The Third Sister (RWBY Fanfiction)

Chapter 17: Putting the Puzzle Together

     Faye isn't much of a doctor but she's been in plenty of battles when she was travelling so she knows the basics, and what she knows is that Nico isn't in great condition. "She'll be fine once we get her to the doctors in Beacon Academy. They know best with these kinds of injuries," Faye replies instead, stomach coiling at the tiredness on his face, the kind that can only be caused by worrying.

     They both jump when there's a sharp gasp from Ward. "Water," he rasps and Faye immediately rushes to get him a glass of water, tipping it towards his mouth as he greedily gulps down the liquid.

     "You good?" Axel asks softly when he sees that a frantic look has replaced the peace sleep brings. Ward blinks at him and then looks down at his cuffed hands, "Really?" Faye squints at him for a moment, registering that this is the voice of the Ward she knew and loved, "We don't know what the hell is happening, but my best guess is that you've not been yourself."

     Ward smiles tiredly, "Guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" Axel snorts, "Understatement of the century." Faye nods in agreement before pulling up a chair beside Ward's bed, "Speak." Ward sighs and fiddles with his fingers, "I guess there's something I haven't told you guys. I didn't think I had to because, well, I never thought I'd see Kazuto again."

     Faye raises an eyebrow, "The dragon king." Ward nods, "Yes. Kazuto Keiji. We used to be friends—er—well, I was his servant, but we were still friends, you know? He helped me make my weapon. We had good times. Gradually, after his parents saw the bond Kazuto and I shared, they offered to up my position from a servant to one of their agents; that is doing their dirty work."

     "I didn't know it at that time, and Kazuto warned me that it wouldn't be something I liked, but he didn't have time to tell me details because Keiji, his father, sent men to occupy my time with documents. I knew there was something up with the job, seeing agents frequently come in and out of the Keiji household, but I still accepted because I needed the money. My family was pretty poor, so of course, I agreed."

     Ward takes a deep breath here, "Turns out, Kazuto was right, and I really should've listened to him. They didn't make me kill at first, but leading those innocent people into traps made me feel guilty enough, you know? The first time they tried to make me kill though," Ward winced as if the memory literally brought him pain, "to put it simply, I couldn't do it. I just—I did all the training to kill, with dummies and the likes, but taking an actual life was a line I didn't want to... couldn't, cross."

     "I almost died that day because my victim turned it around and cut me across my torso. I barely survived and the Keiji were unimaginably mad, but Kazuto was even more furious. That was the first time he ever yelled at me, the first time I ever heard him yell even. He was quieter than anything usually, so seeing him burst out of that bubble prompted me to stay dead quiet. Kazuto seemed so frantic, I just couldn't understand.

     "And well—not completing a mission for the Keiji led to severe punishment. I got tortured for days, but nothing hurt me more than the real and genuine fearful look on Kazuto's face when they were done with me. I didn't get it at first because the way they tortured made sure we never could die. The agents weren't allowed to touch any vital organs or spots that could really kill us, so there was no way Kazuto was afraid I was going to die. God, only later did I realize that he was terrified of losing his friend."

     Ward let out a shuddering breath and Faye gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze, lips formed in a tight line in anger of the Keiji. "Because he did," Ward whispered, "He lost me. I lost myself." Ward looked at Faye and Axel with eyes that were heavy with pain and suffering and it was all Faye could do to not hush Ward and turn his frown into a smile again. But no. This needed to be said. They were a team after all.

     "The physical torture was nothing because what came after that was so much worse than anything I ever faced in my life. They attacked my mind, and I tried. Faye, Axel, you have to believe me when I say I tried," he begged, "I survived for months because I couldn't just—I couldn't just let them completely shatter my brain like that. I held the cracked pieces of my mind together for so long.. until I couldn't anymore. It was impossible, my mind became so weak, my duty to myself completely dwindled."

     Axel gulped, "What did they do to you?"

     "They made a soldier out of me; my body," Ward answers with a cracked voice, "It's like they completely buried me at the back of my brain and created a completely different mind whose only purpose was to do their will, to follow the Keiji's bloodline for all eternity.

     "At first, when I first saw Kazuto post mental torture, I could see the sorrow in his eyes and I tried to make an effort to come in control again with the practically non-existent strength I had mustered out from seeing my best friend again, someone I knew cared about me. It worked when I was alone with Kazuto for a while, I would come back to myself and we would just talk and talk because that's all we could do, but it wasn't enough. 

     "Because then I made my first kill and as soon as that happened, it became hopeless, because my mind just shut down and I knew even Kazuto couldn't bring me to the surface. And it seemed that he knew too because that was the day Kazuto stopped talking to me like best friends and instead, like a commander to his soldier."

     The three friends were just quiet for a while. Faye and Axel just take it in, unaware of the girl on the bed that's been awake for quite a while. "What changed?" was the weak but clear voice they heard from behind them, only slightly slurred from the painkillers. Nico was still curled up, seemingly not having moved an inch from her position, but she was awake.

     Ward smiled, "Well, one day I met Qrow, and he changed my life. It's a bit complicated, so to put it simply, he drew me back to the surface by making me remember who I was before being an agent. I had been caged in for so long that I came out confused and half-dead but he helped me understand what was happening and what happened to me.

     I owe him my life—and not in the literal sense because Heishi, my split personality, didn't fail a single mission, but I owe Qrow my free will to do whatever I wanted with my life. To actually live my life. Because I didn't know how to do that anymore. I didn't know how to be human anymore."

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Thanks for reading! This chapter is getting a huge edit later but.. well, later.

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Published: November 21, 2019

1955 words

~ Lyragirl11