Here's chapter two, I'd like to thank everyone for the great support on chapter one and to apologize for the long wait, it looks like this story'll be weekly updated from now on.
I've gotten a few private messages and even a review asking if this is my spin on Coeur al'aran's Relic of the Future, the answer is a no, though I do understand the similarities between this story and his. (Which you should probably go read if you haven't since he's an amazing writer with amazing stories.) I mean, for god's sake I just realized how similar the words Memories of a Future are in meaning to the words Relic of the Future, they're basically the same meaning!
In any case, what I'm trying to say is that no, this isn't a spin on Relic of the Future (Which I say again, you should go read that if you even moderately like this story.) Now, without further ado.
Enjoy!
Memories of a Future
Chapter 2: The Past Becomes The Present.
Jaune Arc loved his friends, he loved them dearly, more than anything, in fact. And to think that this could be the very last time he sees them, that thought horrified him to no end.
He looked at each of them, involuntarily memorizing the details of their faces, there were many tears around camp the day prior as people shared their farewells. But only now when they stood in front of Salem's castle did he finally realize just how little time they had left with each other.
Team JNPR and RWBY were a family, he'd give his life with no hesitation to save any of them, and he knew they'd do the same.
And there they stood, all next to each other. If they die then they'll die together, for the same reasons, in the same fight, with the same goals.
His head moved to the side when Ruby poked his shoulder. "We're gonna make it, Jaune. I know we will."
Jaune smiled despite his concerns and the fact that all odds bet against Ruby's words, it was just like her to do this, to bring out the spark of hope in the darkest of times.
"Or course we will, we have the Grimm Reaper on our side."
"Stop calling me that!" She jabbed his shoulder, he laughed before pulling her into a hug.
"Okay." He paused, smiled and spoke again. "Grimm Reaper."
Ruby sighed in defeat as she returned the embrace.
"My my, a bit too late to confess your love isn't it, Jaune?" The teasing voice of Yang came from behind them, Jaune turned around, refusing to get irritated, he wouldn't let her get the better of him.
"Yang, bad!" Ruby yelled as she moved away, going to share her much needed confidence with their other friends as they as well exchanged goodbyes.
Jaune laughed. "And you'd have been okay with it?" He spoke as Yang wrapped her arm around his shoulder kindly.
"Maybe. I'd have been heartbroken, though, us Blondes need to stay together, why not choose me?"
"You're such a tease." But she was also his friend, and despite both of them hiding the thought, they knew this could be the last time they see each other.
Yang relented, her race falling just a bit. "I'm gonna look for you after this ends, not gonna let you two plan your wedding without me."
Jaune smiled in defeat, there was no way around Yang's teases. "I'll look forward to it."
"What wedding?!" Good old Nora yelled as she basically crushed both of them into a hug, Ren standing behind her with an amused smile. "Oh my god, guys, Jaune and Yang are getting married!" Nora continued.
Everyone's eyes shifted to them for a moment and Jaune could swear he saw Yang blush for a second, but as soon as everyone realized that it was Nora that was speaking they brushed it off as her just being hyper and returned to speaking with each other.
Thank the gods for that.
"Nobody's getting married, Nora." Both Jaune and Ren spoke at the same time. Yang laughed nervously as she forced herself away, she started speaking to Nora before Jaune turned to Ren.
"You okay?" Ren asked, a hand set on his leader's shoulder.
"As good as I can be." He answered as they both looked at Nora's hyperactivity, both smiling and eternally thanking the gods that she never changed despite the hardships she went through.
"I'd like to be invited to that wedding of yours," Ren spoke.
Jaune looked at him, shocked. "Even you?"
Ren chuckled. "No, no, I'm jesting."
Jaune sighed. "What are you and Nora planning to do after this?" He asked, now that Ren and Nora were married, they had every right to want to settle down. He still couldn't believe they tied the knot, though, they were both still twenty.
Still... when you could die at any moment, you'd probably want to waste no time.
"We're not going anywhere, not without you." Ren smiled. "You know Nora can't live without you."
"That's an honor... but Ren, you two deserve-"
"Watch out!"
It took Jaune virtually no time to duck on the ground, it was almost like a natural reaction. He felt Ren's boots step onto his shoulder, by the time he looked up, he saw as Ren struck down a Nevermore that had been descending towards Jaune.
"Thanks." He said as Ren dropped down easily.
"There's more!" A voice shouted from the side. Jaune looked on, noticing Grimm closing in from the distance.
Voices started getting louder as the hundreds of Huntsmen around camp prepared themselves.
Naturally, none other than Ozpin took the moment to speak out.
"Please, please. Everyone, remain calm. This situation was always expected." He drew his cane. "We shall go on with the plan, our advance begins in two minutes. Please, if you have something to say to your loved ones, I implore you to do so now."
Jaune felt as if a knife struck his chest as he saw Nora's face fall. "Let's join team RWBY." He said, setting a hand on Nora's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"Yes, yes. Let's do that."
They really should have expected this.
Salem never said where she would send them precisely but they still should have expected her to do so as far away from Beacon as possible.
Vacuo was a diverse place, there were many Faunus, many people from different cultures made it hard to stand out. It still did very little to help the three of them, though.
Jaune, Blake, and Weiss had all abandoned their usual outfits long ago, instead opting for more practical ones, that was not to say that their old attires were a hindrance in any way, it was simply that there was much better available, and when better equipment meant the difference between life and death in many cases, they could never refuse.
Jaune had abandoned his metal armor, perhaps he was the most emotional when doing so, it was infused with his last memory of her, of Pyrrha.
He instead found himself wearing an Atleasian outfit made specifically for Huntsmen in the time the war broke out. It was light, sturdy, and offered enough protection in the form of the leather padding under the coat.
Blake wore the same outfit, and most probably for the same reasons, she was a fighter that preferred agility over most things, after all. Lastly, Weiss's outfit was very similar, but she had made the request for it to be styled as a skirt, she was more comfortable fighting like that, it did leave her legs unprotected but she counted on her skill to compensate for it.
Their outfits would most definitely draw attention, especially in the horrible shape they were in. They would most likely be mistaken for Atlas soldiers that had just come back from some sort of battle.
But it was lively, more so than they'd have ever imagined, than they'd ever remembered. Human and Faunus walked the streets alike, teenagers ran carefree, natural smiles on their lips, the shops were more of stands with a variety of goods than stores and the merchants did not seem to grow tired of trying to draw in customers.
Jaune winced as a shop keeper suddenly stepped in his way, his hands naturally took a hold of his weapon, suddenly startling the poor merchant who had tried to offer him a sample of his perfumes. "I'm sorry," Jaune said as he quickly followed after his two friends.
When was the last time they had seen something so... alive?
The cultural diversity of Vacuo was unmatched, racism did not seem to be as bad here as in the other kingdoms, merchants and customers were made up of both Faunus and human, the groups of teenage friends were also mixed between the two races.
Laughter, honest laughter, alongside chatter, greetings, and energetic shouts could be heard from every direction, the people of Vacuo really did act as if they were one enormous nomadic tribe.
If this was how busy the streets were in the evening then he couldn't even imagine them midday.
Sadly, though, even with Vacuo being a welcoming and almost friendly kingdom, it still had its flaws.
The people were poor, that was a fact that was hard to hide, behind the smiles of the merchants was a willingness to do anything for Lien, and one could not blame them for it.
And even the groups of friends that seemed to enjoy themselves as they either drank or ate together probably had their worries. Who was to say if they could afford the same food that they eat now when it came to tomorrow?
Everyone here not only wanted but honestly needed the money.
It quickly became evident that there was nothing for the trio here if they could not afford it.
Jaune's hands checked his pockets, it was no use, whatever money he had was used to fuel a campfire at some point or another. He turned to his two friends, "I'm guessing you're both broke as well?"
They both nodded, great.
"Planning comes first, we can rent a room in a tavern and pay before we leave, there must be a way for us to make money here, we are still Hunters," Weiss explained.
"You're right," Blake replied, "Vacuo never was properly defended from Grimm, the shortage of Huntsmen and Huntresses was always a problem."
"Then it's the tavern we focus on finding for now. We can't offer help in our state, I can barely stand." Jaune chipped in.
Weiss nodded, they would also need the money to make the trip to Vale, they couldn't afford to stay anywhere else for too long, Vale was where everything started.
She opened her mouth to speak but a sudden push -no, a shove, more like,- from a pedestrian interrupted her. She was left speechless by the act, it nearly tripped her over.
She looked at the assailant, a tall man, Black hair, feline ears, a Faunus, she quickly realized.
"Watch where you step, Atlas scum," He said with a hateful glare, "Or just spare us your disgusting sight and stay home."
"E-excuse me?!" She managed to say, what on Remnant was this guy on about? "You pushed me! You're the one who needs to watch where they go!"
He paid her no mind and kept walking.
"Dirty ruffian," Weiss muttered with irritation as she wiped the dust off her outfit. She had to resist a voice in her head telling her to give him an icicle up his... no, let's not get into that.
And it was not an ideal time for her to draw attention towards them, the less of that the better, she thought.
"Are you okay?" Blake asked, she as well was peeved by the situation but had to focus on the task at hand.
"I'm fine, let's go."
"Bastard," Jaune said as he reluctantly followed the two girls, it wasn't the time to act reckless, control your temper, he told himself.
Small, nearly empty, and probably cheap, it was perfect. And they had managed to find it right before the sun fully set.
The three walked inside, the place wasn't too bad, especially by their standards. For them, the fact that there were walls to protect them from the outside weather was more than enough.
A desk decorated the end of the room, behind it sat a woman comfortably on her chair, one leg over the other.
"Excuse me?" Weiss spoke as they neared the desk. The woman's eyes widened quite quickly, perhaps it wasn't too often that she'd get any sort of business? There were definitely superior hotels around, it was simply her luck that these three were not picky.
"Welcome!" The woman said enthusiastically, good, she didn't mind their Atleasian uniforms.
"Hello ma'am, we would like to rent a room for the night, possibly a few nights," Weiss led the conversation herself whilst also looking around, there wasn't much, just stairs that led to another floor and the desk in front of the woman whom Weiss assumed to be the owner.
"Of course," the woman said. She examined the three of them, the faunus seemed normal, maybe tired, but normal.
The other girl less so, she still had the same tiredness clear on her visage but it was her hair that seemed off, it was almost too White, there was only one bloodline in the world that could have hair so White.
The woman quickly dismissed the thought, there was no way a Schnee would be here in Vacuo.
Her eyes slowly moved to the man. Blond hair that reached almost to his shoulder, it was messy and unkept but still suited his refined jaw and deep Blue eyes.
Those eyes.
If someone told her that they'd seen eyes darker than his then she'd call them a fool. Those eyes were hurt, and the man behind them broke long ago.
Despite that, there was an edge to him telling her that very little could surprise him.
And now that she concentrated, she could see the same qualities radiate from the other two.
The woman shook her feelings away, the three were obviously soldiers, she knew so thanks to their outfits, their lives must be tough.
Still, the man seemed to be sharper than the other two, and not in a good way, he was too ready for something bad to happen, almost.
The woman's hand reached for her pen and notes, she half expected to startle the three of them, somehow.
"Would you like separate rooms?" She asked. They were obviously from the military and although they may be used to sharing small spaces, she could still afford to give each a bit of free space.
And maybe they'd end up recommending her small hotel to a few friends, who knows?
"We will share a room," the faunus one answered quite easily.
"Are you sure? I'll charge the same for one room, a military discount, if you want." The truth was that there was no military discount, but she'd not hesitate to have one if that would give her the recommendation her humble business so desperately needs.
"We're fine with one room," answered the blond man.
"Suit yourselves," the woman said as she started writing in the note she had.
Taking a moment to observe her surroundings was a habit of Weiss's, and she found herself doing it again. Looking around, there wasn't much going on for the place, it was pretty dusty, a few small yet noticeable cracks laced the wooden walls.
Her eyes wandered to the desk, it seemed like the woman did not have much to do and was merely keeping herself busy with a newspaper. Next to that, though, was a picture of the woman and with her was a small girl.
"Is that your daughter?"
The woman smiled, eyes wandering to the picture for but a moment and then to Weiss. "Yes, that's my lovely girl."
"She's very cute, I hope she grows up to be a fine lady," Weiss smiled. "What's her name?"
"Velvet."
Weiss's eyes widened at the response. "Velvet?" That was not a common name by any means, quite the opposite, actually. Still, it had to belong to more than one person in all of Remnant. "That's a beautiful name." She added.
The girl was little in the photo, very little, a newborn, in-fact. Still, with a bit of concentration, Weiss could notice the extra pair of ears on her head, they were extremely small, but they were there.
"Holy shit..." came a voice from behind her, she turned around to see Jaune also looking at the picture, he must have spotted the ears as well.
"Excuse me?" The woman spoke, a small wave of relief washed over Weiss at that, how lucky were they for her not to hear him?
"Nothing," Jaune replied, wasting little time, he turned to Blake and found her eyes focused on the picture as well.
"How old is she now?" Blake spoke, pointing at said picture.
The woman spared her a glance before replying. "She's turning one next month."
Weiss's eye twitched, it's just a coincidence, was what she told herself.
"Done," the woman said with a practiced smile decorating her face, "take any room you want upstairs, they're all empty."
"Will do, thank you again," Weiss said, returning the smile to the best of her ability whilst her mind was wandering somewhere else altogether, there was no way this was the same Velvet, but she had the ears, the eyes, the hair, hell, even her face reminded her of the Velvet of their time, if only barely.
But if she was... and if she wasn't even a year old yet...
How far back did Salem send them?
Weiss's fears came true, there was a calendar in their room, it proved that they weren't sent back a year, not two, not five, not even ten.
They were sent back almost nineteen years.
She didn't even know what to think anymore, she wasn't even born yet.
But here she was, turning twenty in a few months and in a world that was not hers, a world she wasn't supposed to exist in. She was just a miscalculation in this world, just an unnoticed mistake hiding between thousands of others.
Oh gods, so many things were yet to happen, her parents' marriage was still yet to decline, the SDC was still yet to tarnish its good reputation and turn into a questionable organization in the eyes of most people.
It was all mind-shattering, how was she- how were they supposed to deal with this?!
It was almost enough to make the Schnee scream in frustration, she had already started planning since the first second when she confirmed that they had indeed gone back in time, she might as well throw all those thoughts out the window! She had nineteen years to figure out a new plan, after all!
Damn that ignoramus half-witted blockhead witch! She meant to send them this far!
They couldn't come into contact with their friends, they had to rely on only themselves. It all made too much sense, the witch did not only send them back too long for them to know anyone of note, but she also gave them more than enough time to change the past, just like how she stated before.
They will panic, and they will make mistakes, all because they will feel that the world is now their responsibility. And to Weiss's horror, Salem was right, Weiss now felt terrified, anything she does- no matter how minor, will change something from the past simply because she wasn't even supposed to exist in the past. How much will she change from now on?
Oh gods, how much had she already changed?
"Calm down," she whispered to herself, she was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, Jaune was on the bed, already resting, Blake on the other chair in the room. She briefly wondered what may be going on in their mind. Sadly, she already knew it wasn't much better than what's going on in hers, they must be panicking as well.
She looked down on her shaking, pale and tired hands.
"Everything is fine." Everything was not fine.
"We are okay." We are not okay.
Stop! Was what Weiss screamed eternally to her own brain, this was not the time to panic, she won't give Salem what she wants, not in a thousand years.
It was a lot of time to make mistakes, that much was true, but it was also a lot of time to fix past mistakes, to make better decisions, to make sure that everything goes perfectly.
It was enough time to formulate the perfect plan.
Weiss stood up in one smooth motion, earning her two partners' attention. "This is not a setback," She worded. "We're in a world we are unfamiliar with and unable to communicate with our friends, but we know things, things no one else knows about. We know who to trust and not to trust, we know when the White Fang will go mad, we know our enemies and they don't know us. If we can use this to our advantage then we'll end a war before it even breaks out."
But they knew even more things, and so Blake spoke out. "We know about the Relics, too. And their location, we know about the maidens, as well." Her eyes lit up for a moment as she realized something. "We can save the Fall Maiden before she's taken down."
Weiss nodded, unable to help herself as she let a grin form on her face. We're gonna do this, she thought. Her eyes quickly darted to Jaune, who was still looking down at the bed he sat on.
"If we save the maiden... Pyrrha- she won't need to do any of what she's done before." He looked up. Getting sent back this far was not a part of his plans, nor his concerns at first. When he first realized just how far they were sent back, he nearly panicked. But now? It still felt weird, but not necessarily bad.
He could still save everyone, and Pyrrha too. Everything was still within reach. He looked onto Corcea Mors as they were set beside the bed, the blade had stayed with him through thick and thin, through hell and back, and still it barely had any scratches to show, it was a fine blade, now wielded by a fine warrior.
He was tired, he couldn't lie to himself about such a fact, he was so unbelievably tired, the only thing keeping him going a few months- no, a few days ago, was the desire for a better future for not only himself but also his friends. The desire to end their suffering.
He kept fighting on so he could eventually stop fighting, how ironic?
He remembered how he felt when he saw Ren and Nora's bodies, it was like all of the world shattered in front of his eyes, it was Pyrrha all over again, but this time it was worse, he saw both of them, he could touch both of them, he could try to heal both of them, but he knew none of that would wake them up, he was so close to them yet they were so unfathomably far away.
It was all too cruel, cruel enough to almost drive him to give up. It was enough to make him feel as if there were no more reasons to fight. But now? There was something. Remnant is a cruel world: however, when you compare this Remnant to the one he lived in, it would feel as if you're comparing an innocent child to a Grimm. The difference was like night and day.
This world was still innocent, to an extent. He would fight to keep it that way. He had forced himself to think that his fight was nearly over, that this was all finally ending. But now he realized that he was starting over, quite literally, too. Despite how tired he felt, despite how unfair it was to ask a broken man to keep fighting, despite the inevitable pain this would bring him one day. He knew he would keep trying.
To his last breath, if he had to.
They all deserved that, they deserved every little bit of effort he was capable of giving and even more than that.
The world deserved better.
And he would do his best to deliver.
No matter what.
She didn't know how they did it, but they did, they somehow managed to deal with the shock of how far they were sent back. They dealt with the situation well, almost too well. And she knew she wasn't the only one to notice that, they were being somewhat deluded.
Could she complain, though? Being deluded certainly helped. It was far better than losing hope, or worse yet, panicking.
No, they somehow managed to shed light on a few good things, or more than a few, actually. It seemed as if they had all the cards in their hands, that Salem can't do anything about them simply because of how much knowledge they have, and because she didn't even know they existed.
To be honest, they were probably right. No one was in a better position than them. No one knew who they were, not even their allies.
Yet they knew everything about their enemies, they knew who they were, how far the extent of their powers go, what their motivations were, and eventually, how they would attack.
They had all the guns, it was simply the matter of using them.
What they knew about Vale, Mistral, and Atlas would help them quite a lot, alongside all the other things, obviously. But if there was one thing they didn't know well enough, it was Vacuo.
This place was unlike any other, she was sure no one could ever describe it perfectly, the only way to imagine this place is if you see it with your own eyes. People were friendly yet desperate, people were happy yet worried, people were safe yet in danger. It was all so complicated.
Blake knew they would form a plan soon. Most likely as soon as they were rested, yet she couldn't convince herself to wait, she needed to learn more about this place, especially since they might end up staying here for a while. And so she found herself wandering the nearly empty streets at night, looking for anything interesting, looking for anything worth learning about. She was still exhausted, her aura was still weak- almost broken, actually. But now she didn't have to worry about being suddenly attacked by a Grimm. Or, at least, not as much as before.
Finding something will prove to be a challenge, though. She realized that quite quickly. Nobody trusted a lone woman wearing Atleasian colors and walking around at night, they probably thought she was a spy.
Her mind drifted away to loose thoughts, wondering if the only reason she wasn't attacked yet by an angry faunus was that she was a faunus herself, wondering about how faunus feel when they see one of their own wearing the colors of the nation they despise the most.
Blake kept on, a broken Gambol Shroud attached to her belt, she would need to get that sorted out at some point. Getting a replacement was out of the question, her weapon was too dear to her by this point, she was too used to it, it was a part of her. People don't replace broken arms, they heal them. And so she would repair her weapon, an extension of herself.
It was still as sharp as ever, if she were to be honest. The problem was how the gun mechanism did not work anymore, hell, the trigger itself was nowhere to be found, likely broken off at some point. The handle was a problem, too. A small part of it was broken, leaving a sharp edge where her fingers normally tightened, it was obviously very annoying. The last, and admittedly most severe problem was that the top half of the blade itself was gone, broken away thanks to too many clashes with stronger foes.
Blake came to a halt as she heard her stomach grumble. No wonder she was running low on fuel, she hadn't eaten for days.
The fact that there were many food stalls around when she and her partners walked the streets did not help one bit, the smell was just too good to resist, even if she was not so hungry.
The mixture of smells belonging to different dishes as they came out sizzling hot from stone ovens was too much, even the fresh bread smelled absolutely divine.
It was even harder for Blake to resist that thanks to her heightened sense of smell, it was all so torturous!
Blake sighed, they would need to find money soon, one way or another.
"No, no! You can't take him!" A voice suddenly snapped Blake out of her thoughts, it didn't seem so far away. "Leave my boy alone!" The same voice repeated.
Blake couldn't ignore the anguish or distress of the womanly voice, biting the inside of her mouth, she started running despite how tired her legs already were. Each step felt like a nail digging itself deeper into her feet.
Soon enough, a house came into view with its broken front door and multiple people standing outside in the dark, one of whom had a firm grip around a young boy's wrist, pulling him away from the broken entrance to the home, the only thing stopping him was a desperate woman who had a sloppy grip around the other hand of the same boy.
Blake watched for but a moment, the boy was obviously resisting as well, he pushed and pushed so he wouldn't be taken away from who she assumed was his mother, he was being kidnapped.
A hand found its way to Gambol Shroud, broken it was, but useless it was not.
She quickly counted how many people stood outside the house, never one to enter a fight unprepared if she had the opportunity. There were six of them, she took a quick look around, making sure there were none that were hiding.
Thankfully, it didn't seem like it.
She prepared to charge in, although she paused when she saw the woman dig her nails into the man holding onto her son, blood dripped down his face.
They didn't have aura.
"You little bitch!" The man yelled in anger as the palm of his hand collided with the woman's face, that was enough for her to fall back into the house. "Hold onto this little brat." The man said as he shoved the boy into one of his companions' unyielding grip. "I'm gonna teach this piece of shit a lesson."
Blake's grip around her weapon lessened, they didn't have aura, she'd kill them if she fought with Gambol Shroud. Sighing, she strapped it back onto her hip before she ran forwards.
The first to go had to be the one holding onto the boy, she needed to make sure the kid was safe.
Like a beast from shadows, Blake ascended from nowhere, tackling the man holding onto the boy to the ground before pushing herself up with her hands, flipping in the air and standing on both her feet once more in one smooth motion. "Run!" She spoke to the boy, he hesitated, obviously still shook, but complied before she had to repeat herself.
She watched as the man she had just tackled forced himself up, he gave her a hateful look. "Atlas bitch."
Hearing a step behind her, Blake ducked down just in time to avoid a knife from impaling her back.
Her hands pressed against the ground, supporting her body's weight as she kicked up, hitting her assailant's wrist and forcing him to drop the knife, her other leg wrapped around his own two feet, tackling him to the ground.
By the time his face met the dirt, Blake was up on two feet again, she followed with a kick to the back of his head, just to make sure he was unconscious.
Four were left, excluding the one in the house, she needed to be quicker.
Amber eyes remained focused as she watched the remaining four surround her. Quickly noticing that they all had guns in their hands.
Stupid, really stupid. If they dare shoot she could easily escape using a shadow clone. With the way they formed a circle around her they were likely to kill each other with their own bullets by mistake.
She wouldn't wait for that to be the outcome. Her hand quickly shot to her weapon, not a second later and it was already spinning in the air with the help of its ribbons, the sharp edges collided with each of the assailants' hands, blood trickled between their fingers as they were forced to drop their guns.
Quickly after, the soft ribbons wrapped around the neck of one of them, pulling hard, Blake watched as he crashed into his partner, their foreheads met hard before they both fell to the ground, motionless. It admittedly sounded like it hurt, maybe even a bit too much.
She'd have to show more restraint... maybe.
One of the remaining two found enough bravery to swing his fist towards Blake, she forced his awkward attempt away with her own hand before her knee shot up, colliding with his chest, he dropped flat on his back, gasping for breath.
Too much, Blake, don't cripple them. She told herself, it wasn't like she meant to do so. Months of fighting Grimm did that to a person. Grimm and also some maniacs, but those maniacs had their auras unlocked.
She forgot how to hold back long ago, she had to if she wanted to survive.
But it was different now, these people were no match. She had to force her hands to be more lenient than they were used to be.
Eyes turned to focus on the last man standing, she noticed the hesitation lingering in his mind through his eyes. For a moment, it seemed like he would turn tail and run. That, however, did not happen, as he recklessly started swinging his fist, his legs, hell, he even tried to headbutt her. All of it was so sloppy, did he really hope to overwhelm her with that?
It was true that he was unrelenting, punch after punch, kick after kick, honestly, it seemed like he was just tossing his limps around randomly and hoping that he eventually lands a hit.
It was all no match for skill, though. And Blake had that in abundance.
Avoiding each random limp that was basically thrown her way, Blake waited for an opening, although she really didn't feel like she needed it.
Still, she managed to grab a hold of his left leg when it shot towards her stomach, a second later and the man was lying flat on his back, knocked out thanks to three precise, quick, and powerful jabs, two on the chest and the final one to his forehead.
The sound of struggling from within the house reminded Blake that there was still more to be dealt with, not a few seconds later and she was inside the house, just in time to see the woman inside smash a glass cup on the last man's head.
That woman was pushing beyond her abilities, but she was a fighter, that's certainly good in its own way.
The man's fist rose up, adamant on getting revenge, Blake was faster, throwing her weapon, not a second after it wrapped around his arm did she pull, the man stumbled gawkily, his fist colliding with the stone wall instead.
Ouch, Blake thought.
The man looked like a half-conscious ragdoll as Blake pulled harder, he resisted but it was no use as with one final mighty pull, he couldn't stop himself from being practically flung towards Blake, her elbow quickly collided with his face, using the momentum against him, she winced as she felt her aura break from the contact, she was still yet to recover from days of constant combat in Salem's domain, it was no wonder her aura was still critically low all of this time.
Thankfully, the man fell on his back, unconscious. A quick look around to make sure no men were left and Blake collapsed as well, her back resting against the wall. She stretched her legs forward, gods did they hurt.
"My boy, where's my boy?!" The other woman in the house yelled, concerned. Blake grimaced, hopefully the kid didn't run off too far.
"I'm here!" Said mentioned boy yelled as he ran into the house, quickly embracing his mother. "I- he was pulling me away a-and then she-" The boy paused, eyes looking around the room before they finally spotted Blake. "S-she saved me."
Blake smiled weakly, content. Now that things have settled down, her eyes switched to the woman. Curly and long black hair, she seemed young and was also wearing a tattered robe with originally unbelonging patches covering it in various places. Blake had already expected to see most people here in Vacuo in such a state, from what she'd seen so far in the evening, it seemed like everyone was struggling with Lien and it was very common to run into people with unkempt clothes.
What she did not expect, however, was that the woman would suddenly drop to both of her knees and bow. "Thank you," She spoke. "Thank you so much, you saved everything I have."
Blake panicked eternally, why the hell was someone bowing to her? What on Remnant was she supposed to say?
Where was Weiss when she needed her?
Alright Blake, think, what would Weiss Say?
Something stupid but fancy, she'd also throw in a few elegant words, just for good measure.
Or just to boast about her superior grammar later on...
Yeah, that's actually more likely.
Stop talking to yourself! Blake thought, literally speaking to herself. She realized that just a second too late.
Alright, here goes nothing, maybe a simple reply would do the trick?
"You're welcome...?"
Why the hell did that sound like a question?
"H-how did you find us?" The woman said, head rising once more.
"I was walking nearby, heard you yell."
"N-no, that's not what I meant. What I meant was why were you outside at night in Ntah territory?"
"Ntah?"
The woman's eyes went down as if examining Blake's outfit, her eyes lit up when she realized. "You're not from around here, you're Atleasian."
She wasn't, but if people wanted to see her that way then fine, it's easier to explain than the truth. "Yes."
"So you didn't know. You didn't know about the Ntah."
"No, no I don't." Assuming that they were people, though. Blake could only imagine that the people she had just fought were a part of whatever the Ntah was.
"It means blood." The woman spoke, earning Blake's attention again. "They always infest the poorest parts of Vacuo, like this one. That's why the streets are so empty at night. That's when they come out to... recruit."
Blake's eyes widened. "To kidnap people."
"Yes..." The woman looked to her little boy for a moment, crystal tears forming on the edges of her eyes. "Yes. But specifically men or boys, unless there is a strong woman, they won't bother with her." She added, extending a hand and pulling her son into a hug, all whilst still looking at Blake. "They're a gang, but they call themselves brothers or sisters."
Blake's mind automatically wired itself to think about the White Fang, these Ntah people gave her the same vibes.
"What do they do with the people?"
"Their base is underground, nobody knows where exactly, it is said that when they kidnap someone, they would always knock them out before taking them to their hideout, it's their way of making sure no one knows the path to their base."
"Then how do people know it's underground?"
"A man escaped from there before, he was so injured, though, so injured that he couldn't pay attention to anything but keeping himself alive, so he never memorized the way. He died a few days after that, in the hospital."
Blake stayed silent, it didn't take long for the woman to speak once more.
"From him, we know what those sick bastards do, though. They have a huge arena underground where they force their prisoners to fight." She paused, arms tightening around her son. "The man said that they would never stop a fight until only one person is alive in the arena."
Sick bastards, what on Remnant is wrong with these people? And they were even attempting to take a child? Hell, from the woman's words, it seemed like it was common for them to take children if they were a boy!
Blake's blood started boiling. "And why is the police or government doing nothing about it?!" She knew the government was weak here, weaker than any other major kingdom, but for Dust's sake, this was too far!
"They rely on them."
"W-what?"
"The government doesn't try. The Ntah are good for them, they get rid of the poor so the kingdom doesn't get poorer. The only government official to do something about this was the headmaster of Shade Academy, yet he was forced to step down after making his voice heard. That was a year ago."
No, there was no way a government could accept that. Blake just refused to believe so, nobody would agree to that.
"There must be another reason for it, that can't be it!"
"It's the most popular theory."
Gods, how does no one do anything about this? How did she never hear of this in the past? Something as big as this should forever be in the records of history. How did the government do so well in hiding it?
If her blood was boiling before, then now it was simply seething!
"How many of those Ntah people are there?" Blake asked, if there were enough of them to infest all poor parts of town then she could only imagine them to be in the hundreds or even thousands.
"I don't know. But they come out every night to collect."
Blake sighed, forcing herself up on her feet. Weiss and Jaune were probably worried sick, not to mention that they needed to know about all of this. Amber eyes switched to look at the broken door to the small house, outside lay those Ntah that were likely to wake up soon.
This woman and her son were still not safe, no one in this part of town was.
"Do you have somewhere else to stay the night?" Blake asked, already knowing the answer if she was to be honest. She watched as the woman shook her head. Her eyes switched to the scared little boy, she couldn't leave them like this. She couldn't leave anyone in this place exposed to such atrocious dangers. But the two people in front of her took priority, they were completely defenseless as the door to their home was broken beyond repair.
"Pack whatever you need, I have a place you can stay."
It took a surprisingly long amount of time to convince the woman to come over, and even more to convince her that it was no problem for Blake, she was also sure that Jaune and Weiss would understand. It also eased things when Blake explained that she was a huntress and that this was all just a normal part of her job.
She came into the hotel, the woman and her son right behind her. The owner was nowhere to be found this late at night and so Blake went up the stairs. A few knocks on the door and Weiss opened shortly after.
"Blake!" She almost yelled. "We were worried sick, what took you so long?!" She said, pulling her into a hug.
"I- I uhh... well, it's a long story," Blake answered, stepping aside so Weiss could see the pair of people behind her.
Weiss's Blue eyes widened as she saw the woman and the boy.
"H-hello, I hope we're not a bother." The woman said, bowing, her son imitated the act.
Weiss looked towards Blake, eyes mixed with irritation, hesitation, but also understanding. "Come in." The former heiress said with her best attempt of a smile. "Of course you aren't, we'll be happy to help."
As everything eventually does, time passed, and with it, Blake explained all she could to Weiss, Jaune was asleep and so she couldn't do the same with him, normally he'd wake up from just the slightest of sounds but the tiredness surely played a part in him not waking up so far. The woman -who had finally introduced herself as Jade and her son as Armani- was sitting uncomfortably behind Blake.
It was absurdly hard to figure out what Weiss was thinking of, that was simply the case with the heiress. What was easy, however, was reading her emotions. She might deny it, but Weiss was always terrible at hiding her emotions.
Judging from the expression drawn all over her face and how her eyes kept opening and closing rapidly as if trying to tie the events she just heard about together, Weiss was confused, but not totally so. She understood Blake's reason for bringing two people to their temporary home, and she probably couldn't deny that she would have done the same.
And although Jaune grew cold, much colder than one would have ever thought he could, he'd also understand.
What concerned Weiss the most was Blake's thoughts. She had already decided she'd do something about this, it was as clear as the sun, she just didn't say she would, yet.
The thought of changing the past too much still lingered deep in the young woman's mind, Weiss was terrified of how much they could do, they could end up shaping the world around them into something unrecognizable and completely foreign, that was what terrified her the most.
But the fear would always get repelled away, Weiss knew of the power they had in their hands now, and of the responsibility that comes with it.
As Salem told them, they will think the world is their responsibility and they will try to change it to a perfect one, but what they won't do is give her what she wants, they won't fear change, they won't dread defeat.
Their purpose was to make the world a better place, not just save it. And they would do what they came here to do.
Weiss's eyes switched to Jade and Armani, it was their duty to save people like these, a duty they had long forgotten about amidst the despair of their struggle against Salem. "You two need rest," she said, smiling once more. She briefly wondered if people ever notice that her smile is mostly fake. Well, at least the intention behind it was pure. Nothing could be wrong with trying to ease people's mind with a smile, right? "We have two beds only, so you and Armani could take one, the three of us can share the other." She said, pointing at the bed Jaune already occupied.
Jade's eyes wandered to the two beds, they were small, too small for three people, especially adults. It would be barely sufficient for her and her son. "I- I don-"
"Nope, it's fine," Weiss said before the woman could go on. "Come on, you and Armani there could use the rest, it'll be a while until we sleep, though." She added, standing up and helping the woman to her feet. She spared a glance to the kid next to her. "How about you wait here for a second while I help your mom unpack her stuff quickly, okay?"
The boy nodded as the two women made their way to the shelves in the room and started setting up the few things the woman brought from her humble home.
"You okay?" Blake said, the little boy turned to her, still speechless from shock, as it seemed. "I know it must have been terrifying for you tonight, but you've got to stay strong for yourself and your mom, okay?" Blake added, her own mind wondering when it had acquired the ability to give pep talks to kids.
The mere thought that in a different time and world this kid was probably successfully abducted and forced to fight for his life at some point or another terrified the huntress, but she also felt a tinge of relief and amazement thanks to knowing that she had already helped someone in a life-changing way.
Saving one soul wouldn't change the world, but it would change the world for that one soul.
"Thank you miss."
Blake smiled, his voice was sweet and innocent, how on Remnant could someone like him suffer such a fate? It was so unfair. She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted as the boy's arms suddenly wrapped around her waist, hugging her. "Thank you so much miss." He said with two tears each one emerging from an eye socket.
"It's okay." She said, for what else could she say?
Those Ntah were a foreign bunch, they were a real danger and one that she barely knew anything about, they were a fight that she wasn't supposed to be in and a plague she never heard of.
But for all her inability to speak, she had the power to make up for it with action. If she had that power, the power to save dozens of children and people like Armani and she didn't do anything about it then it would haunt her forever.
Thankfully, the notion of doing nothing never even crossed her thoughts since she made her mind up to act, those Ntah didn't know it yet, but hell was coming their way, a dark hell of fury that would render them all speechless and helpless.
No matter who or where they are, Blake knew she would make them pay, that she'd make them regret the day they thought to lay a finger on the innocent, that soon they will be face to face with their worst nightmare.
They loved to see people fight to the death.
Let's see if they like being more than the spectators.
Go Blake go!
This chapter was a lot longer than I planned, it ended up 8.5K words in length instead of 6K.
I'm gonna be shameless here and ask for more reviews, your reviews that list both what you like and dislike help this story become better. So... Review! I take literally every review to heart.
Edit: Had to come back and edit this chapter after publishing it with a few hours since I'm a stupid idiot that forgot to mark the ends of scenes and so the whole thing seemed very weird, apologies especially if you've read this within the first two hours of release, I know it was kinda weird.
Much Love! Stay Hopeful! ZilverHope Out!