Author notes: Remember back when I updated this daily? Ah, those were good times. I apologise for the long wait, life has really kicked my ass this week but I'm trying to metaphorically get back on the horse. I had to re-write this chapter six times but I think I've finally gotten it right. To all the people who take the time to comment on this, I wanted you guys to know that it make me so happy to know you're enjoying the story, however my anxiety gets to stupid levels every time I want or try to reply. I do apologise if it seems like I'm ignoring them, I'm not. I just find it extremely difficult to find the right words to say to thank you.
Anyhow as per usual likes and comments are much appreciated and yeah I guess, enjoy?
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, all creditability and ownership of the following scenarios and characters goes to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.
Yang groaned as she once again started regaining consciousness. She didn't have the strength to open her eyes but she didn't need too in order to know that something was wrong. Firstly, she could tell by the way that the jaggered rocks beneath her bit into her skin that she was still in the rough sharp landscape where her mother had first taken her. Secondly, she was oh so aware of the awful sensations of pain that rocked throughout the entirety of her body. She imagined that sparring singlehandedly against both team JNPR and RWBY whilst being on her period must've felt exactly like this. The ache was relentlessly pulsing through her system and every so often a certain muscle or organ was targeted and would begin to uncomfortably tingle until red hot shooting pains overtook her nerve endings, causing her other muscles to lock and cramp into place. It was an excruciating process which showed no signs of slowing down. Yang couldn't help the small whimper's she released against her will at the thought of it not stopping.
Yet, despite the fact that the searing discomfort giving her no rest bite, the pain wasn't what concerned Yang the most. No, what scared her so much, that just thinking about it sent involuntary chills running her down her spine, was the void. It felt like an echo of something long dead but she was unsure whether if it was a mental or physical pain and it terrified her. She didn't know where it had come from or what it meant. All she knew for certain was that she could sense and feel the presence of an empty yet heavy weight in her chest which wasn't there before. What made it worse was that it seemed to be the source of the shooting pains. Yang had never felt so helpless and weak.
Feeling tears steadily building up behind her closed eyes from the overload of information and feelings, Yang clenched them tighter to prevent the droplets from falling as she bit down hard against her left palm to create a means of distraction, praying that some merciful force would come and make the pain stop before eventually giving up. She knew it was pointless to believe that someone could fix what was wrong with her besides herself. Deciding that her best bet was to get up and stretch her ligaments in hopes of easing the discomfort, Yang made an effort to sit up until she was floored by another stronger bout of undesirable agony shooting up her spine.
"I wouldn't move too much if I was you" Yang felt a fleeting sense of comfort and déjà vu from hearing her mother's voice beside her before it was replaced by anger, remembering Ravens orders to bring her here. "You lying piece of - Ahhh…" She tried spitting her words at Raven as she made a move to physically exert her rage at her mother before she was cut off by another spurt of pain. Yang had no choice but to curl herself into a fatal position, impatiently waiting for the fresh ache at her abrupt movements to dull down before she continued. "You lied to me, Owe. Dust… Raven…Eurghhh. " She grunted as she once more unsuccessfully tried leaning forwards to at least attempt to land a hit on Raven. "Fine! We'll deal with why you did it later when I can move, for now – Ahh - Just- Just tell me what happened?" She growled as she tucked her arm and legs together in order to clench her now pulsating stomach tighter. Once more the pain showed no signs of completely disappearing. "I guess that depends on how much you remember?" Raven smoothly answered, sounding bored much to Yang's annoyance. Grunting at the vague answer before closing her eyes again, Yang tried to looking through her blurred memories. "Eurghhh… not much… Just pain and this weird light thing…"
"Is that all?" Raven questioned, her uninterested demeanour slipping as suspicion was clear in her tone. "Pretty much… Did someone knock me out or something?" Yang asked as she noticed there was black, patchy spots in her recall of events as well as the fact that a low throb began to make its presence known in the back of her skull. "No, your mind shut down at its own accord during the procedure." Yang's face contorted into confusion at the answer. "Okay… then why does it still hurt? I thought it was over" She whined as a fresh knot of pain twisted in her side. "Your body's still physically reacting to the change, I can only assume it's trying to rid itself of the new system like with any bacteria or virus." Yang's stomach dropped at the answer. "Are you saying that you infected me? Is this what this is!" the blonde yelled, suddenly impossibly more fearful of the void inside her. "What? No, it was just a comparison. Nothing's been put inside you that wasn't already there." The elder woman quickly scoffed, startled by her daughter's outburst.
After relatively calming down, Yang slowly eased out of her position and opened her eyes to the now familiar dazzling red and purple landscape. Looking down to check to see for any physical wounds, disappointment surged through her at the sight of the stump where her right arm used to be. She had genuinely placed false hope into the idea of having her arm back. Clearly even dark magic couldn't heal all wounds. Her sadness over her lost arm only lingered for seconds before Yang realised that she was in her normal clothes. "Erm Raven. How did my combat uniform get here?" Raven started rubbing the back of her neck to try and create some sort of distraction from the question. Second hand embarrassment at the reminder of her daughter laying bare on the floor before Salem as well as dressing Yang after, was building to incredibly awkward levels and she really didn't want to explain how Yang's change of clothes had gotten there. "Ahh, well you see you was out cold for a while and well you were erm… You was… indecent." Smooth. Real professional.
"Do I even want to know what that means…?" Yang trailed off, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable and vulnerable. "I got the clothes from your house at Patch if it eases your mind." Raven stated, skipping out the part where she had dressed her nude daughter. "Wait, how did you get there? Did you use the dark magic teleport, sword thing?" Yang questioned, eager to know if there was any other means of leaving this place. "Yes, I can travel between anyplace that I have been too before by summoning portals. It is how I came to your aid on the train when you nearly got yourself killed there. Speaking of which, you need to adept your combat technique if you do not want to be defeated again." Raven deliberately antagonised. Deciding that now as an appropriate time as any to show Yang that she was frustrated that her daughter had such a reckless, predictable and therefore easily thwarted battle strategy.
"Surely my technique doesn't matter now that I have these powers. I should be able to fight with ease, who knows maybe you'll be my first opponent, then you'll see how effective it can be." Yang threatened, clenching her eyes tighter as another burning pain rocked through her system. "About that… It's complicated…" Yang's violet eyes suddenly widened and flickering to crimson at the answer. "Come again?" Raven tensed at the barely contained fury in her daughter's words. "I won't hide it from you Yang, It's not over yet…"
Raven cut off what she had been saying noticing how Yang's body harshly shuddered against the floor from where she was trying her best to contain her anger. "Yang…" "No. Raven. I'm done! Do you hear me! I'm done! You swore to me that I would be stronger! Now I can't even stand and you tell me there's still more! You said that I would no longer be just... just like this! You lied to me!" Yang yelled through grit teeth, panting with her efforts. "I knew it was foolish to trust you but still I let myself believe... Well I guess the jokes on me again. Don't worry about it though. This is the last time it'll ever happen… Take me home… I never want to see you again." Yang growled to conceal her hurt with anger. She couldn't believe that Raven had played her again.
"No, actually do you know what? I don't want to go home… I want to see Blake." Raven's eyes comically widened at the demand. Yang couldn't just go home and she couldn't exactly meet up with her partner either. "I-I can't do that Yang." Raven admitted in a low voice, bracing herself as best as she could for Yang's onslaught of words and hoping she wouldn't react to them. "Don't lie to me! Don't you dare!" Yang yelled as her hair started to glow a bright yellow. "I'm not lying. It's because it's not possible." Raven interjected, biting hard into her lower jaw to try and remain calm. "What? Why? Is your magic sword out of power or something? The stars not aligned? Oh, I know… You've been given orders to keep me prisoner here. That's it isn't it?" The brawler sneered, clearly dissatisfied by Raven's stubbornness. "Sarcasm really doesn't suit you, but it's not like that Yang." "Oh really? My memory maybe hazy but that specific part is pretty clear. You were ordered to bring me to that-that thing."
"Watch your mouth. It is not wise to speak about the queen in that manner!" "Why not? Oh right you're her personal lackey aren't you? Her pawn, her slave right?" Yang deliberately goaded. "It's not like that!" Raven spat as she clenched her fists… her controlled resolve was slipping. "Well then why don't you prove it? Prove that you don't belong to her. Take me to Blake." "I told you. It's not possible." Raven growled, her patience finally run thin. "Oh! Of course it's not because that would be breaking her rules and you mustn't offend your master. You must obey and drip off her every word like it's your lifeline right? Like her good little bitch?" "ENOUGH!" Raven roared, her palm suddenly feeling ablaze from where it contacted against Yang's face.
Time seemed to stand still as Raven's hand now once more firmly clenched at her side while Yang was crouched in a twisted position off the floor from the impact. "She does not own me. She does not control me." Raven growled, instantly setting aside any guilt she may have held for laying a hand on her daughter. Yang was breathing heavily for minutes before she slowly turned her torso back towards her mother and once again began trying to persuade her to see her way. She couldn't stay here any longer. "Then prove me wrong. Prove that you do not belong to her. Take me to Blake." She urged once more, hoping for her words to be truly heard. "It's not that simple!" The elder woman yelled, tired of Yang's attitude, once more pushing her limits. "Why! Why is it not that simple?" Yang yelled back, feeling her semblance activate before being quickly quelled by her mother's response. "Because Blake's as good as dead!"
Raven's face turned from unrivalled fury to an empathetic scrawl within seconds of her confession. She will never forgive you for this… but at least now she knows… Agonising silence drifted around the pair as the words sank in for both parties. Lifting her gaze to her daughter, something in Raven snapped upon seeing Yang's broken expression. "You're lying!" Yang quickly rebutted, trying to deny her mother's words. It couldn't be true. She had been through much, they had been through too much. "I'm not lying Yang. Your ex-partner will be dead before sunrise." "I don't believe you." The blonde unintentionally whimpered at the certainty in her mother's words. "Whether you believe me or not does not matter, it will not change that girl's fate. Adam Taurus will kill her."
"How do you know this?" Yang questioned. "How do you know that that monster is even anywhere close to her? How do I know this isn't another bunch of lies?" Raven slowly swallowed as she made up a feeble excuse, quickly putting on stoic features to once again lie to her daughter's face. "When I grabbed your clothes from Patch, I wandered through the local town for some supplies and I heard from a reliable source that he was there and he had found Blake". Skipping out the details of what had actually happened when she had gotten Yang's clothes and had spoken to Adam herself. Unfortunately for her, it was obvious that Yang didn't trust her words as the blonde wasn't even trying to hide the doubt in her facial expressions.
"I doubt that. Blake's smart enough to evade him and even if he did get to her, she's strong enough to face him." Yang taunted although she couldn't shake the sick feeling of knowing that she suspected the truth behind her words. "I understand that you may still feel an obligation towards her but you need to remember what she did to you and what happened the last time they confronted. Trust me, he's found her and she has nowhere left to run. She's going to die Yang. There is nothing that anyone can do to change that" Raven spoke matter-of-factly as Yang shied away, her concern for Blake immediately overtaking her thoughts and suspicions over her mother's intentions.
Blake was in trouble again. Yang felt anger rise from deep within her chest at the thought. She must've done something really bad in a previous life to deserve this tortured fate. She would kill whoever was responsible for the metaphorical hand that she had been dealt. They both deserved better. Her heart ached as she made a silent promise to herself; it would be the last time Blake would be in danger. She would go to the faunus and she would stay with her partner even if Blake didn't want her there. They would take down Adam and then they would leave. Dust, she was so tired of fighting to keep them both protected. Maybe Blake had the right idea about running away from her problems after all.
Before she could leave with Blake however, she needed to get to her first. Yang tried manoeuvring her legs so that she'd be able to stand but hadn't even managed to lock her knees before she was crippled by internal muscles spasms. A harsh cry escaped her lips as she fell onto the shards beneath her but she was determined to move. "What are you doing? You're just going to keep hurting yourself. You can't help her Yang." Raven constantly reminded her but Yang tried her best to ignore it; her mother's voice felt like it was blocking the sheer amount of concentration she was using in order to command her ligaments. After four attempts of trying to stand she was crushed when she realised that her efforts were indeed in vain as she once again fell to the ground and felt blood seep from fresh cuts against the unforgiving environment. Tears sprang in her eyes as she felt like she was dangling over oblivion with the insistent weight urging her to just lie down and listen to Raven. Her body maybe broken but her mental resolve was not. She needed to make sure Blake was alright and if she couldn't do that then she could at least try and see if her mother would.
"You can. You can stop it… You can stop this…" Yang pleaded. "I cannot intervene with fate." Raven whispered out as she lowered her gaze away from Yang, tears forming in her own eyes. She knew from experience that some things were meant to be and could not be changed. "Her fate isn't sealed! It's not sunrise just yet. Please. I'm begging you. Please…mum… Save her." Tears were now steadily falling down Yang's cheeks and her whole body was trembling. She knew that Raven had done nothing to earn the right to the title of mum and it pained her to openly call her it so soon, but the pain of giving Raven the satisfaction of hearing her call her mother was nothing compared to the impossible thought of Blake dying at the hands of that monster. "Please. Open a portal… Help her. I'll do anything. I'll stay here, I won't argue with you and I'll work for the queen. I'll do anything you ask but just please, save Blake."
"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Raven questioned, empathy at her daughter's feelings making a lump form at the back of her throat "More than she'll ever know…" Yang whimpered as her own voice broke. Raven looked to her daughter then awkwardly began rocking on her heels at the answer, she didn't know how to respond to the confession aside from try to give her some advice. "Those kinds of feelings are weakness, it would be wise to dispose of them before they get too far." "I-I think it's too late for that." Yang admitted in a hushed whisper, feeling brief relief from her honesty. "I see." Raven felt internally conflicted at her daughter's words. She knew that love was weakness and that Yang would learn the lesson soon enough but in the mean time she could see her feeling's for her partner was the only thing keeping her going. A surprisingly peaceful lull replaced the previous tension before Yang remembered that they were running out of time. They could do the whole mother-daughter bonding part later. "So do we have a deal?" Yang spoke with surprising vigour as she sat up with a wince and extended her left hand up to Raven. "My servitude for Blake's safety?" Raven eyed Yang's hand before looking into her daughter's eyes as she extended her own arm out and clenched their hands together. "We have a deal."
Releasing Yang's hand, Raven took one last look at her daughter before unclasping the grimm mask from her belt and placing it over her head. She told herself she would wear it in case Taiyang showed up and because admittedly, she knew she looked like a badass in it but the truth was far from it. She knew that she couldn't save Blake. Despite her deal with Yang she knew that she could not get involved with Taurus's business with his ex-partner unless he was too fail and fall at the Faunus girl's hands. If that outcome occurred and Adam was defeated; then she would be the one to finish his mission. She would kill Blake. That was their goal after all, to defeat the Rose girl, capture or subdue the Schnee and kill the Faunus. It was only through careful persuasion on her part that Yang was allowed to live under certain circumstances. So she would go to patch, check on Adam and then discuss plans for Haven with him before returning to Yang. It would hurt seeing relief on her daughter's face at deceiving her by saying that her partner lived, but she would do it. Once Yang had been changed it wouldn't matter if she knew the truth but for now she'd do her best to ease her daughter's conscious before the final step was complete. When the mask was securely placed over her face, Raven turned away from Yang and drew her longsword from its sheathe, ready to summon the portal.
Yang clenched her teeth and eyes together to ignore the pain of quickly trying to move without making a single sound. She didn't have much time. As soon as her mother's back was turned she used her left arm to manoeuvre her legs into a sprinting position with her right foot locked against a rock behind her, acting as a makeshift starting block. Breathing heavily through her nose to try and ignore the ache in her muscles, Yang squinted her eyes, watching her mother's movements for the sign for her to move. If she messed up the timing, her plan would fall apart. She knew that it was a long-shot and that it would hurt like hell but she had to try. She did not trust her mother to keep her word. As soon as Raven's hand touched her sword's hilt and the sound of it being unsheathed cut through the air. Yang tightened her muscles, activated her semblance and pushed with all her strength off the rock, yelling in agony as she sprinted as fast as she physically could towards her mother who had opened the portal. She could feel her whole body contorting and screaming in protest as she got closer and closer to her mother but she remained strong. Upon hearing the sudden movement and screams from the blonde, Raven turned dumbfounded to see what had happened before Yang's full body weight slammed painfully against her abdomen and she was tackled by her daughter through the awaiting portal behind them.