AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter sees the Yang/Blake conversation that maybe some of you have been waiting for...and a certain explosion that all of you have been waiting for. I hope I did it justice.
I didn't get any reviews last chapter, so I hope I didn't piss anyone off with the Weiss/Marrow love scene. Or make anyone wonder that the chapter title of "I Don't Care Anymore" referred to the story! Not at all. I care very much.
Another "Viewer Discretion Advised" for this one. One part of this chapter gets a bit explicit.
Silac Airfield
Banska Bystrica, Independent Confederation of Slovakia
14 September 2001
Yang lay in bed, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Her mouth quirked into a smile at that. Unfamiliar. Yeah, right, Yang—when was the last time you looked at a familiar ceiling? You're in the military, doofus. Familiar ceilings are for civvies. She glanced at the clock. It was just past midnight.
The door opened and closed for a moment, just long enough for Blake Belladonna to walk in. The room was small, but at least they had their own beds this time. Yang watched her as she took off her bra and got into bed. For a moment, moonlight slanted across her breasts, teasing and hiding at the same time. "Well, well," Blake said, as she settled in under the covers.
"What's up?" Yang realized Blake knew she was still awake. Her night vision. She wondered if she noticed that Yang had been watching her.
"Just got a glimpse of Weiss when I was coming out of the bathroom down the hall. She was going into Marrow's room."
"Oh ho." Yang snickered. "I think Weissy is going to get her cherry busted tonight. We'll have to play totally dumb about it tomorrow."
Blake giggled. "Oh, definitely. Ask her if she pulled a groin muscle or something."
"Say she's got a different hairstyle."
"And we have to rib Marrow about it too," Blake grinned.
"Hey, I'm all about equal ribbing." Yang went back to studying the ceiling. I have to say something, she thought. But I'm afraid to. It's like a cliff…and if I do it, I'm just going to fall. "Blake?" she said.
"Yes, Yang?"
"Hey, not to be…um, forward or anything…and I don't mean anything by this or nothing…but could you come over here and get in my bed?" Instantly Yang wanted to actually throw herself off a cliff. It was exactly the wrong thing to say.
She saw Blake's yellow eyes shining in the moonlight; they were full of mirth. "Why, Yang, it's all so sudden!" She acted like she was fanning herself. "And me, another girl! What will my parents say?"
"Blake, I'm serious. I'm not…not asking for that. I just want to talk to you."
Blake was quiet for a moment. "Well…all right." She got up, went tantalizingly in and out of the moonbeam again, and slipped under the covers of Yang's bed. It was barely big enough for both of them, but it was warm. "So what is it?" Her voice held a note of concern.
Yang turned over. "I'm thinking of something, but I can't say it."
Blake stared at her. "Is it…about me?"
"Yeah." Yang shook her head, and smiled at the utter absurdity of it. She thought about telling Blake to forget it, or make a joke about it, or anything but what she wanted to say. "Blake…I think I love you."
Blake's eyebrows went up. "Uh…okay?"
Yang laughed softly, at herself. What were you expecting, Yang? That she would say she loved you back, and there would be kissing and flowers blooming and then you'd make mad lesbian sex? You don't even know if you're a lesbian or anything, dumbass. Once more, she thought about turning it into a joke, but one look told her Blake wouldn't believe it. "Yeah, it's stupid. But I do. I don't know what that means, but I do."
"Like a sister?" Blake still looked very confused.
"No. Like a…" Yang almost said lover, but she wasn't sure about that herself. She decided to be truthful. "I don't know, Blake. I don't know what."
Blake rolled onto her back. "I didn't think you were gay. I mean, it doesn't matter to me if you are, but don't ask, and all that."
"I'm not." Yang laughed again. "Yeah, that's bullshit, huh? I say I'm not gay, but here I am thinking about how great it would be to make love to you. The really weird part is that I've never thought that way about another woman. I don't look at Pyrrha and wonder what it's like to eat red carpet."
Blake burst into laughter. "Oh my God, Yang."
Yang grinned despite herself. "Yeah, yeah. But I mean…I don't know." The grin faded. "Blake, you're the best friend I've ever had. I never really had friends. Not real ones. I mean, when you grow up in the military, you make friends for three years and then you're gone. You usually don't see or talk to those people again. Mom disappeared when I was six, and after that we never left Signal…but my friends, they were military. All the kids I grew up with went somewhere else—Luke, Eglin, North Bay, Olds, wherever. Sure, I made new friends, but then they left too."
"You didn't go to public schools?" Yang shook her head. "What about when you joined the Air Force?" Blake asked.
"Sure, a few, here and there. But they'd get reassigned or I would. Then we get up to Beacon. Yeah, we were only there for a month or two, but shit, Blake…we hung out, we did stuff…I told you about Raven and Mom and you told me about Adam. A lot of the stuff I've told you I've never even told Ruby about."
"I understand, Yang, and I feel the same way." Blake turned back over on her side, reached out, and took Yang's metal fingers in her own warm, flesh ones. "But it's quite the jump between being best friends and being lovers. I mean, Weiss is one of my best friends, but I don't think about what it's like to eat white carpet. As Marrow is undoubtedly doing right now." She smiled.
"If he's got any sense," Yang agreed. "And I don't get it either. But I look at you, and it's just like…I'm scared shitless of losing you. I just want to hug and hold you, and protect you, which is also bullshit since you don't need protecting. I just…" Yang felt like punching the wall. It wasn't coming out right. None of it was. "I don't know what, Blake! I'm just confused.
"I like guys. Damn, Blake, I lost my v-card when I was fifteen, in high school. Dad doesn't know. I've probably been with a dozen guys. Some have been one pump chumps, and some have made me climb the walls. But never more than a night or two, and I didn't make love to them. I fucked them. It was good fucking, and I wouldn't mind doing it again. Hell, I don't blame Weiss at all for wanting to get cleaned out by Marrow. I don't blame Ruby for wanting to be pounded by Oscar." Yang winced. "Never thought I'd say that. But with you, it's just…I don't know what it is. It's not just sex. It's…love, I guess. Except I've never been in love and I don't know what that's even like."
Blake was quiet for awhile, though she continued to hold Yang's hand. "I think I have," she finally said. "With Adam. But that's…I don't know if that was love either, Yang. I thought it was. He certainly did."
"What did it feel like?"
Blake leaned back in her pillow. "Like fire, I guess. You know you're going to be burned, but you don't care, because you want to be warm. You look at someone and you just feel this bubbling inside, like you know you're going to be with them forever, and you can't wait to get started. When you kiss them, it doesn't matter if it's a peck on the lips or you're swabbing each other's tonsils, it's wonderful because you know it's the first of a thousand kisses. And when you make love, and you're done and you both stink with sweat and everything feels messy inside, and you're trying to catch your breath, and you think 'Holy shit, that just happened. I just had someone inside me and I loved it, and I love them, and I can't get enough.' And you know they feel exactly the same, because they give you that smile and you snuggle up and fall asleep in each other's arms, and you wonder just why you deserve to be that lucky."
Yang whistled. "That's pretty damn good, Blake."
"Yeah…I'm eloquent when I'm too tired to sleep. And I've read too much Ninjas of Love." Blake gave an ironic chuckle. "But I'm not the best judge of it, Yang, despite all my nice, flowery, fanfictiony words. I may have loved Adam like that, but I was also seventeen. Barely seventeen. And it turned out Adam saw me more as a possession rather than a lover. Maybe not at first; I don't know. But that's what it became in the end."
"Was he your only one?" Yang rolled her eyes. "Duh, Yang…I forgot about Sun."
"Sun was a one-night thing, Yang. I mean…" Blake laughed. "I wouldn't mind it being a more than one night thing, but that's lust, not love. I can't see myself spending the rest of my life with Sun." She made a face. "He's damn good in the sack, but I know I don't love him. I didn't feel the same way about Sun like I did about Adam. All I felt was, 'Holy shit, Blake, he made you come twice. That was great.' And then I fell asleep, and he was already out cold."
"Twice? Not bad," Yang commented.
"Not bad at all." Blake let go of Yang's hand, but continued to look at her. "Were you trying to seduce me, Yang?"
"No," Yang said truthfully. "I just wanted to tell you." She turned her face back to the ceiling. "I don't have all that sex feeling with you, Blake. I'd like to, and not because I want you to make me scream and curl my toes, and vice-versa. That's why I think it's love, and not just because I haven't gotten laid in over a year. If I was just looking at your tits—which are great, by the way—or your cat ears, and thinking 'Mmm yeah, I want me some Faunus pussy'—no pun intended—"
"For once," Blake interjected.
"Heh, yeah. For once." Yang sighed. "If that was it, I'd just tell myself I needed to see if this Cheshire guy is busy tonight or see what Mister Shower Head is up to. Just hormones, and fear that I'm not going to have sex again before I die. But it's not, Blake. It's not that. I just want…" She looked at Blake, and gave a sad, helpless shrug. "…I don't know what I want. But I know that I love you. Somehow…I just know." She sat up in bed, drew up her knees, and rested her head on them, ignoring her nudity. "It doesn't make any sense, and there's a good chance it's just fear or leftover adrenaline or the Branwen/Xiao Long hot blood in me, or I've just lost my motherfucking mind. But there it is." Yang thunked her head against her knees. "It's so fucked up."
"There's nothing wrong with being bisexual, Yang," Blake said.
"Got nothing to do with it. It's fucked up because it's you, and I feel like I'm ruining our fucking friendship, and I'm an idiot for even saying something. Especially when maybe we get back—if we get back—I might just think to myself that I was just being stupid and tell you I was wrong." Yang angrily ran her hands through her hair. "Such a fucking idiot. God, I fucking suck. No wonder no one hangs around me very long." She started crying, and pounded her knee hard enough to leave a bruise, angry that she was crying, that she didn't understand her feelings, that Blake would think she was a freak, or that she wasn't saying the words she needed to say.
Then Blake's arm was around her, drawing her into an embrace, so Yang could cry on her shoulder. The tears fell onto her friend's shoulder, to drift down over a naked breast. Blake let her cry, rubbing Yang's back, gently rocking her as Yang sobbed, with all the pent up anger, hurt and fear. They'd both seen too much, heard too much, and felt too much. Blake knew that Yang needed this, to let it out, just like the night in Algiers that Blake had gotten drunk and cried on Yang's shoulder over Adam.
Yang finally wound down, and moved back to her side of the bed, using the blanket to dry her tears. "Fuck, Blake, I'm sorry—"
"Don't be. You needed that. Just like I needed it in Algiers." Blake stared down at herself, then over at Yang, who got out of bed to readjust the covers. Blake's black underwear, a last souvenir from the Red Keep, was the only piece of clothing between them. She watched Yang: the thick mane of untidy hair; the beautiful, if tear-streaked face; the large breasts, flat stomach, long legs, and the nestle of blond curls between her legs. She found herself wanting to feel the desire to make love to Yang, to become lovers, to be what Yang wanted. But the desire wasn't there. Blake wanted to hug her, feel warm next to her, be the best friend that Yang needed and had never had before her, but not make love to her.
"Yang," Blake said as her friend climbed back into bed, "do…you want to m-make love?" Her voice broke on it.
"Do you?"
The lilac eyes were on hers, and Blake knew she could not and would not lie. "No…I'm so sorry. I mean, I will, if that…would make you feel better…"
"Blake, no offense, but the last thing I need is a pity fuck." Yang pulled the covers over herself. "I know that's not what you meant, but unless you want me as much as I want you—or think that I want—then that's what it would be."
Blake did not pull up the covers, despite the fact that her own breasts were on display. Yang did not look at her. "I don't know that I can ever be what you want me to be, Yang. Sex has nothing to do with it. I like men, but for you…maybe…maybe it would be more than a pity fuck, but I don't know either. I just don't know." She reached out and put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "I do know this: I want to be your friend. I don't know if that means we sleep in the same bed naked, or we take showers together—"
"We already do that," Yang pointed out.
"You know what I mean. But I know that I love being around you. You're an extraordinary person, Yang. You're always the first to lighten a situation. You act bravely, even when you're afraid. You do what you say, and you say what you mean. You make mistakes, but you own them." Blake squeezed her shoulder.
"I'll try to keep up," Yang replied. "I like that you've never been intimidated by me. Even when you didn't like me all that much."
"When was that?" Blake giggled.
"Oh, when I stole your kills. And your T-shirt."
"The 'European Health Baths' one? I thought that was Pyrrha's."
Yang reached up and put her real hand on Blake's. "You never gave up on people, Blake. Even when they hurt you. You never give up."
"I ran," Blake said softly.
"But you came back. You always stay positive. You know what matters to you, Blake."
"You matter to me, Yang." She gently pulled Yang back up to a sitting position. "I don't know that I can ever love you like that. But I do love you…in my own way." Blake shrugged. "The rest…well, we can figure that out, I guess. Or not. I may not ever make love to you, Yang, but I will always cherish you." She put her forehead against Yang's. "You are, and always shall be, my friend."
Yang snorted. "You stole that from Star Trek."
"True. But I meant it."
"Yeah."
They kissed then. It was hesitant, and it wasn't sexual—there was no electric touch of tongues, or hands going to breasts or between legs. It did not develop into an open-mouthed kiss, or more than that. It was not even a kiss that promised more kisses down the road. It was just a kiss between two people that cared about each other, and wanted the other to understand what words could not say.
Yang broke the kiss first. "Not bad." She looked around. "Huh. Didn't hear any choir or see any flowers bloom or anything."
Blake did the same. "I know. Kind of disappointed." Her ears twitched. "Uh oh."
Yang was instantly alert. "What? What is it?" She didn't hear jet noises, or assassins creeping down the hallway, or much of anything, but Faunus ears were more sensitive.
Blake giggled again. "I think that was Weiss. And she's not in pain."
"Well, good for her. And Marrow." Yang subsided back to her pillow. "Blake…thank you."
"Back at you, Yang."
They lay there, back to staring at the ceiling. Then they smiled at each other, Yang told a joke, and Blake laughed. They talked about first times and last times, and family and friends and air battles and what they would do if they got home again. Eventually exhaustion overtook them, and finally they slept.
The morning air was crisp, if not cold—winter's first hint that it was not that far away. Ruby sat on a bench next to the barracks, drinking coffee. Whatever Cheshire thought of them, someone in his group had made sure there was hot coffee and donuts waiting when they got up. Ruby had looked at both in a bit of fear, wondering if they were spiked, then hunger and exhaustion won out. She was too tired to care if they were laced with kerasine. In some ways, she wished they were, so someone would tell her what to do.
Pyrrha came walking down the tarmac. Whatever issues she had the day before seemed to be gone; she almost seemed chipper. She smelled the coffee. "Excuse me, Ruby, where did you get that? That smells lovely."
"Ready room," Ruby replied.
"I'll be right back." A few minutes later, and Pyrrha came out with a steaming mug, a half-eaten donut sticking out of her mouth. She sat next to Ruby, finished the donut, and took a deep drink. "Oh, that is fine. Cheshire is a bastard, but that is good coffee."
"I wonder where he is," Ruby said.
"Gone. He flew to Kosice last night—that's where the Jabberwockies are based." Pyrrha nodded to the east. "Over there, about 150 miles or so."
Ruby's eyebrows went up. "By himself?"
"Yes. Alyx took off with him, but he told her to finish the combat air patrol and flew on alone, in that Moonslice of his." Pyrrha motioned with the cup towards the large hangar, where another of the ubiqitous A-4s was being worked on. "I got up early for my jog, and ran into Alyx over there. She had been up all night, waiting for word. Nothing."
"Neo probably killed him." Ruby took a drink of coffee. "Or he's going to betray us." She shrugged. "Everyone else has."
"What do you mean by that?" Pyrrha's voice had an edge to it.
"Yeah, you don't know." Ruby ticked off her fingers. "Jinxy Peddler—an American expat smuggler who we thought was going to get us back to our lines. He was going to sell us to Salem. The Red Prince. He was going to sell us into sex slavery, after getting us doped up on kerasine, which makes you do anything you're told. Now Cheshire—maybe, because I doubt he's going to talk Neo out of killing me."
"I can't believe she hates you that much," Pyrrha said.
"Yeah, well, she's fucking crazy." Ruby finished the coffee and leaned back on the bench. "I'm going to kill her the next time I see her, Pyrrha. And if she punches out, I'm going to murder her in her parachute. I should've done it a few weeks ago over the Baltic, the day she tried to kill Maria and Pietro, and Penny. I'm done with her bullshit."
Pyrrha was surprised at the vehemence in Ruby's voice. "That's not a good road to go down, Ruby. I know."
"Maybe some people deserve killing, Pyrrha." Ruby shrugged. "Anyway, I'm not going to get in that F-5 and go hunt Neo down. I want to go home. Get a decent shower, see Oscar, tell my dad I'm still alive, and see if I've still got a career. If I have to face Congress, then I'll fucking face Congress. I don't even care anymore." She spat the last sentence. Is this how Ozpin felt? Ruby wondered to herself. When the Wyvern was coming for Beacon, and he knew he'd screwed up? When he knew he'd be blamed for everything? Is this what he felt like when the nukes were launched out of Cuba and he knew he and Salem were responsible for starting the worst war in history?
She abruptly realized Pyrrha was staring at her in concern. "Ruby, are you all right?"
Ruby leaned forward and rubbed her eyes. "No…I didn't get any sleep. But thanks for asking." No one else has.
"Why not?" Pyrrha smiled. "I slept like a baby. I hope I didn't snore. Jaune said once that I—" Pyrrha stopped herself. "Well…never mind about that."
"Nope, you didn't snore. Neither did Little." During the night, Ruby had heard the mouse Faunus whimper for a moment, in the throes of a bad dream, but Little had soon subsided back into dreamlessness. "It wasn't you."
"What then?"
Blake and Yang walked out of the barracks room onto the tarmac, Blake holding two cups of coffee. Yang stretched. "Oh man, feel that sun! It's going to be a good day." She took one of the cups from Blake. "Thanks, Blakey." The Faunus shyly smiled. Pyrrha was still looking to the east, but Ruby caught the look between her sister and her wingperson. Then that same sister was looking at Ruby. "Morning, Rubes! Sleep good?"
"No."
"Man, I sure did. Best sleep I've had in awhile. Hey, Pyr."
"Good morning, Yang. Good morning, Blake."
"'Morning, Pyrrha."
"Did you sleep well too?"
"I did, thanks."
Ruby was suddenly filled with the desire to hit all three of them. There was nothing more annoying than three chipper morning people when one had not slept at all. They began to chatter away, saying nothing to Ruby. Normally, she wouldn't have minded, but for some reason, this annoyed her even more. "I'm going to get some more coffee and another donut—"
"Top o' the morning!" Marrow came out, a huge grin on his face. "Man, that's a gorgeous morning, you know that?" Blake and Yang tried to smother their snickers, and didn't succeed very well. Weiss soon came out as well, yawning, a mug in her hands as well. This made Blake and Yang start snickering even more. Marrow, Pyrrha and Weiss looked at them in mystification, before the latter turned to Ruby. "Guten morgen, Ruby."
"Good morning," Ruby shot back.
Weiss didn't notice her friend's ill temper. "Ruby, do you mind scooting over? I need to sit down." Ruby did so, and Weiss sat, but not without a visible twinge of pain. "Ooch."
Yang could no longer resist. "Sleep good, Weiss?"
"I slept quite well, thank you." Weiss drank her coffee.
"Are you hurting?" Blake could not hold back a grin.
"No." Weiss' tone of voice brooked no argument, but a blush rose across her face. Yang and Blake looked over at Marrow, who suddenly found the F-22 very fascinating. He excused himself and walked to the fighter and mostly out of earshot, hands in his flight suit pockets, whistling O Canada.
A pair of yellow eyes and a pair of purple ones fixed themselves on Weiss. "Are you sure you're not hurting, Weissy?" Yang leered.
"I'm quite fine. What is wrong with you?" Weiss gave them the look she reserved for utter dolts.
Yang turned to Blake. "I don't know, Blake. Maybe we're wrong."
"Could be," the Faunus grinned.
"Wrong about what?" Pyrrha asked with complete naivete.
"Well, look at Weiss. She's gone completely to the dogs—" Yang could not hold it in any longer and burst into laughter. Blake did as well, but as Weiss continued to send them a stare that would freeze a nuclear reactor, she ran over to Weiss and hugged her. "Congrats, Weiss!"
"For what? What are you two morons talking about?"
Yang went over and got on the other side of Blake, nearly putting her rear end in her sister's face. "C'mon, Weiss. We all know you went over to Marrow's last night and got you some Canadian bacon."
Weiss glanced between them, then knowing she was trapped, fought a rearguard action. She sat as primly as possible and sipped her coffee more, even as her face went bright red. "Quit being crude, Yang."
"She's not denying it, Blake."
"She most certainly is not." More snickers.
Pyrrha's head was cocked to one side, then the realization dawned on her face. "Oh. Oh." Now she turned red, and coughed politely.
Yang now nudged her sister. "Ol' Weissy turned in her v-card last night, Rubes. Ruby Flight no longer has a virgin."
"Yeah, I know." Ruby got up. "I had to go to the bathroom last night. I heard." She brushed past Yang and Blake and returned to the barracks.
Yang stared after her. "What's her malfunction?"
"She didn't get any sleep last night," Pyrrha answered.
"That's odd," Weiss said. "I didn't think we were being loud." Then the realization of what she had said hit her, and Weiss' blush deepened even more.
Blake hugged Weiss again, and Yang straightened up. "Hey, Marrow!" she called out. The Faunus turned, and Yang threw him a thumbs-up. Marrow spread his hands modestly. It had been a special night, and he didn't want to cheapen it by bragging. It had been very nice to wake up with Weiss nestled against him, her arm across his chest. He had watched her for thirty minutes, wondering why he was the luckiest Faunus on the planet. Then she had woken up as well, and the gentle smile he gave him was the most beautiful he had ever seen. It hadn't been perfect—it had hurt a little, for her—but Weiss had been satisfied, deeply so, and he was as well…and that, as far as Marrow was concerned, was good enough. It wasn't love, not for either of them, but it would do for now.
Pyrrha got up and stood before them. "I hate to break this up, but I think we need to make a decision. Neo may not wait for us." She told them about Cheshire. "Maybe he was sincere—he certainly was last night, about his people here. I may despise him, but he wasn't lying about that."
Blake was serious now. "Neo's going to murder him."
"Quite possibly, which is why we need to make a decision. I can get on the radio and call the 82nd at Ostrava. I imagine they could have a C-130 here in less than an hour, and we could be at Ramstein in three hours or less." Pyrrha paused. "Or we can stay here."
"Say what?" Yang exclaimed.
"Hear me out. I talked to Alyx this morning." Pyrrha pointed to the east. "We hurt the Jabberwockies yesterday, hard. Alyx thinks they're well below half strength. What if we stayed here and fought it out? Or went after them ourselves?" None of them notice Ruby stop at the open door.
Weiss finished her coffee and got to her feet. "Pyrrha, why would we do that? I wouldn't mind ridding the world of Neo Politan, but we need to get home. We need to figure out what we're going to do next, face that court of inquiry and get it over with—"
"Yes, but what if we do it with a victory?" Pyrrha smiled, warming to her subject as Marrow returned to the group. "Listen, Alyx said they have an arsenal. She's willing to help us, and Bob is willing to go back up. We load half our group with bombs, the other in top cover. While we deal with the Jabbers, the other half craters the runway. Alyx even has some Durandals!" She referred to a French bomb, which would fire a rocket when it reached the ground, bury itself in a runway, then explode, leaving a huge crater. "Or we do a fighter sweep first. Neo won't resist being able to come up. We deal with the Jabbers, then call in the 82nd, and take Kosice too!"
"Wait, hold on, eh?" Marrow said. "I mean, we almost got killed yesterday, and now you want to go after them?"
"Why not?" Pyrrha asked.
"Why not? Nine people, maybe ten in the valley of the shadow, against a whole gang of air pirates?"
"Yes!" Pyrrha shrilled. "Yes! Aren't you tired, Marrow? Weiss? Any of you? Aren't you tired of having to retreat? Of losing? I am! I want to salvage something out of this whole…this whole damned mess! Salem kicked us out of Poland, she got Penny killed, and Vine, and Clover, and a lot of other people! Well, then maybe we need to quit running and start fucking advancing!" They were all taken aback at Pyrrha's profanity, which the Greek girl rarely used. "We took Ostrava and killed the Red Prince. It's not the same as getting Salem or Watts or Tyrian, but it's something! And now we get Kosice, destroy the Jabberwockies—"
"And get Neo too," Yang finished.
Pyrrha held up a finger. "And get Neo too. Exactly."
"I don't mean to be devil's advocate," Weiss said, "but last night you acted like you didn't care about this place, Pyrrha. Now you're willing to possibly die for them." She held up a hand as Pyrrha's face darkened in anger. "I'm not saying you have a death wish. I'm just wondering why you care about Banska Bystrica so much all of a sudden."
"Because I can actually protect these people, Weiss…for once." Pyrrha did not shout. It was all the more effective because she didn't. "And I'm tired of losing."
"She's got a point," Yang said. "I'm getting pretty tired of losing too. And of running." She nodded. "Count me in, Pyr."
"I'd have to see what we're fighting with first, but I'm not against the idea," Blake agreed tentatively.
Marrow shrugged. "I've got to admit you make sense, Major."
Weiss noticed that Ruby had come out of the barracks. She walked past them. Little came out as well, yawning, munching on a donut. "Ruby," Weiss said, "Pyrrha thinks we should go after Neo. What do you think?"
"Why are you asking me?" Weiss blinked at the pure venom in Ruby's voice.
"Um, we just—" Blake began.
"Because I'm the commander? Leader of Ruby Flight?" Ruby snarled. "Because I'm just supposed to have something to say? Because I don't! And if I did, you've already made up your mind! Clearly you don't want me to be the leader any longer!" She stabbed a finger at Pyrrha. "You were already agreeing with her before you even asked my opinion! And you know what? That's fine. That's perfectly fine. Because I'm tired of having to be in charge. I'm tired of being the one who has to pick people up. I want to go home, but who cares about what I want? I've got to face a Congressional inquiry and be used as a scapegoat for Ironwood, but meh, no biggie, right?" She whirled on Pyrrha. "You sat there last night and said people wanted me to be a dead heroine rather than a live embarrassment. How the hell do you think that made feel?"
"That's—that's not what I meant—" Pyrrha stammered.
"But hey!" Ruby exclaimed, a sardonic smile on her face, throwing her hands in the air. "No time, right? Got to help Pyrrha! Got to follow someone who isn't just going to fuck everything up!" She glared at Blake. "Got to stay positive, right, Blake? Smiles all around! Maybe even finally get our feelings sorted out! Yeah, I heard you two last night. It's why I couldn't sleep. Among other reasons."
"Ruby, stop it," Weiss snapped.
"Oh yes, let's not forget about that." Ruby clapped her hands. "Good for you, by the way. We're all so happy for you, Weiss!"
"Hey, knock it off!" Marrow put himself between Weiss and Ruby.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Marrow," Ruby told him. "Is this a bad time? Or are we supposed to be getting ready to go on Pyrrha's little crusade for her new make-believe friends, so she can make up for Penny?" Yang took a step forward, fists balled, but stopped: there were tears in Ruby's eyes.
Pyrrha didn't notice. She grabbed Ruby by the arm, spun her around, and slapped her hard across the face. "I don't have to take that from you!" she shouted. "Not from you, Ruby!" She stabbed a finger east. "Cheshire was right, God help us—this place got hit because of you, Ruby! The Jabbers came her because Neo hates YOU!" Her scream ricocheted across the tarmac, runway, and hangars, turning heads even there. "Oh, and let's not forget that that reason we're even here is because of your plan that didn't work! You remember-the one where we threw our careers away to save Poland, and failed?" Pyrrha's teeth were bared. "What about you, Ruby? It's all about you!"
Ruby, to everyone's surprise, did not back down. She took a step forward. "If you want to fight, let's fucking go, Pyrrha. Right here or in the fucking air."
"Stop it!" Yang jumped forward, grabbing them both by the front of their flight suits. "Ruby, Pyrrha, knock it off! What the actual fuck?" Ruby lunged, and Yang shoved her back. "Goddammit, stop! Don't we have enough fucking problems?"
Pyrrha blinked, as if coming out of a trance. "I'm…I'm sorry," she apologized. "I…I know I'm not okay. Maybe I'm—I'm not right…but how am I supposed to be?" She put her face in her hands, and slowly sank to her knees, though they could still hear her voice. "She asked me to kill her. Didn't you hear? She asked me to kill her…again. I had to kill Penny at Beacon—the first Penny. I had no choice. I was the only one that could do it. I was the only one!" Her voice raised to a choked scream. "I was the only one…"
Yang looked down at Pyrrha. "C'mon, Pyr…we all know you didn't have any choice."
"But I had one last week, Yang." Pyrrha looked up, her face streaked with tears, her eyes red. "I had a choice. I could not kill Penny twice. I couldn't. I didn't. I wanted her to live, don't you see? I couldn't believe she was that badly wounded…and then…she made the decision for me." She looked past Yang to Ruby. "She called the Maiden down on herself, Ruby, just like Ozpin. So yes, I want to defend this place to make up for Penny. Because I have to live with that forever. Here or back home."
There was silence, broken only by the wind. Blake spoke up. "Everyone…I know things are bad, but—"
"Shut up." They all stared at Ruby then. "Don't," she said, her voice rough with emotion. "Just...don't."
Little came up to say something, but whatever she was going to say would never be known. At that moment, the air raid sirens went off.
AUTHOR'S ADDITIONAL NOTES: Ouch. Yep, we all knew that scene was coming up, and here it is. Again, I hope I did it justice. The voice acting in that one scene was some of the best, if not the best, in all of RWBY so far.
I also hope I did Bumblebee some justice too. In this fic, Blake and Yang have never really had any hints about being more than friends, except for Yang suddenly finding herself attracted to Blake. They're close, but I felt making them lovers was too much right now, if ever. (Unlike canon RWBY, where I thought the Bumblebee confession was quite beautiful.) Yang's confused about her feelings, Blake is confused on how to react to them, so we get the chaste kiss and a promise that they'll see where the path leads them. I don't know that myself, so the characters don't either. This scene sort of straddles the line, so I've either satisfied both sides of the debate, or really pissed everyone off.
But confessions and perils will have to wait, because Neo isn't in the mood to...