Yang Xiao Long
"Alright... this is a serious mission. We have one chance, and one chance only to catch this guy... Qrow's info is all we're going to get for a while, he's still held up in Vacuo."
"Why did he even come back to Vale?"
"It was a temporary visit... the guys been there for months, I think he earned a break."
"A break? He managed to find Roman Torchwick while taking a 'break'?"
"What can I say? My uncle just can't leave the job alone." Her smirk exuded confidence, and that was only further exemplified by her posture. She was leaning back in her chair so far that everyone else was probably taking bets about how long it would take her to fall over.
"Didn't he just happen to fly over it?" Her eyebrow twitched as Jaune spoke, and she shot him a quick glance that said all it needed to in order to make him shut up.
"Anyway-" Yang rested her chair down as Pyrrha started speaking, even with how she usually treated missions, she wasn't about to ignore the leader. "This should be a pretty simple situation. Jaune and Yang will go in the front door while the rest of us guard all of the exits. I'll be maintaining a spatial barrier in the meantime, but-" She turned to Yang and Jaune, focusing on them rather then addressing the whole team. "If you spot Cinder Fall, Adam Tauras, or anyone of that same level... contact me immediately."
As much as Yang wanted to get another chance at Adam... "Right." She wasn't a fool. Why risk that fight now when Pyrrha was here to handle it? Besides... Yang could still get plenty stronger between now and their rematch. Well, she was hoping they would get a rematch.
"How's your arm?" Jaune spoke with concern, and Yang raised it to admire the prosthetic. As much as she had wanted to make a joke about it at his expense... he was being nice. Besides, it was always good to be serious about mission details. Jaune needed to know about any faults she might have, and for now the arm was a pretty big one.
"It's weak. It can't match my strength, so if I try and punch with it... it'll probably break." She shot him a smirk anyway and dropped her arm again. "Don't worry. I won't be using it. My other arms will be fine until I get a better one, and I don't imagine anyone in there can be strong enough for it to matter."
"Jaune, keep an eye on Yang."
"Woah, woah woah." She turned her head to look at Pyrrha with a complaint ready. "I know I my arm might be funky, but that dosent mean I need him watching out for me."
"This is a test as well, Yang." Pyrrha gave her a reassuring smile as she spoke. "Weiss asked me to report afterwards how well you do. Currently, Ruby and Weiss both stand as bad examples of the true capabilities of a Dragon. Weiss needs better summons and more training to master her power, and Ruby needs a proper weapon." Yang nodded along. "You on the other hand? Your power is rather straightforward in comparison. So this will be a good understanding of what Dragons should be capable of."
"Alright... Alright. I get it. Mr Hero over here can keep an eye on me." She flashed him another smirk and the boy let off a small sigh.
"If there's nothing else... let's move out." Pyrrha stepped away from the desk and all of the Hunters flooded out down the airships ramp. Yang moved to follow after, but paused and glanced back to see Pyrrha and Jaune. "Be safe... ok? Don't hesitate to call me if you need help." It was quite the sight, seeing Pyrrha that worried about the man she loved... A small smile crossed over Yang's face, and she stepped down the ramp to give them some privacy.
After being joined by the other blonde, they set out towards the base. A cave that had been converted into a fort of sorts, it had a few exits and some pretty decent defenses... but the front door was fully unprotected by magic. Only some guards stood out front, and it wasn't likely that they were prepared for a Dragon and the Hero.
"Wait here till we get the signal." They stopped behind some bushes, the break in the tree like just ahead of them and a clearing covered a decently sized area before the cave entrance. "I'll go in first-"
"No-" Yang leaned against the tree while Jaune crouched behind the bushes. While the Hero had chosen to use his fancy plate armour for this mission, Yang was wearing some rather nice looking leather 'armour' that her wife had gotten her years ago... it was probably her favourite outfit, resembling casual clothes and a jacket more then actual armour. "I'll head in first. We don't know if these things work." She flicked the pendant hanging around her neck, a simple storage vessel for some Dust attached to a chain that looked way too nice to be a mass-produced magic item... which was probably the point.
"You're probably stronger then me, Yang-"
"Maybe. But if I get hit with one of those bolts, i can always get another dose of the Dragon Formula. Isn't the Hero Formula lost?" His averted eyes was all the answer she needed, Yang almost huffed at the outcome of the conversation... but she didn't want to be rude. While she did enjoy teasing him a bit, that was all there was to it. Actual bullying or just straight up being an asshole was Cardin's job... not that he messed with Jaune anymore anyway. Apparently Pyrrha had some select words for him once she had found out about how he treated Jaune.
The Hero jolted a bit as a sudden magic signal connected with his body. He turned to Yang to tell her, but she had already pushed off the tree after seeing his reaction to it. Both of them stood and Yang even stretched a bit as Jaune readied his sword and shield... everyone else was in position. It was time.
"So, transform now or see how we go?" She spoke with a smirk, but Jaune seemed to be much less enthusiastic about this.
"I mean... transforming now is the smart thing to do right?"
Yang deadpanned. "You're no fun. We're doing this my way."
"Hey guys!!" Her words were peppy and upbeat, but they only served to put both the guards... well, on guard. They were clearly White Fang grunts, judging from the masks and... well, the Faunas features proudly on display. "Woah, neat weapons!" Those next words were still just as bright, but she almost frowned when they drew their swords and crossbows. She could tell what kind of bolts they were even from here, but more importantly their swords were glowing with a blood red colour.
"Rot Blades...?" Jaune whispered to her, he was standing just a bit behind her and off to the side. "If these guys have them..."
"Seems the standard issue White Fang weapons got a major upgrade." She chuckled with her mutters, stepping closer now that both of them had their attention locked solely on her. She spread her arms out wide and smirked, inviting a challenge.
Yang didn't want to mess around. It was better to see if these Anti-Abaddon items worked or not right now, rather then the alternative of getting hit by a Curse while they were inside and possibly surrounded... or fighting someone really strong.
Luckily, the grunts decided to oblige, even if they were doing it unknowingly. It was a strange sensation for Yang, she could have easily dodged them yet her objective currently was to see if they worked so... well, it was the equivalent of standing there and taking a punch, only there was two of them.
The bolts struck nearly simultaneously, one hitting her lower abdomen and the other striking just above her chest. She blinked after a moment as the bolts bounced off her skin and armour, not even piercing it and casually falling to the ground.
"Oh... right... sorry, one sec guys!" She called out to them again as she crouched down, picking one of the bolts up and checking that it was still intact... after confirming that, she casually stabbed it into her hand, the non-prosthetic one of course. She winced a little at the pain, but after a moment... she felt nothing. Her magic was fine and her body didn't grow weak, so she casually pulled the bolt out and unscrewed it at the seam. Her hand glowed with a green light as it healed, and she pulled out the ritual paper stuck inside the bolt with a pinch of her fingers... it was kinda gross, being soaked paper afterall.
"Well?" Jaune stepped over next to her as she checked it over, and she gave him a thumbs up before the paper combusted in her hand, burning away with her magic.
"Yep. The ritual went off and the Dust was used up. These pendants work."
"Oh thank God... Good job Ruby." The Hero let out a sigh and then turned back to the guards. "Oh.. right, they're still here."
Yang smirked and her hands met in a clap in front of her, yellow scales began to form over her body as she eyed the faunas down. "Yeah... not for long."
Ruby Schnee
Ah, the workshop. Perhaps the greatest magic workshop in all of Remnant... well, maybe besides Pietro's in Atlas. That kingdom was just way too rich for their own good. But still, Ruby wasn't about to complain about this one. Fit with every tool or apparatus she could ever need to craft anything short of a Relic, it was a dream come true for anyone that had any interest whatsoever in magical items or materials. The idea of just strolling in there and making whatever you wanted with what was essentially an infinite supply of materials was a joy... if only Ruby could actually come up with something to make for herself.
Her Scythe... wasn't working out. She had tried heaps of different variations, yet nothing stuck... nothing felt right. Even with her inexperience in the field, she had expected to have made some progress... but so far it wasn't working. Sometimes Ruby had vivid dreams of a beautiful Scythe... a Magic weapon bordering on the limits of what was possible to make, and coated in a beautiful red and black colour scheme... she had even thought of a name for it too! But no matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did differently or changed about her process... she couldn't pull that weapon of divine beauty from her head and into reality.
Still, even with that... minor... annoyance, she wasn't going to complain about life as a whole. For every annoyance there was a hundred other things she could be happy about. Ruby was finally getting the hang of the council meetings, able to stay awake without effort during them. Her hair was finally back to a length that warranted tying it back... which was a look Weiss apparently loved so Ruby was rocking it near constantly these days. And she got to hang out with one of her best friends after ages of not seeing them!
Said friend was here now. They were just hanging out in the workshop while Ruby fiddled with some stuff... though, there was actually three people in there at the moment. Ruby, her friend that had just asked her a question... and one of her favourite people in the world.
"All in all, I'd say that things have been going pretty well." A smile was gracing her expression. In all honesty she was lying, things had been going amazingly.
"Oh? What kind of stuff has been happening?"
"I'm surprised you don't know already." She let out a giggle before continuing. "Well, things calmed down heaps after Yang became a Dragon. Vacuo didn't want to go to war so Mistral had to stop pressuring us about it-"
"Cause they had no backup?"
"Yep!" Weiss's theory had been that Yang was a wakeup call for Vacuo. The timing had been too convenient for it not to be. Vale had been in a good position before, but reminding the world that they could literally just make more Dragons if they needed to was an extra layer of security. Just that threat alone had pushed them to a threat level matching Atlas's fleet, which they were allied with anyway! "Yangs arm is nearly done too, so I can finally stop stressing about that."
That had been a much harder project. The prosthetic had proven too much for her zero experience in that area... so Weiss had called Penny's dad to come and help Ruby with it. It had taken way less time then they both thought it would, but Ruby picked it up incredibly quickly and was left to her own device's when it came to completing the arm on her own. Though, she made a fairly average one as well for Yang to use currently. It was easily weaker then her remaining arm, but for now it was just meant to be a usable limb rather then something to punch or fight with. That was what this next prosthetic was for. Ruby had worked it out, and this one should just barely be good enough to match Yang's strength. Meaning she could punch all she wanted with it and not break it... unless she was hitting something that would break her other hand.
Of course, that had been taking up a lot of Ruby's time lately. Between the arm, her own personal project here and there, taking care of Argus, and of course completing any tasks given directly by the Queen... life had been very busy and very hectic for a while now... but that just meant things had been fun! Ruby had finally gotten fully used to the workshop, she'd even accidentally called it her 'lab' a few times. But that had dramatically improved the speed of her progress, as well as the flow of her work. Ruby was good enough now to balance taking care of Argus and working at the same time! It helped that he had a double Silver Affinity like her, so even if he probably didn't understand what he was looking at, he found it interesting nonetheless.
"Speaking of Yang... if you don't mind me asking, which Dragon is she?"
Ruby couldn't help but grin, turning to flash the other woman a smile. "The Solar Dragon."
"Alright... be still please, Mrs Xiao Long."
"Glynda, we've definitely known each other long enough for you to call me Yang."
"Yes, most likely."
"So... does that mean-"
"Not even a chance." That made both Ruby and Yang share a chuckle, and Ruby could have sworn she saw a sparkle of entertainment in Glynda's Platinum eyes as well. "Your title is... The Solar Dragon."
"Oooh... sounds neat."
"Better then 'The Rose Dragon'.." Ruby grumbled her words and Yang laughed at her again.
"Your current Affinity is a double fire with the Berserker curse. That is more then likely stronger then when you had a Water Affinity, so perhaps losing that was a good thing."
"Could have done without the red eyes..." Yang grumbled her words this time and it was Ruby's turn to laugh.
"I'm sure Ruby could make you a pair of glasses similar to my own."
"Wait, why does she get to be called 'Ruby' if I'm 'Mrs Xiao Long'??"
"Because Ruby is the Queen Consort and I have to do what she says." Glynda stood while putting her glasses back on, her Platinum eyes changing back to Green once again.
"Well, I'm the Queen Consorts older sister! That means you should listen to me too!"
"Whatever you say, Mrs Xiao Long." Ruby laughed again, and this time Glynda definitely smiled.
"You know, Glynda's actually pretty fun when you get to know her."
"I'll... take your word for it." She rolled her eyes and Ruby chuckled at her expense. "Yang has a mission today right...?" She mumbled that part... clearly not wanting to actually say it aloud for some reason. But Ruby heard it loud and clear anyway thanks to her great hearing... But she was confused for a moment, stuck wondering how Emerald knew about that, before the topic changed. "It's been a while since then right? Judging from how big Argus is now."
"He's not that big." Ruby turned and frowned, growing defensive over the possibility of her baby being called fat.
"Ruby... your baby is a toddler now."
"He's only like... nine months old now!"
"Isn't that time doubled though? So he's like... one and a half?"
"His development is twice as fast, it dosent actually change his age." She turned back to the bench, fiddling with some Dust containers for a moment. "He should even back out when he reaches ten. It's like Hellhound development from what we can tell-"
"You say Hellhound development... but most creatures age like that. The first five years are twice as fast, they stop developing till they're ten, then their soul slowly develops till they're an adult age."
"Yeah, but unlike Celica or Jasper, Argus is only going to legally be an adult when he's fifty."
"Woah... that's... a while."
Ruby chuckled. "You're telling me. His body will reach an adult state when he's about twenty though."
"So he's pretty much gonna be an adult that can't drink or use his full power for thirty years?"
"Yeah!" Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "Pretty much."
"I feel bad for you." Her words were addressed to someone else now, probably the person she was sharing a bench with at the moment. Weiss had dropped Argus off about an hour ago, so that just left Ruby and Emerald chilling in the workshop with the baby... well, toddler? "What about Yang's youngest kid?"
"Jasper? He's one now-"
"So he's two?"
"Quit it."
"Ok, ok, sorry... oh, Ruby? Looks like someone wants to say hi."
She turned around curiously and was met with an adorable sight. Argus could walk now, his body still seeming a little chubby, but maybe that was just due to his rapid development. Weiss had him dressed in clothes much too fancy for a toddler, and his hair was combed so nicely it really gave off a pompous air to it. Everytime Ruby looked at him she couldn't help but smile, everything about him was meant to make him look dignified and refined, but it was all made redundant by his age and eyes full of innocence. He held a small hammer up to Ruby, giving a big smile like he was proud of helping.
She gave him a small pat on the head and carefully took the tool... she was surprised by how heavy it was, not that it weighed much of anything to her... rather, logically it should weigh heaps to him... seems the Dragon strength started kicking in early. "Thanks buddy." She gave him a bright smile, and he quickly latched his arms around her in a hug which she returned without a moments hesitation.
"Is he talking yet?" She glanced up at Emerald and gave a small nod.
"Yeah... to be honest, I think Weiss is still a little pissed about his first word."
Emerald raised an eyebrow, practically begging to hear that story with just her expression alone.
"Ruby?? Have you see my necklace??"
"Your necklace? What necklace??" Ruby turned her head in confusion, having paused midway through pulling her boot up and now looking at Weiss over at her desk.
"My necklace?" She looked at Ruby, and for a moment didn't elaborate any further then that. "The one you gave me?"
"...what?"
"You don't remember? You gave it to me when I was pregnant with Argus."
Ruby pulled her boot on fully and stood from the side of the bed. "You still wear that??"
"Yes? I like it, it makes me feel safe."
"Does it now?" Ruby approached slowly with a sly grin. "So you really like 'my scent' that much, huh?" She raised an eyebrow, but her teasing was less successful then she would have hoped.
"Ruby. It makes me feel safe because I know I can call you whenever I need to." Weiss deadpanned as she spoke, and Ruby was left feeling like a jerk.
"Oh. Well... are you saying you don't like my scent then?"
"Ruby-" Weiss turned back to her desk with a sigh. "You smell a lot like roses you know, and I can only handle that smell for so long."
"Oh... well, if you don't like the smell of roses I can always tweak the necklace to not give off the smell-"
"I... didn't say that... It may be a little overpowering at times but..." She brushed some of her hair behind her ear almost bashfully. "I might... like... the smell of... 'roses'..."
A dumb smile slowly formed over Rubys face, and she moved closer ready to tease Weiss further... only there was a small interruption.
"...Roses..." Both of them froze. Slowly turning to look at the crib housing their tired Prince of a son... and where said poorly spoken word had just come from. Their gazes slowly moved back to look at eachother, and Ruby awkwardly laughed as Weiss began to frown.
"I umm... I think your necklace is in the bathroom..."
"Weiss wanted to put me on the couch that night... but after I reminded her of how many spare bedrooms we have she gave up and we slept in our bed." She gave off a small giggle and Emerald made a fake gagging noise.
"You guys are repulsively sweet."
"Oh come on. As if you wouldn't be all sweet for the right person." Ruby frowned a bit, and Argus turned with her gaze. He wormed his way out of Rubys grasp and ran back over to Emerald, sitting up on the bench and copying the woman's pose, crossed arms and all.
"Definitely wouldn't for Whitley it that's what you're implying..." Emerald was grumbling awfully quietly... but she knew Ruby could hear her anyway.
"Emerald-" Ruby put the hammer down on the bench behind her, having turned her chair to look at the woman. "Do you not want to get married to him?"
"That dosent matter-"
"Sure it does!" Ruby stood as she spoke. "If you don't love someone, you shouldn't have to marry them."
"Its... not my choice Ruby..." For once, Emerald seemed nervous by this turn of the conversation.
"Well, I'm making it your choice! On my right as a Dragon!" Ruby puffed out her chest and crossed her arms with a proud expression.
"Ruby-"
"You once said you had a crush on someone else. Some... brown haired girl?"
"Black hair..." She still spoke with an unsure voice... though it seemed to be about something different now.
"Yeah! That's not Whitley! If you don't want to be with him, just say the word and I'll help you!"
"You don't need to go that far for me-"
"Sure I do-" Ruby sat again and gave her a genuine smile. "We're friends. And... if that's not enough for you... then just remember that Weiss was stuck in an arranged marriage before I interrupted it. I know what it's like to be in that situation and... it's not fun." She turned back to her bench and let out a gentle sigh. "Who knows, maybe mystery girl has a thing for you too?"
"No. She dosent... I don't think she could ever love me." Ruby frowned at Emeralds words.
"I think you need to trust in yourself more... just copy me! I trust you afterall!" She let out another giggle and then a small sigh. "That was kind of dumb..."
"Ruby..." Emeralds voice had grown even more nervous somehow... it was almost worrisome to Ruby. "Why... why do you trust me...?"
"What?" Ruby was flabbergasted by such a question. "That's dumb. You're my friend. How could I not trust you? It's not like I have a reason not to." She let out a laugh after that, and picked up her tools again.
"Honestly... how silly can Emerald get... I have every reason to trust her..."
This work was boring. It was stuff she could do in her sleep, just fitting some bolts with some ritual papers to test out the most effective ones... and of course loading Dust into them. But, it was so boring... that it allowed her mind to wander.
"Ok I mean... yeah she's a Vampire and the whole stereotype about them is they can't be trusted... and... i guess there's that mystery Vampire working for Cinder..."
But that was such a stupid connection. The loosest possible, not to mention the most circumstantial evidence Ruby had ever seen-
"Well... Cinder does have really black hair... and she's like... really mean, so the whole 'wouldn't love me' thing fits... and... I guess I don't know what Emerald does in her off time..."
Ruby stopped her work for a moment... and she started falling down a rabbit hole.
"She didn't help in the raid when i was being mindcontrolled... apparently the Hunters couldn't contact her... actually... the same thing with the raid today... no... wait... how does she even know about that...? That's not public knowledge..."
"She knew where my room was without anyone showing her it... no, she knew her way around the whole castle..."
"I've... I've never seen Emerald use magic... I don't know what her Affinity is... the... the reports talk about the Vampire using Illusion magic but..."
Ruby took deep breaths. She was being stupid. Honestly, just because there was... some... evidence pointing to it being Emerald, it wasn't like that was enough to warrant accusing her of anything... still. Something in the back of her mind was worming its way through her thoughts... an anxiety filled tick in her brain that wouldn't let her attention go...
If she was right... if... if Emerald really was... that Vampire... then...
Someone working for Cinder... was sitting right next to her son.
"Hey, Emerald?" Ruby turned in her chair, trying to be as casual as possible about this. "Can you come look at this for a second?" She gave a weak smile, her best attempt at a lie without activating Pride to be convincing... she needed to separate them... now.
But in all her time spent with Weiss... she still hadn't learnt how to lie.
"Ruby... I... I can't do that." Emeralds voice had taken a different tone. It sounded dead... defeated... and Ruby watched with growing concern as Emerald grabbed Argus, slowly hugging the boy to her front and leaning over his head... her eyes settling onto Ruby as a knife slowly materialised in her hand... no... it had already been there.
She had just dropped the illusion spell.