《RWBY: Soulful》


 Chapter 1 - Awakening

    It''s not often that one considers it, but the chaos that a single mind holds is broad. It''s an organized system of thoughts that contains within it the hopes, dreams, and desires of a singular soul; the idea of which was just fleeting ephemeral speculation on the metaphysical in the world we live in. With that, it''s easy to understand how shocking it might be when one unitary mind suddenly became more than just that.


    And, how hard it might be to come to terms with it when you were still reeling from that transition.


    First came the confusion. The jarring transition from sleep to instant wakefulness was strange, the world to our senses was far too intense and bright. The tugging around our neck had some portion of our awareness focus shift towards the blurry, humanoid shape that shook us as they fastened a colorful fabric around our neck snugly. As they came into clarity, their reassuring smile was the first thing that we saw clearly.


    This blonde, twin pig-tailed girl easily drew our attention, and we reached the consensus that this girl was hauntingly, and most disturbingly familiar. She had incredibly vivid violet eyes, the kind you''d only see if someone deliberately wore contacts to change their color. But, what kind of young girl would do that?


    "Russ," She finished tying the scarf around our neck and fixed us with an optimistic expression, "Operation: Find The Woman That Left Dad is a go!"


    The second collective emotion we felt that came in a wave was sheer disbelief. What had happened to find one''s self in this predicament? An average person did not suddenly become many years younger and smaller than a seven year-old child standing in front of them.


    We blinked at her, our joint incredulousness at her statement must have leaked given how quickly she frowned at us, it was easy to see that she was about as uncertain about this venture as we were and she was the one planning it! Not even a second had passed, nor had we adapted to the numb, and very surreal disassociation of reality around us we were experiencing and this girl was cheerfully telling us we were going on a scavenger hunt for her father''s possible ex-wife.


    There''s no way that this could end well, could it? She didn''t seem all that put off by the weight of our disapproval. Unfortunately, she took our stunned silence as consent.


    We compliantly followed her guidance as she ushered us toward the front door of the living room that we only just realized that we were standing in. The brisk cold chill of winter air hit us right as the blonde girl opened the door ahead of us. She gave us little time to take in our surroundings before yoinking us by an arm toward a little wagon, feelings of dread wormed into the back of our mind.


    We were all hoping that this dreamlike state would all be over soon, whatever it was.


    <hr>


    Unfortunately, it did not end, and we were stuck on this blonde girl''s wild wagon ride whether we liked it or not.


    As this journey went on, we became moreaware, our drifting chaotic attention found things to focus on that helped center us to a certain degree. The first thing that fully grabbed our attention was the bitter winds, each chilling gust numbing our flesh and leaving us with nothing but puffs of hot air coming out of our mouth. Another thing we noticed was that the older girl had placed us in a bucket of all things; the bucket was inside the wagon that was currently being pulled by her, and an even younger redheaded toddler also occupied the makeshift vehicle with us. She wore a red hood that she was bundled up in a futile attempt to stave off the frigid cold as she laid beside us.


    Even so, she was blessedly asleep and reaching for us to drag us down to the wagon bed in her dreaming state for warmth. Our sympathy went out to her, she wasn''t the one who drug us out into the freezing cold to go looking for a woman that probably didn''t want to be found.


    Maybe we should have voiced this feeling sooner to her for her own safety, but we had a feeling that little would have deterred the blonde from going on this self-imposed mission even if we did. Judging from the frigid air that nipped at our face ever so more bitingly, this was shaping up to be one of the most life-like dream sequences that any one of us had ever experienced; each second stretched on and minutes felt like just they would in reality.


    We were still having trouble being able to focus on all of the details around the wagon as we were being pulled along with our fellow napping occupant. But it was frankly admirable that this blonde girl had the strength to pull the both of us through the rougher and far more snow laden portions of the path we were traveling.


    Potential for frostbite aside, it was a very calm journey as we were being pulled along, but eventually we rounded a copse of trees and saw a dilapidated structure in the distance.


    Unfortunately, our idyllic little exploration ended here as the atmosphere that carried in the air sent shivers down our spine for reasons more than just the chill.


    All of a sudden the wagon jolted to a stop, the little blonde girl in front of us began to shiver and something deep inside told me that it was not because of the wind. Our gaze rose to see what made the girl so afraid, and our eyes caught sight of an old abandoned barn. The building''s rotted walls barely seemed to be able to keep it standing and there was a¡­feelingto the building that made one''s hair stand on end.


    It was almost like static electricity in way, but somehow oh sowrong, it felt choking and- and-


    Eyes, dark furious red eyes the color of pooling blood emerged slowly from the darkness of the barn''s interior. They were so full of hate. We were not sure how we knew that, we were just certain that whatever those eyes belonged to wanted tokillus more than anything else in existence. It was a hatred so raw and primal that it filled the air with a malevolent malice that drowned out any response we could possibly pose other than pure, unfilteredfear.


    We couldn''t breathe; we couldn''t even scream. Our brain simply couldn''t react fast enough; there were so many thoughts ramming together between us. We barely had started even processing the situation, barely started feeling the creeping threads of fear sneak down our spine before all the beasts staring us down were cut to nothing but shreds. Dark wisps lingered in the space around us. And in their place was what looked like an older man, an awkward-looking five-o''clock shadow on his face that was set in a deep grimace of anger, hatred, and concern; Eyes thatreddid not belong to a normal human. When we recognized him, we had a realization made suddenly clear, and then that made things all so terribly worse.


    Tears welled up uncontrollably, and the wails echoed through the air once whatever unity we were operating under cracked as we struggled to cope with this insane situation. One wanted to deny this was happening, that we had become part of a universe we were, to some degree, familiar with. The others knee jerked into incoherent mental screaming, understandably so. No one wanted toreallylive in a death world even for the soul-powered super powers.


    All of this was immediately followed up with a skull cracking headache of five years worth of foreign memories slamming into us all at once, and a surge of something infinitely warm crawling itself out from the center of our chest to embrace every inch of our fragile body. It felt like the loving hug of a mother, like the gentle caress of Spring''s sun, and most importantly, it helped protect our head when it smacked into the rim of the bucket.


    The world around us faded away much like a bad dream; one that we hoped stayed that way.


    <hr>


    My headphones blared rhythmic music into my ears as I waited. The world around me dulled as the noise canceling kicked in. My eyes glanced briefly at the flickering digits from the clock at the top of one of the corners of the hallway I stood in. I grumped slightly as I idly brushed off some lint off my white cloak, it felt like I''ve been stuck here for an eternity.


    I''ve been waiting for Ruby''s remedial combat class to end, and thankfully, the music made it easier to bear with the slow crawl of time creeping by. Eventually, it finally let out and a couple of students immediately exited the door to the training room. Lagging behind the bulk of the traffic, was my twin sister, a deflated expression on her face as the instructor waited for her to slowly exit before locking the classroom behind her and making his own leave down the other direction to the teacher''s lounge.


    Instructor Burnside passed me by as he walked, giving me a respectful nod, that I didn''t feel all that enthused about returning. He was cordial to me, but frequently singled Ruby out much to my own dislike.


    I see the typical spark in her eyes slightly reinvigorate when she finally catches sight of me from her downward focus on the floor, but it''s slight.


    "Hey Russet!" She spoke up, attempting to inject more cheer into her voice than she clearly felt as we both stood in the hallway facing each other.


    She awkwardly shoulders her backpack full of her school books and adjusts the dull-edged metal training sword belted to her side.


    I slightly raised an eyebrow at her clearly forced greeting, "You alright there Ruby? I''m going to assume that old Burnside gave you a hard time again." I shook my head as I started nudging my twin forward before she had a chance to respond. "What was his excuse to keep you back this time?"


    Ruby idly dwindled her fingers together sheepishly as she glanced to the side of the hallway, silver eyes darting around the slightly faded paint as she squeaked out. "I, uh, kinda¡­ accidentally lost my grip on my weapon when I used my Semblance?"


    "Wait, the sword?" I squinted at the weapon on her hip.


    She shook her head with an embarrassed sigh, "Mr. Burnside handed me a big, two-handed hammer. Said that there wasn''t a way I could mess up using a ''blunt instrument'' with how awful my edge alignment with this sword was."


    Awkwardly looking away from me, she cleared her throat before elaborating, "You might have heard it earlier."


    I was instantly reminded of the nearly deafening crash that shook the school, loud enough to reach me through my state of the art, noise-canceling headphones. At the time I simply shrugged the sound off, since it wasn''t exactly uncommon to hear loud, spontaneous noises at Signal. It was something that came with the territory of training Huntsmen-to-be, and honestly, it wasn''t like it was my problem. Because it usually was not.


    I quickly reconsidered that notion with the thought that my twin sister was the cause of it.


    Meanwhile, Ruby started to fidget. I''m sure she noticed how my blank, baffled gaze bore into the side of her head. In fact, I briefly wondered how my dad was going to cover the sheer cost of what was likely to be multiple walls through the school, because I definitely recalled eyeballing those holes spanning atleasttwo separate buildings before the weapon likely came to a stop.


    In the end, all I could only offer her was a disbelieving sigh, "Ruby,how?Just how did you manage that?"


    Ruby slightly froze as she paused her fidgeting and huddled herself into her cloak, seemingly in an attempt to hide herself away from the world. I almost felt a pang of regret at my question, if she hadn''t just managed to cause several thousand Lien worth of property damage.


    "I just swung it, while going really, really fast." She murmured into the fabric of her cloak.


    "And?"


    "...I, uh, sorta slipped?" Her face was going to be as red as her Aura at this rate.


    And at this point, I''m going to give my twin the mercy of ending this particular conversation, for I doubt my already fraying sanity would be able to handle this line of thought for much longer.


    "Putting aside the bill Dad''s going to pay, are you still up for the usual sparring session sans a hammer?"


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I didn''t think she''d be very enthused about doing it today, but I figured I''d ask anyway since she''s been heavily relying on me to be her sparring dummy for learning the bare basics of using a sword. She preferred a speedy, quick fighting style and a sword wasn''t the worst idea for her to use.


    Her actually learning it on the other hand, well, it was saying something that using swords has given her the least trouble out of all the other weapons she''s tried so far. It was baffling that she''s had so much trouble with other weapons that really shouldn''t be causing her a problem. Axes, just like hammers, were no good; her footing and balance was terrible whenever she used them. She haphazardly rammed into things accidentally whenever she used a spear. Throwing knives went spiraling behind her or flung in an arc that went nowhere near her target. She didn''t have the arm strength to use a bow. Frankly, she was a mess, and that was being generous.


    But, she was my sister, and she wanted more than anything to find a weapon that worked. So, helping her had become a part-time job. The temptation to just throw a scythe at her was overpowering, but I resisted the urge. She really needed Uncle Qrow''s instruction because I didn''t have a clue where to start to use one of those in combat.


    A languid shrug and a shake of the head in the negative came from her, an act that clued me in that she was feeling this particular failure far deeper than she usually does. Typically, she''s quick to bounce back with a grin on her face from even her more egregious defeats, usually by throwing herself back into it until she browbeats her obstacles into submission.


    I gave her a quick glance, seeing how her usually vibrant eyes seemed dull under the fluorescent lights of the hallway, looking more akin to cold steel rather than her bright silver. Apparently, even she has her limits when her obstacle appears to be insurmountable. Maybe she''s had enough fighting and training for today.


    Alright then, it looks like it''s up to me to be the cheery twin between us for once, a role that I was not at all prepared to handle.


    "C''mon, let''s get home. Dad said that he was trying to get Mom''s cookie recipe right again. Let''s see if he manages it this time, yeah?" I gave her my best comforting smile as I gently nudged her side.


    She giggled, her down-turned lips flipping to the beginnings of a smile, "Really?"


    I nodded to her, a moment of peaceful silence descending between us as we began the long walk home. It was perhaps a little annoying how far we lived from Signal, if it weren''t for the fact that Ruby and I had Aura then I probably would have asked Dad for some kind of vehicle to get to and from the house, like he did for Yang for her fifteenth birthday.


    As it is, the journey is a relatively easy one and to my relief, Ruby does not stay quiet for long.


    "So¡­" She started to say once we were farther away from the school, every step she took away seemed to lift her spirits.


    "Did you manage to get those holo-scopes working!" Ruby asked, hints of the usual, excited chatter that I had slowly come to love from my little sister starting to come through. I couldn''t help the small smile that formed on my face as I responded.


    "Not quite yet, I''m still trying to figure out exactly how that hard-light dust works and how you''re supposed to control it on such a small scale." Because in defiance to common sense, Dust''s natural effects became harder thelessof it you used. Almost like Dust was just a violent explosion contained within a crystal and I was attempting to harness only a smidge of that explosive force in a specific way.


    I suppose it was about time to look up online how to do it. I had spent quite a bit of time trying to figure this out but I had other things I needed to spend my time on and I really couldn''t get caught up on trying to trial and error this technology in particular, no matter how cool it was.


    Honestly it still amazes me sometimes how advanced technology was in this world in some way, yet also so primitive in other ways. There had been a lot of things that had amazed me like that when I first got to this world but slowly, but by bit I was coming to understand things.


    Ruby seemed disappointed I hadn''t made much progress yet, when I first told her about my idea to make a holographic scope she had been downright ecstatic. Ranting on and on about how much room it could save and what other cool stuff they could fit into a weapon if we were able to get rid of ''old bulky iron sights''.


    As Ruby''s words became more and more excited my smile could only grow by several factors. Arriving in this world had been¡­ an experience for certain, but the little redhead had been a surprising rock in a deadly storm. And despite my own worries about her own mental state it seemed that she was doing far better than me, then again she hadactuallybeen five when everything went down. She probably didn''t even really understand what had happened, everything had been so quick after all.


    I remembered though, and like a dark cloud signaling the coming of thunder I felt my thoughts drift towards those dark subjects against my own will. My smile fell as I started to remember why I was even bothering with learning how to fight in the first place. The low boiling dread that slowly encroached day by day, the creeping fear that I did my best to push down every day. Sometimes I would find myself counting the days until I estimated that Canon would arrive, the day Ruby would venture out into Vale for that fateful encounter with Roman Torchwick.


    The day civilization would start collapsing¡­


    Something must have shown on my face because Ruby had gone quiet and was staring at me in concern now. I cleared my throat in mild embarrassment as my mind briefly raced to find something to distract her with¡­ Mechashift, maybe?


    "So¡­! Dad mentioned that you got the best grade in weaponsmith class, right Ruby?" I said suddenly, making the girl blink in surprise and then squint her eyes in deep suspicion.


    "Of course I am, I''m thebestat that! As you should be perfectly aware of, are you¡­?" She asked, her words trailing off with an implication that was startlingly obvious as she sidestepped my redirection with a hint of fear creeping into her voice.


    I just laughed, "No! no, I was actually thinking of finally making myself a proper huntsman weapon and was wondering if you wanted to help me build it."


    Her eyes lit up at that, all remnants of suspicion and fear melting away into pure excitement.


    "You wantmeto help you make a weapon?!" Ruby gasped, her face turning excited as she started to rant about all the potential weapons the two of us could make together. The longer we walked the more and more she seemed to grow excited until she was rushing about with her Semblance, leaving a myriad of petals floating in the breeze. I smiled as I waved away a fresh cloud of petals, it was always nice to see that her near obsession with weapons was enough to pull her out of her sorrow, even if temporarily.


    "Oh! oh! We should make you like a really big sword! No! Wait, you use axes regularly, right? So an axe instead, but what kind of Mechashift options should it have? Ranged is always a necessity, of course, so maybe something like an automatic rifle? Oh, but what if¡­"


    And on she went, babbling through various design processes and the pros and cons of one feature or another. The way she could mentally outline parts and put them together in her head was incredible, it also gave me the glimmers of a potential idea on how to make further use of my Semblance. Could I make semi-accurate three-dimensional recreations of weapons for Ruby to change and model?


    It would need some testing but the idea held some serious merit, but our home came into view before I could express my idea to Ruby. She got caught up in her own world of excitement and dashed into the house at record-breaking speeds using her Semblance, a familiar sight that caused a fond quirk of my lips. But my smile was quickly diluted as I meandered in my walk back to the rather large double-story log cabin as I grew closer to my home, a sinking suspicion creeping down my throat.


    Bumblebee, Yang''s precious motorbike, was on its kickstand near the porch. That probably meant she just got home.


    I watched as Ruby nearly broke the door down to get inside, likely rushing to her room to begin writing down whatever amazing ideas had blown through her head like a tornado. Meanwhile, I couldn''t help the feeling of faint annoyance that accrued as the tell-tale sign shouting erupted louder from inside the building when she opened the front door.


    I stopped briefly outside the cabin, mentally planning my route to avoid having to run into them before putting my headphones back on. Taking a deep breath to settle the annoyance I felt flaring up, I started some music and marched inside the house. I tried to be a bit quiet but I was almost certain they noticed me from the small dip in the conversation volume and the feeling of eyes on my back.


    One of the weirder Aura-enhanced abilities honestly, but I ignored that in favor of making my way upstairs and bursting into my and Ruby''s room.


    "Ruby!" I quietly shouted, "Did you really need to leave me to¡­that?"


    She winced as I spoke, "Sorry, I got so excited and by the time I realized they were going at it again it felt way too awkward to walk out the door to get you so I just uh¡­ went upstairs."


    I sighed, falling face-first onto my bed as I let myself decompress for a moment. The shouting was still going on downstairs but thankfully it sounded like it was starting to wind down-


    My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming shut, the vibration resounding through the house, making me and Ruby flinch. I knew what was coming next, the pattern had become annoyingly familiar, and I was quickly proven right as I heard the telltale noise of Bumblebee rev up and fade off into the distance.


    She probably wasn''t even home for longer than ten or fifteen minutes.


    "At least they''re done fighting for now¡­" Ruby mutters, hugging one of her many stuffed cookies on her bed and nuzzling its plushness with a soft exhale.


    I, on the other hand, was grumbling in minute anger, "Probably not going to get our cookies now though¡­"


    ''Damn Yang and her stupid teenage antics.''I thought, before shaking those notions away as uncharitable. She''s her own person, just because I don''t like her habitual partying doesn''t give me the right to tell her what to do, it does however give me the right to be angry as it means I might not get cookies tonight.


    Instead of wallowing on that, I decided to delve back into the weapon-smithing conversation with Ruby. The two of us have a nice couple of hours of exploring more reasonable ideas to far more ridiculous ones. Which, thankfully, was something that isn''t as dramatic as a teenage girl trying to express herself with partying or whatever the heck our big sister does in Vale without us.


    Eventually, a soft knock comes from the bedroom door and both me and my twin briefly pause our conversation and snap our heads towards the unexpected distraction. It did not take long for my Dad''s messy blonde hair to slide into view from behind the edge of the door as he opened it, a sheepish expression adorning his slightly wrinkled face.


    "Hey, kiddos, dinner is just about ready!" He proclaims from the doorway before chuckling nervously, "Uh, so I''ll see you two down there if you''re hungry."


    I peered at Ruby through the corner of my eye, since usually, she''s the one who happily bulldozes her way downstairs at the offer of a meal while I fondly follow in her wake, but I also know she usually tends to grow concerningly quiet whenever our dad and Yang have another disagreement. And that typically leads to me having to pick up her slack.


    And sure enough, I see my twin peering back at me from the corner of her own eye, slightly motioning for me to answer with a pleading look in her silver gaze.


    I simply sighed in response, slightly rolling my equally silver eyes. Sometimes being the older twin came with its drawbacks, but I wasn''t going to push her after she already had a rough day. "Yeah Dad, we''ll come down in a moment. Just give us a sec to wash up."


    He nodded before disappearing, his footsteps echoed as he descended back down the stairs.


    After changing out from my school uniform to some more casual clothes, the both of us were greeted with a genuine smile from our dad in the kitchen as he pulled trays from the oven once we made it to the bottom of the staircase. Something I''ve started to see more often from him, rather than the glassy-eyed stares I had received from him whenever I tried to speak to him just a year or two before.


    It was more gutting than I liked to admit, and I was glad that he seemed to be changing from that perpetual mourning, sorry state he seemed stuck in. Yet, I made the executive decision and made sure to avoid mentioning the rather large bill that was heading Dad''s way, it might have sent him straight back into the rut he was stuck in.


    But even when he was at his worst, Yang used to try to make sure we all ate dinner or breakfast together at some point of the day, essentially having taken over in terms of responsibility. But, it seemed like she''s started focusing on having more fun and going out lately. The semi-frequent assaults on my eardrums whenever Dad and Yang were in the same room, just like what happened earlier, were a result of that.


    I breathed in the fresh aroma of baked goods, something I hadn''t quite gotten over yet even after nine years here in this world was the different foods they cooked. For one thing, bread with a meal was practically mandatory, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Another thing I found amazing was the sheer variety of soup I often had. I wasn''t sure if it was a cultural thing or a resource thing because we all lived on an island but soup was definitely a mainstay in this family.


    Tonight was a bit different than usual, toasted bread followed by lasagna and cooked broccoli. Even better, Dad had pulled out a wonderfully delicious-looking tray of cookies and said we could have some tonight if we ate our vegetables. Something that was far more difficult than one would expect from an adult in mind, but my taste buds just refused to enjoy broccoli no matter what I did. A trait that I shared with my sister, showcased by the deep grimace on her face as she ate a forkful of the dreaded vegetables.


    I was willing to bet a considerable sum of money that the only reason she managed to get it down was the promised cookies as a reward.


    Still, I tried my best, and over the next hour, while I tried to choke down the disgusting vegetable that called itself broccoli, I also tried to needle my Dad about upcoming assignments. But all I managed to get was a knowing smile aimed at me with the long-standing patience of someone familiar with my antics and refused to say anything¡­


    Well, he did say something fairly interesting near the end of dinner.


    "Ah, before I forget kiddos, guess who''s going to be paying a visit soon!" Tai said, a small relaxed-looking grin on his face as he dug into his slice of lasagna.


    Ruby, idly poking her broccoli, snapped her head up to stare at Dad with sparkles in her eyes.


    "OH, MY CHEESE AND CRACKERS IS IT UNCLE QROW?!" She shouted, and I meanshouted. Her small body rapidly vibrated in place like she was sitting in one of those massage chairs.


    Tai just laughed at his youngest daughter''s antics, "Yes Ruby, calm down, Uncle Qrow is coming over for a visit."


    "Oh, I hope he lets me look at Harbinger again! It gave me some really cool ideas on how to compress high-powered weapons into smaller forms! OH, oh! And I wanted to ask Uncle Qrow how he got Dust integration to work like he did on Harbinger, I thought that if you did it like that it could tear apart the more delicate Mechashift mechanisms and¡­"


    And off to the races she went, the rest of the dinner filled wonderfully up with Ruby''s general peppiness. Her excitement let her drift from topic to topic as long as she had already gotten started and maintained momentum, kind of like a lawn mower.


    It was a nice dinner, even with the notable absence at the table. But hey, I at least got my cookies in the end. They weren''t perfect, maybe a tinge burnt, but they were the sweetest things I had eaten in some time.

 Chapter 2 - Storytime

    A yawn escaped me before I stood up to stretch from my seat at the desk in Ruby and I''s upstairs bedroom.


    My lips pursed with utmost focus while idly tapping a pencil against my leg while pacing around the small rug in the center of the room. I stopped to glance back to the cluttered desk in the corner of the room, the words on the papers resting on top of it seemed to blur to my eyes as I considered the next direction for the narrative being built.


    Staying up all night did not do me any favors, but when inspiration struck, I had to stick it out or end up losing out.


    I was not entirely sure whether to reveal the wizard''s deception quite yet to my protagonist. There was a bit of drama I could wring out if I were to hold back on it and keep the slow simmer going on the build-up. A hum escaped me while I considered the trade-offs. For one thing, the wizard had good intentions for concealing certain bits of information about the super evil Grimm Queen Overlord of Darkness. And, I loved the conflict it would cause¡­


    I shook my head, it barely was even a decision that I had to spend much time considering. After all, a story wouldn''t be all that interesting if people made the most rational decisions all the time. The wizard was included in that.


    Perhaps I should devise some kind of a worship system? Make it so she grows more powerful for every broken and devoted disciple she has? A proper evil overlord has to have some worshipers, after all.


    A sigh escaped me, maybe later. I needed to get this scene done before I did anymore world building.


    Just as I was about to sit down and settle back into a groove, pencil in hand, the bedroom door practically sprang open with little warning. Instinctually reaching for my aura, my perception of time minutely slowed. Immediately, I darted for my story draft while the door opened, scooping it up in my arms and rushing to my bed on the opposite wall of Ruby''s own. Warmth suffused my limbs and my movement became all that much faster; it might have been a little excessive to use aura for this, but if this was Yang and she saw what I was actually writing stories¡­


    Well, death might be preferable to the verbal torture she''d put me through for the next couple of weeks.


    Despite all of my efforts, fate was simply not in my favor. I twisted around, fast, without looking at the floor below, and found myself unexpectedly airborne as I spun from having my foot hooked onto one of the parts of the Mechashift weapons that my sister left on the floor between my bed and hers. It was used as a model for planning my own Mechashift designs in cooperation with Ruby, so far she seems to be pretty dead set on both of us having a high-caliber sniper rifle installed in whatever designs we end up using.


    Strangely enough, her sing-song voice going, ''Russet, we''ll have matching ammunition, isn''t that great!'', echoed in my mind while I contemplated my life choices amidst my unavoidable collision course set for the floor below.


    Ruby really needed to organize and put away what she disassembled for my own sake at the very least.


    The impact on the wooden floor came with a loud thud that reverberated through the floor. Thankfully my aura absorbed most of it, the protective, thin, crimson film fading away in less than a second from around my body.


    In the middle of the precious pages of my work fluttering around me, a raspy sarcastic voice cut through the air, "Well, you should probably watch where you''re going, kid. There''s a floor down there."


    For a moment, I contemplated the intrusive thought of throttling my most cherished uncle, but there was a fat chance of that ever happening without his sudden becoming a paraplegic. The man was the real deal as far as huntsmen went and he most definitely wasn''t retired like Dad was. Many other things ran through my head and one of them was to thank the gods that it wasn''t Yang. But I wasn''t sure that Uncle Qrow was much better. I kind of forgot that Dad mentioned he was coming by a few nights ago.


    I looked up at the man standing in the doorway, and sure enough, it was an appearance I had come to expect. Short-dark hair, red eyes, scruffy look complete with the marginal effort he makes in keeping his face shaven, and beyond that it looked like he was in the wilderness for weeks on end with how stained his clothes were. A mildly amused look appeared on his face when he looked down at me lying prone on the floor. Though, one of his arms appeared to be hanging out in front of him in a cloth sling wrapped around his shoulder.


    I saw Ruby behind him, shooting me a look as if she had committed the gravest of sins. Uncle stepped into our room while bending over to pick up the closest page that landed next to his feet.


    I failed to see his initial reaction as my view was suddenly obscured by a mix of black and red. My twin grabbed my prone form and clutched me to her stomach, driving the small amount of air I managed to regain back out of my lungs with her deceptive and likely aura induced amount of strength. "RUSSSSET! I''m sorry! I tried to stop him, I really did! But then he started to drag me around the house, and all Yang did was laugh!"


    But I heard none of this as a feeling of overwhelming panic settled into my stomach, making me feel as if I swallowed a block of lead. I squirmed quickly out of my sister''s embrace as my Aura flared up in a brilliant crimson, small sparks of light floating off of me and quickly consolidating into a sizable swarm of crystalline rose petals, each holding a glowing heart of crimson red deep within.


    Without a second thought, I mentally directed the gleaming, yet razor-sharp, petals at my dearest Uncle with no hesitation or regret. For there was no time for such trivialities, not when those incriminating papers remained within his grasp! I may not be that good at utilizing this aspect of my semblance, but needs meant necessities came first. Making him unhand those papers was priority number one.


    Unfortunately for me, my Uncle proved himself to be the agile Huntsman that he always boasted to be, even while hindered by the stiff white cast adorning his arm. With swift, almost lazy, movements, he dodged my swarm without breaking a sweat. And most importantly, he kept a deft hand on my rough draft as my panic grew, my own movements becoming more erratic as time went on.


    "Woah, kiddo! What''s up with you today?" Qrow chuckled out as his body twisted out of the way of another bolt of petals that broke off the main swarm. Evidently, he didn''t care too much about how the failed attack managed to shred away a small indent into the solid wooden wall behind him; puffs of sawdust crumbled off the wall and onto the floor.


    "Does¡­ it have to do with these maybe?" He shook the papers under my nose in a taunt, before shifting out of the way of Ruby as she dived at him to assist me in the heat of the moment, "You don''t mind if I have a look, do you?"


    I didn''t reply, my mind fully occupied with directing the swarm of dwindling petals into a three-pronged attack. As I did that, though, I spotted my twin sneaking around the edge of her side of the room with her own Semblance, looking as though the cat caught the canary as she carefully moved into position behind our distracted uncle.


    Said uncle, to my utter annoyance, still managed to fall into a steady rhythm despite my best efforts, maintaining a fine balance between dancing around all three of my separate streams of attack and raking his eyes across the slightly crumpled manuscript. I watched in dismay as an uncharacteristically stony look enveloped his typical smirking face.


    Internally, I winced, I was fully aware he probably wouldn''t be the biggest fan of what I had written considering the unavoidable parallels. Maybe it had been a bout of brief madness but I just couldn''t resist the idea: writing fanfiction while actually inside the fiction in question was kind of hilarious; barring that, I wasn''t stupid enough to directly name Salem or Ozma.


    Although, It wasn''t nearly as funny now that I was being presented with the consequences of my actions...


    Thankfully, my ever-dedicated sister leapt with purpose from her position behind him and latched onto his arm holding the pages. Happy giggles escaped from her in contrast to the determined look on her face, oblivious of the no doubt complicated thoughts peeling through our uncle''s brain about the contents of my writing.


    "Russ! Quick!" She called out to me, and I didn''t waste any time directing my awaiting razor-sharp projectiles into completely shredding the pages in his hands, yet still trying to be somewhat careful in not damaging anything else in my room. I was not looking forward to talking to Dad about anything that I might damage if I went all out.


    Strands and scraps of paper go flying all over the place when the razor petals from my semblance made contact to completely destroy the poor pages. I took a deep breath and went to grab the other loose pages on the floor all while eying my uncle with suspicion with keen petals held at the ready just in case he decided to grab more.


    He blinked, seeming to be in thought before glancing at my twin sister hanging limply off his arm.


    She stuck her tongue out at him before letting go and shaking off the accumulating wood dust and paper shreds from her red cloak.


    His stiff expression softened as he turned to me, "So¡­ you''re into writing stories, huh?"


    I swallowed stiffly and nodded, idly allowing my swarm to dissipate into the ether with a pleasing sparkle of crimson red.


    It was clear that whatever page he read was one that hit a little too close to home to the whole Grimm Queen thing, but thankfully that was a common trope in writing in Remnant from my own reading on the CCT net. People liked putting a definable enemy that could be defeated on the Grimm, which just happened to be somewhat close to the truth funnily enough.


    But putting aside the meta-joke thing, I honestly thought I could do better than some of the slop that was out there. The CCT net was no better than the internet when it came to the self-published writers, warts and all.


    "Y-yeah." My focus drifted onto his arm in the sling across his chest. Really, I''d rather avoid this topic with him. "Uncle Qrow, when did you get here?"


    He shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, not too long ago. Got held up in the hospital for the arm otherwise, I would have been here yesterday. But, luckily for you pipsqueaks, I''ll be sticking around a bit longer than usual."


    "Because of the arm?" I sharply inquired, Ruby''s own eyes eying his cloth wrapped limb with concern.


    He sighed, tapping his broken arm with his free hand, "Yeah¡­ because of the arm," a minute wince came over his features which he disguised well.


    Seeing that we were both expectantly staring at him, he rolled his eyes, "Alright you two. You want a story of my own?"


    Needless to say, we both nodded enthusiastically. Though I was more concerned about who or what could actually manage to hurt him. There wasn''t much, as far as I was aware, that could give the one of the greatest Huntsman on the planet trouble. With a dramatic flourish utilizing his good arm, Uncle Qrow leaned back into his chair and started his latest tale with a sly grin tugging at the corners of his lips.


    <hr>


    It was midday, and the sun was high with not a single cloud in the sky. A pretty normal day in that hellscape, really. But anyways, I was in Vacuo looking into some¡­ suspicious characters taking liberties where they shouldn''t; making people disappear, good people just doing their jobs as huntsmen, and I was hot on the trail of one of the perpetrators. So there''s this place outside this old rinky-dink bar in the outskirts of the city-


    "Uncle, almost every one of your stories begins with going into a bar¡­"


    Alright, while that may be true half the time, Russ, but this time I wasn''t there purely for my own entertainment. Sometimes old seedy bars are a locus of criminality and if you want to put your finger on the pulse of your target, you need to get into the mindset. Putting that aside, there was a document forger that did some business on the other side of the back alley that I''ve talked to once or twice before.


    He let me know that there was a sketchy looking guy that had recently bought some papers from him for a quick ticket out of town. Not the usual kind of sketchy either, the ones who are just looking to start another life outside the burnt desert and want some distance from the local government. According to my contact the man''s whole character screamed cold, calculated, and with a look in his eyes that said if you crossed him then you wouldn''t get to see Vacuo''s next sunrise.


    So after a little catching up with my contact I decided to make my way to the inn that this man was supposedly staying at, a surprisingly rich place for a man that was probably up to some nefarious shi-uff. Stuff, up to nefarious stuff¡­


    "Uncle Qrow, are you sick too? Did the hospital give you something for a cold before letting you go?"


    No Ruby, I''m fine, really, just accidentally swallowed some spit is all..


    Anyway, where was I?


    "The fancy inn?"


    Right, so this guy was definitely posted up in this fancy inn smack dab in the middle of Vacuo. Personally I thought the place looked a waste of perfectly good drinking money but there''s no accounting for taste I guess. It certainly didn''t help my opinion of the place when I walked in and the bartender sneered at me like I was a dirty rag. That''s pretty typical with your fancy types though, something the two of you I''m sure will learn well enough when you start going out on missions.


    But putting the locals'' snobbishness aside, I made myself at home, paying extra well for both drinks and food to make sure they wouldn''t kick me out or anything like that. Admittedly not my usual kind of haunt, but being a master of stealth and intrigue I quickly found myself among a group playing a game of cards-


    "What kind of cards?"


    What? Uh¡­ Gin Rummy I think it was-


    "Isn''t that only two players?"


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    We took turns- ANYWAY, by the time I graciously had to bow out and return the poor sods all the winnings I took from them the man I had been looking for walked down from upstairs. I could tell this was the guy I was looking for the moment I saw him, the way he moved with a grace normal people just don''t have. The deadly looking confidence in his eyes mixed with a feeling of subtle intimidation that practically seemed to leek from this guy. Looking at this man was like looking at a tightly coiled spring that was ready to strike out at anything that touched it just a little too much.


    The moment his feet hit the inn''s floor his eyes almost seemed to be drawn to mine like magnets. His gaze met mine, and while it was minute, he paused. Three things occurred to me at that second:


    I knew this was the man responsible for all the disappearances, either personally or by some other means.


    I also knew that he was well aware of who I was and why I was there. He and his¡­ sort took me more seriously than most. They have a little, uh, Club that they talk to each other in.


    "A Club?"


    Yeah, a Club, pipsqueak.


    "Do assassins and mercenaries even trust each other enough to organize something like that?"


    Not ordinarily, no. It''s a special club, Russ. Not many people are in it, but the ones that are¡­ are just some of the worst pieces of garbage you''ll probably ever see in your life. Most of them have a screw loose or something else wrong with them to be part of it. Anyways, there''s a few more Clubs around here and there, this particular one just has some bad blood with me, and the kind of heavy hitters with the type of strength that make me cautious.


    Thirdly, I knew the man in front of me was the kind of guy that didn''t give a single damn about the people around us if things got messy. And my assessment was pretty spot on when he grabbed the poor idiot by the piano near the staircase with a smooth nonchalance that almost made it comical before pitching him at me like a living, faunus-shaped javelin going horns first.


    Of course, I stopped the guy, grabbing him with a spin to bled off his momentum and shoving him to the far wall away from me. But, I knew  this bast¡ªbad guy''s MO. He wouldn''t let me be for long; he was buying time to close the gap between us.


    Before I could draw Harbinger, with the speed only a veteran with aura use could have, he was in my face and I''m a little ashamed to say, this guy''s hand-to-hand was good enough to make even your dad blush, kids. We traded blows and he kept the pressure on to keep me from drawing my weapon. This nice little Inn we were fighting in quickly wasn''t looking so hot anymore after I dodged a couple of this big guy''s aura technique enhanced punches that sent big furrows through the wood floor in shockwaves. The bar was a mess at this point, and the tables and patrons caught inside were sent flying through the wall into the streets. Honestly, they were lucky to get out of there even if they were a little scuffed from that.


    "Wait, so he was doing all of that without a semblance?"


    Yeah, he was, Russ. And, he was something else alright. A real monster. Not many people go for an unarmed specialization in our field of work. There''s a lot of risk with fighting with your hands and he was old-school. There was no mechashift in the gauntlets he was using either. Putting all that aside, this guy had me on the backfoot and I only barely managed to draw Harbinger after kicking him across the room and over what was left of the bar, sending the shelf of liquor falling on him in a shower of alcohol and broken bottles. Kinda a shame, too. They had some decent vintage for such a dingy little pub.


    "Uncle Qrow¡­."


    Alright, alright, yeesh. You two are as bad as Goodwitch. Anyways, after a couple more trades between him and me with him being a one man wrecking crew, he hit something he shouldn''t have and brought half the building down on the two of us.


    To be honest with you two, I don''t know whether to blame my Semblance for that but I''m gonna do it anyway. But, it took me minutes to dig myself out of the rubble. Unfortunately the guy split by that time, and considering what he did to that place with just his hands and no Dust, I wasn''t all that surprised he made it out of there faster than me.


    "Was that how you broke your arm, Uncle?"


    Uh, no, Ruby. That comes a little later. In fact, I trailed this guy to Vacuo Central Station. He booked it fast enough to get there a couple minutes before I did and got on a train about to leave. It just started to hightail it out of the station when I got there, so I had to improvise and make my own boarding pass by taking a little initiative and jumping on the last passing car''s roof. I actually used Harbinger to anchor myself on top.


    By the way, I don''t think I should have to say this, but please don''t jump on high-speed moving trains if you don''t have to, kids. Especially if you''re drun¡ªnevermind.


    "Mhm, Right!"


    I can see you crossing your fingers, little missy. Yang''s already enough trouble by herself and you don''t need to add to it.


    "A bit too late for that Uncle Qrow. Hasn''t Dad told you about the bill he got after what Ruby did last week at Sig- ow! Ruby!"


    Hey, no inter-sibling violence during story time. You two will get plenty of chances to hurt one another on purpose or by accident later.


    Anyways, I jumped on that moving train and what do I see? This son of a¡ªgun pulls himself up atop the car from one of the side doors and climbs up to meet me. Guess he wanted to kick me off pronto.


    So there we were, the gallant hero and the merc looking at me dead in the eyes. And let me tell you two, the guy had a glare that could freeze lesser Huntsmen in their tracks, but I''ve stared down plenty of Grimm uglier than him.


    "So did you guys fight on top of the moving train? That sounds really dangerous, and awesome!"


    You''re telling me, Rubes. This guy was unhinged enough that he didn''t care about the risks. As soon as he got his footing, he came at me hard and fast, clearly aiming to either knock me off the train or knock my head off my shoulders. I think both would have worked for him.


    We clashed, trading blows for slashes, but the rocking of the train car combined with the blistering winds made it treacherous footing. A few times I almost went over the edge, only just managing to hook my scythe into the train''s roof to stay anchored.


    Anyways, I did manage to get my fair share of payback on him, but the b- guy just shrugged off the bulk of my strikes with Harbinger like they were nothing! His Aura control must have been off the charts; he was redirecting some of the force of my hits he blocked into the roof of the car we were fighting on and that was causing us to rapidly run out of places to stand on. I wasn''t all that keen on taking the fight up close in the car''s interior; I saw the civvies, pale as sheets, watching us from their seats from down there as more of the roof was trashed, and we gave them one hell of a show they probably won''t ever forget.


    We were still going at it, the sounds of metal screeching when Harbinger clashed against his armored fists rang out over the howling wind. I grit my teeth as I feinted left before I brought Harbinger around in a wide arc aimed for his ribs. He wasn''t falling for it though, catching the blade with his gauntlets and trying to rip it from my grasp.


    "Wait, he caught your weapon, how is that even possible? I''ve seen your sword carve through Grimm armor like it''s nothing!"


    Believe it, kiddo. This guy was a freak of nature, strongest Aura I''ve ever seen. But-


    "Wait Uncle Qrow, how do you get your Aura to that point?"


    Ah ah ah, ask again after the story, Russet. I don''t think your sister would forgive you for interrupting story time. Again. Anyways, I still managed to keep my hands on my scythe despite his attempts to rip it from me. But that''s when I saw it, an absolutely colossal tail ripping its way through the sand dunes. Before either of us could blink we were both hurdling off the train as the biggest Taijitu I have ever seen rammed into it like the fist of the God of Destruction himself had a personal vendetta against it.


    "Woooah, how big was it Uncle Qrow!"


    Heh, must have been at the very least six hundred feet long by my reckoning!


    "Uh-huh¡­"


    Anyway, the both of us were knocked off the train and thrown pretty far into the desert¡­ not that stopped either of us for more then a second or two! Before you''d imagine it the two of us were back at it, Harbinger lashing out here, his fist striking there! Each blow we made against each other and each clash of metal made my teeth clench and my bones rattle! Yet just when I thought I was about to get the upper hand that bloody massive Taijitu emerged from the sandy dunes again, in retrospect I suppose I should be thankful it didn''t go after the passengers but at the time I was pretty peeved about the whole thing.


    As it emerged from the dunes, the white half of its body looming over us like an evil king of all that they surveyed, I was briefly distracted and that ba- uh scumbag used that to his advantage and managed to put my arm in a hold, and well you can probably how the next few seconds went from there.


    "Ow."


    Ow indeed, anyway my arm definitely felt broken at the time but any good Hunter worth their salt can fight one handed anyway so it wasn''t too much of an inconvenience. More to the point, my brief distraction with the King Taijitu gave me an amazing idea, you see the scaly¡­ guy¡­ wasn''t just trying to eat us whole, no he was very specifically circling us from within the desert''s dunes. The beast''s mere movements were creating tidal waves of sand that threatened to swallow both of us and giving us almost no solid ground to actually stabilize ourselves with!


    Yet I wasn''t out of options yet, with careful methodic exchanges of blows done every time either of us got close to each other I managed to lure him closer towards one of the edges by gradually feigning a retreat. It was just a clever disguise though, for one moment I was right on the edge where the Taijitu would likely strike and then the next I managed to switch our position with a well timed CQC technique and threw him into the waiting maw of the Taijitu!


    "Woah, you fed him to the Grimm?! That''s crazy!!"


    "Yeah that''s¡­ how did you manage to kill the Taijitu though?"


    Pshh, do you honestly think some silly snake is enough to give me any real trouble? I had that thing cleaned up in under a minute, the thing might have been an Elder Grimm but that just made it smart enough to lay some basic traps. A Taijitu''s main weakness is its eyes you see, and well, I was able to get quite close to its eyes¡­


    <hr>


    "Alright kids, I think I''m done tellin'' stories for the time being," Qrow stands up from his position on top of Ruby''s bed, before wincing as a loud rumble erupted from his stomach. "¡­Yeah, I think it''s time for some lunch. You two want something?"


    He pauses before reaching the door and fixes my sister a look, "And we''re not having cookies for lunch again, Ruby. I got an earful from both Tai and Yang last time."


    "Awww, but Uncle Qrow." I hear Ruby whine from behind me, and I''m almost certain she''s trying her patented puppy dog expression in an attempt to break our uncle''s will.


    But unfortunately for her, he''s not a world-class huntsman for nothing, something that all the fresh holes in our walls are likely to be quick to remind her of. And I, in turn, am equally quick to remind her myself. "Ruby, you do know those eyes aren''t going to work on him, right?"


    "But they work on you, don''t they?" Her rebuttal is both swift and harsh.


    "Only sometimes¡­" I grumbled back before putting a bit more spring into my step in order to catch up to our uncle. I had a question that I had been holding back since I had first seen him, and now seemed as good a time as any to ask. "Hey Uncle Qrow, about that guy you were fighting. Do you know what kind of Aura manipul-"


    I stared down cross-eyed at the finger that just shushed me before I snapped my eyes back up to glare at my smirking uncle. "Yeah, yeah, I knew you were gonna ask me that at some point, even without the story. So I got you a gift when I stopped by Beacon a while ago. I''m sure Goodwitch won''t mind."


    A slow blink came from me at his explanation. I was very much aware of how untrue that statement might be, regardless, the upkeep of Beacon''s library wasn''t my problem.


    "I left it downstairs on the coffee table in the living room, now, I know it might be a little bit of a trip for a recluse like yourself¡­" He trailed off playfully, letting go of my lips.


    I rolled my eyes before sticking my tongue out to blow a raspberry at him as I made my way to the first floor. Yang''s presence on the couch in front of the television screen, errantly flicking through channels every so often, was quite easy to see.


    Hair tied up in a messy blonde ponytail, our eldest sister was busy relaxing. laying out on the couch on her back as she used the remote. Even so, despite her outward projection of nonchalance, there was tension in her body posture. Her attention was focused on the screen ahead of her until Qrow, Ruby, and I had hit the final step down.


    Her eyes scanned us, halting when they landed on me. She sat up from her sprawled out position.


    "Hey you two!" She called out, sitting up and setting the remote aside on the table next to the book I sought, "I see our Uncle managed to drag our brother out from your room."


    Qrow chuckles, before putting a hand on Ruby''s shoulder, causing her to look up at him in curiosity, "It took some doing, but I managed it without losing a limb or two, though not for a lack of trying on his part."


    Yang just raised an eyebrow before eying me. Thankfully it didn''t seem like Qrow was keen on sharing what I was writing. My gratitude had risen a smidge higher beyond where it already was.


    "Anyways, I''m taking Ruby out into the backyard for a bit. Try not to fight like cats and dogs with your dad while we''re gone, yeah?"


    Wincing, her lilac eyes glanced at Ruby and I before awkwardly looking away, "Right¡­"


    Giving a nod to her, Qrow shuffled out through the front door with my twin in tow, Ruby very much having the look of a deer caught in the headlights. That left me alone with Yang and the book that was very much my focus on the table in front of her. She clearly had something to say to me, but maybe if I grabbed it quick enough I could avoid it¡­?


    It''s not that I hated her or anything. Far from it even with her rash of troublemaking and rebellion recently. Honestly, I just was just conflict averse. It was difficult to deal with others when they had feelings on the mind, and just by looking at her I could tell that we were going to tread down that territory.


    Biting my lip, I moved to the table and swiped my prize from its surface before hurriedly attempting to make my way back upstairs.


    But, before I could fully disappear to the second floor I heard from behind me words that made dread settle in my stomach, "Russet, hey, can I talk to you?"


    Concealing my annoyance, I slowly spun around and returned down to the living room. Yang had a complicated expression on her face, but she seemed relieved that I actually came back down. She reached for the remote on the table and completely switched off the television, the room almost immediately being filled with an awkward, tense silence.


    "So¡­ it''s been a bit of a while since we kind of talked like this, honestly, I''ve been so busy with my own thing¡­ and Dad and I¡­ Well, we haven''t been too buddy-buddy lately."


    She rambled a bit, her hands making awkward movements as if she was unsure where to put them and her words sounded almost a bit rushed and afraid, "A-anyway, I just wanted to say that if you or Ruby need my help, I''ll put my stuff on hold for a bit and help you out. Dad and I might be having a little, uh, rough patch, but I don''t mean for it to affect you guys."


    I blinked slowly at her as I tried to discern her stream of thought, Yang having a moment of self-consciousness wasn''t exactly what I was expecting today, she was always more of an act first kind of girl rather than a thinker. Frankly, I was taken completely off-guard.


    "Uh, No problem," I managed to say, the awkwardness in my voice painfully clear, "Don''t worry about it."


    "Are you sure, Russ?" The teenage girl rhetorically asked, uncertainty in her tone, "I''m being serious, you know."


    "Yang, it''s fine." I reply, glancing down at the book in my hands, and wishing I was anywhere but here right now. I always hated conversations like this, serious conversations, ones where people were either worried about me or some other complicated emotion that needed just those right words to help set things right.


    Except I never had those words, all I had was my own social ineptitude and brief floundering bits of insight.


    With that said, she gained a hard-set expression before standing up and stepping with purpose toward me. Bracing, I knew what was coming. Firm arms wrapped around me before she enveloped me into an unwavering embrace. Propping her chin on my head she lets out a quiet exhale before pulling back slightly to look me in the eyes¡­


    "I can''t exactly promise to stop fighting with Dad, but I can give it a shot. Maybe keep it from getting into yelling maybe?" She sounded contrite, "Really, I''m sorry¡­"


    "You just need to like, I don''t know, talk to him?" I sighed, uncertainty filling my lungs, and anxiety burning in my stomach.


    "I don''t know¡­ I just don''t get why y''all are yelling at each other so much. I mean, I know why you''re fighting, I just don''t understand¡­" I trailed off, not really certain about what exactly I wanted to say.


    Instead I took a deep breath and hugged her tighter, "Love you¡­" I whispered simply instead.


    She pursed her lips before regaining a smile, "Love you too, Russ," and she paused for a second, "Well, considering how well talking with dad has gone so far¡­"


    Yang shook her head, "I mean, I think I get what you''re trying to say, but whenever I remember what he''s been like for years before¡ª"


    She stopped herself then shook her head, "Never mind that little brother. Anyways, I''m sure you want to read the new book Uncle Qrow got you, I won''t keep you from that any longer."


    She steps away and sits back on the couch again, "Talk to you later, okay?"


    I nodded before quickly stepping back upstairs. As soon as I made it up, I exhaled softly. Dad did not make it easy on her.


    For the longest time, the first thing on my big sister''s mind was either Ruby or myself. Thankfully, I managed to help her out some after getting my own problems sorted, but she had to grow up fast when Taiyang decided to mentally check out for as long as I could clearly remember; certainly ever since the whole debacle with the wagon, the bucket, and the old cabin Yang took us to before Qrow had to save our asses.


    Our dad only really started to be more active a year or so ago, and she''s having trouble adjusting with him trying to set rules and restrictions on what she does. Honestly, I think she started giving him grief out of spite at some point, but that was my own personal opinion.


    Family drama aside, at least I''d finally be able to satisfy my desire to learn more about Aura. I couldn''t wait to sink my claws into this book.

 Chapter 3 - Investigations

    Unfortunately, I woke to the blinding glare of the sun leaking in through the window. The curtain that I''d usually attempt to keep closed was wide open and my groggy mind was currently trying to figure out who I was going to kill today because of this. Crimes need to be punished after all, yet after a moment of vainly trying to will the sun into nonexistence with my all-powerful silver eyes of divine doom. Eventually, I let out a sigh and rose to my feet.


    Mornings were hard sometimes, yet I had a routine to abide by if I wanted to retain any measure of health and social grace throughout the day. Brushed teeth, a horribly lukewarm shower, and finally acne wipes, the habitual routine helped wake me up a little which was rendered mostly moot once I marched over to my bed and pulled the curtains closed.


    Blessed sweet darkness enveloped the room and I took the chance to try and grab some extra sleep. As my head hit the pillow, I didn''t give myself the hope that it would last for too long, for one thing sleeping for overly long would fuck over my circadian rhythm, and for another nobody in this family would ever let me sleep in for one reason or another.


    If it wasn''t Ruby who would barge in then it would be Yang trying to make sure I was productive today. I loved my family a lot, but it could be difficult to keep a calm mind when they were all morning people and I was not. Besides, I had a plan to be productive today, it just didn''t need such urgency that it had to be done so damn early in the morning.


    Just as I theorized, it wasn''t but maybe half an hour before Ruby kicked in the door for our shared living space.


    She was trying to say something, but she was legitimately going so fast that it all sounded like a weird mash of unintelligible words. I, of course, responded with my eloquently prepared response and desire for Ruby to slow down and use an actual language spoken by modern humans on Remnant.


    "Bhwu?"


    "I''MGONNALEARNHOWTOSCYTHEGOOD!!!!!!" She finalized before dashing out of the room in a flurry of rose petals. I could only blink slowly at the slowly evaporating rose petals before sighing and escaping from my comfy confines.


    I suppose that I wasn''t going to get any more sleep today judging by my family''s track record.


    <hr>


    The attic of my home was not a place that was visited often, and being up here felt weird in a way only describable as knowingly trespassing on someone''s property. I wasn''t of course, this was my house just as much as it was my new family''s but it didn''t stop the feeling that what I was doing was somehow a crime. Even if my Dad never expressly forbade me from being up here, it was almost implicit in nature. Even if, you know, he wasn''t exactly talkative for the past couple of years.


    Those feelings weren''t worth listening to however, what was infinitely more important was finishing going through the box labeled ''Summer''s Writings''. Contained within the box were a number of¡­ well I could only call them what they were, fanfictions.


    It was a whole box full of a mixture of short writings and half-filled books of stories that were never completed, and perhaps if I was lucky there might be some clues as to where Mom got to when she disappeared. I wasn''t holding my breath however, so far my investigation had only revealed moderately decent fanfiction of various books I was only vaguely aware of.


    It was hours later that I noticed something interesting within the miscellaneous pile of writings. At first glance, I had thought it was just another piece of my mother''s fan work, but a closer look revealed something¡­ interesting. The story itself started simply enough, a basic hero''s journey about a young woman, whose hometown is ravaged by a man with pitch black eyes and deathly pale skin.


    It was a somewhat typical hero''s journey story, but there were several key differences I had noted at a glance that made me come back to it. Instead of the usual wish fulfillment, the whole text carried a religious heat to it that didn''t feel like it really fit with how Dad described Mom. According to him, she was never really all that religious but this¡­ this felt like the kind of thing a zealot would write and it was odd. Combined with the whole ''Salem look-alike'' thing it intrigued me enough to take a much deeper look at it.


    I pulled the story from the box, a measly five pages of work and thoroughly unfinished, nonetheless I began to leaf through it in more detail.


    "There once was a young girl who lived deep in a small village located deep within the forests of the first continent. This girl was of the cheerful sort, vibrant and so full of life that some would claim that her eyes would glimmer and twinkle in the light of the shattered moon! She had a lovely, if simple life, parents who dearly loved her and a whole forest to explore to satisfy her natural curiosity.


    Yet things would not remain this way forever, for one day a man entered the village and sought council with the village''s Elder. The people of the village were scared of the man, for his eyes were like two black pits from which no light seemed to enter, yet when the girl gazed into the man''s eyes as they roamed her own over his pale skin, she could not will any ounce of fear into her heart.


    After the man spoke with the Elder and began to leave, despite the protests of her friends and parents, she ran to speak with him. The man with Pitch Eyes looked at her with surprise, but smiled genially as the girl asked him all sorts of questions, showcasing a natural curiosity born of youth.


    Then when he was finished answering and satisfying the young girl''s inquiries, he smiled at her, revealing a set of bleach white teeth. He then turned and he slaughtered her village, burning all the homes and wonderful trees that surrounded it. He left her parents broken and bloodied in front of her, and as she stared at them in shock and horror, he spoke words that imprinted themselves onto her heart and sent her into a terrible rage.


    ''This is the price of curiosity young child, be careful what you wish to know for some things are worse than Death.''


    With those last parting words the man with Pitch Eyes left the girl to grieve over her loved ones, and the last burning embers of her peaceful life. Yet this was not the end of the story for the girl, for she ventured out into the woods with great sorrow in her heart and a desire to rejoin her loved ones in any way possible.


    Yet just as she was on the cusp of committing to the act the most beautiful buck stepped on from behind a tree. The animal was gorgeous, resplendent and majestic all at once in a way that made the girl''s grip on the knife in her hand slip and fall without even an ounce of her notice. Seconds passed as she gazed at the majestic creature, until a voice rang out in the forest clearing.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ''Oh young child of the forest, why do you weep?''


    ''Oh majestic forest spirit, it is oh so horrible, my home, my family, my friends, all that I once knew and loved is gone by the will of that terrible man. I wish to rejoin my family, to see them once again in the distant lands alongside our ancestors¡­''


    The majestic forest spirit sat by the girl''s side and allowed her to shed her tears over its body. It''s warmth gave the girl a strange comfort that she could not place-"


    I paused there, thinking over exactly what I had just read. The pale skinned man with eyes of Pitch was definitely some kind of reference to Salem¡­ though I couldn''t quite remember whether or not team STRQ ever actually knew what she looked like. Still, the coincidence of it was far too great to just ignore, and the whole majestic forest spirit stood out quite a lot to me in a way I couldn''t put my tongue on yet.


    I moved over to the other side of the attic and after a quick glance at the still-open door to the rest of the house grabbed hold of an old rotten tarp and yanked it off. Underneath the tarp was one of those standing cork boards with wheels attached to the bottom, pinned in great multitudes were different handwritten notes or pieces of fanfiction that I thought might have relevant information.


    It had been a pain in the ass to bring this thing up into the attic. The entire time I was struggling to push it up the attic''s step ladder I had felt like Yang was moments away from springing up behind me to ask what I was doing. I hadn''t been an idiot about it of course, everyone should be busy today for a variety of different reasons, so I theoretically have the house to myself for the most part.


    I briefly mourn the time when I had both privacy and free time, it was a simpler time that simply couldn''t exist anymore. Regardless, I shook those thoughts from my mind as I refocused back on my task. My eyes searched across the board before I found the perfect spot to place the new piece of information, I had found odd mentions of religious dogma before but only in sparse amounts. All of it typically referenced some kind of divine heritage, which obviously sparked my interest¡­


    "Huh, interesting hobby kid¡­" A familiar voice said from directly behind me making me jump in fear and drop the piece of the story I was holding. Adrenaline and panic flooded my veins as without an ounce of thought I reached for the tarp and poorly threw it over the corkboard. It did not land well, only half covering the board and it took a second to ensure it covered everything.


    By the time I was done, I came to a sort of realization about how stupid I probably just looked. Qrow stood in front of me as I turned around to see him, an eyebrow arched at me as if asking if I was serious.


    "Uh, I''m just¡­ looking at Mom''s stuff, Uncle," I said tentatively.


    Qrow seemed to pause as he stepped closer to the corkboard, leaning in to take a closer look at my startled attempt at secrecy. A small frown crossed his face the longer he looked at my board and I was getting a distinct sinking feeling in my gut.


    He lets out a weary sigh, reaching down with his good hand to unscrew his flask before giving it a quick swig. While he did that, I bent down and picked up the page I was handling before, holding it tightly to my chest in case he decided that I wouldn''t be allowed to investigate anymore.


    "You don''t have to skulk around up here like you''re doing something wrong, Russ." Qrow said, his normally gruff voice carrying a note of unexpected gentleness. "Summer was your mom. It''s not a crime to want to know more about her."


    He walks over and picks up a few of the pages I accidentally knocked over in my panic, glancing at them before handing them back to me. I take them hesitantly, unsure of what to say. My Uncle lets out a heavy sigh, shaking his head.


    "Look, kid¡­ I get it. Your dad, he hasn''t exactly been the most forthcoming about your mom since she.. Well, you know. But that doesn''t mean you don''t have a right to know about her, to want to feel close to her."


    His red eyes hold a distant look for a moment before focusing back on me with an intensity that makes me want to squirm. "You shouldn''t have to be scavenging for scraps in the attic like some kind of starving dog. If you want to know more about Summer, just ask. I''ll tell you what I can."


    My Uncle''s words hung heavy in the musty air of the attic. Part of me wanted to press him further, to demand the answers I''ve been looking for so long. I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could get a word out, a sudden shout of pure, unbridled joy rang out from outside, shattering the heaviness between us.


    My head snapped towards the window, curiosity piqued. Qrow''s eyebrow raised and he moved closer to look out. I followed, peering down to see Ruby in the backyard, proudly swinging a scythe around, her excitedly bumbled words from this morning finally registering in my mind.


    "Your sister''s got some real talent that was hiding away there huh?" Qrow asks, his voice sounding a lot more¡­ quiet and withdrawn than I am used to hearing from him. I can''t help but agree with his words though, while logistically I always knew Ruby was going to be a prodigy with a scythe, it still gave me a measure of awe after I spent years with her probably being the worst student in Signal.


    She was¡­ really not good at any of the standard weapons taught at Signal, and the school didn''t really go out of its way to find something more exotic that she might be better at. Really it was only with the help of the whole family that we were able to get Ruby up to something barely passable by Signal standards with a sword.


    Looking down at her now from the attic window, however, left me more than impressed. She was in the backyard, a multitude of old dummies we typically used for lighter training set up all around the place. Ruby was dancing through the dummies with an old wooden-looking scythe, her footwork leagues more immaculate than what it had been before and the way she twirled the scythe to carve off imaginary limbs was leagues better than how she handled herself using any other weapon to date.


    "She''s¡­" I said, trailing off into a small quiet before Qrow spoke up to break it.


    "She''s a natural, not even half a day of practice and she''s swinging that thing around like she''s been practicing for years." His words were laced with pride, I could feel it brimming every word despite his attempt to make it sound casual.


    "Right." He said, clearing his throat for a second. "Ask away kid, I can''t promise I know everything but you don''t need to root around in a dusty attic if you want to know more about your Mom."


    For a moment I was silent, a nervous energy bubbled in my gut as I considered what I could ask without setting off red flags. Yet the more I thought the more I realized that anything of serious note Uncle Qrow was likely to just deflect¡­


    "I kinda can''t remember her very well, Uncle Qrow. I''ve gotten a better idea of her from reading her stories, but what was she like?" I asked instead after a long moment of quiet. There were many questions I could probably have asked that would lead me closer to finding out what happened to Mom, but at the moment this was something that had been tingling in the back of my mind.


    I never was really able to get a good read on Mom through her writings, just vague assumptions.


    Uncle Qrow hummed in thought as he took another shot from his flask, "Summer was¡­ complicated. Brilliant, brave, compassionate to a fault. But she had her dreams too. We all did, in Team STRQ. Came with the territory, I guess."


    His voice trailed off with a tinge of bitterness at the end, and judging by what I remember about the ultimate fate of Team STRQ, I don''t blame him.


    He shook his head as he absently ran his good hand through his spiky hair, "But at her core, she was the kindest woman I think I ever knew, for better or worse. While everyone else in our line of work seemed to grow more and more numb with the kinds of things you''d see, she seemed to just grow more determined and empathetic."


    The older man chuckled while his gaze lingered on Ruby in the backyard, "You probably don''t really get what I mean do you? It''s not really something I can describe with just some fancy words, it''s something you have to experience. Something I''m sure you will experience too if you choose to be a Huntsman¡­"


    Actually, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about. I tried imagining it too, someone who took in the horrors of what essentially was a war and didn''t grow numb to it. Someone who decided it was all the more reason to throw herself back in to help more, conceptually I could see it but realistically I knew that I probably wasn''t truly comprehending something like that.


    That level of selflessness¡­ The world at large was probably lesser without her.


    "Hey, kid?" Uncle Qrow said suddenly, making me look up at him as he grinned mischievously at me.


    "Want to hear about the time your mom and dad managed to almost destroy an entire wing of Beacon?" The outrageous man said, forcing me to blink in astonishment.


    My head cocked to the side at his words, curiosity burning, "What? How?"


    "Heh, well you see it started almost too simply, we were having a small little food fight in the cafeteria¡­"


    For the next hour and a half, I listened to Uncle Qrow regale me with several stories about the mom I never got to meet. It was¡­ nice to get to hear more about her a little from someone who actually knew her, Dad never really spoke of her in any significant way. Always just small somber mentions of her, never actually saying anything of substance and always avoiding the subject when directly asked.


    I put that out of my mind though, simply listening to the stories of my mom through the point of view of my Uncle.

 Interlude - Reds and Yellows

    Two men stood together in the living room of the quaint cabin that they called home. Well, at least one of them did. The other considered the various bars he frequented to be akin to home.


    "See what I''m talking about? I gotta admit, I''m a little impressed about how thorough he was." Qrow motioned a hand toward the bulletin he managed to pull from the attic, the latest work of his dearest nephew.


    Much of what was on the board were old writings from Summer, from before her disappearance. They''d both recognize that elegant handwriting anywhere. It''s been years since she disappeared, but it was to be expected that any child who lost their mother at a young age would want to know details about the parent they never got to know.


    He also had to hand it to that kid, getting that thing in and out of the attic was a real pain in the ass.


    A concerned downturn of the lips came in response to his former teammate''s observation, "Is that really what you should be taking away from this? He shouldn''t be doing this, and you absolutely know why."


    "He''s also a kid who wants to learn more about his dead mom," Qrow snapped back sharply, poking his old friend in the chest with his good arm. "Y''know, something his dad should have told him about ages ago?"


    A tense friction heated up in the air between the two of them as blue eyes locked with red. Yet¡­ eventually it was Taiyang that faltered first.


    "Qrow, just¡­ I know." He quietly spoke, pinching his nose in frustration, "I feel awful about this. Yang gives me enough hell as it is."


    He sighed before walking up to the board and taking a closer look at what Russet had laid out. Using a finger, he traced the various notes and their cord ties that linked them together via thumbtacks. Most of the information he already knew. Some of it was about the more theological-related writing Summer did when she got in a mood. Brothers above, he had spent more than enough time going through his wife''s things after she left.


    "Qrow," He mumbled, tracing one of the final tethers toward the end of what his son had put together, "Did you know she went to Mistral after leaving?"


    He blinked, his red eyes sharpening in response to Taiyang''s question, "Yeah, couldn''t trace her beyond the wilderness on the western portion of the continent."


    Taiyang turned to him, pursing his lips in thought, "You did the leg-work, but how does Russet even know to look there? She didn''t say a word or even leave a note when she left."


    Qrow sighed, feeling another headache coming on before reaching for his hip flask in his vest pocket.


    After taking a swig, he replied, "Damned if I know, Tai. Your son''s bright, and well, you''d probably have a better idea if you talked with him. Maybe get around to that, yeah?"


    Tai opened his mouth in indignation, a habitual response from his daily verbal quarrels with Qrow back in their Beacon days, before deflating as if the air was drained from his lungs. "You always have to remind me of that, don''t you?"


    "Someone''s gotta keep you honest," Qrow shrugged in response, before turning away and leaving the room behind, "Anyway, don''t wait up on me. I promised Ruby to take her out to lunch to celebrate all the progress she''s made in the past few days."


    Tai stayed quiet, choosing to stay, and stared at the intricate investigation board with a complicated expression adorning his face.


    <hr>


    Ruby was humming as she skipped forward, a smile on her face as she and Uncle Qrow walked down the old dirt path to the closest restaurant. The family home was some distance from the port town that Signal was located in, but she could get there and back at a brisk walk if she didn''t mind some exercise. It''s a trail that she and her brother had trekked frequently together whenever their father had to stay after hours for faculty meetings at the academy.


    Her mind was alight with ideas after her recent experience with her new favorite weapon of all time! The Scythe! Ruby could scarcely describe in words just how right it felt to hold that wooden scythe for the first time, and the impressed look Uncle Qrow gave her when she started swinging it around made her heart jump in joy!


    "You certainly seem happy, get a boyfriend I should know about?" Uncle Qrow said all of a sudden, shocking her from her musing about her super ultra cool new scythe skills.


    "What! Ew no Uncle Qrow that''s gross!" Ruby said, recoiling from her Uncle who just laughed at her outburst.


    After wiping a mock tear from his eye, he teased, "Trust me, kiddo, you might be saying that now, but there''ll be a time when ole'' Uncle Qrow is going to have to loom over your shoulder to dissuade the rabble, the dregs going after your hand."


    "That is if your big sister and your brother don''t beat me to it."


    Ruby''s pale cheeks became comically red and she shook her head profusely, the desire to hide in her cloak became immense, "Nope! We''re not talking about this!"


    A response that only brought more laughter from her supposed advocate and uncle. To which, Ruby could really only level a glare with little heat to it back at him. After facing that unwavering neutral smirk of his, she finally exhaled sharply and turned her head to look at the various wildflowers that dotted the trail as they closed the distance to town.


    Uncle Qrow could be really annoying sometimes, but she was glad he came around when he did. It felt strange to be thankful that he broke his arm, but he''d probably already be gone on another mission if he wasn''t being forced to take it easy.


    "So¡­" Qrow began, curiosity laced in his tone, "How''s your brother doing? From what I hear from your Dad, his scores at Signal are pretty high across the board. You''re not doing too bad yourself, kiddo."


    At the mention of Signal and grades, Ruby''s peppy skips had lost some of their energy. A far more complicated look crossed her face, "Yeah, he''s doing pretty good¡­ he didn''t need to take remedial combat classes."


    What she left unsaid was, ''Unlike me,'' though it was pretty clear that her Uncle picked up on her shift in mood. It was a tangled knot of feelings that crossed her chest that thankfully she felt was starting to lighten since Qrow put that scythe in her hands. It was like there was a heavy weight that clasped around her heart that got tighter and tighter while she saw him get better and better in combat class while she just¡­ seemed to stay the same; that stifling feeling had finally started to lift just a teensy bit.


    "Thanks, Uncle Qrow," Ruby finally muttered, breaking the awkward atmosphere that started to pervade the air between them, her voice wavering, "I-I was really starting to get worried¡­"


    Her feet slowly found themselves coming to a stop as her stomach twisted in uncomfortable ways, her mind casted back to those brief moments where she would¡­ It makes her feel so hopeless when she even thinks about it. And she-


    Tears threatened to prickle at her eyes, "I just¡­ I feel so useless sometimes, Uncle Qrow!"


    "My combat scores are terrible, I''ve been stuck in remedial classes, and Russ-" A sob caught in her throat. "Russet keeps taking time away from his own training to help me. But I wasn''t improving at all!"


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    She sniffled, and exhaled shakily, "Not until you started teaching me to use a scythe¡­"


    "Ruby, hey," He started to say, raising his good hand toward her, before just shaking his head with a sigh, "Come here, kiddo."


    He drew her into his side and softly rubbed her back as she clutched him, the anxiety that was thrumming through her easing as he did. Her dream had been slowly inching its way out of reach, and it felt like her Uncle had tossed her a rope to drag it back. The hug lasted for a good minute or so before Uncle Qrow pulled her away and looked her seriously in the eyes.


    "Kid, I know that this is something you''ve been dreaming about since you were a wee little brat, but can you promise me one thing?"


    Ruby rubbed the last traces of lingering tears away from her eyes as she nodded silently.


    "Promise me that you won''t let being a Huntress be everything you live for, there''s more ways to help people than fighting Grimm." He said, and although she could see the seriousness in his eyes her heart rebelled at his words.


    "But.." She started to say, thoughts swirling in confusion about how you could help people better than saving them from the Grimm. Yet she couldn''t seem to find it in her to voice those words, his eyes seemed to carry a sadness in them that Ruby just couldn''t find it in her to deny.


    "Okay, Uncle Qrow¡­" She said instead of what she wanted to say, and the slight curl of his lips at her response told her she had said the right answer. Even if she wasn''t sure how much she believed her own words.


    At her affirmation, the intensity that he gained with that odd request ebbed away, and a far more easy-going and typical playful smirk replaced his serious expression. He swung an arm around her shoulders and they continued to walk down the path together.


    <hr>


    Yang pressed on the accelerator and Bumblebee purred wonderfully in response. The roar of her baby filled the air in a way that satisfied her on a primal level. It was something that she had always had trouble describing to anyone else. On her bike, it was like the world started to fade away, replaced only with her, her baby, and the road. No shitty dads, no guilt about her mistakes, and no brothers who she-


    "YANG!" Said little brother screamed over the sound of her bike making her jerk in surprise a little, he didn''t say anything else but she got the gist of what he wanted from how he tightened around her like a viper. Little guy was a lot stronger than he looked, and so she acquiesced to his unspoken desire to slow down so at the very least she would get to keep her ribcage intact by the time they were in Vale.


    She chuckled to herself as she turned into the road that ran as the central thoroughfare through the middle of Vale, her little brother was always such a worry wart. Didn''t he know that he was in the safest possible place with her, and besides his sister didn''t worry nearly as much as he did.


    But to be fair, Ruby could also run faster than Bumblebee''s top speed with her Semblance, a fact that mildly annoyed her every time she thought of it. Yang shook those thoughts from her head quickly enough however, focusing instead on the road as the two of them began to finally pull into Vale proper. A complicated mix of emotions filled her as they did, being able to go here on her own for the first time had been one of the most liberating experiences she had ever had.


    She had obviously gone back again after that first time, the feeling was never quite as grand but she found other ways to enjoy Vale. With her friends from Signal by her side they conquered Vale''s nightlife, almost every club in the city knew her and her friends by now, for better or worse.


    Usually for the worst according to her dad, but what did he know? He spent more time in his own little world inside his office than he probably had outside at this point.


    It was always one thing or another with him; he needed to grade a couple more assignments that his instructor buddies handed off to him or something stupid like that. Or, he stayed at Signal well past dinner and didn''t come home until somewhere around midnight. She started wrapping plates of leftovers and putting them in the fridge after she and the twins were done eating, which he only ended up eating half the damn time anyway.


    Hell, just like in her first year at Signal, he was so distant and detached to her that it got to the point that most of her classmates thought it was just a mere coincidence that they shared a surname. There were just so many stupid things that stacked together that she could get herself worked up about where it came to their dad. Now, he wanted to dictate to her like some kind of responsible parent when he was anything bu-


    "YANG, PAY ATTENTION!" Russet suddenly screamed into her ear and the world came back into focus just in time for her to swerve out of the way of some drunk asshole who drove onto the wrong side of the road.


    "Fucking Grimmbait!" She swore, making sure the driver got a nice view of her middle finger. Should she maybe have tried not to do that in front of her impressionable little brother? Maybe, on the other hand, Russet probably already knew every curse in the book, that would really be just like him.


    "Yang, for the love of the Brothers above would you please pay more attention to the damn road?" Her brother both pleaded and proved her point in a single statement. He better not contaminate the pure well of energy that is his twin sister with that mouth.


    She quite happily ignored the sheer hypocrisy that was laced with that thought.


    "Yang, I swear to all that is holy, if you don''t glue your eyes back onto the road, I will-" She unceremoniously cut off her brother''s budding rant with yet another sharp turn around an empty street corner. She felt the death grip he had around her stomach tighten even more. It was a good thing she had her Aura unlocked.


    She forced down a laugh that threatened to bubble up from the back of her throat, "C''mon Russ! When have I ever gotten into an accident on this baby?"


    He was silent at her words and she decided to take that as the victory it was. The next few minutes of the ride continued in a peaceful silence, for her at least, for Russet he seemed to clench harder every time we took a corner a bit too fast. She would have tried to comfort him or go slower but she was already going at a slow cruise compared to how she normally drove.


    Thankfully for her ribs and Russet''s nerves, the two of them finally arrived at their destination, Vale''s premier movie theater; the Laurel Cinema. The Cinema was one of the places in Vale that she loved to come to every now, and that her friends actually disliked. She wasn''t sure why, to be honest, sure the place looked more than a little old-fashioned at first glance but if you looked closely you could see the clear love and attention the owners had been putting in for decades now. Probably since before she was even born!


    Before the two of them had left the house earlier today Yang had decided her little brother had been spending far too much time in his room or in that dusty ass attic and not nearly enough time with her. This was her way to fix that, and well, it didn''t hurt that Uncle Qrow asked her to get him out of the house for a little bit.


    She didn''t know why Uncle Qrow wanted him out of the house for the day and she hadn''t really felt like asking either. It was as good an excuse as any to spend some time with the little guy, and maybe if she was lucky she''d be able to connect with him a bit more. Ever since she started going out to Vale and fighting with her dad¡­ It just felt like that bond they used to share was falling apart a little.


    She put those thoughts away for the moment, instead pulling into the parking lot of the Cinema and hopping off once her baby was situated safely in a handicapped zone, nice and content with the handicap tag that she pawned off from an upperclassman. Russet hopped off too of course, but she had to give him a second for his legs to stop shaking before he agreed to walk into the Cinema.


    "It wasn''t that bad was it?" She asked, starting to feel more than a little bad about how shaken up he looked.


    "It''s¡­ it''s fine, really, just adrenaline." He said shortly, and she wasn''t very convinced by his words. She decided to push those thoughts off her mind though, before old guilts and fears decided to rear their ugly heads. Tonight was supposed to be fun, not all mopey because of how bad of a big sister she was!


    Yang gave her little brother a soft, for her, punch to his shoulder, "Come on, Russ, the movie screen awaits! I''ve heard a bunch of good things so far from everyone else that''s watched Dye Hard."


    Russ did that weird twitch thing that he usually did when he thought nobody was looking before smiling at her, "Right, let''s get into the theater and get some snacks before the seats fill up."


    Yang snorted, "Oh my sweet, naive little brother, we are not buying those overpriced garbage snacks¡­ Why do you think I wore this extra-long shirt?"


    Russ raised an eyebrow at her, "Because it''s like 50 degrees out here?"


    Yang rolled her eyes, opening a small compartment on the back of her baby and revealing a small collection of candies and cold popcorn. With a quick glance to make sure nobody was watching she began to stuff the food under her long shirt.


    "Yang, what in the name of the Brothers are you doing?" Her baby brother asked in exasperation while she hushed him, making exaggerated fervent glances around the crowded parking lot as if she was committing some kind of grand felony.


    "Be quiet and keep a lookout, do you want to get caught by the fun police?!" She said, grinning when Russet snorted in amusement. Truthfully she was just glad that he was feeling better from whatever she did wrong on the ride over, she was never as good with Russet as she was with Ruby, but she could still get him to smile if she tried hard enough.


    Shame they couldn''t manage to convince the ticket seller that she was actually pregnant and not trying to smuggle food.

 Chapter 4 - Pain

    "Our next combatants will be¡­ Ruby and Russet Rose!" Mr. Burnside said suddenly, hurried muttering whispers erupting from the crowd at the proclamation. The room Signal did combat training in was quite different from the one I remembered on the show inside Beacon, instead of a large stadium the school really only had room for a sort of elevated stage. It served it''s purpose well enough though and as I made my way over to the boys locker room I couldn''t help but spy an excitedly bouncing Ruby making her way to the girls locker room.


    In the locker room my thoughts began to drift as I ensured all my armor and weapons were prepared correctly.


    I couldn''t be more happy for her really, when I first arrived I had always known intellectually that Ruby wanted to be a Huntress more than anything else. Yet it was only after living with her for more than nine years that I actually started to understand just how much this dream meant to her. It was something she desired from the bottom of her heart, and the fact that for a good long while now, she¡­ wasn''t all that great at it. Despite the sheer amount of effort she put into her training.


    I could see it was breaking her heart. I tried my best to help her along, and there had definitely been some progress¡­


    Well, even only a few days of watching her practice with a scythe showed me just how much natural talent she had hidden if given the right resources.


    Tightening the last strap on my segmented breastplate as I headed out of the locker room and out to the arena, Ruby already excitedly waiting there for me. My face curled up into a grin as I saw her but my attention was immediately stolen away by the dour voice of Mr. Burnside.


    "Both of you remember the rules?" The surly man asked, ignoring my nod of assent, his eyes drifted towards Ruby and her training scythe. Honestly, I was actually a little surprised Signal even had a training scythe that she could use and that we didn''t have to borrow one from home.


    "Miss Rose, trying out yet another weapon I see? At the very least I can commend you on your determination." Burnside said, making a frown form on my face, especially since I could see Ruby''s enthusiasm dampen somewhat at his words.


    Words spilled from my mouth, annoyance and a bit of anger leaking into my tone.


    "At least she''s determined to do something important with her life." I said with a mild glare towards the man, one that he returned yet left without adding any sort of return remark about my words. The man never continued his tirade once someone bothered to call him out on it, and I honestly just chalked that up to cowardice. I don''t know why he never bothered to get more of the staff involved in these little disputes. But it''s definitely not because he thinks Dad would have gotten involved, everyone knows he hasn''t been aware enough to do much of anything beyond busy work for the past couple of years. The fact that he''s been doing better recently wasn''t going to be enough to change the reputation he''s built.


    My eyes snapped back towards my opponent, my sister giving me a small thankful smile before her face set into one of determination. An unspoken agreement was understood between the two of us in that brief moment before the spar began, no mercy, no holding back. Ruby wanted to test herself now that she had finally found her niche, and she would not accept anything less than my best.


    The electronic countdown sounded off in the distance, its voice muted as my focus lasered in on my sister. There were many variables in a fight in Remnant. Especially one that was between people who had their Aura awakened. Thanks to the outward expression of one''s soul, it afforded combatants far more options at any given moment: the enhancement of one''s physique, reflexes, and the wildcard that is the addition of a Semblance if discovered.


    But to put it in far more simple terms, the hellish pace a clash between two aura users could occur at was exhilarating in a way I had difficulty putting words to. My muscles tensed, knowing that Ruby''s favorite starting tactic was always a quick first strike no matter the weapon, a tactic she quickly adopted after she unlocked her own Semblance.


    Warmth coated my body as I readied my Aura just in time for Ruby to do exactly as I expected, dashing forward with impossible speed to land a bone-shuddering strike with the blunted metal of her practice scythe; the tell-tale sign of the use of her Semblance scattering around us in a whimsical wave of fluttering petals that I couldn''t afford to be distracted by.


    I grit my teeth, having blocked her with the bearded part of my axe, and with a surge of strength, I broke the lock by pushing her weapon into the air and following it up with a kick aimed at her stomach. She dodged, a quick burst of her Semblance bringing her to my right where she whirled and swung her scythe around her body like a hoop, coming right back around to try and cleave me in half as it picked up speed.


    A brief flick of my hand sends a surge of red, crystalline petals swirling in a tight circular pattern over my shoulder and crashing against the head of her weapon, the razor-sharp Aura fragments drilling a notable grove into the metal from their speed. One of the many little tricks I had found to increase the effective power behind my swarm, arguably the strongest aspect of my multi-purpose Semblance and the aspect that I''m best with.


    The force behind them managed to force her weapon down onto the floor. Taking the opportunity for what it''s worth, I dropped my axe in a downward swing onto her as hard as I could, she tried to dodge but still took a nasty slash against her side with a violent red flair of her Aura as she backpedaled in panic, I took no mercy on the poor budding huntress and stomped forward to deal another heavy axe strike just as she dashed behind me in a flurry of rose petals with no hesitation.


    It was at this point, my sister took no chances with head on clashes with me and leaned on her absurd speed far harder than she ought to. With every deflection I made with my weapon against her own, she left petals behind as she sped around me. Soon, the air was thick with her flitting red petals that swayed and twirled as Ruby tried her level best to rain slashes on me to keep the pressure up.


    She was actually doing way better than she ever had with any of the weapons she tried before. The improvement she had in such a short span of time with our Uncle was unreal. Despite my own rising pride in her showing in front of the class, I almost couldn''t believe it. All the awkwardness that came with using a sword or any other weapon simply wasn''t there.


    Almost like she was simply meant to use a scythe. Even if I was exceedingly happy for her, that didn''t necessarily mean I''d just let her win. Her speed was shoring up a lot of her shortcomings, and if I could just get her off balance¡­


    With a sense of practiced precision, along with a healthy amount of adrenaline surging down my spine, I quickly spun and knocked Ruby''s newly minted weapon away with the flat of my axehead just before she managed to land her heavy-handed swing. The sudden disruption to her momentum caused her to wheel back in a stumble, trying vainly to catch her breath with heavy inhales. I quickly assessed her with a glance, she didn''t have much left to give energy-wise with the constant reliance on her Semblance. Which, while not nearly as much of an Aura drain as my own, she still shouldn''t have overused hers to such an extent in this simple match.


    Even so, the one thing that was plain as day was the grin that split her cheeks wide as she huffed. My own lips parted upward at her remarkable progress, it was something she could work on later but for now¡­


    Crystalline petals swirled to Ruby''s side, weaving their way through her own flowery remnants, piling on each other until it half resembled the vague outline of a body. The reaper''s eyes widened and her body shifted as she attempted to face the threat, and thus was left flat-footed when the teleport clone collapsed prematurely and I used my bearded axe to pull one of her legs from under her.


    She went down, hitting the floor with a gasp and a small yelp. I made sure to press the axe''s blunted edge against her neck so she wouldn''t get any funny ideas. If there was one thing Ruby liked doing then it was being a little cheater during our spars, little bloody minx.


    A second of silence passed in the classroom before excited murmuring broke out and old Burnside seemed to break out of the stunned gobsmacked gaze he was in.


    "Winner¡­ Russet Rose!" He shouted out, and once he did I pulled the axe back to give Ruby a hand up. The girl looked to be a strange mixture of happy and upset, something she made sure I thoroughly understood as she gave me the cutest puppy glare.


    "You and your stupid teleportation thingy! That was a mean trick Russet!" She said, and I chuckled at her futilely adorable efforts.


    "Maybe, but I remember the last time I went ''easy'' on you. I think I''d rather keep my shampoo dye-free, thank you very much." All I needed were a set of violet contacts and I would have looked like a miniature Yang, a fact that caused said older sister to relentlessly plead with me to keep that horrid dye job.


    I did not.


    Not that it stopped her from gifting me a set of purple contact lenses with a bottle of blonde hair dye for my next birthday. I kept those in reserve in the back of my side of the closet, just some break-in-case-of-emergency prank supplies I wanted to keep on hand in case one of my sisters decided they thought they could beat me in a prank war.


    A harsh coughing sound echoed from behind us and the both of us turned to see Old Burnside trying to gather our attention. His face was partially locked into that of surprise, but more subtly there was a gleam of pride in his eyes as he looked at Ruby. It was¡­ surprising to me when I finally noticed, considering the length of time the old geezer had given poor Ruby shit about her combat skills it had almost shocked me to see something like acknowledgment in the man.


    "It''s nice to see that you do in fact have some talent hidden within you Miss Rose, though I do find it odd to see such a sudden and dramatic shift in your improvement. Tell me, have you been finally taking up extra lessons outside the classroom like I suggested?"Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    If I had gained any sliver of respect for the man in that short period where he finally acknowledged Ruby, then it was almost immediately ripped away with those words. Ruby''s eyes tightened slightly at his proclamation, at the very implication that her talent was in any way because of his ''suggestion'' rather than her own efforts to improve.


    I couldn''t hold in the urge to speak up, "Don''t worry, she had far better training at home than she does anywhere else."


    The man looked at you with a cold glare, "You did well yourself Russet, managing to balance powerful strikes without wasting too much movement or energy is a difficult thing. But as usual, you are a natural at doing so."


    Before you could speak his eyes snapped to Ruby, and ignoring her frightened jump he began to speak.


    "Miss Rose, Your movements, while still rough in many areas, can offer a stiff challenge for those unused to high-speed combat, not to mention you finally used your Semblance in a way that with some more practice and training could be used to thoroughly unbalance an aggressive opponent. Sometimes the best offense is an exceedingly better offense, nonetheless, you must be prepared for the moment when you face an opponent capable of reacting to your Semblance. Most Grimm you fight will be unable to do this, but Huntsmen do not only fight Grimm¡­"


    Old Burnside trailed off, and once he did I tried to think of some kind of retort to defend Ruby. Except while he was clearly being insulting about it he was still giving her advice, good advice as much as I could tell, too. There wasn''t anything I could really say and Ruby seemed to agree since she just nodded in awkward silence, a moment passed between the three of us where Old Burnside almost seemed to be waiting for someone to say something. No one did and eventually, the man snorted and waved us back down to the bleachers, where the stunned crowd was still animatedly whispering among each other.


    At the very least some people knew to admire my sister''s talent.


    <hr>


    Watching my classmate''s sloppy, half-hearted-looking chops with his own axe made me hurt deep on the inside. What made me angry, however, as it always did, was Old Burnside''s response to Perri''s quite frankly lackluster motivation in the fight against Lilac. I would swear to the Brothers up above that I saw him walking at some point during the fight, walking!


    What did Burnside have to say to all of this?


    "Adequate match Mister Docks, Miss Fury. However Mister Docks, I''d advise you to start investing more effort and energy into this class. You might find yourself receiving some failing grades otherwise."


    The man just threatened some bad grades at the guy. While I personally knew that Perri wasn''t even the slightest bit interested in a combat career, that wasn''t really common information that Burnside would have found out. Sure, the man was trying to get the guy motivated but I couldn''t help but notice the contrast to the amount of effort the man went through to degrade Ruby or praise me for the half-hearted words he gave to the kids without Huntsmen in the family.


    It irked me something rather fierce but since he was faculty there wasn''t really much I could do but support Ruby. Not even having my own dad as a part of the faculty really gave me another avenue to work with.


    Unfortunately, the class passed in almost this exact manner for the next thirty or so minutes, a frustrating mix between abject boredom and showcasing proficiency far exceeding our own as Burnside attempted to unenthusiastically demonstrate the finer points of combat. The ringing of the bell was a soothing balm to my soul, allowing Ruby and I to jump from our seats and try to escape from this hell dimension as soon as we could.


    Alas, foul forces impeded our escape in the form of Old Burnside calling out for Ruby to stay behind.


    I gave her a small smile to reassure her, "Don''t worry Rubes, I''ll be just outside waiting for you."


    She gave me a tired-looking smile as she walked back into the classroom, and in the meantime, I hooked up my music to pass the time. The music in Remnant was odd to me, some of it I could liken to old earth music that I sometimes barely remembered. Other times however it was so different from anything I had ever heard before that I wasn''t even sure whether I liked it or not. A good example was what I was listening to right now, a genre called ''Huntswave'' which was a bit like synthwave but more geared towards action if that made any sense.


    I wasn''t sure I liked it, unfortunately trying out new genres was a now regular occurrence because Remnant, the primitive society that it was, hadn''t yet developed some kind of automatic music selection program like YouTube or Apple music. I sighed and shook my head as such thoughts blundered about in my mind, the woes of a man in a world without a properly cultivated internet culture.


    Thankfully Ruby took that moment of nostalgic remembrance to burst out from the classroom, a small frown on her face. I quickly revised my opinion of the situation though when she grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the classroom at¡­ considerable speeds.


    "Uh, Rubes? You okay? Did that asshole say something?" I asked, the worry clear in my tone as Ruby huffed and continued to pull me along.


    "Yes- No¡­" The words quickly slipped from her mouth without her thinking and she stopped, taking a breath, then turned back to face me. I could see the anger on her face flash over her features, her eyes glaring at me before immediately softening in regret.


    "He¡­ said I had to be failing on purpose, on purpose!" She exhaled sharply, her eyes locked on my own, "That no good, piece of¡­ piece of-" She cut herself off, even while so furious, it was remarkable she deliberately withheld from swearing.


    I know I wouldn''t have, the guy was an asshole to the core. Already a certain list of words were filling my mind alongside the bubbling feeling of anger and hatred for the man, but Ruby wasn''t all that crass of a person.


    Instead of continuing on, she just closed her eyes. She shifted to the side and let her body weight fall on the line of lockers behind us that ubiquitously covered the walls in most of the hallways. The crestfallen girl let herself slowly slide down to the floor and she started sniffling, hugging the red cloak left to her by our mother like a lifeline. My heart ached at the sight, even with all the harassment Ruby had gotten from Burnside, it had never gotten to the point where she¡­ the only thing I was thankful about in this situation, was that there was no one else in this hallway right now, giving us at least some measure of privacy.


    "Every time I think I''m making some kind of progress¡­ it''s like it doesn''t even matter. I got better, I know I did¡­ but it''s not good enough."


    She hiccuped, glistening silver eyes staring up at me, despair edging into her voice the longer my sister spoke, "Russ, I''m just not good enough."


    My heart bubbled with a mix of sorrow and potent rage seeing Ruby like this, and I did not hesitate to lower myself to a knee and embrace her. She started to silently tear up into my shoulder and shuddered periodically in my arms. Burnside permanently hit the top of my shit list, it was difficult to make Ruby cry when she was always doing her best to keep a smile on her face.


    "Hey," I started quietly, hugging her tightly, "You shouldn''t let that ass get to you, Ruby. The man''s life flamed out and now he''s just bitter that he''s stuck teaching brats like us. He''s just some washed up asshole who''s well past his prime and jealous of how much natural talent you have. Believe me, you shouldn''t take anything he says to heart."


    I heard her giggle through her tears at my denigration of the old bastard, "Russ!"


    I just laughed back before asking, "Got it?"


    She pulled her head back and nodded, using a sleeve to wipe her eyes. I offered her a crooked smile, brushing a few strands of red-tinted hair away from her eyes, "You know that old bastard doesn''t know what he''s talking about, don''t you? You''ve been working yourself to the bone these past few months, pushing yourself to the limit. And honestly, I''ve been starting to worry about how far you''ve been pushing yourself lately, but I didn''t have the heart to stop you."


    Ruby sniffled, giving a tiny nod as she leaned into my embrace. I rested my cheek against the top of her head, holding her close. We stayed like that for several long moments in the empty hallway, her muffled sniffles being the only sound echoing off the metal lockers.


    Ruby tried holding back a sniffle and pulled back to look at me with silver eyes, now reddened by crying. "B-But what if he''s right, Russ? What if I''m just¡­ not good enough."


    "You''re going to be an incredible Huntress, Ruby. Way better than me." I murmured, my voice thick with conviction. And I genuinely believed she would surpass me after she got her footing with her new scythe. She''s a genuine prodigy, whereas I most certainly am not. All I really had going for me was perspective when it came down to the brass tacks, I wasn''t some kid who didn''t yet understand how important these early years were. Since the moment I had gotten things in order, I had been working my ass off, improving myself day by day with a level of focus that I honestly didn''t think I was capable of.


    Ruby on the other hand was a genuine prodigy, even leaving out her newfound talent for scythes she had an instinctive intuition for weapon crafting that surpassed everyone in the school bar none.


    "I believe in you. Yang believes in you. Dad and Uncle Qrow believe in you. We all see how hard you work, and how badly you want this. That dick Burnside is the one failing you, not the other way around." Pulling back, I gently raised her head with a single finger and forced her to look me in the eye. As her tears fall away I think I can almost see a hint of mischievousness replacing them.


    "Hey, Russ? Do¡­ you think we could go by Carmine''s Exotic Weaponry?" She asked timidly, I could only chuckle at the blatant attempt to use her previous mood to acquire mechanical goodies.


    "Yeah, sure thing Rubes. We''ve got a lot of work we have to do if we want to make both our weapons the best in all of Remnant."


    Ruby blinked in a second, a brief moment of confusion clouding her mind as my word choice pricked something in her brain. Then almost a full ten seconds later I could almost literally see the sudden epiphany materialize behind her silver eyes.


    "Our weapons¡­ I can''t believe I totally forgot about our weapon project." She dragged her palm down her face, and I could only chuckle as she started to literally smack her forehead against the lockers lining the walls. With some cajoling and promises of extra time dedicated to working out the plan for our two weapons, I managed to corral her back out the door and on the way to the Mechashift part shop.


    <hr>


    I chuckled lightly as Ruby power walked into the store and made a beeline straight for a particular sale on old outdated weapons. She didn''t stick in one place for long, only after what seemed like moments of gazing at the old used up weapons like a stack of steaks did she move on to another section of the store entirely. Good ol'' Carmine''s elderly form sat peacefully at the counter with a patient smile as she watched the young redhead gingerly move around her store, growing just a little more energetic as time passed. The old weaponsmith has been a cornerstone of our lives for years now, ever since Ruby first discovered her love for all forms of weaponry. The more exotic, the better as far as she''s concerned.


    Carmine turned to me and her patient smile, her once black hair now a faded gray, motioning for me to go after my sister. "Go on ahead and help her, young man. I''ll be right here if you need me."


    With a grateful nod, I hurried to go track down Ruby, who was currently running her hands over what looked like some kind of silencer barrel in a way that was a little disturbing.


    "Hey Rubes," I asked, stepping behind her shoulder as she continued to inspect the suppressor. An older model from what I could tell from a brief glance. "Want to tell me what''s got you so worked up?"


    Ruby startled at the sound of my voice, nearly dropping the part she was holding. She quickly composed herself and turned to look at me with a sheepish grin.


    "RUSS-!" She squealed, before she was immediately interrupted by a loud cough from Carmine.


    "Ruby sweetheart, you know the rules." The older woman said, her tone patient as ever. Ruby chuckled sheepishly as she blushed in embarrassment, before continuing on in a much more reasonable tone.


    "Russ, do you know what this is?!" She queried, to which I responded quite simply.


    "A suppressor?"


    "Psh, not just any old suppressor silly, It''s a Redger Mark Three V-Eight suppressor! They''re super old, like one of the first interactions of suppressors ever, I mean sure they are really simple and kind of crude but the simplicity of it combined with just how effective it is just brilliant!"


    Ruby continued on but I was lost only a couple of sentences later, mostly I was just thankful the weapon store successfully took her mind off all that happened earlier. I was more than happy to play a sounding board for Ruby if it meant she didn''t have to think about old bastards like Burnside. Of course, it was soon I was drawn fully back into the conversation when Ruby asked about my own plans for my weapon.


    "Well I don''t have any exact schematics down yet, but I was thinking about using something familiar that I''m already well versed in, kinda like what mom had, a Mechashift axe. But I''m not exactly sure what kind of weapon I want built into it. I know Mom had a shotgun, but that''s not something that would really suit me. Right?" I finish with a question. If there was anyone qualified to know what kind of gun would go well with my fighting style, it''d be my sister.


    Ruby froze for a second at the mention of Mom, and I saw a smile filled with sadness briefly slip onto her face before she seemed to shake it off. It made me hesitate for a second, but I couldn''t give it any more thought as Ruby proceeded to spend the next few hours in that shop interrogating me about various possible design choices I could make.


    It was very much a back and forth thing I did manage to reign in her excitement to simply discuss stuff like what kind of potential gun modification I could include and what kind of color color scheme I''d be interested in. Two very equally very important decisions that couldn''t be taken lightly, and that I was glad to have a professional''s opinion on.


    Mostly I was just happy that the conversation had finally put a smile back on Ruby''s face, thoughts of jealous professors being thrown away in favor of building weapons with her brother.

 Chapter 5 - Dreams

    Meditation was a comfortably familiar thing by now for me.


    Aside from being a useful tool to help hone my Aura I was also downright certain it was the key to getting my eyes to function. Function without having to watch anyone I care about die, that is, if I had things my way I would be able to skip that step with some hard work. Spontaneous powerups or a hidden heritage coming to the fore because of emotional trauma, while a staple of anime, was something I preferred not to lean on when my life and the lives of people I loved were on the line.


    Perhaps the most difficult thing about meditating with Aura was the level of hypersensitivity that naturally came about when I focused inwards. I could hear every creak in the house like a series of firecrackers, but I didn''t really take it in; I just let the sounds wash over me. I felt every twitch and flex of my muscles, but it all seemed distant as I focused on keeping my composure. The pressure of Zwei resting on my lap felt like a soft blanket, almost lulling me to sleep, but I pushed through the drowsiness, letting it blend into the background of sensations. The worst part, though, was the slick, bitter taste of my own saliva, which I tried to ignore, letting it become just another part of the sensory noise.


    It was altogether an incredibly distracting experience, but one that over the scant few years I''ve been practicing have grown more and more accustomed to. What I was currently doing was an old Aura meditation technique that Dad taught me after some begging and pleading, the mere fact that I had to beg for it left me irked and rubbed raw.


    Of course, the man couldn''t be bothered at the time to actually teach me anything, just rummaged around his old huntsman stuff until he found me this old book that taught me the technique. To my initial dismay, the book had read like some old Xianxia scroll, full of waxing poetry about the nature of ''self'' and strange philosophy that was hard to wrap my head around; it was clear that it was written by some Mistralian martial artist at some point.


    Thankfully with time I had managed to make progress toward mastery of the technique. One of the primary and instinctual uses of Aura was to heighten one''s senses, following this logic, I was supposed to help build a firmer control over my own Aura by gaining a better understanding of my own body. This had drawbacks, of course, a human was not supposed to feel everything so thoroughly about themselves and I almost gave up after my first session when Ruby had found me knocked out from keeping the technique up far longer than I rightfully should have. She had been exceedingly worried at the idea that I was presumably pushing myself too far and it had taken hours to convince her otherwise. I still decided to continue, but I ensured that next time I took things much slower and wasn''t accidentally hurting myself somehow.


    But despite that little hiccup, to the author''s credit, the technique wasn''t a waste of my time and my own finite control over Aura had started to gradually increase at a pace that outmatched my two sisters. I was nowhere near an expert on the subject, nor could I claim to be a mere novice. Strengthening the foundations of one''s own soul was a daunting task that took years upon years of effort and training.


    There was a reason why veteran Huntsmen such as my uncle could easily wipe the floor with any fresh graduate from Beacon. The amount of time invested into his own growth in comparison was absolutely insane; his typical routine in the morning blows Olympic athletics back on earth out of the water. We''re talking about a man who takes a five-mile run around the forest that our home was in for a warm-up before starting work on an aura technique or some other thing he wants to focus on.


    The gulf between someone with proper training and experience compared to some fresh student, who just got their soul awakened, was vast. That was a lesson imparted to me and my sisters in our early youth, not that we realized the importance at the time. I wasn''t exactly a fresh face child with a newly awakened Aura, but it was the principle of the lesson that truly mattered in this case. But I think I was getting a better appreciation of that fact the longer I honed my own body and my own Aura.


    Yet training my Aura wasn''t what was on the schedule for today, instead I was attempting to refine that super sensitivity down to see if I couldn''t use it to find anything of note about my eyes. After so long spent spreading my sense across the entirety of my body it was somehow paradoxically difficult to restrain it back down to just one area.


    In my current state of internalization, I failed to hear the soft opening of the door into my room that was accompanied by a set of equally gentle footsteps, nor did I notice the sudden absence of the warm ball of fur on my lap.


    The constant rumble of the world born from my state of hypersensitivity felt quiet, peaceful even. A haunting paradox that I can''t adequately describe.


    I slowly, yet still fully conscious, fell deeper and deeper into the soothing wake. And I-


    <hr>


    -Snapped my eyes open.


    My vision is subjected to a symphony of otherworldly colors bleeding into one another, mixing and swirling like molten glass, forming a kaleidoscope of ethereal hues that swarm together to form a canvas that defies human meaning. Shadows with hidden depths that roiled within themselves beneath their surface dance in my periphery, tempting me with secrets that only the subconscious would dare decipher.


    The very landscape around me feels surreal, sensations seem to take on a life of their own. Seconds blended into minutes before blurring incomprehensibly and impossibly into hours. Time itself soon lost all meaning, melting into a seemingly infinite expense where the past, present, and future converge; a mishmash of places I had been before iterated and reiterated upon themselves, ebbing between totally unrecognizable to eerie recollection.


    And then, an outwardly delicate balance was achieved. A metaphysical tightrope walk between the realms of reality and fantasy, a place where the mind keeps cohesion while the fabric of existence becomes malleable to an open mind.


    And the very first thing I witness with my newly unobstructed sight is quite possibly the oddest-looking chair in existence. Standing tall and proud with four outward mechanical-looking legs, it held four broken cogs attached to the back of the metal monstrosity, outwardly giving it the appearance of having two pairs of metallic, clock-like wings.


    "You done giving my chair a lookover, Jack?" An eerily familiar voice asked from behind me.


    I whirled around to witness a near-perfect copy of myself make his way around me to sit down in the abomination of a chair, swirling his red cloak as he did so. How on Remnant he found it remotely comfortable, I''d never know. "That thing is a modern artist''s wet dream, Lee, and I am ashamed to see it rendered to life."


    Then I frowned, dusting off some imaginary lint from my own burgundy cloak and giving the crime against upholstery a second glance, finding that it tickled my memory somehow, "You know that seems more familiar than something like that should be."


    "You and Hans haven''t been that active outside of writing fanfiction and reading fanfiction, recently. I''ve had the time to burn, plus I knew it was going to annoy the two of you."


    "It''s not my fault our late mother decided to write religious scripture into fanfiction¡­" I mumble aloud before shaking my head, and raising a hand pointing two fingers toward my eyes, "Besides, I''m doing more than just reading fanfiction."


    I look around the patchwork clearing we seem to be in, ignoring how the sparring area from Signal seamlessly merged with the awkward amalgamation of my room and the attic. "Where is Hansen anyway?"


    I see my near double give me a blas¨¦ shrug as he starts tinkering with the atrocity he created, "Last I heard from him, he was ranting about having another supposedly genius idea after getting over a nasty brain freeze, before running off."


    How did one even get a brain freeze when we were just a mental figment? Who knows.


    "I AM A LIVING GOD" I heard suddenly, the interrupting shout sending ripples through the dream imagery.


    I exhaled in exasperation, staring at the landscape shifting around us, rippling apart like a splitting watercolor painting, "I regret falling asleep while meditating already."


    I turned back to Lee and his smug red cloak-clad self as he sat upon his big, dumb chair, "Send me back out there before Zwei pees on us. I''m trying to get something done, you know?"


    "Yeah I know, just make sure you''re a bit more careful, and don''t let Uncle Qrow catch you in the attic, again." That statement only caused his smug smirk to extend wider, "At least you didn''t have a near meltdown like Hans did when our dear Uncle stole his transcript."


    "A perfectly valid response to a potential information threat!" A disembodied crazed voice suddenly interrupted from seemingly nowhere, only to go woefully ignored by the two others.


    My lips pursed while I pinched the bridge of my nose, not a day went by that I didn''t wish that we weren''t all stuffed into one meat suit to puppeteer, "Please, I don''t need a reminder about how terrible we are at this covert shtick. We''re lucky that we''re his nephew and he thinks we have some kind of mental illness on top of wanting to learn more about our late mother."


    Lee winced slightly in response, before quickly schooling his expression and nodding back, "Yeah, let''s try to avoid another situation like that occurring again. Twice is more than enough for me, and I don''t want to see if the third time''s the charm."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Speaking of avoiding things, when will it be my turn again? I''ve been dying to dig into that Aura basics manual Uncle got us." The mysterious voice said with the opening of a hatch that wasn''t there before. Upon his back rested a crimson cape that covered a body that held the same face.


    Lee and I shared a quick glance before I turned back to look at the third of us, "You''ll get another turn when you stop trying to convince us to split our soul and stuff a fragment into a weapon."


    I know, it may be crowded right now, but I very much liked my soul remaining intact as it turned out. This nut job wanted to perform a pseudo-Penny soul transplant into weaponry. I wonder if he forgot that we only had one of them and it was already mashed together pretty good between the three of us.


    The crimson-cloaked doppelganger rolled his eyes, "Okay, first of all, that was just a concept that I suggested with minimal knowledge of Aura. The likelihood of us being capable of such a thing without whatever highly advanced technology that whats-his-name used to create Penny is minimal. Besides, my attention has already drifted towards other possibilities, but those possibilities will remain possibilities if none of us read the stupid book!"


    He scoffed, "Honestly, I don''t get why neither of you is more interested in this, it''s magic superpowers."


    "I am working on trying to activate one of those superpowers." I emphasized, "What kind of god makes specific emotions felt at a high enough intensity the key to activate anti-Grimm eye lasers¡­ What is this, the Force? At least we get lightning with Jedi Powers."


    "That''s Sith, not Jedi," Hans interjected suddenly, his form hunching down into the bowels of the hatch as if he were looking for something.


    "Whatever." I rolled my eyes. Regardless we were stuck with two useless silver peepers until we figured it out.


    "Clearly, the God of Light has a sense of humor," Lee unhelpfully cuts into the budding argument before leaning his body over the arm of his chair and above the pit Hans somehow made for himself, "And please Hans, for the love of the two Brothers, please get over your pacifistic stint. I''ve been trying to make up for you, but at this rate, we''re going to be left behind. Especially now that Ruby got herself a scythe."


    "And speaking of Ruby," Lee continues with an expression of exhausted concern clouding his eyes, "Would it kill you two to check up on her more often? I''ve had to cheer her up twice in the past few weeks and I think our wallet is going to revolt soon. I know I''m essentially the social driver, but this is just getting concerning."


    I slowly nodded my head with a frown.


    There was some level of truth to his words, and I hated to admit it, I was obsessing over Summer''s written works that she left behind. I felt like I was missing something and it was infuriating. Maybe I needed to look into the worship of the Brother Gods throughout the written history we could access on our scroll to figure out how to get past this wall I was hitting, but that could wait for later. I mentally resolved to give it a tiny break for now once I got back out there.


    Hans finally looked up from his little hatch on the floor, "How about we all accept we are making mistakes and communally agree to help each other correct them? A team is as only good as its ability to work together after all."


    "Oh and by the way, Lee, about my so-called "pacifist stint." I''m not a pacifist, I just don''t like to fight. Is it now a crime to not like getting hurt?" Hans continued, going back to rummaging in the hole. And honestly, I don''t really want to know what he''s looking for down there.


    I can clearly see Lee''s face fall into a look of deadpan neutrality as he rested his head into a closed fist in my periphery, "Yes, yes it is Hans. Especially with what''s going to happen in a couple of years. We need all the practice we can get and magic superpowers aren''t going to save us if we get killed before we can even activate them."


    Hans grimaces, "I guess I''m not against practicing more, if that will appease y''all, but you have to understand how asking me to not instinctively feel bad for trying to hurt people is more than a little hard right?"


    Lee sags slightly in his metallic monstrosity, looking tired even in this dreamlike state, "Yeah, I guess that''s fair. I just don''t want to fall behind, because let''s face it, we''re not a prodigy like Ruby and Yang."


    "Not according to Old Man Burnside and our other instructors. We''re the best thing since sliced bread." I offered my own input, my fingers tapping nervously on my arm as I crossed them.


    A combination of our academic credentials from before this whole soul blender thing made us easily able to score top marks on the less rigorous and more scholastic learning. Essentially, where we would spend a huge portion of time studying the material like mathematics and linguistics that was instead spent on combat training.


    The only black mark on our record was our ''mental illness''. I honestly didn''t have a clue how to fix that, other than appear normal now that we more or less had our shit in order.


    "Anyway, our biggest advantage is that we focus on this stuff far more than your average huntsman trainee does and there''s three of us to split the mental workload so to speak."


    "I suppose that''s true, Jack," Lee mumbles out from behind his hand, before slowly standing up and leisurely walking to the center of the patchwork clearing. The abomination of a chair sank into the odd mixture of wood and concrete behind him. "Anyways, let''s get you out of here. There''s still plenty of daylight left and you still have to finish your turn."


    "Don''t forget to give Ruby extra hugs when you wake up!" Hans shouts suddenly as the symphony of unearthly colors threatens to consume my vision once again.


    "As if, she''s probably hugging us right¡ª


    <hr>


    ''-now''


    My eyes opened and true to my words from but a second ago Ruby was quietly snuggled up next to me playing Village Fighter Eight. Something I also quickly noticed was how she wrapped the both of us up in our extra large and fluffy blanket that we typically use during winters. My heart warmed a little at the situation, the overly comfy embrace of the blanket and Ruby''s adorable presence set my heart truly at ease.


    Swiftly moving before she could decide to block my attempts, I wrapped her up in a big hug.


    "Wha- Hey! Get your big meaty arms out of the way I''m on like that last level!" She shouted indigently, to which I replied by loosening my arms enough so that she could play unobstructed. I just wanted a hug after all, and Brothers knows how much I hated it when people interrupted me when I was gaming.


    "Hey¡­" Ruby says suddenly, "Do you want to play something cool I found?"


    My tired and recently awoken mind sluggishly tried to interpret her words, yet it took me a whole minute of silent blank staring before I actually realized what she was saying. And once I did, I nearly declined her offer to give meditation another shot, preferably without the interruption of the two menaces stuck in my head. But then Lee''s words of admonishment echoed through my mind as a thread of guilt flashed through me, and not to mention, I really could do with playing a mindless video game right about now.


    "Wha.." My words paused as I briefly released Ruby to stretch and yawn, "What about the level you''re on?"


    The redhead shrugged, "Eh, for the last level it''s been a huge disappointment anyway. The bots don''t even get any better, they just scale the health!"


    I snort and move to grab my scroll from my nightstand.


    "Alright, I could use a break from meditation anyway."


    "Awesome cookies!" Ruby replied excitedly, "I''ve been playing this new game recently called Grimm Runners, it''s really cool but it requires co-op for ''the full experience'' so I was really hoping you''d say yes!"


    Interesting. I''ve heard of this game before from some of my classmates, but I didn''t think Ruby would have gone ahead and bought it without mentioning it to me. Well, I certainly held no qualms in joining her in her newest obsession.


    "Sure, I''ve heard some pretty good things about it."


    Ruby began finagling with the old TV we had dragged into our room a long time ago, hooking the old thing up to our scrolls. It was always a wonder to me how Scrolls were capable of playing games that I was almost certain would have required beefy PCs back home.


    "Okay just¡­ like this!" Ruby said, distracting me from my thoughts. A smile broke out on my face as I picked up my scroll that would act kind of like a controller while I was playing. Hopefully, Ruby doesn''t break her scroll by overusing her Semblance while trying to button-mash her way to victory, again.


    The game started, the two of us being presented with the grandiose and ominous-sounding music of the main menu. Ruby didn''t sit on the menu for long, quickly navigating to start a new co-op campaign and I quickly grew concerned when she selected the difficulty to be challenging instead of a more reasonable easy, or normal.


    "Uh¡­ Ruby?" I tried to ask but was quickly shushed as an intro cinematic began to play. It was, to be quite frank, mildly interesting at best in terms of a story hook. The story was your typical super ancient evil lurking below the earth slowly awakening and threatening all of human civilization, something quite common back on earth. At the very least here on Remnant, it could claim to be a somewhat original idea, still, I felt like they definitely could have tried a bit harder to come up with a more unique and profound story.


    Ruby didn''t seem to mind at all, and I couldn''t help but smile at the overly excited grin she had on her face as the intro played out. It was only when said intro was finally finished, that was I granted permission to ask my question about the difficulty she had chosen.


    "Sink or swim Russ, sink or swim¡­" She had just replied with what she probably thought was a wise and thoughtful facial expression.


    In the end, I just shrugged and accepted my perhaps inevitable fate of dying over and over in this game, fully aware that my inherent skill in video games gathered across three separate lifetimes was perhaps a little rusty.


    Five minutes into the game later I was proven more than right, "Brothers above, not again¡­"


    "Heh, don''t worry Russ, I know the game is difficult but if you put in the time to practice to be as great as me!" Ruby said smugly, and I gave her a stink eye in return.


    "Says the girl using her Semblance to button mash harder than the enemy AI can react." I snarked back.


    Ruby giggled, "Semblance usage is a perfectly valid method of attack, I''m sorry your useless Semblance can only help you make pretty lights!"


    I couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow at that, and then with casual grace I manifested a single mote of those ''pretty lights'' and proceeded to hover it in front of Ruby''s face.


    "Wha- Hey! Cheaty cheater!" Ruby exclaimed, valiantly trying to move her face around the petal that glowed a faint burgundy.


    "Semblance usage is a perfectly valid method of attacking, Ruby." I mocked genially, a small smile on my face as my character rushed forward to score more kills than Ruby.


    Really the two of us were on the same team, but we had made a game within the game by seeing who could score the most kills without dying. It wasn''t very easy, mostly because of the difficulty Ruby had set the game on, but it spiced things up for me at the very least. The gameplay loop itself was relatively mundane all things said and done, in that way, it really was a game that got its full benefits only when it was played cooperatively with a friend, as most of the fun came not really from the story or the mechanics but from the interaction built into the levels.


    Time passed as we delved deep into ancient ruins crowded by even more ancient Grimm, scavenging powerful artifacts left over by First Humanity to reinforce and modify our virtual mechashift weapons. Ruby had been less than satisfied by that portion of the game, the only available options being a sword, axe, or spear. I had to agree that it wildly underestimated the sheer scope and variety of Huntsman weapons, but Ruby in particular was froth about the lack of scythe representation.


    Then of course the game was almost immediately abandoned when I off-handily mentioned an idea about using my Semblance to create three-dimensional models of potential weapon designs.


    "YOU CAN DO, WHAT?!" She screamed, loudly.


    "Hey! Keep it down up there you two!" Dad suddenly shouted, making Ruby and me wince. Though judging from the redhead''s sparkling silver eyes, the chastisement hadn''t dampened her excitement in the least.


    "Show me." She said firmly, eyes boring into my own with a quiet intensity.


    "Ruby, I don''t even know if I actually can, it was just an id-" I tried to reply but was interrupted.


    "Show me." She said, even more firmly, grabbing me by the shoulders and beginning to shake me violently like a ragdoll.


    "Okay, okay I''ll try to do something so stop shaking me!" I cried, begging for mercy.


    To my surprise, the three-dimensional trick was a lot easier than I thought it would be, though I wasn''t entirely sure why I was surprised in the first place. Everything else with complicated shapes was easier for me than Hans and Lee, so I wasn''t sure why I thought this would be any different. It just sort of felt like this should have been something difficult to accomplish or some kind of skill that needed to be worked on, yet it came naturally in a way that I knew the others wouldn''t be able to mimic.


    I put those thoughts out of my mind, however, instead focusing on Ruby and trying to map her onslaught of ideas onto the virtual weapon that was taking shape in the middle of our room. A glowing burgundy scythe and axe pair that I knew would be iconic once finished.