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Thread: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

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    Default Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Now available for reading on Fanfiction.net!
    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1182633...d-Broken-Souls


    Ok. Been dying to get back into writing for a long time now. Just one problem.....
    *glares at the RP forum*
    I'm more of a role player and this place is dead. Highly doubt there's enough people to get something rolling and keep it active.

    That being said I've been on a major RWBY kick as of late. Unfamiliar with the series? Get acquainted. I'll wait.....

    http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebAnimation/RWBY
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...YlD9MHjvmT8IGK

    Back yet? Ok then. Now fair warning: if you're into this series at all and have NOT been caught up to the end of Volume 3 I would highly suggest NOT PROCEEDING! While I do need feedback and proofreading on this the events of the most recent volume are best experienced firsthand. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE SHOW UP TO AND INCLUDING THE FINALE OF VOLUME 3! If you don't care then by all means go on. Just don't be surprised if I spoil something big that may have happened.

    *FINAL SPOILER WARNING*
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    Ok then.....

    I've had a few ideas floating in my head regarding a fic where the team essentially gets broken up and has to be put back together. Amazingly enough the conclusion of Volume 3 played right into this idea so as far as this fic is concerned it's within canon events up until this starts. Once I made a few adjustments I felt I had a halfway decent start. I do however need feedback and proofreading. I'm extremely rusty in regards to my writing and as I'm more accustomed to writing in the first person (mainly due to RPing) I'm sure some of this might read a bit awkwardly. If the feedback is decent enough I'll likely continue, get things cleaned up and possibly post it on FF.net (despite lack of feedback, this has been done)

    Here we go. First chapter of my currently untitled RWBY fic.

    ******
    Chapter 1
    "The Cyborg and the Barkeep"
    ******
    Six months. That's how long it had been since that awful night. The night that Beacon fell nearly taking the city of Vale with it.

    It's also how long it's taken to get this damn club running again Junior thought to himself.

    Hei Xiong seriously hoped the grand opening the coming weekend would go off without a hitch. This was the second time in less than a year he had to rebuild his club. The first time was because of that crazy huntress. What should have been a fairly simple matter quickly went sideways due to her bad temper. Then there was the Vytal Festival incident. One moment everything is fine then suddenly shit hit the fan. Multiple incidents essentially led to a Grimm invasion. The chaos was unprecedented. Out of seemingly nowhere there were airships falling out of the sky and Atlas forces apparently turning on the civilian population. Somehow the city itself managed to stand but the nearby Beacon Academy wasn't so lucky. Even now he wasn't sure what exactly had happened. Between the destruction of the CCTS and the lockdown on the fallen districts leading to Beacon the flow of information was minimal. The only people who seemed to have any idea what was going on were former students and the occasional hunter or huntress that came by. However many of them weren't talking. The few bits of info that did manage to come by was conflicting at best.

    However those were the least of the concerns for the man better known as Junior. If something else happened to his club he wouldn't exactly be able to refer to himself as a "legitimate businessman" for much longer. Not that he truly was one to begin with mind you. Sure he DID have legit dealings such as his club. However the real money came from his status as an information broker and black market dealer. Services and men provided to the highest bidder. In the end there was no loyalty in his motives. While Junior wasn't actually one of the so-called "bad guys" that didn't make him one of the "good guys" either. At the end of the day Junior was just in business for himself. A man like him needed a business such as a bar or club. Without one what was he suppose to do? Open a stall in an outdoor market with a sign loudly proclaiming his side activities and services?

    Junior however didn't get much more time to think about his current problems. As he was looking over the various invoices and bills for rebuilding his club he heard the front doors open. Without looking up from the table he simply said, "Sorry. Club is closed until the weekend. We've still got a few last things to do before we can officially open." A few seconds later a pair of brown boots came into view as he was looking down at the table. Before he could tell the owner of said boots to go away he heard a voice that stopped him in his tracks. "What about unofficially?" it asked. "This isn't exactly your main line of work after all."

    Junior knew that voice. Granted it had an edge to it that he had never heard before but it was still unmistakable. Looking up he met the eyes of Yang Xiao Long. The very woman who had wrecked his club nearly a year ago. Junior was once again about to speak when he noticed just how different the girl was now. Clothing wise she now had a pair of jeans along with knee-high leather boots. While she still wore the same yellow shirt and orange scarf she had switched to a brown leather trench coat. Finally there was her face and hair. While her hair still had some obvious feminine length to it he did note that it was much shorter than before. Same general hairstyle but shoulder length as opposed to reaching her waist. She was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses but despite that Junior could easily see something had hardened her. His best guess was that she was at Beacon when everything went down. With everything that happened that night he wasn't about to guess what exactly it was. It could have been any number of things.

    All he knew was that the last thing he wanted to do was piss this woman off.

    The problem was that not saying anything was beginning to have the very effect he wished to avoid. Letting out a sigh she said, "I haven't got all day Junior and I'm sure this lovely establishment can't afford another remodeling." His own anger now getting the better of him he responded, "Well that first time could have been easily avoided. With that said what exactly do you want? I really don't have the time or enough insurance money to deal with you again Blondie." Yang held back an annoyed chuckle. Considering the type of work Junior did was he really asking that? "Well you're an information broker. Figure it out."

    Junior couldn't help but smirk now since he finally had one up on this girl. "No" was the simple one word reply Yang got. Junior expected her to blow up at him for that and while she likely held the fate of his club in her hands he wasn't going to budge this time. Not with everything he had at stake. Yet the most unexpected thing happened.

    She remained calm.

    If there was any sign that his words had made her angry he couldn't see it. Either she had suddenly developed the best poker face he had ever seen or her threats against his club held no true weight. Without waiting for her to ask why he simply stood up and started walking towards the bar. With Yang following behind he explained the situation.

    "I'll give you credit. You didn't wreck the place last time. However there's a funny story that goes along with that. You know how I told you I hadn't seen Roman in months? Well a week after that him and a couple of his friends came in. They told me in no uncertain terms that if you or any of your team came within a mile of this place that the club would be the least of my worries. I have no doubt he's out there somewhere since the Beacon attack would have been the perfect time for him to escape." As he stepped behind the bar Junior grabbed a glass and one of his top shelf liquors and went to pour himself a shot. After downing it he looked Yang in the eyes and asked her, "Do you have any idea what it's like looking over your shoulders for six months? My biggest worry is that nutjob is going to think I had something to do with you eventually finding him and getting his ass tossed in jail."

    As he poured himself another drink Yang simply laughed. "Six months? Remnant is falling apart and some of the kingdoms are on the brink of war. Yet your biggest fear is Roman Torchwick?" Letting out a sigh Junior shook his head as he regretted ever dealing with the man in the first place. Just as he was about to take another shot the next thing Yang said shocked him. "Well you don't have to worry about Roman anymore. I'm afraid he's going to be late to any and all meetings for the rest of our lives." Junior choked on his drink for a moment before doing the classiest thing he could.

    He spit it out due to the pure shock of what Yang just said.

    Regaining his composure Junior studied her face. Was she lying about Roman? Surely he was free and out there wasn't he? Junior however had a strong feeling that this particular huntress wouldn't lie to him about something as big as Roman Torchwick being out-of-the-way for good. "Well if that's the case I can only assume he's dead then" was the simple reply he gave. With a chuckle he grabbed another shot glass. Junior wasn't normally one to give freebies but he felt that if what Yang said was true then it deserved a little charity. Setting the empty glass down he asked Yang, "You of age yet Blondie? On the house if you are." Nodding she sat at a stool. "Sure why not. I'm not going to turn down the most expensive stuff you've got if it's free." Pouring the drink Junior set it down in front of her before getting his own glass to refill. "So what exactly happened?" he asked without looking over. "How did he die?" Yang went to pick up her glass as she replied. "Not well. He escaped and....." Suddenly out of nowhere Junior heard the sound of glass breaking. "DAMMIT!" was the only thing he heard her say. In the entirety of their meeting it was the first time she sounded angry. Junior himself was also angry now however. That crap is easily thirty lien a shot! he thought as he got ready to chew her out. He wasn't about to waste good booze on someone that couldn't be bothered to not drop a glass. However he stopped himself because the next thing he saw shocked him even more than the news that Roman was dead.

    There was Yang Xiao Long sitting at his bar crying.

    Junior wasn't sure what to make of this turn of events as he stood there watching Yang. That's when he noticed something he hadn't quite seen when she first came into the club. Yang normally wore a pair of fingerless gloves. This time however she was simply wearing a single brown glove on her right hand. Unlike her normal clothing it wasn't fingerless. Junior stood there dumbstruck as she wiped away tears and then proceeded to pull a bloodless shard of glass out of the glove. He'd be the first to admit he wasn't the smartest guy in the world. However he dealt with enough hunters and military types to have a pretty good idea what had happened. While he didn't really want to upset her his morbid curiosity got the better of him as he reached for a towel. "Hey Blondie you mind lifting up the sleeve of that coat and taking off the glove? I want to make sure you're not hurt." Honestly it was a lie on his part. He'd seen this sort of thing happen once or twice before and was fairly certain he knew what he was going to see. However he wanted to see for himself because if something could injure this girl so severely then he was starting to get the feeling that maybe Roman Torchwick really was the least of his problems. Yang hesitated for a moment before taking off the glove and rolling up her sleeve.

    Instead of flesh and blood she now had a prosthetic arm and hand that went to about where her elbow would have been. Design wise it was fairly simple. It was unpainted and there were no apparent weapons built into the thing. That told Junior that it was a recent surgery and that she was still getting used to having her arm replaced. As long as it was covered no one would have any clue that Yang had lost her arm.

    Junior was slightly taken aback by the reveal. In his line of work he occasionally ran into hunters or other more shady customers with prosthetics. Atlas had made many advances in regards to that sort of technology. However seeing one on someone so young unnerved him. It certainly explained why she had switched to less revealing clothing. He had no doubt at this point that something very bad happened to her during the Battle of Beacon. Handing her the towel he came out from behind the bar and sat next to her as she cleaned up the spilled liquor and glass shards as best she could. Junior knew that on his best day he could be an asshole and that on his worst he could be a real scumbag. Looking at Yang like this however made him realize for the first time just how bad the state of the world must be. With the CCTS in Beacon down there wasn't much to go on other than unreliable information. It made him realize that Roman was involved in something bigger than he imagined. That in itself made him sick to his stomach. Once you set aside the legitimate part of his operations Junior was for all intents a petty thief and a dealer in black market goods. He didn't ask questions about what his clients planned to do with said information, tools or men. However for all his shortcomings as a human being he did have a code that he stood by and that he impressed upon his men. Despite the nature of his business they didn't kill anyone in cold blood. After all a trail of bodies was normally terrible for business. Sure there were times when someone had to be disposed of. On other occasions people had to be paid off. However even if a body would have made the job much easier Junior and his men wouldn't kill anyone unless they had no choice. At this point he couldn't get rid of the thought that just maybe he may have been partly responsible for what went down in Beacon. Quite a few people died that night. Junior tended to have people that knew his reputation for getting info come to him seeking people that had gone missing. While there still wasn't an official tally due to the various databases were crippled, everyone knew they number was going to be fairly high when it was all said and done.

    By now Yang had managed to pull herself back together. It was Junior who broke the silence. "Don't tell me that smug little asshole did that to you." Shaking her head Yang reached for Junior's bottle with her good hand and then proceeded to grab a glass from behind the bar as well. Under normal circumstances he'd have protested but in light of everything he was going to let her have her way. Besides he still remembered what Yang did the first time they met back when she actually had a right hand. He sure as hell didn't want to experience that again with the additional aid of a robotic grip. Slamming back a drink Yang set the glass on the bar and said, "Roman? No. This was courtesy of Adam Taurus." For the third time in a span of about fifteen minutes Junior felt like he got punched in the gut. "The leader of the White Fang?" he asked her. "You're lucky to be alive." Yang didn't answer him but he could sense that she knew he spoke the truth. For those that did know of him Adam wasn't exactly the most stable of individuals. There weren't many people who could say they fought him and lived. Even fewer could say they fought him without being injured severely in some way. Adam took a sadistic pleasure in crippling human opponents. He wanted them to know they had lost before ending their lives. Junior himself had no qualms with the faunus. However all the stories he heard about Adam creeped him the hell out. It was almost as if he became more unhinged with each passing day. Had he known Roman Torchwick was working with Adam Taurus in some way Junior would have saved everyone the trouble and shot himself in the head right there.

    That was however the part that didn't make sense to Junior. Roman was a known bigot and to say Adam was less than pleased about humans would be a major understatement. How the hell did those two manage to come together without killing each other? Despite everything in his head telling him to not get involved Junior had made up his mind. Deep down he knew that however indirect it may have been that he helped cause all this. Whether he liked it or not he had his fingers in whatever went down at Beacon. Plus there was the matter of Vale getting caught in the crossfire. Junior could have been killed that night had he been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would have been suicide by proxy. Something has to be done he thought. I've got to do something to try to make things right.

    Plus there was also the fact that he really didn't want to go down for aiding terrorists if he somehow got linked to everything.

    The look upon his face was deadly serious as he finished off his bottle of Vacuo's finest rum. "Ok then Blondie" he said. "You want information? I can't make promises but I'll tell you whatever it is I know. If you need gear I'll make the calls. However you're going to need to tell me just what the hell happened at Beacon. I need to know what I'm getting involved in. Also you've got to tell me everything even if it may not seem important to you. Otherwise if I'm working off bad info it could get you killed. You understand?" Yang nodded as she put her glove back on. She wasn't sure what had sparked this sudden change in attitude and deep down she couldn't help but feel that maybe Junior saw this as more of a mutually beneficial arrangement. However she'd be damned if she wasn't going to take advantage of this.

    She'd also be damned if she didn't at least get a little more of that rum.

    "Everything eh? You might want to grab another bottle then Junior. This could take a while."
    ******

    There we go. Chapter 1 in the bag. Feedback and comments welcome.

    EDIT: Second draft of the first chapter is up. Still need some proofreading and feedback. Have decided to go with the title "Broken World, Broken Souls" for this fic.
    Last edited by Master Rudy; 6th March 2016 at 03:17 AM.
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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Currently untitled RWBY fanfic

    ******
    Chapter 2
    "Awakening to a New Reality"
    ******
    City of Vale, about six months ago
    ******
    She wasn't sure how long she had been out for. However as Yang began to stir she quickly became aware of three things; she had a massive headache, there was the constant beeping sound of various pieces of computer equipment and the room she was in was far too brightly lit and white for her tastes. Despite her groggy state she already knew where she was.

    A hospital....great....

    Yang made no attempts to get up and move. For now her first major goal was trying to piece together what had happened to land her in an ICU. What was frustrating her was that she had the basics down but up to a certain point she couldn't remember a damn thing. Even the bits she could remember seemed fuzzy at some points.

    Grimm all over the place.
    Beacon on fire and in shambles.
    The White Fang.


    Her mind stuck on that last bit of knowledge for a moment. She knew they were there. She could even picture the masks they wore. Closing her eyes she tried to remember. She wanted to say it had something to do with a man. Try as she might however whatever mental block she was experiencing just wouldn't let her get the full picture of what happened.

    Ok then. Can't remember shit. Let's work backwards then. What started all this?

    The final match of the Vytal Festival Tournament. She had been watching in Team RWBY's dorm. Yang seemed to remember the match being between two of her friends. Pyrrha Nikos, the so called "Invincible Girl" from Mistral. Team RWBY and Team JNPR of course knew the truth behind her ability to seemingly never get hit. It didn't make watching her fight any less impressive however. The other combatant was Penny Polendina. She was a strange girl from Atlas that they met in the city a few months back. While she was more Ruby's friend than anyone else, in the days since the tournament started they had all gotten together on occasion. Despite her oddness Yang did enjoy hanging out with her.

    Yang was getting off track with her thoughts however. Putting everything else aside she thought back to the fight. Overall the battle itself seemed very straightforward. Within minutes however it became anything but that. Eventually there came a point where Pyrrha for whatever reason used a far greater amount of her Semblance than she needed to deflect an oncoming attack. The wires from Penny's rather unconventional weapons quickly wrapped themselves around her. What happened next occurred with an unbelievable amount of speed. Before she could blink Penny was down and ripped apart by her own weapons. Yang seemed to recall staring in wide-eyed shock before noticing a lack of blood and gore in the arena. In fact it looked more like.....wires? Metal? Whatever she was it wasn't human. In fact it reminded Yang of an Atlesian Knight almost. She didn't have much time to process what was going on however.

    "This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident."

    Yang recalled the voice. The voice that stirred up all the negative emotions everyone had. The voice that played with the mistrust, fear and questions that were on the minds of various people. That was what helped draw the Grimm to the area. It was also the moment that Yang knew for a fact that she had been played in her own match. The memory being fresh in her mind once more stirred up her anger she felt towards Mercury.

    I swear if I find that smug asshole....

    "So you're finally awake?"

    Yang was so out of it that she hadn't realized that she was being watched the whole time. Looking to her left she saw the source. Her uncle Qrow Branwen was there sitting in a chair. Standing nearby was Weiss. She was glad to see them but saw that they both looked absolutely terrible. Both looked as if they had very little sleep in the last few days and neither of them looked anywhere near how they normally did. Qrow always had a tendency to look like he just woke up from a three-day bender. Today however he looked a bit more disheveled than usual. Almost like he'd finished a month's supply of alcohol in less than a week Yang though to herself with a small chuckle. As for Weiss she always prided herself on her appearance. Yet here she was with her hair down and her usual clothing looking far more battered and beat up than she would have likely preferred. Weiss apparently had a few minor injuries since she had a busted lip and a nasty looking bruise on her cheek. It was however nothing that a few days of rest wouldn't fix.

    Weiss was the first to break the silence. "Your father is in another room with Ruby. Do you want me to get him?" she asked. Yang was so out of it that she had totally forgotten about her younger sister. Qrow instantly saw the look on her face and was quick to reassure her. "She's fine Yang!" he said as he quickly moved to her side. Relief instantly came to her but Yang was curious about the sudden movement he made.

    It's almost like he doesn't want me to get up.

    Something deep down told her she should be concerned over that. Yang pushed the thought aside for now since her main concern was now entirely focused on the aftermath of the attack. Qrow watched his niece for a moment before continuing on with his explanation. "Ruby's fine. She's a bit worn out however. The doctors say she'll recover fully but that it might be a few more days before she wakes up." Yang let out a massive sigh of relief. Now it was onto her next concern.

    "What about Blake?" she asked. Yang's mind was still incredibly fuzzy. She was starting to recall that Blake was injured during all the fighting. At this point Yang figured the gaps might have been partly due to the painkillers the doctors almost certainly had her on. Yang blinked for a moment at that thought. Wait....why would they have me on painkillers? She was about to ask before she got snapped back to reality by her first question.
    "Well...." Weiss started to say. Yang was able to at least sense that Blake wasn't dead. However at this point she knew she wasn't going to like the answer. It seemed like Weiss was struggling to find the words but knowing how her teammate was Yang didn't need to hear it. "She ran away again didn't she?" For a moment Yang was surprised at how harsh that sounded. Weiss clearly didn't know how to continue so she let Qrow take over. "Well she'll live. As for where she is no clue. She was supposed to be in the bed next to you recovering from her own wounds. The leader of the White Fang did a major number on her."

    Yang frowned at that new bit of info. So that was their leader then? Qrow meanwhile continued with the story. "Yang I'm sorry. Weiss was out of the room checking in with Tai. I had to step out for a moment to speak with Ironwood. It couldn't have been more than five minutes. By the time I got back the window was open and her personal belongings were gone." She wasn't sure what to make of this info. Why would Blake leave so suddenly? Yang wasn't even sure if she cared enough to know the reason. Deep down she felt this had something to do with whatever trust issues Blake seemed to have with the world. It still hurt however. But that wasn't important right now. There were many other questions Yang needed to ask. She was getting tired of laying down however. Qrow's face instantly turned to a mix of fear and concern as Yang reached out to use the rails of the hospital bed to pull herself up.

    It was at this moment Yang knew something was severely wrong.

    She grabbed the left rail without any issues. The right rail however? She couldn't feel it. At this point she must have had the same look of fear that Qrow had. Whatever mental block she had regarding the events that occurred seemed to lift at that point.

    Blake crying out in pain as the White Fang's leader stabbed her.
    The look on his face that seemed to dare Yang to do something.
    Yang letting her rage take over as she rushed in without a second thought.
    The searing, burning pain as the man cut right through her arm.


    Yang didn't need the sound of the medical equipment beginning to beep far more rapidly to tell her that her heart was racing. Weiss and her uncle were right by her side holding her left hand. She simultaneously dreaded and feared what she was about to see. Deep down Yang already knew what she going to find. Even so it was something she knew she was going to have to eventually face and come to terms with. With her eyes closed she slowly turned her head towards her right arm before opening them again.

    Or in this particular case what was left of her right arm.

    It was bandaged heavily but from what she could see it had been cut off at the elbow. Many different emotions went through Yang as she just simply stared at it. As the tears began to flow she tried to speak. The best she could get out however was a rather uncharacteristic squeak. She wasn't even sure what to say or ask anymore. Waking up to find you were missing a limb wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence. Eventually she managed to get her breathing under control and calm down a bit. However once she tried to wipe away her tears she quickly realized she had just attempted to do so with a hand that no longer existed. That in itself stirred her up again.

    Weiss was at a loss over what to do. Unlike the other members of her team she was no stranger to death. However this was the first time she had experienced a friend or family member with such a grievous injury. Unlike the two younger girls, Qrow did have the experience in dealing with such things. He was also torn however. The uncle in him wanted to tell Yang everything was going to be ok. At the same time however he couldn't exactly sugarcoat things. "I'm not going to feed you a line of bullshit Yang" he said. "This will be far from easy. Give the doctors about a month or so and they should be able to get you set up with a basic prosthetic. We'll have to discuss other options later however." Yang eventually found her voice and said, "You're talking about continuing as a hunter aren't you?" Sitting back down Qrow pulled out his flask and took a drink before putting it away again "Well that's up to you Yang. I doubt it's a discussion you want to have now however. We've got plenty to talk about." Yang hoped the worst news was behind her.

    She couldn't have been more wrong.

    Eventually once everyone calmed down a bit Weiss and Qrow started to fill her in more about the situation. Each new piece of info didn't do much to help her mood however. All it did was make her feel worse.

    Beacon was gone.
    The school and parts of the city were filled with Grimm.
    Ozpin was missing.
    The CCTS was no longer operational.
    Atlas was being blamed for the attack.
    Pyrrha was dead.


    That last bit of info hit Yang the hardest. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Pyrrha was the Invincible Girl. The perfect warrior that couldn't be beaten. How could she lose? How could she die? Eventually it got to a point where Yang couldn't take anymore. She asked her teammate and uncle if she could be alone for a few moments. While it was clear that they didn't want to leave her side they respected her wishes and let her be for a bit. It was an absolute overload of information for Yang and she couldn't quite process it all. Each new revelation about that night crushed her a bit more inside. For the first time in her life she truly felt defeated and hopeless. As she laid there in the bed alone her mind was made up.

    She was done. Yang Xiao Long would never fight again.
    Last edited by Master Rudy; 27th February 2016 at 03:09 AM.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Minor story updates. New drafts of the first two chapters. Currently working on the third. Still debating posting on FF.net

    Seriously need/want feedback :-/

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Chapter 3
    "Making Adjustments"
    ******
    Village of Patch, about one month ago
    ******
    "This will be far from easy."

    Qrow's words had come to mind once again on that evening. In fact, they had been on Yang's mind just about every day for the last few months. She had taken the fact that she was previously right-handed for granted. That in itself was a hard adjustment to make. There were several other issues as well. First off was the hospital. Due to the communications breakdown, thanks to the destruction of the CCTS, they had a mixup. On the day that Yang was to be fitted for her basic prosthetic, she had discovered that they made the mistake of calling in for a left arm. Due to the lack of CCTS communications, as well as the mounting tensions with Atlas, the hospital predicted that it would be at least another month or two before they could get her a proper prosthetic. In truth it was much closer to four months. According to them they were going to have it ready that weekend. Yang wasn't putting much faith in that claim however. Even so, she hoped the wait was over. It was bad enough living the last five months with no arm. She didn't know if she could do another week, much less another month.

    Then there was her relationship with her family. Yang really was trying, but it wasn't easy. She knew things were starting to get strained. For the last few weeks, Yang found herself talking very little. She wasn't even jumping at chances to make stupid jokes or bad puns. At one point, she was having a bad day and flat-out insisted that no one disturb her. It wasn't until a day later that she discovered that she had become a total recluse on her birthday. Finding that fact out was an odd feeling for Yang. On the one hand she felt terrible about it. Yet, there was a part of her that just didn't have the energy to care anymore. She really wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. If she felt bad about it, then there was some part of her deep down that wanted things to get better wasn't there? Despite that however, Yang just wanted to be left alone. Between the various people who left her, friends and family that died, her injury and the state of the world she felt like it was enough. Yang was only 18, yet she felt like she had been hurt enough times to fill several lifetimes. She would have been perfectly happy just remaining in Patch for the rest of her life. There'd be far less chance of getting burned again.

    As far as the actual relationships with her remaining friends and family went, she wasn't sure where she stood with some of them. She hadn't seen or spoken to some of them for months, while others had to endure her newfound moodiness. Weiss originally intended to travel back to Patch with them, but she never got the chance. Her father had quickly made it a point to come to Vale so that he could bring her back to Atlas. While the meeting was short, Yang already knew she didn't like the man. The entire time he was there it was almost as if he seemed to think being in Vale was beneath him. At one point, Sun had stumbled into the awkward meeting. The only thing that the elder Schnee seemed able to do at this point, was be overly critical about every last thing he could find about Sun. His casual dress, his faunus heritage and even the fact that Sun knew his daughter to begin with. Yang knew that if she had been his daughter that she'd also want to get as far away as possible.

    Team JNPR was partly split up after the death of Pyrrha. Jaune had family in Vale, so it wasn't a hard choice for him regarding where to go. Ren and Nora were orphans however. Due to their situation and age, Beacon WAS their home. With nowhere else to go, Qrow and her father managed to get them rooms at Signal. Following the events at the Vytal Festival, the other academies had suspended studies until a full investigation could be finished. Everything was going extremely slow however. Vale seemed to be the only kingdom that trusted Atlas now. That in itself put Mistral and Vacuo on edge. Had it not been for Qrow, it was likely that Vale also would have turned on Atlas. The unfortunate side effect however, was the other two kingdoms assuming Vale was taken over. While no one had outright attacked, the trust simply wasn't there. That alone brought the investigation to a halt. As a result of the suspended studies and the investigation, some students simply returned home. Those that didn't have that luxury were able to stay at their respective schools, provided they helped out somehow. For most students that translated into hunting down Grimm. Yang was sure that Nora and Ren had no problem with that. On occasion the two of them would swing by their home. Usually they'd speak with Ruby. Sometimes they would spar with her father. Yang however, went into hermit mode when they showed up. Seeing them reminded her of Pyrrha. Each time that happened it only served to remind Yang that none of them were safe.

    As for the rest of her family? Qrow had left on another mission shortly after they initially returned home five months ago. Her father was generally the best person to talk to about everything. He knew what it was like to lose family, so talking to him helped a little. Ruby on the other hand was almost like her usual self. Yang thought it may have been her sister's way of coping with things. However, she also felt the cheerfulness was just wrong. One of their best friends was dead. Technically two of them if you factored in Penny. Yet, while Yang silently brooded, Ruby seemed to take opportunities to try to get her to open up. Eventually, there came a point where her sister said she was becoming too much like Blake.
    That was the tipping point for Yang.

    She didn't remember most the things she said. The only thing Yang did recall was eventually telling Ruby that she was just a child who had no idea how the world worked. She recalled the hurt expression on Ruby's face, as she stormed out of the house. In Yang's mind, what she said couldn't have been as bad as being compared to a coward like Blake. In fact, Blake's constant running away started to remind Yang of her mother. Those were the two things someone should have been able to rely on: family and team members. They were also the two things that had abandoned Yang when she felt she needed them the most.

    That's why she was now outside. It was snowing and she lacked the proper clothing, but like everything else the last few months she didn't care. Yang had to blow off some kind of steam, so she did the one thing she knew how to do: she trained.

    Or at least she attempted to.

    It was actually the first time in months she had done any kind of real movement. Yang no longer had a desire to be a hunter. Her injury, combined with those feelings mainly kept her in a bed all this time. To say she was sloppy would have been a major understatement. Yet, despite the loss of her arm, Yang went through the motions of a fairly simple kata. She was feeling like a complete novice however. Her footwork was off and the lack of her arm left her unbalanced. Even so she persisted. After several minutes, Yang moved on to a more complex practice routine. It didn't take long for her to stumble and lose her footing however. Yang attempted to break her fall, but once again she got a painful reminder that she lost her right arm. Rather than stop herself, she just went face first into the ground. Yang cursed as she reached up to wipe away some blood from a fresh cut on her cheek. It was nothing major. Unlike her arm, it was a wound her aura would take care of within a few minutes. It was at that moment that Yang realized something, despite her frustration over her degraded skills.

    It was the first time in months she actually felt a little better.

    As she got back to her feet to try again, the sound of clapping came from the door of her family's cabin. With a sigh, Yang didn't even bother to look towards her house as she let her stance drop. "How long have you been standing there?" was the question she asked. She heard her father's footsteps on the fresh snow as he came up from behind her. "Long enough. I'd say all things considered you get a seven out of ten on your form. That landing however?" Taiyang didn't finish his statement. Instead he playfully waved one of his hands in front of his nose as he shook his head. Frowning, Yang told him, "Well you're one to talk. At least you've got a matching pair of arms."

    Tai was now standing in front of his daughter and had taken up a stance of his own. Yang really didn't want any part of this, but it was clear he wouldn't take no for an answer. With her left foot and hand forward, she nearly touched his own fist before attempting a jab to his face. With zero effort on his part, Tai brought his right forearm up to block the blow. Normally, Yang would have followed up with a right hand, but since she lacked that option she instead tried to go above his block and backhand him. Tai once again easily blocked the attack, this time using an open-handed block from his left hand. He could see the frustration mounting on her face now, yet he remained calm with her. "Just take it slow for now and worry about simple movements" he told her. "After all, you're essentially having to learn how to fight all over again." Nodding, Yang followed her father's directions and for the next few minutes that's all the two of them did. Simple blows followed with easy blocks. Yang did what she could, while Tai made sure he didn't do anything that would be impossible for his daughter at this point.

    Eventually, he broke the silence and asked what had been on his mind for the last few minutes. "So why are you out here anyway? I thought you said you were done trying to be a hunter?" Now that her mind was a bit more clear, Yang just shrugged. "Honestly? No clue. Falling into old habits I suppose. After what happened inside it was either this, or head back to my bedroom. A one-armed woman doesn't exactly have many options for passing the time alone in a bedroom." Tai couldn't help himself now as he dropped his stance and burst into the biggest laugh Yang had heard from him in quite some time. She had no clue what she said to set him off and felt like she missed out on a big joke. Finally, her father pulled himself together and told her, "You might want to think about what you said and rephrase that." Yang was still confused up until the moment it dawned on her. When it did, she could feel her face light up out of pure embarrassment. Eventually, she too gave in and started to laugh along with her father.

    After they both calmed down, father and daughter had decided to sit on a nearby log and have a serious talk about things. "I think I know what your real problem is" Tai said to his daughter. "You've obviously been hurt by the fact that your partner seemed to just run off. I know that feeling all too well. Not a day goes by where I don't think about Raven and wonder where she is." Yang didn't like where the conversation was heading, but out of respect she let her father continue. "I think Ruby struck a nerve in there when she compared you to Blake. Deep down, you feel she's right." Once more, Yang felt her anger rising and was now ready to protest, but Tai put a hand up to stop her. When her father had something to say, he would not be shy about letting his opinion be known.

    "Here's what I think. From what I've gathered and heard, Blake is a bit on the quiet side. She's the type that keeps to herself, isn't she?" Yang just nodded. While her father had not met Blake, he had hit the nail right on the head. Continuing on he said, "Over the last few months, your personality has shifted completely. You've gone from someone who makes terrible jokes, to a person that's quiet. Someone that keeps to themself and is overall a bit anti-social. I've actually lost track of the number of times Ren and Nora have been here. Before all this happened, you'd have jumped at the chance to see your friends. Instead, you just spend your days mainly staying out of everyone's way. Granted you've been through hell, but that's no way to live Yang. Eventually, you have to pick up the shattered pieces and try to put what you can back together. Otherwise you'll be just like your partner: running. Maybe not physically, but mentally. That in itself can be just as bad if not worse." At that moment, it all came together for Yang. Ruby had made a simple observation about her sister. Without meaning to do so, she revealed the true issue Yang had: she was also running away.

    Snapping her away from her thoughts was the hand of her father, reaching out to help her up. "Come on. Let's get inside before we both freeze to death." Yang grabbed on and pulled herself up, but as she did so she noticed Tai visibly wince a bit. She was curious about that, but currently had other things on her mind as the two of them walked towards the front door. "So what do you think I should do?" she asked her father. Stopping for a moment, Tai looked her in the eyes. "Well, that's going to be up to you Yang. I'm not going to say continue being a hunter, but I'm also not going to say stop. What I will say is this however: you have to stop running. Until you do that, you'll never truly recover or get past everything that's happened." With a sigh, Tai looked at the ground before looking back at his daughter. "Everyone has a moment they run away from. It's how they react that determines if they eventually move on, or simply give into despair for the rest of their life. Honestly, I don't know what would have become of you girls if I gave in and kept on running." Yang wasn't sure what to say in response to that. Her father was clearly referring to the death of his second wife, Summer, and how he spent a several months just pulling himself back together over that.

    As they finally got to the door, Yang was now clearly able to see her father's arms and gasped. They were covered in bruises from where she made contact while sparring. She couldn't believe what she saw. Her left hand was far from her dominant hand, and it was far from a full-blown, full contact sparring session. How could she have done that much damage? Tai seemed to sense what she was looking at as he chuckled. "Don't tell me it's been so long that you've forgotten what your Semblance does." My Semblance? Yang thought. Then it suddenly hit her. Under normal conditions, her Semblance allowed her to gain a temporary power boost as she became more and more wounded in battle. It never crossed her mind what could potentially happen if she received a more permanent injury. Even so, Yang was still skeptical. Sensing what she was about to ask, Tai said "I guess I owe your uncle twenty lien. He's had a theory about that for months now. Just do me a favor." Pulling her closer for a hug, Tai told his daughter, "Don't lose anymore limbs. I'd rather have the rest of you stay in one piece." With tears in her eyes she said "Well I won't make promises I can't keep, but I'll see what I can do." It was the first time since her whole ordeal began, that Yang's tears weren't related to sadness or despair.

    For the first time since waking up, Yang felt a small measure of hope.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Chapter 4
    "Making Amends"
    ******
    Village of Patch, about one month ago
    ******
    Following their sparring session, Tai had elected to go inside for the night. Yang on the other hand had decided to remain outside for a bit. She wanted things to cool off a bit more before speaking with Ruby. Following the revelations regarding what her injury did to her Semblance, Yang needed some extra time alone to think. While she did have some small hope that she might not be nearly as bad off as she originally thought, Yang was still apprehensive about her future and her current fighting style. Under normal circumstances her injury would have been horrible, but not completely unfixable. Given the current state of the world however, she wasn't entirely sure when she'd truly be able to say she was ready if she did decide to continue as a hunter.
    A big part of the current issue was her continued lack of a prosthetic. Before the whole mess began, it would have been fairly simple to get even a basic prosthetic. A month at the most, possibly as little as two weeks if you had money or knew the right people. Something more advanced would take time however. A limb designed for combat typically had to be specially designed for its user. At this point, the fact that it had been nearly six months was starting to seriously worry Yang in regards to getting a specialized prosthetic in a timely manner.

    There were also other factors to consider regarding a special design. First off, it had to account for nerves that were no longer there if the user's fighting style was reliant on touch. A soldier with a basic dust firearm could be fine with a basic prosthetic. Someone with a more specialized weapon would need a limb that would work with their weapon or fighting style. Even then, some amputees would elect to use a basic prosthetic. There was far less downtime in regards to getting one. Plus combat limbs did have drawbacks. Due to their ability to replicate a lost sensation of touch, someone who had such a limb could potentially feel pain if the limb was damaged or it's calibration was off. Yang had heard of extreme cases where sudden pain, followed by a loss of feeling had made some people relive the trauma of originally losing that body part. She really didn't want to know what such a situation would do to her state of mind if something like that came to pass. Losing her arm was still a very touchy subject, one that Yang didn't like discussing or talking about. It certainly wasn't something she wanted to relive.

    Another factor was the pain Yang would feel where her arm once was. This wasn't normal pain however. She literally had moments where she'd feel pain in a limb that no longer existed. Yang had heard stories of this so-called phantom pain, but until she experienced it herself she figured that's all they were. She assumed it was a matter of people who were unable to come to terms with what happened to them. It was very unnerving the first time it happened. It wasn't something she experienced often, but when she did her actual remaining portion of her arm would just ache where it would have met the part she lost. Meanwhile, there would be a burning sensation in the part that was gone. It usually wasn't too bad, but at it's worst it would typically wake her in the middle of the night and leave her unable to get back to sleep.

    In any case, first things first. At the very least Yang needed a basic prosthetic. Until she crossed that bridge she couldn't even realistically consider the possibility of continuing as a huntress. Yang wasn't sure how long she was outside. However, she knew she couldn't put it off any longer.

    She had to talk to her sister.

    It didn't take Yang long to get upstairs and to their room. It was actually a strange feeling stepping in. Yang had actually been in the guest room since returning home. Originally, it was so she could get rest while Ruby recovered from her coma. Qrow and her father had taken shifts watching after her in the week she took to wake up. Yang needed some kind of privacy while she herself recovered. However, what was supposed to be temporary became a little more permanent once Yang's newfound moodiness and anti-social behavior overtook her normally upbeat personality.

    Yang let out a small curse as she nearly tripped over Zwei, who was sleeping in the middle of the floor. For a moment she thought that maybe Ruby wasn't in the room, but when her eyes adjusted to the darkness she was disappointed to see that she was already in bed. Part of her thought that maybe she was simply laying there waiting for Yang to make the first move. Another part of her didn't want to make too much noise in case her sister really was asleep. Sitting on her old bed, she watched for a moment. Ruby's back was to her as she laid in her own bed facing the wall. Yang finally gave in and broke the silence by whispering her sister's name.

    "Ruby?"
    No response.

    Yang let out a sigh. She really needed to get things off her chest. While her father did most of the talking during their own encounter, Yang knew this was the first time in months she had opened up at all. She didn't want to wait until tomorrow or the next day. Part of her feared that something would depress her again and leave her unapproachable for another couple of months. Right now, that was something she couldn't afford. If she was going to start moving on it had to be now. Even if Ruby ultimately didn't hear her she had to get it all out there.

    "Don't worry. Don't get up" she whispered to the sleeping form of her sister. Bending over slightly, Yang attempted to lean her head on her hand for support. Instead she let out another annoyed sigh as she quickly realized she had once again attempted to use a non-existant right hand. Switching to her left hand, she rubbed her forehead out of frustration as she spoke quietly. "Sometimes I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to this. I at least wish the damn thing would stop hurting and waking me in the middle of the night." Yang watched for a sign that Ruby was awake and listening, but if she was she couldn't see one. "Look, I know living with me these past few months hasn't been easy. I wish I could make you understand what it's been like." By now the tears began to flow once more. Yang managed to keep her voice from breaking as she actually remembered to use her left hand to wipe them away for once. "Everything is just so messed up. I really don't know how you've managed to keep it together sis." Now she was starting to remember all the times in the last few months Ruby had attempted to help her. Rather than thank her however, Yang mainly gave her the cold shoulder since any kind of assistance only served to remind her of her disability. Yang couldn't put off what was on her mind any longer and just blurted it out.

    "Rubes, I've been a complete bitch."

    Yang let the comment just hang in the air for a moment. Looking away from her sister out of shame, her eyes fell upon her right arm. "Well maybe not complete. Parts are missing, some assembly may be required." It was the first real joke Yang cracked in a very long time. Despite the darkness surrounding such a joke, she couldn't help smiling slighty at it. Yang could have sworn she heard Ruby groan at the sheer terribleness of it. She watched for a moment and hoped it was a sign that perhaps she was now awake and wanting to chat. After about a minute of watching however, Yang knew she really was out cold and done for the night. Even so, she still needed to let Ruby know what she was thinking. "Honestly, you've been a better big sister than I have the last several months. I don't know how the hell that happened but it's true. As for me? I guess I still need time. Uncle Qrow told me none of this would be easy. Problem is, I've focused too much on dwelling on things."

    Yang knew the conversation was very one-sided but still decided to persist a bit longer. "Dad's right. I need to start pulling myself together. Even if I don't go back to being a huntress, I can't just stay in my room any longer. Give me time Ruby. I don't know how long it's going to take. However, maybe we might be able to make things right. Dad and Qrow never told me the full details of what happened at the top of Beacon Tower. Yet, you always seem convinced that we can somehow make a difference. Even if it's a small difference, and I'm stuck on the sidelines, I want to be able to help you make that difference." Yang had plenty more to say, but she couldn't keep talking to someone who was asleep. She decided it was best to continue this in the morning, so she got up and started to head for her own room. Before stepping out however, she turned back to her sister and said, "Get some rest. We've got much to discuss in the morning."

    With that, Yang left for her room. Following her discussion with her father and the one-sided heart to heart with Ruby, she really did feel better for the first time in ages. However, unknown to Yang, someone was feeling much worse. Unknown to her, Ruby had been awake the whole time. As upset as she was, she never blamed Yang for anything she did or said the last few months. Deep down she had wanted to talk to her about everything. Ruby couldn't do that however. She had set events in motion on her own, yet she couldn't talk to Yang. If she did, she'd lose the resolve to do what she felt she had to do. Ruby wished Yang had managed to pull herself together sooner, but it was something that couldn't be helped. It had already been far too long. Delaying her own plans ran the risk of putting Remnant at even greater risk. Ruby wasn't sure what the future held. She didn't know what would happen and she didn't know if things would end in success or failure.

    She only hoped she'd live long enough to see Yang again.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Chapter 5
    "Lifting the Veil"
    ******
    Village of Patch, about one month ago
    ******
    "He better have a damn good explanation for this!"

    Yang wasn't sure how to react to this change in her father as she sat at the kitchen table. She had seen Taiyang in various mental states before. While she was still young when it happened, she remembered how hard he took the news of Summer's death. Since then she had seen everything from depression, to worry, fear, happiness and disappointment. This however, was completely unexpected.

    In her 18 years, Yang could not recall a single moment where her father was truly angry.

    The morning had actually started off normal enough. Tai was making breakfast for his daughters. Meanwhile, Yang was upstairs starting to wake up. Through the frost covered window a bird had caught her eye. She couldn't quite tell if it was a crow or a raven, but she could have sworn it was watching her. It was actually unnerving. Yang couldn't put her finger on why, but deep down she knew something was off. She was eventually snapped back to reality once the bird flew off. It was at that point she became aware of Tai frantically searching the area around the house.

    Ruby was gone.

    Yang read the letter her sister left behind several times, but nothing made any kind of sense to her. She had the feeling that if she was paying full attention over the last few months, it would have been easy to understand. Every so often she'd catch bits about special powers, Cinder, a cover story dealing with Haven and the aftermath of Beacon. Instead, Yang spent those months in a clouded state between existing and living. Everything was just white noise to her. Perhaps it was because she thought she knew everything regarding what happened at Beacon? But now, she was certain that she only had the most basic grasp of things. Yang didn't like what that implied. Either she was so far gone that everything in that timeframe didn't matter, or she was being kept in the dark.

    Or perhaps a combination of the two she thought.

    The most confusing aspect of this was the fact that her father kept blaming Qrow. He originally left on a mission once Ruby recovered. Since then, he popped in from time to time, but never more than a day or two. Ozpin was one of the few friends her uncle had. With him missing, Qrow had taken it upon himself to become the new face of Beacon. That involved plenty of travel between the kingdoms. Yang figured this was due to the investigation that was quickly going nowhere. Qrow's most recent trip to Patch left him in town for only a few hours, then it was off to Atlas. She seemed to recall him speaking to her father and promising he'd be back today. There was something about a surprise, but she had no clue what that was supposed to mean. Surely the surprise couldn't have involved Ruby leaving home, could it?

    As if it was on cue, there was a knock at the front door.

    "It's open!" Tai shouted, as he placed his full attention on the door. Well this isn't going to be a warm welcome Yang thought bitterly, as her uncle stepped into their home. He was carrying a duffel bag with him and had a big smile on his face. Yet, before he could get a greeting out, Tai was already in his face shouting, "You son of a bitch!" All parties in the room, not named Taiyang Xiao Long, were taken aback by the uncharacteristic outburst. This even included Zwei, who had suddenly decided this was not the best place for a dog, and elected to leave the room. Despite everything, Qrow remained his usual, nonchalant self and just shrugged. "No arguments here. She has her moments." Qrow was about to add-on to that comment, when he noticed how deathly serious Tai was. Setting the bag down on a nearby couch, Qrow asked, "So what'd I do this time? I'm getting the sense this isn't about a bar tab." Tai was far from a joking mood however, as he thrust Ruby's letter into his hands. "I don't know. You read that and tell me." Qrow simply lifted an eyebrow out of curiosity as he turned his attention from Tai to the letter he now held:

    Dad,

    I really don't know how to begin. I suppose "I'm sorry" might be the best way to start.
    I have to leave home. I'll likely be in Vale by the time you read this.

    I've spoken with Uncle Qrow a couple of times in the last few months. From what he's told me, it sounds like things are getting really bad. It seems like no one is able to trust each other anymore. I can't sit here in Patch doing nothing. You and Mom always taught me to help others. It seems like the world needs help understanding what happened at Beacon. I also need to understand what happened. Cinder is still out there and I constantly worry that she's going to do this again. According to what I've heard, I might be the only one who can stop her. I need to know why she is doing this, and I also need to learn more about the powers I apparently have.

    I won't be alone. I've already spoken to Jaune. Ren and Nora are coming as well. Pyrrha's death hit all of them hard. Jaune feels like he could have done more. He constantly blames himself. The others also feel like they'd be able to do more good by helping get to the bottom of everything. I only wish I could have waited long enough for Yang to recover. I hoped the two of us could have gotten our team back together. However, there's no time. I've got a sense of dread deep down and I feel like if I don't act now it'll be too late.

    Yang, don't blame yourself. I never did. You needed time, we just didn't have enough. It seems like you're starting to come around. I'm not going to ask you to do something you're not ready for, yet I do need your help. I need info and you seem to know people. See if you can learn anything about Cinder. If all goes well, I hope to be back home in a month or two. Once I'm back in Patch, we can compare notes and figure out our next move.

    Take care of yourselves. I'm coming home. I promise.

    -Ruby
    PS: "Some assembly required?" Really? Even by your standards, that was pretty bad Yang.

    Yang winced as Qrow read the last part of the letter. Ruby calling out that terrible joke had told Yang she really was awake the whole time. Why didn't Ruby speak with her? Yang wanted to roll back the clock and do her last encounter with her sister over again. Meanwhile, Qrow was just amused at that last bit. "Well, either Yang is getting a personality again or Ruby found a really nice bookshelf." Tai however, wasn't having Qrow's jokes. "No" he said firmly. "For once in your life, you're not deflecting a serious situation with humor. My youngest daughter is missing. She flat-out said in her letter that you've talked to her. Now you're talking to me. Where is she Qrow?" Tai was no longer yelling, however the anger and frustration in his voice was still there. Qrow was about to discuss the situation, but another voice made itself known.

    "Fifty lien says that Rubes is heading to Mistral. Cinder and her team claimed to be from Haven. It's the only place that makes sense."

    Both men turned their attention to Yang. "I'm an amputee, not deaf. I'm also far from stupid. I know my attitude the last few months would suggest otherwise, but I've caught bits and pieces of what you guys have discussed. This is the first day, in ages, I've got some sort of clarity." Motioning towards her lost limb with her head, Yang continued. "I feel this injury gives me the right to know the truth. I almost died at Beacon. It's bad enough that I can't trust my partner. Don't make me feel like I can't trust my family."

    Yang was done saying her piece. Qrow looked like he was ready to spill the beans, but Tai wasn't having any of it. "You're not doing this Qrow!" he nearly screamed as he pointed sharply in his face. "Yang is not getting involved. The truth drove Raven insane. It got Summer killed. Now my youngest daughter is out there continuing her mother's work." Suddenly, Tai's attitude completely shifted, as he fell to his knees and completely broke down. Yang was taken aback by this. She knew how badly the death of her stepmother affected her father. However, this was on a completely different level. "Don't take her away from me Qrow" was all he could keep saying between sobs.

    It was actually starting to scare Yang. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know now.

    Qrow eventually managed to get Tai off the floor and on the couch. He was careful to move his bag before doing so and set it on the floor. Hearing a metallic clang told Yang that whatever was in there had some weight to it. In fact, she started to have her suspicions about what it might be. However, it was best to wait and let her father calm down first. After about five minutes, Tai had calmed down enough for Qrow to actually be able to talk to him. The mood in his voice was sombre as he spoke. "You know I have no intent to take your girls away Tai. But, you also know that we ourselves were all involved the moment Summer entered our lives. You know the truth behind everything. In the end, Ruby's destined to follow Summer. History is repeating. Ruby's team, like our own before hers, became involved once the Beacon initiation paired them all together. Granted, considering the current situation, the heiress and the moody one at least have a chance to get out. Pyrrha's teammates? They're going to wish they stayed home." Pausing for a moment, Qrow looked at his niece before turning his attention back to his friend. "Yet, I'm afraid Yang won't have that luxury her own partners are getting. Even if Yang wasn't on that team, her involvement would have been inevitable. We both know she wouldn't let her sister face this alone."

    Meanwhile, Yang was growing more confused with each passing moment. All this talk about destiny and teams being connected to their leader was starting to hurt her head. She still wasn't sure what any of this was truly about. However, she knew her uncle was right. If Ruby was involved, then for better or for worse she would be there for her. Eventually, Tai had calmed down enough and excused himself. He needed to lay down a bit and wrap his head around everything. It had been a rather eventful morning for the man. Sighing, Qrow now turned his attention to his niece. Picking up his bag, he walked over to the table and set it down. "Well, this is far from how I saw my morning going" he said with a nervous chuckle. Raising an eyebrow, Yang told her uncle, "Well, there's a part of me that doubts that. Taking everything into consideration, I'm guessing you knew Ruby would be leaving sooner or later. You just didn't expect it to be now." Qrow was in the kitchen and apparently looking for something. Eventually, he let out an annoyed grunt and settled for a coffee mug and a rather cutesy looking, cartoonish cup depicting a panda. "I've known your father for nearly 25 years. You'd think by now I'd remember he doesn't have shot glasses." Shaking her head, Yang said, "And I've known you for 18 years. I don't think now is the time to be attempting to change the subject."

    By now, Qrow was back at the table. Reaching into his bag, he produced the first item he brought with him: a bottle of Vacuo Rum. Qrow proceeded to pour a small amount into the larger panda cup, and was about to push it towards Yang, but after thinking about it he pulled it back towards him and filled it. He then proceeded to pour the original, smaller amount of booze into the mug and pushed that towards Yang. Meanwhile, Yang just sat there confused and looking at the mug. "You can't be serious. You know I don't drink." Laughing, Qrow grabbed the panda cup as he sat and proceeded to down about half of it in one gulp. "Like hell you don't. Didn't you get busted making girly drinks for the rest of the dorm at Signal in your final year?" Blushing slightly, Yang attempted to defend her drink choice. "Hey! A Strawberry Sunrise is NOT a girly drink!" Nodding a bit, in a rather sarcastic manner, Qrow said, "I suppose you're right. Men do drink them." Qrow took another sip of his rum before adding, "Gay men." Groaning, Yang just shook her head as she grabbed the offered mug. "You are the absolute worst." While it was true that Yang was now legally old enough to drink, it was something she had yet to actually try. Even when she was going through a "juvenile delinquent" phase as her uncle called it, she still didn't overdo it or get totally smashed. Taking a small sip, Yang noted that it had a bit more of a burn than any of the cocktails she had previously tried. Despite that, she actually rather enjoyed it. With a smirk, Qrow said, "Much better than orange juice, créme de fraises and grenadine." Setting the mug down, it was now Yang's turn to laugh. "Sooooo, how do you know what goes in a Strawberry Sunrise?" she asked in a sing-song voice. Qrow choked on his drink for a moment. Setting it down, he told his niece in a mock questioning tone, "I went though a phase?"

    The two of them laughed together for a moment. Yang suddenly stopped however. "You're doing it again. You're getting us off track." Finishing off his drink, Qrow set down the cup and reached back into the bag. "I swear it's not intentional. We've got quite a bit to discuss and you're going to have plenty of questions." This time, Qrow brought out a set of tools. "So what else have you got in there, Drunkle Qrow?" Yang asked. Normally, Qrow didn't care for his niece's nickname, but he was willing to let it slide. He wasn't sure what he had missed while he was gone, but whatever it was he was at least happy to see Yang slowly becoming her old self again. He could still hear an edge in her voice that she previously didn't carry, but at least he now knew she hadn't completely shut down. "The last item in this bag is going to change everything for you" Qrow told her, as he pulled it out.

    It was exactly what Yang suspected: sitting in front of her was a prosthetic arm. Yang had seen a few up close following her injury. She was far from an expert on them, but as far as she could tell there was something different about this one. It was something Yang desperately needed, but it was also something she dreaded. She wasn't looking forward to heading back to Vale for surgery to attach it. As that thought crossed her mind however, she remembered the tools her uncle pulled out. Seeming to sense what she was about to ask, Qrow explained just what was going on. "I called in a ton of favors once it was clear you weren't getting an arm anytime soon. Turns out you're a prime candidate for this one. It's a brand new prototype designed for people who have less severe limb injuries. You're going to be the first user outside of testing." Yang was a bit skeptical once she heard the words less severe. In her mind, losing half her arm was pretty damn severe. "Define less severe for me" she said. "Right now, I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around that." Nodding, Qrow simply pointed at her elbow. "Well you've got part of your arm left." He then pointed at her shoulder. "Had you lost the whole thing, that would have required a far more invasive surgery. I'm sure you remember seeing Ironwood in the hospital." Yang hadn't really spoken to the man, but she did remember meeting the general shortly after waking up. The extent of his injuries from a mission that had went very sour, wasn't really public knowledge. Qrow thought it would be a good idea to bring him in to meet with Yang. Looking back she knew the two of them meant well, but the gesture completely backfired. For the first few days after the meeting, Yang could only envision her right half being totally artificial. It wasn't until she saw a far more normal prosthetic that she calmed down.

    Meanwhile, Qrow continued telling her about the arm. "Anyway, I'm not great with the science behind it. What I do know is that all prosthetics, prior to this one, required some sort of surgery. Either it would be grafted onto what was left, or in the case of Ironwood even more would need to be cut away before they could add it in." The thought of doctors needing to cut off more of her body make Yang shudder. "This arm is brand new tech. Rather than grafting and bonding tissue to metal, it uses electrical impulses to interact with the remaining nerves where the damage occurred." Yang was actually impressed, but then a thought occurred to her. Smirking, she said "They made you memorize all that, didn't they?" Qrow just poured himself more rum as he confirmed it. "Yep. I have no idea what the hell I just said. All I know is that Doctor Polendina assured me it works." The name caught Yang off guard. "Polendina?" she asked. "Would that make him...." Qrow nodded as he sipped more booze. "Yeah. He's the guy that built your friend. Penny apparently would never stop talking to him about Ruby. Once he heard you were injured and that you were her sister, he put his team to work right away on this thing. Ruby must have left some impression on that girl, as well as the old man, if he was willing to jump right on this project. In fact, he's also got a combat design for you in the works. It's just going to take more time. Apparently, adding a shot gauntlet, into an arm made for a hand to hand fighter is extremely complex." Hearing that got Yang far more excited than she had been in some time. Despite that, she managed to keep her composure.

    "Anyway, enough talk. Let's get this thing on you." Nodding, Yang went to remove the bandages on her arm. Meanwhile, Qrow had the prosthetic in his hands and helped Yang ease her arm into it. Yang quickly noticed that it didn't fit the way she imagined it would. That's when Qrow reached around the back towards a spot near her elbow. "Got to flip the switch so to speak. They said this part might sting." Yang couldn't see what he was doing, but she definitely felt it when the opening closed around her arm and hit her with an electrical shock. Once the inital discomfort from getting shocked faded, she attempted to move her new arm.

    Nothing.

    Before she could ask, Qrow already had a very small screwdriver in his hand. He inserted it into a well hidden hole, then with a small twist, had a small panel on the wrist open. He then used the screwdriver to flip what Yang assumed was a power switch, before then using it on a nearby screw. "Ok. It's a prototype and at its core, it's still basic. You're not going to feel anything, so I'll need you to act as if you're moving your fingers. I know that may be easier said than done, but you've got to try to do that." Yang knew exactly what he was referring to: the occasional, odd sensation that her missing limb was there and working. Right now she wasn't getting that sensation, so Yang hoped she was doing it right. As she did this, Qrow used the screwdriver to slowly turn a screw in the arm.

    After what felt like the longest minute of her life, the artificial hand finally came to life. Yang wanted to scream out in joy, but it was just as her uncle said. She had movement and a working arm again, but she felt nothing. It led to an odd mix of sadness and happiness for Yang. She was recovering, but she knew things couldn't ever be the same.

    Qrow could see the mix of emotions on her face. "Hey, this one is temporary" he told her. "I can't tell you how long it'll be, but I can tell you that you'll likely have the permanent one before the hospital even lines you up for their own, subpar arm." Shutting the access panel, Qrow handed her the screwdriver. "Don't lose that. You'll need that to hit the power switch and to calibrate it. Now pay attention. This will apply to your permanent replacement as well. The power source is self charging. They last for about three to five years before it needs to be fully replaced. Set the arm to standby and remove it if you don't anticipate needing it. That hidden button on the back of the elbow will allow you to remove the arm. Hold it in for about ten seconds and it'll pop right off. Overuse will leave the power source temporarily drained. If that happens, you'll need at least 24 hours for it to be recharged."

    While she was still down about the lack of feeling and sensation, Yang was still quite impressed. Atlas definitely lived up to its reputation as the world leader in robotics and prosthetics. Since this was apparently an advanced prototype, there was one question at the back of Yang's mind. As she continued to move the hand and test her arm, Yang said, "Let's say that hypothetically speaking, I get into trouble. Is this arm suitable for combat?" Qrow raised an eyebrow at the question. They hadn't even reached the subjects they needed to talk about. Yet, he could sense that Yang was itching to get back into the fight so she could help Ruby.

    The problem was she wasn't ready.

    "Ideally? No. For your fighting style I'd avoid hand to hand combat. It's advanced enough to allow you to go through the motions and practice, but if you get into a full on brawl I can't promise that it won't be damaged." Yang frowned. She was about to say something, but she then remembered her uncle's exact words. "You said hand to hand. What about melee?" Yang then wished she didn't ask, because she could see Qrow get a bit excited over this. Like her younger sister, he was a weapon nut. "Oh, you have so many options Yang!" he said in a very uncharacteristic voice. "The shell of the arm that protects the inner workings is a brand new design. Polycarbonate coated in a thin layer of Maraging Steel. It has some heat resistance and will resist fractures. Unlike a basic prosthetic, it will stand up in melee combat. In a pinch, I suppose you could punch someone in the face really hard. But it's like I said. I wouldn't recommend it." Yang couldn't help laughing at the excitability he was showing. "Why do I get the feeling that you thought of this thing as a weapon, just so you could remember all that?" Qrow's smirk told her that he was guilty as charged. While she preferred her fists, she could use some basic weapons in a pinch. She just needed to figure out what she'd be using.

    Yang felt she had enough time to test the prosthetic. Now it was time for a real test. Eyeing the bottle of rum, Yang made a motion to pick it up. She managed to get it about two inches off the table before she shattered it. With a sheepish grin, Yang simply said, "Oops!" Qrow was far less amused, but he wasn't angry. "Oh, don't worry Yang. Vacuo Rum doesn't run about 700 lien a bottle" he said sarcastically. Yang nearly fell over at the revelation of just how expensive her uncle's favorite drink was.

    As the two of them cleaned up the glass shards and spilled booze, Yang turned the attention back to a more serious subject. "Ok. We've got the arm out of the way. Now we've got to move on to the elephant in the room. What exactly is going on with Ruby?" Sitting back down, Qrow looked completely serious now, despite having half a bottle of rum in him. "Honestly? I don't even know where to begin. It's going to take at least a couple of hours to go over everything. Possibly longer." Yang was about to let him have it over stalling again, but she could see it in his eyes. Whatever he was about to tell her, it was extremely serious. She could almost see the years of hardship in them as he asked her a question.

    "When you were a kid, did Tai ever tell you the story of the Four Maidens?"

  7. #7
    The cult of personality..... Elite Trainer
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Chapter 6
    "Reunion (Part 1)"
    ******
    City of Vale, ten days ago
    ******
    "It's quiet a sight, isn't it?"

    Yang was completely dumbfounded as she stepped off the ferry. The last time she had been in Vale, she was in a hospital in the "Upper Class" district. When her family had left for Patch, they did so via the western docks. This time around, Yang and her uncle stood in the heart of the Commercial District. It was the first time she had actually laid eyes upon Beacon since it's destruction, and it was just as Qrow had described. The top of Beacon Tower was shattered. On top, a Grimm Dragon, frozen like a statue. Even from this distance, she could see several Nevermores circling the ruins. It was almost like they owned the place.

    Correction she told herself. They DO own it.

    Six months ago, the thought of so many Grimm in one place would have excited her. Just a nuisance waiting to be exterminated. Now? Yang now knew exactly how dangerous they truly were. Seeing a place like Mountain Glenn was one thing. Witnessing the Fall of Beacon and actually seeing Grimm so close to a major city was completely different. "How has Vale managed to stay standing?" she asked, as they began to walk away from the docks. Qrow was leading the way. As always, his answer was quick and to the point.

    "That's simple. They haven't attacked."

    The answer caught her off guard. "What?" was all Yang could manage to say. She couldn't believe it. Qrow saw the look on her face and elaborated. "Think back to those two trips you took to Mountain Glenn. What did Oobleck tell you guys about the Grimm in that area?" Yang had to think for a moment. Team RWBY's first trip was when they were investigating the White Fang. Their second trip was during the Merlot Industries incident. Yang racked her brain trying to come up with the answer. She remembered speaking with Oobleck about why she became a huntress. He had similar conversations with Weiss and Blake. As for Ruby, the two of them observed some ancient Grimm in the distance. They it hit her.

    "They're waiting."

    Qrow didn't say anything, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't have to. The Vytal Festival was the spark that brought them to Beacon. Now, with the school gone, the Grimm were repeating the process. Aside from some younger, weaker Grimm that had moved into the damaged parts of the Commercial and Residential Districts, the majority were gathering at Beacon. It was a ticking time bomb. All it would take was one more spark, another situation like the Vytal Festival, then Vale would be another Mountain Glenn.

    To say it was unsettling was a massive understatement.

    Yang looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone within earshot of what she was about to say. Even so, she still kept her voice down. "What I don't understand is why you don't just get the Spring, Summer and Winter Maidens, and then send them to kick their asses." Qrow sighed. Yang took the existence of the Maidens and The Warrior fairly well. Much better than Raven did he thought bitterly. Despite everything however, Yang still had a slight tendency to look at problems as being easily solved by brute force. Granted, it was no longer in the vein of rush headfirst into the situation, but she still had a 'throw numbers at the problem' mentality. "It's just not that simple" Qrow told his niece as they walked down the sidewalk. "Remember what I said? Those facts? They fly in the face of thousands of years of history. As long as people believe everything is going the way it should, the way it always has, they won't panic. What do you think mass hysteria on a worldwide scale would do? Plus, they're powerful, but they aren't unbeatable. We don't need to draw the attention of more people like Cinder." Yang was about to say something, but then a thought crossed her mind. She suddenly realized why her uncle's explanation about the Maidens started with the legend, and ended with the deaths of Amber and Pyrrha.

    "You have no idea who the other three are, do you?"

    Qrow had wondered how long it would take Yang to finally realize he didn't know the identities of all the Maidens. "It was one of Ozpin's annoying rules. His inner circle consisted of James, Glynda and myself. We each knew the identity and location of a single person." Qrow made sure not to say the word Maiden, while they crossed the street and walked by several people. "No overlap. The only one who knew of all four was Ozpin. The only time we would learn about the others was if there was direct threat to them. My assignment was Fall. Glynda has Spring, James has Winter." As he said that last part, a lightbulb went off in Yang's head. Qrow seemed to know what was coming, so he cut her off before she could ask. "No. It's not Winter Schnee. By that logic, everyone named Winter or Summer is a Maiden. In any case, the general rule Oz had was this: if you don't need to know the identity of a Maiden, they you simply wouldn't know it. Realistically, I can't say if it helped or hurt. Cinder still somehow found out who Amber was." This information troubled Yang. "It's sad that Ozpin couldn't even trust you guys enough to tell you everything" she said. Shaking his head, Qrow told her, "It was less about trust and more about keeping everything compartmentalized. If one person aside from Ozpin got compromised, then only one target was at risk. I didn't always agree with that choice, but it apparently worked for a long time. I still don't know if he's dead or alive. If he's alive however, you can bet your ass that when this is all over, we're going to have a long talk about possibly doing things differently moving forward."

    Yang just nodded in agreement. Having only known about the Maidens, The Warrior and their Guardians for about three weeks, she couldn't really say much on the matter. All she could really do as a newly minted Guardian was ask questions, learn more and prepare herself for eventually meeting up with Ruby. Deep down, Yang actually had a feeling that despite all she had learned that Qrow was still keeping some info from her. However, it wasn't the time or place to push the matter. Even after three weeks, it was still a ton to take in. Tai still wasn't happy about how things were turning out, but he had at least agreed to help get Yang back into fighting shape. At this point, Yang figured she'd learn more when she was ready.
    Turning a street corner, Qrow's attitude changed. Laughing a bit, he told his niece, "Enough about all that. It's time to put the more troubling matters aside. Don't forget why we really came to Vale. You didn't get a proper 18th birthday party. Let's fix that!" As he led the way to his favorite bar in Vale, Yang stopped in her tracks, took one look at the sign and realized the sole reason why he liked the place so much.

    "The Crow Bar? You've got to be kidding me."

    ******
    10 minutes later
    ******

    "Hey! What'd I tell you about those girly drinks?"
    "It's called pacing yourself! You should try it sometime!"
    "Never in a million years!"
    "Whatever you say Mr. 'I don't know what's in a Strawberry Sunrise!'"
    "I said it was a phase!"

    ******
    30 more minutes later
    ******

    "So then I shed, 'Yeah? You should schee me when I'm clog-dancing topless!'"
    "NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT UNCLE QROW!"

    ******
    20 more minutes later
    ******

    "So I guess what he was sheaing was that he lives 'the pug life.'"
    "Dammit, Yang. You have no white to jush my dokes ever again!"

    ******
    10? 20 minutes after that?
    ******

    "I couldn't delp myshelf. I jush kept staring at that guy in the men's room. He was so handshom that it may have turned me gay."
    "I'm pretty shur you were the only guy in there."
    "What are you sheaing?"
    "Were you looking at the mirror?"
    "Couldn't nav been. I wash at a urinal."
    "Are you shur it wasn't the sink?"
    "......dammit."

    ******
    Nearly two and a half hours after their arrival
    ******

    Following her uncle's misadventure with the bathroom sink, Yang decided that was a good stopping point for her. She was definitely tipsy, but she wasn't completely obliterated like Qrow. While she had quickly grown to like Vacuo Rum, Yang decided one of them had to be the responsible adult and stuck to her usual drink of choice. As for Qrow, if it came in a bottle, then it eventually made it to his glass. By this point, Qrow was in another corner of the bar, leading the other patrons in an impromptu song:

    In the store, there's a teddy.
    Little straps, like spaghetti.
    It holds me so tight, like handcuffs at night.
    Walkin' 'round in women's underwear.

    Yang just shook her head as she sipped on her water. Taiyang had told her plenty of stories about how he was such a depressed drunk. Hell, she had seen it herself at some points. However, her father also had stories of a younger, happier Qrow. He apparently still drank way too much, but instead of depression, Tai had described a man who just loved being the life of the party. In recent weeks, Yang had heard hints regarding why her mother left. Something about the truth about the Maidens pushing her over the edge. Qrow and Tai didn't elaborate, but they didn't need to. Yang's own world view was shattered once she was brought into the loop. Unlike her mother however, Yang loved stories about adventures growing up. She figured that made it easier for her to accept. Raven however, was apparently well-read regarding world history and religious. Yang could easily see such a person having their mind shattered, if everything they believed in or knew about turned out to be a lie. She could see such an event forcing her uncle into a shell. Summer's death, years later, likely only made it worse.

    Then it hit her: that's precisely what Yang was starting to do before she snapped out of it.

    Yang still had her moments when she felt down in the dumps. Slowly, but surely however, she was recovering. Seeing the parallel between her, and her uncle however made Yang realize that, unlike her father, Qrow never really did recover. She figured that the two of them trying to one up each other, with their stories and terrible jokes, was what ultimately got him to drop his guard a bit. Yang made a mental note to try to have a serious discussion with her uncle in the near future.
    As she took another drink, Yang caught something out of the corner of her eye. It was just outside the bar, and as she turned her attention to it, she nearly choked on her drink. From the angle, Yang could only see her back. The woman wore a white dress shirt that exposed her midriff, black pants with gray trim and a black pair of boots. She had long, flowing black hair and wore a black bow. There was not a single doubt in Yang's mind.

    Blake had just walked by the bar.

    Yang spent the last several months hating Blake for running. Honestly, she had no idea what she was going to say if and when she caught up to her, but she wasn't going to lose the opportunity. Signaling the bartender over, she said, "I've got to run. Hunter emergency! Qrow's got the tab." Stepping on the floor for the first time in over two hours, Yang noted that while her vision wasn't too terribly blurred, and her speech no longer slurred, she wasn't exactly light on her feet. She couldn't afford to lose Blake and did her best to ignore the dizzy feeling. "Hey! You sure he's going to be ok without you?!" the bartender shouted as Yang stumbled to the exit. Looking over, she saw that Qrow was totally oblivious and singing another bawdy song with his fellow drunks. Waving him off, Yang shouted back, "He'll live! If he skips out on the bill, send it to Signal!"

    Ignoring the protests from the bartender, Yang stepped out and quickly looked around. It was starting to get dark, and for a moment she thought she lost Blake. Then she saw it: a flash of white turning the corner, moving away from the boardwalk. Half running, half stumbling, Yang drew several curious looks from people as she went by. She had no doubt some of it was due to her obviously drunken movement, while others were likely looking at her arm out of shock. Now wasn't the time to worry about her appearance however. She had to catch up to Blake.

    As she turned the corner, Yang got further confirmation that it was indeed Blake. While she hadn't seen her face yet, she could see a scar on the left side of her lower back. It was, without doubt, the result of the wound Adam gave her at Beacon. Actually seeing the scar filled Yang with anger. Even if she never patched things up with Blake, Adam sure as hell would have much to answer for.

    Drawing a bit closer, Yang slowed her pace a bit, and as much as she wanted to shout out Blake's name, she refrained from doing so. She was so close to getting answers. The last thing Yang wanted to do was spook her. If Blake decided to run, that would be it. Yang would not be able to catch Blake in her current condition. Eventually, Blake turned a corner down an alleyway. Yang quickened her pace a bit, as she did her best to keep from stumbling. The alley itself was a dead-end. Aside from a fire escape, the only way out, was the way in. At the end of the alley was Blake. Yang was about to shout, but soon noticed Blake wasn't moving. She was just standing there. Yang slowly made her way towards the still figure. Deep down, she already knew what happened. Reaching out to touch the figure only confirmed it, as it disappeared.

    Yang had been duped by one of Blake's shadow clones.

    Frustration had filled Yang at this point. Without warning, she turned and punched a nearby dumpster. Old habits had kicked in however, and she did so with her prosthetic. It wasn't an overly hard punch. Not enough to damage the limb, but definitely enough to put a clean hole into the dumpster. Her augmented strength, resulting from the combination of her Semblance and her arm, had a far greater effect than expected. It was one of the few times Yang was glad her right hand was no longer flesh and blood. If it was, then there was no doubt in her mind that even with her aura, she'd have broken every bone in her hand. Briefly, Yang looked up at the fire escape ladder and considered giving chase. However, Blake had more than enough time to get over a building or two, then drop down. Yang had to accept defeat this time.

    As she began to turn around to walk bar to the bar however, that was the moment everything went to shit.

    Without warning, Yang had been punched right in the face. Blinded for the moment, Yang went straight on the defensive. Her first reaction was to swing back, but all she caught was air. As soon as she missed, she felt a hand grab her by the hair, pull hard and send her flying face first into a wall. Yang wasn't sure what was dazing her more at the moment as she hit the ground. It was either the booze, or the concussion she just got. What she did know however, was that in the morning her hangover would be sent directly from hell.

    Getting herself to her knees, Yang thankfully noted that her attacker was holding off for the moment. As her vision cleared up, she noted it was a rather large, faunus man with wolf-like facial features. In his left hand, he held a large chunk of Yang's hair, which had apparently been ripped out when he threw her. The man just let it drift to the ground as he simply said in a nonchalant, uncaring voice, "Oops!"
    Yang wanted to charge in right at that moment, however she already learned that lesson the hard way. Instead, she attempted to bide her time. As she looked over the man, she quickly noted she had seen the tattoos on his left arm once before. Eventually, she remembered where: it was on a train, in Mountain Glenn. The man before her was one of Adam's top lieutenants in the White Fang. Yang didn't have many options. She figured her best one would be attempting to lure him into making a mistake. "So, it's Adam's right hand man" she said, as she got to her knees and wiped away the blood from her busted lip. "Why do they call people like you the 'right hand man' anyway? Is that the hand you guys use when you're jerking your boss off?" To drive the point home, Yang began making the motion with her left hand, while whistling and winking at the lieutenant.

    The tactic seemed to work, because before she could blink he rushed at her and threw a sloppy left hand. Despite being a little unsteady on her feet, Yang managed to easily duck the blow. She needed this guy to stay down, so despite her better judgement, she threw a hard right. She connected solidly with his jaw, causing his aura to flash away. By pure luck, she hadn't damaged her hand, and was positive he'd be out cold a second later. Instead, the lieutenant merely smirked at her as he spit out a broken tooth. Yang went completely wide-eyed as he no sold that attack.

    "Oh, for fu...."

    She never finished expressing her shock. The man quickly had her by the throat, and pinned against the wall. Before she could even attempt to break free, she had been punched in the gut four times. She could smell his foul breath, as he practically growled at her, "Where is Belladonna?" Yang started to get the sense that Blake wasn't avoiding her, she was avoiding this guy. Even despite everything, the last thing she would ever do is sell out her partner.

    "Go to hell!"

    All that did was earn Yang another punch to the face. She wasn't sure if her nose was broken or not, but she could feel the blood dripping from it. Between the booze, the multiple blows to the face and the lack of oxygen, Yang could feel herself starting to black out. While her Semblance had given her a small power boost, it still wasn't enough to break free. Soon, it wouldn't matter however. As the man continued choking Yang, he produced a simple dust firearm and pressed the barrel to Yang's head. Even her remaining aura wouldn't be enough to stop this at point-blank range.

    This is it. This is how I die.

    Yang mentally prepared herself for the end of her life and closed her eyes. Instead, she heard the sickening sound of a blade meeting flesh, as the lieutenant started to make choking sounds. The gun had gone off unexpectedly, but thankfully the attack threw off his aim enough to send the bullet into the wall as opposed to Yang's head. It dropped to the ground as his grip on Yang's neck loosened. Falling back to her knees, Yang took several greedy breaths of air, as she attempted to recover. Opening her eyes, Yang couldn't quite make out her savior, but she could see what had to be a dagger plunged into the side of his neck. As her vision cleared up, Yang was soon able to make out the hilt of a weapon she knew. It was Gambol Shroud. At that point, a thought crossed Yang's mind. Wait a moment. Gambol Shroud isn't a dagger. Before she could consider possible reasons for the change, a voice confirmed the weapon's owner when she told the lieutenant, "Attacking her was your last mistake Keir!"

    That was the voice of Blake Belladonna.

    Blake let the lifeless body of the lieutenant drop to the ground between them. Yang's vision was still blurred as she turned her attention to Keir. This was literally the first time she had seen something other than a Grimm kill a person. Part of her felt sick to her stomach. It was a major mix of emotions. Yang wasn't sure if she should thank Blake, or seriously question the fact that she had just killed a man without a second thought.

    Now's not the time. It was him or you.

    Yang didn't know if she really wanted to justify it so easily. Right now however, they had to get out of there. Almost on cue, Blake's hand came into her line of vision just as it finally cleared up. Reaching out with her right hand, Yang heard an audible, shocked gasp as Blake got her first good look at the prosthetic. Feeling a need to attempt to lighten the mood, Yang looked up at Blake and was about to say something, but only proceeded to return the shocked gasp.

    The woman in front of her was definitely Blake Belladonna. Yang had pictured her face several times the past few months. She had even seen it in her dreams on more than one occasion. However, this wasn't the face she expected. On her right cheek, Blake now had a very faint, almost unnoticeable facial scar. It actually didn't look that bad. It resembled a training injury far more than a wound taken in a life or death battle. Had it made full contact, it would have ran straight from her human ear, to her nose. That wasn't what concerned Yang however.

    What concerned Yang the most, was the eyepatch over Blake's left eye.

    The edge of that scar, which peeked out from the top of the eyepatch, was far more noticeable. The scar itself was reminiscent of the one Weiss had. The difference was, the scar Weiss had, was on the left side of her face. Blake's ran at a 45 degree angle. That left no doubt about the outcome: whoever attacked Blake had taken her eye. Not even Gambol Shroud was left untouched. Blake was missing the sheath. The weapon itself had a broken blade, and resembled a dagger more than a katana. Instead, Blake carried a simple leather sheath designed for a dagger on her belt.

    The sight rendered Yang speechless. She had spent nearly six months of her life feeling betrayed. Those feelings went out the window. She didn't agree with Blake's choice to leave, but she also knew she didn't deserve this. Blake finally broke the silence between them. "Well, at least the worst ones are out the way. When we eventually sit down to talk, try not to get too shocked. I've picked up quite the collection from Adam the last few months." Yang should have known. She was about to ask a question when a pair of voices shouting from just outside the alley got their attention.

    "The gunshot came from over here!"
    "You think he got her?
    "It's was only one bullet, but you can never be sure with that bitch."
    "No chances then. Weapons ready. If she's standing, make sure she dies this time!"

    The fear in Blake's lone remaining eye was clear. "There's no time to waste. Grab his gun and get up the fire escape!" Yang didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed the dust revolver and joined Blake.

    Yang was officially done with the White Fang. She didn't know if she had it in her to kill one of them. But, she'd be damned if she let them lay another finger on her partner.

  8. #8
    The cult of personality..... Elite Trainer
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Chapter 6
    "Reunion (Part 2)"
    ******
    City of Vale, ten days ago
    ******
    All the training in the world couldn't prepare Yang for this situation. They were formerly students of Beacon Academy, arguably the best of the Huntsman Academies, due to attracting people from all four kingdoms. They were elite fighters trained in various aspects of combat. Instead, here they were scrambling up a fire escape. Yang was injured, drunk and had no real weapons to speak of aside from a simple revolver. Blake had a broken weapon and was playing a cat and mouse game with the White Fang. The two women were both handicapped and in a shootout with White Fang members. Neither woman expected to be in such a situation a year ago. However, by this point, it went with the territory. Even before the Vytal Festival, their first year had been anything but typical. This was just another thing to add to a long list of atypical situations that the members of Team RWBY often found themselves in. A list, that Yang could sense, would get much longer before they had any true answers regarding Cinder.

    Blake had the remains of Gambol Shroud in pistol mode. She held her place on a lower part of the escape as she took shots at the White Fang. The two assassins were pinned down at the end of the alley and attempting to fire at them blindly. Not a single shot came anywhere near the girls. Meanwhile, Yang was using the chance to get up the fire escape. Just before reaching the top, Blake shouted at her. "Get ready to cover me, but make those shots count! I'm almost out of ammo!" Yang's mind turned to sarcastic thoughts as she used the rail to steady her aim.

    Yeah, thanks for that Blake. No pressure at all.

    She had very little experience with conventional firearms. Add to the fact that she had a concussion and was tipsy, and you had a recipe for irresponsible gun usage. Yang had serious doubts about her ability to hit something. With few options however, she had to at least try to keep them at bay long enough to get to the roof. The death of the other White Fang member was also still fresh in her mind. Yang didn't want to kill them if she didn't have to. She didn't want to kill anyone. Yet, knowing that these men had no such qualms made the decision to act much easier. As soon as one started to move out of cover, she acted.

    Yang fired......and missed horribly.

    The round landed at least a good seven or eight feet in front of the man. At this point, Blake was almost halfway up. If they decided to open fire now, she'd definitely take a hit. The last thing Yang wanted, was to let her partner test the limits of her aura. Yang fired again.

    She missed wide and to the left.

    By now, the two White Fang members had both poked their heads out of their hiding spots. After sharing a look of disbelief, the two began to advance. Getting frustrated, Yang fired two more shots to no effect. By now, even Blake was in shock. "You ok? You're firing that thing like you're drunk!" Yang was down to one round. As she tried to focus, she shouted back at Blake, "That's because I AM drunk, and I also have a concussion! Don't know if you caught the part where I made out with the wall!" Blake was at a loss for words as she reached Yang's level. She was about to say something, but then caught movement out of the corner of her good eye. Yang was so busy taking aim at one target, that she missed the fact that the second one had a clear shot at her. Without thinking twice, Blake grabbed Yang trying to shield her as he fired. Blake screamed out as she took the hit instead. Yang was expecting them to get knocked down from the force of the impact. Alternatively, she expected to see the hit drain her aura.

    What she didn't expect, was getting splattered with Blake's blood.

    Watching her friend go down was the breaking point for Yang. Within moments, her eyes flashed red as rage took over. Turning her attention to the one that fired the shot, Yang quickly took aim and fired. This time the round struck dead center, his aura flashing away. Just enough protection to avoid a fatal shot, not enough to keep him from getting knocked down. The other White Fang member looked at his friend, seemingly having a similar reaction to Yang. She was out of ammo, so thinking quickly, she let her Semblance and arm do the work and threw the gun like it was a rock. It hit him in the face with enough force to knock him down as well.

    With the two assassins down, Yang turned her attention to Blake and feared the worst. Thankfully, she was using the railings of the fire escape to pull herself back to her feet. Helping her up, Yang saw the wound wasn't too serious. Her right arm had been grazed, nothing life threatening, but enough to scare the shit out of Yang. At that moment, something just suddenly occurred to Yang: Blake knowingly took that round without aura. Blake saw the questioning look on her friend's face as she picked her weapon up again. "I used what I had left to make the jump onto Keir. They've been hunting me constantly for six months. Vale, the Emerald Forest, Forever Fall. It didn't matter to them. No rest, no mercy. I've lost count of the number of times I tried to get sleep in a place I thought was safe, only to be woken up a couple of hours later. If it's not them, then it's the Grimm. It's endless!" Yang was horrified at the revelation. Even the strongest hunters wouldn't be able to properly recover their aura under such circumstances. Had this really been how Blake had lived for the last six months?

    The history lesson would need to wait however. With their foes beginning to recover from their respective blows, the two members of Team RWBY needed to get moving again. "Get up the ladder Blake! I'll be right behind you." Before she could protest, Yang had already taken Gambol Shroud from Blake and was firing back at their assailants. Still partly enraged, her shots were far more accurate now. Yang hit the one she threw the gun at twice, draining his aura and knocking him back down. Not wanting to take a chance, his buddy scrambled behind the dumpster. Blake was slow to get up all the way, but she eventually made it. It wasn't a moment too soon, because at that instant Gambol Shroud was out of ammo. Yang instantly reverted it to its normal form and quickly followed Blake.

    Once both were on the roof, they realized that their only escape option was just an extension of the dead end. The nearest building was too far away to jump to, and the only doors leading to an interior were emergency exits. For security, they were not designed to be opened from the roof. Rushing to the far side, Yang peered down. The building was about four stories tall and it was a straight drop. She didn't need to say a word to Blake, the look on her face said it all. With no aura, Blake couldn't take that jump, and Yang's minimal aura couldn't risk it either.

    As unlikely as their odds were, they had to make a stand.

    Yang could hear their attackers coming. She grabbed Blake by her good arm and pulled her behind the wall of one of the emergency exits. With her back to the wall, Yang held Gambol Shroud in her left hand, in a reverse grip. Her best option was to attempt to catch one of them off guard when they got close, try to steal their firearm and hope she had enough time to get the other. Their hiding spot didn't give them a view of the attackers, but they could hear the first one as he shouted to his partner. "Hurry your ass up! Unless they jumped, we've got them cornered!" Yang tensed up as she heard footsteps coming. She also heard the second thug making his way up the ladder. Just as she was about to jump out, she heard the second guy scream, the sound get faint, then a sickening thud. The White Fang member nearest to them sounded like he turned around. "Who the hell are you?!" he shouted. Whoever it was, they ignored the question, as a very familiar and slightly drunken voice said, "Don't worry about that. You might wanna check on your friend. I don't think his leg is supposed to bend that way." As soon as she heard the voice, Yang risked poking her head out.

    Sure enough, there was Uncle Qrow.

    Now that he was up close, Yang could see their attacker was a fox faunus with a tail. Suddenly, with no warning he took aim at Qrow and pulled the trigger.

    The revolver gave the telltale click of an empty weapon.

    "I counted the shots on the way here and saw the dropped revolver in the alley. Heard a completely different gun as well. There were three of you and I counted 18 revolver shots. You guys being out of ammo and apparently too stupid to notice seemed like a good bet." Yang hadn't fully made herself known yet, but she could clearly see that the fox faunus wasn't sure how to react to Qrow. His hand was slowly going towards his back and reaching for a dagger she hadn't noticed before. She was about to warn her uncle, when she realized she didn't have to do so. His hand had also gone behind his back for his own weapon. "Don't try it kid. I'll deflect it and cut you down before you can blink. Perhaps you can help me out instead. Got a bit carried away in a bar and I apparently missed the excitement." The faunus stopped his attempt to try to quickly throw the dagger, but he still made it a point to arm himself with the new weapon as he holstered the revolver.
    Meanwhile, Qrow continued speaking. "The three of you are faunus, so I can only assume you're White Fang." The faunus merely chuckled as he adopted a fighting stance. "That's a pretty good observation for an old drunk. What's it matter to you?" Qrow narrowed his eyes at the aggressive move, and took his own ready stance as he spoke. "I want to know why you're after my niece." The faunus seemed confused for a moment, but then he eventually began to laugh. "The blonde? She just got in the way. All we really care about is Belladonna. Boss has a 300 lien bounty on her." Yang gave her partner a look of disbelief. Blake was sitting next to her and keeping pressure on her wound. "Well, that's just insulting" Yang said. Trying to lighten the mood, she added "I'd have at least offered them 301." Blake scoffed and told her, "You're all heart Yang." Despite the pain she was in, Blake did manage to smile slightly. The one thing she missed the most about her team was Yang's terrible, highly inappropriate sense of humor.

    On the other side of the roof, Qrow was just laughing his ass off. "300 lien? Really? You have got to be the worst assassins ever if you think that's a good price!" By this point, the faunus was getting tired of Qrow. "Don't you mock me! That's more money than I've ever had!" Yang just shook her head in disbelief, while Qrow laughed even more. "Here's the way I see it kid" Qrow finally managed to say, while still chuckling a bit. "Your boss apparently wants to keep Blake on her toes. He doesn't expect you to kill her. He either wants that honor for himself, or wants to let one of his top guys look like a hero to the group. Why do you think he's trying to entice a few inept, low-level members of his group with such an insulting amount of money?" Now the assassin was losing his cool. "We're not inept! The one Blake killed was Adam's number two!" Qrow couldn't believe how dense this guy was. That bit of info told him that Adam expected these guys to mess up. He was starting to get tired of this game, so he decided to have one last bit of fun at this idiot's expense. "Adam's right hand man? I could make a crude joke about that, but it'd be beneath me."

    Yang just groaned. How'd the saying go? Strange minds think alike?

    "Here's how this plays out" Qrow told the guy. He completely dropped his stance and stood there, leaving himself open for attack. The White Fang member seemed confused by this action, but he at least seemed smart enough to not take the bait. "You have two choices. You can grow a brain, walk away and forget about Blake and my niece. You leave the White Fang and actually do something productive, because if you stay with them, it's going to get you killed." For a moment, he actually seemed to be considering the fact that he could walk away. However, a determined, angry look on his face suggested otherwise. Sighing, Qrow actually turned his back on his opponent, placed his hands behind his head and just looked down over the edge. "Option two it is. That's a long way down son." The fox faunus finally had it and rushed Qrow.

    Before he could figure out what was going on, he found himself in incredible pain and sailing over the edge of the building. It had happened so fast, that his brain couldn't comprehend it. Across the roof, Yang saw everything. Before she could blink, her uncle ducked a swing with the dagger, turned around and grabbed the kid's weapon hand. With his free hand, Qrow punched upward and broke his arm at the elbow. Before the dagger could hit the ground, Qrow snatched it in midair, stabbed the faunus in one of his knees and then proceeded to throw him off the roof. Amazingly, by sheer luck the impact didn't kill him. It didn't even knock him out. He was however wishing Qrow had just killed him, as he kept screaming out in pain. The whole sequence took less than three seconds and would have proven an important lesson to any onlooker:

    Drunk or sober, you do not mess with Qrow Branwen's family.

    Finally stepping out, Yang shouted for her uncle. Qrow saw she was roughed up, but was mostly fine. "You could have helped at any time!" he shouted, as he walked towards her. Shaking her head, Yang said, "Couldn't risk it. We're both injured. Blake's been shot!" As soon as he heard that, Qrow quickened his pace. From far away, his niece didn't look that bad, but as soon as he saw the unfocused look in her eyes, he knew there was a mild concussion. Qrow obviously expected the gunshot wound to Blake as he turned the corner, but like Yang, he clearly was not ready to see what else had happened to her.

    Quickly setting the sight aside, Qrow took out a pocket knife and cut away some fabric from the left sleeve of Blake's shirt. He intended to use it as a makeshift bandage, but as soon as her arm was exposed, Yang and Qrow were once again staring at Blake in shock. Her left shoulder and upper arm had burn scars. Qrow shook it off quickly since he had plenty of experience with injured huntsmen and huntresses. He began to focus on patching her wound and tore off the right sleeve. Yang on the other hand couldn't stop staring. She was trying to stay strong, but she couldn't stop the tears at this point. "What the hell did he do Blake? Torture you?" Blake winced a bit as Qrow tied the makeshift bandage tight. "In a manner of speaking? Yes, he did" she said in a quiet voice. "You saw him stab me at Beacon. I can't even remember the order I got the scars in. After awhile, everything just started to blend together. I've been slashed on the back by a sword, burned on the arm when they set fire to the building I was hiding in, slashed on the leg by a Beowolf when I tried to lose them in the forest. Ultimately, Adam eventually faced me one on one. Once I lost my eye, I thought he was finally done making me suffer. But, instead of killing me, he just kept on sending these guys after me. It was like I wasn't even worth his time anymore."

    Yang was about to express her anger over Adam, but Qrow pulled her aside. "If their attacks are this constant and relentless, we can't put her in a hospital in Vale. She needs rest and time to recover. We've got to take her to Patch." Blake overheard that and panicked. "NO! If they follow us, he'll kill you both!" Yang was caught off guard by the outburst. Before she could ask, Blake explained it to her.

    "The night of the Beacon attack, Adam told me 'I will make it my mission to destroy everything you lo.....'" Blake stopped for a moment. The memories were clearly upsetting her. Eventually, she pulled herself together and continued. "'Everything you care about. Starting with her.'" Qrow raised an eyebrow at the last second word swap. Drunk as he was, he caught it. Yang however, was too caught up in her anger, since Beacon was drawing up bad memories. She didn't catch what Blake almost said. She was too focused on the words 'starting with her.' There really was no need to ask who Adam was referring to when he said that. Meanwhile, Blake continued with her story. "He wasn't lying. I didn't run from the hospital. I left because he was about to have you killed."

    Yang felt like she got punched in the gut at the revelation. "What?"

    Nodding, she explained it to her partner. "You were still in your coma. He was waiting outside the whole time. Adam waited until we were alone. The moment I saw him outside the window, I panicked. I was about to call for help, but before I could he pointed to you. Once I looked over, I saw a red light on your head. He actually had a sniper ready to shoot you if I refused to leave."

    Yang was sickened by this news. She didn't want to even think about how easily Adam could have ended her life at that moment. Blake was crying again. "I didn't want to leave Yang! I never wanted to! He forced me to run and made it clear that if I attempted to go back to the hospital before you left, that you would die." Yang could feel her anger rising again, because deep down she now knew what Adam's thought process was. If he couldn't isolate and kill Blake, he'd simply drain all the hope she had. If that didn't work, then he'd use Blake's history of running in an attempt to make Yang hate her. Yang spent six months angry at the wrong person, and the revelation seriously pissed her off.

    Qrow at this point was helping Blake to her feet. "I know you're apprehensive. But, you need to trust me. Patch is a pretty small island. All things considered, I don't think the White Fang are going to set foot on it too easily. Adam's a wanted criminal, therefore he's not coming on public transportation. Even if they try to slip in a faunus it won't be unnoticed. It's strictly a small island of humans. If he tries to get there on his own, we'll know about it. We're not asking you to stay longer than the time you need to recover. But, we are telling you that you've got to at least come for that. If you go into the hospital here, they'll find you. If you try to run again, I give you a week tops." The anger on Blake's face was clear. She knew Qrow was right. Blake had to rest and recover. She wasn't mad at him directly, but she was mad about something he said. "You're wrong about one thing. I have no intention to run." Qrow seemed confused as Blake reached her left hand up to her bow. Yang on the other hand, gasped. She knew exactly what Blake was about to do, and she knew that Blake wanted her intentions clear. With one motion, Blake pulled a piece of the ribbon and exposed her cat ears.

    "I'm done running."

  9. #9
    The cult of personality..... Elite Trainer
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Chapter 7
    "Preparations (Part 1)"
    ******
    City of Vale: The Kuro Kuma Club, Present Day
    ******
    "That's where everything stands" Yang said, as she placed her glass back down on the bar. How many shots did that make? Three? Four? She couldn't remember, but she had enough foresight to pace herself. She had spent the last couple of hours speaking with Junior. There was a ton of info she needed to go over with him. Being drunk and on her ass wouldn't help Yang make her case. Feeling a need for a quick recap, she said, "The White Fang made themselves known at Beacon. I did what I could to slow them down, but ultimately I was crippled by Adam. Meanwhile, unknown to me at the time, Cinder moved forward with her own plan. To this day, I still don't know what was hidden under Beacon. All I know is that whatever it was, it led to her gaining unimaginable power." Junior had told Yang to tell him everything, but she felt that information on the Maidens was extremely far off in 'need to know' territory. Deep down, she knew he'd eventually uncover that info for himself. For now however, Yang decided it was better to take her chances and leave that out. She still wasn't sure if she could trust Junior fully. In truth, Junior was actually the LAST person Yang wanted to give any of this info to. Yet, due to the events of the last several months, he was pretty much the only person who would be able to secure the things they needed.

    Seeing no signs that he had caught on to the missing pieces of info, Yang continued. "Eventually, I woke up in Vale and freaked out over my arm. Blake was missing, Weiss was forced to leave, months passed. Then, my sister decided the perfect time to leave was quite literally the day after I started to come out of my depressed funk. I found Blake a little over a week ago, we got our asses kicked and my uncle saved us both. Worst of all I had to get rid of my favorite jacket and cut my hair."

    Junior scoffed at the last remark as he poured himself another shot. "Yeah. I'm sure between all the people who have died, you losing an arm and your partner losing an eye, your hair getting ripped out and your jacket being too bloodstained to salvage were the worst things to happen." Yang looked a bit guilty once Junior made that remark. "It's not like that at all" she said. Joking about things was normally her first reaction. Yang was trying to make light of two of the things that ultimately didn't matter, but in doing so, she inadvertently made it seem like she didn't care about everything else. Seeing the stressed look on her face, Junior was quick to try to reassure her. "Relax, Blondie. I know what you were going for. The last six months haven't exactly been easy for anyone."

    Yang was surprised that Junior of all people was trying to comfort her. Placing her head in her hands, she leaned on the bar and let out a tired sigh. "Everything is just so messed up now" she told Junior. "Winter's ending. We should be back at Beacon. If anything, we should be getting ready to end our first year there and looking forward to a break. Hell, maybe even doing some small contracts from the mission board. Instead, we're scattered and mourning fallen friends. Me and Blake are picking up the pieces. We're trying to figure out just what the hell went wrong. The world has changed." Looking to her arm, Yang added, "Some of us have also changed. Physically in some cases, mentally in others."

    For his part, Junior showed he was still full of surprises. As he finished the last of the rum, he told Yang, "You'd be far from the first huntress or solider to make that observation. When you run a business such as this, you tend to see many folks who think they are completely invincible. Granted, the circumstances are a bit more dire, but the rules stay the same. No one in your line of work makes it past the first year without a major wake up call. Here's the question. Are you going to overcome those setbacks and adapt, or are you going to let your hardships rule your future?" He studied her for a moment before simply saying, "I can see it in your eyes. In that case, let's discuss some actual business."

    Yang realized she had to give Junior some credit. When she originally met him nearly a year ago, she just dismissed him as some dumb brute. A person that wasn't worth her time once she found out he couldn't help her. She now actually felt bad about wrecking the club the first time. Yang couldn't figure out if the lack of intelligence was an act, or if it was merely street smarts and experience with huntsmen making up the difference. Her better judgement was still telling her she should be careful, but another part of her was telling her that Junior would have their backs, provided they didn't cross whatever strange code of honor these underworld types stuck to.

    Meanwhile, Junior had tossed the empty bottle into a trash can behind the bar. Yang could see he was completely serious as he turned his attention to her. "Ok then. First off, supplies. I'll do what I can to get them in short order. Basic supplies? Simple enough, in fact it's on me." Yang couldn't take it anymore. "Why are you being so helpful?" she asked. Junior was now behind the bar. Pulling out a notebook and a pen, he told her, "It's simple. I figured Roman was just looking to make some quick scores. How do you think I feel knowing he looked to cripple the kingdom, just so his crazy boss could nearly destroy it?" She realized he made a good point. While no one could deny the things Junior was tied up in, Yang could see he wasn't a man who actively seeked to do physical harm to people or the kingdom. Granted, most wouldn't agree with the shady aspects of his business, but at least Junior didn't have aspirations to take over Vale, or aspirations to watch the world burn.

    Junior tapping on the notebook brought Yang's attention back to their business. "Right" she said. "First off, I need a weapon repaired. I'm going to need a replacement blade and sheath for a Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe. The sheath itself doubles as a cleaver. The actual weapon itself is a double-edged katana." Junior was writing all this down in his notebook as he spoke. "VBCS, sheath and blade. I assume Gambol Shroud is the weapon then?" Yang just sat there dumbfounded at the fact that Junior actually named Blake's weapon. Without looking up as he wrote notes, he said, "Do you honestly think people in this bar weren't betting on the Vytal Festival? The weapons themselves were public knowledge. In fact, aside from any unknown modifications you guys may have made, I could tell you all about Crescent Rose, Ember Celica or Myrtenaster." Yang wasn't sure if she should be impressed or worried. While the teams competing knew what weapons were being used, she hadn't known it was public knowledge to the folks watching at home. Then again, it was likely a moot point. It wasn't like Cinder didn't already know what weapons they used. Junior looking up at her snapped her attention back once more. "Anyway, I should still have some footage of the Vytal Festival saved somewhere. That should get me enough information on the weapon. I'm going to assume....."

    Yang put her hand up to stop Junior for a moment. She wanted to make sure she heard him right. "You have all the footage of the tournament?" she asked, completely shocked. As soon as Junior nodded, Yang pulled out her scroll. While they were useless for communications, they were still capable of holding plenty of data. "I need that footage. Don't know if it'll actually help, but I still want to look over it." Nodding once again, Junior took the scroll and shouted over his shoulder towards an office door. "VERDI!" A few moments later, a woman in a black and red dress came out. "Yeah? What do you need boss?" she asked Junior as she cautiously eyed Yang. Yang herself couldn't remember if this woman was in the club the night she wrecked it, but she could tell looking into her eyes that she must have been. Handing the scroll to Verdi, Junior said, "Our friend here needs the video from the Vytal Festival. All of it. Even the illegal feeds we tapped into." The woman was ready to protest, but one look from Junior quickly made her think twice.

    As she went back towards the office, Yang chuckled. "Illegal video feeds Junior? Shameful! What will the cable company say?" Turning his attention back to the notebook, Junior replied, "Considering I paid them under the table? Not much. I had the only bar in town that had access to every camera. Anyway, VBCS. Before you interrupted me, I was going to ask about ammo as well." Yang simply nodded and watched Junior write that down. "What about you?" he asked next. "I see you're not carrying Ember Celica these days." Sighing, Yang looked at her hands as she spoke. "Well, as you've no doubt noticed, I'm not exactly ready for that again. Even if I was, Adam's attack completely burned my arm to ashes along with the right bracer."

    Junior gestured towards Yang's gloved hand. "Well, you've got to have a plan. That thing isn't built for combat." As soon as he said that, the frustration on her face was apparent. Yang got extremely lucky when she punched the dumpster and Keir. It wasn't until the day after her fight that she noticed the calibration was off. Yang had slowly gotten used to simple tasks again, but when her hand kept moving at unnatural angles, she knew she'd have to make adjustments. It was just like Qrow said. She could get out of a bind and land one hell of a hit if needed, but it would come at the cost of eventually causing permanent damage to the limb.

    "So, how are you with melee weapons anyway?"

    Junior's question snapped Yang back to the discussion about supplies and weapons. She thought back to her time at Signal. One of the key requirements to pass was eventually making your own weapon. Yang had learned everything she knew from her father, so it didn't take long for her to settle on Shot Gauntlets. Even so, the early training at Signal did have students train with several basic weapons. It was something her uncle pushed to have added in as a requirement. His belief was that if a hunter or huntress couldn't adapt, then they were as good as dead. At the time, Yang felt it was silly considering she planned on just using her fists. In light of what had happened at Beacon however, she now realized the importance of such training.

    Yang thought long and hard. The idea of changing her fighting style, even if it was only temporary, wasn't something she wanted to do. All things considered however, until she got a permanent hand, it was either that or risk being one-armed again. Yang thought about her options. She prefered to stay mobile, so heavy weapons were out of the question. If she had to change her fighting style, then she at least wanted something light. Bladed weapons? Yang remembered that she wasn't great with them, but she did remember that she did decently with small, blunt weapons. and she didn't want something too heavy.

    So far she had settled on several key things. First, it had to be blunt and it couldn't impede her movement. Yang was also certain that whatever it was, it had to be capable of quick strikes, yet also be used for defense. Well, if I'm thinking defense and attack, then I'm thinking of dual wielding. That's when it hit her.

    "Junior, would you be able to get a pair of Dust Powered Eskrima Sticks? I'll also need a few different types of Dust to go with them."

    Writing in the notebook, Junior said, "Simple enough." Yang was glad to hear that, but in truth was concerned about how effective she'd be. It'd been a number of years since she last trained with such weapons. Yang would have to jump on training and practice as soon as she was back home. Right now, the plan was to give Blake another two weeks to rest and recover. At that point, regardless of how ready either of them truly felt, they agreed that they needed to meet up with Ruby. Yang felt guilty over that part. Blake was willing to dive right in, yet knew nothing about the Maidens. Qrow felt it was best to let her have a few days to recover and get her mind off the White Fang first. However, when Yang was ready to talk, Blake just said that it was more important to focus on getting ready. Despite everything, Yang couldn't shake the feeling that if Blake learned the truth, she would bolt away again. However, Yang couldn't think about that now. She needed to conclude her business with Junior. Weapons and supplies were pretty much covered. There was one other matter to attend to. Pulling out a piece of paper, she handed it to Junior. "This is the last thing" she said. "I need you to cross reference these names. Go back about two or three years if you have to. Even if it seems minor, we need to know about any connections that you find." Junior raised an eyebrow as he read the list and the notes on it.

    Cinder Fall: Mastermind
    Emerald Sustrai/Mercury Black: Lieutenants?
    Adam Taurus: WF Leader (what's the connection?)
    Roman Torchwick: Stole Dust, supplied weapons, crippled Vale (dead, but told Ruby he "couldn't afford to lose." What did he mean?)
    Neo: Connected to Roman somehow. Still at large. Potential threat!

    As soon as he was done reading it, Junior looked at Yang. "This is going to take time. Aside from Adam and Roman, most of those names I only know from the tournament. One of them however...." Junior trailed off like he was deep in thought. Yang didn't get the chance to ask. He looked at the paper, then back to her once more. "I've heard the name Black before. Can't remember when or where. What I do remember is this: whatever it was in context to wasn't good. Best I can offer right now is a warning. Adam's dangerous, but that mainly comes from being unstable. Black? If it's the person I'm thinking of, he's quite possibly your biggest threat outside of Cinder." Over the last several months, Yang had plenty of time to think about how things went down at the tournament. Seeing how Junior was reacting actually confirmed a fear of hers.

    Mercury let me win.

    If that was the case, she had major concerns about running into him once again. On the surface, the fight at Vytal appeared to be a hard-fought battle. For the first weeks after the tournament, Yang didn't doubt her victory. She figured whatever plan they had was ruined by her win. However, as time went on and she thought about it more, she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right about that battle. Yes, there was the fact that Mercury attacked her. She attacked in self-defense and broke his leg, yet somehow the events unfolded differently for the public. A couple of days later he was walking around and fine. Looking back, she felt that he might not have taken the fight seriously. Yet, Yang couldn't worry about that now. Those were questions for another day. Her first major goal was getting whatever info she could to her sister. "How long do you figure it'll take you to get everything together?" she asked Junior. Putting away his book, he said, "Not too long. Give me until the grand opening. Granted, I can't promise I'll have much about your friends. Whatever their plans are, they've been plotting this for a long time. That much is obvious. Best I might be able to do is public knowledge. Or, I could get lucky, find something unexpected and unravel everything. As for the weapons, those will definitely be ready."

    Almost on cue, Verdi suddenly came back to the bar with Yang's scroll. "There's all the Vtyal Festival video" she said. "Don't really know why the boss wants you to have it, but I know better than to argue with him." As soon as she said that, she just as quickly left. Yang was thinking of making a comment about the woman not being much of a talker, but felt like Junior had heard it before. Instead, she thanked him for his assistance and left.

    As for Junior, he waited until Yang had left. Once she had, he turned his attention to the piece of paper she left him. Years of working with clients told him she was hiding something. Truthfully, he expected it. In fact, Junior would have been more worried if she spilled all the beans up front. That was typically a sign of complete desperation. Junior knew that a desperate client was usually a bad sign. Granted, everything about this whole thing was a bad sign. Yet, he still needed to do his part. The lack of that info might hinder him, but for now he'd deal with it. Even so, he did need a bit more to go on, so he made his own additions:

    Ozpin: Clearly hiding something (What's his secret?)
    Pyrrha Nikos: Killed by Cinder (Why?)
    Ruby Rose: Why is she so damn important?


    There were several more questions, but those were the three biggest ones. Setting his pen down, Junior just shook his head as he thought back to everything he had discussed with Yang.

    "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Chapter 7
    "Preparations (Part 2)"
    ******
    Village of Patch, 12 days until Yang and Blake's departure
    ******
    "DAMMIT!"

    Yang did her best to try to ignore the odd sensation, as she rubbed the bruised knuckles of her flesh and blood hand, with the cold metal of her artificial one. It hadn't even been ten minutes since the warmup had ended, yet she had already been disarmed three times. Meanwhile, Taiyang was absent-mindedly twirling an eskrima stick in his right hand, while tapping the other against his leg. Seeing this, Yang frowned as she picked up her dropped weapons. "Somehow, I get the feeling you aren't taking me seriously" she said to her father. Suppressing a chuckle, Taiyang replied, "Well, you haven't touched these things in about three or four years. If our roles were reversed, would you?"

    As much as she didn't like to admit it, Yang knew her father had a point. Tai was a master of various martial arts. He had attempted to convince Yang at a young age to not settle on a single fighting style. Tai wanted to teach her everything he knew, and their original training reflected that. However, as soon as Yang had seen Shot Gauntlets for the first time, Tai knew it was a battle he wouldn't win. Yang wanted to stick with just hand to hand techniques. She had the mindset and drive to progress at unheard of rates, but her stubbornness in regards to training with actual weapons led to her skill with them deteriorating. She did retain the basic knowledge, but plenty of work would be required to get her proficient once more. Despite her attempts to not give in to rage, Yang was upset and angry at herself. Blind rage was what cost her most in her very brief encounter with Adam. In the back of her mind, she wondered if the outcome could have been different somehow if she had managed to keep a clear head.

    No. Don't think like that Yang. Don't dwell on the past.

    That seemed to be the recurring theme as of late. Even when she was young, her uncle impressed upon her to not let the past control the future in a way that would harm her. Her father had a similar conversation during their first post recovery sparring session. Hell, even Junior of all people had said something along those lines. Dwelling on the past was something she had done too much of recently, and it was something she couldn't do anymore. The past was static, something that couldn't be changed. For every small change and what-if, there were countless variables that could not be accounted for. If events had been different enough, then Adam could have simply killed her and Blake on the spot. Right now, the best thing she could do was learn from her mistakes and attempt to not make the same ones again later.

    Taking up a fighting stance once more, Yang made the first move. However, even to a casual observer, it was clear that anger guided her strikes. She came in with a high, overhead strike with her right hand. With almost no effort on his part, Tai brought his left hand and stick in front of his face to block the blow. Yang wasn't going to give her father a chance to follow up. She put her weight into her first strike to force Tai to hold his block, then she swung her other weapon around up high. Tai frowned at the movement, noting how sloppy it was. He had more than enough room to duck under the blow. As he did so, he dropped his guard as he pivoted on his right foot and spun around. Yang was still putting most of her own weight on her right side. Her father's movement forced her off balance and caused her to stumble forward. Meanwhile, as Tai finished spinning around he aimed a strike at the back of one of Yang's knees. Since this was just training, the blow was far from hard or damaging, but it was enough to make the young woman's left leg buckle. Before she could attempt to get back to her feet, Tai lightly tapped both sides of her head with his eskrima sticks.

    "And with that, your leg is broken and your skull has been fractured in two places. If you somehow managed to live, you'll be walking with a limp and having a liquid diet. Oh, and there's the possibility of drooling while attempting to remember your name."

    Yang sighed as she got to her feet and looked at Tai. It was clear at this point that a ton of work would be needed. Plus, there was the fact that when it came to fighting at least, she was still letting anger control her actions in battle. It was hard for Yang to not give in since her Semblance was partly powered by that emotion. However, she was going to need to learn control, otherwise she'd be prone to repeating her mistakes.

    Meanwhile, Tai had set his weapons down near a cooler. Pulling out a couple of bottles of water, he tossed one to his daughter. "Take five minutes. When we get started again, we're back to basics. Despite your insistence, you're not quite ready for disarming drills yet." Yang wanted to protest, but she knew he was right. She was the type of person who wanted to jump right into things. It was quickly becoming clear that she'd need to take it a bit slower. Holding her bottle in her left hand, she attempted to open it, but instead of twisting the cap off she ripped it off instead. Groaning, she let out another sigh as she drank from the extra-large opening she created.

    This was going to be a long week.

  11. #11
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    Default Re: Broken World, Broken Souls (RWBY)

    Chapter 7
    "Preparations (Part 3)"
    ******
    Village of Patch, the Xaio Long home
    ******
    While her partner trained outside, Blake was in the guest room of the Xaio Long home. Since returning to Patch with Yang, she had taken the guest room while Yang finally moved back into the room she shared with Ruby. Recovery from her wounds hadn't been too bad. In fact, the scar left behind from being shot wasn't nearly as bad as the others since it got actual treatment. Rest in a real bed had also done plenty of good for her body. Even so, Signal's doctors suggested she wait a couple more days before attempting to do any physical training. Unlike her partner however, Blake wouldn't need time to practice swinging a weapon again. Instead, she had volunteered to look over the Vytal Festival footage. She hadn't gotten very far however. Her main job was to look for anything odd in the matches that Cinder's team had taken part in. She was also making it a point to look for anything strange or out-of-place in other matches. At the time, Blake thought something snapped in Yang's mind when she apparently attacked Mercury. In the days since being reunited with her partner, she had learned that Coco Adel had also experienced a similar issue. Pyrrha was also overheard saying such things prior to her death. Ultimately, Blake wasn't sure what she'd be looking for, but she had a feeling with enough time to look over everything, she'd find it. However, the search for answers hit a snag.

    As soon as Blake got to video of Team RWBY versus Team ABRN, she was stopped in her tracks.

    The early matches were easy enough for her to watch. To begin with, she wanted to become familiar with each fight before looking for anything that might suggest interference. Once she got to one of her own fights however, she couldn't help but stare at herself and Yang. There they were, intact and without serious injuries. Yang still had her arm. Blake still had both eyes and lacked the collection of scars that now crisscrossed her body. Eventually, she paused the video once there was a shot of the two of them standing side by side. She wasn't sure how long she had stared at the still image, but she knew it had to at least be several minutes. It took a sudden voice coming from the bedroom doorway to snap her back to reality.

    "Over a hundred channels and nothing good on, right?"

    Blake nearly fell out of bed and dropped the scroll in surprise as Qrow walked into the room. "Mr. Branwen!" she said, attempting to pull herself together. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you walk in." Qrow chuckled at that and said, "With those ears? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard everything we've talked about in this house." Qrow was about to say something else, but stopped when he saw the guarded look on Blake's face. It was a look he had seen before on the faces of other faunus.

    It was the look of a person that was unsure if they had heard a good-natured joke, or were being insulted.

    As soon as he saw that look, Qrow apologized. "Sorry about that kid. I didn't mean anything bad" he said to her. "Still not used to the fact that you're actually a faunus. Up until the reveal, I figured you were just someone who really pissed off Adam Taurus for some reason." The look on Blake's face softened, even turned to one of confusion once he said that. "You mean Ruby and Yang never mentioned it?" she asked. Raising an eyebrow, Qrow said, "You really do have a tough time trusting people, don't you?" Blake looked a bit ashamed over that fact as Qrow continued. "That was your secret. A secret you trusted them with. It would have taken a life of death situation for them to just tell someone." Curiosity getting the better of him, Qrow decided to just ask what he was thinking, point-blank. "Why the sudden change of heart anyway? In hindsight, I'm actually surprised at the fact that you decided to stop."

    Blake had started to stare at her scroll again, but her face became completely serious as she looked to Qrow. "I didn't have the best childhood. Like many faunus, I had to deal with tons of insensitive remarks. One day, I had just grown tired of all the insults from people who only saw a lesser being, rather than another person. Eventually, I learned I could hide in plain sight by simply using this." Reaching over to the end table, Blake picked up her ribbon. Despite making a promise to stop hiding, it was still a keepsake she wouldn't get rid of. "Adam and his men did enough to make me realize I shouldn't have to hide. I've already gotten my fair share of odd looks ever since I lost my left eye. Honestly, I think I get more strange looks now, than I did without my bow. The few times I've been asked, I didn't go into detail. All I did was mention that I was attacked by the White Fang. It took me saying it a few times to realize the impression people were getting." Blake didn't have to explain it. Qrow understood immediately and said, "All they saw was a poor human girl who had been brutally attacked by a fanatical faunus rights group." Nodding, Blake told him, "At this point, names and sour looks from a few bigots will never compare to the pain and suffering they've inflicted on me. If people want to assume the worst just because I'm a faunus, then that's fine. I'll just be sure to tell them the truth: the White Fang no longer care about equality. They'll hurt human and faunus alike if it brings them closer to their goals."

    Letting out a sigh, Blake had moved to place the ribbon back on the end table. At the last-minute however, she stopped. Rather than put it away, she put it back on. However, instead of concealing her ears, Blake had used it to tie her hair back. Qrow watched her do this and could clearly see that this wasn't just a simple ribbon for the woman. "That's very important to you, isn't it?" he asked. Blake nodded as she set her scroll on the table and sat up in the bed. "This ribbon once belonged to my mother. It was a present she gave me as a child. Originally, my father had given it to her when she still lived in Menagerie." Blake stopped talking for a moment one she mentioned her father. The look on her face was another look Qrow knew all too well. He already had a pretty good idea where this was going before she even said it. "I never knew him. He died before I was born. All I've ever really known about him were stories. He was a Dust miner. Nowhere near being a trained solider or hunter. The night he died, our village was attacked by Grimm. Most of the defenders had already been killed. At that point, everyone was apparently waiting for the inevitable. He knew the odds were terrible, yet he refused to die hiding in a house. He knew he likely wouldn't survive, but despite that, he fought so my mother and the others could live. He stepped outside and used whatever he could find. Mining picks, rocks, swords. It didn't matter to him. Apparently, he even used a long shard of glass as a makeshift dagger. Eventually, the sounds of battle stopped. In the morning, they found him about ten feet away from our home." The look on Blake's face, as a single tear fell, was a mix of pride and sadness. "He had actually tried to crawl back, likely to say goodbye to my mother, but his wounds were too terrible. He never made it back. If it wasn't for him however, everyone would have died."

    "Darrah Belladonna, the Black Oak. The Hero of Jade Village."

    Blake went wide-eyed once Qrow mentioned her father's name. However, the two nicknames left her confused as well. Seeing the look on her face, Qrow explained. "I'm guessing you were either very young when you left Menagerie, or that you were born outside there. Otherwise, you'd have known about the big statue of him they put up a few years ago. Don't know how true to life it is, but it depicts a very large cat faunus with a mining pick and a sword. He essentially became the symbol of not just the village, but the whole island. Much like how Adam became the White Fang's symbol." As Qrow said that, he appeared deep in thought for a moment. "I suppose in hindsight, I should have figured out you were a faunus much sooner. Belladonna isn't exactly a common name."

    Blake was ignoring Qrow's reflection on things. She was born in a village just outside of Vale. While she knew her mother was from Menagerie, she didn't talk about it much. Blake could only assume this was due to the bad memories of that night. Other faunus she had run into either weren't from there, or they spoke poorly of its people. "You said my father is a symbol to them. What exactly is it like there?" she asked Qrow. By now, Qrow was standing at the window and watching Yang and Tai practice in the woods. "Well, they're the opposite of the Fang in every way" he told her. "Granted, they aren't exactly completely trustful of humans. Many of the older faunus still hold memories of the Faunus Rights Revolution. However, unlike the White Fang, most are at least are willing to work towards a peaceful future without resorting to violence. Those that live there don't generally agree with the methods the Fang use. Adam Taurus became the Fang's poster boy as their methods became more extreme. Your father? He became a symbol of hope for the island, one that represents determination against terrible odds. I think that's a big part of the reason why so many on Menagerie don't support the Fang. They know things aren't perfect, but deep down they believe in a better future." Qrow stopped for a moment and winced as he watched Tai plant a blow on the back of Yang's leg. He could tell it was far from a full contact sparring session, but he knew that the hit likely still stung. Continuing to watch his brother-in-law and his niece, he said, "If anything, I'd say that despite not knowing him, your father's determination rubbed off on you. I read your medical report after Signal's doctors treated you. I've known hunters that would have caved in under the pressure had they experienced half your injuries."

    Turning back to Blake, Qrow asked her, "What about your mother? What exactly happened to get you involved with the White Fang?" Qrow could see it was a touchy subject for the young woman. For a moment, he thought she wasn't going to say anything. Eventually, she said, "She came to Vale after my father died. The village was rebuilding, and she wasn't in any condition to work the mines. She settled in one of the villages outside the main city. A couple of months after arriving, I was born. My mother mainly did small, odd jobs to provide for us. She couldn't keep doing small jobs however. The problem was, people in Vale didn't want to hire a faunus." Qrow closed his eyes and shook his head as he let out a sigh. Things like that were a key problem in the relationship between humans and faunus. All it ever did was keep the cycle of hate and mistrust moving.

    Meanwhile, Blake continued. "When I was about six, she answered a job placement ad for a mine surveyor. Jade Village was a village of miners and their families. Even the women would have a hand in working the mines. She felt she was qualified, so she applied for the job. My mother was hired and went on a surveying job in Forever Fall." Blake paused, seemingly unwilling to continue. Qrow however, knew how that story ended. "That was the Schnee Mining disaster, wasn't it?" The girl didn't need to answer to confirm it. Qrow himself was familiar with the events.

    A little over ten years ago, the Schnee Dust Company expanded operations to Forever Fall. In a first for the company, they had actually hired faunus for the job, despite Mr. Schnee's very public stance as a person that didn't support equal rights. For the first few months, things went well. However, one day a team dug a bit too deep and caused a partial mine collapse. The collapse had opened a previously undiscovered section of the cave network, a section that turned out to be infested with Grimm. Qrow and Oobleck were the ones sent out to eliminate the Grimm and find survivors. The elimination portion of the mission went off without a hitch. The two huntsmen made extremely quick work of the Grimm and proceeded to seal off the tunnel. However, what always struck Qrow as odd, was that they didn't find survivors. It wasn't even a matter of finding bodies. There was literally no trace of anyone that had been trapped. No blood, no signs of struggle, simply nothing. Qrow wanted to investigate, but the Schnee Dust Company insisted that nothing more could be done and had rushed the two huntsmen out once the job was finished. Was it unsafe practices? Did they do something to the miners? Qrow couldn't say for sure, but deep down he knew that foul play was involved. The look on Blake's face told him that she believed that as well.

    For his part, Qrow didn't bring up the specifics of the mission. After everything Blake had experienced in recent months, as well as the experiences that were coming if she decided to stay, he didn't need to add more worries by reopening old wounds. However, he knew he'd have to eventually speak to her about it. Meanwhile, Blake managed to show just how perceptive she could be. After studying him for a few seconds, she simply said, "It's all over your face. You were the huntsman involved with the clean up, weren't you?" Qrow didn't say a word. Instead, he merely made a grim mental note to never play poker with this woman.

    Blake seemed to interpret Qrow's silence on the matter as some sort of admission of guilt. "Don't blame yourself. I know if my mother was alive, or if there was even a trace of an answer, you would have done all that you could. In any case, after that it didn't take much to get me into the White Fang. One of my mother's friends took me in to keep me out of an orphanage. Their family was already involved with the White Fang. For them, the Schnee incident was just another thing they could use to stir up the faunus. At that point, they were still mainly peaceful. Yet, as the years went by, they attrached more people like Adam. Eventually, those who simply wanted peace and equal rights had their voices reduced to a whisper, while Adam and his people gained power and stirred up hatred." Blake closed her eye and looked away from Qrow, as she thought about those memories. "At first, it was easy to go along with them. I hated the Schnee family. It was their fault that my mother had died. In the early days it was simple. Destroy some property, divert a shipment, steal some prototype they had made. Each time we went out on a job, we made it a point to not get anyone hurt. I eventually heard about the murders and the kidnappings of Schnee employees." Blake paused for a moment. Just remembering her inaction and unwillingness to get out at that point made her sick. "I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I can't remember if I was just making excuses or simply chose to ignore what was going on. It wasn't until I personally witnessed Adam doing those very things, that I started to seriously question it. As time went on, I could see the changes in Adam more and more. I don't know if despair and desperation tainted him, or if he was always that evil deep down, but once he moved on to blatantly killing innocent people, I refused to have a hand in it anymore. I couldn't live with knowing that I could possibly put some young child into the very situation I found myself in." The stress and regret was clear on Blake's face, as she looked back to Qrow. "The last job I did with the White Fang made it clear to me. I didn't want to keep this cycle going. I've lost my family. I don't want to be the reason someone else lost theirs."

    Blake's expression now turned dark. "That's why I absolutely hate Adam for forcing me into his sick game." The anger in Blake's voice was clear as she spoke. "In the last six months, I've injured countless members of the White Fang. Even so, I made sure they didn't die. Each time I've acted, it's been in self-defense. But, that night in Vale?" She couldn't stop herself from crying anymore. "Keir forced me to cross the line! He was scum, but I would have spared even him if Yang hadn't been in danger! I....."

    Blake couldn't talk anymore. Qrow could clearly see that this was a breakdown that was building up for a long time. As the young woman buried her face into her hands, Qrow rushed over, sat next to Blake and just hugged her close to him. At first, Blake tensed up. She clearly wasn't used to anyone doing such a thing, but eventually, she just let the man draw her in while she let everything out.
    Several minutes had passed. Once she had calmed down a bit, Qrow broke the silence. "For what it's worth, I'd have done the same thing. Ultimately, as hunters, we try not to kill anyone. There are occasions where it's unavoidable, yet we still try. However, these people are not playing by any sort of rules. The White Fang? Cinder? They don't care who dies. If it serves their goals, it's an acceptable loss. Considering the circumstances, there isn't a single huntsman or huntress that would fault you for what you did. You were protecting your family."

    Blake pulled away from Qrow at the mention of that word. "My....family?" she asked, sounding unsure if she heard the older man correctly. Nodding, Qrow told her, "Family is more than just blood. Yes, you've lost your parents. It's a terrible thing that can't be changed. Yet, in becoming a huntress, you've gained three sisters." Qrow did his best to suppress a chuckle as he said the next part. "Unfortunately, that also comes with their extended family as well. You've picked up a drunk uncle. Not really sure what you're going to do about the racist in-law however." Blake gave Qrow an odd look at that last part. "Yang's father isn't racist, is it?" she asked, with concern. Suddenly, her thoughts went elsewhere. "Or do you think me and Weiss......." Blake trailed off as soon as she caught the look in Qrow's eyes. Knowing exactly what he just did and what she just said, Blake turned an extremely bright red as she tried to find the words. After stuttering for a bit, she simply let out a sigh.

    "Yang's right. You are the absolute worst."

    After a couple of moments of awkward silence, Blake simply asked, "Was it that obvious?" Getting up, Qrow looked back out the window again at Yang and Tai as he spoke. "For me? Absolutely. You almost let it slip back on the roof in Vale. Since then, I've caught the occasional glances you've given her. It's the same look I've seen on Tai's face each time Summer or Raven came back from a dangerous mission. Yang on the other hand?" Letting out a sigh, Blake asked, "So she's essentially just like Jaune?" Qrow looked at her, but seemed confused over the comparison Blake was attempting to make. Suddenly realizing he may not have known Jaune that well, Blake said, "Nevermind. I understand what you're saying." Qrow shook his head and shrugged. "Honestly? Even I don't know what I'm saying" he told her. "Keep in mind what you're asking me. It's not exactly a conversation I ever envisioned having with Ruby or Yang." To drive the point home, Qrow proceeded to do a terrible impression of a teenage girl and hold a conversation with himself.

    "UNCLE QROW!"
    "Hi girls! How's it's going? Have you met any boys, or are you in the closet?"

    Despite not getting a clear answer, Blake couldn't help but smile at that. She was starting to get the idea of where Yang got some of her humor from. She then got serious as she asked Qrow her next question. "You're completely ok with this?" Stepping back to the doorway, he said, "Why wouldn't I be? Human and faunus relationships aren't common, but they also aren't unheard of." Blake let out a groan. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't keep herself from facepalming. "No. I mean....well...." Qrow just put his hand up to stop Blake from going into another fit of stuttering. "This isn't anything new or strange for me Blake. Hell, Tai flat-out told me that his first mission as a hunter was to sleep with everyone on his team." Blake went completely wide-eyed as soon as Qrow said that. She wasn't quiet sure what to say.

    Then, out of nowhere, Qrow destroyed the moment by laughing.

    "You should have seen the look on your face!" he said, between his fits of laughter. She just shook her head at the terrible joke. "In all seriousness, don't worry about it" he told her as he retrieved a bag from the hallway. "Now, I can't say for sure if Yang is interested. However, if she's not, I can at least promise she's not going to be judgemental. No one in this family is like that." Blake let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to admit her feelings to her partner, find out Yang wasn't interested, then have every single moment together following that be completely awkward. Tossing the bag to Blake, Qrow said, "The best advice I can give is to just dive in when you're comfortable. I've seen too many people wait until it was too late. In this job, one of two things happens. You're either going to become very good, perhaps even a professor at some point. Or...." Qrow was about to finish his thought, but paused for a moment. Blake could clearly see he had to take a moment to suppress a bad memory before he was able to finish. "Or, you're going to die very young" he said in an extremely blunt manner. "There's really no in between for us. Too many living hunters have at least one person they wish they could have said something to before it was too late. Don't become another example of that Blake."

    With that, Qrow left Blake to her thoughts. She just sat in silence for a couple of minutes, as today had been a roller coaster of emotions for her. Eventually, curiosity got the best of her and she looked in the bag. Inside, she found several brand new pieces of clothing in her favorite colors. Since arriving, Blake had been stuck wearing Ruby and Yang's extra clothes. That presented two problems for the faunus. First, Ruby was smaller than Blake. While she could fit into her team leader's clothing, some of the pieces were tight enough to not leave much to the imagination. Yang's clothing on the other hand presented the opposite problem. Her sweatpants were fine, but the majority of her shirts were either tank tops or short sleeved. At this point, Blake was still self-conscious about her scars. Even if it wasn't for that, they were also a bit baggy due to their size difference. After the first hour of wearing one, Blake was suddenly very aware and careful about leaning forward too much.
    Eventually, Blake settled on a shirt and some jeans. The shirt was long sleeved, purple at the top, but gradually changing to black at the bottom. At first glance, the jeans seemed to be a simple black, but upon closer inspection, Blake found the belladonna flower emblem that she tended to wear on her clothing on the left leg. It was in an extremely dark purple that nearly blended in with the black. Blake smiled, because she knew the color choices and the addition of her emblem would have been Yang's doing. She didn't know what that possibly meant about any potential feelings Yang might have, but at the very least it told her just how much her partner cared.

    Shutting the door, she began changing out of her borrowed clothes. Once she was completely changed, Blake looked in the mirror and was impressed. She knew she had Yang to thank for the color choices. However, she'd need to make it a point to thank Qrow as well. Everything fit absolutely perfectly.

    As she prepared to head outside, Blake's thoughts were in a couple different places. Right now, she wasn't sure if she was feeling brave enough to follow Qrow's advice and say anything to Yang. However, at the very least, she wanted have her first real discussion about events. Qrow's comment about her ears hadn't been too far off the mark. Blake wasn't one to normally spy on private discussions, but sometimes it was much easier said than done. The bits and pieces she had caught reminded her of a saying she had once heard long ago:

    Behind every legend, there is a grain of truth.
    ******

    Overall, the story has seen far more posts on FF.net than here. I've just been too lazy to do the formatting since my copy/paste seems to enjoy putting everything into a big giant block of text. If anyone here at TPM has been following this, it would be advisable to simply read it over there.

    Eventually, I will get it caught back up here, but the timing is anyone's guess.

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