Breathe Chapter 77: Hair of the Dog

Weiss had always thought of herself as fairly composed and even somewhat dignified... Much like her older sister whom she’d partially modelled herself after.

Whatever life threw at her, she took with a smile and a curtsy. That being said, it came as a surprise when she woke up with a pillow under her head... Clutching a toilet of all things!

Knocking the pillow to the side, she sat up, only for the lid to smack against her head, intensifying a headache she’d only just realized she had.

Letting out a groan, she slumped backwards onto the floor, blankly looking at the wall as the throbbing in her head slowly died down.

Feeling that the room was too bright, she closed her eyes for a moment and went over everything that she knew.

She’d just woken up in a bathroom with no recollection of how she’d gotten there, her head hurt worse than it ever had before, she felt slightly nauseous and she was somehow exhausted.

She’d obviously been poisoned... But why had she been brought back here and not to the infirmary.

Hearing a snore, Weiss looked to her side, finding herself staring at a bathtub with someone in it. Peeking over the side, she found Ruby asleep, hugging a pillow. Wearing...

“Is that my hoodie?!”

“Huh, what?” Sitting up, Ruby rubbed her eyes. “What’s going on?”

Watching in horror as her team leader wiped some drool away with the sleeve, Weiss growled. “What’s going on is that you’re wearing my sleeping clothes.”

Technically speaking, it belonged to Coal, but he hadn’t asked for it back, so she’d just… Kept it. She was doing him a favor, really… Keeping it safe in his absence… Something that Ruby was actively ruining.

Said girl simply tilted her head to the side. “But you’re wearing one too.”

Looking down at her clothing, Weiss blinked. When did she... Wincing as her headache flared up once more, Weiss clenched her eyes shut. “Ruby... What happened last night?”

“You don’t remember... Well, you did have a lot to drink after all,” Ruby murmured thoughtfully. “Okay, after we left the dance, we were going to head to bed, but then we made a quick stop by the kitchens, but it was really late.”

That cleared up surprisingly little. Wait, what did she mean by drink? Ruby wasn’t suggesting that what she was experiencing right now was some kind of... Hangover?

She did recall that those beverages at the dance had an oddly fruity taste to them that left her feeling lighter. Surely Beacon wouldn’t... I mean, she couldn’t have gotten...

Oh no. Hopefully she hadn’t made a fool of herself after Coal left. Thankfully neither he nor her sister had been there to see her in such a state.

“But then we came across Ms. Goodwitch and a few other professors handing out detention to anyone that was still out of bed, so we left,” Ruby continued. “But they were checking the dorms instead, so we came here instead.”

Here instead?

Looking around, a nervous pit opened in Weiss’ stomach when she realized that this wasn’t their bathroom.

“Ruby, where exactly are we?”

...Breathe...

Humming softly to myself, I placed a tray filled with various breakfast foods on the table while Yang followed shortly behind, placing several cups of coffee down.

Morning in the quarters Ozpin gave us was oddly quiet despite playing host to four extra people, two of which were still passed out in the bathroom, much to Maria’s annoyance. It wasn’t so much that they were passed out that bothered her, more, it was where they’d passed out.

Pyrrha on the other hand wasn’t bothered at all, even seeming a little excited to have everyone sleep over while Winter sat with her eyes closed, a soft smile on her face and a mug in hand. I wasn’t entirely sure if she realized there were others here. If she had, they certainly weren’t an issue.

And then there was Blake and Yang, the former of which seemed just as unbothered as ever, only showing a flicker of interest when she noticed a tuna based tart sitting in front of her while Yang... She’d been different from her usual flirty self, only offering a handful of words, none of which were puns.

Ruby and Weiss, however...

Hearing a click, I glanced towards the bathroom door, finding it cracked open with two sets of eyes gazing out, only for it to close when they noticed me staring.

Shrugging, I grabbed a plate of food and sat down on the couch. They’d have to come out sooner or later.

“Hey there,” Yang hummed softly, sitting beside me. “So, last night was pretty fun, right?”

Outside of having to deal with a parasitic soul that tried to merge with my own... “I didn’t really think it would be, but yeah, I had fun.” I nodded, watching as Yang focused her entire attention towards the plate on her lap. “Is everything alright? You seem a little... Quiet today.”

I was starting to get a little worried that I’d misread the signs and that Yang regretted what happened last night.

“No... I mean yes, I... Ugh.” Palming her face, she took a deep breath and looked up. “Have you ever had it where you’re really excited about something and you hype it up in your head so much, but when it finally happens, all you can think about is how you might screw it up and get really nervous?”

A few... Dozen memories came to mind.

“More than I care to admit,” I nodded. Reaching out, I took her hand in mine. “But someone recently told me that I shouldn’t shoulder everything alone. We’re all in this together. There’s an old expression I remember that says we’re built imperfectly so that we would seek each other out to complete ourselves.”

Blinking, Yang relaxed a little, leaning against my shoulder, only for Pyrrha to suddenly pop into view along with Winter while Blake quietly slunk over to her favourite armchair with a book in hand and a plate filled with tuna tart.

“I don’t believe I’ve heard that one before,” Pyrrha commented, sitting on my other side while Winter sat opposite us. “We’re built to complete each other, I think it’s quite beautiful, don’t you think, Winter?”

“It does describe our dynamic quite aptly,” Winter nodded.

Shifting a little awkwardly, Yang shot a quick glance towards Winter before squeezing my hand. “So, uh... I talked with Pyrrha last night when she helped us with Weiss and she seemed fine with it, but... Just to be sure, you don’t have an issue with me... You know... Joining in.”

Looking up from her plate, Winter stared at Yang who stared right back, before giving a small smile. “I don’t, but even if I did, I wouldn’t have much of a leg to stand on since I was the second to join as you put it. Any issues I may have had were put to rest last night.”

Raising a brow, Yang turned towards me with a look that screamed she was up to something. “Hey Coal, how are you with explosions?” She asked, grinning. “Because you’re going out with a Yang.”

That was, by far, one of the worst puns she’d ever uttered, getting several annoyed groans in the process... I was glad she was back to normal. “You know, Yang... Much like paper, that pun was teara–Mph...”

Not giving me time to finish my pun, she leaned up and pressed her lips against my own, drawing a surprised squeak from the bathroom, before pulling back with a happy smile on her face.

“Maybe just leave the puns to me, okay,” She hummed, patting my cheek.

“...Sure.”

If that’s how she reacted, I might need to tell a few more.

“What the heck was that?!” Slamming the bathroom door open, Weiss came marching out followed by Ruby who made a turn towards the breakfast table. “You... Him... Kissed...”

Yang tilted her head to the side. “I mean... You did too, don’t you remember?” Fishing her scroll out from under her, she began paging through her videos before holding it out for Weiss to see. “Here, this should jumpstart your memory.”

“Of course I didn’t kiss him,” Weiss scoffed, a light blush on her face as she watched the video. “I hardly see how this is... Oh... We... Had a duet last night,” She murmured, shooting a quick glance my way while Yang jumped ahead. “I still don’t see how this...“ Freezing, Weiss’ face turned a bright shade of pink.

“Looks like you’re starting to remember.” Yang grinned.

Glancing at her sister, Weiss turned to stare down at her feet. “I never... I... Winter, I’m so–“

“That’s enough, Weiss,” Winter interrupted, causing Weiss to flinch. “There’s nothing to apologize for,” She said, taking a softer tone. “I’ve been aware of this for quite some time. For now, just... Sit down and have something to eat. We can talk about this when you’re feeling better.”

Taking one last glance at her sister, Weiss nodded. “Okay. I’ll just... Get some breakfast then...”

“Already got you covered,” Ruby chirped, far too energetic for someone who’d drunk just as much as Weiss if not more. “Orange juice, greasy eggs and bacon... Everything uncle Qrow and Yang have when they’ve had a little too much the night before.”

“Thanks Ruby,” Weiss murmured softly.

Looking for a spot to sit, she sighed and sat down next to her sister while Ruby pulled up a chair from the breakfast table.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Pyrrha hummed, setting her plate on the coffee table. “How did last night go?”

Swallowing a mouth full of bacon, Ruby turned towards Pyrrha with a curious look on her face. “What do you mean, you were there... Weren’t you?”

Blinking, Pyrrha’s eyes lit up. “That’s right. You didn’t know.”

“Know what?” Ruby asked curiously, idly sipping her juice.

Sighing, I placed my plate on the table alongside Pyrrha’s. At least one of them was going to get mad about not being told about last night and I had a good feeling it’d be Blake.

“Last night one of Salem’s agents, Cinder Fall, snuck into Beacon with the help of a certain thief and a small militia of White Fang members,” I answered, causing Ruby to choke. “Luckily, one of the people she was blackmailing didn’t like the idea of attacking a Huntsman Academy and, instead, came to us.”

“That can’t be right. The White Fang would never...” Blake trailed off, her ears flicking backwards. “Why weren’t any of us told about this?! We could have helped. I could have reasoned with them. They–”

“They’d been given orders to kill everyone on site while making their way to the ballroom where they would proceed to target both Weiss and myself,” Winter interrupted.

Clenching her fist, Winter took a breath to calm herself down. “They were also given the orders to capture Blake Belladonna if at all possible and bring her back to their leader, Adam Taurus. I understand that you wish to help, but there’s nothing you could have said or done that would have convinced them otherwise.”

She wasn’t wrong. When it came to the White Fang, Blake had a bit of a blind spot... Choosing to believe that they were simply misguided until she saw for herself what they’d become.

“You don’t know that,” Blake hissed angrily while Winter calmly placed her Scroll on the coffee table, sliding it towards her. Picking up the Scroll, she found it was connected to some kind of database. “What’s this?”

“Footage of those that were caught last night being interrogated,” Winter answered. “You’ll find that those willing to talk all said the same thing. I was there for a few of them and can vouch for their authenticity. If you can’t trust me, then I suppose there isn’t much I can do to convince you otherwise.”

Looking a little surprised at the gesture, Blake stared down at Winter’s Scroll intently, playing the first video.

“So, uh... Since Blake’s busy with that,” Ruby murmured, glancing at her teammate. “What happened to the one that actually works for Salem... Cinder... That’s her name, right?”

Seeing Winter turn towards me with the others following suit, I sighed. “That’s... A little more complicated,” I answered. “We did capture her, but she managed to escape for a few moments and used an ability Salem gave her to try and steal my Semblance.”

The ensuing silence was enough that you could hear a pin drop.

“She took your Semblance?” Ruby asked, sounding horrified.

“Tried to,” I corrected, getting a sigh of relief from several of the room's occupants. “Once my Semblance detected what was happening, it fought back, dragging me inside my mind to deal with an intruder. It turns out Salem took the ability from a man named Marcus Black who was able to steal Semblances and he wasn’t very happy with her.”

It was a pretty horrifying ability... A Semblance wasn’t just a special ability, it was also a part of your soul. The implications of how he was able to steal another Semblance was pretty unsettling.

“I killed whatever remnant of him remained, took care of Cinder and returned to the dance,” I finished. Thinking back to the dead Grimm and Cinder seeing the shadow, I exhaled slowly. It’d only be a matter of time before others found out. “There’s something else as well... A secret  that, until recently, only Maria knew.”

Come to think of it, Maria could probably help me explain–And she’d gone. The bathroom door was shut too. Hearing the water turn on, I sighed. Great, she’d probably be in there for another hour.

It shouldn’t be too hard to explain, right? There were far weirder things out there than a shadow that appears whenever there’s danger… Many of which were directly underneath the Academy.

...Breathe...

A few hours passed before I found myself stepping into the only elevator in Beacon that led to Ozpin’s office alongside Qrow.

Revealing the existence of the Shadow had gone better than I’d expected. There’d been some scepticism from the group and more than a few questions about how it all worked... More than a few actually... To many depending on who you asked.

“So, you and Yang, huh?” Qrow murmured.

Shooting a quick glance towards him, I glanced at the holographic display, watching as it slowly ticked up. “How’d you know?”

“When you get to be my age, you start to pick up on these things.” Qrow shrugged. “Can’t say that it’s completely unexpected, she does have both Taiyang and Raven’s genes.” Taking a swig from his flask, he slipped it back into his jacket pocket. “I’m surprised it took this long if I’m being honest.”

Reaching for his flask again, he grunted and shoved his hands in his pockets instead, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.

“Doing alright?”

“Just peachy... Spent the night looking after my lovely sister, making sure Salem wasn’t under her bed... You know.” Qrow grunted. “Look, you’re a bit too strong for me to give the whole shovel speech about not breaking Yang’s heart, so I’ll leave you this one warning instead. You have to sleep sometime.”

Yeah, that might be intimidating to some people, but... “You do know I keep my Aura up even when I’m asleep, right?”

“Ever have a fully grown Huntress dressed in medieval armour drop down from the ceiling and land on your nuts while you’re sleeping?” Qrow chuckled. “Trust me, it won’t feel active. I’m pretty sure that’s the reason why there aren’t a bunch of mini me’s running around. I really should get around to thanking Raven for that.”

Raven?

“Why?”

“That’s what I asked when she did it. You see, she saw me talking to Taiyang while wearing a skirt and thought I was trying to steal him away from her even though they weren’t dating yet,” Qrow chuckled. “But that’s a whole other story. The important thing here is that she misunderstood the term skirt-chaser and... Oh, the elevator stopped..”

Damn, and it was just starting to get good.

“We’re here,” Qrow announced, stepping off the elevator. “Hopefully this doesn’t take too long cause I desperately need some sleep.”

If it was anything like earlier, then this might last a few hours.

Making my way into the office, I found both Ozpin and Ironwood standing by the desk, while Glynda stood a little further back, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“What’s with the Grimm, you getting into making models?” Qrow asked, reaching for his flask. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like that before.”

“That’s because it’s one of Salem’s creations,” Ozpin replied. “It’s dead and yet... It still retains its original form.”

Blinking, Qrow looked down at his flask and sighed. “Yep... That’s definitely not going to be enough.”

“We were hoping that you might be able to shed some light on the matter,” Ozpin noted, looking at me.

“I might have an idea,” I hummed. “But first, what fairytales do you know that talk about shadows, because I might have a new one for you.”

...Breathe...

Making his way down his Airship’s ramp, Watts stared down at the gloomy atmosphere of Salem’s with a triumphant smirk. His latest scheme had been a complete success and the best part was, he didn’t even need to get his hands dirty.

He just needed to make a single suggestion... A minor tweak that would both speed up repairs and make the Amity Coliseum safer, while also giving him the perfect backdoor, not that anyone would realize.

The amount of progress he could make while not being weighed down by those other imbeciles really was amazing. For the longest time, Watts considered Tyrian to be a bumbling fool obsessed with their queen, but he at the very least got the job done unlike the others.

Hazel, he’d admit, still had his uses, but Cinder... He could spend entire weeks picking apart her many faults. She’d suffered to attain her goal, but that wasn’t enough... And now she’d been caught by Ozpin and his ilk. Dead or alive, he wasn’t sure. Everything pertaining to her was being kept strictly offline.

As for her teammates... They weren’t too important in the grand scheme of things. Well... No matter. He’d simply need to pick up after her once more.

Pushing the main doors to the castle open, Watts stared as one of Salem’s Seers floated down in front of him.

“Your majesty...”

“You’ve returned, I see. Good,” Salem commented, appearing a little distracted oddly enough. “I require your assistance with something. My Seer will guide you to where you need to go.”

“Of course.” Watts nodded. “I’ve finished the task you gave me and I also have news on Cinder.“

“Later,” Salem said, her image disappearing, leaving only the Grimm behind.

Twitching as it suddenly regained control of itself, the Seer slowly floated backwards, leading Watts down a nearby hallway.

The further he made his way into the castle, the more Watts began to realize that something was wrong.

It was little things at first. A lack of Grimm, a few scratches here and there, a broken door, but as he made his way deeper the scratch marks became more numerous and the damage more severe with small droplets of blood littering the floor.

Turning down a hallway that ended in quite the substantial pool of blood, the Seer led him down a corridor where it seemed to trail off. It was only then that he saw Salem and who he assumed was Hazel... Although he was beginning to appear less like a who and more like a what.

The amount of damage done to his body was quite substantial. It looked like he’d gone through a blender... Not counting the blood loss, it was a miracle he was still alive... Although, judging by the black veins spreading throughout his body, it might have been something a little less than a miracle.

“Ah, Dr. Watts, you’ve finally arrived,” Salem said calmly. “I’ve managed to keep Hazel alive for now, but I could use your expertise.”

“I’m... Not that kind of doctor.”

“Today you are,” Salem replied, not missing a beat. “There’s only so much my magic can do to keep him alive. If something isn’t done, he will die.”

Yes, he could see that. If it weren’t for Salem’s magic, he’d have died long ago. “I suppose I can give it a shot, but I make no promises,” Watts murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “We’ll need to get him to my lab first, but I somehow doubt he’ll survive the trip.”

Bringing her hand up, a purple aura briefly lit up around Hazel’s body, before he was suddenly pulled into the air. Stepping down the hallway, Hazel’s body idly floated at her side. “I wouldn’t count him out just yet, he may still surprise you. Hazel has a surprising will to survive and a body capable of adapting to almost anything it’s put through.”

That much was true. Hazel wasn’t exactly the intelligent type that Watts could appreciate, but he was surprisingly difficult to kill. The rate at which his Aura regenerated was monstrous, second only to Calavera’s and his ability to just stab Dust crystals directly into his body and not explode was more than a little insane.

Most would just die, but Hazel... He made it his whole fighting style. If he could casually survive that, it begged the question of what exactly put him in this state.

“If I may ask, what exactly happened in my absence?”

If he didn’t know any better, he’d say an exceptionally powerful Grimm was at fault, but given Salem’s ability to control them, the only way that would happen is if she specifically ordered it to attack Hazel and given how she was trying to save him...

“I was experimenting with a small portion of the sample you sent back,” Salem explained. “It has the amazing ability to amplify a Grimm’s strength far beyond what would be considered natural, but it comes with the drawback of sending them into a frenzy... One that even I can’t control.”

That explained the mess... And Hazel’s state. “Which Grimm did you use, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“The only one worth using it on,” Salem answered. “I had thought that my Hound, with its enhanced intellect would be most suited for this experiment, but I was proven wrong. Needless to say, she is no longer with us.”

“It’s dead?”

And right after it took out most of the teaching staff in Beacon. What a waste.

“I didn’t say that,” She hummed, turning a corner. “She is still very much alive. After growing bored with Hazel and myself, she left.”

Slowing his pace, Watts stopped for a moment. The realization that the creature that almost ended up killing Hazel might still be in the vicinity hit him like a ton of bricks. “Did you see where it went?” He did install a tracker in it, but given his location, he’d need to go back to the Airship to get an adequate signal.

The thought of heading outside when something that could do this to Hazel was in the area...

They were already near his lab, perhaps he could barricade himself inside while tending to Hazel’s wounds... Should that thing return, he could use his Androids to keep it busy while he made his escape. Yes, that seemed like an adequate plan.

“By the time I’d finished reforming, she was already long gone,” Salem replied, somewhat putting Watts' worries to rest. “Given her actions in Beacon, one destination does come to mind... Home.”