Big Issues
AN: Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a good time during the holidays and kept themselves safe. Those same holidays did delay this chapter from being finished earlier but it actually works out as I plan to release the next chapter on the 19th. And a big thanks to MavHowler for the fave and follow of this series.
Also, it should be known that I have plenty of pictures for this series on my DeviantArt page, if anyone is interested in that. I do entertain the thoughts of making this series into a manga format at times but I don't have the time to do so. Writing can be hard enough to make time for. But on with the show!
Throwdown - Part Two
Weiss found herself on a warm mattress as she woke up with plenty of pillows to support her head and shoulders. Her hair was loose and flowed over the cushions like a white waterfall and she was in her usual blue nightgown that faded to near white by her collar.
But what was surprising was her size, being large enough that her hips stretched from one side of the queen-sized mattress to the other. Unfortunately, that size didn't translate to her upper half, rather frustrating that even in a dream she couldn't gain a decent chest… though it was odd that being in a dream she could recognize that it was. Perhaps it was because she was well aware of her true size in the real world, about half her current dream size.
It was a bit interesting that she hadn't had a dream like this for quite a while, not since she was back at Beacon and worried that she'd grow to immobility. Apparently, the dreams stuck to give her insight into that life, they just had a vacation of their own and made her dream body grow a bit more.
Pressure on her right side drew her attention. It wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest, not with it being soft and warm… like a warm pillow. A very large pillow.
Looking to that side she found Ruby. The girl was no smaller than herself though despite her size, her bottom half was smaller that Weiss' by a very noticeable amount. Not that the rest of her was small by any means.
Crammed into the same pajamas from Beacon, Ruby's chest eclipsed Weiss' easily while her arms looked like balloons coming out of the shirt. That same shirt, even though it was large enough to fit the girl, it didn't reach her large belly and allowed the soft, smooth mass free to the air. Her legs were donned in the same rose printed white pants, if looking like sausage's from the tightness.
And silver eyes locked onto light blue over very round cheeks. "Sleep well?" The younger girl asks as one hand reaches out and trails down her partner's side, making Weiss shiver… and not just from the touch.
"You do keep me warm." The heiress blushes.
"Should we see how warm we can get before breakfast?" The suggestion was full of an emotion that seemed foreign to Weiss coming from her. Yet she felt her body and face warming rapidly in response.
Then Ruby began trying to roll herself over and on top of Weiss. Trying might be the key word as she was starting from a prone position and needed to rock her bulk to get going. And it was unclear if their brushing, slapping, and rubbing hips and bellies was intentional or not, but the more there was contact, the more they desired for more. It took Ruby a minute to scoot and roll over so she was on her side facing Weiss, belly starting to smother her wide hip.
"How's this to start?" Ruby huffed with her face red, though not all of that was from the exertion.
"It'll do." Weiss giggles as she twists her waist to hold her partner's hand with her own, the comparative lack of chest actually helping out in that regard.
"GOOD MORNING SLEEPYHEADS!" A chirped voice rang through the room, going well with the double doors being flung open and the sound of carts loaded with food rolled in, pushed by an an excitable girl with red hair.
Both girls on the bed had to separate so they could look down the small canyon between them to watch the morning meal arrive. But not without some frustration because things were getting good.
"Let me help you up!" The girl left the carts at the foot of the bed and dashed around to the head where she hit a button to raise half of Weiss' so she could sit up normally. Then Ruby was helped to roll back over and sat up.
"I have all of your favorites this time! Fresh strawberries! Blueberries from the field in your yogurt." The girl began rattling off a list of foods for the hefty girls and that was when Weiss noticed something…
This may be just a dream but she had no idea that Penny had worked her way into it until now. She could pass as human better than ever before, and to be quite honest, Weiss didn't care if she was or wasn't.
But somehow, the artificial girl had gotten herself a green and black skirt with straps that came over her shoulders, a white shirt with slightly puffy sleeves at the shoulder and wrists, and long black socks held by a garter belt . On her feet she wore green and black shoes.
The biggest surprise of all was that she looked like she had doubled her own mass so that her outfit was visibly tight and slightly strained around her middle. If she looked innocent before, she certainly looked even more somehow now that she was softer.
And given that she looked like she was a waitress with a special uniform for a holiday, she was both ready to serve them while looking like she had been ensuring that her recipes were perfect personally.
And the bed shook as Penny jumped on it. "I said wake up!"
Weiss woke up being tossed from her makeshift bed and to the floor that was far from level.
"Aren't you awake back there yet?!" The pilot yells, refusing to look back as they needed to concentrate of flying.
"What's going on!" As annoyed as she was about the good dream being cut off early, she knew she had to push that back in favor of reality.
"We ran into Lancers as we got to Lake Mashu! The others got the distress call from a passenger vessel under attack by the bastards and went to help."
"What!"
The pilot grunted as he pitched the aircraft into a steep dive and just as quickly ascended as he tried going under one of the many floating islands to lose their pursuers.
"We found some and either we are leading some away or we found another nest. Either way I'm doing my best to shake them!" The pilot quickly explained while performing several stunts that Weiss had to use a gravity glyph to keep her feet on the floor and use her arms to brace.
An errant thought crept into her mind of how much space her dream self from a few minutes ago would fill in this ship. At best, it would be a tight fit and she'd fill the cargo hold quite well with little room to spare.
And she had to shake that from her head to focus on the task at hand. "Do you have weapons? Maybe taking some out would make the others back off."
"Of course we have weapons on this! Now strap in!" He orders and levels out long enough for the girl to drop into the copilot's seat and fasten her belts. "Good thing we refueled at Mistral, we're gonna need it!"
Weiss was slammed into the back of her seat as the Manta rocketed even faster and climbed in the air. Through the windows and on the screens, she could see the swarm of bug-like Grimm flying after them, occasionally firing their harpoon stingers and retracting them when they missed.
The craft went vertical for a good distance before they slowed to a stop, greatly confusing and scaring the girl but the pilot had a confident grin on his face as the Manta went into a free fall, with him only steering it so they were facing the ground.
"Let's see what they got!" The thrusters restarted as the rotary gun began spinning, the swarm hovering not far below them.
—-
The toxic barb thrust at the prone girl, the target only able to flinch in the fear and pain she was in. Her friends, too far away to help and their own injuries slowed them. Even though the armored girl had switched her sword for rifle, there was no way that even her bullet would make it to him before he struck.
And his stinger struck something hard, not the soft flesh he had anticipated.
Taking his eyes off the now surprised teens, he saw that he had struck metal. A rather large piece of sectioned metal in the shape of a sword.
"Hey Pipsqueak, make some room so we can dance." A rough voice spoke and the scorpions eyes trailed up the sword to find a man holding it out with one hand. A tall and lanky man with red eyes and red cape.
A flick of his wrist was all that was needed to twist the blade and swing it at the scorpion, the Faunus jumping back to avoid the sharp metal from potentially cutting his tail and/or head.
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby squeaked out the question, seeing him again so soon was far from expected, let alone him saving her life.
"Yeah, it's me. Now get back to the others." He gave her a comforting smile as he turned to give the madman his full attention.
"Why… it's Qrow Branwen! Finally! A true Huntsman has entered the fray!" The Faunus declares with a few sweeping arm gestures, and sounding rather pleased despite his attack being interrupted.
"Tyrian Callows. You're rather lively for someone who's supposed to be dead." Qrow mostly tuned out the sound of feet and armor as Jaune and Pyrrha helped Ruby up and move her away to where Ren and Nora met them and the latter handed her scythe back.
"Ah! The curtain fell on my story a bit premature. But it's thanks to my Queen that I can truly live! Haha!"
"Salem."
Qrow may have said the name quietly but it was still loud enough to carry through the silent streets to the teens, raising many questions that demanded answers.
"But our introductions are complete! Let us move on to the real act!" Tyrian spoke as he began to crouch, tail swaying and ready to stab and arm blades waiting to draw blood.
"Took the words right out of my mo-" Qrow was cut off thanks to Tyrian leaping at him with a laugh, the swordsman catching both blades on his own and braced his weapon with his free hand.
The scorpion pushed harder but was met with equal force. But he also had the better angle to see his original opponents and how they were ready to jump in.
Qrow saw the way his eyes moved and how the wheels were turning in the psychopaths mind. "Don't come any closer! I'll deal with him!"
"But this is our fight too!" Ruby countered, the anger surprising the man a bit, enough for him to look back at his niece.
"I said, stay back!"
In that moment of distraction, there was a slight shifting in the Queen's Servants. Qrow may have just barely caught the sounds of the two paired gun barrels in the weapons setting into position for use, but he didn't miss the laugh that was his final warning to the danger.
BANG!
The bullet easily missed his head and flew harmlessly into the air, but it was far too close to his ear for the man's liking, especially if he wanted to keep his hearing.
And that shock was enough for Tyrian to jump back safely and ensure that both arms were aiming directly at the Huntsman once he landed. With another laugh, he opened fire. Four gunbarrels firing in sequence at a rapid pace made Qrow duck behind Harbinger to use the broad blade as a shield.
Then Tyrian began to strafe around the veteran Huntsman, said Huntsman easily moving with the running man and even tracking the accuracy of his weapons, having enough confidence in his quick assessment to stop using his sword as a shield and he began to weave his body around the paths of the bullets while twirling his weapon into the paths of those he couldn't dodge.
And the laughter stopped as the madman saw how easily he was being countered and slowed to a stop, while keeping up the suppressive fire. He had to buy time to find a hole in the Branwen's defenses. He didn't miss the red eyes flicking to look at things around his opponent.
Nora had jumped up onto the ledge of the old fountain while Ren stayed on the ground nearby, both with weapons in hand and ready to strike. Neither teen expected for Tyrian to arch his back to look at them, stopping his attack on Qrow in the process. "Ha!"
Tyrian took advantage of their hesitation to attack, his arms lashing out to push their weapons away to allow his leg and tail to smack both back the way they had come.
"I told you to stay back, damn it!" Qrow yells as he clashes blades to keep the faunus from going after Ren and Nora as they were getting back to their feet. By the time they had stood up, both men had moved away and had traded at least two dozen attacks.
"Guys!" Jaune calls out to the team and waves them over. "Guys, he only said to stay back, not stay out of the fight. Spread out and use ranged attacks. If you get a clear shot, take it. Even if you don't hit or hurt that guy, it might distract him enough to let Qrow get a good hit in himself."
The other four teens looked at each other and shrugged, it was the only plan they've had so far and they trusted Jaune to follow his orders.
"It will be done!" Pyrrha asserts and runs over to a nearby alley, Ren nodded silently and ran to another on the other side of the street. Nora and Ruby gave him a quick salute and the former jumped up to the roof of a house with grenade launcher at the ready. Ruby used Petal Burst to get to a taller building on the other side of the square and put her eye to her scope to follow the fight.
And Jaune was left standing in the open and alone, wishing that he actually had some sort of long range weapon. With a sigh at his predicament, he set himself up as bait as he held his shield up and sword arm raised if the fight ever came his way. After all, who could miss the white and gold armor and weapons in a dreary, drab gray, abandoned town?
And the fight between the far more experienced warriors continued at a furious pace, every clash filled with fast attacks with no small amount of power behind them as they tried to overpower the other or force an opening. And every brief exchange was accompanied by an equally fast relocation in an attempt to outmaneuver.
Yet every move led them through the town, several buildings received damages that would never have an attempt at repairs. Bullet holes in walls, support beams sliced by a sword, stone chipped by blades and much more.
Qrow had fought many enemies in his time. Not just in numbers, both in the course of his career and in swarms, but of varying levels of skill. For him, he'd rank Tyrian among the best he'd ever fought, and it was his job to go after many of the best who have gone bad because others couldn't. This crazy man was fast and unpredictable with five limbs that he'd attack with freely at any opportunity and from any position.
But he was used to the odds being against him and overcoming those odds. Part of the reason he was sent to deal with such circumstances. And to be quite honest, he wasn't going all out nor did he expect for his opponent right now to be doing so either. They were just warming up.
BANG!
Tyrian's tail flicked out to deflect a bullet. Unfortunately, he had paused in his fight with Qrow for a moment as he looked for where the shooter was. That was more than enough for Qrow to kick him in the chest, sending him down the street a short way.
BANG! BANG! Ratatatata!
Two rounds made Tyrian's tail move instinctively to deflect the large bullets but the smaller and faster fire of the twin SMG's made him take much of the burst with his aura, helped only by lifting his arms to allow the bladed bracers to take the worst of it. "Argh!"
A few more shots kept his tail occupied on interception duty as his eyes glared at the ninja just down the alley that was shooting at him.
Qrow was both surprised and unsurprised at the same time that the team was attacking Tyrian while staying away like he had said. Though Ren was much closer than he'd like given the shorter effective range of his weapons. That didn't mean he didn't appreciate the opportunity to get a few good breaths in as he was starting to notice his age a bit. Not enough to slow him down but he could tell the decades of active combat had taken their toll.
Then there was the clicking of empty chambers from down the alley and Tyrian laughed as he ran into the tight space between buildings after his harasser… with Qrow right behind him.
Apparently, Ren had planned this escape route since he seemed to know where he was going. Any debris from plants that managed to grow through the stones to support beams that have fallen from time or attacks were flowed around by the ninja. The scorpion didn't particularly care so long as he got his target. Qrow avoided the obstacles but had a greater emphasis on speed to catch the madman.
Then Ren ran out into an open space once more and Tyrian's grin widened in anticipation of a fight once more, knowing that the greater threat of Qrow was a few seconds behind him. More than enough time to deal with the kid.
BANG!
"What?!" The scorpion looked up at the sound in time to see a cylinder with a pink heart on the front flying straight at him, the hammer girl standing on a roof behind where the ninja stood, both with smirks on their faces.
Smirks that were dropped from shock as Tyrian scooped the grenade in the air and altered its path back at the alley where Qrow was just exiting.
"Shit!" Both the older man and young redhead cursed at the same time but it was the former who reacted beyond that; Harbinger sweeping out to catch the explosive on the flat of the blade near the top and redirect it up into the air with a flick of his wrist.
Even Tyrian had paused to watch the stunt but went after Ren the moment he saw that both teens had tracked the grenade up into the air.
The movement made Ren react instinctively, lifting his blades just in time to catch Tyrian's but found himself slammed into the wall of the house Nora was standing on. Flipping her weapon around, Magnhild extended into hammer form once again as Nora jumped off the roof and swung as Ren kneed his attacker in the stomach, lifting him off the ground as Ren dropped.
The scorpion tail might have softened the blow from the hammer but without any way to brace himself, Tyrian was slammed into and through the wall.
"Are you okay?" Nora helps her best friend to his feet.
"Been better but I'm fine." Ren replies as they both keep their eyes on the hole as the dust settles and they backed away.
Inside, Tyrian pushed some of the masonry off of him as he sat up. As he coughed from the dust in the air, he couldn't keep the grin from his face as he had gotten bored as of late. The Huntsmen he had asked to kill during his search for Rose rarely put up a good fight and no matter he much he played with his prey, they fell far too quickly.
A small whistling sound graced his ears, causing him to look up as he tracked the sound. Just in time to see a familiar heart-stamped cylinder fall through a small hole in the roof.
"Heh, what are the odds?" BOOM!
Qrow watched as the home shot debris and dust from the recent hole, the doors and windows, and holes in the roof. Even the walls remained intact, if now cracked from the forces inside.
He didn't have to wait long for Tyrian to emerge, though doing so from a door around the corner. Quickly looking around, the Faunus spotted the red cloak of his target and made a mad dash for her, ignoring the shots from Pyrrha as he went by as they missed him.
Qrow was in hot pursuit when he saw Tyrian glance back at him, raising alarms in his head. Alarms that were well founded when boots skidded to a sudden stop and the scorpion tail lashed at the Huntsman. Harbinger was lifted to fend off the stinger, only for the tail to twitch to the side and wrap around the wrist holding the sword and pull back, ripping the weapon from his grip.
Tyrian's grin widened as the large sword was smacked by his tail so it was launched away, coming to a stop lodged into a wall a fair distance away. And it helped that he could see that Qrow served as a human shield from Ruby and Pyrrha, both girls moving to reposition themselves for clear shots. Nora and Ren were out of the way but keeping their distance to follow Qrow's orders and not shooting due to risking the elder man in crossfire.
Qrow also took note of where everyone was, including Jaune who was moving to follow the fight. With a shrug, he clenched his fists and took a page from the blondes in his family- punching the smug grin off his opponents face.
"Argh!" Tyrian reeled back from the punch to the mouth, not expecting the attack as many he fought tended to plead or run once disarmed. The stars in his eyes blinded him from seeing the left hook to the face, or the uppercut to the gut.
He stumbled back, gasping to get air back into his lungs as Qrow casually walked towards him. A punch from Tyrian with the blades of Queen's Servant on either side of the fist was smacked away and that shoulder took a shot from his target's own fist. The other arm lashed out from the side, only for Qrow to lean back to let the sharp metal pass under his chin and return the favor with a punch to the now exposed ribs.
Qrow followed that up with a couple quick jabs to Tyrian's back, the tail flailing and twitching in response to its owner's pain, its counters being easily woven around. The exchange ended once Qrow drove his shoe into the scorpion's ass, lifting him from the ground and making him fly a short distance before landing in a heap.
It was only at this point that Qrow walked around the fallen faunus with a smirk to retrieve his weapon. The whole way, Tyrian glared at him in anger that he was being beaten so easily. The teens were in awe that the man that they could only touch if they got lucky was being made a joke in this fight. That also meant that they saw the massive gap in skill they needed to close to even compete with Tyrian, let alone Qrow. And Ruby looked at her Uncle with well-deserved pride.
Once Qrow took hold of the hilt, Tyrian took that as his own signal to attack. With a grin, he ran at the Huntsman as fast as he could and struck with both arms… only to find that his target had jumped to land on the back of the blade while still keeping his hand in place.
The mad smile gave way to a grimace of annoyance at the failed attack, but that in turn transformed into shock as Qrow fingered the odd guard on Harbinger and the hilt rotated… with the twin barrels pointing at Tyrian's legs.
A twitch of the fingers was all Qrow needed to use the shotguns to shoot at his feet, missing but he didn't expect to. But the recoil did what he wanted: dislodging his sword from the wall. Add that to a perfectly timed jump that took him to the roof with weapon in hand, absently triggering for the sword to snap back to normal.
The older fighter caught the edge of the roof with his free hand, allowing him to swing his feet down to a more solid surface. The house had its roof partially collapsed in but was sturdy enough to hold him so long as he stayed away from the hole.
Tyrian, in contrast, jumped up high with a laugh and clashed blades quickly before landing on the roof, just behind the hole.
Qrow turned and ran to the edge of a corner, with his opponent giving chase. The scorpion jumped to cover the distance faster and found upon landing the roof couldn't hold his weight, adding a new hole. That didn't stop his tail from lashing out and hooking Qrow's ankle, having been too close, and dragged down into the building as well, further expanding the hole.
RNNJR closed in on the newest fight location, keeping some distance from the house as they could hear the fighting hitting a fever pitch thanks to the confines. Blades colliding and scraping, flesh on flesh impacts, whatever walls and furniture inside being broken, occasional gunfire, and maniacal laughter graced their ears and made tensions rise as they couldn't see what was happening.
A wall burst open and Qrow was sent tumbling out through the newest hole, stopping himself by tossing his blade ahead so that it stuck into the stone before pushing off the ground so that he'd land on the erect hilt with his feet.
The teens were awestruck by how cool the move was, especially with the confident smirk still on his face and the light breeze making his cape flutter. That didn't stop his aura from crackling around him, the bursts of red energy showing how dangerously low his defensive barrier was and on the verge of failure.
Tyrian came stumbling out of the dust over the debris, his own aura sparking with purple light as he was in the same condition. In the darkened confines of the house, he had held the advantage and returned the damage from the punches earlier.
The scorpion charged, determined to take out Qrow. It wasn't just because they were fighting now or his own bloodlust, but that the man had been a problem for his Mistress for years and he'd interrupted his mission from Her to 'retrieve' Ruby Rose. And nothing would stop him from pleasing her.
Qrow hopped down and grabbed his sword as he ran to meet the madman. Closing in, he swung only to miss as Tyrian leapt over him and made a beeline towards his niece.
"Ruby!" He shouts in warning as he slid to a stop and was forced to sprint to catch up.
Nora and Ren jumped in to slow or stop the scorpion, but he barely slowed at all as he spun between their swinging weapons as if he were dancing and struck both in the back with his own blades. The only thing saving them from harm was their auras and even then they were stressed from the blows.
Pyrrha watched as her friends fell to the stone street in pain and hardened her resolve. She surged forward with Milo in spear form and thrust at Tyrian's scarred chest. He dropped to his knees as he leaned back, narrowly missing the sharp edge with his eye as she had begun to correct her aim during the attack. He slid just behind her, his arm hitting her armored foot as he passed and took her off balance.
Standing up as Pyrrha was recovering from the trip, he spun and used both his tail and leg to force her away. She had blocked the tail aimed at her face and chest with Milo but his boot caught her in the stomach, leading to her shield scraping across the stones as she slid on her back.
Ruby had his full focus and he easily jumped over her swing at his legs, arm ready to slice and tail poised to stab. Ruby herself stared back at him with wide eyes, unable to raise any sort of defense against Tyrian as both arm and tail moved.
Only for the scorpion to be bowled over by an armored warrior in white and gold, stopping the strike just before they could land.
"What the…?" Tyrian shook his head after rolling to a stop on his feet. The blonde he'd found interesting at the beginning of the fight was now between him and his target once more, shield ready after bashing him and sword in hand. The sound of Qrow running was just behind him, hoping to finish the fight.
And Tyrian let a sly grin cross his face as his eyes turned purple once more.
Jaune thought he'd be ready for just about anything that the madman could throw at him at this point. Anything besides the man throwing himself at him.
"Gah!" Jaune gasps as Tyrian latches onto his shield as he had before but then swung himself to the side, and by extension, dragged the blonde by the arm to follow his weight. And with Jaune off balance and stumbling, the scorpion planted his feet and with his hands still on the shield, tossed the knight away at Qrow.
The older man hopped over the boy and swung at Tyrian, the man raising his own blade to catch the sword. The other arm was pointing its tips at Ruby's stomach.
But it was Qrow who gasped in pain, collapsing to the street on his knees as the stinger was yanked from his thigh, the wound immediately spilling blood. The injured man looked at the one who stabbed him to see the yellow eyes and victorious smirk.
The victory was interrupted by screaming, a scythe hooking around and snagging between the segments, then the metal was pulled back and the soft joint was severed, cutting the tail in half. The half with the stinger fell to the ground where it lay twitching as the nerves continued to fire without coordination.
"AAARRRGGGHHH! AAHH! ARGAH! Ah!"
Tyrian's screams ofpain tore through the nearly empty town. The man making the noise stumbling away, wracked in pain that filled his body, the remains of his tail whipping around and flinging blood from the cut.
It was almost missed that Pyrrha's outstretched hand lost the black glow as it dropped to her side and the business end of Crescent Rose lost a similar glow, hitting the stone with a thud as the other end was held by its creator.
"I'll KILL you!" Tyrian screams as he could barely keep his balance.
But he could see that he was outnumbered, outgunned, far too injured, and aura broken. Worst of all, he had failed. "She'll forgive you. She'll forgive you." He began mumbling before running away into the surrounding forest.
Now that the threat was gone, Qrow found himself swarmed by the teens, most of whom began to dig into their packs for their first aid kits. The one who didn't…
"Uncle Qrow!" Nearly knocked him onto his back as she hugged him. "What are you doing here?"
"And who was that guy?" Jaune asks as he turns with a roll of gauze in hand.
"And why was he after Ruby?" Pyrrha followed up as she readied some sterilizing wipes.
"Nice to see you too, Pipsqueak." The older man chuckles as he rubs Ruby's hair. "As for your questions… let's get me patched up first and find a place to rest. Then I'll tell you a tale or two."
—-
Back at Signal, Yang was able to relax and have a light meal before she checked her weapons and arm, followed by stretching and light exercises to warm up her muscles.
She had gotten praises from everyone upon her return about her performance with the Beowolf pack, and she made sure that Denko did more than just a hug; just because they could be intimate didn't mean that he wasn't shy about being so, she often needed to get him started, though it didn't go beyond some kissing and a subtle grope or two, this time.
But she had noticed that her dad wasn't among the crowd. And he had yet to see her as the time for the match to begin drew near.
That led to thoughts of him being too angry with her decision to even see her during the tests or after. It was rare for the man to hold a grudge but he did keep many things bottled up or let them consume him. His reaction to losing Summer Rose being the greatest example… and his overprotectiveness after his daughters nearly were killed when they were young. Adding in what happened at Beacon and she really couldn't blame him for it.
"Almost time to go. You ready for this?" Denko asks her as he pokes his head in the locker room.
"You do know that you shouldn't just go looking in the girls locker room, right?" Anya could be heard behind him.
"Do you think Yang would care if he saw her at an odd time?" Talon was with them as well.
"You know I've been at the door for a while, I would have heard someone else by now." The blonde counters his pessimistic teammate.
"Not the point."
"Valid point."
"Really?"
And the sisters began their bickering.
The door was pulled open to reveal Yang standing tall and calm, if a bit curious at how the debate would end. "Do you deal with that often?"
"Often enough that I generally tune them out." He shrugs.
"Ah, kinda like how we learned to do with Weiss."
That received a raised eyebrow. "Weiss arguing or talking?"
"Yes." Was the simple answer as Yang walked out and they made their way to the arena.
—-
The arena in Signal wasn't anything particularly grand as the population of Patch and the school aren't large enough to justify the extravagance. Even with more than a few students that traveled from Vale or elsewhere and stayed either in the dorms or local establishments, the arena was rarely filled to capacity when their families came to watch.
Today, it seemed that Patch itself shut down for this single fight. Many had gotten their seats so they could watch the drone footage earlier and took a break during the rest period for Yang.
There was a lot of speculation about who would be facing against the girl who had reached the finals of the Vytal Tournament, even if she was technically still recovering nearly a year later. Nobody who knew was talking, granted that was also limited to the Headmaster and a teacher who was serving as the fighters security to maintain their anonymity until it was time for the match.
"Hey, five minutes!" She knocks on the door .
"Got it, Laurel."
—-
Laurel Kinny led her charge through the short corridor to the arena, glad that the other teachers had kept everyone else out and the other fighter was already waiting for them.
While she didn't mind seeing what her old student could do after her ordeals, she did find it a bit irritating with why Taiyang had arranged all of this. It didn't matter that Yang had agreed to the test and fight, it was how adamant her father was about holding her back.
Not that she didn't understand and sympathize with the man; she knew of the hardships he'd gone through over the years as Patch is a small community and there were a few of the staff who were made sure to know just to help the man when his funks came through.
She just hoped that Yang would succeed in this test and she'd be rooting for her.
—-
The pudgy blonde was doing a few last second stretches to keep herself loose for the fight to come. That didn't stop her from waving to the crowd while doing so, and she had gotten plenty of cheers just from walking into the arena.
Sure, there were still a few comments on her size but those people were quashed by the well-wishers. A few waves and smiles made others wish they were closer… and jealous of Denko who had a ringside seat after escorting her out.
Then the murmurs and chatter ended and allowed her to hear the approaching footsteps of her opponent. She didn't turn to look at them, instead looking over to the stands to see Denko, Anya, and Talon being joined by one of her old teachers, Laurel Kinny.
Laurel was someone who Yang held great respect for as a woman who could kick ass and didn't take crap from almost anyone, while looking good doing so. It was also interesting that the woman's Semblance was vastly different from most: it made her aura not protect her from harm like normal but accelerated her healing to a unfathomable degree to where she could take a sword through the stomach and it would be fully healed seconds after it was removed. Add in that she preferred to fight up close and personal like Yang and you had a great role model.
Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself as she turned around to find none other than Taiyang Xiao Long standing there in the ring with her dressed as he normally does.
"Dad? Are… you here to wish me luck?"
The man looked like he was torn but he steeled himself. "No, this time you are fighting me."
That got the crowd going again but they kept quiet as they wanted to see how the family drama would play out.
"You?"
"Yeah, me."
"But why?"
"So you know what you are in for when you get out into the real world as a Huntress." The man sounded like he was reluctant, yet resolved to follow through even as he slid into a ready stance.
As for Yang, she could only look at her father in shock with eyes wide in disbelief. But seeing him prepare for the fight, she calmed herself and readied her own position. "I'm not going to back down now. I'm finally getting my life back together and this time I'm doing it on my terms."
The hard light barriers sprung to life with a hum, protecting the audience from anything coming their way. Holographic projections of what the cameras were filming were suspended in the air over the ring and around the stands that could hold just over five hundred people.
"I hope so." Tai said so quietly that Yang questioned if she actually heard him.
A series of tones counted down to the buzzer that began the match. And as soon as that rang, both blondes burst forth to punch with their left fists. Knuckles collided with an audible crash for the audience, along with a small shockwave rippling through the air… as well as Yang's softer flesh.
Yet neither one backed down until they both jumped back before coming at each other in a flurry of punches, kicks, dodges, and deflections.
What many of those watching took notice of was that Yang had yet to activate any of her weapons and most notably that she was moving faster and more agile than anyone of her size would suggest being capable of.
The sound of flesh pounding on flesh echoed through the arena as much as the grunts of exertion. What neither fighter did though was express any pain from a hit they took. And this continued for another minute before the blondes separated to collect themselves. This also gave Taiyang's knuckles a break, while Yang had yet to use her gauntlets, the bracelets that they collapsed into on her wrists and upper arms still hurt to hit… not to mention the rest of her metal arm.
"Had enough yet?" The younger dragon asks, her breathing deeper but steady.
"Hmph, I may have taught you everything that you know but not everything that I know." His own breathing was slightly labored but not much.
"I picked up a few things since I left Signal."
"Then let's see you put them to use and see how they stack up to mine!" It was then that he reached behind his back and gripped something.
That was enough for Yang as she realized what was happening and deployed Ember Celica and Hiryu Shoten, the golden metal unfurling to cover her arms in armor complete with a fully loaded shotgun in each of the four pieces.
Taiyang's arms moved to reveal a pair of tonfa in his hands. The bright blue grips held securely in his hands and the polished brass finish covered most of the length of the main shaft aside from a section of brighter red at either end.
Huo had been unleashed.
Taiyang took a moment to twist the weapons in his hands, making the red tips rotate along his arms, before making them stop with the longer part along his forearms.
Both blondes shifted into combat positions and rushed at each other, Taiyang striking first with a jab at her chest that was deflected with a slight scraping of metal on metal. As was the following punch and the next few that kept Yang on the defensive.
A small break in the chain of attacks allowed for the younger dragon to return the punches, launching into a flurry of flying fists that she made sure always flew at her father from different angles. Unfortunately, she had as much success at hitting him as she gave him.
Once that combo ended, they wound up trading punches and kicks again as they danced across the stage, but this time Taiyang's weapons had begun to spin to build up force before the stikes while serving as an effective shield from Yang's own punches and kicks. Huo twirled and looked like a disk of fire along his arms, hence why they had received their name.
It's not that Yang didn't get a few blows in herself during the exchange but her father gave her twice in return. Then Taiyang did something unexpected and gripped the tonfa in his right hand by the end of the longer shaft and used the handle to hook her left leg to pull it out from under her so she wound up having to roll out of the fall. By the time she rolled to her feet again, Taiyang was holding the weapon normally and waiting for her.
"Ha! You're really pushing me this time!" Yang commented with a laugh as she caught her breath.
"Perhaps, but I'm still taking it easy on you, kid." Tai scoffed as he pointed the shorter ends of Huo at his daughter and squeezed the hidden triggers to shoot a shotgun shell filled with Fire Dust slugs.
Yang was able to dodge one slug while her arms raised to take the other on Ember Celica, and returned with a bark from Hiryu Shoten. The explosive rounds were avoided with a timely leap backwards.
Then they clashed fists once again with the addition of their respective guns firing every so often in an attempt to force an opening and/or wear down the others aura. A few shots were caught by the hard light shields protecting the stands, to the surprise of no one watching.
The round ended once Yang managed to grab hold of his wrist and threw her father over her shoulder with a shout of exertion. Taiyang didn't seem to be bothered too much by the toss, rolling out of it easily enough and righted himself lightly.
"Not bad but you have a long way to go before you can beat me." Tai used the small window to drop the empty magazines from the handles of the tonfa and reloaded them quickly. Yang took the same time to reload Ember Celica.
"I'm still warming up. Come on." And they were back at it again and this time they weren't pulling their punches anymore.
The crowd watched as the brawl continued with gold flashing between the fighters as their respective weapons clashed and struck. The monitors displayed their aura levels dropping steadily.
"Think she'll win?" Talon asks Denko as they kept their eyes on the fight.
"If she keeps playing it smart… she might." Was the vague response. "We've heard a few stories from Qrow about how good Taiyang was."
"Was?" Laurel asks as she had overheard them talking. "Are we talking about the same man who has consistently proved himself to be the strongest on Patch?"
"Just going by what his old teammate said." The blonde counters.
A brighter flash of gold drew their full attention, the source being Yang's hair releasing small flames after Taiyang landed a rather brutal combo attack on her that sent the girl tumbling. Yet she climbed to her feet without hesitation and jumped back in, successfully landing a right hook to the gut that sent the man to the floor and he rolled away to stand a short distance apart from his daughter.
Both of them were well under the fifty percent mark for their auras, hovering just over forty with Taiyang having a three point advantage.
"I think it's time to end this game." The father says as he flexes and stretches a little.
"Getting tired, Old Man?" Yang kept herself steady as she worked to keep her breathing even.
"I'm only tired of you thinking you are ready without proving you are." He scowls, clearly not having lost his mind to the battle rush. "Let me show you what you'll really face out in the real world by showing you why I am called The Golden Dragon."
He entered a different, lower stance with his arms spread wide. Golden aura became visible over his arms that seemed to begin taking form into something but that was lost as he burst forward almost too fast to track.
But Yang was able to catch the golden streak just before it made contact with her, raising her arms in defense at the last moment before her world was rocked thanks to a massive explosion.
The blast nearly sent her out of the ring, sliding to a stop on her back near the edge. There she needed the time to catch her breath and let her ears stop ringing.
"Had enough?" Taiyang calls out from where she had stood a minute before, looking only slightly disheveled from the blast.
Yang could feel that her Burn was practically itching to be released and after all of the fighting so far, she had plenty of stored power to fuel her Semblance. The biggest challenge was getting the opportunity to use it. Her spars with Denko and Iris had taught her that they could use that power against her.
Tai watched as she slowly stood up again, ready to keep going. "I guess not." Once again, aura covered his arms but his right was pulled back for a punch.
Yang charged and Taiyang responded with a punch to the air that sent the encasing aura rocketing at the girl in the form of a serpentine dragon, forcing her to veer off to the left to let it pass. There she watched as it collided with the barrier and explode, creating massive ripples through the hard light that struggled to contain the blast. Even the ground beneath the explosion was ripped apart from the force, a display of how powerful the attack was.
"Oh shit."
A burst of light and motion caught at the edge of her vision made her instinctively jump backwards to allow another dragon to pass, this one hitting near the edge of the stone ring… that was reduced to a crater and pebbles rained everywhere.
"Double shit."
"No, Double Dragon." His voice was low as he flung both arms to the sides and released a pair of dragons at the same time. But once they reached the edge of the stage, he slammed his fists together as his daughter was fond of doing; a habit she had picked up on early in her training when he had used this move. In response, the dragons turned and now flew at Yang.
As a reaction, she aimed Hiryu Shoten at the volatile aura constructs and fired. The explosive rounds did their jobs and detonated the dragons at a safe distance from their original target, leaving her free to close in on her father under the cover of the flash and shockwaves.
Tai had braced himself for the explosion, having done so for the better part of his last three decades of life with practiced ease. But the detonation came earlier than expected and he saw the bright light of flames around his raised arms.
Knowing that his Dragon Fist Semblance didn't cause fires on its own but he knew another that did create golden flames… that did little to prepare him much for the onslaught of fists that began to strike him with more force than before, several times over.
His Huo only could guard so much and the fists opened his defenses with minor difficulty before knuckles began to strike his core and face. He still tried to mount a counterattack and his wrist was grabbed as a result.
From there, Yang pulled his arm to her far side while her right fist came as an uppercut to his stomach. The left arm yanked down as she twisted her waist and the fist stayed buried in his gut until he was upside down. From there, the fist pushed him down at this stage with her full weight and Burn fueled strength behind the metal hand.
The buzzer went off to declare a winner but the audience had to wait for the dust to settle from the three explosions to see who it was. Nobody was really bothering to check the aura meters.
When the air was clear, it was Taiyang who was laying in the largest crater on the stage, surrounded and partially covered in the fractured stones. Over him, Yang knelt in the crater but rose as the crowd began to cheer.
"The winner is Yang Xiao Long!" The announcer declared proudly and the girl felt just as she did when she had beaten Mercury back in the Amity Arena.
She raised her fists in victory with a laugh before kneeling down again to brush some of the stones and dust off her father. By the time she did, Denko and Laurel were by her side to help the man out with Talon and Anya not far behind.
"Hehe, not bad kid." Tai was still in a good mood, somehow after all of that. "How'd you come up with that last move?"
"Ha! Try having this guy using it on you until you figure it out on your own." Yang laughed as she put her flesh arm over Denko's shoulders.
"And how many times was that? Xiao Long's are as stubborn as they are sturdy."
"Three times before she tried using it on me. Four more before she got it right." The younger man was a bit embarrassed to tell. Whether that was because it was admitting to using a powerful move on his girlfriend or that she had turned it on him… with similar resulting craters in their training grounds, it was hard to say.
"I can believe it. I'll be feeling this for a few days." Tai winced a bit as Laurel took the bulk of his weight with an arm draped over her shoulders.
"And I'll remind him that this was a stupid idea… even if entertaining." The teacher chimes in as the medical crew came over to check on the man for injuries since his aura was barely holding on after that punishment.
"Hey Dad?"
"Hm?" He winced a bit as he was sat down to be examined.
"I'm good to go on missions now, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah you are." The man accepted with a few nods. Then he saw her eyes flicking at the team next to her and he connected the dots quickly. "Was all of this just to stay with your boyfriend?" He laughed.
Both younger blondes blushed at the implication as Talon and Laurel openly laughed.
"Call it a happy accident that they have a mission and could use a teammate." Yang tries to defend herself.
"Right." The father wasn't going to argue at this point. His little girl had proven herself to him and if she was with the others, he knew she'd have people he could trust to watch her back.
—-
Dinner was at Hestia's to celebrate and both blondes that fought were taking it easy for the night since the adrenaline wore off and the aches of combat set in. At least Tai was durable enough to have taken that last hit without anything more than soreness in his torso.
Plates were stacked high as over half a dozen active Huntsmen and Huntresses tore through their meal. Yang and Iris are the youngest of the group being teens with Taiyang and Laurel being the eldest, the former by a significant margin. That left the trio of Denko, Anya, and Talon to fill out the middle of the age range.
And it was clear that everyone was ensuring that their middles were filled as best they could… making Iris extremely glad that she wasn't working tonight with how much they were eating.
"Where did you come up with that move?" Laurel asks as she eats a chicken leg.
Denko shrugs as he swallows the sweet potato. "Needed a good finisher since a throw and uppercut only do so much on their own. So I figured that I could combine them into one counterattack that would end the fight with most people."
"Yeah? I guess if I used that next time I'm in the field, I could do my fair share of damage." The younger teacher grinned in a way that promised pain.
"You and Wolverine are bad enough on most days. There's no need for you to pull that off." Tai tries to dissuade her.
"Are you afraid of a few little claws?"
"Not really. I'm more worried about the woman who got her hand bitten off by an Ursa only for you to shove your other hand down its throat to pull it out and put it on the stump. Then acted like nothing happened a minute later."
"And here I thought people in our profession would appreciate a few scars. I just happen to not get them."
"At least we know who wins first and second for a scar comparison competition." Anya butts into the conversation as she jabs her thumb at the two blondes on her right.
The pair in question shared a quick glance before grinning. There was a small clicking sound as Yang lifted her arms. "Can't fault you there!" She declares as her right arm falls off into Denko's waiting hands.
The table erupted into laughter, as did more than a few other patrons, though a few choked on their food in surprise at seeing her arm detach.
By the time the group left, they all had to loosen their belts and the restaurant took a good hit to their profits for the day.
Tomorrow, Team DAYT would be leaving the island.
AN: Next time, we'll get to how Weiss deals with a pest problem, Yang is going on her first mission in over a year, and we'll be getting back to Blake. I hope you are all ready for a fun ride! Plus, how many can tell who Laurel Kinny is based on? That should be easy to guess.
I'll see you all again in two weeks with the next chapter and I'll have a few pics posted on my DA to go with that too. As always, reviews are welcome, especially to help me improve my writing ability.
