AN: I won't make excuses. The creative process has been slow. Although in the last few days it was accelerated by getting a new screen thanks to a sale.
Trick and Treat
Weiss was still gushing over her new Blade at the breakfast table at the dining hall of the Hardhaigh palace. The emperor was kind enough to have arranged rooms for her and her friends for the night of the concert. Well, the emperor himself wasn't present for he had already eaten earlier and got onto his duties. Which was fortunate, because then Weiss would have had to restrain herself in front of him. But now...
"Say 'ah', Ursula." Weiss said as she was spoon feeding the small child that was sitting on her right.
"...A-ah." Ursula said, looking a little distressed, barely opening her mouth for Weiss to shovel food into it.
"So, cute!" Weiss gushed.
"Weiss, I don't think Ursula likes that." Dahlia said from her seat on Weiss' left.
"Of course, she does! Right Ursula?" Weiss complained.
"Uhh...umm…" Ursula stammered, not meeting Weiss' eyes.
On Ursula's right, Aizen let out a weary sigh. "Ursula. If there is something on your mind, you need to speak up. I assure you miss Schnee will not get angry."
"Umm... I... I don't like it!" Ursula blurted out and then looked like she was trying to sink through the chair.
"What?" Weiss looked like someone slapped her in the face.
"You are treating Ursula like she was a helpless baby." Dahlia added in, "Sure she is cute and shy, but you have to remember that she's still a Blade like Aizen and I."
"That's right." Dragunov added his opinion from the opposite side of the table, "Treating her as anything less than a fellow Blade is insulting."
At that, Weiss looked like her world came crashing down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Now the Schnee Driver looked like she was about to cry as she once again faced Ursula, "Can you forgive me?"
"Y-yes." Ursula said, even as she was trying to inch away from Weiss in her chair. Not that there was much room to move.
Weiss looked relieved before returning to her food. Although she still seemed a little sullen.
Yang shook her head at Weiss' antics before shoving a large helpful of food into her mouth. "Say, Dragunov. What kind of spices you like?" She then asked after swallowing.
"Huh?" Dragunov asked, turning to his Driver on his left. "I don't have a particular favorite, but the hotter the better."
"Uh-huh." Yang hummed, not sure what she expected. "So... as long as the food's hot, nothing else matters?"
"Oh, I do like more mild foods too. But the spicy food is just... invigorating." Dragunov said, shivering a little at the last part. "And the soft yet crumbly texture of the Super Inferno Cakes..."
"Drag, you're drooling." Yang warned, although she was more weirded out by the look of bliss on his face.
Dragunov quickly snapped out of his trance and wiped his mouth on a napkin gingerly. Then he returned to his food. Yang will never get used to her brute of a Blade holding utensils so gently and refined. Especially when the said utensils weren't designed to be held by someone with such big hands. Speaking of refined, Otohime was using her utensils in as refined manner as her title in Uraya would suggest. Cutting small pieces of food and then consuming them by barely opening her mouth. You couldn't even tell that the Imperial Mother was chewing with how still her jaw looked. Or maybe it was because Otohime was further along the table. Then Yang's eyes fell on Nora who inhaled food with a pouty look, while Electra looked a little smug as she kept eating. Did something happen just now?
Not too far, Yang noticed Tora inhaling tasty sausages. Something about Mórag owing him from what she heard. "Hey Tora. When were you going to send us home?"
The Nopon paused in his eating. "Tora leave dadapon acquisition of materials. Tora start working the moment Tora get home."
That comment earned the Remnans' attention.
"So we can go home soon?" Ruby asked with a grin. "Yes! We can finally go home and end Salem's threat."
"Assuming she hasn't had free reign to do as she pleases while we had our vacation." Qrow commented before chugging some wine. Much to Kasandra's disapproval.
"But Klaus said that the gateway would throw us around the time we were snatched from Remnant. So wouldn't it be like we were never gone?" Oscar pointed out.
"If that thing even works." Qrow said, not sounding like he had much faith in the machine that would be made.
"How rude!" Tora complained, "Tora make it work!" The Nopon was flapping his wings in a tantrum.
"Whoa, whoa. We believe you, Tora." Rex said in an attempt to placate the inventor. Tora seemed to calm down, but he still looked at Qrow like the man had just insulted his entire bloodline. Actually, given Tora's skills in mechanics, Qrow just might have.
Seeing as Tora calmed down, Rex turned towards Ruby who was still sitting quite far from him. "Hey, Ruby. I was wondering... When you guys go to Remnant, can I come with you?"
That question surprised everyone, especially the Aegis sisters and Nia.
"Rex, what are you saying?" Mythra asked.
"Yeah, why do you want to come with us?" Ruby asked, looking surprised herself.
"It's like you said. Salem is still out there. And if she decides to come back... She needs to be stopped." The Aegis Driver said, looking determined.
"Are you serious, Rex?" Nia asked, "After all the problems we had on Remnant?"
"That was Salem's attempt to get Pyra and Mythra. This time we're going with friends." Rex pointed out, "And they helped us with Malos. I think it's fair we help them with Salem."
"You're right Rex." Pyra said as she smiled warmly, "Then I will come with you."
"Pyra, are you serious?" Mythra asked, "We just beat Malos and we dealt with a coup."
"Well yes, but what if Salem does come back?" Pyra pointed out, "Besides, I don't think Rex can be convinced to not go."
"She's not wrong." Nia sighed, "Rex is too good for his own good. I guess I'll have to come too, just to make sure he doesn't get himself killed."
"Hey!" Rex complained.
"Oh, quit whining. Nia's right and you know it." Mythra added in. "Which is why I'm coming too. And you have no right to say no."
"I wasn't going to." Rex said defensively, "I know I can't just leave any of you behind. I would be worried about you."
Pyra smiled warmly, Mythra's cheeks flushed a little and Nia muttered something that sounded like "idiot".
Everyone else looked in varying levels of amusement at the situation. Although Joana was scowling and Jaune was still looking a little jealous. Though his gaze quickly shifted to Pyrrha who looked like she wanted to cry.
"Pyrrha, it's okay." Jaune whispered and gave her a one-armed hug, "You are a kind person."
Pyrrha wrapped her own arm around Jaune and hugged him back tightly. Even after he got out of her what was wrong last night, she still wasn't okay. That will have to take its time.
Nora and Ren noticed this exchange and they were both worried. Pyrrha was too nice for her own good sometimes, but she was also confident in herself and her abilities. And now their not so invincible girl was convinced she was a horrible person. Nora actually wished Jin was still alive so that she could break his legs.
Then Otohime also paused in her eating, "Tell me, Weiss, do you still have any Dust left?"
This question earned everyone's attention. Especially Weiss who seemed to welcome a distraction. "Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"
"Because I wish to perform an experiment." Otohime said, "Preferably, with water Dust."
"What are you up to?" Ren asked, looking curious himself.
"I will share my discoveries, once I have them." Otohime said mysteriously, "So what do you say, Weiss? Am I allowed to experiment with any water Dust you can spare?"
"Well... sure, but I only have the purified Dust." Weiss said, "You need to be careful with it."
"I studied Dust alongside my Driver back in Beacon. I am quite aware of the dangers." Otohime said confidently.
"If you don't mind me asking," Aizen chimed in, "Do you have some kind of hypothesis on Dust?"
"It is more of a question, than hypothesis." Otohime replied, "Namely, why are we able to feed on it?"
"Why we are able to feed on it?" Roze asked, "Well Dust is like crystallized elemental ether."
"Though not quite." Otohime pointed out. "There is that strange...difference to ether that we all feel as it energizes us. And Amalthus called Aura modified ether energy. Which begs the question... Is Dust the same?"
At this point every Remnan had their eyes on Otohime. But it was Aizen who spoke first, "Let's say the answer was yes. What would that mean?"
"Perhaps I can manipulate it somehow." Otohime said, "So far I have learned to identify Auras and seal the source. In best case, I could find a way to refine the Dust, further increasing its potency beyond what is currently manufactured on Remnant."
Tora tilted his body before speaking up, "But Dust comprise of different elements. And Otohime use water element."
"Which is why I wish to begin with water Dust." Otohime spoke up, "And if my experiment bears fruit, then I might see if I can do the same for other types of Dust."
"That's incredible." Blake said, starting to get ideas on what they could use the refined Dust for.
"I wonder what kind of ammo we could get out of it." Ruby said, having similar thoughts. Visibly bouncing in her seat. Then another idea struck her, "Or better yet, what if we can further power up our Blades? We could be unstoppable! With Roze's powers we could bring down a hurricane on Salem!"
"Ruby, quiet down!" Weiss hissed at her excitable team leader.
"Or a giant thunderstorm!" Nora joined in on Ruby's ideas.
"Tsunami!" Ruby then cheered.
"Firestorm!" Nora continued
"Super earthquake!"
"Silence!" Otohime raised her voice, causing all activity to cease for the moment. "Are you planning on defeating Salem, or destroying your world?"
"Thank you!" Weiss thanked loudly.
"Right... Sorry." Ruby's cheeks reddened a little and she returned to her food.
"Ruby... I don't think my body could handle a power big enough to cause an actual hurricane." Roze said, looking a little worried. "Assuming Otohime succeeds, it might become so potent that my Core might explode."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Ruby said, now visibly slumping.
"Hey, it's fine. I know you would never want to hurt me." Roze said, patting his Driver on the head.
That made Ruby feel a lot better.
"I doubt I can make Dust that potent. Least of all with small dosages I plan to use." Otohime added in.
"Could you maybe refine a large deposit if you had access to one?" Weiss also asked, having ideas of her own on how to use Otohime's powers.
"I do not know." Otohime replied simply, before giving Weiss an imperious stare, "Also, if you are so much as thinking about using my abilities to make money, I will drown you."
Weiss shouldn't have taken it seriously, but the look she received from Otohime sent ice water down her back. Dahlia pulling Weiss into a protective embrace didn't alleviate the feeling much.
"Miss Otohime, please don't use such strong words." Aizen said, sounding like Otohime made a joke rather than a threat.
"My sincerest apology, but I felt I needed to express my feelings on the matter." the Imperial Mother returned to her food.
"Hear, hear." Dragunov agreed, nodding approvingly. This of course earned various stares at him for agreeing with one of the sticks in the mud.
After breakfast, it was decided that everyone would be going to Torigoth to see if the materials Tora needed had already been acquired. It was unlikely, but they could probably help with that. But first, they decided to say goodbye to Gyro and Pierce.
Although Dragunov made a brief stop to a fabric shop for some reason.
"What was that about?" Yang asked Dragunov who looked proud for some reason.
"Nothing you need to know." the dragon Blade grinned.
"Okay." Yang shrugged, not feeling like interrogating him. Especially when she still felt like giving him a kiss... Okay, not a kiss anymore but a big hug now. Dragunov made a deal with the Emperor about his Dragunites. The gems would be displayed in a museum for all to see, but there was a catch. If the gems would be stolen, broken or otherwise lost, the Empire would have to pay compensation equal to the combined value of the missing gems. A single one of them is 2 million gold in value. So naturally Yang at first thought the compensation would be 16 million gold at most. Except as a set, the gems were priced much higher than that. Enough that even Mor Ardain would take a financial hit. The thought of that made Yang place her hand over her jackets inner pocket where the contract was, because of course Dragunov got the deal in writing and with Mor Ardain's Imperial Seal to boot. And the best part was, that according to the contract, the compensation would be paid to Dragunov's current Driver, Yang Xiao Long, or her next of kin in the event she wasn't alive. Honestly, Yang had half a mind to go and make those gems disappear with the amount of cash she could get. But sadly, not only would that make her a criminal, but Dragunov would never forgive her.
Despite being happy about potentially becoming a rich girl, Yang still had plans for when they saw the twins. For according to Mòrag, Ryuko and Satsuki have already been transferred to them via Override Protocols. Which meant that the Scissor Blade wielder remembered everything she did.
Once they reached the apartment, Rex was the first to knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Pierce called back from the inside.
"It's Rex." Rex called back and the door was opened, revealing the blonde Ardainian with a goatee.
"Hey, Rex." Pierce greeted before his eyes fell on everyone else. "What's going on? Why is everyone here?"
"We were about to go home, so we thought we would come and say goodbye." Ruby said and then tried to look past Pierce, "Is Gyro here?"
"No he's in the workshop working on the project Dragunov left him." Pierce replied.
"None of your business." Dragunov said the moment everyone turned to him. "What I do on my free time is for me to know and you to never find out." He punctuated the last part by giving a narrowed look with his yellow eyes with tiny slits for pupils.
"Okay, geez. Don't go Sun Dragon on me now." Yang was the first to say.
"...Yang, don't joke about that." Dragunov said giving his Driver a half-lidded stare.
"Did you get a stone shaft up your butt or something?" Yang asked.
"Anywaay." Ruby butted in before this could turn into a fight. "We should go to Gyro's workshop to say goodbye too."
"I'll come too." Pierce said, getting his boots from near the door, "I have nothing better to do right now."
"Weren't you under house arrest?" Dragunov asked.
"...Kind of, but..." Pierce trailed off, "I mean the workshop isn't that far."
"You could get court martialed if you were found." Weiss pointed out.
"You guys won't tell on me, right?" Pierce said with an innocent look.
"No, but if we do get caught, we will say that you told us that you weren't under house arrest anymore." Aizen said with a dangerous smile.
"...Fair enough." Pierce said as he was putting on his boots when Praxis came to the door.
"Pierce, who is it?" Praxis asked before her gaze fell on everyone, "Oh, hi everyone!"
"Hi Praxis," Yang waved cheerfully as she tried to look past her, "Is Ryuko here? I heard she was transferred to Pierce." Yang had barely finished her sentence when the Blade in question appeared next to Praxis.
"Oh, it's you guys." Ryuko said as her gaze fell on Dragunov. "What is he doing here?"
"Saying goodbye to your Driver." Dragunov said simply as he looked away.
Ryuko's eyes fell on the said Driver and noticed he had his boots on. "Pierce, what are you doing?"
"Going to see Gyro with everyone." Pierce said as he was about to move out.
"...Satsuki told us to stay put, and if we needed to do grocery shopping then have Praxis do it." Ryuko pointed out.
"I know, but I'm getting cabin fever here." Pierce complained. "I'm sure she will understand."
"I seriously doubt that. Becoming Gyro's Blade made her grow a spine." Ryuko said.
"What do you mean by that?" Otohime asked, "I recall her having a 'spine' when she threatened to destroy the Jeweled Signet."
"Against our enemies, yes. Against our- Dreyf, not so much." Ryuko caught herself, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, I'm still not used to not having him as a Driver."
"It's fine." Praxis said and patted Ryuko on the back. "You'll get used to it."
"Come on, let's go." Pierce said and moved out the door.
Ryuko sighed, but followed too, and Praxis also moved out. As the Scissor Blade wielder moved past Yang, the blonde spoke up.
"Hey, Ryuko." Ryuko had barely turned her head to Yang when she was suddenly punched in the face.
"Ow! What the heck?!" Ryuko exclaimed as she held her cheek, which caused everyone to look at Yang.
"Yang! Why did you do that?!" Blake demanded as Yang moved to Dragunov with her palm raised.
Dragunov raised his own to meet it in a high five as he then moved forward. Ryuko's eyes widened in terror right before Dragunov's fist impacted her face, slamming the back of Ryuko's head against the wall in the process.
"What are you doing?!" Ruby cried out in horror as Ryuko slid down to the floor.
"Ryuko!" Pierce yelled out in concern and moved to her side to see if she was okay.
Ryuko was holding her nose, but she did seem conscious, though disoriented.
"That felt good." Dragunov sighed, like a weight was lifted off of him.
Pierce heard this and got up and tried to get into Dragunov's face, "What... Is... Your...malfunction?!"
"I don't have a malfunction anymore, since I finally got payback." Dragunov said, looking down on Pierce both figuratively and literally.
"Payback?!" Pierce parroted in disbelief, "You blew up her arm!"
"And I can't remember that." Dragunov shot back, "Besides, you should be grateful I'm not doing worse, considering what she did."
"She threatened to turn your Driver into a brainless bimbo. I get it, but do you really hold a grudge for that?" Pierce asked as Praxis was tending to Ryuko.
Dragunov shifted his gaze to Ryuko who now glared at him. "That would be the greatest happiness someone like her could ever know. Isn't that what you said, Ryuko?" Dragunov spat.
Ryuko's eyes widened as she looked to Yang. The blonde Driver looked like she was not happy to see Ryuko. "You told her."
"More like she forced it out of me, but yes." Dragunov growled.
"Oh." Ryuko looked down.
"Ryuko what's going on?" Pierce asked, now looking concerned.
"I don't want to talk about it." Ryuko said, unable to look Pierce in the eye.
"Yang, what's going on? Why is Ryuko acting like that? And why did you punch her out of nowhere?!" Ruby all but demanded.
"Sorry Ruby. But it's best that you don't know." Yang said, not looking her sister in the eye.
"Yang, don't treat me like-" "It's not that." Yang interrupted, "It's just... It's too horrible. I actually felt sorry for Ryuko and Satsuki for having that bastard for a Driver but wanting me to become Satsuki's replacement and..." Yang was unable to finish that as her eyes turned red. Then she took a calming breath. "I just can't believe she could say that even as a lie."
"...I just wanted to throw him off. I didn't think he would turn into that monster." Ryuko said as she got up, "How was I supposed to know he loved you that much."
"Ryuko." Dragunov said in a warning tone.
"What?! It's true, isn't it." Ryuko said defiantly as she got up, meeting Dragunov's eyes. "Why else would you blow up like that?"
"Oh, is that true?" Mythra asked with a smirk, "The mighty Dragunov reduced to a lovesick idiot."
"What?!" Pyra covered her mouth in surprise.
"Oooh! When's the wedding?" Nora asked with a smirk, which caused Dragunov's cracks to glow red.
"Okay, that's enough." Yang said as she got in front of her Blade. "Yes, Dragunov loves me, but not the way any of you are probably thinking."
"Huh?" Ryuko asked.
"He's like an annoying family member to me. He knows exactly what buttons to press to set me off, but I still wouldn't trade him for anything." Yang explained as she gave her Blade a wink.
Dragunov made an amused "humph" at hearing that. His cracks no longer glowing.
Then Yang turned to address everyone else, "Now then, shall we go see Gyro?"
"Uhh... Sure." Pierce said, but then he shook his head. "Wait! Are you going to hit Satsuki too?"
"Why? I have nothing against her." Dragunov said, looking at Pierce like he was stupid.
Pierce made a rude gesture at the dragon Blade, but otherwise, just grabbed Ryuko and started escorting her away. The black haired Blade with a red stripe looked away from her new Driver.
"Dragunov, I hesitate to ask, but what is the full story behind you turning Sun Dragon in that battle?" Otohime asked finally.
"I'd rather not say." Dragunov said, before looking thoughtful, "Let's just say that Rex would have reacted the same if it was about his women."
"Don't say it like that!" Nia complained, while Mythra glared at the dragon. Pyra on the other hand looked worried and red cheeked.
Rex then clenched his hands into fists.
"Rex? Do you understand anything?" Ruby asked, noticing that the Aegis Driver tensed up.
"...I think I'm getting an idea." Rex said, before moving to Pyra first and putting his arm around her. "Pyra, let's go." Rex said and began to escort her. Scooping Mythra into his other arm in the process. "I'm sorry, Nia. I only have two arms."
"It's fine." Nia said and moved to follow.
At that moment, Wulfric tapped Roc on the shoulder. "You better prepare that 100 gold for me." Wulfric whispered.
"Unless Nia joins in. Then nobody wins." Roc whispered back.
"...That's fine." Wulfric said simply.
With that, everyone moved to Gyro's workshop, though Pierce decided to hide among everyone, just in case someone from Ardainian military was around here. Highly unlikely, but caution never hurts. At the warehouse that Gyro had rented for himself, Pierce knocked on the door.
It was Theory who answered the door, and she gave the boy a deadpan look which was normal for her. "Pierce, you're not supposed to be outside."
"I know, but Rex and the others are leaving and want to say goodbye." Pierce said.
"That doesn't mean you have to be here." Theory said before shifting her gaze on Praxis. "And why didn't you stop him?"
"Come on, Theory. I felt cooped up and bored in staying at the house all day.
"It's not even past midday." Theory retorted. But then she sighed, "Fine, just get in here before someone from the military sees you."
With that, Pierce and the others moved inside the workshop which was pretty spacious.
They were surprised to see Gyro looking to be working on large pieces of wood, instead of some machinery. The twin looked up from his work wearing safety goggles. "Oh, Dragunov." Gyro said, not even acknowledging Pierce's presence. "I've barely started on the wheel."
"A wheel?" Yang asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Nothing important." Dragunov dismissed before addressing Gyro. "I wasn't expecting you to be working on it so soon, but that's not what I'm here for. I'm here to say goodbye with everyone else."
"Oh? You're leaving Mor Ardain again?" Gyro asked, taking the goggles off of his eyes and placing them on the top of his head.
"Well...sort of." Ruby said awkwardly, "We are going home."
"Oh? Well. Have a safe trip then, I guess. And... thanks for everything." Gyro said, smiling at the last part. "Especially for Ryuko and Satsuki."
"I suppose." Said Satsuki who was off to the side, watching Gyro work. "I will say that this is a major improvement compared to our previous Driver."
"For sure." Ryuko added in. "And I actually believed that there was no one better out there."
"Better Driver you mean?" Pyra asked.
"What do you think?" Ryuko said with a dead pan look.
"I'm sorry." Pyra looked away in shame.
"Don't apologize." Nia sighed.
"And you have no right to be annoyed at her anyway." Dragunov said smugly.
"Shut up! You oversized-" "Ryuko, shut up!" Satsuki yelled out, startling everyone. "Do you want him to turn into that monster again?!"
"You really should listen to her." Dragunov said smugly.
"Okay, Draggie, that's enough." Yang said, patting her Blade on his stony back. "We both got one good punch on her."
"Yeah, yeah." Dragunov said, though he still showed Ryuko the finger with a smirk.
At that moment Weiss felt a timid tug on her skirt. Looking down, she saw Ursula looking nervous. And yet, Weiss visibly brightened up at the sight of her new tiny addition. "Yes, Ursula?" Weiss asked happily.
"...Umm...why d-does Dragunov h-hate that B-blade?" Ursula asked, not looking her Driver in the eye.
"I'm not sure myself, actually." Weiss replied, still smiling, "Though knowing Yang and Dragunov, I think that's for the best."
"Why?" Ursula asked now actually looking at her Driver.
"You were awakened yesterday, so I understand that you're confused. But in time, you will learn why." Weiss said as she used all her self-control to pat her Blade on the head instead of picking her up for a cuddle. Ursula's head seemed to sink into the neck hole of her poncho up to her nose. Dahlia in turn pat her Driver on the head, which made the said Driver's cheeks flush a little and her smile to fall. "Dahlia, not in front of Ursula." Weiss hissed through her teeth.
"It's okay, Weiss. Freeze things happen." Yang said cheekily, which earned a bellowing laugh from Dragunov.
"Oh, icy what you did there." Dragunov let out through his laughter, supporting himself on his knees as he bent over.
"Thank you." Yang thanked with a small curtesy, in an attempt to mimic Weiss, "Shame I can't stone my audience like you can."
"...Am I missing something?" Satsuki asked, wondering if those two had gone insane.
"Revel in your ignorance, Miss Satsuki." Aizen said with faintest of sighs, "These two engage in the lowest form of humor."
Satsuki then looked towards Pierce whose face was strained. "I see." the Chroma Katana wielder scowled. "I still wonder how my past self dealt with that."
"Usually you and Azure just rolled your eyes or-" "Not a real question, Gyro." Satsuki said, while giving the boy a look that promised a punishment if he said something wrong.
"Sorry." Gyro said sheepishly before returning to the blueprints he was going over.
"See what I mean." Ryuko said, pointing at Satsuki who looked at them all with a quirked eyebrow. "With Dreyf, Satsuki never would have talked back like this."
"...I can't deny that." Satsuki said, looking ashamed.
"I suppose some of your past self's maternal instinct remain." Otohime said with an amused look.
"Maybe." Satsuki said, glaring at the Imperial Mother.
"Is that look for what I did back in Gormott, by any chance?" Otohime asked.
"Yes, but I'd rather not pick a fight over it." Satsuki said sharply.
"I would also prefer not to dwell on your past transgressions." Otohime said with a sweet smile that somehow made Ren and Nora feel like they were between a Wyvern and a Leviathan.
The tension started to get thick enough that Ruby imagined herself cutting clumps of it from the air. Maybe this was a bad idea.
"Well... I see that they have adjusted well to living with you guys." Rex said in an attempt to change the topic.
"Yeah... It's almost like they never really left." Gyro said with a smile, "I mean. Their memories are still gone, but... You know." The smart twin finished lamely.
"I don't think you have to explain." Ren said. "I'm just glad we reunited a family."
"Again." Yang snickered, thinking of Moomoo.
"Again?" Ryuko asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing much, I just had to care for a baby Nopon until we found her parents." Yang said with a beaming smile.
"What?!" The twins and their Blades let out in unison.
Weiss' jaw also dropped at hearing that, "Ruby, please tell me Yang is joking."
"She's not." Ruby said, giggling herself.
"I know, crazy right." Yang added before giving a playful glare at her Blade, "And this guy decided to be useless then of all times."
"You looked like you had it under control, mamapon." Dragunov smirked.
"Could have used a little help, dadapon." Yang snickered back.
"Excuse me, but did the baby Nopon call Dragunov 'dadapon'?" Mythra asked with a look of disbelief.
"Yes." Yang replied before Dragunov could say anything.
"Yang!" the dragon roared. Only for his Driver to laugh along with Mythra.
"Dragunov a dadapon?!" Mythra laughed, "This is the joke of the century!"
"Shut up blondie!" Dragunov yelled out.
"Which one?" Yang quipped, before laughing again with Mythra. Everyone else joined in too. Even Weiss who wasn't even fully sure what was going on. Although Aizen, Otohime and Dagas showed restraint and only smiled in amusement.
"Both of you!" Dragunov's cracks didn't glow, but his face looked redder than usual. "That's it, I'm out." Dragunov declared and stomped outside, cracks glowing orange. On his way, he slammed the door hard enough to shake the entire building. Which startled everyone out of their laughter for a moment.
"...Wow. I genuinely didn't think you could shake the building by just slamming the door." Gyro said, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Just be happy that the door didn't fly off the hinges." Blake said.
"We should probably get going." Nia quickly said, "The next ship won't be too far away."
"Oh, right." Jaune said, "Let's get going everyone."
With that, everyone shared their final goodbyes and moved out of Gyro's workshop. Although as they walked away, Dragunov was sulking the whole way. They also wondered if Pierce was going to make it home without anyone from the military seeing him now that he didn't have a crowd to cover him.
During the trip, Weiss had asked about Yang caring for a baby Nopon. The former heiress was convinced that Yang had done something neglectful because she had her doubts that the blonde brawler had the faintest idea of how to care for a child.
Ruby immediately jumped to her sister's defense pointing out how Yang had stepped up to look after her at only 6. Even Dragunov vouched for Yang having done a good job, despite him still being angry about the talk of 'dadapon' incident. Something that Mythra wouldn't stop teasing him about.
But once they reached Tora's house, it seemed that Weiss was eager to see Otohime's experiments with Dust. She even got a notebook to take notes on what could happen.
And to tell the truth, many others were interested in what Otohime could make to varying degrees. Sadly, the creative process was slow due to Weiss' limited Dust reserves that had to be conserved. Still Weiss waited with bated breath on what Otohime's latest attempt would cause. For the past few attempts, Otohime ended up with small explosions of water. Though every time it seemed like the water Blade made a new discovery, because each attempt took longer to explode. And each explosion seemed stronger than the last with Otohime making a comment of some kind on the process which Weiss also wrote down.
Even though the water Dust is the least used Dust in Weiss' arsenal she still worried about the vial going down to below half full.
"This time, for sure." Otohime said confidently as she poured roughly a teaspoon's worth of Dust on her palm.
"Otohime, I'm not sure this is a good idea." Weiss said apprehensively, because so far small sprinkles had been used.
"Hush." The water Blade said as she covered the palm with her other hand, bringing her tendrils above the said palms. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated. Weiss decided to get up from the floor she was occupying in front of Otohime and took several steps back.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Ruby asked from behind Roze who she was using as a shield. Though they were further away than Weiss.
"I have no idea." Weiss said as she could see a faint glow peeking out from inside Otohime's hands where the Dust was.
"Oh... Just as I thought." Otohime said with a satisfied smile though not opening her eyes. Her lotus flower shaped Core Crystal on her forehead started shining brighter as her smile was replaced with a concentrated frown. "Almost there."
Roze already put up a barrier in preparation of what would happen, because this was not the first time Otohime had claimed to be "almost there" before the Dust in her hands exploded.
Dahlia too who had been standing back moved forward and put up a barrier in preparation for the kind of explosion that would come from a larger dose of Dust.
Soon the glow beneath Otohime's hands subsided and a satisfied smile graced her. "Well, well." Otohime said as she opened her hands, revealing a small blue marble in her hand and some dirt around it. "Finally, a worthwhile result."
Everyone looked at the tiny marble that seemed to be roughly the size of a pea.
"What is it, Otohime?" Weiss asked even as she hastily jutted notes.
"This, Weiss my dear, is pure hyper-condensed water Ether." Otohime said proudly.
"Ether?" Dahlia was the first to voice the question. "Are you saying you have successfully converted Dust into Ether?"
"Yes." Otohime said before looking thougtful, "Or rather, I have removed all impurities that destabilized the energy and then compressed it into a more...stable form."
"Removed impurities?" Ruby parroted, "What does that mean?"
"It means, that Dust is highly condensed tainted Ether." Otohime explained, "And it is this taint that made us Blades unable to properly identify it as Ether. As well as weaken it."
"Weaken?" Roze said.
"I am saying that the Dust is both more powerful than Ether and weaker at the same time." Otohime explained, "But with all the impurities removed, I can safely say that I have now made a marble of Ether more powerful than any Dust."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Ruby cheered, "Let's turn all Dust Weiss has into this super Ether and-" "It is not that simple." Otohime interrupted Ruby's fantasies. "Despite my success, there is still some loss of energy during the conversion. Besides that, I was only able to convert water Dust, an element I am familiar with. There is no telling how many tries I will need for other elements. Especially for fire, an element that is a direct opposition to mine."
And just like that, Ruby visibly deflated. But then she brightened up again and gave a hopeful look to Weiss, "Weiss, can you use your family connections to hook Otohime up with more Dust when we get to Remnant?"
"Ruby, I ran away from home, so I'm positive that my father has already disowned me. And even if he hasn't, I would rather birth Jaune's children than go and beg my father for anything." Weiss said with a frosty look.
"Weiss, are you seriously saying that?" Dahlia asked with a worried look.
The former heiress sighed, "I take it back. The thought of...that doesn't sound much better." Weiss even visibly shook like something was crawling up her back.
"Be careful, Weiss. Pyrrha might mistake that as a threat to her claim on him." Roze said with a smile he was obviously trying to suppress with poor results.
Before Weiss could rebuke the reaper Blade a notification sound came from her Scroll. As did Ruby's.
The two Drivers opened their Scrolls to see a message had been sent for them with a video. Out of curiosity, Weiss and Ruby clicked on their respective Scrolls to see what kind of video they had been sent from Yang.
"What is this?" Weiss questioned as the footage played. Dahlia moved closer to see that the video was apparently from right outside of Torigoth, judging by the buildings. But the strange sight that the footage showed was Yang rubbing her body against the side of Dragunov's stony scales.
"No!" Ruby cried out and covered her eyes when Yang was talking to her Blade in a seductive tone. Roze's face looked as blank as his eyes at what looked like Yang trying to seduce Dragunov.
"What the heck is Yang trying to do?" the reaper Blade then looked at Dragunov's own face. The dragon Blade had a look of someone who had no idea what was going on.
"Seriously, Yang, what are you doing?" Dragunov asked in the footage in a slight warning tone.
"Nothing much, Draggie." Yang said seductively while hooking her finger on her orange top under her jacket to pull it down to show more of her cleavage even as she also tried rubbing one full breast against Dragunov's side. Not that the dragon could probably even feel it through the stone scales. Suddenly Dragunov grabbed Yang by her shoulders and picked her up to his eye level.
"Okay, what bet did you lose?" Dragunov asked with a glare.
"What? I didn't lose anything." Yang said trying to flutter her eyelashes. Or at least one of them, judging by the position of the camera.
"That doesn't work on me and you know it." Dragunov said now narrowing his eyes as he brought Yang close enough for her forehead to touch the Core Crystal on Dragunov's own. "Now let's try this: Who's blackmailing you and with what?"
"Uhh...I...Uhh..." Yang stammered as snickering was heard from off screen, apparently loud enough for Dragunov to hear since he turned to face the camera. The dragon Blade's eyes widened and pupils shrunk into nearly invisible slits.
"Mythra!" Dragunov roared, before dropping Yang and stomping towards the camera which then pointed towards the ground and shook a lot, indicating that the one holding it was running. "Get back here!" Dragunov's voice roared in the background as Mythra then seemed to fumble with the device. "Delete that right now! Or else-" Dragunov's threat was cut off when the video stopped.
"Ruby... What was that?" Weiss asked her partner who now dared to open her eyes.
"You're asking me? I don't know why Yang was acting like that?" Ruby said, looking more clueless than Roze when he didn't know what stealing was.
"I'm more interested in why was Mythra recording that with Yang's Scroll." Roze pointed out, "Come to think of it, maybe Yang was doing a penalty of some kind for losing a bet with Mythra."
"Why would Yang accept a bet that would put her into trying and seducing someone who is immune to it?" Dahlia then asked.
"I care not." Otohime said dismissively, "I cannot comprehend the mind of a chaos bringer."
"Wasn't Nora the chaos bringer?" Dahlia pointed out, which earned her an annoyed glance from the water Blade.
At the market, Blake went over the shopping list Mythra had provided her with earlier. Well, she says shopping list, but all it says is "Hottest spices in Alrest". That wasn't much to go on, but she was lucky there was a stand that sold foreign goods, which included spices.
"Did Mythra say why she wanted these spices?" asked Nia who had tagged along.
"No, she just said that she was busy with something." Blake informed as she looked at the various spices. The blonde Aegis practically shoved the paper into Blake and told her to get these.
"If Mythra is trying to cook then I'm out of this town." Nia said, shivering a little.
"When did you try Mythra's cooking?" Blake asked, taking her eyes off the stand and shifting them onto the Flesh Eater who was currently in her Gormotti guise.
"Before I got into searching for Regideria, I visited Fonsett. And... Well Mythra had tried some cooking and I was dumb enough to try it." Nia explained, looking like she had smelled something foul. Dromarch also shook his head as if trying to dispel a memory.
"Sir Dagas was the only one who dared to throw it away without even tasting it." the white tiger said, looking ashamed.
"Why should I subject my refined palate to that abomination that girl served?" Dagas huffed.
At that moment a notice rang out in Blake's Scroll in her belt bag. Blake took the Scroll out to check until a commotion was heard from the direction of the town's entrance.
People started running out of the way of something.
"If you don't stop I will burn all your hair off!" Was the roar that then sound out, which made both Blake's and Nia's feline ears stand up. That roar was followed by Mythra running past people that were getting out of her way. Which was followed by Dragunov chasing the blonde Aegis, his cracks glowing red.
"First try and catch me!" Mythra taunted back without looking back.
"...Should we be worried about this?" Perceval asked after a moment of pause.
"Not our problem." Nia quickly said, just when her attention was shifted to Yang who was moving through the hole in the crowd that Mythra and Dragunov had made.
"Yang!" Blake called out, earning the blonde brawler's attention.
"Blake, did Mythra and Dragunov go through here?" Yang asked quickly.
"Well they did, but-" "Which way?" Yang asked, running in place.
"That way." Nia said immediately, pointing towards the still open path that was slowly closing.
"Thanks." With that, Yang sped off. Except, suddenly Perceval pulled out Blake's Gambol from its sheath, changed it into its kama form and then swung it towards Yang.
"Perceval!" Blake cried out as her weapon's ribbon wrapped around Yang's torso. Then Perceval yanked and Yang was pulled back to them, falling on her back on the ground.
"What was that for?!" Yang demanded, eyes red.
"I'm sorry, but I just wanted to ask you a question." Perceval said before producing a Scroll on his hand. "Is this yours?"
At the sight of the Scroll, Blake immediately checked if her Scroll was still in the bag on her belt. Sure enough, it was. Which begged the question, "Where did you get that?"
"Mythra threw it at me when she ran past us." Perceval explained as Yang got out of Gambol's ribbon and then snatched the Scroll away from Perceval.
Yang checked her Scroll frantically, her face falling at what was on the screen. "Oh no. She actually sent it."
"Sent what?" Blake asked, then she remembered the notification sound from her Scroll.
"What are you doing?" Yang asked when she noticed Blake looking at her Scroll. "No, don't!" Yang nearly screamed and ran at Blake until she was tripped and found the full weight of Nox on top of her.
"Nox! Get off of Yang." Blake yelled at her Blade. Fortunately, Nox did as commanded and Yang was able to get back up, glaring at Nox as she did.
But then she gave a pleading look to Blake, "Blake, please don't look at whatever you got on your Scroll. Mythra forced me."
"Yang what's going on?" Blake asked, now concerned. "What did Mythra make you do?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Yang said, looking away, her cheeks flushing.
"Does this have something to do with what you did to Rex?" Nia asked apprehensively, causing Yang to flinch. "Okay, now I'm curious. What did you do to him? Mythra said she was going to get to the bottom of this earlier."
"Can we please forget about it." Yang said, looking at the ground. "It's embarrassing."
Blake let out a sigh, having a feeling that Yang wasn't going to talk right now. So instead, "Mythra asked us to buy hottest spices in Alrest. Do you know why?"
Yang visibly perked up at hearing that. "Well... Let's just say that the thing she made me do was part of the payment for help." Yang said awkwardly, "Anyway, what do we got here?" And just like that Yang looked to the stand with spices. The owner of which looked like he had no idea what was happening.
"Shouldn't we worry what Dragunov will do if he catches Mythra?" Dromarch then asked.
"Mythra said she had a plan to deal with him." Yang said quickly, "I was just worried about my Scroll."
"Okay then." Blake said allowing Yang to keep whatever it was Mythra forced her into to herself. Besides... judging by Dragunov's reaction, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Unfortunately for Yang, Blake's decision was for naught. For when they eventually returned to Tora's house after buying the spices, Ruby immediately asked Yang why she tried to seduce Dragunov. And that was when Yang took a closer look at her Scroll and realized that Mythra had sent the video to all of her contacts. The ones in Alrest anyway. And Yang was not happy about it.
Just as Yang had gone through the pain of explaining that Mythra had forced her into this for reasons she wasn't going to tell, the light Aegis strutted into Tora's house looking very proud of herself.
"Mythra, I'm afraid to ask, but where is Dragunov?" Yang asked, looking annoyed at Mythra.
"He's busy with an Arduran." Mythra said smugly, earning shocked looks from Nia and Dromarch. "I'd say we have a few hours before he deals with it."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where did you find an Arduran?!" Nia demanded.
"Remember the farm near the Ardanian base?" Mythra pointed out.
"...Are you telling me that Ardun in there has grown into an Arduran?" Nia asked, looking shocked, "What were they feeding it?!"
"Umm, what's an Arduran?" Ruby asked the big question.
"It's like an Ardun, but bigger. Much, much bigger." Dromarch explained. "Even sir Dragunov should have problem dealing with it."
"And that's exactly why I tricked him into hitting it." Mythra said smugly, "I doubt he will be beaten, but it should keep him busy. If we're lucky the beast might smash him into the water tower. That would give us a couple more hours." the blonde Aegis laughed to herself at the thought.
"Oh no, not the water tower again." Nia pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Again?" was the chorus of all Remnans present.
"That doesn't matter." Mythra said before turning to face Yang, "Yang we have work to do."
"So, you're helping me?" Yang asked hopefully.
"Of course, but I have my own reasons." Mythra said with an evil smile before turning to Blake, "Did you get what I asked, Blake?"
But it was Yang who answered, "On the kitchen counter."
"Great, then let's get cracking." Mythra said with a conspiratorial smile as she moved to the kitchen with Yang in tow.
While Yang and Mythra were working the kitchen, everyone else looked with morbid fascination. Though things started to get weird when Tora's house was becoming a little too warm after Yang and Mythra put whatever they were cooking in the oven.
"Yang, at the risk of sounding idiotic, are you sure what you are making is safe for consumption?" Otohime dared to ask as Yang was wiping sweat from her brow.
"Nope. At least, not for a human." Yang said with a smirk. "But then again, it's not meant for a human to eat."
"Yang what are you making that isn't supposed to be eaten by a human?" Ruby asked, looking concerned.
"You'll see." Yang said with a smirk, "And if this works how I hope it works... Oh the evil things I can do with it."
"Yang, you're scaring me." Blake said, hugging herself.
Just before Yang could reply, the timer went off which prompted Yang to take the oven mittens and Mythra prepared the tray dome and a stone slab.
"Ready, Yang?" Mythra said as she held the dome like she was ready to slam it down.
"Ready when you are." Yang said as she prepared to open the oven. "Okay, three, two, one." And then Yang opened the oven, which let out a blast of heat. If Yang didn't have the foresight to open it from the side, her hair might have been singed. Then as fast as she could, Yang took the container that seemed to have molten gold inside of it, judging by the color. Yang quickly placed it on the stone slab and Mythra slammed the dome on top of it.
"Ow. Ow. Ow. It burned through the mittens almost immediately." Yang complained as she took the now slightly burnt mittens and threw them away.
"Will you be okay?" Mythra asked as she looked at Yang rubbing her hands.
"Thanks to my Aura, I'm not going to have to deal with any burns. But it still hurt." Yang said after the pain seemed to stop.
"Good for you." Mythra said as she looked at the dome, "I hope Dragunov gets back before the dome melts."
"Did someone mention my name?" said a very menacing voice, causing everyone to look to the doorway.
"Dragunov, what happened to you?" Yang asked her Blade in slight shock.
The dragon Blade growled as he walked in, trailing mud that he was covered in. "This is Mythra's fault." Strangely his cracks weren't glowing when he looked so angry. Then again, his legs looked unsteady.
"Out." Lila suddenly commanded.
"What?" came out of Dragunov.
"I will not have you trail mud into this house." Lila said as she stepped in front of Dragunov.
"Who's going to make me?" Dragunov threatened as he towered over the artificial Blade that was less than half his size.
Without warning, Lila brought out her Mech Arms. "Dynamite Puh-Punch!" And then dashed and punched Dragunov right in the stomach, pushing him back and actually making him fall on his back.
"You little..." Dragunov growled and struggled to get back up.
Then Lila walked over him and grabbed him by one horn and started dragging him out. "You shall be removed from this household until properly cleaned."
"No! Let me go! I will not be treated like this!" Dragunov roared as he weakly struggled against Lila who then dragged him out of sight. "When I get myself clean and dry, I'm going to scrap-!" Whatever threat Dragunov was about to say was cut off with a loud bang and a yelp of pain. Which was then followed by the sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor all the way out of the front door.
"She didn't kill him, did she?" Ruby asked in concern.
"Oh, Ruby, I am very certain that Dragunov is far too stubborn to die." Otohime said with a small smile.
"I'm inclined to agree." Weiss added her own opinion. "But again, what was he wrestling in the mud or something?"
"That may not be far from the truth." Mythra snickered, before seeming to remember something, "Just wondering, wasn't there some sort of pump at the front door?"
"I think there was. Why do you ask?" Roze spoke up.
But Yang seemed to understand quicker, "You don't think Lila's going to...?"
It didn't take long until everyone got a mental image of Lila hosing Dragunov down to clean him. They could even imagine him screaming in protest at the treatment... No they were actually hearing Dragunov's gurgly cries all the way from outside where he was probably getting hosed down.
"I really hope we got it right." Mythra said, sounding worried for a change, "Because if we didn't, Dragunov will probably blame me for this too."
"Don't worry, I got a good feeling about this." Yang grinned, which then faltered as Dragunov's partially gurgled threats echoed outside. Something about burping blobs... Or burning bodies. "I hope."
Soon Dragunov's protests stopped and Lila returned with a bucket and mop in hand. Then without saying anything, she began cleaning the muddy floors.
"Is Drag alright?" Yang asked carefully.
"He is thoroughly cleaned." Lila replied without looking up from her work.
"Maybe he calmed down?" Ruby said hopefully.
"No, he's probably just building up pressure." Mythra said.
"Huh?" Came out of everyone.
Then Otohime seemed to realize, "Do you mean... like a volcano that is building up pressure until eruption?"
"Exactly." Mythra said, "And the eruption comes the moment Dragunov is dry enough to move."
"...Does that mean he's going to burn down this house?" Ursula finally asked innocently.
"Don't worry, Ursula." Yang said, "This thing will take care of him." The blonde brawler patted the dome confidently.
"I think I'm going to regret this, but what is in it?" Weiss said just when Lila put away the mop and was moving outside to empty the bucket.
"It's a surprise for Draggie." Yang giggled menacingly.
"Yang are you going to do something weird again?" Ruby dared to ask.
"Weird is an understatement this time, Ruby." Yang said, bouncing a little in place, "I actually hope that he dries up already so that I can put my grandmaster plan into action already."
"Your wish may have come true." Said Lila who hurried back in to put the bucket and mop away.
Before anyone could ask further, Dragunov stumbled inside. Leaning on the doorway, dripping wet and panting heavily with the sheer effort he was putting in to keep himself upright.
"Perfect timing, Draggie." Yang said all too cheerfully, "I have a surprise for you."
"I don't care about surprises right now." Dragunov panted as he took a step forward, only to fall on his hands and knees with a loud thud. Ruby and Roze were actually surprised he didn't damage the wooden floor.
"Drag, I swear on Ruby's life you're going to at least like this." Yang said, sounding completely serious.
"Yang!" And Ruby didn't like it. Weiss also looked shocked that Yang would swear something on Ruby's life. Either the blonde oaf was crazy or she was very confident.
Dragunov gave his Driver a weird look before sighing in defeat, "Okay, I'll bite. What is it?"
Yang laughed at that, "Funny you should say, 'bite'." With that, she took another set of mittens and grabbed the stone plate and carried it to the weakened dragon. Then she placed the plate on the floor right in front of her Blade's face. The said Blade staring at the dome like he expected it to explode. "Because I made you a snack." Yang then said and took the dome off, releasing a wave of heat from under it that made everyone uncomfortable. Except Dragunov who's eyes widened along with his nostrils that took in the scent that wafted from the glowing thing in the mold.
"Yang... Is that...?" Dragunov said dreamily.
"Super Inferno Cake, Xiao Long Style." Yang announced as she wiped sweat that was already forming on her forehead. "Yeah, that incident was because Mythra refused to help me otherwise. And I'm sorry about...whatever happened to you, but I hope this makes up for it."
Dragunov took several wiffs of the impossibly hot cake before reaching for it with his bare hands, seemingly reinvigorated by the mere heat it was emanating. His vertically slitted pupils narrowed into thin lines as he scooped the whole glowing hot cake from its mold, taking one last long inhale of air through his nose before plucking the whole thing inside his mouth. With that the heat of the room rapidly fell under more tolerable levels as Dragunov chewed on the treat with his eyes closed, face contorted like he was preparing his critique.
(Play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST: Death Match With Torna)
"Do you like it?" Yang asked right before Dragunov swallowed. Suddenly Dragunov's eyes opened wide, body steaming as whatever water was still on him evaporated instantly. Getting up on his knees, Dragunov threw his head back and laughed maniacally as all cracks in his stone scales released large bursts of golden flames.
"He's going Sun Dragon!" Weiss screamed when many new cracks appeared on his body.
Everyone except Yang had already drawn their weapons in preparation of fighting Dragunov's berserk state. Only for him to calm down instantly, cracks still glowing gold, but the new cracks had already disappeared.
(Change song: A Nopon's Life)
"Drag?" Yang said uncertainly, "You okay?"
The dragon Blade didn't say anything as he got back up on his feet, but he was staring at Yang with a look she didn't recognize. And then to everyone's shock, Dragunov picked Yang up in a hug while yelling out, "I love you so much!" Then to everyone's further shock, Dragunov was peppering Yang's face with kisses, of all things.
"Whuh? No! Stop that!" Yang freaked out as she was desperately trying to move her face out of the way of Dragunov's smooches by turning her head every which way. At least she was avoiding a kiss on her lips. "Drag, put me down!" Yang cried out as another kiss fell on her head when she was able to crane her head down. "Drag if you truly love me, you will put me down!". To Yang's relief, her over affectionate Blade did put her down.
"Okay, Dragunov never kissed me back in the day." Mythra said, as Yang was wiping her face from the said Blade's kisses.
"Is that a good or bad thing?" Weiss asked even as she looked at Dragunov's wagging tail. Yes, it was actually wagging like a puppy's.
Yang looked at her Blade's face, still annoyed at being kissed like that. But she was also a little weirded out at him staring at her like the world's ugliest puppy. Still, she had to stick to the plan. "Drag, I made you the most delicious thing ever, so does that mean I get a reward? I might even keep making this stuff every once in a while."
"Anything!" Dragunov yelled out happily, tail wagging faster.
"Hook, line and sinker." Yang thought with an evil smile as her plan was coming to fruition. "I want you to make a gem for me."
"A gem?!" Ruby cried out first.
"I know he is... drunk on happiness, but is he really going to make gems when asked?" Otohime questioned.
Dragunov's tails stoppped wagging and his happy smile dropped. "He's going to hit her, isn't he?" Mythra said, preparing for that to happen.
"...What kind?" Those words from Dragunov caused everyone to truly stare in shock.
"Did he just-?" Nia wasn't even able to finish her sentence.
Dragunov, who compares the use of his Gemcraft skill for money making to a woman selling her body, just agreed to make gems for Yang.
Yang pumped her fist at her victory. "The kind that says 'me'!" Yang said cheerfully, pointing at herself with a radiant smile.
"...What kind of gem is that?" Dragunov asked with a confused look.
"That's the thing, I'm not going to tell you. You just have to figure it out and see if I like it." Yang said smugly.
Dragunov looked thoughtful for a moment, tail slightly wagging. "So you want me to make a gem that says 'you'? Tall order."
"So you can't do it?" Yang asked with a smirk.
"I didn't say that." Dragunov corrected, face briefly reflecting annoyance. "But I can't make something like that immediately. Do you think you can give me some time?"
"Sure thing." Yang smirked, "But on one condition."
"What is it?" Dragunov's tail wagged faster.
"Swear on your Core Crystal that you will make that gem for me to the best of your ability. No shortcuts, no cut corners, no middle fingers. Just grade A gem that says me." Yang said with a grin, "Oh! And it needs to be done in... 5 years max."
"I swear on my Core Crystal that I will make the best gem to represent you in 5 years at most." Dragunov recited pressing his middle and index finger on his forehead for emphasis.
"Great! Now go take a shower." Yang said with a smirk.
"Yes, ma'am!" Dragunov cheered and ran off.
"And now he can't back out." Yang said, puffing her chest at the accomplishment.
"No, he can't," Mythra smirked, "No matter how much he wants to when he's back to normal."
"...Are you sure he's not going to hate you when he's back to normal?" Nia then asked looking skeptical.
"Oh he's going to sulk for sure, but he's not going to hate me." Yang said confidently. Then she rubbed her hands together like an evil genius she thought she was. "I'm so looking forward to seeing what he cooks up."
"Uh-huh." Roze said, looking concerned about Yang. "Just out of curiosity, why were you flirting with him?"
"We are not having this conversation." Yang said firmly.
"Oh, it was punishment for trying to seduce Rex." Mythra said with a smirk.
"Why?!" Yang cried out.
"What?!" Came out of Ruby, Weiss and Blake in varying pitches.
"It's not like that! I just teased him." Yang quickly explained herself.
"Yang, do you actually like Rex?" Weiss asked, staring at the blonde oaf like she was crazy.
"No!" Yang yelled back. Unfortunately judging by the looks on Blake's and Nia's faces, the two didn't believe it.
(End Song)
AN: And there we go. Dragunov got both a trick and a treat. And now Yang has her Blade on the proverbial leash. This chapter was intended to be mostly fun shenanigans. And the next chapter will probably be the same.
Also a special thanks to ChocoboLover69 for editing in better puns than I thought of.