Chapter Text
Yang was tired of lying down.
She had lost count of the days she had watched come and go through the dusty window at the foot of the cot she lived in now. She honestly hadn’t bothered to even start counting them, hadn’t cared about their passing.
Blake was gone.
At first she had been lying down because she had been barely awake, drifting in and out of consciousness for days, in and out of dreams, nightmares. It had been hard to tell the difference, reality being as much of a nightmare as her unconscious thoughts.
Blake had left.
Then she had been lying down because her body refused to move. Pain shooting through it at the slightest attempt. Only her arm was numb, even more immovable than the rest of her. But Ruby had returned to her side again and again, making sure she ate and drank and worked on moving her toes first and then up and up the rest of her body. And everytime it hurt a little less. Except for her arm. Her arm didn’t hurt. It didn’t move.
Blake had left her.
Eventually she had regained movement in every part except the arm - though Ruby said she had ideas for that. But she was still lying down. What would she get up for? To see for herself what a mess the kingdom had become? To go out and fight the monsters like Ruby, every day, again and again and again, without ever making a dent in their masses? To face a world in which Blake left her and didn’t even care enough to say goodbye?
None of that sounded like a good enough reason to get up.
So Yang had laid there. For days, weeks. Months?
And Ruby left every morning to fight, to try and protect and help. And she returned every night looking like a mess and exhausted but still sat with Yang and took care of her, used her magic to heal her, to strengthen her and told her about the state of the kingdom. It was always bad. Worse every day.
And Ruby told her about what she found in her research on Cinder, Emerald, Mercury and-
It was usually nothing new. But she tried again and again. Believed so strongly that she would find the missing information that would make it all make sense and then…
And then what?
Yang wasn’t sure what Ruby even wanted to do with that information but she knew that Ruby was itching to do something . To not be standing by as their kingdom crumbled. And Yang wasn’t sure how much longer Ruby would come back every night. How much longer until Yang would be left behind by the only person in her life that had ever stayed.
And Yang couldn’t even blame her. She was meant to protect Ruby, and yet she brought her to Beacon. She was meant to protect Ruby, and yet she decided to stay in the tournament when she had all the hints showing her the danger Ruby was in there. She was meant to protect Ruby, and yet she stayed fighting by Blake’s side, forcing Ruby to reveal herself and painting a target on her back.
She was meant to protect Ruby, and yet all that she had been doing was lying there and letting Ruby protect her and take care of her.
But Yang was tired of lying down.
So she got up.
Blake was tired of running.
It’s all she had been doing for months. Years, if she was being honest.
She had run from her parents. She had run from Adam. And then she had run from Yang.
She had been a fool to think it could be so easy to leave her past behind. She had been a fool to open herself up so quickly, to let Yang into her heart.
She had been a fool to think it could ever be different for her, that she wouldn’t ruin every good thing she touched.
Why - why, why, why - had she let herself touch Yang, let herself ruin Yang?
It was an image that was seared into her brain. She saw it when she closed her eyes and when she didn’t. She saw it in slow motion and sometimes sped up on repeat, again and again and again.
Yang finding her facing off with Adam. Yang and her worry and fury and fierceness. Yang throwing herself at him, Yang burning, Yang screaming, Yang falling. Again and again and again.
It was the worst thing she had ever done, she was sure.
So she had kept running, hiding, leaving Yang behind. So that he could never find her. So that he could follow Blake to the edge of Remnant but never find Yang again.
She was sure he was looking for her, following her. He had wanted to kill her, she had seen it in his eyes. Her betrayal was unforgivable and the job wasn’t done yet. He wouldn’t stop until he found her. But he would never find Yang.
Blake had to believe that, had to hold on to that. She had to believe that Yang was safe without her.
She had heard of the state of Vale, overrun by monsters without its protection, but she had to believe that Yang was safe, was healed. Ruby and her were strong, they had each other and powerful magic on their side. They could protect themselves from the monsters. And Blake could protect them from him.
And so she ran, kept running, always looking over her shoulder, expecting to see him there. Secretly, quietly hoping to see Yang there instead and then hating herself for the selfish wish and running even faster.
But Blake was tired of running.
So she stopped.
Yang heard Ruby approach, heard her heavy footsteps, heard her open the door, heard her stop.
She stayed silence for a long time and Yang didn't turn toward her, kept her hands busy, her eyes trained on her hands.
“You… You’re up.” Ruby still didn’t move, stayed in the open doorway.
“I’m making food. You hungry?”
Another few seconds of silence.
Then Ruby finally moved, closed the door, stepped closer, beside Yang.
“I’m starving.”
Yang finally looked down at her, met her eyes, and felt a sting of pain at the plain relief she could see in them. But there was a smile on her face and she didn’t comment on all the days Yang hadn’t been up and making food.
“Can I help?”
Yang shook her head, taking another potato out of the water, putting it down, picking up the knife again and starting to slice it. “Nah, I got it.”
It definitely took way longer with just the one arm, especially with her functioning left hand being her non-dominant hand, but she had started an hour ago so she was almost done at this point. Plus she had wanted to do this on her own. Wanted to have accomplished something. The first thing in weeks.
Ruby studied her, watched her slice, slowly, crookedly.
“Okay.”
And she let Yang work.
An hour later the two of them sat on the floor of the little cabin they had escaped to, listening to the crackle of the fire Yang had started and eating the soup Yang had made.
Ruby hummed her pleasure at the latter. “I’ve missed your cooking.”
Yang looks down at her own spoon full of soup with a frown. “I’m sorry. I–”
She wasn’t even sure what she was going to say next, but Ruby stopped her anyway, set her hand on Yang’s arm. Yang looked up at her sister to find her smiling gently.
“It’s okay. I had to learn to cook by myself at some point, right?”
“I guess.” Yang tried for a smile, failed.
She studied her little sister. She seemed older, more mature. Had it really only been a few weeks since the tournament? It had to be years.
But she knew it hadn’t. She knew it wasn’t time that had matured Ruby. She knew it was the things she had seen and Yang hated herself for not having been able to protect her from it.
“I am sorry, though.”, she repeated, “I’m sorry about everything. About everything that happened in Beacon. I knew things were going wrong, that it would put you in danger, but i didn’t say anything and decided to stay. I’m sorry I didn’t come to you when everything fell apart. I’m sorry you had to face Cinder alone. And I’m sorry I’ve been so useless recently.”
“None of that was your fault, Yang.”
Yang tried to interject but Ruby held up a hand to stop her. “I had the same suspicions you did, and I also didn’t say anything and I also decided to stay. I wanted you to stay in the tournament. And I wanted to find out what was going on. And I also decided to go after Cinder. But I wasn’t alone, Weiss was with me. And you haven’t been useless. You’ve been healing.”
“You also suspected someone was using blood magic?” Yang let her spoon, still filled with soup, fall back into the bowl without eating from it.
“Of course.” Ruby nodded, her eyes wide. “All those stories Dad told us after Mom disappeared, I could never forget them. And it was the only thing that made sense.”
Yang frowned at her. “But weren’t you scared?”
Ruby hesitated, fiddled with her spoon before dropping it as well. “Yeah, I was scared. A little. But I also wanted you to stay and win the tournament. And I thought You and Me we’ll be okay together. And also…” She hesitated again, shifting in her seat, not looking at Yang.
“Also what?”
Ruby looked back up, meeting Yang’s eyes once more. “I thought maybe, whoever was using the blood magic maybe knew something about Mom.”
Yang took in a sharp breath.
Ruby rushed on. “I mean, I knew it was a long shot. And Risky. And Stupid. And they probably wouldn’t have told me anything anyway, even if they knew. I just…”
Yang reached out to take her hand. “Yeah, me too.”
Ruby’s eyes snap up to Yang’s and for a moment they just sat there, together, sisters, survivors.
Then Ruby’s eyes drifted down to Yang’s arm, the broken one.
“I’ve been thinking.” she started, but didn’t continue. Her eyes lingered on the arm.
“You wanna amputate it?”
Ruby’s eyes shoot up, wide, shocked, horrified. “What?! No! What? Why would I–”
She stopped herself when she saw the smirk on Yang’s face and let out a sigh instead.
“Well, I guess the joking is a good sign.”
Yang’s smile faded but she tried not to let it show.
“So what were you thinking?”
Ruby looked at her with a determination that Yang couldn’t feel for anything at the moment. “I think we can fix your arm.”
Blake recognized the silhouette of the island as soon as it appeared on the horizon and the familiarity caused a pang in her chest – a painful one rather than pleasant.
She hadn’t left this place on the best of terms the last time she had been there.
But she was done running. It was time to start returning. And she would start with the first place she had run from, the first people she had run from. Home. If she could still call it that.
The thought twisted in her gut and if she hadn’t been on a boat whose course she couldn’t change she might have been tempted to turn around. But as it was, she stood her ground, her hair blowing in the breeze, on the deck of the boat she had bought passage on, headed for Menagerie.
The Island, the place she used to call home before she had been tempted by sweet words, false promises, grew bigger as they approached and Blake felt her heart speeding up more the closer they got.
But she didn’t run. She stayed on deck watching the island approach until they docked and then she walked the plank onto land.
It was strange really, how much had changed in her world, in her, and yet how little seemed to have changed in this place. The beach looked exactly the same, the trees were where they always used to be, where she had climbed them as a child. As she walked down the promenade she recognized most of the stalls and vendors, though they didn’t recognize her. Even the humid air that she hadn’t thought she’d missed felt the same, brought back so many memories.
She walked slowly, meandered really. Taking everything in, she told herself, letting it sink in, letting herself feel like she really has returned. And she was. But she was also dreading what she was about to do next.
But there was only so much meandering to do on an island as small as Menagerie and soon she stood in front of the large house. It used to be her home, her place of comfort, the place she felt safest. Never before had it felt so intimidating, never before had she been afraid to enter.
But alas, this was where her redemption began. This was where she had started ruining things and it was where she would start fixing things instead.
She took a deep breath and knocked.
She waited with bated breath. Maybe they weren’t there. Maybe she had come at the wrong time. Maybe she should leave.
But she soon heard movement inside and the door opened. And Blake was met with stunned faces and silence.
“Hi Mum. Hi Dad.”
Yang watched Ruby’s concentrated face. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her lips pressed together and her forehead and nose scrunched up. She had both her hands on Yang’s arm, engulfinging it in a faint silver glow.
But Yang still didn’t feel anything.
She appreciated Ruby’s effort and her adamant belief that it could be fixed, but Yang was starting to accept the fact that her messed up arm might truly be a lost cause.
She could make do with just the one, anyway. Sure, she would have to train her left arm, relearn a few things (okay, a lot of things), give herself a bunch of new carvings. But first learn how to carve with her left hand. So yes, there were plenty of obstacles to overcome but they were just that - obstacles she would overcome.
She was done holding out hope for things that would never return to her.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her arm, making her pull back from Ruby’s hold abruptly and let out a surprised yell.
Ruby’s head shot up, her eyes wide.
“Did you just…”
Yang stared down at her right arm, at the mess of scars. It still looked the same, she still couldn’t move it, but –
“I felt something", she breathed.
She looked up at her sister, who still stared at her with wide eyes. But then, slowly, her face split into a slime, a grin. And Yang mirrors her, lets out a short laugh.
“I felt something! Rubes, I actually felt something!”
Ruby rushed at her, threw her arms around her and squeezed her tightly.
“I told you we could fix it.”
“You did say that, didn’t you.”
Blake hadn’t expected to be welcomed back so easily, could never have imagined it. Knew in her heart she didn’t deserve it. But her parents took one look at her and enveloped her in their arms, crying happy tears.
Which started to make her think, maybe she wasn’t so undeserving after all.
She had forgotten how delicious her mother’s tea was, or maybe it was just the fact that it was paired with the unbelievable sensation of being home . Either way Blake enjoyed every sip as she tried her best to fill her parents in on what happened.
“News of Vale being overrun reached us a few weeks ago, but no one knew exactly what had happened.” Ghira said.
Blake nodded. “I don’t think many people who were there really knew what exactly happened.”
“Blood magic.” Kali sighed, her forehead creased in worry. “That’s certainly disconcerting.”
Ghira grunted in agreement. “And the White Fang being involved… I always disagreed with Adam’s methods but I never expected him to stoop this low for his revenge.”
The knot of guilt in Blake’s stomach drew tighter, she looked down into her cup of tea, watching her reflection in it.
“I… I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
“Blake…” Her mother put a comforting hand on top of Blake’s. “It wasn’t your–”
“No.” Blake shook her head. “I should have listened to you. I can’t believe it took me so long to see… him . And I’m sorry.” She finally looked back up at her parents. “For what I said to you. For leaving. For everything.”
“Blake.” Her father said, firmly. “We never blamed you. And it’s in the past. You’re here now. And we couldn’t be happier about that.”
He smiled softly at her. A smile she still remembered, a smile she hadn’t realised how much she had missed it.
Blake couldn’t stop a single tear from escaping her eye and rolling down her cheek as she threw herself into her father’s arms again.
“Oh honey.” Kali said softly as she too joined the hug. “We’re so glad you’re back.”
Blake eventually pulled back with one more sniffle and tried her best to compose herself, just as the door to the house burst open loudly. Blake jumped up, immediately on guard.
But then a familiar voice called out. “Ghira? They’re back!”
And then her old friend suddenly stood in the door to the living room and blinked at her.
“Blake…?”
“Hi, Sun.” Blake gave him a small smile. “How have you been?”
“I– what– you–” Sun stuttered out before rushing at her and throwing his arms around her. “Holy shit!”
Blake couldn’t help the chuckle as she hugged him back.
“What are you doing here? How long have you been here? Are you staying?” He immediately peppered her with questions as soon as he let her go.
“I’ve only been here for a few hours and I guess I just wanted to come home?”
“Wow. That’s… I mean that’s great!” He grinned at her.
Then Blake remembered his entrance and frowned at him. “What did you mean before? Who’s back?”
“Oh.” Sun’s eyes shifted between Blake and her parents and he continued hesitantly. “The… White Fang. They’ve really been upping their recruitment in Menagerie.”
Blake’s frown deepened. “What? Like active recruitment?”
Sun nodded. Ghira stepped forward and put a hand on Blake’s shoulder. “Blake was in Beacon, at the tournament.” Sun’s eyes widened, as Ghira continued. “The White Fang was there, working with a blood magician.”
“Shit.” Sun breathed out. “Well, whatever the plan is, they’re definitely not done. They still want more people to join them.”
Blake thought of the tournament. Of Pyrrha. Of Ruby and Weiss.
Of Yang.
She took a deep breath and set her jaw.
“I want to go after them.”
Her parents and Sun exchanged looks and studied her, but Blake didn’t waver. Then Ghira nodded.
“We know someone who might be able to help with that.”
Yang was seeing red again.
Flames surrounded her. A haughty laugh sounded.
And then she was falling, falling, falling.
A cruel grin flashed, red hair, a sword made of flames.
And then she was on fire again.
And she screamed–
She woke with a start,drenched in sweat, her heart still beating rapidly.
She blinked and focused on her surroundings. She wasn’t back in the arena. She wasn’t in battle. She was still in the little hut Ruby had found for them weeks ago.
Slowly, Yang dragged herself out of bed and found Ruby by the fire in the next room, cooking breakfast.
Yang approached Ruby and lifted her arm – her right arm – and ruffled her sister’s hair. Ruby didn’t even try to duck away. Instead she grinned up at Yang.
“Morning! How’s the arm?”
Yang stretched out her arm and studied it, wiggling the fingers. It had been a week since she got full movement back into it, but she still couldn’t quite believe it. Her skin was now a bumpy mess of scars but thanks to Ruby’s magic it had healed incredibly fast and barely itched or twinged most of the time.
Getting it to move again had been the harder task. It was all thanks to Ruby, really. She had worked her magic tirelessly for weeks and she had gone out to find carver’s ink and equipment for Yang. With it Yang had spent days, following the lines of the scars and carving gears and levers into her newly healed skin. Machinery to help her arm move again. And eventually it had started to work. It began in her fingers and worked its was up her shoulder until she really had her arm back – well, kind of.
She had used the rest of the ink to carve new runes into her new arm, and she was starting to really like what she saw.
“Anyway,” Ruby cleared her throat and Yang looked more closely at her, surprised at how nervous and fidgety she suddenly seemed.
When Ruby didn’t continue however, Yang sat down next to her. “Anyway…?”
Ruby took a deep breath. “I got a letter from Weiss.”
Yang raised up her eyebrows. “How does Weiss know where to send a letter to you?”
Ruby chewed her lip. “We… We’ve been in contact since the tournament. I knew her father took her back to Atlas and so I wrote to her.”
“Okay.” Yang waited for more.
“Weiss said she’s left for Mystral.”
“Yang frowned. “Mystral?”
Ruby nodded, not meeting Yang’s eyes, her hands fidgeting in her lap. “I want to meet her there.”
Yang was entirely lost now. “You want to go to… Mystral?”
Ruby nodded again but didn’t clarify.
Yang sighed. “Come on, Ruby. Just tell me what’s going on already.”
Ruby finally looked up at her, an apology in her eyes. “We’ve been… doing some more investigating.”
“Of course you have.”
“Mystral is where the blood magician – Cinder – is going next. Her next target.”
Yang’s eyes widened. “The – And you want to, what? Stop her?”
Ruby held her gaze. “Yes.”
“ Ruby .” Yang emphasised. “She’s a blood magician .”
“I know, Yang. And I know what that means. But back in the arena, I couldn’t stop her, but I hurt her . Nobody else could even touch her. I have to try.”
Yang shook her head, but Ruby went on.
“She’s seen my magic. She knows what I am. She wants my blood. Sooner or later she’s gonna come for me anyway. I’ve been practising my magic a lot lately. And I’d rather face her on my own terms.”
Yang studied her little sister for a long time. She wasn’t so little anymore.
Ruby went back to the breakfast, filled it into bowls and handed one to Yang.
Yang could tell that she’d said her piece and wasn’t going to change her mind. And besides, Ruby was right. She was a Silver Eye. Cinder was a blood magician. Sooner or later Cinder was going to come for Ruby’s blood to make herself stronger.
But Yang would be damned if she didn’t pick up her big sister duties again.
“I’m coming with you.”
Ruby’s head snapped up and she looked at Yang with wide hopeful eyes. “Really?”
Yang tilted her head at her. “You really thought I’d let you go alone? It’s you and me, Squirt. Always has been.”
With a squeal Ruby threw herself at Yang and hugged her tightly.
Yang enveloped her in her arms. “Yeah, yeah. I love you two.”
Ruby pulled back with a bright grin on her face. “Oh, but actually I was never going alone.”
Yang raised her eyebrows at her.
“Nora and Ren and Jaune are coming with.”
“Who the fuck is Jaune?”
Blake leaned against the railing as she watched the waves rise and fall, rise and fall.
She had always found the ocean calming. Had loved coming to the beach as a child. And right now she could use all the calm she could get. Calm before the storm, so to say.
She didn’t look over when she sensed someone come to stand next to her. She knew that presence.
Ilia, of all people, Blake’s friend from the White Fang had been her parent’s inside person into the organisation for the past few weeks.
She had been able to tell them Adam’s next move. Him and the blood magician, called Cinder, were targeting Mystral next, going for another kingdom’s artefact. Throwing another kingdom into chaos.
With the help of her parents and friends, Blake had been able to rally more people around them, to stand against Adam and Cinder and only a few days later she was back on a ship, heading towards Mystral, only this time she wasn’t alone.
“You scared?” Ilia interrupted the silence between them.
“Yes.”
Ilia nodded. “Me too.”
More silence.
Then Ilia spoke again, with more purpose now. “Never thought I’d ever see you stand again Adam.”
Blake scowled, eyes still fixed on the waves. “I could say the same about you.”
“I know.” Ilia’s voice sounded smaller this time.
Blake finally looked over at her and saw guilt in her eyes, her shoulders drawn up.
Blake let herself soften. “What made you change your mind?”
Ilia closed her eyes, her face contorting slightly, before she faced Blake again. “The tournament… that– That wasn’t what I signed up for.”
Blake nodded and turned back to the ocean.
“So what will you do after we kick Adam’s ass?”
Blake let a tiny smile slip onto her face before she contemplated the question.
In her mind she saw lilac eyes, crinkled in laughter. She saw Yang’s nose and cheeks with all her freckles. She heard her boisterous laughter, her adorable giggle. She felt Yang’s hand in hers. She knew what she wanted to do. Who she wanted to be with.
But she had let her past catch up to her and let Yang get caught in the crossfire. And perhaps even worse, she had left Yang at her most vulnerable. She had run away.
She didn’t know if Yang would ever even want to see her again, would want to talk to her. Would listen to her apology.
What Blake did know was that she wanted to try. She wanted to try to make things right.
“I’m gonna stop running.”
Ilia smiled at her. “Well, I think you're off to a good start.”
Jaune, as it turned out, was the kid Yang had faced in the second round of the Vytal festival along with Neon. The guy who had looked too nervous to even attempt to attack Yang.
It seemed he had grown much less nervous since then, though. Apparently Nora, Ren and Jaune had been out in the kingdom of Vale, trying their best to protect people along with Ruby every day since the tournament.
They also apparently had plenty of connections within the kingdom to organise a magical cart, that they could take turns powering with their magic and that helped them move much faster on their way to Mystral.
It only took them two weeks of travel until they could see the City of Mystral rise up in the distance, built into a mountain as it was.
They met Weiss at the gate and Yang had to admit her eyes were a little wet when she watched Ruby’s and her joyful reunion.
Weiss however informed them that she had already tried, to no avail, to speak with King Lionheart of Mystral or anyone from the palace about the coming threat. Much less about the plan they had formulated to protect the kingdom.
“You would think they’d care when someone is trying to protect their kingdom from destruction.” Weiss huffed.
“They’re probably extra careful about strangers after what happened in Vale.” Ren reasoned.
“But we’re trying to help.” Nora complained. “Why won’t they let us help?”
“Maybe they didn’t trust Weiss because she’s from Atlas, no offence” Ruby said with a guilty look to Weiss, who simply rolled her eyes. “Not to mention Atlas royalty, no offence.”
Yang wasn’t convinced. “Maybe?”
“We should try again.” Ruby stated. “Together. They can’t turn all of us away.”
They did turn all of them away.
“I can’t believe them. They won’t even let us try to make our case to the King?” Ruby exclaimed, sinking down onto a bench in the courtyard outside the palace.
“They have no reason to trust us. Or believe us.” Yang reiterated.
“Still.” Ruby grumbled.
The all stood in silence, not sure how to proceed without the support of Mystral when–
“Yang?”
Yang froze at the voice. A voice she knew, could never forget.
Slowly she turned and almost thought she was imagining her, but she’d know those golden eyes anywhere. And in none of her dreams had they been as beautiful as in reality.
“Blake?” she whispered.
Blake seemed just as surprised to see her. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
Yang didn’t know what to say either. The silence between them grew thick.
Eventually, thankfully, Ruby jumped in. “Blake!” She rushed forward and wrapped Blake in a hug. “What are you doing here?”
Blake blinked at her, startled, as if she hadn’t even registered that Ruby was there as well. “Um… I– We–” her eyes flitted between Yang and Ruby, then to Weiss and back to Yang. “We’re here to stop Cinder. And Adam.”
Yang also had to take a second to register that, yes, indeed, Blake hadn’t come alone either. Ruby was much quicker in taking in the situation and she squealed happily.
“I guess that means we should join forces!”
Blake: As the two groups unite, Blake tries to figure out how to talk to Yang. They talk.
Blake hardly listened to her parents, Ilia, Ruby and Weiss exchanging information and plans. Her eyes were fixed on the other side of the courtyard, where Yang stood with the blonde guy whose name Blake didn’t know, though she remembered seeing him at the tournament. Yang seemed to be explaining something to him, or telling a story. In any case, she was gesticulating wildly, exactly like Blake remembered her doing.
She looked almost exactly like she had back in Beacon, except for her arm. With guilt churning in her stomach Blake noticed that Yang’s right arm was covered in a mess of scar tissue that looked like it might still hurt. But it wasn’t just scars. There were new carvings too: New runes along gears and levers that made the arm almost look like machinery. Blake’s heart squeezed as she studied the intricate carvings. They were perfect, just so Yang .
Blake’s heart melted as she watched Yang’s smile. She should have known how strong Yang was. That Adam coming for her couldn’t break her. That she didn’t need Blake to protect her.
But then as soon as the boy left Yang to join Nora and Ren instead, Yang’s smile dropped and Blake’s chest went tight at how tired she suddenly looked.
“Well,” Blake jumped at Sun suddenly appearing next to her and nudging her side. “This is your chance, right?” He nodded over at Yang, still standing by herself.
Blake looked over at her again and took a deep breath. Right. She had said she wanted to try and make things right. She hadn’t expected to do this so soon, but she would never forgive herself if she gave up this chance she was granted.
Hesitantly she approached Yang.
“Hey.”
Yang only glanced up at her briefly. “Hey.”
Blake’s heart was racing and she fought to stop her hands from fidgeting. She hadn’t planned out what to say. Why the hell hadn’t she planned out what to say?!
“How have you been?” Fantastic. Great start, Blake.
Yang looked up at her for a moment longer then, studying her before she answered. “Alright, I guess. Things have been pretty crazy in Vale.”
“Yeah.”
Goddammit, Blake! Is this the best you can do?!
But then Yang looked over at where Ruby and Weiss are still talking to Ilia, Kali and Ghira, before looking back at Blake, meeting her eyes and Blake was caught in her gaze. “You talked to your parents.”
Blake couldn’t stop the small smile on her lips. “ I did.”
“I’m glad.” The smile on Yang’s lips made Blake’s heart stutter. It was a genuine smile, real. And Blake had missed Yang’s smiles so much.
Soon Yang averted her eyes and looked back over the courtyard. “Seems like your dad is gonna be our ticket into Mystarl, huh?”
“Yeah, he’s… still got some influence.”
Yang just nodded and they fell into silence once more. Yang didn’t look at her again.
“I’m sorry.” Blake blurted out and Yang’s eyes snapped toward her.
The phrase had been swimming around in her head for weeks, months even and she could no longer hold it in any longer.
She held Yang’s gaze as she continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my past, about Adam and… I’m sorry let you get involved in my mess. I’m so sorry about your arm.” She only glanced at it for a split second, her stomach churning again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”
She stared at Yang, eyes wide, hoping she conveyed just how sorry she was.
And Yang…
Yang frowned at her and shook her head slightly. When she spoke her voice was soft, though. “Blake. None of that was your fault.”
Now it was Blake’s turn to frown. “What do you…?”
Yang took a step closer and the proximity made Blake’s heart pound even harder, scrambled her brain.
“None of that was on you. Okay? I don’t blame you for any of it.”
And with how intensely Yang was looking at her, with nothing but kindness and conviction in her eyes, Blake couldn’t help but believe her. Even if she didn’t believe it herself. She gave the slightest nod.
Yang sighed and drew back and Blake immediately missed her.
“I just…” Yang whispered. “Wish you would have let me tell you that sooner.”
And with that she headed towards Ruby and left Blake standing with her heart stumbling and her mind racing.
It didn’t take long for the first trap to spring.
Yang and Blake were hidden in an alcove in the atrium outside the vault when they heard it go off.
Ruby had assigned the teams and apparently it had just made sense to pair Yang and Blake up and Yang wasn’t sure whether she wanted to hug or strangle her little sister for that one.
She and Blake had talked some more since they had reunited a few days before and they had even laughed and teased like they used to but things were still a little tense, stilted. And they hadn’t talked about them .
I’m sorry about your arm. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.
But Yang didn’t care about any of that, didn’t need those apologies, didn’t want protection. Why didn’t Blake understand that?
Quietly hiding in this alcove, so close to Blake, was taking her back to that night in Beacon when they had snuck around the arena, pretending to investigate, hiding from the patrol. Before they had believed there actually was anything to investigate. Before everything had gone wrong. Before Blake had left.
Yang glanced over at her and found Blake already facing her. Blake smiled at her and Yang couldn’t stop her heart from giving a little flutter.
She couldn’t afford to go down this road right now. Blake was here for Mystral, not for Yang. Yes, she had seemed very intent on being close to Yang the past days, but Yang had no idea what Blake was planning to do once this was over. Where she planned to go. She might have plans. Plans that didn’t include Yang. Her plans last time certainly hadn’t included her.
“Ready?” Blake asked softly, breaking Yang out of her thought spiral.
She took a deep breath and nodded. Focus. She could wallow in self pity later. Assuming this worked and they didn’t all die.
Then the doors to the atrium exploded, their last trap being set off and they all jumped into action.
This fight was almost as chaotic as the one in the arena. There were no Grimm this time but the space was much smaller. The atrium was already half torn apart, debris scattered everywhere.
Having knocked out a masked member of the White Fang that Blake didn’t know, she looked around, surveilling the space. Ruby, Weiss, Nora and Ren were locked in battle with Cinder, regularly crumbling from the pain of her blood magic.
She saw her parents, Ilia and Sund dealing with some White Fang and just as she decided to help them she was hit by a rock straight in the chest – A rock that had appeared out of nowhere…
Blake scowled and turned, spotting the green-haired girl who was smirking at her.
“Emerald.” Blake growled out.
“Nice to see you again, too.” Emerald gave her a cruel grin.
Blake went to attack just as a metallic spike hurled towards her from the side and she just about managed to deflect it instead.
Mercury stepped to Emerald’s side and they both stared Blake down. They prepared to attack at the same time and Blake pulled up her shield.
Just as they were about to strike, Blake’s eyes widened at Yang hurling towards them through the air, supporting herself with air magic, two carvings of wings on either side of her neck, and smashing down on the ground hard right in front of Emerald and Mercury, sending off a shockwave that threw them both backwards and onto the ground.
Yang turned to Blake with a grin, a glint in her eyes.
“Air magic, huh.” Blake commented, sporting a small grin of her own.
Yang winked at her. “Told you I was a double threat.”
And then they faced Emerald and Mercury together and for all their stilted talks and awkwardness the past few days, this was easy. This was right.
They fought in perfect sync, combining their magic with ease, and soon the had their opponents backed into the corridor leading out from the atrium and with one more powerful combo-attack they were both knocked out.
Blake stood next to Yang, breathing heavily, for several seconds before she turned to her.
Yang gave her a crooked smile. “Well, that was a thing.”
Blake felt her own smile form and she nodded. “It really was.”
And then she finally understood. “Hey.” she said softly, still smiling at Yang, holding her eyes. “I’m with you.”
Yang’s smile brightened, her eyes crinkling with it. “Yeah.” she nodded. “I got your back.”
“No, I mean–” Blake took a step closer, not quite touching but almost. “I’m with you. And I’m not going anywhere.”
Yang let out a watery laugh and then pulled Blake in by the waist, holding her close. “Yeah, yeah. I know what you mean, dork.”
And then she kissed Blake and the knot of worry and guilt in Blake’s stomach exploded into butterflies. Blake couldn’t help laughing into the kiss and it was messy and uncoordinated and perfect.
“Well, well, well. If this isn’t just who I’d been looking for.”
Blake tensed at his voice and then, once more, the two of them faced Adam.
Yang felt anger flare up in her, but she took one look at Blake next to her and breathed a deep calming breath. Letting her anger control her would not do her any good. That was what she had done the last time.
Instead of charging blindly, she exchanged a look with Blake, activated her runes and let him make the first move.
He did. And he let his anger show.
He threw attack after attack at them and though Yang and Blake were still working in perfect sync, Adam was strong, and fast. He kept them on their toes and they could barely get a hit in against him.
And then, when he got close to Yang, grabbed her arm and set it aflame, Yang froze. She flashed back to that day in the arena, the pain, the numbness, the helplessness and she couldn’t move.
With a loud crack a black rock hit into the side of Adam’s head and he snapped back, releasing Yang. The flames disappeared and Yang was back in Mystral, with Blake by her side.
“You okay?” Blake whispered, her hand on Yang’s cheek, her eyes soft and scanning Yang’s face. Yang took a deep breath, feeling Blake’s closeness, and nodded.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Adam growled and when he charged again, Yang could tell that now he was letting his anger control him. He became more and more reckless and let his guard down. And they took advantage of it. Finally their attacks were effective and they got in hit after hit.
Down on one knee, Adam snarled up at them.
But then his eyes flickered behind them and uncertainty flickered in his gaze.
Yang glanced behind them and saw Ghira, Kali, Ilia and Sune step into the corridor and come to a stand behind Blake and her. All of them staring Adam down.
Adam gave one more growl and then he turned and ran.
Yang went to run after him, but Blake stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Don’t let him bait you into giving him the advantage. He’s got nowhere to go. Our fight today is here.”
Together they headed back into the atrium.
They returned to a spectacular sight. Cinder, last one of her people standing, was surrounded by their friends, Ruby holding the Crown of Vale.
“You brats have no idea who you’re dealing with!” Cinder screamed and then she turned toward the vault behind her and with a primal shout released a wave of energy that blew the vault wide open.
But as the dust cleared, one thing became clear: The vault was empty.
“Noooo!” Cinder screeched.
“Did you really think we’d leave it here for you to find?” Ruby called out.
“You.” Cinder hissed, pointing at Ruby with a black finger and taking a step towards her. Ruby didn’t back away, but her friends, including Blake and Yang gathered closer around her. “You shouldn’t be so confident. My mistress knows about you now and she’s coming for you.”
Blake frowned at the woman. A mistress?
And then Cinder threw a black, smoking rock in front of their feet and it exploded into a mass of shadows.
The shadow drew together to form a woman, only ten times as tall as a normal person and barely human looking anymore. Her skin was white and cracked by pitch black veins, her eyes were black voids with bright red irises.
The figure rose above them, staring down at them – no, staring down at Ruby.
And then she let out an unnatural scream and lunged.
A huge blinding shield of light burst out from Ruby and enveloped them all only to immediately shatter loudly along with the figure as they collided.
And then everything was quiet.
Cinder was gone. The crown was won back.
Blake let out a breath.
Ruby turned to the rest of them, slightly swaying, a tired smile on her face, and lifted the crown in her hand. “Well done, guys.”
And then she promptly collapsed forward, Yang just barely catching her in her arms.
Yang felt the rumble of the cart on the uneven road beneath her. The evening sun glittered through the trees.
Blake’s hand was in hers.
Yang felt lighter than she had in months. Maybe even years.
“So, now that I’ve mastered two magical disciplines,” Yang mused, nudging Blake’s shoulder with her own. “Does that mean that I’m the better magician out of the two of us?”
Blake let out an unrestrained laugh, that looked absolutely beautiful on her. “I don’t think that’s how you judge a magician’s abilities.”
“Oh, really?” Yang grinned at her. “Then how, pray tell, dear expert, do you determine a magician’s abilities?”
Blake hummed, pretending to consider the question and Yang couldn’t resist sliding her arm around her waist and pulling her close to kiss her cheek. Her heart gave a little skip when Blake giggled in response. Drawing smiles and laughs and giggles out of this girl would forever be Yang’s favourite thing.
Then Blake levelled her with a smirk that made Yang’s heart stop entirely.
“Well,” Blake leaned in close. “You never did end up facing me in that arena, did you.”
“Ah yes.” Yang nodded, then lifted a finger. “Actually, we did technically face each other in the last round.”
Blake’s smirk widened and Yang recognized her mistake. “That’s right. We did. And if I remember correctly, you were knocked out before I was.”
Yang gaped at her for a second, searching for a rebuttal, before she scoffed. “That whole thing was manipulated, anyway. It doesn’t count.”
Blake let out another laugh at Yang’s pout. “Fine. Next tournament, then.”
“Next tournament.”
Blake nudged Yang’s side and pumped her eyebrows. “Get ready to get your ass kicked, Xiao Long.”
Yang just laughed and pulled Blake closer.
For the first time in months Yang was entirely content.
Sure, Vale was still a mess, but they were on their way to bring back the crown and then things could start to right themselves.
They were battle worn and tired and Ruby still needed a few days to recover from over exerting her magic, but they had all made it out of the fight.
Adam and Cinder and her creepy ass mistress were still out there somewhere and probably already planning their next move. The fight wasn’t over.
But they were together. And lived to fight another day.