First: holy saint Celestine on the hood of a Leman Russ battle tank, you people seemed to like the last omake!Like seriously, no other entry in Prim-Arc has gotten so many reviews. Sure, a few of them were about the story as a whole, but still, hot dayyym'! And I do admit that I might have gone a bit overboard with having Emerald ending up in Commorragh. Just wanted to see if I could top the Ultra-torture.
But yeah, I've smashed Mercury's balls to oblivion and traumatized Emerald. I guess that means I'll have to come up with a way to mess up Cinder. I'm thinking having her meet Vulkan or another fellow... a real kidder, one might say. A fellow who, contrary to popular belief, actually has a sense of humor. But I'll deal with that one later. Until then, I've other omakes that I've promised to write and I do consider myself a man of my word. But I'm also a quite forgetful man as well so... I'll try to remember them.
Another matter regarding omakes, I'm kinda working on a Christmas/Sanguinala special, but it might be a bit too much for me to deal with on my own. Anyone who might be interested in helping out can let me know.
This chapter is not very important to the story but I couldn't leave these matters be. I mean, I could have skipped it all and then just said that it had happened in some other chapter but I had already begun to write this so I'm using it. Waste not, want not. Next chapter will probably be a bit more interesting, I hope.
The ground under his feet made a crunching sound as he walk along the road away from his aunt's farm. Despite the possible dangers of the journey ahead, Oscar had decided to not bring any other attire than his usual clothes and a backpack containing a few items, hardly all of the things Ozpin had recommended he bring along with him. Oscar understood the dead man and his advice fairly well, but it was only that all those thing belonged to his aunt. Not him. And Oscar was not one to steal. Ozpin had resigned his objections when Oscar brought up this fact and instead embraced the principle of travelling light.
Taking a moment to look back for a last time, Oscar went through a mental list for a final check. He had his clothes, his backpack, a bit of food, he had finished as many of his chores at the farm as he had been able, and he had left a note to his aunt, telling her goodbye and giving her an explanation for his departure. Not the real reason of course, but leaving without an explanation had felt wrong.
He turned back to the path. This was it. Only a bit further and he would be further away from the farm than ever before. The feeling this fact gave him was unsettling.
"I'm sorry." said the voice of Ozpin in his head. "I know how it feels. Even without squatting in your mind, I would know for I've been in this position many times before."
"Yes, it does feel a bit crazy." said Oscar. "Everything about this is crazy, but despite that it feels right."
"That is good. But be cautions. Going out into the world can be a dangerous business. Once you step into the road, one can never be quite sure where it takes you."
"Well I've you to lead the way, don't I?"
"You do." said Ozpin. "But since we are on the way Oscar, mind telling me if you see that boulder in the distance?"
"Yes." said Oscar hesitantly.
"Good. Do you know what it is in relation to us?"
"No."
"Why, dear Oscar, it's within perfect jogging distance. Now get going." said the dead man as Oscar groaned.
"Best face it Oscar, you will have to fight sooner or later. Better get some muscles on you while there is still time." said the dead man and Oscar could swear the man was smirking in the back of his mind.
Blake walked down the ramp from the ship. Despite the worries she had about her upcoming meeting, she was quite pleased with being back in Menagerie. Not to mention having solid ground under her feet once again. The salt smell of the ocean mixed with the scent of the lush greenery of her homeland. She glanced around. All around here there were people, either waiting for someone or trying to sell somebody something. Blake was tempted to buy a treat for herself but now was not the time for that. Besides, she was still quite stuffed after Sun's banana…
Dust it's a good thing she didn't say that out loud. It wouldn't even take a Yang to twist those words into something indecent.
She walked on for a while and kept listening to her surroundings. Soon enough cat ears picked out the sound of Sun, who had decided to sneak off the boat rather than run off in broad daylight like he had done when he had gotten to Vale.
"Made it! Those sailors didn't stand a ghost of a chance of catching me."
"If you say so."
"So this is Menagerie then? It's a bit more crowded than I thought it would be. I mean, I've never seen so many faunus in one place before."
"It's what happens when the world tries to put all of the faunus species on a single island that's two thirds desert, and told to make due."
Sun looked at her perplexed. He had looked up Menagerie during the trip. He had 'borrowed' maps from the ship's crew and studied them. The island, or rather continent, of Menagerie was huge! How could it be cramped?
"But-but-but, why not expand? You have an island the size of a continent to yourselves! A bit of desert never hurt anyone."
"We tried, but this isn't Vacuo, Sun. Our deserts are much more dangerous than yours. Every expedition ever sent was never heard from again. The humans knew that it would turn out like this and they still did it to us."
"Then how did you guys make it? How did you make this?"
"We were told to make due, and we did the best we could. The result..."
They got on top of a hill and got a proper view of the town that Blake called home. "... was Kuo Kuana."
"Whoa… you guys did good. It's beautiful. I don't think I would ever want to leave here."
"But what if it wasn't a matter of wanting? What if you had to live here, knowing that you had no other real option? That is why this island, this town, ultimately is the greatest symbol for us faunus being second class citizens."
She got quiet for a moment, looking over the city. Yes, this was home for her, even if it was an eternal monument to the oppression of her kind. There were children playing, adults making a living, commerce and life. People were making the best of what they had.
"And if we don't succeed in stopping the White Fang, all of this might be taken away from us as well." she said.
Sun put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, none of that. We won't let it happen."
Blake nodded before taking a deep breath. "It's not like we have much of an option. Alright, time to go home."
"Oh finally. So which one is yours? Can you see it from here? Oh, I bet it's that one! I like the color."
"Not quite. It's that one." Blake said and pointed out a building.
"Uh, behind the big building or in front of it? I never figured you for one of those that can't point straight."
"It is the big one."
While Blake would not admit it openly, watching Sun realize what house she lived in was quite amusing. And not having to hear him talk for a while was refreshing and it gave her some time to mentally prepare herself for a meeting that she had put off for far too long.
Blake takes a deep breath and reached out for the knocker.
"This is it then? The moment of truth."
It made a heavy sound on the large door. Blake stepped back a bit to allow the door to swing open without hitting her in the face. Sun didn't bother, having stopped some distance from the door to stare in awe at the building.
After a few moments Blake could make out the sound of footsteps coming from inside the house. Too light to be those of her father. That could only mean that it was her mother coming to answer the door.
And true enough, the door swung open to reveal Blake's mother, Kali Belladonna. The woman's eyes lit up as she saw who had knocked and her eyes perked up.
"Blake?"
"Hi, mom." Blake said quietly. She barely had time enough to raise her arm in greeting before her mother had her in a tight hug.
"My baby girl." said Kali but instantly let go as Blake winced at her touch. Kali looked on in horror as Blake reached down to her stomach. Kali's maternal instincts kicked in and immediately reached for the worse possible possibilities.
"What happened? Blake, who hurt you? You!" she said and turned sharply towards Sun. "Do you know who did it? Was it you!? Tell me now or I'll peel your tail like a banana!"
"It wasn't him, mom! Sun didn't do it!" Blake said and stepped between her mother and Sun who was holding up his hands as a sign of submission.
"It was Adam. He was at Beacon and I ran into him. Mom, we need to stop the Whi-"
Kali noted only Blake's first sentence, ignoring the second, and changed from inquisitive to caring and worrying, inspecting the mark on her daughter left by Adam.
"But the Battle in Vale was over a month ago! With aura this should have healed by now with rest!"
"See! I told you Blake, and your mom agrees. You should have been resting."
Kali snapped up and looked at Sun questioningly. "What!? She hasn't been resting?"
"Nope. The whole trip she has been up and about, worrying about the one thing or the other, despite me telling her to take it easy and heal."
"Mom, it's not that ba-" Balke began but was cut off by her mother grabbing her by one of her human ears and dragging her inside.
"You are going to get some rest young lady while I cook up some chicken soup! You've clearly not been eating properly either!"
"See, I told you Blake. I told you to eat the bananas but nooo~, you had no time for bananas." said Sun and followed the two Belladonnas inside. Blake was struggling to get out of her mother's grip as she was being dragged to a couch.
"Mom! We don't have time for this! We need to stop the Whi-"
"Grab her legs, boy! Don't let her run away! We're getting her on a couch before she can hurt herself anymore!" commanded Kali and Sun instantly moved to obey.
In a few short moments, Kali had Blake tucked in on the couch and wrapped up in a blanket so tight that Blake could not move an inch. Sun couldn't help but be inspired by the efficiency of the older woman, or the curves on Blake's body that had now become very apparent in her skin-tight bonds. But Sun was wise enough not to comment on that as Blake was looking quite upset with him for assisting her mother. And not to mention the possible reaction from Blake's mom if he said those words out loud.
Said mother had disappeared to fetch something for Blake to eat, leaving the two youngsters alone.
"Kali? What is going on? Who are you talking to?" asked a deep male voice and Sun heard footsteps coming closer. A large shadow moved across the floor and Sun estimated that whoever it belonged to must have been quite tall and broad.
Sun looked to Blake's face and by observing were her eyes were pointed, he figured out exactly were the man was standing. The monkey faunus turned around to see a very tall man with an impressive beard and broad chest standing there, hands on his hips.
His posture relaxed as he was clearly surprised by the sight of Blake. Then he got a curious look on his face as he looked at what was in front of him: his daughter tied up in the presence of a young man with a bare chest while Kali was nowhere to be seen.
Yeah, Ghira's mind was jumping to… quite the conclusions.
But for the moment he let these thoughts slide, knowing that his girl was back, safe and moderately sound.
It did not take long for Kali to return with a tray full of food and drink and soon the whole family was united.
Sun smiled at the sight and picked up a banana for himself and sat down in a chair. He figured he had best relax while he could. Once Kali had ensured that Blake had eaten and rested for a bit the time would come to discuss what had happened in Vale. As well as Blake's and Sun's purpose to be in Menagerie.
It did take a while for Blake to finish her meal, and the second serving, and the desert, and all the extra treats and bits of food that Kali kept on bringing her. The process was further extended by Ghira wanting to know of Blake's journey and how Sun had tried to look after her.
If Sun was uncomfortable with how Ghira kept looking at him, he didn't show it. Kali did however intervene in Sun's favor. It seemed like she had taken a liking to the young man, praising him for trying to get Blake to embrace common sense about proper diet and rest while one is injured.
By the time the youths were done telling the married couple about their trip to Menagerie they had gotten to the point of afternoon tea.
"We were so worried when we learned what was happening to Vale." Kali said. "Vale wasn't perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it or its people didn't deserve what happened to it."
"Quite." said Ghira, quietly sipping his tea. "We were following what was happening as best we could ever since the start of the Vytal Tournament. You did quite well for yourself, Blake."
"Hang on, you guys watched the tournament? You get CCT-signals all the way out here?" asked Sun, interrupting Ghira.
"We used to." said Ghira with a hint of annoyance at Sun's question. "The signal could be rather shoddy at times but yes, we used to get a signal until the tower in Vale went dark."
"We were quite surprised to see you on the same team as Weiss Schnee. Before you left I never thought I would have seen such a thing." Kali pointed out. "But not as surprised as when we saw Jaune Arc for the first time."
Ghira nodded in agreement. "We did not not what to think when we first saw his wings, even less when we saw the fangs. Nor did we when we saw him again, calling for his 'legion' before everything went dark."
Blake nodded quietly and cradled her teacup. They were getting to the heart of the matter.
"Blake?" Ghira asked. "Do you know him, this Jaune Arc?"
Blake nodded.
"What is he? Who is he?"
And so Blake told them of what she knew of Jaune Arc and the few times she had spoken with him. She mentioned how his fangs had appeared out of the blue the day after the entrance exam. She mentioned how the Wings had been revealed when the grimm had breached Vale for the first time.
Then she mentioned how Jaune had called upon his own team as well as RWBY, SSSN, CFVY and CRDL along with some others to respond to a threat that was coming, orchestrated by Cinder Fall. And finally Sun told them of the astartes' arrival and what they had supposedly been doing since the Battle of Beacon.
Blake then told them of what the White Fang had done under Adam's orders, of how the astartes had dealt with these faunus and why she had made such haste to reach Menagerie.
At the end of the discussion Ghira and Kali were both pale in the face and gripping their teacups tightly. They understood why Blake was so fearful of the Imperium after what she had seen. But at the same time, they couldn't understand how or why the White Fang would have committed such atrocities. They both knew that their old movement had gotten more violent since they left, but to this extent?
"Sienna, what are you thinking?" muttered Ghira under his breath. "And what are you going to do now?"
"Do you really believe Sienna ordered it?" asked Kali. "I know she didn't want to do things our way, but this? It's too much."
"You're right. But who else could have ordered it? Maybe it was Adam? He always leaned towards the violence."
"Um, who is this Sienna you are talking about?" asked Sun confused.
"Sienna Khan." said Blake. "The High Leader of the White Fang."
"Ever since I stepped down from the position, that is." said Ghira, now lamenting the fact that he ever did so. "But it doesn't make sense. Sienna turned to violence to show the humans that we were serious about our cause, not to enact this form of atrocities. What I really want to know is why this has never come up during the meetings?"
"What meetings. With who?"
"The White Fang." said Kali with a deadpan expression and turned her attention back to her now cold tea. "I suppose you should bring this up at the next meeting."
"What?!" said Sun and Blake in unison.
Ghira rolled his eyes at the youths. Was it really so hard for them to think that the former High Leader and current Chief of the largest faunus civilization would stay in contact with the greatest faunus rights movement on Remnant?
"I will bring it up." he said and got up. "I want answers, and they are very much due."
"When will the meeting be?" asked Sun.
"Hm? Oh in a few days." said Kali. "And I think it would be a very good idea for you to were to keep a low profile until then. You leaving the White Fang made quite a few people a bit upset. As for you Sun, you're not local and with your… abs, you would be noticed. So do be a good boy and stay quiet as well."
Blake and Sun nodded quietly and tried to mentally prepare for breaking bread with the enemy.
Alas, keeping low would not help neither Sun or Blake for their arrival had already been noticed. For Kuo Kuana was a major city with people everywhere, and not all people were friendly. Even as Sun and Blake had entered the house of the Belladonnas, word was being sent to the leaders of the White Fang in Menagerie. And these leaders, owed their allegiance to Adam Taurus.
"Brother, it would seem as if young Blake Belladonna has returned."
"Quite so. How should we proceed? Do you think this will affect our plans?"
"I fear it will. She will most likely speak of what happened in Vale to her father. He in turn will become… difficult to deal with."
"Yes. He will have questions and will be expecting answers. He might not appreciate the truth of our cause or the philosophies of Brother Adam."
"And so he must be dealt with."
"Indeed, brother. Indeed. But the question is how to go about such a task."
"I was wondering if we should let sister Ilia know of young Blake's return. I believe she would be elated."
"Yes, but first we should inform Brother Adam of this interesting development. This might warrant an acceleration of his plans. Ghira might seek out Sienna for answers and perhaps even ally with her. The future hangs in the balance. Some of our brothers still waiver on whether or not to commit to brother Adam's ideas or if to stay by Sienna's views after Beacon. We must not let them fall to doubt or hesitation."
"We must not let that befall our plans. Contact brother Adam, I'll speak with sister Ilia."
They had made quite decent progress on their journey when Ozpin decided to let Oscar have a breather. He needed the boy stronger, sure, but making Oscar so exhausted that he could not defend himself in case something happened would have been a very bad idea.
As Oscar kept moving forward at a steady pace, Ozpin was thinking. He had been doing that a lot recently, contemplating his past choices and the decisions he had made. Some of these thoughts bled into Oscar's mind and he caught glimpses of people. He recognized the face of Ozpin's killer, Cinder Fall, and other faces seemed like he knew them already. The image of a girl with long red hair in a pod, screaming in pain, came to his mind. Ozpin had been thinking about that a lot.
"Who was she?" asked Oscar. "Was she one of your students?"
"Yes. She was. Her name was Pyrrha Nikos."
The image changed to the memory of Pyrrha Nikos leaving, carrying something, nay, someone, leaving Ozpin behind.
"She left you to fight that Cinder on your own?"
"Yes, and she did it because I told her to. I could not afford her to die back there or else all that I asked of her would have been for nothing. I can only hope she made it out alright."
"You sound sorry about it. Care to talk about it?"
"I… asked something of Pyrrha, something that I should not have of anyone. I believed her to be ready, and I told myself that I was doing the right thing. But I couldn't have been more wrong. I should have looked for another solution. I should have acted sooner. I should have turned to someone with more experience. I was a fool and she, Beacon and all of Vale paid for it."
"It couldn't have been that bad, right?"
"Oscar, how would you feel about the idea of having a complete stranger's mind, will and conscience overwriting yours, leaving nothing left of the old you?"
"What!? That's terrible! A mind is a terrible thing to lose."
"Yes, and I essentially asked her to take on such a fate, taking away her own life, friends, family and potential future. I can only imagine it to be a very extraordinarily stertorous process on everyone involved.'
"So, like what is happening to us?"
'Yes.' said Ozpin and with that the dead man's voice died away and Oscar was left with his own thoughts. Ozpin had hardly told him everything, apart from him having made more mistakes than anyone else on Remnant, ever. And this mistake-prone man was stuck in Oscar's head. Oh, what joy.
But the worst part about their current arrangement was that Oscar could always feel a bit of the self-loathing that Ozpin did. And it was always there. Only now it seemed a bit stronger than before. Whatever Ozpin had intended for Pyrrha Nikos was clearly something Ozpin seemed to dwell a lot on.
But if it would have been so bad for this Pyrrha, how would it turn out for Oscar? The thought was concerning to say the least.
Eventually they came across a train station, their destination. Oscar allowed himself a moment to sit down on a bench and eat a sandwich and look around for a bit. He had never really been of his aunt's farm before so this was all new to him. Everything looked so… unfarmy.
'That is not a word, Oscar.' said Ozpin, his mind surfacing again to take in the scene.
"I know, it just, well you know, crazy."
'I know, I've been in your shoes plenty times before. Now, if you've rested enough, it's time for us to get a ticket.'
Oscar nodded and walked up to a machine with a screen on it. "Okay, let's see how this goes." Tapping on the machine's screen made it lit up and he was greeted with a big "Welcome! Scan Lien to begin."
He did as he was bid and held up a card to the scanner only to be shown that he had too little Lien to afford a ticket.
'I was afraid of this.' said Ozpin.
"Great, and I'm assuming that you don't happen to have some hidden stash of Lien hidden somewhere, or that you could conjure up some out of thin air?" muttered Oscar.
'No, I'm afraid that my closest stash is in the City of Mistral. You're on your own on this one.'
"But how-"
'Quiet! Someone is coming!' said Ozpin and Oscar tensed.
"What do you mea-"
'Be quiet, I said! Do you want people to think you're crazy!?'
Oscar turned around and saw a tall man, not to mention broad as well, step towards him and the ticket machine. He was dressed in simple clothes in brown and green. His face was tanned and he sported a decent looking beard. He moved a lot smoother and quietly than his large bulk would have one believe. Oscar moved out of the way for the man for if this was a figure that had Ozpin worried, then he did not want to anger the man.
'Stay calm. And whatever you do, do not even hint at me being here.' urged Ozpin as the man walked up to Oscar and raised a massive fist only to bring it down on the machine. Oscar thought the machine would break as it began to beep and make other noise until it spat out a single ticket. The man took it and turned to leave before he stopped and looked at Oscar. The boy felt like someone had glued his feet to the ground as the man looked down on him. Ozpin seemed ready to assume manual control at any moment and make for the hills but remained calm.
"Boy…" said the man.
Oscar swallowed. "Ye-yes?" Had he been found out? Did this man know about Ozpin?
"Can't you afford a ticket?" said the man and looked over to the machine.
Oscar was at a loss for words for a moment, then he spoke up. "Yes- I mean no! I tried to purchase one but I didn't have enough Lien."
The man grunted and slammed another fist down on the machine. "Damn rail road, keeps raising prices so that no one can afford them. Here."
The machine produced another ticket that Oscar carefully took.
"Thank you, sir. Uh, have a pleasant trip."
"Likewise. And in the future, do not let yourself be hindered by such a small obstacle." With that the man turned away and left Oscar to himself.
'Who was that?' thought Oscar to himself and was almost startled when Ozpin responded.
'Someone from my past. Someone who I would prefer not to deal with for now. We'll keep as good an eye on him as we can but let's not risk anything.'
'So what now?'
'Well, could you take a closer look at that poster over there? I think it might concern us a bit.'
"Uh, sure." said Oscar and got up to look at a poster on a billboard. Unlike all the others, this one was new, fresh and not halfway turned into mold like the others. Oscar was overcome by a sudden sense of worry, stemming from Ozpin, as he looked at the picture.
It depicted a winged humanoid with horrifyingly long, blood soaked fangs, reaching out for Mistral from Vale with one hand while holding a wicked sword in the other. In the crook of his arm was a beautiful girl lying dead with her throat torn open. Oscar recognize her as Pyrrha Nikos from Ozpin's memories. And then there was the figure with the wings. Oscar could only guess it to be Jaune Arc, the Angel.
Jaune Arc's figure seemed to stand up from the map and just reach over to Mistral and in his shadow were vague outlines of corpses and destroyed Atlesian ships.
"TAKE UP ARMS! HE IS COMING!" said the poster. "DO NOT LET HIM DO TO YOU WHAT HE DID TO HER!"
"Oh no, this, this is bad!" said Oscar horrified. Was this supposed to be the figure he and Ozpin were meant to find? He seemed horrible!
'Indeed.' said Ozpin in a very disapproving tone.
"Are you worried?"
'A bit. This might prove troublesome yet but until we reach Haven and get to see how deep this sentiment runs with the people I suggest we do not ponder on it too much. And yes Oscar, his wings are real. And no, he is not a warmongering bastard. If he is headed towards Mistral it will not be for any malicious reasons. What I'm worried about is Mistral actually taking up weapons against him and Vale. Not to mention the fear this must be generating among the general populace.'
"So, what's the plan?"
Ozpin was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. 'We continue to Haven and see what the situation is actually like. Regardless of the political situation there, our chances of reaching Mr. Arc would better there than anyplace else in Mistral.'
"Right, better get going then. I think I hear the train coming."
Yang awoke with a gasp. She was in her room, lying on top of her bed. She had just had a horrible nightmare of Adam Taurus.
She took a moment to look around and to let the familiar view of her room calm her down. Everything was fine. She was alive and Adam Taurus was nowhere to be seen. She turned her head a bit and saw the new robotic arm given to her by General Ironwood. The sight of the prosthetic made her mood sour.
She had not been in a good mood for quite a while, not since Ruby left. She had just packed up and left. She hadn't even bothered to say goodbye to Yang's face. Instead she had hid a note in one of Yang's drawers, giving and brief explanation of her reasons for going into mortal danger in Mistral.
Yang felt betrayed. First Blake had ran away and now Ruby too. Only Ruby had actually given a reason for leaving so Yang could not blame her as much as she did Blake. But that meant that Ruby was out there in the big wide world hunting bad guys while Yang was on her bed, doing nothing.
Part of her felt ashamed, another part felt spiteful toward her sister for making her feel ashamed in the first place. Yet another part of her wanted to follow her, to help and protect her sister, but she couldn't. She was a brawler with only one arm. What good was she anymore?
Hell, even Vomit-boy, frickin' VOMIT-BOY! was up and about and he had been stabbed through the heart and had a wing broken. Had that stopped him from going off to Mistral to hunt for Cinder Fall? No, it hadn't. So what was holding Yang back? She had an arm, factory fresh and ready to use, her bike was fueled up and waiting for her to get going and she had a place to go. So what was she lacking? Was it courage? She did wake up in a cold sweat from time to time after dreaming of that bastard Taurus. And who wouldn't be? She had lost an arm to the bastard. It wasn't like her arm would grow back. How was she supposed to get past that? How was she supposed to deal with something like that? Could she even do it?
She was stirred out of her melancholy by the sound of laughter coming from downstairs. She recognized her dad's voice but who were the other two? She got up and headed down. She needed a drink anyway.
When she got to the kitchen she was met by the sight of professor Bartholomew Oobleck and Peter Port talking with her father. Port had a leg up on the table as he was talking about a story.
In his best imitation of Qrow's voice, Port asked the other men "Like what you see?"
Oobleck snickered and Tai just burst out laughing.
"That's spot on! I always said that I did him a favor! The girls just couldn't stop looking at him."
"Oh, do you remember his face when Summer told him that it wasn't a kilt but a skirt?"
"Bwahahaha!" With a burst of laughter Port fell over on the floor.
"Hang on. Uncle Qrow wore a skirt? Why hasn't anyone ever told me about it?" asked Yang as she stepped into the kitchen and took in the scene of Peter Port sprawled over the floor, giggling at the memory of Qrow in a skirt.
"Because Qrow's got even better stories on the rest of us than he would tell other people if he ever caught us mention it to anybody." said Oobleck.
"Oh, like what?"
"I've already said too much, but I can tell you that it involves Goodwitch, a jackhammer, and a -"
"Woah there Barty! let's wait until she is a bit older until we tell her about that one. Besides, Glynda would chase you like a hound if she found out that you even mentioned it to one of her students. And Miss Xiao Long, please join us."
"Oh yes, yes, pull up a chair. Please do."
"Nah, I'm good." Yang said and planted herself on the kitchen counter next to Tai. "So what's up?"
"Despite popular belief, teachers do have a life outside the classroom. And with Beacon closed for the time being, we're on leave!"
"Meh, not for long. Glynda has been working 'round the clock to maintain order in Vale. Distributing what dust we still have, directing work crews, trying to keep the council in line. Like seriously, we have had to spike Goodwitch's drink in order to get her to sleep, lest she overwork herself. Not that she would need to. With all the manpower we been given by Mr. Arc, it's only a matter of time before the repairs are done in full. But Barty's got a point. Ever since the astartes started to clean house, there hasn't been that many grimm for us to deal with. I don't mind the rest, but this is getting a bit boring."
"Hey, let's not worry about that right now. There will always be a need for huntsmen, whether the space marines are here or not. Heck, I heard a rumor that they might enlist us in the retaking of Mountain Glenn someday."
"Yeah, that's gotten a lot of people stoked, alright. A lot of resources and manpower went into making that place. No doubt a lot of people want it back. So anyways, we were standing in the auditorium, looking at Qrow and his skirt, and then Oz tells everyone, 'It's time to work on our landing strategy!' And Qrow had decided to wear the skirt like a kilt."
"So you mean he was…?" asked Yang.
"Going commando, yes."
"Well, the Branwen twins have always been... interesting, to say the least."
"That sure didn't seem to stop young Tai. Or maybe that's why he went for it? Who knows, maybe he too sneaked a peak at Qrow's legs."
"Rawr." said Oobleck as he made a claw-like gesture with his hand.
Tai failed to come up with a proper answer while the other two men laughed.
Yang looked at the three men in front of her. All were veteran huntsmen, all good enough to be given the task of teaching future generations of huntsmen. They had probably seen more stuff in their lifetimes than she had ever imagined. Her thoughts regarding her recent stagnation came back to her. These men had probably lost before. Had been scared before, and yet they seemed to have moved on. Maybe they could help her?
"Can I ask you guys something?"
"Why of course! We're teachers. We teach."
"How do you deal with fear?"
"Um, pardon?"
"Fear. How do you deal with it? How do you get over it?"
After a while Port spoke up. "Fear is like any other emotion. It comes and goes. It's all in how you handle it. Some move past it, others confront the object of their fears better prepared than they once were. Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time."
Yang blinked. Had Peter Port, braggart extraordinaire, just admitted to being scared?
But Port was absolutely serious. Nothing would imply that he was joking. Same for Oobleck.
"Yang, if you are thinking of getting your head back in the game, now is the time to do it. Don't wait. Decide now."
"But what if-"
"If you wait anymore, you will just get weaker and weaker. And if you wait anymore, getting back will just take even more time."
Yang turned to her dad who just nodded.
"So what's it gonna be?"
"Teach me." Yang said and made a fist. "My sister is out there somewhere, looking for one of the most dangerous women on Remnant and I'm here doing nothing!"
"So you need someone to give you a swift kick in the ass to get you going?"
"Yes! Anything!"
"Well…" said Port. "Since you asked for it."
"Wha-" Yang did not even have time to finish before Oobleck had darted out of his chair and grabbed hold of Yang's clothes and tossed her out the window. Yang's mind barely registered the sound of the glass shattering against her aura as she flew through the air, absolutely dumbfounded at what was happening.
She hit the ground and rolled for a bit, losing momentum as she did. But even before she had gotten back up, Port was there, swinging a solid fist at her.
"Huzzah!"
Yang ducked one blow and another, and another. Port was not letting up. She tried to block but then realized that she only had her one arm. Her flimsy defence was easily swatted away by the heavier man. She spun around and used the rotation to strike at Port who simply caught her hand in his.
"Is that it? Cinder Fall must have messed around more with the tournament than we thought if this managed to get to the finals!"
With almost a shrug he sent her hand away from himself and left her wide open for the following blow to her centre, knocking her back towards the house.
"Come on, you can do it! Just give him the good ol' one-two!" shouted Tai as he was trying to find all the glass shards from the window.
"I only have the one!" shouted Yang and bolted up again, her anger growing greater by the moment. She activated her semblance and rushed at Port but he caught her blow. Even as she was using her semblance, she couldn't overpower him. With only one arm she couldn't make him budge. His brawn and footing was enough for him to take or deflect her blows. They were at a standstill. Yang just couldn't dish out enough blows to overwhelm the man. If she only had her arm, then she could break through his defense. Several times she tried to strike out with her missing arm, only to get hit in return as she presented an opening.
"Not good enough!" said Port and rushed into Yang with his shoulder. She dodged but couldn't counter attack.
"That's right Yang, keep moving! Don't stand around flat footed!"
"I know! How about instead of giving me lousy advice you can come and give me a hand so I can beat up this damned loudmouth!?"
"Sure!"
"Sweet! Then let's-"
*Thud*
"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me!" On the ground next to her was her robotic arm.
"What? You told me to give you a hand."
"You know Tai, I think this might be one of the reasons Raven left you." said Oobleck but wasn't heard by anyone.
Yang looked hesitantly at the arm, not certain if she should put it on or not. The sound of Port charging snapped her out of it. Grabbing the prosthetic, Yang rolled aside and in one motion attached the arm. There was a feeling like a static shock going up to her shoulder and the arm jolted to life.
Yang tested the arm. The fingers curled as she tried to make a fist. The elbow bent and she raised her hand. After a few jerking motions it began obeying her quite well.
"Raaagh!" snapping around she caught both of Port's hands as he tried to hit her again. The new arm held firm. A lot firmer than her original arm.
"Oh, you're gonna get it now." she said and pushed forwards. She had the better footing and pushed Port back.
"Ho-ho. I doubt that." grinned Port.
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Because I have back-up."
"Wha-"
Out of the blue Oobleck joined the fray. Yang barely had time to back away from Port before the younger teacher was there. Oobleck and Port shared a high five as Oobleck tagged in.
"A huntress has to be ready to adapt. Your foes will not remain the same, nor will they fight fair."
"So you're two-timing me!"
"Not yet, just mixing it up." said Oobleck and adjusted his glasses before getting ready while Port walked away.
"Then bring it on!"
Tai merely smiled as Yang charged the speedster that was Oobleck. His sunny little dragon had gotten her fire back. She might have had an inkling as to fight the boisterous Peter Port, but she would have to learn to deal with faster and more agile enemies as well. Maybe he too would join in the fun, but for now he had glass shards to pick up. Maybe he could send the bill for a new window to Goodwitch? Port and Oobleck were on Beacon's payroll after all.
"Well, that was unexpected. If I knew it was going to turn out like this, I would have asked Glynda to join us tonight." said Port as he sat down on the porch."
"Well, you're all welcome here anytime."
"Tai, I hesitate to ask, but have you heard anything from young Miss Rose yet?"
"Not much. Ever since Arc's forces landed on Anima all I've heard is the official messages we've been getting from Anima. I think she could ask Jaune to have the astartes send me a message on her behalf, but I don't think she wants to be a bother to them. But I know she is okay. And that is all that matters."
"Did you ever think of going after her? Bring her home?"
"I did but, I had someone else to look after. And then I realized that this is not something I could keep Ruby from going. As much as I wish it wasn't, this is Ruby's, Arc's, maybe even Yang's fight. They shouldn't have to fight it, but here we are, and we can only hope that we have taught them well enough."
"We screwed up. Mostly Ozpin and Ironwood, but we all screwed up in some way. We dropped the ball and Now the children are picking up the slack." said Port glumly and looked over to Yang and Oobleck. Oobleck was currently giving Yang a close lesson in gardening. Particularly on how to turn soil with one's own face. Yang had rushed in and gotten tripped over and was now getting an object lesson on why not to do that. "There was still so much we had to teach them."
"Yeah. But at least we can teach Yang some of those things while she is still here."
"Right you are. Hey Barty, let's switch!"
Tai put the shattered glass aside and returned his attention to the training going on. Yang was on the losing side, as expected. She was young, headstrong and very determined. But Port and Oobleck were far more experienced than her. Yang still had a lot to learn, primarily not to over rely on her semblance to much and also to not rush in without thinking.
Well, now she was learning the hard way. Neither Port nor Oobleck were foolish enough to charge up Yang's semblance to any meaningful degree, instead they just wore her out. And what few burst she was able to get off were either dodged or tanked. Yeah, Yang's semblance gave her a huge power boost, but what would she do if she came across someone who could take it better than some petty goon? Well, experience is an effective teacher, if a bit harsh.
But if Yang was to head after Ruby any time soon, training would have to be harsh.