Disclaimer: I still don't own RWBY, but god I would love to…or at least I'd love to write for Rooster Teeth one day.
Chapter 3: Quoth The Raven.
He had avoided sleep altogether tonight. It was safer that way, he had told himself. Exhaustion was one thing, and all he had to do during the day was put one foot in front of the other; that and occasionally slay a few Beowolves, but adrenaline kicked in for that, to carry him through. He didn't need sleep, especially when he knew what slumber would bring. So instead he lay, uncomfortable and cramped on the small bed at the dingy seaside inn they had called in at a handful of hours before. The room smelled of mould, the fire in the hearth was tepid at best, but at least it wasn't a cave.
"Do you believe in destiny?"
She lay with him, gazing up into his eyes, one arm wrapped around his prone form. As always, she wore the armour she had died in, unblemished by her final battle; her face shone with the radiance he had always remembered, always cherished; the expression of thoughtful care, of patience. It had taken him too long to notice the love in her every emerald gaze, by the time he had, it was too late. But now, even if she wasn't truly real, save for the everlasting ache in his heart, he took every second he could to just sit and gaze and drink in her ethereal beauty. She lay there beside him, smiling up at him, nuzzled close to him, close and yet so far, cheating the void itself to finally lie in her beloved's arms. He was going slowly mad, he knew it, he was seeing things, grief had taken him to the precipice. But he didn't care, Jaune stood on the edge of madness…and all he wanted to do was fall. After all, she would catch him at the bottom.
"It'll be dawn soon." She had spoken for the first time earlier today, her voice musical, but faint, like a song being sung softly in another room. It had only been his name, to get his attention, but the ears had welled up so thickly in his eyes that he had to stop walking for several minutes. He'd passed it off as a cramp to Nora, managing to wipe the tears away before she noticed, and letting the group go on ahead aways, so he could steal a few moments to talk to her, through himself. They had conversed for hours, idly talking about everything and nothing. He was going mad, he didn't want to rush the issue with a melodramatic outpouring, and she had seemed content to just chitchat. A conversation across the infinities, discussing the weather with insanity itself.
"It'll be dawn soon, and you have an ocean to find your way across Jaune." She smiled softly, and planted a kiss to his cheek; a ghostly caress, there-and-not there, somewhere in the gap between sensation and imagination. He returned the smile, a single tear edging its way down his cheek, winding its way southwards, to be caught on her lips as she kissed him again, caressing away his sorrow in this stolen, mad moment of joy.
"Will you come with me?" he asked aloud softly, lifting a hand to caress her face, throwing all of his willpower behind the gesture, letting him feel her just that little bit more, and imagine her just that little bit less. She laid her head against his palm, a light chuckle breezing its way through her lips.
"Haven't I always?"
Where did one begin a conversation with the parent one had never known? Yang stared into her coffee mug with trepidation, losing herself in her reflection on the surface of the brown liquid, contemplating a million things and one, lost in thought, lost in awkwardness. Lost.
Raven, to her credit, was clearly not having any easier a time of it. She tapped her fingers idly on her own mug, eyes darting about here, there and everywhere. She had said the two had so much to talk about, but finding the right words to begin could not have been harder. How did one bridge a gap between oneself and the daughter one had avoided for almost seventeen years? Mother and daughter sat little more than two feet from each other, but might as well have been leagues apart, just as they had been for all those long years.
"How have you been?" Raven began tentatively.
"Seventeen years of silence, and you start with 'How have you been?" Taiyang had been pacing the room with the fervour of a cornered animal, cold fury having chased all the usual warmth from his eyes, but now he turned to face them, visibly forcing himself not to shout. "How have you been? No apology, no explanation for why you left in the night, for why you left your own child before she even got a chance to know you?"
"DAD!" Yang interrupted, turning a blazing glare on her father. The choler in Tai's eyes died in a heartbeat, the angry flame snuffed out by his daughter's own sudden fury. He sagged, shoulders slumping in defeat, eyes flashing a silent apology to his daughter as he pulled up a chair next to her. Tai rested his face on his upturned palms, his head slowly shaking from side to side as his brain tried to process the mind-bending scenario before him.
"It's alright, I deserve it." Raven spoke up, her head hung low, but her scarlet eyes seeking out Yang's own. The black-haired warrior looked set to continue, her courage found, a deep-breath taken, but she didn't get the chance.
"I don't care why you left." Yang's tone was light, but firm; it spoke of a soul who wanted answers, not apologies, one that had fumbled in the dark of the past for too long, and who wanted to move forward. "I'm sure you had your reasons, you wouldn't be the first parent to leave their child behind. But you came back once, you drove off that Neo-girl when I couldn't defend myself, so I know that somewhere deep down, you always cared." Yang sighed, taking a steadying sip of coffee, feeling the caffeine tingle spread through her system, invigorating it with much needed life. "You might not have cared enough to be my mother," Raven flinched for a heartbeat, but her shoulders quickly slumped back to their resigned position, "Not like Summer did, but you cared. And I appreciate that."
Tai and Raven stared in awe at their daughter; Yang's expression was hard, but there was a warmth around the edges of her eyes that was infectious. Both parents found themselves smiling, smiles they hadn't anticipated even considering when this conversation began. There was a few, warm heartbeats of silence; it wasn't closure, it wasn't close. But it was a step forward.
"I knew pretty much straight away that I couldn't be your mom,' Raven sighed, taking a conciliatory sip of her own drink, as though seeking forgiveness from the caffeine. She turned to her ex-partner "Tai, you'd geared yourself up to be a father your whole life, you wanted a little girl or two to dote on even before you wanted to be a teacher. And when Yang came into the world, it was always you who woke up at 4am because she was crying, you never complained about anything, you seemed to relish every trial and every tribulation of being a parent…" a single tear formed at the corner of her eye as she spoke, her fingers gripping the mug tighter with every difficult syllable, "And I couldn't, I wanted to be a huntress, I knew how to kill Grimm and that was it, I wanted to be a mom so badly at first," she stared her daughter straight in the eye, "I loved you so much when I first laid eyes on you, but more than that, I was terrified that I would fail you." Raven began to sob, what composure she had remaining to her had been robbed by the words that her little girl's presence had coaxed from her, "I was so stressed by everything, every late night, every early rise. And through it all, your dad just kept smiling, I had no idea what to do, your dad had been born to be a parent, and every passing day that I couldn't stop you crying, every day that I didn't realise you'd crawled too close to the fire, that you were hungry or thirsty, every day that I tore my hair out because I was always missing the cues that your father never failed to see….Every day revealed to me just how unqualified I was to be your mother, how much of a danger to you I was, how much I was failing my little girl…so I ran."
Yang's expression was unreadable, her drink abandoned, her eyes betraying nothing. Behind the mask of her visage, she drank in every word and processed it, she absorbed every expression, measured every tear, sifting through the information with the attention-to-detail of a detective.
"I was so scared of failing you that I ended up failing you worse than anyone." Raven took a steadying breath, her voice hitching in her throat, her tears falling freely. Even Tai, who had been beyond enraged to see her at first, found himself awash with pity, a nagging guilt beginning to eat away at him, a guilt that had been dormant ever since Summer had walked into his life. "But you had your doting dad, and you had Summer – oh god she loved you more than anything, she'd adored Tai from the moment they met, and I'd always been aware, even when I was with your dad, even when we were happy, I was always aware of just how much it was hurting Summer to see us together. Your dad never knew of course, she kept it hidden from him, no matter how much me and my brother could see it."
Yang couldn't help but cast her mind back to those idle days in the Beacon cafeteria, watching Pyrrha gaze at an oblivious Jaune whilst he made passes at Weiss. Was that what it had been like for Qrow and their friends? Watching Summer pine away after the handsome rogue she couldn't have? Tai was staring at his shoes, lost in memory. Guilt washed generously all over his face as he delved through his memories of the woman he'd loved and lost.
"When you were born Yang, Summer went into full doting-aunty mode, she took care of you, sang to you, burped you, made you laugh; she took care of you when I went on missions, she loved you in ways that even I couldn't. She was so much more your mother, even before I left. I knew you were in good hands, that I couldn't be the parent your dad was, that Summer was…."
She was 'Supermom', baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters…
"When I heard that Summer and your dad had gotten together, I was happy. I knew that Tai now had someone that could heal the wound I'd left him, and that you had a much better mother than I could ever have been." Raven smiled despite her tears, "They even gave you a little sister."
Yang's mind wandered to Ruby. She remembered seeing her baby sister for the first time at the hospital, tiny, frail, cooing up at her, a tuft of reddish black hair already clinging to her small head. She'd rocked her gently, her dad helping her support little Ruby's weight, the tiny baby burbling and laughing in his sisters arms, helpless, small, perfect. Even though she had been barely two, Yang remembered becoming a big sister as clearly as if it had been yesterday. It occurred to her, strange, sad, but consolingly true, that had Raven not left, Yang would never have had Ruby. Perhaps still a little sister, perhaps a little brother, maybe both. But not Ruby.
In that moment, Yang knew that she could forgive Raven. If nothing else, looking back, she wouldn't have swapped Ruby for anything. She was her baby sister, and she was perfect. Annoying, bratty, over-excitable, and far, far too easily susceptible to bad ideas…but perfect.
"I stayed away for so long, because I was scared that just being in your life would ruin it. Even when Summer was gone, I couldn't come back. I kept tabs, I kept in touch with Qrow on and off again, I knew you were growing up. And I was proud. Proud that my little girl had gotten the loving life I couldn't have given her, proud that she had a baby sister to help her through life. Proud that she still had a father who would never give up on her, and an uncle to make bad jokes and embarrass her dad. She didn't need me, you didn't need me. Right up until Ozpin told me you had set off for Mountain Glenn, right up until that little monster," she spat the word, "tried to finish you off. In seventeen years, you only needed me once. So in seventeen years, that's the only time I came back."
The silence that followed Raven's outpouring was thickly blanketed. It had fallen like a sudden snowstorm, carpeting the conversation in a shroud. Nothing happened for a moment, then two, then three.
Then Yang Xio-Long rose to her feet, pushing herself up unsteadily from the table with her one remaining arm. In two strides, she had circumnavigated the table, and before either of her parents, be they close or estranged, could react, or even breathe or think, Yang pulled Raven into the hug she had wanted to give her for more than a decade. In that moment, the world stopped turning, the snow stopped falling, time itself rested at the whim of the teenage girl pulling her long-lost mother close with the one arm she had ben mercifully left to hug her with.
"I forgive you."
"Four hundred miles of ocean, and no boat…well, I guess we're swimming!" Nora cheered, throwing her arms to the sky, eliciting a grimace from all present. The makeshift team was stood shivering on a rickety jetty, gazing out at the vast expanse of ocean before them. The three-day hike across Grimm country had been arduous, they'd had to overcome a series of minor wounds from Beowolves and the odd pack of Ursai, they'd braved one element after another as the winter's chill and pounding rain had assaulted them, and Jaune's nightmares had yet to subside, tearing them all from their dreams at an ungodly hour every night without fail. It had been long, it had been painful, but they had finally reached the road's climax; the small, walled fishing village of Wolf Harbour. It was a tiny hamlet, possessed of little more than a market, a small inn, the jetty, and a few dozen rather unimpressed fishermen; it was frontier life in its most distilled form, deep in Grimm country, far from the safety and technology of the kingdoms. It was dingy, it was smelly, but it was their destination, and they had conquered leagues and leagues of beaten track to reach it.
And there was no boat.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Ren inquired of the Harbourmaster, or rather, the squat, bearded elderly man who managed the jetty, which could at most hold four boats at a time, and somehow smelled less of fish oil than he did.
"I told y'all before," the now rather irate man replied with a huff, "All our boats went out yesterday, they won' be back before th' day af'er tomorrow, cus they gotta go trade their haul at the Southern ports for all the crap we need but don't have up here!" The man let loose a hacking, phlegmy cough that sent them all retreating back a step, "Honestly, you Vale-types forget way too easily how tough crap is up here in the boonies! And besides, we ain't got a fishing ship with half enough gas to make it to Mistral, and we can't spare the dust to power it further; unless you want us to steal the guards' ammunition and get ourselves eaten by Grimm before nightfall!"
Ren held up his hands in a conciliatory manner as the harbourmaster turned on his heel and stalked off, the stench of fish oil lingering in his absence like an unwanted guest that refuses to clean up after themselves. Ruby held her nose fiercely, trying to waft away the fish fumes with her spare hand.
"Eww, Eww, Eww," she whined, her usually high-pitched tone reaching new levels of childlike soprano as she fought back desperately against the smell. "First it was the trees, then the Grimm, now stupid fish-smell? Why does Remnant hate me?" For all that her tone was light however, Ruby could feel the faint hint of fear rising up from within her. Unless they could somehow get across the ocean from here, they would never reach Haven, and the trail of blood left in Cinder Fall's wake would be left to fade away into nothingness. Ruby gritted her teeth; she owed it to the people who had died, to the friends she had lost, to continue this journey somehow. The only other option was to trek through more Grimm country for dozens of miles before they even reached the next village; and the nearest place where they could guarantee getting a serviceable boat or airship to complete the journey, was a large port, two hundred miles to the south.
Or they would have to return to Vale.
No, Ruby grimaced, whatever their route, it had to start here, there was no more time to be lost, and they lacked the supplies to go so far off course. They had re-aquired a scroll signal, but they couldn't exactly contact Vale for an airship; that would mean a one-way ticket home. They were as good as stranded out here.
The noise caught Ren's attention first, lilac eyes turning skyward, huntsman's instincts kicking in; Stormflower was deployed and tracking the clouds before anyone could blink. A cry from far away, a predatory screech carried on the wind, heralding a coming doom. Maginhild and Crescent Rose were in their bearers' hands in a heartbeat, ready to launch a blistering hail of grenades and sniper-rounds at whatever threat loomed from the heavens. Jaune's eyes meanwhile tracked the ground, searching for cover, his leadership qualities, honed over the past year, taking over. This edge of the town was sparse; most buildings were a good thirty or forty metres back from the shoreline, and the handful of rickety market stalls wouldn't exactly be Grimm-proof.
His eyes caught her spectral form standing at the edge of the seafront; at the very edge of the closest row of buildings. She stood upright, smiling, emerald orbs glinting despite the minimal sunlight. For several long moments, Jaune stood captivated by her beauty, drinking in the very sight of her, her scarlet locks catching the sea breeze. Then he noticed it.
The spectral image of Pyrrha was standing in a fountain; not large by any means, it was a single marble obelisk surrounded by a waist-high marble wall, filled by a single spout cresting from the tip of a sculpted seraphim's bow. It wasn't much in the way of cover, and they would have to charge over fifty metres to get to it, but the hard marble would give them some protection, and with the obelisk to their backs, whatever attacked from above could not strike from behind to carry them off. It wasn't much, but it was the best they had.
I'm going mad, thought Jaune, a wry smile ghosting over his lips as the image of Pyrrha disappeared with a wave, melting into the breeze, but right now, madness might just save our lives.
"Go Jaune, your team needs their leader." Her voice spoke to him softly from the back of his mind, encouraging him onwards, her tone lit a fire in his muscles, a warm glow that invigorated him, launched him into reality, heart hammering in his throat, his mind honed like the steel of his weapon. He had no need of sleep to cure his fatigue. He still had her for that.
I love you.
"I know. No go!"
"Guys, form up, head for the fountain and pick a firing line, this is about to go downhill real fast! Are we ready?" Jaune cried, hefting Crocea Mors aloft, it was the most syllables he had strung together in a week, but now he had a reason to use his voice again, there was no grief to let loose now; she had shown him the way they would get through this, just as she always had. Through him, in this moment, Pyrrha lived. It was time to show her how he'd grown.
"Let's do this!" Cried Nora, hefting her grenade launcher, roaring a battle cry as she charged for the fountain; with cries of their own, Jaune, Ren and Ruby followed suit, launching themselves forward across the small, but oh-so-long expanse as the first Grimm broke through the clouds.
It was death on wings, a giant crow with a leering skull for a face. Thirty feet wide, twenty long, giant wings of ebony ending in razor sharp talons. The reaper had come, but not from hell beneath us. It had come from the heavens.
And there were thirty more in its wake.
It was Ruby who gave voice to the terror that gripped them; shouting at the top of their lungs as the murder swooped down from on high, gaining on them every second; it was a race for the one scrap of cover that could save them. Four against thirty, darkness against light, life against death. Terror consumed them, but the fury of the battle to come pumped the blood in their veins all the harder, and before Ruby had even realised what her voice was doing, the terrified shout became a battle cry.
"NEVERMORE!"
The blast shook Weiss off of her bed, her coffee clattering to the ground; the brown lifeblood of her drink casting a dark, oozing shadow onto the snow-white carpet. The youngest Schnee regained her feet quickly, Myrtenaster snatched up from where it had lain by her bedside, and rushed over to where her sister had fallen. Winter was still on the ground, the vibrations of the blast had been so powerful that her chair had fully collapsed underneath her. Weiss helped her sister rise unsteadily to her feet.
"What was that?" the younger sister asked, eyes panicked, pleading.
"I don't know…" Winter began, dazed still by the sudden interruption of their sisterly moment by the blunt trauma of the nearby explosion. But her eyes sharpened at the next set of noises, her ears pricked, a lifetime of soldiery honing her in on each distant bark, steadily and alarmingly getting closer.
"…but that was gunfire."
AN: About 4/5ths of the way through writing this chapter, I saw Jen Brown's post on twitter about Pyrrha's fate. Words cannot describe how devastated I am, for a character who was never real in the traditional sense, Pyrrha left a deep impact on my heart. I remain hopeful for future seasons nevertheless, and I will remain a direhard RWBY fan forever. Thank you Jen, for an amazing performance, and as always thank you to Miles, Kerry and the gang for an amazing show, and of course, thank you Monty. I hope to see you all in the fall for another amazing volume. Until then, I will keep plugging away at this fanfic, healing my broken heart.
Post-Upload AN: To those who have wondered why I chose to portray Raven in this seemingly OOC manner, thank you for picking up on that! I admit I may have gone overboard with the dramatic outpouring, (and missed a couple of lines about why Raven left, whoops! –re, edited them in!) but in ways that will become apparent in later chapters, this dialogue was necessary for the plot. We will see some more of the darker, dangerous half of Raven's personality when the time comes, but for now, to set up her plotline with Yang and Tai, something resembling closure needed to be established. It's not perfect, and there's more that mother and daughter have to discover about each other before a bond can be wholly achieved, but it's a start. Besides, I find it hard to imagine that Raven did not love her daughter, or that Yang even in her deepest depths of self-doubt and sorrow, could not forgive someone pouring their heart out.
Next Time: Chapter 4 – Battleground Atlas.