BLISS
It was as if time had stopped.
"Answer me as honestly as you can. What am I to you?"
I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, feel the sweat slowly dripping down my cheeks. For a question so simple, especially one the I clearly know the answer to, I'm having an incredibly difficult time. All of the things Yang said up to this point may have been a misconception, but the actions that led to her conclusions are true.
Cinder, Torchwick, OWL, my family, Pyrrha. All of it, too much for me to keep inside. I admit, even for me it's too much. I've never been in this kind of situation before, and I would much appreciate it if I could navigate through this dilemma slowly, but Yang has forced my hand.
"Yang, I..."
A million thoughts came rushing through my head. I want to say it clearly, but the weight resting on my shoulders are dragging me further and further down this metaphorical quicksand that has kept me standing on my spot. Yang was angry, but her eyes weren't burning red like they usually are when she's mad. It was her lilac colored eyes that greeted me when I stared at her. She was angry, yes, but her face was also filled with determination, passion, and grief. Faced with such a sight, I was instantly defeated, unable to say anything.
I struggled to speak the words I want to say, but Yang is not a patient woman.
"Enough, Ezra."
She tilted her head sideways, unable to look at me. Try as she might to hide it, but the disgusted look she had on her face was clear.
"It's clear your head is not in the right place. Or rather, it is, and your hesitating because deep down, you know I'm right."
I raise my hand, trying to reach out to her and protest, but before I could, a voice from our scrolls breaks the silence between us.
[Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-]
It's Blake.
[HEEEEELLLLLP!]
And Sun...
[Big robot! And it's big! Really big!]
Me and Yang stared at each other, silently agreeing to let the topic at hand go. It's clear that Blake and Sun are in danger, and this is no time to be discussing this matter anyways.
[That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!]
Confused, Yang pulled out her scroll from her pocket and lifted the device near her lips.
"Where are you guys?"
Right on cue, behind us was Blake and Sun, running through the street with an Atlesian Paladin hot on their heels before they all disappear from our view, as quickly as they appeared.
"Tch! Yang!"
"Yeah!"
Me and Yang make a beeline towards bumblebee and began to pursue Torchwick and our teammates. Without any regard for the people in his path, Torchwick swerved back and forth, knocking cars left and right along the highway. I held on tight as Yang expertly maneuvered through the debris flying towards us.
"Damn Torchwick."
Even if I never got entangled with Yang, dealing with this man would still have been a problem. Recklessly running amuck through town like this will do nothing but screw his operations sideways.
"Yang, get me close! Neptune and Sun are over there. I'll figure out a way to slow the Paladin down. You regroup with the rest of the team!"
Yang obediently nodded. She violently stomped on the pedal and zoomed bumblebee till we were close enough for me to jump on to the truck Sun and Neptune were standing on.
"See you on the other side."
I smiled and saluted Yang.
"Goodluck!"
She smiled back and waved. The adrenaline rush made her forget, even if momentarily, the argument we had just moments ago. Seeing her smile again... is making me feel like I can do anything.
"EZRA!"
Sun celebrated as I landed right next to him and Neptune. Torchwick's Paladin pointed its heavily loaded artillery at us and opened fired. Neptune agilely dodge and hopped towards the armed robot while his weapon transformed into a trident.
"We have to slow it down!"
Sun yelled at Neptune, who was now busy hanging on to the Paladin's arms.
"Dance, Shirayuki!"
The blade on my katana's hilt began to form upon command. I raised my weapon close to my cheeks and balanced myself as best I can.
"Sun! Go!"
With his mind and body filled with resolve, Sun slammed his palms together, using his semblance to summon two yellow clones of himself. The clones acrobatically twirled and flipped across vehicle rooftops. I wave my hand and directed a white mist to follow the clones, timing it just right to merge with them just as Torchwick swung the Paladin's arms. The clones began to turn into ice and violently exploded upon contact, freezing its arms up to his elbows.
Torchwick was caught off guard, unable to move the Paladin's left arm. Seeing his opportunity, Neptune twirled his trident and attempted to stab the robot's cockpit, but Roman is crafty. He activated the heatsink on the Paladin's left side, melting the ice off fast enough to regain the use of its arm. He blocked Neptune's strike with such force that it knocked him off the robot.
"NEPTUNE!"
In a panic, Sun carelessly parkoured his way towards the flying Neptune and caught him with his body, colliding with each other mid air, knocking both of them off the highway.
"Those idiots!"
Blake nimbly landed right next to me, showing little concern about Sun and Neptune.
"Nevermind them! They'll be fine, we have to take care of Torchwick."
I spin the katana in my arm, as me and Blake ready ourselves to jump in, still focus on slowing Torchwick down. Before we could do anything reckless however, Weiss' voice rang through our scrolls.
"Blake, Ezra, I'm in position."
I knew exactly what Weiss was up to. She favors ice based dust much like I do after all. I jump off the car I was on and began to briefly run the barricade's wall right next to us before I catapulted myself off as high as I possible can. I pointed the blade of my katana towards the ground, smashing it as soon as I landed. At the same time, Weiss also gracefully landed from the highway above us, creating a glyph that combined both our semblance to transform the road behind and in front of the Paladin into ice.
Roman's Paladin instantly slipped and was off balanced just enough for a blistering Ruby to come out of nowhere and knock it down the overpass with her semblance.
Me and the rest of Team RWBY land together in front of the reeling Paladin. All of us look at each other, determined to stop Roman from his rampage. The Paladin slowly stood up, then began to stomp its foot one after the other, steadily gaining speed. We ready ourselves with weapons fully drawn and pointed towards the Paladin.
I take a step forward and urge Ruby to lead us.
"Call it, Ruby."
Ruby flashed her all too familiar grin at me once more and raised her fist.
"Freezer Burn!"
Me, Blake, and Ruby jump out of the way as Weiss turns the ground beneath her into ice. Yang backflipped into the air and loaded her weapon, firing it off at the ground, creating a large mist around Torchwick and his Paladin.
"Ugh! These girls and their antics. Come out, come out wherever you are!"
Roman's annoyance is evident, even through that tough piece of metal he's piloting. He impatiently began firing off shots wherever he could sense the slightest sound. Left with no other choice, Torchwick activated the heat seeking sensors scattered around the Paladin's armor- a move that I was really hoping he would do.
I quickly find Ruby hiding behind a pillar and whispered.
"Leave this to me and wait for my signal."
Without the slightest bit of hesitation in her face, Ruby nodded. I use my heat manipulation semblance to create multiple heat projections in Roman's sensors. He should be seeing 20 bodies instead of the five he's originally fighting. In a frenzy, Roman began open firing in the direction opposite of where I am. If the Nest's information is right about these massive paper weights, then there should be a weak spot...
"Right there!"
I sprint as fast as I can in between the Paladin's groin.
"Second Movement: Flawless Duet!"
I slid down and slashed the exposed tube right behind its left thigh, releasing the hydraulic fluid stored in its lower body. The Paladin tried to swipe its hand at me, but before it could, a clone of me made out of ice from the mist slashed the weakest part of the armor on its shoulders, exposing the joint, and simultaneously shattering my clone. Two strikes with one movement!
"Screw you!"
Torchwick tried to retaliate, but I quickly backflip away.
"Now, Ruby! Checkmate!"
In an instant, Blake and Weiss came rushing in, assaulting Roman with a flurry of slashes on its feet. Weiss jumps up and stabs one of the sensors while simultaneously summoning a glyph that she used to propel herself back. Torchwick lifts the Paladin's undamaged foot, pointing its sole on Blake, but Weiss reacted swiftly and summoned a glyph under her feet, pulling Blake away just in time before she can get crushed.
Roman growls at the two, as he continues his barrage. The girls backflip away, but Weiss jumps too high and is forced to parry the missile with her Myrtenaster, blowing her back. In an epiphany mid air, Weiss summons a time dilation glyph underneath Blake before she fell down on the ground, a little less gracefully than she usually does.
"Thanks Weiss!"
Blake commended her as she slashes the rest of the incoming missiles with breakneck speed thanks to Weiss' semblance.
"Ladybug!"
Ruby shot herself forward with her scythe, gliding smoothly across the concrete. She hooked her scythe at the exposed thigh that I slashed earlier, using her momentum to create a deeper cut on the armor. Blake quickly followed suit, gracefully swinging her blade on the opposite side of the weakened leg. Caught off balanced by the girls' attacks, Roman frantically tried to chase after Blake and Ruby, but the two were too nimble for the clunky robot to keep up with their fast strikes.
"Blake!"
The two briefly backed off, before syncing their attack. Blake latched on to the robot with her rope, while Ruby used her semblance to launch the two of themselves up. One after the other, Blake and Ruby landed with two powerful strikes that instantly cut the Paladin's left arm.
"Don't just stand there! Let's go have some fun!"
Hearing Yang call out to me, I sprinted with her, me attacking from the front, and Yang from the back. Roman fired off more shots at me, but I easily dodge them, contorting my body sideways as I jumped. I quickly hopped towards the Paladin and jammed my katana at the main camera, smashing my blade into pieces. The shattered pieces of my blade quickly froze in block of ice that proved too heavy for the robot to balance itself up.
Yang capitalized by bombarding the back engine with Ember Celica, causing a system malfunction that sent the robot haywire. The jet propulsion on the front leg began to spit fire, knocking me off of the Paladin. The force of the discharge sent the Paladin flying off against a concrete pillar, pinning Yang against. The impact must have knocked some sense back into the robot's computer system as Torchwick was able to momentarily gain control of the robot's right arm, punching Yang mid air, sending her off the distance.
"Yang!"
A concerned Blake yelled, but Ruby grabbed her by the shoulder and calmly settled her worries.
"Don't worry! With each hit, she gets stronger and she uses that energy to fight back! That's what makes her special."
Me and Blake watch as Yang's hair turned from bright blonde to a fiery gold, and her lilac eyes shifted to that all too familiar burning red. Torchwick swung at her once more, but she easily caught it with her fists without even moving Yang an inch off the concrete she stood on.
With pure rage emanating from her very being, Yang cocked her arm back before swinging her fist as fast and hard as she possibly could, obliterating the Paladin's remaining arm.
Out of pure desperation, Roman kicks Yang in her side, sending her flying pass us.
"Bumblebee!"
At her command, Blake threw Gambol Shroud at Yang, catching her mid air. Using Yang's momentum, Blake swung her around like a catapult for one final attack.
"I won't let you!"
Never underestimate a cornered rat. Roman opened up a piece of the Paladin's armor near the cockpit hatch, revealing a small machine gun. He unleashed a hail of bullets towards us, but since its legs were damaged, his aim was off and all over the place. Weiss hastily rolled towards me and Ruby, summoning a glyph as she stood up and blocked the incoming bullets.
"We have to slow it down!"
Ruby yelled as she took cover.
"How do you supposed we do that!?"
Weiss bent down and braced herself as she focused more of her energy to fortify her glyph.
Ruby looked at me all giddy, and I returned her look with a face that matched her enthusiasm. We both nod at the same time knowing full well what was about to come next.
"SNOWCLOAK!"
I knelt down on one knee, and placed my katana parallel to my face, with the side of my blade resting squarely on the palm my of left hand. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying my best to focus amidst the sound of the ongoing battle.
"Fourth Movement: Silent Waltz"
I cover myself in mist, slowly vanishing from sight. Resistance from the air increases the friction and drag force that slows all moving objects down. This particular Movement cloaks me in a misty veil that greatly reduces the drag force from the air, allowing me to move almost as fast as Ruby so long as I stay within the mist. ALMOST, but almost is good enough for this situation.
Ruby menacingly giggled, unable to contain her excitement anymore. She used her semblance along with mine as we dashed forward, twirling around each other, creating a spiral that deflected the bullets along our path.
We both slam against Torchwick's Paladin, launching ourselves in separate directions as our semblance untangles. Ruby flipped backwards, her scythe morphed into a sniper and aiming down on the Paladin's weakened leg. She shot it down with incredible accuracy that the leg was cleanly cut off by the bullet.
"Seventh Movement: Furious Rhapsody!"
My mist engulfed the upper half of the Paladin as soon as I split from Ruby, the blade no longer in my hilt, but this is where this particular Movement comes into play. I swing my arm wildly into the open air, as if I was swinging a sword, and the mist that covered the Paladin began to form microscopic blades that violently shredded what remains of the robot's armor just enough for Yang to...
"YANG, BLAKE NOW!"
Blake planted her feet squarely on the ground and threw Yang towards the Paladin with her arms tucked into her side. Yang swung her fist as hard as she could, shattering what little remains of the robot. The impact was so powerful that Torchwick was knocked out of the robot, but to my horror, he held in his hand what looked like a detonator. With a mischievous smile, Torchwick pushed the button as soon as he knew he was far away enough from harm. The Paladin began to glow before exploding right after- in its immediate vicinity was Yang.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw what looked like a Schnee glyph, and Yang hurling pass me once again.
"YANG! DAMMIT! Silent Waltz!"
I dashed towards Yang and jumped. I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her close to me and hugged her as tight as I could. All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my back, my vision began to blur, and everything began to violently spin out of control.
"Oww..."
Weiss, Blake, and Ruby rushed to our aid.
"Are you guys okay?"
Yang and I shook our heads and tried to gather ourselves, but our knees gave out and fell back on our butts.
"Well, always a pleasure ladies, Ezra..."
My vision is slowly starting to go back to normal, but I somehow knew that Roman was that cheeky smile that he knew I absolutely hated.
"...Ice queen."
"HEY!"
Roman began to slowly march backwards, but the three girls wasn't about to let him off the hook easy and decided to jump in to pursue him, but I knew their efforts would be pointless. Neopolitan is here. Blake slashed her sword downwards, breaking Neo's illusion. The next thing we knew, Roman was already aboard a ship that snuck above us.
Seeing Roman escape, I took a deep breath and allowed myself to collapse back on my knees and sighed out of exhaustion. I haven't used my semblance like this in a long time. It uses up too much of my aura. That last instant, I knew Yang was going to be okay, Weiss is seriously amazing, reacting like that to save her.
I knew that she was going to be fine, but just the thought of Yang possibly getting hurt and losing her... permanently... I- that's something I can't bear to even think about.
"Yang!"
Still reeling from the explosion, Yang raised her head and gently rubbed her hand against the back of her head.
"What Ezra don't startle me like th-"
"I LOVE YOU."
Her stoic face began to crumble, still confused as to what's happening.
"W-WHAT?"
I took a deep breath once more, making sure to take any hint of doubt out of my mind and stared at her squarely in the eye.
"Listen, I lied to you a couple times, I kept secrets from you, and I chose people over you when I shouldn't have. Yang, you asked me 'what am I to you' and this is my answer: All my life I lived with lies... It's the only way I know how to live and survive. I cheated my way to a lot of things, and like you said, probably, flirted my way into getting what I want."
I paused and grabbed her hand.
"But YOU are the reason I want to be honest. For the first time in my life, I finally found a reason for me to change, and I hesitated because I didn't know if I was capable of being the man you deserve. I was stupid, I confided in Pyrrha instead of telling you what I truly feel and it ruined how I want you to see me."
I pulled her close till our foreheads were touching. I wrap one arm around Yang who was still flustered and surprised, but she didn't resist my approach, instead she tightened her grip around my hand and wrapped the other around my waist.
"Yang Xiao Long. I love you."
Tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Ezra... I- I love you too."
Hearing Yang say the words I wasn't expecting to hear brought the entirety of my being into a state that I've only ever heard of, but never experienced before... whatever this incredibly soft and warm feeling that's welling up in my chest right now must be what they call bliss.
We stared at each other and exhaled, all the doubt in me, and all the anger in her began to escape with each breath. We laughed awkwardly at each other, then slowly leaned closer till our lips slowly began to...
"AWW! You two made up!"
...touch. Ruby Rose, why now?
Yang pulled her head away. She flashed an annoyed smile at Ruby, while throwing a peace sign with her hand that was just clutching mine a second ago. She gritted her teeth and forced an answer without ever moving her mouth. One can clearly see how infuriated she was.
"Yup! We're okay now. Thanks sis!"
She sarcastically replied, but as young and naïve Ruby is, her sister's sarcasm flew over her head. Blake reached out her hand and lifted me and Yang up, while Weiss arrogantly placed her hand on her hips.
Weiss wore a mischievous smile in her face and spoke.
"I guess that new henchman really made our plans... fall apart."
Everyone groaned in response to her awfully timed joked as we laughed the night away.