I don't know what happened, but somehow all the progress I made on my writing has been deleted. I backed it up on my flash drive, but when I plugged it into my new laptop it was like I hadn't even touched my story since five months ago. Now I've got to get back to where I was all over again! Stupid piece of crap.
Well, I'll just have to try and retype everything that I had written to the best of my ability.
Onto reviews.
Monster King: Thanks
Darth Cody: Like I said already, Rose's semblance is basically just like Dead Eye from Red Dead Redemption. As for Ahsoka, you'll see how she will recover.
Luffy L Deathwalker: Of course, Yang's arm will get some upgrades.
Spartan-626: Thank you.
Alright, reviews done let's get this started. Disclaimers are the same as before, please enjoy.
Chapter 49: Family
"Fusion cutter." Alice requested.
"Right here." March said as he handed his sister the power tool. The plasma drill pit glowed as Alice welded two beskar blades into Yang's prosthetic arm and her only remaining gauntlet. Despite not being mentally ready to use her new appendage, Alice had a strong feeling that Yang would make good use of the blades with her fighting style. "Are you sure your folks won't mind us using this iron to modify Yang's weapons?" he asked.
"Beskar belongs to the people of Mandalore. This small amount is a gift to someone who has the fighting spirit of a Mandalorian warrior. The rest of the Beskar was taken back to Bo and her people. In the hands of anyone else, they disgrace the name of Mandalore." Alice stated as she welded the blades to the arm and gauntlet. Many warriors fell during the battle for Vale and one warrior had only their arms remaining after they were eaten by a Griffon. The armor in the gauntlets was enough for Alice to create the blades for Yang's weapons.
"Yeah, and those White Fang Goons who tried to loot the dead for it are pushing up daisies." March added, remembering when the White Fang tried to take the Mandalorian armor from the dead warriors to use against their enemies, only to be killed by the Mandalorians who were collecting the bodies of their fallen warriors. "You know I've always been wondering. If you were alive all this time, why didn't you come and look for me?"
"I wanted to, believe me little brother. I wanted to come and look for you, but somehow, I always knew you were still alive. But I always hoped that I would see you again, though I was compelled to stay with the Mandalorian people and my wife." She admitted.
"Wait, wife? You're a lesbian?" March questioned.
"Bisexual, actually. But Jentha is also a partner than just a wife. Plus, I have been keeping our planets customs alive when it came to our daughter, Iris. You would like them." She clarified, putting the fusion cutter down before she tested the blades, which functioned perfectly. "But onto the current matter at hand, these won't be of much use if Yang doesn't overcome her PTSD."
Before March could answer, both heard the familiar sound of a set of four Incom 4L4 fusial thrust engines. Both siblings exited the workshop and watched as an X-Wing fighter touched down a few meters away from the Long/Rose residence. The identity of the pilot was revealed to be Trigger who spotted them along with Echo and Kix. "Shouldn't you be working with the rebellion and kicking the Empire's ass right about now?" March asked as R5 exited the astromech slot.
"That can wait, right now I'm here to see Ahsoka. Where is she?" Ray asked.
"We'll show you where the commander is." Echo stated and led Trigger to a clearing in the forest where Ahsoka sat in a meditative position. "She's been out here for days, the only time she ever comes back to the house is when she's hungry or sleepy. I don't like this at all, she's not been herself for the last six months and while we were able to fit her new prosthetic arm, she hasn't made any indication of wanting to get back in the fight, so I though you could be able to help her out." Echo explained.
"Thanks, Echo. I'll take if from here." Ray assured the clone trooper before he walked towards Ahsoka.
Ahsoka sat on the ground, meditating on the information she had learned. Vader and Anakin were one in the same and it hurt her greatly to know that one she trusted and looked up to, was the very enemy she was fighting. She soon sensed Trigger approaching and opened her eyes. "I sensed you the moment you entered the system. Are you here to track down Cinder and make her pay for killing your sister?" she asked.
"Even if I wanted to, that's not why I'm here. I came here because Echo and Kix said you could use a little help." Ray answered, taking a seat on the log nearby. "So, Vader and Anakin are one in the same? That was quite the shock I assume. The man you respected has become your enemy. Heh, talk about a plot twist." He stated.
"It's all my fault. I should have stayed with the Jedi. If I had stayed, Anakin wouldn't have turned to the dark side. He'd still be my master and I would have been a Jedi Knight." She wept, getting up from her meditation and took a seat on the log.
"Even if you had stayed, Anakin would have turned." Ray stated, shocking Ahsoka to her very core. "It wouldn't have changed anything. Anakin would have still turned to the dark side and became Vader. If you stayed with the Jedi, you would have been killed like many of your fellow Jedi."
"You don't know that!" Ahsoka snapped.
"You're right. I don't." Ray snapped back. "But I do know that one can't change the past. The man you once knew is gone, but his teachings live on within you. Be the apprentice that Anakin wanted you to be, the Rebellion needs you."
"I can't go back. I'm done, I no Jedi anymore." Ahsoka said sadly.
"Giving up is a sign of weakness and you're not weak." Ray began, putting an arm around Ahsoka's shoulder. "Bail told me that Anakin was one of the few Jedi that believed you were innocent when one Barriss Offee bombed the Jedi temple and framed you for the crime. He never gave up on you and helped you when you needed it the most. I don't know if you're the one who can bring him back to the light, but you can't give up on him either."
"I'll just be a burden on the rebellion." Ahsoka replied.
"I used to think the same thing about myself." Ray continued, shocking Ahsoka. "I never really told anyone about this, but my father died because of me. My father was both a great warrior and good man. He always fought for what he believed in and sided with the old White Fang when they were just a peaceful protest group when very few humans that supported the Faunus. My mother on the other hand, she died shortly after I was born and when I was old enough, I blamed myself for her death." He began.
Ahsoka continued to listen to his words. "For a long time, I kept thinking I was a burden on my friends and family, but then I met Neo and Sienna Khan who saw me as a person who may have been dealt a bad hand in life, much like them but saw potential in me just like the Galm Team. I was happy for a long time, but that happiness ended when my father died in the first White Fang attack. It was supposed to be a peaceful protest at a Schnee Company plant where the Faunus workers were being treated like slaves, but that changed when someone ordered an attack on the humans. I don't know how many people died in the attack, but my father fought against the White Fang if only to protect the civilians who were watching. He fought hard and with all his might when he was killed by Adam Taurus who 'thanked' him for his efforts." He continued.
"You mean…" Ahsoka began with a gasp.
"I almost lost all the respect I had for the White Fang, but Sienna told me that what happened wasn't what she wanted. To this day, I still respect the White Fang, but I don't condone the actions the White Fang today takes. I've suffered much, just like you've had, but I found something I'm fighting for. That something, is you." He finished.
Both looked into each other's eyes and before the next thing any of them knew, they shared a sweet, yet short kiss. They both soon pulled away from each other before Ray spoke again. "I know the road ahead will be difficult for the both of us, but I promise you, Ahsoka, that I will be by your side and we will get through this together. I give you my word and my honor that I will never abandon you, because I love you, Ahsoka Tano." He said.
Ahsoka's montral's darkened a bit before she spoke next. "I love you too."
"Come on, I've got something from Bo-Katan that she wanted to give you. Let's go back and plan our next move. Plus, I think you need a new lightsaber." Ray stated. Both teens smiled and headed back to the house, neither of them knowing that R5 had watched the entire exchange, recorded it and was going to send it to Neo who instructed the droid to show her the results.
By nighttime, both Trigger and Ahsoka were discussing a planned joint operation with the Hitman team, but as for Yang she was having a nightmare. All around her were broken pieces of buildings and darkness, confusing her before she looked down and raised both her arms, examining them. She looked up from her arms and spotted Adam walking towards her with red accents around his hair, mask and outfit with a surreal glow.
She stepped back defensively, suddenly realizing she was wearing her gauntlets and blasted Adam five times, only for the blasts to do nothing as he came closer and closer to her. As Adam put his hand on his sheathed sword, Yang was about to attack again but noticed her weapons were gone before Adam was right in front of her, grinned and started to draw his sword.
Yang awakened with a gasp, finding that she was still in her room lying on top of her bed with a concerned Zwei looking at her. Yang patted her beloved Corgi on the head, noticing that her robotic arm that Ironwood gave her was nowhere to be seen, no doubt still being worked on by March and his sister. She soon heard laughter coming from downstairs and the source of that laughter was Professors Oobleck and Port who were sitting at the kitchen table, laughing with her father about their younger days at Beacon.
"And, and, and then, in comes Qrow, wearing a skirt! I was just a TA, I-I didn't know what to do, so I just… I just left the room to laugh." Port said, trying to control his laughter while Yang stood in the kitchen door unnoticed.
"We told him it was a kilt! He'd never worn a uniform before, so he didn't know!" Tai said with an equal amount of laughter while Oobleck questioned Tai's motives. "Hey! The girls all said he had nice legs! I did that jerk a favor! Besides, that's not even the best part! See, then we-" Tai continued only for Port to interrupt him, possibly imitating Qrow, only to lose his balance and fell onto the floor.
By then the three of them heard Yang giggle. "Oh, uh, Miss Xiao Long! Uh, please, join us." Port offered after getting off the floor. Oobleck offered the same thing, but Yang was perfectly fine leaning against the kitchen counter by her father, but she was curious why the two teachers were at her home.
"Contrary to popular belief, teachers do have a life outside the classroom." Oobleck explained with Port adding that Professor Goodwitch, Aayla, Kit and the forces in Vale were working around the clock to reclaim the city. Tai was then quick to change the subject back to their days at Beacon, only some of the stories they were thinking of were for someone a bit older.
""She" is also in the room and can be directly spoken to. And I think I've been through enough to be considered an adult at this point." Yang spoke in her defense as Kix and Echo walked into the house.
"Are we interrupting something?" Kix asked.
"Adult or not, you've still got a long way to go before you're ready for the real world." Tai countered.
"Oh my gosh! Does every father figure have the same three condescending phrases?" Yang moaned.
"Yeah! But we only use them when we mean it!" Tai replied, making the two teachers become a little uncomfortable.
"Is that so?" Yang challenge.
"As a matter of fact, it is so! If you honestly think that you're ready to go out there on your own, ha, well I guess you lost brain cells along with that arm." He countered, causing Yang to gasp, a stunned Port to lean forward and Oobleck's mouth to drop open while mug in his hand fell safely onto the table. As for Kix and Echo, they just dropped their helmets to the ground staring at Tai for a few seconds.
"You… jerk!" Yang laughed, playfully punching her father who also laughed.
"Are we still talking about the Goliath in the room?" Oobleck whispered to Port.
Port then cleared his throat and spoke up. "Oh, Miss Xiao L- Yang, if you don't mind me asking, why haven't you tried on the arm yet?" he asked. Oobleck also agreed with him, stating that a piece of Atlas technology being given out like her new was a rare thing indeed, given the effort it took to deliver it, even saying that many people wanted her to return to normal.
"I'm… scared." Yang began, getting Tai to take a step sideways towards his daughter, watching and listening to what she had to say. "Everyone keeps talking about me getting back to normal. And I appreciate it, but… this is normal now. It's just taking me a while to get used to it."
"Well, normal is what you make of it." Tai said to his daughter.
"What is that supposed to mean? Do you want me to just pretend like nothing happened? I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone. And it's never coming back." Yang questioned.
"You're right. It's not coming back. But that doesn't have to stop you from becoming who you wanna be. You're Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon." He stated, putting his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You can do whatever you put your mind to. So, whenever you're ready to stop moping, and get back out there, I'll be there for you." He assured.
Yang was still afraid, but Port then said something that surprised her. "Fear is like any other emotion. It comes and goes. It's all in how you handle it. Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time." He stated.
"Really? You?" Yang asked unconvinced.
"He's afraid of mice." Oobleck whispered to Yang.
"They bring only disease and famine! And don't get me started on their tails! So hairless, and simply unnatural!" Port exclaimed with a pound on the table, with Oobleck assuring him that there weren't any mice around.
"Sunny little dragon? Does have to do with the dress she wore at the dance?" Echo whispered to Kix who shrugged his shoulders.
After several hours, Yang wished the two teachers goodnight but as she headed towards her room, she stopped short before looking out the window near her room and listened to the conversation her father and teachers were having. It became clear to her that there was still no word from Ruby and the others, but Tai couldn't go looking for them, since he had some 'things' to look after, making Yang feel dejected.
Half a world away, in the forests of Anima Team RNJR plus the four clones continued walking towards the next village, which Jaune was skeptical about. But Ren assured them that the village called Higanbana is well protected and had a popular inn, which meant they wouldn't have to be sleeping on the ground and in the rain.
The lack of Grimm they had encountered started to give the kids the sense that things were starting to look up for them, but the four clones knew that things would go wrong in the future as it always tends to be.
When the group arrived at Higanbana, it started to rain hard as the group checked into the inn and went to get some much-needed sleep. As for the clones, they went for a drink at the local tavern right across from the inn. None of the four noticed Qrow was sitting behind them at a nearby table, watching his niece and her friends from the window just as a glass of liquor with ice was placed in front of him.
"Oh, I didn't o-" he said to the waitress.
"From the woman upstairs. Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf." The waitress answered before giving him a wink. "But I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you."
Qrow smirked as he watched the waitress walk away, before he took his glass and headed up stairs where waiting for him at one of the tables was his sister, Raven with her mask sitting on the table. "Hello brother." She greeted.
"Raven." Qrow replied. He then took the chair beside her and dragged it to a position across from her, putting one hand on the back of the chair, looking at his sister expectantly, getting Raven to roll her eyes and move her mask to the side, before he took a seat. "So, what do you want?"
"A girl can't just catch up with her family?" Raven questioned.
"She can, but you're not. Now, how 'bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these coming.'" Qrow retorted, placing his glass down on the table.
"Does she have it?" Raven asked.
Qrow didn't answer right away, running his fingertip along the edge of his glass. "Did you know Yang lost her arm?" he asked his sister.
"That's not-" Raven began.
"Rhetorical question, I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist." Qrow interrupted.
"I saved her." Raven reminded.
"Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real "Mom of the Year" material, sis." Qrow countered sarcastically.
Raven soon quickly leaned in and grabbed Qrow's forearm, stilling his sarcastic, nonchalant motions. "I told you Beacon would fall, and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail, and he has. I just didn't count on those Imperial forces arriving, no doubt thanks to that Galen character. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?" she demanded.
"I thought you weren't interested in all that?" Qrow questioned.
"I just want to know what we are up against." Raven answered.
"And which we are you referring to?" Qrow questioned again. His sister just glared at him before finally letting go of him and sat back down with a noise of disgust. "You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us." He implored.
"You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them." Raven pointed out, only for Qrow to counter that the tribe was nothing but a bunch of killers and thieves. "I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival." She added.
"I saw. The people of Shion saw, too." Qrow pointed out.
"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules." Raven simply stated.
"Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage." Qrow stated.
Raven turned away, stating that she couldn't have known the Grimm or droids would set in as quickly as they did, but Qrow wasn't talking about them or her. "If you don't know where the relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about." Raven snarled, reaching for her mask only for Qrow to grab it.
"I don't know where the Spring Maiden is, either, but if you do, I need you to tell me." Qrow demanded. Raven was quick to demand why she would do such a thing and Qrow responded that if Raven didn't, everyone on Remnant was going to die.
Raven scoffed before unsheathing her sword and swung it, opening a red portal which she walked into, looking very unhappy and disappeared. The sound of breaking glass and a gasp from behind Qrow who saw the waitress from earlier, trembling at the sight of Raven disappearing, taking a cautious step backwards, looking sideways to Qrow who only raised his glass and asked for a double.
Further away from the village, in a cave where a fire had just died out, Galen stared out into the rain while the four enhanced clones and Boba were sleeping. He soon sensed something out in the forest and went to investigate it, encountering Summer Rose herself. "There's something you didn't tell me when you asked me to protect Ruby. Someone is after her and I need to know." He demanded.
"I know…" Summer replied and removed her hood. "That someone, is called Salem."
And I'll end it here. Again, sorry for the long wait, but I hope this makes up for it. Not a lot of action, but I hope I made it up to you all with the new features of Yang's gauntlets. Anyone want to take a guess what they are?
Until next time.