Interlude: The Dragon, Enraged
Life went on. That was the worst part of it.
After everything that'd happened, people just...kept going. Students signed up for tasks that suited them. Put their talents to use.
Yang had one useful skill, and she put it to use breaking Grimm in the city. With the teams slightly scattered, she found herself partnering more and more with Pyrrha for patrols. Jaune had confined himself to the cafeteria - although he was a surprisingly good cook - and with Weiss and Ruby busy with their own tasks, the two of them formed a team of their own.
Days passed. Grimm died, and were replaced...but every day, there were fewer of them. As the city was reclaimed, the Atlas forces began to locate the nests.
And when the airspace was, at last, cleared of the cloud of Nevermores that had plagued it, the operations began in earnest.
"All units in position. Ready to commence." The soldier's voice was clipped, and his eyes were locked on the building ahead of them. Beowolves poured steadily from the shattered door and windows. Each exit was covered by a Huntsman or Huntress, a fair distance from the building itself.
"Affirmative. Purging in three...two...one."
Yang's eyes flicked above to observe the streaking trails of Dust rounds as they rained forth.
The building folded like paper an instant before it was consumed by an inferno.
The Grimm, as one, made a sound like screaming, and suddenly the volume of them increased tenfold. They poured from the burning building like ants, fire clinging to some of them as they fled from the raining death towards the defensive lines.
The heat from the flames washed over her skin as she smiled and loaded Ember Celica.
It was strangely comforting.
Yang pivoted on her heel, fist swinging in an arc and carrying the momentum of her spin. Pyrrha's shield rose easily to intercept it.
As expected. Yang felt a small smile tug at her lips as she fired a round at point-blank range, ringing the shield like a gong and pushing them apart slightly. Pyrrha's footing was, as always, too impeccable to be disrupted by such a trick. However, for just a moment, her line of sight was disrupted.
So Yang ducked low and lashed out with a kick to the Huntress' shin. It connected and Pyrrha stumbled as her center of balance shifted. A moment later and Yang followed, blitzing forward to capitalize, angling strikes from different directions to keep her opponent on the back foot. Most of the blows were blocked by the shield, but each one pushed it further and further out of position. As Pyrrha's blade lashed out, Yang ducked around it or deflected the strikes into grazes. Step by step, she gained ground.
Finally, Pyrrha released her grip on the shield and let it be knocked away, only to lash out with a knife-hand strike that briefly interrupted Yang's momentum. With the distance equalized, the dance continued. Gauntlet against blade or open hand, Yang fighting to get closer and Pyrrha struggling to create space. She was fast. Crazy fast.
But the Heroes were faster, and Yang had learned. The fight flowed, and she followed. Each movement triggered a reflex and she moved without thinking, matching strike for strike again and again.
And then there was an opening, and Ember Celica made contact with Pyrrha's jaw. The sound of a shotgun rang out and the crimson Huntress spun backwards in a movement almost resembling a pirouette, Yang only a step behind her, fist raised for the follow up -
- and the shield, faintly humming with power, slammed into her side and knocked her off balance. It bounced into Pyrrha's waiting hand where it served as a brace for her weapon, suddenly in rifle form.
Bullets flew, and Yang couldn't block them all. They chipped away at her as she closed the distance, and then the gun had become a spear that flashed out in a blur of crimson and gold. She weaved and parried, but the distance refused to change. Pyrrha wasn't going to make the same mistake a second time.
So Yang smiled and changed the game again. She dug into her mind and clicked a heel against the ground, exploding in an inferno that briefly haloed her in light. The heat and sound blew outward, and for a moment Pyrrha flinched.
Once more Yang closed the distance and they fought for initiative. They struck, and parried, and stepped, and Yang saw her own smile reflected on Pyrrha's face.
Then there was an opening, and she lashed out, reaching into her Semblance for the blow that would win the round. Ember Celica inched ever closer to Pyrrha's chest, and -
- glowed with the light of Pyrrha's Semblance, gently shifting off course as Pyrrha stepped around the strike to the side.
The sword took Yang's neck, and the shield her back, and her Aura crumbled. She stumbled, letting out an explosive breath. "Damn, Pyrrha. That Semblance of yours is hard to get around."
Pyrrha's smile faded to a pensive look. "I know. I'm sorry. I could...fight without it, if you'd prefer I-"
"No! No, no, absolutely not." The outburst seemed to take the other girl by surprise. "I just...I need to get better, Pyrrha. Are you holding back?"
"No. Not at all. You're...very good, Yang. I don't remember the last time someone pushed me like this. I don't think anyone ever has."
"Good. I want to be the best I can. Nobody else is willing to go all out with me like this, even before...well. Everything that happened. I appreciate it. And the fact that you aren't holding back makes me feel a little better about losing." She shrugged. "I'll beat you, someday. I won't accept it otherwise."
Pyrrha's smiled was warm. "If you keep it up, I think you will. That was...I was running low on Aura. If we'd gone much longer I'm not sure I could have managed a win. Your stamina is a bit crazy, you know?"
Yang smirked. "My stamina, huh?"
There was a pause.
Pyrrha blushed.
Yang laughed for the first time in...how long had it been? Too long.
"Seriously, though. Thanks. Can we go again after patrols tomorrow?"
Pyrrha coughed once and her blush receded slightly. "Yes. Of course. I may have to think up a couple new tricks for you, now."
By the time she made it back to the room, it was late. Weiss' breath was soft and even, as usual when she slept. Ruby...wasn't back yet.
Must still be in the workshop.
She settled in with little fanfare, trying not to think about it. Or anything.
But she laid on her bunk, and she stared at the bottom of the bed above hers.
The bed that was empty.
The bed that was empty because -
"You're not going to check on Ruby?" Weiss' voice broke through the silence, and Yang seized on the distraction.
"She's in the workshop, like always. She'd be the last person to get hurt there."
A moment passed, before the sound of sheets rustling was joined by a scoff. "You know that isn't what I meant."
Yang shrugged, even knowing Weiss couldn't see it. "She's upset. We're all upset. There isn't...I can't fix those problems anymore. She's outgrown me as a mom, you know? I can't magically make it so that - so that all of this never happened."
Silence.
More silence.
"Yang. You aren't...you can't be serious, can you?"
"Can't be serious with what? What is it you want me to do?"
"...talk to your sister? Spend a bit of time with her?"
"I talk to Ruby all the time," she protested.
"When was the last time you did?" Weiss' voice was edgy.
"Yesterday."
"You said good morning and she said good morning."
"That counts!"
"No it does not you insufferable - when was the last time you had an actual conversation with her?"
"I -" she paused, considering the question.
...
...
"When was the last time you did, then?" Her teeth ground a bit. I don't want to...isn't it all right for me to need some space after...
Weiss inhaled with a hiss. "Oh, that would be yesterday." Her voice was calm in that uniquely Weiss way that actually meant she was livid. "When she told me she regretted not being fast enough to save your partner, and that she wasn't certain you'd ever be able to forgive her for it."
She froze.
For a moment, it felt like her heart stopped beating as every muscle in her body tensed.
"She...she what?"
"You heard me, Yang Xiao Long."
She sat bolt upright. "I - I'd never do th - I'd never blame her for what happened, that's stupid! Why w-would she-"
Finally, Weiss' composure broke and her voice raised. "How is she supposed to know that!? You don't talk to her, or spend time with her! Do you have any idea how much stress she's under? I have to practically tear her away from the workshop to get her to pretend to sleep to appease me until she actually falls asleep!"
"I-I didn't realize she..."
"No. You didn't." Her teammate heaved a few breaths. "Just...I'm doing the best I can, Yang. But I'm not all she needs. Maybe you don't need to be her mother, but you still need to be her sister."
They were quiet for a while.
She chewed on her lip, her hands clenching and unclenching. "I'll...I'll go talk to her. Tomorrow. I didn't- She shouldn't-" She trailed off, unable to find words.
Weiss sniffed once. "You'd better, Yang. I can't- I cannot do this alone. I need...I need my team."
Yang released a shuddering breath. "Yeah. I- Yeah."
It was a long time before she fell asleep.
Yang entered as quietly as she could, observing as Ruby soared through the workshop. It had always been her space, where she was free of her awkward uncertainty, but this was...something different. There was a weight, an importance to her movements, and for a moment Yang felt oddly as though she was intruding on something.
Then Ruby's eyes caught her, her hands stumbling slightly in their movements, and the moment was broken. "Uh. Hey, Yang. Wh's up? Ember Celica need maintenance?"
"No, I-well, actually, maybe."
"Give her here." The command was delivered and she'd unbuckled her weapon before thinking about it. After a moment's hesitation, she handed it over. "You can jump the line. Sister privileges, right?" In a heartbeat, Ember Celica was opened and laid out on the table. Ruby's fingers glided across the internals, making adjustments as she muttered. "You look good, girl. My sister's been taking care of you, hasn't she?"
"Hey, Ruby..."
"Yeah?" She didn't look up. There was...tension in her shoulders.
It hurt to look at, and for a moment Yang couldn't find words. Then again, words had never really been her thing. She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Ruby's shoulders and feeling them stiffen suddenly.
"Rubes. I didn't-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...to make you feel like this."
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Her sister's voice raised in that slightly hysterical lilt that Yang hadn't heard since she was little. "I feel...fine..." She sniffed.
"Yeah. Sure." Her words were jumbled, and wouldn't come out properly. So, for a moment, she held her trembling sister. "I...out of everyone in the world, Ruby, you never have to feel like I'm expecting something from you. You...you're my sister, and I love you. I don't-I don't need you to be my hero." Ruby's breath hitched for a moment.
"But I-"
"Shh. I'm not finished. I didn't mean to-to run off and hide like Dad did. It just...sorta happened. That's my bad."
"I missed you, Yang. It-it felt like you were going farther and farther away, and I couldn't-couldn't doanythingaboutit, and-" Ruby's words came faster and faster, and Yang squeezed her in response.
"I'm not going anywhere. I swear."
Ruby's hands left Ember Celica and came to rest on her own.
It was starting to get late when the door opened. Yang leaned up slightly from the bed, a bit surprised that Ruby was entering so early. Well, relatively early.
Her eyebrows rose as Penny followed her into the room. "Uh, Rubes? Wh-"
"Blake isn't dead." Ruby's voice stumbled over itself as she wrung her hands.
"What!?" Weiss sat bolt upright, hands clenching her sheets. Yang realized she was doing the same.
"I- Penny, explain?"
Penny nodded. "I... I Dreamed of Mother. It was a complex process, but what is important is this: I watched the battle from her perspective. The magics unleashed in Mother's battle with Cinder caused time to become...unstable? Unraveled? Either way, Mother could feel a rift in time opening. She chose to take it to prevent Blake from perishing to Cinder."
"Meaning...they traveled in time...?" Weiss trailed off.
"That's...what does that even mean for us? Nothing's changed. She's still gone." Yang slumped back down.
"If they traveled in time, they can travel back." Ruby's voice was firm, and her face could have been carved from stone. "Or we can bring them back."
Yang watched Penny flinch, and something tickled at Yang's mind. "Penny? You said Obsidian chose to take the portal." Penny nodded, but did not elaborate. "What do you mean?"
There was a pause as the girl chewed on her lip, and Yang felt a strangely sinking feeling.
"Mother...had two options. Separate from Blake and leave her against Cinder, or allow the portal to form and shelter her from it in travel."
"That doesn't seem like much of a choice."
"...Mother believed that the travel might...have consequences. For her."
"She did once mention that the Flame was not meant to travel through time," Weiss murmured.
"What consequences, Penny?" Ruby looked at the girl. No response came. "...Penny?"
"She was afraid she might perish."
Silence. Pure silence.
"No-no way. She-something like that wouldn't..." Ruby stepped back, sinking into the chair at a desk.
"Surely that..." Weiss leaned back against the bed.
Yang's thoughts spiraled, and for a moment she pictured it. Standing between Blake and Cinder, and choosing between deaths. She grit her teeth at the feelings that brought.
Obsidian...for all that you act like- and you still chose to...? Come on, you can't fucking pull that shit out of nowhere...!
The sound of something scratching became too loud to ignore, and Yang blinked away her thoughts, turning to the source of the sound.
At the desk, Ruby scrawled something rapidly across a piece of paper. Tiny, precise scribbles made with absolute focus. A flicker of silver illuminating the paper as she worked.
"Ruby? What are these designs...?" Penny leaned down.
"I don't know. I'm just...Melchior was the Guru of Life, not Time. I can't-I don't know how to magic up a portal, even if I know where the distortion is." As she spoke, her hands never moved. "But I-I have some ideas. There might be something I can do. If Obsidian is alive...or maybe if her memory is...then I have ideas. I just need to-to figure this out."
"Ruby...don't give me false hope. Please. Do you think you can-" Yang would deny any accusations that her voice shook.
Silver eyes gleamed once as Ruby met her gaze.
"I can. I will."
Choose an action to take in Ciel, when not training Salem.