Welcome to chapter 3!
Here's a shoutout to CC-2224 Commander Cody and his story "From Hunted to Hunter"! It's good, so be sure to check it out!
She remembered their faces vividly. They were less than attractive, but that all changed after she was done. Despite the situation, despite all the violence and bloodshed – or perhaps precisely because of it – she smiled.
Their expressions, contorted with fear and wrecked with pain, looked so tranquil as they bathed in their own blood. Their bodies, even when twisted in odd angles and riddled with horrible wounds, glimmered with vibrant life as bright crimson gushed from them like endless rivers.
She knew that she was smiling. Even though she had undoubtedly just robbed them of their lives, she could not help but feel elated. The carnage around her felt so inconsequential now that she even wondered why everyone was panicking. If anything, it was strange that they would want to run away from this beautiful sight.
With great reluctance, she tore her eyes away from the dazzling sight and shifted her gaze. Her eyes lingered on those whom she could refer to as her peers, but they ultimately stopped at those whose faces were hidden behind ludicrous masks. Those were masks that she used to wear, and they were people she used to call her comrades.
Despite that, Blake Belladonna ignored her roaring conscience and brandished Gambol Shroud.
Beacon could burn to the ground for all she cared.
Yang felt Blake's shaking lessen as her ragged breathing began to calm down. She did not let go of her partner, but the blonde could feel her own grip loosening.
She was afraid. She had believed that she was fine after entering Beacon, with her teammates, her sister, and her friends by her side. She was going to be a Huntress, faced with countless possibilities and adventures. Her future was to be a mystery, and she would face it with a daring smile, ready for any challenge. But this was not something she – or anyone else – anticipated.
There was nothing fun about living like this. There was no thrill to be had in such a world, and the sole greatest challenge that stood in their way was anything but enjoyable. If it came down to it, they might have to kill people – living, breathing people – with their bare hands. Blake had already done it, and it had all but broken her. What if Yang herself had to do it? What if Ruby had to kill someone as well? What would they become?
"Yang," Blake whispered, her nails digging into Yang's skin. "Don't ever leave."
"Yeah, I know," Yang replied, her voice lacking the conviction she thought she possessed. "Yang in there, Blakey."
Blake managed a shaky laugh. Yang laughed along softly, looking at the frightened child in her arms with gentle lilac eyes. Her mind, which was usually free of worries, harbored yet another one:
If Blake gave in to her inner madness, would she really be able to stop her?
"Hurry up, Ruby!" Weiss hissed, ducking back into the bush as Ruby scampered towards where she was.
"Sorry, sorry!" Ruby hastily apologized in a hushed whisper, diving in next to Weiss. "I just got a little carried away!"
"You got carried away fighting Beowolves?" Weiss asked incredulously. "Are you stupid? Wait, what am I talking about; of course you are. But have you finally lost your mind, Ruby Rose?!"
"I said I was sorry…" Ruby mumbled, looking down guiltily and refusing to meet Weiss's eyes. Her puppy dog eyes had not changed in the least over time, and their effectiveness when it came to Weiss had not diminished. "It just made me a little happy fighting them…"
"And why is that?" Weiss asked, heaving a sigh. One of these days, she was going to get over her leader's cuteness. One of these days. Eventually.
"Because they were the first enemies we faced together," Ruby admitted shyly. "I don't know if you remember-"
"Back at the initiation," Weiss continued for her. "They were our first enemies in the Emerald Forest, right? Of course I remember: you charged in like a dolt and got in my way."
"I-I was just trying to-" Ruby began, but Weiss put a finger on her lips to stop her from talking.
"You were just trying to prove that you could take care of yourself," Weiss finished for her, receiving a mute nod of surprise in reply. "I was well aware of that from the beginning. You don't have to prove anything to me, you dolt."
"Then you could at least stop calling me a dolt…" Ruby grumbled under her breath.
"I heard that," Weiss snapped. "Maybe if you stopped acting like- ouch!"
Wincing, Weiss clutched her cast painfully. The act was nothing more than a reflex, but it was enough to make Ruby go into instant worrying mode.
"Hush," Weiss instantly said, before Ruby could voice out her thoughts. "I'm fine. I'm not going to head back to the cave now, so humor me and focus on the mission. No 'but's," she added, as Ruby was about to say something else. The younger girl sulked.
"Sorry to interrupt this lovely moment," Yang's voice came from their earbuds. "But we're ready on our end."
"Let's do it," Weiss replied. "On my count. Three…"
"Two-one!" Yang cut in, before a loud burst of sound exploded in the distance.
"I swear, that woman…" Weiss sighed. "Go, Ruby."
"Aye, aye!" Ruby responded, disappearing in a shower of rose petals.
Weiss waited with bated breath, checking and double-checking her glyphs to make sure they were perfect. She had cast one on Ruby to boost her speed even further, and with a few more she was able to launch Ruby into the air, giving her a bird's eye view of the concentration camp. At the speed she was moving now, Ruby might as well have been flying.
While Yang distracted the soldiers by creating a ruckus near the camp, Blake was to keep watch on the gates to check for changes in guard duties in cases of unexpected and possibly dangerous situations. In that time, Ruby was to take note of any information she could gather with her eyes as she zoomed through the air.
It was a sloppy plan and naturally worse than spending days scouting the place out properly and covertly, but they all agreed that it was best not to drag things out anymore; the concentration camps were no holiday resorts, and one could not even imagine what happened to those who were believed to have ties with fugitives and traitors.
Weiss, who was in charge of support, cringed when she remembered those images. Not long after the attack on Beacon, the White Fang had hung bodies, if they could even be called that, of three boys on the Beacon Tower. Some had missing limbs, and those who were unfortunate enough to keep them bore the countless marks of unimaginable torture – marks that snaked their way across every inch of skin, every ounce of muscle on their being.
Their faces were the only parts that were kept relatively clean, for the sole purpose of making them identifiable, not that it mattered when the decay settled in and maggots began feasting on their corpses. For the worthless humans who dared to entertain the thought of rebelling against the White Fang's regiment, the bodies were a gruesome reminder of the consequences of those forbidden notions.
Weiss had thought she would never come to sympathize with the members of Team CRDL, but when she had seen their corpses hung on the tower, she could not help but cry. While she did not condone their bullying of Faunus back in school, she could not forgive the heinous deeds performed on them in the name of 'retribution'.
To date, their leader, Cardin Winchester, was still nowhere to be found. Weiss, like the other three who made up Team RWBY, could only pray that he was safe out there somewhere. But if being safe meant having to live with those horrid images, who could say for sure that Cardin had not already taken his own life?
If they ever failed, they would probably end up worse than Russel, Dove or Sky. Blake would probably be the only unfortunate one kept alive, just so they could ravage both her body and mind until her will shattered into a billion pieces. Even a passing thought about it made Weiss want to throw up and break out into tears.
Keep it together, Weiss, she told herself firmly. You have to be strong. You're the coolheaded heiress of this team and a Schnee. You cannot be afraid.
"I'm back!" Ruby announced, diving into the bush again. "Did you miss me?"
"How's it looking, Yang?" Weiss asked into the microphone on her cheek, tapping her earbud while patting Ruby's head, making the younger girl smile.
"No problem," Yang replied. "I've managed to give 'em the slip. Just to be sure, I'll take a detour before going back though."
"I'll stay a little longer to observe," Blake spoke up. "Ruby and Weiss, you two head back to the hideout first."
Weiss stood up, ready to leave, but stopped when she realized that Ruby was not following her. Instead, the silver-eyed former Huntress-in-training had her gaze affixed at the concentration camp looming beyond the forest.
"Please be alright, guys," she thought aloud. "We're coming to save you."
Without a word, Weiss put a hand on her leader's shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze.
"We'll definitely rescue them," she assured her. "And don't worry; Jaune may be dense, but he's tough. And that goes double for Pyrrha."
"Yeah," Ruby nodded, holding Weiss's hand in return. "They'll be alright. They have to be."
No one was sure what to believe in anymore. They were children, no matter how much they trained to fight monsters, and their world had been destroyed then rebuilt in an unrecognizable manner. Everyone was scared of what the future had in store, and confidence was a luxury only the foolish could afford. All they had were a goal, accompanied by countless worries of their friends, family, of today, of tomorrow.
But right now, the four girls cast aside their worries with a fierce resolve. If the future was uncertain, then they could only believe in their own power and change the present bit by bit. In a world devoid of hope, it was only them who could be the beacon of light in the darkness.
Completely unaware of the horrid trials ahead, Team RWBY stepped forward on a path of no return.
Warning: the story will probably start getting kinda dark soon, and yes people will die. I won't say who just yet of course, but if you wanna back out now's the time.
If not, please look forward to the next chapter! And if it's not too much trouble, do leave a review as well! Till then!