The rest of the trip was uneventful.
The four aircraft flew high and fast, arriving at Vacuo before sunrise.
Aes didn't even see Winter when she left. He stayed aboard the Aeon as the team refueled the ships and took off for base at Vytal Desert's southern end.
Schwartz was not happy about the state of Aes' prosthetics.
"You idiot. You're gonna pay for that when they have to install new ones."
"I'm going to bed," Aes replied.
"Not so fast," Schwartz interrupted, "Schnee wants to talk first."
Aes again entered the comms room, this time, battered, blooded, and without a right arm.
"You disobeyed my orders." Schnee began right off the bat, "Destroying that base was a risk I did not want you to take. Normally, I would be more angry with you, but I just received word my daughter is arriving safely in Atlas in the next ten minutes. And, hearing of your injuries, I feel your next surgery will be punishment enough."
Aes scowled and said nothing. He was tired, and didn't really feel like a lecture at the moment.
"That said, I've made the arrangements for you to attend Beacon. You'll be starting this upcoming term, which begins in one week, and you'll be able to compete at the Vytal Festival Tournament at the term's end."
Aes remained silent.
"I've already made arrangements for your prosthetic surgery in Vale. You can head their immediately, receive the surgery, and then head to Beacon."
Aes frowned. Schnee was using the prosthetics to force Aes to head to Vale.
"It takes days to recover from that surgery, and it takes weeks for the nerve endings to adapt. I can't fight like that. Combat school isn't exactly the best environment for recovery."
"I've considered this, and I've got the best doctors in the world on their way to Vale as we speak. They've found a way around the problem, and you should be fully recovered before the term starts if you have the surgery before tomorrow."
Aes shut the communication down. Nothing else needed to be said. After packing and refueling, along with a brief 'so long' to his friends, Aes boarded Aeon and flew for Vale, and Beacon Academy.
Aes didn't bother replacing the mask. There wasn't any desert in Vale, and the mask was too reminiscent of the White Fang's uniform.
The surgery went well. The new prosthetics were far more up to date than the old ones. The metal was both harder and lighter; the blades where longer and sharper. The grapple had increased range, and the sticky launcher could carry more rounds.
The doctors knew their trade, and Schnee spared no expense. Aes felt better just hours after the surgery, and his hands even obeyed his nerve commands enough to fly Aeon manually. Just as Schnee had said, he would be combat ready by the time the term started in two days.
Aes had an appointment with Professor Ozpin in an hour, and he was grateful. He'd heard about Ozpin, and was anxious to meet him. He also wanted to get settled in and get his bearings of Beacon.
The academy spanned a large campus of several acres, and Aes, ever on alert, wanted to get to know it as soon as possible. It was combat school, and he wanted to be ready.
The garage underneath beacon was a little tight, but he managed to squeeze Aeon into a rather large parking spot. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly small or subtle compared to the rest of the garage.
Thankfully, only one person was there to see him land.
A beautiful girl, wearing a yellow tank top and the shortest black shorts Aes had ever seen, was working on a bright yellow motorcycle.
Motorcycles were temperamental and unstable; Aes had never seen one in the desert.
Conversely, Aes hadn't had the opportunity to see a lot of pretty girls in the desert either. The girl swung back cascading blonde hair and smiled. Her lilac eyes seemed to glimmer even through the canopy of the cockpit.
Not wanting to crash in front of her, Aes lowered the landing gear and gingerly set the jet down. He opened the underneath cargo hold and climbed through the underbelly's escape hatch.
The girl continued to watch him as he grabbed his duffle bag with is shiny new prosthetics, of which Aes was now sheepishly aware.
"Nice ride!" the girl said, smiling.
"Thanks," Aes didn't know what to say, "It's a new model."
"Really? What kind?"
"It was built by the Schnee company. They call it the Aeon."
"Nice! My roommate here is a Schnee. Weiss."
Aes had heard Weiss was attending Beacon. Mr. Schnee had never brought it up before, and Aes didn't really care enough to pry. Now he cared.
"Yeah, I work… for the Schnees from time to time." Aes almost forgot that the Knights' work was supposed to be under wraps, and not talked about openly.
"Huh, well that's cool. Where are you from?"
Aes was starting to get flushed from all the attention he was getting from this girl. He'd never seen a girl so pretty. Her bright eyes, her contagious smile, her… everything else. Aes was struggling to maintain his composure.
"Vacuo." He managed to say without cracking his voice.
"Huh. Well, I'm Yang," she said, still beaming, "It's nice to meet you!"
She extended a hand, and Aes paused. No one really shook hands in Vacuo, and he'd met some villagers that hadn't exactly responded well to his prosthetics, but he didn't want to be rude. He took Yang's hand.
"Aes. Nice to meet you," Aes replied. He looked at his scroll and realized he still had an appointment.
"I'd better be going. I'm supposed to meet Professor Ozpin in his office. I don't suppose you know where-"
"Oh sure! Just take the elevator right there to the main lobby, then take the second elevator up the main building's tower. You can't miss it."
"Thanks. Maybe all see you around?"
Aes tried not to blush as Yang winked at him.
"Count on it. Nice to meet you Aes!"
Aes smiled at her and walked into the elevator as Yang went back to work on her bike. He'd forgotten about the whole "making friends" aspect of his combat education, and he realized that he might actually like it at Beacon.
Ozpin sipped his tea as he looked across the desk at the young man sitting before him. A black jumpsuit, dark hair, dark eyes, light skin, and two heavily modified, unique, weaponized prosthetic arms. How fitting that his name be associated with the color of a metal.
Ozpin set the cup down on the saucer resting on his desk. The cup in front of Aes remained untouched. He breathed deeply before speaking.
"Young man, why do you want to attend my academy? I've read your transcripts and the, frankly, beaming review given to me by Mr. Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company, and I can't help but wonder if you are not already a proficient warrior, despite your age."
Aes tried to meet the headmaster's gaze. He was out of his element, but comfort was something he had learned to live without.
"There is always more to learn. I came here seeking accreditation as a huntsman in the hopes that I can help the people living outside Vacuo's city walls. A lot of people need help in this world professor."
"No doubt. Yet, I can't help but wonder if something else lies under the surface…" Ozpin trailed off and took another sip of his tea.
"Everything's in my transcripts sir. I worked for a mercenary group in the desert, and the only way to get government support is through huntsman certification."
Ozpin continued to gaze over his cup of tea, silent.
"And tell me, why would one of the most powerful men in Remnant take such an interest in a mercenary group, sparing no expense for a single warrior?"
Aes shrugged. Honestly, he didn't know, and he didn't care.
"Mr. Schnee's business is his own. Transportation between the kingdoms is harder than ever these days. It's probably just cheaper to hire local man-power to protect his assets."
"Indeed." Ozpin took another sip of tea.
The great second hand of the tower's clock moved slowly; it's ticks seemed to echo like thunder through the silent office.
Ozpin sighed.
"Aes, my academy was built on the principles of training powerful, honorable warriors, warriors who will fight to defend this world and its inhabitants, all of its inhabitants, from the creatures of Grimm. Is that what you want to become?"
Aes was unsure if Ozpin meant the warrior or the Grimm, but he nodded anyways. Aes was confident that he was smart, at least smarter than the other soldiers he had met, but he felt like an invalid in the presence of this well-spoken scholar.
Ozpin sipped his tea again, and smiled.
"Have you ever fought against humans?"
The question caught Aes off-guard, but only for a second.
"Fighting is in human nature. Asking if I've fought with someone is like asking if I breathe."
"Fair enough. Have you ever fought with a Faunus?"
Aes was more surprised by this question. He didn't think Ozpin to be a racist.
"I don't see much difference between humans and Faunus. Yes, I've fought against both, but it really doesn't matter to me. Both throw punches, and both fall flat when they get hit."
Ozpin sighed and sipped his tea again. How much tea was in that dam cup?
They sat in silence for a few moments, before Ozpin finally broke the silence.
"Young man, what do you really want in life?"
Aes thought for a moment. He didn't really know. He cared about the villagers outside the kingdoms, but when he thought about it, they had never really cared for him.
He didn't have any real friends among them, no one he trusted. It made sense; not all mercenaries were what he would call "good people," and some did more harm than good. Besides, the villagers didn't really care for his prosthetics, so it was best to just avoid them.
Ultimately, Aes thought that fighting the Grimm was all he cared about because that was all he did. He hadn't really thought of much else, until now.
"Professor Ozpin, I honestly can't say," Aes began, "All my life, I've fought the Grimm. It's there on the transcript. Everything has been about that point. I haven't given much thought to anything else."
Again, Ozpin sipped his tea.
"You are young, Aes. If you had knowledge of everything you wanted in life right at this moment, I would be far more concerned than I am now. You have a lot of time to live through; take advantage of it. Take some advice from an old huntsman; don't spend every waking moment trying to fight the Grimm. Enjoy your time at Beacon. I am glad you are here, despite the turbulent circumstances in which we find ourselves. Feel free to stop by anytime and talk. My door is always open."
Ozpin smiled, and Aes took the cue to stand and leave. The two shook hands; Ozpin didn't hesitate to firmly grasp the metal counterpart.
"Professor Goodwitch will give you your new uniform and update your scroll. Your scroll contains your map, schedule, student handbook, and student ID while at Beacon, and it is best for you to keep it with you at all times. Good luck Aes."
Ozpin smiled as Aes left the room.
The young man has been treated as a living weapon his whole life. It would be interesting to see what he could do when given knowledge and a new environment.
The stern Professor Goodwitch spoke little, only instructing Aes in matter-of-fact tones when necessary. All of his uniforms and school supplies had been paid for in bulk by Mr. Schnee, and were packed neatly in a single trunk, prepared by the school staff.
Unlike most of Beacon's students, Aes would be in a small dorm room by himself, without a team. Each student who attended Beacon, and for that matter most other schools, usually broke off into assigned teams of four for the duration of their education.
"Supplemental" was the word used to describe Aes' future educational experience. Schnee didn't mind spending a small fortune to get Aes in, but apparently he wanted him circulated out and back to Vacuo with certification as quickly as possible.
The small room had a single desk, a bed, three shelves, and a window. Bathrooms were down the hall, and under no circumstances was anyone else allowed in his room.
The room was normally reserved for school employees, but with the Vytal Festival fast approaching, all the dorms were occupied. Apparently, students from all over Remnant were in attendance, and Aes had been lucky just to find a room available on campus.
He didn't mind. Clean, personal space had been hard to come by in Vacuo, and the newfound luxury put Aes in a good mood.
He didn't bother to put on his uniform; apparently, it was only necessary to wear at school functions such as class. While he was technically a student at Beacon, he felt more akin to the Vacuo students, who weren't required to wear uniforms.
Instead, he explored the campus in his black jumpsuit, using the scroll to navigate. He checked the lecture halls, the gym, the dining hall, the amphitheater, the ballroom, the gardens, and even the massive Cross Continental Transmit Tower.
Aes quickly realized that this was going to be more boring than he thought. Maybe that's why all the students had teams; at least they'd have someone to help them avoid the sheer dullness that was higher education.
Aes checked on the Aeon in the garage, and was disappointed to find Yang and her bike no longer there. He did a systems check on the jet, locked it up, and returned to his room.
Aes spent most of the next day at the library terminals.
If he was to fight against other students, both in class and at the tournament, he would need to do some research.
He scrolled through the names of students in the directory. He didn't recognize many of the names, but a few stuck out to him.
Pyrrha Nikos, a first year student and member of team JNPR, graduated at the top of her class in Sanctum and won the Mistral regional tournament four times. Apparently she was even featured on the front of a cereal box.
She was definitely the one to be worried about when it came to sparring. He would have to remember her.
Weiss Schnee, also a first year student and a member of team RWBY. Aes already regretted not having asked Mr. Schnee about her. He needed all the intelligence he could get, and first-hand accounts were better than brief records and files.
Weiss was on the same team as Yang, and the reports said that the team overall was ranked highly in the school for its combat prowess.
She was left handed, and apparently a bit of a rebel, based on her public record and unique hair style. She used dust as her primary weapon, big surprise, and rarely returned to her family in Atlas, based on flight records.
Coco Adel, an older student and leader of team CFVY, wielded a Gatling gun not dissimilar to Aeon's chain gun. How did she even lift something like that, much less us it in battle?
The more Aes read, the more nervous he became. These fighters were among the best graduates in the world, each with a transcript from prestigious combat schools across the four kingdoms.
When things got dicey in the desert, Aes could always count on his instincts, and the ability to fight dirty. In a sparring situation, or even just a class, his confidence waned.
He was used to fighting foot soldiers and stupid monsters, not trained warriors. If his fight with Taurus was any indication, Aes was going to have a tough time. He turned back to the computer.
Yang Xiao Long, member of team RWBY, used two shotgun-like weapons attached to her forearms. Yang and her sister, Ruby Rose, were from Patch, an island off the coast of Vale.
Since Yang focused so much on using her fists, she might be weaker to kicking attacks-
"Like what you see?"
Aes froze, and immediately he felt his face going flushed. He turned only to see Yang standing next to him, grinning from ear to ear.
Two girls stood behind her, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, both now looking straight at him.
"Umm… just doing some research before the semester starts!" Aes laughed nervously, simultaneously closing the computer browser.
"Oh! You haven't met Ruby yet! This is Ruby," Yang grabbed Ruby and dragged her forward. She had short hair, a red hood, and uniquely enough, grey eyes, which intrigued Aes. That wasn't something you saw every day.
"…And this is Weiss."
Of course, Aes didn't need an introduction. He immediately spotted Weiss for who she was based on the white hair, sharp eyes, and snowflake logo branded on her clothes. The scowl however was new.
"Guys this is Aes!"
"Hi! It's nice to meet you. I'm Ruby," Aes shook her hand.
"Charmed," Weiss said, with apparent lack of enthusiasm, "Now let's get going."
"Aw come on Weiss. Play nice! Aes is new in town, and apparently he knows your dad!"
Weiss immediately turned her head; a skeptical look seemed to scan Aes up and down.
"Likely," Weiss scoffed, "but my father does work with… a lot of people. Now hurry, I want to get back."
"To talk to Blake?" Ruby asked, "She has been acting weird since last semester."
"You mean the Faunus that passed by here a few minutes ago?"
The three girls' jaws dropped. Stunned, they gaped at Aes as if he had just exploded.
"What?"
"How?! How did you know?" Weiss questioning sounded more like an accusation than anything else.
Aes had read Blake Belladonna's files, and what he had found troubled him. She was from outside the kingdoms of Remnant as well, but the fact that he hadn't heard of a huntress in training as skilled as Blake made him curious.
As for Blake being a Faunus, he could just tell.
"Why? Doesn't everyone know?"
"No you dunce! And if you tell anyone ever again, you'll have to deal with us." Weiss stormed off.
"Uh, nice to meet you!" Ruby followed after Weiss.
Aes, now red in the face, looked down in shame.
"Sorry about that. Weiss can be, a little high spirited." Yang smiled, "So! Doing some 'research' I see?"
"Yeah; I've never had to spar with anyone before. Not on this level. I thought I would at least do some research. What brings your team up here?"
"We were playing Remnant. You ever played?"
Aes had played some board games with the other soldiers. They had a worn copy of Remnant the Game in the caves, and every soldier always wanted to play Vacuo for some reason. Personally, he thought Mistral always had the edge on the other kingdoms.
"Yeah, I've played before, but I didn't come to Beacon to play board games," Aes smiled.
"Ah lighten up," Yang playfully punched Aes in the arm. A metallic clang rang out, much to Yang's surprise.
"Wow. Sturdy."
"Yup, top-of-the-line. So Blake then," Aes still had more questions, "She's the fourth member of your team?"
Aes already knew the answer; it was public record, but he wanted to get Yang talking for more intel.
"Yup. Me, Ruby, Weiss and Blake. That's us!"
"It's hard to imagine the four of you getting along together…" Aes looked at the door where Weiss had gone.
"Yeah, we've had our ups and downs, but we make it work. What about you? Have you been assigned a team?"
"I'm a bit of a lone wolf," Aes winked, "I don't mind taking on the baddies myself, but if I got to work with girls like you, I wouldn't mind it so much."
Yang laughed. Her smile and laugh were contagious and hearty.
"For sure! Hey, what's your schedule like for tomorrow?" Yang grabbed Aes' scroll.
"Looks like we have the same schedule. If you want, we can come find you at breakfast and show you where the rooms are?"
"That'd be great. I can't wait."
"Sounds like a plan!"
Yang walked to the door, but turned and winked as she opened it.
"By the way, you're going to have to take me up in that jet one of these days."
Classes proceeded normally, or at least they seemed to; Aes didn't have much to go on. What little education he'd received came at the hands of electronic tutors and Schwartz.
He had plenty of combat experience, and Aes found he enjoyed history. Technical knowledge and skill in writing and mathematics proved to be more difficult, and Aes found himself working and studying in his room more often than not.
Most mornings, he would eat breakfast before class either with team RWBY or team JNPR. All of them treated Aes with respect and comradery, and they were happy to sit by him in class, but ultimately Aes didn't talk much, feeling much more comfortable with observing.
Of course, some mornings he skipped breakfast to work out at the gym or check last night's homework. His grades weren't perfect, but he was catching up.
He sometimes studied in the library with Juane Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, of team JNPR, both of whom were happy to lend him a hand in his lessons.
Juane was about at his speed in terms of schoolwork, so it was nice to have him to study with. Pyrrha kept both of them on track, helping them understand difficult concepts and study key elements of the lessons.
On the weekends, Aes tried to get down to the garage and do maintenance on the Aeon. Sometimes Yang would come down and work on her motorcycle, Bumblebee, and sometimes she would come just to look at the Aeon and talk.
Aes found out that Yang and Ruby were actually half-sisters, and Yang's mother had left them before Ruby was born. Ruby's mother, Summer Rose, unfortunately had passed on many years prior, when Yang was still a young girl.
The two would talk about a wide variety of subjects: school, mechanics, fighting. Yet every time Aes brought up the Faunus or the White Fang, Yang would sort of trail off and go silent.
Aes got along well with Blake, but he never brought up the Faunus around her. He was careful to tread lightly, but that didn't stop him from doing some digging.
Most of what he could find in the library's online archives didn't help him much beyond general historical information.
He was, however, able to access the Schnee Dust Company records, and found that the train incident committed by Adam Taurus almost eight months ago was done with a team of two individuals, both Faunus, Taurus, and a girl.
Aes had known about the train job. He had felt the effects of no supplies coming in, and had seen the results of underequipped soldiers on the field of battle.
The new information to Aes concerned the second suspect. Most of the images had been lost in the conflict, but security personnel had managed to dig up data from the wreckage that revealed the vandal to be female, Faunus, and almost certainly an adolescent.
Another incident in Vale's downtown area sparked further interest in team RWBY. The area was becoming treacherous at night from a series of robberies, but this incident involved something bigger.
Apparently one of Ironwood's mechs got loose in the downtown area, but was stopped by the Huntsmen, or so the news said. It was a new model, the Atlesian Paladin-290, developed in part by the Schnee Dust Company, the same people who made the Aeon.
Ironwood and the Schnees were no pushovers; how on Remnant anyone managed to steal such a weapon was beyond Aes' comprehension. He chalked it up to human error and mismanagement.
Professor Goodwitch had kept Aes out of sparring for the first few weeks, and Aes was somewhat grateful. The time allowed him to observe and catch up with the class in terms of aura and control. It also allowed him time to get used to the new prosthetics for combat.
However, Aes was getting anxious. He needed practice. He was attending Beacon to learn high level combat, not sit on the sidelines.
Two weeks had gone by since the term began when the Professor finally called him into the ring.
"Mr. Aes, I think it might be time to see how you handle yourself in combat."
Aes suited into his black jumpsuit and utility belt. Unlike the stiff school uniform he had grown accustom to wearing, the jumpsuit gave him flexibility, and exposed his prosthetic arms.
His opponent was Cardin Winchester. He'd never even spoken to the boy, but he gathered Cardin was a bit of a braggart and generally not worth the effort of speaking to.
Apparently, he and team JNPR had exchanged blows last semester, but Aes hadn't bothered to pry.
Cardin wore heavy steel armor and wielded an oversized mace with a dust gem in the center.
The boy would hit heavy, but he would be slow. The trick was to avoid getting hit in the face. Aes found that was a pretty good advice to follow in battle.
The two boys squared off in the circular sparring ring in the middle of the amphitheater. Aes could see his friends sitting in the stands high above his head. He'd never cared how he looked in combat before this moment.
Cardin practiced swinging his mace a few times, the two locked eyes, and the match began.
Cardin charged in headlong, and Aes braced himself for the assault. However, Cardin stopped a few meters short, instead slamming his mace into the ground.
The floor shook from the impact as explosive dust charged towards Aes. He dove away and summersaulted back into a fighting stance. He drew out his blades, but still stood his ground, waiting for Cardin to charge again.
Aes knew he couldn't hurt Cardin while the boy was outside his sphere of influence, and he hoped Cardin would be foolish enough to be drawn in to his range.
Aes hoped to fight this match smartly and slowly. He didn't want to show what he was truly capable of to an audience of potential opponents.
Cardin charged forward, but not recklessly. Aes noted the careful even pacing of his run, and the fact that Cardin was never off balance.
Cardin swung his mace, and the blow was far faster than Aes had anticipated. He struggled to deflect the blows, but soon he found his rhythm.
In a single instant, Aes countered the mace with the underside of his right hand blade, and struck at the other end of the mace with his left.
The mace went flying out of Cardin's hands, and he leapt back to avoid Aes' weapons.
Now the tide had turned. Aes moved to position himself between Cardin and the fallen mace.
Cardin charged forward, hoping no doubt to break Aes' blockade. Cardin managed to dodge his blades, and Aes quickly weighed his options.
Schwartz had warned Aes against using his aura and semblance too often. The gifts were rare, and keeping them secret from the enemy for as long as possible was ideal.
Instead, Aes opted for the grapple gun.
With a hiss and a snap, the grapple snagged Cardin's ankle, and he fell flat just feet from his mace.
Aes reeled him in like a fish, and using the momentum of the grapple swung Cardin into the air. A swift kick to his chest sent Cardin sprawling across the floor.
Cardin came up again, looking angry and flustered, but still composed enough to ready his stance.
Aes believed in fighting fair, sort of. He withdrew his blades, and put his fists up in a similar stance.
Out of the corner of his eye, Aes could see Professor Goodwitch's disapproving glance, but she said nothing.
Cardin made a swing, and his knuckles met the hard steel of Aes' left forearm. A metal ding echoed in the chamber.
Aes swung with his right, a little harder than he should have. He connected with Cardin, square in the jaw, and the boy crumpled to the ground out cold.
Aes was genuinely surprised, and a little embarrassed. That was a brawl, not a sparring match, and Cardin was unarmed. It wasn't really a fair fight.
"And that's the match," Professor Goodwitch said as she entered the ring, "Mr. Aes, your methods are… unconventional, but we will definitely be looking forward to seeing more of what you can achieve in combat. Now, who would like to spar next?"
Yang immediately sprang up, smiling and sticking a hand in the air.
"Very well Miss Long. Who should your opponent be-"
"Actually Professor, I'd like to spar again if I could. I haven't had any practice in the last few weeks, and I think I've still got some energy after that last match."
Aes smiled as he locked eyes with Yang. Her smile grew even wider and her eyebrows narrowed. Challenge accepted.
"Mr. Aes, your prosthetics are still new, and I would hesitate to overtax them, but perhaps another match would be acceptable… given the circumstances." Professor Goodwitch made a sideways glance at the still out-cold Cardin.
After Cardin was moved from the arena, Yang and Aes squared off.
In a swift motion, Yang cocked her shot guantlets; Ember Celica, she called them.
In response, Aes smiled and unsheathed his blades.
The next few seconds were a blur. The two charged to the side, each circling to the right. Yang fired off several explosive rounds, the sound of banging echoing with the clacking of empty shells hitting the floor.
Aes deflected some shots with his blades, others he let zoom past him. One burned his check as it whistled by.
He remembered reading her file, that she was trained in hand to hand combat. Kicking would be his strategy, but he would have to get in close for that.
His sticky launcher popped out of his right forearm; so much for keeping some of his weaponry a secret.
He launched a volley of sticky explosives around Yang's feet, but she moved too quickly. The detonations barely caught her heels as she dove and spun back into position.
Aes sprinted forward, leaping high and coming down with the force behind his right blade.
Yang deflected the blow with her gauntlets, and proceeded to punch at her opponent.
Aes was too fast for her, and too close in range. He was able to deflect and push off her wrists with each punch, resulting in a round going wide past him.
Finally, she pushed forward with her left and drew back with her right. The blow caught Aes square on the cheek, but not before he fired dust explosives onto Yang's boot.
The resulting explosion sent them both flying. Aes' ears were ringing, but he'd been around explosives for a long time; he recovered quickly and was on his feet in an instant.
Yang was up too, and wasted no time launching more rounds downfield.
Aes was sprinting to avoid the rounds coming at him, and through the smoke, he could see Yang's glowing blonde hair, and eyes now blazing red.
She charged at him and leapt high in the air, coming down with all her force behind her right arm.
In that instant, Aes froze. Maybe he just didn't want to reveal his semblance so quickly, or maybe his prosthetics weren't as fast as he thought, or maybe his instincts weren't as good as he thought. Either way, the last thing he saw was an up close and personal view of Yang's fist before everything went dark.