Disclaimer: RWBY is not owned by me. It is owned by Rooster Teeth. This fan-fiction is not for profit.

Warnings: This fiction will be rated T for bad language, fantasy violence, and mild sexual themes.


Requiem for Remnant

Chapter 4: Epiphany

Ruby Rose walked out of the dorm room, leading her team into the hallway. On her face was a very modest amount of blush, some crimson eyeliner, and absolutely zero lipstick. Yang about laughed up a lung when Ruby tried to bite the waxy stick of paint. After giving up on the younger girl, Weiss had helped Yang apply some skin-colored concealer over her bruises. Then Yang let Weiss cake her face with yellow eyeliner and rose-red lipstick. Blake needed no help applying purple liquid eyeliner and some dark blush under her cheekbones.

"I feel like a clown," Ruby complained. Yang grabbed the top of Ruby's head and tousled her red-tipped hair. Her hands were weighed by Ember Celica once more. Yang was fully dressed in her combat clothes, the same as she had worn in her dream.

"You look so pretty, little sis," Yang complemented. Ruby grumbled underneath her breath and didn't make any attempt to wipe her face.

"Alright, alright, the stupid fake face dust can stay. But we're getting dessert after this ordeal is over," she announced. The only way that Weiss was able to apply the crimson eyeliner was by bargaining with her defiant sufferer. Once the ceremony was over, Weiss was going to treat everyone to a restaurant of Ruby's choice.

Sighing in exhaustion, Weiss could only say, "Whatever you want, just lead the way to the auditorium. Headmaster Ozpin wanted all the teams to gather before the ceremony." Then she fell in line behind the younger girl as Ruby began marching down the hallway. Blake stepped out of the doorway and looked at Yang. Her pointed stare seemed to pierce through the blonde.

"Are you alright, Yang? You seemed a little out of it, earlier," The feline female inquired. Her intuition was really something to behold. Yang shrank away from Blake's burrowing eyes.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Yang lied. Cat-like eyes narrowed severely. Unable to hide the truth from the curious cat, but unwilling to discuss her dream quite yet either, Yang tossed out a lame excuse. "Actually, my injuries are kind of sore. I think I'm going to take up Nurse Orchid's offer on pain pills." It wasn't a total lie; Yang's ribs were feeling tender to the touch.

Judging by her doubtful expression, Blake didn't look like she bought it. But she didn't press the issue. "Hurry over to the nurse's office. I'll tell the girls to not to wait up for you." Then she walked down the hall, her long black hair flowing behind her with every step.

Unfortunately, Yang had now caught herself in a bind. If she didn't get those pain killers, Blake would definitely become suspicious. Sighing in annoyance, the tall blonde walked in the opposite direction that her teammates had taken. As she wandered, her thoughts were occupied by her dream.

"Beacon is not safe." Those were the last words that Raven had screamed last night. Yang was sure of it. There was no doubt that the dream was real, that there had been a meeting last night. It didn't seem impossible; scientists were still discovering new things about the metaphysics surrounding human souls. Yang has heard of more outlandish things happening. But there was something about the events in the sleeping world that gave Yang reason to consider Raven's words of warning.

For starters, Raven had known Yang's name. How did Raven come by that knowledge? There was something very peculiar about Raven's behavior. She acted as though she knew Yang from somewhere. But Yang has never before met anyone that looked quite so similar to herself. Raven did say that appearances in the dream world were misleading. But it felt like there was something more to it than that. Yang's own appearance had matched exactly how she pictured herself. There was more than just Raven's behavior that made Yang apprehensive.

Beacon is not safe. That was a mighty accusation to heave at what was supposed to be the safest place in Vale. What sort of danger could possibly lurk in these pristine halls? This academy was home to thousands of Hunters in training. Fourth year students such as Team CFVY were already famous for their remarkable achievements in the field of battle. This was before they even graduated as fully fledged Hunters. Not only that, but the Vytal Festival had brought countless more students from other combat schools. Who knows how powerful these foreigners could be? On top of that, the Atlesian military was currently occupying the city. The robotic soldiers were tirelessly tracking down every remaining creature of Grimm that might still be running amok the streets of Vale. Aiding them was the Atlesian Air Force, providing the ground units with aerial reconnaissance and airborne sniper support. Finally, at the very top of the totem was Headmaster Ozpin himself. Admittedly, it was difficult to separate fact from fiction when it came to the Headmaster's accomplishments. The man himself was more humble than he had any right to be. But if even a quarter of his supposed feats were true, then Beacon Academy was guarded by the most powerful Hunter in the world. How could Beacon be unsafe? There were so many questions that Yang wanted to ask Raven.

Take for example, what was the deal with Aura sharing? Never before had Yang heard of any such thing happening. It didn't make any sense to her. If it was possible for two people to share their Aura, then why was it not something taught in Beacon Academy? You'd think that healing other people with Aura would be something they taught everyone, right? It sounded like excellent first-aid material. Yang hasn't exactly cracked open a medical book before, but even still. What were the "certain circumstances" that Raven had alluded to? Raven had started sharing her Aura without any special preparation. The required conditions couldn't be that circumstantial, could it? Yang wondered if she would see her mysterious patron again.

Mind full of questions, Yang was surprised when she found herself standing in front of the nurse's office. For a moment, Yang was confused as to why she even made the trip. Then she remembered that she promised Blake to get pain medication. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Yang thought angrily, "I don't want them and I don't need them." Powering through the pain was Yang's normal modus operandi. It might seem overly macho, but she didn't care. Yang's Semblance only got stronger the more damage she suffered. If it meant that nobody else got hurt, Yang would gladly absorb all the blows and bullets.

Still though, a promise is a promise. Relaxing her jaw, Yang unenthusiastically swung her hand toward the doorknob. Before she could grab the protrusion, the door swung open by itself. Standing directly behind the door was the petite medical assistant, Nurse Orchid herself.

"Are you coming in? Or were you just going to stand in front of my door and ground your teeth round?" Lips pursed tightly, the elderly nurse rested her fist on her hip.

Sighing explosively, Yang extended her hand palm up. "Can you just gimme some freaking pain killer?" she asked impatiently.

Nurse Orchid's nostrils flared. "No, I can't just gimme you medication!" she snapped. The bite-sized chocolate medic stepped aside and gestured Yang to enter her office. Groaning as loudly as she could, Yang kicked her legs inside with as much sass as she could muster.

The office was smaller than Yang expected. There were only two beds, a couple of child-sized chairs, and a computer with a holographic display in the corner. There was a wheeled chair next to the computer screen. In another corner was a metal cabinet with a simple combination lock. Inside must be where Nurse Orchid stored her drugs. Ember Celica swung recklessly as the seventeen year old Huntress in training staggered around the office like a drunken gorilla. Yang wanted nothing more than to grab a fist full of bottled prescriptions and take off running. Would Blake question Yang if she had some medications to show her?

"Are you always such a baby at the doctors?" The violet-haired nurse asked incredulously.

"Yes, and that's why you should just give me some stupid pills." Yang was determined to get out of this promise as soon as possible. If she had to act like a baby, then so be it. Yang expected the nurse to give her some pain meds as fast as possible, if only to get the rambunctious blonde out of her violet hair.

What she didn't expect was for Nurse Orchid to haul off and slap Yang directly on her generous butt-cheeks. The young woman nearly hit the ceiling. Yelping, she bolted away and grabbed her ample ass with both hands. Her amethyst eyes were wide with fright as she cowered away from the brown-skinned nurse.

"You spanked me!" Yang cried out as she pressed her back against the wall.

"All babies get treated the same way in my office," Nurse Orchid stated simply. "Now are you going to keep rampaging, or do you need another helping?" She raised her open hand suggestively. Yang immediately sat her tender tush in the nearest child-sized chair, her knees up to her chin. Smiling victoriously, Orchid pulled her wheeled chair in front of Yang's quaking form and sat in it, short legs crossed. "If you behave, I'll give you a lollipop."

"I have never been so humiliated before in my life," Yang thought aghast. "I could fight that ice-cream bitch a hundred more times and still never step foot in here again."

Finally getting down to business, the nurse just asked some simple questions like, "How would you rate your pain on a scale of one to ten?" and, "Do you have any allergies to any medication?" and, "Do you want a lemon or strawberry lollipop?"

Five minutes later, sucking on a lemon-flavored lollipop, Yang held a bottle of 500mg Tylenol in her possession. Her humiliation had subsided somewhat, so Yang was no longer a quivering mess of a woman. Still, she made a solemn vow to never misbehave in the doctor's office again. Yang couldn't even remember the last time she had been seen by a medic. It just wasn't in her personality to let someone else take care of her. That didn't work as an excuse for her behavior though.

"Um… I'm sorry for being a brat," Yang apologized sheepishly. Nurse Orchid only laughed.

"Yang, darling," the elderly woman chuckled, "you are not the first Huntress to be too proud for her own health. I'm actually on loan from Vale's Mercy hospital. I yo-yo between the hospital and Beacon Academy all the time. I get to treat Hunters day in and day out. You wouldn't believe how many Grimm-killing-machines break down and lose their minds when made to sit on a doctor's table." Grinning widely, Nurse Orchid divulged with glee, "I even had one Hunter, a grown-ass man, try to use his Aura to avoid being poked by a needle." The mental image was too much for Yang. In an instant, she was howling in laughter right beside Nurse Orchid. Tears rolled down both their faces. Weiss would be furious to see Yang's makeup ruined thusly.

Alright, so maybe Yang could visit this sassy nurse every once in a while. The laughter tapered off, leaving Yang breathless. Giggling, she threw her arms around the short, old woman. Orchid wiped a hearty tear from her crinkled eye and accepted the hug.

It was then that Yang realized that she had a medical expert right in front of her. The opportunity to answer one of Raven's mysteries was literally squeezed up against her chest. Yang was thunderstruck at her own ineptitude. "Is stupidity just a phase I'm going through?" she thought in amazement.

Releasing Orchid from the warm embrace, Yang gripped her by the shoulders and had to stop herself from shouting. Taking a second to recollect her composure, the excited blonde threw a question at the bewildered nurse.

"Hey quick question, how does Aura sharing work?" Yang almost exploded with anticipation.

Violet eyebrows furrowed for a moment; then Orchid began to speak. The more she lectured Yang on Aura sharing, the more confused the blonde became.

"I hope I don't have to explain how pregnancy works, right? Okay, when a mother has been pregnant with her baby for about thirteen weeks, she is in the second trimester. This is when the baby's nervous system begins to work.
At week nineteen, mothers-to-be may feel their baby begin to move about now. It's a magical time for every birthing mother. It's also when women get exhausted, constipated, dizzy, hyperventilated, and their mammary glands grow.
Now, the baby doesn't have its own Aura yet. The mother has to share her Aura during this time, which is why they're so exhausted. The baby's natural Aura has to be jump-started by the mother's Aura. Then the baby begins to create its own Aura while cocooned in their mother's Aura. It's very stressful for the mother, but the good news is that she may feel a sense of spiritual connection with the baby. You may not understand yet, but you will."

"I don't understand," Yang whispered. "Are you sure you're talking about Aura sharing?"

Frowning, Orchid put her hands on her hips. "Did you not hear me just say Aura a bunch of times?"

"I mean—yeah—but what about after the baby's born? I mean, I mean, what about two grown adult— complete strangers— sharing their Aura?" Yang's head suddenly felt like it weighed a metric ton. She could barely keep her skull upright. Unbidden tears trembled in her amethyst eyes. Her chest was tight with a hollow pain and she felt like she couldn't breathe. Her skin paled sheet white. Nausea threw the whole world sideways. She gripped her stomach and tried to hold onto her breakfast.

A look of concern crossed Orchid's face. She tried to answer, but what she said only made Yang worse.

"Two complete strangers can't share Aura. Only two people with perfectly compatible Aura can actively trade."

No…

((…She left me with him right after I was born…))

…It couldn't be…

((…No one had seen her since…))

…wasn't true…

((…It was all I thought about…))

…I held her in my arms…

((…To this day, I still want to know what happened…))

Raven can't be my

((…why she left me…))

The last sentence did Yang in.

"Such perfect compatibility is only possible between mother and child."

Yang vomited on the office floor.


End Chapter 4: Epiphany