Author's Note:

Finally, my first RWBY fic since the ending of Vol 4. It has taken a while since there were other fics I needed to work on plus my current university attachments which unfortunately has not gone so well. Long story short, I had begun to feel pretty miserable, which also contributed to the delaying in my writing in general.

That being said however, I also managed to see the amount of support I have been getting, with my tutors and fellow students being among them, which has worked toward getting me back on my feet. And with that, what better way to bring that back out than with this story focused on Yang?

This story would take place between episode 4 and 9 of Volume 4 and I will admit, quite some of it was based on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. I hope that the story just lives true to its name and that you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. As always, please review and give me any constructive comments.

Yours sincerely,

Jdbl00d

Huff huff huff

She breathed as she weaved through the punches, delivering retaliatory jabs at her foes. Her fists connected with each one, smacking them away and into the shadows.

She heard footsteps behind her. Turning sharply, she readied herself for battle, only to stop when she saw her opponent.

It was him, the one who had inflicted the greatest scar on her very life. His white mask gleamed amid the darkness, the red markings that ran across glowing with an unnatural red. His scarlet hair stuck out like angry thorns, flanked by the bull horns that sprouted from his head. His hand reached downward for his sword, the sickening sound of the scraping metal filling her eardrums as he drew the blade.

She readied herself for the fight, punching out with her right.

Only now her right hand was gone. Instead, she saw the stump that was the only thing left of her right arm. Stunned, she racked her brain for what to do next, only to see him dash straight at her, the blade flashing towards her head.

Yang Xiao Long woke up with a startled gasp. A few deep breaths were enough to calm her down. Once she did, she looked to her right arm.

The prosthetic was still on, the same way when she had slapped it on days ago. She raised it over her head, hearing the mechanical whirring and clinking of servos and plates that had replaced flesh, bone and muscle. She flexed the robotic fingers, feeling a slight degree of tension as she clenched them tight before letting her arm fall down.

Another damned dream… Yang scowled internally as she got up. She moved to rub the sleep from her eyes, but stopped the minute the mechanical arm touched her face. It still felt blocky, unlike a usual hand. True, she could still feel with it thanks to the pressure sensors built into the arm. However she was still sure that metallic joints and plates would not be very healthy if they came into contact with sensitive body parts like her eyes. Yet another thing she had to get used to, but she had to admit it was better than being handicapped.

Yang almost smirked as she tried to think about another joke, but decided against it as she got up and brushed her teeth, the hand working just nicely at grabbing her toothbrush. It was also water resistant, meaning she could take a bath or wash dishes properly. It was pretty nifty, no doubt about that.

Her dad had already made breakfast, a nice helping of scrambled eggs and bacon, accompanied with orange juice. Yang heartily ate it, which made her father smile. She had long ago wondered when it would be that she could properly enjoy a meal again.

She really felt the arm was growing on her. She rotated it around, looking at the gun-metal grey steel that made up the arm and frowned. It really needed a paint job too. The grey was just too dull for her. Her mind drifted to the many spray paint cans they had in storage. Slowly, ideas on how it should be flowed into her head, and she smirked as she thought of the possibilities.

She got up to do the dishes while her father went about the house to repair whatever had fallen into disarray. She washed the last glass cup and prepared to put it back into the cupboard when the arm suddenly froze.

Yang blinked, wondering what had gone wrong. She grunted, putting more effort into it but the arm didn't budge. She grunted again, putting even more force into it, but only getting a few wrist twitches from the prosthetic. Yang growled in irritation as she unleashed all her strength, her eyes turning red in the process.

And it worked, her arm moved once more. Well at least the fingers did. They closed so suddenly that it now shattered the glass into tiny fragments. Yang cried out in shock, turning her head away to avoid the glass shards. Once she was sure it was alright she turned her attention toward the arm again. She flexed the fingers and moved it around. She frowned as she noted how it worked just fine.

Footsteps sounded behind her as her dad rushed in. "Sweetheart! Is everything okay?"

Yang stayed silent for a bit as she flexed the arm. "Yeah." She nodded. "I'm good. Maybe just used a little too much there."

Taiyang nodded. "Well, it happens. It's quite amazing that you've gotten used to it this fast."

"What can I say dad?" Yang smirked. "I'm a fast learner."

"Well, let's see how well you can back that up." Taiyang grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "You ready to go?"

Within minutes, they had begun their usual sparring routine. Yang felt the adrenaline rush through her once more as she sent a left hook to her father, who blocked it expertly and countered. Yang spun around him, watching his fist fly past her face and striking with her right at his blind spot. Her father quickly ducked, and she went in, throwing out punches his way. A few times her right struck him, causing him to falter, but he recovered quickly enough to still put up resistance.

Yang struck again and this time he caught her arm, pushing her away with a kick before charging in for a haymaker. Yang moved her arms up to defend…

…and her right arm stopped again. Yang registered a few jerks from the metallic limb before her father struck her full force in the gut, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Yang breathed as she lay on the floor, turning her gaze to the prosthetic. She tried to move it, but got only as far as a few fingers moving. The wrist twitched slightly while everything else had frozen up. State of the art my foot. Yang fumed as she lay on the ground.

"Yang! Yang, are you okay?" She heard her father call.

"Swell dad." Yang groaned as she sat up. She felt her father lift her to her feet as she recovered from the impact.

"Hey, just tell me kiddo." Taiyang asked. "Is there anything wrong with the arm?"

Yang looked at it again, watching as her efforts to make it move resulted in nothing but small twitches and jerks. "Well, I guess this is it…"

"Hmm." Taiyang frowned. "Guess there are still some kinks to work out."

"That's for sure." Yang said as she regained full control again, flexing the metallic joints. "Is there any way to fix this? Pretty stupid to have an arm again only to find it doesn't always work."

Taiyang thought for a while as Yang kept moving the arm. Yang studied his face as he constantly looked to her arm and then to the ground again. Then, he raised his head, looking directly at Yang. It seemed he had made a decision.

"What?" She asked, curious to what her father had decided.

"Well, I know a guy who can help you with this." Taiyang said. "Thing is, he is quite a ways away. I can probably call him, but he works in a very classified environment. Whole secrecy and stuff."

"I can keep my mouth shut dad." Yang replied, gesturing to her arm. "As long as I can use this thing right."

"It's not that I'm concerned about." Taiyang said. "There is one more thing about this guy you should know."

"What?" Yang frowned.

"He is without a doubt…" Taiyang said sullenly. "The biggest prick on Remnant."