.
The Journey So Far
.
Never thought we'd get old.
Maybe we're still young.
Maybe we always look back and think it was better than it was.
Maybe these are the moments.
Maybe I've been missing what it's about.
Been scared of the future, thinking about the past, while missing out on now.
We've come so far, I guess I'm proud.
And I ain't worried about the wrinkles around my smile.
I've got some scars.
I've been around.
I've felt some pain, I've seen some things, but I'm here now.
.
.
Some time passed since Weiss and company left the Mantle Mansion. Team ENMY settled in to sleep for their early morning tomorrow.
In the middle of the night, Yang reached over the bed to find Neo not there.
Hm.
She sat straight, rubbing her eyes. The sleep wouldn't take. Nocturnal cycles were too deeply ingrained in her habits. Yang already knew she would be dead tired by the time her team departed for Vacuo. It didn't worry her much, since she would get sleep on the flight over anyway.
The girl made her way downstairs to find her teammates awake in the dining room playing cards.
"No sleep for the wicked, right?" Emerald glanced up briefly. "Pull up a chair, southpaw."
Yang took her seat and eyed the five-card-hand already dealt for her. They knew she was coming down. It was the little things about how well her team knew her that still brought a smile to her face.
"Fold."
"You're not even gonna look at the hand?" Emerald asked.
"Why? I already know you rigged it."
"Wise ass."
Mercury took the deck from Emerald and started shuffling it himself. All eyes naturally focused on him to spot any signs of cheating. Although he was the least "crafty" among them, they each wore suspicion on their sleeves like religious practice.
Mercury dealt the cards out once more.
"And then, there were four," he sighed.
"Ah, yeah," Yang organized her hand. "It is just gonna be us four again. Been a while."
"No Masa, no Penny, no Cinder. Reminds me of our humble beginnings…"
"You mean, back when you kidnapped me?"
There was a long-drawn pause.
"…I completely forgot that's how it started," Mercury laughed.
"Yeah. You guys broke into my house, threatened me—"
"—And picked your cripple ass off the floor. Thus, Team ENMY was born!" Emerald said with mock cheer. "Infamy breeds infamy."
The four reminisced about the time Emerald, Mercury, and Neo broke into Yang's house to threaten and intimidate her. When the initial method failed, Emerald opted to convince her to join of her own will—at least, with a little persuasion of the grifter variety.
"Ugh!" Emerald stuck her tongue out, as she tossed away her crappy hand. "Then, we had to hitch a ride on Junior's smuggling operation."
"And our second showdown with Coco," Mercury flipped a bite-size cereal snack in his mouth. "Things were so simple back then."
"How do you figure that?"
"Well, we won for the most part."
"Yeah. Made quick work of crosshares in those days, and Yang successfully performed her first backstab!"
"It was not a backstab," Yang peered over.
"Fine, fine. Betrayal of Friendship. The first of many."
*Siiiiiigh* "Definitely was the first time I fought Weiss and Blake on a real level."
Yang thought back to the moment she revived the fighting spirit she lost with her right arm. The depression she felt, like she was drowning. As well as the confidence and life that bound back, stronger than ever. The fire that burned within her new fist. The sweet sensation of socking the stuffing out of Weiss. It was victory of the finest taste and glory.
Simpler times, Yang thought.
"And then, we ran into Raven," Emerald started to complain. "Instead of getting the info we wanted, she hired us for the White Fang! Your mom sucks."
"I know. She bailed Adam out that night, too…"
Yang remembered the rain falling down her face, as she spoke with her mother. Standing at the edge of that dark harbor, Raven told her to turn back before it was too late. But for her, it was already too late. Yang's mind was made, the path already chosen. She wanted to know her mother and the truth of the world. And nothing would ever stop her.
Neo pulled out her sketchbook and doodled something quick. When she finished, the little girl held up pictures of them posing as Haven students, working as juvenile mercenaries, and entering a street race.
"That was my favorite part," Mercury commented. "Building the Bumblebee Mk. II."
Emerald threw some chips in the pot. "It was our first big hustle, too. And then, the dominoes fell…"
"What happened that night led to the Battle of Dracul," Yang continued the thought. "The first time I used the Reaper Semblance. The start of Weiss hating me. And nothing would ever be the same…"
Yang could still feel the color drain from her face at the sight of Winter's limp body. She could see corpses lined up in the aftermath of the battle. Rotting flesh and smoking debris filled her nostrils. How she wept uncontrollably in Neo's arms all that night.
Death was never so real. Yang saw it haunt everyone's steps just waiting for its chance to take them. And people were oh, so frail. The light in them could be snuffed in a single moment—by her hand or another's. A twisted sense of power.
Point of no return…
"You can say that again!" Emerald exclaimed. "We became infamous after that! Which meant money got tight cause we couldn't land anymore jobs! Thus, began the downward spiral of our funds…"
"Yeah, Em," Yang rolled her eyes. "That's the point I was getting at. Which reminds me, how much was the bounty on Qrow's head?"
"Nothing. We were only getting paid Mercury's freedom from his family."
"What a jip."
"Right?!"
Emerald and Yang turned to Mercury, who wore a slightly guilty expression.
"I was kinda hoping you guys forgot about that."
"Not a chance, Merc," Emerald slid a few chips from his personal pile to hers. "That was a favor of a lifetime."
"Yeah, buddy. You made me kill my Uncle with my bare hands." Yang took her own share of Mercury's money. "And we also lost the Bumblebee Mk. II cause of you." She took some more.
"Don't remind me," Mercury groaned. "I loved that bike."
"Wonder what they did with it."
The four looked back on that particularly dramatic moment of their team's existence.
Emerald and Mercury were forced to take a contract from the Black Family on one Qrow Branwen. It inevitably led to a rift between Yang and the rest of her teammates. Neo joined with the intention of exacting revenge on Ruby Rose.
Emerald scratched her cheek remembering the confrontation she had with Yang, when tensions finally reached their peak. The things they said to each other in a dark empty classroom. Yang pressing Emerald's gun to her head, tears in her eyes, yelling at her to pull the trigger. And then, the heart to heart they had when her Semblance caused them to hallucinate the same dream. A form of trust borne between them—not of obligation or compromise, but of choice. As an added sense of irony, Emerald became the first of the team Yang formed true comradery with.
Almost on cue, Emerald noticed across the table a pleasantly smiling Yang glowing at her. She was obviously thinking the same thing.
"Shut it, Xiao Long."
"I didn't say anything."
"Wipe the goo-goo off your eyes. Thanks."
"Aw, Em. You don't need to be shy about it. That was our bonding moment."
"I'm warning you."
"What, it's nothing to be asha—OW!"
Yang massaged her thigh, where Neo pinched hard. The petite girl's cheeks puffed out with exaggerated pouting.
"Still holding a grudge over that, huh?"
Neo started poking at Yang's chest incessantly.
It's your fault I didn't get my revenge on Ruby!
"C'mon, babe. You know I couldn't let you do it."
Yes, you could have!
Against Neo's will, Yang roped her partner in for a tight embrace.
"Sorry, not sorry. I love you, Neo."
That's not the point, stupid! Neo continued to squirm.
"—Hey, isn't anyone going to ask if I'm still mad?" Mercury intervened on the conversation.
The other three stared blankly at him.
"Oh, what? You guys forgot? You and Em totally schemed behind our backs!"
That's right! Neo agreed.
"Yeah, to turn the tables on your cousins!" Emerald argued back.
"And to stop you two from doing something you'd regret for the rest of your lives!" Yang joined.
By this time, Team ENMY had stopped playing cards and were building a Tower out of them. The structure closely resembled the stage of their desperate battle with Team RNJR and Qrow.
Underhanded tactics employed after underhanded tactics. Emerald especially remembered the mind games she played on Jaune, Ruby, and Nora. Mercury recalled the guilt he felt for betraying Yang. Neo could still feel the tears streaming down her cheeks and the heartbreak that came with confronting her partner. She chose a life with Yang over exacting her revenge and losing her forever.
Yang flicked a playing card with her wrist as an exercise. It changed from the ace of spades to the queen of hearts. Death and Heart. It reminded her of her Semblance Trial. Raven took her home, while divulging the truth of the Branwen's "curse". The dragon and the phoenix, who were once the branching paths of fate, now her allies of outlier growth.
The four's thoughts entered the same sequence of events. Defeating Apollo and Diana Black. Raven appearing with Adam, and the retreat they bade upon being "terminated" from her employment.
"Still don't know what that was all about," Emerald said. "One minute, you and her are having the mother-daughter moments she never wanted. Next, she does a complete one-eighty and tries to snuff you out. On second thought, I guess I'm not all that surprised."
"I got an idea why," Yang answered, while her mind wandered back to the ominous air around Raven's sword. "We gotta be ready to face her."
"She that strong? You're a full-fledged Maiden now."
"Stronger. It'd take me, Cinder, and Weiss facing her alone to stand a chance—or at least our team at our best."
"Hah! You actually saying we're the equivalent of two other Maidens?"
Yang smirked as an answer to Emerald's question. The team leader only shook her head.
"Dork."
"Hey, it's not that much of an exaggeration. We made the top of the wanted list once, remember? The most dangerous outlaws in all of Remnant. Which reminds me, we still up there?"
"Yup!" Emerald snatched a dusty, old top hat and set it on the floor. She started tossing a few cards into its mouth. "Atlas called off their bounty—obviously— but Mistral and Vale are still willing to pay top lien for us, dead or alive."
"We didgo nuts that time breaking into Signal and rescuing Masa."
Emerald felt a shiver down her back and her hairs stand on end. The rushing chill wind, mixed with the heat of passing bullets narrowly missing her figure as they made an all-out blitz to Signal Academy's island. She could still feel the rumbling of Junior's hummer under her feet. That was the farthest she ever pushed her "old" Semblance. Hallucinating an army of gangsters and mercenaries trying to kill them caused her an excruciating migraine, meanwhile giving her—
"The best adrenaline rush I ever had," Emerald sighed contently. "Definitely, a personal highlight."
"Better days. Didn't have to answer to nobody and we didn't have to look over our shoulders so much," Mercury continued the trip down memory lane.
"Of course, the lesson being we should have. Cause we got hit by Vulcan next." Yang knocked away Mercury's card midair with her own, and landed hers in the hat instead.
"Yeah. My family's a bunch of pricks."
Each of them thought of the time a colossal assassin by the name of Vulcan Black caught them by surprise. It was easily one of the roughest situations their team had ever been in. Emerald was rendered consciousness, near death in a split second. Neo narrowly transported Mercury and Masa out of the blast radius, at the cost of a severely burned back. Yang remembered the ringing in her ears from the exploding fire and brimstone.
Nothing short of pure grit, luck, and the unexpected help of Junior saw them alive the next day. Team ENMY learned a hard lesson. They needed to be stronger, they needed to fix the holes in their game—they needed to be prepared for anything. From that moment on, they never forgot the attitude of the loser. No battle was expected to be survived, much less won. Victory at all costs. Risking life came easy as failure meant death anyway.
Emerald doubled down on her team's training after that.
…
As her teammates shared a gaunt look, Neo doodled a caricature of Ruby on the wall. The chibi drawing had the girl with large, innocent accentuated eyes. It possessed with it the harmlessness of a baby animal.
Neo took a drawer full of kitchen knives and started throwing the bladed cutlery like darts.
"…You never stop disturbing me," Yang muttered.
*Shing!*
"Right between the eyes!" Mercury cheered as he stuck a steak knife in the bridge of the cartoon nose.
"…"
"What? She's not my sister."
"Neo… can you please?"
The little girl chucked a fork in Ruby's eye before reluctantly redrawing the portrait.
Mercury flipped a knife, blade over handle, while waiting for the next target to manifest.
"It won't be long until we hear from them again. Vulcan or Jupiter, I mean."
"Fine by me," Emerald snarled. "I want some payback."
"I'm sure you do. You got insta-KOed."
"What? No! They made us homeless—TWICE!"
"That's what you're mad about?"
"I. Don't. Like. Being. Homeless."
Emerald delved into her childhood past. The countless nights she spent living on the streets, contemplating if she should end the struggle the very next day. Little did she know it would provide the key to her True Semblance. A key that proved invaluable in their team's next trial.
"Victoria…" Yang murmured. "We fought the Spring Maiden next. And I—"
"You gave her peace," Emerald completed the thought. "She was suffering, and we gave her peace."
The image of a demented angel wearing a gruesome bride's dress surfaced in their thoughts. Lightning coursed the air with the cascade of ephemeral bolts and screws. The snowy surroundings bloomed like a spring garden with each step the abomination took. Part human, part Grimm, synthesized through some misguided experiment. Her steel wings composed of weapons she tore off and volleyed at them.
But even in her chaotic state, the Spring Maiden possessed her unrivaled skill as a martial artist. There was no defeating Victoria until Emerald's Semblance allowed the team and Masa to pay homage to the former Headmaster of Haven. A sweet dream to an endless nightmare.
And to that conclusion, Yang gained the full Inheritance of the Spring Maiden at the price of taking an innocent life.
…
When they finished recounting the memory, Mercury looked up to see Neo putting the final touches on the redrawing. Now, instead of Ruby, it was Weiss with a dopey smile and a missing tooth.
"I wonder if that's really any better than Rub—"
*Shuk*
Yang embedded a meat cleaver down the chibi's enlarged head.
"What did Weiss do to get her Inheritance again? Bet it didn't cost anything near as much," she spat with bitter vile.
"Her cousin gave it to her," Emerald answered, while lining up her dart. "Kori Schnee. Previous Winter Maiden, and now, acting CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. Life's fair," she commented with the same venom Yang did.
Yeah, life's fair.
Yang loaded a round in her gauntlet with a swift slide into the chamber. A bullet hole in the drawing's eye followed, along with the first rays of morning sun.
"—I see you're all well-rested," Cinder sashayed down from her bedroom.
"Our bad. Did we wake you?" Yang asked apologetically.
"No, but it wouldn't be the first time, now would it?"
Yang and Cinder locked gazes, reminiscing on the moments the two shared since reviving the Fall Maiden atop Beacon's Tower. The contract made on the snowy rooftop of Junior's club. The manic episodes Yang helped Cinder work through. How far they'd traveled from enemies to bitter allies—and now…
Trusted friends.
Yang grinned at the strangeness Destiny brought.
"And the rest is recent history."
.
X
.
It was early in the morning at one of Atlas' airship docks.
Team ENMY was getting ready to depart for Vacuo, when goodbyes were exchanged. For many, they had been at odds prior to the last several days, but recent events closed the gap—more so for some than others.
"Bet you a million lien you don't make it back, Emmy."
"I KNOW you don't have a million lien to begin with, Coco Bean."
"I will when you get back. Personal security team for the Black Queen's a pretty lucrative gig."
"You're on, then!"
Emerald and Coco spat in their palms and shook on it.
…
"Here, Jauney boy. Peace offering," Mercury extended an order package.
"For what?" Jaune asked warily.
"Your team's sticking behind to protect Atlas, right?"
"To help Weiss, not Cinder."
Mercury shrugged. "Same deal."
Mercury tossed him the package, leaving Jaune no choice but to catch it. The boy hesitated a moment before opening the box. It was a limited-edition bunny hoodie.
"W-w-w-w-HOW?! This is the one-in-a-million-chance cereal box prize from Pumpkin Pete's Cereal!"
"Yeah, man. I eat a lot of cereal."
"MERCURY!"
Jaune threw his hands around the other in grateful embrace.
"Dude. So uncomfortable. Please, let go."
"No. MMMMM!"
"Don't you find this the least bit creepy?" Mercury posed the question to a certain girl watching.
"Actually, I think it's rather adorable," Pyrrha laughed.
…
"You must return to me alive," Cinder ordered.
"I will. I promise," Emerald nodded nonchalantly.
"You seem disheartened. For what reason?"
"It's nothing."
"Emerald…" The Black Queen forced the other to face her by holding her chin straight.
"I…I know you love Raven," she stuttered. "Nothing I do can change that, but it doesn't change the way I feel. I'm just trying to make my peace with that. But I can't if you—"
Cinder cut Emerald's sentence short by planting her lips on hers. When they parted with shortened breath, she held a strand of Emerald's hair close to catch its scent.
"Make no mistake, I do harbor feelings for you. I apologize if it seems…unfaithful." Cinder showed a genuine sadness. "But I love more than just one. Could you forgive—"
Emerald dove into Cinder's arms for another kiss. This one, much longer and more hungry. Her cheeks pulled into a mischievous smile, while nuzzling her nose against Cinder's.
"You owe me more when I get back. With interest."
"…I shall be at your hospitable disposal on your return," Cinder grinned slyly.
"Oh, nothing about it is going to be hospitable."
"The very thought has me in tremors."
Emerald and Cinder embraced and kissed again.
…
"Here! I, uh—made you this!"
"…"
Ruby awkwardly presented a parasol to an unresponsive Neo.
"Masa said I had a talent for weapons, so we both worked on an upgrade package for you. Sorry, we didn't tell you. Yang wanted it to be a surprise."
"…"
The silent girl threw a look of death at Yang, who pretended not to notice.
"I'm not—I'm not trying to get your forgiveness or anything," Ruby steadied herself. "It was my fault Torchwick died."
"…!"
"But this isn't about that. This is about Yang."
"…?"
"She's your partner and I know you'll do anything to protect her."
"…"
"She…talks to you guys about stuff, things that actually bother her. Yang's always tried to put up a front around us, even back then. It makes me jealous. Like, she doesn't have to act like a badass all the time!"
…I know what you mean.
"Right?! But she shows that side to you more, I can tell. She relies on you the most, even if she doesn't say so. That's why I'm giving this to you, Neo. I want you to protect my sister."
…You don't have to tell me that.
"…"
"…"
The edges of Neo's lips drooped with disdain as she snatched the new umbrella. She flipped it over in her hands, recognizing the perfect weight and balance to it.
So, what does it do?
Ruby's eyes instantly brightened as she entered her weapon-geek mode. She rattled off all the details of the new modifications with rapid speed and excited tone. Neo showed a clear apprehensiveness to how close the girl got, but listened all the same.
After all, the petite girl had decided long ago—
Ruby was Yang's sister first, the sibling of the love of her life, before she was the cause of Torchwick's death.
"If I ever go out, Neo…" Torchwick's voice echoed her memories. "I don't need any fanfare. I'm a clown that performed my stage. All the things I've done, if it's my time to bow out, let the curtain fall, I say! No encore, no round of applause. I want my last thoughts to be, 'Well, that was a doozy. I think I'm a bit tired now.'"
Without realizing what Neo held inside for so long, she let go. An enormous weight lifted from her chest. Like it flitted away into the endless blue sky around them.
"Um… you okay, Neo?" she heard Ruby ask. "You're smiling. It's kinda scary."
Hmph!
Neo clocked Ruby with a firm karate chop and strode away. She looked over her shoulder before entering the airship.
I'll look after your sister, but not for your sake.
"Ehehe~" Ruby rubbed her head. "I know. I'm good with that."
…
…
Yang watched the exchange between Neo and Ruby with a soft smile. She knew how big a thing it was for both of them. Neo especially seemed relieved of something that was holding her back.
"Yang… I—" Weiss stopped short of finishing her sentence.
Meanwhile, she remained silent with her arms crossed. Though her body language was defensive, the girl was actually expectant inside.
"I wish you safe travels," Weiss forced out. "Regardless of success or failure on your mission, it is my hope you return to Atlas safe."
"…Yeah, okay."
"…"
"…"
Pyrrha appeared from behind and pushed Weiss closer to Yang. The White Queen threw a callous stare at the girl before turning back to her former teammate.
"…I violated a sacred oath."
"…Yeah. You did."
"Make any request of me, and I will honor it."
"Weiss—"
"Yang, things are scarred between us, to say the least." Weiss weighed her next words carefully. "I wasted so much time and effort hating you, and there was this whole debacle with Cinder and—"
"Weiss, it's alright."
"It's not alright! All of these things kept piling up and I lost sight that you were my best friend!"
"…"
Okay… Yang inwardly thought. That kinda got me.
"You were always my best friend and rival, no matter how much you changed." Weiss took a deep, shuttering breath. "And, it's so stupid it takes you leaving for me to realize how much I wish you'd stay."
"To be fair, I did start it."
"Are we children, blaming each other for who started it first?"
"Yeah."
"Then, I'll be the first to finish it."
"What?"
Weiss stepped forward.
"I want to make things right. I don't want to let who's to blame for which, or any of our issues to stand between us any longer. I've missed you."
"Stop! Okay, stop, Weiss. Seriously," Yang held her hand out.
"But I—!"
Weiss was about press on, when she saw the other on the verge of tears.
"I'm really sleep deprived. I can handle a lot of things, but not this. Not right now," Yang muttered under her breath.
"…Maybe, we just need time," Weiss caressed her arm.
"Yeah…time."
…
"Take care of Ruby, will ya?" Yang tried to recover.
"Of course. With my life."
"…Bye, Weiss."
"Also!" Weiss bit the bottom of her lip. "I may not have any right to say this, but I'm sure your mother misses you. Summer, I mean."
Yang scratched her head awkwardly.
"Yeah…Okay."
"I think it's—wonderful you have two mothers."
The hidden meaning in the statement did not escape Yang's notice. Weiss' own mother died when she was young. Yang had thought the same until only recently. There was such a weight to that sentence alone, and it could not have been easy to bring out.
The White Queen turned away, when Yang thought of something.
"A rematch!" she called. "My request: I want a rematch. That'll settle everything for good. Balance all the withstanding debts. Deal?"
Weiss' mouth crumpled with all the emotions she kept from erupting. She straightened it upon turning around.
"Deal. I can't wait until you're back, so I can honor it."
"Same here, princess."
"It's Queen now."
"Oh, right. Queen Weiss in all her perfect, ice queen glory," Yang rolled her eyes.
"…"
"…"
"…Pft."
"Heh."
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
The two broke into laughter, a sincere one they hadn't shared in what seemed like an eternity ago.
There was still a mountain of uncertainties between them, issues unresolved—but for that brief moment, they knew each other once more. For a single laugh, bygones were bygones, and Weiss and Yang were friends again.
…
…
"Yang. This one wishes you a safe trip to Vacuo."
"Aw. Thanks, Maz."
"Make sure to write in your will: in the event of your untimely demise, your prosthetic be addressed to my lab."
"Yeah, okay. Should've known," Yang sighed with a deprecating grin. As she turned to enter the airship, Masa tugged on her leather jacket.
"One more thing. There is a Tower in Vacuo, this one subtly suggests. Many answers may be found there."
Yang watched the engineer with a curious look.
"…I'll keep it in mind."
"Your sister asked about your mother. Will you not request the same of me?"
"Meh. That's fine for Ruby, but I'm the type to find her own answers."
"…I see. The Tower should assist you in that quest."
"Gotcha," Yang made finger guns as she boarded the vessel.
The team of four took their respective seats on the pilot's deck. With a swift handling of the controls, Mercury brought Atlas' newest model airship rising into the air. As they lifted, they watched the sendoff party wave goodbye.
Emerald rested her chin in her hand, staring at the shrinking figures.
"I don't like it."
"What?" Yang asked.
"This buddy-buddy stuff. Leaves a bad feeling under my skin."
"Yeah, it can be a bit much."
"Definitely not something I wanna get used to."
"But it's not bad once in a while?"
Emerald gave a dismissive scoff, before trying to lose her thoughts in the clouds out the window.
"…No. It wasn't bad," she admitted. "Once in a while."
"But this is better."
"The original four."
"Team ENMY."
"Making its way to Vacuo for another suicide mission."
"In classic styles."
Emerald turned around to see Yang, Mercury, and Neo meeting her with the same trademark, troublemaker's snide. There was also an obvious urging plastering their faces.
"Guys, we're supposed to wait until we're out of view."
"""…"""
"This is the newest prototype airship. Cinder and Masa are still watching, and we need to conserve our Dust reserves."
"""…"""
"…Fine," Emerald fastened her seatbelt. "Punch it, Merc."
The thrusters roared with a sudden kick of acceleration. An audible boom exploded for distances. And those still on the airship docks saw the top-of-the-line aircraft, the pinnacle of Atlas' avian technology, instantly taken for a joyride.
Masa gazed intently at the trail of jet smoke, while Weiss held her head in dismay. The weight of handing priceless technology to a handful of delinquents donned on them.
"This one notes the emergency escape system is working adequately," Masa noted.
"Unbelievable…"
Cinder was the only one to smile at the disappearing speck in the sky.
"Safe travels, Team ENMY. Until our paths cross again."
.
.
NOTES
Sorry if some readers didn't like the recap. I personally don't like them in shows, but I got a number of requests to do one and thought it was a good idea here. Especially since this fic takes place over a long period of time.
-Can we get more YangxNeo love?
A: Oh, yeah. I'm aware there's been a lack on that front, but… Kinda spoilers. Let's say there's a thing in the next arc I'm writing towards expanding exactly that. Sorry, Baked Alaska fans. You'll have to wait just a bit longer.
The Vacuo Arc starts in the next chapter.
Hope you guys look forward to it!
See you then!