Chapter 30
Team RWBY's Room
The air was filled with grim silence between the five individuals in the room, four of them barely saying a word, yet they could still feel the emotions silently building between them, threatening to spill catastrophically.
James Ironwood stood before all four members of Team RWBY, all of whom were seated in their bunks on their respective sides of the room. The General could sense their distress and anxiety, and he fully understood why this was so.
The events of the night before had shaken Remnant to the core, as everyone who was watching the Vytal Festival that night had seen a girl cripple her beaten and defenceless opponent, and tensions were high all across the kingdoms.
Sitting before him was that very girl, bearing a very regretful expression on her usually sunny face. Her eyes were darker than normal, and her posture was slumped over in despair.
"Ms. Xiao Long, as much as I regret to say this, I'm terribly sorry to say that we've been left with no choice." Ironwood said to the girl, only for her to stand up from her bunk and glare at him.
"But he attacked me! I swear, he attacked me first!" Yang insisted angrily, to which the tricone-wearing man replied with nothing but silence and a blank expression.
"Video footage and millions of witnesses testify otherwise. My apologies, Yang. I'm positive your teachers and peers have absolute faith in you, but we currently have no proof to testify your innocence in the matter." Ironwood explained, receiving Yang's distraught expression in reply.
"But Yang would never do that!" He heard Weiss protest loudly, in a manner he hadn't fully expected from someone such as herself.
"Yeah!" Ruby jumped in with agreement, in support of her beloved sister.
"Yang, Ruby, Weiss… you all appear to be exemplary students, and I am confident that your teachers and fellow student wholeheartedly believe that you would never lash out the way you did… under normal circumstances."
All of Team RWBY's eyes widened in disbelief and despair once Yang began to shake in place. Ironwood sighed to himself and continued.
"The staff at Beacon have concluded that this might be the result of stress and adrenaline. On the battlefield, your judgment can be clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there, even long after the battle is finished. It changes people in… surreal ways." Ironwood noted
"B-but I was-" Yang attempted to sputter out a protest before Ironwood raised his hand at her beckoning her to stop as he glared directly at her.
"Stop. No matter what happened, whether it was an accident or not, the world saw what happened and have already drawn their own conclusions. It pains me to say this, Yang, but… you've been disqualified from the Vytal Festival Tournament, along with the rest of Team RWBY. I'm sorry." Ironwood informed them as he turned to the door, taking his leave as the door clicked behind him, leaving the four girls to their own devices.
Once he was gone, Yang turned to her teammates, her smile absent from her face. "You guys believe me… right?"
Almost immediately, Ruby spoke up in support of her elder sibling. "Duh!"
"You're hotheaded, but not ruthless." Weiss chimed in, offering her own opinion.
However, the room grew quiet, and the air became tense once they realized their remaining member wasn't speaking up, but rather, sitting with her legs curled up on the bed, her face cast over by her bangs as she wore a solemn expression on her features.
"Blake?..." Yang consulted her faunus partner, who still said nothing, leading Ruby and Weiss to exchange worried looks.
"I… want to believe you…" Blake meekly muttered out.
The rest of Team RWBY was taken aback by this response. Ruby's eyes were wide with disbelief as she held her hands over her mouth in surprise.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Weiss reacted with outrage, glaring at her black-haired friend.
Yang's eyes widened in shock, feeling droplets of tears rolling down her cheeks as she heard her teammate's distrustful words. Did Blake really not believe in her?
"B-Blake?..." Yang choked out amidst her tears, pleading for an answer to her response.
When Blake only responded with more silence, Weiss stood up from her bunk to defend her blonde teammate, glaring furiously at Blake.
"How could you say something like that?! Yang would never lie to us!"
Blake returned Weiss's glance, before sighing to herself as her own eyes began to glaze over in distress, opening her mouth to share her thoughts to the rest of Team RWBY.
"I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant; it was gradual. Little choices that began to pile up. At first, he told me not to worry. First, he insisted they were accidents, then it was self-defence, and before long, I guess I fully believed he was in the right. I'm sorry… but I can't help but feel this is all very… familiar…"
Blake shuddered as she spoke the words herself, remembering his smile, how it used to comfort her and fill her with confidence, now it only brought her nightmares and regret. She then looked up at her distraught partner, and she saw nothing of him in her. Keeping this in mind, she took a deep breath and managed a smile.
"…but you're not him. You'll never be. You've never done anything like this before for as long as I've known you. So… I want to trust you. I will trust you, Yang."
Yang dried her eyes, still sniffling from earlier as she looked back up to her teammate with a small glimmer of hope amongst her sorrowful face.
"But first, I need you to look me in the eye and tell me that he attacked you first. I need you to promise me that you regretted what you did."
Yang stared back at her partner, whose golden eyes pierced right through hers, demanding the answer from her very soul, with nothing but the truth.
Without a second thought, she wore her heart on her sleeve. "I saw him attack me, so I attacked back."
Blake blinked once, and the entire room was filled once more with silence. Then Blake closed her eyes, heaved in a deep breath and let out a content sigh of relief.
"Alright. I trust you. Thanks, Yang." Blake then replied, with a grateful smile on her face, leading Yang's own lips to curl upwards.
Yang smiled at her faunus friend. Even if she wasn't the brightest ray of sunshine in Beacon, Yang knew her much better than most people in the school, even among her other teammates. Blake was a dear friend, and they could always count on each other when they were dealing with their own problems.
Then, she thought of Team JKHL and the rest of her friends and all they had done throughout their time knowing one another. While they were certainly unique in their own way, she couldn't help but feel how different they were as a group from any other person she had met before.
Sub Zero had been a massive help alongside Pyrrha to boost Jaune's confidence. Liu Kang and Johnny, had grown rather close to her sister and even helped keep her in line for Yang when she couldn't be there for her.
Scorpion was probably the only one distant from the rest of her friends, but even the lone wolf was becoming more social.
Thinking of the rest of her friends, one particular white haired assassin came to mind.
Hallway
Weiss took two steps outside the dorm, walking out the doorway behind Blake and Ruby, but not before turning her head and staring back at her normally cheerful and caring teammate.
Yang's posture was weak and depressed, her shoulders slumped and her face cast over by her long hair, no longer shining with the same sunny glow as always.
Weiss remembered all Yang had done for them as both a teammate and a sister. Ruby may have had the only blood she shared within the team, but Yang had shared her love among the rest of them, giving Weiss a second sister she never had, reminding her of the days before Winter left the manor.
Weiss was eternally grateful to have the blonde brawler as a sister in arms and as a dear friend, but right now, Yang was hitting rock bottom and all of Beacon was affected by this, especially Weiss and her team.
Weiss looked back one more time with her hand on the door and reluctantly pulled it shut, leaving Yang alone.
Weiss let out an exhausted sigh, before placing a palm against her sweaty forehead, trying to make sense of this entire dilemma.
How could this have happened? Why did it have to happen? What reason would anyone have to do this to her friend?
Weiss's head filled with questions, fogging her mind with confusion and disorientation, watching the downcast expressions written on the faces of her fellow teammates.
"This is a mess…"
Then the subtle noise of a door creaking open caught her attention, causing all three of their heads to turn to notice Jaune peering from his dorm, the rest of Team JNPR inside and leaning in closer toward the door.
"She doing okay?" Jaune asked, concerned for their dear friend as the rest of his team gravitated closer, desiring an answer from Team RWBY.
"She's doing the best she can. She's strong. I'm sure she'll find a way." Blake answered Jaune, causing him to nod considerately.
Ruby then piped up as well. "I-I heard Mercury and his team flew back to Haven to be with his family! Until they land, I guess we can't ask him about what happened."
"Yeah. I know Yang didn't mean it, but I hope he's alright." Nora softly added with an awkward smile.
The others silently nodded in agreement. While they were at least on relatively good terms with his teammate Emerald, none of them had properly gotten to know Mercury. Sure, he spent time around the campus but much like the rest of his team, he was very reserved and didn't converse with his fellow huntsmen and huntresses-in-training.
Of course, they felt sorry for him that night for what he had gone through, but all they could do was hope Mercury wouldn't hold this accident against Yang. She would never do something like this to someone like him. After all, they knew her too well to doubt her.
"If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask. We're always available for a friend." Ren calmly added with a warm smile.
The members of Team RWBY took his considerate words to heart and nodded in thanks. Ruby then turned to the oddly silent Pyrrha, seated on her bed without saying a word.
"Pyrrha?"
The redheaded warrior perked up once she heard her name being called out, crossing her bright emerald eyes with Ruby's wide and shining silver.
"Be sure to win one for Beacon, alright?" Ruby said encouragingly, striking both thumbs up with an attempted grin.
"It's what Yang would want. We can't rely on Kuai Liang for everything." Blake added with a smile of her own.
Pyrrha remained silent for a minute, not saying a word as her eyes remained hidden from the girls. A second later, she flashed a confident smile at them.
"I'll… do my best!" Pyrrha gleamed, silently smacking herself for letting her voice falter for a split-second, but thankful that at least Team RWBY didn't seem to notice.
The young Ruby nodded, not seeming to notice Pyrrha's hesitation. "I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked!"
With that, the members of Team RWBY left the room and closed the door behind them, not noticing Pyrrha's face beginning to sink once again as she exited their sight.
With that out of the way, Blake let out an exhausted sigh as she faced the two remaining members of her team. These past few days have been a huge rush for them all, and now Blake just wanted to loosen up again.
"Y'know, I think I've had enough fighting for one year." Blake sighed.
In reply, Weiss nodded with a quiet hum. "Ditto. How 'bout we head down to the fair? Want coffee?" Weiss offered her faunus teammate.
"Tea," Blake replied with a smile as she followed Weiss down the hallway to leave the campus, with Ruby in tow.
As they left the hallway, Team JNPR was still in their dorm, with Pyrrha still anxious as ever while sitting on her bed, awaiting the big fight she would aààbe having in unforeseen time.
Pyrrha was disconsolate and withdrawn, not the same girl she was when she first joined. Many things ran through her mind as she sat, memories of the huge epiphany her teachers had given her in the day before, and the pressure weighed on her once one of her school's finalists and best friends was knocked out by disqualification.
Needless to say, she wa-
"YOU HEARD THE LADY!"
Pyrrha almost yelped out loud from shock once she was snapped out of her trance by Nora, who was inches from her face and flashing a crazed grin at her.
"NO MORE MOPING AROUND!"
Pyrrha watched as Nora zipped to the other side of the room. Blinking once, all of a sudden, Nora was fully dressed in gym wear, with pink sweatbands, small gym shorts, and a white shirt with her signature symbol printed on it.
Normally, she'd be stupefied out of her wits by Nora's antics, but spending near the length of a year with the bubbly little demolition expert had allowed her to get somewhat used to her outbursts.
Pointing a finger at the warrior girl, Nora flashed another electrifying grin at her teammate. "We've gotta get your butt in shape for the big fight!"
"It could be today! It could be tomorrow!" She chirped as she started performing jumping-jacks, push-ups, jogs and other exercises, rapidly changing her routine by the seconds.
"IT COULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGHT OF YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!" All of a sudden Nora was holding a 2000-pound barbell, easily heaving it above her head with her dainty hands as she yelled, but not before straining under the massive weight and collapsing to the floor in a heap.
Pyrrha was at a loss for words after the loud display in front of her, as anybody would, but not without a small smile on her face. Nora had never failed to bring a smile to her face, after all.
"Nora's right."
Pyrrha then turned to her left to see Ren standing calmly with his hands behind his back, wearing a pink apron over his green combat attire, with the words, "PLEASE DO NOTHING TO THE COOK" printed on the apron.
Pyrrha could only guess the story behind that odd design choice.
"You can't let your concern from Yang hold you back. You need to focus. We can't have Ezio defending the honor of Beacon Academy alone." Ren said to Pyrrha, who nodded softly in response.
"O-of course… I-"
"This blend of herbs and vegetables is filled with nutrients vital to your body's well-being."
Pyrrha blinked in confusion, noticing the glass Ren was holding in front of her face. Peering into the glass, she could see that it was filled with a strange green concoction, bubbling rather loudly.
"Oh, that's…-" Pyrrha managed to stammer out as she stared at the moldy sludge bubbling and churning in the glass, trying not to look green herself.
"Please, there's no need to thank me for looking out for my friend's physical health." Ren gleamed proudly, only for Nora to wince in disgust once she saw the drink in her partner's hand.
"Thank you? Ugh! That looks like slime from a lakebed!" Nora gagged with displeasure.
"And what's wrong with that? Algae contains numerous spectacular properties." Ren blankly replied, holding the glass closer.
"YOU'RE NOT DENYING IT?!" Nora practically yelled out loud at her partner, who didn't flinch from her outburst and instead held the drink to her face.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" Ren asked, tipping the glass against her lips, allowing her to gulp down a sip of the liquid.
"BLEGH!"
The second the mixture touched her tongue, Nora's face turned just as green as the drink as she immediately ran to the nearest trash can, hunching over the top and hurling the disgusting smoothie back out into the bin.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Nora yelled at her childhood friend as she raised her head from the bin.
"Me? You're the one who wasted perfectly good juice." Ren calmly replied, not fazed at all by his partner's extreme reaction.
"We're supposed to help Pyrrha, not poison her!" Nora yelled back.
"There was absolutely nothing wrong with this blend. I made sure of it."
"If it looks the same going up and it does going down then there's something wrong!"
Staring at Nora and Ren arguing back and forth, Pyrrha couldn't help but smile and giggle to herself as she watched the both of them. They were both trying to help her in their own way, and she was deeply touched by their efforts. Their hilarious banter helped even more, bringing her laughter as she watched the both of them argue.
A moment later, the door swung open to reveal none other than her team leader and partner in arms and in heart, Jaune Arc as he noticed Nora and Ren bickering with one another, rushing in to try to diffuse the situation.
"Hey, why don't we get some fresh air before tonight? Pyrrha?" Jaune suggested, directing a kindly smile towards his partner, who smiled back at him.
They had gone through much together, from initiation, through sparring nights up until that incredible night singing together at the school dance, and they couldn't be happier for what had come out of it.
Pyrrha was happy whenever Jaune was with her, and that was why for the first time since she left the vault below the school, her smile was pure and genuine.
Team RWBY's Room
Yang stood silently on her bunk, not paying mind to the whistle of wind breezing through her dorm window, or the faint rustle of autumn leaves outside as she sat alone, thinking to herself.
Looking out the door, she could spot Team JNPR walking outside, likely on their way to the fair. She smiled, but only for a brief second. There was too much on her mind right now.
What happened? How could this happen? Why her? Why did she do it?
She had ensured Blake that she saw him attack her, and she believed that it happened, but soon she was beginning to doubt her own judgment. She was sure Mercury hadn't done anything to deserve it, and even if he did, she wouldn't do that in front of thousands of people.
Her teachers had doubted her, her reputation in shambles, and now she couldn't prove herself anymore. She was out. Disqualified. Eliminated from the competition. She had lost her chance, and she couldn't feel worse.
"Yang."
Startled by the sudden noise calling her name, Yang turned her head to what she assumed to be the empty room, but there he stood without his mask, showing his shoulder length white hair.
"Hey, Tomas." Yang replied, although without the enthusiasm she normally offered.
Smoke sighed and walked over opposite the blonde, sitting himself down on Weiss's bunk so that he could meet Yang's gaze.
Yang watched the young man in front of her and aimed a careful glance at his eyes, which were quivering and uneasy, dropping a subtle hint that he was no more comfortable about this situation than she was.
"So… nice weather we have, huh?" Yang offhandedly asked, trying to alleviate the depressing atmosphere between them.
"Yeah…how are you doing?" Smoke asked in concern
"Hard to say…my team got disqualified." Yang said
"It wasn't your fault." Smoke said
"I don't know if that's true anymore." Yang said weakly. "I mean, everyone saw me attack him."
"One thing I've come to learn in life is that what's in front of you, isn't always the answer." Smoke said sagely
"What do you mean?" Yang asked
"There's the possibility that Mercury has an illusion semblance." Smoke said
"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Yang said
"Is it working?" Smoke asked
"Yes." Yang said smiling before hugging the assassin. "You believe me right?"
"Always." Smoke said as they stayed there enjoying each other's embrace
Team TSKK Room
Besides smoke, all members of Team TSKK are currently present in the room, including Johnny and Liu Kang.
"Found anything yet?" Johnny asked as Sonya typed into her laptop
"Nothing. I've hacked every single security camera in the stadium but none of them show any sign of external altering." Sonya said
Currently the entirety of Team TSKK having been trying to figure out a way of proving Yang's innocence.
"Remind how you're able to hack every single Security cam without being caught?" Liu Kang asked
"It's my semblance. I can basically override any electronic device." Sonya said as she searched for something else
"Impressive." Liu Kang said
"I just found something." Sonya said catching the attention of everyone in the room.
"What did you find?" Kitana asked next
"Well you know how Mercury is from Haven? Since I couldn't get anything from the security cams, I hacked into Haven's school records and guess what?" Sonya said
"He's an alien?" Johnny joked
"He doesn't have any record? Or to put it bluntly, his school records are fake." Sonya said causing her teammates eyes to widen
"How is that possible?" Liu Kang asked
"I don't know, but that's not the only thing." Sonya said
"There's more?" Kung Lao asked
"Apparently, even his entire team don't have any record." Sonya said
"Then how did they enter the tournament?" Johnny asked
"I don't know. There's more but I think this is my limit." Sonya said feeling slightly exhausted
"Thank you Sonya, you've done enough." Liu Kang said
"So what now?" Kitana asked
"We keep this information to ourselves, then after today's match, we inform Headmaster Ozpin of our findings." Liu Kang said causing he friends to nod
"Where's Raspberry and Blue Berry Ice anyway?" Johnny asked annoyed that Scorpion and Sub Zero weren't present
"We'll inform them when we see them." Liu Kang said as they all left the room