Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ruby and Weiss awoke slowly, glancing around to try determining what had woken them. Ruby spotted the disturbance first. Having looked to the bed diagonal from her own, she spotted a dark figure writhing under the blankets.

"It's Blake." Ruby whispered to her partner, climbing down so she could move closer.

"What do you think she's dreaming about?" Weiss asked softly.

"I'm not sure." The leader sighed, slipping into the brunette's bed and holding her. Weiss followed her lead and stroked Blake's hair, both trying to convey to their sleeping teammate that they were there for her.

Blake shifted again, groaning out softly, tears streaming down her cheeks as her nightmare continued.

"Mother!" She screamed, running through the streets, looking around wildly. "Mother!"

Bright eyes peered at her through the darkness and a voice called, "Wretched animal! Stay away from me!"

"Mother!" She cried, tears streaming down her face as the eyes slowly faded, leaving nothing but darkness surrounding her, suffocating her. "Mother, please! Please don't go! Mother!"

Ruby and Weiss shared a glance as their teammate thrashed before them. "Mother..." Blake groaned, managing to wake Yang. The blonde landed quietly and cocked her head at the trio.

"How long?" She asked, slipping onto the bed and wiping away her partner's tears.

Ruby shook her head. "We woke up a little while ago and found her like this."

"What do you think happened to her parents?" Yang inquired.

"No idea." Weiss sighed. "The most we can hope is that she'll talk to us about it in the morning."

"Yeah, but you know Blake." Ruby whimpered, watching the pain play across her snoozing teammate's features. "She doesn't really like to talk about her past."

"I want her to be comfortable enough to tell us." Yang murmured, still wiping at the tears. "I want to help her."

"We all do." Weiss whispered.

The three of them sat in silence, the only sound to be heard being Blake's soft whimpers. With the help of Ruby's rocking, Blake started to relax, Weiss' fingers still combing through her hair and Yang continuing to wipe away her tears as the dream started to fade. Slowly, she began to calm down and sleep a bit more peacefully. Gradually, the rest of the team followed her into slumber.

Yang went first. As Blake's tears tapered off, the blonde laid her head down on her partner's stomach and drifted off, snoring lightly. Ruby was next. Not used to waking in the middle of the night, the redhead leaned against the wall, a light yawn leaving her followed by snores that mimicked her sister's.

Weiss was no stranger to going on only short periods of sleep, studious as she was in everything she did. However, it was not school work that kept her awake longer than her comrades this time. The heiress was wracking her brain as to what could have gone wrong to cause Blake to lose her parents and wondering if her father had been at all responsible.

Were they in his labor forces? Did they die in the dust mines? Was it a protest gone bad because of the police? How old was Blake when she lost her mother? The questions continued battling and scampering around the white-haired girl's head as she kept up the stroking motion on her friend's hair.

Slowly, tiredness got the better of her and Weiss lay down next to Blake's pillow, looking into the now peaceful face of her friend. Pressing a kiss to the Faunus' forehead, she snuggled against Ruby's legs and shifted against Blake, drifting into sleep as well.

...

Cinder stared up at the night sky, bright fiery eyes gazing at the bright stars above. She wouldn't normally be stargazing when she had a plan going, usually more focused on getting rest to put the next step into motion.

However, circumstances were not on her side in this instance. Amber eyes closed as the nightmare replayed itself, always the same nightmare.

Fire everywhere. Nothing had been spared, getting scorched in the inferno that had taken her home. Everything had burned to the ground and nothing was left standing, not even the support beams. The police had everything roped off and bystanders weren't allowed through.

She raced past the security tape, moving toward the nearest officer to demand answers. He turned away to check something that was being brought from the house. She turned her gaze toward the house as well and gasped, tears coming to her eyes.

It was a corpse, burned and scorched beyond recognition. Skin barely clung to the crispy bones and singed hair fell away in ashes as the medics examined the body. Moving closer, she felt her stomach turn at two protrusions at the top of the head, two very familiar protrusions.

She fell to her knees in horror, staring at the body and feeling her entire being go numb. Those were cat ears. That body belonged to a Faunus. Her Faunus. Her daughter.

Looking around, she noticed something else. There was a strange abundance of green around the area. There was only one person she knew of who left so much green wherever they went and her eyes narrowed as she realized who was behind this.

"Qrow...!"

Cinder opened her eyes, anger and sadness warring in her gaze as she continued looking to the stars. It was around the time it had happened and because of that, sleep was not easily acquired.

She had vowed that she would get all of those men for the destruction of the one thing that ever mattered to her. Of course, her comrades would never understand. Especially Emerald. The red-eyed girl would never be able to comprehend why Cinder treated her so dearly. The brunette viewed the thief as her second chance to have a child, even if it wasn't hers. It was the only reason she refused to let either Emerald or Mercury kill while in Vale. If the wrong person were to find out and recognize their handiwork, they would be hunted.

And Cinder couldn't have that.

Glancing in the direction of the academy, the fire mage sighed, turning back to the stars before glancing to the horizon. The sun would begin rising soon and she would need to act like a student despite being nearly twenty years older than most of the students she would need to communicate with.

A chuckle built in her throat as she thought about the situation. I'll be a criminal hiding in plain sight. All with the help of a bit of magic.

The smile disappeared soon after and was replaced by a snarl. Soon, Qrow, Ozpin and all of the rest of them will know what it's like to lose someone close to them. How it feels to have your very reason for living ripped away from you.

Standing, Cinder took one last look at the stars before beginning the short walk back to the visiting dormitory. I'll make them all pay. Then my daughter will be able to rest in peace.

Chapter Text

Blake awoke the next morning, sniffing slightly as she sat up. Glancing about, the brunette cocked her head in confusion, wondering why her teammates were in her bed. Wiping at the tears still clinging to her eyelashes, Blake glanced over to the calendar hanging on the wall near Weiss' large portrait. Ignoring the large red circle Ruby had drawn around the date the tournament began, Blake spotted another date, its meaning unknown to her team.

Lowering her head, the Faunus stared down at Weiss' head in her lap. A small smile flittered across her lips, but didn't reach her eyes. I know I made a promise, but... I can't tell them this. It's still painful thinking of her.

Tears filled the brunette's eyes just as they had the night before, but Blake fought to keep them back, not wanting to wake her comrades. She smiled when she spotted her other two team members also  curled up in her bed. They must have come when they heard me crying. This caused the Faunus to frown once more.

Mother… It was nearing that time of year. Spring was in full swing now and the date was coming closer. She always got nightmares around this time of year. Why did you leave me? the Faunus thought, glancing to the calendar again.

Sighing to herself, Blake gently maneuvered her way out of her comrades, setting Weiss’ head on the pillow and carefully laying Ruby down so she didn’t get a bad neck ache. Stretching and popping her spine back in place, Blake made her way to the bathroom, grabbing her brush and beginning to untangle her hair. As she did, she wondered what she was going to tell the others. The incident had happened years ago, but that didn’t stop the memory from hurting.

I can’t tell them the truth. the brunette thought firmly. I’m not ready to talk about it.

Hair sleek and wavy, Blake moved back out to the main room, seeing that her teammates had woken. Moving to her bed, Blake meticulously cleaned it up, knowing her friends were all waiting to ask her about her nightmare. I’m really not ready to talk about it.

Turning around, the brunette cocked her head to find Ruby standing right behind her. “Hey Blake!” the little redhead chirped. Even though her voice was cheerful, Blake could see the concern in her large silver eyes. “How did you sleep?”

“Fine.” the Faunus replied calmly, her mask giving nothing away.

“Blake, you know you can talk to us about anything, right?” Yang asked, walking over to stand beside her sister, bedhead nearly obscuring Ruby from view. “We’re here for you if you need to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Blake told them, turning to gather some clothing so she could beat Weiss to the shower.

“We’re here if you need to talk about something.” Weiss repeated, putting in the emphasis as she strode forward, pushing the sisters out of the way so she could gaze into the large amber eyes. “Whether you want to or not, it’s still better to let things out than bottle them up. I thought we both would have learned that from what happened last time.”

Blake turned her head away at the reminder of the promise she had made. “I’ll be fine.” she said softly. “It has nothing to do with you.” Turning on her heel, the brunette flash-stepped into the bathroom, the door closing behind her followed by the sound of the shower running.

The three remaining RWBY members glanced to each other in defeat before turning to get ready for the day, Weiss getting her things ready for when Blake came out of the bathroom. Ruby helped Yang tame her mane as they waited for the shower to be open.

Finally, when all of them were ready for school and had their books packing in their bags, Weiss led them out the door to their first class (a dispute between Ruby and Yang over who went into the shower first caused them to be too late to grab breakfast). Blake remained quiet the entire way, even after they met up with team JNPR.

Weiss and Yang watched with worry as their quietest teammate simply drifted through the day. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Blake wasn’t into her classes and she seemed to have receded further in on herself. At lunch, Blake sat away from her friends, keeping to herself in a corner of the cafeteria.

“What’s up with Blake?” Jaune asked of the remaining RWBY members.

“She hasn’t been the same since last night.” Ruby sighed.

“Last night?” Pyrrha inquired slowly.

“We found her having a nightmare.” Yang explained. “She was crying out for her mother, but she wouldn’t tell us anything about it. All day she’s been shut off from us and she’s barely said a word.”

“I hope she feels better soon.” Pyrrha murmured, glancing over to their isolated friend.

“Me too.” Ruby whimpered.

The rest of the school day passed in a blur with the seven RWYJNPR members watching Blake pass the time staring off into space with a deeply troubled expression. Even the teachers couldn’t catch her attention, Professor Port going so far as to give her a detention for not listening to him, only for Blake to continue ignoring him. It was beginning to worry the septet, but none of them knew how to cheer up the distressed Faunus.

“Maybe we should let her have her space for a while.” Ruby suggested, watching Blake walk toward the courtyard. “She’s obviously not going to listen to any of us, so maybe we need to let her sort this out on her own.”

Pyrrha and Ren agreed with that logic and respectively dragged Jaune and Nora away for combat training. Weiss frowned as she watched Blake disappear before shaking her head. “Hey Yang?”

“Yeah?” Yang turned to the heiress curiously.

“Let’s go train with JNPR. I need to get my mind off this.” Weiss turned. “Ruby, come on. We’ll study after this.”

“Wow, Weiss gets extra bossy when she’s upset.” Ruby whispered to her sister, both of them following the troubled whitette.

Blake stepped out into the fresh air and took a deep breath, gazing around her. She looked to the large statue in the middle and sighed, moving from the doorway and just letting her legs take her wherever.

All day, she had been plagued by the usual questions of why her family left her behind and where they could be. If they saw her now, would they want her back? If so, would she return to them? There were just too many questions running around her mind for her to focus on class. She was sure she had gotten detention from someone, though she couldn’t remember who.

I just wish I knew why they left me all alone. the cat-Faunus internally groaned. If I knew why they left me and those men had to tell me they were gone, then maybe my nightmares might fade.

Blake walked around the courtyard and glanced again up at the statue. There were no tails, no claws, no second pair of ears… no indication whatsoever that at least one of the people on that statue above the Grim was a Faunus. Thinking back to the Faunus Wars, Blake understood why the statue may not have Faunus, but considering there were Faunus working as Hunters and Huntresses now, why had Beacon not changed the statue to be more equal?

The brunette lowered her head and turned away. Perhaps they think of us the same way they think of Grim. she thought bitterly. No matter how hard we try, they’ll never think of us as anything other than inferior, lower beings that needed to be contained just like the Grim.

A sudden agonizing thought raced through her head and Blake fell to her knees. Did Mother think of me that way too? Amber eyes closed to try fighting the pain in her aching chest. Did she think I wasn’t worth having as a daughter?

Curling against the statue, Blake hid in the shadows of the stone artpiece, attempting to fade away.

…

Cinder paced around the dormroom, tapping her chin in agitation. Roman had just reported in to say that the White Fang had a few personal matters to deal with—what with hunting down members that had left—and so, they were getting less labor force to help with stealing Dust.

It’s ridiculous how much he takes them for granted. the brunette sighed internally. He never realizes how much he needs them until I send them off on another errand. That's a human for you.

Shaking her head with a sigh, Cinder turned to the window and stared out over the courtyard, observing the students milling about down below. Unforgivable idiots. she snarled. All of them have no idea what has happened to me. What horrors I had to endure. They simply sit back in their wonderful lives of fighting Grim and training. They know nothing of what the world is truly like, how full of evil it really is.

A small grin spread across her lips. But I will make certain they all know. I will make sure they know how evil the world can be. So long as everything goes to plan.  

Turning on her heel, Cinder made her way out of the room, moving along the halls of Beacon’s guest building to the door. Other students from Haven gazed at her curiously, some trying to figure out whether they had met her before or even seen her around their school.

Fools. Cinder smirked. They’re not ready to be Hunters yet. If they have to try remembering someone instead of simply asking that someone if they’d met, then they obviously aren’t being taught correctly. I left school and even I know that.

Continuing on her way, the fiery brunette stepped out into the afternoon sunlight, glancing around. “There are quite a few people heading toward the training grounds.” she murmured softly, walking toward the large stone statue in the middle of the courtyard.

Studying it carefully, her lip turned up in disgust at seeing the two humans standing above the Grim creature. They have no right to stand so high and noble when humans are no better than the Grim half the time. We may be more advanced, but we are no less brutal.

Amber eyes narrowed in rage at the memory haunting her mind. A large fire, an almost unrecognizable form, the presence of green. Qrow and his team proved that to me the night they ripped my daughter from me.

Turning swiftly, Cinder very nearly tripped over someone as she was making her way back to the dorms. Glancing down, she found a girl curled beside the statue. She hadn’t even looked up when Cinder almost flattened her. Cocking her head, the fiery-eyed brunette slowly turned. “Sorry.” she called as she made her way back to the guest dorms to go over the plans once more. As she walked away, she couldn’t help feeling as though the girl looked familiar somehow.

Chapter Text

Blake picked at her breakfast sadly. She had returned to the dorm room the previous night to find her teammates all up waiting for her worriedly. She had avoided their questions once more, not wanting to try explaining what was wrong. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them or that she thought they wouldn’t understand. She just wasn’t ready to talk about it.

Moving the cereal around in the bowl, she lifted the spoon and watched the white liquid drip off before going back to swirling it. She was still replaying the same questions as before with no answers and it was beginning to give her a headache. I just want to understand what I did wrong! She finally shouted to herself, standing angrily.

A hand came down on her shoulder and forced her to sit back down. Glancing up, the cat-Faunus found Yang giving her a hard look and shaking her head. Blake huffed and turned back to her food, beginning to swirl it around once more.

“Blake, you need to eat.” Weiss told her, watching the motion of the spoon. “Your strength will decline and so will your health.”

“I’m just not really hungry.” Blake retorted.

“Hungry or not, you should still eat.” Jaune piped up, glancing between the four women opposite his team.

“Please, Blake.” Pyrrha said softly, reaching across the table to place a gentle hand on the one spinning the spoon. “We are worried about you. You may not want to tell us what’s going on and we don’t need to know, but please don’t let it affect you this way.”

Blake stared around at all of her friends, seeing the concern on their faces. Concern for me. She thought, feeling a small bit of warmth flicker in her chest. Sighing, she nodded and lifted the spoon to her mouth, finally beginning to eat. The two teams gave soft sighs of relief, thankful that something they had done had worked.

The rest of the day was spent with the combined RWYJNPR convincing Blake to pay attention in class, fight during combat class and eat during lunch and dinner. Weiss neared her breaking point with the number of times Blake zoned out during Ruby’s scheduled Team Study Session, not wanting the brunette’s grades to suffer. Blake finally sighed and set down her textbook, unable to focus on anything. Glancing over to the calendar, she felt her chest tighten at how close it was. A hand rose to her bow and untied it, amber eyes staring down at the black ribbon sadly.

Did you truly not care, Mother? A tear streaked down her cheek, leaving a scorching wet path that others quickly used to follow. Even then, did you never care about me? Why not give me to the Faunus orphanage when I was a baby? Why leave when… when I already had a connection with you? Standing, Blake hurried from the dorm room, not wanting to break down in front of her teammates.

Yang, Weiss and Ruby watched after her, the team leader eyeing the door glumly. “She still won’t talk to us.” Ruby sighed, laying her head on her arms.

“She was breaking down, sis.” Yang pointed out, worry coloring her tone and visage. Her partner was hiding something painful. It had to do with her bow, of that, Yang was certain. Where did she get it? The brawler wondered.

“Perhaps it’s too painful for her to talk about right now?” Weiss suggested uncertainly. She had no experience with understanding the emotions of others, so she was out of her element. However, as Blake was a team member and a friend, Weiss would still try to help any way she could.

“Maybe we should give her time.” Yang told them, placing an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “If it’s a painful memory, then it would be hard for her to even think about. She’ll tell us when she’s ready.” Her companions agreed and went back to their study session, pushing the pull in their chests to the side for now.

…

Cinder stared at the images on her scroll speculatively, examining every aspect of the one team that seemed to defy her each time she tried anything. There had been several Dust robberies since she, Emerald and Mercury had arrived on Beacon’s grounds, but somehow, those four women always managed to interrupt it. And the hired goons Roman continued getting from the moron, Junior, were proving useless. Granted, the White Fang lackeys were hardly better, but at least they managed to work efficiently.

Sighing, the amber-eyed woman went back to the pictures, looking to the most recent Dust raid from last week. Many of the pictures were blurry due to the speed with which the women moved and Cinder had yet to have cameras installed. Motion cameras could be traced back to their owners and that simply wouldn’t do for her plan. Gazing at an image of a brunette with a black blur atop her head, Cinder felt something familiar about the girl… something interesting…

Ah! Cinder thought triumphantly. That must have been where I recognized that girl yesterday from. She was part of the team of trainees that stopped Roman’s last massive Dust raid. Hm, she certainly didn’t look very big and strong from the way she was crouching the day before…

Shaking the thoughts loose, Cinder continued going through her scroll, checking over each image studiously as she looked over possible ways to get through the fighting of those trainees just in case they decided to interrupt once more. From the images, there was something off about the girl the day before. Her fighting was quite sloppy and a little slow.

Perhaps she is having trouble because of her emotions? Cinder wondered, noticing the blurred image with narrowed eyes. It infuriated her that the fighting had been so fast-paced that she hadn’t gotten very many clear pictures and the camera hadn’t been close enough to get a clear enough picture when the girl had been holding her blade to Roman’s throat. Sighing, the amber-eyed woman continued her perusing, noticing that the blonde had quite an affinity for fire.

I wonder if that means that water will counter whatever-oh. She spotted an image of the imbecile, Junior, holding a piece of hair and the blonde’s subsequent reaction. Perhaps water is not the best course of action then. She’s very touchy about her hair…

Giving another sigh, the fire powered woman set her scroll aside and moved to the window, looking out over the campus. Nearly eleven years… she thought wistfully. If only I hadn’t left her at home. Then I could have prevented that fire from spreading to her, hurting her… taking her from me.

A perfectly manicured hand closed and the resulting fist slammed into the windowsill. I was such a fool! I can’t believe I left her at home for a protest. What kind of mother, no matter how young, leaves their child home alone?

Yellow eyes burned, but no tears fell, Cinder stopping them. No! It’s not my fault. She was… she wasn’t taken from me because of my neglect. The word brought a scoff as Cinder remembered just how protective she used to be. No, this was caused by someone else. Well, I wonder how Qrow will feel when I take his precious nieces from him. I’ll be sure to make him feel every ounce of pain… After all, I’ve already taken Ozpin’s family. General Ironwood didn’t keep his family close enough, but I’ll find his weak spot somehow. And Glynda…

Cinder snickered cruelly at the thought of the blonde Huntress who’s life she had wreaked havoc on two years prior. She will continue to pursue me for what I did to her husband, but I refuse to be caught before my plan is finished. Soon, the king will understand why, though he is the most important piece, the queen is the most powerful. I’ll show him my power. He’ll pay, even if I have to take down that pretty little redhead to do it.