Big Issues

AN: I'm really hoping I can make my deadline, which means I need to pump out two more chapters this month at the very least. Wish me luck in that endeavor. Until then, I hope you all enjoy.

Escalation

Dr. Hemo was having a peaceful day with things winding down since the Fall of Beacon. It had been a few months since that fateful night and he was spending the day going over some of the records of his current patients. It was both something that helped him relax as he enjoyed doing things at his own pace and it kept him from becoming complacent.

Doing this had another purpose, one was a point of pride, it kept him more personal with his patients. They relaxed more, were open about their health issues, and were treated to the best of his ability. Which combined to make him rather successful compared to many of the doctors over on the mainland who barely spent any time with one patient before moving onto the next. He also knew that it was part of the difference between city life and a small town like Patch.

He jotted down some notes as he compared the results from multiple examinations of the expectant mother. He'd make sure that she'd get a few extra vitamins and iron before she gave birth. That done, he closed the file and opened the next.

Yang Xiao Long

He felt sorry for the girl, having to deal with The Issue at Beacon that made her more than double her weight, though from what he saw from the Vytal Tournament, the gains didn't hold her back much.

Then the invasion of the Grimm and White Fang that nearly cost the girl her right arm. And now Ruby had left the island with some friends on a mission to Mistral for something he didn't pry into.

But as he read through the files for Yang, he began to notice a pattern emerging. With that in mind, he pulled up everything in Yang's file on his computer, which went back to her birth on the island. Going through it, he saw every checkup and every recorded injury she had from scrapes when she was young, to illnesses, to a broken arm after she unlocked her semblance and punched a brick wall hard enough that her aura broke along with her left arm.

The records from her time at Beacon were mostly attributed to The Issue and monitoring her weight gain and the effects on her. It was noted that food was rationed for all on campus and Yang had increased her training. Normally, that would be enough to deal with normal weight gain but having your body filled with chemicals that altered the normal fat storage activities was far from normal.

But the records show that Yang was healthy through all of that up until the attack that nearly cut her arm off. The extensive surgery to reattach the limb and the following stresses of effectively losing her dominant hand, her team divided, her disgrace at the Tournament- that had been revealed as a setup by Cinder Fall and her group of conspirators- and general inactivity since coming home didn't help her much.

The young woman who could light up a room just by walking through the door with her personality had dimmed considerably. He could only imagine how broken she could have been if things were worse. With how open Yang has always been with her emotions, it could've been like dropping a bonfire into the ocean during a hurricane.

He found it hard not to notice that Yang leaned on Denko for support, a reversal of when he would lean on her when they were younger. Since Qrow had found Denko and Itazura while in Vale with his nieces , the four kids had been very close. It was good that the trend continued as they grew older, through their time at Signal and until now.

But from the records he was comparing, he'd need some specialist opinions. He began to look up the information of doctors in Vale while noting to get a full exam for Yang done soon.

—-

Ruby couldn't help but sigh in boredom. It wasn't as if she was in bad company but that she and the other four had run out of things to talk about to pass the time as they hiked across Anima. It didn't help that she had vastly misjudged how long it would take to cross the continent; she had somehow forgotten that Anima is the largest landmass on Remnant.

The ferry ride from Patch to Vale was as easy as walking. The takeoff from Vale to cross the ocean went without a hitch aside from the delay waiting for the supplies. The crossing of the vast expanse of water was boring quite quickly, seeing nothing but water, water, and more water for hours on end. The real excitement came as they passed over the coastline, a brief scuffle with a murder of small Nevermore. It's not that the birds were able to do too much on their own to the craft but as a group they would attack the sensors and seals on the doors and windows.

The pilot was able to shake them well enough with little more than a few scratches on the glass and paint job. A few even got sucked into the engines, never to be seen again. Then there was the storm that seemed to have sprung from nowhere as they flew over a small mountain range. Wind and rain battered the Bullhead relentlessly, leaving the pilot and Pyrrha to do their best to keep the aircraft as steady as possible.

Then lightning struck the hunk of flying metal, knocking out the systems and sensors, including the engines. Leading to the scariest several minutes of the occupants lives, the pilot was good enough to control the descent through the manual controls while restoring some of the sensors before the storm forced the craft into a crash landing.

The good news was that nobody was killed. The bad news was that they were stuck in a ruined vehicle in the middle of Grimm infested wilderness being bombarded by a massive thunderstorm.

And it got worse when the Grimm came to investigate, drawn by the fear and confusion of the conscious passengers. The five Huntsmen and Huntresses had to fight them off in that storm while dealing with the injured people.

They had to let the storm pass before they could properly check out the Bullhead, finding that it was totaled, and they dismantled parts of it to help carry the worst of the injured and as well as the cargo. The pilot made sure that he took as much of the Dust used in the engines as he could recover, citing that it cost too much to leave behind and would be useful as they traveled.

If it had just been RNNJR, they could have been to their destination in a day or two, coincidentally the town they had been flying to in the first place. With the passengers and the load they were carrying, it took five days. Five days of escorting civilians that acted as a flare for Grimm. Five days of doing their best to conserve their limited ammo stores.

If there was a silver lining to the situation, it was that the village was extremely grateful for bringing the people and supplies to them. In return, the team of five had a good place to rest and restock on their food, water, and ammunition.

While the village had a supply of ammunition for themselves and were willing to part with what the Huntsmen and Huntresses could carry as part of their payment, they lacked the high caliber rounds that Ruby used and the grenades for Nora. With Jaune not even having a ranged option for combat and Ren and Pyrrha's needs covered, those three were gathering the supplies for traveling through the wilderness and maps of the area.

Which left Ruby and Nora to spend their time trying to make their own munitions with what tools and supplies were available. Lucky for them that this sort of self-reliance was taught at Beacon and Signal and Ruby had her own crafting kit, if basic, for traveling.

However, their stay in the village came with a few questions. Not something easy about their goals as Huntresses or their past missions, Nora and Ruby were happy to share those stories. No, the people were curious about their weight as they've never seen a Huntsman or Huntress so doughy before. Especially when the girls easily outweighed the boys.

"Hehe… funny you should mention that." Ruby scratched the back of her head. Unfortunately, she had been so focused on catching up on her schoolwork with Weiss and Yang tutoring her on top of their normal homework, the team training to improve their skills, the investigations into the White Fang, and preparing for the Vytal Tournament that all she knew about The Issue was that there was something in the water. Then, when the Tournament began, they had been given medicine to stop the stuff in the water from making them get fat… fatter.

Fortunately, Pyrrha happened by and stepped up to explain what had been done to the Huntsmen Academies and the students before things went downhill at the Tournament. Ruby slipped away as the other girls drew all attention to themselves.

Ruby walked away, glad that her cloak obscured her true size from behind. It was embarrassing to find out that her skirt rode up thanks to her belt pulling it up as her belly jiggled and hips swayed. This left her constantly tugging it down to cover herself, though the shorts underneath maintained her decency… if one counted shorts that were little bigger than her underwear. She was really hoping now for an opportunity to change her outfit, something that she and her team had mentioned a few times back at Beacon.

She eventually found herself in a quiet part of the small village where she was able to plop her plump body on a wooden was odd to think that she was used to the sound of furniture creaking under her weight by now, but the sixteen year old knew that she hadn't lost much of her second round of 'baby fat' since she started training again at home- mostly only the weight she had gained during her recovery- let alone the week since she and her friends left Patch.

"So this is where you got to." Jaune pulled the younger girl from her troubled thoughts as he sat down next to her. The blonde knight hadn't gotten any slimmer since they set out either, though the hoodie he wore helped to hide the gut that spilled over his belt.

"Yep." The rotund girl dropped her elbows onto her knees and propped her face up with her hands.

"Got all of your ammo ready?"

"What I could make, yep."

"Make anything for Nora?"

"We made it work."

Jaune could see that she wasn't really into the conversation. He had caught a glance of Ruby when she was getting swarmed by questioning villagers before seeking out his fellow socially awkward friend. Yet he could tell that it was more than just questions that had the girl down; she was worried about leaving Yang behind at home. Add in that she was upset that she was never able to say goodbye to Weiss and Blake, the last time she saw either of them in person, one was nearly eaten by a Grimm and the other had been stabbed and bleeding.

All she had was a collection of pictures and videos on her new scroll. She had told them that her old one was shot by Mercury back in Amity before everything went to crap.

And the fact that he knew that the CCT in Beacon had yet to be repaired fully. Last he heard, they were trying to get enough done for communications between councils of the four Kingdoms. Global communication like they had before the attack on Beacon was unlikely to be restored until later in the year.

"You know, it's gonna be a few months on the road until we get to Mistral." He asked, hoping that shift in the topic would pull her out of her funk.

"That long?"

"Anima is a big place. But we have our maps and almost everything ready to travel."

"I guess we leave first thing in the morning."

"They are going to give us a big breakfast before we go." Ruby's head snapped to Jaune at that. "They insisted." He elaborated with his hands raised.

"That's nice of them." Ruby smiled at the prospect. Having a meal before they left meant that they didn't have to cook on the road immediately or delayed from cleaning up. During the days coming to the village, they had agreed on a rotation for cooking meals.

As expected, Ren was a good cook, Jaune had been a surprise with what he could whip up with meager supplies. Ruby and Nora were best for simple meals, and Pyrrha… her cooking was edible. Turns out for all of her combat prowess, those skills didn't translate to meal preparation.

—-

To say that the occupants of the home were pissed would be an understatement. The only thing keeping the rest of the island from hearing calls for an army was that most of the people in the room had either been in the action of the events that were told, or had a week to come to terms since they heard it before. Either way, it wasn't pleasant to recount again for any of them.

As for the other two… Kali would need a way to get blood off the floor since Sienna had squeezed her fists so tight that her nails had dug into her palms, the steady dripping proof of how badly she had done so. For Ilia, she was highly conflicted as while she wasn't opposed to more drastic actions than what Sienna generally allowed, she was now facing the reality of where that path led.

It didn't help that Itazura had security video of the attacks and the scar on Blake's belly said enough. And it was only a fraction of what had happened.

"Damn it!" Sienna screamed as she punched the floor. While she didn't break the floorboards with the blow, she did leave a large blood splatter.

"What do you know about Adam Taurus right now? Where is his location?" Ghira requests from the current leader of the White Fang.

Sienna took a few deep breaths to calm herself before looking at her old friends with an odd smile. "Would you believe I had him locked in a guest room at the palace before I left?"

That certainly garnered everyone's attention as they were expecting to have a weeks long search for the man. And they certainly weren't expecting such a mundane punishment in progress for his actions.

"What?" Sun managed to fill the silence.

Sienna finally relaxed a little and allowed her aura to activate to begin healing her hands. "I had sent for him to report back to the palace to speak to me directly about what was happening in Vale because I was getting scattered and mixed reports about the branch's actions. Coincidentally, that was beginning around the same time you left the White Fang, Blake."

The girls' eyes widened as her parents looked at her. Then her eyes squeezed shut as she bowed her head. "It's my fault. I should have tried to talk out of things like that."

As fast as she broke down thinking about what she could have done with tears in her eyes, Sun wrapped his arms over her shoulders to draw her into a hug.

"Blake. You told me how much of an asshole he was becoming when you were with him." He may have been speaking quietly but three of the women watching had an extra pair of sensitive ears heard him. "You told me how you tried to keep him from lashing out."

"I know!" Blake blurted out, throwing her arms around him as the tears ran freely. "But I couldn't put up with him anymore. His attacks on people, his ideas for subjugating humans…me."

Once again, righteous anger exploded within the Belladonna home as the parents nearly repeated their march from the first time they had learned of what Adam had done to their daughter. Kali was only calmed by seeing Sun comforting her daughter, allowing her to have the mind to reign in her husband.

As for Sienna, the humor she had before was now purged and replaced with anger and disappointment. She had seen his drive and skill years ago and as she worked her way up the ranks, she had pushed for Adam to climb the ranks as well. He had been the one she turned to for his strength, a demonstration that their power earned them respect from the populace, his popularity and leadership skills making operations go smoother.

She may have pushed for a far more violent approach than what Ghira had led with; keeping up the protests but vandalism of stores and restaurants that would discriminate became encouraged. Faunus who were attacked would find their attackers attacked in return. Businesses that exploited Faunus labor would face sabotage and thefts. But she always made sure that injuries on those they attacked were minimized because the point was the message that the Faunus weren't going to take the abuse any longer. Dead bodies wouldn't spread the message as well and they would have the police or Huntsmen coming after them as a result.

But from what Adam has been doing… This was a declaration of war. A war that she did not want, knew that they couldn't win, and knew that the majority of Humans and Faunus didn't want. She knew of the minority of human groups that pushed for war and slavery of the Faunus again; she made sure to track as many of their members as possible and counter them at every opportunity. Yet she was staunchly opposed to reversing the roles on the humans.

Obviously, Adam didn't share those same sentiments. And it seemed that she was the one most responsible for fostering the monster that he's become. A mistake that she was more than willing to correct.

For Ilia, so much of what she had thought was right, or at least justified, seemed to be crumbling down. Adam had been idolized by many in the White Fang as someone who had escaped from slavery in the Dust mines and fought back against those who subjected others in the same way.

The young man who was able to lead, had charisma, and the power to fight off many of the biggest threats by himself. Someone who held nearly as much sway in the organization as Sienna does and he used that influence for the biggest atrocity the world has seen in over eighty years.

And seeing the results of the attack made her sick. Even worse was that Itazura had informed them all that Adam wasn't even the leader of the attack, but simply working under Cinder who was using him for manpower and their aligned goals of destruction.

And to think that she was nearly all for following his ideas and plans. There was a mantra that was spreading 'For the good of the Faunus' among the ranks, it wasn't something that would draw attention but it was used among those who were more willing to follow a path of violence. To follow Adam.

She began to feel sick in her stomach.

"What are you going to do?" Itazura breaks the silence as she watches everyone process their feelings and thoughts.

-—-

Weiss sighed as she stepped off her scale. Once again she found that she had yet to lose any real weight. Her training was intense, missions were often, she ate balanced meals, and somehow found time to talk to Robyn on occasion.

The body was a wonder of nature no matter the species. So many parts moving together to make a whole function. Plenty of redundant parts and self-repairing systems complete with many ways to observe and react to the world around the body as well as remembering the stimuli for the future.

But for Weiss, her body seemed to hold onto the weight from The Issue. In fact, many had a hard time trying to lose more than a few pounds while putting in efforts that should have made them lose fifty. It was odd that from what she had heard from the students she passed, there were more than a few who put on some weight after taking the medicine while the school had temporarily stopped classes. Many of those had gone home and gotten away from the strict diet that had only done so much to help them.

But the appearance of the fat accumulated since the medicine was taken was like normal fat, easily worked off with the activities of a Huntsman or Huntress. But that created by The Issue… seemed to be far more stubborn and determined to stay.

That's not to say that Weiss was unhappy with the increase to her bust size, having been the flattest of her friend group, but she would have preferred to not have the hips. And she certainly never thought that she'd ever have this body type until it grew on her, literally and metaphorically. Not even when she entertained the thought of having kids.

Giving the scale a final scowl before dressing herself and leaving her room for dinner with the team. At least the bright side was being there with Winter allowed her to bond with her sister. Marrow and Farkas are good company, as is Elm. Clover was alright while Vine was… aloof. It was only Harriet that got on her nerves but she did her best to ignore the jabs and let the others serve as a buffer between them. Elm was simply a human wall that would block her from sight and drown out her voice often.

She turned a corner to find General Ironwood standing nearby and apparently waiting for her. "Miss Schnee, a word please."

The part that she called her 'Miss' gave her some confusion but it meant that they were speaking outside of the normal chain of command. Normally she was Cadet Schnee while they were together. "Of course."

They fell into step as they walked down the hallway, the Headmaster subtly leading her through the lines of students on their way to the evening meal. Weiss didn't exactly know where they were going but it didn't take them long to leave the paths normally used by students and a few halls that lead to the military side that she had come to know fairly well. And still they kept going towards the science division where she had no clearance nor much desire to enter, even if she was admittedly curious as to what happened behind the sealed doors.

"Um… Sir? Where are we going?" Weiss finally asks as they pass by several large windows that revealed numerous scientists and engineers doing a variety of tasks that she couldn't explain without watching for at least a few minutes or reading their notes.

Ironwood paused in front of another security door that he was about to use his passcode to open and turned to her. A quick glance showed that nobody was in the hall with them and everyone else was behind their own secure doors. And he let out a heavy sigh that made him look more tired than the early beginnings of a beard he was growing.

"You've made several connections during your time at Beacon, did you not?"

"Yes?" That wasn't a question she had been expecting but still answered honestly.

"I know it's been hard for you being separated from your friends like this but you have been making surprising progress during your time with the Ace Ops."

"Thank you, sir. And yes… it was hard to leave them. Yang and Pyrrha hurt like they were. And I couldn't even say goodbye to Ruby properly."

"Yes, well I believe that you can talk it out with someone who was there. She's been asking about you for a while."

"Who?" There weren't many people from Atlas that she knew of from her time at Beacon. Of course, there were a few in her year who had chosen to go there as she did and Velvet from Team CFVY hailed from the frozen kingdom. Otherwise, there was Flynt Coal and Neon Katt from Team FNKI who she and Yang had fought during the doubles round of the Vytal Tournament. And there was Penny…

"You'll see. They live back here right now but should be back on their feet soon." The General was vague.

Now Weiss could only think that there was someone from the Tournament who had gotten hurt and if they were here, they must have been badly hurt. There was a good chance that prosthetics were needed to help them; Atlas having the most advanced and best designed artificial limbs and organs in the world with General Ironwood being a prime example.

They finally came to a door at the end of a hallway that lacked windows like the others. The door also seemed to be a bit more reinforced than the others but the small decorations around the door like tiny Grimm figurines and snowflakes hanging from strings as well as a few pink bows made the increased security even odder to Weiss.

"Doctor! I've come as you asked!" James called out to the surprisingly large space that was filled with tools, equipment, tables with partially assembled machines on them, and doors to other rooms, one of which looked to be a kitchen and lounge indicating that it was likely the occupants did more than the standard shifts here.

There was a small bang from something being dropped and rolling around from behind one of the closed doors, followed by some mutterings. "Ah James! I'm glad you're back!" A voice came over the speaker system clearly. A camera moved to focus on the pair at the main entrance that Weiss took notice of and looked at directly. "And I see you brought our guest too! Come on over, you know the way. I'll just finish this up quickly."

"Thank you Pietro." James says as he gestures for Weiss to follow him.

"Sir, who are we seeing?"

"Just a few moments and your question will be answered." Ironwood smiles back at her. "Just don't hit any of the things on the tables; they tend to be delicate until they are finished."

Weiss huffed at the slight dig at her weight but followed anyway. That didn't stop her from looking at the different parts she passed, trying to identify what was being worked on and failing. On one table though, there appeared to be a pair of shoes that had been taken apart. That only made her more curious.

"Ah! Welcome, we've been waiting for you." An older man in a chair with legs greeted them as the door opened.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" The heiress asks politely.

"Where are my manners!" The man chuckled. "I'm Doctor Pietro Polendina."

The name made Weiss freeze up as the name brought flashes of her memories of the Tournament to the forefront. "Um… I…"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Miss Schnee. I've heard plenty about you already. Even saw your matches in the Tournament. Rather impressive group of friends you have with half of the finalists being among them."

"How did you hear about me? I doubt General Ironwood was singing praises about me." Weiss tried to reason.

"You are skilled and among the best of your year, I'll admit." James shrugs as he leans against a table with his arms crossed, looking almost as though he were waiting for something to happen.

"Winter isn't one to brag."

"True."

"I doubt any of the others on the team come here regularly."

"She's getting warmer." Pietro laughed softly as Weiss began to pace as she thought.

"But who would know me well enough to talk about who I am? And not some article from a tabloid, again."

"Salutations!"

"Eek!" The heiress jumped and spun around towards the source of the sound, but her eyes were closed with a hand on her chest. "Great, now I'm hearing things."

"Well… if you're hearing things, that means your ears are working just fine."

"Of course my ears are working if I can hear Penny. I'm just afraid that I may be going crazy and imagining that I'm talking to a dead girl."

"Silly Weiss! I wasn't dead, I was in hibernation mode to preserve myself until my father could repair me."

"That seems convenient." Then the conversation caught up to her and she spun around to see a large chamber capable of holding a person with glass on the front to allow the contents to be viewed. Inside the chamber, there was Penny Polendina suspended inside by a pair of clamps over her arms near her shoulders and another around her waist.

She looked much like Weiss remembered her, red curly hair, green eyes, freckles, and a smile. But she was quite different below her head though, lacking skin completely to expose the metal body underneath. Eyes trailed over the body to find that the damage from the Vytal Tournament was gone completely, most likely replaced.

"Penny?"

"Don't you recognize me? Maybe I should have gotten dressed first." It was then that Weiss noticed that there wasn't a stitch of clothing on the android girl. Then again, she lacked anything that should be concealed but her chestplate did have some form for breasts when her epidermis would be on her.

"Gah!" Weiss raised her arms to cover her sight out of instinct but the reality of the situation began to sink in. Behind her, the two men shared a laugh as they watched the interaction.

"Oh, it makes me so happy to see the two of you together. This is the happiest I've seen my daughter in weeks since I was able to stabilize her core and memory units and bring her back online." Pietro says.

"I'm glad to see Penny too but why is she in there?" Weiss asks.

"Not all of my systems are functional quite yet and father is considering some upgrades for me while I'm in this state. Also, this is essentially my bed while I'm home." Penny cheerfully explained.

"My daughter is correct, she isn't quite what she used to be, quite yet. But I plan on making her even more durable than before and a few minor upgrades that have actually been in the works since before her trip to Vale may be in order." Pietro walks around to put his hand on the glass separating him from Penny where she shakily raised hers to his hand.

"Is… is she able to come out of there?"

"Her chamber? Of course she can, though for now she's only been moving from there to her table to be worked on and back since she woke up again." The father tells her.

"But that brings us to another point; the main reason that you are here." Ironwood suddenly jumps into the conversation. With three pairs of eyes on him, one of which knowing what he was going to say, the General continued. "Given your past with Penny, we felt that it would be best for her to have some form of interaction beyond what she is able to access through the terminals that Pietro allows her to use."

"So… a friendly interaction?" Weiss clarifies.

"Precisely." James nods in confirmation. "If you accept and don't mind coming down here to speak with Penny every so often, I can allow you clearance to come to Pietro's lab here in Atlas Academy."

Weiss couldn't believe it. She was being offered to reconnect and hang out with a friend that she had thought for months had been dead. And all she had to do was say yes.

"What's the catch?" Her voice took a hardened edge.

"You spent too much time around your father, I see." James gives a wry smile. He caught the small glare at the mention of Jaques and moved on. "The only catch would be that Penny will be unable to leave the lab, for now. She'll have her time to recover and in that time will earn herself greater freedoms to move about the Kingdom. When that time comes, we'd prefer if she had some people we can all trust to look after her."

Weiss looked back at Penny behind her glass. "What do you say?"

The redheaded android only took a few moments to process the request before her arms raised as high as her restraints would allow her. "That would be sensational!"

—-

Yang couldn't help but feel nervous as she sat in the small waiting room of Dr. Hemo at Signal Academy. It did help that Denko and her father were sitting with her, though she never thought that the arms of the chairs would make the seat feel so small. Another reminder of just how big she had gotten since she had graduated from this school just over a year ago.

On the other hand, being called into the office in a school, in her experience, was usually a bad thing. Having her father and uncle teaching at the same school she attended didn't grant her any favors, it just made sure that homework couldn't be 'forgotten', disruptions in class would lead to being grounded, and in their classes in particular; punishments would be harsher from them to ensure that favoritism couldn't be used as an excuse from the other students or their parents.

Luckily, they didn't have to wait too long before Dr. Hemo called them into his examination room. It was odd for her to relax a bit when she was motioned to sit on the padded table rather than a chair.

"How are we doing today?" The doctor asks as everyone settles in, though his focus was on Yang.

"Not too bad, could be better." She shrugs, her right arm only moving thanks to the sling over her shoulder. Truthfully and internally, she knew that she was getting into a bad cycle of being depressed about not being able to do what she wanted. That led to her eating her worries away only to further the depression as her waistline grew. And the cycle continued.

She was lacking the motivation to do much to change that as well. She recognized that and it fed into her depression like her working arm fed her mouth.

Her family was always supportive of her since Beacon, not being pushy or demanding about what she was doing. Denko was willing to help but had the odd habit of ensuring that things she needed required a bit more effort to obtain, like moving her favorite snacks to a higher shelf or relocating them completely so she would have to search for them. She really was hoping that he wouldn't rearrange the contents of the cabinets completely one of these days.

"I suppose so. If you were doing well, we wouldn't be in my office and I'd have less to do." The doctor chuckles, making the three blondes smile at the joke.

"I'm guessing this isn't a social call? Last I checked, the usual checkup isn't until next week." Tai asks.

Dr. Hemo nodded as his face turned serious and he turned to Yang. "I had been going through your records and began to notice a pattern. One that I had to verify with a specialist in these matters."

"What? What do you mean?" Yang could feel her guts twisting.

"Your arm hasn't been healing as well as we thought it would. To be perfectly honest, it hasn't. And it looks to be getting worse."

"Is it because her arm hasn't been moving?" Tai sounded a bit desperate as he asked.

"It's more than just atrophy, Taiyang." Hemo shakes his head. "It's more along the lines of gangrene."

Immediately, Yang teared up and jumped off the table to latch onto Denko. The boy held her as Tai clenched his fists as he did his own emotions. Dangerous diseases that one could pick up in the field were taught early in Signal's curriculum and had refresher courses every year to make sure that the students knew what they were getting into.

Dr. Hemo found it sad that he was used to such sights thanks to his long career as a doctor that specializes in treating Huntsmen and Huntresses. Due to their line of work, they tended to get the worst injuries, provided that they survived the encounter that gave them the wounds. Too many decades of informing patients that they would be losing a limb or forced to retire early.

There were a few that would set out on a very final mission in spite of their injuries. He couldn't fault them too much; those men and women had dedicated their lives to destroying Grimm to keep others safe. He simply made sure that those who did that could make it there. Everyone else, he simply made sure that those who came back from their missions could do so again to the best of his and their ability.

At the same time, the stories told by the friends of those on the final missions were often among the best, their last acts on Remnant preserved for coming generations as displays of the dangers and dedication of what being a Huntsman and Huntress calls for. Signal Academy kept such a collection near the Headmaster's office with a dedicated section for those that hail from Patch.

"But!" The Doctor cuts into the grievances after letting them vent for a minute. "I have consulted with a specialist in this sort of problem and she believes she can help you."

"No joke?" Tai asks as Yang was too upset to speak for herself, though she was listening from her place in Denko's arms.

"This is a discussion about a patient, Taiyang. I don't joke about that while on duty." Dr. Hemo was serious, filling the blondes with some hope.

"What do we need to do?" Denko asks.

"I'll set up an appointment with the specialist for Yang now. She'll take good care of you and present your options. For now, we will need to have another scan so she will have the most up to date information of your condition."

A few minutes later, Yang had stripped down to her underwear and sling and was standing in the full body scanner as she had back at Beacon since the Issue began.

"You really need to watch what you're eating, Yang. You've gained more weight since your last exam." The doctor tells her as Denko is assisting her getting dressed behind him. He heard the huff that he was used to hearing from teenagers as he read over most of the data from the scan, already having sent a copy to the doctor in Vale who would be taking this case.

He spun in his chair to look squarely at the now fully dressed girl sitting on the exam table once more. "I know I may sound like a broken record with this by now, but since you've come home you've put on about fifty pounds. I understand the slum you are in thanks to why you are injured, but you do need to take better care of yourself."

"I'll try." The hefty girl responds.

—-

Two days later, the three blondes walked into the Vale hospital. Much of the worst of the damage to the city had been cleaned up by now with a focus on the most essential services being the hospital area, the power plants, and water filtration centers. With those relatively functional, the people were able to focus on building homes. Money was of little value to the citizens for the past few months, preferring bartering or services rendered in exchanges. Anything to help others live better until businesses would be worth opening again.

Seeing the city recover, if slowly, helped to boost Yang's morale; the last time she saw it in person was on her way home. Now she was about to talk to a specialist about her right arm… and if she'd ever use it again. They were almost immediately shown to the office where they met a woman a few years older than Taiyang.

"Ah, welcome! I'm Doctor Lemnos Hephaestus." The woman greeted them with a smile as she shook hands, promptly gesturing for them to sit.

"Now, I understand that you've been having trouble with your arm." Lemnos points to the sling.

"That's an understatement." Yang grumbles.

"Yes, but it is the unfortunate truth that cases like yours and worse are what provides my employment. However, the number of Huntsmen and Huntresses who have lost limbs have also given me plenty of experience to better help new patients like yourself." The Doctor gives a small laugh, trying to keep the mood relaxed.

"But what can you do to help my daughter?" Tai asks, trying to get to the point of the visit.

"Straight to business then? Very well." Dr. Hephaestus lets out a small sigh as she opens an envelope full of papers, depicting records and images.

"Now, from what I can see from your records from before and after the incident that left your arm in a sling, things aren't looking too good. We had to do some research into the semblance of Adam Taurus." She paused as she noticed five hands tense at the name.

"To keep things simple, his Moonslice allows him to destroy whatever it comes into contact with. In your case, he used up most of the power to break through your aura. But some of his aura carrying his semblance appears to have become trapped inside you. The scans show that the trapped aura above the wound had been overwhelmed by your own and destroyed. But below the attack site, his aura has been acting like a poison or disease that has been preventing the healing process from occurring and eating away at your arm slowly."

She let that set in for a few moments. "Luckily, thanks to the scans on you, we have been able to confirm that all of the problems are below the wound. And you have a few options to choose from for your future."

Yang gulped as she accepted how bad things were getting for her. "Okay."

"Now, the only option you have at keeping your arm would be to undergo a series of surgeries where we would remove the tissues that are far gone, extract the remaining foriegn aura, and begin rebuilding your arm. The bones have been severely weakened and would require some reinforcement and the skin and muscle needed would come from your thighs. Should everything go well with the surgeries and recovery periods and the rehabilitation to get you used to all of the new connections, and your aura boosting the healing process, we would be looking at a minimum of one year.

Also keep in mind that this would only be useful to preserve the functionality of our arm so that day to day tasks can be done. Chances of being able to return to combat as you are used to would be negligible at best." Hephaestus warns.

Yang couldn't hold back her tears as the explanation went on, the hands of Denko and her father on her shoulders were a small comfort.

"The second option would be to simply amputate your arm at the original wound site and close it up. Needless to say, your career choice as a Huntress will require some serious changes if you insist on continuing with only one hand."

"And the third?" Denko asks, trying to speed things up.

"The third option would be the amputation like with option two, except this time we'd rig your arm up with the socket and connections to accept a prosthetic arm to replace the flesh you are used to.

This would be the easiest and best choice for getting back to normal activities as well as your Huntress duties. Of course, there will be a period of time to allow you to heal along with getting used to the new arm and back into training."

"Does the hospital have an arm she could use?" Tai inquires.

"Nothing that she could take for her use. Nearly all replacement limbs have to be tailored to their user. Some craftsmen will have a stock of basic parts for those needing a cheaper alternative. Those for Huntsman duties require additional strength and reinforcement to keep up, along being the best to match the user's proportions.

There have been a few who have used this as an opportunity to fulfill childhood dreams such as having various tools 'on hand' or to have a cannon arm or such."

"Can we have a few minutes to talk?" Tai requests and the doctor nods, moving to leave the room.

"Oh, and by the way, not to influence your decision one way or another but…" she paused to lift her pant legs a bit to reveal a pair of very basic prosthetic legs before pulling the glove from her left hand, showing the far better quality mechanical extremity.

"How" Yang asks quietly as she gazes in wonder.

"Simple version, a shitty father threw me off a cliff when I was young. I got messed up really bad but spent my time learning medicine with a focus on repairing or replacing damaged limbs. As you can see, I've become quite successful in that endeavor." She gives them a wry smile. "It also tends to help my patients when they know that I've been through the pains myself." With that, the Doctor left the room to give them some privacy.

After five minutes of sitting silently as the father and daughter discussed their options and Tai offering fallback ideas, Denko left the room to pace in the hall. The movement helped to calm him slightly and after a few minutes he leaned against the wall with a sigh, pulling out his scroll in the process. As he listened to Tai and Yang talk through the door, as muffled as it was, he began browsing through the hospital's guest network.

Most of what was available is medical information along with a large selection of books and movies. Surely they were for patients and their visitors rather than the staff. But as he was browsing through other services when he noticed that they had less traffic to them, if the reviews and view counter were to be believed.

"Mr. Mori? Is something wrong?" A voice asks, making him jump in surprise.

Standing next to him with a face full of concern was Glynda Goodwitch. The large Headmistress of Beacon Academy looked the same as the last time he saw her, just a bit tired looking with small bags under her green eyes.

"Ah, Glynda! I didn't notice you there."

"Understandable, you were quite absorbed in whatever you were working on." The older blonde dismisses before they stand in silence for a few seconds.

"Hey." Denko begins quietly. "Have you been able to get in touch with Ironwood yet?"

The question caught her off guard but she gathered herself quickly. "We managed to repair the tower enough to establish communications again. However, this is limited to the Council's to use… and a certain select few others. Otherwise, the traffic flow would overwhelm the system before it could be properly repaired."

"Am I one of those people?"

"Not yet but the rest of your team is. I'll make sure you are added to that list once I'm back in my office."

"Out of curiosity, why aren't I yet?"

"Because you are currently established in one location. I know where to find you and local communication still works." She replied, her lips turning up in a smile as she watched him hang his head.

"How is she?" Glynda asks. "I'm sorry that I couldn't have gotten here sooner but I've been extremely busy."

"You've been following up on all of your students?"

"Those that I can, especially those who were injured the most."

"Well… it's not good. It's pretty much a guarantee that Yang will lose her arm and I have no idea if she's gonna want to be a Huntress after that."

Glynda's face fell at the news. In her years as a Huntress, she had seen many fall to depression from injuries sustained from their occupation. Some of them got over it, others found other work. A few… she'd rather not think about what they did.

"Is there anything I can do?" As kind as her words were, there was a touch of desperation.

"Not really sure. I've just been making sure that I'm there for her as much as I can." Denko shrugs.

"I'm sure that she appreciates that."

"Yeah." He agrees before he gets an idea. "But if you want to help…" He opens his scroll again while gesturing for hers.

AN: Enjoy the little surprises? Funny that Pyrrha could be the worst cook on the team and Weiss thought she was hearing voices in her head at first. But things for Yang haven't been all that good and seem to be getting worse news. Let's hope that she can deal with it. And how far will RNNJR make it across Anima before they get into another big fight? All I can say is that the next chapter will be packed with action.

Anyway, until the next chapter. Reviews are welcome.