Screams. Screams were all Yang could hear around her.

But they weren't just any screams. They were screams of her colleagues, her classmates, the people she went to school with. The screams of those who were still considered kids who haven't seen what the world had to offer.

This was a normal occurrence for her when having dreams. They would often force her to relive moments during the Fall of Beacon; her fight with Mercury, the tidal wave of Grimm assaulting the city, etc. But the most common experience that will forever plague was her tussle with Blake's ex…the moment she had her arm cut off.

The dream always went as so: She finds herself in the burning cafeteria, screams echo around the room, her surroundings are burning, and approaching her with his sword unsheathed was Adam Taurus. Rinse and repeat. The same nightmare over and over again for the past few months.

Only this time, things are quite different. Drastically different.

Instead of Beacon's common food area, she stood in a large squishy open area. Even when surrounded by large heaps of fire, her surroundings were ice cold, as if hell had froze over. The screams were now replaced with ear-piercing grown and muffles. But the most drastic change of this dream was her attacker.

It wasn't Adam Taurus, that's for damn sure. It was some kind of knight of sorts, wearing full black bulky armor. His helmet had a stern face and large protruding horns by his crown. The sound of scraping metal turned her to see him dragging an enormous greatsword behind. If that hadn't made her fearful, the vibrations made with each step he took did.

In her other dreams, Yang would've had ember celica on her wrists and blasted the approaching figure to smithereens.

This time, however, she had nothing to defend herself with. And to make matters worse, her insides started burning up in excruciating pain. It felt like something was crawling through her insides and wanted out. She held her stomach to try to relieve some pain, but pulled away when her right arm started scorching like it had caught on fire. Yang could only scream in agony as the skin of her arm melted away.

Spppppaaaaaarrrdaaaaaa

The black knight groaned as he lifted his sword behind his shoulder before swinging it down on her.

Yang could do nothing but watch and…

…bolt upright from her bed. While trying to keep her breathing at a steady rate, Yang looked over her surroundings. To her relief, she could still make out the different parts of her room by the morning rays coming from the shades of her window. She was still at home. On Patch. And far away from Beacon Academy…

Remembering her dream, basic instinct forced Yang to look to her right side, only to be greeted by the stub where her right arm used to be. A quick glance to a nearby desk would relieve her as her prosthetic arm still laid on its surface. While she had been training with it for an entire week, she preferred not to sleep with it as its cold metal surface often kept her up.

Having calmed down, Yang heaved in exhaustion before forcing herself off the bed. No use in trying to go back to sleep. before a small whine caught her attention. Next to her bed was the family dog Zwei. He must've heard her having a nightmare and decided to check up on her.

"Don't worry boy," said Yang as she petted the corgi up and gave him a reassuring smile. "It was just a nightmare…only a nightmare". She wasn't sure why she had to re-affirm that. Was she trying to convince Zwei or herself?

While changing into a more suitable attire, her mind couldn't help but go back to that said dream. It wasn't like her old dreams; this was something brand new. And the entire thing felt real. Almost too real. Pushing the thought in the back of her mind, Yang attached her prosthetic arm and proceeded down to the kitchen. Breakfast was probably already done.

Upon descending the stairs, the smell of buttery hot cakes and sizzling bacon got to her nose and made her stomach start rumbling in anticipation. The scent of food already got Zwei to race down the stairs and into the room where it's coming from. Entering the house kitchen/dining area, Yang immediately noticed the 2 plates stacked high with pancakes and another filled with crispy bacon. By the stove was her dad, Taiyang Xiao Long, who was currently cooking (hopefully the last because she wasn't sure they would be able to finish all the food he made) a hotcake.

"Mornin' kiddo." Taiyang said without even turning his back towards her. "Hope you're hungry cause I've been 'bacon' breakfast all morning."

Yang couldn't help but chuckle at her dad's dorky pun as she took a seat by the table (Sure, she picked up the habit, but it's only cool if she does it). "Then you must've had a good 'flippin' morning!"

Tai gave a hearty laugh as he finished up with the final pancake. However, instead of moving the hot cake with a spatula like any other person, he decided to do something even more exhilarating.

With a flick of the wrist, he tossed the final cake into the air. Once at a proper angle from the table, Tai then used his spatula to smack the item through the air and towards the table. Yang barely had time to react until she saw a pancake slam itself on her plate. A large smirk was plastered onto the father's face as he admired his accomplishment.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Your apron's on fire."

"Huh?- AH CRAP!"

With food all set and the flaming apron put out, the father-daughter duo finally dug into the feast made for them. Had it not been for their similar hair color and attitude, others would've connected their relation just based on their eating habits. Both would always take heaps of bacon and eat their pancakes with fruit and powdered sugar. While Yang often added bananas to her pancakes, her father preferred the use of strawberries.

As they continued along with their meal, Tai observed how silent his daughter had been. Ever since she tried out her new arm, Yang would've always asked him what new exercise they would be trying that day. Today, she asked no such question and spent most of her looking off into the distance while picking at her food. "Something on your mind?"

That got her attention. "Hm? Oh, sorry. Just some dream that got me up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Dream?" concerned Tai as he played closer attention. "Wouldn't happen to be the same one at Beacon I hope."

"Not exactly. This one…this one was different." Yang insisted.

"Different how?"

"I...I wasn't at Beacon this time. There were screams everywhere and everything was burning, but it wasn't a place I recognized. And instead of the guy with the katana, it was a huge dude dressed in full black armor."

"Sounds quite ominous."

"That wasn't even the weirdest part." insisted Yang. "It didn't feel like a dream. I smelt the smoke in the air, burning heat of the fire, and even the shaking ground as the guy walked closer to me. Almost as if I was actually there."

Yang wasn't sure when her left arm started trembling until Tai placed his hand over her in comfort. "Hey, you've got nothing to worry about. No matter how realistic that dream was, it was nothing but that. It won't hurt you or affect you unless you want it to."

Even with her father's comforting words, she still couldn't get that feeling of dread out of her system, and he noticed that.

Tai decided to change the subject. "How about we talk about your arm exercises?"

She was more than willing with the change in topic. "What about them?"

With his daughter in such a vulnerable state, perhaps they should start off easy. "Well, since the only thing we've been testing that arm for is combat practice, what do you think of a change to something more…practical?"

"Practical?"

Fortunately, Tai already had a practical idea in mind for her exercise. Reaching into his pocket, he dug through his shorts before handing his daughter a piece of paper.

Yang could only raise her brow as she fully analyzed what the paper contained: it was a shopping list.

"You forgot to pick up some groceries, didn't you?"

"Uh…"

A response wasn't really needed. The fact that he started sweating and his tan skin turned a bit pale was already an answer.

She could only chuckle and roll her eyes at her father's nervousness as she brought her empty plate towards the kitchen. However, before dropping the plates into the sink, something caught her attention through her peripheral the window was a figure in a dark cloak holding what looked like a scythe. But the moment her head faced the window, the figure was gone.

Unconvinced that figure wasn't a figment of her imagination, she continued and glanced around the area outside, only to find no trace of anybody there in the first place.

Tai noticed his daughter looking out towards the yard. "Looking for something?".

"...No. Just thought I saw something." replied Yang, giving one last search outside before heading up to prepare to leave.

It took her a couple minutes to finally get dressed and prepped for the trip to the nearby town. Just as Yang was about to make sure she had everything, she heard loud barking by the front of the house. Investigating the source had her find Zwei barking and growling at their front door. Sensing danger, she made a quick dash to the front door and…found nothing. Another quick glance around the front porch would reveal no sign of life.

But while she may see nothing out of the ordinary, Yang did feel the sudden change in atmosphere. The air around her felt heavy and cold. An immediate chill went down her spine and the feeling of dread once again filled her insides. This feeling...the atmosphere around…it's nearly identical to the one in her dream.

A sudden tug on her pant leg would shift her attention. At her feet was Zwei, pulling onto her pants whilst giving her the puppy dog eyes. Even when Yang attempted to nudge him away, Zwei relented and continued to whine and try to keep her from leaving.

"Come on, Zwei. I'm only going to the store." soothed Yang when she finally got her leg free. "I promise I won't take too long, and maybe even buy you a couple treats when I head back."

Zwei responded with a cry before deflating to the ground as he watched one of his masters walk towards what he considered danger.

The trip to town had felt very odd to say the least. Not only had she felt uneasy when going around town, she had a sense that someone had been following her the entire time. Whether it be in the market or picking up something from one of the old stores. Something or someone was trailing behind her. Yet, each time she tried to glance at whoever it was, she found no specific culprit.

Initially, Yang only considered nothing more than an annoyance, but started to get more anxious as she felt more eyes on her after a while. It got to the point where paranoia had her to grab everything on the list in record time just to get home as fast as she could.

Having been living in Patch a majority of her life, it was easy for her to navigate around town. Yang knew every route and shortcut to help her get around faster while still being able to tell where she was. So it had befuddled her on how she ended up in a void alleyway that was unrecognizable. She was sure she hadn't made any wrong turns, so it was impossible for her to have ended up there.

Her attention would shift at the sudden change in atmosphere in the alley. The treacherous aura from earlier had filled the entire place in an instant. Rot soon covered the walls and floor around her as the air's temperature dropped to an utter zero. It was as if a strong winter breeze had flowed through that specific area.

This was physically impossible. And she was damn sure that it was no illusion. No semblance or Grimm was capable of even doing this. Never had she ever seen such a thing be possible. Except…The dream.

A booming groan then echoed throughout the alleyway before the sounds of metal footsteps followed in its wake. No No No, this can't be happening! It was only a dream! A large menacing figure made its way towards her from the shadows. Its outline may differ but there was no mistaking its murderous prescense.

Not wanting to stay any longer, she made a quick getaway from the alley and into the opposite direction. As fast as her feet could carry, she paid no attention what direction she went. So long as it was away from there. Perhaps too occupied with her escape to have failed to notice what was in front of her and accidentally bumped into someone, knocking each other down along with the groceries she held.

"Ah crap! I am sorry about that." Yang apologized as she recollected her fallen items.

Even after getting knocked over, the man just brushed himself off before helping her with the fallen groceries. "It's fine, don't worry about it. It's probably my fault for not paying attention on what's ahead of me anyway"

With all the items back in hand, Yang finally got a good look at the person who helped her. Just a single glance and she already knew he wasn't a local. She had been to town more times than she could count and not once had she seen anybody around with the same white faux-hawk hair. In fact, had it not been for his casual punk attire and friendly attitude, Yang could've sworn he was a relative of Weiss. On his back was a long mechanized sword and by his waist were various cybernetic arms. A visiting Huntsman perhaps?

"Actually, sorry if I am being abrupt, but do you mind helping me with something?"

A sly smirk formed on Yang's face. "Quite sudden. Perhaps buying a girl a drink first?"

"Unfortunately for you, I'm already a taken man." He joked as he shook his head at her flirtatiousness before going back on topic. "I'm looking for someone who's possibly around here."

"Possibly?"

A guilty laugh came out as the man rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I kinda just got…dropped here. The guy I'm looking for is supposedly around the island."

"Fortunately for you, I am familiar with almost everyone around here." Yang boasted before asking the important question. "Who are you looking for?"

"A relative of mine; my uncle to be precise. Same white hair, slightly taller than I am, and fancies wearing red coats and jackets. Any of these ring any bells?"

Sounds like a stand-out to her, yet she can't seem to recall anybody matching the description. Even her dad tended to talk about seeing newcomers around but she doesn't recall him seeing anything notable. Try as she might, nothing came to mind during her recent visits to town. However, just because she can't doesn't mean someone else might not have. "Don't think I saw anyone like that, but maybe someone at the old shops have. People there tend to gossip about foreigners that appear around Patch." She said before directing him to the various stores.

With a heavy sigh, the man had no choice but to find a lead there. "Thanks anyway, Miss-"

"Yang, you can call me Yang. And nice to meet you too..."

"Nero, the name's Nero."

Upon parting ways, Yang couldn't help but look after him in their departure. Something felt off about him. His presence felt almost…familiar to say the least.

Speaking of, she had to get back home before her dad tried to send a search party after her. But little did she know the fate that befell her home.

Yang knew something was wrong even before she made it to the porch.

Whenever she, Ruby, or their dad came home, Zwei often zipped out and pounced onto them as a welcome home. Even if he couldn't, he would at least yelp or bark to announce their presence. However this time, there was neither reaction from the Corgi. Not only that, the same ominous aura that she felt before her departure and in the town's alleyway had grown to the extent that it was physically pushing her down and made her weak at the knees.

Fearing for the worse, she quickened her pace towards the house.

The closer she got, the more worried she became, and the faster her pace went . Destruction had been laid on different parts of the property; the mailbox had been snapped in half and laid in the dirt, the rails of the porch were completely torn down, various windows had been broken, and a giant hole had been made at the side of the house.

Yang had already burst into a sprint. The groceries she had spent her time getting were left forgotten in her wake.

"Dad!?" She called out, but heard no response. "Zwei!?". Once again, no response.

By the time she reached the porch, Yang had kicked in the ripped-hinged door and surveyed the damage from the inside.

The inside was a complete mess; the majority of the furniture had either been turned over or knocked down, the banister was completely torn off, the pictures that hung on the wall now shattered on the floor, and the holo-television lay broken on the floor with the news going off and on. The kitchen and dining area looked worse for wear as the table was broken into two with smashed plates close by.

Her heart dropped at the sight before immediately calling out. "Dad! Zwei!"

Hope swelled up within Yang as she heard a whine come from under the couch. Not too long did the sound get replaced with shuffling and out came the corgi from beneath the flipped over couch.

"Zwei!" gasped Yang as she took the dog into her arms and held him close. She held back any tears as she knew she had to stay strong. Without even looking at him, she already knew Zwei's aura was completely depleted and his form was exhausted. The whine he kept making crushed her heart even more. But this now begged the question: where was her dad in all this? "Come on boy, let's find dad."

Almost as if someone heard her, an intense groan pulsated from the floor above them. Fast shadows circled the house as seen from the windows. Yang readied herself in a combat stance; Zwei being held in her good hand while her prosthetic prepped for combat. Her eyes had shifted from lilac to near blood red while her blonde mane glowed bright as flames. With anger and drive, Yang prepared herself for any attack.

What happened next was almost a complete blur to her. One minute she was standing ready in the middle of the living room, then the next thing she knew she was launched straight out of the house and into the ground outside. Had it not been for her aura absorbing the impact, that would've broken a crap-ton of bones.

A quick glance to the corgi in her arms found him unconscious. He must've been knocked out from exhaustion and stress.

Her attention then turned towards her attackers and it made her blood run a bit cold. It was the dark cloaked people she saw after breakfast. Only this time, it looked more dead than actually living. Upon closer inspection, it had decaying dark gray skin and bright glowing red eyes with its mouth hanging at an unnatural angle. What made her blood run cold wasn't their lifeless appearance, but the fact they had been more than a couple. Several of those living corpses had her entire front covered..

Yang screamed a battle cry as she charged towards her attackers. The moment her left fist struck just one of them, a sudden pain encompassed her entire knuckle. While it did send one of them flying, it had felt like she received more damage from that attack than they did. This wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

An approaching swish from behind forced her duck to her knees. The swing of the scythe from the living corpse missed her by a hair and jammed through the torso of its buddy. But much to Yang's horror, instead of crying out in pain or spitting out blood, the corpse yanked the weapon out and walked it off.

What were these things?

For more firepower, the wrist of her prosthetic shifted until twin barrels sprouted out. The miracles of Atlesian technology. She was thankful that General Ironwood had anticipated her fighting style and added the gun to match her Ember Celica. Cocking the shotgun built into her arm, Yang launched herself with the additional boost.

But no matter how hard she punched or how many pellets she loaded into their bodies, the corpse monsters ceased to drop and kept getting back up. Everytime she thought she dropped one, more kept coming back. And even more of them started evading her attacks. It's almost like they were getting smarter.

Perhaps it was time for her ace in the hole. While she hadn't taken much damage during the fight, her semblance can still be charged by her aura. Smacking her knuckles together, a powerful aura surrounded Yang as her eyes once again turned blood red and her hair bursted to flames. The enemies around her stood still as her own power built up before reaching its limit. Fully charged by her semblance, she blasted herself towards a single target, her first ready to at least fully take one of them down.

Only…it looked like they anticipated her attack. Just as she was about to land her semblance's enhanced punch, the monster slipped out of the way and countered with a swing of its scythe. She had little time to react and charged her arms with aura to block the upcoming blow. But instead of damaging her aura, the weapon sliced clean through and sent her flying.

With the remains of her aura, Yang covered herself as she skidded across the dirt before crashing into a tree. That final crash had been the final nail and shattered what was left of her aura.

Her entire body had felt light and sore. Without even looking, she could feel blood seeping down her arm where the scythe cut her. It was impossible. She had plenty of aura left, so it should've blocked the blow. And yet it went through like a hot knife through butter.

However there were worse things to think about at the moment because the corpse monsters were advancing towards her crashed position.

Yang tried to lift herself, but fell back from exhaustion and a sudden imbalance. With the corpses close to her proximity, her next plan was to keep them at a distance by firing a couple shells from her position, only to come to a realization when she spotted something across the field.

There, laid destroyed on the grass, was the end half of her prosthetic arm. Her head slowed when she turned to her side; the prosthetic that was once whole was now fractured into pieces, with wires and sparks sticking out where her arm had been cleaved off.

Her entire surroundings had shifted back to the cafeteria at Beacon Academy. Fire now surrounded the place as the screams of students echoed around. Instead of the corpse monster, there stood Adam Taurus with his sword in hand, ready to finish her off. Yang's breathing turned erratic at the approaching figure; her body retreating away from the faunus, even when her back was laid flat against the tree. There was no escape for her. Yang sat frozen in fear as Adam lifted his sword for one final strike.

Just as it was about to bring it's scythe down, a deafening bang echoed throughout the property before the monster's head erupts into a dense smoke.

Returning to reality, Yang turned to her savior and was flabbergasted to find Nero standing close by with a smoking modified revolver in hand. Not only was she bewildered by his sudden appearance, but also the calmness that radiated from his stature.

"Well would you look at that. Never expected to see guys like you around these parts." Nero quipped as he twirled his weapon before holstering it. The demons took caution and backed up from his approaching figure. It was then he noticed an injured Yang nearby, alongside an exhausted corgi.

"Didn't your mothers ever tell you it's rude to hit a lady?" In swift motion, he unsheathed his sword before stabbing it into the ground. "How about I teach you guys a lesson". As he twisted the handle, the weapon burst to life with flames erupting out of its exhausts.

As much as Yang wanted to see the fight, her physical and mental exhaustion reached its tipping point as she fell into unconsciousness.

Author's Note: Just some little story I thought of in the midst of writing the latest RotGW. Kinda made me realize I barely focused on Yang so I thought perhaps I should practice a bit.

I do not own any of the characters. All characters and names used are owned by either Rooster Teeth or Capcom Japan.