(Cassie's POV)

(Flashback)

"MOONHIDORAH!!!"

*ROAR*

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(End of Flashback)

What was that...? In that moment of time, I felt nothing but... absolute rage... Was that really she same power I felt in the tournament...? But why did it feel so much different than before... I think... No I know it... if I didn't had stopped... I could have ended up hurting the others...

What's... happening to me...?

"I CAN PUT YOUR SHATTERED HEART BACK TOGETHER..."
CHAPTER 6: WAVERING FRIENDSHIPS

(Ruby's POV)

I sat along with the rest of my friend in silence, around a campfire as Uncle Qrow had just finished telling us about everything. I was confused and shocked, but I didn't focus on it too much, as I was trying to support Cassie, who, after what happened, didn't say a word to any of us...

Qrow: "Really? No questions?"

Jaune: "Of course we have questions. This is... just a lot to take in..." he said, crossing his arms. My uncle sighed at his response.

Qrow: "Sure... Of course."

Ruby: "So these... Maidens... They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic... And each of those Maidens, has a Guardian Beast to aid them."

Qrow: "Yeah."

Nora: "And there are four of these Maidens and King Ghidorah, Battra, Iris and Mothra are the Maiden's Guardian Beast?"

Qrow: "Yup. Always."

Ren: "And whenever one of the Maidens dies, the power transfers to someone a female that they cared about?"

Qrow: "Whoever was in their thoughts last, that's an important distinction. Best option is someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined in a way."

Jaune: "And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha... the night the tower fell... You were trying to turn her into one of them." I could feel the anger bundling up in Jaune...

Qrow: "The previous Fall Maiden, Amber had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced and her assailant, who we now know is Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well."

Jaune: "So you forced it on Pyrrha..." He accused before looking at Cassie. "And YOU knew?"

Cassie, like I expected, said nothing and just continued to face the ground in silence. I rubbed her back while glaring at Jaune.

Ruby: "Jaune. Leave her alone." He reluctantly backed down.

Qrow: "No one forced anything. We explained the situation and gave her a choice, like Cassie, Cassandra and..." he paused for a second before saying... "Olympia..." I felt Cassie flinch a bit upon hearing her name. "And Pyrrha chose. You were there, you heard her."

Jaune just stood up, before walking away, his fists clenched. I looked at him in concern before turning to my uncle.

Ruby: "That guy, Tyrian, why was he after me and Cassie?"

Qrow: "*sigh* Well, you, Ruby definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon. Ruby, I told you having Silver Eyes is a rare trait, and the fact that you were able to use them, seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about the Silver Eyes... those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced." He then looked at Cassie... "And as for Cassie here, the sole fact that she has the blood of King Ghidorah, has made her a target. The same powerful people that want the Silver Eyes eliminated, also want the anyone with the blood of the Guardian Beasts gone, in hopes of making said beasts permanently extinct."

Nora: "And they got one of them..." I looked down as I heard my uncle sigh sadly...

Qrow: "Yeah...But that's why I've been keeping an eye on you, in order to make sure you were safe" He said looking at us, before looking at Jaune specifically. "ALL of you."

Ruby: "Well, if that's the case, why not just travel with us? It seems like that would've been way easier."

Jaune: "He was using you two as bait." I glanced at Jaune, only to see him still looking away from us.

Qrow: "Look, I wouldn't put it like that... It's complicated..."

Jaune turned back to face him.

Jaune: "What is all of this!? Ruby and Cassie are being hunted, the schools are being attacked, all for what!? What is the point of all of this!? Will you just tell us what's going on!?"

Qrow just looked at him before lazily gesturing at him.

Qrow: "Would you sit down? You're stressin' me out kid."

Jaune just continued to glare at him before sitting back down, crossing his arms. Uncle Qrow took out his flask, but decided against it...

Qrow: "Not many people are super religious these days... This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real. They were two brothers, the older sibling, The God of Light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, The God of Darkness, spent his time creating forces of Destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days, creating water, plants, wildlife. At night, his brother would wake to see all the things the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, The God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do is rid Remnant of Life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something, something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything.

Ruby: "The creatures of Grimm..."

Qrow: "You guessed it. When the Older Brother had enough of his younger brother, he created the first two Guardian Beasts: The God of the Sky, King Ghidorah and The God of the Sea, Mothra."

"Together the two Guardian Beasts would defend Humanity from the creatures of Grimm but the younger Brother saw what his elder was doing and decided to counter with Guardian Beasts of his own: The Evil God of the Land, Iris and The Demon God of Death, Battra."

"In every altercation the two brothers had, their respective Guardian Beasts would go to war at each other, fighting until the area around them became a wasteland. However, that didn't last long until one mysterious Guardian Beast appeared, and defeated all four of them, asserting his Dominance over them all; The God of Life, Godzilla."

"Eventually, the older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation... together, something that they could both be proud of, their masterpiece... The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both Create and Destroy. It would be given the gift of Knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to Choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow, the path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how Humanity came to be."

Ren: "But... what does that have to do with us?"

Qrow: "Well, that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind, Knowledge, Creation, Destruction and Choice aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exist in a physical form, left behind by the gods before thy abandon Remnant and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The Huntsman Academies were created to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose, guarding the Relics."

"When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the Relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself... and of course, keeping them out of her reach. So yeah, there's that."

Ruby: "Her. You mean Salem?"

Qrow: "That's right. Not much is known about her... Quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the Relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well."

Jaune: "Alright. So, let's say we believe all of this... There really is this crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them? Or Mistral?"

Nora: "And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get to Haven? Shouldn't we be getting them a message? What if they're next?"

Qrow: "The headmaster over there saw what happened to Beacon. He's not dumb, he'll be on his guard. Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight?" He then turned to Jaune. "And to answer your question, it's the same reason we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the Relic, about Salem, there would be chaos. There'd be another Great War on our hands, and this time, you'd HAVE to fight."

Jaune turned away.

Qrow: "Look, I had the same questions too, but ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down; 'We can't cause a panic'. Heh, can't tell you how many times I've heard that. Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when the time comes to place the blame, we can only point at each other. She's trying to divide us, humanity, and so far she's done a pretty damn good job. And the fact that she managed to get one of the Guardian Beasts on her side, makes our job a lot more difficult"

Ruby: "Yeah... By the way, who was that Seraphim girl? Why did you two know each other and why did she call you dad?"

My uncle looked at me before looking down and sighing...

Qrow: "Well... It's exactly what you think... She's my daughter." Okay... WHAT!?

Nora: "You have a Daughter?"

Qrow: "Yeah, believe it or not... I should tell you something Ruby..." I suddenly got nervous... "Lazarus... Well, he's actually your Cousin, because I'm his father."

. . .

Ruby: "W-What...?"

. . .

Qrow: "Yeah... My wife, who's deceased was supposed to have triplets... Lazarus Branwen, Seraphim Branwen... and another baby boy... But shortly after his birth, he choked to death... My wife, Azealia Gojira and I stayed in the city of Mantle, raising Lazarus and Seraphim, however at four years old, Seraphim went missing... My only assumption is that Salem found her and attempted to kidnap the two of them, but could only get Seraphim before me and Azealia got to our kids' room... And now, she's with them..."

At this moment, Cassie finally spoke...

Cassie: "She said... after she kills me and Cassandra... she'll get to reunite with her brother... Does she mean...?"

Qrow: "Yeah it has to be... She means Lazarus, alright... My theory is that Salem brainwashed her, into thinking that if she killed all those who have the blood of the Guardian Beasts, she'll be reunited with Lazarus... If only she knew what happened to the poor kid......"

We all entered a silence, mourning for Lazarus and thinking about Seraphim... I think... she has a possibility to be saved... but with Cassie's grudge against her, it would be very rough...

Qrow: "Alright, I think it's time you kids got some sleep." He said while getting up, but I stopped him

Ruby: "Uncle Qrow?"

Qrow: "Yeah?" I stood up to face him...

Ruby: "This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy but... I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy, and... and-"

Qrow: "Look, this has nothing to do with trust. I-It's just a long story okay?"

Nora: "Seriously? Now you're tired of telling us stories?"

Qrow stood in silence before glancing at the camp fire...

Qrow: "Did you know Crows were a sign of Bad luck...?" He asked in a somber tone before crouching down and poking the fire with a stick. "Old superstition, but it's how I got my name... See, some people can absorb electricity, transform into a Lightning Bolt and some people can burst into rose petals... and some people are just born unlucky... My Semblance isn't like most... it's not exactly something I do... It's always there, whether I like it or not... I bring misfortune... I guess you could call me a Bad Luck Charm... Comes in real handy when I'm fighting an enemy, but it makes it a little hard on friends... and family..." He looked at me when he said that last line...

"It's why I left Lazarus and Azealia... I believed it was my Semblance that caused our third baby to get killed and for Seraphim to get kidnapped..."

Ruby: "Uncle Qrow..."

Jaune: "Well, you are just a real bundle of help, aren't you?"

Nora and I glared daggers at Jaune, but what we didn't expect... was for Cassie to suddenly get up and march over to Jaune before...

*SLAP!*

Our eyes fully went wide upon seeing Cassie slap Jaune... HARD across his face...

Cassie: "What the hell is wrong with you...? You're being so irrational, it almost hurts..." her voice was dark and unsettling...

Jaune: "Irrational...? IRRATIONAL!? Were you even listening Cassie!? You know how many lives could have been saved if we got told all of this from the beginning!? IT COULD HAVE SAVED PYRRHA'S LIFE!" I could see Cassie's fists shaking as Jaune continued to rant.

"You're asking me what the hell's wrong with me... but the real question is What the hell is wrong with THEM!? To think keeping this from us and having us unknowingly guard a damn Relic! Are they trying make us sacrifice ourselves to unknowingly protect a Relic!? WHAT KIND OF MESSED UP SHIT IS THAT!?"

"And because of them, we've lost so many things, LIVES TOO! So YOU tell me Cassie, why am I being Irrational!?"

All of a sudden, Cassie grabbed Jaune by the collar and slammed him against a tree.

Ruby: "Cassie-!" I was about to go and stop her, only to see purple lightning sparking around her...

Cassie: "... Don't... you...DARE TALK ABOUT LOSS LIKE YOU KNOW THE FULL EXTENT OF ITS PAIN!"

Everyone just went silent at Cassie outburst... She just continued to glare deeply into Jaune's eyes, the violet lightning sparking more and more...

Cassie: "What did you lose Jaune? Huh? Because from all I know, all YOU'VE lost was just your fucking girlfriend, who, I mind you, YOU'VE IGNORED her feelings for the entirety of, oh I don't fucking remember how many semesters it was!"

"Well, let ME tell you what I lost. I lost half of my fucking team... Not one... HALF. My leader, Lazarus Ro—Branwen... and the little sister of the team, Olympia Mosura... WHO FUCKING DIED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME BECAUSE I WAS TOO DAMN WEAK TO DO ANYTHING! And the worst part is, the ONE FUCKING PERSON who could help me through this tough situation, decided it was a good fucking idea... TO JUST RUN AWAY LIKE A BITCH!"

Nora: "Cassie..."

Cassie: "But guess what... THAT'S NOT ALL! You say you've experienced loss!? But I fucking BET that YOU have NO fucking idea how it feels, TO HAVE YOUR MOTHER BE BRUTALLY TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU SINCE THE AGE OF FUCKING FOUR!"

*SILENCE*

Cassie: "My mother... a Ghidorah Hybrid like Ichigo and I... she... was targeted and killed since I was four fucking years old... But that wasn't the worst of it... My father... he was always a sick piece of shit... He never loved mom... ne never loved me or Ichigo... He married mom, no, because of the riches that came with the Ghidra name... All he was after, was the name and wealth... But my mother would always discipline him in a way..." Cassie began shaking as the violet electricity around her died completely...

"But as soon as Mom was killed, my father took full control over the household, and treated me like complete and utter trash... Finding reasons to overwork me... Beating me if I was to do as much as breathe in the wrong direction..." At this moment, Cassie had already started sobbing... "Starving me until I can't go on any further............. S-Sexually assaulting me... MY OWN FUCKING FATHER, SEXUALLY ASSAULTED A FUCKING 4-8 YEAR OLD!!!"

"But it didn't end there... He remarried a woman, my current step-mother... But just like he is, she's a complete BITCH! She encourages my father's behavior and 'rewards' him every night for any suffering he puts me through..."

Ruby: "W-What about your brother...?" I felt absolutely horrible for Cassie... going through all of that pain, because of her mother's death...?

Cassie: "Ichigo never tried to speak against our 'parents' but he was always looking out for me... Trying to bail me out of any abuse from our parents... Giving me food when my parents forbid me from eating anything... Holding me as I cried myself to sleep from another session of abuse... He was my one and only hero... Everything I looked for in a family member... He was like mom, but was my sibling... He's also the one who trained me to become a fighter, like I am now..." she wept before glaring daggers at Jaune, who now seemed to show an expression of guilt...

"Now do you think you know how loss feels...? You lost one person... But I lost three... and one of those person's death, was the beginning of my absolute torture... We all miss Pyrrha... We all do... Cassandra especially... But don't go around blaming others for your lost... Especially when you have no idea what those people went through..."

With that, Cassie blitzed off in a mixture of golden and purple lightning. I immediately chased after her, leaving the others behind.

After searching for a while, I was starting to get frustrated... Cassie left no trail of her at all... and I was making it really hard for me to find her... Just as I was about to give up and go back to camp, I heard the faint sound of sobbing in the distance... I immediately knew...

Ruby: "Cassie..."

I began to follow the sounds before I ended up by a lake that beautifully reflected the moon... and Cassie was sitting right next to it, hugging her knees as she cried miserably...

Cassie: "Why...? Why does this stuff happen to me...? First Mom... then Olympia... then Lazarus... Why does the world just want me to be miserable...? I can't even sustain a stable relationship with the love of my life... Why...? Why do I have to suffer... EVERY SINGLE GOD DAMN TIME!?"

I immediately ran up to her and tightly hugged her from behind...

Cassie: "R-Ruby-" I quickly silenced her...

Ruby: "Shhh... It's okay Cassie... I'm here for you now... Just let it all out... I'll stay by your side, at all times..."

Cassie: "R-Ruby..."

She began to choke on her own words before she eventually just... broke down... She gripped onto me tightly and just unleashed all of her sobs into the silent night... Seeing Cassie so emotionally vulnerable like this... It hurts so much... more than I thought it would... But that's why I promised I'd be there for her at all times...

To be the one that she leans on when she wants to cry... This is why I'm your best friend, Cassie...  so that I can put your shattered heart back together...

END
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All I have to say... is
1. I SUCK at writing arguments...
2. TRIPLE CHAPTERS BABY!
And 3. I'm sorry for causing u so much pain, Cassie....