Breathe Chapter 72: Rest

“Officials are telling us that the problem has been resolved and another Ancient Grimm has been slain. We haven’t had any further updates on Coal Calavera’s status, but, thanks to an anonymous source, we received video footage of his return to Beacon Academy... Accompanied by Winter Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos.”

A short, ten second clip played, getting a pained groan from the resident red head, before cutting back to Lisa Lavender.

“My mom’s going to kill me,” Pyrrha muttered under her breath.

And me! I promised Thetis I wouldn’t let Pyrrha face anything she wasn’t ready for and while she was able to hold her own against, I had still brought her face to face with an Ancient Grimm.

I can’t think of any parent that would be happy with that... Well, except maybe Raven, but that was because of her ideals on strength.

“Neither of them are available for comment,” Lisa noted. “In other news, councillor Rafaj Reiziv was recently arrested for the part he played in awakening the Ancient Grimm. When questioned, he responded with saying that since he was not personally involved, he wasn’t technically breaking any laws and that the incident only occurred due to a mistake… A sentiment that is not shared by his fellow councilors.”

Winter seemed fairly satisfied with that... Not that I blamed her. I was sure that pretty much everyone else felt the same way.

Accidentally drawing the attention of a Leviathan class Grimm was a mistake. Actively waking something that had been asleep for centuries or, in some cases, millennia... That was a whole new level of stupid.

Turning my attention away from the Scroll, I tucked my hands under my head and settled for staring up at the ceiling. At Ozpin’s insistence, we’d gone to Beacon’s infirmary to ensure that there weren’t any lasting effects from our fight with the Ancient Grimm.

It was a step up from the hospital back in Atlas where I’d been poked and prodded by a number of doctors who honestly had no clue on how my body worked, but it was a little boring. We’d only been back for about an hour now and they’d just managed to get the power working again.

Then there was the Grimm attack... I hadn’t heard much about it, other than the fact that it was Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Blake who managed to fend it off. I’d wanted to talk to them and see how they were doing, but they were all currently resting while Maria watched over them.

Hearing a knock, I glanced towards the doorway as Ozpin poked his head in. “I hope we’re not interrupting anything.”

Seeing as we were all in separate beds, if anything actually was happening between us, it’d either be extremely impressive or downright painful.

I shook my head. “Come on in.” This was his school after all.

“Thank you, I apologize for keeping you so long. There were other pressing matters that required my attention,” Ozpin replied, stepping into the room. “It’s a nightmare out there I’m afraid. Between the council, the Academy and an overly inflated Vale, I haven’t had very much time to myself. That being said, I do have help.”

Ozpin gestured towards the door as Ironwood stepped through.

“James,” I said. Sliding out of bed, I stood to greet him. “It’s been a while.”

“That it has,” Ironwood hummed. “And you as well, Winter. Ozpin’s told me about all of the good you’ve been doing in Vale. I trust that you’ve been doing well.”

Winter nodded stiffly. “Yes, sir!”

“At ease... This isn’t an official visit... You haven’t been an active member of the military for some time now,” He noted. “I would like to talk to you about your accomplishments, but that will have to wait for a later date. There are far more pressing issues to discuss.”

“Like the Grimm we fought,” Pyrrha murmured a little too loudly, drawing attention from the two Headmasters.

Humming softly, Ozpin tapped his cane against the ground. “Among other things, yes.”

Glancing at Ozpin, Ironwood continued. “With everything that’s happened, it’s become quite clear that Salem was involved. What she was after, we aren’t entirely sure. What we do know is that she launched three... Potentially four separate attacks. You three managed to thwart one while your students handled the human-Grimm hybrid.”

I exhaled slowly. So that’s what happened here. Salem made a new pet and from the looks of it, it was a vast improvement over the one she made from Tyrian’s remains. I was going to need to check in on them once we were done here.

“Unfortunately, Salem’s new creation wasn’t the only thing skulking through these halls,” Ozpin added. “While the Grimm kept the faculty busy, Hazel managed to quietly make his way up to Amber’s room before being chased off by Qrow and an irate Fall Maiden.”

Alright, so Salem now knew that there was at least one Maiden here... But why would she send Hazel when she could have sent Cinder to make an attempt. Surely she should realize that this was only going to make it harder for them to get anywhere near Amber.

“What’s the fourth one?”

Stepping forward, James held his Scroll in front of him with a projection of the Amity Colosseum. “There was a sudden influx of Grimm that managed to temporarily overrun the arena and did some damage to some of the more delicate controls. Fortunately, the onboard personnel managed to regain control of the situation before anything critical was damaged.”

The Vytal tournament had been one of Cinder’s targets, so it wouldn’t be too much of a leap to say that this had been a planned attack... Four separate attacks in the span of one day, each of them failing in one way or another... Why did that leave me feeling uneasy?

It all seemed so... Unfocused, like they were throwing their plans at the wall to see what stuck instead of focusing all their efforts on a single plan.

If they’d sent Salem’s new hybrid to the Amity Colosseum, she likely could have taken it down... The same went for using the Grimm horde to attack Beacon to destroy the CCTS and potentially steal a Maiden’s powers.

Instead of focusing her attacks, Salem chose the lesser path, losing intentionally. The only reason why someone would do such a thing is if they had something bigger in mind. In losing, she’d won this round ironically enough.

“With everything that’s happened over the last day, I must ask if there’s anything that the three of you noticed while fighting the Grimm,” Ozpin explained. “Or if it was simply a distraction.”

“Well,” Pyrrha murmured, looking a little unsure of herself. “It all happened so fast. There was so much going on. I remember feeling like I was going to be crushed under its presence when we fought it, but I can’t recall any details right now... I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright, not many could go through what you did, fewer would survive for longer a minute,” Ozpin hummed. “Should you recall anything further, my door will be open.”

Seeing Ozpin and Ironwood’s attention turned towards her now, Winter sighed and gripped her sheets. “I can recall much of what happened, but without knowing what is normal for an Ancient Grimm, I can’t say if there was anything unusual about it... Besides the Grimm itself being an anomaly.”

I guess that just left me, seeing as I was the only one with prior experience with this kind of Grimm.

“It was stronger and more durable than the last one, but it didn’t regenerate as well and was easier to kill if that makes sense,” I noted. Thinking back to the fight, I did recall something that might count as strange. “There is something else. It seemed a little distracted. At one point, it even stopped fighting and looked away.”

I hadn’t paid it any mind back then, but now that I had some time, it just seemed really odd that it would be distracted right after I’d ripped a hole in its side.

“It’s not much to go one,” Ironwood sighed. “But it’s a start. I’ll have my drones sweep the area. If there’s anything there, they’ll find it. Is there anything else that you can tell us? Anything at all?”

“I think we should end things here for now, don’t you, James?” Ozpin asked, fixing Ironwood with a pointed stare. “It’s been a fairly long day for all of us. A night's rest may provide the clarity that we all seek.”

Backing down, James nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“Excellent,” Ozpin hummed. “Then I believe some sleep is in order, but before we leave... Ms. Nikos. Could you perhaps check your Scroll?”

Doing as he asked, Pyrrha unlocked her Scroll and stared down at her screen curiously, before her eyes widened in shock. “What is this?”

“You didn’t think that your efforts would go unnoticed, did you?” Ozpin asked amusedly. “Over the past semester, you’ve fought Grimm that would give some of the most seasoned Huntsmen pause. As it stands, it would be foolish of me not to grant you your license.”

“But I can’t... This is all so sudden. What about my schooling?”

“You’re still welcome to attend classes, of course,” Ozpin replied. “Encouraged even. This will just help smooth things over on the legal side. Not much, if anything, has changed.”

“I... Thank you, headmaster.”

“You are very welcome,” Ozpin hummed.

Well, once things calm down, we were going to have to celebrate Pyrrha’s new promotion... Come to think of it, I didn’t get the chance to celebrate mine either, so this should be pretty fun.

...Breathe...

It was a little while later that I found myself making my way through Beacon’s halls, the soft sound of rain hitting the windows being the only thing to accompany me. Stepping over some broken glass, I glanced up to see a few broken light fixtures before continuing on my way.

I’d initially checked in on the dorms, looking to see how everyone was doing after the fight and found Maria asleep in a chair, sitting in front of four beds and a slumbering team... Well, except for Yang who was nowhere in sight... Neither were her Gauntlets for that matter.

Finding her wasn’t too much of a challenge. There were only a handful of places where she would be able to use her Gauntlets in peace and only one that she was familiar enough to sneak in at this hour.

Pausing as I reached the Amphitheatre, I smelt a second scent coming from the room. Heading in I found Yang standing in the center of the room, breathing heavily as sweat poured down her face.

Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she lunged forward and brought her arm down, slashing an imaginary enemy.

“Sun Breathing: Dance”

Gasping for air, her hands shook as she slouched forward. “Again.” Forcing herself up, she repeated the motion and brought her arm down only to fall forward as her legs gave out from beneath her.

Catching herself before she hit the ground, Yang attempted to get back up only to find her body unresponsive. “Get up!” Slamming her fist into her unresponsive legs to get some feeling back in them, Yang tried to stand once more, only to land up on her butt. Flopping to the ground, she covered her eyes with her arm. “Damnit!”

Silently making my way over, I crouched down beside her and grabbed a bottle of water from my inventory before tapping it against her face. “You look like you could use this.”

Jolting in shock, Yang threw a surprised punch only to come up short when her body refused to listen to her.

“Coal?!” Yang breathed. “What... When did... How long have you been here?”

“A while,” I hummed while waving the water bottle in front of her. “Drink this... You’ll feel better.”

Taking the bottle, she popped the cap and within the span of two seconds, it was empty. “Thanks,” Yang murmured, wiping her arm across her mouth. “You don’t have another one, do you?”

Grabbing another bottle from my inventory, I handed it to her. “Drink this one a little slower, alright. Your body needs time to realize that it has water. Drink too much too quickly and you’ll feel sick.”

“Yeah, yeah. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this,” Yang said, taking noticeably smaller sips. Struggling to move her legs, she sighed and settled for staring at the floor.. “So aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here pushing myself so hard? Or tell me that I’m wasting my time and that I should get some sleep?”

The thought had admittedly crossed my mind, but that wasn’t what Yang needed now.

“No.”

“Huh...” She suddenly turned to look at me. “Then why are you here?”

Sitting down next to her, I let out a yawn while stretching. “Because you’re here,” I hummed. “Ozpin mentioned that the four of you ran into one of Salem’s creations.”

Letting out a hissed, Yang’s eyes flashed red. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s fine. We don’t need to talk,” I said, calming her down. “We could just sit here until morning if that’s what you feel you need to do.”

“...Why?” She asked, her throat raw.

Grabbing another bottle of water, I placed it on the ground behind her. “Why wouldn’t I? Tell me, don’t tell me, it doesn’t make any difference. If you feel you need to train to exhaustion, rage and destroy things or just sit in silence, I’ll be right there with you.”

Shakily reaching out, Yang pulled me into a hug, gripping the back of my shirt tightly. Breathing shakily, her body trembled as she fought back a sob. “The Hound... There was a person inside.”

“I know,” I said, soothingly rubbing her back.

“It was a woman... She seemed to recognize Ruby...She grabbed a hold of me...” Yang continued. “I didn’t... Really get a good look at her, but... What if that was my mom...”

Feeling a surge of hatred and anger boiling in my chest, I took a slow breath and let it go. Right now, my priority was Yang, not Salem.

“Let it out,” I murmured. “The fear, the anger and the grief... I’ll be here to pick up the pieces.”

What started off as Yang sobbing softly into my chest soon turned a cry that sounded throughout the Amphitheatre. Like a dam breaking, all of her emotions flooded out at once. Gripping my shirt tightly, her Semblance flared, lighting her up in a golden hue.

It must have been about half an hour before she finally calmed down. Her body still trembled, but her cry had finally ended. Feeling her breathing even out, I waited a few more moments before pulling back, only for her to fall forward.

Between her training and her emotional turmoil, she’d hit her limit and ended up crying herself to sleep.

Hooking an arm under her legs, I stood up, pulling her against my chest. It was already pretty late and I didn’t foresee Yang waking up anytime soon. It’d probably be for the best if I brought her back to her dorm.

Taking a step towards the exit, I paused and glanced back at one of the darker corners in the room. “So, are you going to come out or do you want to keep hiding in the shadows?”

A few moments passed before Qrow stepped out into the light. “What gave me away?”

“I smelled the alcohol,” I hummed, tapping my nose. “I knew you were there from the beginning. I just decided to focus on Yang instead.” Shifting Yang into a more comfortable position, I glanced back up at Qrow. “So why the secrecy?”

“No reason really, I was just making sure she was alright. If she knew I was here, she’d probably try and chase me off.” Shrugging, he grabbed his flask before letting out a sigh as he slipped it back into his pocket.

That was odd, he never gave up the chance to drink. “Is everything alright?”

“Just peachy,” Qrow grunted. “I had my ass handed to me by Hazel only to be saved by Amber, revealing the Fall Maiden to Salem... Oh and I also found out that my dead teammate might have been made into some kind of abomination by Salem. Why wouldn’t I be great?”

“Sorry.”

“Not like it’s your fault,” Qrow muttered. “It’s just bad luck. This headache isn’t helping either,” He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“I’d offer to give you some water, but...” Trailing off, I glanced down at Yang. “My hands are a little full right now.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Just get Yang back to her dorm and I’ll handle this hangover,” Qrow replied. “As much as it pains me to say it, she’ll be safer with you than she is with me.”

“Okay, I’ll just get going then.”

“One last thing,” Qrow muttered. “Taiyang doesn’t know about this. Raven leaving hurt him, Summer’s death broke him and this... This’ll straight up kill him.”

...Breathe...

Stopping in front of RWBY’s dorm, I looked towards the scanner pad and glanced down towards Yang. Hoisting her up a little, I leaned her against my chest and quickly swiped my Scroll across the pad, unlocking the door.

Taking a single step into the dark room, I winced and cursed under my breath as Yang’s head thumped against the doorframe. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any damage to either of them. Yang remained asleep, blissfully unaware of my mistake.

Lowering her, I took in my surroundings, making sure that I wouldn’t accidentally bump Yang against something else, before taking another step forward.

“Back again, I see,” Maria murmured softly, a sliver of blue light shining from her goggles. “And you brought Blondie too. Where was she?”

She knew I was here earlier? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, her Semblance did give her a kind of sixth sense. I must have accidentally woken her up when I first checked in on them.

“The Amphitheatre... Training,” I hummed, moving the empty top bunk. “Today’s been a nightmare.”

“Did the Grimm give you that much trouble?”

Shaking my head, I pulled the blankets back on Yang’s bed, before laying her down. Tugging off her boots, I put them to the side and began removing her Gauntlets. I doubt the rest of her team would be happy if they went off while she was sleeping.

“Not really... It did do some damage, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle... I learnt something new too, so there’s that,” I shrugged. “I should have been here for the Grimm Salem sent... I could have spared them the pain.”

Sighing, Maria propped herself up in her chair. “If you had, you wouldn’t have been able to stop that Grimm. It’s an unfortunate lesson to learn, but you can’t be everywhere at once. There comes a point where, when teaching, where you need to let your students experience everything on their own... For better or worse. For me, it was when Raven attacked our camp.”

“And for me it was today,” I muttered.

“That it was,” Maria chuckled softly. “You’ll get used to it... It was the same with you.”

Pulling the blanket over Yang’s slumbering form, I placed her Gauntlets on the table to the side and leaned down to place her boots on the ground, coming face to face with Blake who stared at me with blank amber eyes.

“Yang’s boots go behind the door... Put them any closer and they’d stink up the place,” Blake murmured.

Nodding, I carried them over towards the door. “Right, sorry.”

Giving me a pointed look, Blake sighed and laid back in her bed. “No worries. Thank you for bringing her back.” Turning over, she pulled her blankets up, apparently done with me. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“I’m glad you’re alright too.”

Turning towards the other bunk beds, I glanced over Ruby and Weiss’ form, making sure that they were still asleep. Heading a little closer, I checked up on the duo before deadpanning. Was everyone except Yang awake right now?

Looking down at Weiss who was wearing the hoodie I’d lent her ages ago, I panned up at Ruby who twitched nervously.

“I guess I’ll be going then.”

“Sure,” Maria waved me off. “Get some rest.”

Turning away, I took a single step, before suddenly spinning around. Letting out a small eep, Ruby ended up rolling off her bed, only to end up dangling in the air as her cape caught on the bedpost.

“Gah, not like this… Not like this.”

Grabbing the clasp on her cloak, I pulled it to the side, freeing her from being choked. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Ruby replied, rubbing her throat. “Believe it or not, that’s not the first time that’s happened.”

You know, given everything I knew about Ruby, I could believe that.

“I heard about your fight earlier,” I hummed. “If you want to talk about it, I’m here.”

“Oh, right… That,” Ruby muttered, looking away. “It was kinda crazy… I’m still coming to terms with it, but I think I’m alright for now.”

Nodding, I rubbed her head, getting a happy chirp in response. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

Heading over towards the door as Ruby climbed back into bed, I pulled it open before stopping when a soft, uncertain hum coming from the bunk below Ruby’s sounded through the room.

“Could I… Is Winter alright?” Weiss asked worriedly. “I wanted to go see her earlier, but the infirmary was locked down and, well...”

“She’s fine and so is Pyrrha,” I replied. “You can see her tomorrow if you want.”

With how much had gone down in the past day, I might need to accelerate their training a little and the first step to that was getting them to master Total Concentration Constant… Come to think of it, I’d probably need to check in with Oscar too.

…Breathe…

Stepping down the Airships ramp, Hazel was once more greeted to an all too familiar gloomy atmosphere. A place where death was all but guaranteed for all others… With a key few exceptions, namely those who worked for Salem.

Grabbing a thick chain that laid on the ramp, Hazel threw it over his shoulder and walked forward, heaving a large shipping container off the airship and onto the black soil below. Without so much as a single command, Salem’s latest creation trotted past him and entered the castle.

Dragging the container through the desolate lands, Hazel finally reached the castle where several Seers waited for him. At the head of it all was Salem herself who stared at the container with great interest.

Silently making her way over, she slid her hand against the container. For a moment, all was quiet, before a dull thump suddenly made itself heard from inside the box. Sounding almost like the beating of a heart.

“Tell me, Hazel, how did my new pet fair in Beacon?”

“Fairly well,” Hazel hummed. “It managed to make its way through the Academy almost completely undetected and served as an adequate distraction, giving me time to find the Fall Maiden. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do as well in direct conflict.”

“Oh? Do explain.”

“There was a team that managed to fight it off… Almost killing it,” Hazel replied. “I’m not entirely sure, but I think one of them had Silver eyes.”

“Interesting, I assumed that having a Silver eyed warrior as its core would render it immune to such things,” Salem murmured. “No matter, with this, there shouldn’t be any problems. I will require you to bring it further into the castle, it can’t be allowed to come into contact with anything Grimm in nature.”

Yes, he’d been meaning to ask about that. Having simply collected it, he had no idea what it was… Other than the fact that there was something alive in there.

“What is it?”

Salem smirked. “Something never before seen. A piece of one of the Ancients preserved beyond its body’s death.”