AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. This one shows a bit of the fallout from Yang's reunion with her mother. The second half focuses on a couple of characters getting ready for the coming events. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.

Chapter 10 – Stress

Yang.

A half-hour after her meeting with her mother, Yang and her group still sat at a table in The Walk Into bar. Their table located on the left side of the establishment, as the right side was still had an unwanted breeze. Kintoki had his jacket, shirt, and gloves removed. His torso was bandaged and left arm in a sling. He moved his fingers as they slowly started to return to their normal color. He sat next to Sisigou. While Gilgamesh sat next to Yang.

The blond brawler chugged a strawberry sunrise. She almost cracking the glass on the table after she finished it, "Another one!" She called out to Sonny, who trembled as he nodded, "Make it stronger!" She said before sliding her bottle to a pile of seven other identical glasses. She then pinched the bridge of her nose, "I thought booze was supposed to make you forget your problems."

"Avalon must be increasing your body's metabolism rate." Sisigou commented as he crossed his arms, "You're so efficient in processing toxins now that you can't get drunk."

"On the plus side, no hangovers," Kintoki said with Yang looking at him with a deadpan stare.

"Yang," Gilgamesh spoke to the blond brawler, who turned to face him, "What do you want to do next?"

Yang looked down the table, "I need to find Raven again." She said with her eyes flaring red for a second, "She's going to kill someone, I need to stop her." the blond brawler said as Sonny put her drink on the table. She looked at the mixing of bright colors, but only saw the look of sorrow in the glass reflection, "After that, I don't know what do." She sighed before taking the drink, "But right now, we're back to square one. No way of finding her."

"Not entirely true," Sisigou spoke up, "She took some heavy damage when that barrel exploded. She can't wait for aura to heal that type of wound."

"So, she needed a doctor." Gilgamesh finished, with him nodding.

"She can't go to just any doctor, not if she wants to keep a low profile." The necromancer inferred as Sonny placed Yang next drink on the table, "And if she still wants to search in this area, I know the one guy she would go to."

"Great, let's get going!" Yang said before downing the strawberry sunrise. As she slid the glass over to the pile, she remembered something, "Oh yeah, what about him?" Yang said while looking to the ground next to her, seeing Billy tied up with the steel rope. He laid unconscious with a rag binding his mouth.

"The Kid? I looked him up, he has a bit of bounty on his head as well." Sisigou responded as he looked down at Billy. The necromancer then turned to the bartender, "I'm sure if you turn him in, it should cover most of the damage."

"Uh, thanks?" Sonny said in an uneasy voice, "But, what about the drinks?" He said, but the group just returned to their conversation.

"Speaking of which, how do we deal with your bounty?" the necromancer asked Yang, but Kintoki answered.

"Simple, we just need to change your appearance a bit." The golden rider mentioned, "All you need to do is cut your hair."

"No, end of discussion." Yang abruptly responded, her eyes flaring red again.

"Well, what about dyeing it?" Kintoki offered.

"I tried it once, hated it." the blond brawler said before looking to Gilgamesh, "Blue just isn't my color." She said with him smirking, then she looked back to Sisigou, "I could just style it in a ponytail. Would that be enough?" She said with him shaking his head side to side. Yang's sighed before looking down at Billy, who slowly regained consciousness. Suddenly, she had an idea, "Give me a few minutes." She said before getting up and dragging the kid outlaw to the bathroom.

Yang tossed Billy into an opened stall, his body sitting on the toilet. She pulled out the rag from his mouth, "Question and answer time!" She said before crossing her arms, "Why did you go after me?"

"I ain't telling you crap," Billy responded before spitting at her face. Yang blocked with her right hand; her body heat quickly evaporated the saliva. As she lowered her hand, her eye color changed to red.

"Okay, screw this!" Yang said before grabbing Billy by the collar. She the plunged his face into the toilet water, her right hand keeping his head submerged, "You really want to die here, the lady's bathroom!?"

Yang pulled him out for his responded, but Billy gasped and coughed before smirking, "Heh, you don't have the guts to do it. I can tell under all that muscle and vigor, you're just a scared little girl who just wants to run home to mama-" in the middle of the sentence, Yang forced his head into the toilet again, holding him under for longer. After the bubbles became less frequent, she pulled the outlaw kid from drowning.

Billy coughed, but Yang punched him in the gut. His eyes widened as he vomited into the toilet. The bowl was now a mix of the regurgitated water, Billy's blood, and the eggs and hash browns he appeared to have had for breakfast, "You still want to press your luck, Kid!?" Yang shouted as she angled his head towards the toilet bowl, "Because we can do this all day long!"

"Okay! Okay!" Billy said before Yang tossed him towards the seat again.

"Good, let's start again." Yang said as she crossed her arms, "Why did you attack me?"

"You have a bounty, you were close by, I needed money." Billy responded, "It's not that hard to put together."

"Who do you work for?" the blond brawler asked, "Who told you I have a bounty?"

"A sweet round lady in Mistral. She floated me your name after she got the collateral." Billy responded, "I'm part of her initiative to expand operations in Apocrypha. She sends me targets; I take them out and get paid my cut."

"Okay, so how do I get my bounty taken down," Yang said as she pointed to herself.

"You let me take you in," Billy said with Yang moving to use his head as a plunger again, "I was joking!" Billy responded in fear, "Look, Boss Lady told me that only the customer could remove the bounty. That, or you work for her, and she'll tell the client you disappeared. But she has a rule about her help needing to see her in person first. You know, so she can size you up for future jobs."

"But you said that's in Mistral," Yang responded knowing that was much too far out of her way, "I can't go there, nor to Raven's tribe. I doubt they would take the bounty off for me."

"Well, you do have one option." Billy said, "Let me go back to my boss, and I'll tell her that you were blown to bits. Problem solved." He said with her glaring at him, "I don't need much, a chunk of your hair as proof is enough. That's it."

"That's it?" Yang responded before sighing, causing Billy to smirk, "Well, looks like I'm getting a disguise then." She said with the outlaw kid having a look of shock, "Oh, and if you think I'm letting you get off free after the stunt you pulled. Think again."

"You're funeral," Billy responded, "If I don't get back to her, she'll just send a stronger bounty hunter after you." He as Yang was staring at him, her head tilted to the left, "What?"

"Hmmm," Yang said before noting something about the kid outlaw, causing her to smirk, "Nice hat."

A few minutes later, Yang walked out. Her hair now breaded and tied into a ponytail; the lilac cloth fashioned into a small bow at the bottom of the ponytail, a trick she learned from a friend. Add to this, she now wore Billy's hat on her head. Around her neck was his red scarf as well. She carried her jacket over her right forearm, now wearing Billy's. However, the outlaw boy seemed to be a size or two smaller, the blond brawler unbale button the jacket. Her black top still covered her chest, but now exposed her midriff again. Around her wrist were Billy's silver gauntlets, but their metal looked as if it was heat-warped to fit the new wearer. Her lower half remained virtually unchanged, but she wore the holster of his revolver, the gun at her left side, "How about now?" Yang said with a smile.

"Not bad," Sisigou responded with a smirk.

"It suits you," Kintoki added.

Gilgamesh did not say a word. Yang looked over to his face, smiling as she saw him blush for the first time in their relationship.

"Well, that settles it then," Yang said with a slight laugh, then looked over to Kintoki, "Catch." She said before tossing him the right Ember Celica to him. The golden rider caught it with his right hand, "I can lend you that one since your other arm is still banged up." She said with him smirking. Yang then pulled out the black and red revolver, "I'll mix things up and use this bad boy for a change." She said as she looked at the revolver, see a word engraved on the barrel, Thunderer. She then spun the revolver around her middle finger before holstering it, "I like it already." Yang said before sitting down.

"We'll need to switch vehicles as well. I'm pretty sure Raven saw out bikes during the fight." Sisigou said as he pulled out his scroll, "I'll see if I can rent a four-door."

"Good idea," Yang said before turning to Gilgamesh, "I'll need you to store Bumblebee in the Gate for a bit." She said with him nodding, "Also, I'm going to need a small loan." She said with his raising an eyebrow. Yang then turned to the group, "Well, the way I see it. If Raven's people put a hit out on me." Yang said with a grin, "I'll put a hit on Raven."

"Yang," Gilgamesh said with his eyes widening, "You realize what you just suggested?"

"Despite what she is doing," Kintoki spoke up, "She is your mother."

Yang waited a moment before responded, "Right now, she a threat to someone's life. Doing this could scary her out of the area or have someone do the job for us." The blond brawler spoke with her eyes flashing red, the other going silent. However, when Yang looked up her eyes returned to normal as she forced a smile, "Don't worry, I'm not going to make it a kill request. Just that if someone in this region sees Raven and turns her in to the authorities, it will be a nice payday for them." She then leaned back into her chair, "I'll make sure that it mentions that if she dies, no money at all, and I go after the one that killed her."

"If this is what you want, then okay." The King of Heroes agreed before smirking, "But I expect full repayment." He said with Yang's now smirking back at him. Kintoki put on an uneasy smile, while Sisigou sighed before making his call.

"Oh, before I forget." Yang said before standing up and walking over to the Sonny, "Billy is knocked out in the lady's room. I found this card." She said as she pulled out a black business card with light purple writing of contact information. On one half of the card was a logo of a spider web with some written in the silk. The name, Lil' Miss Malachite. Yang focused for a second on the name, thinking it looked familiar. However, she shrugged it off, "I think this was his boss. I'd call her to set up the bounty, but I already owe another guy a favor." She said before placing the card on the counter, "But you should call, maybe it gets this place some more customers."

"Uh, thanks," Sonny said, but Yang already noticed her next strawberry sunrise on the counter. She didn't say a word as she took the beverage and walked away. Sonny was going to speak up but decided to hold his peace. The blond brawler chugged her drink before her group exited the establishment.

Cinder.

In the restaurant, Cinder sat at a table alone. For her breakfast, she used a knife and fork to eat an omelet she had recently made for herself. As she focused her meal, Yu silently approached from behind. The consort beauty's eyes were red as she stared at the Fall Maiden's neck. Yu leaned down as she opened her mouth, her fangs covered in drool. However, as she was within a few feet away from biting into the flesh, Cinder placed the tip of her knife against the roof of Yu's mouth, "You said a drop was all you needed," the Fall Maiden said as she glanced back, "That is all I intended to give you."

Yu pulled her head back, removing the knife from her mouth. As Cinder turned around, she had seen the consort beauty in a new outfit. Her hair was now tied into a long, breaded ponytail. She wore a deep blue skintight attire with vertical stripes. Over that were a black and red apron-like dress and black leather heeled boots, "I apologize." Yu said as she adjusted her glasses, "Sometimes, I can get quite famished after tasting true power."

"Then, we have something in common." Cinder said with a smirk before cleaning her knife, "I was able to make a few meals with what was not expired." She then looked back down at her omelet, "Vitch went to procure our vehicle and Chloe is resting."

"I see," Yu said as Cinder ate, "That girl you are with, who is she?" she asked, now moving to the seat across the table.

"She is my subordinate," The Fall Maiden responded, "That is all you need to know about her."

"…Very well," Yu said with a slight glare, then crossed her arms, "Does she know the stakes of our plan?"

"Yes, I have spent a good portion of the last year preparing her for our coming battles." Cinder responded, a small smile forming, "You'll find her to be quite capable in combat."

"I see," Yu responded, "Then she should make an excellent Maiden." As the consort beauty uttered the sentence, she noticed Cinder pause a second in her meal, "Something the matter?"

"Chloe will not become one of the Maidens." Cinder responded, "She's too young."

"I'll admit, she is fairly below the standard age for Maidens of the past, but it is not impossible." Yu responded, "After all, you were able to gain the power despite being somewhat over the age qualification." She said with Cinder slightly enraged.

"You know that is not what I meant," The Fall Maiden said as she placed the knife and fork on the table, "Chloe may be talented, but she is still a young child. A Maiden's energy could overwhelm her. Even kill her if she was not prepared to inherit the power." She then stood up as she carried her now empty plate, "Besides after we have three of the Maiden powers, the final one will be easy for us to defeat and bring back to Salem."

"Fair enough, our first battle will be a simple operation." Yu said as she crossed her arms, "Once we find the Spring Maiden, we will leave the battle to you alone. Vitch and I will set up the trap to steal her power. While your subordinate covers you and makes sure you don't fall into it yourself." The consort beauty said with a slightly sinister smile forming, "I assure you; our method is more painful than that glove you used before." Cinder then started to walk away and towards the kitchen, but Yu had one more question, "By the way, we heard you originally went to Apocrypha to learn how to create a reality marble." She said as Cinder stopped, "Have you been able to create such a master level technique since then?"

Cinder waited a second before responded, "No," She said before turning back to Yu with a slight smile, "That is one of my failures." The Fall Maiden said before her smile grew wider, "But I don't intend to have any more blemishes on my record." She then turned back around and entered the kitchen. Yu did not say a word in response. Rather, she took out her book and began to read.

Blake.

While the sun was still high in the sky, a black van pulled up near The Club. After parking, the Junior walked out, his right ear to a scroll, "Wow, that bad of a reunion…A bounty?" He talked with Yang over the scroll, "Yeah, I can set it up. However, I expected a pretty big cut…. Yikes, how rich is your boyfriend!?" He said before sighing, "I'll set it up as soon as I'm done opening. Be ready to wire the money." The bartender said before ending the call, a smile then formed on his face, "Well, Blondie is finally paying me back for the damages."

As he walked towards the entrance, the keys in hand, Junior saw one customer at his door. It was Blake, who stood with her arms crossed. Her eyes looked heavy with bags of unrest, "You're the bar owner?" She said with him sighing.

"Yeah," Junior answered, "Let me guess, a friend of Blondie?" She nodded with him walking forward, "Let's go, I know the routine." He said before walking to the entrance, opening the door, and sighing again, "What do you want info on?"

"The White Fang Killer." Blake answered, "The identity, their next target, their location." She listed as the two made their way to the bar counter.

"Slow down, let me get out my laptop." Junior said as he went behind the counter, "I've read the articles. It's a really bad time to associate with the White Fang now." he said as Blake's scroll began to ring. She pulled it out and check the caller ID, which Junior peaked at to see it was Achilles, "Boyfriend?"

"Yes, a really good one." Blake said in a depressed voice before sending the message to voicemail, "Which is why I can't let him get involved in this matter." She then put her scroll back in her pocket, "This is something I have to do on my own."

"Yeah, I've heard people tell me the same thing before." Junior said before his voice become somewhat serious, "Usually, I never hear from them again." He said with Blake glaring up at him, "When's the last time you got some sleep."

Blake did not respond right away, breaking eye contact as she looked down, "How can I sleep, knowing he's out there causing this mess?" She said before sitting down at the barstool, "I keep thinking about how I did nothing. I ran away from the White Fang. I left one of my friends, never realizing how she felt." She said as the image of Ilia came to her mind, the lizard faunus looking down on her, "I left him, knowing I couldn't take it anymore. I thought if I was gone, maybe he would have changed back normal on his own. Now, I see that it only let his rage fester." The black cat faunus said as the image of Adam came to her mind. Like the other White Fang member, he looked down of Blake from behind her seat, "I never even considered if I could have saved him." She said as tears started to form in her eyes.

Junior didn't say a word, but sighed, "Listen, I'll see what I can find on my own." He said before pulling out a pen and paper from under the counter, "But you have to do a favor for me." The bartender said before writing, "I need you to go to this lot to pick up a car." He said as Blake looked at the note, "Then, take it to this address and pick-up an old client of mine. I'd ask the twins to do it, but they are out with a different client tonight." Junior passed the note to Blake, "Take him back here and I'll give you what information I come up with."

Blake read the note, noticing something missing, "Who am I picking up?" She asked.

"If I told you, then you wouldn't take the job," He said with Blake looked at him with half-open eyes, "Relax, he's not the biggest fan of faunus, but chances are he's not as bad as the White Fang Killer," Junior said with Blake now sighing. She then got up and started walking towards the way she came in, "Hey, you do seem like you could use a drink." He said before his expression turned somewhat calm, "What do you want?"

"Unless you serve tea, I'm going to have to decline." Blake said before pocketing the note, "Just, find out what you can. Anything will help." She said before walking away, but then stopped, "Thank you for listening." She said before taking a slight pause, "…And for not judging me for what I am."

"I'm in no place to be judging anyone that way," Junior said as he sighed, "I'm just the bartender." He said with Blake then resuming her walk, exiting his establishment.

AN: There you go, the last story had Pink Rose Ruby. This one gets Outlaw Yang, with her taking Billy's revolver for herself. She also put a bounty on her own mother, but you'll have to wait and see who this one attracts. Cinder reveals how protective she is of Chloe as they prepare to head after the Spring Maiden. Blake also shows she has falling into the same hole she went down in V2. However, by this story's context, she never had that conversation with Yang. For Blake's character here, you're going to see how much worse things could have gotten for her.

Also, the next two chapters will not be a main story chapter. I plan to upload the RWBY Stat Sheet for this series next week. After that, I will have a Roadmap Chapter to tell you where everyone is and give a quick summary of the story progression. The AN's of those info chapters will explain the details. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.