A Long Awaited Reunion (ch3)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

So, being I have a lot of stories I'm working on all at the same time, I ended up starting to post another fic before I'd finished posting this one, which is why ch3 is coming a little late haha oops. Hope you enjoy anyway!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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														Chapter 3.

Blake's ears burn at the sounds of fighting all around her.

The Faunus she'd led from Menagerie are engaged in battle with the White Fang, desperately trying to do anything short of harming or being harmed. Their goal is to prevent, halt, and subdue, not to make them bleed. They don't want any deaths here tonight.

Blake had done all she could to keep things peaceful, but she'd known from the very start that her chances of keeping it that way had been slim to none. Just as she didn't like violence, Adam didn't like peace.

Though in spite of her beliefs, that doesn't stop her from taking her chance when she sees it.

As soon as he charges her she deploys her decoy, leaving the clone behind for him to attack, a trick she'd used on him so many times. He just didn't learn.

She'd been anticipating this from him, so slipping away is easy. She watches him from the side, the raging snarl on his lips, the red burning in his mask.

Had she been more like him she might've used her sword. But she never had been. She still isn't. And she never would be.

She interlocks her fingers tightly and raises her fists high above her head, noticing the exact moment he comprehends his mistake. It'll be one of his last.

With a small shout, Blake brings her fists down in a dizzying blow to the back of his head, knocking him down with satisfying force as he tumbles.

And as if all hell hadn't already broken loose, even more bursts free. There's an explosion, and one of the walls of Haven Academy ruptures as a man far too large for it to be natural comes crashing through. His muscles are swollen with Dust, his teeth bared in a growl.

It indicates to Blake that there's fighting going on inside as well. She didn't know about that. She doesn't know who's inside or why.

Her mind whirls with questions now as she dodges an attack from a Fang member. She may need to rethink her plans if there are more enemies inside.

As she skids to a stop, she catches a glimpse of the man who'd just come hurtling out here. Whomever had been powerful enough to send him flying-

Suddenly, a blade of sorts comes shooting out from inside the building. It's thin and sharp and white, and it impales him straight through. Blake gasps as she watches it retract him, reeling him back inside to whatever battle he'd been fighting.

And that's when she sees it. The massive hornet Grimm hovering in the middle of the room.

It's white. She's never seen one like that before...

And that's when her eyes drop down to scan the room.

She recognizes her enemies. People she'd fought many many times before, just like Adam, all brought here now at the same time.

But her eyes don't linger on them. Not even for a second. Because enemies aren't the only people here.

Standing there, beneath the beautifully terrifying Grimm, are three people Blake would never forget for as long as she lives.

She met Weiss' eyes first, and even from across the room she could still see the piercing blue as if she were standing right beside her. Given that the Grimm isn't attacking the heiress in spite of its proximity, and given its color, Blake can only assume it belongs to Weiss somehow.

She sees the gasp rise up in the heiress' chest as she recognized her too.

And that's what leads Ruby to turn around.

Blake's eyes flick to her next, her brave young leader who has Crescent Rose in-hand, ready to continue the fight with all she has. Her silver eyes go wide as she meets Blake's, her mouth opening slightly in disbelief.

And then Blake's eyes travel just a little bit more.

To the last person she'd seen of her team before she'd left.

Before she'd run away.

A few things have changed since the last time Blake had seen her. Her clothes are different, and most notably there is a new arm on her right shoulder.

But most things haven't changed.

Her hair is still as bright as ever, her stance filled with power-

-and her eyes...

Blake watches as they find her own, soft lavender rimmed slightly with crimson.

Yang freezes upon seeing her, and Blake feels her own heart getting stuck in her chest.

And with everything that had happened, and with everything that is happening right this very second, with all the shock and confusion and mixed emotions of relief and joy and terror, only one word tumbles out of Blake's mouth.

"Yang...?"

All four of them seem to be suspended for a split second that lasts a lifetime. The battle seems to pause, but they soon realize it's still going on all around them.

Blake feels the urge to run again. But if it's away from her teammates or toward them she doesn't know. Her ears swivel at Ruby's sudden cry.

"Yang, go!"

Their leader's shout pulls them all back into reality. Before Blake can so much as find her breath again, she watches Yang whip around and tear off in the opposite direction.

Blake isn't sure what's happening, but the fact that Ruby had prompted the action leads her to believe Yang isn't running away from Blake, but toward something else.

As she goes, Emerald and Mercury try to intercept. Blake feels the hair on the back of her neck rise. Instinctually, she's prepared to dart forward on Yang's behalf, to protect her partner.

But before she can so much as move, she watches as Yang's right arm detaches in Mercury's grip. He staggers at the unexpected shift in weight, just long enough for Yang to keep going.

Blake doesn't see exactly where she disappears to, but she does see the impenetrable wall of ice that shoots up to defend her exit. It all brings Blake back to the present, and her eyes travel to her leader once again.

She wants to follow Yang. She wants to help Ruby and Weiss. But she still has things to do first.

Ruby seems to understand. Her silver eyes are strangely calm as she collects herself from the shock of it all. They don't need to speak in order to establish that understanding.

Ruby gives her approval with a nod, and Blake knows how difficult that must be for her. For her to send Blake off so she can accomplish what needs to be done. To give her permission to leave them again, knowing full-well this might be their only chance to stay together.

Ruby had always been so selfless, so empathetic.

Blake dips her head, holding Ruby's gaze for a second longer, hoping her eyes can convey the promise that this won't be the last time. Blake is going to make sure of it.

So as she runs back outside in the fray of Faunus, she doesn't waste a second longer on Adam than she needs to. With Sun, Ilia, and all the other Faunus assisting her with their efforts, it doesn't take long for the authorities to arrive and help subdue the White Fang.

Adam turns tail and runs long before they even show up.

And as much as Blake is itching to follow after him, she doesn't. She stops Sun as well, and before long he's sending her back inside.

Back to the people she actually wants to deal with. Adam would have to wait.

Blake hurries inside the building through the hole in the wall, avoiding the debris as she seeks out her teammates.

Yang is still nowhere to be seen, but Ruby and Weiss are outnumbered now. She doesn't know how long they've been here, how long they've been fighting. But Ruby seems to be a little sluggish with her movements, and Weiss is relying almost solely on the white Grimm. That's when Blake notices the blood coating her side.

They need backup.

She rushes forward, watching as the white Grimm suffers a fiery blow that has it disintegrating, their most reliable weapon shattering like glass in midair. There's a brief second of pause, and Blake sees their three adversaries turning to face Ruby and Weiss.

Blake gives a jump to make things even.

With a grunt she hurls herself forward, her boots colliding at the back of the biggest man's head, sending him to the floor with a roar. Blake skids to a stop right beside her teammates, hearing their surprised yelps. She straightens up, immediately looking to Weiss, her side caked with blood.

"Are you hurt?"

Weiss seems flustered for a second.

"N-No! I just remember you being more of the quiet one..."

Blake draws Gambol Shroud and faces their adversaries.

"Not today."

And it starts to feel like old times again. Teammates standing side by side, weapons drawn, ready to fight together against all odds.

"All right. What's the plan, Ruby?"

As Weiss prompts her, Ruby assesses the situation. It's three-on-three now. She smirks.

"Checkmate!"

The name of their tagteam is nostalgic, and Weiss and Blake move in perfect unison as they charge forward together. Emerald and Mercury run to meet them, leaving Ruby and Crescent Rose to deal with Hazel for the time being.

Blake ends up in front of Mercury, dodging his kicks and punches with ease. Her allies had worn him down already, but Blake is fresh to the fight.

She blocks his kicks and fires at him, twisting around to aim a sweeping kick at his ankles. He jumps back but she follows up with her katana, slicing at his prosthetic shins to send him stumbling back.

Ruby seems to be holding her own against Hazel, so Blake makes sure to keep an eye on Weiss. She doesn't know the extent of her injuries, but she seems to be keeping pace with Emerald for now. She catches Blake's eye, giving a sharp turn of her head, a signal to fall back.

Just as Blake jumps away, a sudden flick of the heiress' wrist has a sheet of ice forming across the floor. Both Emerald and Mercury curse as they slip. Blake fires at both of them, wanting to help Ruby as quickly as possible.

Once they're down for the moment she turns back to Weiss. The heiress is panting a bit, and her hand has gone up to her bloodied side. She too, is turning and prepared to help Ruby.

But Blake sees the movement behind them. Emerald raises her weapon and aims a shot at Weiss' back.

But Blake's faster. She tosses out Gambol Shroud, the ribbon looping securely around Weiss' waist before pulling her out of range. Blake puts out her arm to steady Weiss as she reels her close and then lets her go. The heiress gasps and looks up to her.

"Thank you."

"No need."

A crash from nearby alerts them both to Ruby's situation. She's dodging the massive fists that split the flooring, hooking Crescent Rose around Hazel's body to try and fling him back. Behind them Emerald and Mercury are getting up quickly.

Ruby hardly needs to give her call of "Ice Flower!" before Weiss is charging to her side to fire at Hazel's feet, creating more ice to unbalance him.

Blake tears off to deal with the other two. They seem ready to take her two-on-one, but at the last second she forms a clone to make things even. She's much quicker than both of them combined, dodging their blows and bullets with ease, leaving her clone to take the brunt of things so she can aim a proper attack of her own.

And the only time she isn't able to anticipate Emerald's attack from behind doesn't matter, because an ice-coated bullet comes whizzing over to strike her shoulder and send her to her knees.

It's nonstop fighting. Jaune and his team are limited in what they can do, as are Qrow and Oscar. Ruby Weiss and Blake cover each other impeccably, not allowing a single enemy blow to land.

But the constant fighting is beginning to take its toll after a few minutes, even on Blake. She soon becomes more concerned with covering her teammates than taking down their enemies.

She sees Ruby stumble as she comes down from a jump, and Blake darts in to pull her out of range of Hazel's fists. She sees Weiss drop to her knees to try and summon again, but the glyphs only flicker with light before fading away.

The only comfort is that their enemies seem equally as exhausted for the most part.

Everyone keeps fighting out of necessity rather than a desire to.

But after several more kicks and bullets and punches, there comes an instance where everyone seems to take a step back to their own sides.

Blake finds herself in line with her allies as they face their enemies. Everyone is panting and fighting for balance and a grip on their weapons. It's Ruby who speaks up to address their foes.

"That's enough! Just... give up."

"It's not over!" Emerald shouts. "Cinder will come back! She'll have the relic, and she'll stop all of you! She won't let us down..."

From her statement, Blake can gather that's where Yang had gone, to retrieve one of the relics before Cinder or anyone else could.

A pang of fear strikes her heart. She isn't sure where things are going from here, but she tightens her grip on Gambol Shroud, preparing for another skirmish.

And then there's a clattering of sorts, and everyone's attention is drawn to the platform. It rises from the depths of the vault with only a single person standing atop.

Long golden hair, lavender eyes, and the relic in-hand.

Blake and the others stand back, watching her ascent to the top of the platform.

Wide-eyed - some in dread and disbelief, some in relief and wonder - they all tilt their heads back and lift their eyes to gaze at her.

Blake isn't sure what she's feeling. It's an indescribable mixture of being humbled and happy, but also a little scared.

But what surfaces most of all is pride.

She can't take her eyes off of her partner. She hears Ruby's breathless whisper of her sister's name and knows the others are equally as baffled.

There's a beat of silence, and Blake stiffens instinctively when Yang looks directly at her. Blake's eyes flick away almost shamefully, as if she doesn't deserve to be meeting her gaze right now.

But in the six months she'd been away from her team, she'd learned a lot about them. Like how Yang wouldn't be looking at her right now if she didn't want to be.

Blake wants to look back.

So she raises her eyes once again, ears flattening just a little – unsure.

The entire room is suspended in silence as the reality sinks in.

And then a scream.

Blake whirls around to find it hadn't been one of her teammates. Emerald is on her hands and knees, but Blake can't discern anything more before a thick black cloud of smoke begins swirling to life in the middle of the room.

In seconds, the shadows consume the light, black plumes festering in a massive threatening mist before a figure emerges.

It's a woman, skin pale as bone and cracked like red ice, black robes melting off her arms. The places where the eyes should've been are barren black holes.

She rises up, towering over all of them, contorted and hissing as the dark winds pick up.

She rears back.

And then the shriek.

The most chilling, most terrifying shriek.

It freezes their hearts, curdles their blood, makes them nauseous with sheer horror.

The jaw unhinges like a serpent's as she lunges forward, straight for them.

They can only close their eyes-

…And then it's over.

It takes them a moment to reopen their eyes, still shaking like rabbits in a wolf's den. But the image is gone, and so are their enemies.

Blake's grip on her weapon is still tight, though her stance is trembling.

"What... what was that...?"

"An illusion." The answer comes from a boy she doesn't recognize. "But an accurate one. That... was Salem."

The words mean little to Blake at the moment, but judging by the stunned silence of her teammates, the answer is nothing good. At the very least, there's no one left for them to fight here now.

It seems... it's over. For the time being.

When she's finally able to catch her breath, Blake sheathes her weapon.

The sounds of multiple footsteps has her turning around to face the broken wall. Her parents rush to her side and pull her into a tight embrace. Blake is weak with relief at seeing them unharmed, hearing their news that Haven is safe now.

Her mind is still rushing as she takes note of Sun and Ilia as well, also unharmed.

None of them are hurt. She can hardly wrap her mind around it. None of them have been hurt, the White Fang have finally been apprehended, Adam is gone and on his own.

For once, Blake almost feels they've actually won. It's like a miracle-

"Ah!"

She's pulled from her thoughts by a sudden tug on her waist. Sun's tail twirls her around to face her teammates once again.

For a second, she forgets how to move. It's almost scarier to take a step toward them now than it had been to engage in this fight with the White Fang.

But something that far outweighs that fear is winning.

She advances toward them, step by step. But her pace quickens a bit when Ruby suddenly sways and collapses to her knees. Weiss yelps and kneels to catch her, keeping her up as much as either of them can manage.

By now Blake is standing right over them, ears drooping slightly. When they look up at her she almost flinches.

But their smiles are warm and inviting. Just like always.

In spite of the turmoil in her chest, Blake makes a move to join them on the floor.

But the second Yang staggers over and drops down beside her little sister, Blake freezes. She has no qualms going to Ruby or Weiss. But Yang...

She's still scared. Of what Yang might do. Of what she might say.

Blake knows she won't be able to bear rejection. Not hers.

"So Blake..." Ruby says, thinly smiling. "What are you doing here?"

And Blake looks them all over in turn. Weiss' startled blue eyes, as if she still can't truly believe Blake is standing here in front of her. Ruby's calmer silver eyes, almost as if she'd been expecting to see Blake here somehow.

And...

Yang's eyes... that familiar soft lavender...

Her gaze is hard and unreadable, almost wary. The notion that Yang might not trust her now, after all Blake had done...

She can't blame her though.

She feels her ears sinking lower, shame, confusion, and embarrassment coiling tightly in her stomach.

There's still an urge to run. She fears there always will be.

But she can't. Not this time.

She has to stay. She wants to...

"I... I was going to ask you three the same thing..."

She waits, refusing to budge one direction or the other, toward or away from them.

Ruby looks from Weiss to Yang, and then back to Blake. She's still smiling.

"That's... a loooong story."

Blake isn't sure why, but she can feel her lips curling up into a smile as well. Maybe it's because Ruby's smile has always been contagious. Maybe it's just because she's glad to see them all together again.

"Well... I'm not going anywhere..." She shrugs a little, the smile on her lips not really matching the swirling tumult in her chest. There's a sting swelling behind her eyes, and she isn't sure if they'll be good tears or bad ones, if she's more happy or scared.

She wants to run. Both away and towards them.

But...

She wants to run towards them more.

"That's all that matters," Ruby says. "That we're all here together."

Her eyes travel to Weiss, who is clearly in agreement, smiling so genuinely Blake is almost taken aback. She'd rarely seen the heiress smile in the past, and certainly not so wholeheartedly. It makes her heart surge with emotion, the fact that she can be part of the reason for Weiss' smile.

And then Ruby turns to her big sister once again, prompting confirmation of her statement.

"Right...?"

And all of them fall silent for the moment.

Blake still doesn't budge. She knows that only Yang can give the final verdict here. If she rejects her now, Blake doesn't know what she'll do.

Well, she would run of course, but...

But the thought of never being wanted by them, by her...

She nearly breaks down on the spot. When Yang looks up at her again, Blake looks away. Like she doesn't deserve to see her again. Like she's so certain of rejection that she can barely fathom anything else.

"Yeah."

And that's it. Just one simple word.

The confirmation Ruby had been asking for.

The confirmation Blake needs.

She'd needed it for so long. For six months...

Her ears perk up taller than they've ever gone before, and a rush of warmth fills her heart so joyfully she can't stop the smile from forming.

And it's... almost like she'd been worrying all these months for nothing.

Maybe she had. Maybe the possibility of rejection had never truly been there from the start. Maybe it was something she herself had imposed.

Either way, it's nowhere to be found now.

All that's here are three familiar faces smiling back at her.

Acceptance.

Weiss reaches out her arm, an invitation Blake had never known her to give so freely before they'd been separated.

Ruby beams up at her as if it were once again the day they'd first met and gushed about their favorite storybooks.

And Yang smiles too.

In spite of everything Blake had caused. Or thought she'd caused.

Maybe all of that was just an illusion too.

Maybe... none of it was really her fault. She still can't be too sure just yet.

But the one thing she can be sure of is their acceptance.

Right as the tears break free, Blake steps forward and drops to her knees, wrapping one arm around Weiss and one around Yang, brushing her forehead against Ruby's.

They all return each action right back to her. Equally. Four parts of a whole.

"Thank you..."

Blake's ears swivel to hone in on Yang's whisper. They all pull each other closer, as close as possible. Yang keeps her head bowed, but they all notice the tears dripping into her lap.

"Thank you... for coming back..."

Blake's heart beats harder, as she knows the sentiment is meant for her alone. She leans a little more towards her partner, bumping the side of her head softly against Yang's.

"Thank you... for giving me a place to come back to..."

At last Yang lifts her head. Her eyes meet Blake's briefly before she leans in to leave a gentle kiss on her cheek. She'd done it for Weiss and for Ruby. But she lets Blake's linger a little longer.

Blake basks in the warmth of the action, of the meaning behind it. She kisses back, leaving one on Yang's cheek as well. And then she turns to do the same for Weiss and Ruby, receiving a kiss back from each of them as well.

"Thank you," Weiss murmurs. "All of you... for giving me a real family to rely on."

Ruby and Blake squeezes her back and shoulders. Yang nuzzles her forehead.

At last Ruby takes her turn.

"Thank you guys... for always being there for me..."

They all inch as close as possible, arms pulling each other close as the tears fall freely now.

They're all too relieved and too exhausted to worry about trying to keep up appearances or stay composed. Besides, around one another is the only place it really feels all right to cry.

But it isn't long before the smiles resurface through it all, especially when Ruby proclaims a nostalgic line.

"Team RWBY is back together!"

They all chuckle softly at that.

Together.

In their long-awaited moment of reunion, they all make silent vows to keep it that way.

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A/N: Those who were immensely disappointed RWBY didn't have a real proper group hug and that Ruby didn't say the good old volume 1 line, say aye!

See what I did there? (That's also a line Ruby said lol)

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this fic! I have a few others also involving the RWBY reunion I will be posting in the coming weeks!