Cassiel POV
So I'm in worse condition than ever. It's gotten to the point I need to use Lionheart or Nightfall as a makeshift cane to get around. Why not Exile? Well I have an idea of what caused the issue, but I'll need to hear it from Qrow first. Maybe I should take a few steps back before I get into anything.
So back at the safe zone, after Blake and I had... I guess you could say it was a "heart to heart", since such things are still confusing to me, I won't go into details aside from if I meant what I said before Adam fucked up and if the 3 year age difference didn't matter to me. She understands that it'll be much slower than whatever passes for a normal relationship, didn't stop her from sleeping on my shoulder once and I swear I heard her purring again. Anyway, Grimm were trying to attack the safe zone, just a few Beowolves and Ursas, nothing major. I was still in quite a bit of pain and had difficulty moving around, but I figured I could still shoot everything. How should I describe it? Bringing out my Darkness hurt me... A lot. Summoning Exile hurt my arm just as much. And my regular magic was constantly misfiring. Cure HURT me MORE than Fire! Explain that in a way I can understand, I dare you to try!
So Lionheart, and Nightfall's bow and wingblades were my safest means of self defense. That same day, Qrow said he wanted to speak to me after Ruby woke up, before he could leave though, I asked him if he could find Adam's weapon. It took him a few hours, but he did it. Later, while I was talking to Blake, she said she would be going back to Menagerie and asked if I would come with her while I recover. I told her I'd catch up and used Nightfall to open a portal of Light to show her what I meant. I wanted to at least wait until Ruby woke up and hear what Qrow had to talk about first. She took the next flight out of Vale, had she waited a little longer though, she would've been there when Yang woke up. To say Yang was devastated was an understatement.
I wasn't able to do much besides stay by her side. There was one thing that came up later, and since I'm in control of my own dreams, I felt I should at least do this one thing that matters more than trying to reassure and comfort her as best I could, but I didn't exactly know how. She was finally shipped off with Ruby and Qrow, I was brought along as well to probably the most welcoming home you can imagine and was offered the bed close to Ruby's. Before that though, James tried to speak to me, he got a gun to his face again and I told him to not even think about contacting me unless he gives Yang the best prosthetic money can buy. The first night back home, someone should have been with her, she... A nightmare is putting it lightly given her situation. After her father, Taiyang left the room, I stayed right outside until she fell asleep again. As creepy as this might sound, I was originally just going to watch for if she was suffering another nightmare and try to calm her down without waking her, but something else came up. As the Cursebearer, I'm apparently able to help without harming anyone. Her nightmares? She's no longer having them, I would be if I couldn't control my own dreams.
Ruby was still out for another day. Yang stayed in her room, Taiyang stayed close by Ruby, and I have no idea what Qrow was doing half the time, not that I had much interest. In my current state, I couldn't really do anything productive aside from help around the house to just have something to do. Probably about halfway through the day, Ruby finally woke up and Taiyang was the first to greet her like any parent should if possible. I was in the bed next to hers, reading a book at the time. The rundown is as follows:
If it weren't for me being so weak right now, I would just fly over there and kill the Dragon now, but I'll take a bit of good news over none. Ruby still has yet to notice me, not that I'm trying. Qrow got in here without anyone noticing and asked Taiyang if he could give them a moment. He reluctantly did so, obviously wanting a bit more time with his daughter before he left. After he left, Qrow pulled up the chair Taiyang was sleeping on and sat next to Ruby's bed.
"So... How you feeling?" He asked Ruby.
"Um... I kind of hurt... All over." She answered.
"Welcome to my world." I said, finally getting her attention.
"Cassiel? What are- what do you mean?" She asked.
"I've been in pain for a while now. Can't use one of my weapons, and a large portion of my power either without hurting myself." I answered.
"That makes sense, you should consider yourself lucky." Qrow said to me before turning to Ruby. "Especially after what you did."
"You guys keep saying that! That I did something. What are you talking about?" Qrow leaned forward in his chair.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Ruby looked down as she tried to remember.
"I ran up the side of the tower. And when I got to the top, I-*gasps* Pyrrha! Is she...?"
"The closest she can get to a proper funeral is a headstone. I'm sorry." I apologized.
"I-I... I..." She started choking up. "I got to the top and I saw Pyrrha... And you..." She said looking at me before looking back down at the bed. "And Cinder." She said her name angrily. "And then everything went white."
"Anything else?" Qrow asked.
"I remember... My head hurting."
"The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?" He asked. I definitely want to hear this.
"I don't know... I think it was something about-"
"Silver eyes." He helped. "That's an extremely rare trait." The hell do her eyes have to do with this?
"So?" Ruby's thoughts are the same as mine right now.
"You're special, Ruby. And not in the 'daddy loves his special angel' kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories. Some of them true, some of them made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before kingdoms. It was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm - the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered - were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike down a Grimm." He explained.
"You mean to tell me that I need to stab and shoot Grimm repeatedly to kill them, but she can look at them and they'll die of a heart attack? Ruby? One of the most innocent-looking, harmless people I've ever met, can look at something and kill it?" I asked as I tried to understand what I just heard.
"Hehehe, a ridiculous story, I know." Qrow said.
"But.. You think that I might be..." She started.
"Well... That giant monster's currently frozen on top of Beacon tower. And you're here, safe in bed." He got out of his chair and walked towards the window.
"Wait... Wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me? The night we met..." She asked.
"All those missions I go on, all the times I'm away in some far off place... It's been for Ozpin. But he's missing now." Don't you mean dead? I don't think Cinder leaves survivors. "Something's been set in motion... And with Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where he left off."
"Then what can I do? If I'm so special, then I can help! Right?" Ruby asked.
"You really want to help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now." He took a few steps toward the door. "Besides, our enemy's trail leads all the way to Haven. That'd be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you. Catch ya later, kiddo." He said on his way out.
"I guess I brought this on myself." I said as I laid back on the bed.
"Huh?" Ruby asked.
"The silver eye thing? I saw it, and felt it." I answered.
"I... I don't understand. What did you bring on yourself?"
"Back there, before we met back up with everyone. When Adam nearly killed me, when he hurt Blake and Yang, I heard a voice as he was fighting someone else. Who she was, I don't know, though she did buy enough time for me to get back up."
"A voice?"
"I sometimes hear voices from out of nowhere. Only a few words at a time, never full sentences, though they've helped a lot. Back then, I was basically offered power at a price, the price so far being my heart drawing closer to Darkness."
"I... What?"
"Ruby, have I ever told you what Heartless are?" I know I've told the others, I don't think I've told her.
"Heartless?" Well, that answers that question.
"Think of Grimm, but they are pure Darkness. I don't mean the metaphorical or physical kind exactly, I mean Darkness as in the primordial sense, though they rarely leave the Realm of Darkness, certainly not without my master knowing. You remember all those times, especially back then when a sort of dark mist was seeping out of me?"
"Yeah, it looked pretty cool too!"
"That was me drawing power from it. My heart is closer to the Darkness than ever. The power is nice, but one misstep, one more moment of desperation, and I could lose myself. It may have told me not to fear, but this is by it's very nature, a power more dangerous than Light. I would become a Heartless, and unless they can be sapient, I would basically become something as intelligent, but worse than Grimm. They don't kill like the Grimm, they devour hearts, not the organ, but I guess you could say the heart is similar to the soul in this case, and become more powerful when they do it." I began to explain.
"Cassiel... I don't-"
"As a keyblade wielder" I summoned Nightfall. "my heart is like a grand feast to them. Having 2, well, it makes that look like lunch." I dismissed Nightfall. "They grow in power with every heart they consume, but what about a keyblade wielder who becomes a Heartless? Especially depending on how strong they are? How strong their heart is and it's alignment? I would expect them to be powerful enough to make that Dragon look like a Beowolf in comparison."
"Where are you going with this?" She asked, wanting a straight answer. I opened up my cloak and showed her the incomplete Heartless emblem on my chest.
"If Grimm truly are creatures of Darkness, and silver eyes the ultimate weapon against them, then it stands to reason that the eyes are a power born from Light. Just as the keyblade is supposedly the ultimate weapon against Heartless, so too are the eyes to Grimm. Who's to say the eyes can't do the same to Heartless, or Darkness in general? Your eyes put me in this state, Ruby." I finally gave her the answer she was asking for.
"What??!! But...I-I... I didn't..." She started tearing up again. I got out of the bed and sat on hers.
"No one could have predicted that, Ruby. It's not like anything was broken, just a lot of pain, nothing that time and painkillers can't heal I hope. Besides," I put a hand on her shoulder. "that Dragon is worse off than me and I'm sure Cinder felt that a lot worse than I did!" I moved my hand to her other shoulder and pulled her closer. "You and the rest of the team are like family to me, I can't blame you for something like this." She leaned into me for a few seconds.
"Thank you."
"When you're feeling up to it, I'm sure Yang would like to see you. Might improve her mood, even if it's only a little." I got off her bed and back on mine. "As for me? Well, I'll be around for a bit longer before I go."
"Go where?"
"To Menagerie, with Blake. For now though, I think I'll stay another day or two. At this moment? I think I'll take a nap, I am sore all over."
"I'm sorry." Didn't we just go over this, Ruby?
"Don't be, it's not your fault." I told her as I got under the covers. "Ruby?"
"What's up?"
""All worlds begin and end in Darkness. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is it's nature. In the end, every heart returns to the Darkness whence it came. Darkness is the heart's true essence. Every Light will fade, every heart return to Darkness." I said to her almost exactly what I said to Adam. "However, if Darkness truly cannot exist without Light, then that doesn't mean every Light must die. Light can, and if the Light is true, will burn away the Darkness, the pain, the hate, and rage. Yours is one of few Lights that I hope will never fade. It is a truly precious thing."
"Uuuhhh... What?" She asked, not understanding what I said.
"If you ever find yourself in true Darkness, call out to me, and I'll shield you from it if I hear you, and I will be your Vergil back home." She won't get it, but maybe it'll save her life.
"Can you stop being cryptic for two seconds?" She asked, a little annoyed.
"Maybe?" Probably not. "Last thing, if you ever see Cinder or her team, call me, and if I answer, I'll be there to finish the job. I'll gladly take that Darkness once more into myself."
"Cassiel..."
It's better if I do it. Trust me on that.