Chapter 9: Better Biology

AN: Welcome to your first dose of my patent pending pseudoscience. It works like this: whenever I feel the need to sound intelligent for the sake of the story, I'll go adding fancy science words for that little bit of extra depth. Keep in mind that I have probably done the bare minimum of research on the topics in question such that I'm not completely talking out of my ass. Don't go reading my stories and then start thinking you're god's gift to biochemists, or whatever the topic in question is.
Yang recounts last chapter's events. People start asking about how Kassidy didn't die. The OC in question discovers a glaring flaw in her otherwise flawless plan to reintegrate with society.
Also, I've found material for the next ~6 chapters, so me running low on you guys isn't going to happen any time soon. As always, don't be afraid to leave a comment and let me know how to improve my writing.

(Perspective: RWY)

"Shouldn't you be helping Kassidy out, Bob? I mean, yeah my sister's pretty hurt, but Kass is worse off." Ruby was sitting in the infirmary next to Yang's bed. Weiss was in another chair across the room. While the doctors had insisted that nothing further could be done for Yang beyond letting her aura recover and heal her wounds, Bob wasn't satisfied with that answer. He was currently doing something he called 'running simulations' on how quickly he could get Yang to recover.

"Normally, I would be helping her. But orders are orders. An executive override takes precedence over any other code." After requesting data on another batch of dust enhanced compounds, the computer went back to his work.

Ruby went over and sat next to Weiss, mulling over how terrible the day had been so far. "So, uh… what a first day of school we've had so far."

Weiss stopped staring at her lap, turned towards her team leader, and let out a small huff. She seemed like she couldn't decide whether to berate the younger sister or to reassure her that things really weren't that bad. After a moment's thought, she settled on berating. "That has to be the understatement of the year. You couldn't have woken me up in a ruder manner, I had to skip breakfast because of your antics, Professor Port is a piece of work, and our two teammates just tried to kill each other." Schnee regarded a clock on the wall. "And it's not even three o clock yet."

Ruby tugged on her cape a bit. Finding the courage to speak up again, "What do you think happened back there? During combat training?"

The heiress' brow furrowed, deep in thought. "I'm… not sure. Kassidy apparently doesn't have the slightest clue on how to use her aura, and Yang nearly tore her apart. But then it looked like she went crazy. That glint in her eye, the way she chuckled after she got thrown into that pillar. It didn't seem human, even."

"Do you think Kass couldn't control herself? Once the fight was over, she seemed really upset about what happened."

"That would explain a lot about your teammate." The door opened and admitted Professor Goodwitch, with Ozpin slowly following behind her. The former regarded the two girls seated near the door. "How is Ms. Xiao Long recovering?"

"Slowly." The black box sitting on Ruby's lap spoke up again. "The doctors said that her 'aura' would have her fully recovered in a few hours, but I was tasked with speeding up that process. But without more information as to the capabilities of this 'aura' she has, I'm afraid my calculations are woefully insufficient."

"Hey, could you keep it down over there? I'm trying to sleep." A groggy blonde tossed in the hospital bed. Ignoring her request, Ruby was instantly at her sister's side asking questions a mile a minute as to how she's feeling and if she's okay and how she's so happy her bigger sister's doing better. "Ugh, you just can't let me sleep in at all, can you Rubes?" Forcing herself into a sitting position, Yang glanced at the small procession in her room.

Ozpin strode over to the bed, picking up a water bottle along the way. "I don't suppose you would be thirsty?" Rather than answering, the brawler snatched the bottle from the headmaster's hand, and drained it in one go.

"Oh, sorry. Thank you, Professor."

"That's quite alright." Ozpin gave a slight chuckle before turning serious again. "I've been hearing some stories about what occurred during your combat training class. Each version is more fantastical than the other, but I figured that learning from the source would shed some better lighting as to how I need to proceed with this situation." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you want to rest, and I'd like nothing more than to give you that rest. But first I need to know exactly what happened in your class today."

Yang pushed her hair out of her face. "No, no, it's fine." Taking a few seconds to compose herself, she seemed not quite sure of what she was saying. "Um, Glynda asked Kassidy to the front of the room to demonstrate aura. Kass made a show of not knowing what aura was. The two of them kind of fed off each other, both of them getting more aggravated as the exchange went on." Taking a deep breath, Yang continued. "Eventually, Professor Goodwitch told me to fight Kassidy. She said it was to show to the class how important aura is, but I think it was more to shut K up." Looking up, she flinched as she suddenly recognized the teacher in question. "Oh, sorry Professor. But that was what I could see from where I was standing."

Glynda regarded Yang for a moment, then looked away. "I admit, I may have been a bit… stern when talking to Ms. Smith. But my lesson was still a valid one."

Ozpin motioned for Yang to continue. "So the two of us went to the front of the room. We both ditched our weapons; I didn't want to hurt Kass, and I could tell she didn't want to hurt me. I held back as much as I could while still making it look like a fight. K wasn't holding back at all, but as small as she was and without aura, all she could really do was tickle me. Eventually, Professor Goodwitch said she'd flunk me if I didn't start actually trying." Glynda flinched at that. "So I punched her. I knew she didn't have aura, but I didn't think her body would be that weak." Her voice was starting to break as sobs found their way into the mix.

Ozpin returned his hand to her shoulder. "I know that this can't be easy for you. But how did you get hurt?"

Yang forced down the tears, then fought to keep her voice level. "I sent her flying into the pillar. I could feel her ribs breaking under my fist, and you could hear her spine snap when it hit the stone." She took her time to breathe. "I didn't mean to hit her that hard… but then she got back up. She laughed, and she got back up, and she started walking towards me." More breathing, more sobs. "I was so shocked I barely noticed how her eyes were glassing over, like they weren't focusing right or something. I kicked her, but she just caught it and threw an elbow at my face." Yang reflexively reached her hand to her nose. "Now that hurt. I don't know where she got that kind of strength from, but it took out a lot of my aura in one go. She threw me at Goodwitch, then I… then I…"

The blonde broke down at this point. Her words were barely intelligible through her sobs. "I hurt her really bad, Oz. I didn't want to hurt her. But then, then she kicked me across the room. That hurt too." Yang finally got her composure back together. "My semblance took over at that point. I flared up, and she flared up too. Her eyes were completely glassed over at that point, I don't think she was even seeing straight. She ducked under my punch, and then the last thing I remember was something slamming into my jaw." The brawler rubbed along her bruised, swollen face. "Then you guys woke me up."

Ozpin thought for a few minutes before answering. "So you weren't trying to hurt your teammate? And you don't think she was trying to hurt you?"

"Of course I wasn't trying to hurt her!" Yang was practically screaming at the headmaster. She caught herself, mumbled an apology, and sat for a minute. "And I'm not convinced she was trying to hurt me. Or even if she knew what was going on."

The door opened again, and a familiar middle aged doctor came into the room. "I can tell you she wasn't trying to hurt you. She's been slipping in and out of consciousness. Whenever she's awake, she keeps babbling 'I didn't want to hurt Yang, I couldn't control it, someone tell Yang I didn't mean it.'"

Glynda blinked at the man who just entered. "Dr. Narud, how is Ms. Smith doing?"

The man shrugged. "For someone who just had their skull superglued back together? Better than I expected. She's resting now, but she doesn't stay down for long and I don't know about leaving her alone for a while." He turned to the blonde in the bed. "Now, let's take a look at the other casualty here. How are you feeling?"

Yang shrugged in return. "I'm fine. Just tired, really. My face kinda hurts, but my aura will fix it up quickly once it recovers." She thought for a moment. "What did Kassidy mean by 'she couldn't control it'?"

The doctor appeared deep in thought. "I'm… not entirely sure. In fact, the only thing I am sure of is that this girl takes everything we think we know about biology, and flips it on its head."

"Don't take it personally. She did that back home too." Bob piped back up from Ruby's arm, and everyone looked at the black box. "Kassidy always has been a strange one."

"That's putting it mildly." Glynda huffed before continuing. "She's got an anti-authoritarian streak a mile wide and ten long. She's convinced she knows everything worth knowing, and if this afternoon was any indication her temper is in the sorriest shape I've ever seen."

"Her anti-authoritarian streak wouldn't be so bad if the authorities in question quit trying to get her killed." Nobody in the room had heard an angry computer before, but the AI in question was absolutely livid. "And to answer Yang's question… Kassidy is a creature of hormones. A very peculiar creature of hormones. The chemicals flooding her system tuned her out so much that she couldn't really think anymore. This had really only happened once before, but from what data I have on that all she knew – or thought she knew – was that someone was trying to kill her, and so she responded in kind."

Yang's head fell, and she spoke through gritted teeth. "But I wasn't trying to kill her."

"Her instincts didn't know that. She didn't even know who, what, or where. All she knew was that someone was hurting her, and she had to make the pain stop or she'd die. I can guarantee that Kassidy would have had no intentions of actually hurting you if she could think for herself."

Ozpin regarded what just happened. "So, you're saying that Kassidy was acting off of some primal instinct?"

"Not entirely accurate, but close enough for the comparison to be effective."

At this point, Narud was curious enough to change the focus of the conversation. "Speaking of hormones, if you could perhaps share what're up with hers, it would make my job significantly easier. Even ignoring the fact that her skull got caved in, she still has nearly five times the lethal limit of adrenaline. And it's been nearly an hour since her fight ended."

Bob was quiet for a few moments. Right before the doctor could ask again, he began. "I assume you're familiar with the 'fight or flight' response?"

"Of course I am." Weiss had stepped up and seemed all too eager to show off how smart she was. "The body floods the bloodstream with cortisol and adrenaline, giving it extra energy and enhancing physical capabilities."

"Close enough. Kassidy's body uses a… modified version of that response. Instead of adrenaline, her body uses norepinephrine, which is basically a super-adrenaline. And in addition to that kick from the hormones, a rather potent chemical called CPH4 is released."

The doctor was confused at the mention of that. "I don't believe we're familiar with that chemical."

"CPH4 is normally used by mothers to give their developing fetuses the enormous quantities of energy needed for prenatal development. It's a compound with nearly one hundred times the energy density of glucose. Once her skull got caved in, Kassidy's body got flooded with the equivalent energy of a ton of TNT." Eyes went wide and gasps filled the room.

"Hang on a second…" A thought crossed Yang's mind. "Why aren't you with K? Shouldn't you be helping her?"

An exasperated sigh emanated from the black box. "If I had a choice, I would be. No offense. But she ordered me to speed along your recovery and make sure you're okay."

"Well can't I order you to go take care of my partner? I mean, she's in way worse shape than I am."

"Not unless you know the executive override codes."

"Which I'm not giving out anytime soon." Everyone jumped a foot; nobody saw the dark blonde enter the room and find her way in a corner.

(Perspective: K)

The doctor was the first to recover. "I thought you were passed out. And didn't we give you a dose of sedatives to make sure you could rest?"

"You did. But one of my many unique qualities is that I tend to ignore most foreign substances. Such as painkillers and sedatives. Honestly, if I could have formed coherent words at that time I would've told you not to waste the syringe." Kass' head itched under the baseball cap she was using to hide the dent in her head. Good thing I have my own painkillers.

"Alright, I've had enough." Weiss stormed up and got in her face. "You owe us some answers. You don't know what aura is, you don't know what dust is, and you don't know what Grimm are. Even ignoring Ruby's crackpot theories about you being some kind of alien, we're still venturing dangerously close to 'this is physically impossible' territory."

Kassidy couldn't resist laughing in her face. "You want physically impossible? How about a twelve year old kid wielding a scythe bigger than she is like it's nothing? Or how about Glynda making storm clouds and streaks of light appear out of thin air? Oh! How about you throwing little white circles around and in general giving a big middle finger to the laws of physics?"

"Hey, I'm not twelve, I'm fifteen!" Ruby's outburst ground the argument to a halt. "I'm just kinda small…" After taking a moment to refocus herself, she continued. "And that's the other part of our auras that are so important. They don't just strengthen us or protect us, they give us real neat abilities based on the person wielding it. Like, I can go really really fast. And Weiss can summon glyphs to help with whatever she needs."

The dark blonde took a full fifteen seconds to process what she just heard. "Bob… tell me if I'm hearing things right. We got dumped on a planet filled with bloodthirsty monsters and superpowered teenagers, is that correct?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much correct." Yang had tried to force herself to a standing position, but could only manage to swing her legs over the side of the bed. Lilac eyes peered deep into hazel. "I want you to tell me something: were you trying to kill me?"

Kass was at a complete loss for words. "Uh, what's the best way possible for me to put this that doesn't involve me dying?"

Before anyone could react, Bob piped up. "It should help that I already told them how your hormones were overriding your thought process."

A sigh of relief exited from the girl. "Alright, that just made things significantly easier." She finally found the courage to return her partner's gaze. "No, I wasn't trying to kill you. Whenever I get like that, instinct just kinda takes over. I couldn't control it. All I knew was that someone was hurting me, and I needed to make them stop hurting me. If I could've stopped it, I would have."

Terror sprang from her face as Yang sprang up and strode across the room. Her arms raised in a pathetic attempt to shield herself, she wasn't ready for the blonde's embrace.

"Alright, good. That's all I needed to hear." As Yang pulled her face out of her shoulder, a thought suddenly struck her. "Y'know, souls do exist here. We've found them ages ago. Maybe I should help you with yours…" With that, Kassidy's partner closed her eyes, and she started glowing yellow. A general feeling of unease creeped up her spine.

"Uh, Yang, what are you doing?"

"Just close your eyes and concentrate."

"On what? Your breathing?"

"Sure."

Trepidation didn't stop her from complying. The two blondes stood there for a minute, before Yang's furrowed brow gave way to exasperation. Uh, am I supposed to feel something?

"This can't be right. I can't find it."

Ozpin got up from his seat and made his way to the pair. "Attempting the Unlocking Ritual is not for the faint of heart. And your aura has only just started recovering. Perhaps I should try?" Taking Yang's place in front of Kassidy, the headmaster started glowing green. Nervousness made no attempt to hide from her face, but she decided to play along with their little game for a while longer.

"Hmm… interesting."

"What is it?" Yang seemed incredulous about how the headmaster just failed at unlocking Kass' aura.

"I do believe I've found the problem." Recollecting his cane and his coffee, Ozpin made his way towards the door. "We will need to talk later Kassidy, but for now try and get some rest. And do be more careful in your training sessions. Our infirmary only has so many supplies."

As Ozpin and then Glynda left the infirmary, team RWKY was left with Narud in the room. Ruby was the first to speak up. "So, what happens now? I mean, we kind of got out of algebra because of everything. I think we're done with classes for the day."

Kassidy stepped forward from the wall. "I have two items on the agenda right now. One is telling Bob to put together a shopping list for nutrients I need. Time to put this ridiculous metabolism of mine to work. Second is making more ammo. I barely have any left after initiation, and I have a feeling that finding some common old gunpowder around here is going to be tricky."

"I would like to amend your agenda." The doctor had just finished reviewing a clipboard. "In case you've already forgotten, your rib cage was turned to gravel, your spine got snapped, and your skull is currently held together with superglue. Nothing more strenuous than looking at a textbook." He chuckled as Kass groaned. "Doctor's orders. Painkillers and sedatives apparently have no effect, so I'm just going to settle for a round of antibiotics to make sure you don't catch an infection. Beyond that… stay out of the boxing ring for a while."

A mischievous grin graced Kassidy's face, and she made eye contact with her partner. "But c'mon man! I really like to… keep my head in the game."

"Goddamnit Kassidy, I thought we agreed: no more puns!" Bob was even more upset than Ruby or Weiss were. Yang was just laughing. As the team made their way back to the dorms, Kass regarded the day so far.

Well, only the second worst injury to date. And the girls haven't tried to kill me. Yet. Though the fact that everyone around me is super powered doesn't bode well for my continued existence.