Phew, so, yeah. This story was a bigger bitch to write. And, you know what, it's still not done. This is only the first of three parts, and the next two are even busier with a lot more going on. It is a lot of fun being had and it is also important to the story, so...

I am still working on the next part, though, and most of the third part is done, so, it shouldn't take too much longer. Hopefully by next week I'll have at least one of them ready for you.

Right now, though, we have Yang, Ruby and Blake sitting around, killing time while Pyrrha and Nora dilly-dally. Still, we'll get to see some familiar things. Example: We'll see the Risk game they played in V2, adapted to this story in my own way, also we'll see Remnants version of World of Tanks, shamelessly plugging the game that has siphoned literally ALL of my free time. I figured I gotta give it homage in some way, right?

Later we'll see another classic that some may remember, others may need google it. But that's for next chapter. I'll let you all find out how I used it all, though, so I'll shut up now.

Enjoy!

Yang led her guests to the basement of her house, the proclaimed 'Den', as there was nothing down there that both Taiyang and his daughter didn't enjoy doing. She flipped on one switch out of three, illuminating the basement to reveal the Pride of the Xiao Long home.

Once you got to the bottom of the stairs you were met with a soft, deep brown carpeting. If Ruby had to put the color, easily mahogany brown (it was the same color as her table back home). The basement consisted of three sections. One, right in front of the stairs, held a huge flat screen TV with three couches surrounding it in a square form, leaving enough room for a coffee table in the middle. Hooked up to the same TV were multiple gaming stations. Yang never admitted they were hers, but her skills showed otherwise.

To the direct right and around a corner from the stairs were two rooms. One in the far corner was surrounded by windows. Within, however, appeared to be an office space, complete with file cabinets, a desk and a computer along with a bookshelf. This is where Taiyang made his office space, rather than the new Guest Room upstairs. Outside of the office was a workout area; a punching bag, bench press, leg press and a couple sets of dumbbells with a treadmill all along a tile flooring.

"Did you guys finally finish Tai's office?" Ruby inquired. Yang nodded, feigning exhaustion.

"Yeah, what a pain in the ass. Those windows are relatively soundproof. I guess because I make a lot of noise when I work out, but I don't know what he's talking about..." Blake and Ruby giggled as Yang lured them over to the TV. "Come here, I'll how you our pride and joy."

As they approached, the blonde leaned against the center couch, "Ladies, I'd like you to note a cord running from the couch." Ruby and Blake nodded after following her example, "Now, if you will..."

"Is this the presentation part of the event where you show off the new car you'll be selling?" Ruby giggled, making a quip about an auto-show display that Yang would constantly drool over. Wasn't her fault that the newer cars looked so damn cool.

As a response, Yang wrapped her up in a playful headlock, "Just for that, you volunteered to be the guinea pig!" Despite her young friend's cries, Yang still dragged her over to the front of the brown-leather couch. In between the two cushions was a small console panel with two sets of buttons and cup holders, "Now be a good girl and sit!" Yang threw Ruby into the right couch cushion and pressed a button.

What happened next could only be described as euphoric as the chair began to vibrate steadily. "Oh... No way, Yang..." Ruby said as she physically relaxed in her seat, her backside going happily numb to the counterforce that she met. Yang offered the second seat to Blake, who gladly accepted with no resistance or quip.

"Oh my..." The bow-wearing girl exclaimed as she too felt the experience what her neighbor was experiencing. "Yang, this is... Magnificent."

"It gets better. Watch." She pressed what only could be described as the buttons who used to roll down windows and the seats slowly tilted back into a recliner position. "These babies are massage recliners and they were actually really cheap. They matched the other two couches in color and the floor."

"Yang..." Ruby said calmly, "I'll be honest, I'm not sure of anyone who would be able to make matching brown or tan furniture work, especially with the carpet of choice. You and your dad... Well done." She ended her compliment with a small golf clap and sat deeper in the couch.

"Aww, my life is complete now. I've gotten the approval of my fifteen-year-old friend for our furniture choice." Yang joked. Ruby shrugged, clearly still enjoying the massage, so much so that she refused to comment further. "Quick note, that'll go on for ten minutes before stopping automatically, or you can kill it by hitting the buttons on the inward panel. And, despite our best efforts, neither side will go all the way back until we get a stand or something. If we don't then the whole couch flies back, so, unfortunately, we only had two couches to sleep on."

"I'm cool with that." Blake said. An affirming noise from the girl in red next to her marked the agreement. "Yang, just how many games do you have?"

"Enough." The nurse-in-training simply stated, "You'll see later. We'll be playing quite a bit."

"Are we going to do a brawl tournament tonight? Or is it Stadium week?" Ruby inquired with a hint of tiredness, clearly relaxing too much and pressing the offending button to kill the machine beneath her seat, cracking he pop can open and taking a sip of the red drink within. Yang shrugged honestly.

"I was thinking we'd wing it, Ru. After all, we don't know just what Nora and Pyrrha want to do."

"I hope we do Risk again. I need to take Pyrrha down a few."

"Ruby," Yang sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "she beat you out of sheer dumb luck last time."

"Precisely why we need to play again!" Ruby argued, "All that day was 'dumb luck, dumb luck!' but I think not!"

The theatrics from Ruby, although unusual, didn't go unnoticed. Both Yang and Blake got a small kick out of it as the younger teen sat back in her seat. Yang was proud, her friend's outburst showed the progress they were making with her, regardless of how small of progress it was. 'Baby steps.' Yang thought.

"Alright, so what do you all want to do while we wait?" The busty blonde inquired, "We have about three hours until the other half of our little group gets here, so we've got time to kill."

Ruby and Blake both turned to each other, the former knowing full well that she kept the contents of today's activities a mystery. For her friend, she'll have to throw out options. "Well…" Ruby pondered aloud, "We can actually kill things. I know you got that new Zombie game that just came out."

"Rise of the Infinite Dead." Yang said cryptically, with a playfully creepy tone and a cliché evil laugh at the end.

"Right. We can try that out, or we can kill each other." Blake's eyebrows raised in confusion and concern, soon realizing that the young teen was talking about killing in games. "Or… We can take some time and show off our world."

"Our… World… Oh, yeah! I almost forgot!" The blonde hopped up from her seat and maneuvered towards the system across the room, grabbing a few controllers in the process. Blake was still confused as to what was happening, not exactly being the gaming person. Luckily, though, the banter between a certain brunette and blonde would answer her questions. "I haven't played this since the last time everyone was here, so nothing's changed in the long run."

"Great. I can continue construction of the Big House." Ruby chirped, accepting the controller that was handed her way once the machines had turned on.

Yang handed the bow-wearing teen in before her and beside Ruby, glancing back to the latter, "Didn't we figure out a better name for it?"

"Didn't we also agree that that name will never see the light of day again, you dirty-minded girl?"

"Aw, did my little name embarrass my little sister?"

"Yes! Yes, it did!" Ruby cried with a blush, "It's the big house because it's a freaking castle, and I refuse to call it anything else!"

She huffed and turned her attention back to the still-loading game, ignoring the whispering between her neighbor and hostess. They were discussing the phallic nickname Yang had given the castle, which caused Blake to smile and shake her head at the immature antics of her friends. Only here would that be acceptable… Or maybe online, too. Ruby cracked open her pop and took a swig as the map finally loaded around her character. Being the second player, she got a quarter of the screen on the top right while Yang got an equally-sized corner on the left. Blake's screen was the size of both her friends combined, and she was on the bottom with the most free space.

"Welcome to our Wonder World!"

"Trademarked." Ruby added, glancing her character around the heavily-pixilated world. In her hand was a stone block as she currently sat upon a precarious perch, the memory of her former task coming back to her. She was making a watch tower on both sides of the castle. The Big House, as Ruby preferred to call it, was a fifty-by-forty block castle made of stone blocks that the group pilfered from a stronghold that took hours to find. They didn't have enough to do everything, though, so the stone-bricks went straight to the walls while straight up stone went to the floors and roof.

Yang and Blake's character both loaded in, the latter using a guest account while Ruby used the offline account she made during her first time being at Yang's. Remembering that day fondly as her greatest embarrassment with this group, because she had no idea it was an all-night thing, coming in totally unprepared. Not to mention Neo flipped out later into the night about it, too.

Ruby instantly went back to work on her tower while Yang was on the complete other side of the castle, her "Sun-Dragon Throne" which was just a ton of gold blocks around a lone stair block that was used as a chair. "Let me give you the grand tour, Blake." The blonde began, glancing to her friend's character. Above the throne was class blocks, creating a skylight while all over imbedded in the walls and floor and ceiling, separated by five stone blocks, was glowstone, an alternative lighting source. Honestly, the only reason Blake knew this was because of how popular the game was worldwide, but she never imagined this group to be one's to play it. "This is the throne, high and mighty for me-"

Ruby coughed lightly, in-between her fits, however… "-False Prophet, ahk! Ohmph, oh, man, sorry. That was bad."

"As I was saying. Down the corridor and to the left is the Hall of Strength where literally every weapon, armor, every trophy we can pick up is there. There's also an enchantment room, a Nether Portal and an End Portal that we still haven't gone through." She glared daggers at Ruby, the sole reason why they wouldn't go through in the first place. However, the brunette took offense and snapped at the hostess.

"Hey, it's not my fault! You're the one that complains that Pyrrha and Nora should be here to help us!"

"Oh, no! Don't put this on me, miss 'We just don't have time to do this' even though you stayed for five more hours after the fact!"

"I resent that comment!"

"I resent your cowardice!"

With a dramatic and exuberant gasp, silver eyes went wide with hurt and horror as Blake watched the idle banter between these two, getting an understanding more about what Yang means when she calls Ruby her little sister. They really did fight like siblings. "I cannot believe what I am hearing!"

Ruby took a swig of her pop, realizing that her can was quickly emptied. Somehow, she drank the whole thing in a matter of minutes, despite not being thirsty at all. "If you can't take the truth, get out of the castle, sister!"

"Fine, I will!" She huffed, dropping down the entire ten blocks from her build and to the second story of the castle, making a B-line for the stairs that led to the first floor. She and Yang both held back smiles as they continued in silence, the latter showing the new girl more of the castle. While they discussed the game and how the controls worked, Ruby began to walk towards the door, only to realize a very strange thing happen. As she walked, she heard a click… Turning to her left, she saw string attached to a tripwire trap… "Uh… Oh, um, Yang?"

"Shouldn't you be leaving in a huff, Ru?"

"Yeah, uh… About this trap right here?" As she finished her question, an audible 'sizzz' could be heard, causing both Yang and Ruby's eyes to go wide as they realized something horrible. They may or may not have been duped. "Oh… Cra-"

BOOM

"God damnit!" Yang cried in anger and horror as her precious castle blew up all around her, killing everyone inside. "I knew it! I god damn knew it!"

"Knew what?" Blake asked through confused giggles, unsure of what just happened. On her screen, a picture of an option that inquired 'Respawn' or 'Quit' appeared, confused on how she died already. She barely understood this game as is, and now she gets blown up? Still, though, the defeated chuckles from Yang caused her to laugh too, even though Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose.

"A few days ago, I came online and saw Jaune's account and Pyrrha's account both playing Minecraft. I thought nothing of it, seeing as they both play a lot of games together, but in retrospect, they have access to this particular map so they probably set up that trap."

"They destroyed the monument to our kingdom…" The usually red-themed teen beside the duo dejectedly said with a huff, "Pyrrha's out. Blake, you get her home. It's official."

"Hooray? I wish I knew what I was doing?"

Yang chuckled as Ruby rose from her seat, setting her controller down on the table as she did so. "Luckily for us, autosave is off, so all we have to do is disable the traps beforehand. Other than that, when we reload the game Ruby and I will show you what the meaning of this game is, won't we, Ru?"

"Course." The short teen called from halfway up the stairs, going to get more of her delicious red-drink. She probably wouldn't have to do anything, as Yang does a good enough job of teaching. 'Heck, I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for her.' She thought, smiling lightly at her mind's sappy saying. She shook herself back to reality and made it to the top step, turning her body to face the darkened family room. Once there, she made a hard right and found her way into the kitchen where Taiyang was up and moving around, finally, refilling his coffee. The man turned and faced the teen, who almost jumped in surprise. "Oh, hi, Mr. Xiao Long!"

"Hey, uh, Ruby? Right?" She smiled and nodded, standing in the opening awkwardly. "Great, I knew I wasn't bad at names. What brings you out of the Dragon's Den?"

'That's a cool name…' – "Oh, uh, I was just getting another drink." The man nodded, easily, which she took as an okay to get what she came for. Still, she felt that he had more to say, and as she dug through the fridge (mainly, the lone box that contained her prize) her suspicions were made to realization.

Taiyang turned and leaned back into the counter as Ruby stood tall again, can in hand. "Found it, eh?"

"Yeah." Ruby chuckled, brushing her bangs out of her face. She noticed that the man before her seemed to admire her face, just like earlier. What was he staring for?

"Hey," He called, bringing her to attention, "How long have you been friends with Yang?"

"Oh, about a year or so. A bit longer than that, now, I think."

"And this is our first time meeting, huh? Hm, I'm normally better than that about meeting my daughter's friends."

Ruby sweetly waved him off with a light blush, shaking her head at his response. "Oh-ho, it's okay! Stuff happens and we can't help it."

"That's the right attitude to have in life." He said with affirmation with a nod, before turning his attention back to the young teen before him. "Say, Ruby… Yang said your last name is Rose?" She nodded in confusion. What could that be about? "Are you related to a Summer Rose by chance?"

That name… That was her mother's name. Her late mother's name… How did he know mom? There were a few ways she could play this off, but mainly she had to be cool, even though deep down her heart began to race a mile a minute. "Oh, uh, yeah! I do! Summer's my mom."

"Oh, really? Wow, I didn't know she had it in her." He said with a grin, taking another drink out of his mug as his young guest tried to decipher just what that meant. "Sorry, I should explain, Summer and I were classmates at Beacon's medical wing. We graduated together!"

"O-oh! Really?" The man's smile stayed consistent as he nodded away. She had to make some sort of lie for him, he seemed so happy by the fact that he may have found an old friend… She didn't want to kill his mood. "Y-you know? I… Think she may have told me about you." She said in deep thought, "She always talked about a hard-working young man…"

"Oh, then it couldn't have been me." He said, shaking his head, "I was an arrogant ass that bugged the crap out of her all day. She was friends with my girlfriend at the time." Ruby blushed at this fact. Just how far did this network of friends go? Who else could she find that may be able to help? If Taiyang knew Summer, then maybe both he and Yang could be as trusted as Blake and Velvet. "How's your mom doing?"

"Very well." Ruby lied with a seemingly happy nod. "For what it's worth. Our schedules are a little whacky so we don't see each other as much, but… You know how it goes."

He nodded, setting down his cup and folding his arms, "Yeah, I'm lucky to have the relationship I have with Yang. My profession can really strain social and even personal lives."

"She's very proud of you, ya know. Yang is, I mean."

Again, he nodded, breaking eye contact and glancing at the stairs in thought, "Yeah, I bet she is. Still, she can't beat me in the pride department. I look at her and every fiber of my being just screams proud. She grew up to be an amazing young woman."

'I'll say…'

"Whoop, look at me ramble on." He chuckled awkwardly, "I'll let you go back to your fun, sorry to drone on like that."

"Oh, it's no big deal." She laughed, waving him off, "I do it all the time!"

"Oh! One more thing! Uh, if it's not too much trouble-" He said one last time before the red-themed teen left ear shot, "When you see your mom next, could you tell her I said hi? For an old friend?"

Silver eyes turned soft as their owner felt a sense of guilt and misery wash over her, having continued this lie for the worse, it seems… Tai didn't deserve that… Neither does Yang, really. "Sure thing, Mr. Xiao Long."

"Cut that out. In my house, it's Taiyang, at the office it's Doctor."

She smiled at the sense of homeliness she felt around her, the air growing lighter and lighter, a feeling of a great weight being lifted off her shoulders, almost. Ruby nodded slowly, understanding exactly what Taiyang was saying. "Sure thing, Taiyang." He smiled and went back to his paper as Ruby returned to the stairs, can in hand. By the time she made it to the bottom, she found the game reset and Yang showing her neighbor the basics of how to play. Right now, the disguised faunus was in iron armor (compliments of the many chests within the Halls of Victory) while swinging an unenchanted iron sword around. Lilac eyes turned away from the large screen across the room to face a standing Ruby, who watched on intently at her friend's quick progress.

"There you are!" The blonde quipped, "I was starting the wonder just how long a pop run would take."

"Sorry, I got caught up talking to your dad." Ruby honestly retorted with a bright tone, "He really does seem like a nice man."

"Yeah, you'll both love him." Yang confirmed with a smirk and a nod, "He likes to be as involved with my friend's lives as I am, so you'll be getting to know him really well really soon."

"Great." Blake deadpanned, "I have a feeling I'm going to need more mature friends after tonight."

With another crack of the red can, Ruby took a seat at her position that Yang forced her into last time on the couch and sat closer to the edge, picking up her controller while setting the drink in the cup holder to her side. "Something tells me Tai won't be able to fit that part…"

"Gotta be careful, Yang." Blake warned, "Someone spotted you…"

Lilac eyes intently glared into the screen, her thumb moving the stick on the left side of the controller back and forth, which caused the armored vehicle on the screen to move forward, then suddenly jerk backwards. Along the bottom of the screen in the right-hand corner was a map that showed her current position and nobody others, not even her teammates which was very disconcerting. Along the left-hand corner was a Heads Up Display that evaluated the current status of the vehicle, who or what was damaged and how bad. Beside that HUD was an exclamation point with the warning words of "DETECTED". The game had just started, it was a flat-plain map with a few rocks on both sides of the plain that allowed you to snipe, and for Yang's Tank Destroyer, it was the perfect position. However, the other team didn't thin so…

"I can see that, Blake." The blonde growled in annoyance. It was her idea to play World of Tanks and currently she was rocking a Vale tank; not the best armor, but the biggest cannon. Before she could move anywhere, three salvos flew in from above and two landed beside the vehicle, but one struck home and destroyed her tracks, immobilizing her. "No! Crap, artillery! Really?!" Both Ruby and Blake began to point and yell, trying to get her to move, to no avail.

"Yang! Run!"

"Ruby, how?!"

"Just do it, or else…" All three began to watch as three more salvos flew in, each on striking her dead on and blowing the tank sky high, causing Yang to glare angrily into the screen before deeply sighing, dropping her controller and lying back into the couch. She said nothing while both of her comrades watched on, both terrified of saying anything. Still, someone had to break the silence, and that someone was going to be Ruby. "Uh… Yang?"

"Baby sis…"

"Y-yeah?"

Lilac eyes slowly turned and glared daggers into her soul, a sinister smile on the blonde's face. "Next time you tell me to do something obvious after I've been immobilized, your ass is mine." The words were so silent, so eerie that it made Ruby shudder at the thought, and she knew her hostess meant it. After the threat, though, Yang exhaled deeply and leaned forward, taking a drink before saying, "Man, I hate artillery in this game."

Blake was the first to chuckle, covering her moth as she did so, "I can tell. I lasted longer than you and I never even played the game."

"I know! It's so embarrassing!"

"Oh well, my turn, now!" Ruby clapped, catching the controller that was kicked towards her by the blonde. They were doing a round robin game to pass the time, trying to see who would do the best until the 'real challenge' would arrive, but Blake knew exactly who her two friends were cryptically describing. Blake had her turn and used the same Tier Six tank that Yang used to better success, getting five hits and two destroyed with multiple target spots and spotted target hits before being taken down. Her team won. Yang, however, had no hits, no kills, no spots and her team was currently down with four of her teammates dead and none on the other team.

Luckily, though, for Ruby, she didn't have to see this game play out, as Yang had multiple tanks of multiple lines sitting in the garage. She began to navigate the screen with ease, familiarizing herself with the controls, despite the fact that it went against her handedness. Moving one tab over, she found a tank whose line she personally started the last time she was there: A Mystrillian type-heavy tank that was only on Tier Five, but in the end, there was a heavy tank with a really cool design and strong cannon, though the defense wasn't great. Oh well, was Ruby's reasoning. "Let's take this bad boy for a spin!"

As the game loaded in, Yang and Blake began to trash talk, taking bets to see how long their young friend would last. "What do you think, Blake?"

"About this?" The disguised faunus inquired, pointing towards the screen, "Hm, I'll say… Longer than you, but less successful than me. Right in the middle." Ruby smiled with a sinister smirk, taking her drink and finishing it in one go (despite there only being half left) before slamming it down.

"Okay, I can dig that." The nurse in training agreed, "I'll say the same."

Ruby chuckled sweetly, getting comfortable in her side of the massage recliner. She set down the can of Strawberry-flavored pop and with a glance to both of her compatriots, she raised an eyebrow. "Really? Don't think I'm going to do so well?"

Yang smiled before glancing back, having maneuvered herself to now lying on the couch, her legs at full extension and overtaking the rest of the furniture, "Nope."

"Oh, ye of little faith." The game loaded in late and Ruby had only three seconds to prepare. Her tank had the average Armor Piercing or AP rounds, and High-Explosive Anti-Tank rounds, or HEAT, both of which she knew how to use greatly. She switched her ammo to the HEAT and let it load in the three seconds that it took before moving forward and to the right. Her map was a destroyed city with rubble in the streets and buildings with holes in them, ensuring that no amount of cover was safe. She maneuvered her vehicle about one-hundred feet in front of the team's capture point and sat in a small enclosed space of rubble that allowed her head to peak out and peer the surroundings, a large street in front of her and an even larger space to either side. "You girls wanna make this… Interesting?"

"Uh-oh." Blake cooed, "I'd watch it, Yang, she seems cocky."

"Ah, just wait 'till Pyrrha gets here." The blonde waved off, "That'll take care of this arrogant side right quick."

Ruby leaned forward, her eyebrow popping up as three red dots appeared on her map, all moving down the main street. There was a sharp corner filled with rubble so that there was only enough room in a single lane, making it a destructive bottle neck. Ruby was right where she wanted to be, and her team was working it perfectly, forcing the enemy into this lane. "Alright, if you're all so confident that I'll fail," She said, patiently waiting for one to make the fatal mistake as the first take in the convoy began to take damage. Minimal as it was, it was still something. "How about this. I beat your expectations and… Oh, what do I want?"

"A free meal?" Blake inquired, understanding that this would be two on the day. Ruby shook her head, though, implying that she was thinking something else.

"A ride on Bumblebee?"

"Yang, you'd let me drive that thing if I asked nicely enough…" Ruby chided, taking the first shot and taking out over half of the health of the first distracted opponent, destroying him in one go. "Boom. One hit, one kill."

"Uh-oh." Yang said, wide-eyed. "Ruby, I'm out."

Blake agreed, "Yeah, I know where this is headed."

"Aw, you big babies." The youngest chirped, "All talk, both of ya!"

"What we can we say?" The blonde chirped, peering over at her friend, "Old habits die hard?"

"It's something." Blake agreed, watching as Ruby shot off another salvo, piercing the armor of the top of another tank with low health and destroying it in one go. "I don't think she's missed, yet."

"Nah." The concentrating brunette replied, her silver eyes locked onto the screen, waiting as she watched the map on the side, examining to see if she should reposition or not. On her right flank her team was failing, facing a three on five that they were on the lower end of, causing the young teen to worry, slightly. It was still the right side of her box that had the lowest pile of rubble, so she would be exposed should anything happen. Still, the cannon that she had, plus the low reload time would prove to be the game changer for her, in her mind, at least.

Yang watched the screen until a loud alarm went off and a vicious vibration in her pocket scared her out of her skin, forcing her to jump into a sitting position. Pulling the device out of her pocket, the blonde read the words on the screen aloud: "Call from Pyrrha… Oh, they must be here." She answered it and rose from her seat, "Hey, beautiful, you on your way?" Blake turned towards Ruby, who smirked and glanced to her left before shaking her head, silently telling the faunus that this was beyond common for the blonde. "Okay, I'm just sitting here with Ruby and Blake, so I'll meet you out there… What? … No, they've been here since, like, one… Yeah, we're playing tanks, okay? Oh, wah! Cry more!" Both guests smiled as Ruby scored her third kill, but finally missed one shot in the process. "Okay, yeah, I'll see you in a minute." She hung up and pocketed the device before glancing down at her lazy friends, placing her hands on her hips, "Pyrrha just picked up Nora and they'll be here in five minutes."

"Okay." Ruby chirped, still not losing eye contact from her tank as she went mobile, her position compromised by artillery. "You gonna go out to meet them?"

"Uh, yeah? Because I'm the host, dummy."

"Hey! Don't call me that." The teen replied in mock hurt, "I never host anything, so, I don't know what to do in that situation."

Lilac eyes rolled before the owner shook her head, "If you want to get some exercise for once today, when you're done there, Ru, you and Blake can come up with me?"

"But it's cold out there…" The youngest whined.

Blake joined in, matching her friend's tone, "And we just took off our shoes… Like, two hours ago…"

"And we're comfy on your couch."

"And… Are we lazy?"

Ruby thought for a moment before shrugging, "Oh, uh, I think two hours of sitting after the week we had doesn't count."

"Ah, okay, well."

"Geez! You two are hopeless!" The sitting duo high-fived each other as the game finally came to a close, in Ruby's favor. The aforementioned teen dropped her controller on the table and stretched her arm muscles upwards, letting out a quiet sigh as she did so, examining her winnings as Yang departed the basement. Ribbons began to fly on the screen, much like it did for Blake's win.

"Let's see, now…" The faunus said, reading the stats, "Seven hits, four kills, stayed alive, three spotted targets, two critical and you took two hits yourself…"

"Happy you didn't make that bet, huh?"

"Shut up." Blake dragged her shoes over by her feet and slipped them on, Ruby having to get up to find hers, which were all placed alongside the couch against the wall, laid neatly beside each other. Luckily it was within arm's reach of Blake's seat, but the Rose wasn't so lucky. "How long does it usually take to get to this house from Nora's?" The faunus inquired, knowing that Ruby should have the answer.

"Literally five minutes with all green lights."

"Oh, wow, okay." Surprised by the easy retort, Blake honestly considered her next move. The clouds had begun to roll in and have left a haze over the city, bringing with it the ocean breeze. That alone made her want to stay in, as she didn't bring a jacket with her. Then again, the lowest it could be is fifty, which wasn't even that bad, in retrospect. Ruby, however, had her jacket that never seemed to leave her side and at the same time never seemed to show any signs of being too big or too small for her. A deep red zip-up hoodie would be the best way to describe it. "I mean, we don't have to go out there and greet them…"

"No, we don't," Her neighbor agreed, "But, what else will we do?"

"Sit and talk?"

"Oh please, what else do we have to talk about that we haven't already discussed earlier?"

True, but still, Blake agreed when Ruby said they were comfortable. The furniture in the Xiao Long basement was all soft leather, making it nearly impossible to leave. Still, they'd have to, or at least Ruby would make her do it. Once both girls had their shoes on, the ascended the steps and followed their friend's lead out into the garage, only to find it empty with the door to the side cracked, indicating that she had already gone outside. The youngest went first and pulled the door open, revealing a steadily brightening landscape as the sun above broke through the clouds. Yang was leaning alongside the garage door, hands in her pockets and eyes towards the street.

"How long do you think?" Ruby inquired, causing the hostess to shrug.

"Any minute now… Why?"

"Eh, you know… Anxious to get the party started."

"You want revenge, don't you?" She smiled down at her friend, who blushed before breaking eye contact. "Ah, you blushed! Got ya!"

Blake stepped in, walking towards and eventually leaning into the hood of her car, folding her arms in front of her chest as the sun got brighter, "Hey, you said Pyrrha was the one who bombed your house in Minecraft, right?"

"Not our house, the group's castle." Ruby dejectedly sighed, all of her effort gone to waste. As it turned out, Pyrrha and Jaune thought ahead and turned the Autosave feature back on, meaning their trap worked and now the world was a complete loss with the destruction of the castle. There was still so much more to the world, but the main premise was gone, now. There was no other point. Yang balled her hands into a fist, recalling that fateful discovery just three hours ago. She was so annoyed she refused to teach Blake how to play the game, breaking her promise and forcing the group into a new game.

"Yeah, and after I say my hello's I'm going to thrash her."

"Can I help?" Ruby inquired, causing Yang to turn back in surprise. Usually the youngest would try to end conflicts, not go along with them. The nurse smiled and pulled her 'sister' into a half hug with her left arm.

"Of course, you can!" As she said this, a car could be heard rolling down the block, calling the attention of all three girls. Quickly appearing to their field of view, a light red, older model Mercedes that had a few dents in it, but was otherwise pristine, a lack of spoiler on the trunk offering something to be desired. The insides, from what Blake could tell, was leather, but she's been wrong before. The classic car pulled in, both windows down and the music blaring, getting increasingly louder as they got closer, due to Nora's hand on the dial. "Either turn it down or turn it off!" Yang warned, with a thumb's down, releasing her friend from her grasp, "Quick, before my neighbors get pissed!"

The radio clicked off and the engine died, though the electricity still ran for a few more minutes as the gymnast stuck her head out the window and smiled, "Aw, your neighbors aren't sticks in the mud, Yang! It's fine!"

"Uh-huh, sure, go ahead and tell me that when dad and I get stuck with a noise pollution fine because of you!" The blonde growled with a smirk, wagging her finger shortly after with one hand on her hip as Nora exited the vehicle, "Now get out here. Ruby and I have a bone to pick with you!"

With a raise of her eyebrow, Pyrrha rolled up the window and pulled her keys out, all the while Nora standing behind Blake's car, the aforementioned teen watching with the chef as the two complete-opposites began to confront the gymnast. "What's this about?"

Ruby peered up at Yang, waiting for the blonde to begin, getting anxious once Yang had cracked her knuckles with a sinister grin. "What did you and Jaune do to our world, Pyr?"

With a confused expression, Pyrrha pointed at her two friends, both of whom had their hands firmly attached to their hips, and glanced towards Blake and Nora. "Um… What? I don't think I… What are you talking about, 'our world'? What does that mean?"

Blake was the one to chirp up, rather going to get to the point instead of being cryptic like Yang. "She's talking about that Minecraft game or whatever it's called. She thinks you and Jaune planted a bomb that blew it up."

With an appalled expression, Pyrrha audibly gasped and stepped back, reaching for the keys she pocketed, but fumbling them as she knew the accusations would stick regardless of what she said. Still, worth a shot to try. "H-h-h-how do you know it was us? What's your reasoning?"

The chef and the bookworm both glanced at each other, eager to see how this would end as Yang and Ruby stepped forward slowly, trying to stop Pyrrha from escaping. Their strategy worked as the tall redhead dropped her keys by accident. "Yang said that she saw you and Jaune on that game the other day."

"Woah, wait, what? When?"

"Last week!"

Emerald eyes went wide, understanding now that she had been duped. "No, wait! I can explain!" She tried, backing up quickly as Ruby and Yang both took a side of the car, cutting off her avenue of escape, "Jaune doesn't even play! That was one of his sisters I was playing with! She said she was bored and nobody would play and Jaune was at work so I obliged, I swear!"

"Hm…" Yang smirked, rubbing her chin, "I don't know, Ru… That excuse doesn't sound believable, does it?"

"Nah. Not at all."

"What kind of judicial system is this?!"

"The one where I am the law and I say who's guilty or innocent! And I deem you guilty as sin! Get her, Ru!"

"Oh, god!" Pyrrha jumped on the back of her car, onto the roof and used it as a springboard to get around, rolling in the grass as she did so before jumping to her feet and running towards the back yard. "You can't catch me!"

"Bu, I think she's challenging you!"

"Yang, I think you're right!" With that, Ruby smirked sinisterly and bent low to the earth before taking off in an unrivaled speed, causing Blake's mouth to drop. She had heard that Ruby was fast, but this was ridiculous! How was she not on the track team? Even if it was just a sprint, the young teen easily closed the gap as Yang caught up, the latter waving to her newly arrived guest.

"Hey, Nora, sorry I've ignored you!" The chef cutely smiled and waved her friend off, "If you don't mind taking Pyr's stuff? Ruby and I have to have a little word with her."

"Sure, thing."

Blake shrugged as Nora walked away, deep in her mind considering her options. If she went around back, she'd have to get involved and do something about the, uh… 'Talk'. However, if she didn't and ignored it, opting to help Nora instead, she could just say she didn't know what was happening. Glancing back, she saw an epic take-down that was sure to make the highlight reel, Ruby tackling Pyrrha, but easily getting shucked off as Yang dove in. Pyrrha was skilled enough, however, to roll away, causing the blonde to land on open earth. "Need any help?" Nora shrugged before shaking her head, "Want any help?"

"Eh, why not?" Picking up the keys and unlocking the door, digging into the back seat and picking up one gold and one pink duffle bag, throwing both over her shoulder and kicking the door shut, locking it as she did so. "You could be a doll and open the doors for me."

"Oh, sure thing!" The response was nearly sarcastic sounding, but the bow-wearing teen meant it sincerely. Anything to avoid the mess the trio around back were surely getting into. Blake held the first door, then quickly ran around to catch the second one which allowed entrance into the house. Nora nodded in thanks and threw both duffel's down the stairs without care before walking into the kitchen as if she owned the place, calling out as Blake caught up to her.

"Taiyang, I'm home!"

"Hey, Nora!" Tai greeted from the table with a smile, "How're you doing?"

"Oh, I'm wonderful! Thank you!"

The man smiled and nodded, but noticed a distinct lack of other arrivals, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "I thought you were coming in with Pyrrha? Where is she?"

Blake was the one to respond, pointing out the back door that sat behind Tai and smiled, "Yang and Ruby are beating her up."

"Really? For what?"

"Apparently Pyrrha left a trap that destroyed their castle in that mine game whatever it is." The man's eyes went wide in realization, beginning a laughing fit that almost turned him blue. Nora took it upon herself to shrug before raiding the fridge as Blake, in a confused state, inquired further, "What's so funny?"

"It's the best feeling in the world," He began cryptically, wiping a tear from his eye, "When someone takes the fall for what you did. Heh, makes the prank all the better!"

Amber eyes wide, Blake's mouth dropped as she watched the man compose himself, understanding just what he had done. What was better, he was going to get away scot free! A can of soda cracked open loudly as the door to the garage swung open, a voice crying in terror before near literally flying down the stairs, two more sets of footsteps close behind. This caused Taiyang to laugh even harder. "You are an absolutely evil man and I think I'm jealous."

"Re-remember, girls." He said through his giggling fits, holding a lone finger to his lips, "Mumps the word." Both teens nodded with smirks before turning to each other, the short chef being the first to step away.

"Let's go stop them from killing each other, Blake." Nora sighed, heavily, knowing that a death couldn't happen until later in the night.

The duo easily walked down the steps and into the basement, finding a sight to behold. Around the corner and in the workout room, Pyrrha had cornered herself, with a dumbbell in each hand, both looking pretty heavy. The duo watched as Yang and Ruby waited out their friend, whose arms would surely be exhausted soon. "Come on, I dare ya!" Pyrrha challenged, "I've got a one dumbbell for each of you dumbbells!"

Silver eyes and lilac orbs connected, the owners nodding and taking a step back each, lowering the gymnasts guard for a second. All she needed as Yang threw her training gloves at Pyrrha, causing her to drop the fifteen-pound rubber-laced dumbbells, and caused Ruby and Yang to take the upper hand, both securing one arm. The former on Pyrrha's right and the latter on the left. "Gotcha!" The blonde cheered, "Now, you're gonna pay!"

"It wasn't me, honest!"

"Then why did you run?" Ruby inquired honestly as she and the hostess slowly dragged Pyrrha back to the main room.

"To delay the inevitable! Duh! I knew you two wouldn't listen to me, so I took initiative!"

Yang shook her head, tisking her friend as she did so. "Pyrrha," She chided, "You're the oldest one of us, you should be setting the example for us, all, especially young Ruby!" She pulled the brunette in, putting both hands on her shoulders and smiling, "Look at how impressionable she is!"

"I want to run away from the police, now."

"See what you've done?"

Growing annoyed with the antics of the two girls, Pyrrha huffed out loud, "Okay!" and forced herself free, "What do I have to do to make up for… Whatever I did?"

This question caught both Yang and Ruby off guard, causing them to think whole glancing at each other, then the girls behind them, who intently watched with interest to see the dramatic and hopefully civil conclusion to the issue. "Man, what can we do?" Yang asked, though it sounded unsure.

"We can have her rebuild the castle… In full." The brunette recommended.

"Her and Jaune?"

"Yeah, I think that works."

"Okay, Pyr!" Yang clapped, her and the youngest beside her standing at solemn attention, "Here's your punishment: You and Jaune will rebuild the castle to it's former glory and you'll have… A week?" All present nodded in agreement, save for Pyrrha, who pouted and shook her head, "If you fail to do so, then… You…"

"You have to wash all of our clothes!" Nora chirped from behind, causing everyone to react with quizzical expressions. "And I'll tell you how that'll work! You will personally drive to all of our houses and spend however long it takes, doing our laundry! We'll give you the entire weekend to do so, and if you fail to accomplish that then we'll take more drastic measures!"

"Like what?" Ruby asked with a shrug.

"Glad you asked, but that's a surprise!"

Both blonde and brunette nodded while locking eyes on each other. "Okay, credit Nora." The nurse said, "So that settles it, then. Understand, Pyrrha?" Emerald eyes rolled as their owner nodded, her face still showing signs of a pout. "Good! With that out of the way, I think we should officially start this thing! And, unfortunately for our two early birds, here, I have to give the tour all over again." Both Ruby and Blake shook their heads, gesturing that the blonde was fine. The hostess collected the electronics and turned off the screen as well as the console before returning to the group.

The blonde began to give a quick tour of the new furniture that she and her father had acquired for the remodel and even went into detail about how annoying it was to paint the walls the gold color that it had, and that the subway tile in the workout corner was a pain to put down but worth it in the long run. Taiyang's office was a small boxed in space surrounded by sound-proof windows, along the farthest wall from the stairs was a bookshelf loaded with medical journals while a desk sat at the front, facing the same wall that had the TV, a standard-sized computer screen sat atop that, a yellow light steadily glowing, indicating that it was in sleep mode.

Then, she brought the foursome's attention towards the TV, what she claimed would be the group's main source of entertainment for the night, something that Ruby and Blake have both gotten an understanding of, but within a cabinet under the TV sat multiple board games, while most of the physical copies of her games stood beside the cabinet in a small, wooden shelf, seemingly in alphabetical order. Though, the blonde didn't care about any of that, her interests were towards the board games, currently, bending down to pull out a large, baby-blue colored box that sat on top of the pile, letting it hit the floor and slide towards the coffee table, which was currently loaded with both empty and full cans of pop and two bowls of snacks, allowing all present to examine the box, smiles growing upon the faces of all but one.

Emerald orbs peered down and met silver eyes, their owners both smiling sinisterly at each other, understanding now just what the blonde was looking to do. "We're going to get this little feud out of the way, you two, because I'm sick of the smack talk!"

Nora pipped up as Ruby and Pyrrha began to clear the coffee table enough for there to be room for the large game board of Risk. "To be fair, it hasn't been as bad this week…"

"No, you're right, but old habits will return." Yang said, matter-of-factly. The week prior these two were practically at each other's throats, getting into little spats about who really won as they had to call it a draw, due to the length of time the game was taking. Bad move on Yang's apart but it was getting really boring. She turned to the raven-haired teen, who awkwardly stood back and watched the group set up before her, nudging the bow-wearing teen as she got closer. "You know how to play?"

"Hm?" Blake hummed, being brought back to reality before realizing what was happening, "Oh, yeah! I played this all the time when I was a kid!"

"Ah, you any good?"

Amber eyes peered back to the group and watched as the prepared the upcoming battleground, a small smile cracking her face as she tried to hide it behind her right hand which she used to run her chin, "Between you and me…" She whispered, "Watch me crush them into the dirt."

Pyrrha and Ruby both sat on the couch against the wall, both with a firm pout on their face and a near mirror image of each other in terms of their body expressions: Both had their arms folded in front of their chests as they sat back on the couch, watching the trio below go at it.

The game started nearly perfectly for Ruby and Pyrrha; they were side by side each other on the map, only having one of Nora's armies to deal with. Or so they thought. Blake had captured menagerie first and since there was only one way to the island country, she bolstered defenses and began to stockpile her armies. Yang had Vale and Patch and scattered armies and did the same, going at it with Nora and sometimes with Ruby, who just wanted the strategic advantage of the Mountain Glenn resources. The blonde wouldn't budge, though, and anyone who got in her way was dealt with thoroughly. Nora only survived by messing with Ruby and Pyrrha on Mistral, having blasted the rose out of the desert in Vacuo, she quickly dealt with her young friend, then took all of Ruby's resources and launched a finishing blow on Pyrrha, who had been weakened severely by the youngest member of the group.

In one turn the two rivals were taken down, now forced to spectate as Nora had to combat a nightmarish number of armies by both Yang and Blake, who luckily had their sights set on each other. Yang was a trap mistress, as she put it, having a trap card set on every possible territory she held. Blake, however, had a well-built army with many offensive and defensive weapons, while Nora was just rebuilding after going all out. On the other hand, Nora also had the most land compared to the other two, so she had that going for her. The downside: The only way to Blake was through a small territory on Vale, one that allowed for transportation to Mystral and both of which were currently owned by a certain short chef.

"Who do you think goes down first?" Ruby whispered, her first words since the fatal turn. The athletic girl beside her sighed before shrugging, unable to believe that she was in this position. After all that smack, she didn't even have the privilege of lasting a turn longer than Ruby, let alone being the one to end the young girl. "Come on, make it interesting?"

"To be honest," Pyrrha finally whispered back, "I don't think Nora stands a chance. Yang and Blake have spent the entire game building up their armies, she just got done with a huge battle. She'll be lucky to survive two more turns."

One counts a turn based on how many times it comes back to them. Once it rotates to you again, it's a new turn.

Ruby nodded, her folded arms loosening slowly, as did her facial expression as she turned away, feeling bad that she had acted like such a brat. Her friends thought she was playing, though she wasn't too sure, anymore. Glancing back, she saw that Pyrrha was shifting slightly in her seat, loosening her attitude as well, but stayed keenly watching the battle below. Just as she opened her mouth to say something to her would-be rival, Ruby's ears were pierced by a soul-crushing scream, only to turn and find that in the two minutes she turned away, Blake had demolished everything Nora owned, taking the chef out in one go.

"What the hell?" Pyrrha asked, blinking three times while Yang sat in stunned silence, Nora on the verge of playful tears. "What just…?"

Blake easily shrugged before turning her gaze towards the blonde across the table from her, "What can I say?" She asked, unblinking, "I'm really good."

Ruby blinked, her eyes wide with shock. She knew Blake was going to be good; the faunus had an aura around her that screamed confidence without cockiness, but she didn't know that she would be this good. What was worse, Blake didn't even use half of her resources on this, nor did she even utilize Menagerie's country effect! While Vale's country effect was faster travel time and stronger defensive stats, Menagerie stood with a trap-negating surprise attack effect that was destructive as ever. Knowing this, Ruby honestly believed that Yang didn't stand a chance.

"Wow." The aforementioned blonde chuckled, "You really are good." Blake nodded in thanks, but blinked while Yang smashed her fists onto the table, her face showing an excited and eager form of happiness. "Now maybe I'll have a challenge! Think you can break through my Demon Defense!?" She followed her question with an audible, sinister laughter, one that would inspire fear in most. But in Blake…

"Hmph. I wonder about that." Lilac eyes blinked as their owner stopped the laughter, now glaring at the challenge before her that was known as Blake Belladonna. "You're going to wish you never asked me to play."

"Oh, really?" The hostess offered, her voice showing signs of a shaky resolve as she turned towards the red-themed teen on the couch beside her. "Ru, can you confirm?"

Silver eyes glanced from the blonde, to the board, to Nora, then locked onto amber eyes before sighing deeply. "Yang… You might be screwed."

"Might? No assurance?"

"Nope." Even though, in Ruby's mind, she was ninety-nine percent sure that Blake had this won. Still, Yang had to pay for not offering her assistance during the fight against Pyrrha. She will fall by Blake's hand and Ruby will feel a sense of pride for her neighbor. "You may have a chance, you may not."

"Then that's good enough for me! Come then, Blake Belladonna! Show me your fury!"

The disguised faunus shrugged easily, picking up the dice near her as she examined Nora's cards that she acquired once defeating the young chef. "If you insist."

Yang sat in between Ruby and Pyrrha on the couch, her arms folded before her chest and her face resounding with pout as the board sat at the table in front of her, black game pieces dominating every area. Needless to say, she lost, though she put up an amazing battle.

Blake, being the winner, she got to decide what to do next as well as had to be the one to pick up the game. Though she would do one thing at a time. Nora was currently helping her examine the Xiao Long's massive inventory, all in hopes of finding something to peak her interest. There had been a few titles, but all of them were just up for consideration.

Ruby, sitting back in her seat, stared at the blonde beside her with a sense of fear, scared to say anything that may disgruntle the blonde further. It was a tough loss to take, having almost survived the first assault. All of her traps went to waste, all of her defense was chipped away far too easily. By the second assault, her resources were spread thin, while Blake managed hers all too well.

"I don't know where you found her, Ruby." Yang huffed, "But she is good."

The young teen smiled before patting her blonde hostess on the back, closing her eyes as she did so and nodding her head. "Think about it like this, Yang. You managed to make it farther than both Pyrrha and I. Heck, you were top two. That's gotta count for something, right?"

The blonde smirked before patting her friend on the knee, her eyes locked on the raven-haired teen across the room. "Yeah, I guess it does, you endless spring of optimism." Ruby shrugged while Yang rose from her seat, walking over to the library of games she had acquired over the years. Luckily for her, all of the games could be archived and played on any console, no matter when it was made, so as long as you had a physical copy, you could download its data and play it. Quite a few to the collection, both that Taiyang had from his youth and Yang from hers. "So, Blake, got any ideas?"

The bow-wearing teen picked up one case and turned with a smirk, letting all present read the writing on the box. "How about this?"

"Oh…" Yang said in surprise, taking the case from her friends' hands. She read over it casually and nodded, "Sure. We haven't done this one in a while, but hey! Always nice to go back to the classics, right?"

How's that for a first part, huh?

Poor Pyrrha, getting blamed for Taiyang's prank. He may or may not be pulling things like that in the future... We'll find out where Yang gets it from very soon. Also, Blake appears to be really good at board games, all the while Pyrrha and Ruby can't help but stay tunnel-visioned in a dick-measuring contest only to be demolished and brought back to reality by Nora. Oh well, what're gonna do? Not even Yang can keep those two separated, and yet for some reason they can tolerate each other. Is it just a friendly rivalry, or has Ruby finally adapted to Pyrrha's methods?

Poor Yang, proving once again that a good defense doesn't mean shit when you're up against someone who knows what to do. Still, though, just where did Blake learn to play that game so well?

Final note: Just what the hell was with Ruby and Tai? Poor girl caught in a double-negative; didn't want to break his heart, but also can't tell the truth because if she does, then Yang will know, and if Yang knows that she's been lied to for over a year... Let's not think about that...

So, yeah, that pretty much wraps that up. Next chapter, which we hope won't be delayed too much longer, will be probably the busiest one yet. A lot of action, a lot of games and trash-talk, and may or may not have some real talk heavy moments. I can promise you this, we'll get a glimpse into Yang's innate hatred for Weiss and her friends (finally!).

That being said, what was your favorite part? I was a personal fan of Taiyang's deception myself, but I may be biased in that regard. So, with that, I'm going to head off and see if I can finish up the next part. I know I said I'd post them all at once but at the rate I'm going, 30-40k words spread into 3 chapters can really take some time. So, I'm just going to post them as I go. Hope that's okay!

Until Next Time