Chapter 2: The Argus Limited
Mistral Train Station, 14th May 16 BBY, 11:05 am…
Even after having to say goodbye to his own mother for good two weeks prior, Kanan still hated goodbyes in general.
Which was why as he watched Yang and Raven share their own farewell, he felt himself starting to tear up.
Much like Yang was at that moment:
"It still feels like we didn't spend enough time together…" Yang was saying to Raven.
Raven nodded. "Our time together was always going to be cut short no matter how much time we tried to spend together." Raven said gently, taking her daughter by the shoulder. "But what I will always treasure is the time we were able to spend together. Because sometimes; that's all we need." Taking a deep breath; Raven added: "That is of course; not to say that this will be the last we ever see of each other. While I was never afforded the chance to be there for you as a child, I will seek every opportunity I can to spend time with you in the future."
Yang smiled through her tears at that, and pulled Raven into a warm, loving hug.
Kanan looked away at this. He hadn't been afforded the chance to do even that with his mother before she died. What he wouldn't give just to have one last moment with his mother; where he could tell her what she meant to him.
"Kanan."
Kanan looked up to see Raven and Yang inviting him to join them, and so walked over, wrapping an arm around Yang.
The sight made Raven smile, before she said: "I'm happy you and Yang are finally together again, Kanan. And I'm sure Sienna would be as well if she had lived to be here."
Kanan nodded sadly.
"With that said… I do hope that you've learned your lesson from several weeks ago." Raven warned. "I will not suffer seeing my daughter be forced to break her own heart again because of you screwing up."
"I have, ma'am. You can be sure of that." Kanan assured Raven.
Raven nodded, saying: "Good. With that said…" She then surprised Kanan with a warm, gentle hug.
Kanan was at first surprised, but soon found himself melting into the hug as he realised just how badly he'd needed a hug from a maternal figure. Yang was great with hugs, but there was something about a mother's love that Kanan had sorely needed in recent weeks. He just hadn't anticipated it coming from his possible mother-in-law.
"Be safe Kanan. I also will not suffer my own daughter having her heart broken due to you getting yourself killed." Raven said gently.
"Duly noted, ma'am." Kanan replied before breaking away from Raven.
Raven gave them both a little smile before turning and walking off into the crowd. Before long, familiar looking raven flew out from the crowd, headed for Haven.
Kanan and Yang looked at one another before they themselves shared a hug.
"Come on." Kanan said to Yang. "Let's get out of here."
Yang nodded, and taking Kanan's hand in her own, the two of them headed off into the station, where their friends were waiting.
The station platform, not long later…
It hadn't been long since Kanan and Yang had rejoined the other gathered around the benches that Ruby herself emerged from out of nowhere, smiling and humming.
Kanan smiled and looked over to Ruby, as did Yang. Ruby had hinted at getting something special for Yang, who had an expectant look on her face as she looked to Ruby.
"And?" Yang asked.
"Ahh!" Ruby exclaimed, holding up a small bag.
"What an absolute waste of time-" Weiss made to say, but was interrupted by Yang excitedly asking:
"What did you get me?"
"You'll have to wait and see!" Ruby replied in a sing-song tone.
"No fair!" Yang commented as Ruby stuck out her tongue.
Kanan rolled his eyes as Yang tried to snatch the bag from Ruby, who recoiled.
All the while Nora was being well… Nora:
"Oh, I can't believe we're taking the train to Argus! The beautiful northern coastline... You really think it's too early for beach season?" She suddenly asked Ren.
Kanan recalled with some annoyance that it would be too early for the beach. Which sucked; as it'd been too long since he'd seen Yang rocking a bikini.
"Unfortunately, but we will be one step closer to Atlas." Ren replied, answering Nora's question.
"Well, I'm glad you're all excited." Weiss said from where she was sat, unamused. "But I don't think you appreciate the trouble me, Nathan, Kanan and Jason went through to leave Atlas."
"I know you're worried, Weiss, but trust us." Ruby told her girlfriend. "Team RWBY won't leave your side for a second! I promise."
Weiss gave Ruby a smile before a voice called out from nearby:
"No one's gotta be worried with us around."
Everyone looked to see two Huntsmen approaching them.
One; the person who had spoken, was a tall, broad man with a pale complexion, alongside long, wavy brown hair and yellow eyes. He was wearing a purple jacket with silver buttons over a black shirt, and light-gray pants. He was armed with some form of spiked club, which he held across his shoulder.
The second was a tall, muscular man with a goatee beard. His brown hair was tied to a bun, and a small fringe hung over his right eye. He was wearing a beige shirt with a blue and yellow sleeveless, unbuttoned tailcoat over it, alongside black fingerless gloves with leather paddings on them and gray pants. He was holding some form of rifle over his shoulder, military style.
"And you are?" Nora asked.
"Why Dee and Dudley of course." The first Huntsmen said proudly. "The Argus Limited's very own Huntsmen. We'll be keeping everyone safe as we pass through Grimm territory."
"But for a generous tip, we can make sure your passenger car gets extra special attention should things get dangerous." The one called Dudley added, winking at them.
Kanan rolled his eyes as Weiss, Nora, Yang and Ruby all gave unamused looks towards their supposed guardians before another, much more familiar voice said:
"Yeah, I got a tip for ya." Qrow called out as he stood between Dee, Dudley, and the rest of the gang.
Kanan smirked as Ghost then stood with Qrow, all the while Yang and Ruby made mocking faces directly towards them.
"Huh?" Dee and Dudley spluttered.
"Buzz off." Qrow ordered. "Looks like Mistral's really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days." He added.
"Which is saying something; considering how big and deep that barrel must be." Ghost commented. "Guess Mistral forgot who was cannon fodder and who were their crack soldiers during the Battle of Haven."
Qrow snorted as Dee and Dudley looked flabbergasted.
"Hey!" Dee then protested. "You're talking to a-"
"A professional Huntsman, right." Qrow interrupted, holding up his Hunstman licence to show Dee and Dudley. "Well, it seems one of you heroes left the staff entrance to the caboose wide open."
Both Dee and Dudley turned to the other, shocked at this sudden worldview-shattering revelation.
Folding his arms, Qrow added: "It'd be a shame to lose your job before it even started."
"I... I didn't do it!" Dudley protested.
"Come on, dummy." Dee scoffed as they walked off, arguing relentlessly.
Once they were out of earshot; Oscar finally piped up:
"You know sometimes the burden of saving the world feels overwhelming." He said, turning to the others. "But then people like that come along and make me grateful that it's our job and not theirs."
"Got that right." Kanan commented. "I'd feel safer with Jacques Schnee than I would with them."
The rest of the gang laughed a little before Qrow addressed them:
"So, you kids ready to go?" Qrow asked, looking to Yang: "Bike all loaded up?"
"Yep!" Yang replied, grinning ear to ear.
"Just waiting on Blake and Nathan." Weiss added. "As usual."
The walkways above the platform…
"I just wish I could stick around so I can watch the baby grow." Ilia said. "But with the White Fang in the worst state it's been since just after Sienna first took over, Carrick is going to need all the help he can get. We've started rebuilding, but rebuilding an army is going to take time."
"It's okay, Ilia." Blake replied softly, hands on her belly. "We'll see if we can visit at some point during my pregnancy."
"You'd better." Ilia responded, folding her arms. "I want to see that baby bump in person."
Blake giggled before hugging Ilia, who then looked to Nathan.
Nathan stepped forward, pulling Ilia into a hug of his own, softly stroking the chameleon faunus' hair.
Ilia sighed happily before breaking the hug, planting a small kiss on Nathan's cheek. "You'd better keep Blake and that baby safe, Nathan." She warned playfully.
"You know I will, Ilia." Nathan replied.
Ilia smiled as she then took her leave, passing by a group of young men as she did.
"Sun?" Blake suddenly said.
Nathan looked in the direction Blake was looking, and immediately scowled as he stepped in front of Blake, hand on his lightsaber.
Sun Wukong was walking towards them, flanked by his teammates: Neptune Vasilias, Scarlet David, and Sage Ayana.
Nathan took a step forward and took his lightsaber off of his belt. "That's close enough." He growled, thumb on the activation switch of his lightsaber.
"Easy, easy…" Neptune said, stepping between the two sides, looking at Nathan. "We just wanted to talk."
"Then you had better talk fast." Nathan said; glaring daggers at Sun.
Sun met Nathan and Blake's gaze, and sighed. "I… I wanted to apologise for the whole fiasco three weeks ago. I wasn't in a good place mentally, and seeing you two together despite what happened at Beacon… it messed me up even more. I never should have said what I said; and for that… I'm so incredibly sorry, Blake."
Nathan didn't respond, but looked as Blake stepped past him and towards Sun.
Before then slapping him hard across the face.
"That was for what you said." Blake said harshly; her expression fierce as she affixed Sun with what Nathan still affectionately referred to as 'The Glare of Impending Doom.'
Unsurprisingly, Sun wilted under such a glare, the fury behind Blake's expression all encompassing.
But then, Blake sighed, her expression softening. "At the same time though… I accept your apology, Sun. As hurtful as your words were… I understand that you were hurt yourself due to what happened. All I want is that you stop pining for me and… start looking. There are dozens of other women around, Sun. Many who would love a man like you in their lives." As she said this, her hands suddenly brushed over her belly.
Sun sighed sadly. "I… I'll try." He said. Looking to Blake; he asked: "So… are… are you…?"
Blake smiled and nodded, placing a hand over her belly, her answer unspoken.
Sun smiled and said: "Congrats, you guys. I'm happy for you." Taking a breath, Sun added: "We'd better go. Got our own train to catch."
Blake nodded. "See you down the road, Sun."
Sun nodded, and alongside his teammates, vanished into the crowd of people.
Nathan finally relaxed, looking to Blake. "Shall we?" He asked.
The Argus Limited, 13:15 pm…
"Thank you." Nathan said, paying the bartender before walking over to where his teammates all sat, handing each of them their drinks. Sitting in his own seat, Nathan said: "Feels like yesterday we were boarding this train for the first time so I could embarrass Pyrrha's mom in front of everyone."
"It really does." Pyrrha replied with a smile. "And so much has changed since then. We have all of our friends with us, and me and Jaune are engaged to be married."
Nathan smiled as Pyrrha's engagement ring gleamed on her finger, which was when Jaune piped up with:
"Not to mention; you're on your way to becoming a dad."
Nathan chuckled. "Yeah. Still feels fucking insane; even after two weeks of knowing."
"Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" Nora asked.
"I'm not sure yet." Nathan responded. "I know Blake is hoping for a girl. And I'm kinda leaning towards the same thing. But enough about me. How about you two?" At which Nathan glanced over at Pyrrha and Jaune.
"Well; I've already enlisted my father's assistance in planning the wedding." Pyrrha replied. "Ozpin has already agreed to extend our stay in Argus for two weeks so that we can completely plan the wedding and get married."
"And consummate your marriage, no doubt." Nathan joked. "No need to keep teasing Jaune like you have been in recent weeks."
A blush rapidly appeared on Pyrrha's face, making everyone chuckle. "There's… also another thing. When me and Jaune do consummate our marriage… we will be trying for a baby of our own."
"Shit; seriously?!" Nathan asked.
Pyrrha smiled and nodded. "After hearing that Blake is with child; me and Jaune decided we didn't want to wait either."
"Not to mention; yours and Blake's baby is going to want a playmate." Jaune pointed out. "So dare I say why not?"
"Why not indeed?" Nathan asked, wrapping an arm around Pyrrha and pulling her close. "Either way; I'm glad to see this family about to get a little bigger." Placing a hand over Pyrrha's belly; he added: "In more ways than one."
Pyrrha nodded before leaning down and laying her head on Nathan's shoulder.
Nathan held Pyrrha closely. Recent events had meant they hung out a lot less, but Nathan hoped that Atlas would afford them more of a chance.
After a while of just holding Pyrrha, Nathan got up. He fancied seeing Blake.
Team RWBY's cabin…
Kanan grunted a little as he felt Yang grinding her pelvis against his.
A teasing smile crossed Yang's face as she did; indicating to Kanan that she knew precisely what she was doing.
Failing to help matters was the fact that despite being back together for all of two weeks, Yang and Kanan had not had sex at all. Meaning Kanan was all kinds of pent up.
But unfortunately, with Ruby playing videogames on the opposite bunk; Weiss calmly relaxing on hers, and Blake being directly beneath them in her own bunk, it meant there was no chance of getting naked and engaging in some steamy lovemaking for the time being without getting everyone's attention.
Which was when there was suddenly a knock on the door, catching everyone's attention:
"I'll get it." Weiss said, standing up and walking towards the door. Opening it; she smiled. "Blake… it's for you."
Nathan…
Nathan smiled as Blake suddenly sprang from her bed and dashed into his arms. "There's the most beautiful woman on Remnant!" He declared happily.
"And there's the most handsome man on Remnant…" Blake responded. "Who just so happens to be the father of my baby…"
The two shared a passionate kiss as Nathan stepped into the cabin, breaking the kiss as he sat down, inviting Blake to join him in his lap.
Blake happily obliged, sitting in Nathan's lap, where she soon found his hand on her belly, starting to lightly rub the area. Sighing happily, Blake said: "I'm glad you joined me here, Nathan."
"Was always the plan, Blake." Nathan said softly. "I don't ever plan on leaving you and our baby for too long." Planting a soft kiss on Blake's cheek.
A smile crossed Blake's face as she leaned back, sharing another passionate kiss with Nathan before they both leaned back in bed.
Nathan then scooted down the bed until his head was level with Blake's belly, lifting Blake's top to leave the skin bare, allowing Nathan to plant a soft, gentle and loving kiss on Blake's belly, giving it one more gentle rub before laying his head over it, as if it were a pillow.
He could already see himself doing this later on in Blake's pregnancy, listening to their baby's heartbeat and feeling them moving around in Blake's belly.
Feeling Blake stroking his hair, Nathan felt himself beginning to doze off.
Kanan…
Kanan was sure himself and the rest of Team RWBY were watching Nathan and Blake's adorable little interaction.
Nathan's excitement to be a father was clear to all, and Kanan was happy for them both.
But then the guilt returned. The guilt that had plagued him for three weeks, ever since he had tried to force Blake to take a pregnancy test before dragging her off to an abortion clinic all because he disagreed with the timing of things.
That had nearly cost him everything, and even now; Kanan felt as though he was far from forgiveness, despite Blake verbally forgiving him two weeks ago.
Nathan though; had voiced no such sentiments, which worried Kanan greatly. He knew Nathan was very capable of holding grudges, some of which lasted years.
Kanan then felt someone pulling on his clothes, and looked to see Yang beckoning him to join her.
Smiling, Kanan joined Yang, and the two snuggled closely together.
"Kanan…" Yang then said. "It's been two weeks. It's okay to let go of your guilt."
Kanan shook his head. "No. No it isn't. The minute I stop feeling guilty is the day I risk repeating that mistake and lose everything. For good, this time."
Yang sighed, replying: "You've learned your lesson from that whole thing though; haven't you?"
"Yeah…" Kanan responded.
"Then that's all that should matter." Yang said gently. "There's no need to carry all of this guilt over a mistake you've learned from."
Kanan sighed. "If only it were that easy, Yang." He replied.
Yang then snuggled up even more closely to Kanan, saying: "All in good time, Kanan…"
Kanan held Yang a little tighter, kissing the top of her head. He was so grateful to have Yang in his life.
Yang sighed happily and held on just a little bit tighter, especially when Kanan began to stroke her golden blonde hair.
Hearing Yang's happy sighs helped Kanan relax as well; planting several more kisses on the top of Yang's head as he continued stroking her hair.
He'd missed these moments with Yang the most. Not the beautifully romantic moments; nor the lovemaking, amazing though the latter was every single time. Instead, he most missed the quiet moments, where he and Yang just… were.
The peace was then broken up by Ruby saying:
"All right, girls, I think it's time for an official team exercise. Who wants to play video games?"
Kanan chuckled as Yang perked up:
"I mean, if you want me to kick your butt, yeah sure. Let me grab my scroll." Yang said.
"Shit; the Sibling Rivalry Gaming League is back up and running." Nathan joked. Adopting a voice similar to that of a sports commentator, Nathan added: "We've got Team Rosebud and Team Dragon. Who will win?"
The rest of the group laughed as everyone gathered their scrolls to prepare for the gaming session.
"How touching."
Everyone looked up to see Qrow in the doorway of the cabin, holding a cocktail.
"Oh hey, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said cheerfully. "You wanna play too?"
"Kick your butts? Sure." Qrow said with a chuckle.
Suddenly though; the train jolted a little more violently than usual; causing Qrow to drop his drink.
The fearful screams of other passengers drew their attention further, prompting Blake to ask:
"What was that?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Weiss replied.
"Seriously?" Nathan asked with a groan.
"Just my luck." Blake muttered.
"It's not yours... grab your weapons!" Qrow ordered, looking out of the window.
Nathan's lightsaber was in his hands before Qrow had even finished his sentence, and he looked to Blake. "Stay here, where it's safe." He said softly.
Blake nodded, as Nathan keyed his comms:
"Ghost, it's Nathan. I need you to come to Team RWBY's cabin and look after Blake. She can still fight; but I'd rather not chance it."
"Got it Nathan. On my way." Ghost replied.
Nathan took a deep breath and looked to Blake, who immediately pulled him into a passionate kiss.
He held Blake tightly, not wanting to let go until the kiss was broken, looking deeply into Blake's eyes.
"Be safe, Nathan. For both our sakes." Blake begged, hands on her belly.
Nathan nodded, leaning down and planting a quick, effective kiss onto Blake's belly before joining the others.
The assembled group all shared a look before Nathan said:
"Let's teach the Grimm why they should never interrupt a team bonding session."
On top of the train…
Of course there were new variants of Grimm to fight, Nathan thought as he drew Phoenix's Breath, firing on one Grimm that got way too close for comfort and feeling a small sense of satisfaction at seeing the Grimm's head go pop.
Movement drew his attention, and Nathan watched Kanan barrel into the fray, wielding his new sword; a Kirach type sword that Kanan had affectionately named 'Broken Fang.'
Nathan looked on as Kanan wielded the sword with devastating skill, cutting past Grimm with powerful cleaves, assisted by the sword's blade being curved slightly forward.
A random Grimm then appeared in front of Nathan; only to suffer a face full of bullets as Nathan shot it. Holstering Phoenix's Breath and drawing his lightsaber, Nathan's first movement was to behead the nearest Creature of Grimm to him; following that up by bisecting another into two separate halves.
A third attempted to rush Nathan, but the fiery haired Jedi Huntsman was poised, prepared, and primed to counter, driving his lightsaber through the mouth of the fiendish creature and up through the top of their head, booting them away from him once he was certain the Grimm was dead.
Spinning on his heel, Nathan slashed a fourth from hip to shoulder, before seeing Kanan struggling against several Grimm.
Nathan dashed forwards, yelling: "On your left!"
Kanan moved right just as Nathan struck, beheading a fifth Grimm.
As if on instinct, the two warriors moved back-to-back, cutting and hacking away at any random Grimm that came towards them.
"The fuck are these anyway?" Nathan asked, cutting down what had to be his tenth Grimm that fight.
"Manticores." Kanan replied. "It makes sense you've never seen them before; they only really pop up here in Mistral."
"Good to know." Nathan responded.
The two warriors continued to fight off Grimm after Grimm until they heard Oscar's voice over the din of combat:
"TUNNEL!"
Nathan looked towards where Oscar was, at which Kanan said: "He's right; move!"
Nathan dashed for the nearest coupling, only for a Manticore to claw at him. Nathan barely had time to fell that Grimm before diving down, just as they entered the tunnel.
Back inside, the back of the train…
Nathan could sense Blake's anxiety as he stepped into the back of the train, hearing her say:
"Where is he?! Did anyone see him come down?" Blake asked worriedly.
"It's okay, Blake." Nathan said softly. "I'm here."
Within moments, Blake dashed forwards and crashed into Nathan's arms, not wanting to let go.
Nathan held Blake tightly in response, breathing in her scent. "Are you okay?" Nathan asked softly.
Blake nodded. "As is the baby." She replied, taking Nathan's hand and pressing it to her belly.
Nathan felt himself relax, smiling as he gave Blake's belly a gentle rub.
"I said, turn those damn things off!"
Nathan looked to see an angry Qrow picking up a clearly injured Dudley and slamming him into the wall.
"Those things are keeping us alive!" Dudley was protesting, despite the very clear pain in his injured arm.
"Us, sure, but they're putting the passengers in danger!" Qrow fired back.
"I'm the one they hired for this job, okay?! I'm in charge here!" Dudley countered.
"Forgive me if I'm not exactly reassured." Qrow growled.
Nathan frowned as he looked to see Ruby looking out of the window. Joining her, Nathan's frown became a scowl as he realised the Grimm were resuming their pursuit through the tunnel, albeit unable to continue their attack on the train until it had exited said tunnel.
Nathan stepped back and looked back into the rest of the train, seeing passengers murmur amongst themselves as a baby was crying.
His eyes met Ruby's, and they shared a nod before marching over to Qrow and Dudley, separating the two quarrelling Hunstmen:
"Please just shut off the turrets." Ruby asked Dudley.
"Trust us, we know what we're doing." Jaune added as he activated his semblance and began healing Dudley's arm.
Dudley looked over the former Beacon Academy students before replying:
"Fine."
Ruby nodded, and the car fell momentarily into silence before Nora broke it with a suggestion:
"Ren, could you use your Semblance to mask everyone on this train?" Nora asked. "With the guns off and emotions hidden, they might lose track of us!"
"Hm, I never attempted to affect this many people." Ren replied thoughtfully.
"Well, you've never had Jaune's help before." Ruby added.
"He could amplify your Aura!" Weiss continued.
"And through your aura; your Semblance." Pyrrha went on to say.
"It's worth a shot." Nathan said, folding his arms. "And I don't see any other ideas floating about."
"Yeah, that's an alright plan." Qrow admitted.
"Don't look so worried, Ren. You can totally do this!" Nora declared, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek.
Nathan smiled, but frowned as he heard Ozpin say:
"I'm afraid there's one complication..." Gesturing to the Relic of Knowledge, Ozpin added: "The Grimm are also attracted to this."
"What?!" Nathan snapped, his frown becoming a scowl once again.
"What's that?" Dudley asked.
"None of your business. Oz, are you serious?"
"Why wouldn't you tell us that?!" Yang demanded.
"I-" Ozpin made to say.
"You mean to tell me that thing is attracting the Grimm here?!" Nathan growled, marching up to Ozpin, who backed up against a wall. "With my pregnant girlfriend on board?!"
"Nathan; calm down." Kanan said calmly, stepping between Nathan and Ozpin.
"Calm down?!" Nathan snapped, directing his ire towards Kanan. "By neglecting to tell us this; Ozpin has put Blake in danger! Her and our unborn child! Your niece or nephew! If anything; you should be just as pissed off as I am!"
Kanan silently averted his gaze.
"Oh… I get it." Nathan said, an epiphany of sorts coming over him. "You're hoping the Grimm get to Blake, aren't you? Would be a real perfect way to get what you wanted three weeks ago!"
Kanan's face fell as he felt himself deflate. He still holds the grudge, Kanan thought.
"I fucking knew it!" Nathan snarled, rearing back for a punch.
"Nathan, that's enough!"
Nathan looked to Blake walking over, giving him a stern look.
Which then softened as she added: "Please… calm down."
Nathan glanced towards Kanan, fists still clenched.
Until Blake took one of his hands and pressed it to her belly. "We'll never be at risk with you here to protect us." She added gently, pulling Nathan into a gentle kiss.
Nathan felt himself calming down as Ruby added:
"It doesn't matter right now."
Everyone looked to the leader of Team RWBY as she went on to say:
"Every second we're on board this train, we're putting everyone else in danger. Get the passengers to the front cars, you'll still mask the emotions and kill the turrets... we just can't come with you. If we cut the back cars with us and the Relic on them, we can deal with the Grimm. You just make sure the rest of the train makes it safely to Argus."
Finishing healing Dudley's arm, Jaune walked up to Ruby, a conflicted expression crossing his face. "Only if you'll promise you'll meet us there." He said firmly.
"Promise." Ruby replied.
From there, the evacuation commenced, as Team JNPR moved to start evacuating all the passengers to the front of the train.
It was then that Nathan noticed Blake hanging back, and rushed over to her. "Blake, what're you still doing here?" He asked. "You need to go on to Argus with the others."
"No." Blake replied firmly. "The last time we were forced to separate due to circumstances demanding it, you were nearly killed, and I spent seven months without you! I refuse to go through that again; so I'm staying."
Nathan's heart sank. "Blake, please…" He begged. "It's the only way to ensure both of you are safe." Pressing a hand to Blake's belly.
Blake's eyes shut against tears, shaking her head. "I don't want to leave you, Nathan…" She whimpered.
"Blake; I'll be fine. I promise." Nathan declared. "Just please… go on to Argus with the others. If… if something happened to you or our baby, I…" Nathan sighed, feeling tears of his own start flooding his eyes as the sentence went unfinished.
"Nathan…" Blake said pleadingly.
"I know Blake." Nathan replied. "Just trust me. I'll see you in Argus. I swear on the Force itself."
Blake nodded, then pulled Nathan into a passionate kiss.
Nathan returned the kiss with as much passion as he could muster, holding Blake close as he could; knowing it could well be the last kiss he shared with her for a while.
The kiss eventually broke, and Nathan dropped down to one knee in front of Blake's belly, where their unborn child grew. "Daddy will see you and Mommy soon, little one." Planting a soft kiss on Blake's belly. Standing up, he gave Blake one final kiss. "I love, you, Blake." He said.
"I love you too." Blake replied.
Nathan smiled, kissing Blake one last time before leading her to the front carriages, encountering Ghost along the way.
Seeing Blake off, Nathan looked to Ghost. "Ghost… I'm going to need to rely on you to keep Blake and the baby safe until I join you guys in Argus." He said.
Ghost nodded resolutely, replying: "Will do, mate."
Nathan hugged his long time friend before taking one last look at Blake.
Their eyes met, and Nathan gave Blake one last loving smile before forcing himself to turn away and leave, blinking back tears. Was this how Jason felt leaving Winter behind?
With Kanan…
Kanan could tell Nathan had been crying the minute the Jedi rejoined them:
Nathan's eyes were puffy, and stains from freshly cried tears coated his cheeks.
Kanan offered Nathan a supportive smile as Yang then stepped towards Nathan, giving him a big hug.
"I'm here for you, Nate." Yang said, holding onto Nathan like it was the last thing she would do.
Nathan hugged Yang back, a smile crossing his face.
Kanan considered offering his own support, but knew that he was already on thin ice with Nathan. Taking a deep breath, Kanan headed outside in order to sever the coupling tying the two parts of the train together.
Drawing Broken Fang, Kanan raised it in preparation, only to hear:
"Wait!"
Looking up, Kanan saw Blake walking up to him, flanked by Ghost.
Brother and sister stared one another down before Blake said:
"I know you and Nathan are far from friends right now. But please… look after him." Blake begged.
Kanan nodded. "I will, Blake. It's my fault he hates me, and my fault you did too. I'll do whatever it takes to earn his trust and forgiveness back."
Blake smiled before hugging her brother. "Be safe, Kanan. And good luck."
Kanan smiled back before Blake left with Ghost.
Just in time for Kanan to hear Ruby yell:
"NOW!"
With a swift slash of Broken Fang, the coupling was severed, and Kanan could immediately feel the train car he was on gradually begin slowing down; no longer anchored to the rest of the train.
Looking up, Kanan gasped as he saw a hooded figure stood opposite him:
There was no mistaking the attire or the sword sheathed on his hip.
"Adam!" Kanan snarled, raising his sword, only to see no-one there.
His eyes narrowed, trying to discern if Adam was using some form of cloaking tech.
But when he saw nothing that would prove such a thing was happening, Kanan sighed, resigning himself to the possibility that it was his mind playing tricks on him.
At that, he jumped up to rejoin the others. They would make their stand now.
With Nathan…
Nathan watched Kanan join them before drawing his lightsaber, looking back behind them towards the tunnel.
The Grimm had began exiting the tunnel, with the largest one landing on the train itself.
Nathan recognised it as a Sphinx, but couldn't dwell on it for long, as a Manticore soon came towards him. Partially decapitating the beast, Nathan spun around, pivoting on his heel and slashing a second Manticore in two. Spinning his lightsaber into a reverse grip, Nathan stabbed a third through the mouth and head that was behind him, drawing Phoenix's Breath and snapping off several well placed shots that evaporated a fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh before holstering Phoenix's Breath, raising his lightsaber and hurling it at several Manticores, cutting all of them down in a neat little row.
Calling his lightsaber back to his hand, Nathan turned in order to square off with the Sphinx, seeing that Qrow, Ruby, Weiss and Yang were ganging up on it.
Reaching out with the Force, Nathan held the beast down, looking on as Weiss utilised her Glyphs to freeze the Sphinx's wings, whilst Ruby and Qrow then shattered said wings with well placed shots from Harbinger and Crescent Rose.
A loud shriek from the creature betrayed its intent, a fireball forming in its throat.
Nathan readied and hurled his lightsaber as Qrow and Ruby bisected the Sphinx's torso with their scythes and his lightsaber sliced the beast's head off, killing the Creature of Grimm for good.
But too late to prevent the fireball from launching and taking out the tracks in front of them.
"Shit!" Nathan spat, switching off his lightsaber as Weiss activated her black glyphs in an effort to anchor everyone to the train.
However, his came too late, and Nathan felt himself flung from the train as it derailed completely.
The ground rapidly rose to meet Nathan, and the last thing he felt before everything went black was a stabbing pain through his torso.
Not long later, with Kanan…
Kanan groaned as he got to his feet, looking around and seeing Qrow, Oscar, Ruby, Weiss and Yang all doing the same.
"Is everyone okay?" Qrow called out.
"I'm fine." Weiss replied.
"Yeah, I'm good." Kanan replied, walking over to Yang and hugging her before looking around. "Wait… where's Nathan?"
A deathly silence fell upon then group, as they realised their friend was not among them.
It was then that Kanan's enhanced hearing picked up something from farther into the forest.
Were those… groans?
"Nathan?!" Kanan called out, heading towards the direction of the groans. His heart swelled with relief as he saw a familiar head of crimson coloured hair, dashing forward. "Nathan!" He called out, before he came to a skidding halt as he saw the state Nathan was in:
Nathan looked terrible. Blood poured from a nasty wound in Nathan's head, covering his face in the proverbial crimson mask, alongside an equally loathsome wound to his leg, just above his left knee.
But worst of all and most concerning; was the large piece of rebar impaled through Nathan's torso, just underneath his sternum.
"Shit; Nathan!" Kanan shouted, rushing over to Nathan. "Guys, I need help over here!"
Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Oscar were at Kanan's side in moments, each of them horrified at Nathan's current condition.
"He's hurt!" Ruby gasped.
"We need to patch up his wounds!" Weiss added.
Yang then grabbed hold of the rebar with intent to pull it out, only to be stopped by Kanan.
"You do that, and Nathan will bleed out within minutes." Kanan warned, only to gasp as a strong hand seized his arm.
Looking down, Kanan saw Nathan had grabbed his arm, staring into his eyes with a mad sort of glare.
"Do it…" Nathan said through gritted, bloody teeth. "I… I can take it…"
Kanan could see the steely look in Nathan's eyes, and nodded. "This is gonna hurt." He said, gripping the rebar alongside Yang. "Weiss, Oscar, be ready to put pressure on this wound. Ruby-"
"Shut up and fucking pull!" Nathan snarled.
Kanan gulped, then looked to Yang. A short nod later, and they pulled with all their might.
Nathan's scream of pain echoed through the forest as he felt the rebar leave his body, sinking back against the tree he'd been laid against.
Weiss and Oscar moved quickly, putting pressure on the wound from both sides whilst Ruby ripped a part of her blouse off to press against Nathan's head.
Yang applied pressure to Nathan's leg wound until Kanan returned, carrying the medical kit.
It took nearly the entire roll of gauze to dress Nathan's wounds, and even then, blood threatened to break through.
Thankfully though, Nathan was patched up, and Kanan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on; let's get you someplace more comfy." He said, helping Nathan up to someplace Nathan could sit without fear of further injury.
"What… what happened?" Nathan asked once he was comfortable.
"We crashed." Ruby explained. "Thankfully, we're all-"
"Still alive!" An unfamiliar voice called out as an elderly woman exited one of the ruined train cars.
She was old, likely in her mid-to late seventies, with dark skin and long silver hair, worn in a single braid down her back. She was hunched over, and using a walking stick to assist her movement.
The woman was wearing a full-length tabasco style dress, consisting of a dark blue top with full sleeves and skirt comprised of alternating light and dark blue layers. In addition to her dress, she was wearing thick brown gloves and a heavy blue cloak trimmed at the edges with a pattern of white, hollow triangles on a light blue background. A similar white and blue trim was around the neck of the cloak. Which was secured to her shoulders with ornate white pauldrons.
"That sure was a close one, huh?" She commented.
Everyone looked on at the old woman with shock, with Nathan saying it best:
"Wait… what the FUCK?!"
Nathan was all of us when we saw Maria had joined them. I know he was me in that moment.
As for Kanan's new sword, I decided that to mark a new chapter of his life, independent from the White Fang, it made sense for Kanan to get himself a new weapon. And Broken Fang seemed an apt name for Kanan, as he's broken off from the White Fang to become a permanent member of the gang.
That said; let's answer some reviews, shall we?
Guest: Lol. Thankfully, it shouldn't come to that. Emphasis on shouldn't.
keybladelight: You'll see should Vader come to Remnant.
Sebine: It's not Monochrome fanart, it's merely the fact that the way the picture cropped when I uploaded it left them as the only people in frame. It's annoying, but that's as maybe.
Sharnorasian Empire: Glad to see you back as well. As for your suggestions, I was actually going to go with Weiss had I opted to restart the story. As for them getting to Atlas... let's just say I have some juicy ideas in store...
All that said; thank you all so much for taking the time to read this chapter. If you enjoyed it; y'all know what to do.
I shall see you next week with the next chapter, which sees secrets uncovered.
T-Rock14