A/N: Chapter 82 of REKT. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or teams of RWBY, they belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. What I do own are the characters and teams of my OCs: REKT, GTSY, KACE, and DAZE. I also claim Ingrid, Teo, Reina's parents and aunt as well.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 82: Uncertainties
On the roof top...
Sun couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing as he struggled to his feet, running out of Aura left him feeling out of breath and sluggish. He turned his head back and forth between the two female faunus as they stared each other down. While Blake was more apprehensive and cautious, the one called Ilia was exuding nothing but hatred towards the single child of the Belladonna family. The chameleon faunus never lowered her weapon since pointing it in Blake's direction, in fact the moment the feline faunus said her name her grip tightened even harder while her mouth twisted down into a frown.
"Wait a minute, you two...know each other?" The team leader of SSSN questioned in surprise, pointing his fingers simultaneously at both females with an eyebrow raised and his tail flicking behind him. "How? When? Where?"
"Not just know, we're way beyond that state in our lives. We've been childhood friends." Ilia spat the last word as though it were poisonous, glaring at Blake while she answered Sun's questions. The next few words were also spat out in anger as she continued, "And I don't think the little princess over there is even worthy of the word after what she did, after all she had down for me...to me."
"Ilia, please..." It hurt Blake to hear such words being said to her face, especially from the chameleon faunus who she had once considered her best friend. But so much time had spanned between them since Blake fled the White Fang for a new life and old wounds were still evident; in fact those wounds were merely festering underneath the surface until it rose and is just barely threatening to burst through.
"No, don't even think about using that tone with me." snarled Ilia, glaring at Blake with narrowed eyes. "You don't know what I've been through since you ditch the Fang, you goddamn traitor. What Adam did to me and the rest of your brothers and sisters of the group that day of the mission...it was absolute hell itself. Everyone who survived didn't survive the brutish tactics and punishments. Those who managed to survive that torture ended up passing the following morning because they couldn't endure his abuse any longer. I had to not only witness the suffering and endure my own pain with everyone else, I had to bury my comrades as they laid dying at my feet...even in their beds. Adam didn't allow anyone left to morn, criticizing everyone who show a sign of sympathy as weak-minded fools. He yelled at us to keep moving, shoving new recruits into missions and barked orders.
"Every night I dreamed about those we've lost subconsciously and I can see their faces with their expressions so clear and vivid. Every single line of pain and fear they felt till their last moments. Perhaps there was even a line of resentment in there somewhere but I didn't stay asleep long to look. I cried every night afterwards because I knew how much they suffered...and I couldn't save them even if I wanted to. Because it was Adam's orders. Enraged by those cowardly actions by the weak, that red-haired man vented his frustrations upon me as I was the single lone member who stood alive after our missions. I took the lashings in silence because there was no one I could call to. No one was going to save me from him. Had you stayed, had you not left like the coward that you are...I wonder if your presence could've alleviated his mood and prevented the killing of the others. Had you stayed a lot more of our members would still be alive!
"As I felt like lying on Death's doorstep after he had finished punishing me, Sienna came to my rescue instead and ordered for Adam to be restrained. The White Fang leader even placed him on probation for a period of time to reflect on what he'd done, her eyes flashing dangerously when he thought he could disobey her. In the end he caved under her pressure and he wasn't allowed to partake in any of the missions going forward for awhile and I was able to heal with time and go about my activities; I became more aware and weary of the other members I pulled into my group, I vowed to myself that I would never put myself in any of those situations ever again and I would never allow anyone else to suffer as well.
"So whenever someone fell down or showed signs of weakness I turned the other cheek, told them to learn from their mistakes and do better. I swore I wouldn't be so ruthless so the other members could put their faith and trust in me. Eventually, Adam was allowed to come back after spending time away, he came back and knelt obediently before Sienna in her court as though he was a changed man. He even apologized for how he treated me when it was just the two of us without anyone around to hear our conversations, and I naively...no, I foolishly believed that he changed for the better. I fell for the same trap while being his subordinate once more. He continues to torment me and the others when things don't go his way, but he keeps it discreet so Sienna isn't aware. He threatened to kill those who open their mouths so they learned to keep their lips shut due to fear of him."
"This is Adam we're talking about here, a probation period isn't enough to change his behavior. He's always been like that since the day my father assigned him position in the White Fang. That is why I cut off ties the moment the opportunity presented itself, and I never looked back." Blake snorted in disbelief, shaking her head at the idea that a probation was enough to whip Adam back under Sienna's thumb. "He still believes in the cause, to make mankind suffer for what they've done to the faunus. No amount of punishment will keep him from accomplishing his missions and being denied what he wants will only fuel his anger and increase his drive. That's just how committed he is."
"You were the only one who was fairly close to him as he was your mentor and taught you what you know now! You were the second command for the group and a lot of the younger members looked up to you for guidance and leadership." Ilia responded, her gaze softened a bit as she reminisced of the old times. "I've watched you grow and train the new members, indoctrinating them in the White Fang cause. I've watch you interact with Adam when he trains you and take charge of our missions when he's focused elsewhere; honestly, I was so proud of you after you gained success after success, genuinely proud of you. Nothing else mattered when you were in the spotlight. For a moment I thought that the White Fang would make a dent in this world, carrying the voices of millions here on Menagerie!
"But then you, Blake...what did you do? You threw all that away and spat in our faces. Disgraced every man, woman, and child who have an ounce of faunus blood in their veins. You ran away during a very special mission that was just the two of you and left me alone. I knew something was wrong when Adam returned alone that day, but I couldn't imagine that in that moment his dangerous nature began to show." The chameleon faunus' voice trembled with hurt and she maintained eye contact, drinking in as much from Blake's facial expression as much as she could. Deep down she was giddy and enjoying the flash of emotions that ran through those golden orbs. "You're nothing more than a filthy traitor to the cause, a coward and a deserter. While the other faunus were fighting for their lives, trying to raise their voices against their oppressors, but without success and ended up painting the streets with their blood what were you doing? Where were you when we needed you most? Sitting on your thumbs and praying that everything will just magically work itself out? No... you decided to be selfish and run off without another word and actually made friends with our enemies! The humans! They would love nothing more than to wipe all of us off the face of Remnant! They're playing with you, Blake!"
"I can't help but thing how strange it is, about how much knowledge you have about the White Fang and their agenda..." Sun spoke up, his voice jolting the other two as they had nearly forgotten that he was there with them. He looked at Ilia in curiosity, "I mean you don't even look like a faunus – ARGH!" He suddenly cried out in pain as the tip of Ilia's weapon lodged itself in his chest, sending an electric current running through his body.
"No! Sun!" Blake yelled with worry after Ilia lashed out, the chameleon's skin already depicting the emotion of anger by turning a deadly shade of red with her freckles turning yellow. Sun fell backwards, hands clasped over his chest where the wound was and eyes shut tight. She turned her attention back to Ilia with a loathing expression. "That was uncalled for!"
"No, he deserved what he got. He wouldn't have gotten hurt if he didn't say what he said. I was fine with ignoring him up to now, my focus was solely on you after all. But he should blame himself for failing to keep his mouth in check." came the snappy retort, the reddish color dissipating back to its original hue. Ilia then extended a hand towards Blake, the one that wasn't holding a weapon. "Now with the eyesore out of the way, hand me back my scroll."
"I refuse." The princess of Kuo Koana answered with a firm and absolute tone in her voice, full of authority as she drew herself up to her full height before her former friend. She even lifted her head a bit higher when it seemed like Ilia wanted to talk back, golden eyes flashing dangerously almost daring the other woman to defy orders; she even anticipated the chameleon faunus to strike back and get her scroll by force and she was more than willing to fight. "Go home. We're finished here and this scroll will be in my custody."
"...fine, be that way, but we're far from being over. I'll be back sooner than you think." Ilia took a few steps back after mulling over her options, not looking away from the feline faunus. The pigmentation of her skin soon turned into a shade of blue and green, blending slowly with the background fauna. The next words that came out of her mouth were ones filled with warning. "...you shouldn't have returned home."
With a quick slash of her whip she sent up a layer of water mist that acted as a smokescreen and made her getaway, leaving the other two behind. Blake waited a few more seconds, ears on alert to make sure that Ilia had indeed disappeared and wouldn't perform a sneak attack; she merely sighed for thinking so lowly of Ilia, a sneak attack wasn't exactly the chameleon faunus' first go to when triggering a fight. Once Blake confirmed that Ilia had indeed disappeared she ran to Sun's side as fast as her legs could carry her. He hadn't gotten up from where he had fallen, his tail didn't even twitch to indicate if he was okay.
"Sun!" Blake called his name and knelt beside him to tend to the wound, her eyes honing in on the blossoming red spot on his white shirt. She carefully pried open the material to get a better look, her sensitive ears twitched slightly when she caught a slight break in the boy's breath as if he could feel her presence, could feel what she was doing. Blake couldn't exactly tell how deep Ilia's weapon had punctured the skin, but judging by how the blood slowly crawled to consume a wider area of his shirt, she quickly pressed her hands over it and applied pressure. "No, no, no, no...please, no...not this again. Sun, you have to get through this! You have to get up...please, you have too."
"Blake? Is that you up there?" A familiar voice called up to her and the feline looked over the edge to see Kairos looking up at her, a quizzical expression on her face. She and Nev had parted ways back at the Outskirts, so the older faunus decided to take an alternative back route back to the Belladonna residence. No sooner had she closed the distance she picked up the sound of someone's voice yelling for help and rushed towards the sound. "Oh it is! What are you doing? I thought you and Sun were back at the house waiting for my return!"
"Kairos! Glad you're here! Quick! Sun, he..." Blake felt like she was suffocating as she could barely string words together to make coherent sentences. Her heart being squeezed by some unseen being, images of Yang getting hurt by Adam at Beacon flashed in her mind, making her breath come out short and quick. This was the second time someone she cared about had gotten hurt in her presence, and she couldn't feel anymore disgusted with herself for allowing something like that to happen. Sensing something was definitely wrong, Kairos quickly made her way up and her eyes zeroed in on Sun's motionless form on the ground with the red patch. "He got wounded because of me. I was too late to prevent it..."
"Then let's hurry, you can fill me in along the way! I'll carry him back to the house because the wound must be quite serious, but seeing him not move can't be good." The tanuki faunus quickly hoisted the unconscious blond male in her arms and booked it to home, Blake sprinting not long after her and fell into step beside her. Sun felt very limp in Kairos' arms, prompting the two of them to run even faster. The princess of Kuo Kuana whipped out her scroll with fingers flying across the screen, biting her lips and furrowing her brows. "Do you have like a family doctor or someone with medical experience on standby? Would be great if he got immediate assistance when we get there."
"I just sent Mom a message so I hope she got it given how spotty the communication is. She'll know what to do." The two huntresses rushed towards the mansion, barging up the stairs and throwing open the front door. Kali who had detected hurried movement, rushed out of the far room with a male faunus wearing a white jacket; behind them were a couple of female faunus with their own white robes, the teens immediately recognizing them as the doctor's assistants. Ushering the huntresses into one of the spare bedrooms the doctor quickly issued orders as he prepared for his patient, snapping a pair of rubber gloves over his hands. The nurses also scurried around getting a couple of tools and other items the doctor needed.
"Let's give them some space to work, I'll have some guards stationed around to guard them." Kali whispers quickly, putting her arms around the girls as they watched Sun get his treatment. Steering them out the door, she nodded to a few guards who returned the gesture in kind. Once they had left, the door closed quietly behind them and the guards took up their positions with the intent of not letting no one in or out until the procedure is complete. "Once it is finished the doctor will let us know and we can check up on Sun."
"But what if something happens during the treatment? What if Sun's condition worsens and he dies?!" Blake gushed with worry and Kali went about wrapping her arms around her daughter. She gently comforts the young huntress as she pressed her against her bosom, rubbing her cheek in between the flattened ears as they sat down on the sofa. Blake all but nestled in deeper, enjoying the comfort given by her mother. "I...I wouldn't be able to forgive myself...if something happens to him. Never again."
"And nothing is going to happen, you must believe in the procedure." came the soft voice of assurance and Kali gently ran her fingers through her daughter's dark locks in comfort, massaging her scalp along the way to help soothe the worries. Kairos silently observed their interaction as she leaned against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. "Our family doctor, who has been around since the day of your birth, will not let Sun die. He is the best of the best we've got here on the island."
"But even the best of the best...can make mistakes." Blake said, glancing up at her mom who looked down at her with nothing but love shining in her eyes. "We can't be certain that something bad could happen."
"Then all we can do, baby, is to pray that Sun will make it through."
Somewhere in the north...
"How many times do I have to tell you? There's more members of Team JNPR than Team RWBY, therefore our team name should be JNRR, like the name of that guy who ran that club that Yang blew up way back when." Nora was debating with Ren while Jaune and Ruby were walking a couple feet ahead. They had been walking down the same forest path for awhile, having to stay and camp out during the nights when the sun sets. "It is just more logical to go with that one."
"But what you're offering isn't even a color...although technically some of the teams back at Beacon weren't really colors either, so that argument wouldn't be as effective." said Ren, then he holds up a hand just as Nora was about to open her mouth again to possibly gloat at a victory. "And before you pull out the 'three is more than one' argument, may I remind you that we're here to assist Ruby in her objective of going up north. We're also helping others along the way, so the team should be RNJR on the premise that Ruby is the leader."
"And you tell me mine isn't a color, yours is definitely not one either." Nora planted her hands on her hips before saying, "And if Ruby's the leader how come Jaune's been the one leading this whole time?"
"He's technically co-leading, we've got two leaders here after all."
"Glad we have a leader like Jaune who is the sharing type and isn't too picky on who leads, unlike that yucky guy Cardin." The ginger-haired huntress pulled a face as she said the name of Beacon's bully. She quickly rubs both her arms, stating, "Ugh, my skin feels like a lot of goosebumps are crawling all over the surface just by saying that guy's name."
"Hmmmm...something doesn't smell right." Jaune murmurs as he kneels down and observes the markings on the ground, the gears within his head slowly grinding against each other in his head. The road they've been traversing on were usually taken by cart-driven horses, but these marks were not ones made by a cart; in fact he was sure that there hasn't been anyone else that traveled on the road recently. "I don't want to pass it off as a gut feeling or if it's just my paranoia, but..."
"Clearly it's us you're smelling because we've been hunting this Geist Grimm for quite awhile...feels like months or years have flown by without us knowing." Nora jokes as she plods up to the other two with her arms folded behind her head, Ren coming up to her side. "Now that I think about it, when is the last time we had a proper bath? My nose is already desensitized to everything so I'm not sure what anything is anymore."
"My guess is we haven't had one since we arrived in that first town before leaving Jaune's equipment with the blacksmith, so not terribly long although the facilities leave a lot more to be desired." Ren answers her question in a calm manner, adjusting the weight of his backpack a little bit for comfort. "Then we got side-tracked with the settlement that the bandits targeted and now we're back on track with tracking down the Grimm."
"Should we expect more bandit pillaging in the future?" Ruby asks absentmindedly, the images of the ruined town along with the dying huntsman flashing through her mind. Her grip tightened around Crescent Rose as though she was trying to garden some kind of comfort, but she couldn't dispel the feeling of despair creeping into her body. "I mean...without the assistance of other huntsmen or like, if the villages can't commission huntsmen for protection, I can only imagine that bandit attacks will only increase from here on out. And they'll probably be more brutal and vicious than the last."
"Based on what we've seen it is safe to assume that these bandits were very well coordinated, probably under the directions of someone well-verse in that type of lifestyle. They knew what they were doing and acted accordingly, they even managed to overpower those considered huntsmen so...no amount of money and protection could have saved them." The normal quiet member of JNPR didn't mince his words as he addressed Ruby's question.
"If only we were faster," Ruby sighed with a hint of sadness, her head lowered by an inch to the point where her hair covered her eyes. She blinked and slightly twirled a couple of strands with a finger, thinking of how long it's been since she had a haircut. "if only we were more aware of these things happening outside of Beacon...we could've saved whoever was still alive..."
"Thoughts like those can only go so far until they become suffocating; you feel like you're always burdened by responsibilities, feel like you're continuously drowning with no hopes of surfacing. Back then we were only students back in the Academy, barely getting our feet wet with what it means to be huntsmen and huntresses. There were more professional teams and individuals out there doing what they can with what they got." Ren assured her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know what it means to face losses, feeling like there were more you could've done had you been there. But for now, you should focus on the present. There are things you can still do."
"Thanks, Ren." said Ruby, giving him a small smile. Nora grinned too and pulled the red-hooded girl into a hug.
"Speaking of the now, I believe our ghost Grimm is in this vicinity. We're very close to achieving our goal here." Jaune stood to his feet and approached the three, prepared to explain what he had gathered during their own talks. "The tracks I spotted and analyzed were not ones made by carts, I didn't even see any hoof prints that indicates horses. There also weren't a lot of wild animals we've seen that could produce these marks either."
"So you're saying that this Grimm is currently in a different form and not its original form? As in it's not like floating around like most ghost do in the movies right?" asked Nora as she leaned against her weapon. "Actually we don't really know what this Grimm look like so...I'm just throwing ideas out here. Ren and I like to watch some scary horror movies in our free time."
"Correction, Nora drags me along because she can't handle watching scary things by herself."
"Ren! I told you that in confidence!" Nora looked at him with fake disbelief, adding a loud gasp for dramatics and a hand over her chest. "How could you just let that slip so easily?"
"Scary movies aside, there were probably vague descriptions of this creature in the history books...but we never actually got to that in our course." Ruby scratched her head as she tried to remember the details, her tongue slightly sticking out as she thought a bit more. "Or I probably dosed off a couple times, Professor Oobleck's lectures were always fast paced and made my head spin."
"Don't worry I don't think you missed too much, but it's a bit unfortunate that we aren't prepared to combat this Grimm as we could have. However, this is a golden opportunity for us. Let's try and do a recon and lure it to us." Jaune was excited as he put together a plan for the other three. Without his weapon on hand he relied on wits and ideas, thus playing into his strategist role and determined to succeed. "Ruby, use your speed and look around for a bit, act as bait to draw out our enemy. If you find the Grimm or the Grimm finds you then try and lure it to us. Ren, Nora, and I will be a little further down to find a somewhat open area to engage in the fight."
"Okay!" With a salute, the red-hooded huntress disappeared in a flurry of roses and out of sight. The blond huntsman nodded his head briefly before gesturing for the other two to follow him. They walked at a leisurely pace, not interested in starting up some small talk but instead interested in keeping their ears peeled for sounds of Ruby to return; along the way the blond huntsman took note of a cliff off to the left of him, and he held out a hand to stop the others.
"What is it, Jaune?" asked Ren and he and Nora knelt beside him.
"That cliff...we'll wait for Ruby here. There's a small clearing just in front of us, so it'll be a good place for us." They didn't have to wait long before the ground beneath their feet began to shake and rumble. Jaune glanced down as a couple of pebbles nearby began to shake and rattle nonstop. He turned his attention forward and whispered, "It's here."
No sooner had the blond huntsman spoken, a flash of red rose petals flew through the air, manifesting into Ruby as she continuously fired bullets into a certain direction. The trees trembled and fell before a large rock golem burst through, swinging its arm towards the huntress. The limbs seemed to be attached either magnetically or by the Geist itself with its control over inert objects. As Ruby began falling downward the Grimm also fell, the two of them not noticing the cliff.
The red-hooded huntress crashed inelegantly through the bottom layer of trees before falling into a landing crouch on a sturdier limb, while the Grimm crashed just as inelegantly. She barely managed to catch her breath as a boulder of an arm swung through, knocking out the tree she was hiding in. She made to avoid and dodge as the Grimm took another swing, knocking out the other trees that exposed the three waiting for their opportunity.
"Let's go! Get that thing's attention!" Jaune ran forward, sticking close to the treeline and out of sight but thinking of ways to shout orders. Ren decided to go from above, using his speed and nimbleness to climb the trees, finding the perfect perch where he was aligned with the Grimm's backside. Nora, who isn't as nimble as Ren, propelled herself upward with the help of her weapon.
"We need to get that Grimm off of Ruby." He said when Nora landed next to him, a serious expression on her face. "Perhaps your grenades will be enough to pack a punch."
"Whenever you guys are ready!" Ruby flew by, relying on her Semblance to keep the Grimm occupied. Ren disappeared while Nora took aim, firing three quick rounds that exploded into puffs of pink smoke. Ren used his weapon's rapid fire to keep the Grimm's attention, his legs never stopped running in a circle. The Grimm slammed a hand at a tree, launching the huntsman in the air but he was ready. He ran along the forearm as the creature turned to look at him, closing the distance before jumping and aiming for the main body.
Tch...! What hard defenses! Ren grimaced with annoyance as he was met with the Grimm's arms since it smartly raised both to defend itself, his blades scraping against the hard surface. Seeing and sensing that he wasn't going to be making a scratch, he somersaulted over and skidded to a halt next to his team leader. "Clearly my blades aren't hurting those boulders, so Ruby and I are at a disadvantage. At this rate it would be tiresome to continue hacking away at it."
"Wait...it blocked your attack because it thought you were aiming for something." Jaune squinted as the Grimm turned to face them. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Ren! The face in the rock! That must be its weak spot!"
"Watch out!" The two boys rolled out of the way as a fist came down, leaving a crater-sized hole in the ground where they once stood.
"Nora! Use your hammer and chip away at its form!" Jaune hurriedly called out to her. "If we can whittle away at the rocks, its true form will probably show up!"
"Finally!" The ginger-haired huntress grinned, running and throwing Magnhild in the air as it switched out of its gun form and into its infamous hammer. Catching it confidently with both hands she approached the Grimm as it turned its attention to her. As soon as it swung its arm, she was ready for it. With a mighty yell she jumped, arms drawn back before reversing course, the mighty hammer obliterating the rock arm within minutes. But the Grimm wasn't deterred, and the blonde huntsman watched as the Grimm's arm extended to catch the destroyed pieces and swinging them back to its enemy.
"Careful! Careful!" The blond ducked as the rocks flew overhead, crashing into the distance with a loud bang and thud.
"Try this out for size." Ruby pulled out a brand new cartridge case with special bullets, the outside surface of the bullet casing had an lightning bolt symbol etched on it. Locked and loaded, she took aim and fired a couple rounds. Several blue bolts fired from Crescent Rose's chamber, making contact with the other Grimm's arm and paralyzed it. Roaring with anger and upset that it only had one arm, it made use of a busted tree trunk and began to swing with aggression.
"Jaune!"
"I know!" The blond ran as fast as he could, away from the Grimm's path as it made its way towards him. Somehow this Grimm was smart, sensing that the blond was keeping his distance so obviously he would be the easiest target to go after. "Anyone have bullets made out of Fire Dust?!"
"Glad you asked because you're in luck!" Switching out the cartridge for another etched with a fire symbol. Locking it in, she dug the blade of her scythe into the ground as an anchor, took aim and fired. It hit its mark and both teenagers thought they were in the clear. However, it just gave the Grimm a better weapon and now it was swinging a burning tree trunk. "Oh that's a big mistake!"
"No kidding! That was a big mistake!" Jaune ran even faster, glancing over his shoulder as the Grimm was inching closer, its burning limb raised high in the air ready to squash him. Suddenly one of Ren's weapon came sailing through the air from the treeline and slashed at the mask, causing the big brute to fall to the ground. "Thanks Ren!"
"Jaune, you were correct!" His teammate yelled as he handed beside him, catching his weapon as it came back to him. Ren then pointed to the enemy and continued speaking, "It only cares about its face, that's why it was able to replace whatever limb we shatter with what's around it."
"So my previous thought of having Nora aim at the rocks was somewhat on track, but now you just solidify my plan. Ren you genius!" The blond's eyes sparkled as he got an idea and turned to the girls as they ran up to them. "Perfect timing, okay so here's what we're going to do. We need to hit all of its limbs all at once, so increase your attacks. It's trying to prevent us from going for its face, but when we get rid of everything else, it'll have no choice but to come out."
"Right!" All three of them agreed readily.
"Ren you go left, Ruby you go right. Nora, we'll try out your new upgrade okay?" All three of them split while Jaune did his best to avoid getting hit. With both Ren and Ruby taking over with distractions, Nora got into position and charged up, the head of Magnhild sparkling with bolts of lightning. The blond huntsman kept an eye on her and an eye on the other two, waiting for the ginger-haired huntress to let him know when she was ready.
"Jaune I'm ready!" Nora shouted to him about a minute later, feeling Magnhild vibrate and turning a bit orange due to the pressure. She even had to dig her heels into the ground, the muscles of her thighs bunching up like a coiled spring. "Maximum strength and power!"
"Ruby!" Jaune spoke as the red-hooded huntress landed close to him after trying to hack away at the Grimm or shoot bullets repeatedly that didn't do any damage. Ren also moved away but fired a shot or two to keep it occupied instead of turning around just yet. "Use your Semblance and take Nora with you! Hit it with everything you have!"
"Hyaaaaa!" Rushing forward, Ruby turned into a spiraling red tornado of rose petals, picking up Nora as they sped towards the Grimm in a twister of red petals and pink lightning. As the Grimm reached out with its burning tree of an arm to swat them away, Crescent Rose's sharp blade slashed through the weak trunk while Nora appeared afterwards, slamming Magnhild right into the body as though it were a baseball bat. The force blew everything away, leaving a piece where the face resided to fall to the ground.
"There it goes!" Nora shouted as the original shape appeared, a black figure that has bone-like spikes on its back and ribs. It had long skeletal forearms and sharp fingernails. Lacking a lower body it opts for floating through the air while leaving behind a black smoke trail. It only had a single eye which allows it to see its surroundings. It quickly attempted to take shelter in the treeline, however it proved to be futile as Ruby, with Crescent Rose in its sniper form and Nora looking on with a smug look on her face, took aim and fired a single shot.
"Job well done, team, mission complete." Jaune applauded as he watched the Grimm disintegrated into black dust. Ren merely smiled while Nora gave Ruby a high-five followed by a hug. "Time to head back and report."
"And see if that blacksmith is done with your weapon." Nora grinned as they began their long trek back, folding her arms behind her head. The blond-haired huntsman just laughed but didn't deny her statement. He indeed was anxious and somewhat nervous to see what kind of shape his weapon would be in upon his return. "C'mon, it can't be that bad. The rest of us, Ruby especially, is just dying to see what modifications have been done to your family heirloom."
Meanwhile at Signal Academy...
It wasn't hard tracking Yang down after she left Professor Peach's office, frankly because Zwei's nose was on the ground and the corgi was laser-focused on the task at hand, so Efram found her outside leaning against an old wooden fence; her gaze was kind of cloudy as though she was somewhere else so she didn't really react or show anything when the two of them approached her. The huntsman kept about an arm-width distance between them as he leaned against the fence too, Zwei taking up position by Yang's feet. The three of them just stared out at nothing in front of them in silence.
"Seems like I totally lost my cool in there, blowing up at my dad like I did." Yang finally spoke, her voice sounding a bit gravelly and somewhat hoarse, she really went all out yelling at Taiyang and perhaps holding back from crying on the floor in front of everyone else. "You must've thought I was just a child who couldn't control her temper."
"Yang, it's okay to lash out like that from time to time. As an outsider who was not there since the beginning, I only thought that you were letting go of some baggage from your childhood, burdens that you had on your shoulders." He paused a bit before asking, "Do you feel a little bit lighter?"
"What a loaded question." The blonde huntress laughs dryly, tilting her head up to look at the sky for a bit. "Heavy or light, I'll still be carrying around emotional debt that my younger self got shouldered with and refuses to let go."
"Is it unwilling refusal to let go or is it that you yourself are unable to let go?" asked Efram, turning to look at her as she contemplates his question. When she didn't speak for a minute, he continued with another question, "Have you not forgiven yourself for what you've been through back then?"
"I would ask what I should be forgiving myself for, but thinking about what I said...about nearly getting Ruby wounded while looking for Raven because I was so hurt about her departure..." Efram didn't miss how her hand tightened against the wooden fence. "I should have that responsibility because I'm the older sister. I had no right to bring her along with me, but I did so anyway. However, the other thought that plagues me is why I should be the one who feels this way. Dad should be also held responsible because he turned to drinking and ignoring the kids before him."
"Seems like the two of you have trouble forgiving yourselves for something that Raven took upon herself. And I'm sure Qrow blames himself to an extent too."
"No...Dad forgave himself ever since he cleaned up his act, and I'm sure he's made some sort of peace with it. My words just caused him to blow up because it brought out the painful memories for the both of us." Yang shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm the one who never let go of those feelings because I could never forgive him for what he did...done," She corrected herself on the spot. "what he has done to Ruby and I."
"...holding onto that is not good for you, you know that right?"
"I'm well aware if that little fighting match was any kind of wake-up call." Yang snorted at the question, turning around so she could lean back against the post. "Or perhaps...I've been misguided this whole time. That I didn't want to face the trauma head on, and ran away like a coward...like her."
"Raven or..." Efram paused as he looked at the blonde beside him.
"Perhaps both." Yang shrugged her shoulders and doesn't expand upon it so the huntsman decided to drop it and not push further. She sighed, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Hey, you ever wonder why we're here?"
"Like here in Patch or here as in being born on Remnant?" Since when did Yang decide to delve in some philosophical topics to discuss?
"Perhaps another question that brings out the answer of both." The blonde laughs but it wasn't like the boisterous laughter that she used to laugh since the beginning of their first year. It was hollow sounding and emotionless. "Haaaaaa, my head's so messed up that my thoughts are all jumbled together. And I think I'm getting tired more easily and unmotivated all of a sudden."
"Burnout?"
"Is that what the younger generation call it?"
"Well it's either that or depression." Efram watched her carefully as he said his next few words, knowing that this topic was one that they've talked about back in her room. "Yang, I know you know that you need some help with whatever it is you're facing. Please don't keep all of your thoughts bottled inside till it suffocates you."
"..." Yang didn't say anything but kept her gaze up to the sky, watched as the clouds pass her by, floating and useless.
"It's hard to ask for help, you know." The huntsman kept going, his voice calm and non-judgmental. "It's hard shouldering the burden and acting tough all the time. But you don't have to do it alone, not anymore."
"Wish my younger self could've heard those words when they mattered most." The blonde scuffed the ground with the tip of a boot absentmindedly.
"Would've done wonders now that I think about it..."
"And as much as I too wish you had positive words spoken to you as a child, I mean no offense when I say that you have every right to the emotions you have yet to unpack, but you have the rest of your life to hear more encouraging words."
"Uh huh." She gave him a very skeptical look, not buying whatever he was selling.
"Look, I already know that I may not be the best at giving pep talks,"
"Clearly."
"But what I'm saying is, perhaps you should give whatever Professor Peach and Shion were offering you a chance. At least think it over for awhile, we'll be here for I don't know how much longer."
"My guess is until we can get a communication tower up and running so we can get into the know with what's going on." said Yang as she made a guess. "Then when that's all done...I don't really know what else is in store for me."
"You can still be a huntress, go on adventures like you wanted to."
"But that was when I was...all gung ho and not a care in the world, just an up and coming hot-headed huntress." The blonde huntress closed her eyes and sighed. "Clearly that kind of behavior came to bite me in the ass."
"No one could've predicted all that...we've been through all this."
"Yes we did...but everything that followed after were all mine to take responsibility for."
"That's a first step, knowing that the consequences following your actions are yours to take ownership of." The huntsman told her gently, stepping in front of her and placing both hands on her shoulders. She looked at his hands before glancing back up at him. "Now you just need to move one foot at a time, forward and not backwards. It'll be okay, Yang."
"...I don't know if I'll ever be okay after everything's been said and done. Or when...when we all meet again." She mumbled and gently placed her only hand over one of his, eyes downcast so she wasn't looking directly at him anymore. "At least...not okay to act and behave like I used to."
"No one said you have to stay the same way as you did way back when. People change, whether it is by appearance or mannerisms...and you can change too. There's nothing wrong with that." He tells her soothingly. "Don't think you have to be a stickler to the status quo, hell even Weiss has changed a lot since when she first showed up at Beacon."
"Heh, it was obvious now that I think about it." The blonde snorted. "She definitely had the most change out of all of us..."
"Oh? Well, well look who it is!" A voice spoke up, catching the two of them with surprise. They glanced over to see two very familiar faces, Coco Adel and Velvet Scarlatina, strolling up to them. They were dressed as they have had back when they were students so the younger duo recognized them. "Fancy seeing you two here, didn't think we'd run into people we know out here practically... in the middle of nowhere. No offense."
"Coco? Velvet? I haven't seen you two since Beacon fell." Yang said in surprise as the two women made their way over, standing up a bit straighter so she wasn't slouching. "How did you end up all the way over here on Patch?"
"We were originally going to stay back and help Professor Goodwitch with the rubble, but there was another team who immediately jumped on that opportunity. So then what happened was Velvet and I decided to come here to Patch to help Professor Peach, as well as catch her up with what was happening. Yatsuhashi and Fox are currently traveling to Vacuo, they should have arrived by now. And if not then in a couple of days I guess. Honestly I don't know when they'll arrive, I told them to let us know so Vel and I can act accordingly."
"Vacuo? Those two?" asked Efram with an eyebrow raised. "What's the occasion that has them all the way out there?"
"Thinking those two won't be able to handle themselves without me constantly barking out orders?" questioned Coco, lowering her shades a bit to look at him. The other two knew that the leader of Team CFVY likes to try to tease them when she gets the chance because they were basically her juniors, so currently she wasn't talking harshly to them. "I assure you those two are very well equipped."
"They're in the process of getting our team enrolled as students over at Shade Academy before the next school year. Coco thought it would be faster if they went and talked to their headmaster and then we'd go and join up when we finish our business here." Velvet explained which shocked the other two. The bunny faunus quickly drew a hand over one of her ears when she drew their attention and added, "Given the state of Beacon, and the uncertainty now that our headmaster is nowhere to be found...we still need to continue our education after all."
"That's my honey buns, always going straight to the point." Coco smiled at her companion and teammate who relaxed a bit at the gesture. Then she turns her attention to the others, "So? Now that you know why we're here, what's the deal with you two?"
"Well..." Yang glances away for a moment before answering, "I...I'm here because this is home for Ruby and I."
"Mmmmm, and is that the only reason why for your return? A homecoming or feeling homesick?" Coco leveled her with a stare, picking up something else and watching for the moment the blonde decided to break under the pressure. Yang held her gaze but soon she broke contact and looked everywhere else. A smile couldn't help but make itself known on Coco's face and she said almost teasingly, "There's more to it than that, right?"
"I-I...I'm gonna go back inside. The outside is feeling quite oppressing for some reason." Yang quickly deflected the whole discussion all together and shut it down. She turned on her heels, not bothering to give the other three a glance, and made her way back to Signal.
"A-Ah hey wait! Yang!" Velvet glanced at Coco almost as though she was asking for permission before taking off, a habit she never broke during their school days. When she got the okay from her leader, she brightened up and quickly rushed to the blonde's side, falling into a gentle rhythm as though it was second nature.
"Hey. You think she'll be okay?" The leader of CFVY asked the huntsman beside her quietly as they watched Yang trudge back, Velvet keeping pace by trotting at her side and making small talk. The blonde dipped her head once in awhile to the words being said to her, even moving her mouth somewhat, but it was evident that she's letting the bunny faunus drive the conversation. "She seems a bit...off. Like way off, not how she was before."
"I want to believe that she'll get better, she is currently at her lowest so she couldn't possibly go any lower." Efram told the older huntress as the two of them also made their way back inside. "But if you want my honest opinion, there's just too much uncertainty in the air that even I don't know what the future holds for any of us."