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Fighting Rose

Chapter 17

Putting the foot down

…Somewhere in Vale's industrial district…

"…Hey man?" A grunt wearing a red cap asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You ever wonder why we're here?"

"Well, it's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here?" The grunt wearing a yellow hat sighed, "I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or are there truly Gods out there watching over everything? With plans for us and stuff? Honestly man, I dunno. Keeps me up at night."

The two of them stared at each other for a bit, red givving yellow an extremely weirded out look.

"What?" He said after a moment. "Dude, I meant why are we here in the industrial district? We've been doing nothing but loading up on dust and weapons for the past few weeks! As much as I trust Boss Torchwick and Lady Neo, it's still just really weird that we need to pack this much heat. Even if it's for the White Fang, this is still some serious overkill."

"At least we don't have to lug around that massive piece of tech, right?" Yellow chuckled, checking the ammunition box one more time.

"Fair enough, but what's all the stuff you were saying about Gods and all that?" Red asked.

"…"

"…wanna talk about it?"

"Nope!"

"You sure?"

"Yup, I'm totally fine!"

"Okaaayyy…" Red trailed off. "Well uh, just help me bag these rifles and we should be done." The door opened not a moment later, neither red or yellow bothering to look.

"Dude, we know you're lazy, but you gotta stop taking breaks while you're on watch," Yellow groaned, "Boss Torchwick is gonna be on our asses and you know that Lady Neo's gonna toy with us!"

"So I'm in the right place then," A female voice said, both of them freezing. "Thanks for the info too."

Their friend's unconscious body was pitched right at them, a blur of blonde dashing in right after as her gauntlet-clad fist exploded across one of their faces, Red flying back with a broken jaw and a trip to dreamland. Yellow had barely managed to throw himself off to the side, grabbing one of the nearest shotguns and loading in Slug-rounds.

"EAT DUST YA CRAZY BITCH!" He shrieked, instantly unloading round after round.

*CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG*

His jaw dropped to the floor as she sharply blocked every one of the bullets, the round smashed flat against her arms with each flare of her aura, her hair glowing brighter and eyes shining crimson, illuminating a face that was contorted in a tight rage.

"…you know, people take the word 'bitch' be so offensive," Yellow laughed nervously, "I think that it means that you're strong, and independent, and absolutelyfuckingterrifying PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

His answer came with her closing the distance far faster than he expected, her uppercut blasting into his stomach with so much force that both of them slid with the momentum all the way to the nearest wall, poor Yellow hunching over and vomiting as his aura broke from that one shot. She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back up, glaring right into his eyes.

"Where are the guns going to?" Yang snarled, her grip getting tighter.

"I-I ain't sayin' jack!" He choked out.

Yang's fist blurred right past his ear, pulverising the concrete wall right behind him with ease.

"Don't make me repeat myself," She said quietly, her hair flaring brighter before a number of clicking sounds echoed through the warehouse, the all too familiar sound of guns loading and their safeties being disabled.

"You're surrounded girlie!" One goon shouted, "It's one of you versus all twenty of us!"

They all flinched as Yang promptly smashed her knuckles across yellow's cheek, knocking him out and sending him flying through the nearest window before she turned to face them. Her hair ignited so brightly that they all were forced to squeeze their eyes shut, the air itself heating up as they just managed to glimpse at tiny wisps of what looked like…

"…black… fire?" One of them muttered.

"Only twenty huh?" Yang scoffed, her fist clenching so hard that they could hear her bones popping and grinding, "You all are so fucked."

The next minute was filled with a lot of gunfire, screaming, and bodies being folded (though thankfully not put into a more permanent sleep). Every attack thrown her way was simply absorbed by her Royal Guard, her strength only growing more and more as the massacre went down, right up to the last man. Yang punched clean through his rifle in a shower of metal before she cornered the snivelling goon.

"Waitwaitwait, I really don't know anything!" He cried, "Please just let me go-!"

"I don't care."

*BANG*

Her fist cracked across his face, shattering his aura and dazing him instantly. She knelt down and grabbed him by one of his flailing arms, forcing him to look directly into eyes that just seemed to burn redder and redder. She started to squeeze, the goon screaming as he felt his bones begin to crack.

"Wh-why are you doing this!?" He screamed, "YOU'RE A FUCKING PSYCHO!"

The words seem to physically hit her, the fiery heat from her suddenly shut off, letting go of his arm as stumbled back. She stared at the hand she used to break his arm before she swiftly swung her boot into his temple, knocking him clean out. She ran out of the warehouse as fast as she could, hopping on Bumblebee before pausing and looking back, the open door revealing the number of unconscious but broken bodies.

"…I'm not her," She ground out, revving Bumblebee up and speeding off with the shriek of tyres on asphalt. "I'm not her. I'm strong." Her words were swallowed by the roar of her engine and the screeching of rubber.

…

After parking the motorcycle in Beacon's garage, Yang had quickly moved to take a shower, knowing that Ruby was still training.

"As-per-fucking-usual…" She muttered, trying to ignore the fact that her throat locked up, her eyes burned, and the dried blood on her knuckles. "Who the fuck does she think she is? After everything I've done for her, all those years looking after her as best I could, let dad forget I even exist while he dotes on her, and that's how she fucking treats me?"

She randomly lashed out, her armoured hand smashing clean through a wall as she snarled, scaring the hell out of some nearby students. She didn't care, storming her way through Beacon before finally reaching her door. She stopped for a moment, again trying to tap into her awareness to ensure Ruby wasn't there. Satisfied that she wasn't around, she threw the door open only to reel in surprise at Weiss standing there, her arms crossed and a steely look on her face.

'Wait, but I didn't even…?' Yang's thoughts trailed off before she set herself back into her previous mood. "What do you want?"

Weiss didn't flinch in the slightest, though she glanced down at Yang's bloodied fists. Shame crept up Yang's throat as she shifted her body to hide them somewhat. "Where have you been?"

"… letting steam off," Yang replied, moving to bull her way past Weiss.

"I can see that," She bit back, "Spending time on nothing but petty crap instead of facing the consequences of your actions. Of course you'd do that."

Yang whirled around and threw her fist out at hard as she could at Weiss, hair bursting into fire and eyes burning red – only to stop dead in her tracks barely a hairs-width away from connecting, Weiss' hair blown from her face. Yang felt herself go pale as Weiss again didn't even flinch in the slightest. Her aura was stone-cold, the steel in her eyes reflecting it just as easily as she continued to stand there. More than that, she sneered at Yang, rolling her tongue in her mouth for a few moments as she daintily pulled out a silk kerchief and proceeded to spit into it loudly.

"What's wrong? Follow through, coward."

Yang shakily stepped back as Weiss stepped forward, her own aura beginning to slowly writhe around her like a veil of crackling frost. It was only for an instant, but Yang swore that Weiss's skin had pulsed with irregular patterns all too similar to broken glass.

"You told me that I needed to listen to Blake, and so I did! I opened up because of your damnable advice, and now I consider us friends! You, who always called me out of my shit, as infuriating as you are, helped me! And yet, are you really nothing but a coward and hypocrite?!"

"Shut up!" Yang shouted weakly, quailing under Weiss' icy wrath as she was literally backed into a corner. "I'm no coward!"

"No, YOU SHUT UP!" Weiss roared as Yang fell onto her back, Weiss kneeling as she sharply tapped her temples with her index fingers. "THINK Yang! Why is it that you do nothing but fight those weaker than you, throughout ALL of our time here? Why do you do apparently refuse to see or own up to your own flaws? That question's coming from me Yang, ME! Ruby wishes to get stronger by any means necessary, Blake seeks to right the growing wrongs of an organization her father founded, and I'm a spoiled little brat who wants to run her father through the rectum with a rusted pitchfork, but you… you infuriate me beyond BELIEF! And now that I'm not overthinking things, I understand why you're so GODSDAMNED AGGRIVATING!"

Weiss suddenly sighed as the frigid aura surrounding her disappeared, a sad yet stern look in her eyes as she extended a hand to the stunned Yang.

"You've never opened up about yourself Yang, not willingly and not once to all of us. Please, help me, help us understand just what is wrong, help us understand you!"

Yang sat up, though her head hung low. "…Why are you doing this?"

"I'm going to be honest, there are three reasons," Weiss said, completely straightforward. "The first is the most sensible one: Team RWBY is currently far more fractured than it was over a week ago. Helping you address your problems and getting your head back on straight is a direct shot to helping Ruby. You're the only one out of all of us, JNPR included, who can truly reach her as she is right now. Second…" Weiss smiled softly. "…I've said it before. You've called me out on my bull, and now it is my turn to do the same as a friend. A-and third…"

Yang was shocked to see Weiss start to wilt, sitting down cross-legged in front of her as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "…I know that hindsight always helps, but… if I hadn't opted to bring all of us out to the docks, then… perhaps this wouldn't have happened. Ruby wouldn't be half mad, and you and Blake would've had the opportunity to properly talk things out, and…"

"I'm sorry."

Weiss looked up at that, shocked. No longer did Yang have this harsh glare permanently etched on her face, nor did she feel this uncomfortable writhing heat emanating from her. Instead, the Yang that sat before her was a tired, beaten girl, eyes a dull purple, guilt crushing her so greatly that she looked physically smaller than before.

"…Fuck," Yang hissed, her voice cracking a bit. "Fuck, I... Ruby, Blake, you…" She turned her head away from Weiss, gnashing her lip to try and stop her tears from flowing. She curled up into a ball, knees tucked to her chest as she made sure hide her face as best she could. Weiss huffed quietly before scooting to sit beside her, grunting in surprise at the slight soreness stinging her body.

'…No time for that, focus on Yang,' She chided herself. "You don't need to talk about yourself right now," She said softly, "But at the very least, apologize to Blake."

"I know," Yang croaked. "I just… I…" She furiously pawed at her eyes for a few moments as she tried to calm herself. "My stupid-ass just lashed out, a-and…!"

"Sh-sh-sh," Weiss hushed gently, rubbing Yang's back. "Take some time to freshen yourself up. After that, let's talk, okay?" Yang nodded and Weiss helped her up, ushering her to the bathroom and letting her shower. She fell onto the bed not long after, sighing as she massaged the bridge of her nose. "…There's going to be a lot to unpack."

…

Blake fidgeted in her seat for a while, her face seeming rather apathetic to any passer-by's, but she couldn't deny that she was nervous. Truly, she was happy that she and Weiss had come to get along surprisingly well, having pushed past their differences but for it to have been at the cost of Ruby and Yang was certainly disheartening. Ruby's one-track mind was one thing, but Yang… Blake couldn't help but shiver a bit at the memory of the raw wave of negativity that had been pouring from Yang ever since the incident at the docks.

It was like this mass of hatred, frustration, confusion, blind wrath, a cry for help, the roar of a bonfire… Blake had never directly been under the weight of such roiling emotions before, but she certainly had experience dealing with someone who had similar… issues.

'Is this how Adam's opponents feel when he really wanted them dead?' She wondered, shivering again at the thought. 'Granted, he's always shown that side of him only when a human target really did something unforgivable, never to me or anyone not deserving….' She couldn't help but smile at the memory that surfaced, one of her last days in the White Fang.

…

"If you truly know who I am, what I want, then you should've known that coming here was a mistake," He scoffed, ever confident as he glared down upon the obsidian-haired girl with smouldering orange eyes. In contrast to the other Fang members in the tent, he wore no mask at all, baring a handsome face with startling blue eyes and a strong jawline, proudly baring the 'SDC' scar burnt into the left eye and surrounding skin. "We are not a force for hire or some private military company. We're a force of change, revolution, freedom."

Orange-eyes narrowed at that, as if making a note of what he just said while her grey-haired lacky in the back snorted, muttering "Revolution? Oh please."

The air suddenly grew tense at the slip of his mouth, almost every Fang member in the tent snarling with their hands instantly going to their weapons, Blake herself almost outright attacking the man for daring to spit upon their cause. However, it was Adam's honest laughter that cut through the tension, waving his guards to put their weapons down.

"I know, I know," He chuckled, leaning on a nearby desk as he idly toyed with a miniature plastic sword, spinning it deftly between his fingers. "Revolution is a bit of a dramatic word, but…" His face softened as he stopped and fiddled with one of his horns, "…it's a duty passed onto me from my grandfather and father before me. Saying anything less would be disrespectful to what they've done and the heights they've achieved." His eyes sharpened as he face his visitors once more. "Speaking of which, I hope you understand that you coming here with a proposition so obviously one-sided in terms of benefits is just really stupid. I mean, come on, at least try. You're being extremely vague as to what your plan is, trying to leverage me using basic ego-stroking and won't even describe what benefits us."

"Power," The woman answered simply, Adam stopping in place.

"…power, huh?" Adam said breathily before he chuckled lowly and shook his head. "You really don't get it."

Blake remembered the wave of power that burst from Adam's body, the tent awash in a crimson glow as the raw pressure he exuded forced the visitors to their hands. The shadow he cast seemed to morph into something else entirely, the actual horns on his head glowing and appearing to grow larger and fuller, eyes burning a bloody red.

"I will earn my power through my own efforts," His voice boomed. "And as you can see… I have all the power I need, right here. Wouldn't you agree?"

…

Thinking further, Blake remembered that showcase of power, an odd feeling worming into her chest as she compared it to Yang and her own activated Semblance.

"…huh…" She muttered before jumping in surprise at the knock on the door of the private study-room. Weiss' face could be seen through the window, and Blake knew that Yang was here. She gulped and stood, slowly making her way towards the door and preparing herself for the inevitable outpouring of fury directed towards her… only to freeze in shock at the surge of guilt in its place. Yang looked terrible, all things considered. Exhaustion, mildly sunken-in eyes, her sagging posture, all of it was undecidedly Yang Xiao Long. The normally exuberant blonde couldn't even properly look at Blake without flinching away, so jarring was Yang's attitude that Blake couldn't help but stare in shock.

"Come now, let's not stand around in the doorway all day," Weiss said briskly as she pulled Yang inside, the three of them now seated. "Now Yang, take your time and say what you need to say. Blake, all I ask is that you-"

"Sit and listen, I know," Blake chuckled, turning to look softly at Yang as she portrayed herself to be as relaxed as possible. "Please Yang, I… know that hiding my ears wasn't the best thing to do. So-"

"Stop," Yang muttered, her head hung low. "S'not your fault. Already told Weiss that before the docks. I… I just…" Her lip quivered and Blake couldn't help her jaw hanging open as Yang outright bowed, her head touching the table in between them. "I'm sorry. I-I let my emotions get the better of me, and I just lashed out at someone who didn't deserve it: you. It's just… Ruby is all I have and I don't want to lose her."

Something in Blake's chest pinched painfully at the sight of Yang looking so pitiful, the cry for help within her aura to clear to see, so similar to his when she first met him, she couldn't help but scoot closer, placing a gentle hand on Yang's shoulder.

"The last thing I want to do is lie to any of you Yang, so I'm going to be entirely honest," Blake said firmly, "I was scared when you hit me. I worried that you were a loose cannon, that you'd just lash out at everyone around you…" Each word seemed to drive a knife into Yang, curling away further and further, "…but I think I'm starting to see now. I accept your apology, but I don't accept your reasoning until you tell me why."

Though the last statement seemed cold, but Yang could feel the genuine warmth and gentle curiosity, clinging to it like a lifeline as she sniffed and wiped her eyes, nodding.

"…Ruby… means everything to me," She started slowly. "Because in comparison to everything and everyone else in my life hasn't amounted to people I can rely on." She fiddled with her hair for a moment before she could continue. "Our mom went missing on a mission when we were really small, never came back, and my father took it hard. Really hard. Wasn't able to care for us, so I stepped in to take care of Ruby, try to fix the mess. Ended up finding out why our father was so low, because Summer was his second love, Ruby's mom. The first was mine. Gave birth to me and left soon after. It was how I decided to drag myself and Ruby out into the middle of the woods to try and find her, almost got us killed if our uncle hadn't stepped in. That was barely enough to snap my dad out of it and start being a parent, but…"

Her hands clenched around the edge of the table, the wood starting to crack as anger and stabbing pain radiated from Yang, though Blake did not flinch back this time.

"… but he only really had eyes for Ruby. Any look he directed towards me was the same look he shot to the picture of my mom. To him, I'm just another Raven waiting to happen. Uncle Qrow isn't around nearly as much and is always drunk. Mom is probably dead. And to top off this blueberry popfucked shitty sundae, my mother's a FUCKING DEADBEAT WHO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ME!"

She ripped the table in half in one quick motion, her hair igniting as her tears turned to steam upon hitting her cheeks. Even then, Weiss and Blake remained calm, the former deftly mending the wood with earth-Dust imbued into her glyphs and Blake wincing at the heat radiating from Yang yet keeping her hand right where it was. The flames thankfully died down a moment later, Yang absolutely distraught.

"Throughout it all, Ruby was the only one I can trust. I cared for her, raised her, trained her, trained with her and was trained by her. I could count on her to be honest and cut through the bullshit, I could give my all to her and know that she'd do the same… and now I let her regress."

She sobbed, her body going limp as she looked through teary eyes at her shaking hands. "The strong live as freely as they wish, the weak are either helped or crushed by the strong. Now, Ruby's stronger than me… now I'm so mentally weak I pushed people away for the dumbest reasons, throwing my fists around like child… I have nobody to trust, and it's all my fucking fault."

After a moment of silence, Weiss scooted right next to Yang, smoothly brushing her hand through Yang's hair. "Yang Xiao Long," She said quietly, just barely catching her attention before Weiss' hand sailed through the air, a comically sharp *WHACK* echoing through the room as her palm impacted against the back of Yang's neck, Blake leaping back in surprise while Yang shrieked as she clutched at her neck, glaring right at Weiss with confusion and anger.

"Weiss, the fuck?!"

"Oh spare me!" Weiss said with a roll of her eyes, not backing down in the slightest. "Did you so easily forget why we went through this? If nothing else, you are a friend, and a member of this team. So Gods help me if you don't understand that much, I'm going to keep megging you on the back of your neck until you get it!"

"You might not see me as a friend," Blake spoke up, "…but I've met someone who's been through something similar to you, and I've come to call them the closest companion I've ever made before coming to Beacon. I hope we can come to trust each other in the same way Yang."

Weiss could feel… something shift within Yang, the soft yet awed look on her face as her mouth began to wobble, her body no longer slumped with weight but slowly relaxed by the freedom of relief that seemed to spread throughout her soul.

"Th-thank you…" Yang sobbed, both girls moving in to support Yang, literal shoulders for her to lean on. "Thank you."

They let Yang clutch their arms, gently waiting for her as she wept her frustrations away, possibly the healthiest thing she'd done that week. It took time for her to work out her stress, but both Blake and Weiss were willing to wait.

"S-sorry again…" Yang muttered, though her voice was lighter, a bit stronger than before.

"You still have to be held accountable for your actions," Blake said firmly, "And I've forgiven you, but I won't forget."

"…I understand," Yang said, the hurt look on her face shifting to determination. "If it keeps me in check, then all the better."

"Speaking of keeping in check," Weiss spoke, new entirely serious, "We have to get Ruby to snap out of this self-destructive trance of hers. Nobody can really reach her, and I don't exactly trust Jaune to be around her in any attempt to heal whatever damage she's caused to herself."

"Yeah, so long as she moves, she'll probably hurt him really bad," Yang agreed before her eyes began to widen, her hand smacking to her forehead. "…I'm such a goddamn idiot."

"I'm… going to assume that you've found a way to get to her?" Weiss asked, surprised at how fast Yang managed to come to a solution. "Well no matter, I'm sure it's fairly simple right?"

"…"

Weiss felt her stomach drop. "Riiiiiiight?"

"…Ruby's always wanted to push herself over and over again. Even if it comes from the slow grind of training, she'll throw herself recklessly into it whenever she feels that she's fallen behind. Nothing is more enticing to her than the chance to grow in the heat of a fight. She won't want to fight Pyrrha now…" Yang stood, her fists clenched. "… so I'll give her a worthy fight and set her back on track."

"Yang, no!" Weiss shouted, aghast at the idea, "She's already in such a bad state from losing a fight! You faking a loss for her sake isn't something she's foolish enough to miss."

"Who said anything about losing?" Yang asked seriously, both Blake and Weiss caught off guard by the assuredness of her voice. "Ruby's always been better than me when it comes to raw technique. I need to push her into a corner, get her to fly past the idea that throwing raw power around is all that matters, and force her to use her skill. I'm sure that she'll at least be even with me once we get there."

"How are you even going to get her to fight you?" Blake asked.

"Oh, that's something I should have done the moment she started to overwork herself," Yang ground out. "Call Jaune. He's got a lot of aura and was able to heal Ruby up pretty quickly, gonna need that to get her back into fighting shape before we scrap."

"…you're not going to hurt her, are you?"

"No, not if I can't help it," Yang sighed, "I'll try to render her unconscious as painlessly as possible. Regardless, she'll come for me the moment she's awake. Now… let's get Ruby back on track."

…

'Keep hitting,' Ruby could barely think, lost in the motion of violence and exhaustion. 'Almost there.' Ten more seconds passed, Ruby's attacks still punctuated with sharp technique but lacking any real power or speed no thanks to her pervasive exhaustion.

"Come on, you call those punches?"

The mocking voice made something in Ruby's chest roar as her aura flared through her dried-out circuits, launching one more straight right that pierced clean through the bag, right up to her elbow.

"…what do you want Yang?"

The elder sibling, much to the fear of those watching, boldly walked straight up to the volatile Ruby, inspecting the ruined punching-bag with an unimpressed stare.

"Hup!" She grunted as she fired off a single right hook.

BOOM

Torn from its hinges to both the floor and ceiling, the bag went flying across the room, crashing into the farthest wall.

"Whew… think that's a new record," Yang whistled, peering off into the distance before shrugging and walking off. "Oh well. Not like you can match it anyway. It's probably best if you just give up while you're ahead."

There was a sudden rush of wind racing right for her head, Yang sharply turning and blocking Ruby's diving punch aimed right at her face. Her skin was pinkish and steaming, eyes wide in madness and teeth bared savagely.

"I'm not stopping."

"Figured as much." Yang shunted aura into the muscles of her arm, easily batting away Ruby's hand before spinning on the spot and firing a sidekick right into Ruby's solar-plexus. The smaller girl crumpled around Yang's leg, all the air forced out of her lungs and her already exhausted body stiffened by pain, even as she landed shakily on her feet. Yang had dashed in before she could fully recover and launched her right hook once more, Ruby barely able to get her hands up in time as the impact rocked her brain within her skull.

"Y'know, beating you like this doesn't really mean much. You wanna prove that you're stronger than me? Fine. Heal your wounds Ruby, get strong. After that, we'll settle the matter."

Yang quickly swiped her left elbow right across the tip of Ruby's chin, her brain thrown around once more before Yang quickly chopped her hand right on Ruby's neck. Her eyes rolled into her head and Yang quickly caught her before she could hit the floor. She quickly checked on her, her gut roiling as she hoped that she hadn't hurt her too badly.

"She'll be okay," Pyrrha said, "She was only in the first part of her routine, and she ate before she started."

"I've got more than enough aura to spare too," Jaune said as he stepped in, immediately beginning to give Ruby his aura.

"…I might not have the highest opinion of you Jaune," Yang said before she turned to give him a grateful look. "But you're a good person. Thank you."

"It's the bare minimum I can do," He replied, pure concentration on his face as they carried her out.

"I'll be waiting in the arena," Yang said as she checked her dormant gauntlets one last time, making sure she was more or less in top shape. "Granted… she'll probably know where to find me."

"Yang, Ruby's already in an unstable state of mind," Blake worried, "I don't doubt your capabilities, but if she fights you while she's fully recovered after training that hard…"

"I know," Yang agreed, "But no matter how much training she does in that short time, she won't be able to match me in a straight-up fight with raw power. That's what I'm counting on, but even then… I know this is gonna hurt."

"…Good luck Yang." Blake nodded, Yang smiling back softly.

"Thanks. I'll need it."

(TWBY Continued...)

So uh, hey y'all! I'd just like to apologize for taking so damn long for pushing the chapter out, a couple things went south while I was writing this. Long story short, got a bad case of salmonella, then when I recovered I lost a lot of confidence in my writing up until recently. Was really questioning if my direction for the fic was actually good or not, but I think that this chapter and the next (which is already completed, so look out for that one soon) has helped my get back on track. Again, I'm so sorry for having made all you guys wait and not having replied to some of your reviews, I'll definitely get back on track with that. Enough whining from me: Next chapter, Ruby vs. Yang! Thank you all for the support and sticking with the fic!