Well, here it is. Our Conclusion.
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, Balor to me, and anything else mentioned within to their respective parent company.
By the time Yang emerged from the tunnel with an equally exhausted Bálor the amphitheatre would be filled with curious students and instructors alike, Blake would be off to the side with Doctor Oobleck, no doubt the feline Faunus was explaining what she saw before the battle came to them.
"Of course there would be a crowd waiting for us, heaven forbid I get through one major fight without someone sniffing it out." The wolf Faunus would mutter, even as he leaned against the blonde for support.
"I guess we were supposed to have sparring sessions today, although given how badly trashed this place is I doubt that's happening today." Yang would look over at him, he was badly beaten to the point that his left eye had swollen shut, bleeding from various cuts, and barely able to stand even with her help.
"I don't know who that little hooded monster was, but I WILL make her pay for hurting you baby." Yang's eyes would flash red momentarily before she scooped up the tired Faunus into her arms and heading for the door, ignoring questions and looks from her classmates as she did so. It was all she could do keep from snapping in frustration at the bizarre situations that had befallen her since the Couples Dance, after that night she had swore to herself that she would never feel anything for him again. But he still managed to get under her skin regardless, even while she was helping Ruby move back to their dorm he still sauntered in and managed to look like some cross between the meek "boy next door" and an arrogant prick, it wasn't until later that night when her mysterious ally opened her eyes to the truth of what lay behind his actions.
It was a rather cold night and as the blonde brawler waited by Beacon's statue for her usual meeting with her nameless "friend" she was already thoroughly annoyed due to the events of that day, her hands balling into fists as she recalled hearing Ruby and Bálor laugh happily outside the door to their dorm.
"That dumbass, after everything I put myself through just to make him feel warm and welcome here at Beacon, he goes off and shacks up with Ruby of all people!" The blonde would continue to fume and rant to herself, entirely unaware of the presence watching her with a hidden smirk.
"It's been a while since I've seen you this worked up Yang, it's almost entertaining in a self-deprecating sort of way." The mysterious woman would step out into the moonlight and reveal herself before removing the Grimm mask covering her face to reveal a lovely face, and the same piercing red eyes the now angered brawler possessed. "I take it this is about a boy?"
Yang would look at her friend, seething with rage as she contemplated throwing a punch but thinking better of it before calming down and running her fingers through her long blonde hair.
"Yeah, he's just some nobody who transferred in a while back, not really worth mentioning at this point." She had hoped that such a paltry explanation would put the issue to rest so she could move on but figuratively and literally, after all there were plenty of better, less obnoxious men at Beacon she could sink her teeth into. But judging by the look on her companion's face this was just the beginning of a very long night for Yang.
"Tell me about him, you say he's nobody and yet I arrive to find you furiously ranting and raving to yourself. It's clear that this isn't a "nobody" that has you so upset." The red eyed woman would take a seat on the edge of the fountain, motioning for the younger woman to do the same in a motherly fashion. Yang would hesitate, not really wanting to broach this particular subject but knowing that she clearly was in no position to refuse otherwise. "Like I said, he's a new guy who transferred in a few months ago. Name's Bálor, he's kind of a nice guy as long as you don't piss him off..otherwise he's liable to flatten you like he did to one of the teams here." The blonde brawler would stare at her feet as she debated saying any more, talking about the silver haired young man felt like pouring salt onto her freshly broken heart. "B's..a complicated guy; back when he first came here he wouldn't talk to anybody, and just kept his headphones on no matter where he was. Then one day I decided to prank him by pouring a bucket of ice water over his head and fry his SchneePod." The other woman would shake her head with a slight smile before gesturing for Yang to continue, knowing that the prank was just the beginning.
"You're really going to make me do this aren't you, even though you KNOW it's killing me right now just to say his name!" Yang would stand up defiantly, looking up at the pale moon in the sky. "It kills me that my little prank was the beginning of something that could have been great between us, I did everything I possibly could to get him to see that this isn't a game to me! I even tried telling him that I loved him, TWICE!" The furious Huntress would pause before looking up at the pale moon once again, she hated admitting that she loved Bálor, it was so against her usual go with the flow nature. Getting so flustered and enamored by one man instead of fielding her options between a special few, but there was something about that wrestling loving wolf that pushed her buttons. "But in the end he chose to side with Ruby, because she just happens to know more about him. I open my heart, and in return he ran like a coward! To Ruby of all people, she loves him so much too by the way..fucking bullshit." The raven haired woman would shake her head sadly as Yang finally stopped ranting, not so much in surprise but pity as she prepared to throw in her two cents on a very bizarre situation. "Yang, I understand how you're feeling right now: You're angry that he rejected you in favor of someone else despite putting yourself out there, but there are things about this man you must understand before judging him." This would cause the younger Huntress to look over at her skeptically, before marching up to her with an angry glare. "I KNOW more about him then you could even guess at, he says he was raised in a prison, had to kill just to survive day to day, his own father named him after some legendary demon!" Her raven haired benefactor would simply smile, not perturbed in the least at these revelations but knowing better than to outright push Yang for more information. "I suppose that such an upbringing would turn anyone into a bit of a lone wolf outside of a combat situation and a feral dog when things get serious." She would watch as the blonde brawler turned away to focus her gaze on the pale moon that hung overhead. "For you to be able to win him over, you must earn his trust and show that you have no ill-intent towards him. Show him that you're the woman that's out to mend what's broken in his heart and soul." Yang would cross her arms at this statement, mostly because she herself didn't know what to say at such a bizarre statement. "I know that despite your current emotions some part of you is holding onto the hope that he'll come back around your way." The younger Huntress would stare up at the moon once more, knowing that the older woman was right, but not ready to accept it herself.
"Look, I know what you're trying to get at here and maybe there IS a little part of me that wants B to focus on me and forget about the hard times. I understand that he had a bad childhood and was locked away like some animal in a cage, a frightened little boy forced to live amongst hardened murderers and rapists would screw anyone up. But that was years ago, I've done everything I can think of to let him know that he can trust me and yet he sides with Ruby."
The red eyed woman would smile at the mention of Summer Rose's daughter, thinking back on a happier time with a sigh. "That girl, she's so much like her mother then she herself even realizes." She would pause, feeling a change in the air around them as she suspected that someone was about to interrupt their conversation. "I must go for now, stay strong Yang and never let go of that spark of hope." Yang would sigh as her mysterious ally disappeared quickly, not knowing what else to expect from this mysterious woman who had shown up at the Academy a month before Bálor had.
Yang would sigh as she laid the tired wolf Faunus into her bed after having had a rather heated conversation with him only a minute after the raven haired woman left the area. He had done everything to push the blonde away after having revealed that he had picked up some of her earlier conversation, but she had endured and reached out to her silver-haired prince both metaphorically and physically before he fell back in exhaustion. She had managed to catch him and in a moment of sheer spontaneity she had kissed him.
"What was I thinking, for all intents and purposes I just kissed my sister's boyfriend!" The blonde Huntress would look down at the sleeping young man with a sad smile before gently touching his cheek once more, blushing slightly as he instinctively nuzzled her hand. "I know it's wrong, but..why don't I feel guilty?" This thought would cross her mind even as the blonde settled into bed next to him, holding Bálor close as she felt herself drifting off to sleep. She would make things up to Ruby sometime down the road but for this night she had everything she wanted.
Ozpin would stand at his desk, sighing as he looked over at a battered Team RWBY and a much worse off Bálor who was stubbornly trying to stay on his feet before relenting and letting Yang support him. Behind him, Goodwitch would be rubbing her temples in frustration as once again their prestigious academy had been rocked by another strange happening, and at the center of it all was the one student who had given her more grief than any visit from James Ironwood ever could.
"Well now, which one of you wants to explain why the amphitheatre looks like a third world country's war zone?" Ozpin would scan the faces of the Huntresses and the young man gathered in his office: Ruby was clearly at a loss for words as her eyes darted from the floor then to Weiss who was clearly nervous and wanting nothing more than to flee the room. Blake would be silent, her attention clearly focused on her partner who looked to be physically drained and sporting tear-stained eyes, and as the older Huntsman looked over at his pet project, the silver haired Faunus would be defiantly staring back at him before stepping forward.
"I was attacked while trying to take a breather from an earlier incident, I didn't get a good look at the assailant's face but I recognized a prison tat on her shoulder: Crimson Crows, I figured maybe she knows a guy back in Vacuo that still wants me dead for some reason." Bálor would wobble slightly before bracing his hands on the headmaster's desk for support. "If it weren't for Team RWBY coming to back me up, I probably would be dead right now. Miss Schnee deserves special commendation for taking a bullet for me." He would step back, sighing gratefully as he leaned against Yang once more even as Ozpin measured the young man's words carefully. If he was lying than he would be doing a masterful job of it given the state of his condition, as well as those of his friends. "I see, I'll be sure to contact the warden of Blackvale prison and have these "Crimson Crows" interrogated, though I doubt we'll make much headway in that department. Until then, please go see to your wounds all of you." Ozpin would nod, signaling to the group that they were dismissed even as he felt Goodwitch seething behind him but waiting until the door had closed before bracing himself for her retort.
"You do know that he's lying don't you, that's way too much damage for one team battling a single assassin." Ozpin would sigh and sit down as he nodded in agreement before turning to face the spectacled Huntress. "I know that you may very well be right on this Glynda, but we have no proof to dispute his story, there were no witnesses to the attack in the amphitheatre and the only individuals who could do so are uncharacteristically unified in their silence." The two adults would stare quietly at one another in silence, knowing that if an outsider could breach their gates and attack a student then they had a much larger problem at hand besides a wrecked portion of the Academy.
Bálor would be sitting in the RWBY dorm holding an ice pack to his ruined eye as the four Huntresses looked at him expectantly, no doubt they all had various questions and concerns towards his actions in Ozpin's office. Weiss especially looked embarrassed that he had decided to lie for her despite knowing the truth of her actions, but after having endured a beating of such magnitude that even his eyes were sore he was in no mood to deal with everyone's complaints at once. "I know that you all wanna know "Why" or "Who" or some other monosyllabic question so here's the deal: I'm going to let you all have your say, but individually. Meaning the rest of the team waits outside before being sent in by the gal who gets sent."
Blake would sigh in slight annoyance as he finished laying out the rules for him basically commandeering their dorm room for another one of his insane plans. "I'll go first then, mostly because this is pissing me off." The wolf Faunus would nod as she took a spot on Yang's bed, just to make sure he could see her out of his good eye. "I wanna know if ANY of what you told Ozpin was true, because that sounds both kind of valid and a complete load of bull. We both know Weiss was behind all of this, I heard her little confession from the other side of the door before we busted in to save you!" He would sigh at the biting tone in her voice but smiled regardless of her attempt to provoke him.
"You got me Blake, I have no idea who that girl was." Bálor would lean against the wall as he moved the ice pack off of his injured eye. "And even though Schnee did try to have me offed, I know it would destroy my little Rose to see her team destroyed because of someone else's selfishness. Anything else?" The feline Faunus would shake her head, preparing to head for the door before turning back to him. "Who's up next on the chopping block?" The silver haired Hunter would wince as he set the ice pack back over his eye before looking back at her.
"Send our little assassin loving heiress in, I think she needs to know just why I decided to keep her from going to the Iron Hell I grew up in." The young man would watch quietly as she left the room, wondering if in some parallel version of Remnant they had become more than tense allies.
The snow haired heiress would walk in meekly, keeping her eyes on the floor even as she tentatively made her way over to him.
"Show some fucking dignity and look at me you piece of garbage!" He would snarl, feeling no joy as she shrank back slightly from his sudden outburst of anger. "I should've made sure your ass got thrown into the hole for the stunt you pulled, but.." He would sigh and kick at the floor in frustration. "But it would break Ruby's heart if anything bad were to happen to you, and that is the only reason why I decided to spare you from the darkness I had to endure growing up." Weiss would glare up at him, her body trembling with repressed anger at both him saving her, and the fact that he did so just to assuage her partner. "Just. Name your price already! How much Lien will it take to shut you up!" The wolf Faunus would growl before walking up to her and gently lifting her chin to face him. "I don't want your money woman, but rest assured that there will come a day where I will call for you, and when I do you WILL do as I ask regardless of degrading or embarrassing the task I lay out for you will be." He would release her before gesturing towards the door dismissively. "Send Ruby in, and Weiss, I suggest you keep our little "agreement" to yourself, otherwise the task I give to you will make your little attempt at having me killed look like a Sunday picnic!" He relished the hate-filled gleam she gave him as the heiress backed away towards the door, he doubted he would ever really cash in on this little arrangement that had been forced upon her but maybe some time living in fear that he would might give her some appreciation towards his hardships in life. However he had little time to savor the thought of a terrified Weiss as Ruby entered the room, and while not showing as much physical damage as the rest of Team RWBY she was still trembling nonetheless.
"Damn you Schnee, I don't know how, and I certainly don't know when..but you will answer for what you've done today." Bálor would gently lead the frightened crimsonette to the closest bed he could, dreading what he was eventually about to do to her. "How are you feeling honey?" His concern for her was greeted with silence as she looked upon his beaten face, gently running her fingers over each bruise even as he struggled not to wince in pain. "I-it looks a lot worse than it feels." The silver eyed young girl would shake her head as she pulled her hand away from his face, frowning in disappointment. "Please, just please stop lying to me Bálor. I know that you're in agony right now, and not just because of your injuries." He would hesitate, not expecting such biting words from the normally upbeat Huntress, but she would continue on before he could ask questions. "I saw Yang carrying you out of that tunnel, carrying you like you were some bride on her wedding day." Ruby would stand up quietly, looking at the wolf Faunus who had now fallen deathly silent at this point. "I should be mad at you, I really should just slap you on every one of your bruises so that you could feel a modicum of the pain I did when I saw the two of you that way. But God help me I can't do it because I still love you." She would kneel down to look up at him with a small smile before standing back up and heading toward the door. "And because someone wise said that if you love someone, let 'em go..if they come back, then it's meant to be." She would leave the room, leaving Bálor confused and feeling strangely empty as he pondered her words.
"I don't understand..why do I feel such pain, even when we both know she just sort of bowed out?" He would be so distracted by Ruby's last words he didn't notice Yang enter the room, it was only until she wrapped her arms around him that the wolf Faunus began to feel himself relax. Her embrace was one that he had become very familiar with over the course of his time there, it meant safety, belonging, warmth.
Things that his childhood in Vacuo's Blackvale prison as well as his time as the government's soulless killer had taken from him, it wasn't until he came here and met the wild yet loving blonde haired woman that he began to feel even a small inkling of these things. The silver haired Hunter would sob quietly, overwhelmed by the feeling he felt from her embrace even as it tightened somewhat in response to his sadness.
"Please, please promise me that you won't let me go Yang…" He said it as clearly as he could between sobs, not knowing if she had heard his pleas. "I don't want to go back to that darkness, so I beg you..don't let me go."
He could feel Yang's heartbeat pick up slightly before pulling away to look into his eyes: a dull amber staring back into a pair of burning red ones as her golden mane glowed brightly.
"I swear to you B..as long as there's life in this body I will never let you go back into that dark place ever again." The normally fun and flighty Huntress would look st him with a determined expression. "I will always be there for you baby, whether you're about to fall down, or when you're riding the highest of highs. I will be right there by your side every step of the way." She would lean forward and kiss him before he could say anything, knowing that this would be their first kiss that wasn't born out of some strange happening, disaster, or prank. He would wrap his arms around the golden haired Huntress tightly, as if clinging to her for dear life as he returned her kiss with a similar fervor.
Well, there you have it folks. The completion of my first multi-chapter Fanfic, what started as a fevered idea two months ago has definitely become something very strange, I had intended to keep this lighthearted and humorous I just sort of flew off on a tangent that lead me to where we are right now. And whether you stuck around the whole way or jumped off the train however many chapters back, I gotta say thank you for reading it.
Review if you want, PM if you must.
Just know that I will return to Fanfiction soon. Because man do I have some more strange RWBY-related ideas.