Yang Xiao Long

"Shit...!" Bringing her arm up just in time, Yang barely blocked her strike. She couldn't help but wince from the pain, the impact on her arm nearly had the bone breaking beneath the weight. Legs buckling, the Solar Dragon had no choice but to let the strike carry through; she was forced back by the punch, her body flying back a few meters. "Damn!" Yang exclaimed with a grin, shaking her arm while she healed it. "That hurts."

"Well, you know, that is the intention." Returning her grin, her opponent stood tall, raising her fist with pride. "It's hard to believe that I'm stronger than you now." Almost as tall, too. It was surprising, but she was nearly an exact duplicate of Yang in appearance... Well, save for the colour pallet.

Chuckling, Yang let a dark liquid bubble up and cover her skin, the Reaper Mana consuming her entire arm up to the shoulder. "Don't get so cocky yet, kiddo. Your body may be done, but your Mana still has a long way to go." Dashing over, Yang blitzed her with a sudden strike that made less of an impact on her than her earlier strike had on Yang. "Oh come on!"

Letting out a laugh, she said, "Oh come on, aunt Yang. You know defence is my thing." Smirking with her words, Summer made for another strike, only for it to be dodged by Yang.

"Still too slow, though." Moving further back than she expected, Yang's wing suddenly shot out of her back and its fist struck Summer directly in the stomach. The blow did more than wind her, and the princess was down for the count.

"Ok... You win..." Taking deep breaths, Summer held her stomach carefully.

Looking over her with a smile, Yang couldn't help but be proud. Twenty years old, Summer Schnee was easily the physically strongest of the Dragons, only her Magic held her back now. All that remained for her to improve was time, and by then, she would surely outclass Yang even with her Reaper Mana. Long white hair that was as thick as Yang's own, deep Blue slitted eyes, black horns, and blue scales so dark you could barely make out the colour, Summer was a figure to be feared... Even laying on the ground holding her stomach.

"What a weird birthday present..." Yang had insisted on getting her something proper as well, but Summer had most wanted to fight her today. Reaching down to help her up after dismissing her Reaper Mana and returning to her base form, Yang nodded as she took her hand.

"That's enough." A voice called from the distance. When they both turned to look at her, Weiss looked a bit unimpressed. "I would prefer you not make my daughter vomit on her birthday." As she walked over, Summer returned to her base form; her wings taking the form once again of her pure white cloak.

Smiling at Weiss, Summer stood just a tiny bit taller than her, thanks to the queen's heels. "I'm fine, mother. I was just a bit too conservative with my Mana." That innate Spell of hers was stronger with the more Mana she pumped into it. With what Mana she did have, Summer could only maintain the Spell at high outputs briefly. Still, that brief window was a period in which she was practically invincible. Yang truly did fear the day Summer had enough Mana to keep it going for far longer.

"Right, well-" Much to her annoyance, the queen was cut off.

"Hey, were any of us expecting someone!" Jaune called out, his head barely peeking into the courtyard from the hall. They were spending their birthday at Yang's home, apparently Weiss thought it was more comfortable than the castle.

Blake, watching from nearby, asked the obvious question. "Who is it?"

"Um..." Ducking back inside for a moment, Jaune returned loudly answering, "Roya Cliffwel."

Pausing for a moment, all eyes fell on Summer, while the princess' own eyes were looking at her mother. "Summer..." Weiss practically growled. "You didn't."

"Whaat? Me? Would I do that?" Silence followed briefly, before she fell apart under the queen's gaze. "Ok, I did. But c'mon mother, she's a really nice woman-" Already walking away, Weiss didn't even respond to her daughter nor let her finish. No doubt she was heading to the front door to send Roya home in a very aggressive way. "At least give her a chance!"

Weiss slammed the door behind her as she entered the hall, leaving behind an uncomfortable awkwardness for them all to enjoy. "I should go check on lunch." Blake took the cowards way out, leaving Yang to deal with Summer.

"Traitor." Sighing gently, Yang turned to the princess when Blake left the courtyard. "Again?"

Summer had been doing it for a few years now, trying to set her mother up with someone. It was a valiant effort, but ultimately futile. "I... I just want her to be happy." Which was why Yang wasn't holding it against Summer. Her goal was admirable, in a naive way. "I know she's lonely."

"Of course she is. But, also, she isn't." Already, Yang was amazed by how good she was at this. "Weiss has you and Argus, she doesn't need anyone else." Neither of them believed that, of course. "Your mum has been gone for a long time. Twenty years is a very long time, trust me... But that doesn't mean she's ready to move on." Walking over to the two steps that bordered the courtyard, Yang took a seat and invited Summer to do the same. "If Blake died... I wouldn't be able to move on, I wouldn't be able to be with anyone else. I love her that much." Whispering, Yang continued, "And I know Weiss loved your mum that much."

"You think I don't get it because I didn't know her." Summer sighed gently. "I love my mother, and I love my mum... Even if I never got to meet her. She's my hero, she's the reason I wear this cloak every day. But she's gone... And she's not coming back. We all need to move on." She wanted what was best for her family, like Yang.

Which was why she agreed. "Not all of us can. Just because I have doesn't mean I can't understand why someone else can't. I miss Ruby all the time, it's natural." It still hurt... But it was a numb pain now. A pain that could be recalled. She still missed the way Ruby smiled, the way she spoke... But her daughter had been gone for a long time. The pain never stopped, but it got easier and easier to live with. "I know Weiss... And, to be honest, I think she's fine on her own. My daughter-in-law is tough, you know?"

Turning to look at Yang's dumb grin, Summer sighed. "Sister-in-law." She corrected. "You need to stop calling mother that, it annoys her, you know."

"That's why it's fun, and that's why Blake does too." Pranks were always so much better when Blake got involved. "But, anyway... Weiss had someone, she had a wife, someone she loved like that... And while it was a beautiful and deep love, it was gone all too quick. When you've experienced that, when you've felt it... It's not something you can just try to replace."

Summer was always good at listening, so, she took Yang's words in and processed them for a minute. Yang was fine with the quiet, she knew that Summer would arrive at the answer. "Maybe you're right..." Even if it may have been better for Weiss if she moved on... She just wasn't ready yet.

"Wouldn't hurt if she got laid, though." Yang suddenly said.

"Aunt Yang...!" Summer suddenly yelled out, flustered and red as a tomato.

"What?"

"That's my mother, you know!"

Grinning, Yang teased, "How do you think you and Argus were born then?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up..." Summer repeated while covering her ears.

Letting out a laugh from her belly that would make her father proud, Yang slapped Summer on the back once before standing. "Come on, let's go. Lunch should hopefully be ready by now." Helping her up, Yang watched as Summer headed for the hall. She took a minute to watch her, all the while she thought of Ruby. Yang felt bad for Summer, today was always shrouded by a hint of despair. It may have been Summer's birthday... But it was also the anniversary of Ruby's death. They tried not to think about it, they all did... Yet, their thoughts weren't so easily tamed.

A gentle sigh left her as she began to walk after Summer. "I'm doing my best to watch over them for you... All of them."

It really did still hurt.

And so we reach the end of Act 5. Only 2 left.

The story is reaching the beginning of the end, before it's all over, there will be both ups and downs.

Of course, questions will be answered too.

Speaking of which, if you had any questions, please find this story on Ao3 and find the link to my discord through my profile. I try my best to answer every question asked there, and I can explain things that might be confusing.

Once again, thank you so much for reading my story.