Igniting the Inferno
Yang was driving along a dirt path in Anima. Shay was sitting nervously as he looked around.
"See something interesting?" asked Dragunov who was trying to fry the guy's brain with his glare.
"No…actually we're just about here," Shay said loudly, which prompted Yang to stop. And then Shay dismounted. "You two wait here, I'm gonna make sure that the coast is clear," the bandit said before running off, not even waiting for an answer.
"…You do know he's going to get people to ambush us, right?" Dragunov asked his blonde Driver who lowered her aviators.
"Of course he is," Yang replied while shaking her head at the guy playing right into their hands.
"Fair enough," Dragunov said as he dismounted Bumblebee alongside Yang.
As Shay was most likely getting his buddies to try and rob them, Yang had detached the coat tails and put them on her bike before doing a couple stretches.
"So, shall I help, or you got this?" Dragunov asked as he rolled his stony shoulders a little.
"I got this, Drag," Yang said confidently, "Don't worry about me." The fire Blade scoffed at the notion.
Then the two heard cocking of a gun from somewhere. Which was followed by a shot that caused Yang to bring her left arm with Ember Celica deployed in front of her head which blocked a shot of fire Dust.
Then Shay and a small group of bandits came out of the trees with their guide laughing. "I can't believe you two were dumb enough to let me lead you here," Shay said with cocky grin as the bandits were training their weapons on the Yang and Dragunov.
Yang just stared at the group calmly, doing a quick headcount. "Is this everyone?" Yang then asked.
"Yes, missy. This is it," Shay said with a smirk, before looking thoughtful, "Well, if you don't count the whole rest of the camp back that way." the last part was accompanied by the filthy bandit pointing backwards with his thumb.
"That way, right?" Yang asked for confirmation, pointing in the same direction.
This made the bandits look amongst themselves in confusion before Shay replied, "Yes, that way. Now to pay me back for this tooth, we're gonna take your bike." Shay said with a smirk that indeed missed a tooth thanks to Yang punching him earlier.
"A tooth?" Dragunov asked with a raised eyebrow, "I thought that hole was always there."
Shay growled at the fire Blade, "And you're both gonna take your lumps."
"You make it sound as if you can actually beat us," Dragunov quipped before glancing at Yang who grinned at him. Then the blonde Driver deployed the other gauntlet.
"Get them!" Shay shouted out, being done with these two. With that, the first bandit dashed at Yang with the blonde huntress approaching calmly. Before the guy could swing his machete, Yang swept the guys legs from under him before punching him hard enough to knock him out instantly. Then another tried to swipe at her head, but Yang back flipped away from the machete before punching the guy in the face and then jumping to kick him away. Then Yang raised both arms to block a hail of bullets that came from somewhere. The hail was interrupted by a small fiery explosion coming from the direction the bullets were coming from. Caused by Dragunov flinging a large fireball at whoever was firing.
Speaking of which, one of the bandits tried to cut up the Blade, only to be shocked when the machete snapped against the stone covering Dragunov's body. "Really?" Dragunov asked the shocked bandit in disappointment before backhanding the poor guy hard enough to send him flying a few feet. Dragunov smirked at the bandit in satisfaction, before he got a shot of fire Dust in the face.
"Take that, freak!" the female bandit shouted out in triumph at seeing a blackened face. Only for the smile to be faded away when the draconic Blade wiped his face, revealing that the only thing the shot did was cover it in soot.
Dragunov glared at the offender before dashing in to give her a taste of his fist.
As Dragunov dealt punishment for his face being dirtied, Yang had taken out another gunner, before sweeping her leg back to kick away three bandits at once. Then another bandit tried to punch Yang, but the blonde girl easily evaded it, before punching straight in the attacker's head. Then she blocked a slash to her head by raising her arm before quickly turning around and punching the attacker in the gut, which was followed by an uppercut in the jaw. Before moving on to Shay who tried to shoot at point blank range, but Yang swiped the gun-hand away before stomping on his foot hard.
Shay cried in pain before getting kicked in the face. Sending him sprawling across the battlefield. The guy glared at Yang who even now was taking out more of his comrades. Getting back up, Shay took aim, squeezed the trigger and, "AAARRGGGHHHH!" Got his gun hand crushed when Dragunov wrapped his own hand around it and squeezed. Then he felt himself being lifted off the ground by the crushed hand to come face to face with Yang's Blade.
"As I recall, I promised to introduce you to my fist if you tried something funny," Dragunov said with an evil grin. Shay was trying to kick at Dragunov to get him to let go, but the attempts were so weak that the fire Blade didn't even feel it. Then Dragunov let go and gave a thorough introduction of his fists.
By this time, Yang had beaten the remaining bandits just in time to see Dragunov dealing the first punch. As much as this guy was probably scum, Yang couldn't help wincing at the brutalization her Blade was giving with every new yelp or cry from Shay. Until the fire Blade finished it with a good punch in the face, which broke several teeth.
"Whoops," Dragunov said in mock surprise," Guess I got a little carried away." Although he might be telling the truth on the last part, seeing as his cracks were glowing with heat.
Shay was now on the ground, unable to move due to the injuries he got from the beating. And the last punch…Yang's punch from earlier felt like a love tap in comparison. "Wh-who the hell are you two?" Shay managed to say despite having broken teeth on one side of his face now. "It doesn't even matter, when Raven finds out about this, you're both dead," Shay threatened.
"Possibly," Yang said non-chalantly, despite still being a little shaken by Dragunov going that far. "But I doubt it, I'm her daughter after all." That last part was followed by smirk.
As Yang and Dragunov walked to the direction of the camp, Shay had a look of horror on his face, "I'm dead." And then he passed out, beaten and bloody in the face.
"Dragunov, why did you do that?" Yang asked her Blade with a glare.
"Look, sorry, I really got carried away," Dragunov said, his cracks not glowing anymore.
"Did you have to beat him that badly?" the blonde asked, wondering what she would've seen if Dragunov had handled everything in that fight.
"No…I didn't," Dragunov replied with a sigh, "Sorry you saw that."
The blonde Driver let out a weary sigh, "Let's get this over with so we can talk about this later."
"Sounds like a plan," Dragunov replied. And with that, the two continued to the camp where Yang's mother would be at.
Meanwhile, in Mistral. It was the day after the Alrestians were given details about what was going on. Although they skimped on details about the Relics and Maidens. They just told Mòrag and Zeke that there was a treasure of sorts in the Academy and only a certain group of people could approach them. Then the talk shifted to Lionheart who was supposed to help them retrieve one of these people. Ozpin revealed that Lionheart was disobeying specific orders that were left in case of his demise. Which indeed seemed suspicious. Something Mòrag and Brighid agreed with. But Qrow said he would gather huntsmen and huntresses that Mistral doesn't own and can put up a decent fight. Until then, they would need to get the students into fighting shape. Something Roze disagreed with, until Ozpin pointed out that Ruby can only fight so long as she has Crescent Rose or Roze's scythe. Of course, the other students also had their fair share of flaws left, so they would be trained by Ozpin. Of course, Mòrag and Zeke also offered to teach them how to improve as Drivers. After all, Mòrag and Zeke were the strongest Drivers of their respective nations.
Which leads us to Oscar and Ruby training in hand to hand while everyone else was watching.
"Man, Oscar is really picking up on this quickly," Jaune said in slight awe. After all, unlike the students, Oscar has no combat training whatsoever. Ozpin did say he would inherit the headmaster's muscle memory in time, but they didn't expect his growth to be this fast.
"It is quite surprising," Mòrag commented as she too observed the fight, "And this is the boy you have spent last several days with, Zeke?"
"Yup," Zeke replied, looking at the fight while holding his chin in a thinking pose, "Never thought the kid had a subtenant in his body, though."
Mòrag shook her head a little, before returning her attention to the fight at hand. From military perspective, this was like watching two children play fighting, which they technically were for the most part. It's not that they were too horrible, but Ruby kept blowing raspberries whenever she managed to avoid a sloppy punch from Oscar. The boy in question on the other hand was simply still a little uncertain when to strike, something that would get fixed with enough experience.
Then Oscar managed to get a good punch in Ruby's face, which made the girl scowl at the boy.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Oscar apologized profusely, thinking he had hurt Ruby badly.
But Ruby wouldn't take an apology and just dashed at the now frightened boy with a battle cry of vengeance. And finally landed a proper punch in Oscar's face in return, which flung the boy on the ground. "YES! I did it!" Ruby cheered loudly at her win, before hearing Oscar groan on the ground. "…Oscar? Are you okay?" Ruby asked, now feeling bad.
"You forgot to activate your Aura again," Ozpin said in Oscar's head.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Oscar demanded as he rubbed his bruised face.
"This method makes you less likely to forget," the headmaster replied with an amused tone. Then the boy stood up with a frustrated look. "Mind if I give it a shot?"
It didn't take long until Oscar's demeanor changed. "Not bad Miss Rose." Ozpin said with a smile, "But Oscar doesn't have the years of training or experience that you have. Or I have." As soon as he finished that, Ozpin engaged Oscar's Aura.
Didn't take a genius to figure out where this was going, evidenced by the looks of worry shared among the Remnans, specifically Ruby, who knew about Ozpin. "Uhh…You know, maybe we should uhh take a break?" the little red reaper stammered out nervously.
But Ozpin just smiled before dashing at Ruby. The little red reaper frantically blocked the punches the headmaster threw, but was ultimately taken off guard when she accidentally gave an opening on one block. Then Ozpin jumped higher and kicked Ruby away. The red reaper hit the ground in frustration before trying again.
During this fight, Roze was tapping his foot with a hard look. Honestly, he thought that this wasn't even fair. Oscar was new to this, but Ozpin had far more experience.
"Roze," Otohime spoke up, catching onto the reaper Blade's mood, "This may seem harsh, but it is for your Driver's own good."
Roze grumbled something under his breath, but looked less likely to pounce on Ozpin.
"Ow!" Was the shout that came when Ruby got headbutted under her chin after Ozpin ducked under punch. This sent Ruby sprawling on the ground on her back.
"The next time you want to throw a left cross, I suggest you lead with the appropriate foot. And do be aware of any openings," Ozpin explained to Ruby.
"Got it," Ruby groaned as Roze moved in to help his Driver up.
Then Ozpin gave the control back to Oscar who instantly collapsed. "Why is this so exhausting," Oscar complained, while gasping for breath.
"Your body isn't used to this kind of training," Ren replied from his meditative seat, where Electra had also joined him in an exercise to control her electricity. "Not to mention generating a defensive Aura on your own. It takes intense concentration at first, but in time will become a second nature, allowing you to block damage and gradually heal yourself" the green clad gunner kept explaining.
"The latter part sounds similar to a Blade regeneration," Pandoria pointed out with an interested look.
"That's what Rex and I thought," Pyra agreed with the frizzy haired Blade.
"After learning how to properly generate an Aura, you can try and discover your semblance," Ren kept explaining through the Alrestian discussion. "Whatever that may be." at the latter part, Ren seemed to return to his meditation. All the while Electra was twitching in place, like she was about to explode if she stayed still much longer.
"Semblance?" Asked Oscar who was now getting up when Ruby moved in to help him.
"You know!" Nora piped up appearing from right next to the farm boy as if by teleportation. "Your own personal superpower! Ruby moves super-fast, electricity makes me stronger, Ren can mask emotions and Jaune can…uhhh." Nora trailed off as she remembered a small problem.
"Milord has yet to discover his semblance," Joana spoke for her lord, "But it matters not. For even if he never discovered one, he shall become the first huntsman to be successful without one."
"Just stop it," Jaune said in embarrassment. As much as he appreciates Joana's faith in him, he sometimes feels like she's trying to convince herself.
At this point, Ruby had an idea and pulled Oscar to Jaune. "Jaune's like you Oscar, he hasn't discovered his semblance yet either," Ruby said to Oscar who looked at the blonde knight with an unsure look.
"I don't have one either," Penny piped up, earning everyone's attention, "While I am able to generate an Aura I don't know if I am capable of having a semblance."
"Why would you not be able to have a semblance?" Pandoria asked with a head tilt.
"Oh, right," Penny said with a sad look, "You wouldn't know."
"Know what," Zeke said, sounding surprisingly calm right now, "Look if it's something you're not comfortable about then you don't have to tell us."
"No, it's alright," Penny said before looking at Mòrag. She still remembered how her movements were highly supervised when she was created. Especially after meeting Ruby. "I guess…I thank you for your understanding, Mister Zeke."
"Just Zeke," Zeke replied with a smile, "Mister makes me sound old."
"Princey, would be more like an oversized toddler," Pandoria said, sounding completely serious.
"Pandy! That wounds me," Zeke protested, while clutching his chest in mock pain.
"Hey, Pandoria," Nora then piped up, "Why do you call Zeke a prince?"
"Because he is," Pandoria replied back easily.
"Oh, come on, stop joking," Nora said with a laugh. But when Pandoria or Zeke weren't laughing, Nora had a nervous look, "Right?"
"Unfortunately, they're not joking," Mòrag chose to break the news, "His full name is Ozychlyrus Brounev Tantal. The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Tantal."
"WHAT?!" Was the universal reaction from Remnans at the fact that this goofball was a prince, including Ren who found it hard to believe.
"This guy is a prince?!" Nora cried out with a look of utter shock while pointing an accusing finger at Zeke.
"No way," Roze denied at someone like this being a prince.
"Waaahh! That's so cool!" Ruby gushed alongside Electra who had gotten up at the world-shattering news.
"I pray for his country," Otohime commented as she put her hands together in a prayer.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" The current topic of the conversation protested.
"Well, you're irresponsible, always running around-" "Pandy!" Zeke protested to his Blade who began to list things that made her Driver unreliable.
"Joana?" Jaune then sounded out as the knightess had yet to comment on the revelation. "Joana? Hello?" Jaune called again to his unresponsive Blade. The knightess' eyes had turned glassy and her expression was neutral. Then Jaune chose to poke her in the cheek.
"Error! Cannot compute! Error! Cannot Compute!" Joana sounded out in monotone.
"…I think Zeke and Pandoria broke her," Jaune said in concern.
"I believe her programming has a preset recognition for what is considered royalty," Kos-Mos began explaining, "Zeke as a member of royalty must go against every single definition she has, which to my comprehension is quite a feat."
"Though understandable," Brighid spoke up with a small smile, "But back to the topic of semblances, have these semblances affected your Blade's performances in any way?"
Roze, who chose to forget the business with Zeke chose to answer. "Not to my knowledge…Although when Ruby first used her semblance to move me around it put a strain on her body."
"Oh, but then it started becoming easier," Ruby continued, being snapped out of her wonder at meeting an actual prince, "It's actually as easy when I use my semblance by myself now."
"Interesting," Mòrag commented before having a new thought, "How about we now move onto seeing your abilities as Drivers?"
This earned varying levels of enthusiastic sounds from everyone except Joana. She was still incapable of computing Zeke being a prince.
Both Mòrag and Zeke smiled at the eager students before the Special Inquisitor turned to her Blade, "Brighid, how would you feel about being their sparring partner?"
"I suppose it could be fun," Brighid said as she stepped into the open area they used as a sparring ground, "So, who would like to try first?"
During this, Pandoria had decided to try and help restore Joana's functions, so she moved next to the light Blade and gave her a small jolt. This caused the knightess to jump with a start before she lashed out at a perceived attacker. Thankfully Pandoria was able to duck under the swipe from Catalyst Scimitar.
"I see someone just volunteered," Brighid then announced as she pointed at Joana.
"What?" Joana asked, not knowing what was going on.
"Go on, Jaune, kick her butt," Nora said enthusiastically.
"Nora," Jaune sighed, before deciding that he might as well, "Come on, Joana."
"Yes, milord," Joana replied, not understanding what she agreed to, but an order from her lord was absolute.
Jaune took a battle stance with Crocea Mors, while Joana prepared her own weapon.
"Are you two planning to fight me just like that?" Brighid asked with a small frown.
"Yeah, I mean, this is how we have done it," Jaune spoke up, deepening the blue haired lady's frown.
"Very well," Brighid replied before summoning her Whipswords from Mòrag who merely acknowledged the loss of the weapons' weight on her sides. "Show me your strength," Brighid said with an ominous smile.
Inside Oscar's head, Ozpin was intrigued. In terms of skill, Jaune was the weak link, but he has made great strides. But now he was up against the strongest Blade of the strongest Driver in one of Alrest's Kingdoms. A Driver that had earned the title "Flamebringer".
"Get her, Jaune!" Nora cried out enthusiastically, alongside Electra.
Rex and Pyra had worried looks. They have experienced Mòrag's and Brighid's strength first hand, which made them unsure of how well Jaune would do against her.
"Begin!" Mòrag shouted out and then Jaune and Joana dashed at Brighid, with Jaune holding his shield up. Joana was right beside her Driver, ready to take down their opponent.
Brighid shook her head a little at the approach, but otherwise didn't move an inch. Except when Jaune swung at her with his sword, only to be blocked by less than impressed Brighid. Which was followed by the blue haired Blade blocking another attack from Joana, not even using her second sword. Jaune then tried to bash Brighid, but the Jewel of Mor Ardain responded by spinning around the attack in a pirouette while slicing at Jaune's face and at Joana who barely blocked.
With that the light Blade and her Driver jumped back. "Joana!" Jaune cried out before tossing his weapon to his Blade, which the knightess replied by catching the sword before throwing hers to Jaune in return.
At this point Brighid smiled a little, "Now things should become slightly more interesting."
As this happened, Mòrag was taking mental notes about the performance. While she felt mildly insulted at Jaune and Joana trying to fight off Brighid separately, the Special Inquisitor let it slide on the account of no one teaching him how to fight with a Blade properly. But when the two switched weapons, the Special Inquisitor was interested in what Jaune and Joana could do together.
"Arclight!" Jaune called out, sending the projectile of light at the fire Blade.
"Hmph, Will-o-the-Wisp!" Brighid countered with several blue flames she sent at Jaune. Two of them countered Jaune's Art, while the rest flew into the Arc boy forcing him to bring his shield up. Thankfully Joana used a barrier to block the attacks. "Not too bad," Brighid complemented as she smiled at the two before the smile turned upside down, "But if this is your idea of being a proper Driver then you are already a failure."
"Silence!" Joana cried out before dashing ahead of Jaune, Crocea Mars at the ready.
"Joana, wait!" Jaune cried out, but it was for naught. Joana immediately attacked the blue haired Blade in a blue dress with blind anger. But Brighid avoided each and every strike with ease before slashing at the knightess' visor, actually dealing damage to it. Then Brighid planted her foot on Joana's chest before kicking her away.
"This is disappointing," Brighid said even as Jaune tried to engage the Jewel of Mor Ardain again.
"Jaune is getting his butt kicked!" Nora shouted out in disbelief.
"What did you expect?" Azurda piped up from Rex's helmet, of course the tiny Titan had introduced himself to Ozpin earlier, "She is the strongest Blade of the empire, who is also paired with the strongest Driver. No offense to your friend, but it would be strange if he could defeat her on his own."
"Ow," Ruby moaned, now feeling bad for Jaune, "By the way…did Brighid use a Special Art earlier?"
"Hmm?" Mòrag sounded out with a raised eyebrow before chuckling, "No, that was her regular Art. Tell me…before Ether appeared in your atmosphere, how did your Blades maintain their energy?"
"We ate Dust," Electra replied easily, "It's like crystalized Ether that comes in many colors and elements."
"Then I suppose it would make sense you don't know," Mòrag spoke up with a headshake.
"What do you mean?" Ren asked out of curiosity.
"It's not just Blades who draw upon Ether," Zeke decided to take over, "When a Blade gives their weapon and forms an affinity link, Blades draw Ether from the atmosphere which they send to the Driver so they can use Arts. But the Driver also draws upon Ether in the air so long as the affinity link is formed. Through this, when a Driver returns the weapon, the Blade's own Arts are greatly amplified, that's what makes them Special Arts. Of course, that too has a certain limit."
"Wait, but…if that's the case, then how have we been able to use Special Arts," Roze questioned, "I mean…I knew we needed Ether in the atmosphere to survive normally, but I didn't know our Special Arts worked that way."
"Nor did I," Otohime spoke up with a curious look.
In fact, all Blades that were awakened in Remnant looked surprised.
"Interesting," Mòrag noted, "Perhaps there was something that acted as a substitute?"
During this conversation, Joana and Jaune were once again attacking Brighid together. This time, Jaune rammed into the Ardainian Blade with his shield. Unfortunately, Brighid wouldn't budge as she brought her weapons down on Jaune's shield to lock them in a power struggle, until Brighid sidestepped all of a sudden. This made Jaune stumble forward with the loss of the opposing force. Which was followed by Brighid going down in what looked like a curtsy under another swipe from Joana.
"Heat Haze." And then Brighid spun around in a pirouette while releasing a small wave of blue flames around her which harmed not only Jaune, but Joana too.
"Arclight!" Jaune fired his Art from the ground he stumbled into, only for Brighid to almost casually cut through it. "What?!"
"Enough!" Mòrag shouted, which immediately made Brighid stand down. As did Joana, although reluctantly. Mòrag let out a sigh, "This was just…terrible."
"What?!" Nora cried out in outrage, "But Jaune did his best!"
"Let me explain myself," Mòrag said simply, "It seems to me that either Joana is weak, or her Driver hasn't even begun to unlock her potential. You have much to learn about being a Driver. But seeing as you have had no one to teach you, I suppose I cannot completely blame any of you."
Zeke decided to add his two gold into the mix, "Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but does Jaune only know one Art?"
"Well…yeah," Jaune said in depression.
"Milord," Joana sounded out before kneeling in front of her lord with her head down, "Please forgive your useless servant."
"What?! Joana, no! This wasn't your fault," Jaune denied, not wanting to see his Blade acting like this.
Brighid shook her head, "This much and I was even holding back."
That caused the Remnan Drivers to look like they were hit below belt.
"Are you kidding me?" Jaune complained.
"I'm afraid she's not," Pyra admitted while giving everyone an apologetic look.
Then Pandoria decided to ask a new question," How many Arts do you all know?"
"Umm…One?" the fact that Nora said it like a question didn't inspire confidence.
"One," Ren admitted with a look of shame.
"Two." was Penny's hopeful look.
"Three!" Ruby said with a small smile.
Zeke let out a small sigh, "Sounds to me like Ruby here is the closest to being a proper Driver."
"I am?" the little red reaper asked with a hopeful look.
"Yes, as a matter of fact," Mòrag spoke up, "But even after discovering your Arts, that doesn't mean you are ready. Far from it. After all, once discovered, Arts can be refined through further training and diligence."
"Oh." And now Ruby's shoulders slumped.
At that moment, Oscar, who was watching everything unfold, was switched with Ozpin. "It almost sounds like how semblances can evolve," Ozpin said, earning a curious look from the Alrestians.
"Like how?" Rex questioned, having been content in Zeke and Mòrag giving their expertise. Seeing as he had less experience than those two.
"The level of evolution varies from semblance to semblance," Ozpin explained, "Take Miss Rose for instance, she was able to gain bursts of speed whenever needed, but has since evolved into moving increased periods of time as a flurry of rose petals."
"That sounds cool," Rex commented at the level of evolution on a semblance.
"And you're sure we cannot have these?" Zeke then asked with a curious look.
"Unfortunately, there are too many variables," Ozpin explained, "We don't even know if…there would be complications should we try unlocking an Aura with you." the headmaster in farmboy's body looked hesitant at the last part.
"…I guess that's reasonable," Zeke sighed with a look of defeat, "Still would've been cool if I had my own superpower."
"And I would be a lot less worried about you," Pandoria added in with a smile.
"Aww, thanks Pandy," Zeke said with a smile, causing Mòrag to roll her eyes in amusement.
"Hey, Brighid," Electra piped up, "Can you make something cool with your flames?"
Brighid smiled at the childlike Blade in amusement, "Would this do?" then she proceeded to move her hands which trailed flames until she formed flaming blue heart.
"Wow." Electra sounded out in awe, "Dragunov never made shapes."
"Dragunov?" Brighid sounded out in surprise, "You know him?"
It was Pyra who heard the conversation and therefore decided to answer, "Ruby told us that Dragunov is her sister's Blade."
"Is this true?" Brighid asked with a surprised look.
"Uhh…Yeah," Ruby said simply.
"The firestorm of Torna who was said to be the representation of the Kingdom's might is here," Zeke sounded out in surprise, "I thought Malos destroyed him 500 years ago."
"Apparently not," Mòrag sounded out with a small frown, "Ozpin…did Dragunov try to kill his Driver?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact," Ozpin replied in surprise, "How did you know?"
"There are old records of Dragunov killing Drivers he found unworthy of his power," Mòrag explained, before turning to Ruby, "Your sister must be very strong for him to accept her."
"…Yeah," Ruby said while thinking of the last time she saw Yang. The big sister that she thought could never stay defeated for long looked like she had no life anymore.
"Maybe we should end for today," Roze spoke up, realizing what Ruby's train of thought must be.
"I want revenge for our leader," Nora complained before noticing Ruby looking a little down. "I mean…I guess it won't hurt."
"We can take a break, any objections?" Ozpin asked. When he received none, the headmaster let Oscar back in control. This made everyone scatter to do whatever they did, Pyra went to the kitchen to see what they could have for food today. Ren decided to follow the red-haired Aegis and see what ideas they could have together. Ruby moved to the room she shared with Roze with the said Blade following. Nora and Electra started wondering if Pandoria could give the little electric Blade tips on control over electricity. Rex briefly wondered if there was anything he could do.
*Crack*
"AARGH!" Only to be interrupted by the sound of the fence breaking when Zeke leaned against it and the guy fell off the cliff behind it.
"Be right back," said an annoyed Roc who ran to the edge before jumping in after the unlucky man.
"…How has he stayed alive until now?" Mòrag found herself wondering aloud. Considering all the bad luck this guy seems to attract, it was a miracle he lived as long as he has.
"That, lady Mòrag may forever remain a mystery," Brighid replied with a shake of her own head, while also wondering if she could meet Ruby's sister at some point, and by extension, Dragunov.
In Raven's camp, things had gotten lively. Yang and Dragunov were now in the camp, walking towards the largest tent with a little…escort. Which were the bandits they had beaten previously who already had nice little bruises on their bodies and faces. Shay wasn't with them though, because he was apparently too battered to move on his own.
Anyway, the bandits in the camp glared at Yang and Dragunov, some of them even hissing or growling at her or Dragunov. But Yang ignored them. Her draconic Blade on the other hand growled back at anyone who dared to try intimidate him. A smirk graced the fire Blade's face whenever the aggressors backed off.
Soon enough the Driver and Blade were in front of the largest tent in the camp. Then Raven came out of the tent wearing the Grimm mask, which she soon revealed to show her face to Yang and Dragunov.
"Yang," Raven said with a small smile.
"Hi, mom," Yang said in an uncharacteristically cold tone. While Dragunov crossed his arms beside her.
"So, after all this time you finally decided to visit," Raven said like nothing was wrong in the world. Raven's words made Dragunov frown while Yang clenched one hand into a fist as she put another on her hip.
"You know that I searched for you," Yang said as calmly as she could, "I spent years trying to find you."
"And you have," Raven replied, "And through that patience, determination and strength, you have reached your goal."
"You know nothing of strength, worm," Dragunov growled at the woman.
"What was that?" Raven asked the Blade that dared to talk back to her.
"You heard me, woman. The last time I saw, you had ears," the fire Blade replied.
"Drag, shut it," Yang hissed at her Blade. Dragunov shut up with a grumble.
Raven still glared at the Blade before returning her attention to Yang, "Did you have to be so rough with my men?" Of course, Raven saw the state of some of her subordinates, no doubt Yang beat them.
"They started it," Yang shot back, "I didn't want a fight."
"That thing broke Shay's face," one of the bruised bandits said.
"I could do the same to you so you wouldn't get jealous," Dragunov said challengingly.
"Enough," Raven called out, ceasing a beginning fight. Then the woman took a breath, "You certainly finished the fight, alongside your weapon." At the last part Raven had a frown.
"What does that mean?" Yang asked, not liking the way Raven said it.
"I'm saying that you could be so much stronger without relying on a living weapon to do all the fighting for you," Raven replied.
"Don't…talk about something you can't understand," Yang shot back, while Dragunov glared at the woman.
"…Did you know that Yang had to convince me to be her Blade?" Dragunov then piped up, "Did you know that she had to prove herself to me so I wouldn't kill her?"
This made Raven raise an eyebrow before letting out a chuckle. "Then I see my daughter has indeed become strong," Raven said before frowning, "Assuming it wasn't her body you-"
*Crash*
That was sound of a stomp Dragunov did that shook the immediate area to interrupt Raven. "Watch your mouth," the draconic Blade growled as his cracks glowed, "If we didn't have need of you, I would incinerate you right then and there."
Dragunov's threat made all the bandits around them clutch their weapons.
"Stand down! All of you," Raven called out, which made the bandits reluctantly lower their weapons. Then the bandit leader glared at Yang, "Yang, please keep your weapon under control."
"Dragunov isn't a pet I can just command," Yang replied while internally wondering why Dragunov was so confrontational, "Besides, he's right. I'm here because I have need of you."
"And what would that need be," Raven asked.
Outside the camp, a pair had just run into the wall they had been watching since last night.
"Alright, Dahlia," Aizen said as he turned to his fellow Blade, "I will help you get over the wall now that the lookouts are distracted."
Dahlia nodded, "Once I'm inside, I will free Weiss and then she will hopefully use her semblance to make steps for us to get back here. Or I will create ice pedestal for us to cross over. Then we get out before they realize she's missing."
"Precisely," Aizen said with a smile before crouching a little to make a foot hold with his hands. With that, Dahlia stepped on, putting all her weight into the paws so that Aizen wouldn't have to be stabbed by her claw heels. Then Aizen boosted Dahlia over the fence, with the ice Blade just getting across the wall. "Good luck Dahlia," Aizen wished, not expecting an answer. All he could do now was wait, so he looked around to see if there was anything they should look out for. "Who are you?" Aizen then demanded from an approaching pair, fearing that his plan was about to be ruined.
Weiss was busy right now. She had planned to use her summoning glyph to create a mini Arma Gigas to slowly break the cage while the guards were gone.
"How is Weiss-Weiss doing that?" Tora asked, marveling at the sight of the small knight trying to break the bars of the cage. The Nopon, as Weiss had learned what Tora was, was relieved to hear that they were planning to escape.
"It's my semblance," Weiss replied as she focused on the summoned Grimm. While Weiss was sure that Dahlia was already planning to rescue her, she didn't plan to count on it blindly. Once she escapes, Dahlia can use her Resonance to find her. If she wasn't already.
"Semblance?" The round creature asked with a headtilt.
"It's complicated," Weiss said, not wanting to play fifty questions with the odd, but admittedly cute, creature.
"Tora likes complicated things," Tora replied wiggling his wings in excited curiosity.
"I'm trying to concentrate here," Weiss hissed a little as keeping the Arma Gigas this small took considerably more effort than the former heiress thought. Then she heard a loud thud from the front.
"Weiss," Dahlia called out at the sight of her Driver.
"Dahlia!" Weiss cried out in relief, until covering her mouth as she realized where they were. After few tense seconds, it seemed like no one heard her so they were still clear. "Where is Aizen?"
"Waiting on the other side," Dahlia replied as she looked her Driver up and down, "Did those bandits do anything to you? They didn't…touch you?" It seemed like the question was terrifying Dahlia.
Weiss looked mortified as she figured out what Dahlia was asking. "No." the white-haired girl whisper yelled.
"Weiss-Weiss a Driver?!" Tora exclaimed loudly.
"Quiet you!" Weiss whisper yelled again as she covered the now struggling Tora's mouth, "And don't call me Weiss-Weiss."
Dahlia was about to open her mouth before the sound of jet engines sounded behind the wall. Then a small figure launched itself from beyond the way Dahlia came from.
"Poppi found Masterpon!" the small figure exclaimed in a happy monotone while pointing at Tora.
Both Weiss and Dahlia were surprised to see this little robot that pointed in Weiss' direction, until Tora broke free from Weiss' grip and dashed to the bars of the cage, "Poppi! Poppi found Tora!"
"Poppi worried about Masterpon," Poppi said almost proudly as she put her hands on her hips in a wide stance. "Poppi fear Masterpon die of overeating!"
"Mehmeh-MEH?!" Tora exclaimed loudly, "That what Poppi worry about?!"
"Quiet! Do you want them to realize what's going on?!" Weiss practically screamed, before covering her mouth as she realized how much she messed up.
With Yang and Dragunov, Yang had just revealed to Raven that she wanted her to use her semblance to send herself and Dragunov to Qrow. Because Qrow promised to protect Ruby and sending them to Qrow would be sending them to Ruby. And while they knew where Ruby was going, there was no guarantee she would have made it there already. This would save them a lot of time.
Raven didn't like this and explained how Ozpin is not to be trusted and that Yang didn't want to get mixed up in what Ruby had already mixed up with.
"Cut the crap!" Dragunov shouted out, having lost his patience, "We didn't come here to listen to your tales, we came here to get to my Driver's sister faster. So, you send us to her and you will never have to see Yang again."
"What was that?!" Raven actually shouted.
"It's not like she ever mattered to you, so you might as well give us what we want, if only to have us stop bothering you," Dragunov said angrily.
"I've heard enough," Raven said through gritted teeth, "Take them away." Then the woman turned to leave inside her tent.
"Didn't you hear us," Yang demanded as she saw the bandits now ready to gang up on them, "Send us to Qrow, dammit!"
"That's enough!" one of the bandits shouted, "You dare talk to our leader like that!" And then the guy dashed at them, but was easily beaten by Yang.
"Fine!" Dragunov spat at Raven, "We tried to be nice, but you've forced our hand."
At this Raven glanced back at Dragunov, "And what does that mean?"
"It means," Dragunov said as his cracks glowed with heat, "That you send us to Qrow, or you will become a bandit leader without a bandit tribe to lead." Then two large flames ignited in Dragunov's palms.
At that moment, Yang could swear she heard a familiar voice screaming someone to be quiet.
"Shut up you freak!" a bandit shouted before firing a shot of fire dust from their rifle. Dragunov responded by blasting one of the flames at the shot. Dragunov's flame easily overpowered the shot and continued its journey at the bandit who ducked at the last second. But this merely made the flame continue in one of the tents and it burst into flames.
Most of the bandits were terrified at the display of power on Dragunov's part, but four of the braver ones tried to rush the fire Blade. Only for three of them to be backhanded away with the arm that Dragunov chose to extinguish the flame from, while the fourth one was grabbed by their face which Dragunov proceeded to squeeze hard as the poor bandit struggled uselessly with a muted scream. Then the mighty Blade threw the bandit in one of the other tents. Which collapsed upon impact, revealing a sight that surprised both Dragunov and Yang.
"Yang?" Weiss sounded out in question from the cage.
"Weiss?" Yang sounded out back.
"Dahlia?" Dragunov sounded out.
"So much for our plan," Dahlia muttered.
"Poppi! Get Tora and Weiss-Weiss out now!" Tora cried out frantically.
"Roger-Roger!" Poppi replied before grabbing the cage by the bottom of the support beams and ripped to partially buried cage completely off of Weiss and Tora. This display of strength surprised Dahlia and Weiss.
"They're getting away!" One of the bandits shouted, before several of them ran to stop the human and Nopon.
"Masterpon!" Poppi shouted out as she made a large shield appear in her hand, "Catch!" and then threw it to Tora who caught it with the right hand-like wing.
Meanwhile, Dahlia used her bitball to cut off Weiss' bindings before the heiress accepted her Blade's weapon in hand.
Tora had already moved in to engage the bandits.
"Oh, look, this thing thinks it can fight," one of the bandits said mockingly before kicking at the shield Tora had brought in front of himself, fully expecting the thing to fall over on its back and flail helplessly. Only to get a shocked look when the thing didn't budge, and instead jumped against the opposing leg, sending the bandit flat on their back.
"Surround it!" Another one shouted. as three of them moved in from three sides.
"Spinning Cutter!" Tora spun around with his shield and sent the bandits flying.
This surprised Weiss and Dahlia, the fuzzy round creature was putting up a fight with that robot looking Blade, which was evidenced by the affinity link the two shared.
Weiss was just about ready to fire the bitball when the Blade named Poppi then shouted back. "Friend Wulfric! Come in!"
"Huh?" Weiss sounded out before the sound of wood breaking came from behind. Quickly turning around the two saw a monstrous fist having punched through the wall before grabbing at one of the poles that make up the wall and actually ripping it backwards. Then then a second hand came in and grasped another on the opposite. Then the poles were pulled apart. Finally, a large monstrous creature forced its way through, ripping the rest of the poles out of its way in the process. The thing was large, had long curving horns, spikes lining its arms and legs and a spiky tail. The thing then raised one of its hands and a large two-pointed spear with glowing blue blades appeared in its hand.
The thing let out a beastly roar, causing Weiss and Dahlia to go on edge and terrify all the bandits.
"What is that thing?!" A bandit cried out on the verge of panic.
"Is that an Alrestian monster?" Yang questioned from Dragunov who squinted his eyes at the newcomer.
"No, Yang. That's a Blade," Dragunov said, faintly seeing the Core Crystal on its chest.
As the monstrous Blade was dashing at the bandits, Aizen entered the hole with a stony look. "This…isn't what I planned, but I suppose it works," the nobleman Blade said before his eyes fell on Weiss who ran after the monstrous Blade that seemed to go after the bandits. "Miss Schnee! Stop!" Aizen shouted, but his cries clearly fell on deaf ears. Aizen could only groan before summoning his Twin Swords and followin his idiotic Driver.
Then, before anyone could clash, several lightnings struck areas between all would be combatants. "Enough! All of you!" Raven shouted out, earning everyone's attention. And Vernal was also with her, having her arm raised to give the impression that she was the one to cause this. "Panic like this will only attract Grimm," Raven said as she glared at not only that harmless looking meatball that apparently was a Driver, the monster that had put its weapon down now, the Schnee who apparently had two Blades and finally Yang and Dragunov. The last one threatening to kill her entire tribe. "Vernal, give the girl her weapon back," Raven then commanded.
Vernal looked surprised at the command, but nonetheless threw Myrtenaster towards Weiss hilt first. The white-haired girl quickly recovered her weapon.
"All of you. In my tent. Now." Raven then commanded at all the problems that would most likely cost her entire tribe if she insisted on fighting.
"Why?" Yang asked with a hard glare.
"If you really want to go after your sister, then you need to know the truth," Raven said with a sigh, "And someone put out that fire!" At the last command, the bandits scrambled to put out the fire Dragunov had started. It hadn't spread to any other tents, but why take chances.
As the bandits left to find something to put out the fire, Yang turned her gaze to Weiss who was speedwalking towards her, having dropped Dahlia's bitball. "Weiss, what happ-" Yang was interrupted by Weiss dropping Myrtenaster and actually hugging the blonde.
"I missed you so much," Weiss said, letting out a few tears at finally seeing one of her friends again.
Yang smiled as she hugged back, "Yeah, me too."
As Yang and Weiss hugged each other, Dragunov and Dahlia were having their own talk. "So, do you know these guys?" Dragunov asked the busty Blade, referring to all the new people.
"Only Aizen here," Dahlia replied as she motioned towards the white and blue haired man looking at Yang and Dragunov with a calculating look, "He is Weiss' second Blade. Aizen, this is Dragunov, Yang's Blade. And Yang is a friend of Weiss from Beacon."
"…I see," Aizen said, "I take it she's is the Y of team RWBY?"
"You knew about that?" Dahlia asked in mild surprise.
"Indeed, Jacques checked on which team miss Schnee became part of on a whim," Aizen explained, "I was already awakened at the time."
"Huh?" Dragunov sounded out.
"It's…a long story," Dahlia said with a sigh.
During this, Tora had put his shield on his back before waddling to the two Blades. "Hi," Tora greeted unsurely.
Dragunov opened his mouth to reply.
"Your mom kidnapped me?!" But Weiss had just heard that Raven was Yang's mother.
"She kidnapped you?!" Yang exclaimed back.
"Should we leave?" Poppi asked with a head tilt, "Poppi not want to intrude."
"If that woman is going to give us what we want, we should go into the tent," Dragunov said, "And it might be better for you too."
"What big Blade mean?" Tora asked with his own head tilt.
"I'm saying that she can make us a portal that leads us away from here," Dragunov said before giving the two Blades and a Nopon a more serious look, "And I'm assuming that all of you would like to get out of here."
"…Yes." Wulfric said in his deep voice.
This surprised everyone who didn't know the beastly Blade. "He speaks," Aizen asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes…I speak." Wulfric said the last part with a small growl.
"My apologies," Aizen said with a dip of his head, "I am aware that our kind come in different shapes and sizes, but yours still surprises me."
"Friends can make the mean lady send us to somewhere that not here, right?" Tora then chose to ask eagerly.
"That's what we're hoping," Yang then said, now taking in the small fuzzy creature in blue overalls and beige colored shirt underneath. Though the blonde thought that the mohawk and the stubby arms and legs looked funny. The thing also had goggles that were currently above its eyes for whatever reason.
"Then Tora and Poppi follow," Tora said, "Anywhere but here better."
"In my tent! NOW!" Raven sounded out from inside the tent in a more frustrated voice.
This made Yang sigh," Let's just get this over with." With those words, everyone moved into Raven's tent in hopes of having a quick way out of here.
AN: Here we go. Yang, Weiss and Tora have caused a little bit of chaos in Raven's camp. Ruby and the others were training, and Brighid too knows about Dragunov.