VERY IMPORTANT A/N


READ. READ. READ.


Read end-of-chapter A/N. I have something big (and bad) to announce, but I rather not spoil the chapter from the get-go.

On a brighter note, officially got my Software Engineering Master's degree :D

Enjoy the chapter.


Chapter 28: Do you hear the Hunters sing?


"Hellooooo, people of varying levels of personal tolerance. That means you, Gun Volt."

"Hi Nora," GV responded. "You should have used the word resistance."

"Resistance? Why?" Yang asked.

"It's an electrical circuitry thing. It's a pun about circuitry."

"Ooooh… nice!"

A series of groans followed Yang's and GV's statements. And not only across the table shared by KVKC, RWPY, and JNBR, but also those close enough to overhear. It was too early in the semester for Beacon's cafeteria to be a Yang Danger Zone. Or as Yang once called it, a Yanger Zone.

"Ren, Mytyl… Volt is flirting with both Ren's girlfriend and Yang," Weiss narrowed her eyes, "make it stop."

Ren rolled his eyes. "He's not flirting with Nora. And she's not my girlfriend."

Nora's eye twitched. "O-oh." It was a single, muttered syllable, but thunderously heartbreaking to anybody who paid enough attention to hear it.

"Love what you did with your hair," GV commented. "The transition from ginger to neon blue does wonder to bring out the light of your eyes."

"Oh," Nora perked up at that, the new 'oh' nowhere near as wretched. She curled a lock of hair around her finger, trying to look at the neon blue tips. "You think so? Renny did this for me. Confessed what you did, GV. Thanks for not ruining my hair."

Weiss silently screamed into the void, then pleaded to Mytyl. "Mytyl, reign your partner's deviancy!"

"I resent that," GV deadpanned. "I'm only allegedly dating three girls."

"Oooh, a threesome," Yang teased, "that's one short of an entire team. Got to up your game, dragon-boy… huh, hey, what kind of faunus are you, anyways."

"Snake."

"Ssssssexy," Yang teased again, "but I'll continue calling you dragon-boy. Or maybe D-boy. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink."

Tired of screaming to the void, Weiss hauntingly looked into the nothingness. "Is… is this the reason my dad always has political murder as an option on the table?"

The sudden thud of a white binder hitting the table captured everyone's attention. "Don't worry Weiss. Rubeth Elizabeth Rose here to save the day. And look who I found!"

Kohaku sat next to Copen, who was currently performing Lumen's and Lola's periodic maintenance. "Hey, good to see you again."

"Ruby, is that my binder? And what's with that name?"

"It grew on me. And don't let yourself be held back by common sense, Weiss. To escape the abyss that is your life, you must kick reason to the curb and grip opportunity by its snappable neck," Ruby made a strangling gesture with one hand and a smile with too many teeth. Then her eyes focused on Nora. "Ooooh, love your hair, girl. You can join GV, Pyrrha, Pantera, and me in our Hair Gradient Club. We do beads on Thursdays."

"Oooooh," Nora oohed with interest.

"Ruby, the binder," Weiss brought the conversation back on track.

"Ahem, right. Lola, play 'Do you Hear the Hunters Sing, Instrumental version."

Rolling away from Copen's grasp, Lola floated to the center of the table as music started to play. That earned Ruby a suspicious look from Copen. "Ruby, how did you upload that into Lola?"

"I said don't let yourself be tied by common sense. Yeesh, Copen, keep up. But that's besides the point." With a forceful thwack, Ruby opened the binder, lean with both hands on the table, and gave each and every one of her friends a hard look. "Do you hear the Hunters sing?"

Silence followed Ruby's question, many unsure if the question was meant to be rhetorical or not.

"Singing a song of bored men?" Mytyl asked back, a bit too eloquently not to be rehearsed.

"That answers how the song got uploaded into Lola," Copen muttered.

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed. "The music of Hunters who will not be bored again!"

"And when the beating of their heart echoes the beating of the drums," Jaune, apparently in on the whole thing, followed the Ruby's verse.

"There is fun about to start when tomorrow comes," Mytyl confirmed. Somewhat.

"That's all fascinating, sis, but I'm not into musicals. Can we fast forward to what this is about?" Yang asked while flicking a grape upward and catching it with her mouth.

"What I'm trying to say is that in less than twenty-four hours, we are back to our Beacon Experience, trademark pending. And that won't do. Like I was telling Weiss, Carpe diem, seize the opportunity, hold life by its brittle neck and SNAP!"

"Sounds violent," Kohaku commented.

"We are Hunters! Our life is violent! We live for the bloodshed! So, who's with me? Who wants to rise above and beyond our mortal coil!?"

"I do!" Mytyl loudly proclaimed.

"Me too!" Jaune continued.

"Sounds fun," Yang grinned.

"I don't know if I'm up to it," Blake bummed everyone out.

But Ruby was not to be deterred. "I expected that, but don't worry. I recruited the T in Team PTGA to kickstart the first step of my grand plan. You're already roped in, Blake."

"Who are Team PTGA?" Kohaku asked, but only receive a shrug from Nora as an answer.

Blake narrowed her eyes. "Ruby… what did you do?"

Ruby responded with a shit-eating grin.

"FOOD FIGHT, L-M-A-O!" an obnoxious voice screamed from across the cafeteria.

"Teseo! Don't you dare throw those pan-"

A fluffy of pancakes hit Blake, Weiss, and Nora on the face. One was dumbfounded, the other was livid, and the last one ate the pancakes.

"These pancakes are great!"

-o-

"I need you to be cool, man!"

"Sun, my man, my dude. You've been fretting ever since I hit land. Relax. I'm the coolest guy you know."

Sun wasn't impressed or calmed by Neptune's bout of self-confidence. In fact, he felt more apprehensive.

"This is important to me. I don't want to you to spread your nerdery on all of this."

Neptune shook his at Sun's near panic. "Man, you really have it for this girl, huh?"

"It's not like that," Sun glowered fiercely, making Neptune take a step backward. "I already told you, she's just an old friend."

"An old friend you bring up every other week since I've met you," Neptune incredulously stated.

"Yes?"

"And that you are bending backward to try and impress?"

"A very good friend," Sun stressed.

Neptune didn't believe him. "Be straight with me here. Do you like-like this Kohaku girl?"

Sun sighed. "Look, if she were to explicitly show some interest, I wouldn't say no. But it really is not like that. She's great, but, ugh, how to say this? There isn't that one thing that makes you go 'I'm marrying that girl'. Know what I mean?"

Neptune nodded. "So… she's free-"

"Place your flighty, flirty hands on her and you'll wake up in a transparent box that recycles air at the bottom of the ocean."

Neptune took another step away from Sun. He felt he understood Sun well enough to tell if he was lying or not. And he detected no deception in that last statement.

"Ok, ok. Not flirting with your childhood friends. Got it… is there someone I can flirt with?"

They reached the entrance to the cafeteria, and Sun sent Neptune a flat look, telling the blue-haired boy just how unbelievable he was. "I'm pinning for the cat girl, but as long as it's not Kohi and you aren't a douchebag, do whatever you want."

With that last warning, Sun opened the doors. And stepped into a warzone.

The bodies of reluctant heroes scattered the confectionary-filled floor. Random explosions of soda shook the very foundation upon which the building was built. The injured groaned, some crying for their mothers, other begging for death's sweet embrace. Perhaps literally sweet.

It was chaos. It was destruction. It was war.

And towards the end of the room…

"HAHAHA, bow before me, mongrels! Bow before your new Queen!" Nora, in all her neon blue tipped glory, proclaimed from her throne of chairs and tables and student's dreams, a metal pole with a watermelon sticking from it sat in her hand like a scepter.

"Hey! I thought I was the Queen!"

Nora chuckled. "Oh Weiss, you are a puppet queen. You sleep until midday, go to cocktails, and all that's asked of you is to read speeches twice a month and wave in public."

"Oh… I'm fine with that."

"HMMMPPPPHHHHH!"

"Oracle!" Nora condescendingly looked to the blond with the brown beret that was tied and gagged at the base of her blood throne. "Silence my SweetForger. It pains me to say this, but his usefulness has run its course. Now… he's a liability. Dispose of him."

A blonde-pinkette slowly made her way to the thrashing pâtissier, who was being held down by an angry, short redhead and a maniacally laughing crocodile faunus. With a ketchup dispenser on hand, the girl stood behind the boy and looked down at him, her face unreadable.

"Nothing personal, Asroc. Just good business." Pointing the dispenser at his head, she squeezed, a splatter of red marring her pristine skin and not even a twitch of regret at the act committed.

"You… YOU MONSTER!" The lavender-haired girl leading the opposing army, a figure larger than life despite her height, shouted with all her anger and rage. "You dare call yourself a person? You dare call yourself a Queen? You are nothing but a madwoman!"

"HAHAHAHA, prattle all you want, little pixie," Nora jumped off from her throne, sauntering through her soldiers. "But the Age of Fairies is at curtain's close. Your people lie dying at our feet. Your flames of hope snuffed under the boots of my marching army. And your most fervent supporters?"

Nora stopped next to a blond knight; his stern face unflinching as Nora caressed his face. "Under my thrall."

The winds of left Mytyl's sail, as she stared aghast at her most faithful of human allies. "J-Jaune?"

"My apologies, Lady Mytyl. But in the end… I'm but a human."

But Mytyl was not a Queen for no reason. Burying her pain, the ache in her heart, and her face set in a glacial expression of sheer determination.

"We are the proud Fae. We are not going to be bewitched by your sweet nothings or your bitter words. We will not be slain by your rancid, stale baguettes. We will not be led astray by your false oracles!"

"Rude," the blonde-pinkette crossed her arms. "I take offense at that."

"And even if the cost is steep," Mytyl broke eye contact to gather herself and the patch the leaking pain of her heart, "even if today will be remembered as the darkest day of our era," a steely determination shined from her crimson eyes, "we will not give up. We will not lay down. We will march on. We will fight. And we will win!"

Mytyl's faction roared in approval and charged to meet Nora's army.

Nora slammed her scepter into the floor and rose her arm towards the advancing army. "Slaughter them! Kill every last one of them!"

Throughout all of this, Sun and Neptune just spectated the chaos of all.

"This is amazing!" Sun said ecstatically as bread, fruits, soda, pastries, and an entire buffet of other miscellaneous food-related objects flew, exploded, and injured the students of Beacon and the visiting Academies.

"This is madness," Neptune whispered in silent horror.

"This is Beacon!" Sun corrected as a cake exploded next to him.

"Sun! Over here!"

Sun lightly swatted Neptune to gets his attention. "Keep up, nerd!" Diving below a flying roasted pig, Sun made his way to an upturned table were students were shooting condiments at the opposing forces. While many fought in the frontlines in melee, those whose skills lay elsewhere or were too injured to fight the better fight, were relayed to range support. And commanding this diligent platoon…

"Hey Kohi!" Sun rolled behind cover and pressed his back against it, sending a radiant grin at his childhood friend.

"Hey Sun," Kohaku complemented Sun's radiant smile with a stellar one of her own. "Did you find your partner?"

"Whoa!" Neptune crashed with a thud into the cover, having slipped on relish as he attempted to follow Sun's lead. "I repeat, this is madness!"

"Nope," Kohaku popped, "this is Beacon." She extended a hand. "Kohaku Mino. Childhood friend."

"Neptune Vasilias. Unwilling partner. So, you're the famous 'Kohaku Mino' Sun doesn't shut up about."

Kohaku looked at Sun, who was glaring at Neptune. "Oh? Speak of me to your bros? Nothing bad I hope."

"If putting you on a pedestal is something bad…" Neptune trailed off. Sun's glare narrowed.

"You make a maiden's heart flutter, Sun Wukong." Kohaku winked. "I'll put a good word in for you to Blake."

A cloud of flour rushed by the trio, the battle behind them going on.

"What is this?" Neptune asked.

"Court Jester Nora has usurped power from Queen Weiss and marched her army to our front door under the guidance of Councilor Lie and Oracle Pantera."

"Tarts!" Sun cursed. "I knew Pantera wasn't to be trusted. What about Sir Jaune and Double Agent Blake?"

Kohaku scoffed. "You saw what happened. But those are not the ones I'm worried about. The real problem is…"

Kohaku, Sun, and Neptune shrank and flinched as a barrage of cans bombarded them without discrimination, downing multiple soldiers in the process. Kohaku cursed about pocky sticks as she dared a look at the battlefield.

"The Rupee Squadron, led by High Executioner Rubeth Elizabeth Rose."

"Ooof, that doesn't sound good. I suppose High Dragon Xiao Long and High Champion Pishe Moneen are directly under her command."

Kohaku nodded grimly.

"Is that Pyrrha Nikos?" Neptune asked as the High Champion single handedly battled three students with a six feet long sub.

A scream towards their side caught their attention.

"Coco is down. Coco is down! We lost our banana gunner," Velvet desperately said as she dragged Coco to safety. "I repeat, our banana gun is out!"

"Sun," Kohaku grabbed Sun by his dumb 'I Heart Vale' shirt. "That banana gun is the only thing keeping them at bay. Can I entrust you with it?"

Sun looked towards the side, where a nest of bananas rested. A contraption that could be generously called a serial, high velocity banana peeler remained unmanned. Sun grinned. "I was born for this."

With Sun gone to man the banana gun, Kohaku's attention turned towards Neptune, who for once didn't relish on a cute girl looking at him so intensely.

"Here, take this and go to the frontline."

Neptune looked at his 'weapon'. A three-pronged branch with three roasted marshmallows, each with a flame lick flickering happily.

"Why do you have this?"

Kohaku shrugged. "Why does the False Queen Weiss have a swordfish?"

On cue, Kohaku and Neptune looked as Weiss dominated a Vacuo student with the fishy weapon. Neptune resigned himself to his fate and charged valiantly to the frontlines. There goes a man with nothing to win.

A white-haired boy vaulted with a flip next Kohaku.

"Prince Copen!"

"Arms Master Kohaku," Copen nodded.

"How's the frontline?"

"Bad. At this rate I'll lose my bet with Volt and be forced to recite his godawful haikus!"

"I meant the war…"

"Oh," Copen promptly regained his composure. "I'm at the cusp of a breakthrough. Can you assist Lord Volt and Queen Mytyl in the frontlines?"

Kohaku nodded, taking her link sausage sub and dashing to the frontlines. She weaved, ducked, and jumped over projectiles, swings, and explosions. She ignored the pain and suffering around her, her eyes locked where Mytyl and GV were battling against Ruby and Pyrrha. But her advance was stopped by a turkey-handed behemoth.

"Hey Kohi."

Kohaku flicked her sausage-link-sub, extending its whippy goodness. "High Dragon Xiao Long," she politely acknowledged the worthy opponent.

"Oooh, love the title," Yang smacked her turkey hands together. "What is yours?"

"Arm Master."

"Nice. Though admittedly I got you beat in the arm race." Yang smacked the turkeys again, for emphasis.

Kohaku bit a groan. "Let's… just fight."

In the blink of an eye, Yang closed the distance and had Kohaku on the defensive. The brunette dodge desperately the berserker's frenetic attacks. Each dodge meant a counter where she tried to wrap her sausage-sandwich-whip-thing around Yang, with little success as the boxer quickly retrieved her arms before they got caught.

Ducking under a punch, Kohaku attempted to sweep Yang off her feet, only for the blonde to jump over her legs. Just as planned, as Kohaku sent her whip to wrap around Yang's left leg. With no way to dodge, Yang was dragged away by the meaty whip, as Kohaku spun her around before sending her crashing into, and through, the roof.

Miss Goodwitch can fix that. Probably.

-o-

Ruby was honestly surprised, as she dodged another baguette lunge from GV. The boy's swordsmanship wasn't half-bad. Not great, but not bad at all. Why doesn't he train more with a sword?

Mytyl wasn't doing as well as GV. She decided to akimbo bottles of mayonnaise and mustard and was serving as support to GV's close range combat, occasionally rushing in to get a kick or two in and retreat. Luckily neither Lumen nor Lola were being used in the fight. It would defeat the purpose of a food fight had the twins used their pods. They were content floating next to their masters.

Another lunge from GV sent her backpedaling, but not fast enough. Thankfully, Pyrrha's tray-shield blocked the attack. Ruby sent a nod to her teammate. GV might not be the greatest of swordsmen, but Ruby wasn't that good either. What she would do for an acceptable facsimile of a scythe. Or a sniper rifle.

"Banzai!"

Wait, wha-

Ruby was kicked back as Copen flew into her, feet first. Both of them slid through the slippery cafeteria floor. Recovering, Ruby looked at Copen.

And the rigged cans of whip cream he strapped to his feet as impromptu propellers.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding…" she muttered under her breath. Pyrrha, still standing, slid on the slippery floor next to her after Mytyl kicked her, sporting the same contraption Copen scrapped together.

Time for Plan Epic Food Fight.

"Jaune!" Ruby called for the blond, seeing him deflect a swing from Cardin, who was using a ham leg as his preferred weapon. While Cardin was lousily distracted, Ren attached himself to boy's back and began stabbing him repeatedly with leeks. With the leader of CRDL now properly distracted, Jaune looked towards Ruby.

"Power up Weiss. Weiss, Glyph the food up."

"I won't let you!" Mytyl rushed towards Jaune to take down the knight but was batted away by Nora's powerful watermelon scepter.

"Follow my Executioner's plan, Commander." Nora took a stance against Mytyl, who was being helped up by Copen. "The Fairy Queen and the prince are mine."

Jaune nodded, and soon made his way towards Weiss, who was just finishing besting Marina in a fish fight.

First step completed. Ruby parried GV's lunge. "Pyrrha, crush the metal containers"

Pyrrha obeyed. As multiple Glyphs sent the food flying, Pyrrha reached for her Semblance and crushed the cans, freeing the liquid goodness inside.

Ruby scattered away from GV and took a sprinting stance.

"Stop her!" Mytyl ordered. Too late.

Ruby burst into petals, pushing her Semblance to its limits as the draft of air that followed dragged the food with her. She circled the enemy army, trapping them into a vortex of wind, petals, and food. The vanguard that had been fighting in the frontline – Mytyl, Copen, GV, Cardin, and the likes, were thrown into the mix at some point. With one final lap, Ruby stopped in front of the cafeteria's entrance and dodge out of the way as the chaos she created crashed into the wall, breaking glasses and the door.

Miss Goodwitch would fix it… probably.

"HAHAHA," Nora cackled. "Is this the strength of the Fae? Is this what all your might amounts to? Pathetic."

-o-

Mytyl crawled back into consciousness. Her body battered. The juice of life, probably cranberry, dripping from her clothes. Had they lost? No… she refused to believe they had lost. As she looked around, her army, her soldiers, her friends, groaned in defeat. Their spirit crushed and their flame extinguished.

She couldn't let it end like this. She was their leader. Their Queen. It was up to her to stand. To fight. To lead the charge. To speak in defiance against this injustice!

So, she moved, crawling out of the sickly mix of condiments, meat, dairy, and more. With her right leg first, followed by her left, she shakily stood up. She picked up a baguette. A simple, elegant weapon. No flourish, no deception, no extraneous skills. With baguette in hand, her arm rose, pointed at the wicked Jester Queen. Her eyes burned with passion.

One step forward. One arduous step that meant more than a thousand words. Her passion, her regrets, her drive, her commitment, her ideals, her dreams, her hopes, and so much more.

She spoke. She led the only way she knew how.

With words.

"You believe you have won. You believe that as we lie here, our defeat was preordained. I refuse. I refuse to accept such an end. I refuse to allow your evil to go unchallenged. I refuse to believe this is as far as my Huntsmen and Huntresses go.

"We fight for more than you can ever understand. For the goals of those that came before us. For the hopes and dreams of those who fight. For every single person, human and faunus, that entrusted their fate to us."

Nora laughed at Mytyl's feeble attempt to rally her army. They were listening, but their souls were too crushed to defy the might of her empire. "Look around you, little queen. Your soldiers lie buried in flour and cereal, the floor runs red with ketchup, and you… a little, itty, bitty pixie queen desperately grasping at a dream."

Now it was Mytyl's turn to chuckle.

"Maybe so. But isn't that why we fight? To forge our dreams into reality? To mold the very fabric of existence so that these dreams can prosper?" She swung her baguette in defiance. "You underestimate us, Jester Queen. You believe the will of us Hunters is weak and brittle. But you are wrong. Hunters are more than that. Our cry of defiance will resonate through the ages, rend the façade of truth in front of us, and built a tomorrow we can be proud of!"

Done talking with the Jester Queen, Mytyl turned towards her army.

"My Hunters! I implore you. Rise! You, who swore to be an Atlas to uphold us. You, who swore to be a Haven to protect us. A Shade to shield us. And a Beacon to guide us. I implore you; rise! Fight! For your beliefs and for your call."

Hearing their Queen call to them, the soldiers began to stir.

"To those of you who pledged to fight for our future. To you I plea: Fight, my Hunters!"

The students of Atlas rose.

"To those of you who promised to shelter us from the evil that roams our world. To you I ask: Stand, my Hunters!"

The students of Haven rose.

"To you, who vowed to give respite to the weary and protection to the destitute. To you I implore: Scream, my Hunters!"

The students of Shade rose.

"And to all of you who stand by me, as the light of this world. As the light of our people. To you, I say: RAGE, MY HUNTSMEN AND HUNTRESSES!"

The students of Beacon rose and roared!

Soon they were joined by the rest of her army. Each and every student screamed, refusing to accept this result. As they stood and picked their weapons, their fervor rattled the Jester's Queens troops, their morale dipping with each passing second.

"No. No! Impossible," Nora raved as she saw the Fairy Army rise with renewed vigor.

A baguette was posed to her neck.

"It's over, Nora," Jaune calmly said, while Blake held Ren in a similar position.

"Treason!" Nora hissed venomously at her former Commander, who shrugged.

"Your reign of terror ends here." Looking forward, Jaune rose his free hand. "Long live Queen Mytyl, true Queen of Remnant."

The thunderous cheers that followed, some even from the Jester Queen's own army, destroyed whatever fight was left inside the soldiers loyal to Nora. One by one, they each threw their weapon to the floor in surrender.

A resounding cheer roared through the cafeteria.

"Mytyl! Mytyl! Mytyl!"

And there was no stopping it.

"WHAT IN TARNATIONS IS GOING ON HERE!?"

Except for Miss Goodwitch. That would do it.

*Crash*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH *thunk* Ouchie." Yang expressed upon landing.

Miss Goodwitch's eye twitched.

-o-

"Why do I have to give Mytyl a fruit basket?"

"You set her kingdom aflame and murdered her young!"

"I did not!" Nora punctuated at Jaune. "My forces encountered an armed combat force within my borders and responded with just the right amount of lethal force. Besides, everybody knows there's no such thing as young fairies."

Jaune crossed his arms. "And the kingdom ablaze?"

"It was a nice bonfire! Sun's friend even brought marshmallows to the whole thing."

"I cannot believe we got away with all of that and only a slap on the wrist," Blake commented.

"I cannot believe Miss Goodwitch sassed Yang like that," Ren added.

-o-

"What is it now, Miss Xiao Long?"

"It's about my grade last semester. B+? Seriously?"

"The point of the class is not to win combats, is to learn from them. Which you did an average job at."

"You think you're so good. 'Look at me, I'm Glynda Goodwitch, I can move stuff with my mind'."

"Err... Yang?" Ruby reluctantly called

"How mature," Glynda deadpanned. "Detention, Miss Xiao Long. For that horrible interpretation."

"Pfff, like you can do any better."

Glynda narrowed her eyes. To everyone's surprise, she closed the distance to Yang, their faces inches away from each other. Yang suddenly looked nervous.

"Careful, little dragon," Glynda said with a cocky tone, "Yang my chains too hard and you might Glyn into more that your Good eyes can bear to Witch.

Glynda walked away, a sway in her hips and a dumbfounded open mouth on Yang's face.

"When I grow up, I want to be like Miss Goodwitch," Ruby said.

-o-

"Oh yeah, that was a thing," Jaune said as they reached the KVKC's dorm. "Point is, Nora, stop being a sore loser. You promised a fruit basket if you lost when you declared that war. Now woman up and lead by example."

"Traitor!" Nora called. Then started nudging at Jaune. "Tell me, what did your Fairest of Fairies offer? Fame? Riches?"

"Herself?"

Jaune gave her teammate a flat look, then pushed to fruit basket onto Nora's hands. He knocked on the door and patiently waited for a response. It wasn't long before the door swung open.

"Oh, Juneberries," Kohaku said upon seeing the team. Her eyes settled on the fruit basket. "Literally. Can I help you?"

"We brought the fruit basket Nora promised Mytyl-"

"Against my will!"

Jaune sent Nora reproachful look, but Nora whistled away any blame.

"Is that Jaune with my fruit basket?" Mytyl's voice was heard from inside. Does her voice sound raspy?

Kohaku gave way to allow JNBR inside. GV was on his bed playing with his scroll. He sent a nod towards JNBR.

Mytyl sat on her bed, with Copen close by with a bowl of what appeared to be soup.

"Hi Jaune," Mytyl greeted brightly.

But weakly.

"Are you ok?" Jaune asked, approaching the lavender-hair girl and taking a better look. Her skin was pale and clammy, lacking the usual luster that had him, among other things, calling her a fairy. He noticed her breathing was a bit labored, as well as a bit of shaking.

"H-hey!"

"You're burning," Jaune stated as he pulled back his hand from her forehead.

"It's just a small fever. Nothing to worry about," Mytyl tried to placate her friends. To limited success.

"Isn't this a bit sudden?" Ren asked what everybody was thinking. "You were fine just this morning."

"She was, wasn't she…" Copen said while sending a pointed look at his sister.

"Copen!" Mytyl reproached him but winced as her throat reminded her of how sore it was. "L-look, I'm fine. I've just been… neglecting my health! Yeah. Ren, may I have some of your disgustingly healthy shakes?"

None of the members of Team JNBR seemed convinced, but with Mytyl unwilling to open up and Copen keeping her secret, there wasn't much they could do.

"I'll go and prepare you a glass of my 'disgusting' shake," – Mytyl laughed nervously at that – "come Nora, help me out."

Jaune sighed, scratching his head. "You know you can trust us, right?"

Mytyl nodded, a small smile on her tired face. "I trust you… so trust me, 'kay?"

-o-

The rumble of my stomach didn't stop. How long has it been since I've had a proper meal? Days? Weeks? It felt like months, but that was surely too long. It didn't matter. Something always appeared to eat. It always did.

Another groan from my stomach. I gritted my teeth, pushing through the pain and nausea. I doubled my focus on the crystal in my hand. A dull gray Dust that once upon a time shined a vibrant color or another. It was rare find. Most Dust nowadays was refined into… well, dust. A powdery form spent upon use. I wasn't sure what exactly happened to the thing after used, but I had never seen or heard of inert powdered Dust. The same wasn't true for crystal Dust. From what I've overheard, if used carefully, the crystal remained, minus whatever was that gave Dust its powers.

Honestly, I would a preferred a half-eaten anything, but an empty Dust crystal was a very good consolation price after rummaging through thrash.

Closing my eyes, I called upon the familiar feeling of Aura leaving my body and into the crystal. Taking a peek, I saw as the gray from the crystal faded; as its shine returned and the crystal slowly became a pleasant deep blue dotted with starry white.

One.

Two.

A beat. Then another. It was always the same. 'Always' meant the three times I had gotten my hand on an empty crystal. But all three times, as I pushed my Aura into them, I felt a faint, consistent pulse from deep withing. Only for me. My little secret to feel. Nobody who held this crystal would ever feel the heartbeat of my Aura. The heartbeat of my soul.

"Eeep!"

A flick upon one of my antennae startled me. Instinctually, I backed away from my attacker, only to fall backward from the small wooden crate I was using as a seat and land flatly on my back. It hurt, but it was a distant pain. Like I was here and not here at the same time. In my rattled mind, I entertained the idea that this was how the drug addicts that littered the alleys and gutters felt when they were high.

And Aura was quite the drug.

"You shouldn't be using your Semblance so freely."

That voice… I allowed myself to calm down and downgrade my assailant from vile attacker to teasing idiot.

Putting on my best pout, I sat up and glared. "How would you like if poked your eyes?"

"Hardly the same thing."

I carefully grabbed my antenna, victim to such vicious abuse, and inspected it. The lavender-colored tendril was simultaneously a stroke of good and bad luck. For better or for worse, it marked me as a faunus. But if I had to be a bug faunus, I was glad my faunus trait decided to be cute lavender droopy feelers – several shades darker than my hair – rather than more… insect-like, for lack of a better term. I shuddered at the idea of actually looking like a cockroach. Just imagining them a brownish color sent shivers down my spine.

Finalizing my inspection, I reached a conclusion: it was fine. Of course it was. My faunus traits were more sensitive than actually fragile, so the sensation when people touched them was worse – or better – than it actually was. I was more startled than actually hurt. And the horrible, horrible boy who surprised me knew that.

"Here."

My forgotten stomach came back with a vengeance as a full burger was thrusted at biting distance from my face. And bite I did, with my hands following promptly, holding the glorious meal greedily.

My partner had more restraint, occupying the crate he stole from me slowly and pulling a burger of his own from the paper. I will need to get my petty revenge. For the scare, the antennae flicking, and the crate stealing.

But now it was food time. I went to take another bite from my burger. And froze.

It was gone. All of my burger. Gone. And the culprit? Me. I was the monster.

A whimper escaped my lips. I've heard that hunger makes the best condiment and that had to be one of the most delicious meals I've had. I was no longer hungry, but I wasn't satisfied either. I wanted more.

Once more, something poked one of my antennae. I was about to tell the perpetrator to stop, but I also ate my words as a new, unwrapped bun was offered.

GV gets to avoid my reckoning.

"Thanks." I eagerly took my second serving and worked on devouring it. GV paced himself better. His discipline always surprised me. Even when people threw rocks at us, chased us away, or when he got into a fight, he kept his cool. He maintained a level of control at odds with our upbringing. Or lack thereof.

With already half of my second serving gone, I paced myself and savored the food. Who knew when the next plentiful meal might be? With my attention no longer only on the food, I looked at my friend. He ate slowly, like if each bite was the last and he was going to enjoy it to the fullest. Not an improbable notion, all things considered. On his left hand, he idly played with my Dust crystal, now a full, deep, vibrant cyan blue with specked white.

"Figured what this does yet?"

I frowned. "No. It works best with empty crystals. Sticks better. But other than looking pretty, not much else. Even when I throw it, it doesn't explode like normal Dust do. Hey, do you think I could open a jewelry?"

"Hmmm."

That was GV's way of telling me that he had nothing more to add to that conversation. The streets could be rough, and our unlocked Aura was equal parts blessing and curse. The circumstances leading to its unlocking were something I rather not remember, but there was no denying it had saved us a lot of trouble and pain down the line.

It would have been nice to go back to eating and leave it at that. However, there was one thing I needed to know. GV was a boy of few words and I've learnt not to push him for more. More to be nice than out of any fear.

But I had to ask. "Where did you get these from?"

"A food seller."

I looked at his clothes. A white shirt too big for him. A pair of shorts only kept in place thanks to a rope tied around his waist. Messy hair that he didn't let me cut. Everything coated in dirt and sweat. But no blood, cuts, or other obvious signs of a fight.

"You stole them?"

"…No."

"Then how did you get them?"

"…there were some… people. Friendly to faunus."

My antennae twitched. An involuntary tell that revealed that something bothered me. GV had used the tell many times to force me to speak up. And now he could see I wasn't comfortable with his story.

Taking a gulp of saliva, I asked the obvious. "The White Fang?"

With a nod, GV confirmed my suspicions. I… don't know how to feel. I wasn't a fan of violence and that was what the White Fang did. Fight. Sure, it was for the benefit of all faunus. To right the injustices of the world, they say. But all of it through violence. And violence wasn't always discriminating. Sometimes people were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"They bought it for me. For us," GV said. His face was set in the cool, serious expression he wore when deep in thought. "They were giving food, medicine, and blankets to faunus. Trying to make the lives of the homeless a bit easier."

Charity. It wasn't rare for the White Fang to do some. They were a faunus activist group, after all. I wasn't blind to their less… accepted actions. 'Terrorist' was a favorite insult of anybody who wanted to hurt us. However, denying they did some good would be the pinnacle of hypocrisy. By full stomach could attest to that.

And this wasn't the first time GV had brought this topic. I stood up and walked up to him, silently asking for a small spot on the crate, next to him. It was a tight fit, but we were no strangers to working with what we had.

"I met someone today."

I looked at him, tilting my head curiously. There weren't many constants faces in our lives. It was hard being friend with GV as it is. Add to that their faunus traits and ultimately it was him and me against the world.

He brought the hand holding the crystal forward and summoned a small sphere of electricity. His Semblance.

"He can help us. I… I think we should join the Fang."

It was a story I've heard before. I'd be lying if I didn't admit I've considered it before. But life in the White Fang brought its own share of problems and dangers.

However, GV had brought up another person. And there was something in his voice. To my ears, it sounded more like he was asking me to follow and believe in this person rather than join the Fang for the simple sake of a better life. This time, his plea felt more like begging than a cursory observation regarding how our lot in life.

My hand reached for his – the one shrouded in lighting – and took it, snuffing the weak display of his Semblance.

"This person… you really trust him? You really think we should join him and the White Fang?" I asked.

GV nodded.

Taking advantage of the situation, the little impulsive voice inside my head pushed me to rest said head on GV's shoulder. I mentally imagined myself making a little fist pump. With my head on his shoulders and my hand on his, we looked like a couple. And the tiny heartbeat only I could sense in my crystal added to the effect.

"GV… I will follow you wherever you go."

It was cheesy. It was cringy. It was the truth. I had lost count of how many times Gun Volt had protected me. My only wish was to be able to one day protect him like he did for me. To always be by his side and be his wings.

When he affectionately rested his head on top of mine, I internally cheered.

"Thanks, Cyan."


Author's Notes (READ FIRST PART. VERY IMPORTANT)


It's been quite some time since last update.

Let me not mince words, since right now characters are at a premium.

I fractured my right elbow. My dominant arm is, effectively, useless for the foreseeable future.

How badly? Bad enough doctors that have seen the x-ray love opening conversation saying "Wow, you fucked up your elbow big time." But not bad enough that the surgery wasn't a success. I'm currently recovering, but it'll be months before I regain some semblance of normality.

What does it mean? Physically, I'm limited to doing stuff with my left arm. Thankfully, I'm pretty dexterous with it, albeit not ambidextrous. Mentally, I'm normally fairly stoic towards negative experiences except when they elicit anger, but this has taken its toll. I wake up in the morning because the arm becomes bothersome, not because I rested enough.

What does it mean for the stories? *Sigh* It means exactly what you might think. Both my stories are going into hiatus.

I simply cannot write efficiently enough. Never mind the emotional weight of this whole mess. To put into perspective, both uploaded chapters for my two fics were already written, with only the final revision pending. It took me two weeks after the accident to gather enough energy to sit down and do stuff. And I got lucky when it comes to the hospital response time. That's another thing doctors love pointing out: getting surgery within a day and pocket change from arriving to emergency is fast for our healthcare system.

So, for the time being, I'm putting my stories on ice. I plan on finishing them, but losing momentum can be devastating, so I advise a healthy amount of skepticism.

It sucks and I apologize. I personally hate unfinished stories as much as the next person. But such is life. Thankfully a broken elbow heals, so eventually I can continue the stories. I "luckily" fractured my elbow and only my elbow. Luckily there were no complications during surgery. Luckily my family can tank the costs associated with healthcare (fuck America). Hopefully recovery will continue smoothly.

Things can still take a turn for the worst, but so far they haven't and I'm lucky for that.

Let's go over the actual A/N.


Ah, the food fight. Such a staple of the RWBY canon. Always strike me as odd that only RWBY and JNPR stuck around for that fight. Probably a limitation of the technology. Anyways, quick rundown, for a change:

Do you hear the people sing?: I love Les Misérables. The shortened version is my favorite book and I love the musical. Haven't gotten around to read full version in full (book is huge) with all of Victor Hugo's rambling about politics.

RAGE, MY HUNTERS!: This chapter is full of parodies. Kind of. From the top of my head, I recall Pirates of the Caribbean with Pantera; 300 with Sun, Neptune, and Kohaku; and Fire Emblem Three Houses with Nora. Mytyl's final speech is one to Attack on Titan, particularly the 'Rage, my Hunters' part.

The final section: Originally, I wrote that section later in the story. However, another, more appropriate flashback came to mind, so I moved this one earlier. I had trouble figuring it where to insert it. I was torn between immediately after GV has his hear-to-heart with Mytyl in Interlude 27.73, the beginning of 27.77, right before the scene where Nora whines about the fruit basket in this chapter, and the end. Ultimately, I decided to place it at the end.

As for the scene itself, a little flashback to GV's and Cyan's past. Coincidentally, it contrasts with Kohaku's – another orphan – past.

Antennae: Take a guess. Take a blind, wild, uneducated guess as to what faunus type Cyan a.k.a. Joule a.k.a. Canon Lumen's Ego and Superego is. You have one chance. Go on. I'll wait. To help visualize, imagine the two locks of hair in her original artwork are actually antennae. I mean, they ARE made to look as such, given the obvious motif she, Lumen, and Mytyl share.

Speaking of Freudian psychology: I made Cyan's infatuation towards GV much more overt. They are still young (According to my timeline, they should be around 12-13 years old. Remember GV is 19 years old in the present). Anyhow, in the games, Cyan's thirst… is something to behold. I'm convinced GV intentionally plays dumb to avoid embarrassing her. But nonetheless she is incapable of spitting it out and being proactive, leaving her love to manifest in the form of absolute loyalty and compassion.

That's where Lumen comes in. In the games, since Lumen is effectively Joule's id personified, she is much, MUCH overt when it comes to GV, much to Cyan's dismay. In fact, in the original translation there is a conversation early in the game where she practically invites GV to undress to his heart's desire... before Cyan banish her and claims, with a straight face, she doesn't know Lumen. Her own subconscious.

Be his wings: These phrases are a dime a dozen for Cyan. Like I said, her love for GV takes the form of absolute loyalty. More than once she said to GV or in GV's presence a phrase like this.


Reviews


Got quite a few reviews this time around. Pantera/Zonda's introduction didn't go without comments. Given how big a deal she's in the ASG canon, it was expected.

TimeTrixx: Man, you love Ruby (the character). Already responded to you, but to everyone's benefit I'll repeat. Ruby Rose is among my fav characters. I don't hate her. But she's insanely easy to tease and make a good target for people like Yang and Coco, whose personalities thrive when flustering others. All in good fun.

Also, my stand on ships are that they're not set in stone. They can change as the story, and the characters, develop. To give some perspective: I originally intended GVxMytyl, but that idea quickly died as the story took shape. I don't want to make promises I cannot keep.

UnfortunateGVFan: That D totally stands for Dystnine. Trust me, I'm an engineer :^)

Truemmerphantom: I, too, feel sorry for the teams I already decided are facing Phantasmagoria in the tournament. Also, yeah. Mytyl's secrets are slowly unraveling.