I don't own RWBY
Qrow was only mildly surprised to find James Ironwood sitting in the Crowbar nursing a whiskey bottle. The normally immaculate general's disheveled appearance and gaunt look told Qrow that the man hadn't sleepet or eaten in days. That was normal for about every Huntsman and Huntress in Vale now though, so Qrow shrugged it off. He strolled over to the corner table and plunked himself down in the chair opposite of James.
"Hured that you resigned," Qrow said bluntly.
"Here to gloat," grumbled James.
"No. I'm here to ask why the hell your giving up," Qrow snapped.
"Let's face it Qrow; I played right into that Cinders hands. Now Ozpin is missing, Atlas lost half its fighting strength with that damn virus, and Ms. Nikos is dead," sighed James as he took another drink.
"Cinder played us all, the virus will be purged from the systems eventually, and Pyrrha wasn't your fault. So get off your damn ass and do something," said Qrow.
"Like what," yelled James.
"Like helping my niece," he yelled back.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the two men for several minutes. James had heard of what happened to Yang during the battle of Beacon. He grimaced as his own right arm aked in pain. After what seemed like an eternity James finally spoke up.
"What do you think I can do to help," he asked.
"I've already got her a prosthetic arm, thanks to an old friend of mine. The problem is that she won't get out of bed, even after we put the damn thing on," Qrow grumbled as he took a swig from his flask.
"So?"
"Look James, you and I don't see eye to eye on everything. That doesn't mean I don't respect you for your ability to motivate people. The fact that you know what Yang is going threw helps, too," Qrow said.
James sat there for a long time contemplating what Qrow said. It was true that he knew exactly what the huntress in training was going through. That had been the whole point of him pushing for robot soldiers so no one else would have to go through what he had to. Helping one teenage girl learn how to fight again wasn't the same as leading an army into battle. Still, it was better than wasting away in some seaside bar the rest of his life.
"I'll do it, but I'm not going easy on her," James said.
"Wouldn't want you to," chuckled Qrow.
The sight that greeted James when he entered Yangs room was sad. He could remember how animated and alive the young woman looked when he last saw her nearly four months ago after the the whole Mercury incident. Now she lay in her bed with her back turned to the door, not even acknowledging whoever just entered the room. Looking dead to all the world.
Walking around until he was facing the foot of her bed James looked at her. When the girl still refused to even so much as look back, he let out a tired sigh. Then he reached down, grabbed the bottom of the bed and flipped it to his right. Yang went spilling onto the floor with a surprised yelp.
"Dad what the hell..." her protest died on her lips when she realized it wasn't her dad.
"On your feet," commanded Ironwood.
"What are you doing here," she spat, refusing to do more than sit up and glare at Ironwood.
"I will not sit by while a Huntress with as much talent as you waste away. I'll be damned if I let you turn out like your parents did. Now get up, we've got a lot of training to do," snapped Ironwood.
As James put Yang through the paces he could see a lot of her father and uncle in her, which was annoying. Ironwood could see a lot of Summer Rose in her as well, which brought back both happy and sad memories. James could also see bits of Raven in the blonde girl, which was worrying. If he could keep her from turning out like Raven, then he would consider it a victory. Maybe he wouldn't decide the destinies of millions, but maybe he could decide the destiny of one.
That is the end of that one folks. This one shot came to me after reading Channeling Through Metal by Solora Goldsun. It's a fun read and you should check it out. I might make this in to a short story but I want to finish my other stories first. Let me know what you think in the reviews. Don't worry I'll post some fluff in the next chapter. Until next time folks!