1A/N: This is a little something that's been rattling around in my brain ever since that godawful rematch between Adam, Yang and Blake (srsly CRWBY, I know y'all got a hate boner for Adam, but the overt pandering to a certain toxic fanon ship made his defeat a tough pill to swallow. Esp when he was FINALLY starting to get interesting with that S.D.C. branded on his face.) But yanno. Whatever. Wasted potential is all I'm gonna say about that.
Anyway, this is what I think should happen going forward. Blake needs to have some serious PTSD esp after killing the man she once cared about. She and Yang are now murderers. They've crossed a line they can't come back from. Don't care how it's spun. They've taken the first steps down a slippery slope. Gonna end up in a bad place if they're not careful. Remember how Blake described Adam's descent into a ruthless killing machine in V3: "First there were accidents. Then it was self-defense." I'd say they might've gone further than self-defense. Adam was unarmed, and his aura was gone. They could've subdued him, but nope. Straight to murder. That should wreak havoc on Blake's pacifist views. Tolerance? Out the window. Peace? Forget it. If she's adult enough to kill, then she needs to take a step back and look in the mirror. Is this gonna be the fate of those who don't agree/adhere to a worldview the group doesn't like? Because what she and Yang did to Adam sets a dangerous precedent. There's literally HUNDREDS of others just like him out there. The cycle of violence doesn't stop because one bad apple was taken out. It repeats. And it gets harder to break.
As always, this is the BUMBLEBEE FREE ZONE, so enjoy.
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The landing to Mantle was smooth. Too smooth in Yang's opinion and Weiss had no problem saying as much. That didn't stop the girls from going into downtown Mantle to buy new winter clothes since Atlas was one GIANT polar deep freezer.
She admired her reflection in the dressing room mirror at the tan overalls, white tank top and black, fur-lined crop jacket. Orange shades and sturdy combat boots with sport treads and a custom gold belt buckle in the shape of her symbol completed her look. Not bad. Looking good, sexy. She thought a smile curving her full lips.
"Yang! Hurry up everyone's ready!" Ruby's unmistakable mousey voice pierced through the clothing shop causing the blonde to roll her eyes. Some things didn't change and for that Yang was grateful. "C'mon, we gotta get to the weaponry before it closes!"
"Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming! Like damn, keep your combat skirts on!" Yang hustled out of the dressing room to a chorus of "Finallys!" from Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Nora who looked stunning and very grown up in their new clothes.
"You look good Yang," Jaune said smiling at his fellow blonde as his armored hand rested lightly on the pommel of Crocea Mors.
"Likewise. But I can't say the same thing about the banana bunch on top of your head-"
"Hey! That wasn't my fault! It was Nora's idea." Jaune protested as the orange haired woman smacked him on the arm.
"Are you saying my sweet hair styling skills suck?!"
"Uhh…" What do I say? I can't tell her no. She'll KILL me!
Luckily Ren saw the panic on his face and swiftly went to mediate the situation.
"Nora, next time, I think you should leave such things to a professional."
Turquoise orbs snapped up to meet his, tears pooling in their depths. "Y-You mean I made a mess of things? I totally messed things up didn't I?"
Ren instantly felt awful making the love of his life cry. "You did your best for your first time," he amended, relief flooding his heart when she wiped her eyes, blinking away her tears. "But like I said, please. Next time, leave it to someone who knows what they're doing."
Ruby blew out a relieved breath. Crisis averted. The last thing anyone wanted to deal with was an emotional, rampaging Nora Valkyrie.
The group made their way to the local clothing/weapons shop at the south end of the city. Snow flurries greeted them and the icy air made Yang suck in a sharp breath. Yikes, that's cold. Hope Ironwood isn't too angry with us wrecking the mech back at Argus. But that stubborn bitch Cordovan didn't leave us any other choice. We HAD to get here.
And she didn't want to think about the harrowing fight to the death against Adam Taurus by an isolated Mistral waterfall that made both her and Blake resort to the extreme, brutally stabbing him from the front and back. The shock on her partner's face and trembling hands as she held the broken end of Gambol Shroud lessened the feeling of triumph over their shared foe. Blake hadn't enjoyed ending Adam's life. Rather, it seemed to only make things worse.
For the life of her, Yang couldn't understand why the cat Faunus couldn't seem to shake the cloud of guilt she managed to conceal from everyone except her. Why she secretly caught Blake hours after the fight scouring her hands raw with a wet cloth, trying to remove stains no longer visible to the naked eye but only to a tormented mind.
And it was starting to piss the blond off. Adam was a monster. A rabid dog that needed to be put down. So why?
Why was Blake torturing herself?
It made no sense. Yang was determined to get to the bottom of it. They were heading into hostile territory with a long, checkered history of Faunus discrimination. It would do them no favors if there was tension within the group. With both girls still in the delicate process of repairing their badly frayed bond and broken trust, this was no easy task and their desperate actions mere hours ago were weighing on Blake more than the bruiser was comfortable with. She needs to snap outta it. For God's sake, the bastard almost KILLED her…and she's still acting like she murdered a puppy!
No more time to lose. They had to have this out now.
"Guys can ya give us a minute?" Ruby peeled her eyes off a rack of sniper ammo just in time to catch her sister grab a startled Blake by the arm and dragged her off to a door leading out to the rear of the shop.
"Yang, what's-?"
"Quiet." The blonde's dangerously level tone sent a chill skittering down Blake's spine. Oh, dammit. She's mad. I thought we were good. "We need to talk."
The snow swirled past whipping Yang's golden mane sideways like a banner, making the young assassin grateful she'd chopped off her ebony locks prior to landing on Mantle's frozen soil. It reminded her too much of her old life and she desperately wanted to start anew on a clean slate.
At the corner of the shop where they couldn't be overheard Yang hurled Blake into the solid brick wall of a boutique adjacent to the clothing/weaponry shop hard enough to hear the breath whoosh out of the Cat Faunus' lungs.
Coughing, Blake clutched her stomach shocked at her partner's harsh action. What's gotten into her? An image of the angry scar the S.D.C. brand over beautiful blue eyes left behind, flashed through her mind. Please don't hurt me, Yang…please. Whatever I did, I'm sorry.
"Y-Yang?"
"You need to stop this."
Amber eyes blinked, owlish in their confusion.
"Ever since we killed Adam you've been acting weird." Yang raised her hand to cut off the protest forming on Blake's lips. "Don't lie and say you're fine cause you're not. I've seen you scrubbing your hands raw. "
Blake sucked in a sharp breath. Dammit. I thought I was being careful.
Yang took a slight step back, pinching her nose with her flesh fingers. "Adam's dead, Blake. You can finally move on. You're free now. Free from his shadow looming over your life. Forever. You don't have to look over your shoulder in fear anymore. So I wanna know." She paused, silently begging the cat to lift her head and look her in the eyes, but getting no response she plunged on. "Why the hell do you keep beating yourself up over him? He's a monster Blake. He wanted to kill you. Would've finished the job if I hadn't blindsided him with my bike." Which is now at the bottom of the damn ocean. Another piece of me lost forever. "He hunted me in the darkest places of my mind. And yet, you STILL treat this as if you murdered a newborn puppy or something-!"
"Could you do it?"
Without warning Blake seized the blonde's armored wrist in a blur of motion. Pressed the cold metal of Ember Celica against her stomach, amber meeting startled lilac. "If I or anyone else from inside posed a threat to the group's safety, your family's safety…" She didn't miss Yang stiffen at the only word that she knew could make her give a damn about anything these days.
"Be honest Yang. Could you bury your fist into my stomach and pull the trigger? Against someone you care about? I know you've got no love lost for Adam. Never expected you to. But he was someone I cared about. Someone I-" She swallowed against the burning in her throat. Willed the bile to stay down. "-loved even. He taught me all I know. Took me under his wing when no one else would give me a second look. We laughed together. Cried together. Shared our meals and missions. Our personal space. And I ended it. Just like that." A hysterical giggle bubbled over causing Yang's eyes to widen. "I'm no better than he is. I used violence to accomplish a goal. The very reason I left him to begin with. And it drove him insane."
"So." She pressed her stomach harder against Yang's fist, daring her to curl those metal fingers. But they remained slack. "With all that in mind, do you see why I can't forget? I can't sweep this under the rug no matter how hard I try. That blood will remain on my…our hands for the rest of our lives. So. I'll ask you this one more time. Could you do one of us, what we did to Adam? Cut the threat down without hesitating? Even if it means you save everyone at the expense of nightmares, guilt and regret. Could you do what needs to be done?"
Yang stared, body taut, hair swaying in the icy breath of winter wind, trying to process the scenario. This wasn't the same Blake who left her high and dry a year ago, pursued by the very same demon that had haunted the corridors of her mind since losing her arm in a reckless attack. No. The old Blake would've shut down. Avoided confrontation.
Run away.
Again.
But she wasn't. Even though he wasn't physically present, Sun's influence was all over this line of questioning, his strength of will and character shining like radiant gold through the jagged fractures of Blake's reforged spirit. And if she was being honest, Yang wasn't sure how to handle that. She was used to being the rock, the unshakable foundation. Someone her friends and family could rely on. When things got rough, she was the lighthouse along the coast, the light by which her loved ones could find their way home through stormy waters. That was something she'd worked her ass off to accomplish and be proud of. Even after her personal life blew apart after Summer's death, Raven's abandonment and her father's lengthy stint with depression, it was that one role she jealously clung to and protected just as fiercely as she did with the few she permitted to enter and call friend.
All that had been taken from her the moment her fist made contact with Mercury Black's leg. Further eroded what trust she had left when Ruby brazenly invoked Jinn and exposed Ozpin's deepest, darkest memories. Secrets he never wanted anyone to see. Lost knowledge that could further destabilize what flimsy shred of balance they had left and plunge Remnant into oblivion should Salem get her way.
She wasn't sure what she was anymore. Too many jagged edges, shards of her life a cracked, spider veined windshield. Impossible to piece back together, leaving her more naked and vulnerable then before when her body was whole.
Yang wanted so badly to say the words her partner wanted to hear. Wanted her to make a promise she wasn't sure she wanted to keep. But the trauma of her arm, the night terrors that had accompanied it, her depression and fragile mental state made her tongue heavier than lead. Promises were very serious and Tai warned her to be slow in making them. Sure Blake might've sworn she wouldn't leave her side again.
But the cynical part of her brain wasted no time warning her to be cautious of someone who had a history of bailing when life got tough. And since she wasn't one for platitudes, the words remained dead on arrival, never leaving her parched throat.
Blake's soft, resigned sigh snapped Yang out of her trance as the cat Faunus gently lowered her metal wrist back to her side. With a graceful pivot she headed back to rejoin their anxious friends waiting out front, coat tails swaying, heels clicking with every step she took. A cold knot of unease formed in the pit of her stomach at the blond bruiser's conflicted silence. No reassurances. No promises she wouldn't commit violence again. Even though she was a creature who craved peace and quiet, Yang was the polar opposite. You never needed to guess where she stood on anything.
But the one set of questions Blake wanted clear answers to, the ONE time she needed Yang to confirm with her own mouth she wouldn't fall so far as Adam, that she would keep on the straight and honorable Huntress path.
She got nothing but silence.
And Blake wasn't sure how she felt about that.
-end
