Blake looked at the dilapidated old shack in front of her. It was old and made of partially rotted wood, and even from this distance, Blake could smell the decay. It hardly seemed like the kind of place that would hold an important memory for someone, but Blake could see just how much this was affecting Yang from the set of her shoulders. Blake knew her partner well enough to realize that Yang's usual posture was very lax; confident sure, but relaxed. Now though, Yang's shoulders were set, unmoving and entirely tense.
Blake's partner walked slowly, and she felt no need to rush her partner. This was a delicate matter, and Blake understood that. Yang had told her once about the day that she had brought Ruby to this place, about how she had almost died. At the time, Blake had dismissed her partner's words, hellbent on running after Roman Torchwick. They had always stuck with her though, simply because it was so important to Yang. They were partners, and that bond was one that ran deeper than any normal friendship could. So, if it was important to Yang, it was important to Blake.
A stride ahead of her, Yang stopped in front of the dark doorway. She heard Yang take a deep breath, and a stray strand of hair on the back of her hair began glowing. Blake waited patiently, and that hair's light faded. The breath was exhaled, then Yang stepped into the shack. Blake heard the wood creak and groan in protest, the ancient boards straining to support Yang. Blake followed her partner into the dark, but her eyes adjusted immediately. It was one of the many perks of being a faunus. Of course, there were more downsides, but at times like these, Blake felt perfectly content being who she was.
Blake surveyed the insides of the small house. It was modest, but obviously long abandoned. It was perhaps twelve feet from one end to another and half as long. In one corner there was a small sink embedded in a countertop. There were two cupboards above it, doors hanging on broken hinges. There were a few dirty glasses, but they were black with grime and soot. A few feet from the sink there was a short, squat, rectangular table, skewed as though someone had bumped it and never bothered to set it back. There were two chairs, one knocked over on the ground and one a few feet back from the table, set in the middle of the room. On the other side of the building, there was one bookcase, but the few titles left on the shelves were indiscernible. Next to it, she could see a few boards covering up an old window.
Blake walked over to it and grabbed ahold of the top board. She pulled it softly, testing it. Feeling it give slightly, she reefed on it, and the board splintered as it fell away into her hand. She tossed the plank aside, then repeated the process with the next board. She continued until a small beam of sunlight shone through the broken glass into the room. She saw another window above the sink, and repeated the process. When she was finished, the room was light enough that she knew Yang could see. Blake looked back at her partner, and found Yang looking around her in confusion, a troubled expression on her face.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked, walking up to her partner.
"I don't get it," Yang whispered, looking around. "I was here, so long ago, and I never wanted to come back. This is the first real lead I had, and it looks like its going to be the last one too. It's just funny, I guess." Yang's voice was hollow, and Blake was overcome with the urge to comfort her partner. She stepped forward and embraced the sunny woman softly.
"This time though, you're not alone." Blake said, stepping away from her partner. "Look, whatever happens, we're ready for it. We've trained for years to be the most skilled we can, and its been long enough that you've been searching for answers about your mother. You deserve this."
"Yeah," Yang said, but she hardly seemed to be paying attention. "Just wish it wasn't like this."
"I knew you'd come eventually." The words echoed through the room before Blake had a chance to ask what Yang meant.
Blake whirled towards the doorway, her sheath already in hand and leveled at the newcomer. When she saw the woman who had spoken, though, Blake paused. She looked almost exactly like Yang, just a few years older. She was wearing red and black armor, sharp and angular. On her hip she wore a massive sheath with over a dozen dust cylinders not dissimilar to Weiss'. There was also a feathery cape and a Grimm mask. It was long, angular and jagged with those familiar swirls of red and white. Blake herself had never worn one, but she had become avidly familiar with Grimm masks through her partner, Adam. Blake's eyes flicked to the newcomer's, and she found that they were crimson red, exactly as Yang's were when her semblance kicked in. And her hair; it had the same long, slightly curled lustrous locks that Yang prided herself for, only rather than the shinning golden-yellow that Blake was so used to, it was jet black.
"I've waited a long time for you to come here." The stranger spoke, her voice calm and confident. Blake lowered her blade, though she did not reattach it to the pack on her back. "Hello again Yang. It's been a while." Yang turned slowly, and Blake did not miss her partner's strained expression. Blake stood stock still, but she was ready to move at the slightest indication. Yang was on guard, and Blake was ready to back her partner.
"Raven," Yang answered tightly.
"How did you know we were here?" Blake asked, confused. They were in an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere. Raven should not have been able to know where they were.
"Dust is a funny thing," Raven smiled at Blake. "And its uses are far vaster than most realize. The second you stepped through the threshold, your aura activated dust crystals buried just beneath the wooden floor. This particular form of dust is created in pairs, and when one crystal is activated," Raven reached into a small pouch on her hip and extracted a small, amethyst crystal glowing with a soft purple light. "So is the other."
Raven put the glowing crystal back into her pouch, then walked over to the skewed table. She reached down and picked up the chair laying on the floor, setting it just behind the table. The woman sat down in the chair, and indicated for Yang to do the same. Blake felt like an intruder, as though she had come between these two at a very personal time, which she had. So, Blake faded into the shadows as Yang pulled the chair up opposite to Raven and waited in the familiar shadows.
"So, you're finally ready to hear about your mother." Raven spoke softly, seeming to understand how sensitive the subject was. Blake watched from the darkness as Yang stared at her counterpart, unmoving. Yang's face was an unreadable mask, but to those that knew her, Yang might as well have been screaming at the top of her lungs.
"That's not why we're here." Yang's voice was strained, like she was carrying some massive burden on her shoulders that only she was aware of. In a way, Blake thought, she was.
"Oh," Raven looked surprised at that, but though her eyebrows raised, Blake saw nothing change in the woman's eyes. Blake eyed Raven suspiciously. Whoever this was, she was well guarded and versed in hiding her emotions. "Then why?"
"We need your help."
There was a pause as Raven looked at Yang, neither of the two moving. Two pairs of crimson eyes, for Yang's had changed from their usual lilac to the deep shade of red, stared into one another, and Blake could practically taste the electricity in the air. Raven tilted her head to the side after a moment, then looked at Blake in the shadows. Blake shifted her weight uncomfortably, unused to attention when she was trying to fade into the background.
"So that's why you didn't come alone this time." Raven mused, then turned back to Yang. "And you don't want to talk about your mother?" Yang hung her head at the words, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Of course I do, just not with you."
Blake looked at her partner who raised her head to glare at Raven, and as she raised her head, Blake saw deep crimson set in the normally lilac eyes.
/
Weiss walked along the smooth stone pathways spinning and spiraling through Beacon. It was a lovely day, the sky bright and blue above her head with the sun warming her pale skin. Winters in Vale came quickly and without warning, so even though the season was fast approaching, it was still plenty warm out. When Weiss was younger, she had found herself hating such summery weather. Weiss had always found it unfair how the world could be so bright, warm and shiny when deep inside of her there was nothing but ice, slowly creeping over her heart and chilling her very soul. When she had come to Beacon, she had found that she had started to enjoy the summer. Soft scents from flowers would blow through the warm breeze while sun shone on her back and would make her feel peaceful, at rest. Over the years, Weiss had felt that ice thawing with the companionship she had found at the school. Today though, she was once more feeling as though the sun should be hidden behind the dark grey clouds of winter.
"You alright Snow Angel?" Neptune asked from beside her, breaking her revery. Weiss looked at him, slightly startled, then smiled softly.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just thinking about things." It wasn't a lie. Compared to how Weiss had felt for most of her life, she was fine, but it still felt untruthful. Her life used to be like that, but it wasn't anymore. At least it hadn't been for the past three and a half years.
"C'mon," He grinned at her, and Weiss was caught for a moment looking at his brilliantly bright smile. "I know I'm not your partner or anything, but we've been friends for pretty long now, right? Why don't you tell me what's going through that pretty head of yours?" Weiss couldn't help but smile at the flattery. She had been no stranger to attention and flattery before meeting Neptune; many boys would hit on her merely because she was a Schnee, but somehow when it came from the blue haired huntsman in training, it seemed more genuine. It made Weiss feel appreciated for who she was rather than who her father was.
"It's this whole ordeal. Torchwick's out of prison and on the loose, but he's not the worst of it." Weiss sighed, again unsure as to why she was opening up. "Whoever that Cinder woman was, she seems dangerous. Torchwick on his own is a highly effective criminal, in all rights a professional, but alone he'd just rob shops and do small jobs. He'd never cause too much commotion."
"You don't think Cinder's a criminal?" Weiss glared at Neptune, seeing him grin slyly at her. He always did stuff like that, twisting words in ridiculous ways to bother her, and Weiss rolled her eyes. She heard him chuckle.
"Of course she's a criminal." Weiss retorted sharply. "But not in the same way. Thinking about the past few years, there's obviously a big plan here. She doesn't seem like a mobster, or a thief or even a murderer. She seems closer to a revolutionary." Weiss concluded, content with her statement. It was true, and though Cinder obviously had no qualms about operating outside the bounds of the law, she did not seem to be a petty, immoral crook, like Torchwick.
"What's there to revolt against? The sun's shinning, the birds are singing and there is a beautiful woman at my side. All's right in the world." Weiss rolled her eyes once more, shoving Neptune playfully as her lips curled in a smirk. After pushing him away, Weiss hooked her arm through his and continued walking.
"That, right there, that is why I don't talk to you about things that bother me. You can't take anything seriously you insensitive nitwit." Weiss let the naturally icy edge that had accompanied her her whole life creep into her voice.
"And that, right there is why everyone else calls you the Ice Queen."
"Everyone else?" Weiss asked, not pleased with the implied insult.
"Yes, because to me you're the lovely Snow Angel."
"Yet you just called me the Ice Queen."
"I did?" Neptune looked confused.
"Implicitly." Weiss confirmed, but she did not feel angry in the least.
The duo walked in silence for a bit, Weiss happy to be beside Neptune. She knew why he had begun cracking jokes. He often did when Weiss began to stress about events. He knew that she would worry incessantly about them and wear herself thin, so he did his best to lighten her mood. Ruby had her crazy antics, and Neptune had his humor and charm. Between the aid of her partner and... Well whatever Neptune was to her, Weiss had managed to remain calm through most crises she had faced. She did truthfully appreciate that.
Weiss turned her attention to the tall, blue haired man that was still politely holding her arm. He was more muscular than when she had first met him, and he wore a red jacket with the collar popped. It was annoying habit that Neptune had picked up from his less than posh friend, Sun, but Weiss had decided not to comment on it. Over the three years that Weiss had known Neptune, he had done a lot for her, so she allowed him more leeway than the others. Not to mention the storm of emotions that ran through Weiss every time that she touched him or he smiled at her. She shook her head. Ahead of them was the statue depicting a group of huntsmen crushing the Grimm under their feet, and Weiss pulled Neptune's arm slightly to direct them towards it. She took a seat on the short stone wall that surrounded the statue, and Neptune sat down beside her, and she knew he was waiting for her to speak. He always seemed to know when she had something to say.
"Neptune..." Weiss began, but trailed off. Weiss prided herself on many of her qualities, amongst them her ability to be short, sharp and concise in the delivery of her speech, but now her words failed her. What she wanted to say to Neptune was not so simple, and Weiss had to pause for a moment, collecting her thoughts, before speaking. "I just want to ask you a question."
"Go for it." He said, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"I've been thinking a lot. We're going to be huntsmen and huntresses soon, and its a dangerous job. We're some of the best students out there, but even so, even the greatest warriors can fall on the flip of a coin. Seeing Pyrrha and Nora right now just proves that. I mean Pyrrha is quite possibly the most talented huntress in training of the century, her only real rival being Ruby, and even she's in a coma right now. If someone like her can fall, where does that leave the rest of us?"
"That's a pretty dark question for a bright day." Neptune commented.
"Shut up," Weiss snapped. "That's not my question. That one was rhetorical, something anyone who's read anything ever should know."
"Whoa!" Neptune raised his hands placatingly. "Sorry, I won't interrupt again." Weiss glared at him momentarily until she was satisfied that he wouldn't speak up again. This was difficult enough as it was. Weiss' stomach churned a little, but she forced herself to calm down, and began speaking again.
"As I was saying, there's no certainty about how long we're going to be here. So I want to make sure that every moment counts. I don't want to end up like Jaune and Pyrrha." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Neptune, since I met you I've... I like you, and I want to know how you feel about me. I want to know whether there's something between us or not." The last words came out in a rush, Weiss forcing them out of her mouth before they could stick in her throat. Finished, she folded her hands in her lap and lowered her gaze sheepishly. It was out there now, and it was up to Neptune to determine the outcome. He could embarrass her, shame her, turn her down-
"You know that you didn't ask a question, right?" Weiss' gaze snapped to him, her mouth dropping open. He can't seriously be avoiding this. She thought, flabbergasted.
After a moment of meeting her gaze, Neptune began to grin. His hand rested on her forearm and he leaned in close to her, and Weiss felt her heart begin to beat faster and faster. Blood roared through her ears, and she forgot to breathe as Neptune shut his eyes and closed the last few inches between them. Weiss let her eyes drift shut as his lips met hers. Lightening seemed to arc down her body, shocking her entire system, and numbing her brain. A soft hand came up to caress her face as his lips pressed into her, and Weiss opened her lips slightly, leaning into the kiss. Her fingers tingled as she reached forward to grab onto Neptune's jacket. She felt the blood rush to her face in response to his touch, but Neptune broke away from her, his sapphire blue eyes meeting her own icy ones.
"Yeah, I think its safe to say we've had a thing for a while." Neptune grinned, and Weiss was filled with elation and relief. It was something she had refused to ask for a long time, afraid of ruining her relationship with Neptune, but now it was so much better. Now, there was a sort of definition about who Neptune was to her rather than the unknown nebula that had existed before. Her hand drifted to her lips curiously, still tingling from the shocking experience. One thought, though, stuck out among the happy daze.
That was Weiss Schnee's first kiss.
"In fact," Neptune continued, "How do you feel about making it official?" Weiss looked at him, raising an eyebrow. She thought she knew what he meant, but she'd let him say it. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
A smile split Weiss' face immediately. That was a phrase she had waited a long time to hear, but it was more than worth the wait.
"Of course you dolt." She said, unable to suppress her grin. Neptune's hand slid from her forearm down to her hand, and he wrapped his fingers around hers, and the contact was electrifying. Weiss just sat on the rough stone, smiling at how bright and lovely a day it was. Her face was flushed from the brief moment of passion she had allowed herself, but she felt it fade away after a few minutes. Then, of all the things to do, Neptune began to laugh, chuckling to himself.
"What?" She demanded.
"I managed to melt the Ice Queen's heart." He answered with a grin.
/
"You don't trust me?" Raven said, and for the first time Yang saw emotion flicker through the red clad girl's eyes. The slightest of frowns creased her brow for a moment, but then disappeared almost instantly.
"You left me," Yang growled, her fists clenching and she allowed her shrouded anger to creep into her voice.
"Excuse me?" Raven asked.
Yang was doing her best to stay calm and level-headed. She had brought Blake along because, despite the way her partner acted when things were personal for her, Blake was very methodical and composed. Yang knew she was going to need a calming presence, and Blake always put her at ease. Now though, even with the dark haired faunus standing in the corner, Yang could feel her semblance beginning to flicker around her. Raven had known, for years, about Yan. Yet she had never done anything about it. One letter, on short conversation was all it would have taken to ensure that all of those nights that Yang had stayed up late at night crying, trying to figure out why she had been abandoned. Every time that Yang had flipped through pages and written down notes about every reference made to her mother for years before her disappearance, all of the fights with street thugs trying to find out what she could through underground networks, each and every time that Yang had been bloodied and bruised in her search for her mother, and all the sadness, fear, rage and uncertainty that she had felt since the day Summer died could have been avoided by one. Measly. Conversation.
And worse was Ruby. It had been Yang who had dragged her little sister to this cabin so long ago, but her life would never have been in danger if the woman sitting across from her so calmly had merely talked to her. Yang hated herself for what could have happened to Ruby that day, but she was not the only one who had to shoulder the blame. Raven, entirely oblivious, held an equal share to her own.
"At any point in time you could have found me. You could have talked to me. Do you have any idea how long I searched for my mother? Any idea how long I was trying to find someone like you? Anyone who could tell me what had happened?" Yang's voice rose as she talked, her voice somewhere between growling and pleading.
"I couldn't ta-"
"Don't you dare say you didn't have a choice." Yang glared furiously at the woman opposite her. She could feel her blood boiling and her skin heating up to match. "You always have a choice."
Their eyes locked, and Yang could feel her hair begin to flicker, but she ignored it. She was acutely aware of the sad resignation in the other woman's face, but Yang did not soften one bit. She was scouring the other woman's eyes for a fragment of regret, but was left wanting. Raven had made the choice, every day, not to tell Yang what she knew. For years, Yang had been searching, and their first encounter had made it evidently clear that Raven knew, had known for a long time, what had happened. She hadn't told Yang though, and Yang felt more betrayed than she ever had before. Worse even than when she had found out that her mother had abandoned her, leaving her, a scared child, all alone.
Yang saw a flicker of hurt flash into the other woman's eyes, and Raven's gaze lowered. Yang's attention remained fixed on the other woman though, too angry to look away. Raven reached one hand behind her back, and in the shadows Yang caught a glimpse of Blake stepping forward slightly, leveling her sheath. Raven's eyes didn't move from the spot where they were glued to the table though, and Yang watched as she drew something from behind her back. She slammed it onto the table and Yang's eyes locked onto the object.
It was a small black handle attached to a collapsed blade that, in that form, resembled a sharp sickle or a small scythe. Trailing from the edge of the handle was a long strand of silky black material, a ribbon the could be used to flick the handle around like a whip in the hands of a certain faunus.
It was Gambol Shroud.
"The last thing she asked was that I watch over you." Raven said somberly. "She was all the family I had left, and I wanted to go after them, but she made me promise to make sure that you were all right!" Raven's voice grew louder as she spoke, shaking almost imperceptibly. Yang saw a tear slide down the other girl's face, and Raven stood up abruptly, the chair she had been sitting in banging to the ground behind her.
"I was never all right though." Yang said softly, but not without an edge to her voice. She felt an arm squeeze her shoulder, and she knew that Blake was behind her. The hand comforted her and helped to slow her beating heart, but over a decade's worth of resentment, hurt and anger was coming to the forefront of her mind, and Yang felt like she was holding the world on her shoulders.
"Don't hate me Yang." Raven's voice drifted into Yang's ears, but she just clenched her fists tightly. "You're the only family I have left. I shouldn't have to tell you what that's like."
Yang looked at the other woman, trying to get the careening emotions swirling through her gut under control. It felt like someone was twisting a knife inside her chest, opening up all those ancient wounds that had taken years to heal.
"You said you came here for help. What did you want?" Raven asked, and when she turned back to face Yang, it was as though nothing had happened. The girl's faced was unmoving, completely composed. Yang couldn't bring herself to speak though, still working to calm down.
"Our friend's been poisoned, but its not like anything we've seen or been taught about." Blake said from over Yang's shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "She lost her semblance, then she lost consciousness. She's in a coma." Raven grew eerily still as Blake talked, looking up to meet the faunus' eyes.
"When you went to that outpost, who did you find? Who was there?"
"Just a bunch of outlaws." Yang cut in, confused. "The White Fang, Torchwick, Mercury and Emerald, some woman named Cinder-"
"The woman, what did she look like?" Raven's voice was full of urgency, and Yang just looked at her, unable to understand what was happening.
"Red dress, ashy hair, still pretty young." Raven answered on Yang's behalf.
"Her eyes." Raven pushed. "What did they look like."
"Red and orange." Raven froze, then leaned forward and rested her hands on the table.
"Like fire," She murmured almost to herself. She stood up straight suddenly, grabbing the mask on her hip and donning it. "We need to go, right now."
/
Everyone, meet Raven! She and Yang are going to have a few more talks through the span of the story, but other than a tie to the past, she won't play the biggest of roles. This story is still kind of a set up, and next story we should be getting back on track for the time line. That said, things will be picking up again!
I'm going to be honest, this story feels like its missing something. I want to keep writing because I already know how this is going to play out, but it just feels incomplete. So if you have any suggestions, please let me know. Other than that, let me know what you think of the story. Depending on how the next couple chapters go, I may go on a break or not. We'll see.
Sorry for the long A/N! So I'll just finish by saying thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
-Unjax