Sorry for the delays everyone, I'm gonna keep my explanation short and to the point: Due to certain IRL issues I was left devoid of any motivation to write these past few days, and unless some sorta financial miracle occurs well I may be on borrowed time when it comes to finishing this story
And we are rounding the corner towards the finish.
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth or else there would be as much foul language as you're about to see in this chapter.
Any other mentioned characters, individuals, or franchises belong to their respective parent company.
"You're not broken, but you're afraid…"
He was dreaming, that much was for certain.
Bálor would find himself standing at a stereotypical crossroads: tumbleweeds blew past him as he tried to look back, but he would see nothing but a haze of dust.
"I know that deep down in the depths of my heart there is no one I'd rather spend the days of my life with then you Bálor."
He would flinch upon hearing Ruby's words once more, the crimsonette had certainly caused him to go bonkers for the most part as she had recent gone from being a good friend that he might one day develop feelings for, to someone who he was now actively gunning for.
"Seriously, what in the world am I doing with myself? Ruby's a cute girl and everything but why did I let myself get so wrapped up in her, I know she said she would do anything for me but I'm a criminal..scum really."
"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!"
Bálor recognized Yang's voice as easily as a child would recognize their mother's face, the words she spoke troubled him greatly as the dust storm behind him howled loudly as if it were in pain.
"That can't be right, the Yang Xiao Long I know would never say something that ridiculous!" He would snarl as he thought back on the events of the night before, he was standing across from Yang feeling white hot anger in his heart even as the blonde brawler tried to reach out to him both physically and some kind of stupid metaphorical sense.
"I'm not some wounded animal that needs tender love and care, dammit I used to be a brutal, ruthless prisoner! No one's putting a collar on me, Not Ozpin, not Goodwitch, not Ruby, and sure as hell not you Yang!"
The two Huntresses voices would each call to him, threatening to lure the Faunus down their respective roads towards the unknown.
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" The wolf would grunt in pain as he tried to cover his ears and drown out their siren calls, but it would prove pointless as their voices burrowed into his skull. He would get to his feet wailing in agony as he turned away from the paths laid out before him and head into the dust storm behind him, only to feel himself get smashed in the face by a heavy fist and sent sprawling back to the ground.
"Gah!" Bálor would groan and stare up at the darkened sky, rubbing his injured cheek more in shock then anything.
"The fuck you doin' boy, get'cha ass up!" A gruff voice would bark at him, confusing the already traumatized young man. "Lookit yourself, running around whining' and cryin' over two little girls like some stupid little pussy!"
The wolf would groan as he slowly dragged himself to some sort of sitting position to survey his surroundings, the dust storm had finally settled to reveal nothing but lush grass in the distance which confused Bálor even more as he stood up.
"Great, I really am starting to go nuts..could've sworn that dust storm was chewing me out right now" He would run his hands through his silver hair and sigh in relief as he turned around and found himself face to face with someone he admired.
He was a tall man with a shaved head and an unkempt beard and various tattoos and a lean physique, rocking familiar camouflage pants and wrestling boots there was only one name that would come to mind.
"Briscoe..?"
He would receive a vicious head butt to the nose in reply. "Well I sure as hell ain't no fucking dust storm boy!" The man known as "Briscoe" would plant his foot on the stunned Faunus's chest, looking down at him with a shake of his head. "What happened to you kid, you used to be a stone cold maniac..now you're just some punk tripping all over cobblestones."
Bálor would snarl as he tried to fight out from under Briscoe's boot, but he could barely budge the heavy leather object weighing him down.
"Fucker, you don't even KNOW me!" The silver haired hunter would continue to struggle the heavy leather restraint his "Hero" had laid down upon him, biting back every curse and slur he could think of even as he glared up at the man.
"You have no idea what kind of hell I've been through to get to where I am today, people like me don't GET to attend prestigious places like Beacon Academy. Hell we're lucky if we even get a dignified death instead of being shanked in the shower like a moron."
Briscoe would grit his teeth and grind his boot against the disgruntled Faunus, seemingly dissatisfied with what he'd just heard.
"And you think that entitles you to just spend your time running around like a goddamned chicken with his head cut off?!" He would remove his boot from Bálor's chest and drag him to his feet making sure to stand nose to nose with his angered quarry. "Man, you said it yourself: People like you don't make it to where you are! But you did, and instead of working hard to be the baddest muthafucker in the place you're on your bitch ass trying to figure "out which girl do I get with?!"" Briscoe would shovel the younger man back and raise his fists, taking a few quick jabs at him. "Boy you need to man up and worry about yourself!"
Bálor would step back to avoid the surprisingly quick fists of his foul mouthed opponent, taking a simple boxing stance of his own before trying to counter with a right cross.
"You're one to talk!" The Faunus would growl as Briscoe blocked his fist and connected with another jab. "You spend your days fighting a predetermined sport in front of a crowd of rabid bloodthirsty morons, while we Hunters put our lives on the line just to make sure you make it to the next town!" He would lean back from a Briscoe uppercut and strike back with a headbutt of his own, causing the older fighter to growl in anger and tackle him to the ground before raining down right hand after right hand.
"You think we don't fucking know that you little punk bitch?! We owe our lives to you people and we've always given Hunters the respect they've earned!" Briscoe would lean in close to the battered Bálor with a wild look in his eyes. "We've seen good men and women fight and DIE just to make sure we made it home safe, and if they were to see a little shit like you calling himself a Hunter they would be rolling over in their graves at how much of a pathetic little pussy you are!" The grizzled brawler would stand up slowly, turning away and running a hand through his beard, taking a breath and kicking at the dirt beneath his boot.
"Fuck..if you're so smart, then tell me what you would do!?" The wolf would slowly stand back up even as Briscoe continued to kick at the ground. "How am I supposed to go on knowing that I'm the son of a fucking psychopath and a mother whose mind was so far gone she once thought I was a cow and tried to sell me at the market!" The man who was just previously beating down on the tired wolf would turn to face him once more, seemingly angrier than before their little scrap had begun. "How the fuck should I know?! It's YOUR life and you can't let nobody else live it for you: Not your daddy, not your mama, not them little girlies, not even me!" Briscoe would stomp up to Bálor and grab the young man by his shirt collar roughly, staring into him coldly. "Only thing I do know is that you've gotta stop blaming your problems on your past and Man Up!" With those last words he would release the puzzled Faunus and walk past him into the grassy fields behind him.
"Shit…if someone like him could see the problem, then maybe I really am just a pussy." He would start walking in the opposite direction Briscoe had, Ruby and Yang's voices once again attempting to woo him down their respective paths for the future.
"A real man makes their own road, I won't let this stupid love triangle bullshit pave the way for me anymore…Time to Man Up!" He would smack his fist into his open palm as he traveled down the grassy plain that separated the paths.
Bálor would wake up to find himself in the RWBY dorm, not exactly sure of how he had gotten there without alerting the other Huntresses that should have been occupying the bed.
"Dammit Yang, all I did was fall asleep…you didn't have to carry me back here." The silver haired Faunus would sigh and slowly get himself out of the bed he was currently laying in. He would be surprised to see Blake sitting on her own bed staring down at him quietly, nodding quietly at her he would begin to leave the room before he stopped, hearing her drop down to the floor.
"Not even gonna say goodbye, hell I'd even take a "C'ya" The feline would shake her head at the wolf Faunus before leaning against the side of the bunk beds. "Must've been a hell of a dream you were having earlier, you were growling pretty bad earlier." The silver haired Hunter would shake his head before turning to face the raven haired Blake Belladonna with a cold stare.
"I can't keep doing this to you guys Blake, Team RWBY doesn't need romantic tensions weighing them down." He would go to open the door but stop and look back at the nonplussed feline, giving her a slight smile. "Mind if I run a slight hypothetical by you Blake?"
Blake would cross her arms and nod slowly "I'll entertain whatever you want, just step away from the door and face me like a man" He would sigh and take a couple steps from the door and turning to face his raven-haired friend before putting his hands in his pockets. "If it had been you instead of Yang who had raced down to save me the day I beat CRDL, would we have worked as more than just friends?"
To her credit Blake would actually furrow her brow in consideration before shaking her head slowly, not bothering to go further in detail as she returned to the book she was reading while he had been asleep.
"Huh, guess I should've expected nothing less from you." He would turn back and open the door exiting quietly so as not to disturb her reading, he would slowly begin to walk back to his own dorm with a determined look in his eyes.
"Some questions just really don't need to be asked I suppose." He would open his door and then make his way to the closet, sliding it open and pulling out the metal cases one by one and deactivating the locks.
"It's about time I stopped letting my fears control me, I need to make my own way forward from now on." After a few minutes of keypad punching and thumbprint scanning Bálor would stand before the fearsome Eight Blades of Jaggerjack, the crystalline blades each emitting their own unique hum of power as they slowly merged into an angelic harmony.
"Yeah yeah, shut it!" He would pick up the crimson blade Ira without hesitation and begin smashing the blade against its metal case, not stopping until the sword was in pieces before moving on to repeat the process with the remaining seven leaving the floor in front of him littered with pieces of crystal.
"Rest in pieces Jackie-boy, your little demon isn't about to walk your road anymore." The wolf would then gather the crystal pieces and place them in a small leather pouch before taking a deep breath and heading towards the weapon forge, he would keep his face low as to avoid the concerned looks of the few friends he had.
At least until he felt someone grab his shoulder roughly, the silver haired Faunus would ball his fist and prepare to attack.
"B, why the heck are you out of bed?!" Yang's question would go unanswered as Bálor brushed her off and proceeded on his way once again. "Don't you walk away from me dammit!"
He would stop and grab the blonde brawler by her uniform and slam her against the wall aggressively, he could feel people's eyes locking onto him even as his focused onto Yang with cold precision.
"DON'T! You don't get to order me around in any way, shape, or fashion ANYMORE!" The hushed conversation he had heard from the night before played through his mind over and over as he let the clearly stunned Huntress go.
"I..wasn't trying to order you around, I was just worried about you Bálor." The brawler would try reaching her hand out to him once again, it was as if he had unintentionally gone back in time while he was asleep. "Baby, look at me..it's me, Yang..I won't hurt you." Her hand would gently touch the angered Faunus's cheek even as he bared his fangs at her in a display of intimidation.
"She's doing it again, she's being…NOT Yang!" Bálor would look around frantically, at the ceiling, the students who had now crowded around them out of curiosity and concern. He was desperate to look at anything or anyone but the one person who had consistently reaching out and bearing her soul to him.
"D-don't..don't look at me like that!" The wolf Faunus would turn away from her gentle touch, not wanting to lose the fire that his fevered dream had instilled within him. "People like me, don't deserve that kind of look!"
Yang would be taken aback by his words, and the raw voice that had accompanied them.
"You think that a Faunus doesn't deserve to know that they're loved?"
The silver haired Hunter would shake his head furiously, even as some people in the crowd glared at him for his cryptic remarks.
"This isn't about the fact that I'm Faunus and you're Human, I really couldn't give a rat's ass about that!" Bálor would look down at his hands, which had unexpectedly become covered in blood. "Yang, I'm a monster…a prisoner who had to kill, and maim, and DESTROY the man in front of him just to see the next sunrise! And monsters like me..we don't get the happy ending."
He would push past the startled crowd as he made his escape, leaving behind a very troubled Yang Xiao Long behind.
Salty, but sad. Consider this Part 1 of the epic multi-part conclusion to "Conversations" a fic that started out as a gag but grew into every bad self-insert fic that stands on the face of Fanfiction (Ladwatcher is probably nodding his head at this) but it's MY bad self-insert and I stand behind it with the same kind of zeal that Nora stood atop that pile of desks in Volume 2 (before the food fight) and if you're with me then thanks for hanging on. If not, may I direct you to ElfCollaborator's "Weiss Reacts" it's hilarious and a heck of a ride (especially if you need the laughs)
Review if you wish, PM me if you have questions (that goes double for you Knight) and I will return ASAP with Part 2 of God only knows how many.
Thanks for all the support