8
Blake took another wheezing breath as she stood on shaking legs, her glare leveled at the red haired thief currently being secured by Carmine and the two huntsmen with her. Her aura was shattered and she was lucky her ribs weren't as well, though they were most likely bruised from the pain she was getting. Sun looked in just as bad a condition and she felt a pang of guilt for it. He'd just wanted to help her.
She'd remembered how he'd stowed away and asked if he knew of any ship setting for somewhere else. It had been awkward to explain why she'd needed to leave. Blake couldn't stay in Vale anymore, not now that Weiss knew about her past. By now the entire school probably knew about it, she'd seen the look on her teammate's face when the news had settled. The fear.
It wasn't supposed to be like that. The White Fang was supposed to stand up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. Defend the oppressed. Blake had thought Weiss didn't have the full picture, that she'd been biased and arrogant but the truth hurt more. Blake herself had been the biased one. She'd believed that the heiress couldn't possibly have suffered for anything given her wealth but hadn't realized she'd been targeted because of her birth. The two of them had more in common than she'd ever realized, they both were persecuted for things beyond their control, just for being born.
The fear in Weiss' eyes when she'd reached out for the girl. She'd caused that. The White Fang she'd created with Adam and Sienna, the White Fang she'd supported, had caused that.
Blake felt sick.
She'd run away from that fact. Abandoned the idea that it was her fault and her responsibility. No more. She wouldn't run from it any more. The White Fang was in Vale. They were operating openly.
They had plans.
What those were, Blake didn't know. She wasn't privy to everything Adam and Sienna had planned before she left, but she did know that whatever it was, it involved working with Torchwick. Something was wrong, Adam would never condone working with a human, especially not one as clearly racist as Roman.
Blake's mind began racing and it was perhaps because of this that she didn't notice the person approaching her until it was too late. She flinched as a pair of hands clasped on her shoulders and her amber eyes went wide, meeting the sole silver one of Carmine's. She took a large breath as the older woman looked her up and down, frozen, until the eye settled on hers once again.
"Are you okay Blake? How bad are you injured?"
"I'm fine." Was the automatic response out of her mouth but she realized how wrong it was when she felt the grip on her shoulders tighten, "I mean I think I've got some bruised ribs but my aura will take care of it!" She rushed out.
"You're going to Beacon's infirmary." Carmine stared her dead in the eyes.
"But-"
"You're going to the infirmary when we get back to Beacon." There was no room for argument in her eyes and even if she wanted to she was too injured to attempt to escape from the huntress. Instead she just crossed her arms and looked away, but still ended up nodding.
"And now that that's out of the way." Carmine's saccharine voice startled her enough to look at the woman and went pale. The wide smile plastered on the woman's face held no warmth but rather held dark promises. It was an expression she'd seen her mother pull and in the back of her head she was surprised her leader could pull it off.
The smile faded and a glare took it's place, "Do you have any idea how ABSOLUTELY STUPID that was?!" Blake's eyes widened at the sudden shout and found a finger poking into her chest, "You almost got yourself killed. You almost got Sun killed. What were you thinking doing this practically on your own?"
"I needed to stop the White Fang!"
"No! You don't! You feel like you're responsible for this but you aren't. You may have condoned this once but not anymore. I get that you want to stop them but leave that to the authorities."
"You don't know them like I do!" It was the wrong thing to say and Carmine let her know it. Her expression went from irritated and scolding to downright furious. It made Blake want to shrink bake, it was an expression she didn't think she'd ever see and the woman's face.
"You don't know them like I do Blake. Whatever you've seen them do, I can guarantee I've seen worse. I watched them loose live Grimm into a coliseum of innocents," Blake gasped," cut down hundreds, and even assassinate my partner. So I do have an idea who they are and what they're up to."
"Carmine... " Blake wilted, "Ruby… I.."
She never got to finish that sentence as she was interrupted by some high pitched noise that sounded oddly like her name, when she looked at Carmine all she got was a simmering glare and a mouthed 'later' from her teacher.
"Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- hrrk!" A flash of red and the source of the noise was made clear in the form of her young leader caught by the hood of her cloak by her elder self and gasping for air after being choked with her own hood.
"If you tackled her at that speed you might just hurt her more." Carmine said, exasperated.
Ruby sucked in a huge gasp, "You're hurt? Where?!" she shrieked while flitting about trying to spot her injuries. Most weren't hard to spot, various cuts and bruises as well as the fact that Blake was favoring her left side, "Blake! Don't die! You can't die, I only just found you!"
"Hey, relax sis. I'm sure it's not life threatening." Despite the easy way she said it Yang didn't look very amused. It looked like she wanted nothing more than to give her a piece of her mind but was holding off on the injured girl. That was when Blake spotted the other person in tow, with her fingers fidgeting and she refused to look in the faunus' direction, "Hey Blake." Yang got her attention, "You mind telling us what's going on?"
"I…" Her amber eyes flicked towards Carmine who looked like she'd calmed down but was still holding a steely gaze for her, no help would be coming right away from her. A quick glance showed that Weiss was paying rapt attention from the corner of her eyes while still attempting to act indignant, "I had to find out for myself if the White Fang were behind it… I can't explain clearly why…"
"Did you have something to prove?" The voice came from the heiress in the back, her fierce blue eyes looking at her straight on, "Did you feel that you had to prove something to me?"
"I always thought the White Fang was on the side of justice. That even though we were on the wrong side of the law that what we did helped faunuskind. I had my doubts. At first it was self defense or fighting to protect those being abused by humans but the others they kept going further. It was slow, insidious, until one day my eyes opened. My partner wanted to blow up a train and kill the crew. For no reason other than that they were human. I couldn't stand it. I had to leave. I had to find some other way to fight for equality."
"The White Fang doesn't look kindly on traitors." Carmine spoke up, "Even here at the docks they were about to execute her."
Everyone looked shocked, even Weiss who looked concerned for a moment before she schooled her expression into a more neutral one, the heiress turned to Carmine, "You vouch for Blake? She's cut all ties with the White Fang?"
"Yup. Almost literally." Carmine's answer seems enough for Weiss who nodded along, lost in thought. Though Yang was already grinning Blake was holding her breath. The fear in Weiss' eyes was still vivid in her memory and it surprised her how much she found she cared for the girl. She hadn't expected to become friends with a Schnee but a friend she was. Others called the girl cold but that was just a front. The real Weiss was a fiercely passionate girl and could even be quite impish once she let her hair down. It hurt all the more knowing she had betrayed that trust, and how she had hurt the girl in turn. She wanted desperately to impart that she had changed and left that life behind.
"Blake," The heiress finally spoke and everyone was still, including Ruby who, for once, could read the mood, "I want to trust you. I don't want the time spent on this team to be a lie, however it is hard to trust you. You lied to us and ran away." She held up a hand, stopping Blake before she could speak, " And I understand why you would want to keep your past a secret, especially from me. But that ends now. I'm going to give you another chance so next time, come to us before you do something so dangerous. We are a team for a reason."
The relief crashed into her. She'd been so sure this was the end of her time at Beacon. That she would have to leave these newfound friends to live on the run. She wasn't even sure where she could go. Back to her home, probably. Though the White Fang had a large presence in Menagerie her father also had great influence. The Fang could hardly touch her there. Though that would have also meant facing her parents that she abandoned.
Still she wasn't going anywhere, she didn't have to run anymore. Just as her legs threatened to give out from the relief a gust of wind washes over her, whipping everyone's hair about as a bullhead came to land. The outside stimulus finally made her look around outside their little group and she saw Torchwick being handed off to the police by the two huntsmen that had dropped with their teacher. Once stowed and the officers were busy detaining the rest of the White Fang that were left, the two huntsmen made their way over accompanied by what looked like the lead officer who looked none too pleased.
"Which one of these kids caused all this damage?" The man with massive sideburns asked with a scowl to match though they could all see the way his eyes fell on Blake. The vision was blocked as Carmine stepped between the two.
"Hi! I'm Professor Carmine Rose of Beacon." she said with her best fake enthusiasm, "My student and the other one, a transfer from Haven for the Vytal Festival, witnessed suspicious activity and went to investigate. There she witnessed the White Fang and moved to intervene while calling for backup from Beacon." She motioned to herself and the other huntsmen, "When we got here it was the White Fang firing indiscriminately into the containers of dust. I'm afraid the students involved are in need of medical attention so you will have to make due until Beacon forwards their statements. Yang help Blake into the bullhead. Qrow if you could help Sun?"
The black and gray haired huntsmen grumbled but did as asked and found Sun, pulling him up and assisting him into the humming bullhead.
"Miss-"
"Professor Rose, Officer…?"
"Oakry, Professor Rose, " They could all tell his was incredibly angry with having to address a younger woman with a title like that, "Those faunus are important witnesses-"
"And you shall have your statement as soon as I make sure that my students are okay. Get on the bullhead." The last bit is addressed to the rest of the team and they hurriedly boarded as Carmine stared down the officer.
"You're interfering with an investigation." The man looked ready to try and cuff her, and probably hadn't for the fact that she was a huntress and he likely stood no chance if she resisted.
"Don't worry Officer Oakry. Beacon will be happy to cooperate after medical attention has been administered to it's students. You know where to find us if you need anything else." With a last fake smile she boarded the bullhead and waved to the pilot who gave her a thumbs up and they took off, the doors closing as they ascended into the air.
The wind cut off as the aircraft sealed shut, the sense of the craft turning and accelerating it's way towards Beacon.
"Uncle Qrow! Dad!" Ruby's piercing cry had Blake wincing but she did take a moment to observe the two huntsmen that had been with Carmine. Dark black hair freckled with grey and maybe a little too much chest showing with a cape and large sword stowed next to him. The other had Ruby happily hanging off of him and a huge grin on his face. It was clear he was Ruby's dad, not to mention they'd seen Qrow when he participated in that match for Goodwitch's class. The man's blond hair was a dead giveaway as to where that particular trait came from for Yang.
"So Dad, what are you both doing here?" Yang asked casually but Blake could see how she was sitting out of reach of her father.
"Special mission for Ozpin. We're helping Carmine with some stuff."
"Special mission?" Ruby perked up like a dog, "Can we help?! Oh oh please, I wanna help!"
"Sorry kiddo." The blond father laughed and rubbed her head, "You're supposed to be studying, not getting involved in hunter business."
"At least the team's back together." Their leader said after a short pout, a wide grin spreading across her face and Blake couldn't help but agree. Despite the troubling implications of Torchwick and the White Fang working together those problems could be handled later. She should be grateful to have her team back and the chance at rebuilding her friendship with Weiss.
"I don't know where you're getting that satisfied look from." Carmine spoke up, a mischievous smirk plastered on her face that set Blake on edge. She still was wary of how angry the woman had been earlier and it seemed the one eyed professor hadn't forgotten either, mischief turning vicious, "After all you have to answer to Glynda and Oz."
Blake's face went white as the blood drained from her face as the realization dawned on her.
-SY-
Carmine watched with some small measure of satisfaction as Blake meekly left the Headmaster's office and she, with her father and uncle in tow, entered to see Ozpin. Glynda was as present as usual like a permanent fixture in his office. The Headmaster leaned forward on his hands, anxious to hear their report of their encounter with Jormungandr.
Business first it seemed. And Carmine launched into an elaboration of what she was told and the events on the shore of Lake Matsu. When she was done Ozpin leaned back in his chair with a sigh of relief. No doubt he'd been worried he'd sent good people to their deaths once again. Just because he could and would make such a decision didn't mean he did it lightly. Ozpin, at his core, was a good man in an impossible position trying to do the best he could and the responsibility weighed heavily on him.
"You have the locations?" He finally asked.
"Yup." Carmine took out her scroll and fiddled with it for a moment before placing it on Ozpin's desk. It connected to the holographic projector and a globe popped up with two points of light, both on the same continent, "Cusith and Bast. Both of them reside on Menagerie, apparently. Looks like Cusith is out in the desert, but Bast is closer to Kuokuana. Jorm says she made a home out in the jungles between the settlement and the desert. Got any info on these two, Oz?"
"I'm afraid I cannot offer much in the way of concrete information. Even in my time the Primordials were already legends. But they did say that Bast was rather benevolent if not elusive. The legends say she is a shadow of death and if you see her then your time has come. There's absolutely nothing on Cusith however. This is the first time I'm hearing the name."
"Well since Jorm recommended it we might as well get in contact with Bast first. He did say she would be able to point us to more of the Primordials." Carmine walked thoughtfully around the globe.
"Therein lies the problem. Menagerie lies outside the four kingdoms and we have no authority there. We cannot just send a team of huntsmen to their land to conduct a secretive mission. The Valean Council would have my head for it."
"So what you're saying is we need approval from the Menagerie head of state?" Carmine grinned wolfishly.
"You have an idea?" Ozpin caught on.
"Totally. I mean we happen to have a student with direct ties to the Chieftain of Menagerie."
"Wait. Which student?" Qrow asked.
"Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna."
"Miss Broody is a princess?!"
"I know right? Doesn't act like it. I take it you knew?" The last bit Carmine threw towards Ozpin who nodded slowly.
"When Miss Belladonna applied to Beacon I looked up the name. Her resemblance to her mother is uncanny to say the least. The point Miss Rose raises is a valid one and an idea that occurred to myself. After all, the student's first missions are coming up and I do believe Chief Belladonna would like to see his daughter. I doubt they've been in contact for quite some time." Ozpin stood with hi back to them, staring out of the Vale nightscape.
"The kids are gonna be excited about their first mission. Or at least most of them will. I doubt Blake will be very enthusiastic about a sudden return home." The one eyed professor's eye practically danced.
"Then she will have to bear it. In the meantime I will see about contacting Chieftain Belladonna. I can frame it as strengthening ties between Vale and Menagerie. Atlas won't be happy about it but James will see reason." Ozpin concluded.
Carmine thought Blake deserved the homecoming for all the worry the faunus had put her through. That and the poor girl deserved some time with her parents, she'd heard from her own timeline's Blake that although she was afraid at first her family had welcomed her back with open arms. She needed this whether she knew it or not.
And hey, if she got to watch the girl squirm then all the better.
A/N: Oof You guys are probably getting tired of apologies so I won't instead here's a new chapter and the news that I'm getting back into my writing after this most recent bout of depression.