2,567A/N: Apologies for the delay here, folks. Writer's block is a bane I would't wish upon anyone.
Can anyone see this? App went down, just so you know.
No wonder this got so little feedback. That really broke our spirit, Dark and I worked so hard on this, too...T_T
Every review really does help, large or small...any feedback is better than nothing at all.
Updates might be a bit scuffed for a bit, my sister is undergoing surgery-need to look after her-but I'll do my best. Feedback really helps in these trying times.
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RWBY's "Trapdoor" song fit this chapter perfectly, at least for me.
As a reminder, the Winter maiden is presently "split" between Penny and Winter, while Ciel holds the power of Fall, having stolen it from Cinder.
"You don't need me anymore...
~?
Trapdoor
Yang Xiao Long had always been a firebrand.
It was her way, was who she was, and she made no apologies for it.
She burned, bright and reckless, like a sun that refused to dim, a phoenix ever reborn.
But now?
Now she sat shackled, slumped in the sterile chill of Atlas's military disciplinary wing, her trademark swagger hollowed out into silence. Her eyes—once vibrant with heat—barely lifted from the floor. Her skin was pale, bruised. Not from the guards. From the fallout of everything she'd tried to do.
Not like she could do much now. She'd already been down an arm, her prosthetic taken from her. They'd simply slapped on more restraints, physical or otherwise. Naruto watched her. He didn't pace. Didn't raise his voice. He just stood there, coat draped like stormclouds around him, hands folded behind his back as if he were restraining a tempest.
"Sit," he said, his voice quiet but resonant. Not a suggestion.
Yang obeyed. The chair scraped softly on the tile.
"I was just trying to see her," she murmured, voice rough. "That's all."
That was all?! Anger swelled up in his chest, threatened to come boiling out his mouth in a barbed retort before he mastered himself. "You broke out of confinement," he replied, every word slow and sharp. "You injured three men. One of them's in surgery."
Yang looked away.
He didn't let her; he lashed out, seized her by the face and wrenched her visage around to meet his.
"And because of you," he said, softer now—but not gentler—"Ruby hasn't left her room in two days."
She flinched. And good. She should flinch.
"You think that's what she needs right now? Her sister getting dragged back in restraints?"
"I didn't mean—"
"No. You didn't. That's the point."
Silence. The kind that rang louder than any shout.
Naruto took a breath. "You're benched. Your semblance is suppressed." thanks to his blood pills, though he'd never tell her that was what neutralized it. "Effective immediately, you're under armed supervision and restricted to quarters until further notice."
Yang didn't argue. Not because she agreed, but because—maybe for the first time—she understood the weight of what she'd done.
A soft tone blinked on the door panel. Red.
Blake Belladonna entered, her posture straight but her eyes dulled by exhaustion. She didn't wear cuffs. But she looked like she carried the weight of them anyway.
Elm followed close behind, arms folded, face unreadable.
Naruto turned to Blake, his voice shifting, though still firm.
"You didn't run. You didn't lash out. That matters."
Blake nodded once. "I wasn't going to abandon her."
Yang croaked weakly at the sight of her. "Blake? I can explain-
"Save it."
"I know." He gestured, and a soldier stepped forward with a small black anklet—a device humming with quiet energy. "You're being fitted with a proximity monitor. Leave your zone, and it triggers a beacon. If you try to remove it, it'll mark you for retrieval. Don't make me send someone."
"I won't," she said simply.
Naruto stepped back and Elm take over.
But just before the guards moved, he paused. Looked between the two girls—one burned out, the other dimmed—and his expression shifted. The weight in his eyes changed. Not anger anymore. Not command.
Just… tired understanding.
"I get it," he said at length. "You were trying to protect someone you love. So was I."
Yang blinked, caught off guard.
"That's the only reason we're still having this conversation," he finished. "But next time you let your heart override your judgment, it won't just be your freedom you lose."
No lecture. No guilt trip. Just truth.
He turned away, the door hissing open behind him as snow howled faintly outside.
"Go," he said. "And pray to whatever you believe in that Ruby's still willing to forgive you."
(.0.0.0.)
In a quieter hall, far from the ringing boots of guards and the sterile hush of Atlas command, Qrow Branwen sat on the floor with his back to a closed door. His coat was wrinkled. His flask was half-full. And his heart was damn near empty.
He knocked twice, knuckles dull against the cold metal.
No response, he wouldn't be so lucky.
Ruby was ruined.
A hot mess.
Weeping.
He wanted to stab the cause of it; but he couldn't do that without hurting her. He could hear her behind the door, locked and sealed, muffled All the work Whiskers had done to help her, undone by Yang's latest escape attempt. Damnit, firecracker. Just couldn't help herself, could she?
Didn't help that she wasn't alone.
"How's she holding up?"
Weiss huffed, pushed off the wall. and glared at him. "How do you think?"
He laughed. "Hey, now, don't make me Schneeze."
Myrtenaster came out and up. "I will HARM you."
"Promises, promises."
Frankly she wasn't as fun to tease, not like Winter; but something told him the pregnant Schnee wouldn't much appreciate his biting marks right about now. Heh, he knew she preferred bites from someone else anyway.
So tormenting her sister it was.
"Just...leave her be." Weiss huffed. "I will talk to her."
"Bad idea." he took another drink. "You're part of the problem."
She bridled. "And you aren't?"
"Nope."
"You're a drunken lout!
"Yup."
"Do you honestly think you can fix her?"
"Yuuuuuuuuuuuup. Speakin' a which, you seen Whiskers?
The young Schnee sniffed. "Gone to check on my sister. He's been ignoring her. Look, leave Ruby to me. I can handle this."
"No can do. Let 'ol uncle Qrow handle this."
"You are not my uncle."
"Good thing, too. Woulda tanned your hid by now."
Weiss raised Myrtenaster.
"Alright, alright. I'll be gentle." he raised his hands in faux surrender. "Go save your sister before those two freeze the west wing over."
Weiss balked. "Surely you don't think she would...
"Considering she has half the maiden's power split with Penny...?"
Weiss didn't need to be told twice, she scarpered.
That got him what he wanted.
"Finally...
Stopping before Ruby's lone door, he sat down.
"Hey, petal." he drawled. "Sorry about all that ruckus. You good?"
Silence was his answer.
"Yeah, stupid question." he sighed. "I know you're not."
"..."
"Y'know," he said, voice rough with whiskey and weariness, "your mom used to do this too."
No answer.
He leaned his head back, eyes on the ceiling, as if the words would drift better that way.
"She'd get in a mood," he continued apropos of nothing, "shut herself in and pretend that if she didn't move, the world couldn't touch her. Thought silence made her strong. Thought stillness was armor."
A pause.
"But strength… that's not silence, kid."
Still nothing. Not even a shift of breath.
He took a long drink. Let the burn remind him he was still alive.
"She was wrong," he said after a beat. "And I think you know that already. Otherwise, you wouldn't still be listening."
He tapped the flask against his knee. The rhythm was off.
"Yang's a dumbass," he muttered. "Always has been. Hot-blooded, hot-headed, hot everything. But she's your dumbass. Always has been that too."
A faint sound from behind the door. Not quite a sob. More like a breath trying not to become one.
Qrow exhaled slowly. "She's sorry. Probably crying harder than you are right now. Not that it's a competition." He snorted. "Hell, I'm crying more than both of you. That's embarrassing."
Silence again. He shook the flask, frowned, then tossed it gently to the side. It clinked once, then settled in the corner like even it had given up.
And then—finally—the softest sound.
Click.
The door creaked open just an inch. Just enough for a pair of bloodshot silver eyes to peek out. Ruby looked… smaller than he remembered. Red-rimmed. Tired. Her voice barely made it out.
"Uncle Qrow…"
He didn't move. Didn't make it dramatic. Just opened his arms, slow and steady, as if the moment might break if he rushed it.
Ruby stepped out and fell into him without a word.
She didn't sob. Not loudly. She just trembled. A quiet shiver that started in her shoulders and spread through her frame like winter creeping through old walls.
Qrow held her. One hand on the back of her head. The other around her shoulders. His breath caught in his throat for a second—just long enough to feel the years all crash down on him at once.
"I've got you, kid," he whispered. "Always."
They stayed like that for a long time.
(.0.0.0.)
This baby was trying to kill her!
Winter's fingers curled into the cot's edge, white-knuckled, as another contraction tore through her like a faultline splitting open. One eye blazed with Maiden flames, causing the temperature in the room to plummet as she grit her teeth and grappled for control of her own body; which seemed determined to destroy her. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Not now. Not yet.
Her breath hitched—sharp, short, broken.
Too soon.
"Damn it," she hissed under her breath, one arm clutching her belly. "Not yet. Not now."
The door burst open.
Naruto was there in a heartbeat, coat half-thrown over one shoulder, eyes blazing with alertness. The moment he saw her—saw the way she hunched forward, the tremor in her legs, the sweat on her brow—his expression shifted.
He was at her side in seconds, crouching, reaching for her hand. She tried to brush him off—pride sparking even through pain—but her grip found his anyway. Tight. Needy. Real.
They might have their differences, disagreements, had grown somehwat apart as a result, but at the end of the day this was a life they'd brought into this world together. No true parents wanted to see their child suffer, estranged or otherwise.
"You're not due yet," he murmured, his voice low and unsteady. Worry bled into every syllable, no matter how he tried to hold it back. "Two months. At least. That's what the doctors said."
"Tell that to my body," she ground out, sweat dripping down her temple. "Or better yet, tell it to our daughter."
His hand wrapped around hers, thumb stroking across her skin with steady, grounding pressure.
"Wendy's strong," he whispered. "Like her mother."
Winter's breath caught in her throat; not from the pain, but the fear.
Nor the kind that came in battle. That fear, she knew. That fear could be folded, filed, buried beneath discipline. But this?
"I'm scared," she said, voice cracking like thin glass. Her tone lacked the cold poise she wore like armor. This was something else. A confession, rare and unguarded. "I'm scared of dying. Of failing. Of what I'll become to keep her safe."
Naruto didn't speak right away.
He squeezed her hand again. Firm. Reassuring.
"Then be scared," he said finally. "It means you care enough to fight. You're not weak, Winter. You're becoming a mother."
His forehead touched hers.
And for a long second, they simply breathed—together. Her trembling softening, his presence a steady anchor in the storm breaking inside her.
"You're becoming the kind of woman who'll scare the hell out of anyone who threatens her kid," he continued, lips brushing her brow. "And that's more than enough."
Winter closed her eyes.
She let herself lean into him, just slightly. Just enough to forget, for one breath, the weight of duty. The expectations. The fear.
And then—because she was Winter Schnee, and some things never changed—she muttered, "Don't think this means I like you."
He could've teased her, reminded her that she'd liked a certain something very much indeed, but abstained.
Naruto chuckled against her skin. "Wouldn't dream of assuming."
But his hand never left hers.
And she didn't let go.
The door burst open.
Penny poked her head in a moment later. "Is Wendy here, yet?"
Winter pelted her face with a pillow.
"OUT!"
(.?.?.?.)
General James Ironwood stirred beneath warm sheets, the kind that hadn't seen his company for more than a few hours in weeks. Light filtered through the frosted glass dome above the penthouse, refracting through the remnants of snowfall on the outer pane. It painted the ceiling in pale blues and silver grays, quiet and cold, like Atlas itself.
A soft sound drew him back from the edge of sleep.
He blinked. Paused. Realized, surprised.
Even old soldiers got lucky.
"Mmm… morning," Robyn Hill murmured, voice sleep-rough but warm as she curled closer, a lazy stretch arching her back. Her fingers, calloused from years of fighting and politics alike, grazed his chest. "You snore."
"I do not," Ironwood replied, blinking toward the ceiling, the corners of his mouth twitching.
"You do. And you grind your teeth." Her tone was teasing, but not unkind. "Like you're chewing rebar in your dreams."
"Occupational hazard," he said dryly.
Their laughter—small, private, and real—lingered in the space between breaths. It didn't last.
His scroll buzzed on the nightstand. The sharp trill cut through the softness like a blade.
Ironwood's smile faded. He reached for the device, exhaling through his nose. "Of course."
Robyn rolled onto her side, propped up on one elbow. "Let me guess—Naruto?"
He tapped the screen. The display lit up.
"Yes," he muttered. "This early can only mean one thing."
Naruto's image snapped into place. His expression said the rest. That stoic calm, sharpened with an edge of fatigue. Shadows under the eyes. The kind of look a soldier wears when they're holding the line longer than they should.
"We've had a situation," Naruto said, voice clipped. "Yang broke containment. She's back under control, but there was damage. Three guards down. One's in surgery. Ruby's not taking it well."
Ironwood's jaw tightened. He sat up fully, covers falling away, exposing the armored undersuit beneath his half-peeled uniform. Sleep was already fleeing him like mist.
"How bad?" he asked.
"Contained. But fragile," Naruto replied, tone laced with exasperated anger. "I've handled the sentencing. Just figured you'd want to hear it from me before the paperwork lands on your desk."
"I'll be there in thirty."
Naruto nodded once and ended the call.
The penthouse was quiet again. Too quiet.
Robyn's hand found his back, steady and warm. "You okay?"
"Never," he said. But his voice was gentler than expected.
"I'll have coffee waiting."
Ironwood stood too, boots already half-on. "Strong."
She smacked his hindquarters.
Wicked woman.
"I know how you take it," she said over her shoulder as she sauntered past, hips swaying. "Black as the sky above Mantle and twice as bitter."
He smirked, just barely. "You say the sweetest things."
Robyn didn't look back. She didn't need to.
(.0.0.0.)
The storm outside the Schnee manor hadn't reached the windows yet, but inside, it raged in the echo of footsteps and accusations.
Weiss Schnee paced like a blade drawn too long from its sheath—sharp, restless, and dangerously close to snapping.
Naruto almost found himself tempted to poke, if only to see which was she would go.
Two of her teammates had betrayed her, Ruby had locked herself in her room, and now this? Small wonder she was at her wit's end. He would be too, if he was in her shoes. Betrayal was a painful thing. Penny and Ciel were his world; he'd be heartbroken if they turned on him. She had her work cut out for her.
Still, that didn't make her a bad person.
Lost?
Yes.
Misguided? Certainly.
Evil?
Not a chance. She cared too much. That was her problem.
"Why didn't you tell me about Winter?" she hissed, her voice low and laced with venom, arms folded tight across her chest like she needed them to keep herself together. "You kept it secret. Again."
Naruto stood motionless in the sitting room, hands at his sides, posture rigid. The fire behind him crackled, throwing flickers of gold across the marble floor and the soft upholstery. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes—those told another story.
"I didn't keep it secret," he said, tone low and steady. "I kept it private. There's a difference."
"She's my sister," Weiss snapped, rounding on him.
"She's—" He caught himself. The word hung between them like a loaded chamber. Mine.
He didn't finish the sentence. Didn't need to.
Instead, his eyes locked with hers. "You're not angry for her. You're angry for control."
That landed.
The words hung in the air, sharp and charged, like lightning trapped in crystal. The kind of truth that didn't wound until it echoed. Weiss went still. Her mouth opened—then shut. Her hands trembled faintly where they gripped her sleeves. And then her voice returned, quieter now, but no less cutting.
"She almost died, Naruto."
"I know." His voice cracked just enough to fracture the room. "I was there."
The fire in her seemed to dim. Or maybe it was just the silence.
Their anger curled inward, folding in on itself like wilted paper. In its place came something colder. Sharper. Grief.
Not loud. Not violent.
But deep. Like the kind that lived in the bones.
Weiss blinked. The weight in her chest turned to lead.
"You weren't there," he added. Not as an accusation. Just… fact.
"And I wasn't going to let her do it alone."
Naruto stepped forward, just once.
"…Wendy's going to need you too," he said. "So think about that before you pick another fight. Not with me. With yourself."
(.0.0.0.)
Neo looked up from her project.
Glanced toward the sky.
Was that a cloud?
.
..
...no, it wasn't.
Realization broke from the dawn, and with it came a great calm. There was no fear. No dread. No concern for her impending demise-and she knew that she likely would should her plan succeed-but only the quiet certainty that she would finally have what she had sought for so very, very long.
Vengeance was at hand.
Blondie had been right after all.
Rising, she set her tools aside and looked to the heavens.
A thunderstorm was approaching. Dark. Unnatural. Anyone could see that it was made by nature, but something darker.
And there within it, the cause of this; the one responsible for her misery..
For siccing Cinder on Roman.
For his untimely demise.
For all of it.
Vengeance.
Smiled, now.
Finally.
Vengeance.
(...Meanwhile...)
Watts looked up from his work.
Tutted softly to himself.
"Its about time."
(.0.0.0.)
Tyrian heard the telltale rumble of thunder from his cell.
Even broken and battered as he was, he heard.
At long last! His goddess had finally arrived!
These fools knew not what awaited them!
The madman giggled.
(.0.0.0.)
The air felt wrong.
The infirmary was quiet—too quiet.
No machines hummed. No wind rattled the windows. The silence pressed in like a vice, thick and unnatural, as if the world itself were holding its breath.
Pyrrha Nikos trembled.
She stood in the middle of the room, arms wrapped around herself like they were the only thing keeping her from shattering. Sweat slicked her brow, despite the chill in the air, and her emerald eyes darted without focus—like prey sensing a predator it couldn't see.
"It's happening again," she whispered, voice a trembling thread of sound barely audible over her own heartbeat.
Jaune Arc stood nearby, worry etched in the lines of his face, fists clenched at his sides. He took a careful step toward her, keeping his voice low. Steady. Grounded.
"What is, Pyrrha? What's happening?"
"I don't know!" she screamed.
The suddenness of it shocked the room. Her voice cracked like thunder in the stillness, and she clawed at her temples, fingers curling through her hair as if she could rip the noise from her skull.
"I just—" she gasped, panting, eyes wide with panic. "I hear her!"
Blood trickled from her nose, a slow, crimson line that ran over her lip and dripped onto the floor. Then her ears joined. Thin, steady streams that glistened against her flushed cheeks.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune rushed forward, reaching for her, heart racing now. "You're bleeding—we need to get you to—"
She shoved him back with a cry, her strength flaring in a wild burst. He stumbled, but didn't fall.
Pyrrha dropped to her knees, palms pressed against the cold tile as her breath came in shallow gasps. Her body trembled—no, convulsed—as though something inside her were fighting to be let out.
"I am me."
Wasn't she?
Her thoughts were jumbled.
"IT IS TIME."
No, no, nonononono...
Pyrrha gripped her skull and doubled over, pressing her head to the table. "Hurts...
Jaune stood up and circled the furniture quickly, reaching her in an instant.
Her nose was bleeding. So were her ears.
Her eyes unfocused. Then widened.
"She's here," Pyrrha hissed.
Her voice didn't sound like hers anymore.
It was lower. Too calm. Too certain.
"She's watching me."
The lights flickered.
The air grew colder.
And somewhere—far too close—something smiled.
(...At the edge of the clouds...)
From the high observatory of Atlas, Naruto stood still, the glass around him trembling.
"Report," he said to Steel through gritted teeth.
"Something massive," she replied, her voice unusually shaken. "Approaching at subsonic velocity. Composition… unknown."
Red lightning cracked through the sky. Nimbuses split. Shadows twisted.
His earpiece chimed.
Proximity alert.
His blood ran cold. There's something massive on the radar.
Was that a whale...?
He knew the answer already, though he dearly wished he didn't. He stalked past her to the window and gazed out at the cloud behind. Dark and gloomy nimbuses, crackling with red light. Hope warred with disbelief. No. It couldn't be. Not here. Not now. Not yet...not this soon.
But it was.
"Salem," Naruto whispered.
He didn't hear Penny and Ciel enter behind him, nor feel their gentle hands on his shoulder until they were there.
He spared each of them a glance and a rueful sigh besides. "She's early," he murmured.
"So are we," Penny said. "And we're not alone."
(...Above them, unseen...)
The clouds darkened, rippled as though a sea turned upside down.
From within the storm, tendrils of darkness stretched outward—slow, patient, eternal.
She had arrived.
Pyrrha screamed in unison with the sky, body wracked with unseen force.
Jaune shouted her name in vain.
Somewhere, glass shattered.
Alarms began to wail.
Salem was here.
A/N: She finally arrives! Now we can move onto the next arc!
As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story, welll...it won't be continued! That's no joke, folks. I'm so busy these days with virtually no days off. That makes my free time terribly limited and as such, I can't afford to focus on something folks don't like.
Reviews are my fuel. I can't write without them~! Not a wit or a word!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review, Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the previews! They're mostly the same.
Wouldn't do to spoil things, now!
And as ever:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
BEWARE~!
(Previews!)
"Is one life not worth peace?"
"You'll never stop at one!" Naruto crushed a Grimm's throat and flung it into a Berringel, bowling dozens down. "I'll take you all on! Y'see, I find this business rather fun." He gripped the brute by the shirt and hoisted them upright. "I don't want your assistance or your adulation...
A punch blasted his prey through the wall.
...what I want is your disintegration!"
Huh. That rhymed. Well go figure.
"Come on, then!" he spread his arms wide. "Call your friends! Two against one, or three, or four?! No! MORE!"
Salem looked to her pawn, this poor, broken thing filled with such hate.
She would do; oh yes, she would do very nicely indeed.
Pain often proved an excellent motivator, she found.
And there was no pain like losing a loved one.
Even if said love had been a lie.
Are you ready, Emerald?"
"Y...e...s...
"Listen to yourselves! None of this matters right now!"
"LOYALTY ALWAYS MATTERS!"
"You okay?"
Ruby tucked her knees into her chest. "Would you believe me if I said yes?"
Naruto sat beside her. "Not really, no...
being afraid isn't a bad thing. its my fear that brought me this far. Fear of failure, of loss, of not being good did you get rid of it? Who said anything about getting rid of it? Fear is what drives us. I'm afraid every day.
x
Later, in the courtyard…
Ruby's stance was wide. Focused. Her breathing was steady. Naruto rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck once.
"You sure about this?" he asked. "You just got out of bed."
"I need this," she said, eyes firm. "I need to feel like me again."
He nodded.
Their auras flared. Dust crunched under their feet.
First blow came fast. She closed the gap like a bullet—scythe spinning.
Naruto blocked with a raised forearm, smiling.
"Atta girl."
x
Penny squeezed his hand. "I do not like this plan. Please be safe. I love you."
She rushed the last bit out, freckled face red.
Naruto laughed a little. "Love you too."
"Excellent! Can we have a child now?"
"Penny, why?!"
Watts smiled. "Ready?"
"Always."
...go. Now!"
Neo smiled at Emerald.
Emerald scowled back. "Get out of my way!"
Neo shook her head slowly. And behind her, the world...shifted.
"Take...the...girls!"
"You won't take them." he stalked down the stairs to meet the abomination, nanites already swarming around him. "You won't hurt them. You won't touch a single hair on their heads."
The Hound snarled at him, baring its fangs. "TAKE!"
Naruto snarled back. "COME ON THEN!"
A massive paw swiped at his face. He caught it. Then the other. They grappled with one another, arms straining...
He swept his hands forward and the air fractured around him for miles in every direction. Miles, and each one containing countless mini Rasenshuriken, a veritable minefield as small as it was potent.
Lets see you survive this one!"
EDIT: Hey, you made it!
Do let me now if you enjoyed this~!
May you have a great day filled with luck and laughter.
R ~!