Behind Bars, Volume 2
Part Five: The Phoenix Down
"'She's worried about you' – what the hell does that even mean? She's worried about you…" muttered Yang, repeating the phrase to herself.
"What the hell you mumblin' about, Xiao Long?"
Yang jumped, almost forgetting that Cadeja was still sitting across from her.
"Oh – sorry," she said, snapping out of her train of thought.
They were sitting in the cafe at their usual table by the wall. What was left of Yang's dinner was a cold slop sitting on her tray. She'd drawn little circles in the gravy and mashed potatoes as she absentmindedly played with her spoon.
That night, Yang had made good on the promise she'd made to Cadeja before their sparring match: she'd explained the connection between Sasha, Adrienne, the tribe, and her mother. It had taken a while – talking about Raven was never simple – but Cadeja had seemed to take most of it in stride.
She'd even explained the nightmares – the one's where she'd see her mother's face, just before it was swallowed up by the wings of a giant Nevermore.
But once Yang had filled the Faunus in on how Sasha and Adrienne were keeping tabs on her for Raven, she'd drifted off into silence, her thoughts turning back to the message she'd received from Blake's father.
All that afternoon, Yang had filled the time between end of work duty and dinner by staring at the note, reading those four little words over and over again.
Sighing, she fished the note out of her pocket and laid it on the table between their trays, facing Cadeja so she could read it.
"This came for me today," she said, pushing the note forward. "It's from my teammate's father – you know, the one who disappeared without a trace after Beacon fell."
Cadeja's sharp green eyes narrowed, reading the message and in a flash she snapped it up from the table, holding it closer to her face.
"Holy mother of-" she gasped.
"Hey! What're you doing give that back!" said Yang, reaching for the note.
Cadeja held the note just out of reach, her eyes flicking up to study Yang.
"You never mentioned your partner was part of the Fang," hissed Cadeja, keeping her voice low.
Yang was momentarily taken aback by the strength of Cadeja's reaction.
"So what? And how the hell did you even figure that out?"
Cadeja turned the card so it was facing Yang. Her index finger was lined up with Ghira's signature.
"That. Right there," she said, as if it should be obvious. "Belladonna."
Yang stared at it, uncomprehendingly.
"Yeah, so? I don't get your point."
Cadeja rolled her eyes.
"De verdad, ave rota? Belladonna. He was the former head of the White Fang."
"Oh," said Yang, voice falling. "Blake never mentioned that her dad was quite that… connected."
Blake never mentioned a lot of things, thought Yang resentfully. Sometimes, I can't help but think I overestimated just how close we really were… but still…
"You really don't know nothin', do you?" asked Cadeja, handing the card back to Yang.
"Apparently not," muttered Yang.
"You keep that safe – put it somewhere ain't nobody gonna see it by accident. Name like that could give some people the wrong idea in here, me entiendes?"
"Yeah I got it," said Yang, tucking the note back into the pocket of her prison uniform.
For a moment, the two of them were silent – neither touching their food. But then, Cadeja asked her a question.
"So, Belladonna – his daughter was your partner back at Beacon? Black hair, cat Faunus, right?"
Yang looked at her, surprised.
"You know her?" she asked.
Cadeja shook her head.
"No – I've never met any of the Belladonnas. Just heard of them. All I know about your friend is that she was a tagalong for that guy Adam… Adam Taurus I think?"
Yang flinched and looked away, staring blindly at the far side of the cafe.
"Yup, that's his name," she said, still not meeting Cadeja's eye.
Cadeja looked at her curiously. After a moment, she reached out and touched Yang's hand – until then, Yang hadn't even noticed that she'd started crumpling up her napkin, basically shredding it to pieces.
"What's the matter?" asked Cadeja, her tone serious.
Yang glanced up at her.
"It's this," she said, raising what was left of her right arm. "He's the one who did it. Because of her."
Cadeja let her hand fall away from Yang's.
"Oh," she said, settling back in her seat. Her eyes never left Yang's face.
Yang's hand wandered over the wrinkled end of her right arm where the skin puckered and folded around the old wound. Her fingers played in circles on her skin, alternatingly numb and sensitive where the nerves were either damaged or healthy.
But after a moment, she snapped herself out of it and turned her attention back to Cadeja.
"Ok – enough of that. There was some stuff I wanted to ask you – I spilled my guts about Sasha and all that so now it's your turn. There was a bunch of Faunus drinking in the library earlier – looked like Judith was supplying some girls with booze, trying to recruit them for the Vertés. You got any idea what's up with that?"
"What girls?" asked Cadeja, looking concerned.
"Looked like a bunch of them were from A block. Freya was there," said Yang. "One of them was a fox Faunus – she seemed a little suspicious of Judith. She didn't buy her promises as easily as some of the others did."
"Wait, wait, wait – you said she was passin' out booze. What kind of promises you talking about? More goodies from the guards?"
Yang shook her head.
"No – not just that."
Cadeja looked at her expectantly, waiting for the rest of her answer.
"C'mon, spit it out ave rota!" she said, her impatience growing.
Yang tossed her hair and leaned in closer over the table.
"Judith was saying that the work crews have been getting close to the guards – obviously bringing in contraband and all that – but she also said that they could influence the transfers. Give a nudge towards who gets moved to a better facility or gets out even."
Cadeja looked at her incredulously.
"Damn, the little Verté sure is talkin' a big game. Wonder what Leonie has to say about it."
"So you don't think it's true?" asked Yang.
Cadeja paused for a moment, looking pensive. As Yang watched, a looked stole over the wolf Faunus's face – it was almost like Cadeja couldn't even see her anymore.
"You know what, Xiao Long? I just don't know."
After that, the two of them stopped talking about anything heavy – avoiding subjects like the Vertés or Sasha. A few minutes went by, and it was just about time for D Block to line up to leave the mess hall.
As the mass of inmates slowly found their way towards the exit, inmates from A Block started to file in and line up to grab their dinner. Standing near the back of line, Yang recognized a group of inmates – Raya, Church, and Mirra.
Pointing them out to Cadeja, the two of them made their way towards them, all the while still following D Block's general movement towards the exit to line up.
"We still got a couple minutes," muttered Cadeja as she led the way over towards her sister and her friends. "Oye, hermanita!" she called out as they got closer, waving her hand to get Raya's attention.
"Cadeja!" exclaimed the younger girl, a smile breaking over her face. Stepping out of line, she rushed forward and hugged her sister, burying her head against Cadeja's chest like a child.
For a moment, a buzz of words passed between the two sisters that Yang couldn't quite follow, so she simply walked behind them until they rejoined the group still waiting in line. Looking up, Yang noticed that at first glance she'd overlooked Freya, standing close to the wall behind Church and Mirra.
"Hey, how are you?" said Yang, offering a polite greeting to the three.
Mirra simply looked over a Church, who smiled at Yang without her eyes ever quite focusing on her face. Freya seemed to acknowledge Yang with a quick nod, but she stayed in the background.
What a weird bunch… thought Yang.
Belatedly, Yang noticed that Freya was clutching something in her hands – just like before, in the library. Looking closer, she saw that she still had the candy bar – melted no doubt by now from being squeezed in her hands – and somehow, she'd also gotten hold of a pack of cigarettes. And not just any cigarettes – they were Pincoyas, the good kind.
"Hey Freya," said Yang cutting off whatever Cadeja had been saying to Church and the others, "how'd you get those?"
Cadeja looked irritated but stayed silent, following Yang's gaze to where Freya hugged the contraband against her chest.
"M-mmmm – Ma-mmmm," stuttered Freya. Swallowing, she tried again. "Mmm-mine."
"Qué pasó?" asked Raya, looking up at her sister.
Cadeja looked down at her briefly.
"Es el contrabando que tiene Freya," she said, indicating the objects in Freya's hands with her chin.
Raya looked over a Freya briefly, recognition dawning in her eyes. Yang watched as the young Faunus dug in her pockets for a moment before pulling out several chocolate bars of her own.
Holding them up, she showed them to the group.
"This?" she asked, hesitantly. "Is candy, yes?"
Yang flinched as something sped by her. As she reopened her eyes, she heard a sharp smack.
Woah.
Looking over, she saw that Cadeja had struck Raya upside the head – not hard enough to do damage, but it was enough to bring tears to the nervous girl's eyes.
"Where did you get this?" growled Cadeja, barely containing her rage. Her anger had come on suddenly, flaring to life almost out of nowhere. "Tell me! Tonta, quién te dio estos?"
Cadeja had a firm hold of Raya's wrists, and she shook her hands slightly, nearly causing her to drop the chocolate bars.
Raya looked both stunned and scared as she tried to pull uselessly out of her sister's grasp. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mirra take a step forward but Church held up a hand – stopping her from interfering.
"I don't know!" cried Raya, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. "Ella fue una Faunus – de las Vertés! It was a girl with una cola – a tail? Like a cat," said the girl through her thick accent.
"Was it Judith?" demanded Cadeja, still holding her sister's wrists.
"Cadeja-" said Yang, hoping to calm her down.
"No, Xiao Long! Stay out of this," snapped the wolf Faunus.
Raya's shaggy white ears were pressed flat against her head, practically burying themselves in her hair.
Impatient, Cadeja tried asking again – finally bringing her tone back under control.
"Was it Judith? Did she have a broken tail – una cola rota?"
Her cheeks turning red and her lips pulled back in a grimace – no doubt trying to stop herself from crying – Raya simply nodded.
"Ay carajo, esa pendaja – es la última gota con ella!" spat Cadeja, releasing Raya.
Tentatively, Yang put a hand on Cadeja's shoulder. The wolf Faunus flinched but didn't shake her off.
"Cadeja," said Yang. "What's the matter? What happened? It's just candy – yeah Judith shouldn't be handing it out like this but still-"
"You don't get it, ave rota," growled Cadeja, her eyes closed. "I've seen this before – this isn't the first time somethin' like this has happened."
"I know," said Yang, trying to remember. "What was that thing you said in the Yard – the boogeyman? What was that other word you used?"
"El Cuco," said Cadeja, rolling her eyes. A momentary flash of amusement spread over her features, relaxing some of the tension in her face. "We really haven't worked on your castellano much lately, have we?"
"No, we haven't," said Yang, watching Cadeja carefully. "You gonna tell me who the boogeyman is now?" she asked expectantly.
Cadeja looked around at each member of their small group. For a moment, her eyes tarried over Freya, whose face was bright red. Her hands were starting to crush the carton of Pincoyas. At last, Cadeja's eyes settled on her sister.
"It's Kowalski," she said.
Freya let out a small yelp and shook her head furiously.
"Nnn-nnnooo," she stammered, holding up the candy and cigarettes in her hands. "I ggg-give – don't want t-t-ta ttt-o go wuh-wuh with K-kk… Ka-kkkk…."
Freya's voice got strangled in her throat, unable to finish saying the name. Something hard glinted in Cadeja's eyes as she watched the cowering girl.
Stepping forward, Cadeja put a hand on Freya's shoulder.
"What is it? What did I miss?" asked Yang, feeling lost.
"That beast, he did it to her too," muttered Church.
Yang looked back at her. Apparently, this was news to everyone – not just her.
"Dígame," said Cadeja, her eyes focusing on Freya. "Is that why you held on to this stuff? To bribe the guards in case he was supposed to escort you or somethin'?"
Freya looked around at each of the other girls, uncertain. But after a moment, she glanced up at Cadeja for half a second and nodded once.
"Ddd-don't wuh-want-ta g-gg-goo w-wa-with Kkk-ka…" she said, her hands shaking.
Cadeja's mouth hardened into a flat line, but she forced her voice to stay soft as she spoke to the skittish rabbit Faunus.
"Shh – tonta, they don't need those. The guards can get this stuff anytime they want," said Cadeja, gently taking the contraband from Freya's hands.
Sagging, Freya yielded and let Cadeja take the now-sticky objects out of her hands. Yang could see bits of melted chocolate leaking through one of the wrappers.
Behind her, Raya looked down at the candy in her hand, her mouth dropped open in surprise. After a moment, a look of something like shame or guilt passed over her face, and she nudged her sister, prodding her to take the chocolate bars away.
Watching the scene, a puzzle she'd long been trying to solve started to put itself together in Yang's head. It had always bothered her that Cadeja seemed to hate Kowalski – other than being a little rougher than some of the other guards, Yang couldn't find a reason why. But one thing had always stuck in her mind.
It was something Cadeja had said that night in the Rec Center – the one where she'd picked a fight with Freya for touching Raya, just after the young Faunus had arrived in the Birdcage.
After she'd bit Kowalski, she'd said something along the lines of 'you still taste as bad as you look.'
Finally, Yang figured out what had bothered her about that.
Still. Like she'd… tasted… him before.
As it clicked together in her mind, a shiver shook violently up Yang's spine, and for a moment she felt numb.
Raya seemed to be putting the same thing together in her mind, because she reached out and held onto her sister's arm.
"Cadeja," she muttered, fresh tears flooding into her eyes. "Qué te pasó?"
But Cadeja didn't seem to hear her sister. She was looking at the wall over Freya's shoulder, practically shaking with rage. Leaning around the quivering girl, she dumped the contraband in a nearby trashcan and wiped her hands on the pants of her khakis.
"D BLOCK INMATES!" bellowed the voice of a guard in the exit to the cafe. "LINE IT UP FOR CUFFS! MEAL TIME'S OVER!"
Casting a glance over the growing crowd, Yang saw several COs start to cuff girls for transport.
"Cadeja," she said, putting her hand on Cadeja's arm, "we gotta go."
For a moment, Cadeja didn't say anything – but Yang could hear a low growl building in her throat. Her head jerked up and she stared at Church – all of her fury plain on her face.
"You were supposed to look out for them," she said.
Church looked back at the wolf Faunus, her eyes narrowing – looking more focused that usual.
"And I did – but I'm not with them every minute of the day."
"Well YOU NEED TO DO BETTER!" roared Cadeja. If it weren't for Yang and Raya's hands on her, she would've been right up in Church's face. "This is my sister Church. My sister. She's barely fifteen! What the hell does she know? YOU NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON HER WHEN I CAN'T!"
Mirra looked angry – a dark look passing over her face but Church looked perfectly calm.
"Cadeja – c'mon we gotta go," urged Yang, tugging lightly on her arm.
Cadeja simply ignored her and kept yelling at Church.
"I need you to do better Church! You hear me? Say somethin' dammit!"
Church's face remained expressionless, but she finally opened her mouth.
"You need to watch that anger, Cadeja. It's gonna get you in trouble again if you're not careful."
"Dammit Church!" yelled the wolf Faunus.
"Okay – that's it, we gotta go," said Yang, taking charge. Pulling harder, she finally started to move Cadeja in the direction of the exit.
Hearing the guards call out again for D Block, Cadeja finally started to move towards the line of inmates on her own, but not before pulling Raya in for a quick hug.
"Never again, me entiendes?" she said quickly to her sister under her breath. "No tomes ninguna parte del contrabando."
Raya nodded, watching after her sister as she and Yang moved away.
When they were out of earshot, Yang looked over at Cadeja and saw that she was still barely in control. But unable to stop herself, she risked asking her a question.
"So that's it, isn't it? Why the stuff the work crews have been doing has you so worried. Kowalski assaulted you – and Freya – the last time this sort of thing happened, didn't he?"
Cadeja cast a sidelong glance at her through narrowly slitted eyes.
"Yes, Xiao Long. He did. What did you think those girls were doing to win favors with the guards?" she asked.
Yang simply looked back at her. She didn't have an answer.
"Sure, some of it is false promises – some of it's even favors that get traded around between the guards and some of the inmates' outside connections. But some of it is sex, ave rota. It's just about all a lot of these girls have to offer in here."
Yang hesitated.
"…and you? Did you…?"
She couldn't finish the question.
"No, Xiao Long. What happened wasn't my choice. Or Freya's. Poor girl hasn't got a clue – it's a miracle she's still standing upright on her feet as it is."
Yang nodded, still processing it all.
"Let's just say Kowalski got a little too comfortable with what he could get away with in here – and he started taking things that weren't offered to him. This is exactly the sort of thing I was worried about with Raya."
"But nothing's happened yet, right? All she did was accept some candy from Judith."
"Yeah. Yet," said Cadeja. "She was never supposed to be here. Raya promised me she wouldn't get involved! She was supposed to do better than me, and keep her ass outta places like this."
Yang wanted to ask Cadeja what exactly she was talking about, but looking ahead of them she decided it was better to keep her mouth shut.
It wouldn't be a good idea to set her off again – not with Leonie Verté standing ten feet in front of them.
Oh crap… thought Yang, coming to a halt.
It only took Cadeja a couple seconds longer than Yang to notice the tall mountain cat Faunus standing towards the back of the crowd waiting to be cuffed.
Panicking, Yang threw herself in front of Cadeja, cutting her off.
"Cadeja don't do this," she said, keeping her voice low so others wouldn't hear.
"Move it, ave rota," growled Cadeja. "I'm not gonna do nothin' stupid like start another fight."
Her eyes bored into Yang's.
"Just walk away from this," said Yang, almost pleading.
"Can't do that. She's gotta know," said Cadeja. With that, she reached up and shoved Yang out of the way.
"Hey-" said Yang, but she was too late.
"Leonie!" said Cadeja. "Ven acá!"
Leonie turned her head toward the sound of Cadeja's voice, her long sandy-blonde hair spilling over her shoulder. Seeing the wolf Faunus, she closed the gap between them with a few quick strides.
"Cadeja – what's happened?" asked Leonie, taking in Cadeja's furious look with one glance.
"The fuck are you up to?" spat Cadeja, spittle flying off of her lips.
Leonie wiped her face, irritation flashing in her eyes.
"What the hell are you talking about, Álvarez?"
"You're sister's been passin' around that shit you and your crew have been sneakin' in through the guards. It's found its way to A block. To Raya," said Cadeja, her tone dangerously low.
Yang looked around. Some of the girls nearby had stopped to listen, but for the most part the inmates and guards didn't seem to notice what was going on. Yang doubted that Cadeja was using her semblance – the babble of the crowd just seemed loud enough to cover up their exchange.
All around them, Yang could hear the clatter of different conversations getting mashed together in the crowd. Trying to reassure herself, she found that she had to focus intently on any one conversation to pick up what the other girls were actually saying.
But somewhere in the back of all, Yang heard a familiar sound floating through the crowd. However – at least for the moment – she couldn't seem to pin it down.
"Cadeja! You need to be careful where you start talking shit," said Leonie, copying Yang as she glanced around at the other girls.
"Yeah? Well you and your sister need to be careful or else we're gonna have a repeat of what happened last time. I already warned you once Leonie – and I won't have my sister pulled into it."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about Álvarez," hissed Leonie. "I had no idea Judith was passing shit out to girls from A Block – never mind to children. Whatever happened, it wasn't on my orders."
Yang saw the muscles in Cadeja's arms flex, her hands were tensed – her fingers arching like claws.
"The fact that any of this shit is happenin' on your orders is the problem Leonie. You're playin' a dangerous game – and a damn stupid one too."
Yang missed what Leonie said next when a girl bumped into her from behind.
"Hey!" shouted Yang reflexively.
The girl – a tall woman with flaming red hair looked down at her with a snarl, exposing her teeth.
"Woah, hey sorry – no big deal," said Yang, holding up her hand and backing away.
It had only taken a few seconds, but when she turned around, she saw that several girls had squeezed between her and where Cadeja stood with Leonie. Looking through the mass of bodies, Yang saw that Cadeja was standing even closer to the taller Faunus – her face practically shoved up into Leonie's. Her hands were still by her sides, but they were quivering with rage.
"Dammit," Yang grumbled to herself as she started to edge around the intervening group of inmates and make her way back over to Cadeja. But the more she tried to shove her way through, the more people seemed to get in her way.
"Heard that fucking B Block gets the first showers again tomorrow," griped one girl to her left.
Yang peered around her and strained to hear – trying to pick back up the thread of Leonie and Cadeja's conversation. But all she could hear were the babbling voices of the girls around her, and again she heard something else that sounded familiar in the background.
"S'bout time they got us a Faunus guard in here."
"Yeah no shit – racist pricks took their sweet time with that one…"
"Hey Diana! Hey – over here!"
"Girl – da hell you yellin' about?"
"This is how she rises!"
"You hear that?" said a short woman standing in front of Yang.
"Hear what?" asked the girl beside her.
Still trying to shove her way through the clot of inmates, Yang realized what it was that she was hearing – it was the lark; her voice was slipping in pieces through the crowd.
"Standing in the embers, eyes like fire."
A girl hollered to Yang's right, startling her.
"See now how she rises! Shadows clinging to her, feasting from her."
Yang pushed her way past the short girl and her companion in front of her.
"Savage fanatics. Life-like addicts-"
I can hear her – where the heck is she? thought Yang. Even after two months, she'd still never figured out who exactly the lark was – this was the first she'd even heard her voice since the attack. Until now, Yang had been thinking she'd died or been wounded by the Grimm.
"Boiled in blood they'll eat her ashes."
"Hey! Rude," exclaimed a tan-skinned girl as Yang pushed past her. Still listening to the lark's song, she finally made it back over to Cadeja.
"Cadeja, just cool it – I'll look into it," said Leonie. Clearly, she was still trying to get Cadeja to calm down. "Besides, some weird shit has been gettin' back to me from some of the girls who got moved out…"
"You'd better do somethin' about it – or I'll be the one talkin' to Judith. You hear me?"
"This the Phoenix Down!"
Leonie glared down at Cadeja, her nose wrinkling up in distaste.
"You remember your place, Álvarez. This is my business – now calm the fuck down."
For a moment, the two Faunus merely stared at one another – both red faced and practically shaking, but then Leonie turned on her heel and shoved her way through a group of Faunus standing between her and the exit. Recognizing who she was, the group parted to let her pass.
"Her back is broken, still she'll rise up."
"Puta madre," spat Cadeja.
"You okay?" mumbled Yang, still distracted as she searched the crowd for the woman who was singing.
Cadeja glared at her.
"Just dandy, Xiao Long."
"Rise up!"
Yang cast a worried glance at her friend, but Cadeja simply shook her head.
"Not gonna take it back now, ave rota. What's done is done."
Cadeja's words did nothing to reassure her. Another note drifted above the voice of the crowd, and Yang leaned closer to Cadeja.
"You hear that?"
"Hear what? Da fuck you talkin' about?" said Cadeja, her tone gruff. Some of her anger still hadn't dissipated.
"This is how she rises! Standing in the embers, eyes on fire."
"That!" said Yang.
Cadeja's ears swiveled on top of her head.
"You stuck on that songbird of yours again?" asked the wolf Faunus.
Yang simply nodded and held up a finger – signaling her to be quiet and listen.
"See now if she rises! Wings unbound but broken…"
"Seriously, Xiao Long? We got other things to worry about," said Cadeja.
"Shh!" exclaimed Yang, almost missing the last words of the song.
"She must learn to fly!"
After that last line, the lark's voice rang in the air for a moment before it faded out and yielded back to the clamor of the crowd.
"Crap," mumbled Yang. "I can't see who it was."
"Why does it matter?" asked Cadeja, still slightly annoyed at Yang's change of subject.
For whatever reason, Yang couldn't help but feeling a little sad.
"I guess it doesn't," she whispered.
"Get your head outta the clouds, ave rota. Your lark or whatever she is can wait."
Yang nodded her head dumbly.
"What exactly happened between you and Leonie just now? I missed some of it when I got pushed back in the crowd."
Cadeja paused for a moment before answering her.
"Let's just say I gave her a friendly warning about some of the shit her sister's been up to. I'm not so sure that old mountain cat has as firm a handle on Judith as she thinks she does."
Yang raised an eyebrow at her.
"You think Judith is going rogue or something?" she asked.
Cadeja shrugged, her eyes staring through the crowd in the direction which Leonie had disappeared.
"No idea, Xiao Long. It would certainly be a first. But then again, this is the Birdcage. Anythin' is possible in here."
Author's note: So guys – threw even more info at you in this one, dropped a couple bombs that have obviously been a long time in the making, talked about some sensitive stuff so this one wasn't easy but I love the way the dialogue came off!
I'll be real excited to get your reactions to all this – did a lot with Blake/White Fang stuff, then the Cadeja/Freya/Kowalski fiasco, and some trouble within the Vertés – drama, drama, drama!
Officially mapped out the outlines for next four or five chapters so I hope to be chugging along, I'll be back with the next one as soon as work/life/etc. allows!
Also, just a quick shout out to lunarresistance and ultimatrix bearer – you guys have been great!