Yang had a lovely laugh. Neo thought it was sweet and musical. After seeing the state Yang was left in after losing her arm, it was like...it was like seeing the sun peek out from behind the clouds.
Neo suddenly blushed and turned back to her mechanic's tools. Where had that come from?
Luckily, she was saved from any introspection when Yang's expression sobered and she moved closer to Neo.
"So. Are we really doing this? Are we going to team up?" she asked, with a bit of hostility, Neo did not fail to note. Neo pulled out her Scroll.
[Looks like it, blondie. You got a problem with that?]
Yang looked at Neo sternly.
"I just want to get one thing straight."
Neo smiled innocently and waved her hand at Yang. Go on, went the unspoken statement.
Yang stepped forward, towering over Neo. She poked her finger at Neo's chest.
"Look. I don't want you here. I don't like you. You're a murderer, and if I it were up to me I'd never have to see you again."
Neo felt a surge of anger, but once again caught herself before she typed out something she'd regret. She instead chose to smirk at Yang before typing out her response.
[Then why not tell daddy? I'm sure he could take care of it for you.]
Yang looked upset at that. Really, Neo had wondered why Yang hadn't warned her father. Maybe it was personal...
[We're rivals, is that it? You want to defeat me yourself. But you can't, can you, blondie?]
Yang stared at her, her fist clenched. Neo quickly typed out another message.
[But maybe with a new arm and some training, you could. Guess we'd have to see...]
/
Yang gritted her teeth as Neo blinked up at her innocently. Yang didn't want to admit that what Neo's guess was not only accurate, but had cut her deeply. She really did want to beat Neo on her own, and she hated that she couldn't. She also hated that her pride wouldn't allow her to let dad handle it.
But she is right. I have to beat her.
She took a deep breath and locked eyes with Neo.
"Yeah. You're right. We're rivals. And that means I'm the one who gets to defeat you. So...sure. You can try to make me stronger again. And then we'll have a rematch."
Yang didn't think she'd get there. Whenever she looked at herself in the mirror, she was reminded of how weak she really was. She was reminded of just how much work she'd have to do to even reach her old skill level. And when she thought of all that work, she wondered what the point was.
But it was like Neo had said...there was only one way to find out if it was really possible.
[I'm looking forward to it, sunshine.]
Yang looked down at Neo. The smaller girl was wearing a half-mocking grin and looking up at Yang, one eye pink, one silver. Yang bared her teeth.
"But we're going to make a deal out of it. If you win, I'll help you with your little revenge scheme. But if I win, I never want to see you again."
Neo held her gaze for a moment, then held out one gloved hand. Yang stared at it.
"And I want this to be fair. You're not going to stab me in the back, right?"
[Wouldn't dream of it.]
"The it looks like we have an agreement," Yang said firmly.
[Deal?]
Yang grabbed Neo's small hand in her own. She felt her heartbeat quicken. She was really going to do it. She was going to try and get back on her feet...and, to her profound surprise, her formal rival was going to help her.
"Deal."
For a moment, they stood there in silence. Yang was the first to speak.
"So...what now?"
Neo gestured at the tools, books, boxes, and mechanical parts stremn across the table.
[We should probably move this into the garage]
/
Neo was impressed with the Xiao Long's garage. With no car, most of the space was taken up by exercise equipment and machining tools. Neo spied a lathe, a workbench, and several cabinets, as well as dumbbells on racks, a punching bag, and a chinup bar. Neo walked over to one of the cabinets and opened it, and saw rows of drawers no doubt full of tools and spare parts. The cabinet also held an angle grinder and an acetylene torch. She raised an eyebrow and looked back at Yang.
The blonde set down one of the cardboard boxes on the workbench and looked at the cabinet, then around the garage.
"Yeah, we had to learn how to make and maintain our own weapons, plus I had the bike to work on, but Ruby was always more into this mechanic stuff..."
Yang trailed off and looked at the floor pensively. From what Neo understood, Yang once had a motorcycle before it was lost at Beacon, bringing up memories of that plus her sister was probably not good for her. She moved over to Yang and pulled out her Scroll. She opened it up and began searching through it. It sure was lucky Cinder had downloaded all the data from Ironwood's network before the CCT went down...
Yang whistled appreciatively as Neo showed her the schematics for the Atlesian Knight, or more specifically for the arm. She reached out with her left hand and began manipulating it.
"So...should we start designing then?"
Neo nodded eagerly. The quicker they started, the quicker Yang would be distracted from her predicament.
/
"Hold it steady, you little murderer," Yang growled. Neo frowned up at her and adjusted her grip on the Scroll. Yang glared at her and went back to making adjustments to the schematic Neo had stored on her Scroll.
"We'll need to cut it off here," Yang said, marking off the robot arm where it would attach to her stump, "And that's where we'll attach the harness."
Yang looked back at the robot arm, lying on the workbench surrounded by measuring tools, and Neo followed her gaze.
It would have to be heavily modified. Since Atlesian Knights were already powered by Dust, they would have to hollow out a space just above the elbow to plug in Dust canisters, and after that they could hook it up to the existing power lines. After that, they'd need to build a new Ember Celica and bolt it to the forearm, then hook up the cybernetics that would allow Yang to transform it...
And before all that, they'd need the harness that would attach it to the stump of Yang's right arm. The upper part would involve a belt that wrapped around her bicep, connected by a series of fasteners to a metal cap. The metal cap's outer covering would have a screw thread wrapping around, with a matching thread inside a socket on the end of the arm, so that it could be screwed on, as well as a series of metal clasps which would serve to make it more secure.
"Alright, my arm's getting tired, let's take a break," Yang said. Neo folded up her Scroll and turned it over in her hands. Neo watched as Yang sat down at the workbench and sipped from a bottle of water. Neo ran her fingers through her pink-and-brown hair. Once she was sure that Yang's father wouldn't bother them, she'd dropped her disguise. It didn't take any effort to maintain it, but she was more comfortable without it.
"Hey, Neo?" Yang asked as she put down the bottle, "Can I ask you a question?"
Neo paused uncomfortably. After a moment, she opened her Scroll again and typed out a response.
[What is it?]
Yang raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the work table.
"How did you and Roman meet?"
This time Neo had to think for a moment. On the one hand, she needed Yang to trust her. And, she supposed, it would be best for their partnership if she trusted Yang as well.
She carefully walked over to the workbench, inspecting Yang's face. She seemed genuinely curious, so Neo took a deep breath and began typing.
[When I was a little girl, my house burned down. My parents were in it. My throat was damaged too.]
As Yang read the message, Neo could see pity spread across her face.
"Oh...Neo, I'm so sorry."
Neo swallowed, remembering screams and scorched air forcing itself down her throat...
Yang rubbed at her right shoulder uncomfortably.
"Is that when Roman took you in?
Neo shook her head.
[Not until later. I lived on the streets for a long time.]
She stared closely at Yang. The blonde seemed legitimately sympathetic to her plight. That was good. The few people Neo had shared her past with had reacted with hostility or fake sympathy. Not Roman, though. He knew what she'd been through.
"I can't imagine what that was like..." Yang said quietly. Neo pulled her heavy coat tighter around herself and shuddered. Her hands shook with emotion as she typed out a response.
[I hated it. I was afraid nearly every day, cold and hungry most of the time]
Yang raised her hand and looked for a moment as if she wanted to reach out and comfort Neo. Then, she lowered her hand and gripped the hem of her shorts tightly.
[And I had to...do things to survive]
Yang bit her lip.
"Like what?"
Neo gave her a bitter half-smile.
[What do you think?]
Yang stared at the floor. Neo had killed a lot, first for self-defense, alter for food or money. By the time she joined Roman, she was very, very good and killing. And that was a useful skill for a criminal. She was happy to use it to help Roman. By that time she was learning to enjoy it, to relish the feelings of power. Not that Yang would understand.
"It must have meant a lot when Roman took you off the streets."
Neo remembered that cold winter day, Roman's kind face, his outstretched hand.
I'm not going to hurt you, kid...
Neo sat down cautiously on the end of the workbench. When Yang didn't shy away, she typed out her response.
[It meant everything. He gave me a home, food...he was my friend too. More than that. He was like a father]
Neo swallowed again, remembering all the time she had spent with Roman, quietly talking to him about her fears, him giving her advice and comfort. And now he was gone. More than just a provider, she'd lost her closest friend.
Yang sorted bitterly.
"I didn't think Roman had it in him."
[He once told me the best good deed he committed was taking me under his wing.]
/
Something tells me that was the only good deed he ever committed, Yang thought, but she didn't say it out loud.
She turned Neo's story over in her head.
She felt sorry for Neo, she really did. No one should have to go through what she did. But somewhere along the line that scared little girl had turned into a sadistic killer. Neo's murderous streak had to start somewhere. Yang imagined all it would take was one act of self-defense or desperation. If she was all alone, with no one to tell her right from wrong, she'd have to deal with her own guilt. Maybe she'd repressed it, forcing it deep down so that she could continue to kill without pause. Maybe she'd justified it somehow.
"Tell me more about Roman," she said. The Roman Neo knew sounded a lot different than the one she and Ruby had fought. She was beginning to wonder if he had something to do with how Neo turned out.
[He was funny. And kind. But only towards me.]
"Oh?"
Neo nodded.
[He taught me a lot of things. He taught me to look out for myself, because no one else would.]
"Except for him," Yang pointed out. Neo smiled faintly.
[He always said the world was a big, scary place, and we had to look out for each other.]
Her hand tightened around her Scroll.
[And then Cinder showed up.]
"What happened than?"
[She forced Roman and I to work for her. Everything we did...it was on her orders]
Yang thought about that for a moment. It was certainly interesting, to learn just why Roman was working for Cinder and her crew...but then she remembered how he laughed as he tried to shoot her sister, or how Neo had worn a confident smirk on her face as she tried to kill Yang, and she remembered who she was dealing with.
Whatever Neo's past, whatever the circumstances of her working for Cinder, she still enjoyed every evil thing she did. Yang couldn't forgive her for that.
"That's why you want to kill Cinder so badly," Yang said. Neo nodded.
[None of this would have happened if it wasn't for her]
Yang couldn't disagree. Adam hurting her and Blake, Pyrrha and Penny's death, the destruction of Beacon...they were all due to Cinder.
"And so...you really think we have a chance to stop her together?"
Neo stared at the ground thoughtfully. She slowly typed out an answer.
[Maybe. I know what you're capable of. If you had the proper training again...yeah. We could at least beat Mercury and Emerald.]
"But...why me?"
Neo shrugged.
[I came here looking for your sister. The trail went cold. I don't know where the other two are. So...I guess I had nowhere else to go.]
They sat there silently for a moment, lost in their thoughts. Yang was thinking over the story of Neo's past.
"Can I ask you another question?"
Neo stared at her for a moment before nodding hesitantly.
"Do you regret anything you did?"
Again, Neo stared at her for a moment. Her expression hardened. She slowly, carefully typed out her response.
[No. I did what I had to do to survive. To help Roman and I. That's justification enough.]
Yang's shook her head in resignation. It seemed like her initial assumption was right. Whatever guilt Neo may have felt long ago, she had worked hard since then to suppress it, to build up justifications for what she had done. And then, somewhere along the line, she had grown to enjoy it as well.
"Do you really believe that, Neo?"
[I don't need to apologize for what I did.]
And who are you trying to convince, Neo?
Before Yang could continue her line of questioning any further, there was a knock at the garage door.
"Girls? You mind if I come in?"
Yang quickly looked back at Neo, only to find she had rapidly cast her disguise again, and turned back to the door in time to see her dad open it, a plate in hand.
"I thought you two could use something to eat," he said, showing them a pair of sandwiches. Zwei scampered in past his feet, and came skidding to a halt in front of Neo. She smiled and went into a crouch, then ruffled his ears playfully.
No such thing as pure evil.
Neo was an unrepentant murder, sure, but somewhere in there was a reason for all the pain she caused others.
"So, did you get a lot of work done?" her dad asked. Neo took a sandwich from the plate and gleefully bit into it.
"Um...kind of. We worked on the design for a bit. I think it's going to take a while."
"Well, anything to focus on," her dad said.
Neo scarfed down her sandwich and quickly typed out a message on her Scroll.
[If it's alright with you, I need to go, Mr. Xiao Long. Looks like we've got some more materials to collect.]
"Alright, well, thanks for stopping by!" her dad said cheerily.
Neo turned to glance at Yang one last time.
[I'll be back the day after tomorrow.]
Yang glared at her before picking up her own sandwich.
"Sure. see you then."
/
Neo closed the front door behind her and stepped off the porch into the snow. The sun had just sunken behind the trees, leaving the western half of the sky the deep purple color of a dark bruise. There was a light flurry coming down, and the snow piled up around her ankles and landed in her hair. She checked behind her one last time to make sure all the curtains in front of the Xiao Long House were closed and dropped the disguise.
She sighed and pulled her heavy winter coat closer around her. She didn't relish the walk back through the snow to her safe house, but she was also extremely wary of staying in what she considered an unfriendly place overnight. Even if she trusted Yang or her father, she'd have to worry about Yang's dad discovering her disguise.
Her conversation with Yang still bothered her. She knew that Yang was quietly judging her. She hated that. The people who judged her, they didn't know what she'd been through. They didn't know true hunger, true fear. They didn't know what it was like to be cold and powerless. They'd never been forced to make the choices Neo did.
Well...no. Yang did know what it was like to be powerless, now that she'd lost her arm. It wasn't quite like the things Neo had gone through, but...she'd learn soon enough. The best way to make that feeling go away was by taking power for yourself. Usually by making someone else feel powerless. That's what Neo had learned.
She paused as she heard a sound from behind her. Turning, she saw Zwei, the family dog, padding after her through the snow. She turned and crouched as he walked towards her, almost up to his belly in the snow. She ruffled his ears and smiled.
"Go back inside, Zwei. You shouldn't be out in the cold like this," she whispered hoarsely. She always found it easier to talk to animals. They never judged her or mistreated her like humans had. Zwei barked and scampered back around the corner of the house. Neo stood up and looked at the house again. Light shone warmly through the windows, and smoke rose from the chimney. Neo was glad Yang's father had given her a sandwich. There wasn't much food left back at the safehouse.
She hesitantly turned to leave, blocking thoughts of food and warmth from her mind.
"Caw! Caw!"
She froze as she saw a crow flutter down and land on a wooden log close to her. The bird studied her for a moment, then preened itself and flew off again. Neo watched it go, feeling slightly uneasy for some reason. They way it had looked on her hadn't seemed...normal.
She shook her head again and disappeared into the snowy evening.
/
Yang massaged the bridge of her nose and tried to focus on the book in front of her.
"First Principle of Dust-Powered Prosthetics: Aura extends to every part of a Hunter's gear and equipment..."
Which was why she was able to beat up Ren with a pair of cooked turkeys. Her brief smile as she remembered the food fight vanished as all the painful memories that had occurred since then came flooding back.
She tried to push that away. Out of nowhere once Neo had left, she had suddenly felt the weight of her depression coming back to her. She'd tried to distract herself from reading a book Neo had given her on Atlesian prosthetics, but no matter what she stared listlessly at the page in front of her, her thoughts constantly returning to her own pain.
Her eyes scanned the sentence again.
What had Ruby used to say?
Our weapons are an extension of ourselves!
Ruby. Yang sighed and pushed the book away.
The robot arm sat on the kitchen table in front of her. She flicked at the polished metal of the arm, listening to it ring faintly. It looked fragile, lying alone on the table. Was that what her own arm looked like, lying among the rubble at Beacon? Her stomach churned as she imagined it's fate.
Yang laid her head down on the table and rubbed at the stump of her right arm. Phantom pains still visited her sometimes, usually when she thought about Adam. Or Blake...
She still didn't know why Blake had left her. Her first instinct was to think it was because Yang was a failure who couldn't save her. Blake probably didn't feel safe around her teammates, and why should she? Yang couldn't even beat a rival half her size, and now that she was short an arm...
Well. That same rival was now free to wander around her own house, grinning smugly and helping Yang build her new arm. Yang's gut churned as conflicting emotions welled up inside her. Shame, anger, pity...and another feeling she felt towards Neo. A confused sort of gratitude. When she had offered to help Yang, to give her a reason to get back on her feet...that felt good. It was the first time she felt good in...in a while.
But it didn't last long until Yang was reminded of her own inadequacy. And so she was alone in her kitchen, staring at what was supposed to be the replacement for the arm she had lost...
She heard her dad walk in, felt him standing above her.
"Hey, firecracker. How was your first day back on your feet?"
Yang didn't answer for a moment. Then, she sighed and stood up, not bothering to make eye contact.
"I'm going to bed."