"How have you been Sierra?" Blake said, catching up to me.
"Bored, I don't understand why Ozpin hasn't let me take you guys out of class for the past week and a half, teaching you guys is all I really have to do."
"We've had several big projects going on, but I think he is more concerned about the festival coming up."
"You could come to classes if you wanted to…"
"I know, but the only area I'm not fully fluent in is Grimm Studies and Port drives me insane."
"How so?"
"He's a pig, and since I'm not lucky enough to be in a relationship like you, he doesn't cease to emphasize that fact."
She chuckles at my description of Port, "Come to Goodwitch's, we would love to see Cardin get it handed to him again."
"My father taught me, and apparently, Goodwitch never beat him in a fight, so I think I'm pretty well off."
"I was going to bring popcorn to watch him get what he deserves."
"It's the way he was brought up, he's one of those rich kids who thinks he can get away with whatever he wants, so me beating him up won't make a difference."
"Your father was a really famous general right? How come you aren't the same way?"
"He was humble, we never went without, but we also didn't live in luxury or anything."
"From your stories, he seems like someone I would have loved to meet."
"I don't know if you would…"
She gives me an odd expression, "He was never quite the same after my mom died, I think he wanted to make up for the happiness our mother would have brought us."
Then I smiled, "Even so, birthday gifts from him were always special and they were never ridiculously expensive, but they would always be exactly what you never knew you wanted."
"I remember he got my brother some really good headphones, and my brother got really into music mixing just after that."
"I was the artist, my brother was the musician, and my sister was the author."
"You're an artist?"
"Yep, drawing, painting, sculpting…"
"I know what I can get you for your birthday now, I'm glad I thought of something given it's only three days away."
"How did you…"
"Ruby may have asked Ozpin when you didn't give her the exact date, she wanted to make sure we all got you something."
"She really asked Ozpin?"
"Yeah, she cares about you more than you realize."
"Do you think she…"
"I think you'll never know until you ask her, it will definitely help you to ask, it did for me."
"I assume that only applies if you get the girl, rejection won't be fun considering I have to finishing teaching you guys no matter what."
"I was going to be Yang's partner for the next four years regardless of how it turned out."
I roll my eyes, "True enough I guess."
"We are all going out to see how Vale is turning out for the festival, you should come along."
"I'll come along, I don't really have anything to do otherwise."
We walk to the Team RWBY dorm and find the other three ready to go.
"Sierra, you're coming?" Ruby said, seeming surprised.
"Blake invited me, so yes."
"Aww, I was hoping to get your present while we were out." Yang whines.
"Blake, didn't you remember that's what we were going out for in the first place?" Weiss complained.
"I kinda forgot…" Blake replied sheepishly.
"I don't have to go if you guys are going shopping for me…"
"Sorry for my girlfriend, she forgets easily." Yang said, clearly teasing her girlfriend.
"I will remember that next time we're in bed." I hear Blake grumble too low for any non-faunus to hear.
She looks at me and realized I heard what she said, she instantly blushes.
"What'd you say Blakey?" Yang asks.
"Nothing, but we'll catch up with you later Sierra, sorry for not thinking."
"Don't worry about it, and you all better not buy me something super expensive for my birthday."
"How many bet on Weiss' gift being the most expensive?" Yang asked.
All of us, except Weiss, raise our hands.
"I have limitless amounts of lien, of course I'd be willing to give my best friend something expensive for her birthday."
"I'm serious Weiss, if it is super expensive, I'm not going to accept it."
"Fine, but what is expensive for you?"
"Two hundred dollar maximum."
"Seriously? Buying you a car would be pocket change."
"Nope, not budging." Even though my own car would be quite nice.
"If you insist…" She grumbles.
"I'm assuming no one else has a problem with that price cap?"
"Fine with us." The other three said in unison.
"I'll see you guys later then."
I walked over to my dorm room and laid back on my bed, "I'll admit I'm excited to see what they get me."
"You should be, it will be your birthday after all." Shadow quips.
"Hello, how you've been?" Giving him my most sarcastic tone.
"Pretty good, but that's not why I'm here."
"I wanted to know if you thought what Ruby said could be true."
"What?, about your aura being blocked just like them?"
"Do you think…"
"Well, I can't say for sure, but it is quite likely."
"Could you help me?"
"Could I? Maybe, but should I is the real question."
"It stands that you could benefit from it as well, given we share the same physical form."
"Except that no being can have two auras, so I'm not quite sure how that would work."
"It would get me off your back about it…"
"Why didn't you start off with that?"
"What do you think is blocking you?"
"My guess would be the fact that I have no memory of how I ended up in your head or wherever I am."
"You don't remember what happened to you?"
"Nope, not even my own name."
"I would try using the semblance I used on the others, but you don't have a physical body for me to use it on."
"Could I use Blake's semblance and make a shadow clone of myself? Would that work?"
"Shadow clone, how appropriate, but it might just work."
"Let's try it then!"
A shadow clone of myself pops into existence beside my bed, but slowly distorts into a male figure lacking any color to his features.
"Ok then, here goes nothing."
I feel the usual pull and appear in the same room I was in my dream a while back.
"Shadow, you here?"
"Yep, so where exactly are we?"
"You don't remember talking to me here?"
"No, when did I do that?"
"A couple weeks back, you came to me in a dream and asked if I would help sort you out."
"I never did that…"
"Then you are broken as fuc…" I was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.
"The person asking for help was me." Another male figure with a really similar voice comes into view.
"Who are you?"
"Well, I don't know, all I know is that me and the guy standing beside you came here at relatively the same time."
"How come you didn't mention that before Shadow?"
"I don't know." They both respond.
"Wait, which one of you is Shadow?"
"I am." They both respond again.
"Well, shit."
"Who was talking to me just before we came in?"
The one closest to me raises his hand.
"Who was the one who asked me for help in a dream a couple weeks ago?"
The one farther away raised his hand.
"So, there are two of you?"
"No, we are two different people from my understanding." The one farther away says.
"Then why do you sound so fucking similar?"
"I don't know, but I just want to know who I was." The one closest to me whines.
"You don't remember your past either? I guess we have more in common than I originally thought." The one farther away quips.
"So what do you want me to call the two of you because I'm not a fan of Shadow One and Shadow Two."
"I guess call me Shadow and call him Shade." The one closest to me suggests.
"You alright with that for the immediate future?" Looking to the one farther away.
"I think I can work with Shade for the moment."
"I assume you both want me to help you?"
"Yes." They say in unison before growling at each other.
"I think we need to figure out exactly where we are before I can help either of you."
"Before I had assumed this was my mind from the echo, but now I'm not so sure."
"Do either of you know how long you've been here?"
"It would be just under eight years for me." Shadow says.
"Around seven for me." Shade says.
"So both arrived here after I attempted human transmutation."
I gasp, "Is this my portal?"
"But… it doesn't look anything like it did when I was here last time."
"Seems the little alchemist has figured it out all on her own." I hear an all too familiar voice call out.
I spin to find myself face to face with the Truth, "Long time, no see."
"I can't say the same, I've had my eye on you since your transmutation failed."
"And why is that?"
"Well, you're a direct alchemical connection to Remnant now."
My eyes widen, "What the hell do you mean?"
"I mean, oh how should I put it, you're basically like a power cord to Remnant."
"So then what are they?" I said, pointing towards the two male figures off to my side.
"They are Lost Ones, beings whose lives were tampered with in failed experimentation with alchemy."
"These two are the only ones?"
"No, but I thought you wouldn't appreciate having many more people having access to your thoughts."
"But if you're here this can't be my mind."
"That's true, but they share your physical form technically."
"Are they dead then?"
"Not exactly… but they aren't alive since they don't have physical bodies"
"But if they exist and aren't Grimm, shouldn't they have auras?"
"It would seem to be a case by case basis, most often they do retain their auras, but lack any sort of ability to use them."
"Even if they could use them, how would they they able to access them? They don't seem to have their own physical forms and a being can't have two auras."
"That's because they require something to channel their aura, a sort of connector, that connector wouldn't have two auras, but their own aura would be multiplied."
My eyes widen in realization, "Me?"
"That's correct, very good young alchemist."
"In attempting a transmutation that was completely impossible, you became a conduit for the Lost Ones."
"So human transmutation is impossible..."
"I never said that, I said what you attempted was impossible."
"But that's what I tried to do isn't it?"
"Aw, after you got the other things so fast, I thought this one would be a cinche."
"I won't reveal that one to you, but I will give you a warning."
"Your physical form may try and alter itself the first time your attempt this sort of connection, similar to how your portal has changed because of the connection."
"In what way would I be altered?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that, and I think I'll leave the rest up to you." Truth says, beginning to walk away.
"Wait! Are their auras blocked or do I just have to channel them?"
"I'll leave that up to you to figure out young alchemist!" Truth said, disappearing from view.
I sink to my knees, Shadow and Shade coming to my side, "What's wrong?" Shadow asks me.
"That's a lot to take in, and I don't really know what to make of it."
"Let's talk it through then."
"Well, Truth said that you are people whose lives were messed with using alchemy, but neither of you remember what happened?"
"I don't have any memories other than this place."
"Me either."
"I guess I'll try the semblance again now that we're here…"
"Speaking of which, where are we?" Shade asks me.
I glared at him for interrupting me, but answered anyway, "I'm assuming since Truth can be here that it's my portal of truth, but it has definitely changed since the last time I was here."
"Well, given that thing's description, I'm assuming it changed when you did what you did."
"Oh yeah, you guys have no idea what I've been talking about this whole time right?"
"Not a clue."
"No idea."
"Now as I was saying, I'll start with Shadow, then Shade will go next."
"Fine by me." Shadow says, clearly annoyed it took this long.
"Get on with it then." Shade complains.
I sit and motion for Shadow to follow, he sits and I trigger the semblance.
The scene forms much like they did when I was helping Blake, there weren't any form or faces in the darkness, but simply infinite depth.
I watch as a faunus teen runs past us, his cat ears perked up, clearly listening for pursuers.
"That has to be Shadow." I think after seeing no one else around.
"Let's follow him." I say, running after the child.
He clearly knows the streets well, easily rounding corners I didn't even see.
"You were a fast little faunus I'll give you that."
"Thanks I guess."
We followed until he reached what looked like a dead end, I was curious what he was doing in such a place.
My question was answered by him kicking a nearby wall twice, I could hear the sound of a locking mechanism being disengaged.
A secret door opens up, "Why are you so late young man?" An older woman scolds the teen.
"I might have gotten caught, but I know I wasn't followed."
"Get in here then! Before someone sees!" The woman says practically pulling him through the door.
Shadow and I follow quickly behind, the door quickly being closed behind the woman.
"I swear you need to be more careful, you can't get caught like that."
"I don't need to hear that, I know already."
"I'm not about to let you get hurt, you're apart of Underwood."
"Underwood… where have I heard that name before?."
"It's not like I have a choice, I'd be killed if I tried to live in Vacuo."
"That's it! It's the faunus safe haven in Southern Vacuo!"
"I remember my mother said she was born there, but she never said why she left, I understand now."
"Why was I forced to live in a place like this?" Shadow said, looking around at the decrepit state of the room we were in.
"From what my mother said, the people in Southern Vacuo hated the fauna to the point they were basically driven underground, I never believed the hatred could ever get this bad."
I refocused on the scene going on in front of us, "Regardless, you look like you could use something to eat, let's see what the others have come back with." The woman told the boy.
We followed as they walked through various hallways, they eventually arrived at what looked like a cafeteria.
"Hey Thomson! You got anything for my boy to eat?" The woman called into what looked like the kitchen.
"I'm not your boy…" The teen grumbled underneath his breath.
"I take care of you, so you might as well be." She snapped back.
"I got a little bit of grilled chicken left over, but the others haven't come back with anything else yet." Thomson says handing her a small plate with the chicken on it.
"Here, you need to eat something after being out all day." The woman handing the plate to the boy.
"How come the others aren't back yet?" The boy asks, his mouth full of food.
The woman smacks him in the back of the head, "I don't know what could be keeping them, but that's no excuse for having bad manners."
"I'm treated like an animal by humans, might as well act like one since nothing we do seems to change how they think of us."
She smacks him again, "That's no way to think young man!"
"I don't really…" The boy starts only to be interrupted by several people coming through the door.
"We're back!" The first one announced, holding a massive bag of food on his back.
"Jeremiah, where did you get all this?"
"From me." A man comes out from behind the group.
Thomson grabs a large knife from a rack on the wall, "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in the Underwood?"
"Well, my name isn't important, but I'm a member of the White Fang and I came to provide some provisions for the people here."
"The White Fang isn't welcome here!" The woman cries, "It's faunus like you that have caused all this!"
"The humans started the war, we agree to peace on terms of equality and this is where it gets us!"
"The White Fang have decided to make the humans keep their promise."
"Now, I have given you these supplies in exchange for some of your people coming to join the efforts of the Fang."
The woman interrupts, "Jeremiah! How would you agree to something like that?!"
"We barely have enough to get by, and they have promised more provisions as long as some of us go with them."
"And you think we'd let some of our own go and fight for a cause they don't believe in?"
"I think that's everyone's choice, he isn't forcing anyone to go with him."
Most of the people who were off in what looked like sleeping quarters had come in to see what all the yelling was about.
"How many will come fight for the Fang!" The White Fang soldier cried.
Several of the people started to walk and stand to either side of the man.
The boy stands and begins to walk toward the White Fang member, "You will not be going with them!" The woman said, pulling him back by his collar.
"I'm going!"
"If your mother says you can't go you have to stay." The soldier remarks.
"She isn't my mother! My mother was killed by those filthy humans!" The boy cried.
"Then come with us, let's get revenge for your mother!"
The woman keeps her hold on the boys collar, but he shakes her off.
"Good, you're determined, you'll make an excellent fighter." The man says turning and walking off, motioning for all those willing to follow.
"Come up here by me boy." He says to the boy.
"What's your name?"
"My name is James, James Taurus."
"Nice to meet you James, you said your mother died, but where's your father?"
"He left my mother before I was born, I don't care what happened to him."
"Well then, we'll help you avenge your mother's death, and help the faunus here too."
"Sounds good."
The scene fades to only the people walking as I turn to face Shad..James, who had fallen to his knees, clutching his head.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, but having to remember your entire childhood isn't exactly easy." His appearance slowly becoming less shadowy.
Before long, he had taken an appearance I was quite afraid he would take, one that looked quite similar to Adam.
"How long was this before you died?" I said motioning to the people walking behind us.
"A couple years I think, I was 15 in this memory."
"Do we need to keep going or do you think it will come to you?"
"I want to keep going because who knows how long it will take me to remember on my own."
I keep looking him over, slightly scared of what this development might mean, he saw my expression, "What is it?"
"You look a lot like someone I know."
"And?"
"You share his last name too."
"Since we're in your mind sort of, can you show me?"
I think of the last time I saw Adam and a figure pops into existence beside me.
James jaw drops, "He looks just like me…"
"I'm assuming your father had another child, but he doesn't have ears like you."
"These came from my mother, she was a panther faunus, but my father was not." Gasping at the ears now on top of his head.
"You can remember that now?"
"I remember my childhood now, basically everything before the day we just saw."
"It can't have been pleasant given what we just saw."
"I never met my father, and my mother was murdered when I was seven by humans while she was out getting some food for the two of us."
"I was brought to Underwood shortly after that, and I only really left when we were super desperate for food, other than when I left for good."
"James…" I say causing him to look towards me, "Are you sure you want to continue? We don't know what could be next."
"I don't want to continue… I need to continue."
"If you're sure." I say triggering the semblance once more.
This time the James in the memory looked slightly older, but not by much.
He was in what looked like a training area, surrounded by droids.
We both watched as his past self cut through droid after droid using what looked like an oversized cleaver.
"Session end." A familiar voice called out.
The man from before had come into the arena, "James my boy! How have you been?"
"I've been quite well mentor, what brings you here?"
"To put it bluntly, I'm here looking for candidates for a new program the Fang is initiating, and you were one of the first I thought of upon arrival."
"New program?"
"Yes, they're looking for strong individuals to undergo a sort of dust enhancement therapy, the researchers claim it could increase an individual's strength and endurance to levels unheard of."
"There has to be a catch."
"Unfortunately, the procedure doesn't work one hundred percent of the time, and could very well kill someone if they aren't strong enough."
"I'm assuming by the fact that you've come to me that you think I have what it takes?"
"I do, you're stronger than most people twice your age, so I think you could manage it."
"How long will it take?"
"From what they told me, it can vary, but it will definitely take at least a few months."
"Do you think that they are telling the truth? It seems a bit far fetched to me."
"I see no reason the researchers would lie to us, and with how we are looking towards more aggressive methods, we need someone to be successful."
"I'll do it, I don't have much to lose anyway."
"I'm confident you won't have to lose anything regardless." Letting James go past him.
But the memory centralized on his mentor as another person walked up behind him, "You must hate that boy to put him through what you're about to." The masked man told James' mentor.
The man sighed, "I don't hate him, but as he said, he doesn't have much to lose."
"If he survives, he is going to want your head."
"He can have it if he helps us destroy those human scum."
The scene deforms leaving me confused, "How were we able to stay with his mentor even though it was James memory?"
James saw my expression, "You just as confused as I am?"
"I'm just curious as to how we stayed with your mentor after you left considering it was your memory."
"I'm assuming there is more going on here than meets the eye."
"That didn't give us much, let's keep going." Triggering the semblance once again.
I instantly felt nauseous because of the sight that came back into focus.
It was James, except his entire body was covered in scabbed over skin, scars, and what looked like injection sites.
He was strapped to a medical trolley, and it was beyond clear he was in immense pain.
A man in a white coat walks into the room, I shudder from my own experiences with people in similar attire.
"And how are we doing today?"
"Fuck off…" James gets out weakly.
"Now, now you signed up for this whether you like it or not."
"Your health seems to have stabilized over the last several days, and some of the higher ups think it's time for the final step."
"What final step?..." James chokes out.
"Well, we came across some research that would suggest we could ingrain dust even more deeply into your body, and all it takes is you starting the process."
"I can barely walk, you think I could do anything like this?"
"This procedure is simple, and all it takes is you sitting in a certain position."
"Whatever, get me there and I'll do it." He says, clearly hoping for it to end his pain one way or another.
Several more white coats came in, one was pushing a wheelchair.
They practically threw him into the chair, and he was wheeled out of the room into the hall.
The room they pushed him to looked like large living room, but looked completely empty.
Then the lights were turned on, and sitting to one side was James' mentor.
"Mentor, what are you doing he…" James says before realizing that his mentor was bound and gagged.
"What's going on here?"
"Unfortunately, you haven't been the most successful test subject and as a result, we need to get rid of you."
"What's he doing here?"
"He knows about our little experiment, we couldn't let him tell everyone about what happened to you, or else we would lose our funding from the Fang."
"For all the Fang knows, you've been highly successful, and we've sent you out on several missions already."
"We get rid of you both, say that it happened while you were on a mission and we are in the clear."
"You bastards!"
"Of course that's not the only benefit, this procedure should give me both of your auras power without any of the side effects." The scientist says, lowering James onto the floor.
"Now let's see here." He says looking into the journal in his hands.
I take a closer look only to be horrified, the Grey family crest adorned the front of the book.
"That must be my father's, but I never saw him use a journal that looked anything like that."
Meanwhile, the man had drawn a transmutation circle, one more complex than any I had ever seen.
"That should do it, bring Lock into that circle over there." The scientist called out to his lackys standing just outside the door.
They drag the unconscious body of James' mentor into another part of the circle.
"Now all I should have to do is stand at the center of the circle…" Putting himself into the circle's center.
"Let's begin shall we…" He says smugly while pressing his hands to the chalk lines beneath him.
The circle began to glow, electricity arcing off the transmutation circle's matrix.
Then all three of their auras popped to live, James being clearly larger than the others.
Suddenly aura started flowing from the other two men into James, "What?! That should be going to me! I'm at the center of...the...circle." the man says, dropping to the floor.
I gasped in realization, "It meant the alchemical center!"
James was glowing with power, but it was clear something wasn't right.
James skin started to disintegrate, blood freely flowing from every area missing skin.
The blood didn't look right, it sparkled as if it had dust…
My suspicions were confirmed when the burn dust in his blood caught fire, spreading across his entire body and the room.
"GET OUT! HE'S GOING SUPER NOVA!" One of the other researchers called out as if this was something they were expecting all along.
The room was getting hotter and hotter, and James' aura was still expanding.
Then his body gave out, the aura burst outward with the force of a bomb blast, coating the room in fire and sending flames throughout the entire facility.
The scene started to fade, but not before I caught a glimpse of the remains of that journal.
The front cover was open and the page was burning, but I caught the words, "Home, many leave their marks there."
The scene completely fades, leaving me next to a broken James.
"I told you it wasn't going to be pretty."
"What was the point of all that? What did they gain?"
"I'm pretty sure they were using you as a glorified lab rat, but their research had to have been destroyed in the blast."
"What did that man try to do?"
"It was an alchemy transmutation, but I'm not sure what type."
"From what I could tell, it was an attempt to fuse you and your mentor's auras into his own, but he put you into the alchemical center of the circle by mistake."
"They had infused your blood with burn dust, which amplified your aura's power significantly at the cost of a potential detonation."
"When your aura spiked upon receiving so much energy from the other two, it caused the burn dust to become unstable."
"The result was nothing short of a dust bomb blast."
"I remember the feeling of being more powerful than I'd ever been, and then the worst pain I had ever experienced."
"I'm assuming being a human bomb isn't pleasant."
"It wasn't, but who was doing this research? It was clear they weren't directly White Fang the way that guy was talking."
"I'm not sure, a lot of stuff isn't adding up correctly, but I don't have anywhere near enough information to start putting the puzzle together."
"We'll have to get some more pieces then."
"Those pieces aren't going to be easy to get…"
"Being put through three years of continuous experimentation wasn't easy either, but I made it here from that, I think intel gathering won't be too hard in comparison."
"So you were eighteen when you died?"
"Yes and no, it never felt like I died, but more like I was simply transferred to another place."
"That would line up with what the Truth said, it could have something to do with the fact the transmutation never finished, and the large amount of energy produced when your aura imploded."
"The two combined might have opened the portal, your soul fell through, but you didn't have a physical form to return to."
"Sounds really complicated, I'll leave that part for you to figure out, so we done?"
"I don't know, try manifesting your aura."
"Since we're in my portal, it should only need a connection to your soul in order to manifest."
He does it and a blood red color surrounds him, "It must have been discolored by the dust." I thought, noting the shade matched the burn dust I'd seen Weiss use in the past.
"Even my aura was colored by that dust…" He said, looking slightly disheartened about the whole ordeal.
"I'm not sure how that translates outside of here, so I wouldn't be too down about it."
"Let's get you back to your friends then."
"I have to help Shade first."
"I don't mind." Shade says, popping into existence beside the two of us.
"Really? You sounded quite annoyed about it before we left."
"From what you two saw with James, I think I can wait."
"I can't say I don't see your point, talk to you both later?"
"Sure, just make sure you don't get the two of us mixed up when you talk to us." James says, chuckling.
"I'll try, no promises." I say, flashing them the peace sign.
"Good God, that's a headache." Is my only thought upon waking up.
"I must have used a lot of aura with James."
"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" I hear Weiss through the wall.
"Something has the Ice Princess all worked up." I think as I walk over to the RWBY dorm.
"That is the problem!" Blake responds as I open the door.
"You do realize that you're defending an organization that hates humanity don't you?"
"The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil."
I walk over to Ruby, "What exactly did I just walk in on?"
"Weiss made a remark about a faunus we saw while out in Vale. He had stowed away on a ship and Weiss made a comment about him going and joining up with the White Fang."
"She promised me she wouldn't judge based on someone just being a faunus, technically she didn't, she judged because of him being a stowaway."
"There's no such thing as pure evil!" Blake retorts.
"Why do you think they hate humanity so much?"
"It's because of people like Cardin, people like you that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"
"People like me?"
"You're discriminatory!"
"I'm a victim!"
"You want to know why despise the White Fang?"
"Why I don't trust most faunus?" I sighed, knowing she was talking about me and my sister not being apart of the most.
"They've been at war with my family for years. War, as in, actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted on its back for as long as I remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed, entire train cars full of dust stolen. Everyday my father would come home furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood."
Me and Ruby both walk over to her, "Weiss…" Ruby gets out.
"NO! You want to know why I despise the White Fang?! It's because they are a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"
"Well, maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake snaps.
Ruby and Weiss both looked shocked, "I…" Blake mumbles before running off.
"Blake!" Ruby says, running to the door after her.
"Weiss, this isn't the way she wanted you to find out." I told her.
"You knew?!"
"Of course I did! Me and Yang both did, but Blake wanted to tell you when she was ready and we respected that."
"She worked with the people who have been trying to kill my family for decades and you didn't tell me!"
"Weiss, there is more to it, she wasn't the only one…"
"Wh…"
She looks around and realizes there is only one more faunus in the room, "Sierra? How could you?"
"I never said it was my choice!" Slightly tearing up at some of the memories.
"You want to know how we escaped the facility we were in? The White Fang invaded the place, Matt and I stayed behind to fight while Kurome and the others got out. I watched as Matt fell into the collapsing pit of the building and I couldn't defend myself against the White Fang, so I was captured."
"I made an agreement with one of the members, I would be his partner for a year in exchange for my freedom after the time was up."
"I went through hell, and I will never forgive myself for the things I've done!"
"All Blake wanted was revenge for her father's death, and I know exactly how that feels."
"She never wanted to go down the path the Fang went, but she didn't have a choice!"
"She left the White Fang years ago, but she was so scared of what you'd think she left before she could even say that!"
She looked at me, clearly shocked I said as much as I did, "I didn't know, but I do now and I'll take that into consideration."
"Just like that?"
"What can I say, you're a very influential speaker."
I look over to Ruby, "What do you think about this?"
"You said she left right?"
"Yes."
"Then that's all I need to hear, she clearly doesn't think what they were doing was right; otherwise, she would have stayed."
I look to Yang, "Since the cat's out of the bag, I'm going to go get your kitty cat back."
"Really?" She said giving me the most blank expression I had ever seen her have.
"I've been holding back, and that's all I've got to lighten the mood."
"In all seriousness, you all need to get some shuteye, I can go out looking for Blake."
"What are you talking about? If we are going to look for her, we're doing it together."
"Also, what makes you think the three of us need sleep more than you do? You don't look as if you've had much sleep."
"I've gone with none for nearly a week and been decent in a fight, I think I can manage to go without one night to find my friend."
"No, we're going with you."
"I'm going to find her, you guys get some sleep, I've got some stuff I need to think through anyway."
"If you insist…" Ruby says climbing up onto her bunk, "But if you need us, our scrolls will be on and if you can't find her, come back and get some sleep."
The other two don't look as satisfied, "I'll be sure to call if I find her and I'll get some sleep once she's home."
"Do you mind opening the window?"
Ruby looks at me funny, "Sure…"
She opens it, I grin slightly as I run and jump through it, it doesn't take me a second to whip out my wings and push off towards Vale.
"You should have taken their suggestion, your aura got depleted quite heavily when you were helping me earlier." James comments.
"I want to talk to Blake first, I need to tell her about you and see if she knows anything from her time with the Fang."
"I'm not sure if bringing up the Fang with her is a good idea right now."
"I know, but I have to start somewhere and given her previous position she might know something."
"I would be careful how it's brought up, but you're going to have to find her first."
"I can try sensing for her aura, but she has probably hidden it so we can't find her until she wants to be found."
I land on a building just outside of Vale, and start trying to focus on her aura.
"Shit… I can't concentrate."
"I told you that you needed some sleep."
"It's not lack of sleep, I need to tell you something about what happened to you."
"What?"
"The notebook that the man was getting the transmutation circle from was my father's, and there was a note on the inside for me."
"Why would those people have your father's research?"
"That's what has got me so confused, it was clearly a personal thing if he put a note for me and my siblings in it, but he just lost it?"
"You're right, this really isn't adding up, but we're going to need more information before we jump to any conclusions."
"Let's focus on finding Blake, I'm not going to let Team RWBY down."
I spent the remainder of the night scouring Vale for any trace of Blake, but came up completely empty.
The sun was starting to come up when I decided to head back, "I guess we'll need their help after all."
I flew onto the dorm roof, trying my best to be as quiet as possible when landing.
I walked to the cafeteria, grabbed a bite to eat for breakfast, and went back to my dorm to wait for what remained of Team RWBY to wake up.
"I hope Blake's ok, she has to have been upset."
I jump out of my skin when someone starts to knock on my door, "The sun just came up, who's up at this hour?"
I open the door to find myself face to face with Ruby, "Ruby, I didn't think you'd be up this early."
"By the fact she isn't in her bed, I assume you didn't find Blake?"
"I searched Vale twice over, didn't sense anything like her aura, so she must have it hidden."
"You went over Vale twice? There's no way you got any sleep." She says frowning slightly.
"No, but I'll be fine Ruby, don't worry about it."
"You're apart of Team RWBYS right?" She asks.
I nod in response, "Well as soon as we find Blake, your orders are to get some sleep."
I salute her, "Yes ma'am!"
"The others are ready to go as well, let's get going." She says in a really serious tone.
"She's gone into leader mode, I don't think it will take us long to find Blake."
No one spoke until we reached town square, "Guys, I think we need to split up to cover more ground, so I'll go alone using my semblance, Yang and Weiss, you can go with Sierra."
"I could just use your semblance to run around a bit." I comment.
"I can tell from your voice you're exhausted, there's no way you could keep up that much aura."
I let out a small yawn, "You're not wrong."
"Yang, Weiss, keep her out of trouble, I don't know how well she would do in a fight like this."
"You can count on me sis!" Yang exclaims grabbing my arm and pulling me along.
"Do you think Blake is okay?" I say to the others after an hour of us walking along in silence.
"I think she's scared and wants to prove Weiss wrong, this all started when we saw a dust shop that had been broken into on our way through Vale yesterday."
"Weiss said it was the Fang, but Blake couldn't see the Fang robbing a store like that for no reason."
"It's not like I could have known she used to be a part of the White Fang, but I think she just wants answers as to why they were robbing the store."
"I guess that's Blake for you, but I just don't want her to get hurt going on her search for answers, I've done so too many times to let others follow in my footsteps."
"We'll find my kitten and bring her home, no problem."
A couple more hours go by, "No problem huh?" I say in my most sarcastic tone.
"I said no problem, that doesn't mean it's going to be easy."
"Kinda does."
"Sorry for underestimating how well my kitten can hid…" She gets out before being interrupted by an explosion.
"Oh, no."
The three of us look at each other and nod before taking off running towards the sound of the explosion.
We arrive on the docks to find Blake and another faunus taking on Torchwick.
"Is the person Blake fighting with friend or foe?" I ask Yang, drawing my swords.
"He's the faunus Weiss insulted yesterday, but I'm pretty sure he is on our side."
I turn my head slightly when I hear the sound of footsteps on a neighboring rooftop, I look up to see Ruby and another girl standing on top of the building.
"She must be friendly if Ruby isn't engaging her."
"James, you ready?"
"I recall you saying I shouldn't help you when you fight."
"I'm pretty much shot on aura, so a quick resolution to this fight would be great."
"I don't want to take over, but I will warn you if you're getting dangerously low on aura."
"If you're sure."
I hear the familiar mechanical sounds of Crescent Rose extending, "Hey!" I hear Ruby call out.
"Oh hello Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"
"Ruby, are these people your friends?" The girl next to her asks.
"Something isn't right about that girl's aura, it feels off."
"Penny, get back." Ruby responds
I see Roman grin and quickly fire off a round at Ruby.
Crescent Rose flies from her hands as she gets thrown back by the blast.
"Ruby!" Yang and I yell.
I see Penny jump down and look like she's ready to go on the offensive, "Override: Whiteout." Roman calls out.
Instantly, Penny locks up, completely frozen before curling up into a ball on the ground.
"She's an android?" Remembering my father saying something similar to one of the droids that he let us train with.
White Fang reinforcements drop down from their ships and surround Blake and the other faunus.
Ruby jumps down and stands beside us, "What happened to Penny?"
"She's an android, Atlesian from the sound of that override code, but I don't know if Ruby or the others need to know that yet."
"Not sure, but I don't think she'll be much help now." I say looking over at her in a fetal position.
"I'll transmute a wall in front of us, you guys flank around it." I say to the others.
"You better stay back Sierra, you cannot have enough aura left to protect yourself." Ruby comments.
"I'll try to, but I won't hesitate to come help if one of you needs it."
I transmute the wall just as the soldiers start to let loose with their rifles, the others charge around while I hang back.
I peak out from behind the wall to watch, Weiss and Yang were taking on the soldiers around Blake, while Ruby had engaged Torchwick.
"Come one Red, fight like you mean it!" Roman brags, easily deflecting Ruby's attacks.
Then he takes aim with his cane, the shot clearly charged with a large amount of aura, and fires it straight through Ruby's abdomen.
"RUBY!" I say, running at Roman, swords at the ready.
He smirks and once again pulls the trigger, I feel the round pass through my leg, but I don't even waver in my charge.
Both of my swords clash against his cane, I throw him back, "Since you two are both occupied, I think I'll go have a bit of fun with your friends." He says moving towards the others.
I consider pursuit until I look over and see Ruby surrounded in a pool of her own blood.
I rush over to her, quickly performing a transmutation to seal the wound, but it was clear something else was wrong.
"She's running out of aura, if she doesn't get some soon, her organs will start to fail." James tells me.
I start giving her some of mine before James stops me, "You will die if you try and give her anymore of your aura, you're running on empty too."
"I can't let her die, I've too many people I love go, she isn't going to be one of them!"
I look over and see the Fang have encircled the others, slowly the circle around them was getting smaller and smaller as the Fang and Roman closed in.
"We have to do something!"
"What? We're out of options!"
Something in me clicks, "James, we need to be together, fight as one being!"
"What are you talking about?"
"The Truth said I'm a conduit for you guys, we need something we can both agree to use our power for."
"We don't have anything to lose…"
I stand and close my eyes, "Let's fight as one!" (A/N: Kill la kill's Don't lose your way starts playing.)
Then I felt a power unlike anything I'd ever felt before, my aura expanding more than I'd ever thought it could.
I let out a primal roar as my aura continues to skyrocket.
I watch as all the White Fang, Roman, and the rest of Team RWBY turn to look at me.
My aura switches to a gold color, I switch my hair to match it, and put my eyes to match James' aura color.
I lean down and press my hands to Ruby's abdomen, give her some of my newly found aura, and bring her into a bridal style carry against my chest.
I walk towards Roman and the others, the soldiers all looked as if they wanted to run, but couldn't.
I walk past them all and put Ruby into her sister's arms, "She should be fine, but I'd take her to Beacon's infirmary just in case." I said giving her a reassuring smile.
I turn to Roman, "You're fight is with me now, if you attempt to harm them as they leave, I will not hesitate to kill every single one of your men."
"Sierra, we're not just going to…" Blake says looking at me wide eyed, staring at my head for some particular reason.
I interrupt her, "You are, I can handle this."
The circle opens up and Team RWBY walks out towards Vale.
"Now, where were we?" I say, still surrounded in my glowing aura.
"Open fire!" Roman yells as he runs towards one of the dropships.
The men instantly do so, the dropships above providing additional fire, but none of it even touches me.
"This is incredible!"
"You can say that again! Even my power up from before feels like nothing!"
I start to use Ruby's semblance, running behind the soldiers hitting them on the back of the head with the hilt of my sword.
All Roman would have seen is a blur as all his men drop to the floor unconscious, and his reaction shows he saw just that.
"I said where were we, I didn't mean for you to include all of them."
The dropship he had called for came to rest behind him, "Really? We were just getting started."
I run up, cutting the engines off the wings with aura coating my blades, backflipping down to put my swords to Roman's throat, "You hurt Ruby, you've hurt Vale, now I'll hurt you."
"Fine, but if you don't let me go, your sister dies."
I go wide eyed, "Where is she?!"
"I'm not just going to tell you that now am I sweetheart?"
"All you need to know is if you let me go, she won't be harmed."
I grimace at the thought of letting Torchwick go, but I wasn't going to let my sister be killed.
I pull my swords back, "Get out of here, and know that I'll be coming for you if you even touch her."
"Oh I've done much more than that." He says as he jumps into the new ship that lands in front of us.
"You bastard!" I yell, forming an aura blast with my hands.
"Let that go and she dies!" He yells out as the ship flies away.
I scream in frustration and turn to shoot the blast off to sea.
I let my aura drop back to normal, but wince as I realize I didn't heal my leg.
I start the walk towards Vale with one hand covering the wound and notice Blake and Weiss standing just off the edge of the docks.
"I thought I...told...you...to...go." I say before falling forward onto the pavement.
"SIERRA!" They both scream in unison as I black out.
I wake up in a hospital room, I try to sit up, but instantly regret it as I feel the pain from my leg.
"They said you'd be waking up anytime now." Ozpin says sitting in a chair to the side of my room, sipping his coffee.
"What's up?"
"I think that should be my question to you."
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't seen them have you?"
"Seen what?"
He hands me a hand mirror, I look at myself and gasp, a pair of black cat ears sit atop my head.
"These look just like…"
"Mine, I think this is what that Truth thing was talking about when he said your physical form might be altered." James comments.
"Do you know how this happened?" Ozpin asks me.
"I'm pretty sure, but it's a long story."
"That's not what I'm really concerned about, what happened at the docks?"
"They sort of go hand in hand, but the basic idea is that I combined my aura with someone."
He looked confused, "From what Team RWBY has told me, you just spontaneously generated a massive aura, no one assisting you."
I go to speak, but James jumps in, "I can explain it to him if you want."
"Sure, just use Blake's semblance like you did earlier."
"I think I'll let him explain."
I watch as the clone slowly morphs into James and Ozpin looks collected, but I knew he was totally freaking out underneath.
"Hello sir, my name is James Taurus, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Sierra who is he?"
"The explanation isn't worth the effort, but he's the one who allowed my aura to multiply the way it did."
"He doesn't have a physical form to channel his aura, so I'm basically a connector to his aura."
"He doesn't have a physical form?"
"No, I'm using Miss Belladonna's semblance to project an image of myself to you."
"I'll explain it all later Ozpin, but right now I need to know, how's Ruby?"
He sighs, "She's fine, her wounds and aura seem completely stable, but they're running a couple tests just to be safe."
"Thank God…"
"Though I'm pretty sure you've got other things to be worried about."
"Like?"
"The fact you let Torchwick escape when you clearly had the advantage."
"He has Kurome Oz."
"You're positive?"
"No, but his cane using an ignition circle means he has her or Matthew and he threatened her life to make me let him go."
"I'll look into it while you recover, but there is a representative from the AHH here as well."
"What about?"
"You don't realize the magnitude of your aura expansion do you?"
"No, I was trying to save Ruby…"
"You outclassed the world's top ten hunters…"
I interrupt him , "That's powerful Oz, but I don't see what the big deal is…"
"Combined."
"You're lying."
"No, you were off most charts, the Association wants to know how they could replicate it."
"It has to do with my alchemy, and for all intensive purposes, cannot be replicated."
"What do you mean?"
"It cost me an arm, I have no idea what it would cost someone else." I say slightly tearing up remembering that corpse I made.
"Tell this representative I have no intention of speaking with them."
"I doubt he'll take no for an answer, but I'll have him removed from Beacon if he declines to leave."
"Thanks Oz, are the other members of RWBY around?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was going to tell them you have woken up." He says looking down typing into his scroll
"But before they get here, I want you to promise me something." He says looking back at me.
"What Oz?" I say, slightly taken aback by him asking for a promise.
"Don't get yourself killed, your brother and sister will need their family here for them when we get them back."
"I won't promise anything, but I will try my best to stay alive." I tell him as he walks out, closing the door behind him.
A couple minutes later there was a knock at the door, "Come in."
Blake, Weiss, and Yang all walk into the room, but before anyone says anything, Yang pulls me into a hug.
"Thank you for saving my sister's life, I don't think I can ever repay you."
"Don't worry about it, I'm a huntress-in-training, comes with the title."
"We're all curious about those." She says standing to point at the ears on top of my head.
"It would be easier for you to just meet the person behind them."
They all look confused, but then I let James take his shape.
Blake and Yang instantly arm their weapons at the sight of someone who looks like Adam, "It's not Adam! That's really rude of you both!"
They both lower their weapons as he speaks, "My name is James Taurus, I'm Adam's half brother from my understanding of it."
"To make the long story short, I'm a physical body that he can channel his aura through since he doesn't have one."
"The side effect of my first time doing this is my new ears, they match his." Both of us wiggling them for effect.
"I think you got a bit taller too, I noticed it when you were stumbling towards us earlier." Weiss comments.
"So you're not just going to get another trait every time you do it?" Blake asks.
"No, I was told it would happen the first time, so this should be it."
"The changes don't bother you?"
"I was a freak before, metal arm, wings, cat ears and me being a bit taller aren't that much of a bother in comparison."
"Do me a favor Sierra?" Yang asks.
I nod, "Switch your hair and eye color to match Blake."
I do so and she giggles, "You two could be sisters!"
I pick up the mirror and take a look, "She's not wrong."
Blake takes her scroll and puts her head beside mine, "Say cheese!"
I smile and she snaps the picture, "I'm totally keeping this."
"In fairness, I used to do it to match with Weiss all the time when we'd play together."
"I remember those days, Kurome would be the knight, you'd be the ice dragon, and you guys would fight over me."
"And I'd always let her win."
"Enough about that, how's Ruby doing?"
"The doctors let her go up to the roof for some fresh air, but I think they're still making her stay overnight to be safe."
"Can you take me to see her?"
"I'm not sure if the doctors will let us…"
"I'm going to see her, I will blink up there on my own if I must."
"They've left a wheelchair, so I can wheel you up there." Blake agrees.
"Blake I'm not sure…" Yang comments.
"At the moment, she looks like she's my sister, so I'm not going to deny my sister."
She helps me into the chair and starts pushing me out into the hallway.
I drop the color on my hair and eyes before Blake tells me, "You're on the news by the way."
"Seriously?"
"Aparently your aura was so bright it could be seen from the town square, The AHH is supposed to give a statement later."
"I wonder what they're going to say given I told their representative to shove off."
"Do you even care?"
"Nope, not one bit."
"Good, you've got other things to be focusing on."
"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I can tell her Blake."
"You don't have to, but I will tease you to no end if you don't, especially after you shoved me at Yang to make me tell her."
She wheeled me up the ramps to the roof and opened the door, "I can take it from here." I tell her, implying that she should go.
"I'm sure you can, go get her panther."
"Ha, ha, very funny kitty cat."
I wheeled myself over to where Ruby was sitting, her legs dangling over the edge.
"That's dangerous you know." I say.
"Sierra, I thought you were still asleep…" She says as she looks back towards me.
She then notices my new ears, "What happened?"
"It's a really long story, but the simplest way to put it is I have cat ears now."
"The others told me what you did, and it's all over the news."
"You saved my life, and the others too."
"As I told Yang, it comes with the job, don't worry about it."
"They won't bother you right?" She says looking back at my ears.
"Not in the slightest, I was a freak before, these don't really change that much."
"You're not a freak!"
"Don't you dare think that!" She says grabbing my hands.
"You're one of the prettiest girls I've ever met."
I blush, "You think so?"
"Nearly dying today made me think about some things, so I wanted to tell you…"
"Tell me what?"
"IkindalikeyoualotandIwantedtoknowifwecouldbemorethanfriends." She blurts out before covering her mouth.
"What?" I ask, hoping I'd heard her right.
"I understand if you don't like me that way and I'll get over yo…" She starts to backtrack before I grab her and pull her into a kiss.
At first, I thought I was too forward, but then she leaned into me, deepening the kiss.
"Forget I said that experience earlier today was incredible, it's nothing compared to this." is my only thought while kissing her.
We break it after what seems like hours, the two of us out of breath.
"It was rude of me not to answer your question." I say with a smile.
"I liked your response better."
"I came up here to ask you to be my girlfriend, so I want to do it properly."
I look her in the eyes, "Ruby Rose, will you be my girlfriend?"
"I asked you first didn't I?"
"And I answered…"
"Then I guess I'll answer too." She says, pulling herself into my lap and kissing me.
"SO CUTE!" Blake calls from the doorway.
"I thought I told you I could do this on my own!"
"It's better it was me and not Yang," She said, "I was sent up here to inform the patients that they need to get their rest."
"Five more minutes?" Ruby asks her.
"I guess you can have that." She says, turning back towards the door.
"But you better be down after that or Yang will have a fit."
"Tell her she's in good hands, but if you tell her about what you just saw it won't be pretty." I yell after her.
An alarm goes off on Ruby's scroll, midnight.
"Happy birthday!"
"I still can't believe you asked Ozpin when my birthday was."
"Is it that hard to believe after everything?"
"No, but you could have just asked me."
"Either way, I know now, so when do you want to celebrate?"
"I would say lunch, but something's come up and made me rethink that." I say smiling at her.
"How about the two of us go out for lunch and then we celebrate your birthday and our relationship with everyone for dinner?"
"Sounds fantastic."
"Aren't you going to be stuck in a wheelchair all day?"
"I maybe could have healed it once I woke up, but I might have gotten an inch of height in addition to the cat ears and didn't want to make it awkward."
"Great, you were taller than me before, I guess I'll have to start growing to keep up."
"You're fine, you're only fifteen."
"Only for like a month, then I'll be sixteen." She says, puffing out her cheeks.
"You're too cute sometimes."
"We'd better get down there, or Yang will think we're up to something." She says.
"It's only been three minutes." I whined.
"You're so needy."
"I am not!"
We sit there staring into the night sky, then Ruby beings absent mindedly rubbing my cat ears.
It feels really good, and then a rumble escapes my throat, I blush, "Sierra, are you purring?" Ruby says giggling.
"Maybe, I didn't even know I could do that…"
"Now I'm going to have to rub your ears all the time because that is too cute!"
"We should be getting back…" I say, trying to get her to stop.
"Ok, but you better have something good planned for our lunch date tomorrow." She says, standing beside me, but she leans back to kiss me on the cheek.
"Can you wheel me down?"
"You said you could heal yourself."
"Actually, I want you to try it."
She looks at me wide eyed, "You trust me to do that?"
"You're saying I shouldn't trust my girlfriend?"
She blushes slightly at the girlfriend comment, "I can try."
I hand her a piece of chalk from one of my pockets, "Now you should be able to do this on your own now, but I'll tell you if something's up."
She draws the circle on the ground and rolls my chair so my leg is positioned above it, "You ready?"
"Always."
She presses her hands to the circle, and in a blink of an eye, I stood to hug my girlfriend.
"You've got this stuff down, and it only took three lessons!"
"I've done some studying on it while you weren't helping me."
"I didn't know you needed more help."
"I just wanted to know more, and learning it on my own is pretty fun."
"I don't have to worry about you trying anything right?"
"No! I was just curious and wanted to impress you…" she says mumbling the last part.
"I hope you realize I have two set of ears, so I can hear you."
I walk her to her room, and quietly say goodbye so Yang wouldn't get too suspicious about our behavior.
I go back to my own room and lay on the bed, "Happy Birthday." James comments.
"Thanks, but as I've said before, I really don't like to celebrate my birthday."
"This is a new chapter in your life, don't forget about your mother, but I know she wouldn't you to mope every year for the rest of your life, especially on your birthday."
"I never thought about it that way, but you're right."
"Get some sleep, you've got a date tomorrow."
"You had better not interrupt during said date." I told him, pulling the blanket up to cover me.
Once again, trying to sleep without Ruby next to me was really difficult.
I woke the next morning to find the doctor ready for me to sign my release papers, "I have to get ready."
I blinked to my room, and quickly got one of my summer dresses out, "This should work."
"I'm glad this was big on me." I thought, noting the extra height didn't hurt my figure at all.
I did my hair up in a ponytail and threw it over my shoulder.
"What about my ears?" The thought of some faunus hater ruining our date flashed through my mind.
"I wonder…" I think, quickly cloaking them with my aura.
"That should work, but I still have some time before lunch."
I just decided to walk around a bit, but I didn't expect to run into anyone, until I ran into Pyrrha(literally.)
"Sierra! It's been a while." She says, helping me up.
I'm level with her, which is a change from me being slightly shorter than her.
"You're all over the news, "The girl with the strength of ten hunters!""
"I couldn't have gotten a cooler name than that?" I ask her.
She notices my being dressed up, "What's the occasion?"
"I've got a date for lunch and then I'm celebrating my birthday with Team RWBY later."
"Who got lucky enough to go out with "the girl with the strength of ten hunters"?"
"Ruby…" I say, slightly blushing.
"Good for you, I thought you'd never find out."
"What?"
"Ruby was crushing over you hard, I caught her doodling you in Oobleck's class."
"Really? I'll have to ask about that later." I say with a slight giggle.
"Oh shit! I'm going to be late! Gotta go Pyrrha!" I say, turning away while waving.
"Have a happy birthday!" She calls.
"First one in a while, but happy none the less."
I run to the RWBY dorm and politely knock at the door.
"Hey Sierra, you here for her?" Blake says answering the door.
I nod and Ruby walks to the door, she looks absolutely stunning in a simple skirt and blouse.
"I think I'm a bit overdressed for a first date." I comment.
"It's fine," she turns back to Blake, "I'll send you guys plans for dinner, bring your gifts with you."
She gives Ruby a salute, "Yes, ma'am."
"You're really serious about planning my birthday huh?"
"I let you plan our first date, so I thought I'd take some liberties on planning for your birthday."
"Why do you have your ears cloaked?" She says noticing the lack of ears atop my head.
"I didn't want anyone to ruin our date because I'm a faunus."
"I wish I could tell you that wouldn't happen."
"Someday it won't, but today isn't that day unfortunately."
"So where are we off to?"
"You'll see."
We took an airship to Vale, and started walking through town square.
We passed the docks, and made it to our destination, "The pier?"
"Yeah, is that okay?"
"It sounds great, I haven't been in ages."
We walked over to some of the games along the side, "Would either of you lovely ladies like to try the ring toss?" One of the vendors asked, juggling several rings between his hands.
"Sure, I'll give it a shot." I tell him, grinning slightly.
I give him a dollar, and he hands me three rings.
I miss the first one, still confident I throw the second one, I scrape the edge of one of the bottles, third one gets it right on the money and goes straight onto the bottle.
"Good job, pick your price!"
I look over and see a small plush beowolf, "I'll take the beowolf please."
He hands it to me, "Excellent choice."
We walk away and I present it to Ruby, "I got you something."
"It's your birthday, you should have it."
"The only reason I played was to win you something, so it would be a waste if you didn't accept it."
"Ok."
She cuddles it a bit, "It's so soft."
"I'm glad you like it."
We walk around for a bit just taking in the scenery, "This place is really beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you." Ruby says giggling.
"That was so cheesy." I say, giving her a big smile.
We grab a bite to eat from one of the vendors on the pier, "Were your gnocchi good?"
"Fantastic! Thank you for recommending it."
"My mom always made it for us, I've never had any that was anywhere near as good as hers."
"Do you miss her?"
I sigh, "Yeah, but James…"
She gives me a curious look, "Oh I forgot to tell you, I help Shadow get his memory back, his name used to be James."
"But he says that my mom wouldn't want me down every year on my birthday, so I've been trying to think happy thoughts today."
"Here let me give you another happy thought." She says leaning in for a quick kiss.
"Thanks, you're the best."
"What do you want for dinner?"
"We just had lunch, are you in that much of a hurry?"
"It's not that, I need to tell the others where to meet us."
"There's a seafood place not that far from here, I really want some fish."
Ruby starts laughing, "What?"
"You and Blake both with your cat ears and fish."
I kiss her to stop her laughing, "I've wanted some fish for a while, the cat ears didn't affect that." I say as I pull away.
"They'll meet us there, Blake says excellent taste by the way." She says looking up from her scroll.
"So what do you want to do next? Ferris wheel or…" I stop talking, noticing one of those test your strength contests off to the side.
A faunus took a swing and got it well over half way up the bar, but a guy grabs the hammer from him, "Let's see what a human can do." The man boasts.
He grabs it and slams it more than three fourths up the bar, "See that's how a man does it." The guys brags to the faunus' girlfriend, "Maybe you'd like to go on a date with a real man instead of this puppy dog."
"Ruby, I'll be right back." I tell her through gritted teeth as I walk over.
I uncloak my ears and tap the guy on the shoulder, "Oh, so another animal wants to give it a go?"
I grab the hammer from him, put a tiny bit of aura into the swing, and slam the disc into the bell at the top.
His jaw drops, "You must have cheated…"
"That metal arm of yours must help some how."
"I don't see why a girl like me would cheat at game like this."
"You're not a girl, you're a filthy…" He didn't get to finish that sentence as Ruby came over and socked him right in the face.
"You even think about insulting my girlfriend again, and I'll make sure you walk away with a couple less teeth next time."
The man gets up and strides away, trying to keep what's left of his ego intact, "I'm sorry I didn't ask that man to leave sooner." The stall manager says.
"Either way, you get a price for winning that bell miss."
I point to the couple that had been standing off to the side, "They can pick one for themselves."
The faunus comes over and shakes my hand, "Thank you for that, you didn't have to get involved like that."
"It's not everyday we meet another human faunus couple, not everyone is okay with that sort of thing." His girlfriend adds in.
I hold Ruby's hand in mine, "I hid my features with my aura before we came across you, fearing something along those lines, but I wasn't going to let someone disrespect another faunus."
"We both appreciate it, we've had to deal with it for three years, and you're one of the first to stand up for us."
"We're both huntresses-in-training, it comes with the job." Ruby says, giving them both her smile.
I notice the man has had his hand in his pocket the whole time we'd been talking, he appeared to be clutching a small box…
I lean over and whisper, "The vendor has got a teddy bear that should be the perfect size for that box… I'm sure she'd love the surprise."
He flushes a bit, but responds calm, "Thanks, again." He says smiling, getting the bear from the man.
Ruby and I start to walk away, "What did you tell that guy back there?"
"Let's stick around for a minute and I think we'll see."
We took a seat on a bench and I watched the man pull his girlfriend aside.
I see her turn the bear over and pull out the box on the inside, Ruby gasps, "He's going to…"
I can see him mouth the words, "Will you marry me?"
Her response was clear, with her jumping up and down, screaming yes.
"You knew?"
"Not before I interrupted, but I saw him clutching the box when we were talking."
"You're amazing, you know that?"
"I try, so you want to ride the ferris wheel before we head off to dinner?"
"Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to the pier without it."
We got into the carriage together, both of us looking at the view as the sun was setting over Vale.
"I've had a wonderful day with you Ruby."
"Will there be a second date?"
"Of course there will be!"
"I'm glad, I wasn't so sure I'd get the honor of being with "The girl with the strength of ten hunters."
"I did that to save you and the others, and to be honest, I have no idea if I could do it again even if I wanted to."
"What was it like?"
"It felt like I had limitless power, nothing could stop me."
"But it was nothing in comparison to our first kiss on the roof."
"You called me cheesy, but we should get going or you will be late to your own birthday party."
We walk the block to the restaurant and find the others waiting out in front of the restaurant.
"Are we late?"
"No, but Weiss wanted to make sure we weren't, so we came a bit early."
"With how long it took you to do your hair Yang, I'm surprised we made it here before midnight." Weiss retorted.
Ruby, Blake, and I all laughed as Yang started fuming at the Ice queen.
"Let's go eat, I'm starved." Blake says, pulling us out of our laughter.
We get seated in a corner booth, Blake and Yang next to each other with Weiss in between me and Ruby.
"Weiss, do you mind switching with me?" Ruby asks her.
"Why do you want to switch?" She says, clearly curious.
"Well, there were two things we want to celebrate tonight, one is Sierra's birthday, the other is…," She takes a deep breath, "As of last night, Sierra and I are dating." She says blushing slightly.
"You're dating my sister and you waited a day to tell me?" Clearly angry with me.
"I didn't want you playing overprotective sister on our date today, so I waited until now to tell you." Ruby says.
"That's where you were all afternoon?"
"Yes Yang, I went out on a date, I'm fifteen nearly sixteen and can handle myself."
"You sure couldn't against Torchwick!"
The table goes silent, Ruby's eyes start to tear up, "I know I messed up ok? I didn't need to hear it from my sister!"
She leans into my shoulder and starts crying, "It's alright Ruby, you're ok, you're ok…" I say softly into her ear.
"Yang, that wasn't necessary." Blake says.
"I'm sorry, but you don't know what it's like to think you've lost your younger sister…"
"I know what it's like!" I yell at her, "For all I know, my younger sister has been dead for three years!"
"All of you, stop it!" Weiss exclaims.
"We're here to celebrate Sierra's birthday and her and Ruby's relationship, if either of you have a problem with that, you can leave now." Looking to Blake and Yang.
I look at Yang, "Look, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but Ruby wanted it to be a surprise."
"I just didn't know what you'd say." Ruby says, pulling herself off my shoulder.
"I would have said I just want to know that my little sis is going to be safe and happy."
"I'll do everything in my power to make sure she is both of those."
"And that if you hurt her, I will hurt you ten times worse."
"You won't have to worry about it, if I hurt her, then I'll have James hit me."
"Now that everything's settled, let's get something to eat." Weiss says happy to lighten the mood.
We started chatting, Blake and I both got fish, to the absolute hilarity of the rest of the group.
"It's not that funny." I say, trying to get the rest of my food down.
"I've never asked, why do you always eat so fast?" Ruby asks me.
I freeze, "I haven't always been given large amounts of food to eat, so I eat as much as I can while it's available."
"The researchers at the facility fed us only when absolutely necessary, or as a reward for a job well done."
"I'm not going to pretend like I'm not some sort of monster after all that…"
"You're not, I know you and you're not a monster."
"None of you have ever met the person I was back then, and I don't ever plan on letting that monster out of it's cage."
Ruby hugs me, "You're Sierra, now you're my girlfriend and it's your birthday, what you've done in the past doesn't concern me."
"Thank you…"
"Now that everyone's done, you can open your presents."
They all pull their separate gift wrapped boxes out from under the table, "These are all for me?"
"Of course, it's your birthday silly."
"It's been a long time since I've gotten any sort of gift."
Blake hands me hers first, I open it and find a really nice sketch pad and some pencils.
"You said you were an artist, so I thought you could use some supplies."
"Blake those could have cost you ten dollars, I expected…" Ruby scolds before I stop her.
"No, I would have asked for something expensive if I wanted it, but this is one thing I know I've needed."
"Thank you Blake."
Weiss hands me hers next, I open it to find what looked to be a brand new laptop, "Weiss I said I didn't want anything…"
"It was two hundred dollars on the dot, it was on sale."
"I would have gotten it for you otherwise if you hadn't put a cap on us, but this seemed like something you could use."
"I don't know how I'll use it, but thank you."
"I think you'll find something…"
Yang hands me hers next, it's a really small box and when I open it a pair of keys fall out.
"These look like motorcycle keys…"
"Who says they aren't?" She looks at me grinning.
"You're joking right?"
"Nope, the number on one of the keys is the storage locker number, it's an older one my uncle gave me, but I got Bumblebee so I have no use for it."
"You're giving her Dark Repulsor?! Qrow gave that to you!"
"I told him it wasn't fast enough for me, but he told me to keep it anyways."
"That's totally over the price limit!"
"Technically, it didn't cost me a thing, so not breaking the rules."
"You'd give me something like that…" I get out, not really knowing how to respond.
"Yeah, it's also a big thank you for saving my younger sister, I'm sure Qrow would agree that you deserve it."
"I don't know what to say…"
"Then don't say anything and open your girlfriend's present."
I look and Ruby's holding a box, a bit smaller than Weiss', but definitely bigger than Yang's.
I tear off the paper and open the box, it's a drawing tablet and a stylus.
"Ruby, I've seen this model, they're like a thousand dollars!"
The others looked shocked, "Telling me I shouldn't go over the price cap." Yang grumbles.
"I didn't spend over a hundred, look at the emblem when you start it up."
I turn it on and Ruby's rose emblem flashes on the screen, "You made this?"
"It took some sleepless nights to get it done in time, but I managed to get it done the night before our fight with Torchwick."
"Ruby…" I say before bursting into tears.
"Sierra, what's wrong?" They all ask in unison.
"I don't deserve any of this…"
"I never thought anyone would care about me this much, not after everything I've done." I say, bringing them into a group hug.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say we care about you, two of us are your best friends, one of us is your girlfriend, and the other is your girlfriend's sister." Weiss points out.
"Hey!" Yang objects.
"We're here for you, I'm here for you and I don't have any plans to stop being here." Ruby says taking my chin in her hand and kissing me.
"Gross, get a room you two." Yang teases.
I wipe the tears away, "Thank you all so much."
"You're going to be here for me, which means I need to return the favor."
"Tonight we can celebrate, but tomorrow I go back to being your teacher."
"We've unlocked each of your auras, so now the real work can begin."
"You guys ready?"
They each nod, "Then here we go."
End Act I
A/N: There you have it, the conclusion to Act I of RWBY Ascension, but don't fear my friends more will be on it's way soon. Though I will (most likely) be taking the next week off, as I need to plan out Act II, but I hope to keep going strong after that(if it occurs). School is starting back for me soon, which may slow my uploads to two times a month, but it may not if I begin to shorten chapters. Chapters will start being shorter now that all the pieces are in place, but the quality should be the same as always. It has been a blast writing this so far, and I have a lot of plans for the future of this story(maybe even another one[though not with Sierra :( ). Tell me what you guys think, follow, favorite, and review(They are to me, like cookies are to Ruby, the more you give me the happier I am.) The Marksman, closing one curtain to open another, Out.