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Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

Blake had never seen a Grimm when it wasn't on the hunt.

It wasn't something she'd thought about before. Who cared what Grimm did? Their entire purpose was to kill people. Whenever she'd seen the monsters before, it'd been when she was on a mission, when the beasts were stalking for prey or had found innocents they were foaming at the mouth to slaughter. After all that, what reason had she to believe they'd be any different away from humans? They were evil all the time, weren't they?

Except, looking over the legions and legions of gigantic Deathstalkers spread out across the desert… they were actually kind of boring.

They were just sort of… there, skittering across the sands, side by side. Grimm didn't eat, so they didn't hunt. They had learned that attacking the walls of Kuo Kuana would result in most of them dying, so they wouldn't attack without a massive burst of negativity to draw them in. They didn't breed or talk to each other, so there wasn't any social interaction between them. It was an utterly perplexing feeling to look over the bane of all humans and faunus and feel not terror or dread, but complete boredom.

Though, it was also quite intriguing. After all, if one looked over a bunch of humans or faunus, or especially a mix of both, there were going to be conflicts between them, either petty spats or brutal conflicts. But among the Deathstalkers before, none raised a claw towards each other. Perhaps it was just some nuance she was missing, but she wasn't so sure. Perhaps they just had no inclination to harm their kin.

Which, Blake noted with no lack of self-loathing, now included her.

She glanced down at her right arm, the black flesh of a Griffon completely coating her limb, long, razor-sharp talons in place of her fingers. Even such a small fragment of their essence conjured as a part of her, the rest of her still plainly the cat faunus she'd always been, and none of them even looked at her strangely. She felt like one of them, so they would not attack her. Useful, but limited. She'd already seen that the Grimm would scatter if she absorbed one, terrified of losing their consciousnesses, or whatever constituted them for their kind.

And if she attacked? None of them would hesitate to defend themselves.

She wasn't sure if her full-body form would attack them, or obey the intra-species pacifism on instinct, but she didn't want to risk getting mobbed by Deathstalkers so far out or picking a fight with any non-Grimm wildlife. So, recalling what she could of Mira and Elfman's stories, she'd been slowly mastering individual pieces of her Grimm state. Arms, legs, even the internal organs that let her shoot the Sea Feilong's lightning beam, she'd managed to conjure each of them and keep control of herself. And each time, she felt it. The sea of darkness.

No matter how much of a Grimm's form she took upon herself, it was always there. Less for the individual appendages, just a murky swamp up to her waist, but it was there. A pitch-black ocean of hatred and madness and the pure instinct to kill. It was near unbearable, but she needed to learn how to withstand it. This was her power, her burden. It was her responsibility to control it. She couldn't let what happened to Yang happen to anyone else.

But the sun was getting low, and her ethernano stock with it. She got a small boost when she absorbed Grimm, but she didn't have the time to chase an entire pack down after they scattered from her first target. There was nothing more she could do for the day.

Keeping her Griffon arm up, she trekked across the sands and out of the desert, a regretful frown etched on her face. When she'd ventured deeper into the island, she'd quickly sensed a familiar presence in the sky, the same kind of murky magic that had hung above Beacon Tower. Back at the school, she and the others couldn't possibly have known what they were dealing with, but now she knew it was a Fairy Sphere… somewhere.

The magic covered an enormous amount of sky, with her sensory abilities unable to pinpoint an exact location or height where whichever guildmate was locked away. And even if she could, it had taken an errant Fairy Glitter to awaken Wendy and Carla. The Sky Dragon Slayer had assured her that the unlocking spark didn't have to be that ridiculous, but Blake didn't have anything at the level she had described, except maybe the Sea Feilong's full power cannon. Which she couldn't use at its maximum potential unless she was in full-body form.

Another incentive to master her powers.

The shattered moon rose in the night sky when she arrived back at camp, Sun humming to himself as he fried a trio of trout over the fire. They had decided to make their home away from home at the edge of a palm tree forest about half a mile from the city walls. Their proximity to the defenses would keep away any errant Grimm and the very fact that they were outside civilization's protection would keep any White Fang her dad hadn't already kicked off the island from finding out that they were there.

"Welcome back," Sun grinned. "They're almost done."

"Thanks," Blake replied, coming to sit beside him. "You saved the best for last, right?"

"Yup. I'll have to head into town soon to restock, but these are gonna be the fishiest fish you've ever tasted." His eyes flickered to her Grimm arm and he cocked an eyebrow. "I take it training went well today? You usually disperse it entirely before relaxing."

Blake glared at her demonic appendage, willing it away in a rush of darkness. "Well enough. I'll take a stab at full-body in the next few days."

"Next few days? Don't you think that's a little fast?"

She shrugged. "We're on a clock. I need to master my powers, free whoever is in the sphere, and then we need to get to Haven. Salem isn't going to stop trying to take over the kingdoms just because we need training."

"Fair enough," Sun conceded. "Anything extra you want me to do to help you keep control? I can watch over you so you don't run out of magic in the middle of a Grimm horde."

"And get mauled if I spot you when I can't control myself? No," Blake refused. "Just warn the city militia about my weaknesses if I come near the palisade. Their guns won't be much use if I shadow clone my way out of all their shots."

Sun frowned. "If you don't, they'll have no way of knowing it's you. They'll kill you."

Blake glanced away, her amber eyes dancing with the fire's light. She knew she couldn't die for her friends, that wouldn't help anyone. But she couldn't live for them if it meant other people had to suffer.

"So, how was your day?" she asked, eager to change the subject. "Any progress on your magic?"

Sun sighed but obeyed her implicit request. He reached out his hand, his palm facing towards the sky, and closed his eyes.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Is it invisible—"

"Wait for it."

She waited. She waited until the fire began to dim and she had to pull their dinner out of the blaze before it was burned black. In all that time, nothing happened.

At least, Sun peaked open his eyes, looked over his unmarked palm, and sighed. "I was hoping it'd be some sort of 'I need other people around to do it' thing. I've been trying all day and gotten nothing. I've been trying for weeks and gotten nothing. I just don't… feel anything."

Blake placed a soft hand on his shoulder. "I told you it takes time."

"Just to sense the ethernano?"

"There isn't much on Remnant to sense."

Sun's brow furrowed in thought, an uncharacteristic frown marring his face. "And yet, Jaune and the others were able to start pulling it in after a day of training. Maybe I'm just not cut out for it."

Blake looked away in shame. She had her own theory on her friend's lack of progress, but she didn't have enough evidence to be sure, and she didn't want to dishearten him unnecessarily if she was wrong.

"Maybe… maybe I'm just not a good teacher," she wondered aloud. "Ruby was always a better people person, and Erza was more experienced than all of us put together."

"Don't say that," Sun replied. "You're a great teacher. You've had to focus on your training and you still got me this far."

"Which is how far exactly?"

Sun chuckled. "See, you're even learning to joke on the side."

Despite herself, a small smile crept onto Blake's face. Her friend met it for a moment, before his own slowly evaporated.

"I can't learn it, can I?" he asked numbly.

"What? Sun, of course you can—"

"Blake," he cut her off. "Please."

She paused, taking a large gulp as she gathered her thoughts. Then, she spoke.

"According to Qrow, Remnant has had almost no ethernano for a literal eon. Aside from Ozpin and Salem and the maidens, there is no record of anyone discovering magic. We know it's possible, but no one, over thousands and thousands of years has ever even seen it. Why? We know there's ethernano, if not much, so why has no one learned magic who Ozpin didn't say could?"

Sun nodded. "I follow. I assume you have a theory."

"There's ethernano on Remnant, but what if there are no origins to use it? Or at the very least, origins so small that they can't collect enough power for any spell. After all, if a body part doesn't serve some purpose, eventually evolution cycles it out."

"So… my origin isn't big enough? Or I don't have one at all?"

Blake groaned. "I don't know. For all I know, this could be complete nonsense. After all, even if Pyrrha is just a prodigy, and Ruby's eyes have kept her origin healthy, the chances of me, Weiss, and Yang all having Earthland sized origins are less than minuscule."

"Unless the book had something to do with it."

"What?"

Sun shrugged. "Why not? You guys are the only ones who've gone through it, and whoever made it could have put some augmentation magic into it along with the dimension transporting, right?"

"That's… possible," Blake admitted. "I wouldn't put it past Sitara to try something like that."

Sun let out a long sigh and sagged forward, shaking his head in resignation. "It's a shame though. I try to help… and I can't."

Blake scooted closer to him. "Hey, this isn't your fault. It's just how it is."

"I know it's just… do you blame me for what happened at Beacon?"

"What?" the cat faunus squeaked, confusedly. "No! Of course not."

"Yang doesn't either. But I do. If Neptune and I hadn't jumped in when we did, Yang might have been able to get through to you," Sun noted glumly. "I thought learning magic, becoming strong enough to help you guys against people like Cinder, could be my way to make up for it somehow. I thought… just for a second, I thought I could be more than everyone's favorite dancing monkey."

For a moment, Blake couldn't find a response, simply staring blankly back at her friend. "I… I never knew you felt like that."

"Oh, don't me wrong, I love being a dancing monkey. I'm lovable, I'm badass, and put a smile on everyone's face. It's a good gig," Sun remarked. "But against people who can melt skyscrapers? Not much use."

Blake shot him a reassuring smile. "And here I thought you were here to keep me from blaming myself."

Sun managed to sit up and return her smirk. "Guess I'm not the best at practicing what I preach."

"Everyone tries, few succeed."

She leaned across the campsite and picked up the trio of fish on sticks, passing one to her friend. "I am glad you're here, Sun. And I'm thankful that you're willing to come so far, to a barren wasteland in a country you've never been to, so that you can help me."

Sun chuckled, ripping a bite out of his trout. "What are friends for?"

They tapped their sticks together in an impromptu toast and devoured their dinner under the firelight. A wonderful night between friends under the stars and shattered moon.

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Blake had done many things wrong in her life. She'd chosen a violent terrorist group over her parents, spent many years as a terrorist, hurt countless people, including her friends. Normally, the guilt of her actions weighed her down every day, tainted her every action and emotion…

And yet, lying back in a hot spring, the delightfully warm water soaking over her muscles, made that guilt seem far less important.

"This is amazing," She moaned, the steam seeping into her nostrils. "Seriously, I've been to every kingdom on Remnant, how have I never been to one of these before?"

Lucy chuckled from across the bath. "Maybe you just never looked for them. I can't imagine any world without them."

"Eh, I don't know. My world can be pretty terrible, what with the Grimm and racism and… ah, you know, right now I don't really care about any of that," Blake sighed, sinking deeper into the hot spring. "Do you think they'll let us stay in here forever?

"That seems quite unlikely," Virgo claimed, popping up from under the water, the spirit's pink hair completely soaked. "Though if princess would like, we could continuously perform jobs while the two of you remained here. The constant income would allow us to bribe the proprietors."

Lucy cringed. "Let's put a pin in that plan. I've still got to make rent this month."

"As you wish, princess." Virgo bowed, before rising with a grin. "Do you wish to punish me for my impudence?"

The Celestial Spirit Wizard smacked her hand into her face. "You weren't being impudent, and I'm not participating in whatever crazy water bondage you've got in mind."

"Actually, I was wondering if Lady Blake might indulge me in a different kind of punishment," Virgo revealed. "It has been a long time since I encountered a Spirit Take-Over Mage, and Leo tells me the experience is still as unsettling as ever."

Blake wasn't sure quite sure how to feel about that statement. "It's also quite dangerous. If I do it wrong, I could end up absorbing your soul."

"You haven't absorbed Leo's."

"Well, yes, but I've had Mira to coach me through it."

"You won't always have Lady Mira nearby to coach you," Virgo pointed out. "And this way, if something goes wrong, Princess can close my gate and send me back before anything permanent happens."

"That's not exactly reassuring," Blake noted.

"But this job is to see how far you guys have come," Lucy reminded her, though no more pleased about the idea. "If you're comfortable with it, I'll agree."

Blake was very much not comfortable with it. Sure, she'd become pretty good at collecting Loke's power, but one wrong step and she could essentially kill her friend. More relaxed than ever she might have been, but there wasn't a nice enough hot spring in any world to make her risk that. But she didn't want to hurt Virgo's feelings. She needed an excuse. A believable excuse, like… um… her porn addiction! Surely a bondage nut like the Maiden would understand.

Wait, she didn't bring any of her smut! The only book she had was…

"Um, I can't… because… I have to go read the book that Levy gave me, Ozma, the Great and Powerful," she stuttered, rising out of the water. "Yeah, I can't leave it unfinished, or she'll think I was doing… something else."

"Why does that preclude you from punishing me now…" Virgo's voice suddenly trailed off, her cheery smile evaporating. "Did you say Ozma?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Um, yes. Why? Do you… wait. Celestial Spirits are ancient. Did you know Ozma? Was he real?"

"He was very real. A great hero and a great wizard, who died far too soon," Virgo revealed. "The King and Leo went to him for help with a… problem. A problem that was caused by my negligence."

"Virgo," Lucy muttered, placing a calming hand on her spirit's shoulder. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

The maid glanced back at her summoner, a melancholic smile barely making it back to her lips. "It was. And if it wasn't, it certainly was my responsibility. One that I couldn't fulfill, princ… Lucy."

Both Blake and Lucy's eyes widened as the Maiden discarded her usual title of address for her master. They widened even more when she disappeared in a flash of light.

"Well, that's new," Lucy remarked, looking completely uncomfortable. "I've never seen her that unsettled about… well, anything."

"I'm sorry," Blake apologized, sitting back down in the water, its warmth no longer so all-soothing. "I didn't mean to upset her."

"It's fine. You couldn't have known," the blonde replied. "Whatever happened, it was three hundred years ago. That's when Ozma was alive, right? It's been a while since I read that book."

Blake nodded. "I guess I can't really blame her. I'm more than familiar with avoiding awkward conversations, no matter how long ago the topic was."

"Tell me about it," Lucy moaned. "Every time Yang starts flirting, I don't know what to say."

"Really?" Blake inquired, seeing an opportunity to transition to a far lighter topic. "Ever considered saying 'no, thank you'? Yang may be outgoing, but if you tell her you feel uncomfortable, she'll stop."

"No, it's not that kind of uncomfortable. It's not that I'm not interested, it's just... well," she strutted into a sensual pose. "This may surprise you, but despite my gorgeous good looks, I don't get many admirers. Especially not other girls." She went back to normal and scrunched her brow in thought. "Well, except Cana, but I'm pretty sure she's just teasing."

"Do you like other girls? That way?"

Lucy's face suddenly went red. "I may have kept… more than a few of Mira's old shoot spreads stashed away in my room."

Blake smirked. "And you wonder how Yang would look in those outfits?"

"Oh, she'd look amazing. Have you seen her curves? You could put her in a grey t-shirt and baggy sweats and she'd still be a fashion model. She has so much confidence, and fire, and passion…" the Celestial Mage paused mid-sentence as she realized she was rambling. "She's a lot like Natsu, like that."

"Oh? Is Happy right on the money after all?"

Lucy repeatedly opened and closed her mouth, not speaking a word for nearly an entire minute. Until, finally…

"I don't know," she confessed. "If I hadn't met Natsu, so much about my life would be different. I would be different. I would never have joined the guild. I would never have gone to another world, or helped save the kingdom, or made up with my dad. I wouldn't have made more incredible friends than I ever thought I'd ever meet. And yes, maybe that has led me to, in rare moments of questionable sanity, consider that I might care about him in a slightly different manner than the rest of my guildmates."

"And he's hot? You know, obvious pun aside." Blake added.

Lucy sighed. "Yes, fine. He has abs that you could grate cheese on. So does Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Laxus, Elfman, and half the rest of the guild."

"Yeah, that is one of the only perks of being trapped in this world. You know, besides the friends, the magic, and the general lack of racial prejudice. The abundant physical attractiveness of everyone is a definite plus," Blake admitted. "But then what's the issue? You care about both of them, they both care about you, I'm pretty sure they care about each other. This seems like a rare setup for an emotional healthy threesome."

"Well, it's, um…" Lucy scratched the side of her head before dropping her face into her palms. "Why me?"

Blake cocked an eyebrow. "Why 'you' what?"

"Why would they want to be in a relationship with me?" the blonde asked. "I mean, yes, I'm a knockout, but like we said, everyone in the guild is a knockout. Only they're knockouts that can take out giant monsters without breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, I'm running around in the back trying not to get squashed like a bug."

"What are you talking about?" Blake inquired, though she was just realizing that she'd never actually seen Lucy in action. "You're on the Strongest Team."

"And I have no idea why!" Lucy screeched. "I mean, I know 'why', I tagged along on their first mission together, but I keep getting through into these crazy life or death situations because I'm with them, and I handle them the best I can but I'm freaking out the entire time, but I feel like they could deal them so much better. And that on my own… I just can't keep up with them. You guys have had magic for a month and you're already so incredible, Yang especially. Meanwhile, I'm just me. Why would they want to be anything more than friends with someone who's a burden half the time?"

Blake shrugged. "I'm pretty sure people don't choose significant others based on power. And if Yang has taught me anything from her stubborn refusal to let me deal with, well, any of my mistakes on my own, it's that the people who care about you don't mind helping you up when you stumble."

"Yeah, but to do that for… a significant other. Something like that is supposed to be an equal partnership, near-constant companionship. Getting a helping hand when you need it is one thing, but to constantly need them to pick you up? That just seems like a parasite."

"Maybe," Blake conceded. "But isn't it their choice if you're taking more than they're willing to give?"

"Well… maybe…"

Lucy leaned back, and both she and Blake stewed in the hot spring. There was no shame in needing help. But what was the line between being a friend-in-need, and being their partners' burden?

Well, at least there was one thing they could ask that they knew was not malicious.

"Those spreads of Mira… I don't suppose I could borrow them sometime?"

"Oh. Sure, that's alright."

"Thanks."

…

"So, is Yang going to join us anytime so or…"

"She said she and Natsu were going to take a turn on the rides…"

"… The mechanical, moving rides?"

…

"They ditched us to go after the monster, didn't they?"

"Most likely, yes."

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"So, who's this guy again?"

"He's Quatro Cerberus' ace… Bob? Bart? It starts with a 'B'."

The guy in front of them, a muscular fellow with his black hair in a bun and some sort of weird purple armor that only covered his sleeves, sighed. "Bacchus."

"Yes! That!"

"Good to see you too, Salamander. And your smoking new friend here."

"Charmed," Yang replied, appreciative of the complement.

She, Natsu, and Happy had been heading to join Blake and Lucy in the hot spring, when a monstrous rumbling had drawn them to the outskirts of the town. After all, if the giant monster they'd been hired to kill was just going to show up, they couldn't pass up a golden opportunity to stop it.

Of course, it was only after they'd rushed to the scene that they'd learned that the reason their target was stomping around out in the open was because someone else, Bacchus, had beaten them to it, smacking the… hippo… ogre… fifteen-foot tall thing around like it was nothing. She and Natsu had shared a brief look before charging into the fray themselves, the monster quickly laid out on the ground, small brush fires slowly flickering out all around it.

Now it was just three fairies and a wild dog.

Bacchus whistled as he looked Yang up and down. "Got to say, you fairies always have the best-looking dames around. Even the Devil Slayers are knockouts."

"You're not so bad yourself, tough guy. But my eyes are up…" Yang's reprimand caught in her throat as she realized what the other wizard had said. "I'm a what? You know what kind of Slayer I am?"

"Devil Slayer. You know, like Salamander, but for demons and the like." Bacchus explained. "Surprised you didn't know. The only other one I ever met loved bragging about it. At least until I got hired to crush his windpipe for taking a town hostage. Your magic feels just like his, just, you know, fire instead of ice. He mentioned he taught the basics to some other guy… what was his name… Gold? Bronze? Silver? It was some kind of metal. Anyway, I thought that might have been you."

Yang smirked. "Nope. I'm an all-natural demon killer. Handsome here taught me the firepower and I added the rest."

"Yeah!" Natsu cheered. "And if she ever does this fancy metal guy, she'll kick his ass."

"Aye, sir!" Happy chorused.

"Ha!" Bacchus laughed. "Wild! It's never a dull moment with you, fairies. Never change." He turned towards the unconscious monster. "Now then, I've got to figure out how to move this thing."

"Move it?" Yang inquired. "Um, isn't the job to kill it?"

Bacchus scoffed. "Maybe your job. My client wants this alive. They want it for some science project they're up to. Apparently, it makes some sort of magic mucus or something. They're paying a bucketload of jewels, so I didn't ask for details."

"Okay, that's not sketchy at all," Yang snipped. "But our client, the town this thing has been terrorizing, wants it dead."

"So? It'll be gone either way," Bacchus shrugged.

"We were hired to kill it," Yang insisted. "You don't cheat doing a job right on a technicality. We agreed to kill this thing for the town, so we have to kill it. Right, Natsu?"

The Fire Dragon Slayer frowned, glancing over the unconscious hippo-ogre. "I don't know, Yang. Fairy Tail isn't in the business of killing things that can't defend themselves if we don't have to."

"And turning it into a lab rat is better?"

"Look," Bacchus cut in. "I beat the thing. I get to decide what to do with it."

"What?!" Natsu screeched. "We fought it too!"

"After I did most of the work! You don't get to say you fought it when you just showed up for the final stretch!"

"Okay, how about a new final stretch?" Yang suggested.

Bacchus cocked an eyebrow. "You got something in mind, beautiful?"

"You and me, one on one," she challenged, with a wolfish grin. "You win, you get the monster and we help you drag it back to your client, free of charge. I win, we kill it, and you get a third of our job pay in exchange for the work you did do. Either way, you still come out ahead."

"Wait, what about me?" Natsu asked. "Why can't I fight?"

"Um, because this job was for testing how far I've come, remember?" Yang pointed out.

"He remembers," Happy assured her. "He just really wants to fight Bacchus because Erza said he was on par with her. Though, Elfman did beat him so…"

"Elfman beat him with strategy!" Natsu insisted. "And if I take him down, it'll be like taking down Erza by proxy."

Yang smirked, patting her teacher on the side of the face. "Sorry, handsome. You'll have to take a shot at the queen in person. This guy's mine."

"Oh? Am I?" Bacchus smirked, licking his lips. "I don't recall accepting your challenge, beautiful."

"Yeah. But you're gonna, right?"

"Of course. Something like would be wild!" he roared, before calming down into a leer. "But, I want to make a slight addendum to our wager."

Yang shrugged. "Shoot."

"If I win, you lot don't have to help we carry the monster back, I can do that myself," Bacchus said, his tongue flicking over his lower lip. "But instead, you and I spend a night together in town, if you know what I mean."

Yang did indeed know what he meant. If she played her cards right, she had hoped to spend a night just like that with Natsu and Lucy during the mission. But with this guy… well, he wasn't bad looking, and he was hardly forcing himself on her, but she'd still rather not. But she couldn't back out of her own challenge, especially with her word as a huntress on the line. And if this guy really was strong as Erza, there was no guarantee she'd come out on top.

But if Elfman had beaten him, and she was pretty much even with Elfman with only her huntress skills and her semblance…

"Happy, what's this guy's magic?"

"Hey!"

"You already know mine."

"Oh, right. Carry on then."

"Happy?"

"Aye, sir!" the blue Exceed grinned. "Bacchus is a master of Palm Magic, a rather orthodox magic that allows him to focus magic power into his palms to enhance his physical attacks, combining it with his Chop Hanging Palm and Drunk-Chop Hanging Palm martial arts to deliver swift and unpredictable attacks."

Yang cocked an eyebrow. "You fight drunk?"

Bacchus grinned. He unclipped a gourd from his belt and raised it to his lips. "Want a sip, beautiful?"

"Unless you can make a Strawberry Sunrise out of it, I'll pass," Yang smirked and dropped into a ready stance; her fists raised to her face with pink fire leaking from her fingers. "Now let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

"Alright! Your spirit is wild, girl!" Bacchus roared, downing the last half of his gourd and tossing the jug away. "Let's go!"

"Kick his ass, Yang!" Natsu screamed.

"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered.

Yang sent a cocky wink their way and rushed forward, Ember Celica deployed and shooting out in a rapid combination to test the waters.

Heavily intoxicated waters, more like. Bacchus, a significant amount of red swelling in his cheeks, dodged and weaved his way around each of her punch with no apparent effort, as if he was falling out of the way of each strike. But the moment Yang pulled back, planning to regroup, he dashed past her in the blink of an eye, a full third of her aura disappearing as seven hammering blows struck her in what felt like a single second.

She smirked. Just as planned.

Bacchus whirled around and unleashed another brutal barrage, the huntress barely whirling around to block the rapid palm strikes, which made it feel like she was only being trampled by a herd of horses instead of a herd of bulls, which meant she was only sent flying through ten nearby trees instead of a full dozen.

She coughed up a glob of spit. The plan was far more painful than she'd thought it would be. Why do Ruby and Jaune bother with these things?

Oh well, wanton destruction it was.

"Fire Devil's Rage!"

A stream of pink flames erupted from her mouth, searing over the broken tree and dying autumn grass. Bacchus smirked and danced out of the path of the attack, the cast off embers of the blaze bouncing off his shoulder armor.

Yang took in a deep breath and unleashed another breath attack, this time to her opponent's opposite side. Once more, he easily escaped the fire, but now he was surrounded on both sides by flames, cornered like a rat in a cage. He couldn't go right or left, retreating would only delay the inevitable, and thanks to her gauntlets, she would have the mobility advantage in the air. This was her moment.

She leapt forward, throwing her arms back and rocketing herself into the air with Ember Celica's recoil, a rush of flames surging from her feet for extra speed. She twisted as she flew, the blaze wrapping around her until she appeared as a racing pink comet. She was only a foot away from her foe…

When Bacchus twisted down and under her charge, a maneuver that would have looked like a drunken man's fall if she didn't have a perfect view of his cocky smirk. She flew right over him, his palm already pulled back to attack her underside.

Fortunately for her, she'd sparred with Uncle Qrow enough when he was tipsy to predict the gist of an intoxicated man's maneuvers.

"Fire Devil's Twin Horn Rush!"

She twisted her arms around her, sending her body spinning mid-flight, her cocoon of pink flames exploding along the direction of her fists, throwing her even further into the sky and smacking Bacchus into the forest floor.

Despite that, the Drunken-Chop Hanging Palm wizard proved why he was his guild's elite and spun back to his feet in an instant. He grinned and looked to the sky, where Yang was already righting herself to attack as she fell.

"Oh yes!" Bacchus screamed, his open palm already aimed skyward and glowing with bountiful magic power. "Come on, beautiful! Show me your wild spirit!"

"You want wild?!" Yang shouted, pulling back her blazing fist. "How about a wildfire!"

The huntress violet eyes ignited a volcanic crimson, her final gambit beginning as she plummeted back to the ground. Bacchus may have been on par with Erza, or he might not have been, but he was certainly a first-rate wizard. Unfortunately for him, his magic was focused solely on dealing physical damage. And Yang's semblance soaked that up like a sponge. A sponge that hit back like a ton of bricks.

"Fire Devil's Molten Fist!"

With gravity, her hellish blaze, and all of Bacchus' previous strikes, compiled into a single punch, her opponent's counterstrike folded like a sheet of paper. His shoulder armor shattered into a storm of purple shards as he was blown into the dirt, a small crater rupturing under them both as his arm twisted back in a way that looked really painful.

Yang wasted no time straddling her downed foe, her shotgun gauntlet shoved in his face. "I win, big boy. That monster's mine."

Bacchus grinned, sagging back into the dirt with a sigh. "That it is, beautiful. That was one wild fight. You sure you don't want to keep it going after dark?"

Yang scoffed. "No thanks. Don't get me wrong, you've got your charm, but I don't think you'll be doing much with that arm for a bit. Besides, I've got my eyes set on an… alternate target."

The Quatro Cerberus Wizard cocked an eyebrow before following her gaze to her swiftly approaching teacher. He chuckled. "You don't say? Good luck pulling off that miracle."

"Eh, I like a challenge."

"Hey! That was awesome!" Natsu cheered, finally catching up to them. "Talk about being fired up, Yang!"

"Aw, thanks teach," Yang replied, a proud grin on her face as she blushed. "Now, let's kill us a hippo-ogre-thingy and hit the hot springs—"

"The forest is on fire!" Happy wailed, the blue cat ducking through aerial evasive maneuvers to avoid the rising flames. Evidently, unleashing the fires of hell in a dry, autumn forest was not without repercussion.

Yang cringed, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oops. I guess I overdid it a bit."

"Eh, no harm there," Natsu grinned, the light of the blaze gleaming off his pearly white teeth. "That just means you're undeniably a Fairy Tail wizard."

At that moment, Yang's smile truly was brighter than the sun. For the first time in a long time, she felt completely and utterly at peace.

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Taiyang was very worried. Granted, as a father of two teenagers who wanted to fight Grimm for a living, he was often worried with good reason. But Yang's actions since the loss of her arm had him especially concerned.

He was glad that she was back on her feet so quickly, he knew more than most how crippling a great loss could be, whether it be a limb or a loved one. Raven and Summer's disappearances had left him in a depression for years before Qrow had finally opened his eyes to just how much he was letting Yang and Ruby down. The fact that his daughter was handling her trial far better was something he should have been proud of.

Except, after her talk with Blake, she hadn't any signs at all of struggling with her new situation, just waking up every morning and heading to a nearby lake with a simple shout of "going training". There was a difference between handling trauma well and repressing it until it blew up in your face, and Tai was worried his daughter was experiencing the latter. One conversation didn't suddenly make the psychological damage of losing a limb go away.

Of course, maybe she'd just been channeling the pain into determination, light a fire under her to get as strong as she possibly could. Adaptability was a trait to be prized in a huntress after all.

Still, he'd asked if he could come see her training once, and what he saw was… disconcerting.

Yang waded into the lake until she was about waist deep, the fish below swimming through her legs. And then, she'd unleash fire.

For hours upon hours, she'd just stand there, unleashing wave after wave of pink flames, the air around her rising at least fifteen degrees just from proximity. The blaze surged across the surface of the lake, steam rising as the crystal blue water boil, the fish within rising dead to the surface.

His daughter's disinterest in the welfare of wildlife aside, what truly caught Taiyang's eye was her arm socket. Where once her right arm had been, slowly a black, mutated stump of flesh took shape. It wasn't anything Grimm related, he would have taken her to Glynda immediately if it was, but it still made the veteran huntsman's skin crawl just looking at it. Especially when Yang turned towards him and he saw the same dark pattern running across the right side of her face like a pungent scar.

Fortunately, with what seemed like only a thought, the markings disappeared, a massive smile blooming across Yang's face.

"I'm ready," she declared. "I'm heading after Ruby and the others."

"What?" Tai gasped, roused from his trance of dread. "Firecracker, not that I'm not thrilled to see you ready to get back in action, but if this is all you've been doing for training, then I can't say you've really adjusted to only having one—"

Yang smirked. All at once, a cloud of purple flames burst out of her stump, shifting until it took on the vague shape of a clawed appendage.

"…arm."

"Nice, right?" Yang said, manipulating the flames as if they were her original limb, picking up the jacket she'd laid on the ground and throwing it across her shoulders, not a lick of fire catching on the fabric. "A guy named Macao in the guild showed it to me once. He wasn't anywhere close to Natsu' league, but he knew how to manipulate flames, so they did more than just burn. And change their colors."

"Neat," Taiyang said. "And the demonic tumor?"

"Oh, that. Pretty sure that's my Dragonforce equivalent. Super mode and all. Plus, maybe my version of the 'use too much Dragon Slayer magic and you turn into a dragon' thing. Just you know, demon-y."

"Uh-huh," Taiyang nodded warily. "And you're not concerned about this because?"

Yang shrugged. "What's to be concerned about? Even if I become a demon, I'll still be me. And if it regrows my arm and gives me the power to help the people I care about, all the better."

Her head suddenly whirled around, and she stared at her father with trembling fear in her innocent purple eyes. "I mean, if I did become a demon you'd still… you know… you wouldn't stop loving me, would you?"

Taiyang felt like he'd been slapped in the face. A moment later, he'd engulfed Yang in a bear hug, his aura shielding from the heat of her flame arm.

"There is no power on any world that could ever make me stop loving you, firecracker," he whispered. "But be careful with this, okay? Sometimes, the best way to solve a problem isn't to power straight through it."

"Heh, don't worry, dad," Yang chuckled, eagerly returning his embrace. "Once everyone's back together again, Salem won't stand a chance against the best Fairy Tail's got to offer."

She spoke with such confidence, such burning passion. And yet, Taiyang couldn't help but remember that same devotion flowing from her mother's mouth about Team STRQ.

If Ozpin's gods were real, and they weren't completely heartless, then they wouldn't let this end the same way.

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In general, Ilia liked to think of herself as a reasonable person. Yes, she was technically a terrorist, but that was only because the humans had driven her and her people to extremes and then called them psychotic villains for doing what they had to do. She didn't like attacking people who'd never done anything to her personally, but it was the only way to show the humans in power, the ones that hadn't bothered to make sure her parents mine had been up to code, that barred them from their shops, that had branded Adam's eye when he was only a child, that their tyranny would not go without consequence. And when Adam and the Albain brothers had made their plan to usurp Sienna… well, she hadn't been thrilled at the thought, but they had made excellent points for why it needed to be done. The war with the humans was escalating, and the tiger faunus' ideas that had once made her so progressive had no become stale and far too insufficient for what needed to be done. So, she had stood by, determined to fight for her cause to the bitter end.

She had never imagined that Sienna would survive Adam's coup, let alone ally with the very same group that the bull faunus had claimed to be in his pocket.

When the High Leader's message had arrived, Corsac and Fennec had quickly claimed to have no connection with the failed uprising, professing their and the Menagerie branch's continued loyalty. Sienna had hardly looked convinced but had decided to play things more cautiously, and merely ordered them to cooperate with and assist an incoming member of their new allies in any way possible. At first, the Albains had been elated to escape punishment and had sworn to do whatever they could to help the incoming agent.

Then, they laid eyes on him. Ilia had never seen the brothers' face go white so quickly. Not that she couldn't understand the impulse. She liked to think of herself as a reasonable person. And their new ally was no friend of reason.

"Corsac, Fennec, Ilia," Ghira Belladonna greeted when the White Fang representatives had arrived at the doorway of his house for their appointment, his voice mildly more friendly when he spoke her name. The towering cat faunus' eyes narrowed when they came upon the fourth member of their party. "I don't believe we've met, sir."

"Tyrian, my good chieftain," the scorpion faunus bowed, his form respectful, but his voice alight with madness. "Tyrian Callows, at your service."

Ghira raised an eyebrow at the display, but his wife, the ever-graceful Kali Belladonna, came forward to shake the man's hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Callows. I haven't seen you around before. Are you new to Menagerie?"

"Tyrian is here on a special assignment from High Leader Khan," Fennec instantly cut in, though Corsac's eyes widened in terror at his brother's move.

A worthy fear, since the scorpion's furrowed in disgust at the cell leader's words.

"I serve only my goddess. Perhaps, I shall serve alongside Lady Sienna in her radiance one day, but I do not take orders from her," he said, seemingly completely polite. "I would… appreciate if you did not spread such falsehoods about my devotion, old friend."

"Of… of course. My apologies, brother Tyrian."

Fennec bowed his head retreated from the scorpion faunus, both him and Corsac carefully stepping back so that Ilia was between them and their new arrival. The chameleon girl couldn't help but sigh. She knew they brought her along as a bodyguard, Tyrian certainly merited such caution if their stories were to be believed, but did they have to cower so openly?

Oh well, at the very least, both Belladonnas had observed the Albains' terror and were gazing at Tyrian with the proper caution.

"So, Mr. Callows, if I may ask," Kali spoke warily. "If you aren't doing work for Sienna, what brings you here?"

Tyrian's mouth broke out in a positively giddy smile. "I am so glad you asked, Lady Belladonna. I have been tasked by my goddess to locate a dear friend of hers here on the island and escort her home to our Queen's loving embrace."

Ghira raised an eyebrow. "Okay. And you've come to us because…?"

"Well, I assumed that if the Lady Blake was to contact anyone in the city, it would be you."

Ilia's body suddenly went still. What? That was who the psycho was trying to find? She thought Blake was in Vale. She was hardly the only one shocked as both Belladonnas' eyes went wide like saucers.

"Blake?" Kali whispered hopefully. "She's on Menagerie?"

"She's alive?" Ghira muttered, a trepidatious grin slowly forming on his face. "After Beacon, we didn't hear any news…"

"Oh, I can assure you, she is very much alive. Her abilities provide her with a special link to the Queen, which enabled her to track her general location." Tyrian's glee quickly morphed into a pout. "Though judging by your reactions, I must assume she has not seen fit to contact you."

"We didn't even know she was on the island." Kali grabbed Tyrian's arm and dragged him into the house. "Please, Mr. Callows, come in. Let's discuss ways to track Blake down. And you can tell me more about this Queen of yours."

"Thank you, my lady. It will be my pleasure to educate on the glory of our immortal goddess! Hahahahaha!"

Ilia cringed as the cackling madman was led deeper into the mansion, though she was grateful to see that Kali was equally put off by the display. When the scorpion faunus was out of earshot, Ghira turned on the remaining White Fang trio, looking none too pleased.

"Is Blake here?" he demanded.

"We don't know, your lordship—"

"Ilia," Ghira clarified, glaring at the fox twins. "Is Blake here?"

The chameleon girl sighed. "We don't know. This was the first we've heard of it. Sienna just sent a message saying we should help him with his task."

"Which just happened to be finding my daughter for this 'Queen' of his," Ghira growled. "Forgive me if that sounds more like a demand from Adam Taurus."

Corsac stepped forward immediately. "We can assure you, Chief Belladonna, Adam Taurus has no involvement in this matter. He attempted to assassinate High Leader Khan, and has since been detained."

Ghira blinked in shock, before straightening up, no longer leering over the three of them. "Well, I suppose that is good to hear."

"But Tyrian's presence is not!" Fennec insisted. "Your grace, he is a madman! A psychopath!"

The Chieftain scowled. "I take it you have some history?"

Both brothers shuddered. "Too much. He served under us in Atlas White Fang until he grew… uncontrollable. And unstable. His disgusting carnage brought extreme attention down on the group, and so when High Leader Khan ordered the branch evacuated, we had him run a decoy mission to the Grimmlands to lead away pursuit. When he didn't return, we thought him dead."

"Until now," Ghira growled. "Sienna really does enjoy employing psychopaths."

"Huh," Ilia said. "What do you mean, your grace?"

Ghira sighed. "Nothing. But, if Blake is on the island, he never finds her. Is that understood?"

The three White Fang nodded. Technically, they were going against Sienna's orders, but out of fear or personal loyalty, none of them were much in favor of having Tyrian Callows on the island any longer than strictly necessary. Besides, there was no guarantee that the High Leader wouldn't discover their allegiance to Adam, and if that happened it would be quite helpful to have her predecessor's favor.

And, speaking outside the confines of practicality, Ilia would die before she ever let a psychopath like the scorpion faunus lay a hand on Blake, wherever she was.

... Well, Blake's actually got a credible threat to deal with, along with the rest of Menagerie if they make Tyrian mad.

In the meantime, Blake works on controlling her powers and figures out at least a bit of what Ozpin knows to be fact. Unfortunately for Sun, he is part of the 95% of the population that doesn't have a big enough Origin to store enough ethernano for magic. And we get a look into our favorite monkey faunus headspace as he deals with the fact that he is a normal man who is friends with wizards. You know, a normal man that can make clones of himself. Suffice to say, he may not be able to reach their power level, but he will be far from useless in the trials to come.

In the past, we get some foreshadowing, some juicy relationship gossip, Lucy's own feelings on being a comparatively normal person in a friend group of giants, and a showing of Yang being one of those giants. Bacchus is not a pushover by any means (in this continuity, he took down the person who taught Silver his Devil Slayer Magic), but like Elfman, Yang is able to leverage her natural advantages to bridge the power gap and come out on top.

And in the present, we see her disturbingly unperturbed at gaining Gray's Devil Mode. Yay?

And last but not least, we see Tyrian's arrival in Menagerie and just how terrified everyone is of him so far when he hasn't even done anything. The Albain's have their past with him, but even they are vastly underestimating just how powerful Salem's most fanatically faithful is.

An extra huge thank you to my patrons: ArcherMcMuffin, Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction, StabKingPro, Annaya Chan, Nora Okonus, Paula mandel, KefkaesqueXIII, and Christian Howard.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!