Yang woke up with a gasp. She was in her room, lying on top of her bed, the robotic arm given to her by General Ironwood resting on her bedside table, out of the box. Yang looked at it for a moment before turning her face away and realizing she wasn't alone. Diana had snuck into her room,climbed into her bed, and was currently fast asleep, curled up next to Yang. Though just waking up from a recurring nightmare, she couldn't help but let out a sad smile as she lightly petted the young girl, preferring to let her sleep.
But then she heard laughter coming from downstairs. So, after carefully making sure not to wake up Diana, she threw on some clothes and began to head downstairs. And to her great surprise, she discovered Professors Bartholomew Oobleck and Peter Port sitting at her kitchen table and laughing with her father, as well as Dante, Port telling a story.
"And, and, and then, in comes Qrow, wearing a skirt!" the mustached man laughed, "I was just a TA, I-I didn't know what to do, so I just... I just left the room to laugh!!"
Yang walked over to the kitchen door while the four laughed, Taiyang saying, "We told him it was a kilt! He'd never worn a uniform before, so he didn't know!"
"That is hilarious!" Dante stated the obvious.
"That is terrible!" Oobleck said, "What is wrong with you?!"
"Hey!" Tai defended, "The girls all said he had nice legs! I did that jerk a favor! Besides, that's not even the best part! See, then we-"
He was cut off by Port slamming his right leg on the tabletop, "'Like what you see??'"
They all laughed, but Port lost his balance and ended up on the floor, only resulting in more laughter. Taiyang clapped from mirth and Port joined in the hilarity from the floor. Yang then giggled too, covering her mouth, alerting the men to her presence, Oobleck standing up while Port got up off the floor.
"Oh, uh, Miss Xiao Long!" Port said, "Uh, please, join us."
Yang entered while Oobleck laughs, a little bit embarrassed, "Oh, yes, yes, pull up a chair. Please, pull up a chair."
"I'm good," Yang pardoned, hoisting herself backward up onto the kitchen counter, between her father and Dante, Port and Oobleck sitting back down, "So, what are you doing here?"
"Despite popular belief, teachers do have a life outside the classroom," Oobleck answered.
"Professor Goodwitch is working 'round the clock to restore Beacon to its former glory!" Port added, "But, Mistral wasn't built in a day. And we all need rest from time to time."
"I just kinda woke up to the sounds of mockery," Dante replied with a grin, "So I just walked in and said 'Show me the object of ridicule'."
"Now look, let's not worry about that right now," Taiyang cut in, "So, there we were, standing in the auditorium, looking at Qrow, wearing a skirt. Then Oz tells everyone, 'It's time to work on our landing strategy!'"
There was more chuckling before Oobleck stated, "The Branwen twins have always been... interesting, to say the least."
"That sure didn't seem to stop young Tai," Port smirked.
Taiyang blinked, "Hey, come on, man, she's right here."
"Oh, please!" Port waved off, "She's a mature young woman! If she can handle combat, she can handle a few jabs at her old man!"
"Entire team, Mr. Xiao Long," Dante looked at the man.
"Dante..." Taiyang warned.
"Entire," Dante persisted, "Team."
Taiyang groaned, knowing this was a losing battle, and turned his attention back to the older adults, "That's not the issue, Pete! And besides, she's still a teenager!"
"'She' is also in the room," Yang said, "And can be directly spoken to. And I think I've been through enough to be considered an adult at this point."
Taiyang sighed, "Adult or not, you've still got a long way to go before you're ready for the real world."
"Oh my gosh!" Yang groaned, "Does every father figure have the same three condescending phrases?"
"Yeah! But we only use them when we mean it!"
Port, Oobleck, and Dante looked at each other as the father and daughter argued, the atmosphere now a touch uncomfortable. Oobleck took a sip from his mug while Port pulls at his collar, and Dante was considering going to check on Diana just to get out of the room.
"Is that so?" Yang demanded.
"As a matter of fact, it is so! If you honestly think that you're ready to go out there on your own," Tai laughed, "Well, I guess you lost some brain cells along with that arm."
The room went silent, disbelief filling the air. Yang gasped and pulled back from her father's face while a stunned Port leaned forward, Oobleck's mouth dropped open and his glasses slip down, and Dante's eyes widened, momentary wishing he had walked away sooner. There was a comedic beat before the mug slipped out of Oobleck's hand to safely land on the table.
"You..." Yang then smiled and playfully punched her father in the arm, "Jerk!"
As the father and daughter laughed together, Dante couldn't help but quietly sigh in relief and Oobleck whispered, "Are we finally talking about the Goliath in the room?"
Taiyang and Yang looked at each other and then burst out laughing again. Relieved laughter came from the rest of the men.
"Oh, Miss Xiao L-," Port then corrected himself, "Yang, if you don't mind me asking, why haven't you tried on the arm yet?"
"Oh, yes, yes!" Oobleck said, "A piece of Atlas technology given out like that is rare indeed! Not to mention the effort it took to deliver it here. It seems a great many people want to see you returned to normal."
"I'm curious about that as well," Dante admitted.
Yang breathed, quiet for a moment, "I'm... scared. Everyone keeps talking about me getting back to normal. And I appreciate it, but... this is normal now. It's just taking me a while to get used to it."
"Well," Taiyang put in, "Normal is what you make of it."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Yang asked, a bit miffed, "Do you want me to just pretend like nothing happened? I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone. And it's never coming back."
"You're right. It's not coming back. But that doesn't have to stop you from becoming who you wanna be. You're Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon. You can do whatever you put your mind to. So whenever you're ready to stop moping, and get back out there, I'll be there for you."
Yang was touched, "I... I..."
"Fear is like any other emotion," Port stated, "It comes and goes. It's all in how you handle it. Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time."
Yang was unconvinced, "Really? You?"
Oobleck whispered to her, "He's afraid of mice."
Port pounded the table, "THEY BRING ONLY DISEASE AND FAMINE!!!"
Yang and Dante just started laughing while Port ranted about the creepiness of mice, "And don't even get me started on their tails! So hairless, and simply unnatural!"
"Port, I assure you, you are safe," Dante stifled out, "There's no mice here right now."
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On a path through the woods, Team RNJRS moved forward with Ruby looking at a map, "Come on, guys! If we pick up the pace, we can hit the next town before sunset!"
"Assuming it's still there," Jaune stated glumly.
"Of course it'll be there. This one's supposed to be pretty big!" Ruby replied before trying to pronounce the town's name, "Hee-gan...bayn-a."
"Higanbana," Skyler read after peeking over her shoulder.
"It's a well protected village with a popular inn," Ren added.
"Which means, no camping in the rain!" Nora cheered.
"See?" Ruby said, "Everything's going to be fine!"
"You know, we've had a lot of ups and downs," Jaune admitted, "But things could be a lot worse. I really thought we'd see more Grimm."
"As did I," Ren agreed.
"I guess our luck is finally turning around!" Nora smiled widely, "To Higanbana!"
Jaune, Skyler, and Ren also smiled and proclaimed, "To Higanbana!"
"To Higanban... ban-a!" Ruby tried, still struggling with the name.
Skyler's morale heightened, but only for a moment, hoping they didn't just jinx themselves. But if he was being honest, he could've sworn they had some sort of guardian angel, considering all the negativity that had been encircling them lately.
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Back at Patch, the morning after Port and Oobleck came over, Taiyang was outside the house, watering his bed of sunflowers, Diana looking at the plants in awe. Though Dante, who was also there, occasionally had to pull her hand back to keep her from picking the flowers and possibly eating them. Then there was the sound of the door opening, and they turned towards it.
And out stepped Yang, wearing the robotic arm. She used it automatically to shade her eyes from the sun, and then looked down at the metal hand interestedly, moving the fingers around. Diana immediately lost interest in the flowers and tripped on her own two feet trying to get to Yang and marvel at the arm. Dante nodded in approval.
"I gotta say," he said, "As awesome as it would be to see you kicking butt with just one hand, it just wouldn't be the same."
Yang smiled at him as Taiyang stood up, "Okay. Let's get started."
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Okay, so maybe not the most original of chapters, but hey, little to work with. But I can't wait for the next one! You'll see why. Till next time guys!