Clearly, a guy can't take a break without the numbers plummeting. I wanted to make this a very lengthy chapter that will set up events heading into the end of this story, and finally getting back to the one-on one aspects that originally started this mess. So without further ado...
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth otherwise the events surrounding Yang's mom disappearing would have been explained by now.
All other franchises mentioned within are the property of their respective owners
A few days had passed since the end of the clash at the amphitheater, the students were abuzz with rumors of Team RWBY's collapse ranging from the tame and truthful: Blake being incapacitated while Ruby was shaken up, and Yang's weapon being destroyed in the fight. To the completely insane and damn near tabloid level: Yang having beaten Blake to a bloody pulp before leaving with an unconscious Bálor for parts unknown while partners Weiss and Ruby ended up with some very public, and very hot lesbian action.
The things people come up with.
The truth however, is often stranger than fiction
The members of Team RWBY would find themselves standing at attention at Professor Ozpin's desk, with the exception of one Yang Xiao Long who would be twiddling her thumbs despite the heavy amounts of gauze and bandages on her hands. "Professor, why are we here? I should be with B, ya know..in case he finally comes to." Ruby would shudder and glare angrily at her older sister, clutching the sleeves of her slightly large Bullet Club shirt. "The hell you should, I'M his roommate!"
"Dust, kill me now." Weiss would move closer to her seething partner mostly to keep a fight from breaking out, while Blake would just shake her head in dumb silence. "I'm begging you Professor, break up the team, there's nothing here anymore." Ozpin would just sit there and observe the squabbling amongst his best team with a slight smirk.
"He warned me this would happen, your precious Bálor." The squabbling would cease almost immediately at the mention of his name, the four Huntresses eyes following Ozpin as he removed a manila envelope from his desk and slide it over to the four of them without another word. Blake would be the one to take it from the desk and open it, as she reached inside all she found was a letter and a small slip of paper.
"Strange." She would examine the letter carefully, sniffing it to find the familiar scent of sub sandwich wafting from the back of it. "Yep, it's his alright, and he addressed it to us specifically." She would unfold the letter carefully until she could lay it out on the desk and read it aloud.
To my beloved family Team RWBY,
If you're reading this then that means I managed to somehow get my dumbass stuck up in the infirmary, possibly unconscious. But I digress, the fact that you're reading this means the team is probably ready to implode in on itself.
"Wait, so you're telling me that he ANTICIPATED this insanity from the first day he showed up here?!" Weiss would be livid at this point, even though she had recently mended fences with her partner the fact remained that for the lady Schnee the jury was still very much in deliberation when it came to the silver haired wolf Faunus. "I'm gonna rip that fucking mutt apart-" Ruby would shake her head incredulously as her partner vented and cursed out of anger.
"Get real Weiss, there's no way Bálor would ever do such a thing!" Yang's eyes would go red as she said this, snatching the letter from Blake and looking at the date." Hah, told you! This thing was written a week ago!" Blake would nod before calmly taking the letter back and continue to read:
For this, I truly apologize.
I never meant to threaten such a close knit unit like yours, all I ever wanted was a family of my own. I guess that's a bit too much to ask for from a little jail pup like me, I know that getting past your various issues (Most of which I've no doubt caused.) is going to be difficult. Therefore I've arranged a good faith gesture for the four of you, enclosed with this letter is a four digit passcode to the metal cases in the back of my dorm room closet. (F.Y.I. Ruby, they're the reason why we couldn't fit all of your stuff in there. Sorry hun.)
Respectfully yours,
Bálor Birugderc Moonlight
"So THAT'S his middle name, how awesome." Ruby would swoon to herself despite Yang's irritated snort. "Are we DONE, I need to get back to my baby B!" Ruby would whirl around on her older sister, a feral look on her normally adorable face "Your WHAT?!"
Blake and Weiss would look at each other and share an eye roll before each grabbing one of Ruby's arms and dragging her off with them.
"Come on partner, we wanna see what's in that back of that closet!" Weiss would grumble as the pair kept dragging Ruby with them as they made their way upstairs, Blake nodding in agreement as she clutched the four digit passcode in her free hand.
"But it's not fair, Yang gets Bálor all to herself!" The crimsonette haired Huntress would whimper as her friends continued their trudge up to her new dorm.
Yang would make her way back by Bálor's bedside, glaring at the nurse who was currently attending to him at the moment, a pretty little redhead that the brawler had very little patience for on a normal day and today was FAR from a normal day for her.
"You. Out. NOW!" Yang would snap, her eyes going red once more as she confronted the nurse in question, who would shake her head and step back from the wolf Faunus helplessly.
"You can't keep doing this to him you know, he needs proper treatment..love and whispered prayers aren't going to wake him-" She would stop speaking as Yang slammed her fist into the wall, dangerously close to the woman's head.
"YOU don't get to decide that bitch, now leave!" She could feel the power of her Semblance radiating through her, the anger she felt was fueling it forward even as the nurse would walk off dejectedly leaving Yang to try and calm herself before approaching her unconscious beloved.
"Don't worry baby, I'm not gonna leave your side." She would clasp his hand in both of hers despite the bolt of pain that would come from doing so, wincing slightly as she squeezed his hand gently. "You saved my baby sister, you helped me defeat Blake..you've shown me what true love feels like, and how scary things can be when you don't have it." Yang could feel the tears welling up in her eyes once more before shaking her head vigorously, trying to smile for Bálor even though he was unable to see it. "I never thought I'd be one of those mushy, girl hopelessly in love clichés, I've always gone with the flow when it comes to life and dating." She would sigh and look towards the door, hoping against hope that no one was behind the door listening in to what she was about to say and pressed on after a few minutes of silence.
"But then you showed up at Beacon that night, soaking wet and probably tired as all hell. But you still took time to talk to me, deal with my flirting without going overboard and then you flashed that smile. That kind of smile you only see in fairytale prince's that end up getting their princess and slaying the dragon, we both know I'm no princess and yet you smiled at me like I was one. Treated me like I was someone worth slaying dragons for."
Yang could no longer hold back the tears she had been fighting that day, all the pent up sorrow at his silence, and the fear that her silver haired prince might never awaken again was too much for the brawler to bear all by herself.
"I don't care that there might be a chance that I might lose you to Ruby, it doesn't matter if you were named after some stupid demon giant because your asshole father was too drunk and pathetic to realize how great a son he had. I don't even care that I'm sounding like a frightened woman in love instead of the blonde flirt everyone sees me as, I don't care about ANY OF THAT!" She could feel her Semblance burning throughout her body, her golden mane of fiery hair threatening to short out and destroy the equipment attached to him, the broken hearted blonde would fight to control herself even as her deep breaths turned to haggard sobs of sadness.
"Just please, please come back to me"
Back in Bálor's dorm room, the trio of Ruby, Weiss, and Blake would be standing before the eight metal cases which housed the wolf's Eight Blades of Jaggerjack.
"Woah, how did I not see these when I was moving my stuff in?!" The crimsonette would kneel down and gently run her fingers across the cold metal case in silent awe while Weiss would pick up a different case and examine it carefully, surprised that she could lift it with surprisingly little fuss.
"Definitely some fancy metal, it's light..but it could probably withstand a beating, I'm surprised the Atlesian Paladin's aren't reinforced with this stuff it could really save lives."
"Yeah, but it could also help them take thousands more." Blake would find the keypad on the side of the case and punch in the code written down on the slip of paper, sighing once the case in front of her opened slowly to reveal the first of eight strange swords: A black, pulsing crystal blade that seemed to hum with a sleeping power, the others would gasp as the other cases began to open of their own volition before the light of the crystalline swords would converge and form a solid hologram version of Bálor, complete with his trademark grin:
"Hello guys, I guess this means Ozpin handed off the letter and I'm not doing so well."
The holo-Bálor would gesture to the swords before the trio of Huntresses with a solemn look on his face, the cocky Bullet Club fan boy was long gone as "he" continued to speak.
"Before you lay the weapons I used as a loyal assassin of the Vacuo Military, the Eight Blades of Jaggerjack, named after the seven sins of religion with the eighth referring to the ultimate end for all sinners: Damnatione.
I bequeath these weapons to you all, do with them as you wish: Integrate them into your own weapons, use it as a back up, hell you can even destroy them just for kicks."
"Is it me or has he finally lost his mind?" Weiss would examine an indigo colored blade carefully, giving a few practice swings as she did. "These are perfectly useable weapons, especially for someone with his Semblance, why would he LET anyone destroy them?"
Ruby would sigh as she knelt down to a crimson colored blade with a frown, shaking her head. "They belong to his dad, and that guy was a monster." The crimsonette would look back at her partner with a strained expression on her face. "I don't think he wants to keep carrying around a reminder of the man who tried to make him a monster too" Blake would sigh and close up the case in front of her with a sigh, dispelling the hologram with a tired smile before standing up and heading for the door.
"Then let him vanquish his own demons, he's not exactly high up on my list of favorite people lately."
The cat Faunus would leave the room with a slam of the door, only the heiress and the crimsonette remained behind with the wolf Faunus's blades.
"Well, it would be a shame to let perfectly valuable weapons gather dust in these cases." Weiss would take the indigo blade before her along with the sapphire colored blade above that one, she would tap the crystalline blade gently, smiling as a melodic 'ping' would be heard in reply.
"Excellent, these will prove most useful for Schnee's future prospects." The heiress would saunter off with her newest prizes as she stopped at the doorway.
"Aren't you coming Ruby?"
The cookie loving Huntress would shake her head with a small smile before pushing the cases back into the closet.
"Nope. This is my dorm room too Weiss, and he's going to be back soon." The pale haired heiress would frown and set her cases down before turning to face her partner/
"Why? Why are you still loyal to someone who clearly CAN'T make a decision between you and your own sister?"
Ruby would turn and face Weiss, tears falling from her silver eyes even as she smiled brightly holding up the crimson colored blade proudly.
"Because, he ignited a fire in me that I didn't even know existed. All my life I wanted to be a Huntress, to be the hero in those storybooks that saves the day!" She would spin the sword carefully, avoiding her hood as she did before setting it back in the case safely. "But then he showed up, with all his swagger and his confidence and he had no problem doing what he wanted no matter who got in his way!"
Weiss would nod silently as she watched her partner with a growing sense of concern.
"I've learned so much about him AND myself in his short stay here, I want someone by my side, someone who I can save the day with, someone-" The heiress would cut off her partner's fevered ravings with a quick slap to the cheek before placing her hands on the crimsonette's shoulder and looking into her eyes.
"Ruby, listen to what you're saying! You say you've learned so much about him, but you're ignoring the fact that he just revealed that he just admitted that he was once an assassin for another country's military! Do you understand what that means?" Weiss would look into Ruby's silver eyes, the fevered fire from earlier had dimmed , but still burned strong nonetheless. "It means he's killed people for money Ruby! People, not Grimm!" Weiss would step back in concern as Ruby looked down at her boots quietly.
"I know what I'm saying may sound cruel, but a true partner never lies. I want you to really think about what you feel for Bálor, and if you still feel love for him then I'll support you two the best I can, but if you even have the tiniest bit of doubt in your heart, then help me find the truth! Because I want to know why someone like him would just show up here at Beacon and just start sewing chaos into our peaceful days." With those final words, Weiss would leave the room and leave Ruby to contemplate the weight of her words.
Blake would be waiting for Yang by the vending machines in the infirmary, not surprised to see that the brawler's eyes were red and puffy from crying. As much as it angered the cat Faunus to see her once proud and outgoing partner reduced to a romance novel cliché she kept a straight face nonetheless.
"Still no change I see."
Yang would glance at Blake as she leaned against the vending machine tiredly before sliding in a few lien and forcing a smile as the vending machine spit out a soft drink.
"He's strong Blake, he's gonna pull through this.."
The raven haired Faunus would nod as she watched the blonde brawler down the soft drink with frightening ease, as if she had been doing it for far too long.
"Yeah, being raised in a prison for too long will do that to you."
Yang would shake her head tiredly before turning away from her partner. "You've said some cruel garbage toward B before, but that's just low Blake." The cat Faunus would sigh and shake her head at her partner's lack of trust in her.
"I'm just trying to let you in on who the real Bálor Moonlight is: A cold, unfeeling, manipulative monster."
At that, the blonde would grit her teeth and face the feline Faunus, her hands screaming in agony as she had tightened them into fists beneath the bandages.
"Wow, that's quite the statement coming from a former member of the White Fang." The brawler would step towards the feline Faunus with her eyes burning red.
"You, of all people would dare to use another person's past to disparage them! After all that you've been through trying to distance yourself from the White Fang, and you do this to someone whose only wish was to be accepted for who he is right now and not what he used to be!"
"Yang you don't understand, there was more to that letter!" Blake would stand tall as she recounted the events in Bálor and Ruby's dorm room, from the metal cases carrying his weapons, to the revelation of his past association with Vacuo as a assassin for their military. She would then go on to describe her last encounter with the silver haired Faunus outside Professor Port's classroom, from his past as a child who was yanked away from his home, to the horrible things he had witnessed while growing up behind bars. By the time Blake had finally finished airing out Bálor's dirty laundry, Yang had been effectively silenced by the overload of new information concerning her beloved prince.
"So, it's all out in the open now isn't it?" Bálor himself would now be standing at the end of the hallway even as alarms were blaring from the room behind him, his silver hair sticking up in various places as he faced the two Huntresses.
"Yes, I was a prison mutt raised to kill. I was thrown to the wolves and forced to become a murderer just to make it through the day!"
Blake would nod, satisfied to finally see the monster emerging from the façade of the wrestling loving dumbass, Yang on the other hand would just stare at him numbly as if she were unable to comprehend what she was hearing.
"Ozpin gave me a chance to come here and use my bloodlust towards fighting the Grimm, he figured that be taking the animal out of the cage and surrounding it with love that I might somehow become something of a productive member of society!"
The blonde brawler would shake her head furiously as she tried to block out the words of the monster that looked like Bálor, there's no way the man she loved would ever speak so coldly about his own past almost as if he were dooming himself to a future without any warmth.
A future without her warmth to keep him safe.
"So you admit you've killed before, and as such have no problems with killing another person whether they be human or Faunus?!" Blake would unsheathe her damaged Gambol Shroud and ready herself, thanks to the injuries she had sustained from her fight with Yang she hadn't had the time to go down to the Weapons Forge and make repairs, but this was the only chance she'd have at slaying the demon that had thrown her team into disarray.
Bálor would just stand there and laugh as a murderous smirk appeared on his face and he assumed a fighting stance, he wouldn't need the Eight Blades to punish Blake.
"I told you, I did whatever it took to live!" He snarled and charged quickly at the startled feline, punching and kicking angrily even as Blake would block his moves with the flat of Gambol Shroud's blade.
"You really think some rabid dog's claws would stop me!" She would hiss and toss him into the vending machine behind her, smirking as it erupted in a shower of sparks. "Some demon…"
Bálor would laugh quietly as he stood up slowly, his back smelling of burnt flesh and muscle but the grins on his face would just grow larger.
"Here's the thing about us monsters, we don't exactly go down EASY!" His amber eyes would glow brightly as cans shot out from the busted vending machine, flying towards the raven haired Faunus like small missiles although he would take care to avoid nailing the blonde brawler at all costs.
"Blake is my enemy. Yang is..precious to me…Yes, precious."
Blake would parry and slash through the cans and bottles flung at her with a cocky smirk, even as various liquids coated the floor beneath her feet.
"You're nothing without your fangs demon! Just a cheap Semblance with no control over himself!" She would take a running start, sneering as she readied to finally end the madness that was Bálor Moonlight.
A flurry of roses would interrupt her path as Ruby Rose nailed Blake with a quick roundhouse to the face sending her sliding back.
"Ruby?!" Blake would snarl as she assumed a defensive stance. "Don't tell me you're still on his HIS side!"
The Crimsonette would shake her head sadly before tossing the blades she had taken from the cases to the wolf Faunus. "It's not about sides Blake, you're blinded by your own hatred for Bálor that you've forgotten we're all the same side!"
"Rubes..but I..you know what I've done!" He would bring his blades towards him but leave them sheathed.
"Oh stop your crying and be a man!" Weiss would grumble before handing him the remaining two blades, then facing her fellow team members. "The past is the past and that's where it belongs." The pale haired Huntress would turn back and face the Faunus who at one time drove her into fits of bloody murderous rage and shake her head. "I can't believe I ever thought you were worth getting jealous over."
The wolf would scratch the back of his head in confusion, not knowing whether to classify what he'd heard as an insult or a joke. "Th-thanks? I-I think?"
"I'm not finished speaking dammit!" Weiss would raise her Myrtenaster and assume a defensive stance in front of him. "Truth be told I should've been using my energies towards making you into a man worthy of standing beside me!"
"Is she saying what I think she's saying?"
Ruby would look down at her older sister who had finally started processing the chaos happening around her.
"Well sis, looks like we've got more unneeded competition." The crimsonette's would grin and help her to her feet.
"Wha..what, did hell finally freeze over?" Yang would blink and try and keep her footing on the floor, which had since become sticky with the mixture of several soft drinks.
"I think so, Weiss is trying to stake her claim on Bálor." Ruby would giggle as the realization finally hit Yang like a ton of bricks.
"Hey! That's not fair Weiss has Neptune-" The squabbling would cease as Blake ran as fast as she could, blowing past the sisters and heading straight for the ice queen.
"THIS BULLSHIT ENDS NOW!"
"For once we agree" Bálor would snarl as he unsheathed his weapons, using the empty sheathes to shield the heiress from harm before gesturing to the window outside, leaping through it, ignoring the glass shards digging into his skin as he did.
"You want me Belladonna, well come and get it!"
"Wait B, we should fight together!" Yang would start heading for the window only to have her partner cut her off by leaping through it.
"So, you finally want to fight your own battles?" Blake would watch him coolly, the way his blades danced and spun about him without ever cutting a single strand of hair.
"Yeah, we seriously need to end this little grudge of yours." Bálor would watch her with a steady gaze, under different circumstances he might have fallen for the feline, but that wasn't an option now as they readied themselves for a fight.
"MY grudge?! You're the one with the issues Moonlight, you've obviously got mental issues. The overbearing confidence, your hyper-sexual furtive nature! It's all textbook PTSD!"
He would smirk and twirl his blades until the covered him in a bright white light, giving him a comfortable ensemble to fight in: A white Wrestling Soup t-shirt, his favorite black denim jeans with the bloody cross symbol on the sides, along with his monochrome shoes.
"You're right, my head's all kinds of messed up. But the feelings I have for everyone here weren't born from shock, I genuinely think of everyone here as my family, even you Blake."
The feline Faunus would shake her head vehemently at that statement "St-stop trying to butter me up like you did the others! She would tighten her grip on Gambol Shroud even as her arm trembled. "I'm not like the rest of RWBY, I won't fall at your feet because of a cheesy smile and stupid one-liners!"
The wolf Faunus would frown upon hearing this and take a step back cautiously, he had seen her abilities enough to know that letting down his guard would never be an option with her. "You really think all I did to win over Yang and Ruby was use pickup lines?" He would see the others in the distance, talking amongst themselves as if to compare notes on something. "I bared my soul to Ruby, she knows things about me that not even Ozpin is privy to! And as for Yang, she got through to ME! I saw the deep fires of her heart and I basked in the warmth I never thought I'd have the privilege to ever know!"
"Shut. Up! You're just trying to distract me from the matter at hand, you're no better than Sun!" The raven haired Faunus was literally seething with rage as she spoke, a dark aura would be emanating from her body as she trembled.
"That's it, that's why you're so angry isn't it. Because I remind you of the boy who left you behind!"
"Rrraaghhh, BASTARD!" Blake would finally snap and attack him full force, meeting his eight blades head on as metal met crystal making a mournful sound.
"Fine Blake, I'll take on your rage with every last fiber of my being!" Bálor would sigh and prepare himself as best he could, he still hadn't fully recovered physically, he could feel the trembling in his legs as the muscles protested against all the sudden strain after three days of lying around unconscious.
"Please be strong, just give me enough time to get through to my friend and help her rid herself of this sorrow!"
Well folks, there you have it. Next chapter it's Blake Belladonna vs. Bálor in a no holds barred slugfest that serves as the climax of their antagonistic relationship
Will the wolf be able to reach out to the heart of Blake's anger before she cuts him down?
Will Ruby and Yang EVER come to blows over their feelings for Bálor?
Was Weiss really serious about staking her claim in this love triangle?
HAVE I FINALLY GONE TOO FAR WITH THE DRAMA?
Well now, you'll just need to be patient and wait for the next chapter my friends, until then leave reviews and PM's about what you like about the story, what you don't like, and who you wanna see in the closing chapters? And, if you're a pairing fanatic. Leave your opinions on who Bálor should be with at the finalé.
Rosewolf? (BálorxRuby) Howling Dragon? (BálorxYang) Or the trifecta? (BálorxRubyxYang) Or if you have your own suggestion just throw that out there.
Until then, fare thee well (Cookies to whoever gets that reference)