Behind Bars, Volume 2
Part Two: The Boogeyman
Her footsteps echoed in the courtyard. It was night. A breeze played lazily with loose strands of her hair.
Mixed into the steady beat of her boots on the pavement, the song of wind chimes whistled in her ear. The notes were high and sweet, plucked from the chimes with no rhyme or reason.
Yang listened to their little voices, liking the way they melded with her footsteps – a chorus of simple sounds.
The courtyard was wide and open, with a large, silent fountain in the center. Ahead, Yang could see the tower of Beacon Academy.
Hundreds of red leaves shuffled in the wind, rustling darkly. They murmured in the night – whispers of a warning.
Someone else was there.
The figure was dark and indistinct. Yang squinted, wondering.
Who is she?
…she?
The clip of her boot heels sped up, striking the ground with a clack, clack, clack.
And Yang walked faster.
Who…
Yang swung her arms faster, her legs moving numbly beneath her. Her hands curled into fists, something sinking in her gut like dread. She flinched, expecting a blow – but it was just the wind.
Wait… something's wrong…
Her mind moved sluggishly, slowing her steps.
My arms…
Yang looked down at her hands.
This is wrong…
Her thoughts swirled in broken circles and she glared at her upturned palms in frustration – trying to sew together the loose ends. It was like trying to stare through a cloud – she knew something was wrong, she just couldn't quite see what…
Yang raised her right hand in front of her face. Slowly, she touched her forehead, her cheeks, her lips…
No… this is a dream, just a dream…
Yang lowered her hand and closed her eyes.
For a moment, she let the little sounds of the wind chimes be everything – she let each note be the night, the courtyard, the leaves, and the figure. She let them be her hands and her eyes and her nose and her lips.
The song echoed sharply in her mind, and the last note broke like the shattering of glass.
She winced, hands covering her ears.
"NO!" she screamed, her mouth strangled around the silent word.
She squeezed her eyes shut and a gust of wind billowed in her face. The squall bellowed – its voice thundering like a crashing wave.
And then there was silence.
The air was still; the world was a closed room of sudden soundlessness.
Yang closed her mouth and opened her eyes, lowering her hands.
She was still in the dark courtyard – looking at the faceless figure, the "she" she couldn't name.
After a moment, the wind chimes and the leaves murmured back to life – softer and gentler than before.
"Who are you?" asked Yang, finding her voice. Her words sounded as if they came from everywhere and nowhere – said by someone other than her.
The figure tilted its head, black hair billowing around her shoulder. A small white hand with slender fingers reached up to the mask covering its face.
Yang stared, mouth flattening into a thin line. She watched as the hand pulled the mask down.
The face that looked back at her was heart-shaped, like hers. The skin was a pale, glowing white, like hers. The eyes were a crimson, bloody red – like hers.
"Yang," she said. "We have a lot to talk about."
Yang sucked in a breath – a name forming on her lips – but a wall of black slammed down over her world. The woman disappeared and Yang threw up her arms in front of her face, fear and instinct taking over.
Something moved in the darkness, and Yang knew that she wasn't alone.
The voice of the wind chimes died; in their place something shuffled. It was lighter, softer than the leaves. The sound flittered and twitched; something slithered through the blackness.
Yang lowered her arms, peering into the dark – there was something… moving…
The huge sound of something snapping open like wind-swept curtains flapped in a sudden gale. The fabric of the world ripped open, and a shaft of moonlight fell on Yang's face.
Yang tried to shade her eyes, raising up her right arm but she stopped –
My hand…
Her right hand was gone. All she saw was a bloody stump hanging uselessly from her shoulder.
The bite of fear clamped down on her heart with cold teeth like ice. Eyes wide, Yang peered into the pillar of moonlight.
Where the darkness had split open, two massive wings curved around Yang – surrounding her on all sides. And in the middle of it all, staring back at her were two beady red eyes.
They glowed and shimmered and danced like a ghost of light that couldn't keep still in the wind. Then, they squinted into sharp little slits.
The groaning sound of tearing metal shrieked, and a big, black beak screeched open. Inside its maw was a sharp little tongue, angled like a knife. A sound like no other shook the world, and the hot, wet breath of the impossibly large raven poured over Yang.
And she screamed. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed – her lungs burned and her ribs cracked, and still she screamed.
"Ave rota," a voice whispered in the darkness.
"Ave rota, wake up."
Yang struck out blindly with her left hand, stumbling around in the darkness. She'd lost sight of the beak – where was it?
"Yang! Yang, stop!"
"Somebody shut her up! For fuck's sake-"
"GO AWAY!" bellowed Yang, using up what little breath she had left in her searing lungs. When she inhaled it was like fire sliding down her throat.
"Shh, shh, shh. Ave rota – stop. Wake up. It's just a-"
"Nope, you had your chance. We're doing this my way now."
The voices argued and Yang's fingers scrabbled against the skin around her eyes – the feathers of the giant bird danced in her face.
"NO DON'T!"
A voice very near her ear yelled, and something heavy struck Yang's head. A sharp corner bit into her temple, and something hot like blood trickled out onto her skin. A pulse throbbed in her head where she'd been stuck, and slowly the world of black faded…
"Darrah you bitch, you didn't have to do that! I had it under control!" barked Cadeja, her lips pulled back in an open-mouthed snarl.
Darrah snorted.
"Real scary, Álvarez. All bark and no bite."
Cadeja snapped her jaws shut – eyes widening in surprise. She'd forgotten the holes in her mouth for a moment, not remembering that her fangs were gone.
She growled low in her throat and with a visible effort, she turned her back on Darrah. Instead, she focused on Yang, who was lying with her head held in her hand on the mattress beside her.
"Ave rota, let me see," she said, prying away Yang's hand.
Yang shivered at her touch. The dim light of the fluorescents burned in her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and what little she could see was tinged red. Slowly, she let her hand be moved.
Cadeja hummed deep in her throat.
"Just as I thought. You're fine, see?" she said, holding her hand in front of Yang's eyes. "No blood."
Dimly, Yang remembered the sensation of something hot leaking out onto her skin.
I must've imagined it…
"See that? She's fine and now she's quiet. It's a win-win," said Darrah, her voice smug. But after a moment, she mumbled something else that sounded like 'The fuck is wrong with her eyes though?' but Yang wasn't sure.
"Oh would you shut up?" hissed Cadeja. "Just roll over and enjoy the five whole minutes 'till count cabrona."
Darrah grumbled something under her breath and flopped back down onto her bed, whipping the sheets over her head dramatically. Laurel yelped as the frame of their bunks shook with the sudden motion.
Meanwhile, Cadeja guided Yang up into a sitting position on the mattresses. Yang's eyes were still watery, not yet adjusted to the light.
"Raven…" she whispered. "It was Raven, she – she…"
Cadeja's ears twitched and one of her eyebrows arched up, confused.
"Raven? Who's Raven? What're you mutterin' about, Xiao Long?"
Yang looked up at Cadeja, as if she was only just registering that she was there. Her ears perked up, listening to the way Cadeja's accent trilled the 'r' in Raven's name heavily.
"Raven?" said Yang, still dazed.
"Yeah, Xiao Long, Raven! What are you talking about?" asked Cadeja, trying not to let her frustration show.
Something clicked inside Yang and that last piece of her that was still trapped in the dream woke up. She blinked and the red tinge vanished from her sight, her eyes shifting back to lilac by the time they reopened.
She shook her head once, her hand coming up to rub her eyes.
"Nothing – it was nothing. Just nonsense. Must've been the dream I was having," said Yang.
"How much longer you expect me to buy that crap? Oye, rubia – I'm not stupid. You've been out of it all week – having bad dreams at night, zoning out during the day – what the hell is goin' on with you? Was it the attack? Was it Sasha? Did somethin' happen?"
Roughly, Cadeja reached up and pulled Yang's hand away from her eyes, forcing her to meet her gaze. Her dark green eyes were steady, unyielding.
Yang struggled to keep her expression blank.
"No," she said evenly. "Nothing happened. It's fine."
"Say you're fine one more time, ave rota," said Cadeja, her voice low.
"Or what?" asked Yang.
"Or I'll just have to beat it out of you," she said, a small smile curling up at the corners of her lips. After a moment, her features slid back into a serious mask. "Honestly, Xiao Long, you take your time with it but if somethin's botherin' you that much, you tell me about it, okay?"
Yang relented, letting her eyes drop and her mouth tug down into a frown.
"Okay, I promise. We'll talk."
Cadeja nodded.
"Alright then," she said.
The speakers in B block buzzed and Cadeja stood up, tugging Yang up with her. Distantly, a guard was yelling for the girls to line up for count. When Yang stood up, she finally realized what it was that Darrah had thrown it her – it was a book. Bending down, she picked it up and tossed it onto the desk crammed into the back of the cell.
Turning around, she felt Darrah shove past her roughly as the four girls went to stand at the entrance of the cell for count. Doing her best to ignore Darrah, Yang waited for the guards to make the rounds.
After a minute, a CO marched down their floor of B block, checking girls off as he went. Following behind him, an Atlesian Knight stopped to cuff each of the girls that the guard indicated was from D block. The two passed by quickly enough and after they reached the far end of the cellblock, the CO called out instructions to the inmates.
"B block inmates!" he bellowed, his voice deep. "Hit the showers!"
A bustle of noise bubbled up as the girls from B block lined up behind Atlesian Knights who swept through the rows of cells. A minute later and the scattered columns of girls disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.
"D block!" he shouted, voice climbing above the crowd. "You've got the first meal slot. Line it up for the mess hall!"
Cadeja stepped into the walkway outside their cell, but Yang called out to her.
"Hold on, just a sec."
Yang ducked backed into the cell and crouched down by the head of her mattress. Fishing underneath the edge with her hand, she pulled out Weiss's letter. Hurrying, she ran out of the cell to catch up with Cadeja, careful not to trip over the chain connecting the cuffs around her ankles.
The wolf Faunus cast a questioning look in her direction, eyeing the envelope.
"Haven't had a chance to read it yet," said Yang, shrugging as she stuffed the letter in her pocket. "It's from a friend of mine."
"You have friends?" asked Cadeja, echoing a joke Yang had once made at her expense.
Yang rolled her eyes heavily and stuck out her tongue.
"Good one," she said.
"Hey you two! Keep up!" barked a guard.
Pretending to look chastened, Cadeja made a face and hurried to catch up to the line of girls in front of them. Smiling, Yang followed suit.
All through breakfast, Cadeja kept eyeing Yang, but she didn't ask any more questions. For now at least, she seemed content to wait for Yang to decide it was time to talk.
Yang's scrambled eggs – or at least, a cold, grayish imitation of scrambled eggs – sat half-forgotten on her tray. Her eyes strayed over the letter in front of her, the page crumpling between her fingers where she held on just a little too tight.
Rereading the letter, Yang couldn't help but smile at Weiss's always-perfect penmanship. She never was one to forget about "proper form." Eyes travelling back to the top of the page, she read:
Yang!
I'm so sorry I haven't been in touch sooner – living back at home has been… difficult.
But when I heard about the Grimm attack, I knew I had to find a way around my father. I was so worried…
But of course you're okay! I wouldn't expect any less from a member of team RWBY.
Winter tells me she's seen you – I'm so happy that you've finally met! She can be tough to get to know, but you can trust her. She's a bit of an 'ice queen' as you would say, so I guess we have that in common.
I've asked her to keep an eye on you for me, but of course she'll be busy helping the prison organize the reconstruction. She says she'll do what she can!
Unfortunately, this might be the only time I can get in touch for a while. I'm leaving Atlas, whether my father likes it or not. He doesn't have the power to keep me here forever.
I think I'll try to find Ruby and the rest of team JNPR. The last I heard from her they were still to the east of Mistral proper. I'd try to find Blake too, but I have no idea where she's run off to.
Have you heard from her?
My guess is probably not. But if she were going to reach out to anyone, of all people I think it'd be you.
Reading Blake's name she frowned, a little frustration and anger mixing in with the sadness she felt every time she thought about her partner. Once again, Blake Belladonna had disappeared without saying a word to anyone, not even her teammates.
Trying to push those feelings down, Yang turned the page over and kept reading.
Honestly Yang, I hope you're doing okay in there. I only wish that I could see you. Who knows? Maybe we'll see each other sooner than you'd think.
I just can't help it sometimes… pretending that nothing's changed and everything is back to the way it was before.
It's easy to imagine we're all still at Beacon – going to the classes that we hate, trying to study while Ruby's blathering on about board games, attending dances and movie nights…
We all knew we were there to train, to get ready to face the Grimm and protect our people, but despite all that – those were some of the happiest days of my life.
Even when I'm stuck here in Atlas, all I have to do is remember and it's like I'm in an entirely different world. Sometimes it's like I can practically hear you making puns and laughing at your own jokes.
Oh, and that reminds me. Speaking of PUNS –
Yang Xiao Long, I know how fond you are of puns – for reasons that I will surely never understand – but perhaps Briarcliff isn't the best place for them?
The last thing I need to hear is that you got into a prison brawl with some ruffian over a joke about how if you stole their coffee you'd be 'mugging' them.
Needless to say, if you get yourself killed for the sake of a bad joke I'll never forgive you. Remember that.
Yang couldn't help but chuckle at the empty threat. She could practically hear Weiss's voice chastising her through the words on the page. When she laughed, Cadeja raised an eyebrow at her – wondering what was so funny – but Yang simply shook her head and finished reading the letter.
Please, take care of yourself Yang. Six months may seem like such a long time, but team RWBY is a four woman squad and we are getting back together – just try to hold on to that. I know I am.
Yours,
Weiss
After she'd read it through a second time, Yang couldn't help but smile. Blake stuff aside, it was good to hear from Weiss – to have something so normal, so close to home.
Still grinning like a fool, Yang noticed that Cadeja was giving her another concerned look.
"Somethin' funny, ave rota?"
"No not really, mildly punny at best," she said, still smiling.
"Mildly what?" asked Cadeja, her eyebrow arching up even higher, disappearing under her shaggy white hair.
"Never mind it's nothing," said Yang, shaking her head. "It's just good to have a reminder of who I am outside these walls…"
Still eyeing Yang warily, Cadeja muttered, "Whatever you say, rubia. For a second there I was a little worried – either my English was getting worse or you were getting crazier."
Yang tried to smile reassuringly. "No it's all good, I – hey! What do you mean crazier?" she spluttered.
Now it was Cadeja's turn to smile.
Laughing to herself, she said, "No importa. Estás bien, Xiao Long. I ain't lookin' to start nothin'."
Yang took a moment to think.
"Well maybe I am."
Cadeja had started to bite down gingerly on the burnt crust of her toast – careful not to cut the sensitive holes in her gums. When she heard Yang speak she stopped and nearly choked on a half-mouthful of food.
"'Scuse me?" she said, coughing.
"You heard me," said Yang, eyes serious. "Maybe I'm looking to start something. Just you and me – we got rec hour in the Yard coming up after this don't we?"
"Yeah but da fuck you talkin' bout, Xiao Long?"
"You wanna know what's been bothering me lately? Why I keep screaming and waking all of you up in the middle of the night? Well I'll make a deal with you. You spar with me in the Yard, help me learn how to fight with this," said Yang, raising her mutilated right arm, "and I'll tell you what's going on."
Cadeja leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. She eyed Yang, appraising her for a moment.
"There's one problem with your little scheme," said Cadeja. "The guards ain't gonna sanction a fight between two inmates. They see us sparring and they're bound to go ape shit on us – especially any hair-trigger newbies."
"Damn," spat Yang. "I hadn't even thought of that." Her face fell and she studied the table in front of her, trying to think of a solution.
Cadeja chuckled.
"It's okay, Xiao Long. Now I'm just givin' you a hard time. I can take care of the guards and any… interference we might run into."
Yang looked expectantly at Cadeja, waiting for her to keep explaining but apparently that was all she was going to say on the subject – at least for now.
Rain fell on the ruins of Briarcliff.
Standing out in the Yard under the recently re-formed force field that stretched across the top of the walls, Yang listened to the patter of raindrops, falling on the Birdcage like a barrage of bullets.
"Miserable day…" she muttered.
Cadeja hummed in her throat and nodded, agreeing. Absently, she rubbed her wrists where the cuffs had been during their walk from the cafe to the Yard.
Slowly, they walked across the open field towards the great oak tree. Yang looked around, noticing patches of newly tamped down earth where the grass had been torn up during the attack.
As they picked their way across the Yard, Yang's eye fell on a new CO – or at least, one that she hadn't seen before. Following her line of sight, Cadeja narrowed her eyes.
The guard was a woman, tall and slim. She had long legs like a runner's, and her skin had a deep olive tone to it, perhaps a shade darker than Cadeja's. She had beautiful if sharp features, but the one characteristic that really stood out about her was her hair: It was a prickly mass of short, tawny spikes that fell in a neatly kept sheet all the way down her back.
"Well that's different," said Cadeja under her breath.
"Yeah," said Yang, "I don't think I've ever seen a hedgehog Faunus before…"
Cadeja shook her head.
"That's not what I meant. They don't usually hire Faunus guards – they must be even more desperate than I thought."
"Why not?" asked Yang.
A mangled smile spread over Cadeja's lips.
"This may not be Atlas, but there's still plenty of room for racist pricks to worm their way to the top of the system," she said.
Even though they were well out of earshot, the CO turned her head and seemed to meet Yang's eye for the briefest of seconds. After a moment, she looked away and went back to scanning the Yard.
Embarrassed, Yang's cheeks flushed and she let her eyes drift – looking anywhere but at the Faunus guard.
"Hm," said Cadeja, frown lines creasing her forehead. "Best to stay away from that one for now. Let's see, where's a good spot to get up to no good…"
Taking the lead Cadeja slowly circled the giant oak in the center of the Yard, looking for a place they could spar. Yang followed a step behind her. But as they passed closer to the oak, she couldn't help but notice the gauges in the trunk of the tree. Several of the cuts were ragged scars that scored deep into the wood.
Quickly, Yang looked away – not wanting to be reminded of her encounter with the Nevermore. Trying to focus on anything else, Yang watched several inmates in hunter green jumpsuits placing down sod or carrying away fallen debris from the top of the walls.
These women were part of the work crews – inmates recruited to help with cleaning out the Birdcage after the attack. There wasn't as much work to be done in the Yard, but the prison had recruited dozens of them to help clear out A and D blocks.
Squinting, Yang noticed that she recognized some of the inmates. A lot of them were Faunus from D block.
Distracted, she didn't notice it when Cadeja came to a halt in front of her.
"Woah-" she said, arm flailing out to the side as she nearly lost her balance trying not to slam into the wolf Faunus.
"A little warning would've been nice," Yang grumbled. When Cadeja didn't say anything, Yang peered around her shoulder. "What're you looking at?"
"I don't… know," said Cadeja, only half paying attention to Yang as she came to stand beside her. "Somethin' about it's just botherin' me…"
"About what?" asked Yang.
Cadeja jerked her chin, indicating a spot about two hundred feet ahead of them.
Yang followed her gaze and saw Judith – the younger of the two Verté sisters – wearing one of the green jumpsuits of the work crews. But she didn't seem to be helping the nearby group of inmates heft fallen chunks of concrete into the wheelbarrows they were using to transport them out of the Yard.
She was standing off to the side of the crew, talking to a CO – one that Yang recognized. Heads bent together, Judith and CO Reilly seemed to take turns looking around to see if anyone was watching them.
Just barely catching the small motion, Yang noticed it when Reilly passed a couple of small objects to Judith, pulling them out of the pockets of his uniform. From what Yang could tell they were a pack of cigarettes and something that looked like a necklace. It was a silver coin hanging from a long, simple chain, but if it was some sort of currency – it wasn't one that Yang recognized.
Not wanting to get caught staring, Yang looked away – only to notice that Cadeja had disappeared.
"Hey! What the-" she said to no one in particular. Looking around, she saw that Cadeja had started to walk across the field, heading to the left of where Judith and Reilly were.
Where is she going? thought Yang as she hurried to catch up.
When she was only a few steps away she saw Cadeja approach the work crew and pull one of the Faunus aside – a tall woman with unmistakable sandy blonde hair: Leonie. Getting closer, she overheard some of their exchange.
"The fuck is going on over there?" murmured Cadeja, casting a glance up at Judith and Reilly.
"Don't worry about it Álvarez," said Leonie.
Cadeja said something else that Yang couldn't quite catch, but Leonie shook her head.
"…we didn't get control of the work crews without a little help. Reilly's just a necessary evil."
Cadeja's ears flattened to her head.
"You sure it's worth it? Don't you remember what happened with el Cuco?" she asked, leaning closer to Leonie. "You sure you want to risk that again just to sneak some shit in here?
"There's more to it than that and you know it," hissed Leonie, a momentary flash of irritation spreading across her face. Her features smoothing out, she said something else – her tone becoming more even.
"…it's been rough for you lately, and if you need anything… you just let me know, I'll take care of it. If you want anything from the outside, I'll see what I can do..."
With that, Leonie made brief eye contact with Yang who was still standing a few feet away. Frowning, the Faunus turned on her heel and went back to the work crew.
Still looking concerned, Cadeja made her way back over to Yang.
"Everything okay?" asked Yang.
"Not sure," said Cadeja. "Leonie's not stupid and she knows how to take care of her shit, but taking over the work crews to smuggle stuff into the Birdcage isn't her style. She knows everyone's on high alert right now – there's gotta be somethin' else she's trying to get out of this."
"You've really known her a long time, haven't you?"
Cadeja grinned – the smile not quite reaching her eyes.
"Long enough."
A question bubbled up in Yang's mind.
"Hey Cadeja?" she said, her voice tentative.
Cadeja looked at her expectantly.
"Yeah?"
"What you said to Leonie – I couldn't help but overhear. What's 'el Cuco?'"
Something sad flashed in Cadeja's eyes. After a moment, she muttered, "El Cuco is the boogeyman…"
Not sure what to make of that, Yang just stared at her for a moment. Then, seeming to come back to her usual self, Cadeja smiled grimly.
"Never mind all that – we've got other stuff to worry about," she said. Turning around, her eyes searched the Yard – settling on a pile of rubble that the work crews hadn't started to clear away yet.
Ears perking up on top of her head, she strode off toward the spot – knowing that Yang would follow her.
The characteristically wry tone returning to her voice, Cadeja turned her head to look at Yang over her shoulder and said, "You wanted a fight, Xiao Long? Cause you're about to get one. Let's see if I can't whip your ass into shape."
Author's note: Staying on track so far for Volume 2 – chapter three is already in the works and hopefully I'll have it ready in the next few days. Got some good stuff coming up – starting with Yang vs. Cadeja!
As always, please reach out and let me know how you think it's going! I really appreciate any and all feedback/reactions to these chapters.
Just a brief note about the dream at the beginning: It was largely inspired by the scene that comes after the credits of RWBY Volume 2 when we briefly see Yang and Raven together.