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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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Volume One, Episode Fourteen: “The Wrong Kind of Tournament”

Series: SCWR Rating: R (Some Foul Language, Violence against Fantasy Monsters, Excessive Violence, Drugged, Death Mentioned, Subtle Themes of Racism, Prominent Themes of PTSD) Summary: (5,679 words) “In part one of the thrilling finale, Haddy faces his deadliest challenge yet. When he and some other students are kidnapped and held against their will to fight in cruel battles against creatures of grimm, Hadrian must find a way to escape and keep everyone safe at the same time...”

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"Mr. Snow... Mr. Snow, please, wake up..."

The soft voice slowly lolled him back into consciousness. For a moment, he was too weak to open his eyes. His head felt light and loopy like he was spinning through the air and the only thing tying him to Remnant was the musty, muddy smell pounding through his nose. With some effort, he managed to force his blurry eyes open and look up at the ceiling. Or what he thought would be the ceiling. Instead, he was met with the fuzzy visage of a blue figure staring down at him.

Once he blinked the drugged sleep out of his eyes, he found himself laying on a cement floor with his head resting in the lap of a blue-haired faunus girl. She had tears running down her cheeks in waves, absolutely ruining her makeup. She had scratches and bruises on her face and arms from a fight. Her dress was torn in places and dirty in others, and he was willing to bet that was what he looked like too.

She was familiar though... he'd seen her at the dance.

"Blue...?" he weakly asked through parched lips once he found his voice.

If she wasn't already sobbing, though he thought she might have burst into tears when he finally spoke. She frantically nodded, unable to find words as she smoothed his hair back with one hand and wiped her face with the other. After a moment, Haddy managed to push himself up into a sitting position and get a good look around.

It was dark, there wasn't a lot of light, only the dim luminescence from a few scrolls. The walls of the cramped room were lined with steel reinforcement and no windows. The walls were bare with the exception of an iron door sealed on one side. He and Blue weren't alone, there was another girl sitting in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was wearing a green dress with a golden necklace draped across her chest. She didn't look much older than the faunus girl.

"Where... are we?" Haddy asked, scooting a little so that his back was resting against one of the walls.

"I dunno," Blue said quietly, following him and bringing her own knees up to hug, "I was just walking back to my dorm from the dance with my brother and then everything goes black..."

The husky closed his eyes and tried to remember what had happened. He was at the dance, and then Ozpin revealed the memorials and he bolted. He ran. He was sitting on the edge of the school, crying, when Monroe, Robyn, and Ryder showed up and told him... told him that they knew... and that they didn't blame him.

He fumbled around with his pants pocket, pulling out his scroll and opening it. His lock screen was blown up with messages and missed calls.

CADE: Whoever shot you got away, we're coming, hold on

-Missed Call from RBYN-

RBYN: Are you okay?? Haddy, please respond!

RYDR: Your map is offline, we can't find you. Please, we need you to respond

Haddy watched as about five minutes passed before the messages resumed.

QROW: Haddy! Robyn just burst in here and told us what happened! Are you okay? Where are you?

-Missed Call from RBYN-

CADE: We're coming, I swear, please hold on

TAIY: Dude, Summer is talking to Ozpin rn. Gene and a couple other students are missing too. Are they with you?

There was another pause.

QROW: Come on, man, say something please

-Missed Call from RBYN-

-Missed Call from QROW-

-Missed Call from CADE-

Then, about half an hour later, Summer texted him.

SUMR: We're on our way. We got a tip from someone about some students being seen downtown before they were abducted.

There was a long pause after that. Then, finally...

CADE: I'm sorry

CADE: I'm so sorry, Haddy

He looked to see if he had any reception, not surprised to see zero bars. Reluctantly, he closed the scroll and returned it to his pocket. Haddy turned to see Blue burying her face into her arms, still quietly crying. He sighed before scooting closer to her and putting his arm over her shoulders and pulling her in closer.

"Hey, we're gonna get out of this," he smiled down to her, "Our teams and the Beacon Professors are already looking for us."

"It doesn't matter..." the other girl said from across the room, pausing before she looked up, a haunted look on her face, "They're gonna kill us before anyone can save us..."

Before Haddy could ask her why she was so certain, the sound of a locking mechanism shook the quiet of the room. Instinctively, the three Huntsmen-in-training jumped up and backed towards the edge of their cell. Hadrian stepped in front of the girls, guarding them with his body as he heard Blue whimpering behind him. He braced himself for a fight as the door slowly creaked open, scraping along the floor as it swung open.

The smell of blood hit him like a freight train.

He wasn't expecting the body of another student to be thrown in with them, battered and bleeding. The blond boy's once glittering, golden suit was caked in grime and blood, now half-dyed a muddy shade of crimson. He stumbled into the cell, bleeding from a large gash somewhere in his hair, falling forward. Hadrian just barely managed to jump forward and catch him before he face-planted into the cement. The boy was hardly breathing, his chest rising in jagged motions. Haddy quickly flipped him around to examine his wounds.

His dress shirt and suit jacket were torn and tattered, revealing a nasty, slashing gash from his shoulder down his torso. His arm, which had been ripped from his ribboned sleeve was bruised to Hell, most likely broken in multiple places or crushed. When Hadrian moved his bangs from his eyes to get a better look at his head wound, he gasped.

One amber eye was swollen shut and his nose was broken and bleeding, but staring back at him was Gene Aurum. His glittering golden eye shadow was smudged along with his dark eyeliner. His lipstick was more red than yellow, now glistening with blood instead of gloss. He looked up at Hadrian with the same recognition, reaching up weakly and gripping on to his shirt sleeve.

"H-ddy..." the broken Beacon student croaked as the door slammed shut.

"Gene!" Haddy cried, shaking away his shock to quickly tear away his classmate's jacket, "Oh my Gods!"

The husky wrapped the ruined jacket into a ball and pressed down on the gash that was still weeping blood from Gene's torso. The blond nearly screamed but kept himself from crying out by clenching his fist and pounding it into the floor. Team GOLD's leader took in a sharp, shallow breath, still laboring his breathing. Hadrian pulled at the sleeves of Gene's shirt, checking his wrists and finding them absent of his signature golden bracers.

Haddy turned to the girls and hastily asked, "Gold? Are you wearing anything gold?"

"What? Why?" The other girl asked, still shaken from Gene's entrance.

"His semblance is Golden Touch, he can regenerate his aura when he's in contact with anything gold," the husky quickly explained, "More aura means he can heal faster!"

Blue instantly pulled a ring from her finger, handing it over as she stammered, "I-I think this is real, I-I'm not sure!"

He took it, placing it into Gene's palm. Almost instantly, his golden yellow aura sparked back to life weakly. The girl with the green dress hesitated, but then shook her head and unlatched her necklace, nearly throwing it to the husky as she reached up to take off her earrings as well. With the additional jewelry, the blond's aura steadily grew.

After a moment, he weakly lifted his head and asked, "Had-dy... Lamb'rt... Ru... Doron... where...?"

His teammates. Hadrian nodded down to him, "I dunno, Gene. I dunno. I haven't seen them."

Monroe and the R's hadn't been taken, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to send those texts, which meant that maybe... "I-I don't think they're here... I think they're safe."

He watched as Gene let out a shaky sigh of relief, visibly releasing tension that he probably wasn't sure he was holding. The girl knelt down and took over applying pressure on his wounds as Haddy tore his own sleeve off to start wrapping around the golden leader's head. It wasn't much, but it was all they had at the moment.

"What..." Blue hesitantly asked, "... happened to you?"

He took in a ragged breath, laying his head back down as he struggled to reply, "It w's... some kinda... f'ghting ring... 'gainst grimm... but my aura... my aura wa'n't work-ng..."

Hadrian's blood ran cold. He must have gasped or shuddered or fallen back a pace because Blue looked up at him with her big, sad eyes and asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong??"

"Gene..." the husky asked, steeling himself, "Did you hear the name 'Diana Gae'?"

The blond weakly nodded, "She's... th' anno'nc-r..."

He knew he fell back this time. Hadrian ran his hands through his hair, nearly pacing as he stood up and tried to recall every single thing they had learned about the matriarchal murderer. Semblance; pheromones. Contacts everywhere. Fights don't take place in the city...

"Y-u... know 'er..." Gene said, looking up at him with a sharp determination in his eye.

Haddy knelt back down and nodded, "She's the one who killed Peri..."

The blond leader took a deep breath as he closed his good eye, quietly breathing out, "D-mn't..."

"Peri??" the girl asked, half-crazed, "The guy from the memorial? Oh my Gods, I was right; we're gonna die here!"

Blue whimpered, pulling her knees back up again as she wrapped them in her arms. Hadrian quickly interjected, "No one is dying tonight! We just have to stick together and remain calm!"

Just as he finished, the slow unlocking of the door tore through the flimsy shield of faith that the students had. The green-dressed girl was nearly hysterical by this point, pushing harder and harder down on Gene's chest wound, causing him to gasp and wince with pain. The husky rose again, positioning himself between the girls and Gene and raising his arms to defend them if he needed.

When the metal door scraped along the stone floor it sent little chunks of cement scattering through the cell. Four armed and armored brutes entered the room in a wave. As they approached, Hadrian hunkered down, remembering all that Tai had taught him, as he sharply inhaled and threw a hook into the jaw of one of the men. The brute was sent sprawling back a few paces before another one of his friends slammed the butt end of her rifle down onto Haddy's shoulder.

The husky was flung down into the floor, his aura protecting him from the brunt of the blow. He quickly adjusted himself, kicking forward as he connected his foot with the knee of the woman who had hit him. She screamed as her leg crunched and bent back at an angle it wasn't supposed to bend. Haddy activated his semblance, sliding to the side just as the boot of brute he'd punched came crashing down towards him.

Before he could do any more damage, the other two armored goons jumped on top of him and wrestled him onto his stomach as they dug their knees into his back and pinned his arms there. After a moment of struggling, he was pulled to his feet. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't get free. But still, he fought against his grapple, shouting and kicking in futile attempts to escape.

He was almost gifted the strength he needed when the female brute grabbed onto Blue's bicep and pulled her up, despite the beagle's desperate cries. Hadrian snarled, "Leave her alone!"

The golden-haired spartan was pushing himself up onto his elbows weakly, determined that no one would have to go through what he just had despite his injuries. However, the remaining goon put an end to his feeble attempts with a swift kick to the ribs. Gene cried out, falling back as he coughed and sputtered.

Hadrian continued to fight back, now yelling and screaming. There wasn't anything he could do as both he and Blue were ripped away from their cell and pulled along through a dimly lit hall. He could only watch as the thick, metal door was slammed shut and locked behind them, sealing Gene and the female student away. He continued to struggle and fight as he was dragged along.

Soon after, he was thrown forward into a copper cage, stumbling forward and slamming into the opposite wall. Before he could turn and resume his fight, Blue was tossed into him. He caught her before she fell, but not before the cage's door was shut and locked. Just as suddenly as they'd appeared, the brutes were gone, leaving the two faunus trapped and alone.

Blue rubbed the red mark on her arm as she softly cried, "What are they gonna do to us?"

Haddy wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly as he reassured, "I don't know, but I promise that I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Okay?"

The husky quickly pulled his arm back, yanking his remaining sleeve up to reveal his beaded and leather bracelets. He swiftly unlatched the brown sling, unwinding it as he revealed its hidden weapon properties. Hadrian brought his wrist up to his mouth and tore the beaded string with his teeth. The plastic-coated dust capsules broke free as he caught them in his hand. He had two sets of fire, lightning, gravity, and ice pellets.

It paid to keep some of his Atlas trinkets a secret.

"Stand back," Haddy ordered, clicking his heels together to reveal his crampons.

The blue-haired, blue-eyed girl nodded as she sniffled and wiped her nose with her arm. She moved against the copper bars, shifting herself so that she was braced. Hadrian lifted his boot and gingerly pierced one of the black orbs with his spiked soles. Once it was secured, he brought his leg back and kicked forward. A blast of energy buckled the cage's door as the husky felt a wave of pain reverberate up from his ankle to his hip.

Just as he was lifting his boot up to go again, the ground shifted, nearly knocking him off balance. Blue caught his shoulders as the pair started to ascend with their cage. She whimpered, but she stood strong as she raised her fists for a fight. Haddy quickly stuck one of the colored orbs into his sling and pulled back his arm to fling the projectile if the need arose.

Blinding lights shone down as a trapdoor opened above them and the thumping bass of music tore through his ears. Haddy had to raise an arm to block the shining stadium lights as loud roars of cheering erupted around them. The floor beneath them sputtered and locked into place as the copper walls fell, sending a puff of dirt up as they slammed into the packed floor.

"Welcome," a feminine voice rang out over loudspeakers, "to the Ataxia Arena!"

"Blue..." he whispered, moving in front of her and taking a good look around, "Stay behind me..."

They were in a lowered arena of some kind. The uneven, bumpy floor was packed down with dirt and splattered with blood and viscous grimm goo. They were surrounded by smooth, stone walls that rose about fifteen feet up before a chain-link roof separated them from rows and rows of stands; completely full of raging "fans". The walls were lined with large doors that could be raised up to reveal whatever monsters were making the hurt growls from inside their dark cages.

As he scanned the stands, his eyes crossed a box raised above the sea of onlookers. There she was. Her hair was black with a magenta ombre weaving through her wavy curls. She was wearing tight, black leather pants with golden buttons and zippers. You could see the curves of her hips underneath her deep purple corset with the transparent, flowing sleeves that tied off at the wrists. Her boots rose up to her knees and wore six-inch heels.

And she was staring right at him.

"Hello again, folks," she seductively spoke, "If you were paying attention before then you'll know I'm your hostess, Diana Gae, and that we here at Ataxia have a special, Vytal Festival show here for you tonight!"

Angry cheers rang out before she continued, "Let's give a great big round of applause for the hypocritical, Atlesian figureheads of the famed 'Faunus Outreach Program'! Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between; Isabella Blue and Hadrian Snow!" Her voice was sweet like honey but had a deadly venom to it.

Screams of mixed affirmations and boos rang out through the arena as all the patrons roared with anticipation. Through the pungent smell of blood, Haddy could faintly sniff out traces of gunpowder and steel. He scanned the pit again. He couldn't see any weapons, but as his eyes ran across one of the lumpy mounds of dirt, he couldn't help but think it was vaguely shield-shaped.

He nudged Blue's arm, motioning with his eyes towards the mounds as Gae continued, "We wanted our Atlesian mutts to feel at home, so we have a special selection of grimm chosen for them tonight!"

He made a mental note that Diana Gae wasn't a fan of him, Blue, the Faunus Outreach Program, and/or Atlas. Maybe there was a rhyme or reason the students who'd been kidnapped were chosen. That could come in handy if he made it out of here.

When he made it out of here.

His thoughts were cut short as the grinding screech of metal-on-metal tore through his ears. Haddy whipped around, following the sound, as one of the large doors slowly rose. Icy claws scraped at the ground, trying to get traction before they were fully released. He'd recognize them anywhere; Sabyrs. At least three trying to scratch their way out.

Quickly, he pulled back his sling and prepared to fire, shouting, "Blue! Make a break for a weapon! They're--"

"--Hidden in the floor!" She called back, already making a break for one of the closest mounds, "I've got it!"

Cheering erupted once again as one of the feline grimm managed to claw its way out and began making a mad dash for Haddy. He threw his sling forward, pelting the iced beast with an explosion of fire. It was sent tumbling in the smoke, but it quickly recovered as it rose and shook itself off.

"Looks like Hadrian has a few tricks hidden up his sleeve!" Gae announced with a smirk, watching from above, "I can't help but wonder how he managed to sneak that past security, right folks?"

If there was laughter in the stands, he wasn't paying any attention. Haddy had already pulled his hidden sling and pushed another capsule inside. The Sabyr hissed as it resumed its charge, eager to tear into the husky. Swiftly, Hadrian began backpedaling, throwing another charge at the grimm. However, just as the black pellet was about to reach its target, the cat-like monster skidded to a halt and ducked its shoulder, dodging the impact. The dust capsule exploded on the wall behind it.

Before he could pull another capsule, the Sabyr had closed all the distance between them. It pounced and pinned him to the floor as its red eyes cried with hunger. Haddy felt the wind rush from his lungs as he was thrown onto his back. Gene was right; his aura wasn't protecting him. Just as the beast opened its maw to sink its dagger-like teeth into his flesh, there was the distinct sound of releasing pressure, and the grimm was flung from his chest.

Haddy quickly recovered, jumping to his feet as he watched the grimm begin to dissipate, leaving only the thick stem of a crossbow bolt stuck into its hide. He half-turned his head to see that Blue was supporting a comically-sized crossbow with ease, staring down the sights as she nodded to him.

He didn't have much time to nod back as Gae spoke, "Looks like Isabella found one of our toys! Too bad it's only got one shot... although, she could reuse her ammo, that means running straight toward our little kittens!"

Haddy hated to admit that Gae had a point. He quickly snatched the crossbow bolt as the remaining two Sabyrs clawed their way out of their prison. They circled for a moment, studying their prey before they lunged into a sprint. The husky quickly whipped around, tossing the bolt back to Blue as he pulled another pellet into his sling.

"Find a melee weapon," he called back, "We don't know how many of these things she's gonna throw at us!"

"Yes, sir!" The beagle shouted back, knocking the bolt again.

Together, Haddy and Blue fired their projectiles. On the right, the crossbow bolt tore through the eye of its Sabyr, downing the beast in one hit. The husky flung his sling ahead, striking the grimm on the shoulder. Frost and ice exploded, creating a misty fog as the capsule burst. The feline beast hardly even flinched. Damn it; he really should stick that last ice pellet in his pocket if the grimm Gae was going to throw at them were from Solitas.

He wasn't gonna give the grimm the same chance its brethren had. Haddy ran at the charging Sabyr, jumping just before it pounced. As he kicked, he activated his spikes, slamming his boot into the face of the big cat. It screamed and hissed the husky pushed off and forced the beast into the ground. Before it could recover, Haddy braced and jumped as high as he could, crashing down onto the Sabyr's skull.

As black, smelly goo splattered against his boots and pants legs, he heard Gae announce, "Ooh, that doesn't wash out. Looks like we're gonna have to up the ante if we're gonna see any blood!"

The creaking sound of another door being hefted open shook the arena. Hadrian took the chance to get a better look around. Blue had her arms full of weapons, her beautiful, tattered dress now covered in even more dust and dirt, and she was headed for him. She was good. There was no trace of the shy, skittish kid she'd been up until the fight. No aura meant limited or no semblance, so she wasn't relying on that, which meant she either didn't use it often or she was capable of switching up her style. Either way, she's pretty cool-headed under pressure.

Alright, he didn't have to worry about her as much as he thought he'd have to. He turned his head up. The walls were made of sheer concrete, so they definitely weren't gonna be able to climb out... not that they could get past the fence trapping them in. He might be able to pry open that rising trap door if they could get back to it, but he doubted it.

By this point, Blue had joined him, opening her arms to show a myriad of choices. He asked, "Which ones do you want?"

"I can use anything, sir," she replied sincerely.

He nodded, quickly glancing before snatching a painted shield and wooden hatchet. That left Blue with the crossbow, a training dagger, and a dulled greatsword. Gae really wasn't making this easy for them... That was when he realized he hadn't been paying attention to the next wave of grimm approaching.

Blue was already searching; but, as Haddy scanned the area, there was nothing. The heavy door was chained up, revealing a dark and empty cage. Not good. As the pair slowly circled with their backs together, he continued to look around.

The magenta murderess said she'd be using creatures of grimm from Solitas, which narrowed the pool of potential candidates down. He couldn't currently see them, which meant they were invisible or currently undetectable. He took a deep breath in through his nose. His senses were bombarded with what felt like ten thousand different smells. Popcorn, blood, metal, sweat, honey, pollen, make-up, crowds, death, and... something sharp. He focused, inhaling as his nose told him an acidic story.

Centinels.

On cue, the creepy crawlies burst from the ground. Both he and Blue barely managed to push off into the air as the ground exploded. The beagle girl shouted as she twirled around with the sword horizontal at her hip. She easily slashed the head off of the nearest Centinel, clearing a place for the pair to land as Haddy threw another capsule with his sling.

Lightning jumped from grimm to grimm, stunning them long enough for the husky to quip, "I hate these damn things..."

The faunus split, each jumping off in separate directions to try to thin out the hoard. Hadrian slid on his knees as he slashed into one of the scaled grimm, slicing it in two with a jagged cut. He managed to twirl up to his feet to avoid the corrosive blood that splattered to the ground, sizzling as it landed. As he twisted, he used the edge of his shield to partially decapitate another. The arthropod nearly ripped its own head off to turn and drench the husky in a generous bath of acid. The beagle girl landed, bringing the large sword through the remaining tendons.

Haddy danced around the Centinels, striking the back of their necks with the dulled blade of his hatchet, aiming to injure them while Blue followed his lead and finished the job. They worked well together despite having never fought side-by-side before. Atlesian training, he suspected. In his mind, he counted down the number of fallen grimm, trying to keep track of how many enemies were left.

The blue-eyed girl ducked under a wide swing of his shield as she sunk her dagger into the eye of one of the arthropods. As she pulled back, a few drops of the corrosive blood boiled on her skin. Haddy quickly pulled her around as he bashed the grimm back with the painted shield, finishing it off with a strike in the break of its segmented, scaled armor. He quickly turned his head back to Blue, only to find that she'd easily recovered and already stabbed the greatsword through the next grimm. He couldn't help but wince at the growing burn on her forearm.

"Ooh," Gae commented, "Not quick enough on the follow-through, ladies and gents."

He didn't let it distract him though, instead, he pulled his sling back as he easily slipped one of the icy blue pellets into its cradle. With no effort at all, he flipped clear over the beagle, flinging the projectile at the ground in front of her. It exploded with a frosty mist, which once cleared revealed that he'd frozen the remaining Centinels in place... or so he thought, at least.

As Hadrian approached the ground, upside down no less, he flung his shield like a discus straight through the segmented torso of one of the grimm where it slid around on the ice, bouncing off the trapped grimm and back to Blue's feet. He had planned to finish his aerial feat with a graceful landing atop the shield to use as a sled or ski along his icy path. What he didn't expect was the gentle rumble of burrowing as one of the Centinels burst from the wall, apparently just able to avoid being frozen.

He watched in slow motion as it opened its proboscis maw stretched open and a spray of green acid came flying at the pair. Blue had already started to fall to her knees, dropping her sword in favor of going for the shield to attempt to protect herself. Haddy wouldn't be so lucky, and he knew that she wouldn't either. No matter how fast the beagle was, she wasn't going to be able to prevent herself from being coated in the corrosive spit.

Instead, Hadrian used his falling momentum to twist around and push his back towards the Centinel. He pushed down a scream as the viscous venom splattered onto the back of his shirt and easily burned through into his skin. The acidic sputum tore through his muscle and forced an explosion of pain to tear through his nerves, but he didn't care. Haddy worked through the pain as the world sped up again.

He clicked his boots together, activating his crampons as he slammed into the dirty ground and couldn't hold back his pained scream this time. He didn't hesitate though, just pushed through as he used all his strength to push back up into the air, connecting his spiked boot to the underside of the Centinel and goring it through. He barely managed to keep his balance as he continued what had morphed into an attacking back handspring and staggered into a landing next to Blue.

Cheers erupted louder than ever as Haddy fell to one knee, straining not to howl with pain. Gae gleefully clapped as she exclaimed, "That's gotta hurt, folks! Looks like our perfect, little faunus-in-shining-armor isn't as indestructible as he'd have us believe!"

By the Brothers, he hated this woman.

Blue had already jumped to his side, putting a ginger hand on either of his intensely burning shoulders. He sucked in a sharp breath before ordering, "Blue, you need to take out the rest of the grimm while they're still frozen in place! I'm fine; go!"

She hesitated but complied, turning on her heel and charging the short distance between her and the remaining arthropods. She had enough sense to kick Mr. Snow's shield back towards him as she knelt down and sunk the flat greatsword deep into the abdomen of one of the beasts. The beagle easily bisected the creepy-crawly, jumping as she carried the blade through the air. Using that momentum, she swung the sword around at her waist and easily decapitated the remaining grimm before her feet even touched the melting ice.

By this point, Haddy had managed to use the wall and his returned shield to push himself up along the wall. His blue-haired partner quickly came to his side, pulling one of his arms across her shoulders to support him as the crowd began to boo and throw drinks and refreshments into the pit.

"Isn't that adorable..."

Hadrian's head rose back up to where Gae's announcing box was stationed high above everyone else. She was staring down at them with an amused smirk, one arm perched on her hip as she leaned to one side. She chuckled, "Let's see how that 'pack mentality' holds up against another one..."

The creaking of more chains quickly drew his attention back down into the arena. Another one of the metallic doors was being hoisted open. He wanted nothing more than to just collapse there and leave whatever was coming at them this time to Blue, but he refused to give in to the throbbing pain pulsing through his back. With a shaky inhale, he pulled himself off the girl's shoulders and brought the shield up defensively. For just a moment she looked as if she were going to object, however, she just nodded and returned her attention to the grimm.

Quickly, Haddy stuck the hatchet into the back of his belt, securing it by the wooden head as he loaded his sling with one of his two remaining shots. He pulled back his arm, readying to fire as soon as the door was high enough for one of them to slip in and take the grimm by surprise. He just needed one more moment... as his arm started to fling itself forward...

A shrieking, bloodcurdling howl pierced his ears as flashes of heartbreaking pain tore through him.

The orb of lightning slipped from the sling just a tad late as Haddy nearly stumbled backward. It exploded harmlessly against the rising door. He couldn't help but shake as a large paw stepped into the blinding light of the arena, followed in suit by many more. The iced Alpha had to lean down to not hit its head on the metallic door as it sulked into the pit, scanning until it found its prey.

When its bloody red eyes met Haddy's, he couldn't help but fall back a pace, nearly dropping the shield as his weeping back painfully scraped along the concrete walls trapping them here. He could feel himself hyperventilating as his entire body shook uncontrollably. He knew Gae was taunting him and that Blue was trying to talk to him, her back turned to the enemy as she gripped onto his shoulders and shook him, but all he heard were screams.

"Y'all have'ta get outta he-AGRHHHHHHHHH--"

"OLLIE! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, BASTARDS! I SWEAR, I'LL MAKE YOU PA--AHHHHHH!!"

"NOOOOOOOO!!"

Leo didn't even have time to scream out in pain...

That had been his first coherent thought after waking up in that infirmary.

He was jolted back to the present when Blue grabbed the shield from his grasp and twisted around to charge at the murderous grimm. They were still grouped together, circling one another as they howled and waited for the students to make a move. He wanted to scream for her to fall back, to yell and plead up at Gae to release them, because he knew that he and his team hadn't been able to beat a pack like this at their full power with their auras, semblances, weapons, and training... so, what chance did they stand now?

Blue parried away a sweeping set of claws that attempted to gore her as she drove her sword through the chest of another Beowolf. She easily twisted out of the way as another tried to tear into her flesh, pulling her blade from its brethren and swinging it into the lanky arm of her attacker, literally disarming it. However, she couldn't avoid it as the Alpha swung down at her, creating a set of bloody gashes down her torso from her shoulder.

She screamed in pain as she was no longer able to hold the heavy weapon, dropping it into a puddle of her own blood. He could only watch as she tried to grab her wound, apply some feeble pressure to alleviate the gushing tears in her flesh... and as the Alpha's gaping maw dripped with saliva, raising its blood-soaked claw up again to strike her.

"BELLL-AAAAHHH!!"

To be continued...

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lieu-rey · 4 years

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"I know you're in this room, I'm sure I heard you sigh."

#yall wonder what oscar did #all the time the team was gone?#dude was lonely as fuck #bet he tried to talk to ozpin #i actually wrote something based off this #might post it idk #rwby #rwby fanart #oscar pine #rwby oscar #rwby oscar pine #rwby v7 #fanart #oscar pine fanart #my art #lieurey

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rachetmath · 2 years

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Jaune’s Thoughts

Okay guess we got to save Oscar. All I need to do is grab him and we can run. Arc time baby.

Okay but how does that stop us though? There is three of us and one of it. I think we can take it. Hell, I can get close and blow that thing to a distance with my shield. Which is by far my most affective upgrade than my last one. You and Ren both have guns, SHOOT THE DAMN THING! Better yet Yang you have bombs for Oum sake. Why are you lying around? Your aura isn't even broken. What the hell? Why are we doing this? Matter of fact after all this why is Ozpin not doing anything? He could be mad at us but both him and Oscar are in danger. What's he doing?

Once again, another one of my ideas falls short. I should be used to it by now but damn. Also, fourth wall breaking, why didn't it do this while we were in the city. It would have been a better excuse than us standing around waiting for it to transform.

What a minute you knew? You knew and you didn't bother to help me?! And you chose to mention this now while we're in storm far from the city! While Oscar could possibly be in danger because we allowed it! What the hell Ren?! When me and Pyrrha went with Oz then why didn't you come with us despite my orders?! Not only that you let me fight a maiden on my own! You agreed to the steal an Atlas airship! I mean- *sigh* you know what never mind. But-

Basically, Ren old buddy go screw yourself. Also check your list of actions so far because they really aren't in sync with your words.

Wait a minute? You were talking about Ruby, right? You know your sister. Your family. The one person you have been arguing with since we got here. Please tell that's who you were talking about because if not then... .... .... Oh my god. Yang, I understand, really I do but keep your pants on. Get some help.

WOMAN, I am trying to make your job easier! I don't think Penny should be your main concern right now! Look below you! Why are making this so difficult than it needs to be?! The fact that I even bothered to mention anything to you means it affect both sides. I'm actually trying to help you!

Oh look who's talking. Seriously, how's what you're saying helping your case here Yang? Because you have been following not just Ozpin's orders but Ruby's and Ironwoods’ as well. Hell, who's idea was it to tell Robyn everything in the first place? Because from how you told us it certainly wasn't your idea.

Okay, this will buy us time. Hold on Oscar. We're coming. Hopefully this doesn't become a waste time and our efforts considering we abandon millions of lives in Mantle. (Too bad for Jaune it was.)

Oh f*** you, you blonde... Ugh, the whole point of the plan is to get in, find Oscar and get out. We have time. We just need to look around. Hell at least I came up with a plan. I don’t see you or Ren planning s***. True most of them were failures but still. What have you done? You haven't done anything but complain all day. So, I'm sorry if this plan is too much for you Yang, but let's not forget that once this is over with, we still have help Winter and the Ace-ops. And by we, I mean me and Ren. You could've have stayed with your team. You ungrateful, one armed, simping hypocrite. Nope, you know what, bitch suits you more.

Wow, so Summer is important to you right now. But Raven, the one who attacked us back at Heaven Academy and who you were searching for almost many years of your life means nothing. Bitch what are your priorities damn it? Who do you even value?

Ren, I know you and Oscar trying to be the wise ones here but let me explain. This woman not only betrayed our trust. She used her semblance on Pyrrha to destroy Penny which could have left Pyrrha traumatized. She tried to kill us back at Heaven. Hell, my bet she's the reason what happened to Amity Arena. What possible reason do we have to trust her? Ren you are a horrible teammate and Oscar, you don't know shit. Like have you ever lost anything before in your life. The only reason Emerald helped us was because she was already helping you. And that almost got her killed. So, no, both of you shut up!

Oh boy. Hopefully this plan doesn't go horribly wrong.

Okay. I know I shouldn't question this at all considering the amount bull crap we been doing but still. Why did we fly here? Why we were we not shot down? Doesn't Atlas have a sky radar to see upcoming ships to avoid being ambushed or shot? And considering Penny is a robot and can fly shouldn't she be detected. How advanced is Atlas because so far, I'm disappointed? Also why is my team needed to fight James? We barely survived against Neo what chance do we stand against James, a headmaster? Also, if Emerald can transform Oscar to look like Hazel and sound like him no less, then why not transform us into soldiers and sneak Penny to the vault? If she needed help, I could have amplified her while keeping Penny stabled, and James wouldn't even notice. Why are we- you know what, bring it on. At least we can knock him out and stop Nora if she tries to kill him. It'll be tough. But we can do it.

Like I said. The most affective upgrade I have every received.

This why we lost to Neo. We really need to work on team attacks.

Oh my god. We won? We beat him?! How the hell are any of these people running a school?! Let only protecting and running a kingdom?! I think I'm starting to realize why my dad didn’t think being huntsman was a good idea.

Okay so instead of standing still how about you all help me out. Ever thought of that bitch? No? Then please don't rush me. Shut your damn mouths?! *sigh* Why? Why did I agree to let her be on the team?

*sigh* F*** all of you.

Oh no. Please. Please not her again. Once again, another plan that goes terribly wrong.

Yeah, we definitely not repeating Heaven Academy.

Oh my gosh, Nora where are you?! What is going on out there?! You should be back now!

Okay Jaune calm down. Aright just ignore Penny and continue to heal her. I'm sure Weiss can hold Cinder off long enough for-

Weiss, what are you doing?! You can barely fight with one blade why use two? Oh, my goodness, how did any of you beat the Ace-ops?! Oh man. I-I... Oh oum, she isn't going to last. I-I don't have a choice. This is going hurt.

So, this is it? I can't believe I'm doing this. Well, I don't have choice because everyone seems to be making dumb decisions. Well at least I might be doing something right. Pyrrha, please forgive me.

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theseerasures · 3 years

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While you're doing reactions, if you're up for it, how are you feeling about all the finale predictions you made on March 23? By my count, you scored pretty well!

hooooooo boy (the alluded post, for those just catching up)

how i feel about my predictions is that...you’re right and i scored pretty well, but much like the characters doing right in the episode itself, it didn’t matter. part of the reason why the finale made me feel so much--why i loved it, despite still being emotionally hungover from ugly affect--is because i WAS right, but i was so often right but wrong on a smaller scale, or right but wrong because i completely misunderstood the overall thematic stakes, or in one case right but in such a phenomenally cruel and roundabout way that i’m still reeling from it.

more detailed breakdown under the cut (as in “let’s unpack this,” and as in “i have an emotional breakdown”):

WHERE I WAS MOSTLY RIGHT

Team Green, Yang, the non-Robyn Happy Huntresses, Klein and the non-combatant Schnees were gimmes from the beginning, even the ones of whom we didn’t have visual confirmation by the end of Worthy.

Pietro and Maria are still MIA so i’m putting them here, but...Winter’s gonna have to tell Pietro, when he shows up again.

Cinder and the Relics i was correct about, but even though i knew going in that she would win i didn’t imagine the scale of her victory. mostly because i thought she might have learned some self-discipline and just skedaddled with the Relics in an attempt to trap as many people as possible in superhell, but a) she didn’t, and b) she won without needing to.

Salem, Watts, and Ironwood are where i predicted, but i think part of me really bought into the fan theory that maybe Salem would want to keep Atlas around. both Watts and Ironwood lasted much longer through the episode than i expected because i was working from that assumption, but with the direction the episode actually took it makes perfect sense that they exited the stage as Atlas fell--they are, after all, twin architect-destroyers of Atlas. brains and brawn.

Nora ended up in Vacuo, but she’s...uh, not happy about it. not that i expected her to be happy, but this is much much worse. og JNPR is now JUST Renora, and much as i love freewheeling modular megazord JNPR, that’s gonna hit like a truck. last time they lost someone Renora were consciously trying to play supportive teammate to Jaune, who’d just lost his partner, and Nora especially also had to talk Ren off the edge with the Kuroyuri stuff. i expect they’ll swap the dynamic this time, especially since Nora was already planning to go all independent woman before this.

Qrow, Robyn, and the AceOps are stranded, but in transit and not in Mantle, because Mantle the place is no more. and Vine is dead. the reason i posited that the AceOps might be split up was so they could find their team dynamic after it’s been unsettled, and...well. having one of them do a heroic sacrifice should do a similar trick. because i didn’t think Atlas would fall on Mantle i thought Qrow and Robyn (particularly Robyn) would get more to do, but both of them are pretty much exactly in the same place they were in at the beginning of the season: trapped in a cramped environment, cut off from the people they love and uncertain what happened to them, and unable to contribute in a way that they would consider meaningful. i’m guessing we won’t check back in with this crew for a while, but if we do it’ll be interesting to see if the Qrow and Robyn dynamic changes--like, if he has to be the one to talk her down from cabin fever and despair. (before he finds out that he was the one who should have been despairing all along.)

WHERE I WAS MOSTLY WRONG

Neo is in superhell. i had put her in Atlas because i’d overestimated Cinder’s ability to play the long game, but what the show ultimately doubled down on was that Cinder remains at heart a petty and impatient opportunist, and that’s where she’s most effective. which i dig! i dig that she has not so much improved (in means or ends) so much as learned to hold the beneficial and detrimental parts of herself farther and farther apart, because in the end they’re all the same parts, and because presumably she’ll end up starfishing out so much (who knew the way she took care of Winter’s death pigeons was foreshadowing?) that she breaks in two. and i dig Neo in superhell without Cinder, because it’ll be our first chance to see Neo not working for anyone outside of that one time she fought Cinder. if superhell does end up being part afterlife, she might also get some closure with the Torchwick stuff.

Jaune being in superhell points to it being part afterlife, because the chance for HIM to get some closure is also right there. that was always the case, but the reason i made the prediction i did was because i assumed that Jaune would remain the person he has been this whole season--this stolid, clueless but incredibly effective supporting leader. having a Jaune who is at the top of his game meet up with Pyrrha again is obviously appealing, especially to me, a person who scribbles misshapen hearts labeled “Arkos = 5evr” on all my notebooks, but at the time i didn’t think it was necessary to his story...and then the story dramatically shifted his character and threw all my carefully hedged bets off (which is something we’ll also get to with...later).

having a Jaune who has just effectively EUTHANIZED someone meet up with Pyrrha again isn’t just appealing--it’s vital. and it’s vital because the exact parameters of how and why Jaune ended up having to kill Penny is a point-for-point echo and escalation of the way the Amber to Pyrrha transfer was supposed to go. last time Jaune Arc was party to a Maiden transfer process he had no idea what was going on, and he tried to intervene when he worked out that whatever Oz was doing was going to hurt Pyrrha, and that however minute thing contributed to Pyrrha’s death and the Fall of Beacon. this time it’s not just that he knows what’s going on and the stakes of it. it’s not even just that he is the Ozpin operating the Aura Transfer machine. it is that there is no machine--there is just him, holding the knife. he knows the Amber better than the Pyrrha this time, and this time the Amber is his friend, and still whole, and choosing. not just consenting, but asking him. trusting him. so he carries it out. the old Maiden dies, and like Ozpin he dies shortly after, but not before he watches the new Maiden fail.

but he does prevent history from repeating, because a new Maiden is created, and she gets to live. and Cinder Fall has made him a murderer on top of everything else, but she WILL remember him, now.

there are other people i was wrong about, but that’s...for later.

WHERE I WAS RIGHT AND IT DIDN’T MATTER

Ruby, Blake and Weiss are all in superhell, so on paper i was right, but...well. sing it if you know the words. the reason i’m putting them in their own section is because it’s not just that they fell and didn’t jump like i thought; it’s that they would not have jumped, and that changes everything. you know how i realized that we would lose everyone, and not by choice? it was Weiss. it was when Weiss said we have to do this for Yang. Jaune had reminded Nora of what was priority one minutes before, but the implications of that didn’t sink in for me until Weiss confirmed it. they PLANNED for this. not just the eventuality where they would have to die, but the one where they’d have to watch everyone else die and do nothing except keep going.

which...has implications. the best way to read this--and i think we’re all dying for some good news--is that even if it certainly does not feel that way, RWBY was able to snatch a partial victory from Salem’s claws. they lost the Relics, but they got the Maiden powers away, and most importantly: they saved Atlas and Mantle. by the time Jaune intervened Grand Central was empty. there was no one left to evacuate. they didn’t get everyone, but they got a lot. even before Cinder intervened so catastrophically they knew how many things could go wrong, so they made a plan, and largely stuck to it. on a purely material level they only lost one thing vital to the war effort--the Staff. but they got everyone else out, which was priority one. the show in general and this arc in particular has emphasized that our heroes don’t think they should be exceptionalized, that they’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure everyone is given the treatment and respect they deserve, and they’ve made good on that. they’re Huntresses, and Huntresses be thou for the people. they chose, and they won what mattered to THEM.

but on the flip side: they chose, and there’s no way to read this choice as anything but a compromise...and a very Atlesian one at that. when confronted with calculus similar to the one JYR faced after they lost Oscar in War, our heroes chose...the opposite. one, then three, then four, then five, then six for the many. what was that number compared to two entire cities’ worth of people, especially when they’re the ones who signed up for this? i’m not trying to take this down the slippery slope where our heroes are no better than the dictator they just dethroned, because when the time came for sacrifice they chose themselves first. but it remains a sacrifice, which means that when the time came to test the hard moral limit they set for themselves, they...moved. they decided ahead of time that some risks aren’t worth taking. that this is not a situation where everyone wins, so they had to go for the next best thing, then the next best thing after that, and so on. i’m honestly not sure where it points to yet, except my usual refrain that this show is a lot less didactic than it seems, but...yeah. this is going to lead to some invigorating discussions in-universe.

and maybe it’ll start with this: that Jaune and Weiss--the two who had to verbally advocate for leaving the fallen behind--fell last of all, which means they had to watch everyone else go first. and the last person they saw was the same person. Weiss, who executed the plan to brilliant perfection, saw the past--the first family she ever had--streaking after her in an endless void, forsaking the priorities they all agreed upon, for her. Jaune, who followed the plan to execution and broke a part of himself, saw the new Maiden he crowned, backlit and pulled away by the bright future that he ensured was possible, but can no longer access.

QUEENMAKER

i’m starting with Penny, because Penny came first. there has already been a ton of discussion on the ways that she’ll come back, and while i absolutely agree that she will, for now i am not so much interested in that as i am in eulogizing this Penny. the Penny we had just now, not identical but continuous with the Penny we had before that, in the same way that everyone is not identical but continuous with who they were in the past. the Penny who IS dead, her eventual resurrection notwithstanding.

because she DID die, and her death matters. that’s the thing about the deaths in this season, and it furthers my point re: RWBY’s presumed didacticism--the show’s treatment of death has changed as our heroes have changed. it is no longer (and never was) as simple as “death and sacrifice are always senseless waste,” and more something like...”death has to matter, and we will give it meaning.” Hazel and Vine sacrificed themselves, and the fact both resulted in a “positive” outcome (more lives saved) does not make the deaths any less tragic. but neither should the tragedy of it take away from the fact that they saved lives. what separates our heroes from a Salem or a James Ironwood even now is that they recognize the importance of grievable life even as they accept inevitable death, that what is worth it all about preserving life is not to make sure that lives go on forever, but that lives have meaning and are remembered, that when you’re gone the people who are still here respect you enough to carry that meaning with them. it’s a tenuous balance to walk, but all the more important for that reason.

Penny--though her death can and will be reversed--is much the same. in every arc there has been a Game of Three Maidens (which i guess would make shogi the better metaphor and not chess because--what AM i on about), and in every Game there has been sacrifice. and i thought that would encompass Winter, here. we’d get away with it not being literal death, since Fria already took care of that, but she would be trapped on the other side of the gate--in pretty much the exact same position James Ironwood ended up in the episode itself, actually. it just seemed obvious: she’s the decoy, the one who missed the call by inches, the last revealed defector when there still was an Atlas from which to defect. all of it pointed to Winter’s story ending with one last delay barring her from salvation, of her finally being too late...

and well. i WASN’T wrong in the broad strokes, but first there was Penny Polendina. Penny could have let Jaune try to save her and Weiss die for her, but she knew she had to make a different choice to save as many lives as possible. so she offered herself up as the sacrifice instead. last week i waxed prolonged poetic about how Winter defected so recently, how it has been just IronwoodandWinter for so long, how Winter doesn’t have a team and only the healing shreds of a family, how no one would think to look for her...and then Penny did. you were my friend. (given Winter’s rough age and the hazy creation dates for the PENNY Project, it’s possible that Winter is Penny’s OLDEST friend.) Penny thought of Winter as she was dying, thought about the good Winter could do if Winter had her powers, believed in Winter, and in doing so, saved Winter’s life before anyone else’s.

she ceded the spotlight to Winter in this last episode, but this season as a whole belongs to Penny Polendina--the myriad ways she creates herself, the ways she defends her self-creation, ultimately culminating in her new body, created by no one but herself. but for her final act the Maiden of Creation did something different and no less miraculous: i thought of you. a thought was all it took.

she created someone else.

KINGSLAYER | THE MAIDEN THAT WAS PROMISED

the thing about Winter is that she came first.

no, i’m serious. i checked the fairy tale and everything--Winter came first. as the Wizard’s first visitor she encouraged him to reflect and meditate, and when probed about why she was here at all, she answered: i am waiting for my sisters. Spring and Summer have to wait, too, of course, but. Winter was the first.

Jacques and Willow named their firstborn Winter. it is not the way this story begins, but it is certainly is one of them, because the story begins with Winter, and Winter begins the story--a new retelling, a new cycle of heroism. we’ve since been introduced to other characters in that indeterminate age group between RWBY and STRQ, but Winter--by virtue of being Weiss’ older sister--anchors herself to the new generation in a way those others (even Cinder, who comes closest) do not. she started things, in the mythical emblematic way that this show likes to move, and the way she started things--the way she MADE herself start things, thanks to the house she grew up in--was with love, and protection. she took care of Weiss and laid the groundwork for the person Weiss is today, and conversely: she took care of Weiss, and through Weiss, laid the groundwork for herself and how to take care of everyone. so eventually the steel thread she tied to Weiss she also linked to Whitley, to Penny, to Marrow, to all the people they love, and on and on it goes. Winter loved Weiss, so she made herself learn how to love Weiss, and so when i say she started things what i mean is she started family. a new home, for a new generation of the orphaned.

Winter came first. but as the show demonstrates time and again, especially with Winter: first does not mean best. because being first also means you’re the prototype, a volatile thing that must be tested and tempered and then discarded to make way for what comes after, what gets improved. and it is THIS part of being first that Winter has internalized most of all. Winter, the first Maiden, taught the Wizard peace and prepared the earth so that her sisters could grow and foster and harvest the life within it; Winter, the first Schnee, laid the groundwork in her siblings, but did not wait for them. and let herself fallow in the process. she left, and every time they tried to follow or stay with her she sent them away. (she keeps sending them away; even after defecting and taking down Ironwood, the first thing she says to JNPER is go.) Winter laid the first stone in the foundation, but she cannot take credit for the home her family turned it into, for all the ways it has flourished, because she willfully absented herself of that (birth)right.

and the reason she did this was very simple: she was afraid. she could not bear the thought that while she had to learn how to love she made mistakes, the idea that instead of preparing the earth she might have poisoned the well. so she ran. she turned her face away so she would not have to look, so they would not look to her. she left, and every time one of her siblings superseded her after that, every time she was made to be their Esau--passed over--it just seemed to confirm that she was right to leave. look how well they’ve all done without her.

in the stories, eldest siblings aren’t here to win. they’re here to be made an example of, and Winter...had resigned herself to that. she was prepared to be left behind for good by all the people who have outpaced her.

but then there was Penny Polendina. Penny didn’t follow her, or try to stay; Penny came back for her. Penny remembered Winter when all Winter wanted was to be forgotten, because she’d gotten it in her head that it was what she deserved for all the things she’d done or enabled or failed to do. why did Penny remember Winter? because you were my friend. there is no divine complexity to it, nothing for Winter to fall hopeless short of. there is only the fact that Winter gave Penny something, made something together with Penny, even as she was trying her hardest not to, for fear that she would create something terrible. and this does not take away from all the ways Winter did fall short, but it is still SOMETHING. and it is enough.

it was your power, after all. Penny means the Maiden powers, but she also means THIS Maiden’s power: the power to create. you made this home, Penny is saying to Winter, you should get to reap its fruit, even if you weren’t around for the labor. all you have to do is say yes.

this was a gift. she says yes. she accepts, because in the end Winter Schnee loves her family more than she hates herself.

but then--

(a gift for what? Winter will ask herself wretchedly later, after she has failed in the two tasks she thinks Penny set for her.)

the thing about Winter is that she came first. she taught Weiss everything she knows, and she was so busy doing that she never had the time to show Weiss everything she feels. so in the end what Weiss never predicted was that for all of her team’s painful planning, for all of her own pained enforcement of that plan...none of it was a match for her sister. that when the time came it was would be WINTER who defaults to the absolute ideal of “no one gets left behind,” of “every life” meaning every life, priority one be damned.

or that Winter, in trying to choose both, in finally and fiercely trying, with surely enough power to make a difference, would fail.

what are you doing? Winter heard as she watched Weiss fall into nothingness. my life doesn’t matter.

so here, then, is the story of Winter in The Final Word: a girl returns home after having left it, but in this version it is the home who has changed and the girl who has not. and from this both are unmade. but she gets to live, because she was invited back home. and she gets to go through the portal as its last passenger, into the Promised Land.

and she is still the Maiden of Creation. even after all this, THAT is still her task. to build a refuge for her people, to collect the broken strands of the family she began and her siblings continued and expanded and reinforced, and gather them up again into a new home. it will be impossible, but at the same time: she has done this before.

and this time, she will wait for her sisters.

(a gift for what? for nothing, would be the answer. gifts aren’t FOR anything. they’re gifts.)

#typeoneninja #rwby #helen writes meta #VERY LONG OBSCENELY LONG META CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW LONG #at least it didn't take me a whole month this time

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aspoonofsugar · 3 years

Text

Semblance of the Soul: Qrow and Raven

The Branwens are two people with a shared past, that have taken different routes in life:

Ozpin: Everyone has a choice. The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties in favor of her own self-interest.

Qrow has made an altruistic choice. He hates the crimes of his tribe and is happy to help people by working for Ozpin.

Raven has instead decided to prioritize herself and her tribe and sees Ozpin’s cause as foolish and reckless.

At the same time, they are twins, but have chosen different families. This is why the concept of family comes up so often in their interactions. After all, they first meet in the episode called Family:

Raven: Hello, brother.

Qrow: Raven. So, what do you want?

Raven: A girl can't just catch up with her family?

And their last exchange is this:

Raven: Sorry, brother. Sometimes family disappoints you like that.

Qrow: We're not family anymore.

Raven: Were we ever?

Qrow: I thought so, but I guess I was wrong.

Still, how are they doing with their families of choice? Are they happy with them? Do they have healthy relationships?

For the both of them, the answer is no. This happens because Raven and Qrow are both scared to grow close to people.

It is just that this fear is declined in opposite ways. Raven is scared for herself (selfishness), while Qrow is scared for others (selflessness).

This trait they share, but show in different ways, is well conveyed by their respective semblances. This analysis will use their powers as means to explore both characters and their foiling.

RAVEN: BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Raven’s Kindred Link perfectly embodies the saying...

Birds of a feather flock together...

...until the cat comes:

Raven: I...I'm sorry...

On one hand it lets her create portals to the people she has a strong bond with.

On the other hand she mostly uses it to run away from those bonds.

Why does she do it?

The answer is clear:

Lionheart: I'm helping her for the same reason you are - I'm afraid. We... we can't stop her... no one can...

Raven is just another version of the Cowardly Lion. She is a coward like Leo, but does not aknowledge it and prefers to hide behind a pragmatic and survivalist mask:

Raven: That's why I tried to leave when I did. I'm not afraid, I'm smart.

This is why she goes back to her tribe after she leaves Yang and Tai. She says she does so because she considers them her family and wants to protect them.

However, her motivations are implied to be more selfish. She goes to them to run away from things that scare her.

To be more specific, the tribe protects Raven psychologically in two different ways.

1) It lets her be the monster, the criminal, the most violent and powerful one:

Mercury: We’re the guys you should be afraid of.

Raven: I doubt anyone should be afraid of you.

Here, Raven mocks Mercury, but the irony is that her coping mechanism is really not that much different from his. She hides behind a Grimm mask, a universal symbol of fear, but she is the scared one.

2) She goes back to the family who raised her and neglects the family she is supposed to raise (Yang).

Deep down, Raven is just an adult, who fails at being an adult.

Mostly, this shows in her inability to make a choice:

Yang: Which is it, mom? Are you merciful, or are you a survivor?

As a matter of fact she keeps changing her mind because she is not brave enough to stick to one decision.

Initially, she is sent to Beacon, so that she could learn how to kill hunters. However, she ends up becoming a huntress herself and she accepts to fight Salem. She is considered so loyal that she is even given magical powers. Finally, she enters a relationship and has a daughter with Tai. She basically starts creating a life outside the tribe, only to leave it all behind at a certain point. It is not clear if it is because she saw something specific or if it is the result of a longer struggle.

The point is that nobody forced her to fight Salem. She could have also refused Ozpin’s powers. Finally, she could have told Ozpin and the others she wanted to stop. In any case, she did not have to leave her family to stop fighting Salem. What is more, she could have brought her family with her, when she ran away.

She chooses instead to leave everything she has built behind and goes back to the world she was a child in. It might be a violent world, but she sees it as safer.

Let’s highlight that she has the same tendency of changing idea in the series itself. She switches sides and organizes a risky plan, which puts almost all her major bonds (Qrow, Vernal and Yang) in danger. She does all that because she wants the relic, so that she has leverage against Salem. After all of this, even after Vernal’s death, she simply runs away. She is obviously shaken by her confrontation with Yang, who calls her out. However, Yang is perfectly right when she says so:

Yang: Because you're afraid of Salem!!! And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back, imagine what she'll do when she finds out you have a Relic. She'll come after you with everything she has. Or she can come after me. And I'll be standing there, waiting for her.

Taking the relic would just put Raven in danger. For her it is safer to open the vault and disappear, so that someone else can take care of things. Even if this someone else is her daughter.

In other words, Raven is a failure of a mother. This is shown by her failing all three of her “daughters” (Yang, the Spring Maiden and Vernal). Moreover, it is perfectly conveyed by her being a Maiden.

The idea of maidenhood is symbolically juxtaposed to the one of motherhood. Of course, this does not have to be true in-universe for all the Maidens. Still, in Raven’s case, this juxtaposition is deliberate. Raven is an eternal Maiden, who runs away from her parental responsibilities.

This is why she received the power from her protegee instead than from a mentor figure. She is so selfish she takes from the people she should protect:

Cinder: Vernal was a decoy the whole time. The last Spring Maiden must've trusted you a great deal before she died. I bet that was a mistake...

What is more, it is strongly implied she killed the previous Maiden to take her powers. This is interesting because it ties to a second meaning of her semblance.

Her ability symbolizes the unfairness of the bonds she forges. She works to create those bonds and there is affection involved. However, these bonds are double edged swords for the other party involved because of Raven’s moodiness. She can leave when she wants and come back out of the blue. She can always go to others when she needs it, while others can never reach her. This leads to an unbalanced dynamic in Raven’s favour.

This dynamic can even become extremely dangerous for the other person:

Raven can potentially use her ability to attack the people she is bonded with. She does not use her semblance this way in the series. Still, what happened to the Spring Maiden is something similar. To receive the power of the Maiden, Raven must have been the last person in the girl’s thoughts before death. This probably happened because the two shared a close bond. A bond Raven betrayed.

In other words, the nature of Raven’s semblance hides in itself the potential of betrayal:

Raven: Aura can't protect your arm, it's Grimm. You turned yourself into a monster just for power.

Cinder: Look who's talking...

As Cinder points out, Raven too, like her, has become a monster to obtain power. The difference here is in how this montrosity is conveyed.

In Cinder’s case, she is literally turning into a Grimm. She has accepted this metamorphosis to take the Maidens’ powers.

In Raven’s case, it is ironically the opposite symbolically. She wears a Grimm mask, but the true monstrosity is the Maiden behind it:

Raven is monster-like because she stole the power from a person, who trusted her.

Let’s highlight that the motif of the Grimm mask has come up several times in the series. So far, it has been used by people, like Raven and Adam, who want to be feared. Something similar can be seen in the Hound as well, who is not really wearing a mask, but whose humanity is hidden behind his Grimm appearance.

In all three cases, the true scary thing is what is behind the Grimm-face:

It is always the humanity behind it that is scary. Be it the victim behind the monster in the Hound, society’s mistreatment of Faunus or Raven’s cowardice and what it led her to do:

Yang: You're right. I don't know you. I only know the Raven dad told me about. She was troubled, and complicated, but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe! Did you kill her too?

Yang’s question is poignant and underlines how all Raven has done is simply to hurt herself. By hurting the people she loves, she has been killing a part of herself.

This is also conveyed by her emblem missing from her possessions. According to the wiki, Raven’s emblem is this:

Raven's emblem is a winged eye with a clock inside of it. This emblem has not appeared on any of her possessions so far.

This is a reference to Raven and Qrow’s allusion to Hugin and Munin, Odin’s two ravens, who travel the world and bring him information. Raven and Qrow do the same for Ozpin and they are his eyes.

Qrow is the left eye:

Salem: The last eye is blinded... you disappoint me.

While Raven used to be the right. So, her emblem is probably the right version of Qrow’s own one. Still, Raven refuses that part of herself and this is why she is not wearing her emblem.

In short, Raven used to be a bird of a feather with Qrow, but she is not flocking together with him anymore. This is because a scary cat has come:

And Raven has sacrificed her bonds out of fear. Not only that, but she has weaponized them:

Yang: You turn your back on people, you run away when things get too hard, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself!!

Raven has been using her most loved people as assets, so that she can shield herself from danger. Maybe it is because of this that she symbolically uses Omen to open portals. This even if she can apparently do so without it, since she opens them even as a bird. However, using her sword is a way to distance herself from the true nature of her ability (bonds). It is a way to reduce her ties with people to simple things she can use.

That said, this is damaging Raven herself.

To be more specific, she is making herself weaker and weaker:

Yang: Oh, shut up!! You don't know the first thing about strength! (...) You might be powerful, but that doesn't make you strong.

Raven is powerful, but weak. This weakness is symbolically conveyed by her behaving in the opposite way her semblance would need to truly shine.

Raven’s power works thanks to bonds, so it can be assumed it would be at its strongest if its user cultivated them both in quality and in numbers. However, Raven has few bonds and she is cutting them off one by one:

Yang: You can bond to certain people. And when you do, you could create a portal that takes you straight to them. You've got one for Dad. One for me. And you've got one for Qrow.

We know that Raven is also bonded with Vernal. Still, Vernal dies at the end of volume 5. Of the other ones Yang mentions, Raven has pushed away both Qrow and Yang through her actions at Heaven.

This makes this scene interesting:

Did the portal Raven opened at Heaven go to Tai? Did she go there because she felt nostalgic and missed him? Or is he the only one (both practically and symbolically) she can still run to?

QROW: A SCARE-QROW SCARED OF CROWS

Qrow’s semblance is Misfortune and it is basically a Bad Luck Charm:

I am no one's blessing I'll just bring you harm I'm a cursed black cat I'm an albatross I'm a mirror broken Sad to say I'm your bad luck charm

Qrow causes bad luck around himself. Because of this, he sees himself as a curse.

However, this conflict Qrow has with his semblance is actually symbolic of a turmoil developed on multiple levels.

Let’s begin with this:

Raven: You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them.

Qrow: They were killers and thieves.

Raven: They were your family.

Qrow: You have a very skewed perception of that word.

Qrow was born in a tribe of bandits and was taught how to kill and steal. Finally he was sent to a hunter academy, so that he could learn how to kill his classmates in the near future.

Qrow’s semblance is nothing, but the manifestation of his self-hate, that was probably partly caused by the environment he was born in. In a sense, it is his symbolical response to his childhood.

Let’s highlight that this response is very different from Raven’s. This is shown by their opposite behaviours toward their tribe. Qrow leaves it, while Raven goes back to it.

This difference can also be conveyed by how both Raven and Qrow share a specific motif, but embody it in different ways.

Both twins are associated with bad luck. Both can turn into ravens/crows, which are birds linked to misfortune. Moreover, their weapons are called respectively Omen (Raven’s) and Harbinger (Qrow’s).

The meaning is clear. The twins were born and raised with the idea that they should be symbols of violence and bad luck for their enemies. It is just that Raven wants to be a bad omen because it makes her feel strong. Qrow does not want it, but thinks he is:

I'm a harbinger, I cannot lie, I will change the color of your life.

It is to try and free himself from this curse that Qrow started working for Ozpin. He literally becomes the Scarecrow of the story to try and exorcise the bad fortune he brings. He is trying to scare the crows away. He thinks that if he does so, he’ll become a full person.

This ties with the original story of his allusion. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow wants a brain because he is told by an old crow he would be just like a real man, if only he had one. In short, the Scarecrow wants a brain to become a real man, so that he can scare crows better than he already does.

Qrow too wants to be a full person, but he believes he is not. He thinks he is cursed and as a reaction to this he has attached himself to Ozpin and to his cause:

Qrow: No one wanted me... I was cursed... I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world... I thought I was finally doing some good...

This is why he reacts so badly when he discovers that Ozpin (who is basically a father figure for Qrow) has hidden so many things from him. Not only that, but he feels that the impossibility of truly defeating Salem (of truly defeating evilness) makes his life meaningless.

The point is of course that this is not the case and that Qrow does not need to do anything specific to be a true person and to be loved:

Qrow: Every choice I've ever made has led me here, and I've dragged you along with me. Oz, myself, the others... We're responsible for the mess the world's in now. I shouldn't have come, shouldn't have let any of you come... What was I thinking?!

Ruby: We're all in this together, and we're all going to do the best we can. That's all anyone can do. And I know it's what you've always aimed for. We would've come whether or not you'd let us, so stop talking like we're your responsibility! We're not! But we could still use Qrow Branwen on our side.

Ruby’s confrontation with Qrow at the end of volume 6 is basically the opposite of Yang’s confrontation with Raven in the finale of volume 5.

Yang calls Raven out because she refuses her responsibilities. She pushes them on others and leaves her own daughter to fight a battle she ran away from.

Ruby calls Qrow out on taking too much responsibility on himself. The kids were not forced by him to come. Qrow should not be completely responsible for them, but should learn to fight by their side.

Later on, Qrow is basically told the same by Maria:

Maria: You weren't half bad yourself today, Qrow.

Qrow: I feel like they did all the heavy lifting.

Maria: But you were there to help when they asked for it, and you were there to catch them when they fell. Literally, if I recall.

This is important because Maria appears just after Ozpin (aka Qrow’s mentor and guide) disappears. She is the person Qrow aspired to be:

Qrow: You never used your name, never showed your face. Lots of us thought you were just layin' low. Eventually, we just came to accept that you were probably dead. But the stories about you, I based my weapon off of yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper.

At the same time, Maria too, like him, considers herself a failure:

Maria: Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment, so you're well on your way.

However, at the end of the volume both Maria and Qrow realize that they do not have to save the world by themselves or to be invincible heroes. They just need to be there for their loved ones and the new generations. In short, Maria mentors Qrow on how to be a proper mentor.

And it turns out that he just has to take better care of himself:

In short, Qrow became the Scarecrow to scare crows, but ironically all he needs to do is to overcome his own fear of one Qrow.

If he does not, his semblance is bound to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, as it is shown in his two fights against Tyrian (vol 4 and vol 7).

1) In volume 4 he manages to protect Ruby, but ends up injured and unable to help the kids for the rest of their journey. He goes from their protector to a wounded man they have to take care of.

Narratively, it happens because of this:

Ruby: This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy, but... I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy, and, and--

Qrow: Look, this has nothing to do with trust. I-- It's a long story, okay?

The whole fight between Tyrian and Qrow could have played out very differently if Qrow were better at communicating with his niece. He wanted her away from Tyrian and himself because of his semblance, but Ruby interpreted it as Qrow not trusting her.

2) In volume 7, the battle ends with Clover’s tragic death being framed on Qrow.

Why does it happen?

Clover: Sometimes the right decision is the hardest to make. I trust James with my life! I wanted to trust you.

Once again, the problem lies in a lack of trust.

Qrow and Clover genuinely like each other and have bonded. Still, they fail to trust each other in a key moment and make the worst possible choice.

This is true for both characters:

Clover: I enjoyed working with you, you know. Even with that endless cynicism of yours.

Qrow: I'm usually proven right.

Clover: We don't have to fight, friend.

Qrow: You don't know my friends. That's how it always goes.

Qrow: Why couldn't you just do the right thing instead of the thing you were told?

In a sense, the whole fight can be read as The Scorpion and the Frog. In the original fairy-tale, the point is that one can’t overcome their own nature. The scorpion will sting the frog even if it goes against its own survival. Here, it is the same for the characters. In order for things to go well, either Clover or Qrow should overcome their flaw, but they fail.

Clover is not able to let go of his loyalty for Ironwood, even if it is clear the orders he received are wrong.

Qrow goes back to his usual cynism and makes a pact with Tyrian:

Robyn: I’m sorry for what happened. It wasn’t your fault.

Qrow: It was, though. I made a deal with the darkness, and he paid the price. It was all happening so fast, but Clover wouldn’t let up. Could have worked together against Tyrian if Clover just...

Tyrian is the poisonous scorpion, while both Qrow and Clover are two frogs, who are hurt by him. Ironically, the frog’s mistake in the story is to trust the scorpion, while the mistake of our two frogs is that they did not trust each other.

Still, why is it so narratively? To be more specific, why is that so when it comes to Qrow’s character?

The answer is here:

Qrow: But the thing that really stings? For the first time in a while I thought, maybe, maybe I could be around somebody - anybody - without my semblance making it… complicated. And now, it just feels like a childish dream. Gone... like everybody else.

Clover is narratively this:

Blake: You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem.

He is a very simple answer to a very complicated problem that has its roots in Qrow’s interiority. Qrow’s flaw, what goes in the way of his relationships and happiness, is not that he is unlucky, but that he feels unlucky.

He feels worthless and thinks of himself as bad for others. This is why he keeps his distance and refrains himself from growing close to people.

He blames it on his semblance and this is why he makes an exception for Clover. It is because he sees in the other’s ability an easy fix to his struggle.

Still, he is proven wrong because in the moment of truth, they fail to communicate and everything goes to hell.

This is not to say that Qrow and Clover’s relationship was bad or that Clover deserved to die. In-universe their bond had beautiful aspects and could have grown stronger. Moreover, Clover could have developed and left his flaw behind.

Still, narratively Clover serves a specific purpose and him dying is a part of said purpose.

Clover brings a superficial harmony to a situation and a group dynamic, which is actually not harmonic at all:

Clover: What would you guys do without me?

The Ace Ops are a group of individuals repressing their own feelings and identities for the sake of an unspecified greater good. They see the world in black and white, not because they are stupid, but because they refuse complexity:

Robyn: Yeah, because you don’t care about the truth. You just want someone to be mad at. Easier than taking an honest look at what side you’re on.

Winter: Penny. The general is making hard choices so we don't have to.

This fits with them being a group based on Aesops aka short stories with a very well defined and often simplicistic message.

In short, Clover is the one that keeps his group together. Once he is gone, his group starts deteriorating. All because they refuse to aknowledge their feelings:

Ren: That’s why you lost against Team RWBY. You, you try to fight how you feel about each other, so you’ll never truly work as a team.

Once he is gone, Qrow is similarly forced to grieve and self-reflect. Luckily, he is not alone:

Robyn is the opposite of Qrow in terms of symbolism.

Qrow is associated with crows and bad luck, while Robyn is linked to robins, which bring good fortune.

She is also a symbol of unity and hope (her emblem is basically Katniss’s symbol in the Hunger Games, after all):

Tyrian: Robyn Hill. For such a little bird, you have quite the impact around here! Bringing hope and a smile wherever you go! I find it…upsetting.

Despite this, Robyn too has suffered isolation, just like Qrow:

Robyn: Believe it or not, I know a little of what that’s like. When people are worried you’re gonna sniff out their secrets, they tend to push you away. It makes a real connection… difficult.

Qrow: I-- never thought of it that way.

Robyn’s line is important for two reasons.

a) It shows Qrow that he is not the only one who has met difficulties in life because of his semblance. His case is not unique.

b) It links to the idea that trusting others is difficult and it is not something that comes without dedication and work.

As a matter of fact Robyn’s semblance is specifically symbolic of trust. It is the power to detect lies through touch, so if you are going to work with her, it means you must be ready to trust and to be trusted:

This also ties figuratively with the act of shaking one’s hand as if to make a pact (an act of trust). If Raven’s power is about asymmetrical bonds, then Robyn’s is about mutual ones.

Robyn highlights that this creates problems for her because it is not easy for people to trust. Some can’t be trusted, while others do not trust Robyn won’t cross their boundaries.

However, this also means that the relationships Robyn manages to forge are strong bonds, where everything or almost everything is out in the open. This is the exact opposite kind of environment than the one realized through Clover’s good luck semblance. It is a harmony more difficult to reach, but it is a more stable and genuine one.

It is these kinds of bonds Qrow should aim to create. In order to do so, he must accept his semblance and his past as parts of themselves. Still, he should not let them define him. Not only that, but he should learn to trust others and their strengths:

Qrow: Ruby, stop!

Ruby: I need you to trust me.

Only in this way, Qrow can truly grow. The secret is that it was never about scaring the crows away, but to learn how to live with them.

HUGIN THAT RUNS AWAY AND MUNIN THAT MAKES EVERYONE WORRIED

Raven and Qrow’s issues can be synthesized by this quote:

"Hugin and Munin fly each day over the spacious earth. I fear for Hugin, that he come not back, yet more anxious am I for Munin."

Raven never comes back, while Qrow has his loved ones fear for him because of his self-destructive tendencies.

In order to overcome these flaws, they must grow in opposite directions.

Raven must realize that her survivalism is actually self-destructive. It makes her survive, but it negates her the chance of living. She must become more selfless and trustworthy to make it up for the unfair bonds she created.

Qrow must accept that his self-destructiveness is actually selfish and damaging to his loved ones. He must start to trust others’ strengths, so that he can be brave enough to live together with them, instead of looking at them from afar.

#rwby #rwby meta #qrow branwen #raven branwen #robyn hill #clover ebi #tyrian callows #my meta #semblance of the soul

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godofsexdrugsandrocknroll · 3 years

Text

Jaune’s Father: “If nothing else, be kind. Kindness costs you nothing, sport”

Weiss: *From underneath many blankets, peeking from behind a comforter* I’m truly sorry, Arc. I had meant to assist you in your dust theory paper, but I’m not feeling terribly well.

Jaune: *Scratches head* Hey, no worries Sn- Weiss. Do you need anything? A hot compress?

Weiss: *Is glad she has a comforter for a shield as she blushes in embarrassment* How! *Coughs, in a normal tone of voice* Excuse me. How did you...

Jaune: I have seven sisters, Weiss.

Weiss: *Nods meekly, still embarrassed* A hot compress would be lovely. I feel awful.

-----------------

Yang: *Blinks* Is that vomit boy?

Blake: *Reading* You could try calling him by his name.

Yang: You could try acknowledging his existence. *Blake glares, feeling a little guilty*

Cardin: *Walking by* He needed a warm compress.

Yang: What for?

Cardin: *Feeling kinda humbled, a bit envious* Nothin’ serious.

-----------------

Jaune: *Taking box* Thanks Coco, you’re a lot less scary than Poppy said you were.

Coco: *Lowers her shades* Oh, did snookums slander my good name?

Jaune: *Feels his neck get hot* U-uh, no! Just that you were kinda protective of, um, *lifts box, almost drops it and gives Coco a heart attack* this. Sorry. But really, thanks, it’s really nice of you.

Coco: *Clutching her heart, waves him off* Just tell that leggy blonde she owes me some serious cuddling.

-----------------

Professor Peach: It’s not often I get students actually interested in my hobby.

Jaune: Well, we are all teenagers.

Professor Peach: *Laughs* True enough. Hmm. *Side eyes Jaune* Well, the same can’t be said for you, young man. *Sees Jaune about to protest* I think what you meant to say is you’re all aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses. Sometimes the future is so bright and shiny to your classmates that they forgot the everyday. It’s quite nice to see that isn’t the case with each of you.

Jaune: *Opens and closes his mouth, shuffles awkwardly*

Professor Peach: *Smiles softly* You have nothing to be embarrassed of, Jaune Arc. Here *carefully hands his request over* exactly as you requested. Have a wonderful day, child.

Jaune: *Nods quickly and walks off*

Professor Peach: And days like today, Rosalie, are why you do this job. *Happily hums as she gets back to work*

-----------------

Jaune: Okay, look, I’m just asking which--

Beryl: *Sighs dramatically* And I’m telling you, kitten *Ignores Jaune’s protests* that they’re all mondo good.

Julie: Like, Bea-Bea’s right. That one *pointing with a fuchsia nail* is just the sweetest thing in the world, will just have you feeling warm and happy inside after.

Cissy: Plus it has just...mmm. Ouch! *Is swatted by Beryl, playfully* You bitch. Anyways, that one right there is just cute and total *squeals* overload. Can’t go wrong with it, it’s a classic.

Beryl: Then that one is probably the safest bet, because who doesn’t love a puppy?

Jaune: A puppy? *Beryl nods* Well, uh, thanks. And I promise I’ll get them back to you by tomorrow. I’ll also see if Ren’s interested, but, uh, maybe keep your semblances ready?

Cissy: *Raises hand* Uh, I haven’t activated mine yet. I’ve just got Nemesis.

Beryl: *Slings arm around Cissy’s shoulders* Don’t worry, kitten, between My House and Julie’s Spit-Spot, plus our weapons we can handle Valkyrie if she gets in a mood.

Jaune: *Deadpan* She was benchpressing one of the academy’s washing machines the other day. No aura.

Julie: We’re good at running away.

Beryl: *Scandalized* Julie!

Julie: Cute boy or not, no way am I getting my face rocked by that monster.

Jaune: *Shrugs, collecting stuff to leave* Um, I don’t know if it’ll work but maybe fill your bags with syrup. Might work as a distraction if Mt. Nora erupts.

Beryl: *Flatly* Really?

Cissy: *Flips platinum blonde hair* I saw her drinking it right out of the bottle once before Lie stopped her.

Beryl: *Sees Jaune’s gone, giggles* Somehow I think kitten got the better end of the deal. *Speculative* Shame he’s super taken.

Julie: Uh, what? Isn’t-

Beryl: Oh you sweet summer child, never change *Ruffles Julie’s hair*

Julie: Ack! Stop!

-----------------

Jaune: Thanks headmaster! This is all really great!

Ozpin: *Working at desk* No need to thank me, mister Arc.

Jaune: Uh, yeah I do. You didn’t have to allow me to do this, but you did and it’s really neat of you.

Ozpin: *Smiles* Well then, you’re welcome. Enjoy.

-----------------

Ruby: You definitely came to the right girl!

Jaune: *Looking at his haul* I’ll say. You’re sure you’re okay with helping? I kinda saw the looks you were giving Crescent Rose back at the forge. *Teasingly* You sure you don’t want some alone time with your baby?

Ruby: *Blushes the color of her cloak* S-shut up! She’ll be fine without me, I was just thinking of trying out some custom dust ammo is all! *Very seriously* I don’t have a problem! You have a problem!

Jaune: Riii-iiight. *Ruby puffs cheeks out, teasingly* Like you don’t have a cookie problem?

Ruby: *Points dramatically, very loud* THAT... *Slumps and sighs* please don’t tell Yang I have a nightly plate of chocolate chip.

Jaune: *Laughs* No problem, Ruby. You know me. How can I turn my back on the girl who actually talked her team into not killing me when I told them I cheated my way into Beacon?

Ruby: Yeah, yeah. So get those babies ready, vomit boy and watch Ruby - I am totally a pro at this and all things wonderful - Rose do her magic!

Jaune: Will do, crater face!

-----------------

Jaune: *Grins* Thanks Cardin. You know, when you’re not being all racist and pushing people around you’re actually a really nice guy.

Sky: Ooooh. What a compliment. The kindness just gently caresses your face like a butterfly’s wings, huh Cardin?

Cardin: *Scowling* Shut it, Sky. I’m still trying so that’s totally fair.

Jaune: I, uh, didn’t mean it--

Cardin: *Rubbing neck* I know dude, no worries. Got a date with my girl coming up and it’s our anniversary, so it’s just a little extra. And don’t worry about paying me back, this is like the very least I can do for you after everything. *Jaune’s about to protest* Nope. I know we’re cool, but I was a huge douchebag. I mean it.

Jaune: Well thanks. It means a lot. *Leaves*

Russel: *Reading motorcycle magazine* You don’t have a girl, bro.

Cardin: *Frowns* I know.

Dove: You know you don’t have to help him out like that. You’re only hurting yourself.

Cardin: *Wipes face with hands, flops on his bed and stares at the ceiling* Yeah, well, too bad for Cardin fucking Winchester. If Jaune’s happy, I’m happy. I wasn’t joking when I said he deserves better than me. *Rolls on side to stare at wall.*

RDL: *All staring at their leader, all of them sad*

-----------------

Jaune: *Cheerfully* I’m back!

Weiss: *Very grumpily glaring at Jaune from beneath her covers, only her eyes visible, her voice is acidic* It’s quite fine, Arc. It’s only been two and a half hours. I know you have better things to do, so don’t bother acting like you were looking forward to coming back to deal with me.

Jaune: *Winces* Yeah, sorry. I was getting the hot towel when I kinda realized that you’ve probably been dealing with this all by yourself. *Weiss growls* It’s just, I remembered how you said you and your Dad don’t really talk and your little brother’s a, a snot, I think you called him? *Weiss feels embarrassed, but says nothing while staring at Jaune* Just hold on.

*Weiss does but when he comes back in the room her eyes go wide in shock*

Jaune: I-I just have a lot of sisters. Four older, three younger and they all have different things they like when they’re on their period. Saphron’s just happy if I’ll bring her things and Coral just wants me to leave her alone. Peri always wants cuddles and movies and *blushes as he realizes how much he’s talking* I just thought instead of whatever you usually do, you might want something more? Just to try something new?

Weiss: *Stares at several hot compresses, an expensive looking box of chocolates, a small boquet of blue Glory of the Snow’s, a stack of films, several unhealthy but delicious looking snacks and a stuffed polar bear with a top hat*

Weiss: *Wide eyed, completely taken aback* W-what?

Jaune: I-I-I don’t mean to assume anything, but I’m guessing you didn’t really have anyone who tried to make your period any better?

Weiss: I have a butler, Klein, who would always check in on me but never, well I never thought to ask for more. *Very softly as she stares at the rolling entourage of goodies* It never occurred.

Jaune: Okay, well, um, how about I bring this in?

*Jaune does, Weiss watching as he sets the flowers near her bed with wide eyes and gratefully accepting the compress, bringing it under her comforter and sighing in relief*

Jaune: We’ll have to set it up on your scroll, but I did bring movies to just so you have something fun to do today. There’s a family film with an apparently super cute actor, another that’s a cute animated movie that’s a staple of everybody’s childhood except mine apparently, *Weiss snorts, watching the covers* and one about a puppy finding his way home--

Weiss: *Eyes glued to the case, speaks immediately* That one.

Jaune: You sure, I checked the fam--

Weiss: *Eyes not leaving the box* I’m certain. *Flushes* Please?

Jaune: Sure. Just let me set this up.

*Jaune also hands over the chocolates, which Weiss stares at curiously and much to her delight, brings over the bags of snacks and she clutches the bag of cheesy poofs to her, very much wanting to try them for the first time*

Jaune: Okay, that should do it. So you’ve got your Cheez-E-Poofs, I grabbed a few sodas, juices that I thought you might like *quickly* but I also got water! Um, here. *Hands Weiss the stuffed animal, which she stares at and brings close to her face, loving how cute it is and how soft it is* Oh, Ruby helped me dip some strawberry’s in chocolate if you wanna try them later. There’s normal ones too.

Weiss: *Touched and doesn’t know what to say* I-it’s all so...umm, thank you. You really didn’t have to.

Jaune: *Scratches the back of his head, looks away* No problem, Weiss. I’m used to stuff like this, so...I’ll go. *Looking very embarassed* You’ve probably had enough of me talking you to death, so I’m just gonna go across the hall--

Weiss: *From behind her bear* Stay. *Jaune stares at her, blinking in surprise* You were going to offer, but you...back home the most I ever got were the occasional visits from Klein. But having someone to be there sounds very nice and I’d like if you would. Very much. I certainly won’t eat all of this anyways, so...please?

Jaune: *Nodding rapidly* Sure. Right. Yeah, I just didn’t wanna assume or impose or *watches Weiss’ eyes light up at the cheesy snack she just tried* I’ll sit.

*Jaune sits next to Weiss’ bed and they watch the film, eat snacks and after the movie, Weiss tries the strawberries as the second film starts. When she wakes up after falling asleep, she discovers the mess she’d made of the comforter is cleaned, Jaune had gathered up her snacks and placed them in a box. Her flowers now have a vase and the bear she had placed on his shoulder is on her pillow*

Weiss: *Smiles and hugs bear tightly*

~~A week later~~

Weiss: *Exasperated* Where is he?

Yang: *Balancing a pencil on her nose on her bed, ignoring her homework* Who?

Weiss: *Notices Berry B. Cold on Yang’s stomach and shoots forward like a bullet, snatching him and hugging him to her abdomen* You know who you bum, Jaune!

Yang: *Grinning like the cat who ate the canary* Oh-ho, finally acknowledging him by his first name after all this time, Weiss Cream?

Weiss: *Blushing* Quiet you.

Ruby: Leave her alone, Yang. But, uh, I don’t really know where he is.

Weiss: Nonsense. I may have missed the chance to help him with his paper but at the very least I can at least explain some of the theory to him, give him better than what Beacon’s textbooks offer.

Yang: Oh yeah, sure, sounds fun.

Weiss: *Bristling* E-even if it’s a boring subject, it is useful. *Hugs bear tighter* And he needs all the help he can get and--

Blake: *Walking in* If you’re talking about Jaune, he’s way too busy Weiss.

Weiss: I beg your pardon?

Yang: Yeah, you didn’t know?

Weiss: *Irritated* No Yang, it’s why I asked you in the first place.

Yang: *Flatly* Oh. I thought you were joking. No, I mean it, don’t look at me like that! Seriously, vomit boy’s been busy the last couple days.

Weiss: *Confused* But why?

Yang: *Staring* Seriously? I mean, he got that whole thing together for you.

Weiss: M-me!? Is that...but he said he was used to it! I-I knew he was talking about his sisters, but he said Ruby helped! H-he...

Ruby: Yup, I did, but I didn’t know Jaune was making them so you could have a nice, comfy that-time-of-the-month. I thought he just wanted a strawberry snack! That he’d finally been enlightened. *Sighs*

Yang: And that whole spread wasn’t just free, he went around and traded a lot of favors to get it together.

Weiss: *Gaping* H-he...what? He traded favors, just... *Uncertain, squeezing her bear while looking distressed* You didn’t know? He hasn’t done that with any of you?

Ruby: Nope!

Blake: Gods no.

Yang: Dad’s sweet like that for me when it’s bad-bad, but if Jaune offered I’d definitely turn him down. *Gives Weiss a look*

Ruby: Yeah, and all I need is my Non-Descript Winter Holiday lights and my guns ‘n ammo mags plus my scroll and I’m happy. *Shrugs* I get really crabby so I prefer being alone.

RWY: *Staring at Blake*

Blake: My ex did it for me once. Never again.

Weiss: S-so he did all that, just for me? Because I was miserable?

Yang: *Sighs, flops back on her bed* I don’t know why you’re so surprised. Ask his team. Jaune’s actually a pretty nice guy. He aimed Neptune in your direction back at the dance even though anybody with eyes knew he was kinda bummed the whole night. After you started talking with him after and started sharing, I think he just wanted you to have, y’know, some normal stuff that we all enjoy because our Dad’s aren’t asshats.

Ruby: Yang!

Blake: *Sees Weiss looking at her, looking upset* He’s been Coco’s personal shopper for the last week, he’s been dodging Nora since Ren agreed to a date with each of those girls from Team SNLT because she is pissed, he’s been doing odd jobs for Ozpin all week, he’s been doing a lot of work outside for Peach and I think he’s also been in the laundry rooms a lot. That stuff wasn’t just free. Plus he’s had to do all his usual leader stuff and his homework.

Weiss: *Gapes, hugs her bear and her eyes drift to her box of treats and she purses her lips* B-but...that’s so much, just so I...

Yang: Um, he likes you Weiss. Even if he stepped aside for Neptune, he’s not gonna just poof whatever he feels for you away just because he doesn’t have a chance. Then he sees you feeling like shit, knows just how bad it is because of all his sisters and gets it in his head that you deserve the princess treatment. *Stretches* He offered for Pyrrha once but she just went really red, yelled ‘NO!’ and apparently pushed him through a wall.

Weiss: *Sits on bed with her knees pulled up, hugging her bear while hiding a wobbling lip as she realizes and RBY just sighs*

~~Four days later~~

Yang: *Grins* Called it.

Blake: Yes, because it was such a mystery that this was gonna happen after Weiss had it spelled out for her that Jaune still has it bad for her even if he was trying to get over her. I’ll admit I still don’t understand the way Weiss thinks or why Jaune would put himself through all of that just because Weiss was having a bad period when it was clear at the time she wasn’t even thinking of him that way, but c’mon Yang.

Yang: *Hand out*

Blake: *Rolls her eyes, puts Lien in her hand* Child.

*Meanwhile Weiss stands on her tiptoes, arms around Jaune’s neck and enjoys kissing her boyfriend*

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two things: One, I headcanon Cardin as gay and occasionally having a thing for Jaune if it isn’t entirely obvious. Two, I don’t want my Tumblr to be nothing but crack/lewd. I’d also like some occasional romance/wholesome content. This isn’t the best, but hopefully it’s not quite as bad as I think it is towards the end.

#rwby #jaune arc #weiss schnee #white knight #jaune x weiss #rwby oc #d'awww #team rwby #this is what happens when you let a drunk type

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wu-sisyphus-gang · 3 years

Text

Motion Sickness 40

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Damn Jaune.

I thought.

And damn myself for getting comfortable.

It was a sad thought. One of valedictions rather than of true cursing.

But I started to like him…

It was a thought of denial, one born of protest.

I was saying goodbye to Ren and Nora. We cremated them and had a short ceremony. Long funerals were mostly frowned upon across Remnant for the negativity such things tended to gather.

It hurt, more than saying goodbye to my father ever had. These were my family. These were my friends and I'd never hear their voices again. Ren and Nora had no family for us to send messages too, though we would have. They had no ancestral homes to be buried at. They were orphans. All they had were Jaune and Pyrrha and they were gone now too.

I missed Nora's bubbly personality and Ren's stoicism. I missed sitting with them for meals. I missed watching them dance around the others' feelings. So obvious to the rest of us, they never had time to explore one another.

"Our time is fleeting," Ozpin officiated. "Time always seems short. Even to me." He gave an empty laugh. None of us echoed it.

He opened the cremation jar and emptied it into the wind. Jaune should have been here for it. Instead he was bringing the relic to Salem. He should be here to collect their weapons. Instead it was Ruby who held onto them during the ceremony.

Titania wasn't heavy but those weapons sure were. I didn't envy Ruby who seemed to want to carry them. Nora's hammer which Yang seemed content to hold on to for our travels was neatly folded up. She attached it to her belt and put it behind her. As the bruisers of our teams, Yang and Nora had been fairly close.

I received one half of Stormflower from Ruby. I wasn't sure what to do with it. I didn't need a gun but it felt wrong that they should never see use again.

It was wrong.

Jaune should be here to take it. He would know what to do with the weapons. Even if it was just to have them buried.

Amongst the mayhem and chaos Mistral represented Jaune had been like a rock. Sturdy and absolute. In every situation he'd known what to do. Real confidence had been in his heart rather than the false stuff he'd tried to show off freshman year. It was little wonder then, why Ruby lashed herself to him. And now it seemed Ruby was sinking and there was nothing I could do about it.

She was in love with Jaune, our problem child. As little as we knew what to do about Nora and Ren, we knew even less what to do about Jaune.

Ozpin was convinced Jaune was some kind of sleeper agent and not a full blown traitor which only seemed to make things more complicated. If he was a traitor I'd at least know how to classify him. Instead it didn't even seem to be his fault. Well it was and it wasn't. Ruby was fully in his camp but that was always going to be the case, dating or not. She believed in her friends. It was hard to find a fault in her for that.

So I didn't.

Instead I admired it. Arguably she should have been hurt the most, instead she seemed almost ready. Ready for what I wasn't sure. She was adamant that we'd run into Jaune again. It was hard to fault her instincts either. Not when they'd led her so far.

She also didn't want to be felt sorry for. I respected that, too. Lords only know that if it had been me, I'd be in pieces.

I packed Stormflower in my briefcase, carefully wrapping it in cloth. I clicked the briefcase shut over it and tried not to think about it.

"Hard to believe they're all gone." Blake leaned by the door of Yang and my room.

"JNPR is over. Felt just like that." Yang snapped her fingers. "Could have been us."

I shivered. "It basically was us. But for a chess piece at initiation."

"I don't want to think about that," Blake confessed. "RWBY is still whole."

"The girl or the team 'cause my sister hasn't handled this the best."

"Right. Our team, I suppose," Blake elaborated. "But she traveled with them, right? She was close to them all. Not even counting Jaune."

"They called it Team RNJR or JNRR," I said.

"Sounds painful."

"Like when our team was fractured," Yang said pointedly.

"Right." Blake sounded sheepish. "Except we came back together."

"Did we?" Yang asked. Her eyes red, and not just from tears. There beat a rage filled drum in her voice and it showed in her eyes.

"Well…" Blake trailed off.

"Really? You want to do this now?" I asked.

"Why not now? Should I let the cuts heal only to peel off the scab again?"

"I suppose." I granted. I didn't particularly like it, though. Our friends were barely in the ground, so to speak.

"You left us Blake. You left me. I was as partner-less as Jaune! I thought I'd never see you again. And the worst part was it was your decision. You didn't want to be around me."

"I-"

"You didn't even ask me if I'd go with you!"

I felt like an intruder. On the outside looking in as I knelt by my bed. I wasn't of course. And I could almost feel both of them expecting me to take their side. Yang's aura flared, a bright light in the room where Blake's seemed to cowl in on itself. A darkness that layered over again.

"I needed space. I needed time! Sun-"

"So what? Sun's good enough and I'm not?!"

"For your information he followed me. He didn't ask for my permission, he just came with me. I almost stabbed him over it." Blake anxiously pushed some hair behind her ear. Her human ear. "What happened to you was my fault. Adam came for me."

"Your crazy ex you never told me about? I thought we were past not telling each other things."

"I was trying to keep you safe! To protect you!"

"It didn't work!" Yang waved her prosthesis in Blake's face. "Ignorance may be bliss but it's not safe."

Point Yang. I was in her camp for that one. I was certainly tired of other people deciding what was best for me. I was way past that. It's why I supported her when she demanded that Ozpin be open with us.

"I'm sorry! I just couldn't bear the thought of you looking at me with hatred in your heart." Blake was crying. "Over this or over anything."

"Blake…" Yang protested. "I'd never do that to you. I just thought we were at a point where we'd struggle together. Even through the Whitefang stuff. Your problems are my problems. The way Jaune and my sister did. The way Ruby and Weiss are."

"I thought you'd hate me."

"I'd never hate you, Blake. I couldn't pull it off." Yang's aura looked distinctly cooler. Blake rubbed one arm with the other and wouldn't meet Yang's eyes. Couldn't.

"Is everything alright in here?" It was Ruby at the door. She already had her duffle bag in hand. Aside from that she was wearing Jaune's old hoodie. I guess she's gone through his things now that he was gone and found something she liked.

"We were just talking about when Blake left us," Yang answered.

"Ah," Ruby mumbled. "And is it…"

"We're getting somewhere," Blake said. "Thank you Ruby."

Ruby hovered at the door a moment longer before she said, "well I should…"

"Of course." Blake murmured. "Whatever you need."

I watched her go before I picked up my things. "Weiss?" Yang asked.

"You fools," I muttered. I followed Ruby. She didn't want to be excluded. It was the opposite of what she needed right now.

"They didn't mean anything by it." I caught up to Ruby and took her by the hand.

"I know."

"With everything else that's going on they just don't want to bother you with it."

"I know."

"It wasn't anything besides that."

"I know." I didn't feel anything from Ruby other than a quiet patience. I didn't get the sense that she was annoyed or flustered. In fact, her aura seemed reserved too. I could still taste the cinnamon and roses.

"We're all just worried about you."

She nodded. "I know. I…" She was masking and I hated to see it. I missed her energy. Her aura barely extended beyond her skin. If I wasn't touching her I doubt I'd have been able to feel it. It was a silenced, withdrawn thing.

"Are you feeling better today?" I asked.

"Not really I'm -um…" she trailed off.

"You just miss them. I know," I breathed.

She nodded. "We all do."

"But you feel so much more than most. Don't be afraid to talk to me. Ever. Please," I begged.

She wiped her hand across her face and took some silvery tears. "Everyone's treating me like I'm made of glass. And I am… and I am, but…"

I nodded and waited for her to get a head on her emotions.

"I'm not any more than anyone else should be." She finished at length. "And they're fighting."

"Yang felt like she had to," I said.

"Maybe she did. She's a fighter. She…" Ruby trailed off again and wiped some more of her tears away. "I want to go to sleep. I just want to sleep this away." She mumbled miserably.

I kissed her forehead. The kiss was not quick but held no passion.

"That's depression."

"Is it?" She asked.

"Yes. Little energy. It can be a symptom."

"I guess if you look at it like a sickness…"

"It is a sickness."

"That's very Weiss of you." She gave me a giggle and I felt a tidal wave of relief. The noise was quiet and simple.

"Well thank you." I managed. She traced her hand over the skin of one of my arms and I shivered.

"You've got goosebumps," she murmured.

"Well-I…" I cleared my throat and mastered myself. "Have you finished packing?"

She nodded. "I'm all set."

"Then we're just waiting on Yang and Blake now."

"They'll be ready before it's time to leave." She mumbled again. "Weiss, about the plan..."

"Me going on ahead, you mean."

"Yeah. I really don't like it."

"Me neither," I whispered. "But it might be the only way to get through to Ironwood. And it's only assuming Ozpin can't pass a message on to him using code."

"But if communication was up and running, they could do it from here. You'll be the message bearer Weiss. And I don't want to be split up from you."

"I know. I know. I'll miss you too Ruby."

"I wish Jaune were here," she confessed. "He'd come up with a plan."

"I'm sure you do. I bet he would, too. He was cunning like that."

"Is. He's not dead."

"Of course, I only meant…"

"I know," She muttered again. I found myself touching her face. The tips of my fingers grazing her cheeks and I watched in a sort of sick fascination as she leaned into the touch. Eyes closed. "I'm worried about you, Weiss."

"I'll be with the greatest military force on Remnant."

"That doesn't make you safe."

"What does safety even mean? Salem has a long reach. We thought Jaune was safe. I promise I'll be as safe as I can be." She reached up and pressed my hand against her face at that.

"And you'll stay away from your father."

"And… yes. I'll avoid him at all costs."

"Your sister… is she nice to you?" Ruby asked. "I only saw a little back at Beacon. I wasn't sure what to make of it."

A difficult question. Winter was always distant but that didn't put her in the same category as my father or brother. Or even my mother.

"Yes, I think so."

"Stay with her, then."

"What if Ironwood only lets Oscar through, though?" I let an unbidden fear out into the wild. I wanted it to be dissuaded. "What if he keeps you all back?"

"He won't. He works with Qrow too. At which point…"

"Right. That makes sense." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Plus if you talk about knowing about the relics..." She sighed into my touch. She let out a little humming sound and smiled for what felt like the first time in years, though it had only been days. "Everything will be okay."

I nodded. "Everything will be fine."

"Ladies." Qrow came in on mechanical legs. "I'm not interrupting something, am I?" His gait was too smooth, his strides too even. It belied his mechanical nature.

He seemed to be genuinely asking and I took a step away from Ruby as though caught in some act. "We were just…" I trailed off.

"We were just talking about the mission," Ruby said.

"Ah, the mission." It was Oscar. Or maybe Ozpin. Probably Ozpin. "There's always more to discuss, and if I may, more to discuss about Jaune."

"He has the relic," Ruby went on.

"That he does. And he is a cunning mind second to none. I'm sure, given enough time, he will learn to use the relic. Which, I confess, is a little terrifying. And he only seemed to be growing stronger from my perspective."

"When he was at Beacon he was so weak, by the time he turned he was the strongest of us. And you're right, it was like with each day he was getting better," I muttered. "Limit Breaker… it was aptly named. It seemed like he was pushing himself every single day."

"Yes. I'm afraid of what he will be in Salem's hands. You knew him best Ruby. I'd like a moment of your time to talk it over with you."

"The kid's smart but his options are limited. We weren't sure what his next move will be. Whether we should report him to the police or not." Qrow said.

"I'm… I'm not sure. I never thought he'd turn on us. Turn on me."

"Well, now that he did, we need to come up with a plan." Qrow grumbled. He took a swig of his flask. "Whether that's keeping a watch out for him ourselves or reporting him."

"Yes… the relic may already be in Salem's hands. You may be happy to hear the Malachite reported seeing him, acting and walking about. She gave up this information freely to us. She seemed afraid of him."

Ruby did seem happy to hear that. "Then we've confirmed he's alive? And Malachite is watching out for him?"

"Only smart of her. The kid was strong, and fast." Qrow muttered as an afterthought.

"Is. You all keep talking about him in the past tense." Ruby said with some heat.

"Of course, Ms. Rose. You still believe in his innocence, then?"

"You were the one who came up with the theory of him being a sleeper agent, weren't you?"

"Only as a plausible. It may be that he saw now with the relic as the opportune moment to strike at us." Ozpin said. "We had an interesting conversation before he left. On why I let him into my school. He claimed that I only let him in because I thought he was Salem's agent. It could merely have been mind games, but it was enough to make me doubt that he was acting of his own volition when he took the relic. His possible status as a victim in all this remains only that, a possibility. More importantly, however, if he were a sleeper agent that still makes him a threat to us. He is still allied against us."

"Jaune'll lay low. If he doesn't want us to find him then we won't. He's too smart for that," Ruby managed. I rubbed her back with one hand. Actually talking and being involved seemed to be doing her some real good. Who was I to shut it down? This was more energy than I'd seen from her in days.

"Then the relic is truly lost to us. We put out feelers just in case but…" Ozpin shrugged. "We'll have to manage to keep the remaining relics out of her hands. And an ear to the ground where Jaune is concerned. In the longest term, however, the relic of knowledge is perhaps the most dangerous relic she could have acquired first. And Jaune is very dangerous. As dangerous as any of Salem's other agents."

Ruby's fists tightened by her sides.

"A question, Ms. Rose?"

"I have questions for Jaune, not for you."

"My apologies, then."

"You need to face the facts kido. He killed two of his so-called friends."

"Qrow, now may not be the time…" Ozpin began.

"What is it you think you know about him that I don't?" Ruby demanded. "Why wasn't the opportune moment all the times we were alone together?"

"That's easy. He didn't have his hands on a relic, then." Qrow grunted. He seemed as angry as Ruby was. That he didn't catch Jaune before. That he was weaker now than he used to be.

Ruby bristled at her uncle. Fists clenching and unclenching by her sides.

"You think he saw he shot and just took it?" I asked. "That's what you think of him?"

"It's as I said, a plausibility. And being forgiving on him for it will do us no favors." Ozpin said. "Jaune is brutal."

"Jaune is kind!" Ruby almost shouted. "He is sweet!"

"You have another explanation for what happened then?" Ozpin asked.

"We don't. Not yet." I said. I was backing Ruby. Nobody deserved it quite like my partner did. She would have my back. She had Jaune's back even when the odds seemed stacked against him.

"Then I'm afraid we will have to operate as though he is our enemy. We can't afford the risk."

"I'll show you. I'll find what I need to to prove you wrong!"

"Ms. Rose I very much hope that you do."

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-WG

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redmaneroster · 3 years

Text

Our Home Away From Home, Away From Home

[1] [2] [3] [4-5] [6] [7] [8-9] [x]

PART 10 – Domestication

Yang blinks awake. She wonders why her pillow is so dense until she realizes that she's patting down Jaune's chest. Her hand is dangerously close to his waistband.

She wants to move but can't. Below her, her hands run through the threads of someone's dark red hair. Ruby wriggles at the touch. She'd come back a week earlier. In time for the dance but she'll be gone again when it's over.

It's like her baby sister is slipping out of her hands. She wants to scream and shout. To demand that Ozpin give her back… but he wasn't the one who could make that decision for her. Her dad had made it clear, Ruby is the only one who gets to choose, and she chose Ozpin.

She dreads to think on what Ruby's actually chosen. What she'd picked over everything else. Her friends, her family, her team, maybe even her dreams of being a huntress.

Yang bites her lip. Ruby isn't a huntress-in-training anymore either. She's licensed and fully-fledged. Has jobs and is on record as the youngest to join an academy and the youngest to graduate.

Peeling back her bangs, Yang spots the scar running along her forehead. It's deep and an ugly pinkish-red. Jaune asked where she got it. She'd gotten too close to a behemoth and got clipped trying to dodge its tusk. She'd killed it, somehow. She wouldn't tell how, just that she did. If she really tried, Yang could probably extract the story from her; global secrecy or no. But she can't. Won't.

Suddenly respecting her privacy feels like a vice on her lungs.

Ruby grabs Yang's hand suddenly. She's still and her breathing is rapidly pouring out of her, but then Ruby tugs the arm into her chest and nuzzles into it.

It's like they're eight and ten again, when Yang would spend the day working herself to exhaustion to make sure Ruby had a fulfilling day, only to collapse in her arms. Then and only then did Yang permit her little ten-year-old self to breathe, rest easy, then finally sleep. She recollects it like a blur of sweat and aches she was entirely too young to have, but now that they've passed, Yang can hardly remember what any of those pains felt like.

How differently could things have gone if she'd had a father and mother to tend to them instead. Maybe not long enough to mind Ruby themselves, but at least long enough to rub her hair and tell her she did good at the end of the day.

Calloused hands run through her hair. She looks up to see Jaune spying her out of one eye.

"You're getting that scary, thoughtful look on you again." Not quite the loving encouragement she'd expected, but close enough. "I'd warn against developing some early wrinkles but I can't help but feel they'd look good on you too."

She laughs. "You can't be serious. Were you checking out my mom?"

"Pfft! Sure. Let's go with that." She rolls her eyes. He ruffles her hair. "But in all seriousness, you can't blame a guy for admiring that kind of craftsmanship." His thumb runs slowly down her cheek. "They chiseled you out good. You have all their best parts."

She blushes but pushes the feeling down. "God, Jaune, were you checking out my dad too?" she teases but her eyes widen at his brief pause. "Oh my god."

He waves it off. "It's nothing like that. Despite looking like he could bench-press a truck, your dad still manages to look the least threatening when he's got some alcohol in him. I had thought that the day I'd meet my girlfriend's dad, I'd be most worried about being hated. Instead, I ended up worrying I'd just disappoint him. Like making him sad was worse than getting him angry."

"Yeah, Dad's got a wounded puppy look on him. I think it's why Zwei listens to him all the time. Like he even makes the dog feel responsible for keeping him happy."

"He's a dangerous man."

"I hope the title is hereditary."

"Ha! What was that you said on our first date? You could total a car, or something? I think that qualifies as dangerous."

"Hm… Is that a turn on or does that make you afraid? Both, maybe?"

"I think I'd qualify as crazy if it was both. Do you qualify as crazy if you're still into me after that?"

"We could be crazy together." Her fingers run circles over his abs. "I could live with that…"

Ruby curls up and covers her ears. "Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!"

Yang ruffles her hair. "Good morning to you, too,"

"Sleep well?" Jaune asks.

"Too well…" Ruby grumbles. "I don't think I could go back to pillows ever again. Maybe I'll sleep on Zwei or something… No, that doesn't feel right…"

Yang pulls her head up, inching enough along Jaune's chest to rest her head up against his chin. "I think it's the company. Missed your big sister that much, huh?"

Ruby's nose scrunches. "Yeah, I do." She crawls into them and snuggles in. She takes Jaune's hand and tugs on Yang's till they're hugging her now. "I'll miss you all so much when I'm gone…"

The way she words that digs a pit in Yang's chest. She squeezes her a little tighter. Her chest feels hollow for a little longer.

Ruby pulls out and Yang lets her go, but she jerks back a bit cause Jaune hasn't let go. "Sorry…" Jaune says. He looks like he wants to hold on.

"Don't be." The softness of her hands press warmly over his, and her smile shares its qualities. "I'd miss me too." She means it like a joke but it stops showing on her eyes and a frown worms its way into her cheeks. "I have to go get ready."

She glances over to the rest of the bed. Only Blake is there, her back turned to them. "Pyrrha's probably waiting for me downstairs. I'll see you two tonight, alright?" When she's pulling fresh clothes out of her travel bag, she calls out, "If Blake gets up, tell her we'll see her on the bullheads and grab a bite in Vale if she's late!"

JNPR's bathroom door shuts behind her. The door feels tiny from where they are, on the opposite side of a giant bed in the RWBY dorm room. Its distance echoes with the thrum of the muffled shower.

Jaune pulls Yang up and against him. "Sorry about this. I know you were looking forward to going with me."

"You shouldn't have to feel sorry for giving my sister a good time," she says. He can tell that she means it. "She's going to miss you too, and this might be her last chance to feel like a normal girl for a change. Besides, it's only sophomore year. We'll still have plenty of school dances to go to."

"I guess… Save me a dance?"

"I think I'll need a little more than one."

The distant pattering of the shower is notable when it stops in the quiet of the twin rooms. Jaune eyes Blake and realizes that her bow is on. "Didn't Blake stop wearing that?"

Yang shifts over his stomach and realizes how broad her outline is. "I don't think that's her."

They share a look before poking her in the head.

Ren groans and swats his hand away. He wiggles out and takes off the wig he's wearing, scratching his head.

They snort. "That's a good look for you," they say, realize they've said it at the same time, and high-five.

He groans again. "That's never not going to be weird."

"Not as weird as you in a wig," Jaune says.

Yang notices he's in Blake's pajama top too, sagging off his shoulder since it's so much smaller. "…Or in her nighties."

"It's called a jinbei." Ren shakes his head. "Before you ask, I lost a bet."

Jaune shrugs. "We figured. Not like we expected you to wear that for fun or anything."

He pulls on the delicate fabric. "Aside from the wig, it's very comfortable."

"Oh, I'll bet."

Ren rubs his eyes. "Jaune…"

He throws his hands up. "I'm kidding! … Not really. You want one in your size?"

"…Yes." He blushes which is weird cause Ren doesn't blush. But he does and it's adorable. They snap a picture. He can only summon the energy to scowl for a breath's length. "I should get going too."

"Why are you up so late anyhow?"

He blushes and he doesn't bother answering. They don't need one anyway.

-0-

The echoed bass of this year's dance bounces off the walls of the hallway just outside of reception.

Yang hasn't been on a dance floor in months and now the sounds feel alien. She used to attribute clubbing as a part of her, even as a freshman who could pass for eighteen. Breaking it down, it's clear that she only went out there to have fun. And she's been having a lot of fun elsewhere this year.

"I don't really wanna go in there," Oscar says beside her as they make their way to reception. They're both wearing green, to match hues with her eyes and to contrast his. "I'm starting to get dizzy on just the sounds of it."

"You get used to it," she says. "It's mostly just sensory overload. Just let it sink in and you'll hardly even register the music. It's meant to be white noise anyway so no one has to talk in silence."

"So it's, what, a social tool? Like a distraction?"

"Most of partying is. For all the awkward folks, it means they can hide behind something else while they get their wings. For the rest of us, the ones who've got it down, it lets us keep going. Longer than the night sometimes."

"I never thought of it that way."

She pats him on the shoulder. Even in flats, she's so much taller than him. "Try not internalize it too hard. It's easier when you're letting a conversation happen instead of trying to force any advice you hear into it."

"And if I end up in awkward silence with someone?"

"Then maybe you aren't talking to the right people. Take Ruby for instance." She points ahead of them, at Jaune and Ruby dressed in red together. They're talking and laughing. "You ever have a conversation just stop when you talk to her?"

"Yeah."

"Then she isn't the right people." She catches Ruby's glare but she goes back to Jaune pretty quickly.

"Uh… Oh! You're joking!" Oscar exclaims.

"Whoa! Hey! Don't take me seriously all the time. Half of me is comedy."

"It's often bad!" Jaune calls back.

"Shut up!" Yang giggles. "I have the worst boyfriend," she whispers loudly. Jaune pretends to be wounded by it.

"So…" Oscar rolls his hands. "I'm getting mixed signals here. Is it okay to have awkward silence?"

"Yeah! I mean… I guess had a bad example. It's okay if a conversation stops, but not when it drops."

He squints. "I feel like you're deliberately confusing me."

"I'm just not the most articulate person. Not like I learned to be social on a quotable handbook or anything. So when you talk to someone on something you're interested in, like, say, coffee –"

"-Or milk."

"Or milk. Yeah, let's got with that. Say you like skim milk – you monster –" he laughs cause he does, "then you know you've found someone you can talk to if they don't try to derail the conversation once they find out."

"Cause I brought up skim milk?"

"Cause they're still interested in talking even after you mention it. Someone you can talk to might agree and keep at it, or disagree but wants to hear your side of why you like it so much. Someone you can't talk to will try to change the topic after finding out what you like or not about something."

"I thought it was all about finding things in common."

"I think it's just as interesting if you don't. I hate Seven Rapids cause they're all noise and not even music to me, but that's precisely why Jaune loves them. Jaune and his sister used to be afraid of thunder, so when a storm hit their hometown, it was the only band they could listen to on the same pair of earphones without having to block out the other ear with something."

"That doesn't sound like he particularly likes it either."

"But it's a story I wouldn't have heard otherwise if I switched gears! Now we know each other a little better."

The bass thumps in their ears after they sign on in the registry and come through the doors. Blake is already dancing with Penny, Sun and Pyrrha are expectedly missing, and Nora is a having a subdued moment with Ren by the punch bowl.

"Ruby?" They're instantly stopped by Cardin Winchester of all things. His date, Velvet, trails behind him and crashes into Ruby first.

"You're back!" Velvet cheers. "For how long?"

"Not very," she says sheepishly.

"That big a deal, huh?" Cardin guesses. He continues before she can get uncomfortable. "We missed you at Leadership. Jaune cried."

Jaune rolls his eyes and lets it be… For an entire second. He punches Cardin in the arm and they laugh.

"I missed you guys too. Even the class. Ugh! Can you believe I miss waking up early for class?"

"I miss that feeling too," Velvet agrees. "When you're Juniors and Seniors, you lose half your classes and you're not even expected to attend most of your sessions. We're usually out on the field taking low threat missions. Even a noisy classroom is quieter than the woods."

Ruby rubs the back of her head. "I kind of know what that's like now, actually."

Jaune and Yang trade looks. Oscar tries not to look them in the eyes.

"We should get going," Cardin says, reading the room. "We'll catch up later." Velvet takes him by the arm and waves off.

Ruby, like Oscar, doesn't look them in the eyes either.

"It's okay!" Yang says soothingly, her a voice a titter with a laugh. "We won't pry. Just happy you're here."

"C'mon," Jaune says, taking Ruby's hand, "let's see how well Oscar taught you how to dance."

Ruby slaps a hand to her lips, trying feebly to hide her blush. "The punch bowl first, please. If it's spiked, I can pretend to be good at anything."

"Not a chance," Jaune teases. He kisses Yang on the cheek before leaving her with Oscar.

"He really is the worst," Oscar says, sarcasm bleeding off his cheek. "He's so sickeningly sweet. Wanna trade dates? I'd take him."

Yang slaps him on the back. "Ha! That's the spirit. I can see you're getting more comfortable."

Oscar shrugs. "I think you're just easy to talk to. We should go, too. I'm starving."

-0-

Ruby might have been right about the punch. Nora is loud and all over the place, but Oscar remembers a few stories about her and asks, "Is this how she normally is?"

Ren laughs, it's quiet and patient. He sounds older than he looks. "I don't think she qualifies for normal."

Nora crashes into a few people he doesn't recognize but they laugh and stand her up. They're all friends here. Or maybe Nora just has that effect on people.

"Here." Ren is standing in front of him with a plate of sushi, a black dip of some sort, and what looks like green clay. "Try one of these."

"You ever have these in Mistral?" Yang asks.

"Only the cities. Funny how my first time with it will be in Vale of all places."

Ren demonstrates with chopsticks, expertly grabbing the rolled sushi, dipping, then grabbing a dab of the clay before inserting it into his mouth. "Now you try."

Oscar takes a fork, stabs the sushi, dips it, end curves the fork's teeth into the clay-like thing, and shoves it in his mouth. He can only register Ren's panic when it's already too late.

"You took too much wasabi," he breathes.

Yang is already grabbing a cup from the punch bowl. Oscar's mouth explodes in heat. Then the rest of the night is a blur.

-0-

Ruby was right. Someone did spike the punch.

By now it's too late and they devolve into a flurry of laughter and dancing. No one seems to care that there's suddenly alcohol present, but a cursory glance reveals that the staff isn't even present. Coco does mention seeing Ozpin and Glynda alone in the plaza, and much of the staff was huddling in the dark trying to eavesdrop on them. Seems mischief is ageless.

Jaune and Yang don't dance. Ruby is too important for them to let the night be about them, so they dance with her instead. She's at least thankful that Jaune chose to lead her in a slow dance. She doesn't think she can keep up with him otherwise. Yang, on the other hand, is an expert on matching her pace. She's her big sister after all.

Oscar doesn't get to dance with her either but he's fine with that. What he isn't fine with is being completely hammered by one watered-down drink. Yang thinks its funny how similar he is to Jaune but the similarities end there. He gets swung around by Nora on the dance floor and the alcohol doesn't help.

Remembering this night mostly comes out as a thousand flashes. Their scrolls roll the whole night, and the photos flood the memory banks like they'll struggle to remember this night when it's over. Which doesn't happen because the alcohol doesn't make them drunk. Unlike Oscar, all the alcohol just serves as an excuse for everyone else to let loose.

Joan shows up in a dress and everyone has flashbacks of first year. Ruby jokes loudly about Jaune filling the dress out real well this time and most people momentarily forget that Jaune has a twin sister.

Somewhere down the line, they pour out of the dance and sing off-key in the garden, count stars in the courtyard, and then they're out on the roof where half their class has turned up for a grill off.

Jaune and Nora get so into it that they're scared out of themselves when Cardin shows up in an apron and a grill of his own. Yang remarks that Weiss would have loved the smell.

Oscar kisses Penny and Ruby doesn't know what to do with that. Yang lets her figure it out cause she's growing up and she can ask her whenever she's ready.

Nora's corsage gets caught in the wind somehow and Ruby jumps into action. She weaves through the crowd in a stream of red and rose petals. She's over the railing and she shows no fear as she leaps off the edge and curls over the shattered moon with the pink flower in her hands. Her smile is stunning, her confidence brimming off her cheeks.

Jaune and Yang hold hands at the sight. She's a burst of beauty that steals hearts.

There's a cheer when she effortlessly blurs back and falls into the crowd. She doesn't think what she does is anything special, but it is. She is. And everyone knows it.

And just when their spirits are highest, it rains.

Ruby doesn't leave the roof when it does. Her friends stay with her, Jaune and Yang especially. The look in her eyes tells them that she's barely holding something back.

They stand with her, letting the chipped pieces of them fall apart together so Ruby doesn't feel like she's alone. She tells them she's afraid. They tell her they are too. But fear doesn't get to take residence, it doesn't get to loiter and sink into the upholstery. They'll kick and scream until it's gone cause they never go down without a fight.

It sounds like they're all struggling blindly, but Yang tells her that defiance is only the first step. And that also makes it the most important.

In a moment of solidarity, Ruby screams at the top of her lungs as the rain hides her tears and her friends drown out her pain with defiant roars of their own.

And in the next she's on a bullhead, barely out of her dress, and she disappears in a sea of stars.

-0-

It's the weekend again, and Yang convinces Jaune to come to the apartment for the day. Walking back into it feels like a lifetime has passed him by. There's a layer of dust on everything and he resists the urge to wipe it all down. He can't spend the one day they're here this month cleaning. Maybe next month when he's got the lien to cover his half of the rent.

No, that's an excuse. He could just as easily ask for an advance on his allowance or pick up an extra mission to cover the gap. He wanted to push them both to stay in the dorm, but when Yang pushes passed him with a box full of last night's freshly developed photos, he can see the forced curl of her cheek that's just a little too wide.

Ruby's been again for a week. She might not come back. Yang needs a breather to reconcile with that.

She plops the box down on the coffee table as Jaune sorts out their dinner across the room in the kitchenette.

"Anything good?" he asks.

She waves a photo in the air. "You in a dress!"

"Ha, well… Wait, no, I didn't do that this year! That's Joan!"

"Pfft! Not when I post it and tag you. I expect continued confusion from the campus."

"Yang…"

"C'mon, it's funny!"

He tosses an orange in a basket and reminds himself to eat it later. It's not gonna stay ripe if they leave it behind. In his head, it suddenly sounds like a shitty metaphor. "You're allowed to be sad about Ruby leaving, y'know?"

She chuckles and whips back to him. "So are you."

He doesn't know how to answer that. He spent a lot of that night dreading her leaving but he hadn't expected her to up and go before midnight even hit. It's still jarring, unreal even. Like he could walk back onto campus and bump into her, cause that night was a blur and he might have just dreamt it ending the way it did.

A hip bumps into his, and he drops the pork chops back onto the counter. Yang doesn't look sorry but she hides her face in his chest and he lets her hold onto him.

"It feels like I'm still halfway down a landslide. With my parents and uncle are off to god-knows-where, and Weiss and Neptune fighting for the soul of her company, it felt inevitable that Ruby would just… follow after. And it's a little scary, y'know? I don't know when all of this stops. I don't know if I'm gonna keep losing people." She doesn't cry, but her chest feels tight. "It's like I'm either waiting to see who's next or if I'm gonna crash when I hit the bottom…"

She'd been putting up a strong front, but her bravado feels like it's slipping, and she already feels like it's going to break her. Finding JNPR had stemmed the tide. She even thought she might stop slipping altogether but then Ruby comes and just goes into the night…

Jaune's pulls out his scroll and she can hear him clicking. She only then realizes that his other hand is squeezing carefully on her waist.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding people."

"What? Who?"

He brings the scroll close to his face. There's a call and it goes through almost immediately. It's a voice she doesn't recognize but she can guess who it is. She's already familiar with the stories about her.

"Hey, runt!" comes a woman's voice. "Caught me at a good time. Coral's burning the eggs again and she could use a few pointers from her big brother." Yang can practically feel her wink.

"It's nice to see you too, Sable. You're the eldest in the house now, don't you know how to cook it?"

There's a snort on the other end of the line. "Please. Wouldn't know my way around the kitchen unless I crashed a car into it. And even then I'd only familiarize myself with the quickest exit."

Jaune groans. "You can't keep getting take-out and engorging everything your pit crew gets you. One of these days you're gonna regret never learning from mom. At least Coral's trying."

"Well, Coral doesn't have a job."

"Hey, I totally have a job!" a muffled voice shouts.

"And besides, the track keeps me busy."

Yang mumbles into Jaune's chest. "That sounds like an excuse to me…"

Jaune laughs.

"Jaune… who was that?"

"She's the reason why I called you in the first place." He's already propping his scroll up against a bundle of uneven loaf.

"Ooh! Do we finally get to meet this elusive girlfriend of yours?"

Yang sucks in a breath. It feels like she's stepped into a different space altogether and she's nervous now for very different reasons.

"Girls, this is Yang."

"Hi there." Yang hopes she doesn't sound awkward.

On the screen is a set of huddled blondes all crashing to get a view through the screen. In the middle is the cheeky one she guesses is Sable. Unlike her sisters, her hair is red fading into blonde tied in a braid over her shoulder. "Hey yourself. I'm Sable. I heard you're good with bikes. We should talk. Grease monkey to grease monkey."

Another blonde in a bob cut and glasses pushes into her cheek. "God… hi. You're so pretty. Are you sure you're a huntress? Jaune, please don't let this be a prank." She seems all over the place.

"That's Coral," Jaune supplies. "Don't mind her. She'll make proper sentences when she starts calming down."

A dark-skinned girl with dirty blonde hair is pushed into view. Yang remembers Jaune mentioning having an adopted sister with dirty blonde hair. The dark hues accent her and it's all the more stunning when some of the white strands she has makes it clear that all that hair natural. "Ahem, I'm Dahlia," she says with the tiniest smile. She looks fourteen but she doesn't sound it.

She tilts her head to the side revealing another fourteen-year-old hiding behind her. "And this is Liona."

"Uhm!" Liona nearly screams, "H-hi!"

"Is she alright?" Yang asks.

Sable waves it off. "Oh, it's nothing really. She's just -"

"See?!" Liona points at the screen, looking at the other girls. "It's another blonde! The curse is real!" And she's gone.

Dahlia sighs and gets up. "I'll go after her. It was nice meeting you, Yang."

"She's polite."

Sable shrugs. "Grew up in a strict house. We're still trying to shake it out of her but enough about that, why don't you tell us how you got all that hair to behave? Mine spazzes out if I don't tie it down and there's only so many ways to tie long hair before I have to cut it down."

Yang starts going on about products she uses and Jaune slowly starts slipping away. There's an excitement brimming off her cheeks, a confidence to bury any embarrassment she might have had. It's like she's not even here anymore. She's in Clove with his sisters.

He feels a tightness on his wrist. Yang gives him a dangerous look. "Oh, no way, buster. You're staying here so I don't collapse in on myself." She tugs him in and wraps an arm around his.

They're shocked when another voice comes in. "We'll aren't you two cute," says Helia, Jaune's mom as she peeks over Sable's shoulder.

The afternoon is a blur of conversation. Bikes and Cars are both similar and different enough that Yang and Sable get along quick with always something interesting to add.

Coral has a distinct fascination with Yang's hair and has non-stop questions. It's got loose strands and is the furthest thing from perfectly straight but Yang makes it work somehow and Coral has an intense need to know how. Jaune just calls it Xiao Long magic.

Liona and Dahlia, despite being respectively excitable and largely subdued, ask Jaune and Yang both about being huntsmen. Yang catches the way Dahlia's eyes go a little wide at the excitement and terror of their stories, and Jaune never fails to point out every time Liona chews her lip like she can't decide if being a huntress is for her. He lets her sort it out until she's ready to talk about it.

The only sister Yang hasn't met yet is Cori, the second eldest, and that's cause she's in Atlas. Jaune notes that she's keeping an eye on Weiss and Neptune for them. They stop the conversation when Sable tells her that they're really allowed to talk about it.

Helia – she still insists on Aunt Hess but Yang's still getting the hang of it – reminds them that they promised to have dinner with her and her husband.

And when it's all over and they wave their goodbyes, Yang's eyes are as bright as she remembers. "I wanna meet them," she says when they're on the couch.

"This summer then. I was planning on coming home. Sable might have to run a summer circuit for her sponsors but she'll still catch us. And Cori will be there for a week. We can even get Saph to come join us."

"Yes. That. Please?"

He pulls his scroll off the coffee table. "Alright, alright. Calm down. It's happening. Let me just drop Cori a line so we can figure out when it's best."

She hugs him. "Thank you," she whispers.

"For what? I only called up my sister."

"For this. Them. All of it. I really needed to get out of my own headspace."

"Back to Remnant?"

"Not quite. It still hurts. Just a little. I can't shake the feeling."

He gently pushes her away, grabs her waist, and thumbs her cheek. "Maybe a classic distraction will suffice."

She giggles. Her cheeks are warming up. "I missed this. Just you and me."

They press their lips together. She pulls him down with her against the armrest of the couch.

While he's holding her steady by the waist, her own hands can't seem to settle anywhere. One minute she's clutching the back of his head grabbing a fistful of hair, the next she's tugging on his shirt and stretching the fabric. Now she's on his neck, pulling him in.

He loves the way she tastes. Practically devours her lips until he coaxes her into his biting his.

He gasps and that hungry look in her eyes tells him that wants him to sing for her. His eyes are dangerous in response, pulling away only to bury his face in her neck. She shuts her eyes and expects him to bite, to mark her like they do every time, but he's suckling and her skin feels like it's getting more sensitive.

"Ah…!" She bites her lip. She wants him to keep going but she also wants him to do more. Her fingers curl into the back of his neck. Arching her back to the sensations bursting from his ministrations, she hisses before whispering, "bite me."

She can feel the way hot breath pouring out of his nostrils as she says that. You're a dangerous woman, he'd all but said. And with the look he gives her in the periphery, she can't help but feel him saying it with his eyes. He bites down and her back arcs again. Its soft and he's suckling at the same time. She wonders how that would feel on other parts of her body.

When she's curling into him, she gasps as her limbs act without her consent. Her arms wrap around his shoulders and her legs bend and clasp around his waist. She's already off the sofa and hanging off of him entirely.

"Yang…" he breathes. They pull back enough for her to see the manic look in his eyes. There's nothing coy about it. It's just hunger. Need. And after everything they've been through, she knows she wants it too.

He's looking down at her as he settles his breathing and lays her back on the couch. She doesn't let go, only now his weight is on her. As meek as she looks, he has to tell himself that she can take it, but the innuendo sparks dangerous images in his mind. It doesn't help that she's a hot, sweating mess.

She feels him pull a tent in his pants. It's nothing new. She'd even teased him about it now, but it's not out of place here.

Daring herself to look at it, she spies it in the space between their legs. It feels taboo to even bear witness, but in her half-hearted attempt to look away, she instead finds the tear in his shirt just at the collar. She doesn't know if she caused it, somewhere in all the tugging and moaning, it must have happened. In the afternoon sun, it's a clear sight line from his chest to his stomach. Sweat trails down there too and it drives her wild to follow it down.

His hand settles experimentally on her belly.

She looks up at him. His askance stare and bated breath do not need words. She nods.

It trails carefully downwards, delicate even at the shallow scratch of his nails. It feels like he's uncoiling tension bundled in her abs, and every line is a full, happy sigh sung from her lips.

He can't stop staring at his hand as it seems to go on forever over the valley of her stomach. A hand is on his cheek. He meets her eyes and she seems to dare him not to look away from her. Her other hand wraps around his wrist and guides it till snags at the hem of her shorts.

His breathing betrays him. It's practically telegraphing the tremors dancing in his chest. He doesn't want to scare her. The way she jumped back the first time they got this close still sends the wrong kind of shiver down his arm like he might burn her if he tried.

But she isn't afraid. Her eyes are half lidded, her breath staccatos but its even. Her hand tugs at his wrist again.

He undoes the button.

She gasps.

His finger traces the zipper.

She bites her lip.

A hint of panic settles in cause he needs to see what he's doing but he can't look away from her. She has no trouble staring at him herself. It's like she's in a trance and all she's interested in watching is him. So he swallows his fears and kisses her again. Her lips are welcoming but her tongue is a tidal wave that swallows him whole.

It emboldens him. Lets his fingers push passed the zipper and straight over the thin bit of cloth behind it. The fabric is like his own. Nothing special. Plain and normal, and makes him laugh against her lips and she laughs with him.

Her hand pulls his wrist over her crotch. His fingers graze the unshaven hairs down there. Then she lets go of his hand and trusts that he'll figure out the rest.

He does.

His hand is so much larger than her own. That's what she first thinks when his digits span over her southern hairs and inch its way down. He has to pull his chest away from hers to get an angle that doesn't twist his wrist, but she doesn't stop moaning into his mouth.

A heated line draws sidewards from his hands, like her legs are tugging closed along the path his hand into her mound. She welcomes it. There's no alarm bells in her head. She wants to bring him there and trap him

She's okay with this.

And when his fingers smooth over her entrance and finds exactly where to make first contact, her heart's already ramming into the walls of her chest. She wants it. A bite of his lip. Bodies press firmly together. She's already trapped him down there.

She wants it. She wants it. She wants it!

Yang pulls away. He's shocked out of her nethers. His fingers are still wet.

"Yang… I'm – I'm sorry, I –"

She closes into him and shoves his damp hand into his mouth. "How do I taste?" she asks, voice hot on his neck. Inside, she's screaming because it would have been sexier to taste it herself. Then again, she isn't sure she wants that.

"Like you," he breathes against the back of her neck.

She laughs. "What's a girl supposed to take away from that?"

"Because like everything else about you, it makes me want more."

The hammering in her chest has evened out. "I want this. You. All of it."

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing. I'm not scared. I don't even know why I was in the first place anymore."

"Is that what happened? Did it bother you? Not knowing why?"

She doesn't need to answer. Instead she pulls away, kisses his lips, and tells him, "The Aries."

"My car?"

"Yes. Could you go and get the installment cleared and… maybe grab us dinner? Please?" She doesn't want to have to say that she needs a bit more time to figure this out, but he's already kissed her and is at the door.

"Later?" he asks.

She nods, a giddiness worming its way into her cheeks. "Later. I'll be ready when you come home."

He loves that look on her. He'd kiss her again if he didn't have to go.

-0-

Blake gets a call from Yang. She has to pull away from Ren and Nora on the beanbag. She's barely dressed as it is (Nora's slovenly habits are starting to rub off on her) and she isn't sure she's ready to answer any questions Yang might have about what's going on between them.

"Yang?"

"Blake! Uh… did you just get out of bed?"

She glances at her roommates. Nora's waggling her brows and Ren has that tiny smile of his that is somehow far more embarrassing. "Something like that. What about you? Do I even need to ask about the fresh hickey?"

Yang is silent for a moment. "I almost had sex with Jaune."

Her eyes widen hysterically. "Almost? What happened?"

"I needed to sort some things out." Her eyes narrow. "Look, we're gonna meet again in an hour or two, but before then, I need to bounce the last few months with my best friend."

Blakes gives her a good-natured sigh. "Fine," she says with a smile she can't stop, "give me the whole story."

"It all started on the day I was born."

"Yang!"

"I'm… I'm only half joking."

-0-

It's sundown when he gets home. He half expects scented candles, ambient music, thick makeup, and lingerie. But there's none of that. She isn't even in the living room.

"Yang?" he calls out.

His scroll pings.

"Take a shower in the guest room and come meet me in your room, please?" It reads. He takes off his jacket and pulls off his shirt when his scroll pings again. "If you love me, you'll come in only towel. So please love me."

He sprints into the shower.

Minutes later he's mostly dry and standing in his own living room, staring at his bedroom door like it'll fall on him if he even dares to come in to see his probably barely dressed girlfriend.

He knocks.

A moment of silence, but it is quiet enough to hear her take a healthy breath before she gives him a nervous "I'm ready!"

He expects a mountain of nerves. Maybe even another try at the lingerie with a bit of snide confidence beneath a toothy grin. But when he opens the door, he finds a gentle smile sitting up in an igloo of blankets. There's no put-upon anything here. She's not trying to be enticing, or trying to get a rise out of him,

He can only call that look honest.

"Are you cold?" he asks.

The question shocks her into laughter. Cause he's fresh out of the shower and she's been cozy in these sheets for the better part of an hour now. "No, no, I'm plenty warm."

"Could be warmer," he says. He doesn't intend to flirt but it's already out of his mouth and she's matching the nervous, embarrassed smile on his cheeks.

"Maybe. Why don't you come here and find out?"

With the towel wrapped firmly around his waist, he locks the door behind him and crawls onto the bed. He doesn't get any closer though.

Now that he's up close, he can see the silhouette of her bare legs just between the sheets. One of her hands comes out to pull both sides of the sheet together while the other comes to reach for him.

He takes her hand, bare knees touching.

"Hey," he says. And it's goofy, and so like him that it blossoms something in her chest.

"Hey, yourself." She calms her own nerves again and he loves the way the shape of her straightens like she's conquered something again.

He's staring and he knows it but the moonlight is sinking in through the gaps in the blinds and he swears her hair can put gold to shame.

"I've figured out why I was so afraid before," she says.

"Of getting intimate?"

"Yeah…" Her hands are sweating. Her gaze is locked to their hands. "I've already shown you so much of me. I've carved out my deepest fears and fed them to you like I was trying to stuff you full. Cause I didn't like having them in me. Like mom, and us, and Vytal, and now my team… When I'm with you, I already feel exposed. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with showing you all these sides of me but…"

She looks up at him, and their eyes meet. "I still have secrets." She says it like an apology. "But I'm not about to share my every thought but I find myself speaking my mind around you all the time anyway. I've been open but it's like I can't hide anything from you." She inches closer and her hand on the blankets tightens. "And this? Us? It's like I'm showing you all that's left. I'm no prude. I don't mind showing you a little skin."

He laughs. She doesn't wear much to bed. Not that he does either. "You never really seemed concerned about it, yeah."

"Yeah, but… doing this means I'm giving you something I can't take back or keep for myself. What I'll say or do when we do it will be new secrets and they'll be yours and… I was afraid of that."

Was, she said. He focuses on that.

His fingers run over her knuckles. She fixates on the way his hands are trying to hold her without getting any closer.

"What changed?" he asks.

"You… you showed me that you were just as scared." She remembers the way he was breathing only hours ago, staring down at her like he was scared of hurting her if he kept giving in to what she was offering. "It was like a hundred little things. Adrian, Terra, wanting to ruin your hair like an idiot for me…"

He scratches the back of his head. "I thought I was keeping a brave face on that one."

"Please. I love you but there's no way you were going to be comfortable looking an idiot again no matter how much you say it wasn't going to bother you." She sighs. "It's funny how that made me love you more."

Her smile falls away. "When I was younger, I was used to affection. It was like I had a mom and two dads. They'd dote on me and sing my praises like I could be nothing but spectacular. I couldn't go a day without being smothered by someone's love… Then… Then I lose Summer and dad shuts down. Qrow would try to be there for us and did everything he could while he was around but he always had to go to work. And I kept thinking if I was feeling like this, how did Ruby feel? How much did she feel that she was missing out on? So, I smother her with enough love to make up for everyone else, but every time I did, I was reminded of how much I missing for myself."

"And then we happened and it's not all the making out, or the cuddling, or the hickeys. I was afraid I'd have to give up this apartment cause I was overstaying my welcome, but then you smile at me and… Jaune, do you remember what you said to me that day?"

He's been flush this entire time. "I, uh, no, I don't."

"You told me it was already decided. Like I belonged here and that I never needed to work for it even if I tried my hardest to prove that I did. I didn't need to earn a place here. We were friends and you thought that was already enough."

He squeezes her hand. "It goes both ways, y'know?"

She squeezes back. "Tell me."

"I hated this apartment. When I first got it I thought I'd just bought myself a hole I could hide in while I drown myself." He eyes the walls, and even in the dark he knows where he'd had to plaster over cracks he'd punched into. "And it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go so I couldn't leave. I thought I'd maybe show up at the clubs and find someone else to warm my sheets, but even when I got propositioned, I couldn't dare to drag anyone else into what I'd put myself through."

"Then you showed up and I forgot what those nights even really felt like. It was just you, tearing every sordid, manic page out of my book and putting yourself there instead. It isn't just Terra you replaced it was… everything else. No more cold nights, broken sinks, or empty bottles. Even when things are quiet in the morning, it was nice to remember someone else was there that I had to wake up. It was nice knowing I had to cook for two. It was nice knowing that whenever I had to go out and do something tiring, or frustrating, or stupid… there was always someone waiting for me at home."

He lets go of her and makes for the vanity. A drawer is tugged open. Yang recognizes it as the one Jaune uses to hide the previous tenant's wedding ring box, but that isn't he pulls out of it. It's his flask. He sets there in full view of her. "I haven't needed it in months."

There's warmth against her skin. Even back then he said that she couldn't fill the gap of every torment but there it is. Definitive proof that she has. And it isn't just that she's done it, or even that she's done it for months, but also that she hasn't noticed. That the part of him with doubts has quietly slipped away.

And it's the same for her.

When he's back on the bed, she slinks her hands away into the blanket, clutching its two halves.

She's surprised at how easy it is to pull them apart and show him all of her. That doesn't mean it gets any easier with the way he stares at her. Yang has to resist covering up again.

His eyes trace the length of her arms down to her toned, steady legs. Back up to her abs and the swell of her breasts, to the soft coiling of her shoulder blades into her neck. This woman is built like a brick house and he loves every inch of her.

She'd already been staring at most of him before the towel on his waist slips away. The broad stroke of his arms, the wound tightness of his chest, his abs are pulled taut but his navel looks soft and boyish between the strong ridges. His legs are thin but muscled. She never knew she could appreciate the curve of a calf before but his legs help make him tall and it looks like she can dine on its width.

He crawls towards her and she welcomes his look of uncertainty as if it was her own. She falls back onto the sheets, prepared for him. One hand on her belly, the other pressed firmly over her beating chest. He doesn't move in to kiss her. He's stopped and staring somewhere on her breast. She almost cracks a joke about it but his hand comes up suddenly and runs along her skin.

"What happened here?" he asks.

There's the shadow of a scar beneath her left breast. She's surprised he can even see it in the low light. "Accident. I crashed my bike one night when driving home back to Beacon. It was… it wasn't a very good night. Assholes just drove on by and didn't bother checking in. Everyone sees an armed huntress and they think I can everything handle my own. Never mind that I was bleeding and calling out for help."

His eyes narrow. "People in this city suck."

"C'mon, they're not all bad. That boatman's pretty nice."

"Tackle."

"What?"

He snorts. "Yang, that's his name. Tackle. You're telling me we spent two weekends with him and you don't even know his name? You remember the old guy who sells dust? You meet him every month. His name's Shop and he's Tackle's brother."

She's laughing. Mostly from embarrassment. Mostly. "And how do you know this?"

"I talked to him?"

She shakes her head. "Y'know what, nevermind. I'm lying back here naked and you've got me thinking about old men and their equally old brothers."

"But hey, not so nervous anymore, right?"

He's right. It's so much easier to just talk to him. "Yeah. Much better tha-a-anks~! Jaune!"

His head's below her breast, kissing along her scar. He's doing it so softly that it tickles. "J-Jaune! Ha ha! What are you doing?"

"Kissing it better," he says matter-of-factly.

"Quit it! Ha ha! It tickles!"

He pulls his lips off her and leans over her, resting his forehead to hers. "No more bad memories. I'll rip out everything from before and give you something new everyday."

She nudges her nose to his. "Everyday?" she asks softly.

He shrugs but he means it. "I'm exaggerating but I'll try."

She runs a hand down his cheek. "Why do you always gotta do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just… be real with me? Some guys just stop at the sweeping romantic gesture."

"I think I'm incapable of being anything else with you at this point."

"Scary," she teases. "Jaune Arc, ever exposed. How will I ever contain myself?"

"Shut up."

She shakes her head meaningfully, something beautiful dancing behind her eyes. He tells himself it's love. "I can't. Words are all I have when I can't do anything with my hands."

He kisses her knuckle, its strength softening at his touch. "And why don't you?"

He's flush against her. Her knees curl around his waist. "Because I won't be able stop myself if you let me."

"Don't stop," he whispers. "Show me everything."

Her hand braces against the back of his neck.

He sucks on her lower lip. Then he does the same to the other.

She moans and it's raw and animalistic, but it's a symphony in his ear.

-0-

Yang plops onto the sofa next to him. "If this takes any longer, I'm going to tear my hair out."

Jaune takes a sip of his apple juice and eyes her passed the glass. She's been stressing out all afternoon. "I don't think you've failed enough tests to warrant a failing grade. Didn't you pass the exams?"

"I'm not worried about failing." A pause. She doesn't look at him when she admits, "I need to get a B."

His brow creases. "You only need to not fail to be a huntress."

"Yeah, but they don't let you be a teacher or a coach without at least B."

"You wanna be a teacher?"

She scratches her head. "No? Yes. Maybe. Look, I wanna have my options open."

He sits closer. She can feel his warmth on her hip. "Is this cause of what Qrow said yesterday?"

"Mom, actually. We were talking about how she wishes she was home and worrying about cracking an egg right instead of trying to crack open a conspiracy."

She doesn't need to tell him more. "Yang, our kids will still love you if you're not home all the time."

"But I'd like to be home all the time. I hate the idea of being gone for months and… ugh, look at me. Losing my mind on imaginary children."

"You're thinking ahead. It's what a leader does. I like to think it's what a Xiao Long does too."

Yang rubs her arm. "Yeah… leader." With both Weiss and Ruby officially off the campus roster, Yang had been voted as the new leader. It's strange having to trade teammates with JNPR every once in a while to get teams of three, but they're always all together now anyway. Still, the title hangs over her head and she's trying her best.

"You'll get used to it. Leadership isn't a hard class and you'll only officially start taking it next year."

"But sitting in it makes me think a lot. I didn't think a class with no grades could be so stressful… I mean, maintaining team psychology? I didn't think Ruby had to consider our wellbeing all the time, and now that I do, I feel like we all take our leaders for granted."

He puts a hand on her shoulder. "See, this is why we don't talk about Leadership outside of class. You gotta detox. What would you like?"

She tosses her scroll onto the coffee table. "These grades. I get this out of my system, and I can start worrying about everything else."

He claps his hands and gets up. "Okay, bubble bath, massage oil, scented candles, and cake it is."

She gives him a wiry smile. "Thank you…"

"What kind of cake?" he asks when he's sifting through the cupboards in the kitchen. "I can whip up the chiffon and icing real quick if that's what you're after."

She picks her scroll back up and thumbs through her messages. She goes through a backlog from Ruby. She met up with Weiss a few days back and the photo of them together (and Oscar getting along with Whitley in back) always manages to curl a smile into her. Among the images sent, she finds another with Weiss alone in her room. Neptune's not allowed to get close just yet but she's wearing the aquamarine necklace her got her for the proposal.

"I'm thinking Red Velvet," she calls out to him. "Maybe you can experiment again? I'd love to help you try."

"Nah, not this time. I couldn't get the red velvet to mix right even with Ren's help. I'll need to pick a lesson with mom when we get to Clove so I can get it down."

She gets an image from Blake. She's having afternoon tea with her parents. Ren and Nora are with her. Ren seems right at home with Kali, and Nora seems to have gotten Ghira to laugh. Somewhere in the background, Sun's teasing Ilia about someone on her scroll. She's turned a shade of pink, which does nothing to hide her blush. Looks like Sun managed to find her a girlfriend after all.

"We can do a different cake then," she tells Jaune.

"It's okay, I'll just order again." He already has his scroll up. "But we're getting three little boxes. I'm not letting you engorge the whole thing again."

She snorts. "You can't stop me from snacking."

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Yang, one of these days I'm gonna have to buy a padlock for the fridge."

"Like a padlock would stop me."

His hand slaps the counter. "Okay, no bubble bath, and no massage then."

"Fine. Little cakes. But you know I can just order more, right? It's a joint account after all." It was her mother's idea to help them balance finances between them. It managed to get Helia Arc to talk to Raven. They get along. Yang doesn't know what do with that.

"Please don't do anything crazy with the account. It's the last installment for the car."

"Which I'm helping you pay for. I deserve a treat."

Jaune stops what he's doing and just stares at her. She's not normally this difficult. Or difficult at all, for that matter. "Yang, are you messing with me?"

She peeks back gives him a sheepish grin from behind the couch. "Yes? C'mon, you know I love you. You like eating them with me anyway. You need to get your head out of the rain too." Because their new tub is big enough for two, the massage is always the kind with a happy ending, and she's pretty sure the scented candles are just a silent joke between them at this point.

He comes around to sit next to her again. "I'm not the one worrying about her grades."

"And I'm not the one stressing about his car," she counters. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

Leaning back into the cushions, he loses any desire to argue. "I took good care of it…"

"I know you did, so it's not your fault. Just you wait. The mechanic will be back with a message for you any minute now to tell you it was a nothing issue and they can fix it in an afternoon."

She's on her inbox with Jaune now. They hardly send messages anymore since they're together all the time so instead they send each other the pictures they take so they always both have copies. They had a mission at the ruins of Glenn, a dinner date by the docks, drew on Ren's face while he slept, spent an afternoon hanging photos off strings on the ceiling, visited Cardin in the hospital (he's got a cool scar along his arm and neck now), took a hike in the woods, and there's a dozen more photos of them cozying up in the apartment. These have just been in the last month, too. With summer coming, they'll have enough photos to hide entire ceiling at the dorm.

Jaune leans over. "Why am I Hummingbird in your contacts? I thought I was Vomit Boy."

She snickers. "Well, you know how Blake's books have all those fancy words for sex? Like the word vagina is somehow too crass for 'erotica'."

He squints. "I already don't like where this is going."

"So we got to talking and she mentions how, in her latest book, the vagina substitute is flower, and what comes out is nectar."

Jaune buries his head in his hands. "Oh my god, Yang…"

"And with the amount of time you spend down there…"

"Yang!"

"Did you know that hummingbirds can consume up to eight times their weight in nectar? Those are rookie numbers. They should probably take notes from you."

He grabs her face and presses his forehead to hers, manic eyes meeting hers. "I love you, but if you have an off switch, you have to tell me."

She looks down and up at him again. She points to her lips. "They're right here, lover boy."

He pulls back and looks between her lips and the coy look in her eyes. "I… no." He huffs and crosses his arms. "Not doing it."

This throws her for a loop. "What? Why?"

He glances back at her. She wants it just as much. Now he's the one being coy. "Cause this is funny."

"Fine. Why don't I send Blake a few of these little facts. She's started writing and I'm sure she could use some our juicy details."

"Yang, no."

She's already typing down on her scroll. Jaune crashes into her and they fall back onto the arm rest. For a moment they struggle as Jaune tries to reach for her scroll until Yang decides to slip the device into the back of her sweater. If he goes for it, he'll reach have to reach in closer and their faces are already close enough as it is.

"And it's gone!" she cheers. "I mean, feel free to try for it again but there's enemy territory down here."

He thumbs over her cheeks. "Fine. You win." He says with a chortle. "I swear, Yang, you're impossible."

"And yet you have me anyway."

Their lips press together warmly, making them meld together into a host of mewls and hushed laughter.

Their scrolls ping. They go completely ignored.

-END-

And that’s it! I hope you liked it! There’s a sequel coming down the pipeline but for now I have a major Dragonslayer story to work on elsewhere on my ff.net and ao3 accounts. Maybe I’ll post a link here to it when it comes out.

That said, thank you to everyone who gave this story their love. I would not have made it this far without your support. Thank you. :’)

#jaune x yang #yang x jaune #yang xiao long #Jaune Arc #rwby dragonslayer

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warsmith-38 · 3 years

Text

How I would do RWBY pt. 1

Revised Timeline of story events (This is not a script, but a semi-loose outline of the story)

Red, White, Blake, and Yellow trailers can stay. They’re perfectly fine as is, barring some early series production foibles (and the voice acting).

Series would be split into three arcs with three seasons each. 1. The School Arc 2. The World Travel Arc 3. The War Arc. (4. The epilogue season of mini episodes just to cap a few things off)

School Arc.

Season One.

Ruby is shopping.

Roman tries robbing the place.

Ruby gets involved because ‘fight good yes’.

Fights Roman and goons.

Beats goons but starts losing against Roman.

Glynda intervenes.

Roman am-scrays and Ruby is detained by Glynda.

This is not the first time Ruby has been called in like this.

She’s been doing free-lance vigilante stuff for a while now.

Tai comes in, worried to hell and back… again.

It’s almost routine by now, but he has a heart attack each time.

Ozpin gets wind of it this time.

Is impressed by her and offers her position at school.

Ruby says yes.

Tai says Ruby is too young to be-

Ruby says yes.

Tai keeps trying to argue-

Ruby. Says. YES!

She wants to be a huntress like her mother was more than anything else in the world.

Next few days is various entities trying to get Tai to greenlight the idea.

Ruby constantly begs, Yang says it’s a good idea, Ozpin is quite forward as to the benefits, et cetera.

Tai relents when Qrow calls him and argues that Ruby is never going to stop her vigilante thing and should at least be doing it legally and with training.

Tai tells Yang to watch over Ruby.

Yang only promises to try.

Ruby instantly loses her after they arrive at Beacon.

Yang tried, just not very hard. Wants Ruby to be independent, both from her and Tai.

Ruby meets Weiss.

Carefree and rebellious Ruby immediately clashes with stuck-up and bad-tempered Weiss.

Blake intervenes, slags off the SDC, everyone walks away annoyed.

Ruby meets Jaune.

Jaune is less bumbling.

More of an Octavian figure. Meek of body, but quite strong of tactical and strategic mind.

Jaune meets Pyrrha.

Has no idea who she is. Not all that into celebrity gossip, especially whole kingdoms away.

Comes off as polite and charming, if a bit oblivious.

Ruby encounters Blake on her own.

Says thanks for helping ward off angry Weiss.

Blake seems a little standoffish but Ruby’s infectious friendliness makes her give her a chance.

Have actual conversation about books.

Have minor debate over the exact meaning behind the symbolism of a character in a story.

Y’know, nerd shit.

Orientation.

Ruby and Weiss talk again.

Goes roughly as canon. IE: poorly.

Ren and Nora introduced, again, roughly as canon.

Ren talks a bit more, less of Nora motor-mouth with him just being there.

Have brief conversations with Jaune and/or Pyrrha.

Relic hunt starts.

Catapult!

Ruby and Weiss meet each other faster than usual.

Grimm show up and they kill them together.

Weiss calls her an idiot but agrees that she’s at least competent in a fight.

Blake and Yang meet each other.

Have actual conversation.

Blake tries to be standoffish and curt but Yang’s winning smile and corny sense of humor makes it hard.

Jaune and Pyrrha meet again.

Jaune has actual plan to get relic.

Have conversation about aura and semblances in a way that doesn’t make Jaune seem like he was dropped multiple times on his head as a child.

Says that he hasn’t unlocked his semblance yet, but he says that he scored high enough on his aptitude tests to make up for it.

Ren and Nora meet up because… well, duh.

Meet Jaune and Pyrrha and decide to team up to speed the overall process up.

Bumble into pissing off giant grimm.

Ruby and Weiss start arguing, come to brief blows even.

Teenagers, am I right?

Big grimm shows up.

They bond a little by fighting it off together.

Main characters start to coalesce at the relic site.

Future JNPR is there too.

Everyone has brief hello with each other.

The two large grimm from earlier show up.

Each would-be team gets one.

Happy teamwork scene.

Kill the grimm, get the relics, same old shit.

Teams RWBY and JNPR are made official.

Team CFVY are present as the designated senpai group.

Cue bonding scenes.

Ruby and Blake create book club with Ren, Jaune, and Yatsuhashi.

Yang, Fox, and Ren have Kung-Fu training scenes.

Velvet passes around the collection plate for Wild Call, a large and helpful faunus rights group.

Blake and Velvet are kind of tense with each other. No one knows why.

Then again, Blake is pretty tense with everyone, but especially Velvet and Weiss.

(Velvet knows that Blake is a faunus and dislikes that she hides it. Blake dislikes Weiss because Schnee.)

Ruby is happy to talk to Coco-senpai and her crazy purse mini-gun.

Nora, Yang, and Pyrrha have push up contest. Ruby wins.

Weiss helps Ruby study with things like flash cards, note taking strategies, and other things she ignores.

Weiss has tense moment or two with Ruby but Yang delivers some context as to why Ruby is so unruly.

Mom died, dad got WAY overprotective of Ruby and more than a little distant with Yang.

Ruby always wanted to be like her badass of a mother and saw their father as being in the way of that.

Weiss empathizes to a degree.

Weiss and Yang team up to be the semi-responsible ones for Ruby.

CRDL are cunts.

Act racist to Velvet.

Push Jaune and Ruby around a little.

Say ungentlemanly things to Yang and Pyrrha. (They do it to all of the girls, but to them the most)

Cunt stuff.

CVFY can’t do much because A. They can’t be brawling with underclassmen and B. They wouldn’t be able to not kill the little pricks and that’d be a bad look for them.

JNPR is just trying to ignore them.

This leads to a confrontation between CRDL and RWBY.

They make a bet over a set of sparring matches.

If CRDL wins then RWBY has to operate as their maids or something creepy like that for the school year.

If RWBY wins then CRDL has to fuck off for the school year.

Best of four matches with a team battle if a tiebreaker is needed.

Ruby actually loses to Cardin due to his tankiness, him being the most (IE: only) competent part of his team, and secret cheating.

Weiss beats Russel rather handily.

Blake loses to Dove due to him cheating and everyone still not noticing yet.

Yang traumatizes Lark as a warning.

Team battle!

CRDL takes an early advantage due to RWBY having some coordination issues.

RWBY figures out that CRDL is cheating via wire tapping into their team communications.

Ruby takes the reigns.

Coordinates with her team via code with an old inside joke to Yang, a literary reference to Blake, and one of those studying tricks to Weiss.

They act in ways that CRDL aren’t expecting and can’t cheat around.

RWBY wins.

Yang and Blake take CRDL aside and threaten them that if they renege at all they will make what Yang did to Lark look like a massage, not to mention telling the staff about the cheating.

They are scared into avoiding RWBY and co. where convenient.

CRDL slink off to be cunts elsewhere.

Pyrrha, because fuck ‘will they won’t they’, asks Jaune out on a date.

Jaune, breaking dense anime boy tradition, says yes.

They’re cute together and N+R support them.

Beginnings of Vital Festival starts.

Team RWBY sees Sun causing chaos.

He briefly introduces himself to them and then runs off to cause more monkey mischief.

SSN are right behind him and are rude bastards who don’t introduce themselves while fleeing the cops.

Penny meets team in glorious awkwardness.

Ciel, whom Weiss recognizes from Atlas (they went to the same starter school together), is constantly chasing after her and her antics.

Her other two teammates are just combat bots with special retrofits. (They’re prototypes for Penny)

Gives context of tournament and her place in it like an awkward robot would.

Weiss says something pretty damn racist directed towards Sun.

RBY call out Weiss on racism.

Blake gets angry with her.

The topic of the White Fang comes up.

R + Y both agree with Weiss that the White Fang are assholes, despite also condemning Weiss’ racism.

Weiss has horror stories about what they’ve done, including kidnapping her at young age.

Points to her scar for emphasis.

Blake can’t argue against what they’re talking about but counters with the horrible stuff the SDC has done across planet.

General scumbag corporate crap as well as paramilitary actions that break most international laws.

R + Y also agree with Blake that SDC sucks too.

Weiss is a little taken aback.

She genuinely had no clue that things like that were happening.

Blake lets slip that she was White Fang.

Runs off before people can react.

Team gives chase.

Blake thinks they’re going to turn her in and/or lynch her.

They only want to talk to her and get the full story.

Weiss is conflicted about things.

Sun finds Blake, says that he remembers her from a White Fang attack in Vacuo, despite the masks they wear, and wants some answers.

Sun says that general opinion among faunus (at least in Vacuo and Mistral) is that the White Fang are asshole supremacists that cause more problems than they ever solve or even try to solve.

Blake gets reality check about White Fang.

Confesses that she was involved with some acts of violence but thought it was for the greater good.

She makes a point of saying that she, herself, did not kill anyone. If anyone was killed it was not by her.

If someone died, then it was either an ‘accident’ someone else did or Adam swung the sword.

Also thought that the genuinely horrible stuff she heard was propaganda or just Adam being a dick.

It was said dickishness of Adam’s cell that was tolerated by larger organization that made her leave and try to repent.

She had no idea that Adam was only marginally more of a lunatic than other cell leaders.

Blake happens to see telltale signs of White Fang attack. Uses them as an excuse to change subject.

Sun gives her benefit of the doubt on her attempt at personal redemption and assists her in trying to stop terrorist plot.

Penny has nothing better to do so she gives Ciel the slip and starts helping Ruby look for Blake.

Have conversation about friendship, freedom, and weapons.

Weiss airs concerns to Yang about future of team.

She seems scared at the idea of losing a friend like Blake.

White Fang are taking orders from Torchwick and his goons.

Blake tries to appeal to their good side.

They call her and Sun race traitors and try to kill them.

Blake and Sun vs Torchwick.

Neo (Roman’s adopted daughter) shows up to help Torchwick.

White Fang go all out.

This is a problem.

RWY and Penny arrive to brawl.

Penny solves problems.

Sun and Penny take on the White Fang

Roman + Neo are final boss of season for RWBY.

Hard fought fight, but it is clear that RWBY is going to win.

White Fang have contingency explosive.

No one important dies, but Penny is grabbed by her superiors in the confusion.

Weiss and Blake confrontation.

Both apologize for the mistakes in their earlier arguments and for flying off the handle.

Both still have rose-tinted glasses about their respective sides but the tint is wearing off.

Blake stops hiding being a faunus because the rest of the world isn’t as horrible and racist as the supremacist terrorists told her it was.

Agrees to be more transparent to her team.

Weiss agrees that #notallfaunus and that the SDC has done some dirt.

Torchwick meets with mysterious benefactor about problems with latest job.

Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Adam tell him not to worry and that Evil Plan is still a go.

Season one done.

#RWBY #RWDE #I guess #Ruby Rose #Weiss Schnee #Blake Belladonna #Yang Xiao Long #Ozpin #JNPR #How I would do...#Hate if you wish #Team CFVY

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rwbyvein · 3 years

Text

Firen Lhain: Chapter 612: Tin Woodsman: Part II/III

The group filed themselves into the CIC. Ironwood looked over and pointed his arm at a room, and they all filed in. Ironwood was second to last, with Winter as the last. She closed the door, and typed onto a keypad.

"This room is under the highest levels of secrecy." Ironwood stated. "Nothing said in this room will leave this room, and not only will there be no records or recording, your scrolls will not be able to connect. Most of the people checked their scrolls, proving it was true. "For those have not met me in person, I am General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy."

Oscar slowly raised his hand, "Um... a General... AND a headmaster?"

"I hold both seats on the Atlas Council." Ironwood stated.

"The first one ever." Winter stated.

"Un-precedented." Weiss quipped. Winter developed a sour look and the sisters briefly glared at each other.

"This is Specialist Winter Schnee." James stated. "Yes, older sister to Weiss Schnee."

Nora raised her hand, "Special what?"

"ASOCU", (pronounced Ask), "Atlas Special Operations Command Unit."

"Ah-sok-u?" Nora asked, causing Ironwood to break an extremely mild smile.

"Huntresses." Blake said.

"Enslaved to the military." Jaune grumbled.

"Mr. Arc?" James asked him, "I can assure you..."

Jaune grumbled again, and Ironwood paused. "I suppose," Jaune said, "that in the name of full disclosure, I suppose I should tell you my story. I'm from a former knightly house." he said, and paused.

"But?.." Ironwood asked, "the knightly houses haven't exist since?.."

"The Great War." Jaune stated. "Do you know who ASKED us to disarm?"

"That would be the good king?" Ironwood asked.

"We called him Oz." Jaune said, and Ironwood looked at him with shock. "That's... basically how I acted when I found it out, too. Now, why were the knightly houses shuttered?" James Ironwood just stared at him. The look said he knew exactly what Jaune was talking about. "He felt that armies always lead to war. That's why the Huntsmen Academies were created, and why Huntsmen were... what now?"

"Traditionally?," Ironwood asked, "independant."

"This is why I'm so against The ASOCUs." he grumbled, and then looked at Winter, "It even put sister against sister."

"Me and Ruby fight all the time?" Yang asked.

"I'm going to guess," Jaune said, and looked at Weiss, "that the Schnee sisters don't fight."

"Rarely." Weiss stated, "Though when we do, it's not a pretty sight."

"It would be pretty cool." Nora said, and Ruby let out and affirmative huff.

"I can assure you..." James said, but Jaune held up his hand.

"I know you mean well." Jaune said, and Ironwood stopped in his tracks. "You might be one of the only people that does. And while I can certainly criticize some of the things you've been doing, I just brought this up so we know what page I'm on."

"Oh, well, thank you, Mr. Arc." Ironwood said to him, "It's good to get the air clear."

Jaune then looked around, seeing no one else wanting to say anything. He then looked to Ironwood and Winter. "I guess I'll do our introductions. I am Jaune Arc, this is Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, the survivors of team JNPR. This is Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, team RWBY. Next we have Aurora Ainsley, personal assistant to Weiss schnee. Ilia Amitola, a... friend?.. of Blake's from Menagerie. RWBY and JNPR received our letters-patent as Huntsmen and Huntresses." Each of them had voiced or voiceless affirmations after he said their name. "This is Qrow Branwen... who's as shifty as he looks."

"Hey?!" Qrow stated, "Don't forget I'm also a drunk!"

"Which," Weiss quipped, "seems to be happening less frequently..." and Qrow just glared at her.

"I've never gotten along with Schnees." Qrow voiced.

"Last by certainly not least," Jaune stated, "Oscar Pines." Oscar's eyes began to glow green, "The newest incarnation of the Great and Powerful Oz."

Oscar/Ozpin spun his cane about before leaning on it, "Sadly, the Great and Powerful part has not been true since before I was king. As it is, right now, I put tremendous strain on young Oscar's body at the battle of Haven, and am trying to limit my time. We will have to talk, James."

"I can explain!" Ironwood said to the boy, and Oscar/Ozpin just warmly smiled at him.

"I - know very well, that you can explain." Oscar/Ozpin said warmly. "But, I have gotten quite used to waiting, and we have a long journey ahead of us, so I believe I will allow beauty before age for the time being." Oscar's eyes reverted to normal, his stance weakened, and nearly toppled himself over.

"uh... hi?" Oscar weakly said.

"I'm so sorry about pulling you into this." Ironwood said to him, "If there was any other way?.."

Oscar then did his bet to mimic Ozpin, "These are the circumstances we have."

Nora then raised her hand, "Are you sorry about us?"

Ironwood rolled his eyes and smiled at her, "I gave you all a choice. While I was against involving your before your graduation, you have done everything you can to involve yourselves."

"What the hell was that?!" Qrow asked.

Ironwood shook his head and looked at Qrow, "What was what?" Ironwood asked.

"Are we sure it's not that green-haired girl?" Qrow asked, and reached for his weapon, and the air in the room suddenly tensed up. Qrow then pulled his fingers forward like a pistol and pointed them at Ironwood, pretending to drop the hammer and fire, "He actually smiled."

Ironwood looked around for a moment before looking back at Qrow, "This is hardly the time to..." he tried to say, but Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Taiyang were all laughing out loud. Blake was chuckling. Jaune and Ren were smiling. Weiss, Winter, and Raven were doing their best to not smile. "Apparently it is." Ironwood said and sighed.

"Alright, enough fun and games." Taiyang stated, "It's time for dad to say something."

"Dad?" Nora asked.

"Well," Taiyang stated, "I am dad to like five of you, so I invoke my right to dad taxes."

Weiss looked scared whereas Blake looked confused.

Ruby angrily pointed her finger, "Dad tax only applies to Dark Eventide!" Causing Weiss to look embarassed and confused.

"I think we're a bit old for a dad tax." Yang stated.

"What's a dad tax?" Nora asked.

"And married." Yang added.

"Dad taxes," Ruby said to Nora, "are an evil tradition where dads get to claim a portion of your candy."

"Do we have to pay dad taxes?" Nora asked. "I mean, he is our glorious leader. So, we're like his minions or something."

With this Taiyang sighed, "I'm so sorry you had to grew up without someone to explain the dad tax code you to. I'll do my best to make sure you don't get left behind any more."

"No one is paying dad taxes!" Yang shouted at her father, eyes and hair aflame.

"Still unbalanced." Taiyang said to her, and stepped towards his daughter. RWB_ and _NR around her stepped back to clear room for them to fight. Jaune then stepped in front.

"What the hell?" Yang asked.

"You're the one who taught her to be afraid of her emotions, aren't you?"

"And who are you?" Taiyang semi-jokingly asked him.

"Not everyone has to fight like you." Jaune said to him.

"And what do you know about how I fight?" Taiyang asked.

"I fought Yang." Jaune said.

"Fought?" Raven asked.

"Sparred." Yang said to her mother.

"I can see the direction you were pushing her," Jaune said, and then looked at Ren, "and so does Ren."

"You seemed to be pushing her to a soft style, when Yang's entire karma is about hard styles."

"It doesn't hurt to train in different styles."

"It does," Ren stated, "if it requires you to compromise your primary style."

"Alright, alright," Yang said, stepping between Jaune and Tai, "enought talking about me like I'm not here."

Jaune looked at Taiyang, "I'm sorry if I came off..."

"It's fine." Taiyang said. "It just proves how much you care about her, and how much she cares about you. If you want to make me happy, though?.."

"Dad..." Yang admonished.

"Just take care of her." Taiyang said, and Yang's scales flushed orange as she looked about nervously.

"In the spirit of?.." Raven asked, and paused, "I really don't know. I'm Raven Branwen, Yang's mother, and Qrow's older sister."

"We're not sure about one of those." Yang stated, and looked Raven in the eyes.

"She's still your mother." Taiyang said to Yang. "Even if you have... issues... with her... She's your mother, and you can at least show her respect."

"So long as she doesn't try to bake me cookies, or something." Yang said.

"That's my job." Aurora said with glee.

"Aren't you like... a banker... or something?" Yang asked.

"Being an executive assistant requires you to be a bit of a polymath." Aurora said with glee.

Ironwood took a step foward, and everyone looked towards him.

#rwby #firen lhain #faunus au #pollinated knight

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bridgyrose · 3 years

Note

Ozpin sends a member of RWBY into the past to deliver vital information to his past self that would avert disasters. Past Ozpin doesn't send them back, and an older version of said character appears and takes up a role as a teacher. Another member doesn't like this, and tries to get their teammate back to the way they were, even if their work in the past is undone

Ozpin paused for a moment as he looked over team RWBY, weighing a few options before speaking to them. “I’m sure you four are all wondering why I called you here.”

“The thought has crossed our minds,” answered Weiss.

“I… need to send one of you back in time.”

The four girls looked at each other before looking at Ozpin in confusion. As far as each of them was aware, time travel was impossible. And even if it was possible, it’d be incredibly dangerous to put someone through.

Ruby was the first to speak. “But time travel isnt possible.”

“And even if it was, why would you need to send one of us back?” Weiss narrowed her eyes at Ozpin. “Couldn’t you just go back yourself?”

“My semblance is time.” Ozpin held out his hand and focused for a moment, the gears and clocks in his office suddenly stopping around him and the girls. “I can freeze, reverse, or speed up time. I can even send someone back, although I seem to be anchored where I’m at. If this was something that I could do alone, I would. But unfortunately, I need one of you to go in my stead.”

Yang sighed. “I think this is something we need to-”

“I’ll go.”

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang looked at Blake in surprise at her answer. Everything about this sounded dangerous.

Ozpin smiled and placed a hand on Blake, reversing time around her. “I’m sending you back ten years. I need you to tell my past self that the queen’s pawns will make their move on the fall maiden.”

Blake nodded a bit. “Alright, but what does that-”

In a blinding flash of light, Blake had disappeared, sent to the past. Ozpin smiled and unfroze time, letting it run its course. “Alright ladies, you may go back to your dorm now.”

Ruby sighed, getting up and leaving Ozpin’s office. “I hope Blake knows what she’s doing.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Three weeks later…]

Weiss sighed as she sat her books down for Doctor Oobleck’s class. “Shouldn’t Blake be back by now?”

Yang shrugged, sitting down next to her. “I’m not sure. I mean, time travel isnt exactly a science we know about and even if it was, would there be an exact science to get someone back right when they left?”

“Alright, you have a point.”

Ruby smiled a bit. “Besides, I’ll bet you anything that today is the day Blake finally walks through that door!”

As soon as Ruby pointed to the classroom door, a faunus who looked a lot like Blake walked in, setting down a few papers on a desk. “Alright class, my name is Blake Belladonna and I’ll be teaching you all today while Doctor Oobleck is out on an expedition to a few ruins.” She looked around the classroom, not recognizing her old classmates and team members. “Now, does anyone remember where you left off?”

Weiss slowly raised her hand, hoping that Blake would recognize her a bit. “We were talking about the great war and the role the faunus played.”

Blake nodded, turning her back and starting to write on the chalkboard. “Then turn to the great war in your history books.”

Weiss slumped a bit in her seat, realizing that Blake wasnt herself anymore. “We need to fix this.”

Ruby nodded. “And how exactly are we going to do that?”

“I… I dont know, but we’ll figure something out.”

#rwby #ruby rose #rwby ruby rose #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #Ozpin #drabbles #Blake'd out of time #blake'd out of time au

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snowe-zolynn-rogers · 3 years

Text

Pairings: Bumblebee (Blake x Yang)

Word Count: 1,923 Words

Summary: Discussion and go time.

Warnings: Fighting Mention, Cursing, Weapon Mention, Death Mention, Blood Mention, Amputation Mention, let me know if I should tag anything else.

Shadows Are Made Of Light: Chapter 5

Dinner was lively to say the least. Terra and Saphron seemingly decided that eating at the table in their kitchen was their best bet while the group was discussing. Terra and Saphron had long since gone up to their bedroom to sleep.

The plans were talked through and they were about to wrap up the conversation when Mercury sighed. Now was a better time than ever for the little plans he'd overheard details from.

"I actually have something to say." Mercury didn't like all this attention once all their eyes were on him.

"What's wrong?" Jaune asked, looking over his tension-filled expression.

"There were some things Salem would relay through Cinder. There was always a plan behind the fall of Beacon. Salem's plans are to create a divide and unrest amongst the people of Remnant and gather the relics so, when the gods come back, they'll destroy Remnant, everyone on it, and she will no longer be immortal. Salem's goal is to free herself from eternity by taking everyone with her." Mercury told them.

"So she'll be looking for the Lamp." Oscar asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"For all the relics. Last I heard, Emerald told me that Ozpin had apparently hidden the Crown even better than the other three and Cinder still hadn't found it. Now that we have the Lamp, they know they need to get the others before we can so our goal is a ticking clock." Mercury took a deep breath, hoping nobody was disappointed.

"A time crunch isn't anything new. We can still do this." Ruby assured him.

"We should get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be interesting." Maria laughed on her way upstairs. Mercury was going to end up asleep on the couch again because Oscar was half asleep against him again.

"I have a feeling Nora is taking pictures." Mercury told them.

"Good instincts." Nora told him, obviously taking another picture. "I've never passed up an opportunity for Cute Farm Son pictures." Nora alerted him.

"Good to know, crop me out of them." Mercury told her.

"Ehhh, I think I'll leave you in since you're looking particularly Dad-like." Mercury laughed while frowning at her.

"I hate you." Mercury smiled at her.

"Yeah, sure, Dad-cury." Nora snorted.

"Go sleep or something." He laughed, smiling as everyone filed from the room and shut the lights off. Mercury's heart stopped at the darkness. As childish as it may be, the dark was something he couldn't deal with.

"Nora?" He asked, she'd been the last one to go up the stairs due to her need for pictures of Mercury and Oscar.

"What's up Dad-cury?" Nora asked, coming downstairs and turning the lights on.

"Could you leave a light on?" Mercury asked.

"Oh yeah, sure. You scared of the dark too?" She asked.

"More of an instinct. Can't sleep with lights off. My dad told me too many stories of monsters in the dark." Mercury admitted.

"You're good, I'll leave the lamp over here on." She told him and patted the lamp before turning it on and turning the main light off. "Night, Dad-cury." She told him.

"Night, Nora." He called after her as she went upstairs. Mercury sighed at Oscar asleep on him.

"I hope you realize I'm not a pillow." He told the sleeping boy only to receive a small snore. "Fine, but it's because you're a kid and you remind me of Chrome." Mercury grumbled.

He went about pulling Oscar's excess clothing off as well as his own. They didn't need to wake up in puddles of sweat in warm, heavy clothing meant for much colder weather than this.

Then he laid down and then he smiled holding the bear from inside his jacket that he had kept, Chrome's favorite teddy bear. It was the piece of her he had left. He had kept it with him since he left his father's house. He fell asleep holding it close, Oscar deciding to cuddle up against him and he smiled. He guessed he would be a father figure to a pre-teen now too.

In the morning, the plan was running smoothly, Weiss was on the Atlesian aircraft to Atlas with Maria in her luggage as the only small person who could fit who could also fly a plane with Saphron and Adrian as her distraction to get Maria onboard. It was up to him and Blake to turn off the radar for Weiss.

Mercury was sure that three people riding on a two person motorcycle probably wasn't safe, he was aware. He was acutely aware of the conversation Blake and Terra were having about the comms equipment for the city versus the radar box.

"Are you two sure I shouldn't come with?" Yang asked as the bike stopped about a half mile from the tower.

"More intruders means we're more likely to be seen." Blake told her. "Besides, stealth isn't exactly your, um...I mean, you're great and we'll hurry back!" Blake told her.

"Go." Yang smiled at her. They went running off toward the tower together, Mercury feeling that bear close in his jacket, snuggly secured to his front so he couldn't possibly lose it.

"Heading in on foot, won't be long." Blake told the others on the comms.

"You know, you two flirting couldn't be more apparent." He told her.

"Hey!" She snapped.

"I just say what I see." He smirked.

"Sure, 'Dad-cury'." Blake teased.

"I won't deny my fatherly title. And don't make me adopt you all." He taunted back.

Their run to the tower was largely uneventful until they got to the tower itself. When they got there, there was a red-haired man he vaguely recognized as having maybe met once or possibly twice. Adam Taurus, a White Fang operative whom Emerald had informed him about two weeks ago that he'd taken reigns as the head of the organization before its eventual fall at Haven not long after.

"Blake. And you. Salem heard of your betrayal at Beacon, Mercury Black." Mercury felt a rush of both helpless and rage. This guy had the guts to practically threaten him?

"Merc, don't rush him." She warned quietly.

"Protecting your friend? Or are you travelling with an enemy, Belladonna? He could betray any of you at any moment while claiming to be a friend. He's probably not even with you to help, he's just running away like he ran away from his dear old daughter two years ago." Adam taunted.

"Don't you talk about my daughter!" Mercury snapped at him.

"Is Dad mad I brought up his abandoned baby? Mad because I'm right or because you're sad she won't have a Dad after I'm done with you?" Adam asked.

"I'm mad because some asshole is talking shit about me protecting my daughter!" Mercury shot at him with the gun-scythe, which he'd named Caduceus, Qrow got him that morning.

"Merc!" Blake snapped, pulling him away.

"Get to the radar." He whispered to her, rushing into the fight with Adam and distracted him while Blake tried to get up the relay tower. Unfortunately, that fight didn't quite favor Mercury as Adam grabbed his leg during a kick and pulled. Hard, so much Mercury went flying to the ground. The lock popped from the pin and he felt the lock break as the pin wasn't undone properly.

"Looks like Silver Black did a good job making his son easily controlled." Adam snapped. Mercury couldn't move, he knew Adam was looming over him, he knew it was so easy for him to die like this if he didn't attack but he felt a crushing weight of shock hit him that he would never see Chrome again.

She would never have a Dad, at least not one that was him. He'd never see her grow up. It made the breath catch in his lungs and tears build in his eyes. But the strike never came and, when he opened his eyes, Adam was gone, going after Blake.

He had to had to help Blake. He heard them tumbling in the trees, he shoved a twig into the the broken lock and put the pin back in. The stupid thing didn't move his stupid knee. Thankfully, he didn't need the use of it, he had a weapon still and another leg.

He could do this. He wouldn't stop fighting until he at least saw Chrome again. Blake was fighting Adam. He could hear it. he followed them to a waterfall nearby. he could tell by the sound of their swords clashing.

"You're delusional." Blake sounded shaken as he stood hidden in the forest before the opening. He saw their blades clash once more as he ran forward to save her. He wouldn't let him kill her.

Gambol Shroud was broken in half and his ears rang with Blake's scream as Mercury saw the blood on her wrist and was now getting on the ground. Her hand still on the grip of Gambol Shroud as it skittered away from her.

Adam simply shoved Mercury down and went about his bullshit speech about how she hurt him, showing off a brand on his left eye, one of the Schnee Dust Company's for their mineworkers. Blake's ears tuned back.

"I don't fucking care much for your pity me speech." Mercury spat and took him onto the ground, knocking Wilt from his hand and bringing the staff of Caduceus down on the bastard's head to try to just knock him out but he got kicked off and landed on top of Blake.

"Tell me, how does it feel to be alone?" Adam was picking up Wilt. He was holding that blade up, yelling as his intent was to bring it down but the blade didn't come a second time, Blake had taken him as she used her semblance to shadow them a few feet away.

"I'm not alone." She grit out as she held her holster for Gambol Shroud in her left hand.

"Yang." Blake grunted, holding her bleeding right wrist.

"It's okay, Blake, catch your breath for a second. Me and Merc can hold him off." Yang assured her.

"She's right, Blake. It's okay, we have unfinished business." And man if he actually needed to help her, he would have but Yang was amazing fighting him. He aided helping Blake stem the blood flow before she bled out by having grabbed her jacket, which he tied part of around her forearm and made a makeshift tourniquet.

"You'll be okay. Don't let yourself get dizzy and don't fall asleep, it might be severe blood loss." He warned her.

"His semblance is like yours! He absorbs energy through his sword, stores it up, and then sends it back when he's ready." Blake told Yang.

"He gets to dish out damage without having to feel it? That's just cheap." Yang scoffed before going after him again. Before he knew it, Blake was yelling for Yang and he was grabbing for her.

"Leave us alone. This is your last chance." Yang told Adam.

"Do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to scare me away so you won't have to die to protect her? Like your good metal buddy, Mercury over there, tried to." Adam asked.

"She's not protecting me, Adam. Neither is Mercury." He felt Blake's stump in his hand, she put it there. She was holding Yang's hand and trying to hold his in the only way she could with her right hand now gone. "And I'm not protecting them. We're protecting each other."

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