XLIII - Widowmaker

Still got mature themes. That M rating is for a reason.

~~~(XLIII)~~~

There was more rubble and debris than he expected. Though, a Grimm and terrorist incursion aided by hacked military hardware wasn't exactly a family friendly event. He was nearing the sounds of combat that had drawn him in this direction, Grimm constantly in his path.

Speaking of Grimm.

Bulls Breath sliced through the wing of a Griffon that tried to swipe at him from above. The beast fell to the ground angry, but not out. He'd been having trouble with the flying beasts all night, the creatures seemed prevalent all of a sudden even though he'd rarely encountered them before now. Besides his guns, his skillset wasn't built for aerial combat.

His thoughts were interrupted when the Grimm charged him on all fours accompanied by a loud roar. Damn thing might bring more on top of him if he doesn't shut it up. He stepped back from a pounce and gave an underhanded swing to the lower jaw of the griffon. It didn't die so he followed up with a heavy punch to its face, spinning around its side and embedding the ax into its neck, right at the edge of the boney mask.

The decapitated head fell with a solid thud and began disintegrating. Checking his ammo and aura, he began to worry about the night. He only had a few reloads of Bulls Breath left and one for each of his revolvers. If only there weren't so many nevermore and griffons. If things continued, he might have to scavenge a gun from one of the Atlas bots.

Making his way down the ruined pathways, he knew he had to find a way to the main tower. He had found as many survivors as he could and hopefully allowed them to get out safely. He wanted to run himself, to escape the kingdom and find somewhere to hide.

But on the other hand, he knew he couldn't, the crimes he'd committed needed to be answered for. He had to face the light for his sins. He also knew Cinder wanted something from the main building, from the tower. Since he hadn't seen anybody, anybody living, in a while, he knew it was time to change goals. It was time to help stop Cinder.

His body trembled at the thought of facing her, but if he could even slow her down long enough for someone else to win? Then he would gladly do so. The thought of death scared him. It scared him almost too much, but if his life could be traded for a victory for the light… Then he'd do it.

He thought he was near the courtyard when he heard something. From down further he heard yells of pain. Cursing to himself, he ran to where it was coming from, turning a corner, he saw the ruins of one of the lecture halls. Signs of struggle were carved into the once proud stone walls, broken windows and doors led him to the sound's origins.

Rushing into the ruined class hall, he saw a familiar face under attack from a few Grimm. The student was pinned by a beowolf that was reaching up for a swing. Knowing he wouldn't make it on foot, he hefted the rifle's barrel and fired a pair of shots at its hand and head, instantly killing it. The boy didn't waste any time before dispatching the smaller Grimm with Oxon's long range assistance. Once dealt with, the teen caught his breath while Oxon loaded some of his few remaining rifle rounds.

"Thanks for the save, I don't know how I'd have gotten out… of that…" Brawnz Ni, team leader of team BRNZ turned to face him. A grim smile on his face turned into a furious snarl. "You!"

"Wha-" Oxon put his arms up after he placed his main weapon on his back. He's never really even talked to the guy, yet the anger radiating off of him was staggering. "Brawnz..?"

It seemed the other person in the room didn't feel the same way. "You bastard!" The Shade student then leapt at Oxon, claws outstretched. Sidestepping the first attack by a thin margin, Oxon tried to understand what the hell was happening.

"Ni, What are you doing?!" Oxon could only frantically block the rapid blows coming in through his less protected arm which felt the sting of the blades. The leather did its best, but metal claws were not the same as a Grimm's, the sharper weapons pierced deep. He couldn't deploy Virginiana in this situation, he needed all the mobility he could get to defend himself.

By kicking up a large table into Brawnz' path, he cut off the Vacuan, letting him get the space to draw Bulls Breath defensively. His aura was in the orange last he checked, so getting in a fight with another student may well put him in the red. And in a place like this, that would mean death.

"I heard from Wukong, he said one of those Beacon girls discovered it. That team CMOS are the ones responsible for this. That you allowed this all to happen!" Maybe confessing to Ruby before things had calmed down was a bad idea, but it was too late to worry about that. Fighting amongst each other was only going to help his former allies.

"I- yes, I did… But I've abandoned them! I couldn't just stand and watch as things continued to get worse!" He needed to de-escalate this situation, otherwise they'd be easy pickings for the real threats. "If you want to arrest me, that's fine. I'll accept justice, but not yet! There's still more people that need our help Brawnz!"

"Oh, I'm not going to arrest you." The words may have comforted him normally, but the purple eyed teens tone of voice was not reassuring. "I'm going to remove you from this plane of life!"

The student then lunged at him, claws and blades extended towards him. Spinning his ax in an infinity loop, he managed to deflect the blows sent out. "Brawnz! There isn't any point in-!" Oxon narrowly blocked a knee to his family jewels only to take a sharp punch to the jaw. His aura kept him from biting his tongue in two.

"I am going to get revenge for my team!"

What? Did they…

"Brawnz, I'm so sorry, but please… I don't want to fight you!" He didn't know how many were dead because of him, but he could put a name to the faces of the Vacuo team that this person led. Oxon dove out of the way of a flying kick, slamming into a few chairs painfully.

"Then this will be easy!" There was no reasoning with him. He was consumed by grief and rage and taking it out on Oxon. A person responsible for whatever team members he's lost. He tried blocking a punch but got slashed across his face by the other fist.

Backing up, he focused more on deflection. This situation was quickly getting out of hand. Oxon didn't want to attack the guy, but at this rate, he'd be forced to defend himself. There wasn't a weapon he could remove from play either, the clawed fists would be far too tricky to remove. Damnit, this wasn't working…

"Rgggaah!" A series of kicks, knees, and punches flew out from the black and gray haired teen. He blocked most, but a good amount still got through. Not for the first time, Oxon was grateful for his thick armor. The claws and rotating blades couldn't get through the steel scales, and the leather absorbed some of the force of the more kinetic hits.

"Stop this! We have bigger things to deal with! Grimm and Fang and those hacked robots are going to hurt people. I've done a lot of bad, I know that, but I'm trying to help right now! And especially Cin-" Oxon twirled under a haymaker and kicked Brawnz in the lower back and into a group of chairs. "Brawnz!"

He did not give a verbal response. Slowly getting himself up from the chairs, he gave a hateful glare to Oxon, one that was tinged with tears. Looking into his purple eyes, Oxon wished that he was not such a coward. He wished he'd been stronger when he'd learned more about her plans. If he'd just worried about anyone other than himself, then maybe this could have been stopped.

He held his weapon defensively, trying to signal his distaste at this fight. Though it seemed that his efforts still had yet to work.

"There's nothing bigger in my mind than dealing with the monster in front of me." With those words, the battle was back on. Still, Oxon refused to strike a blow other than to push the guy back. His passive actions only seemed to enrage the team leader more. The ferocity of the attacks began to increase, making it much harder to prevent damage.

"You people have destroyed everything!" Using a misdirection from his fists, Brawnz slammed a kick into the side of Oxon's knee. The blow had him off balance, and unprepared for the next strike.

Oxon tried to bat it away with his weapon, but the unsteady position made it harder. With a loud 'clang' and a shattering of glass, Bulls Breath was knocked out of his hands and through a now broken window. "Shit! No-" Distracted by the loss of his weapon, Brawnz was able to leap onto Oxon and pin him to the ground. Oxon's eyes widened as the blades on his fists rotated to point down at him.

"Please, Brawnz! Don't d-!" Heavy blows rained down on his form. He tried to keep his unguarded areas defended, but the awkward position made it a struggle. He could feel his aura getting weaker with each hit.

Brawnz used his right knee to pin Oxon's left arm against the floor. The loss of his main defense left him open to a blow to his forehead. "That was for Roy!" Another blade struck him in the cheek, it was then that the flicker of his aura became too dangerous and too weak looking. "That was for May!"

His hand tried desperately to grab something he could use. His aura was likely in the single digits now, maybe even one blow from being shattered. After frantic searching, he found the grip of Patris on his hip.

"And this! Is for everyone else!" Brawnz' fist's were linked above his head, clearly aiming to finish this. Both the blades were pointed at his throat. In an act of self preservation, Oxon pulled out Partis and fired two panicked and unaimed shots.

For a moment, there was no movement. The two stayed still until wet blood dropped on Oxon's face from above. Looking at the boy on top of him, Oxon's eyes dilated at the twin red holes in the guy's torso. Similarly, Brawnz Ni looked down in surprise at the mortal wounds leaking crimson life fluid.

"Crap…" He spoke with a defeated voice right before slumping to the side. Oxon didn't move for a moment, gun still pointed at where the student had previously been.

Brawnz had no aura... When did it shatter? I- it wasn't me, I would have noticed and I never hit him during the fight. Was it when he was under the Grimm? Looking at the gasping teen, he knew such questions had to wait. Shit, he needs help!

Oxon surged onto his knees and tried to put pressure on the wounds. One was slightly to the right of his sternum, the other was in his stomach. "C'mon man, don't die from this!" Oxon had some medical supplies, but this was out of his skill.

"Stay with me Brawnz!" It wasn't working. The teen was losing too much blood, Oxon couldn't reliably put pressure on wounds so far apart. He could feel the pulse in the heart under his hands weakening. "Dammit man, don't die! You- you want to see me to face justice, to- to avenge your team! Y-you can't do that if you die here!"

The teen tried to speak, to angrily curse Oxon most likely. But he couldn't get any words past the blood coming from his lips. He tried one final time to reach for Oxon's neck, but the limb fell to the ground as the entire body went still. Oxon could only stare in shock at the sudden turn.

Oxon removed his now red hands from the body, trembling at the sight of his limbs. He… he was just defending himself. He tried to not fight back… But Brawnz just hadn't given him a choice. He didn't want to die! He thought he could, but in that moment… He couldn't…

"No… no, no, no! I- I didn't want this…" Shuffling back on his ass, he eventually hit the wall near where he'd come in from. That little jostle was enough to destroy the last of his fortitude. Turning onto his hands and knees, Oxon emptied the contents of his stomach. The acidic fluid hurt as it came up, making his eyes water.

The nausea was far worse for his psyche than the deaths of the White Fang members. While horrifying, he was at least able to rationalize that they were evil. But the huntsman in training? He didn't deserve that. Oxon didn't deserve to win that fight.

I don't deserve to be the one who walked away…

Getting to shaky knees, he stumbled out of the building. The building where he intended to save someone. Once he was outside, right in front of him sitting in the center of a pile of glass, he found Bulls Breath. Gingerly picking it up, he placed it on his back.

What do I do now? My aura can't be reliable right now… Should I just turn myself in? Do I try to run? I don't want to go to prison, but how am I supposed to make it out of here if the only exit is from the authorities?

Turning away from the tower, Oxon headed in the direction of the Beacon air docks. He leaned heavily on the walls, trees, and sides of buildings as he continued down the path. There was a massive explosion from the direction of Vale, looking over in that direction, he saw a massive fireball from some unknown cause.

That must have been the Atlesian flagship. He couldn't find it in the air anywhere, and it wasn't like the damn thing was stealthy. He'd watched that ship turn on its comrades early into the night, causing the Grimm to gain aerial superiority. Whether it was hacked or commandeered, it didn't matter anymore, it no longer posed a threat.

A few minutes later, he began to realize he was getting close to the air docks. He turned a corner and found himself on one of the wider paths that led from the cliffs to the main building. He turned his head one last time to the main tower, intent on seeing if there were any signs of Cinder when he was knocked several feet by a strong blow.

"Oxon!" His violent impact with the stone walkway caused his aura to flicker once more before it broke. The pale green motes of light signifying his lack of bodily protection.

Looking up, he saw three figures coming from the school. Sun was at the front, who must have been the one to hit him if the extended staff was anything to go off of. Next to him was his partner, his weapon in its firearm form, aimed right at him. Behind them both was Weiss, he couldn't read her expression but he could see her shaking.

"Sun…" His words only got the faunus to raise his weapon. Oxon wasn't going to fight. He couldn't, so he shifted his position to sit on his knees.

"What are you still doing here? Do you have more destruction to cause? More pain to inflict!?" Oxon flinched at the questions… He wasn't, but what could he say?

"I… I surrender." That got cautious looks from the three. They moved towards him slowly, like they expected a trick and for him to attack. "I- I know what I've done. Just… I want you to know, this isn't what I wanted."

"Oh, and what did you want!?"

"I just- I just wanted to live!" He didn't want this. He didn't want to be a part of Cinder's plans. He just wanted to survive damn it. "Cinder, she never gave me a choice, it was either obey or die!"

"So you helped her kill hundreds!?" Neptune was just as angry as his partner was. He had nothing he could say in his defense, he had. "You bastard, was the breach also-"

"Neptune, that's enough." The three boys looked to see a teary eyed Weiss staring at Oxon. He held her gaze for a moment before looking at the ground out of shame. "Sun, you and Neptune should inform whoever you can about Oxon. I'll make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

"I'm not leaving you with him!" The team leader seemed unwilling to leave the girl alone. Oxon agreed with him too… They should leave someone with her. "I won't let you put yourself at risk."

"We all saw you shatter his aura, he can't do anything. I don't believe he will either." He clenched his hands at that belief.

"I won't, I surrender, I'm not going to resist." He heard shuffling in front of him and saw two pairs of legs walk past him. Headed to the cliffs. Only Weiss was left, staring silently at him. Once the two transfers were out of earshot she spoke to him.

"What I heard, was it true? About you and Mercury." He wordlessly nodded in confirmation. "Are you behind what happened to Yang, Pyrrha, and Penny?"

"I helped them, it's true. But I did not know what the endgame was! I swear! They didn't trust me with any of the fine details for the plan, all I knew was that Cinder wanted something, to steal some kind of power from Beacon Tower! I thought it was going to be a heist or something…" He never knew that they would kill Penny, or frame Yang. "I was just told to gather information. Learn about people that might get in our way. Eventually that ended up being your team and the others."

"You were spying on us." It wasn't a question.

"At first, yes, I was given a list of people to investigate. Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha, and-"

"And me?" Her tone was ice cold and he could see a glyph forming between them.

"N-no! Not you, the last was actually Sun." He reached for his scroll that was in one of his pouches but froze when she pointed her rapier at his neck. Slowly he pulled out the device. "I can prove it. Let me just toss you my scroll."

He tossed the girl the scroll and she immediately opened it. He saw her looking through his messages, his pictures, and his files. The recent messages were from Cinder informing him, Mercury, and Emerald on where to meet with her for the next step. That was the rooftop where he'd changed sides.

"There's a locked folder in my files, the password is Alces with a capital A. The first one should be my original orders, to investigate those four. You weren't a target for us."

After a few seconds of looking at the file he heard a sigh escape her lips. "I wasn't one of your targets, even with my position in the SDC? I find that hard to believe."

"It's the truth, Torchwick and Cinder just wanted information on the three that interrupted their plans. Them and Pyrrha for whatever reason." Not like he got much, sure he got their combat skills, but not much else. Though he had been able to warn Torchwick about times when they went to investigate him and the Fang, keeping the students away from their plans. Keeping them safe.

"So, we were nothing but… targets… for you. Was anything you told us the truth?" She put his scroll in one of her pockets likely to use as evidence against him. Hopefully it would help arrest the others.

"You all were only at first, after a while, I-I began to relax. When I was with everyone, I began to enjoy myself. I felt normal. I even sometimes forgot why I was here in the first place…" He gripped the side of his head in both hands, fingers pulling at his hair. How could he have been so stupid!? He'd let himself believe he could get out of this with a smile!? How!?

He'd convinced himself that whatever they were doing wouldn't be something like this. He'd seen The Breach, the chaos that was caused. But he'd put it off as a one off, something that would not happen again. Why was he such a stupid fucking monster?!

"Why did you lie to us?" Her tone was wavering. Like she didn't want to know, but she felt like she had to. He wasn't even looking at her anymore, instead his eyes were in the cobblestone path. How could he? "Was everything about us a lie as well? Just some ploy to get what she wanted tonight?"

He had tears forming in his eyes at her words. His heart hurt more than any pain he'd experienced before.

"I-"

She didn't let him answer her. "Was what you told me just a lie too? Was this just something you made up!?" Looking up, he saw her pointing at the metalwork he'd created for her oh so long ago. Looking at the wheel caused another root of guilt to coil around his heart. He wore two copies on himself tonight after all.

"Weiss… I didn't… I didn't lie, not about that…" He found some shred of strength and looked her in the eyes. Like his, hers were red and brimming with tears. "I meant it when I said that you're so much more worthy to wear that than I ever could. In every way, you actually deserve it. And for everything else, to me, even if the start was just a job, what I feel about you is real. I still feel that way so much it hurts, even though it's out in the open the type of person I am."

His hand went to his neck, firmly grasping the small medallion. With a sharp tug, he snapped the thin leather cord holding it there. He looked at it fondly for a moment before tossing it at Weiss' feet.

"I can't wear that anymore. Not after this." He was ashamed of himself, angry at Cinder for pulling him along, and heartbroken after what he'd told Weiss.

A screech from above brought himself out of his painful emotions and he looked up. Diving down on him was a large nevermore, easily big enough to swallow him. His right hand went to the handle of Bulls Breath on his back while his left went to the revolver on the same hip. It was almost in slow motion that the beast came down on him, but he couldn't move.

Why should I even bother…

With that thought, he released the tight grips on his weapons. He let his arms hang limp as he stared into the mouth of the beast. This was it…

As cliche as the stories were, his thoughts went to the actions that led him here. His abandoning of his home, meeting Qrow, getting a job under Junior, getting taken in by Cinder… all those steps led to this moment. To the mouth of a Grimm. He thought of the good times too, as he closed his eyes when the bird was mere feet away, he thought about his family. How he'd finally see them again.

Then a different sound rang out above him from the cries of the Grimm bird.

~~~(XLII)~~~

Weiss stood stock still as the form of the nevermore disintegrated. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding when she saw the form of Oxon still there. His eyes were closed and face towards the sky, in an… almost… accepting manner. Seeing him fine, she lowered Myrtenaster and ran up to him.

As she approached him, she saw him open one eye, then the other and look around himself in disbelief. His head snapped to her and her voice. He could have gotten out of the way. He could have defended himself.

Yet he didn't even try. And that hurt her more than she thought possible.

"We-Weiss?" His stunned expression only made her own anger stronger. "Why did you save me?"

"Why!? WHY!?" Did he really think she'd let someone be killed in front of her!? Stomping up to his kneeling form, she gave him a mighty slap. He didn't even try to stop her blow, his cheek quickly turning pink from the hit. "Why didn't you dodge!?"

"Wha?" He seemed surprised, touching his face in confusion. "I, I just…"

"You… I won't let you just… kill yourself in front of me!" He had been close to being devoured by the monster, but yet he didn't even seem to care… "You think I want to see someone die?"

"I just thought, that after the things I've done, that it's what I deser-" Another slap hit his other cheek. How could he say that?

"How dare you…" Weiss could feel the tears running down her cheeks. She didn't want to believe what she'd heard from Sun, but with the confessions that came from his lips... It hurt.

"I'm sorry, Weiss, I'm so gods damn sorry. I just wanted to live, to make my family proud, but I couldn't. I never wanted anyone to get hurt…" She didn't know why, but she knew he wasn't lying to her. She'd known him long enough that she thought she knew when he was telling the truth. Obviously she clearly didn't know him as well as she thought, but she believed his words even if she didn't want to.

Loud footsteps came from further down the path, both teens looked to see a trio of Atlesian soldiers running towards them. Once close enough, the three trained their rifles on his head as they approached. They spoke on the radio, likely to their comrades further back. Oxon was then shoved violently to the ground in front of her.

"Ox!"

"It's okay, Weiss." How could he say that?!

"Oxon Adhmad! By the authority granted to us by the council of Vale, you are under arrest!" Two of them pinned him to the ground, one holding his head into the stone as the other placed him in handcuffs. He was then lifted up and turned around, made to walk in front of their weapons.

While they took him away, she looked down on the silver piece of jewelry he'd always worn. On impulse, she bent down to pick it up. She sent a look at his shrinking form before putting it in her pouch. She couldn't just leave it here.

~~~(XLIII)~~~

Oxon was led by the soldiers with handcuffs restraining his limbs behind his back. They were far from gentle, jostling and shoving him around as they saw fit.

There were a few of his peers around him waiting to get to Vale. They all gave him a wide variety of looks. None of them were kind. He tried to ignore the ones from Ren, Nora, and Blake… But the hurt form of Yang made him pause.

She's lost an arm! What! How!? His shocked and frozen staring was ended by a harsh sove from the soldier with the command to keep moving. Once a bit further away, he was thrown roughly on the ground near a few bullheads and other transportation crafts.

After a few minutes, Ruby ran up to the group. She stopped in front of her partner, who must have given her a non-conforming look.

"Weiss? What is it?"

Weiss steps aside, letting Ruby notice him face down and in chains. Her eyes widened when they met his own. And like with Weiss, he averted his gaze from his former friend. The girl also had a clear view of Blake and Yang lying on the ground. Both had bandages wrapped around each of their wounds, Blake was reaching for the unconscious blonde next to her. The girl gasped and said something he couldn't hear as she put her hand on Yang's remaining one.

Sun noticed Ruby's bad state and went to comfort her. "Hey. She's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale."

Nora spoke up, trying and failing to get up. "But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing."

"What!?" He had noticed their absence, but thought they must have been down in Vale, coordinating the evacuation.

"Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!" The guy was right, they needed to get to safety ASAP. The behemoth wasn't something any number of them could defeat, especially not in the shape they were in.

"We're not... leaving!" Ren, like his partner, tried to get up to search for his friends only to fall down as well. "Ugh!"

Ruby then spoke up, with more confidence in her voice than he expected. "I'll find them... I'll find them, and I'll bring them back."

Weiss walked next to Ruby, speaking words that sent him in a panic. "No! We will find them. Watch after Blake and Yang. We'll be back."

No. No, they can't. He struggled to push himself to his feet, much to the vocal complaints of the officers behind him. "You can't go back in there! It's suicide!" He felt their hands holding him back from moving forward, but he still had more height and muscle mass than them. That allowed him to make progress, painfully slow as it was.

Weiss gave him a conflicted look. "I won't hear that from you." They were going to die! If they went back and ran into Cinder and the others, then they'd be killed.

"Cinder isn't something you can fight! She is a crown fire! She burns everything in her path and there's nothing we can do to stop it!" They didn't know her like he did, she and the others had been holding back while they were here. "Besides, she came here for some sort of power, which she probably already has! She was a monster before, but with whatever she's taken? I can't even imagine what she's become!"

The soldiers must have grown tired of his struggles and resorted to some stronger methods. With a loud "thwack" Oxon stumbled to the ground after a heavy hit to the back of his head. Without aura, there was nothing he could do to try and stay awake. He fought and fought, but found himself slipping. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Ruby and Weiss running off into the school once more.

Weiss… please no…

~~~(XLIII)~~~

Her uncle had just laid one of the biggest bombs in her life. After everything that happened, that was a shock. She had super powers!? She could do something to help if that was the case. So she asked him what she could do.

"You really wanna help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now." Moving away from the window, her uncle started heading to the door. "Besides, our enemy's trail leads all the way to Haven. That'd be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you. Catch ya later, kiddo."

"But-"

"And I'm sorry kid." His back was to Ruby, not looking at her. "I know what it's like to lose people, and I also know what it's like to be betrayed. You're too young to have to go through something like that. For his credit, that kid that your partner caught gave us some good information on his pals. Information we can use. I'll see you later Rubes."

With that he finally left. But Ruby wasn't satisfied with her situation. If she had this power, then she should use it. There's got to be something else I can do… looking at her scroll, she got an idea.

~~~(XLIII)~~~

"Yang, where are Weiss and Blake?" Yang hated being reminded of the fracturing of their team, but Ruby needed to know. Letting out a sigh, she told her younger sister.

"Weiss' father... came for her."

"What? What do you mean?"

"No one outside of Vale knows what happened here. Before the tower fell, the last thing people saw was Atlas attacking innocent people and Grimm destroying the city. Everyone's scared. No one knows who to trust. So, Weiss' father came to take her back to Atlas, where he thinks it's safe. She's gone." It wasn't just her too…

"Well, what about-"

Anger rushed to the surface at the memory of learning the news about her partner. "And Blake ran! Sun saw her go. After we got to the city, she just... ran!" When she heard, it felt like she'd been slapped. That Blake had left her, left all of them.

"But... why!?"

"I don't know... and I don't care."

"There has to be a reason she-"

"No, there doesn't! Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby! Uncle Qrow was right! We tried our best and look what happened!" Yang clenched her fist angrily. "People we thought we knew, people we thought we could trust turned out to be someone else. Blake abandoned us and Oxon and his team caused the entire thing in the first place!"

"So, what do we do now? We know where they came from…"

"You can do whatever you want. I'm gonna lie here." The fire in her heart suddenly died out, leaving cold ashes behind. What energy she had before was gone.

"Yang…"

"Just leave me alone."

she hears Ruby leaving, but can't bring herself to look at her. She just can't… "I love you." After those words, she heard the door finally close shut. And she had silence.

~~~(XLIII)~~~

Elsewhere, in a dark cell block in a Valean prison, a guard walks down a row with a flashlight to inspect the prisoners. He comes to a stop outside one particular cell, its occupant well known throughout the kingdom.

The man snarled at the prisoner's sleeping form before slamming his baton into the bars of the cell. The loud noise caused him to jolt awake suddenly and fall out of his bed. The pained and tired groan of the criminal brings a satisfied smile to the guards face. After a few more swings to make sure the monster was fully awake, he left to continue his rounds.

On the floor Oxon Adhmad, prisoner of Vale, looked up at the ceiling. His body was running on fumes from lack of sleep and food. He didn't bother complaining to anyone, he knew it was the least that he deserved.

It didn't stop the tears from welling up in his eyes.

~~~(XLIII)~~~

Brawnz and most of his team are unfortunate cannon deaths during The Fall. I just changed the leader's death from Grimm to death by gunshot.

To those worried the story ends here, it doesn't. *Pats Ox on the head like a used car* "this bad boy can fit so much suffering inside!" Jokes aside, I do have plans for our favorite regretful terroristic woodsman. What those plans are? You'll just have to wait and see.