Mama Yang
Jaune and Cardin stood in the arena of the training room, each of them having looks of annoyance.
Jaune charged wildly at Cardin, making the club swinger smile a bit as he swung and sent Jaune flying a bit, near the edge of the arena. Once he regained his bearings, Jaune went charging in without his shield, swinging his sword in an upward motion, then swung down, but Cardin blocked with the handle of his club.
"This is the part, where you lose." Cardin said with a smirk.
"Over my dead…" Jaune never finished that sentence as Cardin kneed him in the gut.
Cardin lifted his club intending to give a killing blow.
"Cardin, that's enough." Glynda stated ending the sparing session. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red, in a tournament style duel, this would indicate Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match. Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now, please try to refer to your scroll during combat; gauging your aura will help you to decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more… defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?"
"Speak for yourself." Cardin hissed as he left the stage.
"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from other Kingdoms start arriving in Vale. So keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament, will be representing all of Vale." Glynda exclaimed before the bell rang.
As the students filed out of the combat stadium, Pyrrha kept her gaze on Jaune, with a look mixed with sympathy and curiosity.
~Lunch: Cafeteria~
In the cafeteria, Nora was explaining another dream of hers, over exaggerating it as usual while Ren kept correcting the false parts. Jaune however was picking at his food, his attention on something.
"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked.
"Huh, oh, yeah why?"
"It's just that you seem a little… not okay." Ruby stated.
"You look depressed." Anya stated after taking a large bite out of the one of her burgers.
"Something on your mind Jaune?" Yang asked eating her plate stacked full of ribs.
"Eh, guy's I'm fine… Seriously, look." Jaune stated with a nervous laugh, a fake smile, and two shaky thumbs up.
"You don't seem fine." Blake stated eating some of her salad.
"That's totally forced." Anya said.
Over at another table, Cardin and the rest of his team were picking on a Rabbit Faunus, gaining glares form everyone in team JNPR and RWBY.
"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha stated.
"Eh, who? Cardin Winchester?" Jaune asked. "Nah, he likes to mess around you know? Practical jokes."
"He's a bully." Ruby and Clark stated at the same time.
"Oh please… name one time he's "bullied" me." Jaune stated, using his fingers to make quotation marks.
"There was the time he knocked down your books." Blake stated.
"When he shoved your head into a toilet and gave you a swirly." Ruby added.
"There was the time he sent you flying through the Emerald forest from the cliffs again." Pyrrha stated.
"The time he used your own shield against you to get you stuck in a door way, for three hours before the joints of the shield became loose again." Nora added.
"Or when he somehow put your bed in the Emerald forest filled with Grimm. I still don't know how he and his team didn't wake the rest of us when pulling that stunt." Ren said.
"How about the time he stole your clothes when you were in the shower, and had to run naked through the campus, to get back to your dorm?" Clark brought up.
"Maybe the time he stole your lunch when you weren't looking, for a week straight." Jessica added.
"Or how about the time he sent you flying in one of the rocket lockers when Ms. Goodwitch was instructing us what they were for?" Yang added.
"I didn't land far from the school." Jaune stated.
"Anya and I both had to rescue you from a pack of Beowolves, as she used her healing abilities to heal your broken arm, leg, and ribs, not to mention a concussion." Yang stated, listing off the injuries. "How Cardin has managed to slip under Professor Fullbuster's radar this long, is beyond me."
"Jaune you know if you ever need help you can just ask." Pyrrha stated.
"Ooh, we'll break his legs." Nora stated in excitement.
"I'm up for that." Anya smiled.
"No you're not." Yang said.
"I'll admit, the idea does sound appealing." Blake said.
"It does sound like an appealing idea." Jessica said.
"Not you too." Clark groaned.
"Guy's really it is fine. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me, he's a jerk to everybody." Jaune stated.
"That still doesn't make it right." Clark said sternly.
"Ow, that hurts." A soft womanly voice stated.
Anya and the rest looked over to see Cardin, pulling on the Rabbit Faunus's ears, as they were mocking her, calling her a freak, with Cardin stating that the ears were real, as if proving to his team they weren't fake. This got on Anya's nerves, as she glared at the table Cardin and his team were at.
"Please stop." The Faunus asked.
"I told you it was real." Cardin stated as his team continued laughing.
"What a freak." The guy with the green Mohawk stated.
"Atrocious, I can't stand people like him." Pyrrha stated.
"Me neither." Blake hissed.
"Um, guys…" Yang said a bit worried, as she looked around. "Where'd Anya go?"
Back over at the table, Cardin kept pulling on Velvet's rabbit ear, laughing at her pain.
"Let her go."
Teams RWBY and JNPR, as well as Clark and Jessica, looked to the table to see Anya standing in front of Cardin and Velvet, an angry look on her face.
"Oh, it's just the little runt. What you gonna do if I don't let go little pipsqueak, make me?" Cardin asked.
"If I have to, yes." Anya said.
"Looks like she's eager to test out her new battle gear that just came in this morning." Yang said.
In addition to her gear, Anya now sported a pair of slimmer looking Ember Celica bracelets, similar to Yangs, and thrusting her arms forward, one after the other, they extended to thinner red and black versions of Ember Celica, to which Anya called them Fang and Talon, that extended over the leather bracers on her forearms. When Clark took a closer look at them, he saw that the top metal plates that were black, had his crest in red on them.
"Ha, a puny little runt like you? What the hell could an animal as weak as you, do to their superior in both species and battle prowess?" Cardin questioned, lowering himself down to look Anya right in the face, forcefully dragging Velvet with him.
Anya lunged back, flipping onto her hands, while kicking Cardin on the underside of the jaw at the same time. Using the momentum, Anya flapped back again, and pushed up with her hands, leaping through the air, and landing on the table's surface behind her.
The sudden surprise kick caused Cardin to let go of Velvet's ear, giving her a chance to back off, before making a run for it.
"All right. That's my girl." Yang cheered.
"You little brat. You should learn to respect your superiors." Cardin said, grabbing his mace, and bringing it up to swing down at her. When he did bring it down however, the attack was blocked by a gloved hand, and Cardin looked up to see Clark standing there, having caught the weapon with his hand.
"Butt out of this one Kent." Cardin hissed.
"An' let you damage her brand new weapons with my family crest on them? I don't think so." Clark smiled, his comment making Anya blush a bit as she looked down at the crests on her weapons. "The fact that she has my crest on her weapons, tells me just how much, she looks up to me, and wants to follow my lead as a Huntsman, or Huntress in her case." He stated, pushing Cardin's weapon away, while his teammates grabbed theirs, and prepared for a brawl.
"She's the one who started this fight. Do you really wanna be caught in the middle of a mess this animal caused?" Cardin questioned.
"The way I see it, she was defending a fellow Faunus." Clark said.
"Exactly right, first year."
Clark, Anya, and Team CRDL, turned to see the Faunus girl from before, with three others at her side, none of them looking pleased with the bully.
"An' she's more then earned our respect for it." Coco Adel, the Team Leader, said while lowering her sunglasses to look at Cardin. "Cardin Winchester, you're dead meat."
"The rest of us were on our way to lunch from training when we ran into Velvet, and she explained what was going on. Luckily there was someone here, who could step in to help the child, before we could." A tall, black haired student, in green and black armor said.
Velvet came out from behind her team, and grabbed Anya, pulling her away from the fight about to ensue, and back to Team RWBY's table, making sure she was okay, as she put the child on the bench.
"This doesn't concern you, animal lover." Cardin said, pulling his mace away, as the rest of his team came over to provide support.
"Oh I'm afraid it does at this point." Yatsuhashi said.
"You see, messing with a member of Team CFVY is one thing, you don't wanna mess with." Coco said, surprising Team CRDL as she was suddenly behind them, with their red skinned, white eyed teammate. "But you just tried to assault, and harm a child. A Faunus child. You really are the sickest of people."
"So what? It's not like that useless animal Professor Blacksteel could do anything about it. I've been picking on all I could for weeks, and I haven't been caught by him, or Professor Fullbuster once." Cardin smirked.
"Really now? You're gonna have to tell me how you were able to do that, so I can be sure to avoid a repeat of these mistakes."
Team CRDL turned around to see Professor Fullbuster standing between Velvet and Yatsuhashi, with an irritated look on his face.
"I forgot to mention. Team CFVY is on the Disciplinary Comity, and we work directly under Professor Fullbuster, so we all have his number on speed dial on our Scrolls." Yatsuhashi smirked, holding up his Scroll.
"You four, my office, NOW!" Grey shouted.
"Yes sir." Team CRDL said, running out of the cafeteria in fear.
"I am glad that's over." Velvet said, before she felt an embrace. She looked down to see Anya giving her a hug, while looking up at her.
"Are you okay?" Anya asked.
"I'm fine. But I should be asking you that question. That was a very brave, and foolish thing you did." Velvet smiled putting a hand on Anya's head.
"An' I love your wardrobe. It really screams, I might be young, but I'm a Huntress." Coco smiled.
"It's what she picked out when my mom took her shopping a week after her adoption was finalized." Yang said. "I was a little peeved at first that she got her ears pierced without my permission, but I thought there wasn't really any harm done, and since her outfit doesn't restrict her movements as much as bulky clothing would, it was fine."
"Ms. Xiao Long." Grey said, addressing Yang. "I understand your daughter has a bit of a temper, much like you, but I would ask that you try to keep a lid on it. As starting fights outside of battle classes, or authorized sparring sessions for training, are against school rules."
"Yes of course Professor." Yang said.
"She gets off with a warning this time, but next time it will be detention." Grey said, before heading for his office, to deliver punishment to Team CRDL.
"We appreciate that she stood up for Velvet nonetheless." Coco said.
~Oobleck's Class Next Day~
"Yes, yes prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, while popularly known as the Faunus War, human kind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus Population in Menagerie." The green haired professor said, running around and zipping about drinking a cup of coffee. "Now while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why the, repercussions of the uprising could still be seen to this day." Oobleck said, drinking more coffee.
'Seriously what's in there, rocket fuel?' Yang questioned.
"Now, have any of you been subjugated or discriminated, cause of your Faunus heritage?" Oobleck questioned.
Several students raised their hands, including Anya as she had been through that her entire life. Even Velvet raised her hand, in fear of Cardin picking on her again.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful." Oobleck said. "Remember students, it is precisely this, kind of ignorance that breeds violence. I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to the White Fang, a group of peaceful protesters turned violent. Simply tragic. Now, which of you young scholars, can tell me what many theorists believed to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"
Weiss raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"The battle at Fort Castle." Weiss exclaimed.
"Precisely." Oobleck stated, suddenly behind his desk.
"An' who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had, over General Lagoon's forces?" Oobleck questioned.
Cardin was about to flick a paper football at the sleeping Jaune's head, but was stopped when a tiny fireball, hit it. He looked over to see Anya whistling innocently, before raising her hand.
"Young Xiao Long?" Oobleck asked.
"Cardin would like to answer." Anya said.
"Ah, attributing through your classmate, unorthodox but effective. What is it Mr. Winchester?" Oobleck asked.
"Well, it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said.
"You're not the most, open minded of individuals, are you Cardin?" Pyrrha asked.
"Nor the brightest." Anya said.
"What, you got a problem?" Cardin questioned.
"No." Anya said. "But we both have the answer."
"Why don't you give the answer Anya?" Pyrrha smiled.
"Okay. The answer is night vision." Anya stated. "A good percentage of the Faunus population possess a near perfect ability to see at night, as if the sun had never gone down."
"General Lagoon was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Blake said. "His massive army was outmatched, and the General was captured."
"Maybe if he paid attention in class, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure." Anya said, looking towards Cardin. His reaction was instant as he stood up fast and slammed his hands on his desk, shocking Jaune awake.
"You wanna go you little piece of…"
"Mr. Winchester." Oobleck said, coming to his level on the seats. "Sit down. Or do you perhaps, wish for another visit to Professor Blacksteel's office?"
Not wanting another disciplinary lecture from the Dragon Faunus, Cardin sat back down.
"Now. Seeing as how I just said a minute ago, how discrimination and ignorance towards the Faunus is what breeds violence, I would like for Mr. Winchester, would stay after class for additional readings. Now, moving on."
Cardin looked towards Anya and Pyrrha and glared at them, plotting revenge against both of them, until class ended.
~Yang and Anya's Dorm Sunset~
"You doing good, on your homework sweetie?" Yang asked.
"I'm doing fine." Anya said.
"You learned how to read very fast. I'm amazed at your progress." Yang said, doing her own homework. "But are you sure, you don't want the professors to dumb down the homework for you, because of your age?"
"I'm fine. I'd rather not be given special treatment because of how young I am." Anya smiled turning the page of her text book. "Mom, don't you have something with Blake tonight?"
"Oh yeah you're right." Yang said, looking at the time. "Your babysitter should be here any minute."
"So what are you and Blake doing mom?" Anya asked, turning around in her seat to look at Yang.
"She and I are going on a date." Yang smiled, grabbing her clothes and going for the bathroom.
"What's a date?" Anya inquired.
"It's an event where two or more people who like each other, go out and enjoy themselves, in an intimate way." Yang said.
"You've really gotten close with her, when training me to fight these past weeks huh?" Anya questioned.
"We have sweetie." Yang smiled going to the bathroom and closing the door.
After hearing the shower turn on, Anya returned to her homework, and writing her report. Her cursive was still childish, but she was still doing her best in writing her reports, making it mostly readable.
"Is Clark gonna go with you on the date?" Anya asked, her mind wondering to elsewhere.
"I don't think he is sweetie. Why?" Yang asked.
"Because…" Anya was embarrassed, as to why she'd think he was gonna go on the date with Yang and Blake.
Knock-knock-knock…
"Anya could you get that? It's probably your babysitter." Yang called from the bathroom.
Anya hopped down from her chair at the desk, and went to answer the door. When she opened it, she found Jessica standing there, with a book bag over her shoulder.
"Hi Jessica." Anya smiled.
"Hey Anya, ready to get started on homework?" Jessica asked.
"Way ahead of you." Anya smiled, running to the desk, and showing her notebook with some homework already finished.
"Wow, you've already finished so much." Jessica said, sounding impressed. "Good job kiddo."
"Hey Jessica." Yang said, coming out of the bathroom.
"Wow, looking good Yang." Jessica whistled.
Yang stood there in the doorway to the attached bathroom, wearing a deep-collared cream vest worn over a low cut black shirt; both covered by a dark gray shrug with a raised collar, three-quarter sleeves adorned with a single black stripe down the outside of each sleeve, and gold cuffs. A black mini skirt is worn under the cream vest. A pair of crooked black belts with gold accents are slung around her hip, with a purple piece of fabric attached to the left-rear section of the lower belt. She wears thigh high stockings attached to her miniskirt by garter belts, on the front and back of each thigh, decorated with four golden studs above her knee and her emblem on the outside of each thigh in gold. She also wears black ankle boots with multiple buckles and white ribbons on the back tied in a bow. Around her neck she wore a purple pendant set in silver.
"Mom has a date with Blake and Clark tonight." Anya said.
"No, just Blake sweetie." Yang said. "Why are you so adamant about Clark joining this date? First it was his crest on Fang and Talon, now it's him joining my date with Blake."
"Mmm…" Anya didn't know how to respond, before she just ran back to her work, and got cracking on it.
"I have an idea as to why Anya wants Clark to join the date. But I won't tell while she's still awake." Jessica snickered.
"Fair enough." Yang sighed. "Thanks again, for coming to babysit. Clark couldn't come and I didn't know who else to call."
"It's fine. I'm just glad you called me, instead of someone from JNPR." Jessica said. "I heard Jaune's been in pretty rough shape, he got possessed by some sort of Nightmare Grimm."
"Really? I hope he gets through it." Yang said, before going to Anya. "Be good for Jessica sweetie, and don't cause her any trouble."
"I won't Mom." Anya said, with Yang smooching her cheek.
"I'll be back in a few hours. Emergency numbers are on the Mini-Fridge, and she's not allowed any ice cream." Yang said.
"Roger that." Jessica said, giving her a salute.
"Her bedtime's around nine, she can watch cartoons as soon as she finishes her homework." Yang stated, grabbing her wallet.
"Right."
"Other then that, have a good night." Yang said, leaving the dorm.
Jessica waited for a moment, before she turned to Anya with a smile.
"So, where's the nanny cam?"
Anya looked to Jessica, before motioning with her head behind her. Jessica looked back to see a, conspicuous teddy bear, sitting on a shelf, with an obviously blinking camera, with a view of the whole room. With a smile, Jessica used her ring to grab the teddy bear, and fiddled with it a bit.
"There, now the feed is on loop, until 10:30PM." Jessica smiled.
"So what are we gonna do first?" Anya asked.
"First…" Jessica began, reaching into her bag, before pulling out a couple pints of ice cream. "You choose which flavor you want."
"Strawberry." Anya smiled.
~Next Morning~
"Jaune, please wake up." Anya said, standing next to the web of threads, hoisting all members of Team JNPR from the ground, while they were in a trance like state.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Ruby asked.
"It's difficult to tell."
Standing at the desk stationed within the ball room, was a Huntsman, with long silver hair and lavender eyes. They have light purple nail polish on their fingernails. Their outfit consists of loose light purple long sleeves with their shoulders exposed, baggy white trousers with a black sash holding three golden keys, and high heel black boots. In addition to their attire, they wear a big light lavender mage hat with three black feathers on it and a black fabric collar with two gold rings around it. Next to them, were Professors Blacksteel, Fullbuster, Ozpin, and Goodwitch.
"Mr. Arc will be just fine Ms. Rose." Grey said. "Shion Zaiden is a one of a kind Huntsmen, with a Semblance suited for taking care of the Nightmare Grimm."
"An' that's what's affecting Jaune now?" Clark asked.
"It is." Shion said. "Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha, are currently extensions of my Semblance, conduits allowing for me to connect their subconscious to Jaune's. They're the only ones here right now, who can help him."
"Can you think of anything that may have caused the Nightmare to react like this, and grow so wildly without warning?" Gajeel asked.
"Well, aside from Velvet, Jaune has been the main victim in Cardin's rampage of bullying and harassment." Jessica said. "He's kept quiet about it all, but I think he believes himself, unworthy to attend, and a failure to his peers, as well as the Arc Household."
"There seems to be another power within him, doing what it can to shield him from the Nightmare's influence." Shion said. "However, I don't see it lasting for much longer."
"It could be his Semblance, yearning to awaken and protect him." Grey stated.
"It could." Shion stated, before the phone on the desk went off. "Shion here, did you find him…? Good, now you must fight to set him free."
"Good news I take it?" Gajeel asked, as Shion hung up the phone.
"They were able to find Jaune." Shion stated.
"An' quite fast, excellent." Ozpin stated.
"They're a good team, who care about each other." Shion stated.
"What do we do now?" Weiss asked.
"We wait." Glynda said. "Only Jaune's teammates, can help him now."
The waiting game continued, and it began to get worrisome. Anya liked Jaune, and wanted to help, but Yang said it was too dangerous, with Shion agreeing whole heartedly with the blonde on the matter. After what felt like a few more hours of waiting with baited breath, Anya noticed black smoke coming off Jaune's back, indicating that the Nightmare Grimm had been defeated.
Anya and Shion waited as if for something to appear, before a hole seemed to open up within Jaune's chest, and a thorny Grimm came out of it, before Jaune's body sealed itself, as if nothing had even come out of him.
Before Shion could use their threads to grab the Grimm, Anya hit it with a burning fire ball, causing the Grimm to cry out in pain and fall to the ground. Once the flames died down, Shion took this as the chance needed, and sealed the Grimm away, within the jar.
"Now it's your turn to be a captive, Nightmare." Shion stated. "Stay in there, and become a seed once more."
The jar shook for a while, before it stopped, allowing Blake to look inside, and see a black crescent shaped seed, with a yellow stripe in the center.
"A seed. So it's like a plant?" Blake asked.
"Usually, Grimm will take on the form of a beast." Glynda said, as Blake stepped away, allowing for Ruby to look inside the jar. "But some Grimm are unique. Remember that."
"Kinda looks like a banana." Anya said, getting a look at the Nightmare, noticing the faintest of reactions from it. "It just moved."
"I over slept, oh no." Jaune suddenly said, drawing their attention to him, as the rest of his team laughed a bit. "What's going on?" He questioned, noticing where they were.
After explaining things to him, Jaune was back on his feet, and the others were surrounding him, with Clark, Yang, and Anya standing with the professors.
"I'm glad we caught it, before it grew too large." Shion stated. "Fortunately, his Aura is underdeveloped."
"His Semblance hasn't awakened yet. That actually worked out in his favor." Glynda said. "It's good that he had his friends, to help him."
"So his weakness, was his strength." Yang said.
"Is there anything we should know about to look out for, any long lasting side effects or anything like that?" Clark asked.
"Jaune will be tired for a while, but he should be fine after a few days of rest." Shion stated. "You should be aware I sensed other Nightmares in the forest. But I won't be able to sense where they are, if they've already clung to a vessel, like this one did to Jaune. The more conflict, and turmoil within, the more they will pray on you."
"We'll be sure to inform the students, to remain diligent." Gajeel stated.
"Let's be sure this doesn't happen to any of our students again." Grey said.
~Later~
"Listen up everyone." Yang began, as she stood out in the hall with the rest of her team, Clark, Anya, and Jessica. "If you're feeling down, just talk to each other."
"You must be joking, I would never let a Grimm possess me like that." Weiss stated.
"I'm sure you'll be fine Weiss." Ruby said.
"It does seem unlikely." Blake added.
"She has her own way of fending off Grimm." Yang said.
"Still, there's no harm in doing what Yang suggested." Clark said. "Talking things out, can really put things into perspective for a team."
"It's not that bad of an idea really." Jessica said.
"I want a daddy." Anya said, raising her hand.
"Eh?" That got all the others to look at her questioningly, while Anya was trying to keep her embarrassment in.
"What brought this on all of a sudden Anya?" Yang asked, a blush dusting her cheeks.
"I see how hard it is for Mom to take care of me on her own, and I just thought that maybe if there was a daddy with mom, it'd be easier." Anya said. "I know I could do better myself, but I don't think that'd be enough."
"Anya, that's not, I… hold on." Yang began in realization. "Is that the reason why you kept bugging me about bringing Clark on my date with Blake last night? You want him to be your dad?"
"She what?" Clark asked with a blush, taken aback by this news.
"Okay, that's enough." Jessica sighed, clapping her hands to get their attention. "Can't everyone see that Anya's about to die of embarrassment right now? We can talk about this later, when she's not as flustered about it."
"True." Weiss said. "Besides, since we have the day off tomorrow, I thought we'd try going into town. The Festival is starting soon."
"The Festival?" Ruby questioned.