The rest of the day passed in a blur.
Oscar hardly remembered most of it later.
He knew that they took Victoria to the medical tent, and the medics didn't look very happy about her condition.
Also that Wally found the source of the Apathy. It wasn't that far inside the tunnels. It also wasn't a river--it was more like a weird anemone-shaped Grimm that just spat out new ones.
Anyway, Wally and Shine apparently destroyed it with little trouble. It was already weakened.
The Huntresses and many Vacuo huntsmen, who were now awake, hunted down the rest of the Apathy, with some help from the B squad who hadn't gone into the kingdom before, Yang and Ren among them.
With no new Apathy coming, the other ones' influence got weaker as more of them were killed off, and even though a few might have evaded the hunt for now, they would be a minor problem without their pack and could be weeded out eventually
But the bulk of the plague was over.
People who were too weak to get up were given as much medical aid as they could. Most of them might just need rest.
Some huntsmen with the stomach for it were also taking stock of the dead and probably too far gone.
They were at that till long after sundown.
Meanwhile the main team moved the plane with the Relics farther inside the city limits, and Glynda sealed it inside a wall of mismatched items.
They also put a guard around it.
Then Glynda and Jaune went to Shade, which Wally and some of the others had been working to move the people out of--no one who'd been asleep still inside it seemed to have been hurt by the collapse.
Theo said to bury the students among them in one of the tunnels and just seal it off. He said it was fitting that Shade students should rest by their school--and the others, well, they couldn't really do better anyway.
So many people had died that a specific memorial for each of them was impossible, but the huntsmen talked of maybe having some small ceremony in the next few days.
The citizens who'd woken up now were in great distress once they understood what happened, and there was a lot of wailing and anger all over Vacuo that night.
Shine, who was back to normal mostly, except that she was still rather shaken up, told some of them that the crying and mourning reminded her a lot of the book of Exodus, where the same thing had happened after the plague of death.
At least no one was tired after all that, physically. Emotionally, on the other hand...
Glynda, with Jaune's help, put Shade back into one piece. It really wasn't so hard--it wasn't broken into that many different ones, it was just big. It should be able to be used for shelter.
That felt weird to some of the kids, but Qrow told them that you couldn't be that picky, especially in a place where not that many people had a real house anyway. Most places, he said, if they stood long enough, had both deaths and other events in them. It didn't really make much of a difference.
But they had nowhere else they could stay anyway.
Oscar felt drained. He noticed that Winter also didn't seem to feel that much better, even though most of the others had recovered from the Apathy's effects.
He thought perhaps both of them were bothered more than the others, for different reasons.
But he didn't want to think about it yet.
The night passed somehow, in a kind of daze.
[I think this is Myrkuri's most popular AMV for RWBY, and you can see why. "Soldier" by Fleurie is just another one of her really emotional songs. Underrated artist, if you ask me.]
* * *
The next day dawned with that dim haze that hangs over the desert.
It was also dawning slowly on everyone that they'd averted--or at least stopped--the crisis in Vacuo.
Which meant they had only one thing left to really do.
Watts had told them all what happened to him by now.
It could be noted that even Cinder was starting to find the amount of strange things that surrounded this group somewhat hard to ignore.
She, as well as most of the huntsmen, had also gone down to see the Vault. Glynda and Jaune had left it alone. There seemed no reason to put it back. They couldn't put the magic back anyway.
It was still split into pieces, and where the entrance to Underland had been, nothing but a blank wall of rock.
Vara said it gave her chills.
But she also said something else, afterward, that made them think.
"I guess I'm not really needed anymore," she said. "I mean, the powers are still here, but I'm not a living key. I guess Salem won't much need me. I mean, I know she'll kill me out of spite if she can, but I'll have to be bottom priority now. In a way, this is the most free I've been in 13 years."
Raven voiced the thought that they all had after that: "Whatever else we do," she said, with an odd look, "something has changed here that is never going to be undone. Even if we gave up on our plan, we can't put the Sword back... Something is different. I don't know what that means, but it seemed like a message of sorts to me."
It was odd to hear Raven say anything that sounded remotely like it wasn't based in cold, hard, observable facts. But then...this did seem to be a pretty hard fact.
Even Penny said that, despite her distress, she also saw some odd signs in the whole thing.
Robyn, at least, was determined not to let the whole thing go in vain as far as Vacuo was concerned.
She'd finally learned that a true politician capitalizes on every opportunity to get their point across. [For better or worse.]
She spent quite a bit of time that day talking to whoever in Vacuo was willing to listen, which was a lot, about what happened.
"Now, I'm not one to be a purist about things like stealing and bending the rules," she said, "but you have to see that just doing this all the time, selfishly, is setting ourselves up for a monster like Salem to take advantage of us. But hey, if it hadn't been her, it'd be someone else. Lots of people are just looking for a chance to make a profit off us fighting amongst ourselves. I'm not asking you all to completely change your personalities, or whatever, but we've gotta do a better job working together--and at this. We're down thousands of people since the last week. If we want the rest of us to survive, we're going to have to have each others' backs. No more of this getting angry at Atlas. Atlas didn't screw this one up, we did. And I'll be the first to say I don't like elitist morons either, but they aren't always the ones who cause problems. Turns out, petty thieves can do that too."
Apparently she was making a lot of sense to them, because many people said that it was true and that the thieving and bickering of this kingdom had gone too far this time.
Hardly anyone hadn't lost at least one friend or family to the Apathy Plague, and the wisest out of them began to say that this meant that their actions were affecting everyone around them.
Well, with Robyn fanning the flame, and the more experienced huntsmen, people began to say that they should probably have some kind of system in place to make sure this didn't happen again.
And to guard the music stands, which now everyone saw as much less foolish.
"At least," Robyn told Shine and Wally, "no one will be stealing those again easily. And if they do, we'll fix it faster. So that's one thing that came out of this."
"So how many people did we lose?" Wally asked
"Just an estimate, but out of Vacuo citizens, I think it was maybe 5% of the population."
"That's bad," Wally said.
"Well...for a 4-day plague, one might think it'd be worse than that, after what you told us about the other ones." Robyn shrugged her shoulders. "So who knows. Then out of the Atlas refugees who were still here, I think it was closer to 10%. They were weaker, you know, and more depressed already. Also more of them were exposed. Out of the other visiting people from Vale and Mistral, it was just a handful, obviously. A lot of Faunus were hit, but most of them are a little tougher than humans in this climate. All in all, it could have been worse...could have been better too. But the good news is, the people aren't blaming us for it anymore. Now they just realize that if you hadn't come back, would have been us all. I mean...a lot of them saw that big, tall Grimm you fought...so, I think that kinda got it through their thick heads."
"Thanks for all your help there, Robyn," Shine said. "It means a lot for someone trying to get us some good PR."
"Hey, you have my permanent respect," Robyn said seriously. "It was gutsy to come back here, after what she hit you with, and still help us out. Could have just kept hiding. I know, that's not your style, but it had to have been a tough choice, bringing you whole team. I get that. We've had our differences, but you are okay by me." She saluted jokingly.
"Thanks," Wally said. "Same to you."
"But what about Salem?" Robyn turned more serious.
"Everyone else is wondering that too," Shine said. "But I told them that we would talk about it later. After the whole week we had--and yesterday was the crowning injury--I thought they needed a break... We'll be in danger again soon enough, so I told them to take the next day or two off. And--" She paused. "Well, I also told them that once we move again, it may be a life or death mission...more so than usual. So, anything they need to do or say, they should do it."
"Wow...that's...a lot to put on them," Robyn said.
"We told them no one had to come who didn't feel like they could take that chance," Wally said. "But I think most of them are going to anyway. If I know one thing about these people by now, it's that they want to finish this. This has become their fight. And I understand how they feel."
"Well...with the world at stake," Robyn said.
"You're welcome to come with us if you want," Shine said. "But if you don't, no hard feelings... Someone will have to take care of this place."
"That is what I'm thinking," Robyn said. "Besides...Theodore will go with you if you go, right?"
They shrugged.
"Look, I've earned their respect here," Robyn said. "I care about saving the world from Salem, but the fact is...if what you do doesn't work, we're only going to have ourselves left. I think you'll succeed...but then even if you do, we've gotta pick up the pieces after it's over. I think I should work on keeping that in progress. Someone has to. Anyway, you won't really need me. If the people aren't honest by now, I can't fix it either."
Wally chuckled.
"Well, that is what I thought you'd say," Shine said. "And some of the ones with us may stay behind too."
"So you plan to leave?" Robyn said. "Not...just wait for her to come here?"
"Do you think they'd survive another direct attack?" Shine said.
"Not really," Robyn said. "But whatever you're planning sounds crazy. I can't wait to hear about it." She winked and then left them.
"Yeah, glad I know what you're planning," Wally said to Shine.
"Do you like it?" Shine asked. "I feel I probably shouldn't make this decision on my own, not this time."
"Like is a strong word," Wally said. "But I think we're going to have to. But if the others think it's too risky, I wouldn't make them join us."
"Nope, they'll have to decide for themselves," Shine said.
* * *
Perhaps some of the others had guessed part of what Shine was planning to do. But no one said it outright.
They had the time off, though some of them were spending it trying to help Vacuo get itself back together.
Qrow was somehow still keeping his distance from Winter, who was visibly still upset.
Raven gave up prodding him but privately thought he was being a moron.
Weiss was shy of Meridian at first--until he basically provoked her into getting over it, and then she was fine. Blake said it was odd to see her so upbeat, but at least someone was happy.
Not that all of them were depressed...they had just seen too much to feel that this victory was without its cost, and that sobered them.
Oscar kept to himself that day, and no one wanted to bother him. Or knew what to say to him.
Yang was not her usual self, either angry or upbeat. Her team, as usual, left her alone about it, since she could be scary to talk to when she was upset.
But Neptune, who still really was too outside of the situation to be as attuned as they were to it, kind of just guessed Yang was down about what happened and being left out of it.
Oddly, he was probably more on point than her team just by dint of not trying that hard to read into it.
"Hey, you know you weren't the only one not chosen," he remarked while she was moodily staring at the horizon.
"Shut up," Yang said.
"Whatever." Neptune didn't want to push his luck that hard. "Just saying."
"I know," Yang said, after a second of perhaps regretting her harshness. "Okay, I know--you're trying to cheer me up, I guess. But it's not just that. I've been thinking, that's all."
"Well, that is kind of dangerous..." Neptune said what he was sure Sun would have said--which he sounded stupid doing, because it just did not sound as convincing coming from him.
He got a glare.
"Right...shutting up." Girls were too hard to understand.
"It's not a joke." Yang eyed her real hand. "I guess I normally would make a joke about it too, but.... It's.... I don't know. I don't think you'd get it anyway."
"Not really," Neptune said. "But if I was going to take wild guess at what would probably help, I think you're probably thinking about whatever it is too much."
"Oh, sure," Yang said.
"Seriously, like all you guys do is mope." Neptune had been kind of thinking this for some time. "It's weird, because your team used to do crazy stuff and then just walk it off. But I think we get why you changed...but every now and then it's probably fine to stop thinking and just chill. That's what Sun and I do after a mission. It's not like it's a crime to step outside of it for a while."
"Just chill?" Yang said. "That's like...inspirational poster advice. The world is practically ending, and your solution is to just chill?"
"When you put it like that, it sounds dumb," Neptune said. "But I'm only thinking that all this thinking clouds your head."
"Why do you care?" Yang was suddenly suspicious. "You keep butting into my business. Why?"
"I do?" Neptune hadn't apparently noticed it himself.
"Yeah," Yang said. "What's in it for you anyway?"
"Wow." Neptune actually dropped his cool tone. "That is a really insulting thing to say."
"I didn't mean--" Yang hadn't really thought about what she said.
"Okay, I get it." Neptune got way more mad than she expected. "I'm not exactly the most mature person in the world. A lot of people think I don't really care about my friends...but you know, I've always had Sun's back, and I'd like to think that's not being the worst friend ever, especially looking at how he kinda ditches his team a lot and just leaves us to work stuff out for ourselves. But you know, that's nothing we can't handle. But I didn't ditch you guys after Beacon--I think that counts for something. Just because I don't like to take things too seriously all the time either, doesn't mean that stuff isn't freaking real to us. Newsflash, our homeland just got almost destroyed too, just like Beacon. But I know you guys have gone through it more than us, up close, so I guess I just thought maybe we could help a little. But you know what? That was really stupid, because you're clearly doing fine on your own."
He almost stormed off.
"Hey, wait," Yang said. "Stop it. I'm sorry, all right? I don't know why I said that." She sighed. "I say a lot of mean stuff these days. I didn't really mean it. You and Sun have been helping, and you didn't have to. We get that... It's just...everyone who gets close to this team ends up suffering. Look at what happened to Penny. It's almost like we really are cursed. I guess I just wondered why people even want to help anymore at all."
"Well--" Neptune calmed slightly. "--maybe it's because no one else is doing anything to stop this crazy witch person. Makes sense to me."
"A lot of people who were our friends stabbed us in the back," Yang said. "Or left... To be honest, I haven't really known who we could trust. So if I act like a b---h, maybe it's not always on purpose. I just don't know how else to..." She didn't even finish it. It was a pretty crappy excuse, and she knew it, but what could she say? She used to be cool with new people, and now she treated everyone like they were under suspicion.
Whether it was Beacon that did it, or her mom, or Blake's leaving...or Atlas falling...Yang had finally begun to see she had a list of excuses for something that might not really be the result of any one thing. Maybe it was just something wrong with her.
"Well, Sun and I aren't going to do that." Neptune was still a little heated. "He's not that kind of guy, even if he can be...kind of irresponsible. And I can be an idiot, I admit, but I'm not a traitor. That's not cool."
Yang snorted. "Everything's about being cool."
"Well, it's not a bad thing to be cool," Neptune said.
"I guess not," she said. "I was cool once. Now look at me."
"You don't think you're cool anymore?" Neptune wouldn't have guessed that off the bat about Yang from her...persona.
"I mean, I guess if cool means tough," Yang said. "But it's kind of about more than that too. Or it should be. I used to be a good friend. And I know everyone thinks I can't tell that I've changed, but I can. I just don't like it." She clenched a fist. "But I can't seem to stop. I don't know where that girl went. I can't find her anymore."
"That is pretty sad."
He got a glare.
"I mean, for you," he said hastily.
"Whatever," Yang shrugged. "And we do kind of treat you guys like morons. I mean, you kind of are a moron sometimes...but still, you did stick it out, and that should count for something. And normally I really don't care if people are morons anyway. Like I said, I've turned into a b----."
"Not sure saying mean stuff about yourself is gonna help," Neptune said. "You should just try telling everyone that you're sorry about that, and maybe they'd just move on."
"Oh, and is that what you would do?" Yang said.
"To be honest, if I was that big a jerk to my friends, I don't think they'd ever speak to me again," Neptune said.
Yang gave him another angry look.
"So if they still are, they must like you a lot," Neptune said. "That's what I mean. Some of us can get away with having bad moments, that's all."
"What? You think if you had a bad day your team would just ditch you?" Yang said.
"I...I don't know, probably not." Neptune rubbed his head. "I guess I wouldn't have a bad day to begin with. I don't really get like that, usually. So..."
"Because you don't want to, or because you think you can't?" Yang was unusually perceptive. "Because it sounds like you just think your friends would ditch you if you weren't cool 😎 all the time."
"Hey, let's not make this about me," Neptune said hastily. "My point was, your friends have been through a lot of crap, and I think they'd understand why it's hard to deal with it. I mean, they aren't angels either..."
Yang finally chuckled. "Sure...that is true. But it's not really just them either."
"Oh, is this still about Likstar?" Neptune said.
"I know, you think she's cool," Yang said.
"Well, I think she's human," Neptune said. "I mean...kinda saw that yesterday. And she can be...a little hard to understand... Kinda see more of your problem with her than I did before..."
"Well, great, one person at least does," Yang said.
Which was silly, because most of the team would have admitted that.
"Well, it's not even that she's getting on my nerves, really," Yang mused. "It's that I think she might have had a point after all. I mean, she pissed me off--again--but also she told me some stuff that made her brand of crazy make a little more sense to me. Like, she's lost people before. I thought she was flippant about it because she's never suffered, but it's not that. It's more like she's moved past it."
"Not to make this worse, but I think you could tell she's not flippant just by listening to her," Neptune mused. "She's a little nutty, but she takes this stuff seriously. Just...in a weird way."
"Yeah, well, now someone tells me," Yang said. "But she goes off about all this stuff to me, and the thing is, I'm not sure she was even angry. She was just...worried that we were going to screw this up and make her responsible for killing someone. I didn't really think of it as us making them be part of it, but I guess it would be...at least if we broke our word about it...and then Cinder did actually kind of walk away. It's...I don't know." She rubbed her face. "It makes me feel like the bad guy, almost. I mean, I didn't set out to murder anyone. I just...hate that the bad guys keep getting off so easily."
"That part does kinda suck," Neptune said. "But I don't know if they really are getting off easily. Does Fall seem really happy to you?"
"No. But she's alive."
"Yeah, but she sure seems to be more uncomfortable than before," Neptune said. "I mean, she almost doesn't seem as scary now. She doesn't really have to die for us to all feel like she's not a threat. I guess I don't see the need to kill her if she's not doing anything."
"She still could," Yang said.
"I mean, you guys all have legitimate reasons to hate her--all of us do. But I can see why Likstar would just let her go. It makes sense now."
"Maybe," Yang said. "And maybe it would be horrible to make them kill someone...or let us to it. But that's just it--who's like that? Who just lets stuff go? I mean, I thought they just didn't care about us...but Shine got really upset about Pyrrha when I said that."
"You said that to her?"
His response made Yang feel worse.
"I mean, uh, she did?" Neptune tried to cover it, unsuccessfully.
Yang sighed. "And then, I mean, we all saw with Penny... I'm starting to feel like I'm angry at the wrong person."
[Wow...what a concession.]
"But I don't know who I'm really angry at then," Yang said. "Maybe it's me... I don't know. You know there's my mom--she's driving me crazy, but then even she's been acting different lately. I mean, why did she try to save me from Kanap? Why do we have a bond? I just don't get it. I'm starting to think I don't get it, period. And here we are, with Salem at our door, and I don't even know what I'm really supposed to be doing. And I'm standing here talking to you of all people about it because of that."
"Ouch," Neptune said.
"I didn't mean it like that," Yang sighed. "But I barely know you, so it's kind of weird..."
"Well, uh, you know, this sounds like stuff everybody wonders about," Neptune said. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but even I wonder about what I'm doing. Or why."
"No, really?" Yang said sarcastically.
"I know, that's hard to believe," Neptune said. "But it really just sounds like you're human and you have a problem with that."
He hit the nail right on the head there.
"That can't be it," Yang said.
"Well, maybe it's not," Neptune said. "But I think everyone asks themselves who they are sometimes..."
"It doesn't seem like anyone else has the same problems as me," Yang said. "Blake always had her cause, Weiss has her family legacy and whatever else she's doing now, and Ruby never has this problem, period."
Neptune laughed.
Yang glared at him.
"Oh...I thought you were kidding," he said. "Sorry...I don't see how that would make a difference. I mean, so they have ideals. That doesn't mean they always feel sure of themselves. I doubt anyone always feels sure of themselves."
"Ruby always has been better at knowing the right thing to do than me," Yang said. "Even if she's not sure of herself."
"But isn't the reality that she made a lot of bad decisions?" Neptune said. "What you guys told us about Atlas made it sound like it didn't go well. Isn't that why those two DJS showed up to help you?"
"I guess..." Yang muttered. "I don't know, even so... It's just that, Ruby's always been that way, focused on helping others. Everyone always said that. And they always said that I was cool, tough, didn't take s--- from anyone. But that's not really being a hero. And I never really aspired to be a hero like that. I thought it was Ruby's thing. But saving the world, it's definitely something heroes do, and I don't know why I'm even part of this anymore. I mean, I can't fight these problems. Likstar herself admitted it."
"I feel like she more of just said that problem in particular," Neptune said.
"But what it means is that I'm not strong," Yang said. "Not in that way. Inside." She sighed.
"Well, if you didn't notice, a lot of people were left out," Neptune said. "Ren, your uncle, your dad...and they are, like, actual huntsmen. They're just weaker against that kind of thing. And you know, Blake was left out too. And so was Sun--and me, even. But I wouldn't take it all personally. I think it worked out. We still helped. I mean, isn't that more important?"
"Don't try so hard," Yang said. "No matter how you look at it, I didn't pass the test. And I'm angry about that." Her eyes flickered red. "But at the same time, a part of me kind of agrees with her, and that's what pisses me off most."
"Oh," Neptune said.
Silence.
"I shouldn't have said all that," Yang said after a long pause. "I mean, it's not your problem. It's mine."
"Nah, it's fine," Neptune said. "Actually, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels completely out of my depth--no pun intended--in this. I think the best question is, do you feel any different now?"
"No," Yang said. "Just like I'm stuck on the same treadmill of stuff I've been on and I'm not actually going anywhere with them."
"See, that's why you should have just done something to get your mind off it," Neptune said. "All that, and it's just what I said. It doesn't help."
Yang frowned. "I still think that sounds dumb."
"But it works," Neptune said, "so who cares? You know what you should do? Go for a bike ride or something. Isn't that, like, your favorite thing?"
"Yeah, but I don't have a bike," Yang said. "Which is yet another thing that hasn't gone well since I left home. Not that a bike was the biggest thing we've lost..."
"I'm sure there's a place to rent them..." Neptune said.
Yang just sighed.
"Okay, fine," Neptune said. "I'll let you use mine--if you promise not to put a scratch on it. Because I will sue you if you do."
"Wait, really?" Yang perked up.
"I mean, if it gets you to stop moping," Neptune said. "But again, you have to be careful. I've seen how you drive."
"I drive great!" Yang said. "Is this a guy thing? Women can't drive?"
"No, this is a I've ridden with Yang thing, and I have proof."
"I thought you liked it," Yang said, with a gleam in her eye. "I saw the face you were making."
"Well...that was before the bridge," Neptune said. "But after that I think I've had enough of your driving."
"You're just jealous because you can't drive as well." Yang crossed her arms.
"I can drive just fine. Better than you, actually. I bet you've gotten way more tickets."
"As if." Yang had gotten plenty, but she didn't care to admit it. "You know what? We should just settle this now. I say we both drive, and whoever can pull off the most stunts wins."
"Wait, is that your standard? Because that's not really good driving," Neptune argued. "Good means safe."
"If you're lame." Yang rolled her eyes. "But fine, if you're too chicken..."
"You know what? You're on." Neptune had to defend his pride now. "And I'm not chicken. I'm totally fearless."
"Then I better not hear any complaints later," Yang said.
Well, she already seemed more upbeat.
[That's sweet. I do think sometimes actions do more than words with some people.]
[A fun amv to lighten the mood. My sister thinks this song would fit VaraXTheo. We still don't really have a good name for that ship. Any suggestions? AMV by Elemental DAR to "bang bang!"]