Arc V: Path of the Hero
Chapter 52: Spring Cleaning
Team RWBY was, in fact, not having an easier time.
It all began when Ruby forged a truce with Roman and Neo, the sight of whom brought back all sorts of unpleasant memories. They were infamous criminals, after all, and it was hard not to be repulsed by shaking hands that tried to kill her sister. Qrow himself almost came to blows with Roman in his safehouse, and if he did throw hands, Yang wasn't sure if she'd stop or join him.
But cooler heads prevailed, even if Neo continued annoying Weiss at random intervals. Drawing upon Roman's network of informants, they pinpointed the Branwen hideout to an obscure, ruined villa on the edge of town, where she and Blake would infiltrate and track Sun's teammates while the others waited outside as backup. Weiss and Neo would stay behind if Raven decided to pull a fast one, a delaying force that would buy enough time for them to return. At the very least, if Raven was impossible to contain, then they could take out the tribe that followed her. It would've been like one of those spy games she played with Ruby as a kid, where they had to steal a precious relic or sneak into an enemy base for sweet, sweet achievements.
What they didn't prepare her for was if no NPCs spawned at all. The only signs of life were empty sleeping bags, half-eaten food and ragged tents while Raven's quarters yielded spoils of previous raids. Sure, they couldn't resist taking some treasures - the oddest one being a weathered, padlocked cylinder decorated with skulls and waves - but nothing could drown the unsettling silence when it should've been a small army.
It peaked when Ruby's squad arrived, for her Pirate's Charm flashed with Weiss' disembodied voice -
A voice of barely-repressed panic accompanied by gunfire and explosions.
Familiar warmth then squeezed her fingers, and Yang snapped back to reality in the stolen - er, commandeered bullhead's fuselage. Blake's hand and steady gaze helped reassure her nerves, balanced by the outside increasingly putrid scent of ash.
"Hold on, everybody!" Roman yelled over the engine noise from the cockpit. "We're gonna crash this landing harder than a cold shower at the asscrack of dawn!"
"Are you ready?" Blake asked.
No.
Yes.
...was it too late to ask for a timeout?
Yang shook her head. "I'm gonna have to be," she replied as the doors opened to reveal the humid midnight air and a neighbourhood on fire against a glowing broken moon. Roman's approach took them just above Windpath's rooftops, and they jumped out running like some cursed cross between Initiation and a tactical spy movie insertion. Skidding to a halt on the tiling, the now-unmanned airship careened over a cliffside town square towards Roman's burning safehouse -
And a towering, paper-thin wave of purple energy cleaved it in half before exploding on the rooftop they stood on. They landed in the square as the bullhead's halves crashed on either side of the masked source.
"You earnestly believed that would've killed me?"
Yang Xiao-Long growled.
A few days ago, she would've hesitated at the thought of facing Raven in battle once more. Being ambushed by chance was one thing, but knowing that her life's journey might end tonight was a different feeling altogether.
One Yang was at a loss to describe.
"You've done well to find me, but you should know better than relying on the tactics of cowards," a smirking Raven Branwen continued from atop the flaming building. "They lack strength and thus the means to secure your victory."
"Newsflash, mom, we're not here for your condescending speeches. You blew that chance eighteen years ago, and for what?" Yang retorted. "Using a dragon to burn villages and destroy families because you rejected your own?"
Her smirk faltered. "You, preaching to me about strength? Hasn't Qrow told you how blinded our team was to wage an impossible war against gods that never cared? I've spat in death's face than I can count because I'm strong enough to refuse a fight that was never mine!"
"You mean abandoning those that love you and running away when the going gets tough!?" Yang yelled back as she felt years' worth of anger bursting through. "Just because you have power doesn't mean you're strong, and I don't see either in the woman before me!"
"Don't presume that you know me, Yang Xiao-Long."
"Maybe she doesn't, Ray, but I do," an equally pissed Qrow replied. "The game has changed. We now have a power greater than you can ever imagine that can kill Salem, and yet you still choose to hide. Remember our old man saying that we were the strongest because we relied on each other? I bet Dad's rolling in his grave at the sight of you."
Raven snarled and jumped down, then froze upon seeing the third and final piece of the set.
"…one of the hardest things about being a team leader is seeing your friends fight," Ruby whispered with hard, yet soft silver eyes. Judging by Raven's stare, there was no doubt about who she transposed Ruby with. "And it's even harder when they're also your family. You were…best friends with my mom, right? How do you think she'd feel if she saw what's going on?"
Raven clenched her fists and exhaled tensely. "My own kin and Summer's ghost…what is this, an intervention? Very well, then. Boys!"
A sudden explosion from the buildings to their left revealed a snarling, bloodied Neo, followed by Branwen bandits emerging from the dust. Compared to the others, their banged-up armour, angry eyes and dangerous prowl suggested a lifetime of blood, more of which clouded Yang's vision when Vernal appeared on the rooftop with familiar faces.
"N-no…" Blake whispered, stepping forward with a shocked expression. "No! Let them go!"
"Sure, if they're strong enough to earn it," Vernal laughed, kicking a tied and blindfolded Weiss to her knees. Sage, Neptune and several others were also gagged, helpless underneath the blades of the Branwens. "But I don't think they are. The Ice Queen did and look where that got her."
"Let this be the one lesson I teach you. Power is a fickle thing - no matter your ideals, everything is determined by blood and steel," Raven continued, drawing her sword. "So come, Yang. Come, brother. Let me show you why might makes right."
In the blink of an eye, she rammed Qrow and Roman into the rubble while her bandits let out a war cry. They charged like an iron tsunami, almost overwhelming Neo until the two huntsmen returned, and Vernal intercepted Ruby when she tried flanking around to Weiss.
That left the marauder matron herself, and as Windpath devolved into an active warzone, Yang's vision tunnelled with resurgent fury. No one else existed but a raven and dragon, the latter screaming as she unleashed an almighty shotgun punch -
Hitting thin air as Raven dashed behind her faster than what should've been possible.
…and was she seeing things, or did Aura just flare from behind the mask?
Too late. With no way to defend herself, Raven slashed down Yang's back -
And hopped away from an oncoming whipsword. Raven met Blake's slashes before backflipping from Yang's rocket punch, then proceeded to fire ice dust blades from her scabbard like a bombing run. They melted in the sudden, explosive heat of Yang's Semblance as she rushed her with a rapid boxing combo, and when Raven sidestepped Gambol Shroud's ribbon blade, Yang yanked it forward to propel Blake's flying kick into Raven's face.
Seemingly irked, she pushed them back to the cliff with fast-paced combos before firing a salvo of water dust blades, one of which Yang caught while the others splashed across the stone. When Blake rushed her with an uppercut, Raven parried in such a way as to trip her before impaling the ground with a lightning blade.
The electrified water paralyzed a screaming Blake, giving Raven enough time to lock her crosshairs on Yang. A brawler, not a swordfighter, each clumsy parry jolted her from lightning-on-water contact, enough times that Yang decided it was fun for the whole family; with her torso still soaked from the melted ice, Yang lunged past a thrust to trap the bandit chief in a bear hug, the surprise allowing her to snap the electric blade with an Aura-covered hand and jam it into the rotary sheath.
They screamed amidst the electric field that burst forth, but Yang gritted through it to trap Raven until a recovered Blake snatched her away. It proved just in time as Raven was engulfed in a multi-elemental explosion that destroyed her weapon for good.
When the smoke cleared, Raven knelt with head bowed and Aura flickering.
Without hesitation, Blake charged with sword drawn high -
Raven looked up with eyes of crimson fire -
"Blake, no!"
And a blast of magical light shot Blake against some jagged rocks. The winds then intensified to cyclonic levels, drowning her teammates' distant yells while rendering her breath visible in the plummeting temperature.
It was then Yang realized it spiralled around its source - a woman hovering atop a tornado of ice and wind over the valley.
"I did not claim the Spring Maiden's power so I could be defeated by someone lesser than Salem," Raven roared. With Omen destroyed, she drew a sword hidden beneath her mane, the sight of which seemed ominously familiar...
"No...it can't be..."
The memories crashed into her like a train full of explosives. Once little more than a picture in Qrow's scroll, it felt wrong on so many levels to see her mother wield the Blade of Evil's Bane.
...at least, that's what she thought it was, even if its grip and crossguard were crimson and gold instead of green and blue.
"There's no way! That thing's supposed to be in the Temple of Time!" Yang yelled back. "How the hell did you get the Master Sword!?"
"Is that what it's called...? Well, I merely pulled it from the stone it rested in," Raven retorted. "Who knew Mistral's forests held such a weapon? I have never used it before, so be glad you will be the first to feel its bite. Are you ready...my daughter?"
Yang rocketed towards Raven and collided with a glowing wind beam that, upon impacting the ground, created a small vortex that blew her away. She retaliated with gunfire that was swallowed by the gale, and as Raven dove with sword outstretched, she caught Yang's jab and threw her skyward against her own wayward bullets.
Pain blossomed across her body when she fell back down. Upon coming to, Yang ducked beneath a slash and replied with an uppercut, missing when Raven summoned wind that blasted her from behind. Yang leapt off a broken stone wall, absorbed a red sword beam with her Semblance and pummelled the ground to fire off a shockwave, but Raven kicked off her ice tornado that shot through it, flinging stone back at Yang while dousing her flaming hair.
All she could do was endure as Raven punted her across the courtyard to her unconscious partner. Through the haze, she could make out Vernal fending Ruby off as she tried to help while Neo stood alone against the battle-hardened marauders. Qrow had taken to fighting a losing duel with Raven so a limping Roman could stick her with a medicinal dust injector.
"A murderer Maiden before me. My partner, unconscious beside me, and a horde of bandits behind me. Is...this...really it - wait."
Yang blinked at a glint of light beneath Blake, who was tightly gripping a familiar metallic suitcase despite being unconscious.
"Or maybe we had a chance all along..."
"Dammit, there's too many of them" Roman grunted, drawing his scroll. "I'm gonna call for backup, but it's gonna be a while before they - wait, what are you doing?"
Yang ripped the suitcase open. For a moment, she remembered Jaune's warning about using the Fierce Deity Mask only in the direst of circumstances, especially since Blake herself nearly fell victim to its power. This was an ancient relic that shouldn't be relied upon unless given extreme consideration -
"Screw that. There's no time to lose, so I'm evening the odds."
It proved just in time as Raven knocked Qrow away and rushed over, but all she felt was the abyss and an overwhelming sense of unbridled rage.
(==|======-
Do you seek the power to change your -
"Fuck yeah, I do," she growled, ignoring the temptation to look at the visions floating in the darkness. It took a great force of effort to focus on the light and not Raven cradling a blonde infant girl with Taiyang while softly humming a lullaby. Nor was it easy when all she wanted was to watch Raven congratulate her alternate self for graduating Beacon. What pain she thought had dulled returned with a vengeance.
Doubly so when her body exploded with pain so immense that it activated her Semblance for her. It felt like someone shoved a dying star inside her body, but Yang committed to the light.
Do you still seek the power to change your world?
"Shut up and give it to me!" Yang gritted, stomping over to the light that drifted away with every step.
That wouldn't do. Yang broke into a sprint through agony the likes of which she would never wish on her worse enemy. Nothing would deter her, even when the visions fused into a gigantic being of green-white flame.
The being roared, lunging with a fiery fist -
Yang countered with a Semblance-enhanced shotgun punch -
(==|======-
And it connected with enough power to launch a boulder into the stratosphere.
Raven's jaw wasn't exactly made of stone, but the punch pierced through her Maiden wind and sent her into the canyon. As she returned atop an ice tornado, however, Yang felt next to no exertion from performing such an attack.
What she did feel was the strength to bench press a tractor-trailer and the stamina to run straight up a mountain. With long, wild silvery hair reaching to her knees like a tail, a dragonhead spaulder on her right shoulder and a body crisscrossed with red war paint, Yang looked down to find a half-chestplate adorned with the sun and moon stretching to her hips while exposing her inked, chiselled abs. Tied around her belt was a sash of blue and green scales before parting at the knees to reveal teal and gold-greaved sandals.
But the real treasures were her newfound weapons - a larger, whiter and more powerful Ember Celica remained on her left arm, and on her right was a massive lizard-like claw of an unknown turquoise metal. Its palm was a circular mouth with rows of fangs that surged with enough power so great, it almost felt sentient.
Seeing Raven so stupefied elicited an excited grin, along with urges she never expected when facing the bandit queen -
Rage.
Bloodlust.
Excitement.
"What have you done...?" Raven demanded. "What have you become? You'd sacrifice your own humanity just to prove a point?"
Yang chuckled, not at all surprised at her distorted, yet resonant voice.
"Ozpin has gotten to you," Raven replied, raising her glowing Master Sword and summoning an ice-like pillar of lightning. "Very well, then. Fulfill your destiny."
They shot towards each other and collided in a magical shockwave, though Raven disengaged first by flying into the valley. Propelling herself with flames from her dragon arm, a laughing Yang chased her while firing teal energy bullets from Infernal Celica, receiving in turn magic wind beams that instantly froze whatever they hit.
Weaving around canyons and rock spires, it didn't take long until the sheer volume of missiles forced Raven into a small mountain grove overlooking the neighbourhood. She stumbled her landing, provoking more laughter from Yang despite the increasingly sharp pain in her chest. Rather than being drained, she felt...energized. Almost delirious, and the world was muffled by the ringing in her ears.
Raven was right. All that mattered was winning.
Something she helped with by lunging for Yang's face. She tanked the Master Sword on her unusually weakened Aura before belching flame from her dragon arm, which the Spring Maiden countered by casting an arctic wind beam. Blown away, Yang charged with a draconic fist, but at the last second Raven summoned a portal whose exit appeared on the ground nearby. Like a mole, Yang popped out and tripped, leaving her open for a baseball slash that knocked her against some boulders.
They continued trading blows that shook the mountaintop until Raven backed off and summoned a glacial hurricane, engulfing the grove before being absorbed into a charged-up Master Sword. In response, Yang's Semblance flared on its own, leaving flaming hair and tattoos that pulsed to her heartbeat. Her frenzy reaching a crescendo, Fierce Deity Yang leapt against the silhouette of the broken moon to meteor with a dragon fist whose claws began spinning like a double-helix drill -
The Spring Maiden rocketed skyward to unleash the concentrated power of the Master Sword -
And blinding light consumed them both.
But not all was lost, for Yang felt steel digging into her cheek until something popped off her face. Immediately, the bloodlust clouding her mind vanished -
"Hrk!"
And was replaced by excruciating pain. Yang collapsed with an abnormally fast heartbeat and extreme dizziness, mustering just enough strength to confirm her Aura levels were at critical single digits. On the flip side, it became clear Raven no longer posed a threat as she sat haggardly against a destroyed tree trunk, and the broken shards of the Master Sword crumbled into dust to be scattered by the breeze.
"...was it...a fake all along?"
Yang shook her head. For now, Raven met her gaze through a broken mask with an oddly tired expression. "You're throwing your life away, and for what? Nothing. No amount of silver-eyed warriors or hidden light magic can save you, just as no prison cell can ever keep me locked up forever. You have nothing to gain from finding me."
Raven wheezed. "So why are you here? What do you want from me?"
Yang's retort caught in her throat. While they were ultimately here to save Sun's friends and rid the town of the Branwen menace, what did she want from her?
What did the daughter want from her mother?
"Well, the others are here since you kidnapped some of our friends. I'm here since I owe my partner a solid. But while I spent all my life looking for answers, I can see that they don't matter anymore. I got things to look after, now. Ruby and the others...we joke, we laugh and sometimes we fight, and whatever the hell comes our way, we'll always have each others' backs. It's because of them I realize that forgiveness takes the greatest strength of all. Even if it takes a lifetime."
"Are you...forgiving me?" Raven spat, looking away.
"Not really. Or at least, not now. But maybe one day." Yang stumbled over, anger fading with every step. "I just want you to know that I wouldn't kick ass and be a good sister if it weren't for you. So...yeah. Thanks for that -"
"Man, Beacon kids are so fucking dramatic. It hurts my non-existent soul."
Yang and Raven froze. That voice...
"As for me, I like to get straight to the point," it continued as Raven wobbled to her feet. From underneath a tree, a familiar assassin stepped into the moonlight.
"W-what...? What are you doing here?"
"Yeah, yeah, looking good too, Blondie. I'd ask for a rematch, but I'd rather not break the limbs I have left. I'm sure you'd understand," Mercury yawned, completely unconcerned by the kaleidoscope of emotions gripping her.
"No."
The dread came back tenfold, and if he was here, that meant...
"No, no, no, no..."
He tilted his head and smirked. "Anyway, we're here for something you have. You can negotiate after we take it from you.
"No!" Yang screamed, surging forward with more desperation than any remaining strength -
Only to pass through thin air.
She wasn't the target.
The Spring Maiden behind her was.
Yang gasped when the real Mercury appeared from the side, kicking her in the ribcage and pinning her against a tree. Winded and weak, all she could do was watch Emerald and Dark Link emerge from the shadows in turn - the latter clutching the discarded Fierce Deity Mask.
"No...please..."
"More like yes, and thank you," Cinder echoed as she circled from behind them to a defiant Raven. "I admit, you did a good job hiding your power. I never would have guessed it myself until you grew cocky and barged into town. That...Vernal girl, at the tavern? For all your running, subtlety was never your forte, though I can respect the ruthlessness in rearing up a scapegoat. From what we've heard, you spent more time on her than your actual daughter. Aren't you the mother of the year?"
Yang activated her Semblance, but it fizzled out between Mercury's grip and the lack of Aura. Raven growled when Cinder leaned over and patted her mane. "I suppose I should thank you for delivering the Maiden's magic on a silver platter. Do you have any final words before I take the only thing you have of value?
Raven spat blood.
Cinder scoffed, grabbed Raven's neck with her Grimm arm and began choking her. Never before had Yang thought she'd scream her name, but the hoarse words came out anyway as Fall absorbed the might of Spring. Cinder's smirk grew the weaker Raven resisted.
"Actually...there's...one thing..."
Smirking, Cinder loosened her grip and missed how the last of Raven's power coalesced into a needle-thin dagger of ice. "Every time you fuck yourself, are you in control or does your Grimm arm do it for you?"
Raven lunged, and Cinder's snarl was interrupted when the dagger exploded. Sharp, icy winds tore through the grove, and when she came to, a deep red portal swirled in the middle of the polar vortex.
"I'll be honest. Summer was a better mother than I could've ever been," Raven huffed as she hauled Yang up and crutch-carried her over. "I will not meet her in the afterlife knowing I left her - our - daughter to die!"
Roaring, she shoved them both through the portal -
And she tumbled across Windpath's town square alone. Colliding against a broken fountain, Yang sat up to find Raven hovering a foot off the ground, courtesy of the Grimm arm latched into her back from the portal.
The last of her Aura shattered with a sigh, a shell bereft of the Spring Maiden's power.
Yang's cry was cut short when a raging Qrow slammed down with a jump attack, rending Cinder's arm in half. There was a screech-like scream that faded with the closing portal, only for a massive quake to rumble through the neighbourhood; chaos seemed to subside, if momentarily, at the sight of a nearby mountaintop that was now alight with fire and electrified whirlwinds.
"No...what the fuck happened to the chief?" A familiar, yet shaken voice asked. Yang craned her head to see Vernal nearby, alternating between mother and daughter. "Did you...was that -"
A flurry of gunfire then forced her to back off, followed by Ruby and Blake circling between them protectively. "Stay away from my sister!"
"And my partner," Blake added, brandishing her sword with deadly intent. "Or better yet, I would advise vacating the town completely. Face it, Vernal, you and your tribe have been defeated, so unless you want to throw yourself at the mercy of the town and end up like your chief, then be my guest."
Vernal growled and stepped forward, only to be held back by a group of her own. "D-dammit, what're you fuckers doing!? Let me go!"
"We're not dying for some town that hates our guts!" a greasy, long-haired dirty blonde man replied, and they spun around to show her the rest of the tribe, who were on the verge of being routed by a tide of...people. Seemingly from all walks of life, it reminded Yang of those medieval witch hunt mobs, except they traded their pitchforks for automatic rifles. Roman and Neo were at the forefront, and perhaps driven by the hope of casting off the Branwens, the ferocity by which they expelled them was almost frightening.
In the end, Yang could rest easy as Vernal let herself and their unconscious chief get hauled away. The respite allowed Blake to tend to Yang while Ruby ran off to liberate the prisoners. "Yang, are you alright? Where did you go? What on Remnant happened to you -"
"No. Away. Cinder. Raven, in that order. She was the Spring Maiden all along. Cinder came out of nowhere and she..."
Blake sighed, plopped down beside her and uncorked her canteen. At that moment, lukewarm water tasted like nectar from the gods, especially when her adrenaline wound down with the battle. Others were no doubt exhilarated after finally ridding their hometown of unwanted guests, yet all Yang felt was conflicted numbness.
When darkness finally claimed her, she finally knew what it meant for someone not to leave her behind. Even if that person was the first one to go.
(==|======-
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
If she was a snowman, then the beeping vitals monitor was a hot needle that constantly prodded her in the cold. Burning enough to keep her alert without a chance to rest, every second felt like an age gone by when Blake sat by a comatose Sun.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
For Ruby, it was the best kind of torture. Patience? Pffft. Waiting was for chumps. Search for "speed" in the dictionary and come face-to-face with her mugshot. It took a good chunk of her lifespan to learn not to use her Semblance for literally everything outside of combat - a loss she still felt to this day - but Ruby wished she could lend her Semblance to the healing process.
It would've been a gift for sore eyes. Warm and a little humid from the near-constant rain, the freed prisoners were evacuated to a...safer hospital in Kuchinashi, and what was once a manhunt for Mistral's most ruthless bandit chieftain ended in victory. By all rights, the day was theirs to celebrate.
"...so why does it feel like we haven't really won?"
Sighing, Ruby exited into a quiet hallway of dim, buzzing lights, only to see a girl in a hospital gown waving by the window.
"Hi! Uh, sorry, can I help you?"
She smiled warmly, with long, red hair tied in a ponytail by her shoulder blades and kind, Blake-like amber eyes between bangs that split into locks caressing her jaw. "You already have. I was amongst those captured by the Branwens, and because of your efforts, I know what it means to be free again."
"A-ah, no need to thank us! Helping others is what we do and we love doing it, so...yeah!" Slightly nervous, she chuckled and the girl returned it. "Glad to see you're okay, um...sorry, what's your name again? I'm Ruby, by the way."
"No, it's quite alright. My name is Mipha, and I understand since being a huntress is what led me here as well."
"What do you mean? Were you searching for Raven too?"
Mipha looked out a window, past neon street signs to the mountains beyond. "Not quite. I have travelled far on behalf of those back home, for a...disease is running rampant through our community. As we failed to find answers closer to home, my brother and I left to search for a cure. It was due to my unfortunate luck that the Branwens attacked the town I was staying in."
Ruby leaned against the open windowsill. "You did everything you could, but hey, maybe you can continue now that we defeated them."
"As soon as I am discharged," Mipha nodded, somewhat concernedly. "I only ask that you let my brother know I'm alright if you run into him. He looks quite like me, except twice as tall and three times the muscle mass." She shook her head. "I also wanted to ask about the others - are they okay? I can only assume your teammate is in critical condition."
They glanced inside the infirmary. "Sun? He's a friend, a fellow team leader...and kind of the reason why we're here. Raven beat him badly for defending a village, though we were hoping Sun would have woken up knowing his efforts weren't wasted."
Mipha looked away, perhaps debating something internally before beelining to Sun's bed. Squeaking, Ruby followed to find a stunned Blake and Mipha laying a hand on Sun's chest.
The monitor beeped.
"Excuse me, what are you doing?" Blake demanded when the shock wore off. "Unless you're medical staff or some sort of miracle worker, I'd advise you immediately take your hands off him."
"Indeed, I am neither, but I've used my Semblance, Grace, to amplify others' Aura when their levels are nil. In fact, it is because of this that Raven decided to imprison me. But while I cannot guarantee anything, I believe it is worth a shot regardless."
Mipha exhaled, the tension making red and black afraid to so much as budge.
The monitor continued beeping.
She whispered under her breath and concentrated.
The monitor continued beeping.
Beads of sweat trailed down Mipha's face.
The monitor's beeping intensified -
And Mipha began glimmering with ocean blue Aura. It trailed down her arm to cover Sun, fading what bruises remained uncovered by bandages until nothing was left but healthy skin. When the light died down, Ruby caught Mipha as she sagged against the wall.
"Don't worry about me. Recovery takes time, much like your bedridden friend," she panted, stumbling past an awestruck Blake. "I'll call medical staff to take a look. Ruby, was it? To you and your team...thank you, truly. Perhaps we might see each other again, but I shall never forget your kindness."
"...and I'll never...forget yours."
Ruby gasped as she turned back and found Sun looking at her through bleary eyes. Mipha gave one last gentle smile before disappearing around the corner, after which he raised an eyebrow at Blake. "H-hey, you. You're...late."
"Am I? I've been here for hours waiting for your lazy ass to wake up," Blake growled, gripping his hand until her knuckles were hard. Sun winced. "You, Sun Wukong, are the most foolish, reckless, careless, idiotic, reckless -"
"You said reckless twice -"
"S-shut up!" Blake snapped. "What on Remnant were you thinking, taking on Mistral's most ruthless bandit by yourself? Are you insane? How would your team feel if you died before we could save you, and just as they got their team leader back? And I...I already lost my partner before." She looked away when her voice cracked. "What would I do if I lost you as well?"
Her fury cooled when Sun cupped her cheek, brushing a tear she didn't realize was there. It broke the floodgates and he pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry for making you worry. I just couldn't stand by when people's lives were at stake. Not after everything we've been through in Kuo Kuana. Maybe I am a little reckless, but I gotta be if I'm gonna make a difference. You're the one who taught me that."
"I taught you no such thing!"
"Docks, sneaking into a White Fang compound, wearing a magic mask that makes you a monster -"
"Shut up," Blake muttered, though without any real heat to it. "Hmph. Well, I...suppose I did, didn't I? Curiosity killed the cat, and all that."
"Oh, hey, you upped your joke game. I bet Yang's happy now, isn't she?"
"Shut up," she sighed, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Through it all, their hands remained firmly intertwined, even as Sun stroked between her cat ears. Blake visibly relaxed.
Blue and amber eyes locked when they pulled apart -
"What is going on - huh? Is that...?"
Smiling, Ruby turned to find Scarlet leading a bandaged Neptune and Sage at the door while her team stood behind them. Blake backed away just in time to dodge the Neptune-shaped missile that crashed into Sun's bed, followed by a more restrained but no less relieved Scarlet.
"Aren't you going to see him?" Blake whispered to Sage, who, with crossed arms, remained by the door. "I think he'd like to see his team whole once again."
"You should rephrase that to all those he cares about," he replied tiredly. "Sun and I may have been at odds recently, and we as a team have a lot to discuss, but that doesn't mean I'm grateful to see him well. Most importantly...thank you for saving our lives."
Seeing Team SSSN reunite was the sight Ruby left with, and after her team finished their farewells, they regrouped at the rooftop landing pad where Roman and Neo waited - this time in a bullhead that was borrowed instead of commandeered. As they climbed skyward, the dawn light greeted them after being up for nearly twenty-four hours straight, and it didn't take long before they began falling asleep one by one.
Ruby, however, stayed awake.
"Not gonna get some shut-eye, kiddo?"
"I've been trying, but I can't," she replied, glancing around; Blake and Yang had fallen asleep leaning on each other while Weiss had gone into the cockpit with the two thieves. "Ever been so tired but you can't fall asleep since there's, like, a million things going through your mind?"
Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about it. You've been kinda quiet ever since we left Windpath."
"So have you! Outside of when you were yelling at Roman, anyway."
"I stopped him from killing you during the Fall. Am I supposed to just forgive and forget?" he grumbled, gazing out the window. "Never mind the fact that we had no choice but to work together against my sister. Dammit, Ray. To think you were the Spring Maiden all along..."
Ruby leaned against his side. "Are you okay, Uncle Qrow?"
"Got a lot on my mind, too. Unlike Amber, Raven lost it all and while the tribe might survive, I don't know what will happen to her. Then there's you guys shouldering the fate of the world. I hoped you'd be at least a little happier knowing your teammate got her boyfriend back."
"Blake better not hear you say that," Ruby snorted. "It's just...well, we kicked butt, we saved the town, we got Sage and Neptune back, and we freed a whole bunch of people - one of whom managed to revive Sun from his coma. So why does it still feel like we've lost?"
"Because the consequences of achieving our goals almost invalidate them."
She shot Qrow a glance. "You feel it too, don't you?"
"Of course I do. Look at me," Qrow scoffed, and the early morning sunlight only accentuated the bags under his eyes. Even his beard had grown a little scruffier. "Yes, we rid a bandit city of even worse bandits, but the place is still a hotspot for crime. Raven was defeated, but enough bandits escaped that they're still a force to be reckoned with. And not only did Cinder crash the party, she's now a two-season Maiden in possession of what might've been our most powerful item."
Ruby wilted the further they went down the list. "I didn't expect her to show up like that. What do you think she'll do now? Go back to Haven, maybe?"
"Considering how infamous they are after their failed assault, I doubt they'd want to expose themselves again so soon. Why don't you ask Yang when she wakes up? Maybe she'll know more since she was the last one to fight her." Qrow ruffled her hair, and for once she didn't try to escape it. "Get some sleep for now, pipsqueak. I know it's easier said than done, but don't let this bring you down too much. We still saved a lot of lives, and Cinder'll have to work harder now to catch us off guard."
She nodded and sunk back into her seat. At least they'll have a better chance once they regrouped with Jaune, now that Mistral no longer had to worry about renegade dragons.
"...maybe I could learn more about my silver eyes once we continue and take the fight to Cinder, Dark Link or Salem herself. Haven didn't really have anything useful, though I hope the next place we visit in Vacuo can actually teach me something."
She gazed out the window, watching as Mistral's rainforests thinned in favour of dry, rocky badlands. Eastern Mistral looked like a place where the dust would clog her nostrils in minutes, but she held to the one hope that wherever they'd go next, they'd face the challenges together once more. In a world where people were seemingly at each other's throats, the last thing they needed was their own foundations to break.
Ruby blinked, only to be shaken awake at dusk by Weiss when her exhaustion translated hours of air travel into a long, restless nap. Disembarking onto a landing pad, the first thing she noticed was a massive volcano with dried lava caked across the flanks and a ruined town in the throes of reconstruction.
What truly caught their eyes, however, were Jaune and Oscar. Not because of how exhausted they looked, but at the literal baby fire dragon that curled around the latter's neck.
It mewled with round green eyes and let out a small, fiery poof.
"Hey. Good to see you guys - oh. Hmm," Jaune trailed off upon seeing Roman and Neo. "I see. Guess we all have things we gotta talk about."
Now that was the understatement of the century.
(==|======-
"That thing is just a baby! And innocent! An innocent baby!"
"One that will follow in the footsteps of its parent."
"And crush generations of evolution into a few years? If it lashes out even once..."
"It won't. Not if we raise it to be friendly and love people."
"I cannot believe you, too, are willing to risk more lives for an uncertain chance. We just killed one monster and now you are releasing another into the wild. You should know better than this."
"She does, Ren, and so do I. That's why I'm with her on this one. I'm not saying we'll never cross that line but killing innocent lives makes you no better than what we're fighting against. And that's not the Ren I knew from the start!"
Jaune blinked.
Like negotiations between rival factions of a powerful mafia family, what should've been a relieving reunion devolved into hours of noise complaint-worthy arguing. Ruby, Yang, Blake and Nora stared down Ren, Weiss, Ozpin and Qrow across the table, and Daruk presided with a frustrated aura against the never-ending cycle.
Deep down, a small, guilt-inducing part reminded him that it was his fault. He put them here because he was too weak to do what needed to be done.
Jaune promptly banished that thought to the mental equivalent of the Dark World. Back in the present, there were conflicting expectations - first that he'd loosen up with the festivities underway. The Skygor Tribe was many things, but their ability to party outshone the rest; now that Volvagia was dead and Death Mountain dormant, the industrial cavern was now a giant underground festival, with streets full of celebrating townsfolk and enough booze to give a whale alcohol poisoning. Even the floating red boulder shone even brighter, the ambient light illuminating part of the tunnel to the surface.
"...and then there's Dark Link. The Spirit Guardians. Cinder, the double-Maiden and new owner of the Fierce Deity Mask. Two huntsmen-turned-terrorists living it up somewhere in town and a dragon born from the one responsible for driving the Skygors underground. Maybe they should've built their homes here in the first place."
Jaune sighed. Be it anger, exhaustion or sheer burnout, it became clear they weren't making any progress and thus decided to disband until tomorrow morning. Yang and Blake were the first to go, disappearing into the crowds cramming the central square, Qrow headed for a nearby tavern and Oscar tried to get his team to eat at a local restaurant.
Key word: tried.
So did Ruby and Weiss, but Ren made for the exit tunnel with nary a word, and Nora went to her room with Ember on her shoulder.
He...wasn't feeling hungry, and walked away from their dejected expressions. As to his destination, well...
"Where are you going?"
Demanding. Expecting.
The slightest bit caring.
"Ah, nowhere," Jaune replied, turning to find Weiss' challenging stare. "I know it sounds like I'm lying, but trust me, I'm not."
"So you don't know where you're going and have no idea where you'd even want to go?"
"Story of my life..."
Jaune shook his head when she raised an eyebrow. "Hey, don't get mad at me. You're the one who's tagging along."
"You can thank Ruby for that. She and Oscar were concerned about you."
"..."
Weiss sighed. "As was I. About you, Ren, Nora and that...that..."
"Ember?"
She strode past him and they began walking down the street, meandering between throngs of people yet otherwise feeling...disconnected. Detached. "Yes. I must admit I am torn, Jaune. We've seen the impact Volvagia had on the Skygors and the destruction it spread with Raven across Mistral. But Ember..." Weiss cooed. "So cute. My darling little ball of flame. Its eyes were so green and -"
"Full of innocence. He's not Volvagia."
"And as much I'd wish, he's not Zwei, either. That is why I, personally, am willing to give it a chance, even if I must ultimately side with Ren on the matter," Weiss replied with a tone of finality. "Are he and Nora alright? I've never seen them at odds like this."
"Neither have I. And that's what scares me the most."
Their path eventually led them through the tunnel and into Golow Village proper. It was much emptier, considering most buildings were still being repaired, but enough people remained to drink and celebrate among their old homes. There were even a few bonfires in some of the plazas, with enough lights hung throughout that the village began to feel habitable again.
Jaune leaned against a wall while Weiss sat on a crate, both on the edge of a town square. The bonfire kept them warm at a distance. "I mean, this is the worst I've seen them fight. It probably goes deeper since Ren's been standoffish during our time here, and they both mentioned having a rough childhood a while back. Maybe it's connected? They never expanded much and I didn't want to pry more than they were comfortable with, but then...Ember -"
"Was the draconic straw that broke the camel's back," Weiss finished for him. "An innocent reminder of the source of their stress, along with the other matters at hand."
That was one way to put it. "I wonder where we'll find the next Spirit Guardian. There's, like, a million square miles of desert, not to mention convincing someone to ferry us across a Grimm-infested ocean."
"Sounds like fun. Just don't forget Cinder and Dark Link."
"They're gonna follow us either way. We already have Roman and Neo here, so why not go over to the dark side completely?" Jaune snorted.
Weiss punched him lightly on the shoulder. "We can prepare and plan tomorrow. Let's focus on what we can do right now. Namely, this."
She handed over the well-worn cylindrical jar from Raven's stash. While he'd never seen it before, some part of him thought the ocean motifs familiar nonetheless.
And was it just him, or did it smell somewhat like the brine?
"...hmm. I can't pick the lock open, and for a box that's more rust than metal, it's holding up stronger than you'd expect," Jaune grunted, shaking it like a cocktail mixer. Something light rattled inside. "Guess we gotta do it the proper way. Is there a locksmith in town?"
Weiss shrugged. "Of a sort. It just so happens that Vale's master thieves are staying the night, so we can ask them to take a look."
Jaune nodded. The night grew darker and the stars, even brighter, yet the air only grew cozier from there - not just because of the nearby bonfire, but because the Skygor men, women and children danced to a tune that, strangely enough, reminded Jaune of the forest. As if on instinct, Jaune drew the Goddess Harp to follow along, eventually succeeding and imagining himself being lost in the woods amongst fairies and lush, green trees.
"Maybe one day I'll come back to the forest and visit - wait, what? Where did that come from?"
He shook his head and glanced around the plaza. Weiss paid no attention at all as she hummed contentedly with the music, and except for bonfire casting a sparkling glow on the Goddess' Harp, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary -
That is until a familiar ninja emerged from the crowd and headed for the outskirts.
"Where are you going?"
Jaune stilled, having kicked off the wall in pursuit. "Um, just gotta take care of some things. Of the team kind, if you know what I'm saying."
Weiss was about to retort until she tracked his line of sight. Her eyes, however, were piercing. "I see. Jaune...don't forget to listen to your instincts."
"Instincts..."
With Weiss' gaze echoing Link's previous words, Jaune followed Ren until he led them to a coastal bluff overlooking the ocean. Despite a horizon full of volcanic islands, the most restless figure in sight was his teammate before him.
"...Nora and I have been together long enough that being without her feels unnatural," Ren began after a few moments of silence. His tone suggested a balance between anger, wistfulness and remorse. "Perhaps it is our contrasting personalities that gelled us together all these years, but it was through necessity that we met in the first place."
Jaune cleared his throat. "All the way from Mistral."
"Correct. Forgive me for not having explained the manner how, as it is not a...pleasant story, but coming here hit close to the home we left behind. At one point, almost literally."
"Can I ask why you left?"
"Because a horde of monsters led by a Nuckelavee attacked our village, slaughtered everyone I knew and ripped apart my parents before my eyes."
He didn't know what to say to that.
"I first met Nora when she was an orphan being bullied by some of the other boys in town," Ren continued. "I ran into her a second time while hiding from the Nuckelavee. By then, Kuroyuri was no longer our home. We wandered through wilds and villages, living off others' kindness and learning how to fight as we grew older. It was I who suggested we enroll in Beacon, not just for a fresh start, but so that I might one day be strong enough to plunge my father's memento into its heart."
Ren handed him a small, curved dagger before looking away. "Jaune. This team...it's like family to me. But I'm frustrated by how slow we are in dealing with immediate, pressing threats. I understand your desire to duel Revali, but could it not have waited after we saved Golow Village? And Nora...after all we've been through, I never expected her to disagree. It almost felt like none of it ever existed."
Jaune's gaze fell. "Looking back, I still believe Revali had it coming, though I also wish we waited until after saving Golow Village. But I also can't imagine going through what you and Nora did. You two are some of the strongest people I've ever known precisely because you, Lie Ren, are not Nora Valkyrie. And she isn't you, either. Just because you're together doesn't mean you're one and the same. And neither of you are ever alone."
There was a moment of silence until Ren broke it by chuckling quietly. When he looked back, his smile was subtle and tinged with sadness.
"Perhaps you're right. I might be making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be. When I use my Semblance, however, the feeling never goes away. I can't stop thinking about this, no matter how hard I try, and...perhaps that's the point. I may not be a chosen Hero, but it will take time and space to learn more about myself outside of being a second half. Knowing Nora, I'd assume she feels the same."
"I...see..."
He clasped Jaune's shoulder. "Thank you, Jaune. I still appreciate it, and despite the highs and lows, I never regretted having you as my leader."
Sighing, Jaune closed the distance and embraced Ren in a hug, one that was tightly returned. He watched Ren walk down the path until he was left alone with the ocean on one side and a village returning to life on the other.
"Man, so many things to focus on, worry about...am I doing the right thing? Is everything gonna be alright?"
What do your instincts tell you?
"...I don't know. I feel so...conflicted. Lost, even."
And that's okay. Sometimes, it will take us being lost to understand ourselves, whether as a teammate or one destined to save the world. Your instincts need not always come from the legends before you. Just never forget Ren's sentiment in that your team would not have followed you this far if you haven't earned their loyalty. I'm sure Nora and Pyrrha are of the same belief...perhaps even Oscar, in time.
Jaune sighed and gazed into the starry sky. For a moment, he could only imagine if previous Heroes ever felt the same, knowing what to do yet constantly worrying that their plans would only lead to disaster.
Leadership was hard.
Becoming a Hero, even harder.
And yet some small and familiar part of him refused to surrender. The others sure hadn't, so why should he?
Maybe the real instincts were the friends he made along the way.
- AN -
Welcome back to A Descendant of Legends!
Man, is it surreal to type that out after three months. In that time we went from "22" to "23", got a new Harry Potter game and even another trailer for BOTW 2 - sorry, Tears of the Kingdom. Dayum. Time flies, eh? Sometimes I feel like I'm Indiana Jones discovering old relics when I look at my outlines and idea banks. I apologize for the long wait; life obligations, moments where it's getting harder to physically type and work's gotten the better of me, and while it doesn't invalidate my goal to finish the story, I don't have as much time to write as before. Life...happens.
For this chapter, at least, the plan was to end the mini-arc like that Wario meme, where they've won, but at what cost; in addition to setting up part 2 of the character arcs for Ren, Nora and some others down the line, I felt it best to start with the action and slowly wind down instead of a cliffhanger. All so that the next chapter (and beginning of a new, plot-focused mini-arc) can do the opposite, starting with the crew's preparations before embarking on their next voyage. That'll also allow me to tie up loose ends, writing back some of what was supposed to be in this chapter with other characters but got shelved in an earlier draft. Had to rewrite the entire chapter and take out a few scenes-worth, from a Yang-Blake infiltration sequence and a mafia-style dramatic negotiation involving Roman and Neo. I dunno. Maybe one day I'll release bloopers and behind-the-scenes.
In any case, thank you all so much for being patient and sticking around thus far! I really do appreciate it, especially after all this time. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that we'll see each other next time!
- Reviews -
Super heavy weapons guy: Thank you! It may not be a hundred percent canon, but the OOT manga struck me nonetheless and I just had to reference it.
Dragon lord Syed 101: Thanks! There were parts I had to compress and compact so as to not draw the chapter out for too long, but the plan is to showcase more of how they felt regarding Ember and recent events in addition to kicking off the upcoming mini-arc for next chapter.
Guest: Thanks, I'm glad you like it! A bit more Ruby in this chapter, and in the upcoming mini-arc...:)
Guest: Yup! And now I'm throwing even more on his and Nora's plates, lol. I decided to split their character arcs over two mini-arcs while integrating points from both sides of the aisles, and I'm kinda excited to see where they'll go when things get awry.
Guest: I hope so as well! Sometimes, a little bit of turbulence is what's needed to remind people of what they're grounded in, and through it all, they have each other. Even if one issue spirals into another, and it's up to Jaune to take care of the family - to lead - before they all come back together. RWBY has seemingly done so, for now - though not without great cost. And while I focused more on the Blake-Yang dynamic for the battle rather than having everyone pitch in (as much as I really, really wanted to, esp. Roman and Qrow) I also hope that I can get more opportunities to continue working on Chapter 52.
- Stats -
Upload Date: Mar 1 / 2023
Chapter Word Count: 8404
Approximate Page Length (Times New Roman, size 12, single-spaced): 21
- Disclaimer -
The Legend of Zelda and RWBY are the respective properties of Nintendo and Rooster Teeth.