning with a slight headache. She had a few more than her usual 'drink or two'. She didn't get shit faced again, and she could still remember her night. A night she should have spent trying to figure out who that beast was she instead spent alone with her memories of Neo. It took longer than it did with the real girl, but she was able to calm the Red Haze before it could become a problem.
Well that was a thing…
"I guess Weiss spent the night with Blake. At least she didn't walk in on us doing 'that'. Last night was awkward enough already." Reaper responded, rubbing her head. She closed the curtains to shut out the light and the door opened behind her. Reaper turned around and saw Weiss. The heiress closed the door, looked up, turned bright red and threw her hand over her eyes.
"Ummm… Reaper? Do I want to know?" she asked. Reaper looked down.
I guess I don't remember everything from last night… what did we do with our shirt?
I umm… wait, I think we threw it on the couch.
Reaper went over to retrieve it and decided to put the heiress at ease. This time, her imagination could probably come up with worse than the truth. "Don't worry I didn't invite anybody over. I was alone." She put her tank top on. "Alright, I'm PG."
Weiss lowered her hand. "I guess it could be worse, then…" she still didn't want to think of the ex-criminal doing anything like that, even alone. "What even brought that on?"
Reaper briefly considered being politely vague, but she still wasn't in the best of moods. "Orgasms help calm the Red Haze." Being blunt works just as well anyways.
"How did you even learn that…?" Weiss couldn't stop herself from asking. It was like an online video that was so disturbing one can't help but watch in horror.
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Reaper ended the conversation bluntly.
Weiss took the out that time, and moved on to what she came here to say. "Listen, I wanted to apologize."
"You mean Blake made you apologize." Reaper deduced. Weiss winced, proving her correct. "'We were just shocked to learn firsthand, we should have realized that stuff already', something along those lines?"
Weiss started to get frustrated. "What's wrong with you right now? You're not usually this difficult."
"Maybe I'm just tired of trying to win back your approval, your trust, when you so obviously would rather have someone like me in prison, and not even give me a chance!" Reaper shouted, making Weiss reel back. "Fuck! I'm sorry, I'm not angry at you… I'm frustrated with myself." The scythe master turned and leaned on the desk.
This conversation is a roller coaster, Weiss thought as her feelings changed to confused. "Why?"
"How many huntresses do you know with one leg? That guy was after me, she was just in his way… and I don't even care enough about the people I've killed to figure out who the hell he is!"
Starting to regret the life?
"No, Ember. I still don't regret the life. I regret not ripping his fucking head off before he hurt my friend."
"I highly doubt Blake would want to be the reason why you start killing again." Weiss pointed out. "Besides, there's something you forgot to think about." Reaper turned back to Weiss. "She's girlfriends with the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. My father made the connections, I paid the money, and she's agreed to a replacement. Best of Atlas military cybernetics, top-of-the-line scout model. Lightweight alloys, perfect for stealth and agility. It should be here, along with a specialist to perform the operation, in a few days."
"Still doesn't change the fact she was hurt because of me… but at least it won't end her career…"
Weiss's scroll buzzed. "Ozpin wants to debrief." Reaper nodded and pulled on her jacket and cloak.
Blake was going to stay in the infirmary until she got her new leg, so they did an informal debrief around her bed. Weiss sat in the visitors chair next to her girlfriend's bed, Reaper leaned against the wall on Blake's other side, and Ozpin got a chair to sit in at the foot of the bed. They had to relive the encounter in detail. After the obvious questions regarding Reaper's history with their attacker (which she still didn't have answers for) the headmaster had one more for Weiss.
"Why did you decide to let Neopolitan go?"
Weiss's gaze dropped to the floor. "She did save our lives. Besides, we know she was involved with Torchwick, but there wasn't any mention of her in the evidence Reaper collected." Weiss stopped short, and the scythe girl cursed under her breath. She could see the light bulb come on in the heiress's head.
"So even if we did arrest her, out word alone wouldn't convict her." Blake finished for her sidetracked girlfriend.
"I see…" Ozpin stood. "Given everything, Ms. Belladonna is obviously excused from class until she's back on her feet. You both are excused from classes for today as well." After he left, the two uninjured team members decided to grab lunch. Weiss promised Blake she would come back and stay with her, and Reaper promised herself to see if Neo would show up today.
As they proceeded through the halls, Weiss posed her question. "You made a promise not to betray friends anymore, correct?" Reaper nodded. "Did you make that promise before or after you got the files for Ozpin?"
"Before." Reaper told her, aware of the true question. Weiss nodded, aware of the true answer. Surprisingly, she left it at that.
After a few moments of silence, Weiss asked an unexpected question. "Reaper, what you said in the dorm… is that how you really feel?"
"What do you mean?" The scythe girl asked in return.
"About me not even trying to trust you?" Weiss clarified.
"I told you I was frustrated at myself when I yelled at you." Reaper replied quickly.
"That doesn't mean that you didn't mean what you said." Weiss countered.
The ex-criminal sighed. "I told you Weiss… Don't ask questions you don't want the honest answer to."
Weiss's face fell. "I'm sorry… I see you and I can't stop thinking of that night… Winter called me, to warn me. And you weren't in the dorm. I didn't want to believe it, but I found you outside with that girl… and then you told me it was true… you hurt my sister, nearly killed her. It's difficult to get past…"
"We weren't supposed to encounter living people on the raid. Hurting her is one of the things I do regret." Reaper assured the heiress.
"I know."
They got their food at that time and went their separate ways. Reaper rushed to the table, which was thankfully still unoccupied. Now we wait and see if Neo's here…
I don't see why not.
Weiss did almost arrest her.
And she doesn't risk getting caught every time she comes for lunch anyways?
… Good point
Reaper smiled as she saw her multi-colored friend shimmer into view and sat down. Once again, she found it easy to relax, away from judgment, as she shared a silent meal with her mute companion. But the question of that man who attacked them ate at her mind, and she had to ask, "Neo, do you know anything about that man?"
Neo frowned, upset that their quiet time was interrupted by a negative topic. Regardless, the small girl fished her notebook out and wrote a response. 'There are rumors in Vale that refer to him as the Creature.'
The Creature. If she were to begin searching, she would have a name. That's good… "What were you doing in Mountain Glenn anyway?" She knew Neo was a little bit of a stalker, but following her into such a dangerous area is seemed extreme.
Oh, yeah, just a little bit of a stalker. Seriously Reaper?
Oh shut up…
Neo finished writing her next reply as Reaper finished her volley with Ember. 'I saw Creature in Vale. Heard him mention you and Beacon. It worried me...'
"So the reason you were so jumpy at our last lunch?" The scythe girl asked, and Neo nodded. "I think if he was confident attacking Beacon, he would have by now…" Neo nodded again, in agreement. "Neo, I think I've met him before, I could swear he just has a… an air about him I've encountered before…" This time Neo responded with a confused stare. "So you don't get that feeling…" Neo shook her head 'no'. "How often were we actually apart working with Torchwick? Not often… I should have gotten this by now, I must be missing something obvious…"
The lunch bell rang then, and despite not attending classes for the day, Reaper figured if she spent too long with Neo Weiss would come looking for her. She watched her ice cream cup friend strut away and vanish from sight.
Ha. Ice cream cup.
Reaper smiled and made her way back to the dorm. Neo watched her, invisible, until she walked all the way out of sight, and smiled herself. She must be getting ever closer to her ultimate goal with the black clad girl. How they would maintain a relationship in their current situation, or what they would even do, was still unclear, but she didn't care. She knew what she wanted, and every other issue could wait its turn.
Neo walked about Vale aimlessly, unsure what to do with herself, but still happy. Happy enough to begin strutting aimlessly. She soon found herself wandering the alleys. The evidence may be gone, but she was still uncomfortable around police. She heard a noise behind her and turned on her heel, and what she saw made her eyes go wide.
Behind her, shambling from behind a dumpster, was absolutely, positively, the cutest kitten she had ever seen. She ran over and picked the softly mewing creature up in her arms. She now knew the first thing she wanted once she finally got Reaper. Adopt either this cutie, or another just as adorable.
"Reaper…"
Neo froze solid. She set the kitten down and tried to walk away without turning to the raspy voice. A scarred hand closed around her throat from behind and lifted her into the air. I always wanted to be taller, but not like this! Oh, stupid crazy mute, now is not the time for jokes! She was turned to face her assailant, and found exactly who she was afraid to.
Creature knew he recognized the tiny girl the other night. When she came to the faunus's aid, he remembered. She was close to Reaper. Reaper would care for her. Like the woman in the apartment, Reaper would come for her. Neo struggled, unable to teleport without taking Creature with her regardless. Physical contact was a bitch like that. The beast smashed the small girl against a wall, and her vision went black.
