3,696The brutal sounds of meat impacting on meat weren't new to Yang. No, ever since she'd been taken, ever since she'd been transformed into what she'd become, the noise of fists connecting with flesh was a familiar one. Growing up it had been her lot in life to kill or be killed. To survive at all costs. To exist in a world of bloody evolution.
With nothing to do until this ridiculous human tournament was over, Yang found herself with familiar company. Ever since learning of Jaune's true nature, Yang had made a point to not spend any time with him willingly. Only when they'd fought in the four-on-four round of the tournament had she even bothered to see that lying weakling. Instead, Yang had opted to hang around with another boy with blond hair and blue eyes. At least this one never tried to hide who and what he was. The fool was an inferior species compared to herself, but that also meant that deep down he would know his place. The fact that he was willingly taking her strikes was only proof of that.
Lashing out with her fists, Yang grunted and screamed, slamming home again and again into Sun's hands and arms, held up in a defensive posture. A spar, as humans called it, was not the kind of fighting she was used to back in Salem's school. Here there were rules. There were regulations. You weren't to kill your opponent once you defeated them.
Still, at least she was able to unleash her anger and aggression. Sun was a capable fighter for a faunus, and every punch, albeit a restrained one, Yang threw at him he was able to take and absorb with his body. She noticed how he sometimes winced or grunted when he took a hit from her, but he never complained. That was fine and well. He would be there to take the hits until she was satisfied.
"You know," the boy said between punches. "Not that I mind being a hot girl's punching bag, but is there something going on that you wanna talk about?"
Something she wanted to talk about? No. Never. Yang didn't like talking with her mouth. She preferred to let her fists do the speaking for her.
"No."
Her right fist smashed into Sun's left palm with a particularly harsh impact this time, causing the boy to grit his teeth and shake his hand in pain.
"Okay, cause," he continued, absorbing more blows from the girl who still had plenty of energy to spare. "You look like the kind of girl who's got something on her mind that's bothering her. And I'm the kind of guy who likes to hear his friend's problems and try to help them out with them."
Yang breathed an annoyed scoff. She didn't do therapy. Problems were to be dealt with in the swiftest and most efficient method possible. Fighting.
Fighting was the most basic law of nature. Predators and prey didn't sit down and discuss their problems. No, the strong devoured the weak. Those who were fast enough could get away to live on and breed. Those who couldn't were removed from the gene pool. It was the story of Yang's life.
Cardin. The other hybrids at Salem's academy. They had all been too weak and had been culled. Yang had survived. She had proven herself strong. She was better than the others. She was better than Sun. She was better than Jaune. She was certainly better than her sorry excuse for a birth-giver.
"I liked it better when you weren't talking," she growled, continuing to pummel Sun.
"Yeah, I don't exactly do the whole quiet thing," Sun smiled. It annoyed her how he could flash that stupid boyish smile of his even while he was being her designated punching bag. "I mean have you ever been around me? When do I ever shut up? If I'm not talking I'm probably not breathing."
True enough. Sun was the definition of a chatterbox. That very same outgoing and positive energy had been enough to scare Blake away. Truly Sun was among the most dangerous opponents Yang had ever encountered.
"Is this because Jaune didn't pick you for the double's round?" he continued, ignoring the fact that she'd made it clear she didn't feel like talking.
"No!" she snarled, taking a particularly hard swipe right where Sun's head sat. The boy ducked underneath the strike with apparant ease.
"Because that'd totally be understandable. I mean that means you wouldn't be able to do the finals either. I guess it's probably going to be him since Rosalyn kinda looks a bit like a glass cannon."
"It has nothing to do with the tournament!" Yang argued, stepping up her aggression as she stepped forward into Sun's guard as well.
The boy kept pace with her, stepping back in order to keep proper distance between themselves as he continued his deliberate defensive maneuvers against her.
"So there is something," he said, proudly smiling like he'd just gotten one over on her.
That smug smile of his only enraged Yang all the more, and with clenched teeth she began to give into her anger even more. With grunts of exertion and curses under her breath, Yang pounded away at Sun's hands with her fists, and nearly all of them were blocked or deflected by the skilled Huntsman.
Except one. One that managed to break through his defenses and connected squarely with his jaw. Sun's head whipped back for a split-second before he recovered, immediately dropping into a fighting stance with his own hands poised and ready to strike. Instinct, if Yang was reading him correctly.
Instantly Yang's own instincts took over and she backed off into a defensive posture herself, ready to receive the counter-attack. It never came, however, and Sun merely stood passively for long moments before his body relaxed. In a real fight he would have come at her with everything he had. In this spar, on the other hand, he had been content to be the one taking the blows and nothing more.
"I'm not sorry," she stated matter-of-factly.
Sun shrugged, and the small smile he'd worn earlier returned to his lips. "Don't be. That was a nice hit. Real solid contact there."
Yang felt as much in her knuckles. There were few better feelings out there than that of landing a good, solid hit on your opponent. The stinging in her hand was just proof that they'd been bested by her.
"But now that you got it, are you ready to start talking?" he wondered. He raised his hands once more as he continued. "Or are we going another few rounds?"
She rolled her eyes, giving no indication that she was about to attack him again. "Why do you even care?"
"Well, one, because you came to me in a huff being all 'Get your shit, Sun. We're gonna fight'." The fact that he'd uttered those last words in an obnoxious, high-pitched tone got under Yang's skin deeper than a Grimm parasite.
"I don't sound like that," she argued.
"Yeah, yeah, but I can't just use my own voice if I'm gonna act like you, now can I? Now, onto reason two."
Yang groaned. "Oh gods, I forgot there were more reasons."
"Reason two," he repeated. "Because we're friends, and friends look out for each other. Except for when they fight." Sun at this point had started to look down at his hands, holding up his fingers and counting them with his other hand. He appeared to be confused as he did so. "In which case, if you're fighting with friends, you have to go to other friends to try to work out the problems with the first friends. But if you don't have a second group of friends you're kinda out of luck, but here you are lucky to have a second-"
"Can you just..." she interrupted. "Just shut up, okay? If I tell you what's going on, will you just shut up and let it go?" She shook her head in annoyance. "Gods, I came here for a fight, not to get talked at."
Sun held his hands up defensively, though in this case it wasn't because he was expecting a physical attack. "Okay, okay. And deal." He smiled earnestly and took a seat on a bench in the training room. He patted a spot beside him for her to sit. She declined the offer. "So tell me what's on your mind."
Opting to stand when she spoke, Yang turned so that she wasn't facing him directly anymore. Her head shook once more, more in disbelief that she was even entertaining the idea of this stupid little talk with this stupid little boy.
"Sometimes it feels like everyone's against me," she confessed. "Well, almost everyone."
Ruby wasn't. Throughout this whole ordeal, Ruby had been the only person on Team AWRY who she'd kept contact with. She would never turn her back on her sister. Never.
"I'm not against you," Sun stated. "I mean since you're not in the final round of the tournament there's no way you'll be facing me." Clearly he had no idea what she was referring to.
Yang smiled darkly. Oh if only he knew just how against her he'd be if he knew her true nature.
She turned back to him, her glowering eyes regarding him as little more than the faunus vermin that he was. "Are you so sure about that?" she asked sharply.
Sun's eyes glanced left and right. While he tried to play it cool with his facial expressions, the nervous emotions he emitted were like a sweet scent which Yang could almost taste.
"Um, yes?" he asked more than answered.
Leaning in, Yang's lilac eyes bored into the boy who sat below her. "If the time ever came where you had to either kill me or be killed by me, could you do it?" she wondered. "Could you shed this whole nice guy thing you have going on and get serious? Could you do what had to be done at a moment's notice without even thinking about it?"
Perplexed, Sun's head tilted as his emotions churned in his body and mind. A mixture of confusion and worry with a soft hint of fear.
"What does this have to do with people being against you? And who exactly? Because I'm really getting the feeling that this has to do with your teammates, right?"
Her teammates, yes. Jaune the liar. Weiss the traitor who was so in love with him that she would turn her back on her own kind for a human boy. Her Uncle Qrow. Her own mother. They were all against her.
Shaking her head once more, Yang dismissed his question. "Just forget about it. I can't go into the details," she continued truthfully.
"But you feel betrayed, I take it? Something did happen between you and your teammates."
She shrugged noncommittally.
"I get that. Sometimes stuff happens even between teammates. When we have to live together, fight together, eat together, share a room... stuff just happens. Like the time Scarlet used all my hair gel, and I had to walk around looking like a sheep dog for a whole week."
Hair. Yang was proud of her own golden locks, so she could relate to a story like that.
"But," he continued. "At the end of the day I forgave him. You know why?"
"Why?" she asked, though her tone made it clear that she wasn't at all interested.
"Because at the end of the day I know he's got my back," Sun explained. "All the BS that happens in daily life, that doesn't matter in the big picture. If we were to ever get in a fight, I mean a real fight, I know that Scarlet, Neptune, and Sage would all be there for me. Even if I was wrong! Even if, like, I hit on a girl at a bar, and the girl, completely unbeknownst to me, turned out to have a boyfriend. And the boyfriend got all pissed off and unreasonable, and he started trying to start a fight. And I may have made a really witty remark about his mom, and then fists started flying..."
The smile Sun wore as he recounted the tale made one thing apparent to Yang. "That's a true story, isn't it?"
"Oh it's true," he confirmed. "It's damn true."
True or not, it didn't apply to Yang. Would the people in her life have her back the way that Sun's teammates did? Ruby, yes. Would Jaune? He was only human, after all, and she wasn't a member of his pack. Weiss would only do what Jaune ordered her to do. Blake was a wild card as always. The only thing Yang could rely on from her was to be unreliable. Then what about Qrow? Raven? Knowing what they knew, would they choose her over mankind?
"So that's your big takeaway from it? That's your sage advice you have to give to me?"
"No, it's Sun's advice."
Yang groaned. "No but really, you're saying I should just forgive and forget because these people will have my back when shit hits the fan?"
Sun nodded. He was completely serious and genuine in doing so. Like to him it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yeah."
She snorted dismissively. So much for expecting anything truly groundbreaking from the boy. He really was quite simple. All brawn and no brains, apparently. Had he been a hybrid he would have just been another pile of meat to be discarded after a match in Professor Callows' class.
"I really did like it better when you weren't talking," she said again.
He nodded again. "So did the guy at the bar."
Yang's mind wandered for a moment before an idea crossed her mind. Normally she wasn't the kind to get all buddy-buddy with a human or a faunus, but something Sun had mentioned only a little while ago stuck with her.
"Oh yeah?" she wondered. Finally, she decided to take a seat beside him a few feet away. "So about what you said about his mom. Can you say it again, only instead use the name Raven instead of his mom?"
"She. Saw."
Two simple words carried far more weight than they ever should have. Had there been any Grimm within a mile of their location, they would have been drawn to the voice behind them like moths to a flame.
Two words filled with fear. With abject terror. Since arriving here in Mistral, in the camp of the tribe they had once called home, Raven had been nothing short of a panicked mess.
The meeting had started out about as well as one could have anticipated. In a place where survival of the fittest wasn't just a law of nature, but a law of mankind, strength and dominance had to be asserted without hesitation. The current leader of the tribe, a young woman named Vernal, had stepped up in order to challenge the former leader after her sudden arrival back to the people she'd once led. It was to be expected. Two leaders simply could not co-exist in a group like the Branwen Tribe.
The battle had been swift and decisive. Even without her Maiden powers, Raven would have been more than a match for Vernal. The former was a trained Huntress with over two decades of experience in brutal combat against both humans and Grimm alike. Omen had been drawn in a flash, and within seconds Vernal found her Aura shattered and lying on the ground. With the tip pressed down against her chest, Raven did not need to repeat the words she'd uttered upon first being confronted by the current leader of the tribe.
Submit, or die.
Thankfully for all parties involved, Vernal had chosen the former. In doing so, she had yielded control of the tribe, and all its people and resources, to Raven once more. Such was the way of the tribe. Such was the way of nature. The dominant rose to the top, and the weak followed.
Casting his gaze out of the tent's front entrance, Qrow saw how the followers went about their business as if nothing had changed. In a way, nothing had. They still lived the same way as they had twenty years ago when he'd been a part of the tribe. Before he and his sister had gone off to Beacon in order to learn how to kill Huntsmen. Before both of them had been changed by the very civilization they had once rejected.
Turning back inside the tent, Qrow regarded the other two occupants. Raven was pacing back and forth, her churning emotions made manifest as she marched around the massive chief's tent. Summer on the other hand sat passively at the short table, seated on a large cushion as she nursed a cup of tea. Since her return to the world of humanity, she'd not spoken much. Qrow could hardly blame her, given her circumstances.
"We don't know that," he argued with his sister. "She wasn't in the room."
Raven's fist slammed into one of the wooden pillars supporting the tent's structure. Her eyes burned with the power of the Maiden magic. "Do you really think that matters?" she snarled. "Do you honestly think a being as powerful as her needs to actually be there to see things? That Grimm... the one that grabbed me... it saw..."
Qrow wasn't intimately familiar with the types of Grimm out there. The floating one which had tried to restrain Raven, and the oddly humanoid ones which had shambled toward him like something out of a zombie movie. Both were new to him. Neither possessed the savage and raw ferocity that normal Grimm like Beowolves and Ursai had. However, to just assume that they would be able to communicate back to Salem was nothing more than a wild guess born out of paranoia more than anything.
"Okay, so she may have seen you," Qrow conceded. "That's not important right now. What's-"
"Not important?" Raven interrupted, her face a mask of rage. "Not important for you, maybe. Ozpin's little lap dog doesn't need to think for himself. Ozpin's little lap dog doesn't have a family to worry about. No commitments other than your little missions for your master." Her fists clenched tightly, and her head shook slightly. "But me? I have a life, Qrow! Taiyang! Robin! Do you have any idea what's going to happen to them now that Salem knows that I have something she wants? Do you think they'll ever be able to live a normal life again?"
A soft growl hummed in the back of Qrow's throat. Loathe as he was to admit it, his sister had a point. For him there were no consequences outside of Summer's fate and the safety of the world. For Raven, however, there was something far more personal on the line for her. As it turned out, that weakness which she'd fled from all those years ago had reared its ugly head once more. Her family made her vulnerable. It was the reason why she'd run in the first place.
"Then we get them," he stated. "We get them and bring them here."
Raven threw her hands up in the air. "Oh right, because that'll go over so well. 'Honey, we have to leave Patch because I have magical powers from an immortal wizard, and now the Queen of the Grimm is after me and that makes you and our boy a target'. And that doesn't even begin to cover the issue of..."
Qrow saw how Raven pointed at Summer, but stopped short in saying her name. Summer's blindness prevented her from seeing the attention being directed toward her, but she'd always been a smart woman. Even without sight, she was able to pick up on the clues of the conversation from words alone.
"I'm sorry," the former leader of Team STRQ said softly.
His heart ached in his chest, and Qrow immediately moved to kneel beside Summer. He took a hand in his, and squeezed it tightly. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he told her sternly. "You've done nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing."
Crimson eyes darted up into his sibling's mirrored counterparts, searching for confirmation from his older twin. Raven said nothing, content to stew in her own anger and fear. Honestly he couldn't blame her for her feelings, but he would not stand for even a shred of the blame to fall on the shoulders of someone who was the true victim in all of this.
Hoping to shift the subject onto something more positive, Qrow kept his hold on Summer's hand as he moved to sit next to her. "You know, there's been a lot of technological advances in the past few years," he told her. "Atlas' bionics have gotten a lot better than what they were before. Sleeker, less bulky, and better specs too. Especially military grade. I've got a close associate in the military who owes me big, and I think she'd be able to help us get some state of the art bionic eyes for you, Summer. And then you can finally see Tai, Yang, and Ruby again."
It had been him who'd clued Winter in to Weiss' survival. He who had facilitated their reunion. He was her partner in crime, both figuratively and literally. When it came to restoring Summer's sight, so that she would once more be able to gaze upon her children, he would stop at nothing in order to get his hands on the technology to do so.
Summer smiled, nodding appreciatively at the plan. "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Qrow. However..."
Qrow's brow furrowed. Realizing that he'd need to do more in order to properly converse with Summer, he spoke his concern. "Summer?"
"Right now I'm not important," she said. Qrow bristled at those words. Those angrily selfless words. This was absolutely about her. Right now she was right up there with Yang and Ruby as the most important things in the world to him.
"What are you talking about? Of course you are."
Summer shook her head. "This is so much bigger than me, Qrow. I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything, but Raven and Tai are married now. They have another child. He's moved on, and he has a life without me now. I can't just... I can't barge in on their lives again after all these years. Not after..."
Selfless to the core. Of the members of Team STRQ, Summer had always been the best of them. Even now she was willing to give up her own happiness for the sake of Taiyang and Raven. Qrow, however, would have none of it.
"You're still a part of his life," he insisted. "You're the mother of his youngest daughter. Yang and Ruby will be reunited with their father, and its only right that they'll be reunited with their mother as well. Besides," he said, looking up to Raven with a scowl only she could see. "It's not as if someone who's left him before hasn't come back into his life."
Raven shot him a murderous glare. If looks could kill he would have been dead a thousand times over.
Summer, oblivious to the twins' unspoken argument, nodded at his statement. "I suppose you're right, but I'm not ready. Not yet."
It was understandable. Summer had been held captive since her disappearance all those years ago. It would take time, and a lot of talking and nurturing, to get her used to being a part of human civilization again. She would need to be both physically and mentally rehabilitated. Restoring her sight would be the easiest part of the entire ordeal.
For now, with a safe place to stay, that was what Qrow would focus on. With Winter handling things back at Beacon, he would be able to deal with the issues at hand here. Speaking of Winter, he would need to call her soon in order to get the ball rolling on a set of bionics for Summer.
"Two women, three children between them, and the same man," Raven spat under her breath. "What could possibly go wrong?"
Honestly? Everything. However, Qrow wasn't willing to entertain such negative thoughts right now. Much of his life had been spent wallowing in his own poor luck. Luck that forced him to keep people at a distance. Luck which prevented him from forming a family of his own.
Right now, however, as Qrow glanced around the room at Summer and Raven, as he thought about his nieces both being alive and well back at Beacon, and with Taiyang and Robin both happy and healthy on Patch, Qrow felt like the luckiest man on Remnant.
"Well Jaune's making it work out," he joked, thinking about how the boy walked around with a girl on each arm. Girls who willingly shared him with each other. Girls who loved him. One big, happy family.
"Will you get serious?" Raven snapped. "This isn't some happy-go-lucky teenage romance! There's actual baggage here which will have real consequences! One way or another this family is going to break apart, and lives are going to be ruined!"
As much as he didn't want to deal with that harsh reality right now, Qrow knew that Raven was correct. Despite it being the right thing to do, Summer's survival and return presented a dilemma for a family which had moved on without her. Taiyang was the father of both Summer and Raven's children. He couldn't very well choose one over the other without someone being resentful. He couldn't very well choose Yang and Robin over Ruby, nor Ruby over Yang and Robin. He couldn't deprive any of them from knowing and living with their mother.
Yes, life was going to become very complicated soon.
Casting another glance to Summer, he dearly hoped that she wouldn't blame herself for any of this. Her survival was not an inconvenience. Her being a part of her daughter's life would not be a bad thing. Both of these things were miracles, and both should be celebrated.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he replied with a sigh. "But the fact that the bridge even exists in the first place is something we should be thankful for. It may not look like much of a happy ending right now, but I promise you that this is the best thing that could have happened to all of us."
Raven's head shook slightly, and as her gaze was cast downward to the floor, she whispered her true feelings. "I know."
At least there was that. Family life had truly softened his sister's once cold heart. Ten years ago she could have never admitted such a thing to both herself or others. At least now she could see the truth, even if it was a truth which would be nothing but painful to her.
"For now let me call my associate," Qrow said, fishing his scroll from his pocket. "After that we'll discuss what to do about Tai and Robin. I'm thinking maybe you stay with them for the time being, Raven, while I stay here with Summer. That way if you need to move them quickly, you can bring them both here again."
His sister shrugged, but didn't argue. "I suppose that might work for now..."
"Good," he continued, pulling up Winter's contact information. He stood up and began to walk over to the tent's entrance, where he stepped outside before putting the scroll to his ear.
It went straight to her voicemail. Odd that she wouldn't answer. It wasn't that late back in Vale. In fact, the Vytal Tournament should have been ongoing at this very moment. Maybe she was watching it with her sister?
No matter. He would just have to get a hold of her another time. Stepping back into the tent, Qrow decided he would just have to enjoy more tea with his family. A family which was one step closer to being reunited.
Seated in a reserved section of the stands, Weiss felt immense pride as she saw her leader, her love, her mate, and her Alpha, making his way into the middle of the arena. For the first time since their time in Salem's realm, Jaune would be facing a foe in a one-on-one contest.
She knew in her heart that he would emerge victorious. After all, he was among the strongest humans she'd ever encountered. Her sister Winter, who was still missing, had to be at the top of that list. Weiss' teeth clenched as she thought about how long it had been since she'd seen her kin, but as she looked down upon Jaune she remembered his words. Her sister was a very important person and probably had very important work to do. The memory of those words alone were enough to stave off the anger and anxiety which would have otherwise washed over her at the mere thought of never seeing her beloved sister once more.
Soon this would all be over, however. When this tournament was finally over and they were set free from their commitments here at Beacon Academy, Weiss dreamed not of returning to Evernight Castle and rejoining Salem's school, but to live a life with her family and her pack. She didn't yet know where they would go or what they would do, but returning to her old life wasn't an option anymore. She'd learned so much since visiting the human realm. She's tasted so much delicious human food. She'd watched so much premium human... entertainment. She'd even met her blood-kin along the way, which was something she'd never even thought possible until the night of the dance.
All they had to do was make it through this last round. Win or lose in the actual fight, her team, her pack, would win in the end.
Lost in thought, and lost at the sight of Jaune below her, Weiss failed to realize that someone had taken a seat beside her. It wasn't until she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder did she turn to regard the new arrival.
Bunny girl?
It had been a while since Weiss had seen Velvet, but even after such a long break between meetings, it took only an instant for the memories of their time together to flood back into her heart and mind. A kindred spirit if there ever was one, Velvet had taken Weiss' side when she'd gotten in trouble with Professor Goodwitch for speaking her mind. Velvet had been the one to introduce Weiss to the wonderful world of internet documentaries. She was another prime example of the benefits Weiss had reaped since traveling to the human world.
"Oh, Velvet," she greeted cheerfully. "What brings you here today?"
Velvet replied with a tiny, shy smile on her lips. Glancing down at her lap, Weiss noticed how she toyed with her fingers. Aside from the physical display, the emotional output which only Weiss could perceive told her that this girl was feeling a little bit of nervousness as well.
"Hello, Wren. I, um, well I wanted to thank you again," the faunus girl began. "For giving me courage and for being an example of who to be and how to act."
Weiss preened under the praise. Faunus or not, it was good that someone else realized how great and wonderful she was, and was willing to say so openly. Jaune may have praised her, sure, but the other hybrids didn't. Velvet was a true friend to be so grateful for Weiss and her genius.
"I'm happy to have helped," Weiss answered, though she honestly couldn't remember just what she'd said or done to earn such praise. No matter, however. Just existing was enough to warrant such a reaction from others.
Velvet's smile deepened, showing teeth as her mood shifted to become more and more positive. Her voice also shrank until it was little more than a whisper. "It's thanks to you that I... I... found my..."
Weiss leaned in, eager to hear just what Velvet had to say. "Your what?"
"I got a pack of my own!" Velvet squealed softly, though the enthusiasm in her voice was undeniable. "All thanks to you! You gave me the courage I needed to ignore the negative stereotypes which might come with being a rabbit faunus and to just go for what I wanted. And I wanted it all!"
A pack? Velvet had formed a pack of her own?
"Wait, does this mean you're the-"
"Alpha?" Velvet cut her off, grinning from ear to ear as she nodded. "Yep! I'm the Alpha female, which is really strange considering that Coco's part of it. Her, Yatsuhashi, Fox... it's all one big team pack!"
Beaming with pride, Weiss couldn't help but feel her special connection with this girl deepen. She recalled how Velvet had come to her, wishing that she could have a pack of her own, but how societal norms frowned upon such ambitions. It seemed that like a true Alpha, Velvet had decided to ignore what other people thought and go for what she wanted.
Truly she was worthy of being a friend of Weiss Schnee.
Grabbing Velvet's hands in her own, Weiss allowed her own emotions to spill forth as the two bonded over their shared interests once more. "I am very proud of you, Velvet!" she gushed. "Congratulations!"
Nodding in agreement and acceptance, Velvet continued to beam. "Without you I never would have believed a polyamorous relationship was possible in real life, but seeing you and your teammates made me a believer. So I just decided to go for it, you know? I had this reputation of being a timid girl, so no one saw it coming when I came out and said that we should just all... you know, date each other. Definitely not Coco. You should have seen her jaw drop when she said that she'd finally get to have a piece of pie she thought was always off limits."
There was such a thing as a pie that was off limits to humans and faunus? What could make a pie that special? Weiss had tasted several flavors since coming to Vale, and the thought of a forbidden pie intrigued her.
Perhaps she would need to get with Jaune later and discuss this forbidden pie, and if it would be possible for her to taste it. The two of them along with Ruby could enjoy the pie together. How wonderful that there were still new and exciting experiences just waiting for her around every corner.
"You shall make a fine Alpha for your pack, Velvet," Weiss told her. "As I've learned, it is not always who is the biggest physically or the strongest, but who can dominate the others with sheer force of will."
Velvet giggled embarrassedly. "Hehe... dominate you say..."
Weiss sensed something new and different emanating from Velvet now. A strong and powerful emotion. One which radiated control and authority.
"Mmm, something smells nice," another voice said, causing Weiss to turn.
Ruby had just arrived, taking the seat on the other side of Weiss. She too was here to watch their mate compete.
"Might be the popcorn," Velvet suggested. "Speaking of which," she added, standing up from her own seat. "I'm going to go grab some before the match starts. Want anything?"
Weiss shook her head. "No, I've eaten already today. I do not wish to gorge myself too much before having a victory celebration with Jaune tonight."
Velvet nodded. "Yeah, good call. I'll be right back though. I need some calories to keep up with Yats though."
Weiss still didn't know what a Yats was, but she nodded all the same as Velvet ascended the steps to get her food.
"I wonder who Jaune's gonna face," Ruby asked as the two watched him down below.
"Whoever it is, they stand no chance against him. No mere human or faunus could ever hope to compete with what all of us overcame back..."
Weiss had been about to say home, but stopped herself. That place, it was no longer home for her. It never had been. Weiss' home, as it turned out, was a city floating in the sky. A beautiful and icy land of forever winter, where her snow-white hair and icy-blue eyes would make her one of its ruling class. She'd always considered herself to be a queen, and now that she'd met Winter and learned of her true family's origin, she knew it to be true in reality as well.
As moments ticked by, Weiss and Ruby watched with rapt attention as soon only one of the remaining finalists stood out there with Jaune. She heard her friend gasp from her side, and Weiss glanced over to see Ruby's eyes widen and her fingers come up to cover her lips.
"Penny?" she asked, sounding frightened with the utterance of the name.
Weiss brushed off any concern. "It doesn't matter," she said with a flippant wave of her hand. "She is a normal, unremarkable human. She stands no chance against Jaune."
Ruby nodded, but didn't seem to relax. "I know that. It's just... she's my friend. I don't want Jaune to hurt her. I like Penny."
"Come now, Jaune won't hurt her..." Weiss let the words linger in the air before continuing. "Too badly."
"Wei... why, Wren!"
Giggling to herself, Weiss locked her fingers together and rested her chin atop them. "Fear not for your friend. Jaune is a strong and powerful Alpha, but he is also kind and gentle. He will not beat her within an inch of her life. I just know he won't."
Ruby whined pathetically. Perhaps Weiss was going a bit too far with the teasing. It was just so fun though! Since she'd started reading Mistrali graphic literature, Weiss had taken a liking to what had been categorized as the 'tsundere' archetype. As part of the role, she had to be mean sometimes, but sweet at others.
Seeing how she'd done the mean part, Weiss decided to switch her attitude in order to fulfill the part.
Wrapping an arm around Ruby's shoulders, she pulled the girl close to her. "You are my packmate and I care for you dearly. Let us both eat pie tonight with Jaune in order to celebrate his victory."
Weiss felt Ruby's emotional state shift immediately, and the audible gasp which passed from her lips was music to Weiss' ears.
"Pie!" Ruby exclaimed, seemingly forgetting about Weiss' teasing. If there was anyone who loved food as much as Weiss, it was Ruby. Jaune had gone so far as to dub her his Cookie Monster, after all.
Patting Ruby on the head, Weiss released her so that the two of them could watch the beginning of the match with both of their undivided attention.
Jaune faced off from his final foe of the tournament. Not because she was the only remaining competitor, but because he had no reason, nor desire, to proceed any further.
"Salutations, Jaune Arc!" Penny Polendina greeted him with the warmth and kindness he'd come to expect from her.
Offering her a friendly wave, Jaune smiled back at her. "Hey, Penny."
"I am looking forward to a great match with you," she continued. "This is going to be so much fun! Let the best fighter win."
He nodded at the statement. "Yeah. Good luck to you."
Truth be told, while the words to Penny weren't empty, the intent behind them was. Jaune had no intention of winning this match, much less the entire tournament. He did, however, at least want to put on a good show. A quick and easy loss at this point in the one-on-one rounds would only bring suspicion upon him. After everything which had already taken place, the last thing Jaune needed was for more prying eyes to be on him and his team. Aside from this, his reasons also included pride.
It was funny that after all he'd been through the past year that a silly little feeling like pride still mattered to him. He was only human, after all, and he didn't want to go down easily against the girl from Atlas. It was his pride as a man. His pride as a warrior. He also wanted his girls to be proud of him. He was their pack's Alpha, after all. What kind of Alpha would he be if he went down like a chump to Penny?
At this stage of the tournament there would be no fancy gimmicks. No randomized terrain. No environments to manipulate. No, this would be strictly about skill. No cover, no obstacles, no excuses. Only the blades and the bullets of the Huntsmen and Huntresses would decide what came next.
Drawing Crocea Mors from its sheath, Jaune held his family's ancestral sword up, gazing at the reflection of his eyes in the blade's polished surface. He wondered if his family would be watching right now. He wondered if they would be proud of him for standing here alone on live international CCTV. After all, he'd gone off to attend a 'Huntsman Academy' all those months ago. This would be the inevitable fruits of all his labor.
The announcer counted down from the overhead PA system.
"Three... two... one... begin!"
From out of nowhere, more than half a dozen swords appeared, somehow being controlled by Penny's hand movements alone. She whirled them around in the air in an impressive display of finesse, and for a moment Jaune stood there spellbound by just how she was able to control so many weapons without even laying a finger on any of them.
His enthrallment was short-lived, however, as with a flick of her wrist the swords came thrusting toward him, forcing Jaune to sprint forward. Instead of meeting them, however, Jaune dove and rolled, narrowly avoiding the attacks, and more importantly, closing the distance with a girl who could seemingly use a traditionally melee weapon at a distance.
Watching Penny's arm movements, she pulled them back toward her body, and Jaune's instincts which had been honed after months of being on constant guard for attacks from Grimm, hybrids, and especially Blake, told him to look behind him.
Sure enough the swords were returning to Penny, and in doing so, set them on another collision course with Jaune. Throwing himself down to the ground, Jaune lay as flat as he could make himself, causing the weapons of his foe to fly over his prone body again without doing him harm.
She's good, he thought as he picked himself back up. Way better than me. But I didn't survive Salem's school just to go down in less than a minute.
Knowing that his only advantage lay in being able to get his hands on Penny, Jaune activated his Semblance in order to boost his Aura. He would need to be able to tank a few hits moving forward, and the shorter the distance got, the less capable he would be of evading the attacks his foe threw at him.
With his shield up in front of his body Jaune rushed Penny again to try and close more distance between her. To his surprise Penny pulled her blades back, where they began to spin around in a circular formation.
What came next was a surprise to Jaune, and without warning a massive beam of green energy shot out from the collective swords, forcing him to halt in his tracks. Unable to dodge the lightning-quick assault, all he had time to do was raise his shield to cover his torso and head. The beam slammed into it, sending him crashing backwards, where he slid on the concrete floor of the arena before halting.
With the wind and sense knocked out of him, Jaune barely had time to scramble to his feet before Penny was upon him.
He rolled to his side before half a dozen blades came down as one, narrowly missing him as they bit into the arena floor. Jaune rolled as they followed him like a scythe trying to reap wheat, and in one swift motion born of adrenaline and over-amped Aura, Jaune was able to push himself up onto a knee and use both his sword and shield to block the attacking blades.
What Penny had in speed and finesse, Jaune had in raw power. Pushing himself back up to his feet, Jaune cast aside the attacking swords he was locked in combat with, and shoved himself forward past them to get at Penny. Errant blades which had been waiting struck him from the sides, but his immense Aura was enough to shake off the direct hits he took. In doing so he was able to finally close the gap between himself and Penny, and with a mighty swing he struck with Crocea Mors directly at the girl's head.
A pair of the floating swords came up crossed in order to block the strike, and so Jaune lashed out next with his shield to bash her in the skull. Two more swords stopped him from connecting once more, and he knew there were still at least four more out there ready to strike him again any moment now.
With his best options denied, Jaune acted on instinct. Learning combat from a school where only life and death mattered meant that playing fairly and cleanly wasn't an option, and it wouldn't be here either. He still had his legs, and Penny was a wide open target.
Kicking out, Jaune's steel-toed boot connected squarely with Penny's stomach, but to his surprise, the girl didn't double over in pain. Jaune had heard of abs of steel before, but the feeling of his toes meeting her body just didn't feel... real.
He didn't have time to contemplate it further before the missing blades found their home in his back, striking with pinpoint accuracy to avoid his armored torso and finding the weak points near his joints.
Jaune screamed in pain as he fell forward, being driven down to a knee once more. It couldn't end here. Not like this. Not before he'd even managed to land a single solid blow against her.
Lifting his head to gaze up at Penny, he realized just how far out of his league she was. She was almost beyond human. How could someone move so fast? How could she be so coordinated? How was it that a strike from his powerful legs did nothing to even faze her?
More. He needed more Aura. More power. More strength! This wasn't over! It wasn't over by a long shot!
Jaune's body glowed white as he consumed more and more Aura. It didn't matter how much he drained. He had plenty to spare. In an instant the pain washed away. His muscles overflowed with power. His weapons and armor felt light as a feather. His willpower was maximum. Before he went down, he would at least give these people a good show. He would give Penny a good fight. He would give Ruby, Weiss, and Blake a performance they could be proud of.
With more strength and speed he had ever experienced before, Jaune propelled himself forward and practically flew at Penny. Her raised swords were battered aside by his shield, and Crocea Mors smashed through another pair, striking the girl's body and finally, at long last, a flash of green rippled over her body.
Penny retreated a moment later, using her spinning and whirling blades to keep Jaune at a distance while she collected herself. Using Aura at this rate wasn't the smartest move, and he wouldn't last much longer consuming this amount, but at least he would go down looking like a real Huntsman while doing so.
Perched atop Amity Coliseum, Cinder Fall watched the fight on the large screen. Too far away to see the intricate movements of the fighters, she could still see everything she needed to.
Penny's Aura meter had taken a severe hit, but she still had three-quarters to spare. Jaune on the other hand, well, the fool was rapidly depleting his Aura with whatever technique he was utilizing. Combined with the several hits Penny had landed on him, and he was almost out.
Conjuring a bow made of Glass in one hand, Cinder brought her scroll up and dialed one of the only numbers in it.
"Yes, ma'am?" the voice of Emerald answered on the other end.
"Are you in position?" she asked her subordinate.
"I am. These two will be easy to manipulate."
True enough. They weren't particularly intelligent in the first place. Combined with Emerald's Semblance, they would believe exactly what Cinder wanted them to believe.
Cinder smiled. "Good. Make them see it just how I told you."
"Understood, ma'am."
Hanging up without a word, Cinder returned the scroll to her pocket before hefting her own weapon.
Glass. It was such a wonderful little thing. Cinder was particularly adept at its manipulation and control as well. A glass arrow fired from her bow did not need to worry about things like wind, velocity, nor the movements of its target. No, with Glass, Cinder could control where it went in mid-flight. An arrow which might have otherwise been deflected by a shield could break itself apart and rematerialize as it passed over and beyond the obstruction to its true target.
Taking aim at the battle down below, Cinder closed an eye, still wishing to get as close to her target even with the ability to control her arrow's flight path.
"And this is where your story ends," she said softly. "I appreciate the hard work you've put in. It will not be for nothing. In fact, we're only just getting started."
Cinder let the arrow loose, and as she watched it descend down toward the arena, she took a deep breath. Her destiny was upon her. She was going to receive everything she deserved before the night was over.
Ruby looked on with worry. Jaune was the strongest human she knew. How was he being so badly outmatched by Penny?
She couldn't be angry, however. Penny was her friend. Her second-closest human friend. Well, maybe her closest. Jaune was her lover, after all, and that was way better than being just a friend. Whatever the case, the fact that the two closest humans in her life were fighting was nothing short of a nightmare for the hybrid.
Most of the hits had been taken by Jaune, and he'd only landed one good one. Now he was backed into a corner, and literally so, as Penny wove a delicate and effortless dance with her many swords. There was just no coming back from this, was there?
"It's not fair!" Weiss screamed. "She must be cheating somehow!"
The fact that Penny was moving her swords without touching them confused Ruby, but she'd just assumed it was some human technology she wasn't familiar with.
Jaune, to her dismay, would not win this fight. As she saw him take more and more hits from the seemingly unstoppable force that was Penny Polendina, Ruby grimly accepted this fact. She didn't want to, and it almost felt like a betrayal to even think such a thing, but there was no mistaking it. Ruby had seen many fights in her day, and this was one Jaune simply could not win. Thankfully, unlike most of the others she'd witnessed, this one was not to the death.
"Weiss..." she said with quiet sadness, soft enough so that only the girl next to her would hear her true name being spoken.
"Jaune is stronger than her!" the white-haired hybrid insisted. "He can come back!"
Ruby smiled sadly, admiring Weiss' loyalty and determination. No, as much as she wanted him to come back, Jaune's match was over. But that was okay. That meant that they would be able to enjoy themselves for the rest of this festival. They would have no more matches to fight. No more commitments to meet. They would all be able to hang out together on the fairgrounds. They would play more games. They would eat more food. They would hold hands, and kiss, and do all of the wonderful things Ruby had come to love doing with her boyfriend.
He was down there fighting so hard. Battling to the very end. He'd block one sword only to be hit by another. And another. There were so many of them that sometimes it was hard to keep track. Swords came and went. Swords appeared from nowhere.
A sword was flying down from above him.
A sword pierced his breastplate and penetrated his chest.
Jaune was knocked backwards from the impact, causing the back of his head to slam against the arena wall.
He slid down, slumped forward where one of Penny's swords protruded from his chest.
A hush fell over the arena. Ruby could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Her voice was little more than a squeak, but in the silence it sounded as loud as thunder.
"Jaune?"
He wasn't moving. Jaune wasn't moving. She was far away, but Ruby could sense no emotions from him either. No positive. No negative.
"Jaune?" she repeated, louder this time. Her breathing hitched as she began to inhale and exhale quicker and quicker.
The fact that Weiss was beside her no longer even mattered. If she'd said something, Ruby couldn't hear her. Her eyes were on Jaune alone. Jaune, who wasn't moving. Jaune, who lay there with a sword stuck in his heart.
Jaune, who had just been killed by her friend Penny Polendina.
Wetness welled up in Ruby's eyes. The strange, human sensation which she had once found so confusing didn't seem to matter anymore. Liquid dripped down her cheeks as her silver eyes stared at the boy she loved not moving. Taken from her. Stolen from her.
Her breaths became ragged, and her skin began to pale. As seconds passed by, black veins began to show on her arms. She didn't care. All that she cared about was that the person she loved most in this world was dead.
Undying love shifted to unquenchable hate. Total elation to utter despair. The desire to protect all life, to wishing to snuff it out entirely.
Eyes of shining silver flickered to glimmering gold.
Ruby screamed, her blood curdling cry of sorrow and grief filling the silence of an arena which had only just begun to experience what death truly was.
The Seer which had been smuggled into Vale to keep in contact with Cinder floated overhead, close to where the girl in question had been standing seconds ago. It would likely soon perish in what was to come, but it mattered not.
Salem had a bird's eye view of what was taking place, and it was magnificent.
Ruby Rose, a flower so carefully cultivated and nurtured, had finally blossomed into the being Salem had been waiting for. She had been given so much only for it to be ripped away from her in a heartbeat. It had sent her over the edge, just as Salem had been all those millennia ago.
Maidens came and went, reborn in every generation and free for the taking. Relics were eternal, forever locked in whatever vaults Ozma had crafted for them, and would be obtained at her leisure.
But a Golden Eyed Warrior? Truly a rarity among rarities. A once in a lifetime opportunity to find. And Salem had lived a very, very long life indeed. One filled with experimentation. One with new kinds of Grimm being spawned. One where even Silver Eyed Warriors had been used to create sentient, intelligent Grimm.
However, nothing compared to the sheer beauty of what Ruby Rose had become. A being which had completely abandoned her instinct to protect life. One who instead wished to take it.
She was the ultimate force of destruction now. Nothing would stand in her path.
And then, in the wake of the devastation which was about to take place, humanity would realize with grim reality that any of them could be a beast. That any could be an imposter among them. That friends, family, lovers… they could all be monsters just waiting for the opportunity to tear them apart. Just as Ruby was about to do.
Humanity would tear itself apart out of fear just as it always did. And when they did, Ruby would be her ultimate creation, her champion, which would lead her forces to conquer humanity once and for all.
Salem smiled serenely, as if Summer Rose's daughter was her own. "Just as silver eyes are activated by the desire to protect life, golden eyes rely on the absolute desire to destroy everything in their path. And you, my dear child, you have the most beautiful pair I've seen yet."
Author's Note: Been a while, which has been a common refrain over the past few chapters. What can I say? When I get into a painting mood, as I've been in over the past few months, that's really all I can focus my creative efforts on. But at least now we're finally in the end game. Not much further to go.
Golden Eyed Warriors are another creation of Dishwasher1910, and Salem's dialogue is taken directly from the source. This has been the plan for a good five years now. As always, my thanks go out to Dish, because without their art this story never would have been a thing.
As a side note, if you like Jaune trash you should totally check out the other story I just updated last week, Mallobaude Writes Jaune Trash! You'll regret it!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, thanks for reading.