CHAPTER 11 - Walking Riddles


February 15th, 797 E.A
Midsummer Forest, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

Branches cracked under her feet - brittle, hollow - shells devoid of life. The chill of winter brushed against her face as she moved.

Yang Xiao Long found herself once again going through the motions - how many times had she ended up like this - training in a forest, fighting monsters there?

Her life may have seemed like it had gone in circles, but she was making progress, nonetheless.

After all, one can only take so many steps back before they would have to retrace them if they were to move forward.

Yang Xiao Long braved ahead, wading through the bushes, step after step.

Navigating through inhospitable landscapes had become a hellish experience for her due to her condition - and those were no ordinary woods.

Up in the north from Argus lay The Midsummer Forest - a natural maze of trees and swamps dating back centuries, if not more. Even though humanity had encroached upon it and the Grimm ravaged the world - the forest had remained lush and wild - Mother Nature persevering through all.

Often called the lungs of the land, this complex natural wonder has been considered as one of the oldest forests of Remnant. The sheer ferocity and virility of the forest had made it a natural barrier against the northern Neverland that existed between it and the Sea of Trees.

Whether humans braving the unknown or the apparitions invading the world - all would have trouble navigating through here - perishing in the swamps, ravines, and caves hidden by the trees where even the light can't pierce through.

In hindsight, those qualities had made it perfect for training - a hard-to-traverse location yet relatively safe - a place where one can still find Grimm but not too many.

"Little bird, don't lose sight of your surroundings." - Clair's voice rang from behind. - "You have no time to daydream right now."

Yang groaned.

Clair was right.

For last few weeks they would come here every morning - some Serpentines and Beowulves would still slither though this part of the forest, which made this a perfect place for Yang to train and to hone her skills.

"You got to admit, I am getting pretty good at this" - Yang said, pushing forward without turning around. - "The first day we got here, I fell flat on my face."

"Oui, well, pride before the fall and all that, dear." - Clair laughed. - "There's still quite a way to go for you. You will have to eventually decide what to do with your arm as it will impact your further training.

Yang froze, gritting her teeth.

"Now, dear, it's unnecessary if you don't want to - no matter what you decide - it won't make you less of a person. I just want to make sure you thought things through. The choice is your own."

Yang glanced at the stump.

It struck her that, more often than not, she didn't even realize her arm was missing anymore - as she navigated the world and adapted to the feeling of being someone weaker, someone incapable would begin to melt away.

But she still couldn't shake that thought - that she was inferior, that something was missing, and that she would never get that back.

But, then again - as Yang looked back at her past, she realized that this was something she always felt.

Deep inside Yang always saw herself as inferior, as not good enough.

That had to change - she had to change.

Otherwise, she would end up in the same place all over again - thrown away and alone.

She won't make that mistake.

She will reclaim that spark and find a path - no, she will make one for herself.

She clenched her fist as rustling came from up ahead in the bushes.

A shadow lunged at her, snarling, hissing, writhing - a Serpentine.

She didn't see many of those back at Vale, let alone Patch.

Yet, as disgusting as this was, it was but another dumb monster.

Yang smiled, stretching out her arm as she grabbed it by the mask, simultaneously kneeing it from below.

The thing winced, or at least she thought it did - even hell beasts like this would likely grow disoriented from getting kneed in the face.

She won't give it a chance to get its footing back.

Yang inhaled deeply - she swung her fist towards the top of its head. And then again, and again, cracks showing with each hit.

She has been working on mixing up her fighting style a bit more - the smug idiot back at Vytal hurt like hell with his kicks, and ever since Yang had already thought about expanding her repertoire of attacks.

Hey, if you have legs this well built, might as well use them, right, Yang?

Clair being a close-range fighter like her helped immensely - to refine her fighting style into something more than rushing forward and punching.

For all her life Yang thought she could take the hits and rise back up, but what had happened had proved her wrong the hard way.

Feints, kicks and variety of other techniques would have to do.

Careful planning and tactics didn't come easy to her but she had no other choice - she wasn't going to let herself experience what happened at Beacon again.

The Serpentine growled, its pale mask cracking further, as its form melted into black goo.

"I do have to say you are a quick learner, dear." - Clair stood there, behind her, leaning back against a tree, her arms crossed. - "As stubborn as you can be sometimes."

Yang shrugged.

She longed to snipe back at her - to shoot back a retort.

Hissing interrupted those thoughts.

Yang's eyes darted upward - another apparition of the same kind lunged at her from the tree top, crashing into her as she barely managed to grab onto its jaw and redirect its maw away from her.

"These things climb trees now?" - Yang gritted her teeth, pushing the Serpentine back, her foot buried into the mud.

The Serpentine snarled, twisting around her as its tail-end rammed into her ribs.

A sense of vertigo overcame Yang as she flew backward, landing on the cold, wet forest ground.

Apparition hissed, rushing after its prey.

No matter the form, the Grimm would still follow similar patterns - the apparitions wouldn't play around - they would always attempt to restrain their targets and deliver a killing blow as soon as possible.

She wasn't going to die to a damn snake.

Yang screamed, pushing herself back up off the ground, and using the momentum to lunge at the incoming creature.

Yang spun as the Serpentine came close enough - she delivered a kick to its side, making the apparition change direction right into the ground below.

With a stomp, Yang held the creature down on the ground as she grabbed it by its jawline.

That did feel like she was back in Beacon, hunting Grimm in the Emerald Forest and all.

There was a certain sense of euphoria - a sense of self-discovery in that, however, rather than disappointment - a reaffirmation that what happened won't stop her, that she will persevere through whatever lay ahead.

She inhaled, every muscle in her body tensing up, burning.

With a guttural scream, She tore at the apparition's jaw with her arm, kicking herself off with her foot embedded in its form.

The black mist that comprised the creature gave way, shifting, breaking apart, shimmering into nothingness as Yang threw the Serpentine head to the side, and both halves of the now destroyed creature dissolved

Two Grimm in a matter of seconds. Not bad, Yang, not bad at all.

No matter how much she had trying to convince herself everything was fine, every bit of her body still burned.

Yang wanted to explode - deep inside every cell in her body bursting into flames - tearing everything apart, setting the forest ablaze.

Yang growled, her voice breaking as she clenched her fist.

She needed to calm down, to do something with it.

Yang gritted her teeth as she, with all her might, swung her fist at the nearby tree.

Wood crackled as the attack connected, the tree shattering into splinters, crumbling.

Yang breathed in and out, again and again, gasping for air.

"Your semblance still refuses to fully cooperate, I see." - Clair strode closer, glancing at what a while ago was an entire tree as wooden splinters thrashed around the area, even the tree stump split in half from impact.

Yang stared at the palm of her hand - the woman wasn't wrong.

Even months later, her semblance still would send her into fits of rage whenever it triggered.

It was as if the semblance was constantly at full, ready to explode.

"You know, I can't help but think that you were right about it, Clair." - Yang spun her arm around, stretching as she attempted to regain her composure and balance. - "There must be something I am missing about it and I won't stop until I figure it out."

"I hope so, little bird. I wouldn't want to be where that tree was the next time you decide to do this. " - Clair laughed. - "And the arm?"

Yang glanced at her stump again.

She wouldn't need one to get around in her daily life as she could get around with a mere stump or a hook like so many people do.

Back then at Patch, when she first woke up - for Yang that was the end of the world or as close as it could get to that.

But as the weeks passed, more and more she came to accept that she couldn't change what happened.

And the surreal journey to another continent? Things changed even more.

You are not a loser, Yang - you are not the one to give up or give in.

No matter what the doubts inside may whisper sometimes, she was no less of a person now than she was before and that wouldn't change no matter the decision she made.

This whole move forward thing sounded bit corny when Uncle Qrow said it at first.

"I don't know. I would love to go back to using two weapons so it could come in handy." - Yang winked.

"And what about the, let's just say, less physical issues?"

"No episodes in weeks now. I have it under control." - Yang smiled, pumping her fist up. - "A few nightmares won't scare me away."

"While I am happy you are doing great, dear, it's important to stay vigilant, oui. Trust me when I say that trauma always creeps up on you when you least expect it, when you are least capable to handle it." - Clair gestured toward the walls of Argus up ahead behind them. - "Come on, it's time to go back."

Yang kicked away a few wood splinters stuck to her boot.

She twirled around, marching towards the city.

"I know I am repeating myself, but I feel like you are talking out of experience here."

Clair stopped."I did promise to tell you later, huh." - She chuckled. - "Really set me up with that."

"It's okay if you don't want to."

"No, little bird, it's fine now." - She swiveled to face Yang. - "My trauma, right?"Yang stared at Clair's face - for a moment the playful silver-haired woman felt like she stood far far away from here.

"I told you I was a huntress and that things didn't work out, right? That I crossed paths with someone and got thrown away."

"Yeah."

Clair chuckled.

"Well, it might be a bit of an understatement." - She looked Yang in the eyes. - "I was what you kids would call a real pro. A seasoned huntress that spent years defending Mistral, specifically Argus. Do you know how many scars a huntress has after a decade on the job, little bird? How much blood is on her hands? You would be surprised."

"What happened?"

"Let's put it this way, little bird - when things turned bad, all of my sacrifices, all that hard work, suddenly didn't matter to them." - Clair's expression soured. - "It all started, or ended rather, with a bunch of Serpentines bursting out of the sewers in Argus."

Yang froze - even a single second of imagination brought her back to the day Beacon was overrun, to the people screaming in the streets.

Fires blazing, turning night into day - Grimm rushing at the citizens.

The falling buildings, the burning Beacon Academy, the hall lit by flames and a familiar figure ahead Yang wanted to save but couldn't reach.

"Quite a few people died that day. Civilians. And all over something that shouldn't have been possible, that shouldn't have happened." - Clair said. - "There are sweeps, precautions, you know. Every dark corner of the city had to be prim and proper clean, all the time."

"Someone didn't do their job." - The words got caught in Yang's throat as she spoke.

"For months my dear. Not all Huntsmen take their jobs seriously, oui. Some think of themselves as kings, royalty - above the law! Why should people who are so important wade through some sewers? Why should they stay vigilant at all times? So what if something were to happen?" It's just civilians."

Yang tensed up - she had seen many things during her time in Argus.

She knew enough to understand that Huntsmen and Huntresses weren't always treated the way she saw them be in Vale, nor acted like they should.

And she had seen her fair share of Huntsmen and Huntresses at Beacon who had no right to be there at all - like a certain bully. Still, the idea sent chills down her spine.

Here she was - a Huntress without path or ideals - someone who became one solely for her sister. Yet even she knew - protecting people when one can should be the most natural thing in the world.

The very idea that some people would shrug at death made her stomach churn.

"And so, as those warriors proud partied drunk, the beasts slithered in. People died - including someone I know. A woman very dear to my heart perished that night."

Clair took few steps forward, marching on once again.

Yang followed, silent.

"But that wasn't the end of it. As I grieved, reality came tumbling down my way." - Clair gestured towards the Argus in the background, the cathedral and the city center on the hill rising far above it. - "To the people up high they needed someone to blame for the mistake. And they saw me as a perfect scapegoat."

"Why would they target you? Why couldn't they just punish the ones responsible?"

"The Huntress in charge of the sweep was a noble, you see. Who would dare to taint that mantle? Meanwhile the silly grief-stricken me? Well, let's just say my blood made them all more willing to believe that I was guilty."

"Blood?"

"Have you heard of Aram, little bird - the Kingdom of the Pillars as they called it?"

"Yes, The Kingdom that Vale conquered hundreds of years ago."

"Genocided, my dear, not conquered. Words matter. Their meaning carries weight." - There was a dark shift in Clair's eyes as she spoke. - "The bloodshed that sunk Vale into a hundred year famine. The Third Crusade they called it."

Clair turned toward Yang once again.

"Well, where do you think Aram's people went to? Genocide or not, the Third King couldn't kill everyone." - Clair said. - "Their kingdom gone, they wandered the world all over. Some stayed at Vale as the Kingdom shifted gears after the Great Revolution, while others moved to other Kingdoms. To this day Aram's blood survives as does their skin color. And even though the Third Crusade happened centuries ago, so does the lingering prejudice. There are still plenty in the world who would look at me and go - those people."

Yang froze.

"I was just another citizen of Mistral, you see. My family lived in Argus for generations. I sacrificed everything for the Kingdom and just lost my lover to Grimm and yet…none of that mattered - when they needed someone to blame, all they saw was my skin."

"It's stupid." - Yang clenched her fist. - "People are stupid."

"Oui, little bird. It's no less stupid in their eyes to hate someone for their skin than it is to hate someone for having little kitten ears on their head." - Clair said. - "Prejudice lingers, survives, shifts, changes targets, adapts, but never really dies. Even though majority had found a new target through centuries, many still welcomed the old ones all the same. People can hate others for many things."

Yang couldn't move.

"I had just started parsing my grief and loss and yet I found myself on the street, my license revoked, the city no longer paying for my services." - Clair stared at the three skyscrapers that rose far above the rest of the buildings beyond that wall. - "You know the worst part? To this day the one thing that hurts the most is seeing her face in that coffin instead. I don't think I ever overcame that memory."

Yang's head spun, the trees merging into ocean waves.

"A life of sacrifices, little bird - one marked by injustices and bloodshed and terrifying horrors that would lurk in the dark. Yet even now, that day stayed so vivid as if it was yesterday."

A woman who did everything right, who fought and sacrificed herself for others.

And yet when she needed it the most, the world abandoned her, vilified her, despised her.

Of course she wouldn't let others experience the same and would instead latch on to this vague idea of helping people ignited by Raven.

What could you even say, Yang? There 's nothing you can do for her.

"I, I don't know what to-"

"We should split up as we enter the city, Little Bird." - Clair ignored her as she sped up ahead, waving to Yang behind her. - "Think about what we talked about and what you want to do from now on.

Soon the woman disappeared up ahead behind the city walls.

Yang stood there, her eyes scanning the trees.

She knew someone else whom word hated for who she was.

All those months back, she met her in a place like this, bonding as they first worked as a team during the entrance test.

The first team up with the black haired bookworm who took things way too seriously, always worrying over stuff and blaming herself for everything.

Would Blake be surprised at tales like Clair's? Or would she shrug and tell Yang this was nothing new?

How is she handling the world around her now? Do people hate her more after the Fall?

Of course they do, Yang. You aren 't an idiot.

So many many people would be all too willing to blame the Faunus for the actions of the White Fang during the Fall of Beacon.

What was it like to live in a world Yang had seen glimpses of through others?

Yang's chest hurt, heart beating faster.

Where are you, now? Are you safe? Are you hurt?

Yang gripped her chest with her hand, her heart burning.

How dare Blake leave you leave without saying a word? How dare she not wait? How dare she not explain anything?

Yang opened up her heart to her, allowed herself to be less than this reliable big sister in front of her.

Yang let her guard down, expecting the same in return.

Then she risked everything to save her and yet…

What would you even say to her, Yang? Let 's imagine she didn't run away like a coward she is and you two got to talk after Beacon - what would you two say? What would you want to say to her?

Yang shook her head.

She didn't have an answer to her doubts

Well, it didn't matter anyway as she wouldn't have a chance to find out how it would have gone.

She left.

Everyone she cared about just up and left her.

All of them.

The wind howled, branches cracking, intermixed with the sounds of the city ahead.

She gripped her side, as if to hug herself. Was she so useless, so unworthy of genuine connections that others had to keep abandoning her one after the other?

Yang was so tired from everything.

The arm that wasn't there ached, tingling all over.

Would she ever get used to this feeling?

Yang slapped herself on the cheek - she didn't have time for what ifs of the past.

She had to move forward - she had to make herself worth something - to regain her strength and to stand tall - to save her sister, if Raven's words held any truth.

So what if everyone left - she would prove her worth, no matter what.

Cold hit her forehead, as if something had landed there.

She looked up.

Snow? That 's weird.

Clair had said winter never came to Anima - winter manifesting through cold winds carried there from the north.

A land covered in perpetual green and brown, frozen in time - snowflakes, the cold visitors from the skies now greeted it now..

What was going on in this Kingdom?

Yang couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Even the training sessions in the forest that began so suddenly - it was as if they were scouting through the forest as Yang trained, Clair wandering around - one of many things that felt off.

The way Yang and Raven arrived into the city back then, that person with spear in his chest, now the weird people that kept tailing her in the city.

And the red envelope she delivered to her mother that Raven refused to elaborate on.

Yang couldn't let melancholy drown her. Not now.

She needed to know the truth.


February 15th, 797 E.A
City of Argus, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

He studied his subordinates scurrying back and forth, as he stuffed the paper shredder full.

The very idea of a paper trail annoyed The Observer. Why would people of his great Kingdom bother with antiquated methods of storing and transferring information? Just because the damn foreign idiots at the damn council required them to?

No wonder Mistral's been in disarray for the last few months - nobody here knew how to do their damn jobs without shuffling through pieces of damn paper.

Obstructionists, bureaucrats, red tape - that's what those antiquated traditions clung to.

The damn idiots at Nemea rushed headfirst into the so-called Faunus Relocation Act, aligning themselves with the decisions already made in Youdu. Ryugu-jo and Argus were still debating - politicians arguing amongst themselves.

Even glancing at the name of the proposal, The Observer knew that it was damn nonsense.

Locating, detaining, and moving an entire species to another continent would have been fruitless labor that left the Kingdom in a perpetual state of conflict - did the damn idiots proposing this nonsense expect those animals to go along with it peacefully?

Likely not - likely the damn stupidity was intentional and someone must have thirsted to kill lots of the animals here.

Was it some strange some damn White Fang faunus and their sympathizers would blow up the Forge in Nemea? After they already ruined the Mistral's railway with a series of attacks over the month? Cornered animals bite back - even he knew that much.

The Observer chuckled - his great Kingdom had long since solved the Faunus question using a more managed and more humane approach that limits the damage those animals can do while still making full use of their talents.

Mistral instead had spent months locked to a standstill until the Beacon's Fall had started to tip the scales.

What annoyed and worried him however was not the petty squabbles over those animals - during the time his team had stayed here, reports from his spies started flowing about Mistral's increase in military production - were those primitive fools hoping to squash the Faunus with military force or did they set their eyes on other Kingdoms? If so, they better damn hope it's not Atlas they set their eyes upon - his great Kingdom would squash the dumb airships like flying bugs that they are.

He chugged down his flask of whiskey, emptying it.

Weeks, now months of sitting around, being ridiculed and made fools of - chasing after the damn girl in the hotel, being led around by the Council and other things.

Well, it did not matter anymore - the necessary pieces were in - he wouldn't wait any longer.

The internal tensions and terrorist attacks had also given him the opportunity to finally act - All of Argus Council, let alone all of Harmony forces here would be too distracted to care - foolish Kingdoms stuck in the past were always so predictable.

The sole reason he had played along with their games for so long was because the stakes were so high.

A piece of Narrative Technology had lay in Youdu's vaults and Atlas also had shown interest in researching the fallen Midhart's ruins in the Great Lake and now needed permission.

In the last month, both of those goals went up in flames.

He was damn sure the damn woman in the hotel was involved with the former, but did those people have anything to do with what happened in the Great Lake? The cave-in and the surge in Grimm activity? And now Nemea's forces have been scouring all over the lake for some reason.

The situation at the damn Hotel shouldn't have changed that much - the new girl kept to her routine, yet still managed to avoid his spies effortlessly - she had to be important, considering what he now knew about her arrival.

The damn woman running the Hotel still eluded him, but not for long with what he had already achieved today.

It sure was interesting how many things had started going wrong in this Kingdom all at once and The Observer couldn't help but wonder whether the Raven woman was connected to it.

Raven Branwen at first glance seemed like a nobody running a falling apart business and hard to even locate properly, but the deeper he looked the weirder the whole Sunspot Hotel had appeared.

The woman had developed an intricate network of connections to the entire city - different individuals from different walks of life visited the hotel at irregular intervals and the people from the hotel would make routine visits all over the city, exchanging information among the everyday nonsense that would hide it.

A butcher overseeing illegal dust shipments, a clockmaker with a hobby of being an information broker, a local barber way into document forgery - Argus was filled with people who were more one would, at first glance, think - all connected to the damn hotel.

And then there was the blondie who had appeared in the middle of the night only to evade Harmony soldiers - a complete mystery.

All they could find on the damn girl was some recording from last year's Vytal tournament where she broke some bloke's leg - the fact that she was from Vale meant they would have to physically travel to Vale to access the local networks for more information.

Damn, those broken towers.

What's more, the hotel owner now had snagged up one of his men tailing the blondie and likely interrogating him.

Both the Harmony, The Council, and the hotel all knew about ART's presence now.

He had no doubts that if the order was restored, The Council would likely politely kick them out back to Atlas.

He had no doubts that if order was restored, Harmony fools would erase them.

And who knew what the woman in the Hotel was capable of?

The Observer didn't even dare to think what would await if the situation in Mistral were to grow even worse.

He couldn't wait any longer or the damn things were to go even more out of control.

There wouldn't be a better chance for this anyway.

Striking while iron's hot, using the chaos and upheaval to at least get what the damn Raven girl had stolen from Harmony - that way his team would at least be able to go back to Atlas having achieved half their objective.

He'll gain the thing he came here for and if that meant he'd also test out the damn thing in the contained the way it has been meant to? All the better.

Outside, the men moved through the hallways of the abandoned building, their weapons ready.

This was all or nothing.

The Observer stood up, walking towards the other room where the damn pod buzzed.

The floor creaked with each step.

He was so tired of the damn stale air and the damn mold everywhere.

He strode into the room that wasn't there as he made his way to the pod at the other end.

Trailing his fingers over the glass, he turned his head towards the silent presence that kept him company here.

"You'll take care of the rest here, while we move. Don't let a damn intruder leave here alive. Understood?"


February 15th, 797 E.A
Sunspot Hotel, City of Argus, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

Every minute had turned into an eternity by now. She strode through the hotel floors, grumbling.

It has been two hours now and Clair was a no-show. Yang hasn't seen her since this morning.

In fact, she hasn't seen anyone at the hotel since the morning.

And now as she wandered, the realization hit her - the hotel was completely empty.

Room after room, floor after floor - not a single person. Some rooms were locked, yet also silent. Others were wide open.

Did everyone decide to up and leave when she wasn't looking? With each step, the now familiar environment had warped into a scene straight out of a horror movie.

She leaned against the wall, pushing her hand into her pockets. She had grown pretty fond of this leather jacket - the whole outfit really - the ensemble of red leather, white shirt, and black jeans - all clashing with her hair.

The outfit didn't feel like hers, for once - something new, yet familiar, something she could shroud herself in, till one day she would find herself again.

The silence hummed through the hallways, the dust lamps buzzing, flickering as the yellow hues shifted.

This wasn't some nightmare - no warped memories of Beacon and no impossible geometry of the terrifying city in her dreams would greet her here.

Even though the hotel was silent, she could still hear the dogs bark outside, the traffic of vehicles zooming past and people screaming at each other somewhere.

Even in the surreal emptiness of the hotel, the city would still invade through the walls and the windows.

Yet she couldn't help but feel like she was missing something big happening right under her nose.

Come to think of it, Yang, they never really explained anything to you beyond breadcrumbs, right?

What has been her mother doing here, running this place? Raven wouldn't have just abandoned everything, flying to another continent just so she could manage a hotel.

She sought out Yang after Beacon fell and everything had changed for her once she arrived here - the secrets, the revelations, the weird dreams, the snow.

Through the coming weeks, she had redefined herself and found the strength to move forward.

Was it so damn hard for her mother to answer a single thing without drowning everything in riddles or Clair having to throw around vague explanations later on?

Yang was so annoyed that she could explode right on the spot.

Voices from the first floor, followed by steps echoing.

Finally.

As Yang ran down the stairs, brushing her hand against the wall, her mind flashed back to the days she had arrived here - how she used to barely get around this place, overcome with fear of hurting herself or falling over.

Moments like this, no matter how short, made her feel like herself again, pushing away the doubts - reassuring her that no matter how lost she felt, she could find her path again and wasn't wasting time.

As she descended to the first floor, a familiar sight greeted her - a woman with messy black hair, tied together in a scarf.

She wasn't wearing her usual flamboyant Mistralese attire though - an all-black coat adorned her mother instead, decorated with dark red buttons and corner outlines. Beneath she wore a stylish white shirt this time.

As much as it might seem, her mother wasn't a show off to wear her armor all the time.

Raven scanned the hotel as she feverishly explained something to the people around her.

Her mother sauntering around dressed like this, surrounded by people made her seem like a mobster or something.

"What is going on?" - Yang said.

Raven glanced at her before saying something else to her companions who nodded and spread out, leaving the duo alone.

Raven exhaled, groaning as if making sure Yang heard the notes of annoyance in her voice.

She then motioned at Yang, walking towards her office.

How many times has it been now that your mother had appeared in your life all nonchalant, Yang?

Yang rushed after her, marching into the office, and slamming the doors shut behind her.

"Please, I like my office door." - Raven groaned, slumping into her chair. - "Can you not with your tantrums?"

"I'll ask again." - Yang slammed her fist into Raven's mahogany desk. - "What is happening?"

"What do you mean?"

"Clair is missing, the hotel is empty and you showing up like this with those people. Do you think I am an idiot?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" - Raven leaned forward. - "Okay, never mind, we don't have time for pettiness."

"What happened?"

"Just like you said - Clair is missing. Likely got grabbed this morning on her way back."

"What? By who?"

Raven jumped up from her seat, kicking her desk.

"Damn, it, brat, I don't have time for this." - Raven screamed.

Yang took a step backward.

Her mother shook, her snark giving way to desperation.

"Let's just say that there are some very bad people after me, after what I have here in the hotel, to be specific."

"What did you do?"

"There's an item that I had acquired through, let's just say, less than honorable means. There are people who really really want it and have been spying on us for months now."

Raven sat back down.

"They hadn't really done anything for weeks, but now for some reason, they decided to act."

"Is this connected to what you said about Ozpin?"

"You aren't an idiot, brat. You should already have an inkling that this place is a bit more than just some random hotel with a gym below. People sharing a common dream of a better world, no matter the cost." - Raven stood up. - "We can chat all day later, right now we really don't have the time."

"Yes. Look, I would like to waste everyone's time and give you an even longer history lesson, but we are running out of time."

Yang punched the chair handle.

The same back-and-forth dance of riddles and unsaid truths.

At least this time she could understand why her mother wasn't in a talkative mood.

She could see her fidget in her seat, unusually pale.

"Raven. You better explain everything after - what you are doing here, what your plans are, why you brought me here, and why you stole the damn thing, okay? So what's the plan"

Raven strode over to the left bookshelf, opening the drawer. She took out an ugly-looking mask and threw it at Yang.

"We have one advantage, you see." - She smiled. - "The fact that those fools likely have no idea I have this. Portals, remember?"

Raven drew the sword from the sheath.

The sight of the red blade unsettled her as if thousands of bugs had crawled all over her the moment it came into her sight.

"The portals are called the Menshen - the sword essentially pierces reality, folding two places within matter together, allowing the user to pass through what's beneath it - the Apeiron. Entering one side and exiting the other. It's like folding a piece of paper and then stabbing right through it, you see?"

Raven swung the sword, cutting through the ear - a wound within reality, a gaping dark red void, pulsating.

"There are flaws of course, limitations too. First of all, it wasn't meant for distances this short, so it's extremely inaccurate the closer the portals are, especially when both are within the same city."

Raven took out her Nevermore mask.

"The Menshen were originally made to touch the stars, according to Ozpin. And the distance between those is likely bigger than between a few blocks of Argus. I could usually use the concentration of Grimm to home in on because it's easier for the portal to open there. It's how I found you in the tunnels or during the Fall of Beacon. That won't help us this time."

"Oh boy, I can't wait to wake up inside a brick wall."

"Now, Yang, no need for dramatics. There is something I can home-in on." - Raven closed her eyes, furrowing her brow. - "Clair's emotions. Even now I can feel them."

"Feel them?"

"My semblance, Yang. I am an empath of sorts - I can sense the emotions of others around me, especially more negative ones. Real useless power, don't you think?"

"And the masks?"

"Another flaw, you see. The Apeiron, the emptiness, is deadly - deadly enough to kill anyone traversing it, basically bathing them in The Grimm. These masks? Think of them as hazard protection suits."

Yang gritted her teeth, hesitating.

Her mind flashed back to the last journey - Raven hadn't given her a mask back then when she took her from Patch to Argus. Why?

"Are you ready or still wasting my time? I can literally feel her screaming."

Yang nodded, stepping forward.

As her mother vanished through the dark red void, Yang gulped down her doubts and jumped after her into the chaos.


February 15th, 797 E.A
Abandoned Building, City of Argus, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

Darkness greeted her as she opened her eyes.

Yang stretched out her hand, touching a solid surface in front. She took a step backward, but her back touched another wall.

A container, a box - a wardrobe?

Well, at least this is not inside of a wall.

She drew in a breath.

Damp, dusty air.

"Hello?" - She said. - "Raven?"

Silence.

Then a knocking sounded right in front of her.

"How long are you planning to stay in that closet, brat? Come out already, we don't have time."

"What?"

"Closet, Yang. You are in a damn maple wood closet."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense."

Yang touched the solid surface in front, knocking on it - wood.

She composed herself.

Wood cracking apart, the closet door flew forward as her fist hit it. Yang stepped out into the light, only to see her mother chuckling.

"What?"

"Nothing." - Raven shrugged.

Yang observed the surroundings - an abandoned room in an apartment - torn semi-rotten linen curtains hung on the broken window. She turned her head back at the closet she had stepped out of - it was empty, a few crumpled newspapers rotting at the bottom.

"Abandoned apartment complex or something?"

"Would make sense for a hideout." - Raven said, turning around. - "Let's go."

With a slice of the sword the door ahead of them split in two, revealing the hallway behind.

Apartment complex it was.

From the other side of the hall, they could hear a commotion, people rushing up or down stairs towards them.

"Time to show whether the training did you any good." - Raven said as she stepped out into the hallway, stepping over the pile of wood that the door had become. - "Do try not to fall behind too much."

Yang stared at her mother, Raven's eyes darting around searching for an enemy - part of her was enjoying the idea of a challenge like this - when all was said and done Raven's lust for combat had been undeniable.

And I wondered how my dad and her would have ever gotten along.

Yang followed after her, stepping out into an abandoned hallway - the place was still littered with boxes and junk, some of the apartment doors taken off their hinges too.

The signs of someone having stayed here didn't slip past her gaze, though - far too much time had Yang spent on keeping home tidy after Summer died to not notice this.

They had kept the bigger pieces of trash where they were to keep up the appearances, likely, but there was a noticeable absence of anything smaller - and even the leftover bigger pieces felt, for the lack of a better word, arranged.

For an abandoned apartment complex, this place was still too neat.

Yang sprinted after her mother who had begun to stride forward, scanning each room along the way.

"You sure we are in the right place? This is way too empty" - Yang said.

Alas, it didn't take long enough - third door on the left, a guy jumped out holding a baseball bat, clearly unprepared.

Dressed in rags and streetwear, it was easy to confuse him for a typical bandit, but there was something different about the way the guy held the bat, the way he would assume a deliberate stance. This was no bandit or hired, goon - the way he held himself indicated training.

The guy rushed forward throwing the bat at Raven as he vaulted over the pile of boxes and into another room.

Raven swung her sword, cutting the bat in half.

Yang opened her mouth, but couldn't say a thing.

A flash of light emanated from the room.

Without hesitation, she grabbed her mother, dragging her out of the way towards her.

A beam of light pierced through the air where Raven had been standing a second ago, scorching the wall black.

The same guy rushed out of the room, now holding a dust rifle.

Raven tensed up, leaning a bit forward.

Yang's eyes darted around searching for something useful.

Finally, she fixated on something - a chair. She grabbed it by the leg, launching it at the soldier.

Inhaling, she lunged right after him as the chair flew, connecting with the foe before he could react.

Yang twirled around, her elbow meeting the guy's chin, sending him flying into a wall.

"These guys seem to be far more than hired goons," - Yang said, her eyes locked on the knocked-out guy.

Raven shrugged.

"Thought you would have already figured it out, Yang. Those are Atlas soldiers."

Yang froze, clenching her fist.

"What the hell did you get me into?"

Another soldier in civilian garb rushed at them, as Raven turned towards him.

"No, wait-" - Yang gasped.

Raven swung her sword, shattering her foe's aura, and knocking the sword out of his hands.

The soldier screamed, drawing a knife with his left hand.

"Some actual training and yet the outcome is the same. Weak." - Raven said as she stepped to the side, dodging her foe's attack.

She once again swung her sword and this time, the soldier himself parted in two.

Raven stared at Yang.

"I am not the one for mercy."

Sweat ran down Yang's forehead.

A heroic-sounding proposal to save someone she had come viewing as a friend over this month - Yang had never considered how her mother was planning to do this.

Yang struggled to breathe.

The blade closes in on her, but she can't stop.

The man smirks.

The girl she wants to save gasps, her face contorting in shock and pain as she tries to say something to her

She pleads with her to stop before she gets hurt, before it's too late.

There's no time for pain or understanding.

Yang can see her limb separating from her body as the darkness overtakes her.

Yang breathed in and out, again and again, as her legs betrayed her.

Yang clutched her chest, sobbing.

She wanted to howl, to scream to run.

Her eyes locked with her mothers, who stood there observing her.

Raven said, wiping her sword. - "You can keep arguing here or help me save the woman they kidnapped and do it later, Yang. A life is at stake. A life of someone who actually deserves to live."

A scream echoed from behind Yang.

Another soldier ran at them, but her mother didn't seem to budge as if waiting for her reaction.

Yang spun around.

A trained soldier or not, a few good blows would be enough to knock them out.

Yang never cared about going too far, but she always made sure to not intentionally let bloodlust get to her.

Well except back then during the fall of Beacon. And she paid for that dearly.

Yang ducked, her fist connecting with the soldier's lower chest area. From the impact, she could understand that this one hasn't trained his aura to use it as a defense.

She swung her fist up, turning the gut punch into an uppercut, as the soldier fell back, breathless.

That should do.

Yang spun around, back towards her mother, staring straight her in the eyes.

"I am not killing anyone here."

Raven sighed, as she strode past Yang.

"Fine, that's your choice. I am not telling you to kill them. You are free to play the good guy but know that those people won't return that mercy when they take their shots. One day you will have to face the truth that no Huntress will ever keep her hands clean forever."

Raven bent down, searching for the one Yang had knocked out.

"Either way, two people is way less than there should have been. Something's wrong." -. Raven stood up, likely having not found anything of interest.- "We just need to find Clair and get out."

Raven strode forward, till she stopped, pointing at the half-torn sign on the wall, right next to the stairs

"We are on the third floor. We don't know how big their operation is and whether their hideout is limited to this one floor. Let's split up to cover more ground. You go through this one and I'll check out the second floor."

"Works for me." - Yang said.

The abandoned apartment complex smelled like mold, dust perching her throat.

Yang did not want to spend here a minute longer than necessary.

"This is a short-range communicator." - Raven threw a black rectangular device at her. - "If you find something you can't handle, message me."

Her mother smiled as she turned around and disappeared down the stairs.

The hallway fell silent, once again not a person in sight.

If her mother was correct and this was indeed a hideout where a bunch of soldiers guarded their hostage, then there should be way more people here.

Yet after these few punks, nobody came. Now, she was no expert on military matters, but it would have been silly to send two people to infiltrate a foreign country, let alone considering more than two had been tailing her these past few weeks.

Yang took a deep breath.

Uncle Qrow had used to tell her about Raven's worldview and seeing her in action right now had made the message he delivered from her make a lot more sense.

It never had quite set in for her before that Raven could likely be a pretty ruthless person.

What could have led her mother to become who she was today?

A runaway Huntress who was more than willing to kill her enemies, yet seemingly leads an organization intent on saving people and changing the world. A cynical realist with dreams of a naive idealist.

Yang could barely process Raven dumping her goals on her like she did, but now more than ever she realized how much of a complicated person her mother truly was.

Once they got out of her, she would make sure her mom would be in for a hell of a conversation.

Yang ran, scouring one room after the other.

In some, it was clear that people had stayed here recently - playing cards, cigarettes, sleeping arrangements - all far newer than the rest of the building.

A group of people had nestled here in the last few months.

Now, it would have been easy to write it off to Argus less-than-fortunate residents seeking out a place to sleep in, but what sealed the deal for her were the opened arms crates.

Yet no living people anywhere.

As sights of the abandoned, worn-down, empty apartments zoomed past her, she couldn't help but catch glimpses of something else.

The burning halls, the crumbling buildings of Beacon as she ran to save her friend.

Part of her wandered this hall, yet another was drowning in an ocean of memories - back at Beacon once again.

"Trust me when I say that trauma always creeps up on you when you least expect it when you are least capable of handling it."

She gripped her head, hand shaking.

"Not now." - she mouthed as she picked up the pace once again.

She couldn't let herself be bogged down by past tragedies not now.

Clair had been a total stranger a while ago, but Yang couldn't deny the impact the woman had on her recovery and her view of her future.

If it meant fighting actual soldiers and possibly getting in trouble? So be it.

For as long as she could remember, getting in trouble had been as usual as breathing for Yang.

Yang couldn't let Clair be sacrificed to political games of power once again.


February 15th, 797 E.A
Abandoned Building, City of Argus, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

She hadn't expected things to fall apart so fast - why couldn't she have more time to prepare?

Raven sauntered through the hallway, her blade dancing through the flesh of her enemies.

One foe or ten, it had made no difference - it never did.

For as long as she could remember, her life had been defined by power - whether the one exerted upon her or that which she exerted upon others.

Years ago, powers-that-be had snuffed out the lives of her and Qrow's parents - the dark undercurrents of the city shaping their childhood as they resorted to stealing to survive.

Shifting winds threw them to Vale, where they had come under Ozpin's control and ended up making a deal far beyond their comprehension.

She could never make peace with the price for the powers that fool had bestowed upon her and her brother - the sheer scope of what had been taken from them by the immortal atop that tower.

The knowledge that had been bestowed upon them after made that weight heavier for her - the understanding of the inner workings of this land was too big of a burden to bear for any mortal soul.

She had learned of magic, of the truth behind the world they live in, of the dark void that had threatened to swallow all - and of the terrifying gears of destiny that had been turning for centuries, controlling the stage humanity had been forced to dance upon.

She thought she could handle it, she thought it was fine.

Even the truth behind the towers didn't manage to break her.

But then the Summer thing happened.

Never again - she won't be yet another sacrifice in the idiot's schemes and lies.

Remnant was land controlled by powers - whether it was the guiding hand of the hypocrite in the tower or the unstoppable pull of the void of death beyond - it did not matter.

Power was everything and knowledge was power.

And the man who had shaped the prophecies of the world, forging connections between Kingdoms, shaping the future of humanity held all the knowledge.

These last years had proved that to her - the path she chose to build was the right one.

Now factions within had striven to rebuild what came before Remnant - even a fragment of the terrifying power that had almost destroyed humanity.

And not only these fools - with Ozpin out of the picture - those in possession of even a little bit of knowledge would seek to obtain more, unbound by his shackles.

The pale-faced demon, the puppeteer in the North, the monkey king, the nobles, and the kings - all of them lusted after Knowledge, the one with the capital K.

None of them had an inkling of the horrors Narrative technology could unleash when misused - all because the hypocrite thought himself impervious and hadn't shared any.

Knowledge was the only real Power and yet it was out of the hands of the common men, who were instead treated as sacrifices by those who had thought they knew better.

And it all would come to this - impulsive actions of men who thought themselves beyond reproach, their pawns now paying the price in blood.

This was inevitable yet she had hoped to have more time to plan her moves.

What had triggered things to speed up?

When Clair stole the piece of the Narrative, it didn't do much but put the town on high alert, costing them a single life, pinned to that wall that night.

Harmony wouldn't stand what the ART team had decided to do here - they could barely allow them to operate within Mistral's borders, after all.

Raven marched forward, towards what had appeared to be a bolted metal door at the end of the hallway.

Could the unrest in Nemea have caused ripples all the way to here, allowing ART the train of thought of being untouchable?

Atlas would always view themselves as above the rest - smarter, wiser, more advanced - the Kingdom of the future! How fitting of them would it be to decide to start this mess right now?

Still, if this were the extent of their plans, the number of soldiers here didn't add up - way too little resistance, even if she and Yang had caught them off-guard.

The sole logical conclusion she could arrive at was that they likely had expected her to launch a rescue mission, luring everyone away from the hotel, while the main force would sweep through it.

If so, then this place had been cleaned up already, most of the ART having already prepared the plans to move. The few that remained were either fodder left here to slow her down or idiots who fell behind not expecting the enemies to appear in their hideout out of thin air.

Raven scoffed - the Atlas goons had behaved exactly as she would have expected, if so - the inevitable had drawn to a close and all that was left was to lead the prologue of the play to its expected conclusion.

With a slash, she tore apart the locked door. She had always been pretty good with the sword - enough to be arrogant about it. Getting this sword had led to Raven finding the true limits of her skill.

A terrifying sword tempered in Nemea's forges - made out of something that was not a sword, nor a weapon before. The legacy of this weapon, in various shapes and forms, traced back centuries ago.

Ozpin had called the item "An Fhalamh", but for each welder, this sword would end up with a different name - Raven had come to call it The Pathfinder.

The material from which the blade of it had been made - something before Dust - could no longer be found on this land.

Steel or stone - both would give way to this blade like butter.

The stepped into, what, a storage room?

Raven took in the surroundings that enveloped her.

Broken dust Generators, empty Dust vials, Dust ammo magazines - remnants of resources one would have found in an army warehouse.

A storage room was a fitting description.

She marched ahead past the wooden boxes, and metal containers, till she reached a particularly big one.

Tracing fingers through the open box, she sighed.

"Damned technocrats."

ART hadn't come here to retrieve the technology before Atlas made their move.

They smuggled something to Mistral for a test run - something that they would have burned through a considerable amount of resources to power.

Raven gripped the handle of her sword. She wanted to scream.

Here she was giggling like a schoolgirl at how Atlas would underestimate everyone when she had been guilty of the same.

What they had brought here could very well throw the world out of balance if it were to go out of control.

A superweapon - an experimental abomination.

If Harmony were to find out about this if Mistral's nobles were to witness the scope of the destruction this could cause.

Would Mistral's complacent pigs bathing in power and luxury have the guts to start a war over this?

The communicator on her belt buzzed, coming alive.

She couldn't rely on scrolls due to tracking, but these outdated things were quite handy.

A text-only message - the ART forces had breached into the Hotel.

Raven smiled - despite the unfortunate circumstances and surprise, they still went with the predictable route.

As much as this pleased her, she had no time to waste.

She had to hurry.

If her hunch was correct, Clair's location was likely where she'd find the weapon too.

If she were to hurry, she could likely get both Yang and Clair out without much of a fuss and get the whole thing back on track - to push this story towards a favorable conclusion, to make Yang see the stakes at hand.

And then it would be the time to tear down the rotting carcass of Ozpin's rule and lead the world in a new direction - one without secrets and certainly without ancient tyrants.

The communicator buzzed again.

This time she didn't need to check.

Raven had just the idea of what Yang might have found.

She sprung around, rushing back into the hall.

She had to hurry. If the box did contain what she thought it did, a minute too late and her daughter would likely end up dead.

They didn't have time to deal with this right now and still, yet again she had to save the brat.


February 15th, 797 E.A
Abandoned Building, City of Argus, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

She pushed through the brimstone and ash in her mind, the purgatory of bygone mistakes and lost chances. Through the memories, Yang stepped inside yet another room - one of the many already.

An abandoned library of sorts transformed into a makeshift office of sorts - a broken desk, bookshelves, books torn apart in them. A steel bowl loomed in the corner, smoke drifting up from it - someone had burned something.

The air was permeated with a distinct smell of sweat and alcohol, intermixing with the smell of burned paper.

Someone was in a hurry, which supported her thought that the place had been recently abandoned.

Would explain why she had yet to encounter anyone else beyond the punks she and Raven had faced - were there more of them where Raven had gone? Unlucky souls to have met her instead.

The ground was littered with torn newspapers, pieces of wet cardboard, and patches of mold on the wood.

She strode towards the bookshelf, hearing the wood creek and crack beneath her feet.

Yang touched the bookshelf - rotten falling apart wood meeting her skin.

Someone had used to live here, using this room every day. And then they were gone.

And an indescribable amount of time later, someone else had ended up hiding away here.

The cyclical nature of abandoned places.

Back when she was young, the idea used to frighten her - haunting her with images of their home at Patch all abandoned as they all pass, till someone else would end up living there, none the wiser - the familiar rooms now devoid of meaning.

Was she the same - aimlessly drifting and getting pushed around by people, just changing who those people are? Everyone always would expect things from her, everyone would attempt to guide her yet in the end she would end up as their support and nothing more.

And tomorrow, those people would leave her too once again - her hopes flying away once more.

Summer, Dad, Ruby, Blake, Clair, Raven - only her loneliness would stay unbroken.

Yang longed for a path she could proudly say she picked herself.

Her gaze drifted towards the marks on the floor - a trail of dust, the wooden floor damaged, scratched up - the bookshelf had recently been moved.

Yang rolled her eyes.

Of course, can 't have a villain hideout without a secret room, Yang. Talk about a cliche.

She had no time to search for secret buttons or all that nonsense.

Yang shifted her weight, ramming the bookshelf with her shoulder.

With a push and some effort, it surrendered, moving.

Yang chuckled, sweating.

Sometimes being well-built would come in handy beyond being able to handle herself in a fight.

A smell of metallic rust greeted her.

A prim and proper clean yet dimly-lit room, reinforced with steel walls from inside.

Before her sight could adjust to the darkness, her gaze had locked in onto a familiar figure standing near the left wall, facing away from her.

The room stood empty, barring for the figure and a buzzing pod at the other end, emitting an eerie green glow from inside, bathing the room in neon green.

Yang rushed into the room.

"Clair! Did those punks lock you in here?"

No answer.

She could recognize the person ahead of her - the frame, the height, the hair color, and everything.

Yet Yang couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.

As Yang took a step forward toward the figure, a sickening nausea washed over her.

The closer she got, the more uncanny the person seemed.

As her eyes got used to the surroundings, the proportions of the figure ahead didn't feel right - the legs too long, the arms uneven.

With another step, she noticed the hair fusing right into the skin.

Yang had been overcome with a sickening sensation that whatever figure stood in front of her it certainly wasn't human.

The thing ahead wasn't clear, merely an uncanny image of her.

Silicone and metal alloys, imitating human form, shifted in front of her eyes, the burning smell of plastic reaching her nose.

The figure shifted its head as high high-pitched whistle reached her ears.

Yang jumped backward, grasping the edge of the entrance with her hand as steel wires flew threw the spot she had been standing in mere seconds ago.

Shifting air washed over her face as Yang stumbled backward, out of the room and away from the twisting, screaming metal.

The wires didn't stop as they went straight through the metal reinforcement and then the brick wall, the whole floor shaking.

Yang stared at the thing in front of her as her mind was flooded with a sense of familiarity.

She had seen something similar before, she had seen someone fight with razor-sharp wires and swords.

A friendly face that was laid to rest in the crumbling arena.

Yang bolted to the side as she grabbed a brick from what used to be a wall, throwing it at the monster.

A sound of metal rang through the air as it hit it.

Yang's heart skipped a beat - it made sense that they would have more than one.

Yet, as much as the thing in front of her had reminded her of Penny, unlike her, this one couldn't be called a human - there was no consciousness in there - just programmed reactions, like the mindless Atlesian Knights.

A puppet, a weapon - shifting as it attempted to take the form, the visage of life around it.

A gray metal frame of a puppet, its color shifting as it moved.

Different sets of human eyes, lips, and noses shifted through its face.

The Puppet let out a shriek, a growl, as its head shifted and convulsed, twitching.

Its eyes lit up an emerald huge, illuminating the semi-destroyed room.

And then it darted right towards her, its right leg spinning into a kick, joints betraying human anatomy as they moved.

Yang gasped, instinctively ducking, while blocking the attack with her arm.

She knew this move, she felt it before - the thing had started mimicking Clair's techniques and attacks.

Yang pushed back against it, letting out a guttural scream.

Finding her footing, she hit the thing in the chest with all her might and met with a clang.

The Puppet shifted, blurring before her eyes as it grasped her leg, effortlessly throwing her over itself

Yang flew into the wall behind it.

She winced, struggling to breathe.

She was sure now - however possible it was, the thing was using Clair's moves, in turn abandoning the wires inside.

This was a trap - Atlas soldiers used the kidnapping to lure the strongest people here.

Could the rest be rushing to the Hotel now if Raven indeed had something they wanted there?

She bolted back up on her feet, her vision blurring, spinning.

A cycle, a myth - everything ending where it had started. Yet again you had ended up rushing into a fight you can 't win in a conflict you don't understand. Are you really that surprised, Yang?

No.

She won't repeat the same cycle of self-pity and defeat.

Her father had affectionately referred to her as a dragon, while Clair and others had invoked a connection with her mother instead.

Even some birds rise from the ashes and especially the damn dragons!

Her blood boiled, ears pounding to the point that she could practically hear her own heartbeat.

What was it you said, Yang? About you punching the obstacles in your way if they threatened to derail you from your path?

Her head rang like a thousand bells.

No.

She didn't spend all these weeks getting back on her feet just to get punched into the ground.

Her limbs burned inside, blood rushing through them.

She screamed, roared as loud as she could, willing herself to move, willing her Semblance to do its damn job.

Your Semblance is a part of you, hell - it is you, so, of course, it is stubborn.

She can do this. She can do this.

Never again will Yang Xiao Long lay defeated.

Her whole body was lit ablaze - Yang realized that she hasn't been this pissed off in a long time - not since that night.

She took a step forward, clenching her fist stronger, her fingers digging into her skin .

And then - she was…calm?

She breathed, evenly.

She needed a plan to deal with this.

Yang exhaled, readying herself.

And t hen she lunged at the Puppet

The puppet squirmed, twisting its form as Yang grabbed it and pushing it onto the floor.

A punch to ts head and then another one.

The monster was durable enough. The floor wasn't - cracking as the puppet's head got stuckt right through it.

Yang's gaze jumped through the room, locking onto the pod.

There had to be the connection between the two.

She hopped off the puppet as it struggled to free its head.

Yang strode to the pod, grabbing the lid with her arm. With a scream the cover folded, like paper.

Every muscle in her body burned with a familiar feeling.

Her Semblance.

Whether it had changed, evolved or had she merely not understood it fully before - Yang did not know.

What she did realize now is the reason behind growing calmer.

Her semblance wasn't fueled by the damage she suffered - at least not anymore.

It did not make sense in the first place - no matter the state of the person's psyche, most of Semblances were inherently positive for the user, embodying the person's inherent survival instincts - what kind of Semblance would rely on its user getting damaged and hit over and over again to function?

Anger, stress, shock, rage - all emotions coursing through her, if they were to overflow, fueled it now.

Negative emotions were still a form of damage - emotional damage - the kind of damage the body couldn't quite fully heal or protect from.

So her Semblance would turn those into power had they reached a level where they would be dangerous enough to cloud her with rage.

Her mother's semblance was all about emotion and, supposedly so was her Uncle's - a family trait.

Was it so surprising that her Semblance would burn destructive emotions into something power giving her a chance to turn those feelings into power once they boiled over?

She gazed at the contents of the pod - a woman.

"Clair?" - Yang shook her.

"Little bird?" - The woman's eyes sprung open.

"Can't believe you got yourself into all this trouble. Can you move?" - Yang gripped her shoulder, lifting her off the pod.

Clair grabbed the corner of her metal prison, pushing herself off out of it.

"I've had worse, dear." - She smiled, standing up. - "Still not sure how those idiots got me."

"Talk later." - Yang said as the Puppet finally got back up. - "This thing is still here."

Clair's eyes lit up.

"Oui. I do want to return the favor. Piece by piece." - Clair gripped Yang's shoulder. - "I can still feel my Aura, myself, partly being over there inside it. I think it won't return unless the creepy puppet stops functioning."

Yang stared at the Puppet.

This wasn't like with Penny - this thing wasn't a person, wasn't a human being - a mere mimic stealing the essence of others to manifest a mockery of human visage.

A superweapon, a science experiment unleashed by Atlas in the middle of another Kingdom.

She scoffed, a jolt coursing through her body.

Yang was up against a grotesque creature mocking life itself and yet deep inside she felt like they stood a chance.

"Let's make sure it does stop, then." - Yang said. - "But how? Do you think it runs on batteries or something?"

"Let's find out, little bird."


February 15th, 797 E.A
City of Argus, Kingdom of Mistral Territory

Glory to the Old Kings.

The Black Spears rushed through the streets without making a single sound, their camouflage buzzing, shielding their forms from human recognition.

Each held their weapon in hand - a unified symbol that connected the members of Department of Harmony together - obsidian lances, gold ornaments covering them.

May unity and harmony never wane.

The visors buzzed, relaying them the orders.

Foreign agents had begun their moves, just like the informant had warned them they would - The ART Unit had been allowed to squat inside Argus for too long, finally overstaying their welcome.

May the fire of the Founding Families burn everlasting.

The Black Spears didn't care for the foreigners plans or goals - but they did care for them unleashing an assault upon this fair and beautiful city.

The rules, the laws existed for a reason whether those subject to them were the citizens of Mistral or pompous outsiders.

Those who would break them would have to pay the price.

And now they will.

If every single members of ART unit die today alongside anyone that had interacted with them, this incident could be left buried inside reports, sealed in redacted documents.

The status quo wouldn't change and the peace would persevere.

May the fair winds of Mistral guide the Kingdom Ever After.

Their orders were simple.

A complete elimination of everyone within actionable radius of Sunspot Hotel and ART Hideout.

A cover-up plan blaming it on all too common scapegoat - the White Fang - was to be enacted - the public none the wiser.

For the peace of these ancient lands those who would disrupt order had to burn.

The Black Spears swarmed through streets - the district having been a failure of sorts, the abandoned apartment complexes and shut down factories littering the place.

As they approached the target building, the Black Spears readied their weapons, waiting for the command to move in.

Ahead, the man leading them, clad in similar outfit, yet adorned in gold, raised his spear.