This chapter's writing is rather recent, but it's still really important- I wrote this with my boyfriend!

And for the Q&A- please, leave some more questions, we only have a small handful right now.

Be sure to leave a review on this chapter, because this is one of my boyfriend's "bigger" chapters.


What would normally have been a rather late morning for Team RWBY was surprisingly a lot earlier of a start than usual. It seemed that at least one of their members had decided to take some time to get some early morning training in before breakfast.

The sound of gunshots and hard light dust being crushed into could be heard as Yang had taken the time to start training early in the morning, pushing her body to its limits so that she could at least keep on top of the strength she had on her. Ever since that fight with Cinder, and more recently the meeting with her mother and the rather climactic conclusion of that encounter... something had just felt off to her and she didn't know what it was.

"Perhaps they want to try and keep up with the apexes..."

"Look at her, she probably couldn't hit me if she tried..."

Words from that day circled in her mind, and already it was starting to show. she'd taken a moment to reassure the rest of the Zeta Squad that she was fine, but in reality...how much more could she take?

A loud beep signaled her training had finished, but Yang, adamant as ever, simply called out, "Again." Watching as the holographic enemies appeared once more, weapons bared and ready to strike.

Yang's training before a mission and breakfast had become...normal, ever since the encounter with Raven. People could understand why, but it was still just...weird to address. Yang wasn't one to talk much about it either, but that barrier had been between the rest of Zeta and Yang ever since.

She'd also been oddly distancing herself, not in terms of social life, but more with missions. More solo than co-op, honestly. Yang would come back with bruises every time, which made Blake and Ruby freak out and Ari scold her...but, each time, successful.

The idea of Yang going out on her own though was...admittedly nothing too new these days; it just seemed to be a more noticeable occurrence ever since the encounter with the Branwen tribe. After a few rounds of fighting the holograms, she decided to finally call it quits and head in to grab some food before her daily mission.

As she walked through, it was clear she wasn't showing the typical bubbliness that she was known for.

Yang's breakfasts were short- a fruit, some toast with jam on it, and water. It was healthy, but still a meager amount compared to the other meals there. Yang would scarf it down, and report to the bay area to get sent off on her mission.

Today's mission? More exciting than most. Yang was going on what should've been a four-person mission, but she felt more than up to the challenge.

Though as she ate it seemed that some other members had decided to join her, though not of her own team but rather of the Ace Ops, who were usually up and around at this point in the morning for their own missions. Yang tried not to pay them any mind, even with how friendly she'd been before that spark just didn't seem present. Hell, even Rex was someone she didn't trust herself in speaking to.

Rex looked at Yang, a bit concerned. "You good?" He asked, but Yang gave no response. Rex frowned.

"I take it she's...not good." Marrow said.

"Nope. Been like this for a while. It's weird- on missions, she goes into this hyper focused state." Rex said. "She's tuning out everything. Here, watch- Hey, Yang! Ben's here and he's gonna shave your head!"

Nothing.

"That would've had her punching Ben in the throat." Rex said.

"...could it be she doesn't care about your childish joke?" Harriet huffed, half paying attention to the conversation.

"Like you could do any better?" Rex added as she glanced over at Harriet.

"Maybe she's finally seeing some sense and deciding to focus on what matters here, unlike a certain guy I know." Harriet gave a slight smirk before looking over toward Yang, who was still walking, though admittedly she seemed to be moving a bit quicker now toward Ironwood's office.

It seemed that she was here for the briefing of the mission, the general having already set it up for a four-person squad, only to find Yang walking into the room...alone.

"...alright." Ironwood said, looking down at his tablet. Yang being on solo missions had become slowly normal to him. It was nice to see her so focused, at least.

"Well, Miss Xiao Long, you've got your work cut out for you today, especially with your target..." The general said, scrolling down to the profile of the suspect- a giant Vaxasaurianian. "Your target's name is..." Ironwood paused.

"...what?"

"Sorry, I...just thought the name was a typo. Her name is...Suemongousaur." Ironwood looked rather displeased reading that name.

"What does the name matter?" Yang asked as she just looked at the general with a slight raised brow, prompting Ironwood to just look back at her and then down to the tablet.

"Either way. Your target is Suemongosaur, a Vaxasaurianian that has been spotted collecting various objects of importance, we don't know what she plans to do with these objects but they are military property and we can't risk them falling into anyone else's hands." The general explained as he scrolled down some more.

"Normally, I would have sent you back up but...I believe that won't be necessary." Ironwood glanced at Yang who simply stared back at him, not so much as a smile.

"...right." Ironwood said. "Transport will be here in 15. Your location will be a dockyard where we suspect she'll strike next. Note that these items you're protecting are of great value, and if damaged may cause them to be inoperable. Please keep that in mind."

"Yes sir." Yang simply turned and started to leave the office as quickly as she had entered, though it seemed that she wasn't the only one who had been observing the meeting, she could hear scrambling as both Rex and Marrow tried to assume their normal positions as she passed.

Rex watched Yang go, and for a moment he swore that he saw Yang's eyes looking...red. Weird...her eyes only got that way if her semblance was in overdrive.

Rex saw Yang off, and pulled out his phone. Maybe it's time the team called in the big guns to deal with this...


Meanwhile, back with the Zeta Squad, it seemed that the rest of the team had actively gotten up and was now starting their own mornings... of course Ruby was a little annoyed that Yang wasn't here, but she was now just assuming that she wouldn't be around for most mornings unless they all got up at the crack of dawn.

"Does she have to rush off so early..." She mumbled before sitting at the kitchen table with her breakfast beside her.

Ben entered, bedhead wildly out of control and bags under his eyes. "I don't even know HOW your sister gets up so early- I'd rather die than get up at 7."

"...Ben, it's like 8:30." Ruby said.

"And what a difference it makes. You know, our brains don't start functioning until-" Ben began, but Ruby shut him up by throwing her spoon at his face. "...owwww..."

"But that's the point...she doesn't get up this early, not until recently." Ruby pointed out as she just started to eat and let out a slight sigh.

"I wish I could figure out just what the heck's happening with her, she's meant to be my big sis and she's busy doing who knows what at god knows where!" She said with frustration in her voice.

"I'm sure it's not that bad a mission..." Ben said, rubbing his face. "I mean, come on. What the hell kind of solo missions do you think she's going on?"

And right on cue, Ben found his phone buzzing, as Rex had decided to call him up...

Ben picked up the phone. "Helloooo?"

"...Yang's gonna fucking fight a dinosaur." Rex said, panicked.

"Oh, sweet." Ben said.

"No, no, no- dude, it's the dinosaur YOU turn into-" Rex said, as Ben's eyes widened.

"...everything good?" Ruby asked, a bit worried.

Ben lowered his phone and turned to face Ruby. "You might want to take this." Ben replied as he handed her the phone.

"Hello?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby? Soooo... your sister is about to go on a mission and fight one of those dinosaur things Ben transforms into?" Rex stated, still visibly shaken.

"Wait...But isn't that a..." Ruby couldn't even finish before Rex continued.

"It's a mission meant for four people!" Rex added, before starting to look around and hushing his tone. "Look, you better find a way to snap her out of this or something else of hers is gonna be snapped!"

Rex hung up the phone, leaving Ben and Ruby in a sort of silent funk.

"...shall I rally everyone up and form an intervention-" Ben asked.

"Yes. Please do." Ruby said, absolutely awestruck by the words.

Though would they even be able to set up some kind of intervention before Yang had left? Soon enough though, the squad had been woken up and were informed of the situation, though even with the description there were... a few who seemed not as freaked out.

Min had just responded in the group text with a "yooooooooo sweet, post it on worldstar" that made Ruby's already freaked out mood even worse. Ceres half-jokingly suggested they form a betting pool to bet that Yang would win...and also to possibly cover hospital fees. And Blonko just responded with a "worried emoji" that spoke volumes about the whoooole situation.

But, alas, they couldn't stop Yang- she was already on the ship, and halfway to her location.


As Yang sat in the back of the ship, she kept herself as calm as she could, she knew she didn't want to lose this battle, heck, she couldn't even if she wanted to.

But soon, the pilot called out from the front that they were approaching the drop zone and that she was on her own from here. The huntress took charge and quickly launched herself out from the bullhead that had carried her there. Surveying the area, there were already signs of something large and deadly having made its mark here...and so close to Mantle too.

Yang's string unraveled, as she quickly wrapped it around a satellite structure nearby and used it to slow herself, and swing around. She flipped through the air, before landing on the ground on her feet. A perfect landing, much better than her Beacon landing.

Now...to wait. It wouldn't be hard to miss a giant dinosaur, right? She had time to prepare.

She wouldn't have to wait long, though...she heard the sudden thumping of footsteps in the snow, much larger than any Grimm in the area and definitely a lot more coordinated. Seemed that her target was already somewhat approaching... but what was interesting was where the Vaxasaurian was coming from, there wasn't any kind of underground settlement or area to access easily... and yet...

Yang put her ear to the ground, and hummed. This was a relatively guarded base, but only by drones and robots...someone as big as Sue was sure to tip them off, but...

What about if she dug her way through?

Noticing the tracks and where they were leading, Yang started to slowly make her way down toward the side of the mountain face she was on, the nature of the rocks and the unnatural curvature already indicated something, or in this case someone, was digging through it. And soon enough Yang noticed the payload she was here to collect.

"...that's one big dinosaur." Yang noted.

Humungousaur was big, around twelve feet tall- Suemongosaur, on the other hand, made him look like Dwayne the Rock Johnson next to Sun Ming Ming. This dark brown Vaxasaurianian had a massive seventeen foot tall stature. Her armor was made of the pelts of large, alien animals, and she wore the skull of one of them as a helmet. Her tail was a massive blade, being used to break some rocks apart. For such a normal sounding name, Sue had rolled high on the intimidation factor. Not that it phased Yang.

Looking at the Vaxasaurian, Yang started to quickly clench her robotic fist tight before getting ready to fight; she wanted to make this short and sweet and to the point and didn't care so much for conversation. "Hey. Not to bust your little dig here, but you wouldn't happen to be 'Suemongosaur'?"

The alien slowly turned back around- there. Yang could see she was wearing a necklace. Vaxasaurianians couldn't normally communicate, but this necklace was some sort of translator.

"...and what if I am?" A gruff female voice asked. "Who's asking?"

"Then you're gonna have to give up the items you've been taking from this base." Yang exclaimed before cocking Ember Celica and starting to walk forward. "Trust me when I say, you do not wanna make this harder than it needs to be."

"What, you gonna sting me?" The giant Vaxasaurianian laughed. "Believe me, girly. I've faced Galvan that hit harder than any normal human could. What can one tiny, TINY girl do to me?"

The Vaxasaurianian would suddenly find her leg being covered with a few flashing red objects before the blondie seemed to come out from nowhere, eyes still glowing red as she gave a slight scowl. "You better hope stinging is all I do."

A bunch of miniature bombs went off, causing the mountain to crumble- rocks and rubble smashed into Sue's head, irritating her. "And you better hope I'm not going to you into a stain on the ground!" She roared.

"Give me a shot." Yang just wiped her forehead before assuming her regular combat stance and rocketing herself around the cavern's walls with Ember Celica. If there was one thing she remembered from her training, it was that every motion, no matter how minor, had to be precise.

Suemongousaur sent a powerful pile driver at the nearest wall, but Yang simply maneuvered herself around it and ran up the arm. Yang's string quickly wrapped around one of the fangs on Sue's helmet, and propelled herself forward. Yang roared, as she punched Sue's eye in, full force. Sue bellowed in pain, as Yang jumped back. She fired more and more bombs at Sue, hoping to bury her in a landslide.

Though even with the added firepower and managing to nearly blind the Vaxasaurian in one eye, it didn't help that she was still a MUCH bigger target and also just as strong as Humungosaur, if not a little stronger due to her size. A landslide wouldn't do much as Yang suddenly saw Sue barreling toward her.

Yang swiftly fastened her string to the cave's roof and launched herself upward. Her great speed, small size, and quick thinking were crucial in this encounter. Yang grimaced as she jumped upon the roaring dinosaur's back. She clenched her fists and began beating the back of her neck...it had to hurt.

Each punch rang out with an accompanying gunshot as Suemongosaur felt herself being forced closer to the ground with each strike on her. But even with Yang's superior speed, it may take a few good hits for Sue to turn the tides, and with how focused the blonde was being, that could surely be the case if she was blindsided...

Though as quickly as she was throwing out more punches, she suddenly felt her body being whipped toward the rocks she had just earlier tried to destroy. Sue had managed to shake her off and was now looking ready to start her own beatdown as the Vaxasaurian let out a loud roar of dominance before lunging forward!

Yang propelled herself forward- she needed to maneuver herself between the criminal's legs for this next move. It would need to be precise...and thankfully, she could do that.

The conflict between Yang and Sue was enough to cause the hole inside the mountain to tremble, and Yang immediately found herself out in the snow. She knew that any more time spent fucking around would result in the items being destroyed.

"Need to get this done fast, then." Yang ran as fast as she could, as Sue gave chase. She needed to lure her out to that area...

As Yang kept running, using Ember Celica and her mechanical arm to swing herself like she was using a grappling hook, the Vaxasaurian only laughed and started to try and throw large clumps of rock and snow toward her.

"What's wrong! Too afraid to face me head on?!"

Yang dodged them without even looking back- come on, just a few more feet, you stupid dinosaur! She needed to really cool her off...

However, in her concentration, Yang was nailed by the edge of one of the following boulders; nothing was ever that simple as she found herself rapidly tucking and rolling so she could straighten herself up and not break any bones.

"Ha!" Sue smiled, pleased that she had slowed her target. Now...onto the overkill. Sue swung her sword tail down, trying to sever Yang's neck...if not crush her beneath the weight of the blade itself.

When the sword finally slammed down, she didn't hear the satisfying sound of a blade cutting flesh; in fact, she didn't hear any impact other than that of...metal.

Yang's body was covered in small embers, flames starting to rise off of her as the golden locks of her hair began to glow brighter and brighter.

"...what the hell?" Sue asked, a bit taken aback. This girl...she wasn't human if her powers were starting to do this. Sure, she'd heard of aura and Osmosians, but...this was not what she was expecting...

Suddenly the Vaxasaurian would find itself stumbling back as the girl was actively starting to lift the tail that was striking at her. The metallic grip on the blade only tightened as the golden hair started to slowly turn a fearsome black.

It was like this girl had changed entirely. Sue could even feel some strength being pushed back. It wasn't enough to make her stumble or even move, but… she could still feel it.

Yang let out the loudest roar she could conjure before charging toward Sue, her fist rearing back. The two battled once more as the plan to bring her to a specific location seemed to have gone completely out the window...

Yang's speed had increased drastically, as the girl rocketed towards Sue...

And uppercut her right in the jaw.

Sue let out a loud yell as her body was actually knocked into the air lightly. She tried to keep herself up but the pain was definitely enough to force her back down to the icy tundra. Trying to swing her tail around to strike at her once more, she only found herself staring at the girl, a growing fear in her eyes.

Yang unleashed a brutal flurry of punches, strong enough to feel like punches from the average Tetramand. It wasn't that they were painful, no...it was more the fact at how fast she was going. Yang's speed would've decimated anyone.

Sue continued to find herself trying to push Yang off, but was practically unable to thanks to all of the immense blows toward her. The Vaxasaurian soon noticed her body was also being covered in small glowing red items...

Sue's eyes widened in fear- crap! All that time, the girl hadn't just been laying down a beatdown...she was also setting up for a massive explosion.

The Vaxasaurian quickly tried to grip onto Yang; if she was going to blow, she was going to make sure this demon got blown to hell with her! Yang instead flew back into the air, having unraveled her string around the arm to pull herself back.

Sue yelled, as the bombs started to beep louder and louder...

The snow and ice of the tundra were suddenly joined by a pitch black cloud of smoke with a deafening blast. Yang cocked Ember Celica, knowing she'd used all of her weapon's artillery to make this possible... Yang's eyes widened when she noticed Sue was...still in one piece, but she was obviously looking worse for wear. She finally seemed to be calling it quits, but not without some words of warning, Sue gripped her bruised wound in pain. She had a horrible grimace on her face and her eyes were fixed on Yang.

"I know your type...the one with something to prove." Sue growled. "They're running from a problem, and...I just hope it bites you in the ass someday..."

"You done?" Yang just stared at her before looking over to the hole in the mountain. "If so, I'll be taking back that equipment." At this point Sue knew that she was right, she wanted to see how far she was right though. Sure, she knew when she was beat, but it was better to leave a lasting impact, no?

"Good...luck...carrying it." Sue smirked, as she fell back, shaking the Earth.

Yang stared at her blankly. "...seriously?" She was unamused by the horrible joke.

As Yang started to make her way over to where the equipment was being kept, she could hear the sound of more Bullheads beginning to pull up on the scene. She hadn't asked for backup...but in this case she also had a feeling that she knew who had spilled the beans on her mission.

Ben and Ruby stared at the fallen Vaxasaurianian from the Bullhead. "She really took her out..." Ben said.

"You know her?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, she was a musclehead for Psyphon. Guess with his death, she must've turned to some serious petty theft or something." Ben hypothesized.

"Woah...honestly I'm not even mad, that's actually impressive." Kevin added, as he stepped out alongside Ben. "Now, what equipment did he say we're looking for?"

"Anything big she probably stole. Remember that time she stole those Plumber tanks and used them to roll some BIGGER steal across Undertown? That was a fun friday..." Ben shivered.

"...what?" Ruby asked.

"Long story." Kevin said.

"If you three are done talking, we're here for a completely different reason other than reminiscing on the past?" Weiss asked as she and Kylie stepped out from the Bullhead and started to make their way over toward Yang, who...wasn't even paying them any mind.

Yang hadn't even realized it, but she was banged up pretty badly in that fight. She had cuts and scrapes all over her body that obviously needed tending to.

"Uh...Yang?" Kylie said, a bit nervous to get her attention. "You're...kinda bleeding."

"I'm fine. I'll get patched up when I get back. Just get the equipment and load it onto the ship." Yang added as her hair was still flaring, it was almost like she was using her aura as a way to numb her body.

Kylie grabbed her hand. "No, one of those needs some treatment right now. Hold on, I have some bandages in one of my pouches-"

"I'm all right." Yang jerked her hand away from Kylie and locked her stare on her. "Just do what we're supposed to do. I didn't ask for any of you to come here in the first place, so if you want to be useful, collect the equipment and load it onto that ship."

"...so, what's the deal with the vitriol?" Kylie scowled, unimpressed by the entire "helpful" remark. "I realize you're deep into these missions now, but you don't have to be that rude!"

"Because having all of you suddenly show up in the middle of one of these could get you all killed. These aren't missions you guys can take." Yang lied, she knew that she didn't need to be rude but it was the only way that she could really keep them out of her hair so that she could just...think.

"What, and these missions a single person can handle? Look at you! You're lucky to have some scrapes and bruises right now." Kylie frowned. "Are you just doing these missions to prove how reckless you can be!?"

"Why does it matter what I do?! It's not like that's ever mattered to any of you until now!" Yang felt her voice raise as her hair seemed to flare up once more before she felt her aura spark and fizzle, the strain starting to show itself.

"Just do your jobs."

"...okay, yep. Something's up." Kylie frowned. Yang and Ruby suffered that same 'bottle it up' issue. "What's going on? You got something festering in your brain?"

"Kylie. I'm not gonna repeat myself." Yang started to look over toward where the equipment was being kept, it was clear she didn't want to talk about it in the open.

"...okay." Kylie frowned, pulling out her scroll. She went to her messages, and texted the Zeta Squad group chat.

We need to have a serious talk with Yang.

Yang then started to make her way over to the Bullhead, knowing the others would be able to grab the equipment. The moment she saw Ruby and Ben she just kept her head down and didn't say anything...

"...Yang? Are you okay?" Ruby asked. The second she saw that hint of red on her arm...

"...I'm fine." Yang huffed.

"Yang, I can tell when someone says they're lying, and you're not looking good right now..." Ben continued as he moved closer, only to be met with a scowl from Yang.

"...orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..." Ben said, taking a step back. "Maybeeeeee I'm stupid.

"Yang, seriously. What's going on?" Ruby said, approaching her sister. "I'm not a fan of this 'doing your own thing'..."

"What's the matter? You want me to just sit there on my ass and wait for you to give me orders? Like a good teammate?" Yang only gazed at Ruby before turning around, still holding her arm softly.

"Right now, I'm getting things done, the rest of you are socializing and hamming it up with the locals, while Salem and the rest of her group are probably five or ten steps ahead of us." "We're supposed to be the individuals who safeguard not just this kingdom, but all kingdoms," she spat as she glared at Ben.

"...I don't like the way you're talking, Yang." Ruby frowned. "I'm fine with being criticized on leadership, but...I just don't feel like it's just about leadership."

"Then what is it about Ruby?" Yang then looked to her sister and simply kept her glowered stare; "If you're so confident you know me then tell me what this is about."

"...is it about your mom?" Ruby asked, calmly.

"What about her?" Yang raised a brow before looking at her sister. She knew that she was probably aware of what happened at the camp... but would she truly understand how much that encounter effectively shattered her world view?

"...nothing." Ruby frowned. This wasn't the time or place to discuss this. Ruby just walked away, a bit hurt.

Yang turned and just made her way to sit on the ship. She already knew it was going to be a long ride back, but she still had to report that the mission was a success, so getting on her scroll she started to communicate to Ironwood.

"This is Yang. The Vaxasaurian has been subdued and the equipment is currently being retrieved."

"Good job. Transport will take you back to base." Ironwood said. "I'd recommend you take it easy, especially after a mission as arduous as-"

"I'm fine." Yang said, finally bandaging up that wound that Kylie was bothering her about.

"Miss Xiao Long with all due respect, and as your friends father I'm not asking you to take it easy, I'm telling you to." Ironwood started with a little concern in his voice.

"I said I'm fine."

"...alright." Ironwood huffed. He wasn't gonna let this drag on. He simply hung up, and left Yang alone. Silence hung in the air.


The ride back was one filled with tension. Members of the squad that had come to help tried to say anything to Yang, only to be met with that impenetrable wall. It was clear that something was up and she wasn't going to be open about it. In a way, it was also getting to the others; but one could hope that someone didn't say the wrong thing.

Yang got close to her room when Harriet happened to come around the corner. She smirked. "Yeesh. Looks like the mission was a success. Glad to see you're the only one being serious about all of this."

Yang didn't say anything as she just walked past Harriet. She just wanted to take a moment to rest before going back to training. A simple want...but of course things were never easy.

"Yeesh. Like mother, like daughter." Harriet said.

Yang came to a halt as she began to turn around; "What...?" She began to clench her fist when she noticed Harriet smirking even more.

"What? I've recently read your reports. They're decent, but...y'know. I only observed a boost in quality following the interaction with your mo-" said Harriet.

A sudden crash to the wall showed that Yang was already done with the conversation as she just kept her head down, her arm now bleeding from the knuckles as she just glowered. "Shut up..."

"...woah. No need to overreact. Jeez..." Harriet said, a bit unimpressed. "What's with the tantrum?"

"You don't know the first fucking thing about me..." Yang seethed as she started to make her way closer. "Do you do anything other than read reports? HUH?!"

"Okay, kid. Look. You're stressed, but Jesus. Don't make your shit my problem." Harriet said, crossing her arms. "Not my fault you're getting so pissed over this...whatever happened with your mom, it's letting you shape up. Just...don't blow up on me."

"Don't make it your problem? Oh I'm about to make it your damn problem if you don't shut your mouth, if you ever compare me to her again then you're gonna need something much more than your speed to stop me." Yang was definitely pissed as her aura was flaring up once more, but this time it seemed to be more harmful than helpful.

"...what, you got mommy issues or something?"

And that was the line that made Yang snap. It happened in seemingly an instant. One moment she was standing there trying to keep herself calm, and the next? She saw her metal arm shaking, outstretched...

And Harriet looked up at her from the ground...

"...oh, you just fucked up." Harriet said, snapping back up and smashing Yang against a wall.


To say there wasn't an altercation was a bit of a lie. There was more of a full on brawl- thank God Marrow was around to freeze the both of them, and for Vine to restrain the both of them.

Then came the talking from Ironwood...

"I'm not generally one to try and play guidance counselor, but right now it's evident that something needs to be done," Ironwood said carefully as he looked between Harriet and Yang.

"Miss Xiao Long..." He said, almost as if recalling what happened at the Vytal festival, "Stress is something that everyone experiences on the battlefield. Sometimes we need to keep our minds sharper so that our judgment is not clouded."

"My mind is very much clear." Yang said, looking down at the aura dampening cuffs on her hands. "She knew what she was getting into the second she brought her up."

"Oh, come on. It was light ribbing. You threw the first punch." Harriet frowned.

"Light ribbing doesn't involve sensitive topics." Ironwood huffed.

"Oh sure, but she should learn to take a hint and learn when people are joking. Can't keep being all stuffy all day." Harriet rolled her eyes.

"Harriet...It's clear that you've been provoking a lot more responses not just from Yang but from most of our allies. I know you are confident, but there is a line to be drawn." Ironwood explained.

"Listen. I know. Don't hit girls. Now, can I go?" Yang huffed. "I just wanted to shower up before I got back to training."

Ironwood shook his head. "No. You're being restricted."

"...what?"

"You've been noticeably tense over the last few days, and I value mental wellness above everything else." Ironwood frowned. "So, you're not to go on any missions or perform any training for the next four days."

"What?!" Yang raised an eyebrow at Ironwood before rising to his feet in protest. "You're not capable of doing so! I've made more progress than ever in ensuring that this location is preserved, and the people of Mantle as well! You can't just make me-"

Ironwood raised his hand.

"I am the general here. Yang Xiao Long, for the next four days you are restricted from engaging in any kind of mission or training. Violation of this may lead to further punishment. I trust that you will do the right thing in this situation."

Harriet, meanwhile, seemed to be looking more smug than before...finally. Some CONSEQUENCES for these kids.

"…and the same for you too, Harriet." Ironwood said. "You'll be doing 'sensitivity training' until you pass- otherwise, I don't see you back on the field."

"WHAT?!" Harriet quickly stood up in protest; "The kids can handle losing her for a couple days, I'm a damn Ace Op, there's routines we need to keep to here!" She protested as the door to the room opened as Clover stepped in.

"Sir? Is this a bad time?" He asked before starting to look both back outside the room and then back inside.

"...somewhat." Ironwood said, rubbing his temple. "I was just dolling out a quick restriction on these two. What is it?"

"Members of Team RWBY wanted to see if Yang was still able to move freely outside the Academy?" Clover asked before glancing between the two.

"As long as it isn't a mission, fine." Ironwood said. "That means no weapons allowed on said retreat..."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it..." Yang huffed. "What, you're gonna make me take off my arm too?"

Ironwood looked and...actually seemed to be considering it for a moment. "No. But you will need to have any artillery from it removed temporarily." He explained before looking at Clover. "I trust you're fine with making sure that Harriet does not go off and disobey orders?"

"The rest of us will try. Harriet isn't the type for days off..." Clover said. "Can I take her right now?"

"You may. I'm going to take a small guess and assume someone's here to pick up Yang as well?" Ironwood raised a brow, noting the shuffling of figures outside.

Ben poked his head in. "Yes." Ben said, awkwardly opening the door a bit more. "Come on, Yang. We need to talk."

Yang rolled her eyes, and shot a nasty look at Harriet. Ironwood simply deactivated the cuffs, and Yang went on her way.

Ben and Yang walked back, in relative silence.

"...how hard did you hit her in the face?" Ben asked.

"...Enough that she's probably spat up blood." Yang noted the slight red marks on her fist. She admittedly felt a light chuckle come out from that comment.

"If she poked a serious button like that...then she kinda deserved it." Ben said, as they rounded a corner. "But...yeah. We seriously need to talk."

"Yeah, I got that." Yang said. "What, you gonna lecture me too?"

"No...it's just that...I dunno, we're all happy you're taking the mission stuff seriously, probably more than all of us right now...but we just think it's totally unhealthy for you...bottle stuff up and overwork yourself?" Ben said, wincing a bit.

"You are not the kinda person to be talking to me about bottling stuff up." Yang added as she just started to walk a little faster back toward the dorm. "And like I said, my mind is perfectly fine. Ironwood's just punishing me for punching one of his precious ace-ops in the jaw."

"…no it's not." Ben shook his head. "Remember how you comforted ME after…" Ben trailed off. "After…well, Grandpa Max died?"

"Yeah. I don't see how that and this are related in the slightest." Yang added as she started to make her way toward the dorm room door.

"...well, we've just...you know. Been sorta concerned that after you met with your mom, you've been going into hyper drive to not only prove her wrong, but far exceed what she did?" Ben flinched, in case Yang bonked him.

Though...nothing came of it as Yang just let out a breathy sigh. "Hit the nail right on the head..." She muttered before starting to lean against the wall. "Ben, I doubt you'll ever have to deal with this like I have since you've at least had the chance to live a childhood...But pray that you never have to deal with anything like I have." And with that she went to open the door to the dorm.

"Well, that's the thing." Ben said, as the door opened. Yang was suddenly met with a concerned cast of friends and family. They'd been patiently waiting for her ever since they got told about the 'incident'.

"We don't know how it was for you...but we want to understand and empathize with you."

Yang just looked to the rest of the squad before starting to look back to Ben; "If you want to ask anyone about what happened, you can ask Blake or Rook." She started to just make her way over toward the bed area.

"I just...I just wanna sleep."

"And we just want to talk." Ruby said, taking Yang's hand. "Sis...please. This isn't a bid or an attempt to hold you back in any way, we just...we just want you to sit down and just...let it all out."

Blake put a hand on her shoulder. "Yang...we're partners. I talked to you about...him. We just...we just need to make sure you let it all out before...the worst happens."

"What I'm dealing with is different. I'm sorry but...there's a lot to unpack and this is stuff that goes back to before even Ruby was born." Yang added as she started to just look to Blake.

"Blake. Tell them what was said when we were there. I'll talk when I'm ready to...It's not like I don't have time to do that."

"I'd feel much more comfortable if you told them. It isn't my story to share." Blake said. "I don't want this to seem harsh, but...this is something only you can do."

"And I'll be ready to talk about it when I'm ready to." Yang then looked to Ben and Ruby; "You're both so eager to pick apart my story, to try and fix what's going on. Well how about letting me actually rest."

"...Yang." Ruby said. "I'm not trying to fix you. To you, I know it probably looks like it's my attempt to preserve some semblance of an 'old you', someone that's more fun than business, but...no. I don't want to reset your development or anything like that. What I'm trying to do is be a good leader, and have my stubborn big sister open up about what's eating her, instead of sitting back and watching her self destruct. Please...just...tell us what's going on."

"...Fine. You wanna know that bad?" Yang then started to make her way over to the counter, grabbing onto it and hoisting herself up to sit. Her eyes looked to each of the members as she started to breathe a heavy breath.

"You're right. This is about the stuff with Raven. My Mom." Yang started before looking to Blake; "Turns out that she had her guys kidnap Blake or something to try and get me to come to her to 'talk', and yet she didn't have the guts to speak to me for years, opting to try and be a cryptic bitch about it with Ben and Kevin."

"I wouldn't say we had a talk..." Ben said. "More of a weird 'test of character'."

"And I chewed her out. She tried to win me over by showing me her face, but that just got me pissed." Kevin added.

"...are you serious?" Ruby asked, quietly horrified.

"Yeah. So when I go and try to get Blake back it turns out not only has she got her whole tribe business, but she's got a new daughter." Yang added as she just sort of leaned back to look up at the ceiling. "Her name's Vernal. Turns out that she's like a second in command, and she's like Harriet but if you took away her filter and gave her a superiority complex."

The group all shared a disgusted look- replacing your own daughter after walking out of her life? How awful a person can you be?

"So we talk. Ya know, maybe it's good to finally catch up with someone who up and left you when you were little and admittedly is kinda the reason you end up with this" Yang motioned to her robotic arm.

"But, like I expected, she starts going off about how the world is not as it seems. She mentions Ozpin's whole deal, cites The Infinite Man, and of course begins to bring up her own grudge against him..."

"She was...very much unpleasant. She did not give off the best attitude- it was a dark inverse of Yang's own outlooks." Rook nodded.

Yang just looked at Rook and clenched her fist; "That. That right there is why I'm doing the stuff I'm doing now. Because Raven showed me what Ozpin did to her. The ability to turn into her namesake." She then thought back to when she found out about all the stuff with Ozpin and how it made her feel...the confusion, anger, all of it...

"And of course...Vernal piped up and seemed adamant about her being able to beat me, how I couldn't even touch her and how if we were supposed to be 'apexes' then we were doing a shitty job."

"...so, she just...picked you apart mercilessly." Ben sighed.

"What a mother..." Weiss huffed.

"She offered me a place in her tribe but at this point I think she was more concerned with her new kid than me to begin with." Yang then felt herself beginning to clench her hand even harder against the countertop. "And it's all of that shit that made me realize...we've done nothing but just sit on our asses doing occasional missions, going to parties, doing all of this stuff that maybe we'd do back at Beacon." Yang then looked at Ruby. "I...never had the chance to really do any of that. Let alone be myself. It's always been Momma Bear Yang for as long as I can remember really."

Hopping off the counter she started to walk back toward the bedrooms; "So that's why I did what I did. So that we can stop sitting around and actually think about the people we need to save. Ruby might have silver eyes, Ben might have an Omnitrix, but me?" She glanced at her arm.

"...I can't afford to slip up."

"...Yang." Ruby took a deep breath. "...no offense, but...your mom doesn't know what the hell she's talking about. And same with her second in command. Look, I know nothing can make up for your childhood or arm, but...I don't want to let you get eaten alive by Raven's words. We're only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. We won't magically become strong enough to even stand up to Salem overnight. You think taking it step by step alone will just...help you ease through the pain, but I can tell you right now, it won't. Nothing is more terrifying than not knowing what comes next. There's no apparent road to moving forward in strength when we don't have control over a situation. The only choice may be to plunge into the unknown and endure the storm...together, and not alone."

Ruby held out her hand. "Your slip up is our slip up. Please...I don't want you to destroy yourself on a path to destroy Salem."

Yang just looked at Ruby before starting to close her eyes a little. "Sis...I know I want to take your hand and accept that but...Everything I've had to do has always been for others, working as hard as I could just to make sure that you could stand where you are now...heck ya even got a free pass into Beacon. Weiss had her ties with Ironwood, Blake had her past and a means of refuge." She just clenched her hand and seemed to let it fall to the side.

"I've never had that chance to plunge into the unknown with others until recently. Even then...every mistake, every moment that you or the others are at risk, I can't bear that. One slip up could lead to everything crashing down around us, and you're willing to take that risk? To throw everything away just so your big sister isn't having another..." She trailed off, clearly about to say temper tantrum but very much still keeping her cool as best she could.

"Do you want to risk that, knowing you already have the strength you've got?"

"Yes." Ruby nodded. "A million times over. I'll follow you into the dark." There wasn't a hint of hesitation in her voice.

Yang then simply nodded. "Alright then. That's all I needed to hear..." She moved back toward Ruby and took her hand. "I'm still not...entirely all there, but right now I at least know you're willing to still support me."

Ruby quickly wrapped her sister in a hug. "We all support you, Yang. We always will..."

And with that, everyone kind of crowded around Yang, and wrapped her in a hug. Yang smiled a bit as she just leaned into it, her eyes lightly welling with tears as she could at least feel a bit of relief knowing she did have that support...


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