Dormrooms & Dorkwads
Chapter Three
By Lightningstxu
Betas Archivist of Nyx/ Paulternative
Yang had faced down the creatures of Grimm, fought terrorists and thugs alike. Not since she and Ruby were children had she felt fear like she did in this moment, five pairs of eyes staring at her. One of her deepest darkest secrets had been exposed.
Yang Xiao Long was slightly less than cool.
"If you needed your glasses to see, why didn't you just say so?" Velvet finally broke the silence.
Just say so...Just say so! There was no possible way she could ever admit to something like needing glasses. She could get by just fine without them; you didn't need precision when shotguns and punching were involved. Everyone was staring at her. She needed to say something, anything! "I don't know, because I'm not a huge fan of them. They just make me uncomfortable." It wasn't much of an excuse, but it was what she felt.
"Oooh, I get it!" Neptune gave her a knowing smirk. "You don't like them cause you think they don't make you look cool."
Never had a hammer nailed a problem so succinctly before. "Yeah," she admitted sheepishly.
"Well, that's stupid," the blue haired boy continued. "Look at me playing B&B and still the coolest guy in the school." He smiled and Yang could have sworn his teeth sparkled.
"Yeah, besides, who'd be stupid enough to make fun of you for wearing glasses? You lifted a city bus once," Cardin added.
"Aww, it wasn't that impressive, really. It was more like a push, and the driver had his foot on the gas the whole time," Yang replied, downplaying the time she helped a poor trapped bus driver.
"Point still stands, no one would mess with you."
"And it's not like any of us care anyway," Jaune spoke up. "We don't judge here, except Yatsu."
"And that is only when a rule is in question," he said dryly.
Yang sucked in a deep breath. "Fine!" She sat back down, slipping the glasses back on, the world suddenly clear and filled with smiling faces. "But you better not tell anyone else about this."
"No one'll say anything, right?" Jaune asked the group, who all nodded. "See, we're all good."
"Good, now that that is all settled, we can get back into it." Yatsuhashi once again took control as the dungeon master. "If you'd like to, Yang, I'll let you redo your turn."
"No." Yang shook her head. "I was the one being stubborn, so I'll take the consequence of that."
"Very well then." He looked to Cardin. "You're up then."
"Alright, my time to shine." Cardin smirked. "First, I cast Magic Weapon on my hammer as a bonus action, and then I'm going to smack this werewolf in the face." The die clacked as it rolled. "Aww yeah, a natural 20, critical hit! For fourteen damage."
"Your blessed hammer strikes true, crashing into Lupusregina's leg. She reels back in pain from the blow."
"Noice!" Velvet held out her hand and Cardin gave her a high five. It was still surreal seeing the two of them getting along, given how they both started the year.
"You're up, Neptune."
"Okay, gracefully, I leap into the air, landing deftly next to my foe as I brandish my glaive, becoming a whirlwind of death as I strike." Neptune's die rolled. "Seventeen?" A nod from Yatsu prompted another roll from the blue-haired boy. "Five damage." he sighed.
"Your glaive strikes a glancing blow, Lupusregina barely registers your attack."
"Great job, whirlwind of death," Jaune chuckled.
"Oh, shut up." Neptune punched Jaune in the arm.
"Okay, that brings us back to the top of the order," Yatsuhashi informed the group. "Jaune, your turn."
"Well, I think I'll leave the heavy combat to you three. I can't afford to take another hit like that, especially if next time it's the axe. I use my cunning action to disengage from her." Jaune moved his character away from the werewolf.
"Alroight! That mean it's back ta me. Time to give this oversized dingo a wallopin'. Bangarang!" Velvet's die flew. "Durn a 19, so close to a crit, but I hit for six physical damage and four radiant!
"While you note that your blow does less damage than normal from your boomerang, the holy power you struck it with burns past its dark fortitude." Yatsu spoke, adding a bit of flair to the action. Yang appreciated GMs who did that. He rolled a die and sighed. "She swings her mighty axe at Falgrin, but you bring your shield to bear and block the blow. Your turn, Yang."
Yang couldn't help but grin. It was her turn, and with her vision clear, she could now make up for the error of her last turn. "I'm going to nail her with an Eldritch Blast." Her die cast rolling across the table.
The results now were up to fate...
######
Lucina's hand raised, pointing towards the lycanthrope. Calling upon the aid of her celestial patron, she let loose a blast of arcane energy that struck true, hitting the dark creature in its chest. Lupusregina reeled back from the force, letting out a howl of pain.
"You'll pay for that, angel spawn!" the werewolf snarled.
Lucina could only smirk. She'd relish the chance to make her foe pay. It would make it all the sweeter when she struck them down, denying them their petty revenge.
"Mind your surroundings, wolf!" Falgrin roared, the dwarf's hammer finding a home in the werewolf's flank, causing her to stumble. It wouldn't be long now: a Lycanthrope's greatest strength was its ability to resist the blows of non silvered weapons, unless they were magic. Between her own magic and the cleric's blessed hammer, they would surely be able to make short work of their foe.
With another flashy and rather superfluous spin, Falcon's glaive finally found its mark, delivering a slash to Lupusregina's arm. However, her supernatural resistance prevented it from being as grievous as it could have been. "Ha, ha take that!" the fighter boasted.
With the twang of a bowstring, Narilan's crossbow bolt sunk into the back of the werewolf's leg. With an anguished cry, she fell to one knee.
"BANGARANG!" Letting out a mighty bellow, Momo brought down her beloved weapon ,caving in the skull of her foe.
Crumpling to the ground, Lupusregina let out a ragged gasp. "You'll never... defeat... Lord Ainz," she spat out with her last breath, life leaving her.
They were victorious.
######
"With that, Lupusregina lets out her final breath, her body and axe crumble away to dust." Yatsuhashi narrated the downfall of their foe, seeming to put special emphasis on the demise of her weapon as well, Yang noted.
A wave of high fives circled around the group as they celebrated their triumph.
"Hell yeah!" Cardin cheered.
"Bangarang!" Velvet roared triumphantly, still in the heavily accented voice of her character.
"Good job, team!" Jaune congratulated the table.
"Well, that concludes the wrap up for the boss fight. That should leave us free and clear to start fresh next week. Yang, if you're interested, you can keep playing with us. If not, this spot works as a good place for your character to separate from the others," said Yatsu, starting to pack up his supplies.
That really was the million lien question wasn't it? Yang had managed to scratch the growing nerd itch within her, and now she had an out. She could consider herself satisfied and move on with her life to continue being the hip, cool party girl everyone knew her as. Ooooor, her mind oh so devilishly teased her, she could still be a party girl with a secret nerdy alter ego, always risking being found out and her secret exposed.
Her inner thrillseeker was practically salivating at the thought. "I think I can stick it out for a bit. It's more fun than I thought," Yang said cooly, not trying to sound too eager to hear those dice clatter across the table, take on the mantle of edge that was Lucina Darkbane.
"Wonderful. Next Friday good for everyone after class?"
A chorus of agreements from the party and the date was set. Cleaning up her things, Yang took off her glasses, the world once again becoming nothing more than a blurred mess.
"Need a seeing eye Rogue to escort you back?" Jaune asked, presumably with a smile on his face.
"I can make it back well enough on my own, but I guess you can accompany me, oh dashing one." she answered her fellow blonde. She was more than fine enough on her own, but considering that they lived next to each other, it wouldn't have seemed weird for the two of them to be walking back together.
"Huzzah, an escort quest!" he cheered with a dramatic flourish. "Sorry, still stuck in Narilan mode."
"It happens." The pair began to make their way down the hall. "I remember this one time, back in grade school, I spoke with an old Valean accent for a week."
"Oh?" Jaune asked, amused. "Why'd you do that?"
"It was for the character I played…" Yang's eyes widened momentarily realizing her blunder. "For the show our class was putting on!" she hastily added, and definitely not the trusty bard that got her through her awkward years. "But enough about that, how'd you know I needed…" She looked around to see if anyone else was around. "Glasses." she whispered, as if the word was cursed.
"You're blunt, but you're not a cheater," he shrugged. "That and you were squinting at everything, let me guess: far-sighted?"
"Yeah, good guess." she blinked, dumbfounded. Was she really that easy to read?
"Not really, my sister was far-sighted. You were acting just like her when she was in denial. But don't worry, your secret is safe with us. Not sure why you care so much, though."
"It just really cramps my style. Besides, going out into the wilderness with glasses just waiting to be smashed seems like a bad idea."
"I guess." They both arrived at their dorms. "Well, goodnight, slayer of evil."
Yang smirked. "Same to you, fancy man." Going their separate ways, Yang prepared herself for a long, boring evening of doing her punishment assignment, but it didn't matter. Soon enough, it would be time to go back to that empty classroom once again.
And let her inner nerd run wild.
Been a while hasn't it, sadly real life got away from me, and I recently moved and have been learning to drive so that's been fun. Anyway, happy holidays and a happy new year, as always read and review.