Chapter 31

Hotter than a Sun Dragon

Yang stared down at the disfigured corpse lying at her feet, their insides spilling out and limbs twisted unnaturally as though something had tried tearing them off. The young girl's lifeless body stared up at her with dull gray eyes and a horrified expression forever frozen on its face.

"R-Ruby," Yang wailed. "I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Why weren't you there for me?" the body rasped, crimson stained lips faintly moving. "You said you'd always be there for me, so why weren't you there when I needed you most?" A gnarled finger with missing flesh pointed. "What kind of loving big sister fakes being sick just to get out of having to spend time with the people that love her? What was it about me and my mom that you hated so much?"

"I-it's not like that," she stuttered, backing away. "Ruby, please. I-I can explain."

"You brought them to Patchwork you know. The Branwen curse. Your last fight with Mom's what lured the Beowolves to our home. Remember all those horrible things you said to her? You made her cry that night, and it's too late to make it up to her now."

"Stop it!"

"Stop it," the corpse mocked. "That's what I was telling the Beowolves while they were tearing me apart. While they were tearing Mom apart..."

Yang turned to run up but a hand grabbed her by the wrist, sharp nails almost like talons digging into her flesh. With knees trembling, she looked up and saw a woman in a white cloak stained crimson towering over her.

"We're dead because of you, Yang," said the second corpse with dull gray eyes. "You killed Ruby. You killed me. You killed what was left of Amber's family along with the rest of Patchwork, and now the two of us are dying all over again because of you."

"S-Summer," she sobbed, falling to her knees and hugging the woman's leg. "MOM! PLEASE!"

"I thought you said that I wasn't your mother? I lost count how many times you shouted that at me, as though I needed reminding. Well, sweetie, you're no daughter of mine, and you're no sister of Ruby's either..."

As she spoke, low growls and snarls began creeping closer, and Yang had just enough time to scream before she was swallowed by darkness...

Yang yawned and rubbed the back of her neck wondering not for the first time how she'd been convinced to go on a picnic with her teammates, much less crawl out of bed. A glance down at the girl she had an arm around was her answer, though that just made her question what Ruby was doing out of bed, which she didn't exactly have an answer for.

"I'm fine, really!" the caped-girl insisted, trying to drag her lethargic sister along despite her own feet barely touching the ground. "I can walk on my own!"

"This isn't about what happened the other day, Rubes. This is about me having a hangover and you kicking in your sleep again. You make for a really good armrest, you know? If this huntress gig doesn't work out you really oughta think about making a career out of it."

"You're not even putting any weight on me! I'm practically floating!"

"I'm practically floating too, sis, but you don't hear me complaining. I know you're just trying to convince me to let you go tomorrow but you're staying home and that's final. Now please shut up..."

"I feel fine!" she shouted, looking up at her sister fervently, desperately even. "For the last time it was just aura exhaustion combined with physical exhaustion! You're overreacting! If we're gonna start babying each other every time one of us passes out from training then we might as well start wrapping ourselves in bubble wrap too!"

"If you don't start talking quieter I'm gonna try skipping you across the lake..."

Weiss glanced at the girl being dragged along beside her but quickly looked away when they caught each other's eye, possibly reading the other's mind. Ruby turned back to Yang speaking in a quieter, more deliberate sounding tone. "Speaking of passing out, you're the reason why I started keeping pillows and blankets in the bathroom..."

The heiress sighed and shook her head as the sisters had spent the majority of the past two days going back and forth like this, with Ruby being adamant that she felt well-enough for a tour aboard Polaris' airship and wanting Weiss and Blake to vouch for her, and Yang perpetually somewhere between inebriated and hungover. Ruby could hardly sneeze without someone hovering over her asking if she was alright, and it had been her suggestion that morning to go on a quiet picnic by the lake. It wasn't a terribly far walk, especially with Yang carrying her most of the way, but it had been a surprise to everyone when she agreed to let her sister go. Even Yang seemed surprised and unsure how this had transpired.

Weiss and Blake had anticipated another day of lounging around, watching Ruby's favorite movies and ordering her favorite foods while at the same time ignoring her constant demands and miserable pleas to be allowed to leave the room, occasionally even having to drag her back when she tried escaping on her own. They weren't sure if Yang allowing the picnic was because of Ruby's sad puppy eyes had finally gotten her or if it was simply because Yang was going stir crazy, but either way they thought it also had something to do with three sleepless nights where drinking began before she was ever fully awake.

They'd all been having trouble sleeping actually, especially those who shared a bed with Ruby, and not just because she kicked. While she claimed to not remember hallucinating her nightmares seemed to say otherwise, and sometimes they bled into their own dreams.

"You're all being ridiculous." Ruby crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. "I'm fine, and I'm going aboard General Ironwood's airship tomorrow and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Yang let out a humorless laugh. "Rubes, there's about a million and one ways I could stop you, the least being not helping you get dressed tomorrow. And good luck walking to the bottom of the campus in heels. I'll be sure to have the paramedics waiting on standby."

Ruby muttered something under her breath and kicked the sidewalk. Getting dressed into her huntress attire earlier that day had been an arduous task that took well-over an hour to complete. She'd wanted to wear something other than her now customary sweatshirt and sweatpants, and while she had exited the bathroom feeling exhausted but triumphant, her teammates couldn't help being concerned over how long it had taken. They also hated pointing out that her blouse had been inside out, but if they were going out in public they felt Ruby needed to keep up appearances, plus it had been causing Weiss' good eye to twitch. It had then taken another half-hour for Ruby to get ready, constantly shouting from behind the bathroom door that she didn't need anybody's help, especially not her sister's.

Once her grumblings started to become more audible Yang gave her a gentle squeeze which she didn't seem to appreciate. "Don't worry, Rubes. While Weiss is off playing heiress we're gonna eat fatty foods, watch rated-r movies, and talk bad about her behind her back."

"And just how exactly is that any different from when my back isn't turned," Weiss asked curiously.

Yang grinned at her. "Well for one thing there isn't as much high-pitched screeching."

"I beg your pardon!?"

Yang playfully winced and covered her ears, and saw that Weiss was doing her best to not grin. "I think you might've just busted one of Blake's eardrums again." She turned to her partner who was walking a few paces behind, her eyes and ears busily scanning their open surroundings. Despite most of the students having returned from missions it seemed the cooler weather had either chased them indoors or they were simply catching up on much needed rest.

"Blake, I made a funny. You're supposed to pretend you didn't find it funny and try not to laugh, and then break your hand slapping me in the back of the head. It's tradition and how you show that you love me."

"Sorry," she said mildly, watching the trees and bushes for any movement, "but I can't hear you on account of one of my eardrums being busted."

"Good thing you've got an extra pair, eh?" Yang received a dirty look that was almost as good as a slap to the head, and seemingly pleased with herself she turned her attention back to Ruby who was still pouting. "Don't worry about it, sis. Being aboard an airship full of Atlesians sounds about as much fun as going to the dentist or getting a haircut. The wildest thing that'll probably happen is somebody forgets which fork they're supposed to use. Er, no offense, Weiss."

"None taken, though I do have a rather scandalous story about the time my cousin used a dessert spoon instead of a soup spoon to eat his-" everyone including Ruby and Blake turned to her with raised brows. "Perhaps it's one of those stories where you had to have been there..."

At the mention of dessert Ruby's stomach reflexively grumbled, causing Yang to chuckle and sigh in relief that it was just an empty stomach her sister's hand was holding and nothing more. So she told herself anyway.

"If you wanted a snack before the picnic all you had to do is say so. Weiss ordered all your favorites from that little deli in the mall you liked so much, but I'm sure I've got something to hold you over til then."

As she began digging through her overstuffed ammo belt Ruby began waving her arms like a bird trying to take flight but to no avail. "No thanks! I'm alright, really! Not hungry at all! Nope! Not in the slightest!"

*grumble, grumble*

Weiss and Blake shared a worried look but otherwise remained silent so as not to draw attention to themselves. "AH-HA!" Yang triumphantly held up a fuzzy green ball partially wrapped in foil. "Here, try this, Rubes. It's green. That means it's good for you and medicinal."

As she tried shoving it in her sister's mouth Weiss slapped Yang's hand away and with all her might ripped Ruby out of her grasp and dragged her to safety. "What are you trying to do, kill her!?"

Yang shrugged, and after graciously offering the ball of fuzz to her partner who shied away covering her nose, Yang flicked it into the air and effortlessly caught it in her gaping mouth. She chewed for a while possibly savoring the flavor, and after swallowing both Blake and Weiss kept their distance waiting for her to either keel over dead or start sprouting fungus from her ears.

"Not bad," she said, picking fuzz out from between her teeth.

"It can't be any worse than your cooking," Weiss said incredulously, trying not to gag. "That's the real reason why you're immune to all known poisons and toxins, not your aura."

Yang bobbed her head as it seemed as good a theory as any. "Probably, but it's not like you could do any better. That reminds me. Have I ever told y'all about the time I got bit by a rattlesnake? No? Long and kinda kinky story short is that after three days of the most excruciating, mind numbing pain you can imagine-" she paused for dramatic effect grinning at her begrudgingly captivated audience- "the snake died..."

The girls blinked and glanced at one another, noting each other's lack of reaction. "What's sad is that we actually believe you..."

An affirmative yip came from the backpack Weiss was carrying. The team thought since not many people would be outside today that it would be the perfect opportunity to let Zwei run around and get some fresh air, and having been voted as 'pack mule' Weiss had to transport both him and a large basket with their lunch.

With a chuckle Yang grabbed hold of her sister again who had already begun to tire in the minute or two where she didn't have someone to lean on or partially carry her as she'd felt Weiss had enough to carry already. Despite still being upset with her sister, Ruby welcomed the embrace and didn't shy away from being carried, and even giggled when Yang spun them around a few times. Once they were walking straight again, or as straight as either could walk in their current condition, Ruby rested her head against Yang's shoulder and allowed herself to enjoy the warm aura radiating off of her.

For the past three nights and occasionally even while napping someone had always been in bed with Ruby, and not just her dutiful comfort corgi. Yang and Weiss had been practically taking rotating shifts while Blake watched from afar, either too uncomfortable with sharing a bed with her or still feeling guilty about the training accident. Thinking optimistically Ruby thought perhaps Blake just didn't want to get in between Yang and Weiss, a smart decision she thought. More than once Ruby had been violently ripped out of her sister or partner's embrace only to be transported to the other's bed when someone's turn was over or ran long. Occasionally if Ruby was lying in her own bed they'd just toss the other out and join her, but Weiss seemed to prefer her own bed, as did Zwei, and Yang for that matter.

Most of the time Ruby enjoyed their antics. It helped pass the time and their affection was welcome, especially from Weiss, but it also annoyed her to be treated as though she were helpless and delicate. She couldn't even open the fridge or walk to the bathroom without someone hovering over her or offering to help, and everyone looked at her as if at any moment she could have another accident. Even their meals seemed to be treated as possibly being their last together, but despite her increasing frustration and annoyance she tried savoring every moment with her sister and friends even if it was bitter tasting at times.

Ruby knew she was running out of time, and now had even less than she originally thought. If these were indeed her final days like she feared deep down, and like her sister and friends not-so-secretly feared, then she vowed to make the most of every moment together, even while sleeping. Her teammates seemed almost afraid of having regrets, a trait they no doubt picked up from Yang, and with hope and the will to fight slowly fading Ruby found herself doing the same. She had only one hope now, Penny, but coming out and explaining herself would mean stopping the charade she had been playing with herself and her family since Patchwork, and even now she wasn't ready to stop playing.

There had always been one person who could get her aboard the airship without fail, and that was the reason for their picnic...

As she dwelled on these unpleasant thoughts and what she had to do an unusual shudder in her sister's aura caused Ruby to glance up. Yang was once again looking over her shoulder back the way they came. Normally Blake was the one being cautious and wanting to know exactly what was going on around them while Yang talked loudly without a care in the world, her incredible strength and reputation seemingly being all she needed to feel secure in life.

To see and more importantly feel Yang's concern only worried Ruby more, and she tried following her line of sight as best she could despite being a head shorter.

'The Emerald Tower?' Ruby rubbed her eyes and checked again, surprised to see her staring at the imposing structure across campus. There wasn't a huntsman or huntress alive that didn't admire the historic tower and the ground on which it stood, but Yang had never showed much interest in it even before being accepted into Beacon, let alone enough to allow herself to get distracted by it.

"What's up, sis? You see something?"

"Huh!?" Yang gave her a startled look that Ruby suspected was how she looked whenever she was caught with a hand in the cookie jar. "Oh, just looking at the tower. Sure is tall isn't it?" She trailed off chuckling and awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck.

"The CCT's taller," Weiss said as if unable to help herself.

"You see something up there?" Ruby asked curiously. "Or just thinking about something?"

Yang gave her a playful nudge and chided herself as she should've known her sister would pick up on even the smallest of uncharacteristic behaviors, especially while submerged in her aura. "When have you ever known me to think about anything?" she teased.

"She's got you there," Weiss and Blake said in unison, with Zwei giving an affirmative yip from the backpack.

When Ruby continued staring, waiting for an answer, Yang sighed as though she'd been caught. "I was just thinking, besides Uncle Qrow and my mom, who all do you think have stood at the top of the Emerald Tower?"

"Your mom and uncle climbed to the top of that thing!?" Weiss cried incredulously, her mouth hanging open.

"Well, they sorta cheated," Ruby giggled, sharing a look with her sister as though it were some sort of inside joke between them. "You wanna stand at the top too someday? Weiss' propulsion glyphs could probably get us up there. Remember the time I ran up that cliff during initiation?"

"I try not to, and you give me far too much credit," Weiss said modestly, sounding as though she actually meant it this time. "I'd have to be close enough to the tower to activate my glyphs but far back enough to actually see where I'm creating them because if I made even the tiniest mistake that's a long way to fall. If somebody is going to stand at the top, theoretically speaking of course, I would recommend using a gravity glyph as an elevator."

"That's boring," Ruby scoffed. "We've jumped out of an airship before. What's the difference? We'll have to try it sometime!"

"You first," said everyone else in unison, including Zwei. Even Yang seemed doubtful about surviving a fall from that height.

Ruby on the other hand appeared unconcerned about being volunteered for such a monumental and likely deadly task, and any other day might've even attempted it on her own, but not today. Today she was content looking from afar with her teammates. Though the idea of her sister throwing her to the top did cross her mind once or twice...

Perhaps a lingering remnant of her aura flared because Yang nodded. "The view might be nice from up there if you don't mind the wind screwing up your hair, but I can honestly say, Rubes, that there's no place I'd rather be right now than here with you."

She flared her aura and tightened their embrace causing Ruby to giggle, and they grabbed their unsuspecting partners with Weiss and Blake finding themselves sandwiched in the middle before the girl in black found herself squished and dissipating into shadow.

"Believe it or not the White Fang didn't exactly give out hugs," Blake said from a safe distance, trying not to grin. A moment later she couldn't hide it anymore but that may have been due to Weiss' muffled protests and futile flailing.

Ruby smiled at her. "Well in Team RWBY they're mandatory. It says so in our handbook."

"Just look at Weiss," Yang said. "You both might play hard-to-get but Rubes and I play harder."

"Actually-" a head poked out from between the sisters, red-faced and out of breath- "I've just accepted the fact that I'm doomed to have chocolate and suntan accelerator smeared on me."

When the sisters reached out again and embraced Blake it was really her this time, and they all had an extra bounce to their step while taking turns carrying their leader. As all three auras danced around Ruby she began to feel as light as a feather, and tried in vain to flare her own aura but all it resulted in was Blake turning her nose.

"See, Rubes?" Yang whispered, giving her a kiss atop the head. "Big sisters may not be able to fix boo-boos, but we do make them feel better. Even the really bad ones..."

Ruby hummed with delight from the strength and joy coursing from their bodies into her own. Their aura shields were all active and nearly at their fullest, something normally only done by Blake and occasionally Weiss while still on campus. Blake's was the only one that didn't draw attention to itself, in fact it did the exact opposite, but Yang's was bright even at its combat minimum, and on a cloudy day like today it was the closest thing to the sun anyone could see.

Even if their aura shields were only active because of their caution and unease, the team took the time to enjoy themselves and forget their surroundings, if only for a few moments. Even Zwei seemed to be enjoying the sensation as he began trying to dig his way out of Weiss' backpack. He stopped when she reassured him that he'd get to come out to play soon, and that there'd be an extra treat in store for him if he didn't ruin her favorite backpack.

"We're here!" Yang announced, effortlessly picking her teammates off the ground and spinning them around. "Welcome to Lake Sovereignty, so named because it's where the royal family would come to be christened king or queen over The Fall Kingdom. Nowadays it's used by students for skinny dipping!"

"We know," Weiss grumbled, trying not to lose her breakfast once her feet were back on the ground. "And the only reason you know that about Vale's royalty is because you read the historical marker on the way to Professor Oobleck's class."

"Actually Rubes read it. I just half-listened."

"Figures..."

"Did you know this is where my mom and dad would go for their midnight swims? And sometimes her mom and my mom? I think that might've made it into one of their photo-shoots actually." Yang sighed and stared dreamily at the lake. "Just think of all the legendary huntsmen and huntresses who've swam naked in that water and made love in the bushes. Gives you chills, doesn't it?"

Weiss shivered but also felt a rising urge to vomit.

"Hey, Rubes? You wouldn't happen to have any of our moms' skinny dipping pictures, would ya?"

On cue she received a sharp elbow from her sister who wasn't particularly fond of Yang's suggestive jokes about their mothers, though she also couldn't help grinning. "One day we really oughta find out what websites and magazines they shot for, and their aliases. I wouldn't mind having some more pictures of Mom."

Yang gave her a playful nudge back but nodded. "I don't think they're the kind of pictures they'd want their daughters seeing but we oughta try finding them someday."

"Well," Weiss huffed, "I find the insinuation that your mothers took compromising photos of each other for indecent magazines and websites, and your reactions to it, rather disturbing to say the least."

"It's how they paid tuition, and you get used to it."

"Not really..." Ruby said, her face reddening. "The ones we've seen really not as bad as Yang makes them out to be. Most of them anyway. She just thinks it's funny for some reason."

"That's because it is funny and it embarrasses you, which makes it extra funny."

"Two o-clock," Blake said sharply.

With a raised brow Yang grabbed her sister's wrist and studied the holographic display. "Uh, Blake, either you or Rubes need to charge your scrolls because it's nearly-"

*slap*

"No, two o'clock from where we're standing," she hissed. "They're about to come over the hill."

"You know you can slap other places too, right?" Yang grumbled, rubbing the back of her head. With her hand still around Ruby's wrist she positioned herself to the front before charging Weiss with her sister's care. Just as the team had been about to lay out the picnic blanket and sit down to eat, or in Ruby's case collapse and gorge herself, four students appeared atop a nearby grassy hill. Yang recognized them immediately and stepped in front of her teammates.

"They must've seen us through the trees," Blake whispered, brushing her long hair away from Gambol Shroud. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous group..."

While the girls all flared their auras Ruby found herself standing on her tiptoes to see who exactly it was that had her teammates so on edge, and her breath caught as she recognized the tall Vacuoan girl with platinum blonde hair leading her weary-looking teammates down toward her own.

"Nice weather we're having, huh?" Yang said casually, sizing up the dark skinned girl who was about as well-dressed for cooler weather as herself. Just like Yang she wore a black tank top and shorts, but also a gold Mistralian style robe with only one sleeve. Her wrists and shins were wrapped in athletic tape much like Yang when practicing, and the girls all recognized their haggard appearances as having just finished a grueling training session. Yang couldn't help noting that they looked even worse than when they returned from their mission.

"It is rather pleasant, isn't it?" their leader replied, her voice husky and thick with a North Mistralian accent, which like the region was more Atlesian than it was Mistralian. Her cadence however hardly resembled Weiss' courtly manner of speaking. "My name is Arslan Altan. I am the leader of Team ABRN of Haven Academy. This is my partner Bolin Hori." She gestured behind her to a tall, thin Mistralian wearing all black except for a golden sash around him who bowed respectfully. "And these two are Reese Chloris and Nadir Shiko."

As she was speaking, Reese was doing tricks a few inches off the ground on a purple and turquoise hoverboard, and as if finally realizing the gravity of the situation she paused and removed her hood revealing spiky hair that matched her board. She had black markings painted under her eyes presumably to keep out the sun despite it being non-existent that day, and with her knee and elbow pads and sneakers some of the girls couldn't help thinking she looked as though she'd just come from a skate park rather than a huntsman academy's training room.

Yang barely gave her or Bolin a second glance. Instead, she along with Weiss and Blake glared at the pink haired boy wearing a flashy gold vest named Nadir, another native Vacuoan but with distinctive Mistralian traits and attire. Noticing their stares he gave a nervous smile and began rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I-I'm Ruby Rose." Ruby walked around her teammates attempting to get in front but they quickly pushed her back, allowing only enough room for her to poke her head through. "I'm the leader of Team RWBY. That's, uh, R-W-B-Y," she spelled out."

All of Team ABRN smirked, seemingly entertained by the pint-sized leader who barely looked as though she belonged in high school much less the most prestigious huntsman academy on Remnant, and who was very noticeably without an aura shield. However, while they appeared to be somewhat amused by her appearance, unlike so many of their peers Team ABRN didn't seem incredulous or to be laughing at her. In fact, the longer Ruby studied them the more she thought she recognized a glimmer of respect. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Ruby had made a name for herself at Beacon as both the youngest team leader in the school's illustrious history and for her prodigious-like combat prowess, as well as for leading her team on one of the most talked about missions of the year.

However, standing there behind her teammates and feeling the aura radiating off of them, Ruby felt not for the first time that she didn't belong, and not just because she didn't have any aura. She did her best to appear strong and intimidating alongside her teammates, but they very quickly shoved her to the back once the formalities were over.

"I'm Blake Belladonna," Blake said coolly, narrowing her eyes at Nadir while positioning herself in front of the smaller members of her team.

"I'm Weiss Schnee, Ruby's partner." The heiress grabbed a chocolate stained sleeve with an unsteady hand as if preparing to drag Ruby to safety.

"And I'm Yang Xiao Long, her big sis," said the tall blonde stepping forward. The way Yang said her name always gave off the impression that she wanted everyone to remember it for the rest of their lives, similar to the way Weiss wanted people to know just who exactly they were speaking to.

The other team seemed less than impressed, but Arslan was the only one who seemed unfazed by their combative postures and Yang's crimson eyes burning holes into them.

"I take it your combat instructor has already spoken to you about us unintentionally spying on you," she said in a somber tone. "We'd just finished training ourselves when we saw you out for a walk, and we wanted to personally apologize and tell you it wasn't our intention to spy. Curiosity got the better of us, and from Professor Goodwitch's line of questioning I take it there's reason to believe your accident wasn't an accident?"

Nadir stiffened as she spoke but Arslan never took her apologetic eyes away from the girl in red surrounded by her teammates. Although Nadir had been the one to actually spy on them it was obvious that as leader Arslan felt she shouldered the blame and responsibility, but Team RWBY remained silent as if weighing the sincerity in her voice.

"I assure you we were neither spying nor trying sabotage your rightful place in the Vytal Festival," Arslan said, sounding as though the mere thought offended her. "To be perfectly honest I'd been looking forward to challenging Beacon Academy's top ranked freshman team." She locked eyes with Yang and noted her tightly clenched fists. "I've been told that you're second only to Pyrrha Nikos. I know the feeling, and it's a pity neither match is likely to happen in the tournament now."

"Why does it have to be in the tournament?" Yang asked innocently, cracking her knuckles. "I'm ready to go here and now..."

Hearts skipped on both teams, hands drawing nearer to their weapons, but only Yang and Arslan seemed unconcerned.

"I'm afraid that's ill advised," Arslan said, remaining in a non-combative, relaxed stance. "Neither of our combat instructors would take kindly to an unsanctioned match between their top prospects, especially the kind of fight you and I would have, or the kind I suspect you're looking for. Please do not take this the wrong way but at the moment neither you nor your aura appear to be combat ready, or healthy for that matter. If we fought today it wouldn't be much of a fight, and you would only end up getting yourself hurt."

Yang let out a low growl and took another step forward, but as she did a high-pitched laugh caused everyone but the two blondes to glance down at the caped-girl doubled over, holding her stomach as if in pain. Wiping away tears only seemed to make more appear, and she pointed at the two with increasing hysterics. "You hurt Yang!? HAHAHAHA!"

"Ignore her," Weiss said, her lip twitching. "She's not intentionally being rude. It's just a gift."

The other team didn't appear to be as amused, and Arslan's eyes briefly locked with Weiss' whose grip around Ruby's sleeve tightened. Her entire body became rigid as the young woman's expression soured, no doubt remembering who the Schnees had sponsored in the previous two Mistralian regional tournaments. After a series of deep breaths Weiss swallowed and puffed out her chest, raising her chin as though trying to look down at the tall blonde towering over her, something Weiss was accustomed to doing.

"Those losses to Pyrrha had to sting," Yang teased, a cocky smirk on her face. "The whole world got to see you getting your butt kicked, and I'm looking forward to having something in common with her. And just so you know, she's never beaten me."

Arslan turned her attention back to Yang appearing to be bored by the conversation, but something apparently did strike her as humorous as a mocking smile briefly tugged on her lip. "I assure you a tournament match with Pyrrha Nikos is very different from sparring with her. Your combat instructor is afraid that a match between you would bruise the loser's ego, but Nikos already took care of that for me. If your leader is healthy by the time of the tournament then I look forward to having a sanctioned match between us, but if not then sometime when you're not hungover and your aura full of sorrow I would be happy to teach you the same lesson that Nikos taught me, and that I wish to repay her for someday."

Yang's smirk remained but her her crimson eyes darkened as she burned a hole through Arslan. When she didn't receive a witty retort the Vacuoan girl walked forward held out her hand. "Good health to you and your team, especially your sister, and apologies for the misunderstanding from the other day."

With just a moment of hesitation and perhaps some reluctance Yang accepted the handshake, and almost immediately both auras began to flare and expand, causing both teams to be pushed backward.

"The Platinum Lion, huh?" Yang said, grinning devilishly. "With a title like that I take it you're a Lionheart? I guess that makes us cousins."

"If you say so, Little Sun Dragon..." she replied calmly, speaking as though they were discussing the weather again.

After a few moments of neither fiery aura faltering they mutually released one another, and after a respectful bow and acknowledgement to Ruby, Arslan turned and led her team back the way they came. Everyone but Yang sighed with relief, their knees suddenly weak.

As they talked quietly amongst themselves Yang's crimson eyes continued following Team ABRN. Ever fiber of her being was telling her that she should just get the inevitable over with, but she could also hear her uncle and Glynda's sensible voices talking her down, as well as what little common sense she had screaming at her not to be stupid. Arslan hadn't just been trying to get under her skin by saying Yang would only get herself hurt if they fought now. It had likely been the truth as much as Yang loathed to admit it, and she had just experienced first hand what she'd only seen in videos and been told about by Pyrrha. Arslan Altan was quite possibly the most powerful and well-trained huntress of their generation...

With all the free time they'd had the past couple days Yang followed Glynda's advice and watched the previous two Mistralian Regional Tournaments, and found herself even more impressed by the girl across the hall than she already was. Pyrrha had been a modest and gracious winner when casually asked about her close victories against Arslan, but Yang hadn't been able to bring herself to ask for details or explain the truth about her sudden interest in Pyrrha's longtime rival.

There were only a small handful of people Yang could compare Arslan aura to, but only one stood out in her mind. A close friend currently in a coma...

"I think we should find somewhere else to have our picnic," Blake said, her eyes scanning the area while her bow followed Team ABRN. "Somewhere less open and where we can see anyone approaching. And-" She let out a horrified cry and grabbed her partner's arm. "Yang! Your hand!"

Similar gasps were shared by Ruby and Weiss, and Yang finally pried her eyes away from Arslan to see blistered, charred skin in the shape of a handprint. Her breath caught in surprise as the skin had been practically burned off, but muttering curses under her breath she began rubbing her hands together. Ashes fell between them onto the ground, and with a slight grimace she squeezed her hand and popped the bones back into place, causing everyone to flinch. Afterward she held out her hands for inspection revealing soft pink flesh.

"S-she burned your hand," Ruby said in disbelief, running her fingertips over the uncharacteristically smooth, supple skin.

"And apparently broke it," Weiss choked. "Did you seriously not notice that or were you just showing off again?"

As Blake growled at the team now out of earshot, a hand on her katana, Yang's eyes returned to lilac and she turned to Weiss.

"Remember us talking the other day about glyphs?" Her sister gave them both a curious look. "I think I oughta go with you tomorrow. I might be able to help narrow our search."

Ruby blinked. "D-does this mean we're going on the airship!?"

"We're going. You and Blake are staying in the room and playing the awkward silence game."

"But-" Before she could continue Yang put a hand on her shoulder.

"Rubes, right now all I want you to do is rest and get better. Since we're not gonna make the tournament that means you don't have to stockpile your aura anymore, but-" She gave her sister and friends a lopsided grin after glancing at the other team that seemed to be going out of their way to be viewed leaving- "but just because we're not gonna make the tournament that doesn't mean we can't scout out the competition, starting with Team ABRN. I'd bet every lien in Weiss' wallet that they're the ones that caused your accident. Glynda said to leave the investigating to her but she didn't say anything about not beating anybody to a bloody pulp, or figuring out how to do it."

She swallowed and gave an awkward, embarrassed smile. "You guys saw what Arslan just did. As much as I hate to say it, if there's a fight between us we're gonna need all the help we can get. I'm gonna need all the help I can get..."

A moment of silence passed over the team, the only noise coming from the wind and Zwei trying to dig his way out of the backpack to presumably protect his fellow pup. The girls glanced around at each other nervously, rarely if ever having heard uncertainty in Yang's voice about an opponent before. They couldn't help looking at Yang's hand thinking about what Arslan could do to their own.

"Besides her I don't think we really have anything to worry about," Weiss said with a forced smirk, attempting to break the tension. "I mean, did you even see how spiky hair was dressed? Or what she was riding on?"

"I know, right!" Ruby said excitedly, her disappointment and worry from just moments ago long forgotten. "Hoverboards are so cool! I've always wanted one but they go too slow, and you can't customize them to go too fast or else you'll either fall off or crash. I've thought about how I'd turn one into a gun though. I've thought about how to turn just about everything into a gun, but it looks like she came up with the same problem I did. She's only able to shoot condensed air dust which drains the crystals she needs for riding, and even my aura shield can take a direct blast from air dust. Plus there's not much she can do besides try and get away if somebody starts swinging a sword at her."

Everyone stared at the fast talking caped-girl as though she had sprouted a second head before glancing at one another blinking. Finally they all seemed to have caught up at the same time and grinned.

"And that was just off the top of your head, wasn't it?" Yang said, ruffling her sister's hair. "Alright, new plan. Rubes, nobody knows weapons like you. If you're feeling up to it, would you mind watching all of the pre-tournament footage you can find and give us a rundown on all the other team's strengths and weaknesses? Starting with Team ABRN?"

Ruby nodded and opened her scroll, apparently already having a sizable folder full of videos. Her sister smiled as without her semblance that would keep Ruby busy for a while, and perhaps more importantly make her happy.

"We'll also need someone to evaluate the competition," Yang continued. "Somebody who's-

"-cold, cunning, and sees the flaws in others," Blake finished, her eyes moving along with Ruby and Yang's.

Weiss blinked. "What is everybody looking at me for?"

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Apologies for the nightmare fuel at the beginning but it couldn't really be helped as it's the sort of nightmare I imagine Yang having as of late. It would seem her telling Blake and Weiss that the reason she wasn't in Patchwork during the massacre was because she was sick was only the partial truth. She pretended to be sick in order to come home early because of a (one-sided) fight with her step-mom. I personally view Yang as having been a sweet young girl but I also think even without her semblance making matters worse she likely still had problems growing up. Even now she has a temper and holds a grudge, but I'd imagine it was worse when she was younger and didn't have control over her powers. She truly loved Summer but as she's said before Yang did blame Summer for breaking up the family, and Amber losing her mother because Summer "abandoned" her duty to protect her also probably didn't help. Plus perhaps Yang was a little jealous that Ruby got to live with Summer and got to see Qrow more.

As for Team ABRN, I hope that you're enjoying their inclusion in the story. Creating a backstory and personality for Arslan was really a lot of fun, and I liked Yang being the instigator here and getting her comeuppance by the end as it doesn't happen often. Usually between Yang's aggression, intimidation factor, and snark she's able to elicit some kind of reaction out of people and get under their skin but Arslan was able to get one over on her while still remaining calm, cool, and collected. And not particularly antagonistic for that matter. Personally I view Yang as being an out of control wildfire while Arslan is a more deliberate slash and burn. Similar in destructive capabilities but also very different.

We'll have to wait and see what Ruby's plan for getting aboard the airship and seeing Penny is. I'd assume it has something to do with Weiss but who knows. I hope you enjoy.

All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and with all of you wonderful readers. God bless)