Chapter Nine: Hand in Hand

"This is so good!" Ruby exclaimed as she reached for her second bowl. Upon taking note of a very stern and disappointed looking Nora, Ruby quickly clarified: "Er, Ren's food is really good too, I just think Mrs. Belladonna made it better is all!"

Ren placed a reassuring hand on Nora's shoulder. "I don't mind at all. I'm happy to learn how to improve upon the recipe." Though Nora seemed willing to defend his recipe further, she did mellow out… and then discreetly reached for seconds herself, now that she no longer felt obligated to fight on his behalf.

Kali chuckled to herself. "Lie's stew was very good for travel. We could add more to the stock and make it thicker now that he doesn't have to lug it around."

"Oh, Jaune was the one carrying our rations," Ren explained. "The trek over Anima was a long walk and he insisted on it."

"Of course he did," Weiss observed. "We had him carry all our things back to the dorms whenever we were done shopping in Vale."

"Sisters broke me in early," Jaune assured her. "You get used to it."

Kali patiently listened to Jaune's tales of siblings. It wasn't exactly something she could relate to, but not the first time she'd heard the tale, entertaining as often as she did on behalf of the High Leader and later the Chieftain. And Jaune never once noticed when her eye slid past him to see Yang and Blake emerge from Yang's room, and she listened intently for the opportunity to extricate herself from the conversation in the most polite manner she could. Fortunately, once Nora let her appetite run wild Kali was given her opportunity, suspecting they'd need some extra helpings.

Weiss and Ruby spotted their teammates too, looking right past Jaune as he continued his recounting. Blake took her mother's seat, smiling at her gathered friends, engaging the still fairly quiet Ilia in conversation. Weiss tried not to fixate her attention on Yang as the blonde stepped past them to the kitchen, but was much less practiced at making her actions discreet. Ruby took note of Weiss's distant look and elbowed her. Weiss glared at Ruby for a moment but quickly rejoined the others in the conversation, playing off Ruby's bit of roughhousing and listening to Sun talk about the fruitless search for a secret entrance and how he nearly knocked a stone column on Ilia's head.

In the kitchen, Kali moved slightly out of visual range from the dining room table. Yang followed suit and sat on the countertop beside her, Kali clanking bowls about to give the appearance of activity. "Did you… have a good talk?"

"Sort of," Yang replied. "We… I won't say we really fixed anything between us, but we were able to let out a lot of the things we kept bottled up. It's not something we'll be able to resolve overnight."

"No, I imagine not," Kali conceded. "But you two are… okay?"

"Yeah," Yang nodded. "Okay."

For a while they were quiet, Kali running out of excuses to draw out the conversation longer, only hoping the kids at the table wouldn't notice the silence hanging between Yang and herself.

Yang broke that silence, reaching her left hand to find Kali's wrist. Their eyes met. "I told her I'd stop… whatever it was I was doing with you. I wish I'd had the chance to tell you first before I agreed to it, but she needed to know."

Yang's gaze was steady and her hand firm on Kali's wrist. Kali's attention was all for those lilac eyes, though eventually she looked down at the hand upon her, slowly sliding up her arm and intertwining her fingers with Yang's own.

She wasn't sure what to say. A word of thanks? An apology? A reassurance that was the right thing to do?

Her rational mind told her that was the right thing to do. Her memories of her husband told her that this was a momentary slip-up; the need for something to soothe her loneliness. The sight of her daughter at a table surrounded by friends told her that no matter what, she was no longer alone in the world.

Her heart told her that she felt something… not anything she could describe, not something she could clearly define, but something that pulled down a painful weight in her chest knowing what Yang's departure would entail. The thought of her husband reminded her how hard it had been to sleep alone, and how she'd have to get used to that all over again. The sight of her daughter reminded her that if she was ever able to move on she'd never replace what she had with Ghira, not even with Blake's partner and (once?) closest friend.

Kali needed to act in some way to reassure Yang. The longer she took the greater doubts she'd sow, and the worse Yang would feel about this… breakup? Realignment?

Change. Change was unavoidable in life.

Kali met Yang's eye again. She was drawing closer to the girl's face, so close she could feel soft breaths reach her lips as they had before…

Kali closed her eyes and readjusted her trajectory, pressing her forehead to the taller girl's cheek. Kali released her grip on Yang's hand and wrapped her arms around her. Yang returned the gesture, squeezing Kali tight from the back and adjusting her position on the counter to draw her in closer, reaching up with her left hand to the back of Kali's head, holding the embrace.

Yang didn't know if she'd ever hug Kali again. The first time had been an act of sympathy, and the ones that followed only grew more complex. This one?

Love. Of some kind. Maybe not a kind she'd ever realize or act upon, but something burning inside her that was real and powerful. Something that she could hold close, if even only one more time… if even only one last time.

Blake looked on from the table, just barely able to watch the two hold onto each other. Sun poked his head over from nearby. "Man, your mom really likes Yang, huh?"

"She's a hugger," was Blake's dismissive reply. When the two stepped away from each other and her mother gathered the extra dishes, enlisting Yang's aid in carrying them, Blake was finally able to give Ilia proper attention. Once Yang set down the goodies before Nora and moved to sit between Ruby and Weiss, Blake relaxed enough to let the thought pass.

Her seat now occupied by her daughter, Kali sat down beside Sun. She briefly thought on being introduced to the boy, wondering what could promote someone to follow her daughter halfway around the world…

But now, it seemed he wasn't the only one willing to make such a journey. Or such a sacrifice.

Kali didn't want Yang to think she was being ignored, but she didn't want to look at those eyes anymore either. Not until she'd moved on from… whatever they'd ended to a proper goodbye.

She still wasn't sure how she was going to say it.

Qrow and Oscar set out again in the morning in search of a ship. Jaune, Nora and Ren would guard the relic. Kali requested Sun and Ilia's company, partially so the girls from Team RWBY would have no other choice but to interact, partially because she thought they'd be the best choices to join her on a stop she made.

She had to return to Menagerie sooner than later, but there was something she had to do before she took her leave. There was something she had to say.

"Is he awake?" Kali asked the nearest patrolman. Sun and Ilia glanced nervously at the various policemen, some of whom may not have cared for Faunus… or might be inclined to look into their own history of assorted misdeeds, once Kali left them to wait for her.

"He hasn't slept," the patrolman answered. "We've had men posted on him all night. All he's done is stare up at the ceiling."

"And how long do I have?" Kali asked.

"Five minutes," the patrolman promised. "And that makes us even."

"Of course," Kali agreed. "I won't be long."

The patrolman led her in. Kali smiled at Sun and Ilia before following, descending from the ground level to a basement, stepping past lightly armored men to much more heavily armed ones, standing with weapons drawn to a dingy cell built into the rock, dimly illuminated by a single torch. Adam lay on the stone ground, with neither cot nor toilet or any sort of amenity. Kali wasn't sure how humane it was to treat prisoners like this, but she wasn't quite bothered enough to ask the guards to grant him better living conditions.

His mask was broken. It was the first time she'd seen the color of his eyes since he was a child. "Thank you for agreeing to see me."

"…do I have a choice?" was his bleak reply.

"You always had a choice," Kali replied, trying to be blunt without being harsh. Adam was never one to mince words –even as a child- and she thought she should respond in kind. "This is where you decided to be."

Adam stood up. Kali stared straight ahead, looking up to meet his eye. "Did you just come to mock me?"

"No," Kali assured him. "I just wanted to tell you something. Something you won't want to hear."

"You can tell me when I get out," Adam promised. "Because I will. This isn't where things end for the White Fang and this isn't where things end for me. I will escape and I will follow Blake wherever she runs to."

Adam was always making promises. He did not want for determination, nor did he ever fail to put in the work needed to excel. Were Kali not so determined to say her piece, the threat may well have scared her.

"You're right about one thing," Kali told him. "This isn't the end of the White Fang. They'll go on without you, just as they would have after you murdered Sienna."

"And your husband," Adam hissed.

Kali was quiet for a second, but wouldn't allow him to see how affected. She pressed on. "And you'll be pleased to hear that you won't be forgotten. I'll make sure everyone knows what you did and all those you had to kill to get where you are."

Adam smiled smugly at the thought.

Blake's mistake had been to not indulge him; to try and minimize his importance to her. Kali understood what her daughter was trying to accomplish, but undermining him only made him more dangerous. She wasn't at all happy feeding Adam's ego, but it wasn't the first time Kali had to grin and bear it for a political advantage.

"When I return to Menagerie I'll tell everyone how you slew him, how my husband was killed by a great warrior," Kali promised him. "I'll explain how he died in the combat he never wanted us to resort to."

Adam beamed at the very thought.

"And then I'll tell them all how my daughter and her teammates avenged him," Kali added. "How humans and Faunus worked together against a common enemy, and spared his miserable life, because it is so much crueler to let him live knowing he failed in everything he sought out to do."

Adam's expression soured. He glared with his sole visible eye.

"Blake brought your loyalists back into the fold," Kali explained. "The messengers you sent out spreading word of Ghira's death are now telling the continent about your defeat. The men you sacrificed so you could destroy our headquarters in Mistral are returning with me to Menagerie to be buried in their family plots. Blake and her friends are going to continue on without any reason to fear you, because now they know they can beat you."

Adam's rage erupted. He slammed against the metal bars, thrashing wildly like a beast. The Mistralian police leveled their weapons but Kali didn't show any fear.

"You killed my husband and I should hate you for that. You hurt my daughter and I should hate you for that. You maimed Yang and I should hate you for that ," Kali acknowledged. "But I don't. Because I know what you gave up to get here. I don't hate you, Adam… I pity you. Because while the White Fang, while the Faunus, while history will remember the warrior you were… your story ends sitting in this cell, while everyone you hurt goes on."

Kali reached a hand to touch his cheek through the metal bars, pulling it away when Adam tried to bite her.

"I made Blake a promise!" Adam snarled. "I will destroy everything –everything- she loves!"

"She loved you once," Kali reminded him. "Make all the promises you want, Adam. Because you know that'll never be true again. It'll be so much worse to sit here, alone and unloved, than it could ever be to die knowing you were loved."

Adam continued to glower at her, breathing heavily as he gripped the metal bars. Kali closed her eyes, listening to his growls for a moment and thinking on the orphan she once looked after -the boy she didn't mind her daughter playing with- and not dwelling on the monster standing on the other side of those bars.

She wouldn't be able to remember him as that boy, but she didn't want to only think of him as the vicious psychopath he became. Kali would have to remember every detail in recounting his history, to make his fall that much more tragic… to make it clear to the next generation to join the White Fang that the best among them could fall, and even something as beautiful as love could be twisted into a dangerous and frightful obsession.

And, of course, that the Belladonna family unseated the usurper they'd once taken in… and now he was nothing more than a chained beast rotting in a cell underground.

"I hope you can find some peace in this new life," Kali finally told him. "I hope you won't spend the rest of your days dwelling on your anger and your hate.

"Because this is where you'll spend the rest of your days, Adam. This is how your story ends."

Adam was incandescent with rage. He couldn't form words to reply. If he was going to make it past that virulent hate, it wouldn't be today. If he was going to accept Kali's pity, it wouldn't be until long after he'd seen the back of her.

Kali wasn't at all afraid to show him her back. "Goodbye, Adam."

He was quiet when the patrolman led her back aboveground. When she disappeared from his sight, Kali heard him thrashing against the bars again, screaming her name, screaming Ghira's name, swearing vengeance again and again…

And then, softly, heard only by Kali's sensitive ears, he whispered between quiet, strangled sobs: "Blake…"

Kali turned her attention to Sun and Ilia, who'd patiently waited for her. Fortunately, it seemed the police had respect enough for Kali's help in apprehending Adam they hadn't looked too closely into her friends. She thanked them both for indulging her, and bid them to return to rest a while longer.

When night fell again Qrow returned with news of transport. Now all that remained were arrangements, for who'd be heading for Atlas. Kali knew that she wouldn't be joining them, but Blake would go where her team went, and Ilia and Sun would follow Blake. Kali spent a few precious moments at her daughter's side, but wasn't in the mood to join in another celebratory meal. She prepared the dish, she served some tea, she made an appearance… and then she went to her room to go to bed.

Kali knew she should get used to what awaited her: what would feel dark and cold for a very long time, because she'd always had arms to hold her while she slept. There were so many changes to make, so much change she wasn't at all prepared for…

She heard the door open. It closed almost as swiftly.

A pair of arms draped over her back.

Kali felt the soft fur of a Faunus ear press to the back of her neck, and heard her baby girl's voice: "I miss him so much."

Kali couldn't deny she'd hoped for something else. But Blake had spent all the time bottling up her feelings, focusing her attention on pursuing Adam and then on rebuilding bridges with Yang she hadn't had the chance to grieve. And whatever Kali might've wanted to find her tonight –whoever she might've wished to see- this would always be more important.

Kali turned around and embraced her child. "It's okay, sweetie. I miss him too."

Blake didn't bring up Yang. Kali put the thought from her mind and held her daughter close.

She hoped Blake would sleep. It was much less important now if Kali managed to get there.

Morning came unexpectedly soon. Oscar and Qrow had found passage for Kali without much difficulty, and she prepared to set out and return home, gathering what few personal effects remained to her. Sun half-jokingly suggested she come along to Atlas with them, and Kali politely declined. Duty compelled her south, just as it pulled Blake and her friends north.

She was the only one heading home. Though Ilia and Blake were –perhaps justifiably- concerned with some retaliation towards her, Kali insisted Ilia protect her daughter. Ilia eventually promised to do just that, and Blake opted not to protest the issue further.

Kali said individual goodbyes to each of them, suggesting they all find time to visit her in Menagerie once they were able without the weight of some fight over relics and against Grimm –though she wasn't entirely clear on all the finer details there- and they had time to bond under better circumstances. She took a particularly long time saying her farewell to Ruby, whom Kali only wished she'd had longer to talk to. Weiss started out very formal and polite, but she shed any sense of propriety once a hug was offered, much to Kali's delight.

Yang…

They had to put on a show for the others. Kali hugged Yang only briefly, and Yang's grip was much less firm than she recalled. But when Yang withdrew from the embrace, Kali took hold of Yang's right hand and the arm she'd been so self-conscious about, interlocking their fingers. Yang met her eye one final time.

Blake was looking on from nearby. Yang knew she couldn't draw this out. "Thank you, Kali. For everything."

"I'm going to miss you, Yang," Kali assured her. "Please take care of the girls for me."

"Always," Yang assured her. She wished she could say more. She wished she could do more.

But this was the way things had to be. They had to end before they could properly begin.

Kali relaxed her grip. Yang's hand slid through her fingers as she left Blake to embrace her mother one final time. She looked back only once, but Kali's attention was firmly on her daughter now, and Yang made no effort to interrupt them. She knew how important it was to have a mother's attention upon you, and how strong the feeling was.

Yang wrapped either arm over Ruby and Weiss and headed off to join the others, leaving Kali and Blake to say their goodbyes.

The boat wasn't a particularly spacious one like the cruise ship she took to Menagerie, but there were decks with proper rails and places to go and spread out. Qrow and Oscar confined themselves to their quarters with their precious cargo, while the others were exploring the ship or looking out over the water. Blake was positioned at the very stern of the boat, looking south towards the disappearing shore of Anima, growing more distant with every blink.

She heard footsteps approaching. She already knew who it was, and didn't bother to look.

Yang leaned on the railing on Blake's right, looking south along with her. For several seconds she just looked back with her, the sea air lifting up even her heavy mane of blonde hair and keeping it aloft.

"I slept through the night," Yang finally told her. "First time in months."

"Because he's finally gone?" Blake guessed.

"No," Yang replied. "I'm not giving him any credit for this. Not when I can thank your mom for helping me out instead."

Blake knew that'd come up. Much as she'd like to never discuss Yang and her mother's… relationship again, she knew she had to eventually, and it was probably best to do it now. "She really does like you, you know. Just not… not like that."

"I know," Yang nodded. "And that's okay. I'm grateful for the kindness she's shown me. I'll never forget how she was there for me when I needed it."

Blake didn't know if Yang meant to dreg that up. Probably not… it was probably just sincere appreciation for Kali. But Blake couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Weiss told you about what happened with my mom, right?" Yang asked.

"Yeah."

"I was feeling so alone," Yang explained. "I've spent so long being strong that I had no idea how not to be, and with her I didn't always have to. And she needed to be strong for you and for her people, and I gave her a way not to be. We needed each other… and we were in that same bad place at the same time. Kali was…"

Yang abruptly changed her chain of thought. "…I'll never really know how to describe it, but she'll always be special to me. Even if this is all we ever have together."

"It won't be," Blake assured her. "You'll see her again."

"You'll let me?" Yang asked, her tone half a tease.

"If I've learned anything these past few months, Yang, it's not to assume you can't go back," Blake replied. "And even if things aren't the same as they were when you left them, the way you felt in the past will stay with you wherever you go."

"You don't have to-" Yang tried to assure her, but fell silent when Blake raised her hand.

"I'm not," Blake replied. "I'm not saying that we'll just… I'm saying that I'll never forget."

"Me either," Yang agreed.

They looked out at the sea, hands on the railing.

Yang drew slightly closer. She'd always been the bold one.

But Blake had been the one who took more drastic action. From her, it was simply less common.

Blake placed her hand over Yang's. Yang squeezed Blake's hand tight.

"Whatever we are now, whatever we end up as, I only need to know one thing," Yang told her. "When you're scared, you'll tell me. When you doubt, you'll tell me. Just… you don't have to feel any one way, but please: don't leave me again."

"Never," Blake promised.

They were lovers once. That night ended in regret and turned to a bitter memory.

Before that they were dear friends and partners. That thought had been tainted by Blake's departure, but the sole bad memory hadn't quite managed to snuff out all the good ones.

Blake had been afraid of the monster Adam became and feared he'd honor his promise after she saw his brutal attack that left Yang maimed and disabled. Her hope had been restored when Yang returned and dealt him his final ignominious defeat.

Yang had been trapped by abandonment, adrift without a mother's unconditional love or a lover's embrace. All she'd really needed to find her way again was a promise to stay and a hand to hold.

Neither knew what they'd be now, or exactly how they'd felt… but they were together, hand in hand.

Menagerie, Two Weeks Later

Kali ran her hand over the surface of her husband's casket. The gathered crowd was being patient with her, allowing the widow the chance to grieve, but she knew they could only be patient for so long. Kali gathered her breath and turned to address them.

"My husband was preparing to return to his post as leader of the White Fang," Kali explained. "He knew it would be a terrible responsibility that would eat away all his time. But he was never one to shirk from duty.

"As your Chieftain he defended Menagerie again and again without the need for reward," Kali continued. "He fought for the rights of Faunus he never met and who would never know his name, and for those he knew he only fought harder. He always believed that one day he'd be able to stop fighting and retire in peace… he already tried it once for the sake of his daughter. We never wanted her to fight our battles, but we just couldn't stop her… we couldn't stop her growing up, no matter how we tried.

"My daughter fights alongside humans now, brave ones who fight for the good of everyone," Kali went on. "Ghira can rest easy knowing his daughter carries on his legacy and more than that: she has already brought peace and equality between humans and Faunus. She just needs the rest of the world to catch up."

Kali looked back at the casket. "That's how I want us to remember him: not as Chieftain of Menagerie or first High Leader of the White Fang, but as a father who imparted his teachings to his daughter. I want to remember him as the kind, gentle, loving father… and I want us all to celebrate the life he gave rather than the one he lost. He spent his life doing what was right, and right will still be done in his name long after."

Part of her wanted to say more, to champion his accomplishments. But she was tired. She still hadn't had a truly good night's sleep yet.

She wouldn't have one tonight: she still had to talk to the council and discuss elections for a new chief. And there would be affairs of state to attend to while she still discharged her husband's office. And there was the matter of what to do with the White Fang members slowly returning to Menagerie and whether to raise their flags again.

It'd be a long time before she knew how to sleep again. She'd never stop missing the man being placed in the ground now.

But difficult as the nights had been, thinking of her daughter fighting the good fight helped her through it. She'd always worry, but she worried less when she recalled the firm embrace of another girl traveling alongside her.

Kali hoped she'd see her again. Whatever it was she'd had with Yang, the memory of it helped her remember she wasn't alone in her darkest hour. And she hoped whatever Yang had with Blake –wherever the two were now, whatever they were feeling now- they were happy, or at least content with what they had.

Kali smiled to herself as she thought of the embrace she shared with those she loved, taking a moment to remember how it felt before life went on.