RWBY: The Son of Salem: Volume 4-5

Chapter Six: Doubt

-Kuo Kuana. Belladonna household.-

"I see." Ghira said after Terra told them about her vision of the attack that was soon to happen. "And you're certain that this... Attack is going to happen?"

"Positive. Semblance or no Semblance." Terra replied. "A lot of Faunus in and out of the White Fang respect you, Ghira. And if you were assassinated and no-one knew the truth, Adam could frame it on humanity... Turning you into a martyr to rally more Faunus to his cause."

"Thus gathering enough members to build an army that could rival Atlas'." Sun finished. "That's... Actually rather brilliant."

"And terrifying." Blake added. "When is the attack supposed to happen?"

"I don't know." Terra answered. "It could be tonight, it could be weeks from now. But it's coming."

"Why can't we just have some time to recover?" Yang asked, frustration laced in her voice.

"Unfortunately, the world is cruel." Ghira replied. "But I have to save Terra, it's odd that you aren't telling us that my death is unavoidable. What changed?"

"Beacon." Terra said. "I was certain that its fall was inevitable. But Silver proved that the future isn't set in stone when he helped hold the line."

"A lot of people in Vale view him as a hero." Sun said, earning him a mirthless laugh from Terra.

"If Silver heard people call him a hero, he'd deny it in a heartbeat." She chuckled dryly. "He blames himself for what happened to our cell. Our teammates... His fiance."

"What happened in Atlas wasn't his fault though." Yang stated.

"That's not how he sees it..." Terra said sadly. "Survivor's Guilt is a brutal thing, Yang. I should know..."

There was a pregnant silence for a while as Ghira and Kali looked at each other. The day before that awful mission, Silver had contacted them and told them that he was engaged to Robin. They'd never heard him sound happier. Then they received the report stating that the entire Atlas Branch of the White Fang was completely wiped out with only one survivor.

Silver.

"I need some air..." Yang said standing up. "I'll be back later. Thanks for the tea, Kali."

"You're welcome, Yang." Kali replied. "Enjoy your stroll."

-Anima.-

Ren and Nora walked carefully with Weiss as Silver and Jaune kept their eyes and ears open for any nearby Grimm. Weiss' condition was slowly getting worse. The ex heiress was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and she let out deep, ragged breaths as they moved. They had been travelling for two days now, making as much progress as they could before they had to stop and rest. It was slow going, but they were getting closer to Mistral and getting Weiss to a hospital to get her the antivenom that she desperately needed.

Her Aura was slowing the poison down, but it could only last so long. The group had been fortunate enough that they hadn't spotted any Grimm. Yet.

But they all knew that at some point their luck was going to run out. It was only a matter of when.

Silver could hear how tired they all were. Oddly enough, carrying a person who's poisoned on a stretcher with no vehicle was taxing. They still had enough supplies to last them for at least a few more days. The Bat Faunus estimated that they still had two days worth of food at most, and enough water to last them a week.

Still, they were all in strung out shape, so he made a decision.

"Okay. We're stopping here." He stated. "Jaune, help me pitch the tents. Nora, gather some firewood. Ren, tend to Weiss. I'll take first watch."