V3E7: Doubt and Faith
Ruby had been nervous all day. Since the diner trip with Hope and Penny, she's had a weight on her heart that wouldn't stop hurting. She has been avoiding them since then as well. So much so, that she missed Yang and Weiss's match against Neon Kat and Flynt Coal of Team FNKI just because they were both there to support their home teams.
And to top it all off, Ozpin had called her to his office.
The last time she came, she had fought against that infiltrator during the Vytal Dance. The Vytal dance... Didn't Anon and Penny dance together during it? She didn't get the chance to but Penny did... No, she wasn't interested in dancing at the time and she had to deal with Yang's drunken nonsense... But maybe if she did... She could have danced with Anon?
Ruby whimpered as she held her aching heart.
"Why does it hurt when I think about them..."
The elevator reached the top, a characteristic ding announcing her presence as the doors opened for her. Ozpin flashed a warm smile but Ruby saw right through the headmaster's facade. That smile, it reminded her of Hope's when they first met. A smile that she now understood was forced.
"Greetings, Miss Rose." He waved her in, motioning to the chair that faced his desk. "Please, make yourself comfortable."
Ruby glumly nodded her head, obeying the headmaster.
"I don't think I'm up for being comfortable at the moment, Headmaster..."
Ozpin's brow furrowed at Ruby's comment but after seeing her clutch her torso, he became less cold.
"Ah. It seems to be that time for you." he misconstrued. "Would you like some water?"
"No, thank you." she rejected.
The headmaster nodded before sitting down at his desk before pulling up holographic screens connected to his computer. He silently worked for a few minutes before Ruby piped up again, still withdrawn.
"Mister Ozpin, Why did you call me up here?" she asked. "Am... Am I in trouble?"
Ozpin shook his head silently, putting the finishing touches on his work before saving and putting them aside.
"Miss Rose, may I ask you a seemingly odd question?"
Ruby nodded, allowing the oldest soul to continue.
"What is your favourite fairy tale?"
Ruby squinted in confusion.
"That's a weird question." she looked down pensively. "I... I like the Balance Lady."
Ozpin smiled.
"Ah yes, Two extremist twin brothers are in an argument and it takes a wise mortal woman to break them up."
For once since she came to his office, Ruby smiled, although weakly.
"Yeah. I also like the Everafter story."
Ozpin hummed to himself.
"That old story?"
"Yeah, you know about it?"
"It's been a while but I remember the gist of it. When we die, our souls leave our bodies and end up in the Everafter. A land of pure imagination where you can live out your dreams and fantasies until you've had your fill and move on back into the cycle of reincarnation."
"Yeah." Ruby smiled sadly. "I like to think that the story's true. Mom's probably doing whatever she dreamed of doing when she was a little girl... Or maybe she's dreaming of a life where she never left us..."
Ozpin blankly stared at the emotional young girl. If only she knew about the truth of their world... At least, he doubts that Summer is living a nightmare in The Land Over Yonder.
Ruby looked back up, looking confused.
"Why are we talking about fairy tales?"
Ozpin fiddled with his cane unconsciously as he mentally prepared himself for her possible reaction.
"I asked you this question because there is something that I have to reveal to you."
"Which is?" Ruby questioned.
"As sordid as this may sound, many of the fairy tales you may have heard are actually not fiction, but facts."
Ruby blinked slowly in silent bewilderment. Has the headmaster hit his head or something? Ozpin continued.
"The Brother Gods, The Lady of Balance, The Everafter, The Wandering Wizard, The Lady in the Tower, the Man with Two Souls, the Infinity Man, The Maiden of the Seasons... All of them are not mere allegories or simple bedtime stories... All of them were events that took place during Remnant's prehistory."
"...What?" Ruby exclaimed, at a loss for words.
Ozpin paused to adjust his glasses.
"This reaction was expected."
"But... But how? Magic isn't real and all of those stories involved people doing incredible things using it."
"Magic once existed, when the gods lorded over the world." Ozpin turned around. "But ever since the Lady in the Tower was freed and her gallant Wizard died... Let's just say that the wrath of the Gods is truly a fearsome thing. And from their violent exit from this world, magic went along with them. Remnant's people were left with nothing but a Semblance of the magic of old."
Ruby held one side of her head. This was... Unbelievable. But if it was true then that would mean that she was right about her mother in the Everafter. That thought eased her nerves, even if only a bit.
"Why are you telling me this?" Ruby asked.
Ozpin turned to face her, his shades sliding slightly and revealing his hollow, dead eyes.
"One of the last vestiges of true magic has been compromised." He revealed. "And the vessel holding what's left of it is dying and in need of replacement."
That word, Vessel... Why did it sound so wrong when she heard it? Then it hit her.
Dying.
"You mean someone's dying?!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
Ozpin nodded, turning the screen he had been setting up towards her. Ruby gasped as she saw a horribly burnt woman suspended in a medical vat full of a strange blueish liquid.
"Yes. Amber, the current holder of Autumn, is in a terminal state." He stated, pointing at the accompanying statistics on the screen. "She can't be saved no matter what I tried."
"Autumn?"
"Of the Maiden of the Seasons. The Warming Fire of Autumn, or Fall, is one of those vestiges of Remnant's prehistory."
He approached her, causing a frightened Ruby to back away.
"And I want you to be the one to hold that power."
Ruby stared at the dead fish eyes her headmaster had and could help but feel scared. This... Man? there was something about him that gave her chills, like he wasn't entirely human. And inheriting the powers of a Maiden from the fairy tales? This is ridiculous!
"D-does..." Ruby struggled.
His name was caught in her throat. Why is it so hard to say his name now? Why can't she just say his name?
Ozpin, partially predicting her question, spoke out before she could finish.
"Every teacher here in Beacon knows. General Ironwood knows. Both Taiyang and Qrow knows. Raven, your aunt, knows." he paused. "Your mother knew."
Ruby remained gobsmacked at all these crazy revelations being thrown at her all at once. They did? Why didn't they tell her then? Is this really so important that they'd hide this from their own daughters?
"Team STRQ were the best that Beacon has seen in a long time. Summer was perhaps the best Huntswoman I have seen in ages. I once considered her my greatest asset and a potential vessel for one of the Seasons if any harm came to them."
Asset, Vessel... Were these people just objects to him? Resources to be spent as he needed? And he wants her to become one?
"In fact, you remind me a lot of her. You've inherited her strength, her skills... Her heart." Ozpin stood unnaturally still in front of her, leaning on his cane. "I require your strength, I require your skill, I require your heart."
Ruby began shaking slightly from fear, her breath quickening. What's happening, why is this happening? It can't be all bunk from a senile old man, Ozpin doesn't look any older than her dad. Is he just insane? Can't be, he's one of the most renowned headmasters in Beacon's history. They wouldn't tarnish their reputation by employing some lunatic as their headmaster. But this is all such nonsense. Magic was real once upon a time? The gods directly ruled the world? Why did he want her to inherit the powers of a Seasonal Maiden?
Ruby backed away, trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"This is too much. I... I-I need to think."
Ozpin finally readjusted his glasses, hiding his disturbing stare.
"I understand." He returned to his desk. "Sadly, I'll need an answer soon."
"H-how soon?"
"I predict that Amber will finally succumb from her wounds a few days after Vytal is over. Though I'd prefer if you came to a decision before the festival ends."
Ruby nodded silently, still deeply perturbed and hurried to the elevator. She couldn't get out of there faster. Once the doors closed, Ruby finally collapsed to her knees.
"What do I do?" She whimpered.
She wanted to see her dad. She wanted to see Yang. And her Team. She wanted to see Hope. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do in this kind of nutty bonkers situation. But the more she thought about him, the more her heart hurt. Why? He was her best friend! Why does it hurt to think about her friend?! Ruby quietly sobbed as the elevator began its descent.
"What do I do..."
Lilac eyes stared back at themselves through a washroom mirror as hands brushed through the owner's golden hair. A ritual installed by her mother, Summer Rose, who always praised her beautiful hair. in her honour, she would care for her lion-like mane even if it meant breaking the fingers of whoever was trying to damage her pride and joy.
"I still don't get why you do this." she heard behind her. "You know it's gonna get ruined during the fight, right?"
Yang smiled cockily.
"It's all about initial impressions, Anon my dear!" She explained. "If I come in looking my best, he'll obviously be too distracted by how awesome I look to properly fight back!"
Hope shook his head as he sat behind the room's main bench. The locker room was somewhat spacious, though it was cramped by the number of lockers taking up space. It was something that Hope had difficulty understanding since, at most, there would be only four people per locker room and there were enough for thirty. Yang sat down in front of her seer friend, taking off her jacket and revealing her bare shoulders. Yang moved her hair out of the way and glanced at Hope.
"Mind giving me a massage before I pummel that clown?" She smirked flirtily. "Don't think about going down too much though~"
Hope pinched her ass, eliciting a yelp.
"I already told you, Luv. If I want to cop a feel, I'll ask."
Yang pouted angrily.
"That didn't stop you before..."
Hope chuckled as he began to massage his other blonde friend's shoulders. Hope hummed a peaceful tune as he helped Yang relax. The girl let out a high-pitched sigh of contentment as her muscular but feminine shoulders were released of tension.
"You're surprisingly tense," he commented.
"I blame that annoying neon girl."
Hope snorted, thinking back to their fight. It went pretty much as it did in Canon except Yang got beat up a lot more, getting encased in ice then lit on fire, then getting encased in ice while being lit on fire and almost taking a magma bath with Weiss. They still won, though much more worse for wear than they should have.
"That was a disaster." he chuckled. "I'm surprised you managed to pull through."
Yang rolled her eyes.
"Who do you take me for?" She smiled arrogantly. "Like hell, I'd show up just to get my ass kicked by some raver in roller skate and her jazzy boyfriend!"
"That's the spirit!"
Hope lightly smacked her back with the back of his hand.
"Smooth and flexible, get in there!"
Yang clapped her hands together.
"Yosh!"
Hope put her coat back on her shoulders but before she could get up, Hope gripped her shoulder. Yang went to give him a questioning look but he leaned close into her ear.
"Mercury has no semblance, but he's a deadly hand-to-hand fighter who's killed before. Don't get cocky, or he'll take your head off when you least expect it."
Yang wordlessly nodded, a worrisome look on her face.
"He killed?" She asked quietly.
"I know of two times but they are certainly not the only ones."
Yang gulped nervously.
"Ok, shit."
"Don't worry." Hope grinned cruelly. "Just don't hesitate to punch his fucking lights out."
"Well, that's a direct solution at least."
"He's an idiot but he's not such a bumbling moron as to murder someone in broad daylight." He looked to the side awkwardly. "Well... Unless ordered to..."
A comically large bead of sweat dropped next to her head.
"That's super not reassuring."
"Are you not confident in your capabilities?"
Yang sneered, offended.
"Of course I am!"
"Then quit your bitching and go break his legs!"
"Alright, alright! don't blow a gasket on me!"
Yang rolled her shoulders as she adjusted her jacket before jumping to her feet. She opened the only door to the hall leading to the Colosseum's battleground, the roar of the crowd beckoning her to come out and fight. The announcer's voice welcomed the crowd with equal energy.
"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for the one-on-one finals!" Professor Port's baritones boomed.
"Indeed!" Doctor Oobleck agreed, sounding much healthier and more energetic than last time. "On the docket is a martial arts throwdown between fists and feet! Beacon's Yang Xiao-Long versus Haven's Mercury Black!"
The little sun dragon looked back to her best friend, a confident smile across her lips.
"Wish me luck~"
"No need." he smiled mysteriously. "I already know the outcome."
She grinned brilliantly.
"Damn right you do!"
As she went to bolt, Hope called her out, a grave look on his face.
"Yang! Just... Promise me one thing."
Yang blinked, her own expression becoming stern.
"Yeah?"
"When the bell rings, and you win... Stop."
"Stop?"
Hope nodded silently. Yang glared in confusion at his friend's cryptic request but still acknowledged it with a nod.
"Sure thing."
The door closed behind her, leaving her in partial darkness. The only source of light came from the battlegrounds, where her enemy was awaiting her. She took a deep breath before taking a running start.
"Let's break a leg!"
Yang bolted, the light coming closer and closer until she finally left the dark hall. Light surrounded her as the concrete gave way to sand and the roar of the crowd was as clear as crystalline water. In front of her stood her adversary, the martial artist from Haven, Mercury Black. She couldn't help but feel a dark kind of thrill, the kind you get from doing something life-threateningly dangerous. Had Hope not told her of Mercury's murderous antecedent, she might have thought that she was imagining things. The man in question sat on thin air with one of his legs hanging over the other, showing off his balance and leg strength. He had this smile on his face, almost mocking in how disingenuous it was. Enough so that Yang immediately had the urge to wipe that look off his face.
"Well, well, well. You didn't run away." Mercury constated smugly. "I'm sort of impressed!"
Yang felt a vein bulge on her temple. This guy's voice is already annoying, he didn't have to act the part too!
"I wouldn't miss wiping the floor with your face for anything!"
"Oh! Scary~"
The speakers blared with the announcer's voice.
"Combatant's ready?!"
Yang entered a balanced stance, her feet properly anchored to the floor with her arms in front of her, equally ready to counter any blow that came her way as they were to throw a punch. Mercury, meanwhile, flashily swung his crossed leg the opposite way, twirling into a strange stance with one of his legs hanging in the air with his arms raised to protect his head and torso.
"Don't go easy on me~" Mercury taunted.
The vein bulged further and her lilac eyes took a redder hue.
"You wish."
The announcer chuckled excitedly.
"BEGIN!"
Yang rocketed forward with a leaping right hook, jumping into the air with the intent to dunk on her opponent in the flashiest way she could muster. Mercury's confident smirk, like his body, refused to budge save for a subtle lean backward. Only once Yang's fist collided with his leg did he move, folding his leg inward. Her fist rolled off his leg, whiffing utterly. Yang fell to the ground, her face scraping against the ground.
"Now that's just embarrassing!" Mercury taunted.
Yang rolled to her side, kicking herself off the ground before throwing a haymaker Mercury's way. The footwork kept dodging her hits, his face stuck in that same infuriating smug smirk on his face.
"Just because you can throw a punch, doesn't mean they can land."
Yang groaned, her eyes now fully red.
"Shut your mouth." She spat through her teeth.
"Make me."
A wicked grin animated his face as he parried one of her strikes, tripping her up and as she fell and kicking her in the ribs. Yang held her aching sides as she stood back up, her eyes locked on her target.
"I'm going to break you." she threatened quietly.
"Try your best~"
Yang closed the distance in a heartbeat, surprising Mercury. The back of Mercury's boot met Yang's punch, their weapons firing simultaneously upon impact. The resulting impact created a huge shockwave that launched the combatants in opposite directions. The resultant cloud of dust that was kicked up blocked Mercury's view, who cautiously looked around.
"I'll give you that one, I didn't see that one coming."
"Wait till you see this one."
Mercury kicked the air behind him where he heard the voice, only hitting air. From the dust, Yang appeared with gauntlets primmed. Her fist collided with his jaw and sent him skidding across the ground on the other side of the dust cloud. The footwork grabbed his jaw, whining in pain. Seeing Yang rushing out of the dust, Mercury returned to his feet and threw himself into a sprint to meet her. Initiating, Mercury threw a kick aimed at Yang's knee. Anticipating a low blow, the little sun dragon jumped to dodge, sending him a slug from her gauntlet in the process. Mercury fired his boot in the air, giving him enough sideways momentum to dodge Yang's slug. Narrowly dodging his adversary's bullet, Him and Yang decided that they had enough of this ranged game and charged each other, exchanging blow after blow.
A bloodied Mercury managed to grab hold of her wrists to stop her from hitting him in the face again.
"You are a pain in my ass!"
"Feeling's mutual, asshole."
Yang's Aura blazed a golden hue as her hair was wreathed in yellow fire, her eyes now a deep crimson.
"Try and beat this."
Yang's speed seemingly doubled, as she appeared in front of her opponent to deliver a fiery strike. The flat-footed mercury only had enough time to cross his arms defensively to block her oncoming flurry of blows. His confidence began melting away as her furious strikes chipped at his Aura. Mercury managed to shove her away and just as she was about to return for more, he kicked the ground with his boots, sending him into the air and far away from the burning blonde.
Yang unrelentingly punched the air at Mercury, launching slug after slug in order to keep pressure on her murderous adversary. Mercury ran, ducked, dived and slid around the arena to dodge her barrage of lead. With a roar, Mercury rushed back into an offensive position. He slid under one of her shots before jumping into a roundhouse kick.
Yang palmed his heel away before slamming her fist into his stomach, cratering the young man into the ground.
"OOF! That's gotta hurt!" Port barked into his microphone.
Yang grabbed the downed man by his legs, feeling the metal beneath the leather and cloth, and threw him into the arena's wall.
"Oh?! Is this an immediate ring out?!" Port commented again.
Mercury reoriented himself mid-air using his gun boots and kicked the wall, propulsing himself towards the very edge of the ring. He balanced himself off the edge on his toes, standing still like a statue. He snorted hard before spitting out a bloody loogie and walking back toward his mark.
"It seems Mister Black isn't done yet," Oobleck announced.
The fighting continued as they matched each other blow for blow, an even fight that could go either way. In the bleachers, Hope sat next to Cinder, both looking disinterested and bored.
"God, this feels so much longer than I thought it would." He complained while rubbing his eyes to stay awake.
"Likewise." She yawned, occupying her mind by sipping soda from a straw.
Thoroughly bloodied and bruised, the two martial artists stood in front of each other while panting profusely. Yang's eyes glowed a deep red as she groaned angrily.
"Just drop dead, you fuck!"
"Nah, not my style. If I can beat my old man at his own game, I can beat yours."
Yang threw her arms back, disengaging the lock on her gauntlet's magazine and launching the unspent shells everywhere. She slowly put new shells into her gauntlet, glaring at him with malicious intent. Mercury began chuckling to himself as he ran forward. He dived to the floor and began spinning his body on the small of his back, breakdancing as he fired shots from his boot in every direction possible. Yang kept calmly reloading her Ember Sylicas, the occasional shot from Mercury's barrage pinning off her Aura. Once she was topped off, Yang racked her gauntlets back with no good intentions. She walked forward slowly, batting away the shots coming to her before engaging in a sprint. Once she was in range, she threw a hook at the breakdancing maniac, only for him to dance around her and launch her into the air with a heel to the chin. Once she was airborne, Mercury climbed the air, launching himself upwards like a rocket and overtaking his mark. Once above her, he threw his leg up as high as he could before bringing it back down to meet Yang's face. Yang plummeted, her momentum fully reversed. She landed into the dust of the arena, forming a crater and blowing a mushroom cloud into the air. Mercury landed on one leg, his hands in his pocket and with that same self-satisfied smirk, he had when he started the duel.
"Well then, that was refreshingly challenging." he smugged, dusting himself off.
Two glowing red orbs appeared behind him in the smoke. Mercury felt a wave of dread hit him but before he could turn around, Yang's fist rocketed into the side of his face. The impact felt like a jackhammer to the jaw as she just wailed on him, the initial impact knocking the sense out of him completely. She began yelling furiously as she threw punch after punch into his chest and face. She wound back her fist one last time and hit him square in the sternum with the force of a bomb, clearing the smoke with a sonic crack and breaking his Aura. Mercury landed flat on his back, defeated. He vomited on the floor, clutching his torso as he folded inwards like a fetus. The audience roared at Yang's victory.
"WOW! What a way to kick off the finals!" Oobleck praised as he loudly clapped into the microphone.
"Yang Xiao-Long Wins!" Oobleck announced.
The large screen displaying the combatants' portrait highlighted Yang's face with a victor's golden laurel while Mercury's became monochrome, a large red cross superimposed over his face. Yang looked at the screen, smiling tiredly.
"Better luck next time, asshole."
She held her head, a pretty huge headache coming in. Probably from the more than a few blows to the head she got, courtesy of Mercury. She felt the edge of her vision darken.
"Shit... I got knocked around pretty hard..."
Something felt wrong as all ambient noise began dying until she was left with the sound of her heart in her ears. Suddenly, her instincts began screaming at her to turn around. She wiped around, her supposedly defeated foe in mid-air with a leg wound back for a devastating kick.
"There won't be a next time blondie." Mercury monotonously said with the cold eyes of a killer.
Yang's eyes went wild and her reflexes took over, readying herself for a counterstrike. Just then, a single voice pierced the dead silence.
"YAAAAANG!"
Her eyes followed the voice, landing on Anon. He was standing, something he wasn't supposed to do. His hands gripped the railing in front of him with such force, Yang swore it was moulding to his fingers. His pleading stare, so full of distress...
That's right. She made a promise to him.
When the bell rings, and you win...
Stop.
Yang took a deep breath and closed her eyes, stopping all movement. She could sense his foot get closer and closer to her but she chose to believe in Hope's words. She could sense it inching closer, grazing her skin...
Then it disappeared.
She opened her eyes, the creeping dark disappearing and the roar of the crowd returning. She looked at Mercury, who was panting on the floor, looking like a deer in a headlight. Wasn't she supposed to attack him when he was down? Yang smirked smugly, in the exact same way he had done throughout their bout.
"Looks like I went easy on you in the end, haven't I?"
She whistled a chipper tune as she headed to the exit. She looked at the audience, blowing them kisses and throwing up victory signs. In the audience, she saw Hope smile warmly. She shot her friend a wink and a big smile.
"Promises made, promises kept!"
Yang sighed tiredly as she was splayed out on a lonely bench. Beacon's campus was eerily quiet due to all the attention being on the fairgrounds, which suited her just fine, as she just came back from a post-match interview and a victory party since she brought her team into the finals. Now all that's left to do is watch the face-off between the leaders of the finalist teams. She felt a presence approaching, heralded by the sound of rubber rolling against the pavement. the sound stopped close to her head, a smile creeping on her lips.
"Went as planned?"
"Went as hoped, actually."
Yang snorted.
"Nice one."
Hope palmed his face, not having realized the pun until Yang pointed it out.
"You're rubbing off on me."
"Good, cuz I fully expect you to come clubbing with me went you're better."
Hope shook his head, smiling in turn.
"I prefer classy cabarets and speakeasies."
"Urg." Yang rolled her eyes. "I swear, you're actually an old man in disguise."
"Nope, I'm just old-fashioned."
He locked his wheels next to the bench, crossing his legs once he was done.
"Congrats on your win, Luv."
Yang winked.
"It was no biggie."
Hope scoffed amusedly.
"Please, he made you work for it."
"Nahhhh, You're just seeing things."
Hope shook his head.
No, that was definitely you.
Nevertheless, his smile remained.
"Thank you."
Yang sat up and pointed finger guns at her team's best friend.
"A Xiao-Long always keeps their promises!"
"I know. Still, I'm just glad you listened to me."
Unlike some people...
Yang shrugged, placing her hands behind her head casually.
"Something I've learned from you, Nonon, is that when you say something, you usually have a reason for it."
"So if I tell you to jump off a cliff, you'll do it?" He asked flippantly.
"Hell yeah! I love the feeling of wind rushing through my hair, almost as much as the feeling of going fast!"
"Speed Freak."
She grinned dorkily as she pointed to herself with her thumbs.
"Das me!"
Hope chuckled gently.
"Just glad you didn't end up like Coco."
Yang cringed, having seen who messed up the other half of the second-year team got.
"Goodness, is that what happened to her?"
Hope nodded.
"Yeah, Emerald's Semblance's a nasty piece of work." He explained. "Perfect hallucinations so convincing, they trick all five senses into believing they're real. Coco couldn't see what was right in front of her, you saw something that didn't happen."
Yang spat on the ground.
"So they were so scared of us, they'd cheat to get me in trouble?"
"No." Hope noted grimly. "It's all part of their scheme."
Yang huffed angrily.
"Assholes." She threw one fist into the air. "Bring it on! I'll knock your asses to the floor and still have the energy to win the tournament! My whole team will send you bastards packing back to whatever sewers you crawled out of! Just you fucking watch, WE'LL WRECK YOUR SCHEMES!"
A benevolent smile crawled across the seer's lips.
"You will," He muttered. "I have faith."
Yang's defiant grin soon disappeared, replaced by a sour frown.
"Just hope Ruby's gonna be in the mood for it..."
Hope's own mood took a downturn.
"Yeah. She's been kind of reclusive for a while now."
"Did something happen between you two?"
Hope blinked in confusion, seeing Yang turn to face him.
"What do you mean?"
"She's been like this since you two went to see Penny after her match."
Hope held his chin pensively. Yang wasn't wrong, Ruby had been acting strange ever since she came back from her bathroom break. Though he had assumed that maybe she had gotten ill from too much ice cream.
"I don't remember doing or saying anything bad to her." Hope scratched his head in frustration. "God fucking damn it!"
Yang sighed, shrugging powerlessly.
"Whatever happened, she's been pretty bummed out. She only ever comes out of the dorm room to eat and do team meetings. It's kind of depressing to see her like this."
"Tell me about it... Not much I can personally do, other than being there for her. "
Yang leaned forward, resting her head on Hope's chest.
"Urg... This sucks..." She sulked. "I really wanted her to see me win for us..."
Hope unconsciously put his hand on her head, gently rubbing her scalp. His blood froze inside his veins once he realized his terrible, terrible mistake. He slowly moved his hand away, only for Yang to snatch his wrist mid-removal. Hope's heart stopped, knowing that he was well and truly about to get his ass kicked. Yang stood there, his hand hovering over her head. Her eyes hadn't gone red and she looked conflicted instead of angry. To his shock, she placed his hand back on her head, her eyes on the floor to avoid his gaze.
"...I didn't tell you to stop..."
Stunned, Hope paused for a solid ten seconds before tentatively doing to Yang what he usually does to Ruby. He couldn't see her face but if her red ears were any indicator, she wasn't hating it.
"Fuck, now I understand how Ruby feels..." Yang commented embarrassingly.
Hope suddenly burst out laughing, much to Yang's embarrassment.
"Oh come on!" Yang complained. "It's not that weird, is it?!"
"Sorry!" He struggled to apologize through his laughter. "I guess you know how being a little sister feels like now!"
Yang crossed her arms, looking away while red in the face.
"I... I guess?"
"Come on, little dragon!" He egged on. "Let big brother treat you while dad isn't home!"
Yang sighed, still embarrassed but not hating the idea.
"What you got?"
"Got some horror b-movies on my streaming list, cold beer in the fridge and instant ramen. The good kind, that tastes like the real stuff."
The Blonde bombshell turned to face him again, a big bright stupid smile on her face.
"Oh hell yeah!"
Yang grabbed the handles of Hope's wheelchair and hit the ground running towards a fun evening with her team's best friend. Hope laughed as Yang took off with him at ridiculous speed but he couldn't help but think about Ruby.
I have to know what's wrong with her... I never really got a chance to make up with anyone back home. I really don't want to repeat that mistake again. Especially with her... Please, wait for me, Ruby.
Mercury and Emerald knew that they were screwed. Yang hadn't gone berserk and crippled the cripple further, which would have been very good since that would erode the public trust in the teachings of the academies. After all, what kind of negligent idiot lets kids maim each other? Sadly, all they had so far was a guy knocking a guy unconscious and breaking his opponent's nose and an outburst from a lovestruck maiden. Both could be easily cast as an accident. They didn't have much and it probably wouldn't be enough without some seriously convincing spin to make them look like complete monsters.
In short, their plan was in shambles.
A patched-up Mercury was nervously bouncing his leg from the foot of his bed while Emerald was just at a loss. No one ever managed to see through her illusions. They couldn't, they were perfect! So what happened? It was like she told a lie and Yang called her bluff, she just didn't engage with it and acted like nothing happened. Neo was apathetically reading the half-burned comic book that she previously snitched from Mercury. It was a surprisingly good story.
The door opened to a chipper Cinder strutting into the room like nothing was wrong with the world. Her subordinates eyed her cautiously until she looked mildly confused at their expressions.
"Why the long faces?" She asked, genuinely wondering what was wrong.
Both urchins looked at each other, worry mixing with confusion. She had to know already, didn't she? Neo looked up from her comic before signing something to her temporary leader.
"Xiao-Long didn't fall for Emerald's trick and Mercury's taunts?" She asked before shrugging dismissively. "Oh well."
Emerald and Mercury's jaws hit the floor. That's it?!
"W-we failed! Why are you suddenly ok with this?!"
Cinder sat cross-leg on her bed, looking just dandy.
"Because I've come to a realization that our current plans are utterly within his purview and, therefore, is not wise to continue."
Mercury blinked slowly.
"What?"
Emerald raised her head, looking unsure.
"What do you suggest we do then?"
A wicked grin spread across the half-maiden's lips.
"We just have to hit him where he doesn't expect, or rather, not hit him personally."
Neo raised an eyebrow. Him? Does she mean Hope? She signed as such to confirm.
"Of course Hope, Neo dear," Cinder confirmed. "Which is why I need you to take up Emerald's task of keeping an eye on him while she does... Something else for me."
Neo jumped to her feet with a big grin. Yes! Finally, she gets to do something. And to Anon no less! Cinder returned her attention to the thief in the room.
"Emerald, I need you to look into a certain someone for me."
Emerald stood up, looking unsure but ready to act.
"What do you need?"
Cinder smiled sinisterly as she pulled out her scroll. She swiped her finger across the screen until a special locked folder appeared. The folder came directly from Ozpin's personal terminal, snatched courtesy of Watt's virus. The title...
Maiden candidates (Final).
V3E7: END!
NEXT ON PLAYLIST: V3E8 - PLAY?
