Chapter status: MOSTLY REVAMPED. My writer friend hasn't given this a look yet, but I've made a lot of changes on my own and decided not to keep you guys waiting. I'll update it again after she reads it over, whenever that turns out to be, but for now there's a whole big new scene with Raven, and the other scenes all have a lot of edits and additions, probably worth another entire read.
Enjoy!
Blake Belladonna.
That was the name that showed up in Yang's contact list when she checked her scroll that same night, returned to lying in bed, eyes burning in their refusal to shut yet again. By some miracle, she'd been able to sneak back in through her open window none the wiser.
A thief in the night. She felt exactly like a criminal with a guilty, horrified conscience.
Completely different reason than Blake, though.
Or…maybe not too different? Wasn't helping a vampire who had killed so many people in the past supporting those murders? Supporting the murderer?
Yang let her hand rest through her overgrown bangs, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. Her heart was still pounding from the…everything, not just the excursion. She couldn't even bring herself to remove her prosthetic again – just in case she suddenly needed both of her arms. And of course her last name is actually the deadly nightshade. Of course it's that obvious.
Afterwards, Yang, of course, had to look up 'Belladonna' in Aurora's Archives. 'Blake' had brought up nothing, but maybe the ancient's last name would have results. Might as well do something useful with my time if I'm not gonna get rest.
And Yang did find something.
Not about Blake, specifically, but something about people who were most likely her family.
The information Yang discovered was like a throttle to the face. With a motorbike.
Ghira Belladonna, over three-thousand years ago in Kuo Kuana, on the continent then-known as Menagerie (present day Memory), was the original founder of the White Fang – the faunus organization that had collapsed and reformed throughout history all of four times, and in its final attempt towards revolution Remnant-wide, brought on the Faunus War. In the White Fang's primary form, Ghira and his mate Kali had rallied Kuo Kuana's faunus slaves in secret and gradually earned and pressured more freedom from and out of their human oppressors. Their approach had been, for all intents and purposes, peaceful and diplomatic.
But then…something happened. Aurora's Archives weren't very clear on it, and even from what Yang could recall from her history class in school – from what she had paid attention to, at least – all that seemed to be known was that some faunus hadn't been happy with how slow the progress towards freedom was, and then almost one day to the next, Kuo Kuana's population and its surrounding settlements were massacred.
The only reason Ghira and Kali's names appeared in the Archives at all was because of the suspicious deaths of so many individuals all at once, and they were among the notable figures of the period and area. It was believed that the tension between the faunus and humans culminated in a terrible battle against each other. However, the events had happened too long ago for any proper light to be shed on them, too many people killed for there to exist accurate or detailed recounts.
Yang put her scroll down. She didn't know what to think. Had Ghira and Kali been Blake's parents, or was the relationship more distant in ancestry or family? This was, of course, assuming Blake Belladonna was Nightshade's original name and not an identity she had decided to don for a while like she had Bella Akel...
Wait. No, Blake Belladonna was definitely Nightshade's real name. Wow, that actually lacks so much originality. Yang almost laughed out loud about it to herself, had to cover her mouth with her free hand just to be sure. Bella Akel...pfft. The effort was so minimal. Just like her vampire alias, too, in fact. Yang had to wonder if they hadn't been purposely obvious, like some sort of private joke Blake had with herself for her own amusement.
Also – what a thought, Nightshade having family like normal people had family.
Or even having a sense of humor.
But she hadn't always been a vampire, as foreign as that concept seemed.
Even she had been a regular mortal, once, an eternity ago.
Regardless of that, the faunus species had suffered devastating losses throughout history, struggle caused by racism, and the war had almost cemented their fate into extinction a thousand years ago. Menagerie burned to ashes. A memory. Those who still lived today either originated from the group left over in Vacuo, or...they were vampires. And those from Vacuo weren't as diverse as they had once been – they were now mostly composed of the more resilient and adaptable animal traits, like Sun being part monkey, as Yang had learned. She hadn't heard of or seen a feline faunus, ever.
Was that weird? It felt like it should have been a little weird.
Cats seemed pretty adaptable, after all, or at least good at survival.
But maybe that was a misconception about faunus and how similar or not they were to animals. Yang didn't know.
She let out a heavy sigh, still staring up at the ceiling in the dark. She could only guess and blindly poke at what Blake's life must have been like, the atrocities she probably suffered, the unfortunate choices she had to make. Again with the too-much empathy, Yang. And a whole lot of baseless assumptions, too. Who was to say Blake even had anything to do with Ghira and Kali and their faunus rights? Maybe there was no connection whatsoever. Maybe there were no redeeming qualities about Nightshade at all.
But on the other hand…things track.
Like Blake apparently pouring her resources into literally helping everyone – orphans, the homeless, faunus, vampires. And not just financially, but through the gift of knowledge and basic necessities like sustenance. If her parents – if they were her parents – had been working to raise the quality of life for the faunus three-thousand years ago, chances were that Blake hadn't fallen too far from the tree.
She's still a murderer. Mass murderer.
And, also…it seemed wildly unlikely for someone to remain so unchanged over the course of literally three millennia. The appearances were awfully deceiving, too – Blake didn't look or act like a generous philanthropist in person. In Yang's mind, she'd expect someone happier, someone maybe more outgoing and fit to interact with the public, someone who wasn't so fucking scary.
Yang rubbed her face. But she did make sure I was comfortable before drinking from me. She did take the time to answer my questions, both before and after. And she didn't hurt me at all. Which really seemed like the bare minimum to qualify decency, all things considered, but being as powerful as she was, Blake could have very, very easily just used Yang for what she needed and then left her bleeding without ever saying a word.
Like a pump and dump, except it's a suck and chuck.
Ugh.
Either way, Blake hadn't done that. Both times, as it were, she'd made sure Yang would be okay before leaving. It had to mean something at least marginally good…right?
Gods, why am I so fixated on figuring her out?
Oh, I dunno, maybe cuz she made goo-goo eyes at you and you instantly turned into a tool.
But, like, a useless kind of tool.
Yang rolled her eyes at herself. Maybe she needed to remove her brain, give it a good power wash, and then put it back in. Bad jokes were a lot funnier when there was someone else there to roll their eyes at her.
She raised her hand from her face to stare at her wrist in the low light of the room. Even after just two feedings, the pale scars crisscrossed so much that her wrist just seemed to have a lighter patch there than the rest of her skin.
It was a problem she would have to hide. She didn't scar anymore when she healed naturally from wounds. But it seemed that whatever secretion was under Blake's tongue that allowed her to instantly close bleeding injuries, Yang's body and its enhancements couldn't keep up. Maybe, possibly, if enough time passed, the scars would disappear, but for now Yang would have to cover up the proof of having been fed from more than once.
She could pass off the first time as having happened against her will. That was what she'd put in her report, anyway. But in this particular situation, more than once would very quickly become suspicious. Like, hello, Operative Ember, why are you suddenly so bad at your job?
Yang let her hand drop beside her. She tried turning over on her side, huddling into the blankets some more. And still, all she did was stare at the curtains.
Aurora wanted this ancient vampire dead. And if Yang asked for her address, she could lead her group of enforcers straight to Blake's door if the blonde was so inclined. Blake certainly didn't seem opposed to it, either, if not outright encouraging of it.
But they would all die, making such an obvious move. That much, Yang knew with confidence. And if she took Blake's word for it, it wouldn't even be because the leech wanted to kill them – it was pure survival of the fittest.
But what would Aurora do if they found out Yang wasn't just keeping Blake's whereabouts a secret, but was actively feeding her with Yang's own blood? It wasn't just incompetence – it was flippant contempt of directives. Aurora did not like wild cards. They ran a tight ship, and that was necessary for the regulation of bloodsucking monsters.
They were effective in their methods, too. Vampires who created other vampires were apprehended and sent to Aurora's specialized prison facilities. Often, that eventually led to a death sentence if they became uncooperative. In rarer instances, after decades of good behavior, they were released – but if they caused harm again, they would be hunted and killed.
Vampires who resisted arrest or had caused too great of damage towards mortals were killed without a second chance. In this manner of operating, the vampire population was slowly but surely dwindling, less than a thousand of them left Remnant-wide at this point, and those who did remain were under oath to leave mortals alone.
But undocumented, ancient vampires?
Aurora did not like wild cards.
And Yang was stuck, because on one hand she fully recognized that Blake, Nightshade, was terrifying and dangerous, but on the other hand…Blake's moral compass actually seemed to be pointing in the right direction, and Aurora had obviously never had problems with her since their very founding, made official some eight-hundred years ago. If they had, they would have already known about her, after all.
How do you kill a creature this powerful?
A stupid question. Blake had put Yang's gun to her own forehead. That was as self-explanatory as it was going to get.
Yang groaned and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. Why didn't you just pull the trigger, yourself, Blake? If she wanted to die so badly, it shouldn't have been an issue for her. Except Yang had the funny, sinking feeling Blake hadn't been looking to get shot right in that moment. It felt a lot more like she had been proving a point – gambling her own life on it, too, though. But it seemed Yang's character had been correctly assessed.
She was a failure. A joke of an enforcer. And now an ancient vampire knew that with certainty – knew the weakest link.
I am compromising the others... To think it could have been avoided if she had just told Pyrrha from the beginning. The terrible irony in that she was failing her partner because she hadn't said the whole truth for the sake of not failing her to begin with...
And there was the whole other issue Raven posed now, too, on top of that. Like that wasn't a couple extra boulders on the mountain Yang was carrying. Like Raven couldn't send Yang packing back to headquarters if she knew her daughter was disobeying direct orders.
Worse, still, was the possibility of getting outright arrested. Like Aurora wanted Qrow arrested – just for quitting.
But Yang's eyelids were finally getting heavy – heavy with the weight of guilt and exhaustion. Her mind couldn't keep turning the situation over tonight, hoping to magically find solutions, criticizing every stupid decision and mistake she'd made, analyzing every facet to try justifying moral loopholes.
She began to drift, slowly, and haunting, haunted gold eyes followed her into her dreams.
Raven stood by the bench, staring at her scroll for a moment, eyes quickly flicking over the little bit of information Yang and Pyrrha had filled out for Nightshade's new SRO profile. She took a sip of water from her bottle.
Instead of fidgeting and waiting to be judged, Yang just sent her fists colliding with the punching bag one after the other, quick and powerful jabs to distract herself. The chain rattled, the bag wheezed, and Yang stopped its swinging with another set of tight jabs and hooks.
She remembered what she and Pyrrha had written well enough – they'd only been able to fill out the 'Known Abilities' section, along with some very basic 'Physical Description' details. Black hair, yellow eyes. Yang knew a lot more now since last night, but she couldn't share any of that information. She wasn't supposed to know anything more.
Heyo, so, funny story – I know Nightshade's scroll code. And her gender. And her age. And her death count. And some of her powers. And that she can only feed from me now. I could also get her address real quick. Lemme just send a text. Oh, and, also, she's suicidal.
It wasn't very long before Raven returned her scroll to her belongings on the bench, and Yang saw her come back over, arms crossed, her forever scrutinizing gaze watching, indecipherable. "That's it?" she asked.
Almost like she knew that wasn't it.
Yang glanced over at Pyrrha lifting weights with Sun further off, had to hold herself from shifting uncomfortably. Dodged the bag twice, struck it six more times. She could not look suspicious in front of Raven. "Yeah, that's it."
"Why didn't you shoot to kill?"
Yang huffed and steadied the bag before taking a step away from it. Assessed Raven as Raven assessed her. They were really just going talk about this in the open? Although…I suppose there aren't very many people here right now.
Ruby was on the treadmill, Glynda taking a break from cycling somewhere, probably. Apart from the six enforcers, there were maybe only five other people present. None of them nearby.
This definitely felt like some kind of test on Raven's part. Except Yang was starting to think maybe any kind of interaction with her was a test of…some thing or another. The arch of her eyebrows just seemed so high and mighty, hypercritical – Yang liked to think her own made her look more open and inviting in comparison. "I didn't realize our job included arbitrary assassination. I didn't know Nightshade was an ancient vampire. As far as I was concerned, she was a possible suspect but just needed help getting back to normal."
Raven raised her eyebrows. "She?"
Shit. Yang scowled. Noob mistake again, and Raven had picked up on it immediately. "She, he, they, it – whatever. Now I know what I'm dealing with so I'll aim my gun higher next time." As if to emphasize her point, Yang gave the punching bag a shove and then sent her foot into a roundhouse kick at it when it came back around. She circled, allowed Raven to leave her field of view for a moment. "Why didn't we learn about ancient vampires while we were in training, huh?"
"There's no use in scaring new recruits with enemies they won't be asked to face right away, is there? They may never even face ancients at all."
Wowww. Greater bull has never been shitted. Yang stopped the bag again, turned to give Raven a disbelieving look. "No, but some transparency would be nice. We were completely unprepared. And maybe I would've actually shot Nightshade to kill if I'd known. We're supposed to be the good guys here."
At that, Raven just gave Yang this strange little smile. Could have meant anything. Mostly there seemed to be a quiet judgement behind it, and it made Yang bristle, made her turn away from Raven to send her fists into the bag several times again. What the fuck is that look supposed to mean?
Then Raven said, as if she didn't know she was getting under Yang's skin, "Well, on the topic of that, I want you to tell me what happened the day Taiyang and his wife were killed."
Or maybe she did know.
"Sorry?"
Raven sighed and slowly shook her head. "So that I can start tracking that leech, Yang. I'm not prying for the sake of hurting you."
Yang almost believed her. She seemed convincing enough – if only she hadn't brought up the subject to ignore Yang's point. The brawler gave the bag another half-hearted backwards punch on her way towards the bench where Raven had been a moment ago without providing any information. She used her towel to wipe the sweat from her face and then took a drink of water, too.
Raven hadn't followed her, only watched from a distance.
It was so unsettling. How similar they looked. Like Yang had a darker, slightly-older-looking twin. Except she was her mother. Birth-giver. Yang put her bottle down and fixed her ponytail, quickly glanced at her sweatband around her left wrist to make sure it was still covering the scars. She had a brief flash of Blake's mouth against her skin, and it was all she could do not to shudder.
Raven would definitely ask about the scars if she saw.
She hadn't even commented on Yang's prosthetic right arm, either. Yang noticed her looking at it sometimes, but she didn't seem surprised or…anything, really. The blonde still didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed about her indifference. She was just bothered, and annoyed at herself for being so.
She wasn't supposed to be in this constant bad mood, either. She was Yang fucking Xiao Long – gung-ho, fun-loving, always ready to bring the ray of sunshine with a sprinkling of silliness and bad (awesome) jokes. She had short temper tantrums sometimes and that was it.
She barely recognized herself since arriving in Vale.
Yang came back to the punching bag, took a calming breath and rolled her shoulders. "It happened on Patch some eighty years ago." Jab, jab, hook, hook. "You gotta have the address already, don't you?"
"Come now, Yang. You know I need the details."
Yang hit harder, clenched her teeth. The chain rattled, the punches started sounding like car doors slamming. She didn't want to think about that day. Yet Raven was asking her to relive it. And of course Yang understood, knew there was no other way to even begin tracking that bloodsucker, but she wasn't fucking ready. Probably would never be, either. And Raven certainly wasn't the person she wanted to go down memory lane with. It was too raw, even after all this time because Yang just let it fester, and she refused to let this woman see how vulnerable she was. At least, not until Raven proved herself worthy of that trust.
"Why don't you tell me how you met Dad first?"
Raven didn't reply right away, and Yang glanced at her, a bit surprised that she didn't have an immediate answer. She always seemed to have one. But Raven only looked thoughtful. She took a few steps around Yang and the punching bag as the brawler disengaged, then came back. She uncrossed her arms, lowered her center of gravity, and sent her fists into the bag in quick succession. She was precise, deliberate – not as powerful as Yang, but just as effective, if not more. "Aurora sent Qrow and I on a secret surveillance mission to Vale over ninety years ago," Raven finally revealed upon hopping back, re-evaluating and never taking her eyes off her target. "Like they sent your half-sister and her new partner to Atlas. Trying to find vampires. We were…unsuccessful."
Yang arched her eyebrows and gave Raven more room to move. Things made more sense now. "Okay…cool. So…what? You saw Dad passing on the street and swooned?"
Raven actually smiled a little at that. "Do I look like the type to swoon?" And then she launched herself at the bag with a series of jabs and hooks that then turned into several aggressive kicks before she stopped and steadied the victim of her assault. For the first time since seeing some of her skill, Yang actually feared training with her in hand-to-hand and was glad it wasn't permitted at the gym here.
She shook her head, tried to seem impassive. "It was a joke, mother. Get to the good bits."
"Don't let your anger control how you fight, by the way," Raven said instead of answering. She motioned at the punching bag, almost casual…and then pointed at Yang's prosthetic arm, expression becoming ominous. "Mistakes are easily made in fits of rage."
Initially, there was shock. Shock that Raven was addressing it out of the blue. But then Yang opened her mouth, ready to spit vitriol because what the fuck did she know about what had happened, but Raven just narrowed her eyes, challenging, and Yang realized she was colliding straight into her point. She clenched her fists, shut her mouth. Tried to breathe and let her anger peter out, but with little success. "So you read that report, too, then?" she asked, tense.
"I've kept tabs on you, yes. You are my daughter, after all." Raven took a step closer, close enough to lay her hand on the metal bicep of Yang's prosthetic. "Your devotion is admirable, Yang. But your emotions are going to get you killed."
Better me than the people I care about. But Yang could only glare. She knew she was being prideful and stubborn for no reason. She knew Raven was right, that the outcome of that day where Pyrrha almost lost her life could have gone vastly different if Yang hadn't been reckless and impulsive.
She'd probably still have her arm.
Now, Nightshade would probably already be dead, too. If only Yang had learned anything.
She stared down at the mat between them.
Raven stepped back, then said, suddenly flippant, "I met your father on a subway train. He was going to work at Pharos, Qrow and I were trailing a possible lead we gathered from police chatter. The train was full, I ended up stuck in Taiyang's personal bubble, and his charming self thought it would be a great idea to flirt with me."
The more Raven spoke, the more the anger finally started leaving Yang's body as she imagined the scene. Her stance relaxed. She couldn't help but smile a little. Yeah, that sounds like something Dad would do. Maybe even something Yang would try to do, too, if there was a pretty woman in her space. Raven was describing a time when it seemed Taiyang didn't have a vehicle yet to get him to his job as a college professor. Had Yang not joined Aurora, she may have gone to Pharos. Studied…she didn't even know now. Something.
She was good with her hands, liked to keep them busy. Maybe she'd have been a mechanic.
Such big aspirations I have.
But she'd been happy with the simple life she'd had on Patch, before everything.
Summer would've said that it was okay. It was okay if Yang didn't want the lucrative job and the beautiful house by the water. Or the big condo with a view over the city. "Some stars are closer than others," she'd once said. "You're reaching for them either way."
"And you fell for him just with that?" Yang finally asked, skeptical.
"No, absolutely not." Raven rolled her eyes. "But the ride was interminable, and he convinced me to go on one date with him. Then said that if I still wasn't interested after that, I'd never hear from him again."
"I just can't believe you even gave him that chance."
"Yes, and Qrow laughed his ass off at me, too. But I went. And it was unfathomably cheesy and I hated it, had never wasted my time so completely." Raven let out a derisive scoff. "But then we kept meeting on the fucking subway train for the next few days, and next thing you know, I'm spending every single night for three months at his place."
Yang didn't know whether to laugh or frown or…vomit profusely, maybe? She couldn't even imagine what her own expression must have looked like. "So…that's it, then? You were just fuck-buddies?"
Maybe the real question was why had Yang expected something more heartfelt and romantic. Evidently, Raven put work first – just like any enforcer should've been doing, Yang included.
She gritted her teeth and went in on the punching bag again, trying to exercise some restraint this time so her frustrations wouldn't show – tried to imitate Raven.
She didn't like it. And it was a lot harder than she thought.
Raven slowly shook her head, put her hands on her hips. "It was a little more than that. Maybe, by the end, a lot more than that, even if I warned him early on that I wasn't staying, that there'd be no relationship." She paused, assessed Yang again. "I realized I was pregnant about two months after Qrow and I were recalled to headquarters. I brought you to term only for Taiyang's sake. He said he wanted to take care of you."
"Oh, come on," Yang scoffed, unable to take the bullshit anymore. "Really? You carried a baby for nine months just because he asked you to?"
"Is it so hard to believe that I was fine to give him something to remember me by?"
Yang threw her hands up. "Yes."
Raven actually let out a bit of a laugh that time. Genuinely amused. "You're just like him."
Great.
Yang was about to pass her hands through her hair but then remembered that it was tied up. It was getting difficult to keep the memories away, comparing them to the man Raven described, and it made Yang's heart feel both lighter and heavier at the same time. We really chose a great place to talk about this.
Maybe she was relieved, in a way, that Raven's relationship with Taiyang hadn't been anything special. After all, the relationship between him and Summer was the important one, the one that Yang could look back on and believe they'd been happy. Summer had been a lot more caring than Raven. She'd enjoyed the cheesiness and dumb jokes. They'd been a much better match.
Even Yang usually hung out with women who liked her sense of humor, however brief and far between the encounters were. She couldn't imagine spending time with someone who didn't show some appreciation towards her antics.
In the end, Raven had done nothing wrong. Nothing.
Maybe, even, her choice to bring Yang to term and give her into the loving arms of her father had been the best thing for Yang at the time. It wasn't Raven's fault that those ideal circumstances had been left broken and bloodless on the kitchen floor over nine years later. It wasn't her fault Aurora kept her away from Vale after that secret surveillance mission.
But it was her fault that she listened. That she continued not to choose me.
I shouldn't be feeling so much resentment.
Yang decided she was done with the punching bag. Done with this conversation. She was sick to her stomach. She started walking back over to the bench to grab her towel and water bottle, and the frustration suddenly squeezed up her chest and shoved itself out her throat, and she threw over her shoulder, "Well, good. You wouldn't have been a great mother, anyway."
It was childish. It was stupid. Unnecessary. Mean. It brought no relief or comfort.
"I know that already, Yang."
She didn't sound hurt. Just matter-of-fact. It angered Yang even more that she couldn't pull any kind of reaction out of Raven, like she was untouchable, like there was no way to make her care.
"You're over eighty years old," Raven continued, flat now. "Why are you expecting me to fulfill a role we both know I'd only fail at?"
It was all Yang could do not to turn and round in on her, do something drastic she'd later regret. The fury was simmering there, ready to be tapped into, but Yang recognized her own hurt – there beneath, heavier and more terrible than she'd ever realized it was. I needed someone to take me into their arms and tell me I'd be okay.
But Raven was right about this, too. She wasn't the person who could have ever done that for Yang. It wasn't rational for her to hold it against her biological mother. Still, after grabbing her things, Yang finally did walk partway towards Raven. But it was only to say, derisive, "I'm sorry I can't shut off my emotions like you. Guess I just have to work on that." She took a breath. "Thanks for telling me about Dad. I'm gonna go do some cardio."
And then Yang headed towards Ruby on the treadmills.
She needed some lightheartedness.
The next morning, Yang gathered in the living room with Pyrrha, Ruby, and Sun. She flopped down on the couch face first and then just stayed like that until Pyrrha politely folded the blonde's legs up at the knees so that she had a place to sit, too.
"Oh, did you need me to scootch?" Yang asked into the couch cushion with a laugh.
"Well, now that you mention it..."
Yang snickered again and then shuffled onto her back, folding her legs so that Pyrrha didn't have to have her feet on her lap. She may or may not have needed it for her laptop.
Sun had taken his favorite spot on the armchair, and Ruby moved to stand in front of the coffee table with an exaggerated flourish. "Ehem, attention, attention," she called out, putting her scroll on the table so that a holographic display of their case information could be cast from it for everyone to see. "Everyone in favor of this meeting, say –"
"Woohooo!" Yang exclaimed, enthusiastically shaking her fist in the air above her.
Sun quickly joined in with the same energy, grinning, and even Pyrrha started clapping.
"That works!" Ruby giggled, and gave a little bow. Upon straightening again, she said, "Okay, we have our secretary," and she pointed at Pyrrha, who nodded at her laptop, "and do we have a time-keeper?" Her gray eyes landed on her sister with a teasing, expecting smile.
Yang couldn't help but laugh. "Ruby, you're so cute. Yeah, I'll be the time-keeper." She mimed looking at and fiddling with an invisible watch on her wrist. This was all unnecessary and over-the-top. They didn't need to log meetings like this. Pyrrha just liked taking notes.
"Great! In that case…" Ruby cleared her throat and put on an air of professionality, squaring her shoulders like she was trying to imitate Glynda or something. She failed spectacularly. Maybe because she was a whole foot shorter and still looked twelve. "First order of business – Raven and Glynda analyzed the heat signatures you and Pyrrha found at two of the crime scenes, Yang. And it seems we might be dealing with another ancient vampire."
There was silence in the wake of this news. But it didn't last very long. Pyrrha shook her head and said, "I suppose that's not very surprising, now that we know they exist."
Sun tapped his chin and added, "Yeah, like, it was pretty weird that vampires would be messing with fire – but if it's an oldie who can control fire, then that's a whole different ballpark."
"I just don't know how we're supposed to get anywhere in this investigation if they're just torching clues," Yang muttered at the ceiling, rubbing her fingers over the joints of her prosthetic hand absentmindedly. "We barely have anything to go on to begin with."
Ruby nodded. "Well, that does bring me to the second thing I wanted to say. I read over your reports, and one of the questions we all had was: Why would the culprits have been super lazy about keeping the corpses out of sight, but gone out of their way to choose really stinky locations to dump them? And then when we take the torching of clues and combine it with the knowledge that another old vampire might be involved…" Ruby leaned forward, glancing at each face, and finished with, "What if our culprits hadn't been hiding from us or the law at all…but hiding from another vampire?"
There was a pause.
Then Sun went, "Oh, shit."
Pyrrha's eyebrows were raised high. "Do you mean this Nightshade we're tasked with killing?"
Ruby bobbed her head vigorously. "Mmhm!" She tapped a few things on her scroll, bringing up the reports Yang and Pyrrha had written about the fight they'd gotten into with Cardin Winchester. "Think about it. That Cardin guy? The way he spoke to Nightshade sounded like he thought they had some kind of authority. So, what if Nightshade is the big baddie here in Vale, and someone tried to move in behind their back?"
"I don't know, Ruby…" Pyrrha mused. "It doesn't sound impossible, but what solid proof do we have? And, really, if they have the ability to torch clues, they could've also just torched the bodies, and they didn't. It doesn't make sense."
But Ruby's theory caused something to suddenly dawn on Yang, and she slowly sat up properly on the couch, staring at the floor, caught by how she hadn't considered this sooner. "Excuse me, I need to pee." She stood up, promising to be back, and hurried to the bathroom, where she closed the door and locked it.
She took out her scroll, pulled up Blake's messaging, and quickly typed:
Yang: Hey…sorry if this comes outta nowhere but u did say you'd answer my questions.
Yang: U said you'd been starving urself for over 50 years or somethin right? How'd u do that exactly?
And then Yang waited, desperately hoping Blake was the texting type, and that she would actually send a reply. It felt wild to send such an informal looking message to a vampire who probably used to write letters in elegant cursive with a feather dipped in ink under flickering candlelight thousands of years ago. Truly, a mind-fuck.
A reply appeared.
Blake: My assistant locked me away in my vault, as per my request. And I rotted in there.
Yang had to resist biting her nails in her trepidation. Never mind that that was one creepy scenario to envision. Vault? Like, actually, in the holovids? But this was beginning to confirm her suspicions.
Yang: What have u been doing in Vale? B4 u starved urself?
Blake: I don't understand what you're asking me. I die here.
Yang squinted at the message for a second before realizing it was another vampire joke. She was usually much faster at catching on to puns, but coming from Nightshade, Yang kept getting whiplash.
Yang: Ha ha. So funny. Did u fight off other vamps?
Yang: Is Vale ur territory?
An answer did not come right away. And the longer an answer didn't come, the more Yang decided she couldn't just dilly-dally around. So, she flushed the toilet and pretended to wash her hands, and she was just about to leave when she saw her scroll light up. Yang snatched it.
Blake: Vale is my city. I don't like a mess.
Yang's heart pounded at the implications. My city. Like she had some kind of claim over it. Like it belonged to her. That apparent veil of darkness over a budding Vale was becoming more and more real. And the reply confirmed Ruby's theory. Yang didn't take the time to type a response, instead heading out of the bathroom and returning to her companions in the living room.
"…so maybe if we kill Nightshade first," Sun was saying, "it would lure out the troublemakers and we'd have an easier time finding them."
"Wait, I have a different idea," Yang cut in before anyone could start agreeing with Sun. "We've never had problems with vampires in Vale before, right? The way Cardin reacted to Nightshade was like he was surprised they were even alive. I…" Yang slowed down, trying to be more careful about how much information she gave away – and not forgetting to use a neutral pronoun this time, too. "I interacted with Nightshade shortly after Pyrrha and I got here – they were hunting me, but I cuffed them. They ended up getting away, unfortunately, but during the time that I did have to question them, they insisted I was their first hunt in over fifty years." Yang leaned forward on the couch, making sure she had everyone's attention. "In the same line of ideas as Ruby, what if the reason we've never had problems in Vale was because an ancient vampire was keeping their kind in check? And now there was a lapse in that presence, so other vampires started showing up and taking advantage of Nightshade's absence?"
"But if that's the case, they're back now," Sun pointed out. "And as pretty cool and interesting as all that is, it doesn't change the fact we have to kill them."
At the risk of looking suspicious, Yang doubled down. "What I'm saying is what if, just for now, instead of hunting Nightshade, we worked with them to bring in the problematic vampires? I'm willing to bet they'd be able to find the culprits a lot easier than us."
The four enforcers shared wary glances. Pyrrha took a breath and murmured, "Yang, you were there. You saw what I saw, how nightmarish Nightshade looks, and you saw the things they can do. I don't think a creature like that is going to work with us…and Aurora won't agree, either. Also...unless you have a way to easily get in touch with Nightshade..." And the look she gave Yang then was hard and searching.
Yang lowered her eyes, being careful not to glance at her scroll. She couldn't insist any more than she already had, the risk was too great. Pyrrha was already in doubt. "You're right." She tried a small, sheepish smile. "Sorry, I guess I was getting too enthusiastic trying to find a solution."
"I mean, I kind of liked the suggestion," Ruby piped up, "but Pyrrha is right. I'm pretty sure Nightshade's motives aren't altruistic enough for them to work with us. For all we know, they could end up coming after us just because we're sniffing around on their turf, if your theory is correct."
And Yang couldn't fault Ruby for thinking that – because for all intents and purposes, 'I don't like a mess' could very well mean personally taking care of an enforcer problem. And Yang couldn't put it past Blake to use violence to kick her and her companions out of Vale, or...put an end to their investigation permanently. This creature had lived for so long, Yang couldn't even fathom where Nightshade's thoughts were really at – and that made her impossible to trust.
At the end of the day, Blake was still a powerful, immortal bloodsucking beast, and she could have been lying at every turn – and Yang would never know or understand why. So, for now, it was time for her to stop thinking of Blake as a source of help or even as someone she should share any kind of information with. "Okay, then I think Pyrrha and I should return to one or more of the crime scenes with bio-retracer equipment to confirm that we really are dealing with another fire-friendly ancient. We might even get an estimation on what our culprits look like, too, if the biological data hasn't faded too much."
Pyrrha's keyboard clacked as she typed. "Good plan. We would have tried this much earlier but, as we've told you, after her encounter with Nightshade, Yang was out of commission for a few days and things started getting out of hand. It might not be too late to at least try the BMMR, see if anything comes up." She paused, and looked away from her screen to glance at Ruby and Sun. "What about you two? Any more information about Cryolife?"
Ruby took her scroll off the table and put it back in her pocket. She smiled a bit. "Raven and Glynda have been working on creating fake identities for me and Sun, and then they're gonna send us in disguised as workplace health-and-safety evaluators."
"Cryolife is supposed to be notified of our visit ahead of time so that it's not weird," Sun added with a nod.
Yang's eyes widened in surprise, but she let out a bit of a chuckle. "I think the toughest part for both of you is gonna be pretending you know what the heck you're evaluating."
Ruby pouted. "It's definitely not our usual job, but if we can pull it off, I bet we'll gather a lot of interesting evidence. And, if we're lucky, we might even see a few vampires – and that would really help the case."
"Ahhh, we'll be fine!" Sun jumped up and put one hand on his hip while waving the other in the air carelessly. "We go in with some notepads, take pictures, ask questions, pretend to look at some things really closely. Easy-peasy."
"Uh-huh." Yang shook her head. "Well, good luck, anyway. And be careful."
"Yeah, you guys, too!"
Pyrrha and Yang were unable to return to the apartment complex where Yang had first encountered Blake. Upon driving towards the location, they found the building already demolished – and understandably so because the fire had severely damaged it. This was still unfortunate, though, as not only could there have been a possibility of finding clues about the kidnappers, but it may have also been possible to reconstruct how Blake had gotten there and chased Yang – and, according to Pyrrha, any log-able information about Nightshade was critical. But the building now lay in a burnt, crumbled pile of cement rocks, metal cabling, and ashes, and nothing could be retrieved.
Of course, Yang knew exactly how Blake had gotten there now, but she wasn't supposed to know, so she said nothing.
The duo instead headed back towards the fishing docks, finding it just as smelly and oily as last time. They secured a perimeter around the back of the building where one of the corpses had been found, ensuring nobody would disturb them or be able to easily see what they were doing by installing yellow tape and black panels that were about eight feet tall.
Yang clapped her hands. "Alright, let's get this set up."
Pyrrha agreed, and the two enforcers started unpacking the BMMR (Biological-Memory Mapping and Reconstruction) equipment from their bags and crates.
While Yang got the computer secured on a power box off to the side and got the programs running, she asked, "Hey, by the way, did you keep in contact with that cute bartender?" She glanced in Pyrrha's direction just in time to catch the blush on her face.
"We've chatted some, yes…" she mumbled.
Yang grinned. It was rare to see Pyrrha out of sorts like this, and the blonde wasn't about to let the opportunity to tease slip away. "Well, what are you waiting for? Spill the tea."
"I mean…what is there to share? All we've done is talk about our jobs – and yes, I lied to him – our day, a little bit about family…"
This time, Yang had to laugh. "Akouo, you're killing me. He hasn't asked you out on a date yet? Or any kind of possibility to blow off some steam?"
"Ya – Ember!" Pyrrha ducked to hide behind one of the holographic projectors she was setting up, conveniently needing to plug in the wiring. "Listen, he seems like a really decent guy. I don't want to rush into things."
This perked Yang's interest even more. She creased her eyebrows, her joking mood fading away. "So…you want to maybe have an actual relationship with him? That's…" Unlike you? Pyrrha was as self-sacrificing as they came. She would never purposely involve herself that deeply with someone, out of fear of getting them hurt in some way because of her line of work or running the risk of outliving them or literally having to leave them behind after three months or less.
Long-distance was hard to begin with. Yang had tried it once early on in her enforcer career in the naivete of her inexperienced, optimistic heart, and the relationship had fizzled out within a month. Adding on layers of lies to the lack of physical connection made long-distance next to impossible to maintain.
Pyrrha didn't reply right away. Yang even began thinking she wouldn't get an answer at all, but then… "I…I'm lonely sometimes, Ember. There, I said it. Gods above. You're a great partner and all, but…"
Torn between showing compassion and teasing mercilessly, Yang settled for a gently mocking remark, "But as beautiful and amazing and sexy as I am, you're not into women and I can't provide that special something."
"Yes, exactly." Pyrrha could not have sounded more exasperated – but there was a small smile on her face, so that said everything else. "Remind me to ask SUN to swap my partner asap. Preferably for someone whose ego isn't the size of the sun."
"Aw, I love you, too." Yang giggled a bit when she saw the redhead roll her eyes. But she refocused her attention to the task at hand as her mood somewhat shifted, and the smile slowly left her face. She finished getting the reconstruction program running and then got the three-sixty 3D scanner to start mapping the crime scene. It occasionally asked her for details, so she stayed nearby to input the commands. While Pyrrha moved on to the second projector, Yang finally decided to confess, "I understand how you feel, though. I get it. Sometimes…it would be nice to just come home and have someone to hold in my arms."
Or…hold me. Someone to hold me.
Except Yang would never admit that part out loud.
Pyrrha glanced over at her, sympathy shining there. But she shook her head and made sure the projector was angled properly. "Yes, well…I suppose there's no sense in dwelling on it. We made our choice. The mortal world comes first."
This made Yang pause, drilling a hole into the screen display in front of her with her stare. She couldn't afford to think about that right now, the reasons why she was doing what she was doing. Raven wouldn't have this guilt and anger on her conscience. So, before Yang could spiral, eyes burning, she helped Pyrrha set up the rest of the equipment in silence, keeping her most vulnerable thoughts to herself.
Once everything was ready, the duo stood off to the side, near the computer, and ran the simulation.
At first, there was nothing. And there continued to be nothing long enough that Pyrrha had to double check the timeframe they were trying to pull the data from. But just when they thought it might have been too late to retrieve the biological information after all, a holographic figure appeared carrying another one.
"That's the body," Yang noted, and Pyrrha nodded.
The data was too old to render clear facial details, but the figure carrying the corpse was shaped like a man. The two enforcers watched as he unceremoniously dumped his victim behind the building. But then another man came into the scene – someone who seemed like he may be older, based on his slightly hunched stance. He spoke with the first guy, who gesticulated angrily about something, and then the two backed away, so much so that they were practically out of the projection area.
And then the flames came, steady and strong, covering the entire wall of the building and pavement everywhere.
"Pause it," Pyrrha said, and Yang obliged. The redhead walked over into the scene, through the fire and towards the older man, and motioned at his outstretched hand. "Do you see this? It's coming from him."
An uneasy, heavy feeling formed in Yang's gut. "So…Ruyi and Crescent were right. Another ancient."
"Another ancient…and who didn't torch the body," Pyrrha agreed. "So, I think you were right, too. They're doing this to avoid another vampire, not us."
Or…goad another vampire.
Because if they were actually trying to avoid Blake, they could've outright made the bodies disappear.
It spun an entirely different narrative, one Yang didn't voice because she didn't understand what it could mean. Why in the ever-loving gods would anyone, vampire or not, want to goad a powerful ancient?
Maybe Yang was wrong.
There was some relief, too, that came with knowing Blake wasn't behind these murders and disappearances – at least, not directly – and then Yang had to also question herself about why that would make her feel this way, but still. "But this means there's more than one. They might not both be ancients, but he's doing this with at least one other vampire."
Pyrrha put her hands on her hips and sighed. "We get sent to one of the only two places where vampires aren't supposed to be causing any kind of trouble, and instead we find a breeding ground for complicated situations." She pointed her finger directly in the ancient's blank face, wiggling it in circles. "Now we gotta figure out who this guy is. As if Nightshade wasn't a dire challenge enough."
Nightshade just needs to be caught off-guard. That's literally it. Otherwise, she welcomes her death. But Yang didn't say that out loud. For some reason or another, she couldn't bring herself to reveal how easy it would be to kill Blake. Well, scratch that – Yang did know why, and finding out the cat faunus wasn't involved in these vampire crimes reinforced the underlying feeling that killing her was wrong and senseless.
Even if her past was overflowing with slaughter.
Which, again, made killing her perfectly logical in order to prevent such mass murder from happening…again.
Also, let's be honest – taking an ancient vampire by surprise probably isn't easy.
Yang shook her head to clear her mind from her distraught confusion, and said, "Then I say we take up Agent Omen's and Agent Dust's advice. Let's find Fox Alistair and Yatsuhashi Daichi. They might know more about the other vampires who live here. Flynt did say there were older ones around the city – I bet if we can get in contact with either Mocha or Vulpes or Axis, they might have some answers." As she said this, there was a part of Yang that couldn't help but wonder if Blake knew those names, herself. She had to, if she was essentially Vale's supernatural 'protector,' or whatever it was she did or wanted to call it.
Except, once again, Yang couldn't turn to Blake for help. Because Blake couldn't be trusted, and she had to be killed.
Pyrrha nodded. "I agree. Maybe we can ask Ruyi and Crescent to alternate stakeout shifts with us in front of Cryolife. Anyway, let's pack this up. You got the footage?"
"Sure did. Let's do it."
Enforcers were allowed their small bits of free time here and there, too, so long as they kept their eyes and ears open for possible issues or clues. They weren't ever really 'off-the-clock' in the middle of an investigation, only having a semblance of breaks when recalled to headquarters, but in their line of work, it was sometimes more productive and safer to allocate certain tasks to certain times of day. Pyrrha and Yang would go looking for Fox and Yatsuhashi the next day since it was getting later in the afternoon, and there was no telling how long it would take to locate them if they weren't at the addresses the SRO had provided. And taking into consideration the kinds of things they were learning in Vale, it was becoming increasingly clear that the evenings and nighttime were probably not ideal searching times.
And so, after packing up the BMMR equipment and bringing it back to the duplex, the duo met up with Ruby and Sun downtown at a small cafe to have cool drinks and even colder snacks around one of the tables outside.
"I feel like I haven't had ice-cream in foreverrrrr," Ruby sighed happily as she took a lick from her cone. "Atlas is not even close to being warm enough for this."
Yang smirked. "Yeah, as if that's ever stopped you."
"No, but try finding a place that sells ice-cream in winter wonderland. Then come talk to me."
Sun pointed sideways at Ruby with his thumb. "She's right, you know. Bunch of bummers over there, I tell ya."
Pyrrha arched her eyebrows with a bit of a smile. "No fun people at all? None? I feel like there must have been at least one or two…at least, if things haven't changed since I went. Which, I mean…I suppose that was a long time ago."
"You've been to Atlas?" Yang wondered with surprise, popping a spoonful of her blizzard in her mouth.
Pyrrha nodded and leaned back in her chair. "Like I said, it was a long time ago. Before becoming what we are. I used to participate in javelin throwing competitions, some fencing tournaments… It allowed me to travel."
"And, uh, how old are you again?"
Pyrrha gave Sun a disapprovingly amused look. "You first."
He chuckled. "I'm twenty-nine."
Yang leaned over towards Pyrrha and whispered – loud enough for Sun to hear, "He's just a baby."
This caused all four of them to laugh, and Pyrrha eventually admitted, "I'm ninety-five."
This time, Yang leaned over towards Ruby on her other side and stage-whispered, "Ew, she's a granny about to croak."
"Oh, stop it," Pyrrha pushed Yang's shoulder among the new round of giggles. "You're not even that much younger than me."
They had trained to become enforcers together – at least, they'd been in the same group. But Pyrrha had been twenty-six already when she'd started, whereas Yang had just turned nineteen at the time. It wasn't until they started experiencing the first dosages of the mutagens that the two young women's friendship began to develop. Adversity-forged and all that.
Becoming superhuman was a slow, painful process.
"Gods fucking dammit, I can't do this anymore," Yang panted, and sunk to the floor right there where she stood in front of the training dummy. Every inch of her body ached, muscles tight and burning as if the blood in her veins was molten lava instead. She was soaked in sweat, could barely keep her eyes open.
But they had to train. This wasn't a sickness that needed to be combatted with rest. This was a transformation that needed to be adapted to, an enhancing that had to be kept up with. They had to push themselves harder than they'd ever done before. And this was just the second dose, given six months after the first. There were three more to go. Yang didn't know how she was supposed to endure another year and a half of this, feeling like she was burning hotter than the sun and like she was repeatedly being beat up with violent kicks and punches.
She certainly had the bruises.
A hand reached out in front of her. Yang blearily looked up, saw the woman it belonged to. Red hair pulled into a ponytail, kind green eyes just as tired as Yang's. Pyrrha Nikos. She'd stood out in their group fast enough for her wits and resoluteness, almost a star pupil right off the bat. Sweat pearled her skin now and her chest was heaving, yet she somehow found the strength to help a downed fellow enforcer-in-training.
"Come on, I've seen you fight. You're doing this for a reason. You're stronger than you think." Pyrrha offered a smile, somewhere between exhausted and encouraging.
Yang firmed her jaw. Yes, she was doing this for a reason. Her dad, her mom, the lives she could save if she only knew how. She couldn't let it out of sight. And, so, even as Yang's muscles wrenched and spasmed within her, she gripped Pyrrha's hand and allowed herself to be helped up. "Thanks," she huffed.
"Any time."
Later, they sat together outside in the cool autumn air, and Yang broke the resting silence with, "What about you? Why are you here?"
There was a look that entered Pyrrha's gaze. Something distant. She took a long drink from her water bottle, screwed the cap back on, and eventually said, "Do you ever feel like your life has a set path? You make choices, think you're forging your own, only to realize you're heading in the same direction you've always been?"
Yang furrowed her eyebrows, tried to understand. "You mean like…destiny?"
Pyrrha slowly shook her head, pursed her lips, and sighed. "I don't know. Maybe. But I was given a hand in life, and if I lay my cards bare, I think what I'm supposed to do with them is evident enough. So, here I am. To help, to play my turn."
And to that, all Yang could do was stare in wonder. It was a lot nobler than her own reason. Pure altruism, a heavy sense of obligation, motivated from somewhere deep. It would have to be, if Pyrrha was experiencing the same symptoms as Yang and was still powering through. But Pyrrha offered no judgement. Instead, when Yang told her own story, she only had compassion and support to give.
Maybe there was a part of Pyrrha that had rubbed off on Yang, softened the edges of her fury over time.
She wasn't so driven by revenge, after all. Not like Raven was, it seemed, at least. She didn't see everything in black and white.
Yang blinked, zoning back into the conversation while Sun was telling a story about growing up in Vacuo, something about the kinds of foods that could be purchased from street vendors at the markets, and that ice-cream was actually not that common in the desert unless walking in the city proper.
A woman walked by their table, close enough that her hand accidentally brushed Yang's arm, and Yang looked up, preemptively offering a forgiving smile.
The woman stopped. Her eyes were shaded behind large sunglasses. There was a dark sunhat on her head, too. "I'm sorry," she said, and then added, "May I interrupt this lovely company?"
The color drained from Yang's face, along with her smile. She recognized that voice, mellow and smooth like honey slowly warming down the throat. Recognized the rich, heart shape of those lips. The flowing, silky raven hair. The tight, svelte shape of that body – which looked absolutely lethal in its white street-style bomber, zipper undone, over a fitted black crop-top. The outfit was completed by a pair of dark jeans hugging those curves all the way up to her exposed navel.
In the wake of Yang's stricken silence, Sun spoke up for her and said, "Uh, yeah. Interrupt all you want." And then he stuck out his hand and – "I'm Sun!"
No, no, no, no, you idiot!
Blake smiled, sharp canines – but not fangs – flashing. She took Sun's hand and gave a brief squeeze. "Blake." And then her head turned towards Yang, the smile unwavering. "I was just enjoying my tea and I noticed you with your friends. I couldn't leave without telling you how breathtaking you are." She paused for the briefest of moments, just long enough for Yang's mortification and heartbeat to skyrocket, and added in a lower, more sensual tone, "And I'd love to take you on a date sometime."
This had to be some kind of fever nightmare. Yang could not believe or understand the audacity of anything that was happening right now. And Sun was compromised. That fast. As if that weren't enough, Yang's eyes were doing that thing where it was obvious she kept repeatedly checking out the vampire, despite her most desperate attempts not to. What is she doing here? Just right in front of four enforcers who were ordered to kill her, too!
Not that Blake knew that, necessarily.
…Or maybe she did know.
Maybe she was trying to die again.
Yang glanced at her companions rapidly, seeing various expressions ranging from surprise to absolute hilarity – Sun didn't even seem jealous that Yang was the one receiving the invitation – and found herself unable to form any kind of intelligent response.
Nobody except Yang knew a three-thousand-year-old cat faunus vampire was flirting with her.
The ultimate, final form of cougar.
It was a violent war between willpower and shame not to bash her head into the table right then and there for having that stupid thought.
Blake extended her hand towards Yang. Expecting. Waiting.
Yang could only stare at the offending member. The long, slender fingers. Maybe it was already time for Blake to feed? No, she'd been fed not even two days ago!
Somebody kicked Yang's foot under the table, snapping her out of it, and Pyrrha said with a soft chuckle, "Apologies for our friend, I think she might have fallen in love with you on the spot."
Ruby giggled and added, "C'mon, Yang, introduce yourself!"
What the fuck! Ruby?! Yang swallowed hard and clasped Blake's hand. Felt the unnatural strength of those fingers beneath the careful hold. Shit. This was so, so, so bad. She forced a smile in return to Blake's increasingly smug one. "Sorry, I'm socially stupid, apparently. I'm… Well, you heard her. I'm Yang." She died a little inside. "And yeah…a date sounds like fun!" Not. We are in so, so much trouble.
Blake didn't let go right away. Her pearly whites glinted, and she lifted Yang's hand to her mouth, much to the blonde's monumental horror. The vampire tipped her head, just enough for bright gold to peer over the edge of the sunglasses, and she murmured, "A pleasure to meet you, Yang." And then she slowly laid her cool lips on Yang's knuckles.
A blush immediately swept up the enforcer's face, and Yang found she couldn't speak or breathe. But then she suddenly felt a sharp burn from her bracer, alerting her to Blake actively trying to charm her. Which made no sense because she knew Yang had a ward! Why –
But the look in Blake's irises wasn't smiling. She tipped her head back, hiding her eyes, and released Yang's hand, the burn of the bracer relenting at once. Blake's tone continued to be low and devastating to Yang's composure when she said, "Can I ask for your number? I think I know exactly where I'd like to take you. You're going to love it."
Yang chuckled awkwardly, heart trying to pound out of her chest and run away with her sanity. I have now learned that a vampire with a death wish is ten thousand times worse than a vampire resisting arrest. "Yup! Just gimme your scroll, I'll input my information…" While Blake took out her scroll, Yang glanced at her friends again – they still seemed completely oblivious.
Except Pyrrha. Pyrrha's smile was slowly vanishing, and her green eyes were concerned, an obvious question in them as she watched the two interact more intently.
Yang shook her head, hoping Blake didn't see, and pretended to give the vampire her contact details, since Blake had them already. She finished up and said, handing Blake her scroll back, "There you go! Can't wait to see what you have in mind." And then, internally losing all will to live, Yang decided to sell the farce and added with a wink, "You look really good, too, I should say."
"She meant to say you look smoking hot," Sun corrected with a mischievous grin.
Unnnnngghhhhffff.
Blake's dangerous grin returned, and she murmured, "Thank you, Sun. I'll see you later, then, Yang. Please, forgive my interruption. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your afternoon…" She turned and started walking away with a lazy wave of her hand.
Yang watched her go, and so did Ruby, Sun, and Pyrrha. Except they, unlike Yang, probably didn't struggle between life and death to keep their eyes from wandering too far down and enjoy the sway of...art in motion. Once Blake was out of what they thought was earshot, Sun immediately turned back towards Yang and exclaimed, "Holy shit! You got game without having an ounce of game!"
Ruby giggled, "Ember, that was sad even for me to watch."
"You're gonna go on that date, right?!"
Yang rested her forehead on her hands. She was so stressed out. For so many reasons. "I dunno if I should, guys… We're pretty busy with needing to figure out this case…"
"Dude, you can't say no to a woman who looks like that. Worse case, just tell her you're down for an evening of fun and a one-night stand, but that you're not sticking around Vale much longer. We might be enforcers, but we're people, too. You're allowed to relax."
The more Sun spoke, the hotter Yang got, her blush reaching the tips of her ears. If he even knew, just for one miserable second, who that woman was, he would not have ever suggested Yang should have sex with her, just to unwind.
But now Yang's mind, traitorous idiot, suddenly was imagining lying naked with Blake, pressing that lithe body flush against her own, hands feeling the curves of her waist, hips, and thighs…and she shut those thoughts down so hard and fast she was surprised she didn't have an aneurysm.
This was pure, unbridled insanity.
Fighting the chaos of her emotions, Yang faked her enthusiasm and said, "You know what, you're right. She was gorgeous, I'll try to have fun on our date." She was willing to bet Blake was still listening to their conversation, too, hidden somewhere, that monster.
But the blonde knew Blake didn't actually want to go on a date. So, maybe, hopefully, she hadn't cared to stick around somewhere and eavesdrop. That intense look and charm attempt, combined with Blake being there at all, implied there was an emergency. And if an ancient vampire had an emergency, Yang figured she better pay the fuck attention, because what in the world could possibly be bothering one?
But why didn't she just text me? Like a normal person?!
Yang looked up and met Pyrrha's stare. Saw the warning, the knowledge that something alarming was up. But she didn't ask anything, much to Yang's relief, although she knew Pyrrha would confront her later.
What would Yang even say? Nothing really made sense to her anymore.
As if anything has made sense here so far.
"Yeah! That's the spirit. Then you gotta tell us how it went cuz that girl was super hot."
I am going to spontaneously combust. Or maybe I'll just strangle him. "Hey, I don't kiss and tell." And then Yang mentally gagged. It really shouldn't have been affecting her this much, though. Even to pretend. Because that's what she was doing – she was pretending. This was all for show. Blake just needed to tell Yang something important, and that was the end of it. There was no way the vampire had been sincere, anyway. So, why should Yang care? Maybe Blake wasn't even into women, and it was all an elaborate scheme of some sort!
During the rest of the time the group was at the café, Yang did her best to appear unfazed. But the truth was that she was distraught, and the more she thought about it, the more upset she became, too – at herself. These feelings she was experiencing? They shouldn't have been happening. Especially not for a vampire. She has your name, Yang. And Sun's. It's only going to go downhill from here. They were compromised, and if Yang continued trying to keep this a secret, she was putting her friends – and Ruby, her family – in mortal danger.
But what did Blake have to tell her? Because that seemed incredibly pressing, too, and Yang was in a really difficult position where it seemed advantageous to hear her out, and not just for the sake of their case.
Well…if Blake isn't planning on killing me, Pyrrha sure will.
Yang's death came a lot sooner than she thought. Ruby and Sun had barely said their goodbyes and gone off to stakeout at Cryolife that Pyrrha practically dragged Yang into their car and locked the doors. She started the engine and drove off, not saying a single thing, and Yang didn't dare speak, either, until Pyrrha was ready to have the conversation. So, the blonde watched the buildings pass her by through the tinted window, growing more and more uncomfortable with each minute that elapsed in silence.
It didn't look like Pyrrha was bringing them back to the duplex. A few times, Yang almost mustered the courage to try and talk, even if it was just to crack a joke, anything to lighten the mood, but in the end, she kept her mouth shut. She had the funny feeling she'd just make things worse if she tried being lighthearted about this.
Pyrrha finally turned into an empty parking lot somewhere and drove towards the back of the building. It didn't look like it was anywhere specific, just a business that had shut down a long time ago and fallen into disrepair. For the purpose of giving the duo momentary privacy, it worked great. She stopped the vehicle, put it into park, and then turned off the engine.
Another heavy silence ensued. Pyrrha then took a breath and turned in the driver's seat to face the blonde, looking every bit like she was about to put Yang on a stick and grill her alive. "Yang," she started carefully, "what's going on?"
The tension Yang felt building inside the car made her laugh awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, haha…nothing's really wrong, you know? It's not –"
"Yang. You were reacting weird to that woman – Blake."
Yang swallowed thickly and tried in a small voice, "Because she's super hot?"
"Stop that. You knew her. But she can't be an ex…"
Yang knew she couldn't stall anymore. It was pointless – Pyrrha wasn't going to let it go before the truth was out, and they were stuck in this car. She lowered her eyes to her lap, heart pounding in her chest, and admitted quietly, "…That was Nightshade."
Silence.
Then, "I'm sorry, it sounds like you said, 'That was Nightshade,' but that can't be right because you – we – would be in so much trouble if it were true."
And all Yang could do was stare at her fingers while she played with them stressfully. Pyrrha didn't need further confirmation.
"Yang, you're compromised! Sun is compromised! Nightshade walked up to four enforcers in broad daylight and you knew it. You said nothing! You let her kiss your hand. You better start talking or so help me…"
"I don't know, okay?!" Yang exclaimed, finally looking at her partner and crossing her arms. "I'm pretty sure she has to tell me something urgent, but I don't know what it is or why she cares to tell me anything at all."
Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me half-truths. There's more going on between you two than that – I saw the way you reacted to her. You chose to stay silent over warning us."
"There's nothing happening between us! I just couldn't believe she was there, either."
Pyrrha crossed her arms, too, and regarded Yang piercingly. The blonde averted her eyes again, knowing very well the redhead was going to see right through her. Yang's argument in her defense was incredibly lame, and they'd worked together too long for Pyrrha not to know what to look for.
"What, so you actually fell for her pretty face? Is that why she escaped that first night, if 'escaped' is even the right word? Why you wanted to work with her instead of killing her? Yang, this is against our orders."
"But she's not evil, Pyrrha!" Yang protested. "You weren't there! She wanted to die, she'd weakened herself so I'd be able to kill her, and I…and I..." She lowered her head, passing her hands through her hair, and the silence hung heavy between them.
But then Pyrrha sighed. "And you didn't. You saw humanity and you couldn't pull the trigger."
Crestfallen, Yang's shoulders began to sag as well. "I'm sorry," she whispered. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened – sometimes Yang's heart bled too much, gave undeserved chances instead of bullets. And Pyrrha was similar in feeling empathy and trying her best to get peaceful outcomes, but when it was truly time to end a life...Pyrrha didn't hesitate. It was never in cold-blood, and Yang knew the warrior carried the lives she took with her in her heart, on her shoulders...but at least Pyrrha was able to do what needed to be done.
Yang was a failure. A wild card. And she'd managed to stay on Aurora's good side only thanks to Pyrrha doing what her partner couldn't do.
Pyrrha sat forward in the driver's seat for a moment, looking frustrated and thoughtful as she massaged her forehead. She stopped and glanced at Yang from the corner of her eye. "You're going to meet with Nightshade no matter what I say, aren't you?"
Yang knew she wasn't in any position to be the one making the final decisions, and she especially knew she didn't want to keep disappointing Pyrrha, but this was something she couldn't just let go. "I think what she has to tell me is important. So…yeah."
"I figured as much. And Nightshade will expect you to be alone. But you won't be."
"Huh?" Yang lifted her finger, getting ready to object, but Pyrrha briskly raised her hand, stopping the objection before it could even start.
"I want you to find out the location of your date, and I'm going to position myself in a far enough vicinity, and you're going to wear a wire. That way if anything goes south, I can get there fairly quickly. And if everything goes fine, then I'll be updated on the situation right away, too."
There was some part of Yang that was relieved at not being left alone to deal with Blake, but another part of her feared what would happen if Blake found out about Pyrrha. It was very possible nothing would happen because maybe Blake truly only did mean well, but...
It seemed Pyrrha wasn't done, though. Before Yang could agree, her partner continued firmly, "Also, you need to prove to me I'm not helping you make Raven and Glynda recommend an early retirement for us and whatever consequences that will bring. You want to do this secretly, fine – but these are my terms: You have more information on Nightshade than anybody else in history so far, and apparently a method to get more information on her, so you're going to properly fill out that page on Nightshade for the SRO. Regardless of what you think she may or may not do, we need that insurance policy – if only for our own safety. Do you understand?"
"Yeah…I understand." There was a deeply uncomfortable feeling in Yang's gut about doing this for some reason, but she was well aware it had to be done. "I'll do it. It's a good idea."
Pyrrha smiled, but her eyes were still a bit disapproving. "Of course it is. And when you go on your date, I'll be taking pictures of Nightshade from wherever I am so there are images to add to the profile. Also, Yang? Thank you for telling me."
"Yeah...you're welcome." But in her head, Yang thought, Blake is going to know you're there. There's no way she won't know. And if she knew Pyrrha was there, how would Blake ever trust Yang?
But she doesn't care. She literally wants to die. This position Yang was in was impossible to maneuver – every decision was wrong. She rested her head back on the headrest and muttered up at the car ceiling, "Not gonna lie, I bet you could walk right up to Nightshade and ask her to pose for her mugshot and she'd do it."
Pyrrha gave her a strange look. "Ask her for a selfie, then, if you think it'll be that easy."
This caused Yang to try imagining Blake taking a picture of herself with her scroll, and that was so weird to entertain that Yang just rubbed her face in her attempt to wipe the thought from her mind. "Maybe I will."
There was another silence that settled between them. At some point, though, Pyrrha said in a gentler tone, "Look…I know you, and I know this has been bothering you." She put her hand on Yang's arm. "It seems wrong to kill Nightshade. But she's a threat to the people of Remnant, regardless of how she conducts herself. I don't like it, either, especially if her record is clean. But, at the end of the day, for a creature to have this much power…all it takes is a change of heart. And I doubt that even an ancient vampire is incorruptible."
Pyrrha's words dug the knife of Yang's guilt deeper. Blake's record wasn't clean. Not by a long shot. And who was Yang to judge if Nightshade's exemplary behavior made up for the extent of murder she had committed, however long ago? There were, by Blake's own admittance, over two-hundred-thousand souls demanding retribution.
And if it had been the vampire who had killed her parents receiving such mercy, Yang would have been…well, furious was an understatement. She took a deep breath in and then slowly let it out. "You're right, Pyrrha. I gotta get my head on straight. Nightshade is dangerous, I'll do what I have to do to make sure we can safely end her."
"Thank you, Yang. We'll start with this date of yours – intel gathering. When Nightshade messages you, let me know."
Yang nodded and clenched her fists on her lap. "Okay. I will." She tried giving Pyrrha a small smile. "Thanks for talking some sense into me, too."
Pyrrha returned the smile with one of her own. She turned the engine on again, finally, and said, "What are partners for?"
Hope you liked it!