RWBY: A Thorn in My Heart
Chapter 32: Chaos or Order?
Atlas Communication Tower
Ironwood stood tall in the room, his hands folded behind his back as he watched his engineers quickly work on repairing the communications hub. Without Qrow or his Ace Ops around, the sooner he could contact Vacuo or Mistral for reinforcements the better. Speaking of reinforcements, Ironwood reached into his pocket to grab his scroll. He was grateful his workers had managed to get communications back up from within the kingdom at least and he wanted an update from his captain on Weiss's arrest. Surely with a battalion of droids it wouldn't be difficult, but he was concerned it was taking so long.
"Winter come in" he ordered, but his scroll just gave off a static sound and cut off. In his annoyance, Ironwood grabbed a worker by the collar, causing the shorter man to squirm.
"I thought you got back our communications?!" he bellowed, his angry yell causing all the other workers to pause what they were doing and look at him in shock. He turned his head towards them and simply giving them a death glare got them to frantically get back to work. He then fixed his almost murderous look on the man he grabbed wanting answers now.
"W-We did sir, maybe she just cut the signal herself." He said with panic.
Ironwood's blood boiled as he threw the worker across the room, causing him to crash threw the window, shattering glass and alerting the crew to their fate should they dare so much as utter a word in the angry General's presence. He was more so angry with Winter than him but Ironwood was clearly the impatient person who never heard the phrase "don't shoot the messenger".
"So…. Winter couldn't do her duty after all." He venomously said to himself as he took a deep breath to collect himself. He cursed his naivety, of course Winter wouldn't arrest her own sister, though he held hope she could do her duty as an officer who served him faithfully for years and put her own feelings aside, he took a glance out the now shattered window to see the image of the bloody man he assaulted. A sense of shame arose within him,
"Guess I don't practice what I preached" he thought to himself.
"Guards! Take him to the hospital and send me the bill." He ordered the guards standing outside the room, who grabbed the injured man by the legs and shoulders and carried him out the building.
Ironwood gave a loud exhale as he rested his arms on a panel, frustration and exhaustion fueling his already worsened mood.
He then eyed a screen to see images of his battalion of droids frozen in place outside the Atlas hospital. He knew Winter had disabled them to escape with Weiss and he also took note of the crowds of people growing restless. Some were calling the robots useless, some even calling the police and the general himself as such.
"If this continues we'll have another Grimm outbreak on our hands, no worse, the people will riot and stage a coup." Ironwood mused to himself. It was a horrendous fear that he saw come true in various cases of human history. He even recalled the Mt. Glenn tragedy, how a grand city with such stable defenses was brought to ruin in one night by an army of Grimm lured by the peoples anger with the government. He couldn't allow such a thing to happen to Atlas.
"Well then Schnee's, I am sorry but you've forced my hand." He said, his tone and glare turning cold as he pressed a button on the screen, turning it from green to a bright red.
Dark Continent
"Aaagh! This crap is gross!" Qrow bellowed as he wiped black gunk off his shoulder. His red aura shined as he felt his skin burn from the touch of this gunk, it healing the damage instantly. He felt a cold sweat drip from his chin; he was feeling extremely anxious right now. He was after all in the belly of a giant Nevermore, fighting to avoid being digested.
"This may have been a bad idea after all." Qrow said to himself.
A few hours ago, he had been chatting with his sister on his scroll, having felt blessed for the first time in his life he could speak to his "bitchy sister" as he would put it due to Ironwood using his robot arm as a conductor to power up the signal.
"You know, I don't feel comfortable with you using me as a battery Qrow." Ironwood said bitterly. Qrow squinted his eyes as he heard the groan of frustrations from his old friend. He knew the battle-hardened General had a lot of pride, and being used like this dealt a major blow to his ego. But Qrow knew he was just griping as a stress relief, the General always put Atlas first before his pride, sometimes too much to Qrow's annoyance. He couldn't even had spared more than one high powered cruiser to help during the battle of Beacon and it cost so many students their lives. All because he simply wanted to keep his own cities resources safe and profitable. Qrow let these feelings of bitterness fester, despite knowing the chances of Grimm attacking them right now from being lured by it. In fact, it was what he was counting on. He told his plan to his sister and the General, who made him cover his ear from the high pitch shout they gave in response.
"You want to get eaten!?" They shrieked in unison.
Qrow raised his hand to the scroll and Ironwoods face, wanting to collect himself after that startle. Once he did he glared at them fiercely, showing he was not making jokes.
"We can't end all this hassle without taking out the queen bitch in the ant hill, Cinder!" he said, his tone filled with murderous intent.
Ironwood and the image of Raven grew solemn as they pondered his words. It seemed crazy, if not downright impossible to get their alive without a portal, and there was no way Cinder would let them pass through on of hers. Qrow crossed his arms as he correctly assumed their thoughts.
"But you both know we can't make it to the Dark Continent through normal means. If I can get one of those Nevermore's or even a bigger Grimm to swallow me, Cinder will definitely appear to gloat she beat a famous huntsman to ridicule you. Best case she even takes it home with her as a trophy or you can take her out then." Qrow said. But Ironwood and Raven bore a dissatisfied look on their faces. Qrow was basically using himself as bait.
"Come on! I got Harbringer with me to cut my way out. No beast is gonna kill me just trust me already!" Qrow said confidently.
Back in the present,
Qrow stood on top of the limp body of the Nevermore that swallowed him, Harbringer indeed in his hands as he pressed the tip of its blade form in the red dirt ground. Qrow could smell the gallons of blood that had mixed in the ground, no doubt from years of Grimm like this dragging people here to maul them for meals. He was feeling both pleased with himself for killing such a monster and revolted when his aura protected him as the black Grimm ooze from its stomach slowly melted off him. It was a particular disgusting sight to see that gunk ooze on him and out the open stomach of the bird as it vanished slowly into black dust, not fast enough for Qrow's preference.
He soon set his gaze on the dark tower that was Cinder's fortress and bitterly gritted his teeth. After that little trip the bird gave him in its stomach, he wasn't particularly fond of the idea of becoming a bird, or even having any chicken for at least a month. But he was in uncharted territory, and practically a zebra in the lions den, right now and a direct attack was out of the question. There were no doubt countless Grimm and White Fang Agents to face and his Aura had taken a hit from protecting him from stomach acids. He gauged it on his scroll and found it to be near half. It sent a chill down his spine. He knew his chances of killing someone as powerful as Cinder now were getting slim, so his best bet would be stealth. He took a deep breath, trying to silence his mind and lower his heart beat. If he were to assassinate Cinder, he was going to need to calm himself and remove any bitter thoughts and feelings to avoid giving himself away to the grimm witch. He focused on happy memories, such as when held baby Yang for the first time, and seeing Summer hold her daughter ruby in the hospital room. He gave off a warm smile, filled with joy and pride as he remembered the first day he trained Ruby. She was a nervous wreck, constantly plopping on the ground trying to keep his scythe upright. It was just too big for her tiny body and he couldn't help but laugh at her pitiful attempts.
"Hey kiddo don't try so hard your gonna hurt yourself." He laughed. But he noticed Ruby pouting, her cheeks as red as her hair which took all his willpower not to melt and hug her. He really enjoyed playing cool Sauvé guy especially around his niece.
"I gotta try hard Uncle Qrow, got to be the best huntress I can be!" she yelled, her kid voice very high pitched, not that it changed much over the years.
"Why is that kiddo? And why you want to be a scythe wielder so bad?" he asked, curiosity fueling him right now. Ruby was still a little girl, and she didn't seem to have any talent for this weapon. Of all the careers and weapons, why was she so focused on this one. Ruby merely averted her gaze, trying to hide the tears stinging her eyes.
"Because you have one, because you… were mom's partner." She quietly said, her tone filled with sadness that made Qrow wince as he covered his mouth with his hand.
watch?v=mFUbpveLiEs (tears of grief music)
A surge of mournful sadness began filling his heart as he remembered Summer's blood stained chest. It took all his strength not to break out and cry or yell at Ruby for making him remember that. But as he looked at his tiny niece's eyes, his throat choked as it felt like it was being strangled. He just couldn't talk about Summer or her death in front of this sad little girl. Qrow's eyes widen as he soon realized something.
Of course this was all a way for the little girl to feel closer to her mother. She had lost her at only 5 and likely wouldn't remember much of Summer as she got older. Such a thing must have felt unacceptable for Ruby; she just had to keep her in her heart at all times. This only made the pain in Qrow's heart grow even worse, as he clenched his fists in grief filled anger and grasped Ruby's shoulders, earning a painful squeal that snapped him out of his bitterness as he looked on in shock at his crying niece.
"I-I'm sorry kiddo! I didn't mean too…" his tone filled with shame, Qrow gently let his niece go, her quivering brining even greater shame to older huntsman. But he noticed something amazing, Ruby had a grip on his grip scythe and had it ready. She had taken advantage of his outburst to steal from him and had been ready for trouble despite her fear and sadness, something Summer sometimes did when they spared in school. Qrow couldn't help but force a short smile, something that surprised his niece. Maybe she could have hope to be like… no even better than her mother.
"U-Uncle?" she asked.
"Sorry about that, just old man memories. Now come on, lets try again and make sure to keep your pinky finger moving or you'll cut your hand." He ordered, earning a bright smile and cheer from his niece. That bright smile warmed Qrow's heart to this day. Just imagining it made him feel at peace, despite the pain his family had endured, and there would be a guarantee all would work out. Overflowing with these warm feelings, Qrow transformed into his corvid form and flew to the top of the tower. He completely ignored the manticore's and Nevermore's flying around him, filled to the brim with joy he knew would mask his presence.
As he reached the top, he glanced through the red mirrors to eye his potential prey. He was confidant, but wasn't an idiot. He was in enemy territory and stealth was the utmost importance. Even if he couldn't get a chance for killing, he might obtain some valuable intel for everyone. Then this trip wouldn't be a waste, it couldn't be one and he had to make sure of it.
As he glanced into the tallest room of the tower, he eyed Cinder lounging in her chair throwing a tantrum. It mildly amused him to see the Grimm witch loose her cool, almost breaking out into a laugh, but held his talons to his beak, not wanting to give his position away. He was knocked out of his amusement by a sudden knock on the door. He soon grabbed his scroll as he partially undid the transformation and reverted back to bird form as he pressed recording.
As Whitley Schnee entered the room announcing his capture of the SDC, Qrow felt a sting in his chest as anxiety seeped in, causing the Grimm flying around to growl or bellow in low tone as he took a small breath to compose himself. He had to remain calm, but seeing Weiss's brother as a traitor unnerved him, almost as much as the thought of the dust company being under Cinder's thrall. He could only imagine the pain in the ass conversation he would have to have with his Niece and her teammate over this. Qrow shook his head and focused on the conversation, being particularly interested in Whitely's comments.
"Project?" Qrow thought to himself before glancing at the wall. It bore flames and numbers, something he had never seen before. He was intrigued, having forgotten about his assassination plan as he leaned in to get a better look, his beak touching the glass. The tapping sound alerted Cinder to the window where Qrow was. Qrow cursed himself for his curiosity; it just blew his cover.
"Oh what the hell?" he said to himself as he undid the transformation and finished the recording. He had enough for General Ironwood to go on to stop the SDC from being taken over by Cinder. He would not be going home empty handed he thought as he jumped off the window, letting off a cocky laugh as he texted Raven and morphed back into corvid form to fly away.
Whitely covered his face from the heat of Cinder's fire she exuded.
He managed to sneak a glance at her face, brimming with rage as she gritted her teeth and her eyes flared up with fire and glowed red. Despite knowing deep down the foolishness of it, he compulsively said the first thing in his head from the startle he endured.
"You going to stop him or keep throwing a tantrum?!" He yelled, before giving a fearful yip as she snarled at him. As much as she wanted to melt his face off right now and watch him run around squealing in pain, something that would amuse her to no end, she knew he was right. If Qrow got their conversation to Atlas, the SDC would be lost and so would be her project. With a mighty bellow, she shattered the red windows and alerted her Grimm to the intruder's presence.
"MY PETS, KILL THAT QROW, EVICIRATE HIM AND FEEST ON HIS INNARDS!" She screeched, her tone mixed with hers and Salems as the Grimm convulsed, their bodies glowing red as they were fueled by her anger and power and grew sharp talons and horns.
(Background music)
watch?v=1K1tD2rEkWc
"Well ain't this magical." Qrow sarcastically thought before whipping his bird head to the right to avoid a claw from a manticore from slicing his face off. He soon dived deep to avoid a wave of Nevermore's who crashed into the Manticore, causing a fight between the beast and the horde. The slashed, pecked, and gorged on each other's bodies, their rage induced chaos almost distracting Qrow but he shook his head to calm his thoughts as 3 dragon Grimm flew towards him.
"Hurry up already sis, I need that extraction!" Qrow thought to himself. He didn't understand why his sister wasn't playing her role already, she just had to summon a portal and get him out of there. As he landed on one Dragon Grimm's head, Qrow morphed back into human form and ran on the beasts back, ducking his head to avoid flames from the other 2 that singed their companions wings. As the dragon started falling, Qrow reached into his pocket and grabbed his scroll and called his sister.
"Come on come on damnit!" he said bitterly waiting for the line to pick up. He soon felt relief, a rare sensation when his sister was involved, as she finally answered his call.
"Did you get caught yet?" she asked in amused tone.
"The fuck sis!? Didn't you get my text?" he yelled unamused.
"What text… oh wait it just went through." Raven asked confused before answering, her voice distorted by static. Qrow then looked at his scroll confused as well, only to see in shock it had one bar that flickered to no signal rapidly.
"Oh come on you shitty WIFI!" he yelled, soon performing a backflip to avoid a crunch from the jaws of another Dragon that seeped its teeth into the neck of the dragon he was riding, dispersing it as it died while screeching in pain. The sudden movement knocked Qrow's scroll out of his hands.
"Shit!" he yelled as he turned into a bird again to grab it quickly. It was his sole evidence to help Weiss and he couldn't afford to lose it. He flew closer to the scroll as it plummeted, his talon's itching as he drew closer and closer to it. Before he could grab it, he sensed heat shooting towards his back feathers making his quills stand up. He instantly flapped his wings to allow the wind to propel him upwards to avoid what turned out to be a stream of fire that incinerated not him fortunately, but his scroll was not so lucky.
"Damnit it!" he cursed to himself, that scroll gone meant his mission was pointless. He had no evidence to his claim, and Ironwood wouldn't likely move without it seeing as he was a stickler for the rules. As he mused to himself this bitter possibility, he wondered where that fire came from as the dragon's were right in front of him advancing.
He jerked his head backwards to the source, not the dragon's, but an enraged Cinder who was propelling herself towards him rapidly by using her fire stream. Sweat dripped down his face as he felt her power surging towards him. It was clear she wanted him dead and was in the perfect spot right now to do it.
Qrow couldn't undo the transformation or he would fall and be helpless, so he focused his aura into his wings. His black feathers glowed red as the quills shot out towards Cinder. Cinder felt her patience, if she had any really, run out as she saw what was to her a pathetic display of magic and Aura.
"You think Ozpin's tricks will save you!?" she screamed as she released a stream of fire from her mouth like a dragon, incinerating the quills and heading straight for Qrow.
Qrow felt a strong urge to yell in bird form, but held back out of fear and pride. He never once wanted to give out a squawk.
"Come on Sis! Really need that portal!" he screamed in his head, as he winced, waiting for Cinder or the dragon's to incinerate him.
Just as he accepted his fate, a red portal appeared above Qrow and a hand snatched him and sent him though before disappearing.
"WHAT!?" Cinder screamed as she passed them, not paying attention to the dragon's charging at her and smashing into her body. She looked almost like a bug on a windshield as embarrassment and rage overtook her. In her frustration, she clenched the face of her dragon tightly as her hands began melting its face with fire before she ripped it in half. The surviving dragon whimpered in fear at its masters gruesome display and tried to fly away but Cinder would have non of that. Her Grimm hand glowing red, Cinder gave off a furious roar as she released a beam of red energy that exploded the dragon, sending a shockwave that shattered all the windows of her tower, to Whitely and the white fang soldier's shock. They eyed her as she panted heavily in her frustration.
"BRANWAN!"
Her wheezing soon turning into a yell of anger as she cursed her escaped enemies. She may have destroyed the evidence, but felt her pride singed for not succeeding in killing them.
Patch
"More! More! Faster Grandpa faster!" Thorn squealed, his voice high with excitement as his grandfather grinned and complied.
Taiyang was pushing Thorn on a swing set outside their house and gave gentle but strong pushes to amuse his grandson. It was honestly a great distraction right now from his worries. Not only had it been a while since Ruby and Blake went dark, he had overheard his wife's conversation with Qrow that led to her suddenly opening a portal and leave. He couldn't help but feel fear wrap around his chest. Raven had already ditched him once for years and every time she went out, even for simple grocery shopping, he feared history would repeat itself. He focused so much on these thoughts he didn't realize he was increasing the strength of his pushes.
"Uh Grandpa?" Thorn meekly said, alerting Tai back into reality, but he didn't see his grandson or even a swing set.
"Thorn? Thorn!" Tai yelled in confusion and panic.
He darted his eyes around to try and find his grandson.
"Did I pushed so hard the swing set go flying?!" he thought to himself, his mind racing as he looked out into the fields. He just had to find his grandson or Ruby and Blake would kill him.
"Grandpa up here!" Thorn yelled, alerting Tai as he looked up and saw his grandson awkwardly tied up to the top of the swing poles. Embarrassment overwhelmed him, as he pegged Yang as the airhead that would do such a reckless thing, not himself.
"Sorry sweetie, I'll get you down!" Tai yelled as he climbed the pole and tried to untie Thorn.
Suddenly a red portal opened up in the yard, alerting the two.
"Oh shit! Raven's never going to let me live this down. Qrow would probably just point and laugh once though." He said to himself. His spine chilled as he imagined his wife's red eyes flaring up as she gutted him with that giant red sword of hers.
Suddenly a black bird squawked as it plopped on the ground, preceded by Raven walking out the portal giving a smug smile.
"Sorry I roughed up your tail feathers bro." she chuckled, earning a bitter look from Qrow in bird form. He soon smelled something burning and looked behind him to see his tail feathers singed and his pink bird butt letting out smoke. Never had he felt so humiliated, he wanted nothing more than to change back and pummel her cocky smile if not for a fear of his butt being shown in human form.
"So uh…what happened to Qrow there?" Tai asked confused, unsure why his brother in law was burning. Raven and bird Qrow turned their eyes towards him and saw him and Thorn's current ensnarement.
Qrow's eyes brightened wide open as he instantly changed back to human form, his face one of pure rage that made Tai nervously clench his teeth and Thorn give off a fearful squeak.
"I think the real question is WHY THE HELL IS MY NEPHEW TIED UP JACK ASS?!" Qrow screamed, causing Thorn to grab with his free hand one of his dog ears, his hearing always being super sensitive and Tai to lose his grip on the set and fall.
As Tai dropped to the ground in shock from the yell, his butt vibrating in pain, he formed a fearful wince as he saw his angry brother in law approach him with Harbringer, which he used to cut the swing set rope and release Thorn before catching him.
"Cover your eyes kiddo! Uncle's going to have a long "chat" with Grandpa." Qrow ordered Thorn, who immediately did as he was told, his murderous aura leaking out as Tai froze in fear. He could tell Qrow was seriously going to murder him, or at least maim him. As Qrow raised Harbringer upwards, Raven let out a huge laugh and pointed at her brother.
"Hey bird boy! I don't know what's more red, your face or your butt!" she yelled, causing Qrow's hand to release harbringer and Thorn as he covered his butt, fully exposed and smoking, in embarrassment.
"DAMNIT IT!" He screamed in shame. He instantly ran at break neck speed towards the house and kicked down the door. Tai groaned in annoyance,
"That's gonna cost you 300 lien!" he yelled. Qrow ignored it as he rummaged through Tai's closets for something to wear.
Tai let out a huge sigh of relief before sensing a surge of aura again, this time from Raven, who was giving him a creepy smile and cracking her knuckles. Her face betrayed any outward appearance of tranquility she was giving, she was mad as hell for what happened to Thorn. He hadn't escaped death, he had just stayed off his execution
"So honey, want to tell me why our grandson was tied up?" she asked in a low tone voice, Tai picking up on her passive aggressiveness as he jolted up and smacked the dirt of his pants. He stuttered as he was in panic over what to say, he didn't even know what to say to get his angry wife to spare his life right now.
Fortunately, a groan from the house distracted the couple as they turned their attention to Qrow, now wearing a new pair of black jeans from Tai's closet to replace his grey ones. Tai looked at them in annoyance, he had hoped he was wearing underwear otherwise he was so not taking them back.
"Before you kill him let me go back to Atlas, I got to report to Ironwood already." Qrow bitterly said with a demanding tongue that Raven glared at.
"And why would you want to leave your baby sister and grand nephew so soon big bro?" she said in a mocking baby tone.
"I got a recording of Cinder and her new business partner planning an attack. Or I did at least." He bitterly said, shame mixing with anger in his voice.
"What do you mean, "Did" and whose this partner?'' she asked with a not amused glare, her icy cold stare dealing another in a long list of blows to the hunters pride.
"It was a Schnee boy, sort of rich spoiled snob with money she hired for income on a project. But I didn't get more details before Cinder spot me.
"A schnee? Oh man Ruby's not gonna like that." Tai said. Qrow and Raven nodded, dreading that conversation. Ruby's partner was a Schnee after all and telling her partner they were up against a traitor to her family was certainly going to bring tension to Ruby's team.
"Well, at least with that info you can pick out the traitor and help Ironwood lock them up." Tai said before Qrow glared at his sister.
"And before sis took her sweet time picking me up, my scroll got singed by the Witch's hellfire." He said, his annoyance ever so detectable to everyone as Raven lost all her self control.
"You lost the recording!? You idiot, now how are you gonna finger that Schnee brat?! You know Ironwood is a stickler for the rules." Raven yelled, though Tai could tell she was more angered by her ego being insulted than Qrow's loss. What she said was true, Ironwood was a stubborn man in that regard, and likely would not act without logic or evidence, even if he believed Qrow's word.
"Well summon me to Ruby in Atlas and I'll find that out for myself." Qrow said.
Raven stroked her chin at his request, pondering what to say next.
"What is it? Why can't I see Ruby? Qrow asked, his voice almost breaking and showing the fear creeping into him. Was she hurt? What did Raven know? These thoughts flooded his mind as he felt his blood boil from rage at the uncertainty of the situation. Qrow was right there in Atlas, he knew Ruby was recovering in the hospital but heard her injuries weren't too severe. Had she taken a turn for the worse? He had been with her in Atlas and still couldn't do anything to save her, just like Summer. His heart started pounding like a drum at this thought, he bitterly remembered the night Ozpin called him when Ruby was attacked by the White fang, the cruel reality he couldn't protect her even with all her scythe training from the evil that men inflicted on woman. It wrenched his gut to admit he had failed to protect not just her mother but her as well. Raven saw her brother's unease and, knowing she shouldn't beat around the bush with him, decided to and finally spoke up, causing him to straighten his spine like a scarecrow and give her his full attention.
"Things haven't exactly gone so well in Atlas while you were in that Nevermore's stomach Qrow. We were watching TV when the news came on and her team isn't in a good spot right now." Raven said with a sigh, she knew he wasn't going to react well to this if it concerned his niece and her team.
"I know Weiss is getting crap for that Grimm attack but James said he wasn't going to arrest her." Qrow said raising his tone aggressively.
"Well he changed his mind, he issued an arrest warrant for her and now theirs a manhunt for her. Bastard even put a bounty on her head for 50,000 Lien." She groaned, irritated with his excessiveness; not that she wasn't use to it.
"50,000?! You could buy 1,000 barrels of whiskey with that load!" Qrow yelled, earning a glare from his family that screamed, "don't even think about it". They still held it over his head how he got drunk when Thorn was held hostage and he still reeled in shame from that night before realizing what they were really implying.
"Whoa whoa, I'm not I gave up that junk just a metaphor, not gonna sell out the Schnee princess!" he said raising his arms in the air.
"All the more reason I should get back their to them now." Qrow argued.
"I don't know exactly where she is right now and summoning a portal to them may give away their location if they're hiding out from him. Assuming they aren't already captured" she said, Qrow captured the whisper she gave on the last sentence quite well.
"My niece won't get captured so easily a second time, believe me." He said with a fierce scowl, he didn't feel like remembering that night and wanted to focus on saving her team.
"Anyhow, send me to Yang then, I know she's on a mission with Blake and the two are certainly going to already make a mess looking for Ruby and Weiss." He said with a smirk. Subtly was never Yang's virtue and if they were going to wreck the streets fighting the police he didn't need stealth and could keep them in line.
Dust Mines
Yang felt her head throb as she came too, she could almost still feel Mercury's kicks all over. Much as she hated him, she couldn't help but admit he had some impressive and deadly abilities. Though she never would say that out loud, still imagining his cocky smile. As she gritted her teeth in frustration at this thought, she felt her lungs were on fire rather than her hair. It was hard to breath and as she slowly opened her eyes she saw a bright light envelope them.
"No Yang stay away from it your sister still needs you to kick ass!" she yelled to herself and she struggled to rise pass her soreness and get away from it only to smack her face into what felt like a concrete wall. Blake grabbed her and held her to her chest, which was beating rapidly as her lungs fought for air. Her warmth instantly calmed the fire warrior down.
"Just relax, were… not at that place yet." Blake softly said with a weak tone. She was exhausted but tried to keep herself awake. She didn't want to ponder death and heaven yet, but still felt its creeping touch on her shoulders. A sudden voice alerted the two girls as they ignored their need for more air and looked to its source, Vine sweating profusely while keeping his arms raised and energy vines wrapped around everyone.
"Your not dead… yet, but if you keep screaming and wasting air you will be soon." Vine said with a not so amused tone as he rolled his eyes. Things were hard enough as it was, keeping an energy dome up to keep the rubble from crushing them. It not only drained his Aura rapidly, but the air was thin and wouldn't last long and it would be impossible to conserve it if Yang's eccentrics kept being a problem. He started to wish he hadn't encased her at least and focused on his team instead.
"You don't believe that its just your orders right." Yang's previous words echoed in his head as he pondered that dark thought, almost making him flinch and release his grip. But Vine dug his heels into the ground at the sound of a rumbling, he had to remain focused or they would be doomed, though he silently thought they were already, not seeing a way out of this mess and just wanted to prolong their lives just a bit.
Blake reached for her scroll to try and call for help, but gave a thousand yard stare in horror at seeing no bars. It would be impossible to call for help.
"Any ideas Clover?" Marrow asked weakly, he was feeling woozy from the lack of air and enclosed space. Clover merely shook his head solemnly in silent defeat. His reaction brining Blake and Marrow's faunus ears down in dejection. He just couldn't see a way out of this, low on air and Aura, a mountain of boulders ready to crush them, and no escape routes in sight. They had failed, he had failed them.
"Sorry I got us into this." He sadly said.
His semblance had its limits, good luck didn't make him immortal and he was cursing himself internally at his complacency for thinking otherwise till now. He should have been more attentive and less cocky then maybe Elm wouldn't be dead, maybe his team could have gotten out in time.
"No! I *gasp*" Yang tried to yell, but failed as her breathing grew raspy. She was having a hard time breathing, her ribs had taken a beatdown and felt broken. Her aura was gone and she couldn't heal fast. She could only silently ponder her objection. She had caused the cave in with her attack, she had gotten Elm killed because of a petty brawl, and now their mission was a failure and they were going to be crushed to death or suffocate and it was really all her fault.
"I'm... I'm so sorry" was all she could think to say and almost prayed to God she could actually speak to her dying comrades right now, clinging to what she felt was a false hope for forgiveness.
ATLAS
The streets of the kingdom roared with sirens as police cars drove rapidly down the streets. Atlas police were stationed outside all the major transport stations, holding up scrolls with images of Weiss on them and showing them to civilians to see if they saw her. Winter, Ruby and Weiss had their bodies pressed against a dark alley wall, making sure no one could easily see them. There goal was to get to the mines and regroup with Ruby's team and the Ace Ops. They weren't confidant the latter would help Weiss, but they felt more confidant handling a lone team of hunters rather than fight in the streets against a battalion of police and droids. Winter eyed her comm device and gritted her teeth. She had lost control a bit ago of the droids functions, no doubt Ironwood had disabled her controls and was on to her.
Winter peeked a glance out the alley to make sure the coast was clear. To her inner irritation, she was the streets riddled with droids and atlas police confronting citizens.
"This isn't good, there are too many to get past." She whispered to her allies, who formed frowns as they fought to avoid giving out grunts of discontent and give away their position.
"Can't we just blow past them? I don't have my baby but I still got my semblance." Ruby whispered, forming karate chop motions as she soon received a forehead flick from Weiss.
"Ou…" she almost yelled before a startled Weiss covered her mouth with her hand.
"Shhhh shut it you dolt, your gonna get us caught! And we can't hurt the police their just doing their jobs." Weiss whispered her admonishment to her reckless leader before releasing her grip and wobbling. As she rested against the wall of the ally, breathing heavily, Ruby placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Your Aura still hasn't fully recovered, want some of mine ice princess?" Ruby asked with a flirty tone, licking her lips. Weiss knew she was implying, but fought an extremely tempting desire to agree; it wasn't the time for smooching.
"No thanks, your eyes need your aura more than me. Besides, Blake would kill me." Weiss joked while pointing at Ruby's silver eyes twitching. Ruby rubbed them awkwardly, she had gotten her 20/20 vision back, but they still pulsed with pain every now and then. Her Aura could only partially heal them and slowly at that matter. Ruby sighed in defeat as she laid next to Weiss on the wall and looked to Winter.
"So cap, what's the plan?" she asked.
"If we could somehow get past those droids, we can reach the sewers and make it out of the other end of the city and meet up with Pietro and get your weapons, then we can meet up with your team at the mines." Winter explained, her tone hinting her disgust at the mention of the sewers, something the two girls didn't feel a need to disguise.
"Eeeeew the sewers, where everyone's bathroom water goes?" they said quietly in disgust. Winter formed a fierce glare that shut them up immediately,
"Yeah I don't love it either but we might not even make it that far if we can't figure out how to get down there. The hatch is across the street and surrounded." She said while pointing to the their target destination.
Penny's sword soon started to glow, indicating the girl wanted to talk. Ruby smiled as she pulled out her emerald blade, happy to have been allowed to keep her friend despite losing Crescent Rose.
"How about we use Ruby's semblance to transport us down there?" she asked, having turned her volume settings down to avoid detection, earning looks of confusion from the group.
"You… want me to fly into the sewers or summon thorn's to blast my way threw?" Ruby asked with an eyebrow raised, not seeing her friends point.
"No, Ruby's semblance allows her to manipulate the molecules in her body to alter her reality. Summoning thorns and vines, petal bursting, super speed and strength, all is limited only by your imagination. I have been studying your body at night for many years during our sessions and have finally pinpointed how your body reacts." Penny proudly stated, causing Weiss to smirk and raise an eyebrow at the sight of her partner's shocked expression.
"Did Penny just figure out your semblance before you did?" she said, earning an annoyed glare from Ruby.
"Weiss, she knew Blake was a faunus before we did." Ruby said annoyed.
"Okay then, so how does she get us to the sewers." Winter asked.
"She doesn't, if she focuses on herself while we touch her, she can turn invisible and we can walk past the street and get to dad without being seen." Penny said.
"Invisible? Cool!" Ruby yelled, alerting the others who winced in fear as they saw a droid become alerted to Ruby's squeal.
"You dunce! Hurry it up lets go!" Weiss yelled at Ruby, who shrugged her shoulders in embarrassment before getting her shoulders smacked hard by Winter and her partner as they gripped them like a vice.
"Okay okay, invisible lets go." Ruby said to herself as the droid called in for several more onto their position. She had to focus and get them past this obstacle or else they'd spend the rest of their life in a cell.
Mines
Vine's aura flickered along with his dome, it wasn't going to last much longer. Despite the limited air, he took one long inhale and exhale as he felt their end come near. He glared at the group he was protecting solemnly.
"I am sorry, but I can't hold much longer. We should… say our pieces now." He solemnly said, earning frowns and looks of terror in his teammates eyes. They were always aware of the likelihood of death, but felt confidant the reaper would never sneak its ugly face near them on mission's with Clover's semblance. Now they faced the reality before them as it, along with the lack of air, constricted their chests.
"Well, I am sorry my good luck ran out." Clover said bitterly as he pounded his fist into the ground.
"I just wish I could have gotten a nice steak dinner before we left instead of those nasty Atlas rations." Marrow chuckled, despite wheezing, those rations always tasted like bark despite their nutritional value and ability to fill you quickly.
Blake and Yang eyed each other solemnly, each one's lips quivering as they felt tears sting their eyes watching the other grow pale and slowly die. They could hardly find the words to speak, let alone the strength. They couldn't believe this was the end.
Yang had thought quickly as she stared into the tearful yellow eyes of her beautiful partner. Those eyes mesmerized her since they day they met. It made her ecstatic when she was partnered with her, feeling she could be at ease the rest of her days at Beacon.
"I *cough* would have loved to have gotten one date with you before my sister called dibs haha." Yang said, despite her choking on her breath she still found the strength to joke as she admitted how hot she felt about her partner, who smiled and blushed at the confession. Though she felt her heart set on Ruby, she originally felt her partner was an attractive woman. Hell she still was what with that massive rack of hers and beautiful hair (even if cut). Her only blockage from engaging in a relationship at the time was her still reeling from leaving Adam after his fall from grace. He was never her lover, just a brother, but like Illia towards her, Blake once held secret feelings for Adam due to his passion, a power that she often felt around Yang and Ruby. She cried heavier tears as she pondered her wife. She knew this would devastate her after everything she lost. Her mother, her son for a time, and now she would be a widow. She just hoped Ruby would be willing to talk out her grief after she died instead of gulping those damn pills. Despite this worry, Blake felt her heart flutter as she grasped her lip, and remembered their fist night as a married couple, the happiest day of her life.
"I…I wish…one more time, I could kiss Ru…" Blake meekly said as her voice grew silent, slipping into unconsciousness as she felt the last of her air leave her lungs.
Yang weakly reached out her arm for her partner before her vision went hazy. As she slipped out of reality, she thought she could just hear the faintest sound of whishing in the air.
EXHALE!
Yang's eyes shot open as her lilac pupils flashed red and she took the largest gulp of air in her life, her lungs inflating like balloons as they cried for the oxygen. She then went into a coughing fit as she clasped her chest, steading herself as she slowly looked around as she struggled to regain her composure.
"Glad to see you rejoin the land of the living partner." Blake said, alerting Yang who smiled in her direction.
The Ace Ops, herself, and Blake were looking at her with grins; happy to see she made it. She then noticed they all had, they were outside the mines, surrounded by trees and the mountains. She smelled the fresh air and heard the birds chirp as she looked frantically. She felt an overwhelming desire to kiss the ground she laid on in happiness, glad to be free and away from the dark and tight space of that cave.
"How did *cough* how did we make it out?" she asked confused, fighting her cough.
"Mama came to your rescue dear." Raven said, causing Yang to jerk her neck around to see the image of her mother and Uncle Qrow, giving her an assuring smile.
"Mom? You saved me?" She was brought to tears realizing her mother came to her rescue, she had hoped for this moment for many years that she spent looking for her, waiting for her, wondering when she could meet her. Yang grasped the dirt in her hands and jerked her knees into a quarterback position, before swiftly charging and tackling her mother and wrapping her in a bear hug. She soon went into a sobbing fit as she rubbed her face into her mothers chest, saying things like "thank you" or "about damn time you came" repeatedly.
Raven simply smiled and tenderly rubbed her daughters head as she continued her crying fit.
After Yang settled down, Raven stood back up and assessed the situation. She didn't know the details of her mission, but she could tell it hadn't gone well for Yang. One down with a broken leg, her daughter wrecked with bruises and short singed hair and burn marks, and she especially felt sick to her stomach seeing Elm's dead look on her corpse as she laid on the floor next to Harriet. It was not so much pity for the huntresses death, but more so for her daughter for having to experience that horrific sight.
"If you could close her eyes and hear me out that would be nice." Raven asked the Ace Ops with an uneasy glare, alerting Clover especially as he noticed Elm's corpse still had open eyes.
"Riiiiiiiight, sorry ma'am" he awkwardly said as he gently closed Elm's eyes closed. He felt little relief from this, as he couldn't lie to himself that she looked like she was now just sleeping, he knew he failed her and she wasn't coming back. He had to accept that now.
"So what else did you want?" Clover asked Raven who grasped her red blade and formed a portal.
"What I want is for you all to join me and meet up with my step-daughter. We can get your friend treatment for her leg and we can stop someone from taking over the SDC and destroying Atlas all at once. I will explain everything back in Atlas, for now we need to go and help her this instant!" Raven yelled, her tone shocking everyone into stiffening up like a board and making them realize the futility of arguing with her demand. Clover gently picked up the unconscious Harriet while he had Vine grab Elm's body, he agreed with Blake since the beginning, she deserved a proper burial. They all then slowly crept threw the portal, ready to return home to Atlas and handle any issue they may face. Qrow sighed as he was the last to enter before Raven, he knew this wasn't going to end well.
Chaos in the City
As they exited Raven's portal, smelling the streets of the city, the various food vendors, the smoke from cars, the garbage on the sidewalk floors, the Ace Ops felt their stress momentarily leave their bodies. They understood now what Yang had felt earlier, being out of that cave and in fresh, or at least less tight, air and in familiar territory made them feel at ease. This respite was shattered upon the shocking sound of a siren as they looked around to see citizens running in the streets in panic. They were being chased by droids whose eyes flashed red as they aimed their weapons upon the civilians.
Curfew in effect, all non-police or droids are to remain indoors. Failure to comply will result in termination!
The droids repeatedly said, before eying the group of hunters that just exited the portal, still looking on in shock at the panic unfolding.
Soon they found themselves surrounded by a large group of these droids that aimed their plasma guns at them.
"What the hell is going on? what's this about a curfew?!" Marrow yelled as the droids encircled them. As they readied their own weapons, the hunters were distracted by a jumbotron message from above.
"This is a reminder to all Atlas citizens, The Grimm maiden Weiss Schnee, along with her conspirators Winter Schnee and Ruby Rose are still at large. Their crimes are betraying Atlas and mankind as a whole. Until these criminals are brought to justice, I am enacting MARTIAL LAW! All citizens are to remain indoors until further notice. Failure to comply with this order will result in arrest or death if you resist." The general stated as the message showed the "Criminals" faces, shocking the hunters as they reeled in this revelation.
"Martial law, Ruby wanted!? has Ironwood lost his damn mind!?" Yang yelled in anger and shock. None of this was making sense to her, nothing was today.
"Apparently, he has, though it took a lot longer then expected." Qrow cynically groaned as he readied Harbringer. Sometimes he just hated being right.
Sorry for late release. Would have been out yesterday but I got sick and couldn't write. So, Ironwood finally snaps like in canon and declares martial law. He really thought his droids could keep people in line a forcefully safe by scapegoating Weiss and Ruby. This is going to make Winter's goal much easier, only question remains, will the Ace ops join our heroes or side with Ironwood? Next time on CH 33: Civil War!