Seed 1.r

The greatsword came in from the left, the warscythe swept down from above. She rolled to the right, firing a shell towards the scythe-user. The recoil pushed her away, and she fired again as she came up, the shot detonating in the face of the boy running towards her. The explosion launched her back at greatsword kid, who brought up his weapon just in time to deflect her punch, being knocked back instead of out.

The fight paused, each combatant taking stock. Yang Xiao Long glanced over at the board, noting the Aura levels of herself and her opponents.

Team One:

Yang Xiao Long - 77%

Team SSAF:

Spencer Olate - 65%

Samantha Copper - 89%

Azure Holland - 79%

Jerome Foil - 81%

Jerome had more aura remaining than she would have expected after that explosion. Was that just a big Aura pool, or a sign of his Semblance?

The fight resumed. Samantha, snapped a long, metallic whip towards her as Jerome threw one of his hammers from the other direction. Yang lept over them, firing her gauntlets beneath her as she flipped in mid-air, landing on top of the team's leader - the greatsword wielder who had tried to engage her single-handedly.

Spencer was overconfident. She'd seen his records, he had been at the top of his grade at Shelter, but he didn't seem to grasp that nearly everyone here was of his caliber, and many were even better. Beacon was the most prestigious academy on the planet, and with the downsizing of the Huntsmen after the fall of Salem, only the best of the best were being accepted - both as students and as teachers. The sooner he learned that he wasn't quite as invincible as he thought he was, the better off he'd be.

He jumped back, and the machine gun built into his crossguard fired. He was sent spinning with far more force than its size should have allowed. Yang stepped into his spin, blocking his attack and halting stopping him cold with a single upraised hand. As the blade slammed into her prosthetic arm and Spencer reeled, she felt the telltale flaring of Aura that signified an incoming attack, exactly as expected. A well-timed moment later, she ducked, letting Azure fly over her and accidentally tackle her team leader out of the arena. They hit the ground with a booming thud.

Azure was overeager. When Spencer tried to fight her single-handedly, Azure had come in from the other direction, inserting her help where it wasn't wanted. It had saved her leader from his own mistake, but it hadn't always worked out for her in the past - she had, in her third year at Signal, made major changes to the design of her weapon, trying to learn an entirely new fighting style in the middle of the year. Apparently, it was an attempt to imitate, of all people, Yang's own sister. When she had, eventually, thought through her decision, she had made another change to the design, ending up on a compromise between the original look and the new one. However, that was just one example of a long history of poorly-thought-through decisions that would hurt her when one went bad. She would need to learn to think through her actions if she was ever going to succeed.

Samantha and Jerome skidded to a stop. They exchanged glances, creating a new plan without ever speaking a word. Samantha snapped her whip again, which crackled and popped with electricity as Jerome started running off to the side as if trying to get past her. The ploy was clever - Make it seem as though Samantha is the distraction, so that she goes after Jerome instead, turning him into a momentary punching bag while his partner caught here from behind. Best to reward tactical thinking and teamwork. She didn't want to make it too easy for them though… a change in tactics should do the trick.

She ran for Jerome, collapsing her gauntlet back into bracelet form. As she ran, she checked the Aura gauge again: 54%. Stopping that sword must have taken out a bigger chunk than she thought. Still, it wasn't much of a problem. As her target shifted, bracing for the impact, she tapped into her own Semblance. The air around her began to heat up, and in the corners of her vision, her hair began to glow. Her next step set off an explosion, and she was thrown into the air above him.

As she came down, his hammer went up, and she allowed it to connect with her leg, mostly to see what would happen. The face of the hammer exploded on impact, an energy field snapping up to shape the explosion away from him and into her. She rode it up and away, landing several feet to his left, then ducking into a roll as Copper's whip whistled over her head.

Jerome and Samantha were longtime friends, partners at Signal. The pair were strong, easily among the top of their class, especially when they were working together, but they didn't trust their new teammates. Yang knew for a fact that they could have stopped the other two from going over the edge if they'd wanted to. Instead, they decided to let them go, probably deciding that the other pair would only get in their way.

Yang was forced to redirect, extending the shotgun from her prosthetic and firing forward. She jerked backward just in time to avoid the whip, which had suddenly changed directions mid-air, and was now homing in on her, sparking all the way.

She expanded her gauntlet as well, launching herself toward Jerome, guessing that his partner wouldn't risk attacking with him in the line of fire. He swung down, and she ducked under his guard, leading into an exchange of a half-dozen attacks, parries, and counterattacks. A punch was followed by a shotgun blast, both of which were stopped by a last-second defensive barrier, but the sudden kicks to both of his sides went unpredicted and unblocked.

He swung again with both hammers, one swinging up, the other from the side, as she jumped, focusing more heat out of her Semblance to give her a bit more height as she landed on top of his weapon. Her other foot planted on his shoulder, she jumped off of him, spinning around to kick him in the head as she landed, blasting herself back in his direction.

Samantha, realizing that Jerome wouldn't be able to knock her away, took the initiative. The whip spun around her as she charged, ready to intercept any incoming attacks. Yang tried to keep Jerome between herself and the whip, but it seemed to snake around him with a mind of its own, lunging for her fast enough that she barely raised her prosthetic in time to block. Perfect. As the whip shifted, blades sliding down and biting into her, she suppressed her aura around the arm and began winding the whip around it.

It didn't take long for her opponent to realize what she was doing, and the whip started violently thrashing, the sparking increasing rapidly. At the same time, Jerome was recovering and preparing for a finishing blow. Yang felt her aura drop with every spark and struggled to keep the weapon contained as she tied it off. She needed to end this fast; it just wouldn't do for Beacon's newest professor to lose to a group of students, even students as exceptional as this year's latest crop.

She threw the gates of her Semblance wide open, seeming to explode as a fireball billowed around her. Both students were thrown off balance, Jerome was thrown away, and she lifted her arm, with the whip wrapped and knotted around it. Samantha recovered in time to realize what was going to happen, but could only sit and watch as the prosthetic disconnected from its base and launched away, carried out of the arena by a one-time Burn Dust booster, dragging the whip behind it. Yang looked back to see Samantha trying, with a look of panic, to remove the weapon from where it was wrapped around her wrist before it yanked her off her feet and sent her soaring out of the arena as well. The arm slammed into the wall, cracking the plaster and embedding itself halfway in. The whip coiled together and acted as a cushion for its wielder, who dropped back to the floor with all the poise she could muster and began the detangling process.

Jerome watched the exchange from where he stood, unable to intervene in time, then looked back to Yang. A glance at the aura meter seemed to confirm for him that yes, he was now alone. He took a resigned breath, raised his hammers defensively, and braced for the hit.

"Alright guys, nice work today. You're dismissed-" The crowd of students that had been watching the fights jumped up and started running out of the room "-and I expect improvement over the weekend! Practice with your teams!" She finished with a yell as the last student ran out, slamming the door shut.

"Damn Fridays." They left in enough of a hurry when it wasn't the last class before the weekend. It was only the first week! If she didn't know better, she'd almost think they were scared… of… her…

A platinum blonde woman with a riding crop flashed through her memory, and she shuddered. Turning around, she muttered to herself as she started walking; "I can't believe I'm turning into her. How did I ever get talked into taking this job?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it wasn't all that hard."

Yang turned once more, finding the owner of the voice standing in the doorway. Younger than her, barely older than the first-years that had just left, and yet among the most influential people in the kingdom. He looked… off.

"Y'know if you'd just fire me, I might be able to accomplish something for once." She'd never been one for decorum.

She had expected at least a chuckle from that. "You and I both know that you can do the most good from right here, Miss Xiao Long." His expression stayed as it was, slightly sad and vaguely familiar.

Her stump shifted as if to cross her arms before she realized what she was doing. She settled for a creased brow instead. "Alright Oscar, what's going on?"

Oscar's grip tightened around his cane. "I'm afraid that we have lost contact with your sister. As far as know, she is alive, but we do not know where she is."

Yang froze. She turned around, walked the last few steps to her destination, and slammed her fist against the wall. Her prosthetic fell into her grasp, and she reattached it, taking a deep breath. When she turned back, her eyes had changed, shifting away from their usual lavender into a shocking shade of red. "What happened?"

"Ms. Rose took-"

"Drop the act, Oz."

He blinked, startled at the nickname. He sighed. "Ruby took point on a group of Huntsmen investigating the loss of contact from the town of Leaston and its surrounding villages. Apparently, a tribe of bandits had brought down the local CCT booster tower, and Ruby found evidence of your mother's involvement."

Raven. Yang hadn't seen her mother since the Battle of Haven, and her feelings toward the woman had only soured with time.

Oscar continued, "The group tracked down the tribe, and captured or killed everyone in the camp. Raven herself was not present. According to one of the Huntsmen she was working with, Ruby sent the group away with the prisoners, staying behind herself. We can assume that she intended to find the missing relic without raising questions before Raven interrupted. One of the other Huntsmen heard the fighting and saw the last few seconds; it ended with Raven dragging Ruby through a portal, and neither of them has been seen since."

Yang didn't respond, processing this new information. When she started walking, pushing past Oscar and turning down the hall, he had to jog to keep up with her. He started to speak, but she cut him off.

"Who else knows what happened?"

"...You were the first person we've told, and the other Huntsmen have been… politely informed to keep quiet. I assume you'll be taking some leave?"

"Right now, I'm going to call my family and my team. The leave request will be on Glynda's desk-"

Yang stopped short. Oscar had smiled in such a way that Yang could see the boy's previous incarnation coming through, stronger than usual. If you asked her, that whole situation was still creepy. "You should move quickly. This will not stay quiet for long."

Yang sat in the Cross-Continental Transmit tower, newly repaired and back in working order now that the Wyvern was gone. She'd gone to a terminal on one of the lower floors, specifically reserved for VIPs to have private calls on high-speed lines.

Professorship did have its perks.

Dad would be in the middle of class, Qrow was off… somewhere, and JNPR was in Mistral on a mission, so it wasn't likely that any of them would pick up a direct call at the moment. She'd wait a few hours before trying to contact them.

The timing of this news wasn't entirely inconvenient, though. Blake would be done with work for the day in Menagerie, and Weiss would likely be in her office until later in the night. Normally she wouldn't disrupt the two, but this wasn't exactly a normal situation.

Yang dialed the team's group number, and Weiss picked up on the second ring. If her hair wasn't already stark white, Yang would have almost expected it to be going grey from the tone of her voice, despite the momentary cheerfulness. "Yang! It's so good to see you! How's the semester going?"

This wasn't going to be fun. "Hey, Weiss. The year's off to a decent start. The students are terrified of me, that's a good thing, right?"

Weiss responded, "Living up to Headmistress Goodwitch's example, I see." They both shared a light laugh.

"...Yang? What's going on?" Apparently, that was enough for Weiss to clue into the fact that something was wrong.

"Let's save it for when Blake gets here. It's best if we can all work-" She was interrupted by Blake's customized tone as the woman herself joined the call.

"Yang, Weiss. It's good to see you… both. What's wrong?"

Yang sighed. "Ruby's gone missing." Weiss' eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth with one hand as Blake's eyes narrowed and her ears flattened against her head. "Apparently, she fought my mom, who used the Relic of Knowledge to kidnap her."

There was a moment of stunned silence, with Weiss the first to recover. "Is she still alive?"

"I don't see why Raven would have taken her if she wasn't."

Weiss nodded, reaching out of view of the camera. She came back with a scroll and put it to her ear. "Klein? Ready my airship for launch as quickly as possible. I'll be flying to Beacon, followed by Menagerie, followed by…" She looked back to Yang.

"I don't know where they are. We're probably gonna be looking for a while."

"An extended voyage of unknown duration. Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you, Klein."

Blake had muted her side of the call, getting her own preparations ready. Yang was struck by the thought that, with a single CCT call, her team was willing to drop everything they were doing - the largest Dust company on the planet, the biggest Faunus rights movement in history, both left in the hands of others because their teammate was in trouble.

Blake spoke up, "My father will be taking over the White Fang during my absence. Who else are we bringing with us?"

Yang responded, "I'll be calling my Dad and Uncle as soon as we're done here, and Team Juniper if I can get ahold of them, but otherwise this is being kept as quiet as it can be. We don't want the masses getting involved in this if we don't have to, especially if there's a Relic involved." They both understood the need for secrecy here. If word of the Relic's power began to spread, it could trigger another Great War.

Weiss spoke up next, "What are we going to do once we've found them? It's not like we can force Raven to do what we want her to."

Both teammates looking to her as the leader in Ruby's absence. How in the world had that happened?

"Don't worry, I've got a couple ideas. Weiss, I've got someone up in Atlas that I'd like to call in a favor from, do you think you could handle that for me?"

Weiss thought for a moment. "I suppose you mean Eira? I can have someone track her down, but it might take a while."

"That's alright. Have them tell her to call us when she gets the chance to do so and to stay within easy reach for the next few weeks. We might need to stop by and pick her up. Blake, our contacts in Vacuo are pretty thin, can you ask Sun to lay out some feelers, see if there have been any strange women coming through portals? Tell him what's going on if you need to, but make sure he knows to keep it quiet."

Blake nodded her assent. "I'll need to go make preparations. Weiss, how long until your ship arrives?"

"I'll be about a week, unless… Yang, Juniper are in Mistral at the moment, aren't they? I can pick up you and your family, we meet Blake halfway at Haven Academy, find Juniper while we're there, and then begin the hunt."

"That sounds good to me. Blake, how fast can you get to Mistral?"

"Fast enough. I'll see you there." Blake ended her end of the call.

Weiss looked to Yang. "I'll see you in three days. We're going to find her, Yang."

Yang smiled, but she knew Weiss could see through her facade. Finding her wasn't the problem, anyway. Raven would turn up eventually, she couldn't not. The real issue… well.

"Yeah, I know we'll find her. I'm just worried about what happens when we do."

Hello again! I actually meant to post this yesterday, but it slipped my mind. We've got a Yang Interlude! Yangterlude? Eh. Interludes from Remnant's perspective will probably come at the end of each arc (or at least every other arc, depending on which path I take this plotline down.)

Next chapter is in progress, I'm gonna try for the end of the month, but no promises. See you then!