Karma was a word Yang grew up hearing about occasionally, mainly from her uncle Qrow when he was drunk and cursing his bad luck for one reason or another. Regardless, it was never a concept she really cared about. After all, it was supposed to be the world's way of punishing or rewarding people for their actions in life.
In that case, how did something like that apply to her or even Ruby, exactly?
Yang didn't know, but being abandoned by Raven and then losing Summer, who had taken on the role of mother in her life, made her wonder if Karma had something to do with it all. If so, what had she done to deserve being abandoned and losing the woman who had become the best mother in the world?
Break a few things? Disobey? Or perhaps... been born?
To even remotely consider something like that was ridiculous, and so this concept became just one of many that made no sense in this world full of darkness.
Otherwise, if Karma was real and worked the way it was supposed to, Summer would still be alive, and Raven would be the one seven feet under.
That, or Karma, was a creation of the God of Darkness, who only benefited those who didn't deserve it if he and his brother of light were real.
If not, the only explanation would be that the Karma that affected them in the first place didn't belong to her; perhaps Ruby and Yang were just victims of someone else's punishment.
Like that bitch Raven, for example.
Then, nothing would change, and Yang would continue to place the blame on that same woman whom she wanted to find one day and have the pleasure of smashing in the face with her fists.
One of the reasons why she was never interested in using weapons and preferred to learn martial arts from her father.
That way, Yang could reject everything Raven stood for and, at the same time, tell her to fuck off.
Or so it should be when the reality couldn't be more different.
As far as she knew, Raven didn't give a damn about any of this, and Yang was only hurting herself by keeping that wound open.
Something that was reflected in the rebelliousness that grew along with her confidence, indifference, and the way she treated those around her over the years.
After all, how many times had Yang broken a boy's or even a girl's heart without even blinking? Worse yet, did she feel good about it, or did she take advantage of those feelings?
Unfortunately, she couldn't even remember them all to count, and that made her as bad as her biological mother; almost like a curse that ran in that side of the family, and perhaps explained part of the reason why her uncle drank so much.
Too bad her ego was just too big and didn't allow her to see things that way before it was too late.
There was always an excuse and justification for what she did.
Yang believed she had the right to go out and party, to ignore the rules and her family's concerns, because she had looked after Ruby for a while, while her father had gone into depression after losing his second wife, when in fact it was just her duty as the eldest sister and daughter.
Believing that she could feign interest in the people who approached her because of her appearance and use them in the same way they wanted to use her...
If Yang stopped to think, just like she did with these other people, how many times had she hurt her own family throughout her life?
Yang didn't know; she didn't want to know and preferred to ignore the answer for obvious reasons.
In fact, she'd been doing it for a long time... just as Raven probably did too.
Except this time, ignoring the weight of her actions was no longer an option.
Her Karma, which undeniably belonged to her after her last mistake, was now showing itself in the form of a catastrophe capable of creating victims no matter where she looked.
All this was unleashed on the outside world while Yang was safe and well inside Beacon.
Indeed, Karma was a creation of the God of Darkness that affected those around her like a curse rather than the perpetrator.
It was enough to look at Ruby and see not only the state she was in but also the way she was consumed by the guilt of something she hadn't done, that Yang's heart almost broke.
The news reporting the tragedy involving Grimm around the world only made it worse.
Not even the academy itself was much better, where classes were canceled after teachers and students were dispatched on urgent missions that could very well be the first and last for many of them.
All this because Yang couldn't help but suggest that cafeteria to show off and embarrass her teammates before approaching Vegeta without hesitation. Worse still, to provoke him inconsequentially later in his own home.
Weiss had every reason and motive to be as angry as she was at that moment, especially with what happened immediately afterward.
Prince Vegeta was a man in every sense of the word, and one whose power knew no bounds.
The fact that he had not only lit up half the world with his golden transformation but also affected thousands, possibly millions of Grimm was living proof of a strength that could only be described as divine... or demonic.
Something that had never been seen in this world.
This meant that Vegeta had lived his entire life without causing any incidents... until Yang came along and changed that by forcing his hand and releasing those golden flames of vengeance; a color Yang used to love but which she now couldn't help but associate with her mistake, fear, and Karma.
So much so that she couldn't even look at herself in the mirror because of the hair she was supposed to love, which she now kept tied back to avoid being taken by the impulse to cut it and regret it.
As if that wasn't enough, there was also the Semblance that she was so proud of having, and was even more reminiscent of Vegeta's golden transformation.
These two characteristics, which made Yang who she was and were constantly used to her advantage, now felt more like a curse than a blessing.
For the first time in her life, Yang was considering dyeing her hair any color other than black and never making use of her Semblance again.
However, doing so wouldn't change anything she had done, had happened, or was happening.
Yang couldn't run away from this broken reality.
Not this time, and she didn't know what else to do when all she knew was how to fight.
Except even that didn't seem to be an option.
No matter how strong she was, Yang wouldn't be able to change the course of this war against darkness.
In fact, nothing and no one really could...apart from Vegeta, and the thought of seeing him again made Yang start to tremble.
Something that started to happen the day after she made up with her little sister, partner, and Weiss.
After information about the Grimm's attacks began to emerge everywhere and understanding what the cause was, Yang dropped her Scroll and began to tremble and hyperventilate.
By very little, and the intervention of a frightened and worried Ruby, she didn't have a panic attack.
A small punishment compared to the pain and suffering she had caused to an unknown number of people around the world.
The guilt she felt, however, was definitely consuming her. As a result, in just a few days, Yang had become miserable, almost depressed, and only then was she able to understand a little about how her father had felt when Summer died.
It was a horrible feeling of emptiness, and the world itself seemed to have lost its color.
To make matters worse, if things went on like this, her little sister, friend, and Weiss would also end up experiencing the same pain.
The whole team was being affected, one way or another.
Even after days had passed, Ruby and Weiss could barely keep their eyes open for more than a few hours before their anemia forced them to sleep after eating as much as they could.
Weiss was more reserved about it, trying to maintain her princess attitude, but in the end, it was just for show as she always piled up the same absurd number of plates as Ruby.
The only difference between them, if any, was that Weiss ate less sugar-saturated food than her little sister.
At least they still managed to eat and sleep plenty, which was a lot more than Yang could do when she lost her appetite and was unable to rest without waking up sweating and almost screaming because of nightmares that only got worse.
On top of that, there were abnormal changes that were occurring in Weiss and Ruby.
It started slowly, but eventually, the divine power that Vegeta had granted them was showing itself, and not in a good way.
Several pencils were smashed to pieces by Weiss's mere touch while she was trying to revise some lessons she'd missed in the short time she'd been awake, and she gave up when it proved to be an impossible task.
Ruby had it worse by shattering more than one Scroll, including Yang's, while trying to get in touch with Dad and Uncle Qrow, both of whom were out there fighting alongside the others and having to bear the Karma she had cultivated with her thoughtless actions...
Yang could only regret it, apologize, and pray that nothing bad happened to them, or she would never forgive herself for it.
More than for herself, Yang didn't want Ruby to go through the pain of loss again.
This time, lying and saying that a beloved member of her family was on a long-standing mission wouldn't work.
That and the girl was too good and didn't deserve any of this; no one really did...apart from Yang herself, for being the cause of it all, even the destruction taking place inside the academy.
With the power Ruby and Weiss gained from Vegeta, they accidentally ripped out more than one door and window without even trying.
While Yang wanted to believe that this could be a good thing, the truth was different, and she was sure that Professor Goodwitch agreed with her.
Having to deal with this collateral damage was threatening to turn this scary woman's hair white.
As if the chaos outside wasn't enough to stress her and everyone else who was struggling with their lives on the line.
Slowly, Ruby and Weiss were becoming a monster duo without having had any of the training that was promised.
Unfortunately, even with all this power, they were still nothing compared to Vegeta and could hardly help without ending up fainting or even killing themselves in the process.
Then there was Blake, the only girl on the team who could still be considered normal...as much as possible, and one who was as quiet as she was restless.
Which was nothing new, but in a different way from when she was desperately trying to find Torchwick and the White Fang.
It was clear that she wanted to do something and help, but was hesitant to try, and no one could blame her for that.
Beacon was on full alert, where even the first-year students could be summoned at any time to join the fight in an emergency.
So, leaving Beacon without permission and in an official capacity was basically impossible; the lack of means of transportation and how active the Grimm were on the ground was that bad.
In addition, there was Beacon's internal request regarding the golden anomaly.
If anyone knew anything about it or had information that could help with the investigation, the academy demanded immediate cooperation.
A more than fair and justified request.
However, there was a promise to be kept and the fear of the consequences.
Vegeta was much more powerful than they could have imagined.
Reason enough for them to think twice before wanting to do anything.
As if that wasn't enough to put the whole team over the edge, the feeling of guilt that should have belonged to Yang alone was present in all of them when they saw the collapsed state of Team CFVY, where one of their male members had suffered severe fractures on the last mission and was in a coma.
This was one of the few teams from more advanced years with whom they had some contact and perhaps even friendship.
It was like a reality check for the other girls, and that wasn't the worst of it.
The team JNPR was another that was strongly affected, even if indirectly.
Jaune had seven sisters out there, and one of them was in a town being attacked by a Named Grimm.
Not just him, Pyrrha too, and in the same town to make matters worse for both of them, where Jaune was able to hide his worry better, but the fear in his eyes was evident.
Ren was basically the same as always, hiding his emotions, just as his Semblance suggested, and Nora forced herself to express a smile and maintain her cheerful personality.
An impossible task, but the effort was appreciated, revealing a lot about the girl's motivations and what kind of Huntress she wanted to be.
Saving people while smiling so that one day they could smile too, just as Ren had done for her as a child.
Nora was stronger and nobler than many initially believed... much more so than Yang, and she felt pathetic when she remembered the reason behind the answer she gave Vegeta.
Becoming a Huntress just for the adrenaline rush and the chance to venture out into the world when there were so many people in need of help.
Her selfishness was that big.
So, after being completely rejected, Yang went out there and made the world an even bigger hell than it already was.
I don't deserve to be a Huntress, she felt her eyes fill with salt water once again, and she tightened the blankets she had been wrapped in for the last twelve hours. Or to be here...
Not with her lousy motives and endless sins, stealing the opportunity from someone who could be better.
Yang didn't deserve to be like Summer Rose.
Then, as if her laments had been heard, her name sounded in the voice of the person she loved most in this world, and truly deserved the red cloak she carried.
"Yang?" Ruby approached after waking from her long sleep and realizing that her sister hadn't moved. "Are you okay?"
A rhetorical question, since she and the rest of the team knew the answer.
Ever since they had learned about the result of Vegeta's power, Yang had...crumbled, and that hurt Ruby, especially as she wasn't able to help.
Recently, staying awake by itself was challenging, and she didn't have room to do much else.
Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case anymore, where she's feeling full of energy and stronger than ever!
Sleeping almost all day, every day, eating for ten people at every meal, and literally finishing off all the cookies in Beacon had to have some result.
Thanks to that, Ruby could finally do something and take on her role as sister and team leader!
"No," Yang didn't even try to hide it; it didn't make sense with how obvious her miserable state was. "I'm not."
In fact, she had never been worse.
Ruby felt her heart squeeze, but didn't say anything, choosing to hear what her sister had to say first.
"It's my fault." Yang moved the blanket to reveal her tired face and reddened eyes that still glistened with the remnants of tears. "Everything that's happening."
"Yang..." Ruby wanted to scream and deny this nonsense, but she couldn't, especially when she felt guilty herself. "That's not true."
Not really, and there was much more behind what had happened.
Unfortunately, her sister couldn't see that and was determined to take on the burden.
"Don't lie, Ruby." Yang could see right through her little sister; she always could. "You're terrible at it."
She would know, being the expert she was.
"I'm not lying," Ruby wasn't, even if it seemed that way. "It's just..." She looked away, "You're not the only one to blame."
Because she wasn't the only one responsible.
"What are you talking about?" Yang sat up in her bed, the blanket falling off her shoulders to reveal her sloppy form with her hair in an unseen state as her irises glowed red. "I'm the one who suggested that place, who approached him and pissed him off..." She clenched her fists until they were white, almost trembling, "If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened!"
No one would be suffering, and people wouldn't have died!
"As usual, you're wrong, Yang." Weiss was tired of pretending to be asleep and listening to this self-pitying speech. "We went to that cafeteria because I was too weak and tired of losing."
A decision she still wasn't sure whether or not she regretted making, and that was what made her feel guilty.
While Weiss had obtained power and reached a new level without even receiving the promised training, the price the world was paying was too high.
"Exactly," Blake didn't intend to keep quiet either, as she left the bathroom after a long shower to help clear her mind, only now being able to realize her mistake in ignoring the problem that had been right in front of her all this time and insisting on finding a solution to what was happening out there on her own. "We approached him because I suggested we needed a private instructor and said he was strong."
Never before had she been so right about something like that, and she regretted it.
"And I'm the one who got his attention when he ignored you and asked him to teach us," Ruby wasted no time in adding her piece and holding her sister's hand in conflict. "See, it's not your fault, not really."
They all had a hand in it and should handle it like the team they were!
"B-but I'm the one who made him explode with rage!" Yang pushed her little sister's hand away, unable to accept what this touch represented. "I made the world suffer... It's my fault."
No matter what they said or believed they had done, it was still Yang who had forced the hand of that prince of destruction.
"Well, yes," Weiss didn't disagree, and the other girls glared at her. "But," she was quick to add, "It's Vegeta's fault too."
No matter how powerful that man was, he wasn't free from having his actions and destructive attitude reprimanded, and Weiss intended to give him a piece of her mind the next time she saw him.
Very soon, preferably.
"Wait, what?" Yang couldn't believe what she just heard. "Are you really trying to put the blame on that monster?"
That sounded like a suicide attempt to her, one that could end up killing the entire planet!
"No, no, she has a point," Blake found herself agreeing with Weiss, and that wasn't even the strangest part of it, having been a recurring thing for some time now. "It's not your fault that Vegeta has the maturity of a teenager and the pride of a man who didn't know how to deal with your...advances."
Yang was a woman of that level, sometimes being able to make even Blake question her own sexuality.
All the questionable books she read and even wrote didn't help either.
"You're...kidding, right?" Yang didn't know what else to say and didn't hear a laugh in response. No way...
Was this what her partner had in mind to try and cheer her up? Because if it was, it was simply absurd!
Her own looks and beauty were something she had come to condemn because of everything she had done over the years!
Almost like a curse that inflated her ego until it corrupted her completely!
"Yang, do you remember the way he reacted?" Blake was sure she would never forget and that she wasn't the only one. "You're beautiful like that, to the point where that man had no choice but to burst into golden flames to regain his pride and disguise it as a lesson about humility."
Probably, she also wanted to say, but preferred to keep it to herself.
To the others, this explanation made sense, even if it was in a very strange way.
As for Weiss, she didn't like the insinuation that the man she was interested in was affected to this extent by Yang, an interest that had only grown since she had met him and learned more about him.
Even now, when his power had thrown the world into chaos, these feelings hadn't changed.
In fact, they had only grown to the point of becoming the main reason that fueled her guilt, for realizing how inconvenient and biased her heart could be.
Especially after witnessing everything that had happened and the consequences.
Accepting that was quite a blow as a future Huntress and even as a woman.
Fortunately, for the first time since she had her Ki awake, Weiss was feeling very well on this day and could definitely do something, being sure that Ruby had the same in mind; she could feel it.
Her partner's presence felt almost like a fire compared to the candlelight of the other people in Beacon.
The power they had gained was absurd, and the limit was demonstrated by Vegeta in his moment of rage.
An impossible goal to achieve, but one to keep in mind.
"E-even so," Yang looked away, not knowing how to react to what her partner had said. "My point stands."
She kicked the chair that the world was standing on with a rope around its neck.
"If that's the case, why don't we sort it out?" Ruby knew her sister's stubbornness very well, as they were the same in that regard. It's a family thing, I guess.
And something that would never change.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang asked, and she wasn't the only one in doubt until something came to her. "Don't tell me that..."
She couldn't finish; her clueless little sister had done it for her, and in a way that almost brought her nightmare to life.
"Let's find Vegeta and ask him to help!" Ruby raised her fist high in the air, expecting to be joined by her team and to be left in a vacuum. "Hmm, guys?"
Silence was the first response she received, and it turned out to be much better than the second in the form of a joint shout.
"What?!" all three exclaimed at once, and Ruby almost winced, feeling as if she had said something completely insane.
Well, her suggestion was definitely a little crazy.
But only a little.
"I mean... Weiss is right. In the end, he is the one who made the Grimm even more aggressive," Ruby couldn't deny it, as much as she wanted to. "So nothing could be fairer than making him take responsibility and help!"
Considering how strong he was, that would be a walk in the park!
All the other girls just looked at their leader as if she had grown a second head when, in fact, it was just Ruby being Ruby.
"I...I can't," Yang was shaking at the thought of it, her breathing becoming heavy. "See him again..."
She didn't want to go through that again.
"Yang, I know you're scared." Ruby held her hands to her chest, her gaze wavering a little. "It would be a lie if I said that I'm not; that not one of us is."
Weiss and Blake couldn't find the words to deny it. While they had a thing for Vegeta, the fact that he was probably the most dangerous person on the planet remained.
"But I still believe that nothing will happen." Ruby tried again, holding her sister's hand and finding no rejection this time. "Don't forget: your family, team, and friends are with you in this!"
"And don't forget Weiss, too," Blake added with a touch of humor that was necessary in this situation, however uncharacteristic it was coming from her. People change, I suppose.
The princess herself, the victim of her remark, was proof of that.
"Hey!" Weiss crossed her arms and huffed a little to show her indignation before a small smile adorned her face. "Okay, I think I deserve that."
At first, she was kind of annoying with her attitude.
"But what if we've only made it worse?" Even with this sense of ease in the air that was able to stop her trembling, Yang was still wary of this decision. "What then?"
The world couldn't handle much more...
"Well, if it comes to that," Weiss had an answer that each of the girls could feel with the drop in temperature as she brought out a little of her new power. "We fight."
Against whatever it takes.
"Yeah!" Ruby followed her bestie's example and made rose petals circle her body. "We can kick some ass!"
The combination of these two was absurd, being able to make Yang and Blake almost cower under the pressure as the whole room shook.
Ruby and Weiss had become powerful like that, to a degree that probably surpassed anyone in the world...except Vegeta.
Still, that remained incredible, especially with the fact that they hadn't even started training yet.
Just how much stronger would these two become?
Yang and Blake didn't know, only that they would change this world and could help immensely against what was happening outside.
Redemption, Yang thought about this word and its meaning this time. With their help, I could do something good and try to make things right...
It would be a lot more than she was doing now, hiding like a coward and drowning in self-pity.
Something had to be done.
"All right," Yang finally said, her eyes shining with a familiar flame of determination. "Yang Xiao Long will join the fight!"
To help her super-powered little sister and Weiss in any way she could!
"What are you now?" Weiss smiled a little as she contained her power much more easily compared to last time. "A video game character?"
The girl definitely loved this kind of thing.
"Go freeze something, Ice Queen." Yang jumped out of bed and could already feel her appetite and humor returning to her. "I'm sure some fridge out there is hiring."
With that said, she went to get ready as best she could to start fixing her mistakes.
"Great," Weiss couldn't help but let the sarcasm ring through her words, "she's back."
Now they just had to decide whether that was a good thing or not.
"She totally is!" Ruby couldn't contain her excitement and jumped up in celebration...only to hit the ceiling more than three meters off the ground and open up a hole in which she got stuck. "Please don't tell Goodwitch."
Weiss and Blake could only look at each other and shake their heads before they went to get ready to break some rules.
It wouldn't be the first time, and it probably wouldn't be the last.
"Hmm, guys?" Ruby tried, her feet swinging from side to side as she tried to get herself free. "A little help?" Again, only silence in response. "My team is so mean!"
And she couldn't ask for a better one!