I've had something of a bad year. I need this silly girl, even if she is a bitch.
Curled up, a drowsy Yang, frowned in her sleep.
Cold? Why am I cold?
Feeling a shiver build, she scrunched her eyes tighter, then moved to reach down for her blanket… only to suddenly snap awake when she realized something very, very important.
I can't move!
What the hell is going on!
The grip around her felt absolute, not to mention her leverage was all kinds of bad. Being snuggled around a pillow was not an ideal position to be restrained in. Still, the heavily corded muscles in Yang's back and legs bulged as she fought against the force confining her. Something creaked and cracked, and for a brief moment, Yang thought her prison would give, but unfortunately it was her own burning muscles that gave out first. Lethargic and confused, Yang struggled with comprehending the fact that, for the first time since her Aura was unlocked, her strength had let her down.
There was gurgle, but Yang couldn't tell who or even what it was. There was then the distinct crack of electrical dust and the smell of ozone. This time the cry of pain was clear.
BLAKE!
Yang felt her temper rise.
Something was said, low and menacing, but again Yang couldn't make it out. Gnashing teeth, Yang activated the one muscle people often forgot she had. Her brain.
What had her?
Cold. Hard. Ice? Ice Dust! A lot of Ice dust given it could hold her even temporarily. Still Ice Dust meant Yang should have options. Her Semblance could melt ice, even if it wasn't an instant thing. Still, it was somewhere to start.
Yang thought of Blake in trouble. The fiery Huntress's rage rapidly built and Yang eagerly activated her semblance, Burn… only for it to quickly grow unsteady.
Wha…? What's the problem?
Then it hit her. Burn needed fuel. Dust, for as widely as it was used, was still little understood. Professor Peach, who taught Advanced Dust Sciences, all but admitted that the mechanism for dust, and even its origin, still remained a near complete mystery. Only the effects of Dust remained well documented. And Ice Dust, what it did more than anything, was rob an area of its energy.
Yang then understood the Ice dust wasn't some minor oversight that Yang could take advantage of. It was a calculated counter measure to Yang's greatest weapon, her Semblance.
That meant whoever did this, whoever Blake was trying to fight against, knew them. Torchwick? The mysterious Adam? Yang felt her panic build, and with it her concentration. Yang's Semblance began to flicker.
Then she heard a new sound. A clear whimper.
RUBY!
Yang's spluttering Semblance reignited.
Frantic red eyes tried to find some weakness, some target, but everything remained blue tinged darkness.
Fuck it! Yang bunched her shoulders, and just through brute force, demanded her prison give way. Again there was the faint sound of cracking, but it wasn't enough. Fear for her sister was already overwhelming her anger, and with that, the Ice dust finally overcame her Semblance and Burn winked out completely.
Even as Yang truly started to panic, something important was realized. Yang found she could wiggle the fingers on her right hand. Yang quickly grasped that one of her hands had slipped inside her pillow during the night. With some, almost, calm direction, and a little effort, Yang rapidly freed her hand to the point where could turn her wrist. Yang then forced her hand forward, deeper into the pillow and the tiny bit of freedom within.
Yang was strong, even without her Semblance. Something cracked then gave, and just like that, Yang had several inches of movement with her right arm. Her face was grim as she threw a very, very short punch. A punch softened by what was admittedly a very fluffy pillow. A punch in which she had zero leverage.
It was still a punch from Yang Xiao-Long though.
Lilac eyes slowly returned to red, and soon there was no difficulty at all in maintaining her Semblance.
\|/ \|/
"Wow. Now that's a different look for sure," Coco smiled breezily as she carried her breakfast towards her favorite fashion disaster.
Bleiss looked up at her with frank surprise. "Excuse me?"
Coco paused at Bleiss's frail tone. This morning, there was distinct and only partially hidden of despair in her girl's surprised face. That despair told Coco everything she needed to know. Why Bleiss was sitting so far from her usual spot, so very far from Jaune Arc, and why Bleiss was sitting alone.
Coco sighed, she really wanted to shoot Arc sometimes. Annoyed for entire legions of reasons, Coco shook her head. "You're gods-damned hopeless, you know that?"
A strange look washed over her girl's face and her red eyes became lidded, her face stone. With a voice laced in ice, "What makes you think I'd deign to talk about personal concerns with the likes of you?"
Coco blinked in surprise. Now her girl had walls; no doubting that. Those walls were also covered in all kinds of nasty barbed spikes, and came with a full complement of fully functional Naval Dust Cannons mounted on them. All that being said, this was the first time since way back in their days at the Atlasian hellhole known as Charter that Bleiss took deliberate aim to shoot Coco down.
Honestly, that hurt like hell.
Coco felt the familiar pangs of jealousy and anger arise concerning a certain blond nincompoop, but deliberately squelched them. Bleiss wasn't ever going to be interested, and that fact wasn't something fair to hold against her girl. Or even Arc, honestly. Although the worst parts of Coco definitely wanted to blame the latter. Still, those parts only made a tiny percentage of the awesome whole that was Coco Adel.
Much like my humility.
Coco smirked a bit at herself. Looked like it was again time to be what Coco prided herself in being.
An honest friend.
Coco took her typical seat to her girl's right.
Coco took the time to really check Bleiss over. The more Coco looked at her, the more signs she saw that concerned her. The strange sideways pony-tail and the… more traditional… way she wore her uniform were probably little more than shallow attempts to appeal to Arc in some new way. But the sadness in her girl's eyes? Now that was real. What made it worse was that sadness contained not one ounce of the simmering rage at Remnant in general that had basically defined her girl.
Well defined her girl before Bleiss bumped into a certain someone who really needed to pull his head out of his ass.
Now almost as glum as her girl, Coco half-sighed. She might as well accept she was going to have talk about the Goliath in the Parlor. "I see Arc still hasn't wised up."
Then something Coco would never have expected, occurred. The mention of Arc sparked anger in her girl's gaze. Red eyes narrowed into slits. "Not that it's any business of yours, but if you are going to insist on sitting there, then at least do me the small curtesy of not mentioning Jaune Arc. Thank you very much."
Coco blinked. Speaking Arc's name was something that always elicited a reaction. Love struck puppy was perhaps the most common. There were also bouts of depression and frustration, especially recently, not to mention desire. Fuck was Coco ever sick of Bleiss's creepy ass thirst for JNPR's hapless leader. Actual anger though, now this was new.
And Coco had one opinion on the matter.
About. Fucking. Time.
Team CFVY's leader's tentative smirk fully reformed. Anger. Well, Coco could work with anger. "I don't understand why you put up with it. If he pulled half the shit with me that he does with you, I'd have straight up emptied Gianduja into his face at this point." Coco briefly lifted her handbag into Bleiss's line of sight for emphasis. Coco's expression started to harden, "That at least might drill some common sense through that thick skull he has."
Bleiss looked at her oddly, then snorted in honest amusement. Coco's girl then gave the Fashionista Huntress an honest, and frankly brutal, smile. "If you think it would help him take the hint, then please, be my guest."
Coco blinked behind her shades, now more surprised than ever. Very slowly, Adel pulled her glasses down to look her friend in the eye, just so that Bleiss fully understood that Coco was not joking. "You seriously okay with that?"
Her girl's smile turned absolutely malicious. "Like I said, 'Be my guest.'" And just like that, Coco was falling in love all over again!
Coco rapidly squelched her resurgence of desire, but that didn't mean she wasn't ready to pounce all over this opportunity. With an expression now harder than Professor Port's abs, Coco stood up and shouted across the lunch hall, "Hey Arc!" The guy flinched, but did turn around. "Combat class. This afternoon. First match. My girl here says the gloves are off!"
Jaune Arc noticeably paled, "Wait? You want to fight me?"
Coco's smile was brutal as she made her intentions clear. She reached down and pulled her famous bag from her feet and set it on the table with a meaningful thud. "No Arc, fighting involves some manner of parity. I'm planning to pound some godsdammed decency into you!"
Jaune Arc's eyes shifted over to Bleiss. Whatever he saw there must not have been encouraging. Still, whatever Coco thought about Arc, lucky bastard that he was, she respected he wasn't one to run and hide. Coco always gave him that amount of respect.
He squared his shoulders and nodded. "Combat class. First match. Got it."
Coco nodded even as she decided she might just have to whip up something suitably spectacular in Peach's advanced dust sciences before Professor G's class rolled around. Bleiss looked at Arc and smirked with actual satisfaction. Coco smiled as most of the dark cloud surrounding her friend started to evaporate.
Happily chuckling to herself as she contemplated the merits of ice versus gravity rounds, Coco engaged in some of the standard useless flirting with her girl. "Damn I'm glad you are letting me do this. Now if I can only convince you to look at the other side to the dating pool…" Coco trailed off with half-hearted teasing.
Bleiss's smile faded into confusion, "What do you mean?"
Coco sighed. Really? Coco rolled her eyes and yet again pulled down her shades, giving Bleiss a long look. That was when another new wonder happened. Coco's girl blinked cutely for a moment, then actually started to turn pink. Of all that had happened on this morning of miracles, this was perhaps the most shocking thing yet.
"Dear gods, are you blushing?" Bleiss turned two shades redder. Coco started chuckling then shouted over to her partner who had finally spotted them and was only now making her way over. "Hey Honeybun! Guess what? Just got my girl to blush!"
Velvet glanced at Bleiss, and she immediately shook her head in negation. With an unyielding voice Velvet told Coco, "Whatever you just said, I don't need to know."
Coco started laughing, "It wasn't even bad!"
Velvet obviously doubted Coco's honesty. "Uh huh." Coco opened her mouth just to get ruthlessly shot down by her team's unpredictable wild card. "Not one word, Coco."
Adel was going to still go for it, but the crossed arms and top bitch glare Velvet leveled at Coco brokered no argument. Deciding to beat a tactical retreat, Coco backed off… but couldn't quite resist adding, "You are like zero fun since you got a boyfriend."
Velvet rolled her eyes, and when she did, Fox made his appearance at her side. He pecked his girlfriend on the cheek and then smiled at his leader and her friend. Fox asked, "So what are we talking about?"
Coco thumbed over to the blushing Bleiss, "I know you can't see it, but my girl's doing her best tomato impersonation."
Fox smiled over at Bleiss's direction. His strange unfocused eyes were nonetheless kind. Somewhat surprisingly he stuck out his hand towards Bleiss, "Glad to see Coco's dry streak might finally come to an end." Honeybun's boyfriend smiled kindly. Proving his Semblance was still largely focused on his Girlfriend, Fox almost inexplicably continued on introducing himself to Bleiss. "Fox Alistair, Team CFVY's weakest link and Velvet Scarlatina's better half."
All things considered, Bleiss was pretty cool about Fox not realizing to whom he was speaking. She even restrained from sarcasm as, with a bemused smile, she took Fox's proffered hand. However, before Bleiss could say anything Velvet broke in with, "Fox, that's the one, and thankfully only, Bleiss. So unless a certain idiot is into the idea of a ménage de trois, Coco's streak will continue onward."
Velvet smirked into her orange juice at Fox's priceless expression. She even nudged her boyfriend roughly in the ribs over faux pas. As for Coco, she smiled in half-annoyed amusement. Still that smile faded rapidly when she turned back towards her girl. Coco noticed that Bleiss's expression had shifted from friendly and open, to cool and lidded. Coco's friend reached for her plate, obviously intending to storm off.
Coco rapidly grabbed Bleiss's wrist to talk. "Velvet doesn't mean anything by it." Bleiss's red eyes were uncompromising as she glared at Coco's partner. Coco glanced meaningfully over at Velvet. "Apologize Honeybun; my girl was finally calming down."
Bleiss then unexpectedly turned her baleful glare onto Coco. "Your girl? Your girl! Just who do you people think you are?"
Coco was hurt. Honestly hurt. With shocked and sad reluctance, she released Bleiss's wrist. Bleiss, face still completely livid nodded once, and moved to stand. Then, just before she could rise up and storm away, the situation was salvaged by a most unlikely source.
Russel Thrush of Team CRDL.
/|\ /|\
Bleiss's ecstasy had stopped just before climax. Which wasn't remotely fucking fair at this point!
Wait? Who Schnee?
That was when Bimbo Biggins smashed into her from behind.
Aura nothing, Bleiss's teeth nearly severed her fucking tongue from the horrendous impact. Yang's meaty man-paws then clenched Beiss's hair near the scalp. The young Huntress was then sent for ride that ended with having her face driven through a wall. She was then lifted high overhead before being driven down into ground with bone-rattling impact.
Monkey Boy's fuck toy then hoisted the former heiress back up to eye level.
If Bleiss was perhaps a bit wiser, she might have gone limp. Hoping the least tactical fighter at the school would be stupid enough to let go of her grip. A grip that allowed Yang's one saving grace in combat, her strength, to be used to maximum potential. Bleiss wasn't particular known for wisdom though. Add to that, she sure as fuck wasn't in any kind of mood to be tactical. Someone was going to pay for this morning! One of these fucking cunts had decided to carve open her face to the point even Aura had left her scarred! How? Why? Didn't fucking matter! Bleiss wanted her pound of flesh, and she was going to start by carving it out of the two very specific oversized lumps of fat!
Bleiss let loose a large globule of blood, snot, and spit into Xiao-Long's face, and smiled viciously as her own blood dripped from her lips. Bleiss Schnee growled through her macabre grin. "Ready for round two?"
Heaving Melons flinched at the spittle's impact, and Bleiss wasted no time in kicking her as hard as she could in the snatch. Maybe getting hit in the balls hurt more, it wasn't like Bleiss could hope to compare, but getting kicked in the snatch was no joke either. The Busty Bitch's fingers spasmmed briefly. It was enough. Bleiss kicked one foot off her teammate's massive chest and ripped free of her grasp, although the former heiress sacrificed more than a little hair in the process.
"What's going on?"
It was Jaune's voice, and because it was Jaune's voice, Bleiss almost took her eyes off of the set of Treacherous Tits standing in front of her. Almost. Bleiss said, "Nothing to worry about Jaune. Team meeting's getting fucking testy is all."
Jaune's voice sounded like he was gaping. "Did you just swear?"
Bleiss briefly clinched her jaw, but was way too angry to give much of a fuck on Jaune's opinions about her swearing. "Given my morning, I'm feeling fucking entitled."
This next question came from the Big Busty Bovine. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Aura had already healed Bleiss's tongue, but there was still a lot of blood in her mouth. She spat a good wad directly at some future chiropractor's wet dream. "Just got sucker punched by a cowardly cunt for starters."
The Least Funny Woman on Remnant's eyes were already red, but now they narrowed. A dead giveaway. Bleiss almost laughed as her opponent rushed. With casual ease, the dark huntress dodged Yang's predictable left hook, stepped out of range of the following cross, and frankly just laughed at the lunging overhand right that did do one hell of a number on a wall but missed Bleiss Schnee by nearly a foot.
"Glynda's right you know? You're fucking sloppy." Bleiss's smile became crueler, "Or maybe you're just a sloppy fuck? Remind me to ask Monkey Boy some time."
Yang pressed harder. A whistling back fist came somewhat close, but nothing else did as Yang put two additional holes in the hallway wall, knocked one dorm door straight off its hinges, but touched Bleiss not even once. Each blow was obviously meant to out and out end Bleiss, but due to Jiggles loading up every time, and because Bleiss held no intention of stepping in to trade shots with her, the smaller woman found the assault almost laughable.
Strangely blue eyes danced with amusement, "Holding on to your Semblance this long has got to be eating at your Aura. Is it my turn yet? I think it should be my fucking turn now."
Future Sags lunged, both arms outstretched, meaning to simply drag Bleiss to the ground. Like Bleiss was going to fall for some weak shit like that. Bleiss, mostly to be insulting, kicked off the wall and went directly over Yang, leaving the top heavy twit to face plant into carpet. Unfortunately, Bleiss had lost her rapier upon initial impact, but fortunately a basic glyph required no dust at all. A black glyph slid across the floor, carrying her now fucking chrome plated Mordkesser to her.
She kicked her weapon into her hand as the Glyph slid by, then stared at the treacherous Busty Bitch in front of her.
"This is going to be a beating no treacherous cunt will ever forget!"
/|\ /|\
Weiss glared her best glare at Adel until the tall huntress released her grip on the heiress's wrist. Satisfied, Weiss moved to exit, only for another person to unexpectedly intrude into her life.
"Oh thank the Brothers I caught you before you went to class!" Weiss turned to stare confusedly at… was it Russel... the green haired boy with the Mohawk that had addressed her. The boy whose name she wasn't remotely sure of slid into the bench opposite her. "Your teammate is running me ragged! You've got to help me!"
Weiss blinked. Now in a state of absolute bafflement she asked the boy, "Excuse me?"
Russel bobbed his head weirdly. "Yang! This is like the third night in a row she took off without a damned word and left me hanging! Then this morning, despite promising otherwise, she's like nowhere to be seen yet again! How the hell am I supposed to coordinate all the stuff she wants when she just up and disappears anytime she feels like it?"
Weiss blinked.
That was when Adel broke in, "After we successfully pawned this dance nonsense off onto your team, Russel told Yang he'd help with with coordinating it, especially with the music."
Weiss, now feeling utterly dazed, just asked, "Why?"
Scarletina smirked into her juice. "He's hung up on Ruby." Weiss looked on in bafflement. Velvet rolled her eyes and sighed as she completely spelled it out for Weiss. "Russel's doing whatever he can to earn please-don't-kill-me-just-because-I-asked-out-your-much-younger-sister-to-the-dance points with Yang." Weiss blinked at the boy who obviously lacked any ability to deny this.
It was then that the last member of the overly familiar Team CFVY made his appearance. Daichi rumbled in kind hearted amusement, "Not that he's yet worked up the nerve to ask out your partner."
Thrush looked up at the usually quiet giant, "Hey! I still got time!"
Daichi made a show of looking at a non-existent watch. "Not very much of it." He also sent her an overly familiar smile towards Weiss that only added to the morning's confusion.
Who were these people? Why were they so determined to entangle themselves with her? Dazed, Weiss only managed an, "I see."
Thrush then politely, and with some apology in his eyes, leaned across the table to re-sequester her attention. "Please, you've got to help me. Yang might actually listen to you!"
Weiss had her doubts about that. The heiress also leaned back from Thrush's closeness, but still relaxed her posture. Absently she reached up and grabbed the bridge of her nose. If this was Yang's fault, and despite everything that had happened, well someone had to be a responsible adult. "What's the problem, exactly?"
Russel smiled in relief, "Well, I locked down the equipment, even got the fog machines she wanted."
Weiss's eyes narrowed further. Yang and Weiss had a firm disagreement over the music and Weiss had absolutely nixed the fog machines. She glanced across the room to spear the Blonde Barbarian with her gaze, but all her treacherous teammates were still in hiding. She turned the glare onto Thrush who immediately paled at her express. He started to shrink away, but Weiss lifted one hand to forestall him.
"Apologies, I'm currently not of the highest opinion concerning my team." Thrush blinked at her, still leery, so Weiss continued, "So the equipment is handled, are you now looking for the actual entertainment?"
Thrush smiled a bit awkwardly, "Yeah. Hit the Alpha in the soft spot with that one."
Adel interjected then, "Isn't team CRDL basically a local band here in Vale?"
Thrush smiled awkwardly, "Yeah but since Cardin pissed off," he waved a hand in Weiss's direction for some reason, "Our lead singer is basically out of commission."
All eyes turned to the heiress. Weiss had no idea what they were going on about or why there was a suddenly awkward pause. She had barely spoken a dozen words with the brutish leader of Team CRDL. Impatient, Weiss lifted an eyebrow to move this along. Thrush, very satisfactorily, paled immediately. "Well you know, no lead singer, no band."
Oh gods. She might have known! It was then that the purpose for this whole charade of a conversation manifested itself. The weird forwardness of Team CFVY. The sudden appearance of Thrush. All just an elaborate setup.
Weiss narrowed her eyes and with absolute finality told them. "I'm not interested."
Thrush blinked at her in confusion and desperation. "I thought you were going to help?"
Weiss, her temper growing, still held her temper back with a sigh. With more patience than any of these people deserved, she told them, "I said no. That's it. I have absolutely zero desire to sing in your band, thank you very much."
Thrush's face then became the textbook definition of confused. "Wait? You can sing?"
Adel broke in, weirdly excited and still way too familiar, "Why the hell didn't you tell me!?"
Weiss, now suddenly as bewildered as Thrush, glanced at Adel. "I thought it was common knowledge." Weiss looked at the other faces in Team CFVY. They honestly seemed just as confused as Thrush. All of them were clearly surprised, with Scarlatina looking downright disbelieving. That frankly irked Weiss. The heiress's eyes zeroed in on the faunus.
Weiss had always thought Scarlatina a quiet person who you couldn't help but feel a little sorry for. Certainly not a sarcastic and biting bi… rude girl she seemed to be in actuality. Irked and irritable, Weiss accused the faunus, "You don't believe me, do you?"
Scarlatina didn't blink as she continued to smirk insufferably around her cup. About all Weiss's glare got her was a one shoulder shrug and an, "Eh. Not really."
Weiss felt her eye twitch. Time to remove that smirk.
Now Weiss didn't have time to warm up, so she knew she couldn't sing in her higher registers, but that was okay. For some reason, she thought of a song her mother used to sing back when Weiss was very young.
Low and soft, Weiss started.
"Hush your cries,
Close your eyes,
Stay, with, me."
Weiss frowned a bit. Her practiced ear noted a distinct hint of flatness that certainly didn't belong there.
"Let's just dream,
Qui-et-lee,
Of what, might, be."
That was better. Much better.
Weiss continued. Part of her brain continued to note minor faults and errors. The voices of a myriad of vocal coaches from her preteen years started to pick apart her raw and unrehearsed rendition. The same voices that had turned singing from joy to chore. But then something unexpected happen. One voice started to rise above the din. The voice of a memory. A voice all but forgotten. The voice of young Weiss singing with her mother. The voice of a little girl who was still loved by someone.
"I don't know the answer,
Tomorrow's still unknown,
But I can make this promise,
You won't be alone!"
Now completely lost in the music, the entire cafeteria melted away, and, even if it was only for this moment, the room was empty of everyone. It was only Weiss. And if she was singing to anyone, it was to her mother. That fact pulled Weiss completely into the joy of music for the first time in years as the heiress embraced warm memories reawakened.
"I don't know where we should go.
Just feeling farther from our goal.
I don't know what path we will be shown,
Somewhere, some place, Weiss heard applause, but it remained distant and unimportant. This tangible memory, of her mother, of this feeling, consumed the young heiress. Her closed eyes started to sting. The loneliness of the morning had been all but unbearable. Dealing with her Team's inexplicable betrayal had hurt Weiss in a way she hadn't believed possible any longer. And this music offered refuge from that despair, from that loneliness. So, Weiss clung to the music as hard as she could.
But I know that when I'm with you,
I'm at home.
Yes, I know that when I'm with you,
I'm at home."
Weiss took a steadying breath, ready to go into a second verse, when she felt arms suddenly enfold her. For a moment, a hole in Weiss's spirit she oft times ignored was filled because the young heiress truly believed these were her mother's arms. In that moment, Weiss almost let her tears flow freely and indiscreetly. Eyes closed, she reached up to touch her mother's hair only to touch some strange hat her mother was wearing. Then Weiss realized the height, smell, the frankly everything, was wrong, and in that moment the song's magic was broken.
Weiss found herself embracing Coco Adel.
Weiss quickly dropped her hands, and, to give the overly familiar Adel a modicum of credit, the other huntress rapidly got the hint and released the heiress. Trying to be casual about it, Weiss thumbed unshed tears from her eyes before turning her fiercest glare on the faunus that had been mocking her all morning.
Scarlatina was still smirking, but did incline her head in defeat. There was a slight pause, then Velvet Scarlatina rose and casually joined the sea of applause surrounding the heiress she was only now becoming truly aware of.
Thrush touched her on the shoulder to get Weiss's attention, "You've got to sing with us at the dance!"
Weiss felt, more than heard, the crowd's swell of approval over the suggestion. For the first time since this awful morning had begun, Weiss felt truly whole and powerful again.
Weiss smiled at Thrush.
"Maybe I do."
No one in the room, not one, noticed Fox Alistair's strange expression as he stared at the women with a blindingly white soul.
/|\ /|\
Bleiss flipped Mordkesser's cylinder to the one filled with gravity dust, subconsciously counting clicks as she did. Bleiss was all to ready to trap Blondie Biggins in enough slow time to make Ruby ultimately become the older sister… only to be completely surprised when her weapon hit her treacherous teammate square in the tits with a massive fireball.
What? What just happened?
Then a Beringel sized fist made flush contact with Bleiss's face and the world exploded. If Mountainous Mounds had her gauntlets on, it would have been over then and there. Bleiss knew that. On an instinctual level, Bleiss comprehended that Aura alone probably saved her neck from being snapped from the raw hellacious power behind the blow. Bleiss flew down almost the entirety of the length of the hall. Definitely dazed, her instincts were still well honed and Bleiss managed to change the unfortunate momentum into a roll to regain her feet. Bleiss then managed to mostly avoid Yang's follow up, although even a clip from Yang when she really wanted to hurt you was no joke. Bleiss responded by landing a snap kick to Yang's knee causing the bigger woman to stumble. To create more space Bleiss slashed at Yang's back as she stumbled past, scoring a minor hit. The normally black themed Huntress then scored a solid jab with her rapier as Yang turned, forcing the brawler even further back. Yang tried to work herself back inside, but Bleiss stepped back into a perfect riposte that had Yang wrongfooted as well as neatly setting up the Overly Endowed for a lunge. Smirking, Bleiss spun the dial, counting clicks before she hit the trigger, ready to use the remainder of her ice Dust to truly end things…
Only for the raw energy propellant she used to speed up her summoning to arc out uselessly at the end of her strike.
Yang's answering uppercut wasn't nearly as useless.
Bleiss felt the fist. Then she felt her head impact something very solid that nonetheless gave way as she spun wildly through the air. There was the distinct sound of breaking glass. Then Bleiss was in freefall.
Luckily enough though, this time Bleiss managed to hold onto her weapon. Groggily, she spun the cylinder, meaning to use energy propellant to summon a Nevermore. Gravity dust then erupted from Mordkesser.
Her fall gained an absurd amount of momentum.
Oh right, Mordkesser wasn't on ice Dust now was it It was already on energy propellent?
Bleiss absently wondered who of the three dumb bitches she had been saddled with had thought to fuck with her loadout? Ruby? Bleiss didn't know her pet had it in her.
This is such fucking unfair way to die!
Something stopped Bleiss just before she became red, and inexplicably white, smear on the pavement. Something familiar. Bleiss snorted some of the blood out her nose. She might have known.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Glynda thundered.
Bleiss shook the cobwebs out as she drifted slowly to the ground. The former heiress rose to a sitting position. She then closed one nostril so she could blow snot and blood out of the other. She then reversed the procedure. She looked at the blood stained, and still hideously blue, dressing gown and absently hoped Jaune wouldn't see her like this.
Glynda looked on at her in horror. Something odd clicked in the back of Bleiss's brain.
Huh… I could have sworn Glynda was already showing…
The young woman shrugged. It didn't really matter right now. Bleiss rose to her feet, her back and knees popping painfully as she did so.
Somewhat absently, Bleiss told her mom's best friend the most important details about the morning. "Oh you know how it is. You wake up after smashing a terrorist cell only to find a giant fucking scar on your face. You then voice your displeasure over what has occurred and try to figure out whose fucking idea it was. In that admittedly heated moment, your crush finally asks you to the dance. With all that going on you fail to realize someone fucked with how your weapon was loaded just as the world's least funny comedian sucker punches you from behind. It's just one of those fucking mornings, you know?"
Glynda was gaping at her for some reason. Bleiss rolled her eyes as she she steadied herself on her feet. Staring intently at the hole in the wall she was just blasted out of, Bleiss almost absently told Glynda, "Yeah I'm swearing. Yeah I know it irritates Mom. Just let me be pissed this morning, and rat me out later." Bleiss's eyes narrowed as Yang finally made her appearance up above. Bleiss looked at the weapon that had betrayed her, deliberately selected a white cylinder. Voice molten with rage, Bleiss finished with, "You know, like after I finish force-feeding that gaping twat up there her own tits."
A huge Nevermore, an exact replica of the one Bleiss had used Ruby to explode during initiation, started to form behind her. This was the largest glyph Bleiss was capable of using. She growled viciously, but, unfortunately, there was no denying her focus of will was quickly wavering. Bleiss knew it was because her aura now had to be on fumes. Even having her Semblance amped by the energy propellant in her vandalized weapon was soon insufficient.
"Not yet you fucking weak willed..." Bleiss growled out at herself. Determined to hold on, she continued to push.
It wasn't enough. The young Huntress just couldn't sustain it. Even as she zeroed her own Aura.
Bleiss Schnee fell to her knees unhinge as the world swam. Vision blurry, she did witness Yang leap out of the window. The tall blonde moved stand over Bleiss just as the world was truly graying out. The last thing Bleiss saw before unconsciousness claimed her was Yang staring down at her with a face of naked fury.
Bleiss wasn't impressed, even if her Aura was already into overdrive as it sapped her body's energy reserves from Semblance overextension.
World already gone, Bleiss blindly promised her Teammate something she absolutely meant.
"This ain't fucking over."
Yang merely nodded once at the now unconscious victim of Semblance over-draw.
/|\ /|\
Green eyed jealousy burned bright and hard. Like envious emerald suns.
The applause from the cafeteria was subsiding, but the look of enraptured awe on Jaune's face was not.
Pyrrha's knuckles whitened around the fork in her hand, even as the hapless utensil seemed to scream under the pressure of her rage fueled and Aura enhanced muscles. Jaune started to turn towards her. Pyrrha quickly closed her eyes lest he see.
He babbled something, Pyrrha heard it clearly, but pretended not to as she mentally reset herself.
Jaune asked his question again, "Did you know Bleiss could sing?" Pyrrha did not, and absently admitted so. Jaune continued to go on with his insufferably bubbly tone as he pointed out to the entirety of Team JNPR, "She so good!"
Nora glanced at Pyrrha, read her like a book, and valiantly pretended she had not stood to applaud. Pyrrha's teammate hedged, "Eh, I've heard better."
Ren glanced around at the team, saw everything in a glance, and decided to beat a hasty retreat. Pyrrha couldn't really blame him. Ren told the table, "I'm going to head over early to Port's class and get a good spot. I don't want to miss anything." Nora's eyes lit up. Whether for her one-sided crush on Vale's most eligible bachelor or simply because this was the perfect excuse to make a run for the hills, Pyrrha couldn't say for certain.
Jaune continued to babble onward about his surprise and admiration for she-who-should-not-be-named's newly revealed talent. Quite deliberately, Pyrrha tuned Jaune out and focused most of her attention on team JNPR's homeroom class. Otherwise she might truly snap.
At Beacon, it remained a heated debate among students on which teacher was actually better, Goodwitch or Port. Pyrrha half smiled in whimsy as Nora was both a sucker for both smashing things violently and for violently exploding things. Thus Nora had both feet firmly in the Port Camp of the debate. Pyrrha probably hedged towards Goodwitch, even is even if the combat instructor was highly partial to that dark haired—
"Do you think I should tell her how good her singing was?"
Pyrrha couldn't quite hide a wince. Voice deliberately dull to hide everything else, Pyrrha answered his question. "I don't think that's a good idea, Jaune. You know how she gets."
Jaune bit his lip, then confided, "I think she's mad at me."
Pyrrha thought of Adel's strange and unexpected challenge. She wondered what angle the hated one was now attempting. Undoubtedly, something that would lead to further humiliation for Pyrrha. "I doubt that. She's just trying something new."
Jaune's voice wasn't completely convinced, "Maybe." Then his eyes lit up as that awful woman walked by, surrounded by a gaggle of new sycophants who had somehow forgotten just who they were praising. Of course Bleiss lead them this way even though Port's class was always conducted in the courtyard on Fridays.
The vile thing was undoubtedly ready to capitalize on as of Jaune's admiring expression.
Jaune stood, moved to intercept her path so he could gush all over Team RBBY's blackest heart, only for Pyrrha's enemy to narrow her eyes in warning. Now unsure, Jaune fell out of the evil one's path. Thankfully, with complement left unsaid.
Jaune sat down dejected, and much to Pyrrha's horror, looked somewhat forlorn. "Yeah, she's definitely mad at me."
Pyrrha moved to correct or console him. Maybe both? However, the right words just wouldn't come out. They never did. Not until the moment was truly past. Jaune quietly grabbed his stuff and moved towards Vale's courtyard where homeroom would be held. His posture was that of the defeated. It was a posture Pyrrha knew she herself, for the first time in her entire life, had adopted. Before much longer, and all too quickly, Pyrrha had the cafeteria to herself. She looked down at the table, only now noticing that every utensil on it had been twisted into knots by her inability to keep her soul in check.
Emerald suns burned where Bleiss Schnee had passed. Pyrrha consoled herself with one fact. Goodwitch was done throwing obstacles in Pyrrha's way.
Come this afternoon, Pyrrha Nikos would finally, finally get her hands on her nemesis.
So yeah, believe it or not, I updated it.
Bleiss is fun for me because she really can be anything I want her to be. Setting Weiss in her world is just a joy to write. Setting Bleiss into Weiss's... well that's harder.
Special thanks to Paulternative, LaughingLefou, and CyanideSins who spent some of their time shooting the shit with me on Discord. Talking about how Adel and Bleiss would get along should they be friends and how Bleiss might affect Team CFVY. Others chimed in, but those three wasted the most time talking with me.
Hey sorry if you read my stuff and have wondered where I've been. My excuse is summed up on my author page. It just hasn't been my year.
Thank you all for reading. Thank you very much.
Be safe and well.