Edited by: Priapus, Mike God of Lore, Marethyu

– Titania –

After encountering her ex-worker looking like that, Titania felt that switching sides might've been the right decision after all. There had always been this lingering doubt that she might've had it a lot better had she run back to Salem instead of being turned into a damned maid of all things, but if this was what was waiting for her…

It was nice that the supposed good guys had moral codes. Kind of. She didn't know what Reid had done to make Ruby capable of throwing beams of light around like that, but whatever experiment he did on her probably wasn't as inhuman as what Tyrian looked like at the moment.

He was even more insane than usual. He kept giggling through the pain of having his limbs torn off by Ruby's weird magic before growing them back almost instantly. His constant twitching and trembling made him very unsettling. Seriously, what had Salem done to him?

As Titania watched the battle between Ruby and Tyrian unfold from the sidelines, she didn't know what to do at the moment. Both were far outside her league, and she had trouble keeping up with what she was seeing.

She could tell that the little Titan Slayer was having trouble, even though she had a massive speed advantage and her magic was devastating. It was mainly because Tyrian kept regenerating every injury and wound she inflicted in a matter of moments.

Ruby twirled and spun around an arc of darkness created by Tyrian, quickly getting in front of him before swinging her massive scythe and slicing him in half. Regardless of the pain, as Tyrian's upper body hit the floor, he smashed his fist into it, causing an explosion of magic to launch Ruby through the walls and outside of the supermarket.

Tyrian's lower body disintegrated before a new one formed, eliciting a mad giggle from him as he walked toward where Ruby was, completely ignoring Titania, who wasn't sure what she should be doing. She had already messaged Reid and Ruby's piece of shit uncle, but the former wasn't answering, and the latter would take a while to get here.

As for Titania herself… what could she do anyway? She'd just get in the way, and she wasn't going to risk her life over Ruby. The kid was nice and all, but it was every person for themselves. She was currently looking for a window to book it without anyone noticing.

"Can't you see, Rose~?" Tyrian hissed. "My Mistress's gift is divine."

Titania scanned her surroundings, slowly shifting her position until she was completely out of Tyrian's line of sight. He was too focused on the pipsqueak— now was her chance to run away. She just had to make sure he didn't see her because she had a feeling he would try to stop her—just a hunch.

"Her words are law." He continued babbling. "So why won't you be a good girl and keel over for me~? It would make her oh-so-pleased~ I promise I won't hurt you too much~"

Ruby had seemingly responded with a bullet shot from her sniper rifle that pierced Tyrian's head, making him stumble backward, but it wasn't enough, as the bullet-shaped wound simply closed up, prompting him to laugh again.

In the midst of this, Titania slowly made her escape, still being cautious as not to alert the Grimm-turned Faunus. Just a few more steps, and she was out of here…

"Over and over~ You don't learn, do you~?" He said, answering that with several dark orbs and bombs. "I cannot fall here, not with this wonderful gift my Mistress has given me."

Here's my chance. Titania thought, reaching one of the holes in the wall they'd created during their fight. Sorry, runt. This is above my pay grade.

With that, she dashed outside, taking off as fast as her metal legs could carry her. For a moment, she felt a wave of ease wash over her, urging a relieved laugh from her. That was until she felt something tangling around her waist and dragging her back, smashing her into several shelves, walls, ceilings, and floors of the supermarket, making her gasp in pain.

"You're not going anywhere, traitor!" Tyrian screamed at her as he dragged her to him, dark tendrils emerging from his arm, tightening their hold on her to the point where she was being crushed. "You… You will make a wonderful asset to my Mistress when she gets her hands on you~"

All Titania felt was unimaginable pain as the tendrils began to grow hotter with every second. The agonizing sensation of being slowly crushed and burned prompted a scream from her. But she quickly gritted her teeth, not letting the panic overwhelm her as she started to fight back with everything she had.

"Imagine all of this? This gift in the palm of your hand…" He gestured at his deformed arm. "Don't you want to wield this power? Doesn't becoming like me sound wonderful?"

Her response to that offer was a surprising headbutt that slightly staggered the monster. This loosened the tendrils just enough for her to move her legs properly. She then kicked him right in the chest and released a sharp wave of wind from the dust canister inside it.

It was nothing like Ruby's magic, which would cut him in half, but it did its job as it pushed him away and made him drop her. But to her dismay, Tyrian recovered faster than she had hoped and smashed his fist into her face, nearly shattering her Aura and knocking her out.

Titania hit the ground and blacked out for a moment, and once her brain wasn't a scrambled mess anymore, she knew that had he hit her any harder, he might've just killed her right there and then. She was still in a haze as she tried to crawl away, turning her head to see Tyrian looming over and preparing another hit that would surely end her life.

"Oh well." He cocked his massive, deformed arm back. "Not like you need to be alive~"

As his fist was mere inches away from making contact and flattening Titania into the floor, the second Titan Slayer reminded them of her existence.

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

Accompanying her strange chant was a huge wave of magic that broke through the wall and engulfed Tyrian whole, barely missing the former assassin. Titania could feel the intense power with how close it was, which prompted her to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

"What the hell?" She uttered in awe as the beam evaporated, leaving a trail of destruction and debris, thankfully not reaching any of the other buildings.

Titania looked at the tiny Titan Slayer in shock. Ruby, who was in an odd pose, had a very satisfied grin on her face. Ruby then dusted herself and walked up to her, offering the older girl a potion.

"Are you okay?"

After a moment of shocked silence, Titania responded.

"Y-yeah…" She took the potion and stood up. "Thanks…"

She paused before she gulped it down. She saw that Ruby looked pretty damaged herself, and she blinked when she realized that she didn't have any other potion with her.

"Where's yours?" Titania asked.

"Hm? Oh, I only had one with me." Ruby replied. "I mean, I didn't see any reason to bring multiple potions. We're in Vale city."

"And you're giving it to me?" She said incredulously.

"Yeah, you look like you need it more. And I'm used to getting hurt anyway." She responded before humming thoughtfully. "Probably should've brought more, though. But how should we have known that some lunatic would attack us out of nowhere..."

Titania didn't know how to respond after hearing that. She hesitantly drank the potion, though, not wanting to argue with her. She felt really uncomfortable, though, almost wanting to reject such a notion. She also didn't want to sound ungrateful, so she resorted to looking down, refusing to meet the younger girl's innocent gaze.

As soon as she did that, she stumbled forward onto Titania's chest, surprising the former assassin quite a bit. Ruby quickly backed off, however, looking both apologetic and embarrassed.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to do that." She winced in pain, putting a hand over her forehead. "I just used all of my mana in that spell, and now my head hurts. Ugh, it's so embarrassing…"

"It's fine." She waved it off. "Let's just get out of here and—"

As she mentioned, the debris right outside the market blew away, revealing a severely injured Tyrian snarling like a rabid animal. Even something that powerful couldn't keep him down? Just what the hell had Salem done to him?

"I'll kill you… I'LL KILL YOU!" He roared as he started growing in size. "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!"

This time, unlike when the battle first started, even Ruby looked uneasy as he grew larger than a truck, towering over them both. Yet the courage in her eyes never left as she got into position, holding her scythe tightly. Titania, however, didn't share that bravery, taking a step back.

"Run away." Ruby suddenly said, making her flinch. "I'll hold him off."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Titania shouted at her. "You have a speed semblance! Let's just get out of here!"

"And let him hurt the civilians around here?! No way!" Ruby disagreed. "I'll contain him right here and right now. We already alerted the cops with our battle, so it's only a matter of time before someone gets here. But it's too dangerous for you."

"But—"

"I don't know your history with him, but I won't let him hurt you. I promise." She added, bracing for Tyrian's charge. "So please go. I killed a Titan solo. This is nothing to me. I'll be fine."

With that, Ruby flew headfirst into battle, evading the monster's fist and tendrils with grace as she slashed through him. The fight was now more in Tyrian's favor, and while he still wasn't as fast, he began to catch up to Ruby even while she used her semblance.

As an orb of dark magic exploded on Ruby, it launched her through the building, but the girl gritted her teeth and immediately returned to battle, not breaking her momentum at all, even with the wounds she bled from.

She admirably lured Tyrian away from the tight corner they had been fighting in, leading him to a much more open plaza with a fountain in the middle. All the while, Titania stared at the battle from where she was, her legs refusing to move.

Even though she'd been so willing to escape just a minute ago, now she just… couldn't move. The idea of running away didn't seem so compelling anymore. But why?

"DIE!" Tyrian roared, throwing a predictive fist at the zooming Ruby, who barely dodged the attack.

Ruby responded by dashing around him, slashing and shooting him faster than Titania could even process. Even so, the fight was not going in her favor because when Tyrian's attacks did connect, they dealt immense damage to the girl. So much that they managed to pierce her aura.

Why can't I move? The former assassin thought to herself. It's not like I can help…

She was nowhere near their level. Trying to get involved would only hold Ruby back and would get the both of them killed, wouldn't it? Titania was as useless as a civilian in the face of these two powerhouses.

She had to run away. She knew she needed to…

But she couldn't.

The little Titan Slayer was trying her best, using what little magic she had to cast shields and barriers to protect herself, but to no avail. Eventually, a particularly powerful dark spell shattered the barrier of light she cast, striking her true and sending her crashing through the fountain.

A reddish silver glow surrounded her before it shattered, signaling her a broken aura. For a reason unknown, Titana's heart dropped at the sight of that happening, and as Tyrian prepared the finishing blow, she finally moved.

But not away. In fact, she ran toward them.

Shockingly enough, Ruby herself got back up as blood seeped from her head. However, Titania knew that no matter how fast she was, she couldn't avoid the massive, deformed fist coming her away, and if that attack landed, she would most certainly die.

And so, she kicked the air, using most of the dust in her metal legs to create a whirlwind that tilted the attack just enough to give Ruby an opportunity to roll out of the way. And she did, successfully dodging a killing blow.

This made the little Titan Slayer look at her in shock, and Titania was prepared to get scolded for getting herself involved. Only to get an entirely different response.

"Look out!"

That was when she realized the severity of the situation, as her little heroic save was at the cost of Titania gaining Tyrian's full attention. He turned to look at her with uncontrolled rage, moving faster than she could reasonably react to before bringing his fist down to turn her into a bloody paste.

All she could do right now was close her eyes and wait for the inevitable as she cursed herself for not listening to Ruby. Why did she do that? What exactly compelled her to get involved in a fight she had no hope of helping in?

Did she care so much about Ruby that she didn't want to see the girl die? What a ridiculous idea. Since when was that runt a priority? Titania didn't care about her. She never had. She was an annoying little shit who spent most of her time in the mansion doing nothing but bothering her.

She was pretending that they were friends, but since when did that happen? And why would Titania entertain that idea anyway? It's not like it was mandatory to be nice to her because if she hadn't, then she wouldn't have gotten into this situation in the first place.

What a mess. She thought in her last moments as time felt like it was slowing down. Maybe I should've just gone with Cinder. They can't be having it that bad.

As she felt her death closing in, she felt something strange wash over her, prompting her to open her eyes before closing it as a blinding, silver light engulfed the area, accompanied by a powerful pressure that almost brought her to her knees.

It took a while for the light to die down, but eventually, Titania was able to see her surroundings again, freezing as she saw Tyrian's deformed Grimm fist right above her… having turned into stone.

Titania blinked a few times and glanced at Ruby, her silver eyes shimmering brilliantly. Ruby looked as confused as Titania, unable to form a coherent sentence before the glow disappeared from her eyes, followed by a thud as she fell to the floor, seemingly unconscious.

She cautiously watched the stone statue of Tyrian as she made her way to Ruby, holding her and checking her vitals. She was still alive— unconscious from exhaustion from the looks of it. But how? She had been fighting without any problems just now. A bit injured, sure, but she hadn't exactly looked tired.

And what was that light? That was new. It wasn't like the other times when Ruby had used her magic.

She stared at Ruby silently for a while, not knowing what to do or feel. Why was she so adamant about keeping Titania safe? They barely knew each other— she'd suddenly decided they were friends for some incomprehensible reason.

Which was fine. It was annoying, but nothing to lose sleep over. But then to go out of her way to risk her own life to save her? Was she insane? It's not like Ruby didn't know what Titania had been before her defection. Perhaps not the whole story, as she didn't know who Salem was, but she was most certainly aware of her old job as an assassin.

Was she just unbothered by the fact? Someone as naive and innocent as her? It didn't make sense. The more Ruby spoke, the more Titania was convinced that she viewed morality as black and white to a degree that felt obnoxious.

She was weird. Extremely weird. But for some reason, that didn't annoy Titania as much anymore.

Suddenly, before Titania could get a hold of her bearings and take Ruby back to the mansion, the stone statue cracked and shattered, revealing Tyrian still standing, but this time, he was back to his normal human form. His skin was still pale like Salem's, and his eyes were glowing red.

But he had none of the Grimm parts anymore, as they'd crumbled into dust after being turned into stone by Ruby's strange light spell, which made him far less intimidating than before. Titania had always felt confident about taking on Tyrian before that transformation, so as he was now, he wasn't a threat, especially seeing how he was out of aura.

He growled, screamed, and snarled, completely losing his sense of self as he charged at her and the unconscious Ruby. She didn't know how he was still alive, but Titania got up on her feet and prepared for battle regardless, feeling that he was probably weakened enough for her to finish off.

But she didn't even have to do that as Qrow arrived, smashing his darkened fist into Tyrian's face and sending him tumbling backward. Before Salem's agent could even process what he had been hit by, Ruby's uncle stepped on his arm, pinned him down, and pushed his shotgun right into his mouth.

"You're not getting away this time."

With that, Qrow pulled the trigger, blowing Tyrian's head up like it was a watermelon, splattering blood and brain matter all over. Titania flinched at the brutal sight, not particularly used to messy kills like that, but then sighed in relief. Finally, it was over.

"So—" Qrow turned around and pointed his sword at her. "—First time you're out of the mansion, and this happens. Funny coincidence, isn't it?"

"I-I can explain."

"Please do." He narrowed his eyes. "Enlighten me."

Titania seriously should've stayed home.

– Yang –

She let out a satisfied sigh after stretching her limbs, having just woken up after a great nap. She didn't know what it was that made sleeping so much better when cuddling, but it left her very energized and ready to take on the world. In hindsight, maybe the cool weather and the weird magic air helped.

This world was amazing. She had barely explored anything of it beyond this canyon, but seeing a full, non-broken moon last night had captivated her. It really was a different planet in a different universe.

A universe where magic was basically everywhere. Not just in crystal form, but according to Reid, it was so common for people that there were entire magical institutions and academies that taught magic. In comparison, Remnant still didn't believe in it.

And they had reason to. For some reason, nobody except the Maidens, Ozpin, and that Salem person had had magic before Reid came along. Why was that? Were they also from different worlds? Was there even a real reason?

Yang had too many questions. Unfortunately, she didn't feel like asking for answers. It was probably just nonsense she didn't care about. There was no remaining space in her brain anyway. Beacon had taken too much, and now she couldn't care less about taking more lessons and studying things that would never help her.

If it didn't teach her how to make bigger and flashier fireballs, Yang didn't give a fuck. Besides, she knew Reid was planning to gather the entire group to tell the story once so he didn't have to explain it again.

She looked away from the gorgeous sunrise to watch her boyfriend store everything with that extremely convenient magic he calls an 'inventory'. He still hadn't explained how they were supposed to return to Remnant because, as nice as this place was, she still wanted to go home eventually.

Well, he did kind of explain how, but it just didn't make much sense to her. Apparently, these wormholes each had different prerequisites for opening up a portal back home for some reason. And for this one, they needed to defeat some evil dragon terrorizing this valley.

How did he even know all that? Yang didn't know. She trusted him to know better, obviously, but how come he knew all that from the get-go? Had it been written somewhere, and she just didn't notice?

Things were getting increasingly complicated, and honestly, Yang had too much on her plate to start questioning Reid. Not like she particularly cared anyway— she had full trust in her boyfriend, so unless he wanted to tell her, she'd just ignore it. That wouldn't be the case if it were important to their relationship, though. But he had already told her that he was from this world.

And I mean, duh. You can't tell me that someone like him was originally from Remnant. Yang thought to herself. If he were, he would've changed our world a lot sooner.

Having it confirmed didn't surprise her.

"So, where's this evil dragon again?" Yang asked, approaching him. "You do know where it is, right?"

"Obviously," Reid answered. "I had Gwyn locate it last night. It's in a cave over in that direction."

He pointed left of the pond.

"Right." Yang put a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "Though, if it's really evil or tyrannical, how come it didn't do anything yet? I mean, the way you put it, it made me think this entire place should be on fire right now."

"It's asleep." He said. "It probably won't wake up for a few centuries."

It was at that exact moment that the ground began rumbling. Yang, having not prepared for that, nearly fell off the peak. She quickly crouched down so she didn't stumble off the edge, hearing a loud roar from below as an orange glow emitted from where Reid pointed.

Yang expected this evil dragon to come out, but it didn't. Instead, many of the other dragons all around the valley quickly flew down toward the cave for whatever reason. They watched this scene unfold in silence until the smaller dragons began entering the cave. Then, the blond spoke.

"A few centuries, huh?" She said. "What are they doing over there?"

"They're bringing it food," Reid explained. "Come on, let's investigate."

As he jumped off, so did Yang, following him by gliding down until they landed on the ground deep within the woodland. She made sure to stick close to Reid and mimic his every movement, not wanting to attract the attention of the dozen or so dragons flying above them.

They got closer and closer, jumping over a river that separated each corner of the valley and seeing many of the critters running away in the opposite direction, even other animals she hadn't encountered yet.

Eventually, they reached the cave, hiding behind the thick bushes as they observed the dragons going in with whatever they'd managed to hunt down, from tiny rabbits to large deer. However, it was then that Yang noticed how thin the dragons looked.

While this might be the first time she had ever seen a dragon in her life, she knew that this wasn't natural. They looked strangely malnourished, tired, and weak—some more than others. Was the evil dragon possibly bullying them into bringing it their food? That was the first conclusion she came to.

"They're scared." Reid suddenly said in a whisper. "They're not delivering the food because they wanted to."

"It's forcing them to do this." Yang frowned at his confirmation. "Poor things."

Reid suddenly walked forward without a second thought, revealing himself to the dragons. But before they could do anything, he used his Conquerer's Haki, which was so powerful that it made her flinch even though it wasn't directed at her. The pressure promptly knocked them all out, giving the two easy access to the cave.

"Let's go," Reid said, glancing at her.

"Yeah…" Yang nodded, following after him.

Damn. She thought, looking at Reid. I wonder if I can do that one day, too.

Yang hoped. Knocking others out just by looking at them? Didn't that just sound badass?

Reid snapped his fingers and cast a ball of light that followed them, lighting up the dark cave as they continued to explore it. Yang noticed the charred stones all over, as well as the skeletal remains of humans and even other dragons. Armor and weapons all littered the rocky floor of the dragon's den, all broken and burnt into ash.

As each dragon spotted them, Reid would put them to sleep with a burst of his Conqueror's Haki, saving them a fight and sparing their lives. Clearly, these poor dragons weren't evil by any means and were just following orders of the big bad one deeper into the cave. Reid understood that fully.

Once they reached the main cavern, Yang froze at what she saw. Mountains of gold and jewelry in every corner— treasure and wealth beyond the blond's wildest dreams. So much that it probably matched and surpassed Reid and Weiss' net worth combined.

Even Yang, who wasn't particularly concerned with money, couldn't help but salivate at the sight. She quickly wiped the drool off her mouth as she thought about it realistically. That amount of money could probably just destroy the economy of Remnant as a whole. It probably wouldn't be wise to bring it back.

Though, taking back some of it wouldn't hurt, right? After they were done with the giant dragon in the room.

Because when Reid had said it was bigger than the other dragons, she hadn't expected it to be ten times larger. The size difference was immense— one of its wings was large enough to cover several of the smaller dragons.

Thick, grayish-red scales covered the beast, with large scars over its right eye. Its wings were tattered and worn, signifying either its age or history with combat. It looked significantly more intimidating than the other dragons. No wonder it was so feared.

Thankfully, it hadn't noticed them yet as it fed on the carcasses of the animals its servants had brought it. That didn't last long, though, as another burst of Reid's Conqueror's Haki immediately alerted them of their presence. The beast snarled and roared at her boyfriend in rage, who was completely unphased as he rushed forth into battle.

Yang, on the verge of telling him to wait — because charging at a massive monster like that might not be a good idea — stopped dead in her tracks as Reid smashed his fist into the dragon's snout, pushing it back and causing a shockwave that shook the cavern.

Yang knew her boyfriend was insanely powerful— she'd seen him take on one of the most fearsome monsters in Remnant, but to see him straight-up punching a fucking DRAGON with that much force made her freeze in the spot.

I know he's strong… Yang thought, still in shock. But THIS strong?! What the fuck?!

Of course, it wouldn't be that easy as the dragon recovered pretty quickly, and from its maw, it began spewing a ball of intensely hot flames at Reid, who managed to move out of the way by propelling himself with his own fire spell.

The dragon responded by trying to eat him whole, but her boyfriend, as crazy as he was, simply kicked it right in the jaw before using the bladed whips of his gauntlets and wrapping them around its snout, closing its mouth shut and dragging its head down to the ground.

"So you're gonna jump in any time soon?" Reid suddenly said, giving her a quick glance as the dragon struggled to escape his clutches.

"Well… To be honest, it looks like you got it covered." Yang responded.

"Yeah, but I thought you'd—" Reid froze mid-sentence, letting go of the dragon and backing off as its scales began to glow a fiery color.

That's when it let out a powerful roar as it exploded with fire and lightning covering its entire body. The dragon then charged at Reid, ramming him into the wall. As it was preparing to release a wave of fire and electricity from its mouth, Yang acted first, injecting herself with a potion that increased her power, then launching herself into the dragon and striking its head, prompting it to miss her boyfriend.

Its breath was in the form of a concentrated beam of flames surrounded by lightning sparks, which tore through and scorched the cavern's ceiling and walls. Something of that magnitude could've killed Reid had he taken it to the face.

However, Yang was quickly swatted away as it smacked her with its wing before she could do anything else. Surprisingly, the impact of the hit didn't hurt as much as she expected. It was the burning and electrifying sensation that was genuinely painful.

She gritted her teeth, landed on her feet, then tried to charge at it again. Reid had already managed to get away from the dragon, and with the two working together, even the dragon's sudden proficiency in lightning magic didn't help it as much.

Yang knew, however, that using fire magic against something like that wouldn't do much, so she reserved her spells to avoid attacks by propelling herself in various directions, just as Reid had. Her boyfriend, who could do more than throw balls of fire, stuck to using water and light spells, besides his devastating punches of course.

It seemed to her that Reid was intentionally avoiding spells that could cause a cave-in, even though this cavern was massive. From beams of light to razor-sharp wheels of water that made a strange noise every time he cast them, the dragon was starting to get really desperate.

But it still wasn't easy as the beast caught her by surprise with a tail whip, sending her crashing through the huge piles of gold. Yang opened her eyes and yelped as she saw the pointy end of a sword mere inches away from her chest, prompting her to dig out of the golden mound as fast as she could. As she made it out, she saw Reid crashing into the wall behind her.

And he couldn't get out of the way fast enough as the dragon unleashed another one of its fire-lightning beams, striking her boyfriend true. Yang felt her heart drop to her stomach as she saw the dragon use more of its magic to increase the size and power of the beam, digging through the wall as it got closer and closer.

"Reid!" She called out in worry before scowling, her eyes turning red once she activated her semblance.

She launched herself upward, kicking the bastard dragon in the jaw and redirecting its attack at the ceiling once again. The dragon quickly stopped the beam before it caused any damage, being smart enough not to cause the entire cavern to collapse.

Yang was too angry to feel scared by the dragon's glare, persisting in her assault. Even though the body heat of the dragon was so intense that it nearly made her catch on fire, she continued smashing her fists into its body, moving it with the force of her punches.

Unfortunately, Yang wasn't as fast as her boyfriend and couldn't avoid the beast's bite. However, she was able to stop it from immediately crushing her under its jaws, surprised at her own strength.

Though, contrary to the approaching beam of fire in its throat, Yang felt cold. It felt as if she was watching impending death, and honestly, it was terrifying. Either she let go of the monster's upper jaw, and she got crushed, or she was incinerated.

Or the third option, which was a light sword piercing the beast's snout from above, interrupting its fire breath and making it scream in pain. This gave Yang more than enough time to move out of the way, watching a shirtless Reid above the dragon surrounded by a massive silver, ethereal ribcage. In his hand was a spear she hadn't seen before, which he used to stab the dragon in the head, sending it crashing down to the ground.

Yang fell down and landed on her feet, and as the dust settled, she saw that the dragon was dead as its fire and lightning aura had died down. The light in its eyes left quickly after Reid pulled the spear away, the weird silver ribcage disappearing after he exhaled.

"It was a lot stronger than I thought." He said to himself, sending the spear to his inventory space. "Is this really a rare dungeon?"

Yang then fell to her knees with a deep, relieved sigh. That was pretty close, but it was also extremely exciting. She didn't remember the last time anything had gotten her heart pounding like that. This thrilling experience is exactly why she had become a huntress.

Although, fighting an actual dragon was not something she'd expected in a million years. Leave it to her boyfriend to create an unforgettable experience like this. Ruby was going to be so jealous when she heard about this.

After catching her breath, Yang got back up and rushed toward Reid in excitement.

"What the hell was that?!" Yang asked, looking amazed. "That silver aura thing! How did you do that?!"

"Hmm? Oh, that?" Reid smirked. "I call it the 'Susanoo'. It's a secret technique no one knows about."

Of course, no one knew about it. Reid suddenly pulling a new random power out of his ass? It should be expected at this point. Making up new powers was one of his powers.

"Can you teach me?!" She requested, looking at him in childish wonder. It's not like that was a bad thing. "Pretty please?!"

"Sorry, that one is unteachable." He responded apologetically, jumping off the dragon's head. "It's related to the weird red eyes thing I can do."

"Aww…" Yang didn't hide her disappointment.

"Don't look at me like that." He rolled his eyes. "Come on, we just beat a dragon! All of this belongs to us now!"

Reid gestured at the mountains of gold in the cavern. Although some of it was burned into nothing, even a fraction of what remained was probably enough to make anyone on Remant live a life of luxury.

Yang had to admit that this was tempting as hell.

"Should we really take all of it?" She asked, knowing the terrible economic ramifications of doing such a thing. "I mean, it's not like you need any more money."

"I don't." He nodded. "But I can use all of that for more than just money, you know? Did you know gold is an excellent material for magic-related projects?"

"Of course…" She sighed.

As Reid started sending hundreds of tons of gold into his storage, Yang caught something from the corner of her eye, prompting her to examine it. It was where the dragon had been lying when they'd arrived— a large, oval object buried in a smaller pile of gold.

Once she got close enough to this object, she quickly realized that it was an egg. A red egg bigger than even Zwei. It emitted a level of warmth the closer she was to it, and as she put a hand on the egg, it twitched. Whatever was inside was alive.

That thing had been a mother?

…Well, shit. Yang's lips thinned. Now I feel bad…

Not too bad, though, as that dragon was clearly a tyrant who bullied the weak and took their things…

Huh, didn't that sound familiar? Yang couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity.

"You found anything interesting?" Reid stopped as he saw her caressing the egg. "Well, I'll be. That thing had kids?"

"Right?"

"Cool!" He said, then blinked. "…So are you gonna take it or…?"

"Huh?" Yang blinked. "Wait, I can?"

"Yeah, why not? A pet dragon sounds cool, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but is that fine?" Yang felt indecisive.

"Sure," Reid stated. "They're extremely loyal, so if you raise it, it'll probably follow you everywhere you go. "

"And what if it discovers that we killed its mom?"

"I doubt it would care. Wyvern subtypes are closer to animals than other dragons." He explained. "It would consider you as its mother. Assuming you incubate it using your magic."

"But how do you even take care of a pet dragon?"

"Dunno." Reid shrugged. "Look, Yang, if you don't want it, I'll be happy to take it off your hands—"

"What? No way, I found it first." She pouted. "I decided. This is my child now."

Reid laughed at her quick 180. Yang now felt obligated to take care of it after being part of killing its mother, and she'd make sure it didn't turn out to be as evil or tyrannical. But more than that, she swore to treat it well.

And be the mother Raven could never hope to be.

– Reid –

That dragon was seriously a lot more powerful than I thought it would be. It did not fit the rare tier by any means. It seriously felt like something I'd find in an epic-level dungeon instead, which is two tiers above.

It was going so well until that dragon used that lightning mode. First of all, I didn't expect I'd be fighting a dual-elemental dragon like that, and second, why lightning? This is the second time a boss monster has used lightning aura as a second phase. It's weird.

Is it intentional? Am I destined to fight monsters who have a lightning-related transformation? I don't know, but I'd rather be safe. I might start stacking up on lightning resistance potions and armor at this point.

I didn't think I'd be bamboozled like that, but honestly? All's well that ends well. I beat it, took its gold, and even leveled up a few times. I might've had to use Susanoo and the spear I got from the Leviathan dungeon a long time ago — since a fire katana wouldn't do well against a fire dragon — but we won. Plus, we got a fucking dragon egg out of that.

And Yang actually helped quite a bit there, as well. I was always confident in her and any of my other students to take on rare-tier dungeons, but I didn't expect her to do so well against what felt like an epic-level boss. I'm extremely proud of her.

She seems to be feeling way better after the fight. I can still detect hints of depression from her, but there's a massive wave of motivation from her that began the moment she decided to take care of the egg. I don't know what she's exactly thinking since my Haki doesn't give me mind reading, but I'm glad that it's helping her get back to her usual self.

A dragon egg, though… That's huge. I don't know when it will hatch, but something like that on our side is a massive advantage. It could surpass its mother relatively easily if raised and trained well, giving even Titans a run for their money.

Obviously, we'll have to keep it somewhere secret because I'm not ready yet to reveal the existence of dragons to the people of Remnant. Golems and potions are fine since they're my own creation, but a whole dragon? And the first of its kind in this world? Yeah, I'd rather not have anyone try to get their hands on it. Salem with a pet dragon sounds like bad news.

Yang seems more and more keen on raising it, too. She wrapped the egg in a blanket and wanted to hold it the entire time, even as we made it out of the dungeon and got on my bike. I don't know if getting attached to it so much so soon is a good idea, but if it's helping with her mental state, then who am I to argue?

I mean, I think Yang would be a good mother. She cared for Ruby all her childhood, after all— she can care for a baby dragon.

"How do we know if it's a boy or a girl, though?" Yang suddenly asks as we get off my bike in front of the mansion. "Is there a way to tell?"

"I don't think so," I respond. "We'll have to wait until it hatches."

"Right…" She says, looking at the egg. "I'm asking cuz I already have a girl's name for it."

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking Blaze."

"What?" I blink and raise a brow. "That's so boring, though."

No way you're talking.

Shut up.

"Oh really, Mister Blue King?"

"First of all, I didn't give myself that title," I argue. "Second, I fucking hate it too."

Azure was right there, goddamn it.

"Whatever. What do you suggest, then?"

I pause for a moment, thinking of a name.

"Seath."

"What kind of name is 'Seath'?" Yang frowns. "What does it even mean? Forget it; I'm not naming it that."

"Fine. How about Midir, then."

"No."

"Oh, come on," I complain before quickly finding another name. "Kalameet?"

"I would rather lose an arm."

She is not easy to please.

I pause and try to come up with something else, then smirk once I find the perfect name. There's no way she'd say no to this one.

"Placidusax!"

"Where do you even get these names from? They sound so terrible."

"They sound memorable." I scoff. She could never understand. "Yours sounds generic and boring."

As we continue arguing, Qrow suddenly makes his presence known as he flies over in his bird form, landing in front of us and transforming back into a human.

"Where the hell were you?" He asks, looking at me seriously. "Why weren't you answering your scroll?

"I had it on mute." I blink. And because I was in another universe. No signal there. "Did something happen?

Qrow sighs, rubbing his forehead. What he says next makes my blood run cold.

"Salem sent Tyrian after Ruby."

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