Breathe Chapter 37: Round Two (Patreon)

Everything had gone to shit and worse yet, it had been his fault. If he’d just stood further back, then maybe none of this would be happening.

For the umpteenth time today, Qrow cursed his Semblance. Bad luck clung to him, always hurting those around him… Only those around him. It never harmed him specifically.

The moment it had become apparent that something had gone wrong with the drill, Qrow had rushed in, only for the drill to fall on its side, burying him in a wave of sand while also masking the entire clearing. It hadn’t taken long for him to dig his way out, but it had cost him a few moments.

By the time he’d managed to make his way to the drill's control room, the thing had somehow been stopped… Only for the ground to collapse, pulling the drill along with it. He’d managed to avoid being swallowed by it, only to realize that his nieces had been sucked in instead.

Winter had rushed in on the back of a Grimm construct and immediately formed several more to begin digging.

He’d tried to help, but, upon nearing the hole, the ground let out an ominous cracking noise as the hole filled with a small amount of dirt, preventing him from heading any closer. If… If they had any chance of surviving this, it would have to be without his help.

His Semblance truly was a curse.

“Hey, Sonny,” Maria called out. “You mind getting your head out of your ass and helping me over here?”

Turning, he caught sight of the aging Huntress standing a good distance away from the disaster, near the trees. Tending to the workers that had been rescued from the dust cloud by Winter’s constructs.

“I don’t think that…”

“I don’t really care what you think. Get over here and help me make a splint,” Maria interrupted him, motioning for him to come closer. “Instead of worrying about what you can’t do, focus on what you can.”

Heading over, he kneeled down across from her. One of the injured workers laid between them with his leg twisted in a painful ankle.

“We need to realign his leg, so here’s what we’re going to do,” She began. “I’m going knock this guy out for a few seconds and you’re going to force the bone back into its correct place, before tying the splint, you got that.”

“Yeah.”

“Then go,” She said, pinching the man’s neck.

Grabbing the man’s leg, Qrow winced as it popped back into place. He’d never really had to do this in the past. Sure he’d been forced to fix himself up a few times, but never anyone else.

“You worried about your grandson?” He asked as he began to work on the makeshift splint.

“A little,” Maria hummed. “But I know something like this won’t kill him… Or any of the girls, they’re far too resilient to die to something as small as a cave-in.”

Qrow felt the ground trembled. “Let’s hope you’re right.”

Smirking, Maria moved over to the next injured worker. “Stranger things have happened. Coal has a tendency to do things that seem impossible. Spend a little time around him and you’ll see what I mean.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Qrow finished tying the splint to the still unconscious worker. “My Semblance doesn’t exactly pair well with people.”

“…Sounds like you’ve got some stuff you need to talk out,” Maria said. Standing, she turned towards the other injured workers. “Winter’s got her hands full excavating that pit. We should help whoever we can in the meantime.”

Following her lead, Qrow moved on to the next injured worker. It was like Maria had said, instead of focusing on what he couldn’t do, he would instead focus on what he could do.

“What’s next?”

…Breathe…

Climbing through the small hole into the cavern nearby, I was glad to see that, besides a little dirt, Pyrrha and Yang were fairly unscathed. Taking a step towards them, I turned towards Raven who took two steps back.

“What are you doing here?!” Raven muttered, tightly gripping her blade.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I replied, briefly glancing towards Pyrrha and Yang. Something must have happened in the short time that we’d been separated.

From what I could recall, Raven’s Semblance allowed her to create portals to anyone that she had an emotional connection with… And potentially sensing when the person she had that connection with was in danger.

Since Raven was here and Qrow was above ground, getting out of these caves should be as simple as taking a few steps. The only issue was convincing Raven who was beginning to look more and more like a cornered animal.

“Rav…”

Weiss let out a surprised squawk when I shifted us to the side, unsheathing my blade just enough to deflect Raven’s sword.

This situation was far from ideal for me. I still had Weiss on my back and was using one arm to ensure she wasn’t thrown off. The cavern chamber was also fairly cramped, not giving much room to move around, the only upside was that Raven herself would struggle as well.

Pressing forward, I managed to push Raven back, only for her to lash out with another slash. Sparks lit up the dark cavern as our blades collided in a loud clang.

Stepping into Raven’s next slash, I shoved her to the side. Her body collided with the wall. A small tremor rocked the cavern as a portion of it began to collapse.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Yang snapped, rushing forward to stand in between us.

“Get out of the way, Yang,” Raven growled, pushing herself back onto her feet. “You have no idea what you’re messing with. That… Thing killed my tribe! I have to at least try and avenge them.”

I can honestly say that I didn’t expect Raven to play the victim in all of this.

“Your tribe attacked our camp first!” Pyrrha butted in. “You tried to kill Coal… You even said you were going to ransom me!”

“You… I thought I recognized you. You’re that celebrity,” Raven muttered, glancing from Pyrrha to me, her eyes lit up in understanding. “I see now. She’s following you.”

Well she wasn’t exactly wrong.

“I suppose you could say that,” I shrugged. The cavern shook as more of the ceiling caved in. “If we stay here, we’re going to be buried alive. Let’s look for a way out of here first and then you can go back to trying to kill me.”

Raven’s eyes narrowed. “And why would I go along with anything you just said?”

“Because Yang’s here too and you obviously came here to save her,” I replied.

Although a fight down here was less than ideal for me, it was even worse for Raven. She would be far more limited by what she could do without accidentally bringing the entire cavern down on our heads.

She would inevitably need to tap into her maiden powers if we continue while I still had the thirteenth form at my disposal… Not that she knew that.

Shooting a glare my way, Raven sighed as more of the room collapsed inward. “Fine. Staying here is far from ideal for all of us.” Slashing downward, a red portal formed in front of her. “We will continue this once we’re out of these caves.”

“That’s fine by me,” I shrugged, feeling a little eager.

It had been far too long since I’d had an actual fight where I was able to actually get serious.

“Um… Are we sure that’s safe?” Ruby asked, unsure of herself. “I mean… Couldn’t that portal thingy lead to somewhere more dangerous?”

Raven stepped through the portal herself, leaving it open for the rest of us.

“I guess that answers that,” Ruby muttered. “So who’s going next?”

“I should go last,” Yang replied. “If she’s really here for me, then there would be nothing stopping her from closing the portal once I’m on the other side.”

It was well reasoned. I’d obviously left a lasting impression on Raven and she was definitely the type that would kill a few innocents if it meant getting what she wanted… Something that Yang was coming to understand.

“But…” Ruby began to argue.

“Ruby, why don’t you and Pyrrha head out first,” I said. “I’ll go through with Weiss and Yang afterwards, alright?”

“…Alright,” Ruby sighed. “Just… Don’t take too long.”

“We’ll be right behind you,” I replied.

For a moment it seemed like Pyrrha wanted to say something, before she subtly shook her head. Sidling up with Ruby, the duo headed towards the portal. Taking a deep breath, she walked through it with Ruby following shortly behind her.

Taking a step towards the portal, I stopped when I noticed that Yang wasn’t following behind.

“You can go through first,” Yang hummed softly. “I’ll be right behind you.”

She was lying.

Sighing, I stepped away from the portal. “This isn’t exactly the best place, but… Do you have anything you need to get off your chest?”

“And risk deflating these puppies,” Yang joked, pushing her chest forward. “No thanks.”

“Yang.”

“Look, it’s… stupid, alright,” Yang replied. “I’m just… I always had a lot to say to my m… to Raven and now that I’m face to face with her, I don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to yell and scream at her for all the bad things she’s done, while another part wants to just… get to know her. Pathetic, right?”

“It’s not,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“But…”

“Yang,” Weiss interrupted, leaning further over my shoulder. “Look, we don’t know each other that well, but I get it. My father has done some questionable things as well. There was a point in the past when he admitted that he only married my mother in order to gain control of the Schnee Dust Company.”

Yang blinked, unsure of what to do with that knowledge. “Um… Why are you telling me this?”

“Because others out there also have to deal with less than ideal parents,” Weiss replied. “Now can we please leave this godforsaken cave? I’m in desperate need of a shower.”

The cave trembled as if to prove Weiss’s point.

Chuckling softly, Yang shook her head. “Man, I’m such an idiot for getting hung up on something so stupid when there are other things to worry about,” She muttered. Grabbing my hand, she interlocked our fingers and gave me a wink. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah.”

Moving towards the portal, I felt Yang squeeze my hand as I stepped through to the far brighter and less stuffy outside world. Stepping out beside me, Yang winced and covered her eyes with her free arm.

“You three certainly took your sweet time,” Maria hummed. “I was beginning to think that we were going to have to send someone in after you.”

“Weiss!” Rushing forward, Winter helped her sister off my back, setting her down on the floor to the side. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Weiss replied. “I’m just really tired and in need of a shower.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Winter said as she began to examine her sister. “You could have internal bleeding, or a concussion. I’ll have to keep an eye on you until your Aura recovers.”

Sending an amused look towards Weiss, Yang squeezed my hand one last time, before she let go, headed over to where her sister and uncle stood.

Feeling my instincts scream at me, I ducked just as a blade swiped past the space where my neck had been only moments before.

Throwing myself to the side, I rolled to my feet and unsheathed my sword, blocking Raven’s renewed attack. Electricity crackled off her yellow blade as she swiped at me.

“Damnit, Raven!” Qrow cursed as he rushed forward, Harbinger in hand. “I thought you actually came to help for once.”

“Stay out of this, Qrow,” Raven growled, rapidly bringing her sword down. Our blades met with a deafening crack. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“Like hell it doesn’t,” Qrow yelled, arcing Harbinger towards Raven, only for her to duck under it.

Stepping back, I watched as the siblings fought. The ground cracked under their speed as their forms began to blur. To the untrained eye, it would have looked like they were teleporting around the clearing, randomly appearing in different stances as their blades met.

Taking a heavy blow from Raven’s sword, Qrow rolled backwards and landed back on his feet, skidding to a stop.

“Feel free to chip in any time,” He said, breathing deeply.

“If you’re sure,” I hummed, briefly widening my stance.

“Sun Breathing: Flash, One Step”
 -50AP

Launching myself forward at blinding speeds, Raven just barely managed to block my strike, although it did little to help when a large amount of my momentum was transferred to her, sending her flying backwards in an uncontrolled manner.

“Jeez, you think you could have done that a little sooner,” Qrow muttered, cranking his neck.

“You two seemed to be having a moment,” I shrugged. “By the way, you might want to stay out of this fight. You’ll only get hurt once things get serious.”

“Like they haven’t gotten serious already,” He laughed. “You make it sound like she’s been holding back. Me and Raven, we’re pretty much even when it comes to a fight. You don’t have to worry about me.”

The wind began to pick up around the forest as dark storm clouds began to form out of nothing.

“That was then, this is now,” I hummed.

Turning his gaze towards the direction Raven had been thrown, Qrow’s eyes widened as he began to catch on. “Damnit Raven, what the hell have you done?”

Fire burned in Raven’s eyes as she floated down for all to see. An aura of blue energy crackled around her form as she landed.

“This is that moment I was talking about,” I said, not daring to look away from Raven. “Do me a favor and make sure no one’s caught in the crossfire.”

“You really think that you can beat a Maiden?”

“Yeah,” I replied, a grin slowly working its way onto my face. “This is going to be fun.”

“Then good luck to you,” Qrow muttered, taking a step back. “If it seems like you’re losing and I see an opportunity, I’ll jump in.”

I nodded my thanks as Qrow left.

“You were faster when we last fought,” Raven noted loudly, casually holding her blade to her side. “I don’t know what you are or if you can die… But I do know you can be wounded… Your stay in Atlas’s hospital after fighting that Ancient Grimm proved that.”

Swinging her blade, an arc of crackling blue energy rushed towards me. I had no idea how far it would travel and there were people that were fairly nearby.

Twisting my body to the side, I took a hissed breath as I brought my blade up, meeting Raven’s attack head on.

“Sun Breathing: Clear Blue Sky”
  -300AP

Cutting through the crackling energy, I noticed something odd happen. The crackling energy had been diverted along the path of my technique, giving a glimpse of what Sun Breathing actually looked like to everyone present.

Choosing to attack, I rushed forward, holding my sword at the ready as Raven released another, more powerful blast of energy my way.

“Sun Breathing: Burning Bones, Summer Sun.”
  -500AP

Once more, the flow of the technique was revealed to the world as I cut my way through Raven’s attack, creating a massive spiral of energy that soon dissipated. Coming to a stop in front of her, our blades locked with one another as she barely managed to block my attack.

“What is this?” Raven muttered. “You weren’t capable of this before.”

“I was,” I replied. “You just weren’t capable of seeing it until now.”

Throwing herself backwards, Raven unleashed a wave of energy my way, giving no room for me to evade, not that I planned to.

Turning my blade bright red, I followed after her.

“Sun Breathing: Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance”
 -800 AP

Red met blue as I passed through Raven’s attack. An image reminiscent of a snarling dragon formed at the end of my sword, burning its way through the crackling blue energy. My blade connected with Raven’s with far more strength than she expected.

Thrown backwards, she lost her grip on her sword as she disappeared into the woods, passing through several trees before she finally came to a stop against the shattered trunk of one.

Having followed her, I stood in front of her, my sword held at her neck as heat radiated off it.

“I’ve enjoyed the fight, Raven, but I think this has come to an end.”

Raven looked up, the confidence she’d once held had been replaced by fear. “What’s going on? You weren’t this strong last time.”

“Of course I wasn’t,” I replied. “It’s been a while since we last met. I’ve had more than enough time to push myself and refine my technique, did you really think that I wouldn’t grow any stronger?”

“Not this much,” Raven muttered, staring down at the ground. “This level of power… It’s unnatural. What are you?”

“Just a human.”

“Bullshit,” Raven scowled. “Human’s can’t grow that strong. No Semblance can match the power of a Maiden. That power of yours isn’t natural… What is it?”

“Assuming that you were right, why would I tell you anything?” I asked. “You’ve just spent the last ten minutes trying to kill me after all… Oh, and you’re a former bandit.”

“Humor me,” Raven said. “Since this is the end of the line anyway, there wouldn’t be any harm in me knowing the truth.”

“Nope,” I answered simply, pulling my blade back. “I’m not telling you anything.”

Sighing, Raven glanced at my blade before closing her eyes. For a brief moment it seemed she’d accepted her end, only for the ground under her hands to explode, enveloping the forest in a cloud of dust.

Catching sight of her floating above the forest, I prepared myself to follow after her, only to find that it was unnecessary. Stretching her arms outward, she slowly brought them together, forming a massive blade out of her condensed, blue energy.

“Well, this just got a little interesting,” I muttered.

I readied myself as I saw her begin to make her descent. Since Raven was obviously using what appeared to be one of her more powerful abilities, it would be rude not to reply in kind.

“Sun Breathing: Flash, Godspeed”
  -2000 AP

The world seemed to stand still for a brief moment, before it suddenly accelerated around me. My glowing blade met Raven’s and much to my surprise, it didn’t shatter on contact… It did however create a large crack that ran across the entire blade.

A shockwave shook the forest as Raven was flung backwards.

Barely being able to control my speed, I somehow ended up passing her tumbling form. Touching down on the ground, I did my best to bleed as much momentum as I could, before I was inevitably launched back in the air.

In hindsight, using Godspeed with my Aura active after awakening the Demon Slayer Mark wasn’t a great idea. The only reason why I didn’t end up crashing was due to the Transparent World which allowed me to perceive everything at a much slower rate, giving me enough time to react to obstacles… Unlike Raven who was forcefully dragged along by the vacuum of air that trailed behind me.

Managing to steer myself back into the now empty failed mine site, I skidded to a stop while Raven tumbled past me. Lying on the ground for a few moments as she found her bearings, Raven forced herself back up, tightly gripping her cracked sword as her Aura flickered.

I had to give it to her, Raven could certainly be determined when she wanted to be. It really was a pity she chose to become a bandit.

Raven launched herself forward one final time.

Following suit, I lashed out with my blade as I passed her, shattering her cracked sword.

Pausing for a moment, Raven collapsed to her knees as her Aura finally shattered. Breathing heavily, she forcefully clung to consciousness as all strength left her body.

“Just get it over with,” Raven muttered, hanging her head low as she closed her eyes.

Lifting my blade, I brought it down, stabbing it into the ground next to Raven, leaving it to cool.

“You know, there’s something that I just don’t get,” I admitted. “I get that you wanted to avoid the whole conflict between Ozpin and Salem, I really do, but… You knew she was interested in the Maidens, why did you decide to become one?”

“…Someone like you wouldn’t understand,” Raven said, staring at the ground. “Power is the one thing in this world that will ensure your place in it. Without the Spring Maiden’s power, I would have died several times over by now.”

“You don’t think that’s because of the lifestyle you chose to live?” I deadpanned. “From what I hear, you had a loving family and team. If you had chosen a different path, you wouldn’t have needed the Spring Maiden’s power to keep yourself alive.”

“And entrust it to some easily tricked fool?” Raven scoffed. “Salem would have claimed the relic by now and would be one step closer to her goal.”

I hate to say it, but she did kind of have a point in a roundabout way. The Spring Maiden was believed to have joined up with the Branwen tribe sometime in the past. Someone that was naïve enough to trust a tribe of bandits would be a liability, especially when it came to dealing with Salem.

However, that didn’t make up for the terrible things she’d done.

“There, I’ve answered your question,” Raven all but spat. “Are you going to keep toying with me or are you going to kill me?”

I hummed as I considered her question. I could do it… Hell, it would be the morally right thing to do with the number of small towns and villages she’d destroyed in the past, but she is the Spring Maiden. When Raven dies, the powers will transfer to the last girl she thinks of and since Vernal was dead, that person would likely be Yang.

Then there was also the fact that killing Raven would likely strain or even break my friendship with Yang and possibly Ruby.

As much as I didn’t like it, keeping Raven alive was the best choice for now. Salem would be focused on her, giving everyone else more room to breathe… In a manner of speaking.

“Why would I need to do anything when you’ve already screwed yourself over so thoroughly,” I said. “I already told Ozpin that you’re the Spring Maiden a while back and thanks to your actions today, Salem probably knows about you now.”

“What?” Raven asked, looking a little startled.

“You didn’t know?” I hummed. “Salem made an appearance the other day in front of everyone. She even showed off her new pet project, a Grimm made from a few corpses. It even seemed to retain some of its original personality as well, so there’s that.”

The implication being that even in death, Raven still wasn’t completely safe from Salem.

“You’re lying,” Raven growled. “Not even Salem can bring the dead back to life.”

“Not properly, no. Tyrian was pretty messed up. Ask Qrow if you want, he’ll confirm it for you,” I shrugged, grabbing my blade, I flicked the dirt off before sheathing it. “I give it a month tops before Salem manages to find you… Maybe two if you avoid places with a CCT hub.”

Turning to leave, I was stopped when she grabbed my leg.

“Wait… I want to make a deal,” Raven muttered. “I need help. In exchange for protection…”

“No thanks,” I interrupted her, stepping forward. “I’ve got my own things to deal with. Go talk to Ozpin or Qrow if you want to make some sort of deal.”

“If Salem captures me, she’ll get her hands on one of the relics.”

“Protecting four relics seems like such a hassle… Three on the other hand seems far more manageable,” I joked, leaving Raven alone by the collapsed mine hole. I should probably tell Qrow that his sister was still alive… And here.

I could already tell that this was going to be tiresome.