So as promised here's the next chapter early for you guys. Since I'm not sure if I'll be able to squeeze in the time next week I hope this will tie you over until then.
It could be all worry over nothing but either way it's win-win.. you get a chapter early, or you get an extra chapter.
I have more to say at the bottom, so I'll leave this here just as a reminder.
…
Yang ran her hand over the stone before her, this was old stone, grey but well kept. It stood out from the buildings around it; wooden and new. They were houses, shops, walls. The signs of a newly risen village. It had grown up around the stone building,
No, not a building, a bunker.
This was the place Cardin told her about, he'd sent her the coordinates before the tower went down. This is where they had taken people who couldn't leave the kingdom.
She went inside, and was quickly greeted by a shiny metal door. It had no handle, no cracks or openings. It wasn't meant to be opened from the outside.
Well, that just meant she had to knock, didn't it?
She did so, her obsidian hand making a very peculiar noise as she did so. Whoever was waiting on the other side certainly thought so if their stuttered shuffling of feet were anything to go by. Suddenly there was a shift, as the metal warbled away as if by magic.
A face could be seen. They were male, looked about thirty, with a messy, unshaven face, but the black collar gave it away that she was in the right place even if she didn't recognise him.
"Yes?"
"yang Xiao-Long." She drawled. "I'm looking for Mirark."
His eyes narrowed. "Never heard of her."
A lie, she could tell as soon as he said it. She could smell it off him.
"Really? You sure?" she asked. "Cause I think that outfit of yours says otherwise. I mean, it would be pretty embarrassing I guess, if you didn't know what of the bosses I mean.
The man didn't look impressed. In fact, he looked annoyed more than anything else. "Like I said, never heard of her. You have the wrong place, leave."
Yang's smile slipped from her face. "Look buddy," she growled. "I'm not in a good mood. I' going to talk to Mirark, and I know the Order's here, so you have two options. Either you let me in, or I knock down the door with you on the other side."
He hesitated, before taking a step back so Yang couldn't see him. The door opened with a thud a moment later and swung back. She walked past him as he glowered at her. She didn't care. She didn't have time for so anybody right now.
Yang came to some steps leading downwards. So the bunker was underground then was it? It made sense she could admit. They probably needed a lot more room than what it looked like they had outside.
It didn't take her long to reach the bottom and for her to spot someone she did have time for down the long dark hallway.
"Yo, Cardin." She called out.
He turned to the sound of her voice and waved, before saying something to the person next to him, how nodded in return before leaving. With that done he made his way to meet Yang.
"So you got my message, good. I was worried for a while there that you didn't make it out."
"Please," she grinned. "I'm Yang Xiao-Long, you think a little old terrorist attack is gonna take me out?"
He managed a laugh at that. "I guess not."
She frowned. "Are you okay Cardin? You seem… I don't know, upset."
He sighed, running a hand over his neck. "I'm… I'm fine yang things have just been hard and not just with all the extra work we've been forced to do now. It's…"
He trailed off, but Yang caught his tone, and it worried her.
"What happened to the others Cardin? Where are the other students?"
"They're fine," he rushed to assure her, before hesitating. "Or, well they're managing I guess. Students from the other schools managed to get out of the kingdom thanks to the Order, but our own were hit too hard to move. My teams okay, they decided to help around as much as they can, a few extra bodies for manual labour don't hurt. We… buried Yatsuhashi two days ago."
"Oh." Yang mumbled. "then… I guess the rest of team Coffe isn't doing so well. Is Velvet okay?"
He grimaced. "Physically yes but… things are complicated."
"Aren't they always?"
"I guess so but… Velvet… she blames me for what happened I think."
"What? Why?"
"Because I kept things from her. I understand where she's coming from."
Yang growled. "Are you serious? She blames you for what happened to her teammate and you're okay with that?"
"Yes." He said matter of factly. "She wasn't like us Yang. She didn't know about forces beyond the Grimm in this city. She doesn't know about magic, but she knows that the Order was aware of something threatening to go wrong during the festival. She blames me for not telling her."
"And?" she pressed. "So what's the deal know then?"
"I-"
"She dumped him." Came a new voice and they both turned in time to see Miltia walking towards them in the same black coat. Yang noticed the bags under her eyes though, and the way she walked. She was exhausted.
"They had a fight and everything, and the rabbit said it was over between them. Can't say I'm surprised all things considered."
"All things considered?" Yang echoed. "Are you even listening to him? You can't seriously think it's his fault!"
"Of course I don't." The red malachite twin scowled. "I'm not an idiot club wrecker, but she's in mourning. She needs someone to blame."
"And Cardin's the one who had to take it?"
"Instead of herself? Yeah."
Yang's hand's clenched into fists. The other girl gave her a look. "Are you okay Yang? It feels like you're getting far too worked up over this."
"I'm fine." She snapped.
"Well then calm down." Miltia hissed. "I've got enough problems with my own sister freaking out. When she found out about this she was pissed. Junior was too but Melene hasn't stopped going on about it all week about me keeping secrets from her. I think she wants to join just to make sure I don't do things like this without her. So I've got enough on my plate as it is."
Yang glared at her, but after a moment, she forced her shoulders to relax. She sighed. "You're right… sorry. Guess it's been pretty crappy for all of us lately."
"Yeah…"
Yang hesitated. "hey… what about Coco? I heard she got it bad from a poison from one of the people who attacked you. Is she…"
"Alive." Cardin told her. "but… it's not good."
Yang found out why a few minutes later.
She'd asked Cardin to show her where Coco was being taken care of and he'd agreed if a little reluctantly. He led her to a hospital wing in the bunker, and into one of the rooms.
He gave her time alone.
The leader of team CFVY lay in bed, staring off into the void before Yang took a step forward and the sound snapped her back to reality.
When she saw the blonde she scowled.
"What do you want?"
The greeting wasn't what Yang had expected and she almost tripped over her own two feet because of it. "What?" she blinked. "What's the matter? I came to see if you were alright."
"Alright? Are you serious? You think I'm alright?"
She frowned. "Well I don't know… that's why I'm here."
Coco blinked as if realising something. "You're… not one of these Order guys?"
Yang shook her head. "Nope. I mean I know about them, but apart from having a sort of friendly relationship with them after they helped me out with something no, I'm not."
Coco looked away. "Oh… okay then… I… sorry…"
There was a pause that lingered between awkwardly.
"So…"
The older girl sighed. "No Yang, I'm not okay. I…" she grasped the bedsheets and ripped them away. "Look at me."
Yang looked down "Ah… right."
Coco's legs were gone, both just below the knee were cut off and bandaged up.
"What happened?"
Coco closed her eyes and leaned back against the bed.
"That Faunus guy… he cut me good. Tore right through ligaments, bone and pretty much everything else that made my leg function. My Aura couldn't heal it properly because of my other leg dealing with poison. It fucked it up."
She looked down at her stumps. "The docs told me the poison would kill me before they could get a cure… so they cut it off, and since the other one wouldn't ever heal right, they cut it off too."
"They can't do that can they? I mean, did they have your permission even?"
"No, they didn't." Coco swallowed. "They thought the poison had made me delirious, so when I told them not to they ignored me. They said they were saving my life." Fuckers, the cut off my leg because they think they can replace it with something else more useful."
"But… that's good right?" she tried. "I mean, if they can replace it then at least you'll be above to walk again."
"You don't get it." Coco glared, shaking her head frantically. "It was my leg. I… I would have been fine walking with a limp, even if they just cut off the leg that would have killed me, I… I could understand that at least but both of them?"
She choked suddenly on a sob.
Yang was reminded right then and there that Coco wasn't just some badass friend of hers that was always cool under pressure.
She had been a beacon at school, cool and cocky to a fault.
But she was still only a year older than Yang.
And with everything happening she'd just lost a part of her.
In more ways than one.
"So what are you going to do now?"
"Do?" the second year parroted. "What can I do? Even if I can get some new legs I don't… I don't think I can go back to that… it's getting worse out there Yang."
"Worse?" Yang frowned. "What do you mean worse?"
"You haven't heard?"
"Heard what?"
Coco sighed. "Go ask that Mirark woman. She'll explain it better than I can. I'm sure she's got plenty of things to tell you that I have no clue about."
"Coco-"
"Just go." She sighed, before managing a weak, tired smile. "I already have Velvet and Fox worrying over my mental health. It's stupid. I don't need another… you've got something planned ahead of you, right? Something I probably can't talk you out of."
"…yeah, I do."
"Good luck then, I guess. Do me a favour and try not to die, alright?"
…
…
Mirark was waiting for her when she entered the room. That room being weirdly large and circular, with a round table in the centre with a map sprawled atop of it. Thing was though, it was moving. A holographic image. Yang didn't know why that weirded her out, maybe she just hadn't expected people with magic to be up to date of the tech side of things.
"Yang." The woman greeted. "Cardin told me you were here."
She nodded. "Yeah. I saw a refugee shelter on the way here… you guys have your hands full."
Mirarck sighed. "the other Elders are dealing with it mostly, the management of people is comp0licatd at the best of times, but with the sudden influx of people missing their homes we're not capable of managing it safely. They slapped me with the peacekeeping role… and that's not going anywhere good."
"Yeah, Coco mentioned that… she said things have gotten worse, what she mean by that?"
Another sigh. "Come look at this will you?" the older woman asked, moving over to the map. She waved her hand over it, and sparks flicked from her fingers. "Focus magic into it so that you are connected to it will you? It'll make it easier to show instead of telling you."
She nodded, raising her obsidian hand over the map and closing her eyes, channelling magic through her fingertips.
Belladonna lilies bloomed in her mind.
And just like that, Yang felt a whole lot more pissed off.
That went unknown to Mirark, who pointed at the now swirling map. "What do you see?"
Yang frowned. "I dunno, clouds? I mean, there all sorts of bright colours like someone let off a rainbow or something but apart from that not much."
"What you're seeing is an oversaturation of magic."
Yang's mind went back to her grimoire. Magic oversaturation was dangerous. I was what it sounded like, there was too much magic in a certain place at any one time. That could have potentially catastrophic effects if left for too long.
This was all over Vale, and it was spreading.
"Do you know what I got a report of today?" Mirack asked. "A Cockatrice. It attacked a group of my men on their scouting route… it was the first sighting of one in the last three hundred years." She shook her head. "Two of my men didn't make it back."
Yang winced. "Shit…"
"Yeah," Mirarck agreed. "Shit."
"How did this even happen? Where is this magic coming from?"
"We have an idea…" she said. "Take a look at this."
She pointed to a part of the map swirling with the most energy, like a hurricane of thick, dense colours and miasma. It was like it was trapped in a bubble, slowly leaking out to the rest of the world… and if it was doing this much still contained as it was…
"Beacon." Yang muttered.
"Exactly. The source of all this magic came from Beacon, more magical energy than had existed for centuries. We don't know what's going on, and we don't know what Ozpin has planned… we hear he was dead but we're still looking for him just in case. He might be able to give us answers… if he'll provide them.
"You won't find him then." Yang told her.
"Why not?"
"You know Ozpins got some kind of immortality right? Well it's not some kind of agelessness; he jumps from body to body every time he dies. That' how he manages to stay in hiding so well, he looking so different because he is different."
Miracrk's face morphed in so much disgust Yang actually felt it tangibly.
"He's like a parasite!"
"I… guess so. Anyway he could be anywhere, so I wouldn't waste time looking for him. If he doesn't want to be found it would be pretty easy for him to hide."
The woman sighed. "I see. I suppose I'll have to go back to the drawing board on that one… but…. We have another problem."
"Really? Wow, you'd think the fall of a city would be carfree!"
"Your sarcasm is noted and unappreciated." Mirarck deadpanned.
"So, what's the problem. If you're mentioning it to me I'm guessing its relevant."
"Probably to you more than me to be honest.. the Grimm."
"What about them?"
"There's been a surge in activity, or, there's been a surge of Grimm that have become a major threat."
"Are hordes attacking towns?"
"That's just it, it's the opposite."
I got a message from a village further out on the frontier. It had one or two Huntsmen stationed there, plenty of work you know, and enough experience between them that they can usually deal with most Grimm that wander their way."
"Something changed I'm guessing."
She nodded. "A survivor from the village got to one of my men and told us the story. According to her a single pack of Beowolves tore the place apart."
"I… what? But that would be like, what, twelve at most? Two Huntsmen should have been overkill for something like that."
"I know, I've seen how good someone fresh out of graduation is in Huntsman terms, these two had over ten years of experience… but they weren't expecting the Grimm to be as strong as they were… or as smart. Something changed"
"You're not saying what I think you're saying … are you?"
Mirark sighed. "The Grimm have somehow been affected by the same thing as the rest of the Kingdom."
Yang swore. "Magic. The Grimm are apparently made of pure Magic."
"You got that from Merlot's research?"
The blonde looked away, aware of how the doctor was still viewed. He'd been responsible for Glenn after all. The Order was damaged by that just as much as everyone else. "He told me himself… yeah."
"He was damaged, but he was a genius. I read the notes you shared with us too but it was overcomplicated. I had some of my scribes go through it and they were stumped… but I'm guessing you could read it just fine."
Yang blinked. "Wait, you guys couldn't read it?"
"We couldn't grasp it. The concepts the way he explained things just don't commute with us. I think he had those notes of his specificity designed for you… something in your head."
"Or my blood."
Branwen. The thought came to mind as soon as she said it. The Branwen's were apparently special for some reason, able to commune with creatures others hadn't been able to… and since she was a Branwen…
"The Grimm are made of pure Magic," Yang explained. "That's what he told me. "He doesn't know how they're created, but he knew they were made of it completely. Magic taken physical form."
Mirark swallowed. "And now with so much Magic in the air, so much spreading to every corner of the kingdom."
"It'll spread like wildfire," Yang finished. "The Grimm are going to get stronger all over the place. If so few can kill Huntsmen like that-"
"Then we need to give them as much help as we can."
The brawler shot her a surprised look. "I was going to say get yourselves an army."
The Elder sighed. "We'd be throwing bodies at the problem without solving it. Look at me Yang; it took me all my life to get to the point. Those two back at Beacon that I fought? I almost died even though we had them so severely outnumbered and we had magic to give us an edge that it wasn't even fair."
"My people aren't strong enough, just aren't equipped to deal with the Grimm, especially now. No, the Huntsmen are so we'll give them all the support we can against the Grimm; men to defend residents, food and resources, all the dust we have stored up. That'll be hard with all the secrecy."
Yang frowned. "You're not going to tell people about magic now? After all this?"
"This would be the worst time Yang. People can confuse something like a Cockatrice with a Grimm, but they could do the same to a Goblin, or a centaur or anything else with a lick of sentience. They might end up lashing out."
"You think they would?"
"They already have with the Faunus in the past, you think they won't with something that doesn't look even remotely human?"
Yang's silence was the only answer she needed.
Mirark sighed. "This is going to age me, I swear… but I know you didn't come here to hear me mope. You've been patient and listened to me, so; what do you need my help with Yang."
She scratched the back of her head. "I fell pretty bad asking for it now, considering all you're going to be dealing with."
"Don't be." Mirark laughed, smiling down at her. "You're a Huntress-in-training aren't you? Your jobs to deal with the Grimm and protect people. Helping you just means I'm doing my job, and personally, I think you're a lot more equipped to deal with this than others, as a Magi as well as a fighter. So ask away Yang Xiao-Long and I'll do my best to help."
She paused just for a moment, before smiling. "Alright then, but first, call me Yang Branwen."
…
…
A day later, and Yang was ready to leave.
"She was outside, a travel pack on her shoulder and a new outfit courtesy of the Order. It was the normal black coat they wore, though she'd made some… modifications to it in terms of some extra armour, and a few of her own choice details, namely her orange scarf and purple bandana wrapped around one leg.
Had to feel like home after all.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Cardin asked her. He and Miltia had decided to see her off for what it was worth. She was glad they did. She hoped they would make it through all of this crap.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Need to get out there and make myself known somehow. Best way to protect my sis you know?"
"But still, Branwen?"
She shrugged "It's my mo- Raven's name. Considering that she happens to be my biological mother it sorta fit."
"And you think it'll help? It seems too obvious for them to fall for it."
"Yeah but that's the thing, it doesn't matter if they do or not. They'll have to keep an eye on me either way, and if they're doing that, they're not looking for Ruby. So it works out either way."
he sighed. "I guess it does. Still don't like it. You're going out there by yourself."
"I've made my decision Cardin, she said firmly. "I'm sticking with it."
He sighed, but nodded. Miltia rolled her eyes. "He's just worried you'll bite it doing something stupid, don't worry, I won't mourn you if you do."
She laughed. "Good to hear you care."
"Yeah, yeah."
They shared a look, before the twin sighed and opened up her arms. "Come here."
"Aw~"
"Shut up a just give me a hug." She grumbled. Yang did, wrapping her arms around the other girl, and tactfully ignoring how she pressed her head into the crook of the blonde's neck.
She was worried about Yang too, but she was Miltia, meaning she was too stubborn to say it.
They had something, something between them.
They'd been intimate a long time ago, and even if they no longer were, they still had a connection. For them to be separated like this? It was hard.
They separated after a minute, and yang smiled. "Look after my bike will ya?"
"You sure you don't want to take it with you?"
"I'd just end up leaving it behind. "Atlas cutting off trade means Dust is gonna be scarce. I can't afford to waste it on fuel."
"So you're walking."
She nodded. "So I'm walking."
"…Good luck."
"Yeah, you too."
There wasn't much more to say that hadn't already been said. They parted on those words, Cardin and Miltia back to the Order, to their duty, and Yang to the open road. The next village was still a few hours away, if she wanted to make it there before sundown, she needed to get moving right away.
It was because of her haste, eyes facing forward, that she didn't notice someone else's eyes following her from a distance.
…
…
The next town over Yang found, wasn't in to bad condition considering the refugee troubles people were having.
What was the name of this place; Airgran?
Yang wasn't entirely sure where a name like that came from, but the people of Vale weren't very creative when it came to naming things, Fort Castle being the perfect example of that, or Grainsal.
It looked okay though, at least now that the sun was going down over the horizon. Dusk was about to set in properly and people were closing down shop. People at the moment were to busy with their own things to look her way, and especially busy when they had to pass the beggars on the street.
An example of how Vale government just wasn't able to handle the sudden influx of problems facing them. Not that she could blame them.
Though nobody was thinking about it, maybe they didn't realise it, but what happened in Vale was so close to what happened in Mountain Glenn it was scary.
They'd lost another city, and people had lost their homes…
At least they weren't sealing people in tunnels.
Yang made sure to spare the beggar a few Lien.
Airgran had an inn luckily, and from the sounds of it, one that was already pretty busy.
She nodded to herself and decided to check it out.
Stepping in, things quietened down.
Right away, she knew people were staring at her, or watching her out of the corner of their eyes. So, either they didn't get visitors often, or they didn't like visitors.
Well, they could be staring at her because she looked good in black, because damn Yang hadn't realised how great she looked in it until now. But she doubted these people had tastes like that.
Eh.
Yang made a show of ignoring them as she strode over to the counter.
She shot a smile at the man behind it, (Who was currently glaring at her) leaned against the bar doubling as a counter and set her obsidian arm on top with an audible click.
She had to make people take notice of her after all, an arm like hers was something people wouldn't have seen before, at least not commonly. It was a good start.
"Hey," she grinned. "So, I'm pretty aware that these guys are staring at me from behind, and while I appreciate the looks their giving my ass I'd appreciate it more if we didn't do the whole stereotypical thing where you refuse outsiders a room, so if you let me pay for one we can speed this along."
The bartender, or innkeeper, whatever they called themselves out here, frowned.
"We have a few rooms." He admitted begrudgingly. "but prices are high right now with so many people… passing through. You might not be able to pay."
A single plastic card was dropped onto the table.
He blinked, eyes flickering down to it. "What's this?"
"Twelve hundred Lien."
He blanched. She appreciated the surprise. As well as the stirring from people listening in
"T-that's um, more than enough for a room miss."
She grinned, his tune had changed. Not that she could blame him. Most people's did in the face of money like this. But that was the plan. It wasn't even her money anyway, the Order had been generous with financing her.
She was pretty sure they were still hoping she'd join one day.
"Yeah, it's about what, four times what a room normally costs in these parts?"
"F-five times miss."
"Really? Well then maybe you'll be nice and help me get my Lien's worth. How about a drink to start off with?"
"O-of course." He nodded, hand reaching to slide the Lien over to him in case she took it back. "What would you like."
"Hm.. whatever's the strongest you have, double it."
"We um… have ale."
"…yeah okay fine."
It wouldn't give her the kick she wanted but a drink was a drink, so when the bartender slid it her way she sent him a thankful nod and took a swig, relieved at the way it fixed that tingling she had at the back of her throat.
It was like a burning sensation.
Yang blinked as a chill ran up her spine. She had a feeling that-
"Thanks," she said. "I'll be back for my room later, don't sell it on me kay?"
She turned before he could answer and rushed out the door.
Yang kept silent as she looked left and right down both ends of the town. It was dark now, barely bright enough to see in front of her face if it wasn't for the lamplight, people were going back to that in an effort to conserve Dust.
There were still a few people out, but most were on their way home.
Yang turned left, walking quickly before taking a sudden turn around the corner and down the alley beside the inn.
Before turning on a dime and lashing out with both hands. Her fingers clamped around a pair of necks and she slammed them into the wall. She'd noticed the cloaked pair following her for the last hour, she'd been waiting for the moment they got too close.
"Talk." She growled. "Why are you following me?"
"Y-yang!" one of the choked out. "C-chill out it's us!"
She blinked. "Sun?" she dropped them in an instant and the coughed, massaging their necks as their hoods fell away. A head of blonde and blue hair confirmed that yes, it was them.
She frowned, hands falling to her hips., "What are you two even doing here? Shouldn't you be back in Mistral?"
Sun managed to stand and shake his head, whether to answer her question or steady himself after that surprise attack she wasn't sure.
"We were looking for you. We saw you back at the bunker."
"You were there?"
"Yeah," Neptune said, standing up. "Scarlet and Sage went back to Haven, but Sun decided he wanted to help the refugees out. So both of us stayed behind to do some of the heavy liftings."
She raised an eyebrow. "So you two helped the Order out with that?"
Sun nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't too big of a deal for us, even if those guys are strange. I mean, they look a little strange for people just helping survivors out and all."
There was a question there, Yang was sure of it, but even if Sun didn't realise it he'd given her enough info to judge he didn't know what they Order really were. They really had kept the magic part quiet then.
"Anyway," he went on when he realised she wasn't going to explain it for him. "We saw you arrive by yourself and when you left on your own we got worried so we thought we'd make sure you were alright."
"By following me? You couldn't have just walked up and explained yourselves?"
"Ah well-"
"Sun wanted to practice his sneaking around." Neptune told her, ignoring the indignant cry from the Faunus.
Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah well your stealth sucks just so you know."
"Hey!"
"It doesn't matter," she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "You shouldn't have followed me. It's too dangerous out here for people who don't know what they're getting into. You should have left Vale as soon as you had the chance."
The Faunus returned the frown. "What, and you do know what you're getting into? Listen Yang, we were worried about you okay? Weiss was sent back to Atlas, only you know where Ruby is, and nobody has any idea where Blake is."
Yang's eyes flashed. "Don't mention her name."
"Wha-?"
"I don't what to heard about her." She growled. "She's gone, don't talk about her anymore, I want nothing to do with her."
The two haven students shared a look before Neptune looked back. "Yang, she's your partner."
"I don't-"
She was cut off as a scream ripped through the air.
The trio bolted upright as the sound tore through them.
"What was-"
"It came from the centre of town." Sun called, already running towards it. "Come on!"
Yang cursed, but it didn't stop her from following. They weren't too far away, so it didn't take them more than a few seconds, but when they arrived it was to the sight of a woman on her knees and weeping.
The Faunus was beside her in an instant. "What happened!"
"A- a monster." The woman sobbed. She was bleeding Yang realised, long talon marks had sliced chunks of flesh from her arm and she looked sickly pale. "It- it took my husband right in front of me in its claws. Oh god!"
"Where did it go?" she asked, kneeling beside her and taking a roll of bandages out of her backpack. People were surrounding them now, having heard the scream themselves, and now her story.
"It went towards the trees." She cried. "I-It flew into the forest with him and, I saw it tear him in half before it vanished."
Yang glanced in the direction of the forest to the east. She stood up, leaving the scene of the crying woman behind her as she fainted. Sun and Neptune followed.
"You're going after it aren't you?"
She sighed. "Yes Neptune, I'm going after it. Alone preferably."
Sun shook his head. "Nah, not happening. We all know how the Grim have been getting worse and you want to go by yourself? We'll watch your back."
Another sigh. She could tell this wasn't going to lead anywhere, bar physically knocking them out she wasn't going to be able to convince them to leave her be.
"Fine, but you follow my lead alright?"
Sun sent her a salute. "Yes ma'am."
It didn't take them long to reach the treeline, though when they did Yang wasn't too happy about it.
"it's too dark." She muttered. "Sun, can you see anything?"
"Sorry, I'm not that kind of Faunus."
"Of course you're not," she grumbled. "Fine, then I'll guess we need some light. See if you can't take a branch a burn it for now, we don't need much."
"You don't sound like you want light."
"I don't, it means whatever this thing is it'll see us coming before we see it."
He didn't have a response for that, and a moment later it didn't matter as Neptune got the light up, holding it before him. It didn't do much, but it at least meant they'd be able to see three feet in front of themselves.
They readied their weapons. Yang led the way.
Her eyes flickered left and right as they walked. She didn't like it, not one bit. Too much darkness, too many trees, cover for something to jump out at them from.
They walked, for a minute, then for two, then for three. Still nothing.
Maybe she could…
Yang let her eyes flash red as she focused.
Belladonna's bloomed in her mind.
It irritated her, to think of them. It seemed like her trigger couldn't be changed, even if she wanted it to. So, she was stuck remembering Blake every time she wanted to use magic. It pissed her off.
Still, it had the effect she wanted.
Yang didn't so much get any better vision, but she could see more.
Traces of something, wisps of multi-coloured smoke winding in front of her like a trail. And she could hear something, the whispers of a man.
"My body… leave my body alone… Stop eating it…"
She could smell it too. Blood. Whatever it was, it was eating the remains of that woman's husband
She turned to face them. "I can hear something; come on, this wa-"
She didn't get any further as something burst through the trees. She gasped as sharp talons closed around her waists and yanked her into the air.
Sun yelled out her name but she was suddenly too occupied to reply. Razor sharp blades, that was what they felt like, and it was only her Aura saving her from being cut in half.
She didn't even know what it was attacking her yet but she unloaded a couple rounds of Ember Celica into it all the same. She felt it hit something and a terrible screech came that nearly shattered her eardrums.
It didn't so much drop her as it did through her right into a tree trunk. She coughed as she hit it, but dived to the side as those talons speared where her head had been just a second before.
Sun's gunchucks did a good enough job at hitting it from afar, and it shrieked again as it hopped back.
She could see it now properly.
It was about twice her size and stood on two horribly warped legs, with putrid and decaying scaled across its body and feathery black wings. It had a lizard-like tail and green-oozing talons longer than her arms.
And a freaky looking rooster head.
"What the hel is that thing!?" Neptune cried.
"Cockatrice." She yelled out, priming Ember Celica once again. Mirark had failed to mention where exactly it had been spotted. Go figure. "It's poisonous, whatever you do don't let it cut you."
She charged at it as it opened its mouth and let out another ear-piercing sound. She silenced it a moment later as she smashed a fist into its beak.
It flinched back before snapping out.
Yang sidestepped it and sent a right hook at its throat.
Again it flinched a little but other than that ignored the blow.
Her eyes widened right in time to see its tail whip around and slam into her back, sending her careening away.
It made to chase but Sun was already on it, beating back its face with his staff as Yang managed to get her feet under her again.
Neptune came from behind and stabbed his trident into its back.
Again, another flinch, another screech, but it didn't stop it from knocking the teen away with a painful looking smack. Neptune wobbled. He couldn't take the same punishment as yang could, neither of them could.
They were hurting it Yang realised, but not enough to do any serious damage.
The things scales were protecting it from any lasting damage. They were all over it, even under the feathers on its head!
She growled to herself. She needed to think. What could they hit that wasn't protected by scales?
The obvious answer came to her right away.
No matter how important scales were for defence, they were too stiff and heavy for flight.
"Aim for the wings! Clip its wings!"
Sun didn't even reply, already jumping up above its head and swinging the butt of his weapon against one of its wings.
They were instantly rewarded with the creatures stumbling back in pain.
Yang lunged.
The Cockatrice saw her coming and flapped its wings, rising up to slice her with its talons.
She raised her right arm and pushed forward as it sparked against the razorblades.
She lashed out with the same hand, fingers clamping around one of those razors.
And her hand burst into flames.
The shriek was different this time, it was a sizzling, pained cry as it struggled against her strength. It's feathers burned and scales ashened as it writhed back and forth.
Yang expected it to keep up that futile attempt for freedom like any animal would, instead she realised too late that it was smarter than that, and lashed out with its free foot.
Yang gasped as it collided with her chest, Aura flaring as she was batted back, this time hitting a tree with enough force to splinter it.
She propelled herself forward via Ember Celica before she could even hit the ground.
She needed to take the hits, keep it focused in her else it might turn on Sun or Neptune.
She roared. "Bring it!"
If the thing understood her, it responded with another shriek.
Yang growled, ducking under its beak as it struck out and delivered an uppercut to its chin that shook her arm, but no doubt stunned the thing.
She heard the sound of electricity as Neptune let out a shout and the next thing she knew the Cockatrice's tail flew by. Neptune had gotten a lucky hit and severed it.
Looks like he held a grudge.
It wasn't done though, and Yang saw it coming too late.
She cried out as those talons clamped around her again and she was lifted off her feet, not thrown this time, but dragged straight up into the air.
Above the trees.
Up and up and up it went with her in its grasp.
"Oh shit!" she hissed. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"
Her hands gripped the talons digging into her. "Agh you fucking oversized chicken you think you can just drop me? Fuck you and your feathers!"
It cawed, but more so in surprise when she grunted and pried its talons open.
It shook, or tried to shake her off. They were nearly a hundred feet in the air now, and still climbing. The fall might kill her if she wasn't careful.
With another grunt she was suddenly free, but instead of letting herself fall, kicked at the air in front of her, swinging her body upwards.
She twisted her hips and clamped one leg around the Cockatrice's neck.
It dipped down as her weight sent it off balance and swayed side to side.
She reached up and shoved her hand into its face for it to erupt into flames.
The blast shot its head backwards and the creature flapped desperately to maintain its height.
Then, with her other hand, Yang grabbed it's wing and yanked as hard as she could.
There was a crunch as her hand crunched the bones within the limb and both went spiralling back to the earth.
Yang didn't let up though, hammering blow after blow into its spine as they spun and twisted, all the while climbing over it, pushing it down below her.
They slammed into the ground together, the earth beneath the Cockatrice fractured and fissured, and before it could move again, golden clones fell atop o fit, keeping its body pinned. Yang planted a foot on it's back and tore off its wings.
It screamed louder than any other time before, as blood not black but red flattered over the brawler.
With one last roar, Yang put her flaming fist through its skull, and it died.
The forest was quiet as the three off them panted tiredly. Surprisingly, at least for the two males, its body didn't dissolve.
It wasn't a Grimm.
It looked like a Grimm, black as one and with bright red eyes.
But now that they got a look at it they saw now white boney plates.
That's wasn't right though. It had those similarities and it was smoking like one. If anything it was like it had been infected and was turning into a Grimm. However that worked.
Was the crazy amount of magic suddenly appearing doing more than just bringing these things back?
Then Neptune spoke.
"What the hel is this Yang?! What's going on?"
The blonde managed a laugh as Sun voiced his own concern.
"Yeah that thing nearly killed me. Mind telling me how you knew it's named. Cackatrice or something? And how did your hand go on fire?"
Well, this was a difficult situation.
But, they'd helped, and probably been a part of saving her neck.
So…
"What's your favourite fairy tale?"
…
…
It didn't take long for them to get back to the inn. Yang got a table and the three of them sat around it. It gave them some privacy, as well as drinks.
Ale again of course. Honestly Yang thought she might be developing a taste for it. It was no strawberry sunrise but it was fruity, as she liked it.
She took a sip, peering over the mug to glance at Sun and Neptune who were taking things… better than she expected honestly.
"Magic." Sun whispered, leaning back in his seat wide-eyed.
She snickered. "Yeah, I had pretty much the same reaction when Ruby told me… but that means you believe me, doesn't it?"
"Well yeah." The Faunus said. " I mean it's a lot to take in. but you're not the type of person to lie about something like this; besides with what we just went up against I'd be stupid not to. What was it called again? Cockatrice?"
"Yep." She nodded. "I got bored over the summer, so for a few nights I'd read about mythological monsters and stuff. A lot of it was pretty crazy, blows the Grimm out of the water."
"Ain't that another thing." Sun laughed. "you've got an entire library in your head. How crazy is that?"
"I don't have a library in my head." She said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "I just have an access point. It's all really complicated, like some sort of metaphysical plane of existence you can only access with a mental key."
"Sounds it." He agreed. "but it could be useful right…. Especially if you're serious about taking up the job."
She hummed. The 'job' he was referring to was thanks to the idea of the people in Airgrain had been more than grateful when she'd hauled the body back to show what she'd done. It had been a freight at first, but when they realised she'd saved them they'd been relieved and more than a bit grateful.
They'd paid her, and one woman and even commented how it was a relive that a bounty hunter had arrived when she did.
Right now, she was toying with the idea. She liked the sound of it, being a bounty hunter. They were no huntsmen, but they still had a reputation of being people you could trust to get the job done.
Not to mention their names tended to spread.
Something she wanted.
It was all well and good being a charitable hero helping people when she could, but if she took up this profession, it meant people would need to be able to pay her, they'd need to know her name to find her, and spread the word to others.
Something she needed.
"You think so?"
"Sounds like it." Neptune tittered. "I mean, you knew that thing was poisonous even though it was your first time seeing it, the first time anyone has seen something like that is years. That sorta thing is something people learn by experience. If you could read up of a monsters strengths and weaknesses before fighting it you could have an edge."
"Or find out what they are before even seeing them." Yang gasped, hand holding her chin as the gears turned. "I could look at markings, tracks and stuff. That woman's cuts could have given me a clue if I looked for them… good idea."
She'd be able to as well. Sun and Neptune already knew, but sometimes people took one look at her and assumed she was the stereotypical blonde without a brain. They still sometimes had at Beacon.
She wasn't, she was smart.
And despite how she acted she worked hard. Hard not to when he dad was a huntsman and a teacher. And she was competitive in pretty much everything. Yang didn't like to lose.
Hel, aside from Weiss she'd had the highest test scores out of her team, much to the ice queens shock that the two of them usually scored so close. And Blake's too, when she realised Yang was actually better read than her, the Faunus having spent five years as a terrorist rather than having any form of schooling.
She pushed down the irritation at the thought of Blake and back to the matte hat hand
Remembering stores and learning magic from a grimoire was in the same category as that stuff. If she used the Odyssium it could really help her.
"So you are thinking about it." Sun asked.
She nodded. "I need to keep attention on me. Something like this is good for that. If they have their eyes on me it means they're not on Ruby while she recovers."
"Great, so when do we get moving again."
"What?" she blinked, looking up at them. "No, it's just me. You can't come with me."
Her fellow blond raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"because it's dangerous." She frowned. "In case you weren't listening, people are going to be chasing me, I'm actively trying to draw their attention, and if I'm going to take up this gig I'll be fighting monsters all the time."
"And helping people along the way." He grinned. "Listen I get it yang, it'll be dangerous, but being a Huntsman is already dangerous. Sure, Grimm aren't exactly the same but it's close enough. Besides, you're my friend, I'm not going to let you do something like this by yourself."
"Same." Neptune agreed. "Not saying you need our help, but I think you'd be better off with us watching your back. Things are getting more crazy out there and like you said it'll be dangerous. Can't have you doing stuff like that be yourself with all that's going on."
She stared at them for a long while, and eventually, sighed. "You two are really serious about this?"
"Yeah!"
"And there's no way I can force you not to follow me?"
Sun laughed. "You should know by now we're not that easy to get rid of."
"Clearly." She muttered, before feeling a smile come on. "Fine, I guess if I can't stop you then that's that."
"So what do we do?" Neptune asked, leaning forward a little. "Are we going to move on to the next town?"
Yang shrugged. "Don't really know. I think I'll just go with the flow, take the roads and find out where I'm needed. I'm guessing there'll be plenty of people that'll need our help with all this pretty soon… but for now?"
She raised her mug. "Let's get wasted."
They joined her by raising their own and grinning.
"Yes Ma'am!"
...
So Yang gets her little party together and has perhaps the most stress free time of the four girls so far.
So far...
anyway, this is mostly why I've been spending so much time of Sun and Nep's characters, to build them up for this. I like writing their characters, and I feel like they'd blend well with Yang personality even in Canon if the writers wanted to do it proper.
Interestingly enough I heard Neptune's going to make a return in Vol 6.
Personally I hope it's just as a Cameo. I like Neptune, but IU don't really see him having any reason for going to Atlas. it'd be nice if we saw him decide to help stay behind to look after the school though, so I'm excited.
With this were also done with the prologues of part two and I'm ready to start kicking things up a little. Magic is back, and the Consequences of what happened at Beacon are belonging to show, as they will throughout part II. For what they are you'll have to wait and see.
As I've said, things have come up that while not bad, mean that I'll be busy enough to the point where I'm not sure if I'll have time to write, so this one comes out early as an apology to that. then again, if I do get time you might still see one next week. Just a reminder of that one last time just in case.
Hey, it means I'll have more time to work on the next chapter, maybe add a few extra things in.
Hopefully it'll be worth it for you guys.