Wrath of the Dragon

AN:... I know what you're thinking: "How come Novice graces us with a new story when it hasn't even been a day since the last one was updated?" The answer is simple. I've been working on this one since the second chapter of Blake's saga. Anyway, it's time for everyone's favorite Brawler to get a Blade of her own.

One last thing, this chapter contains spoilers from Chapter 4 of Xenoblade 2. So please keep an eye on the spoiler warning.

Yang was excited, it was finally her turn to get a Blade. Hopefully it's one with cool gauntlets. As with Blake the headmaster had decided to do the next selection in the arena, which was closed off for this event.

Otherwise, the setting was the same. Medics were prepared, and Ozpin had brought a selection of the remaining Crystals.

"Break a leg sis," Ruby said happily, having utmost faith in Yang.

"Hopefully it's someone less creepy than Nox," Weiss said, while giving the ninja Blade a look, which was promptly ignored.

"We have a healer and two attackers. Some kind of tank would be nice." Nox showed his scroll instead of reacting to Weiss.

"That would be ideal," Dahlia admitted, although she wasn't sure if Yang would be so excited about wielding a shield hammer.

Anyway, Yang was excited about having a Blade of her own for several reasons. On the top of those being that she could have an awesome new weapon, and possibly a reliable partner. Nothing's wrong with Blake, but the feline faunus practically got one of her fantasies in the flesh. So it was only right that Yang would get hers. "Here goes nothing," Yang said as she picked a random Crystal and felt the drain in her aura.

Same routine as the others, Yang was starting to feel tired. "...Come oon. Flash already," Yang complained as her muscles were being sapped of their strength.

The process was taking a bit longer than normally. "Roze, what's going on," Ruby asked her Blade who had a worried look.

"...Weiss, prepare the healing," Roze said evenly.

"What?" Everyone started to look very worried.

"Do as he says," Dahlia said sternly as she gave her Driver the bitball. Even the medics were preparing for the worst case scenario.

Then the Crystal finally flashed, and Yang felt tired, but she was still a little better off than the rest of her team was.

As for the Blade... he was enormous. Easily towering over every person in the room and then some. The thing was very muscular, but the body seemed to be made of some kind of stone with multiple hair cracks here and there. At least, up to the torso, which revealed reddish tan skin, from right before his shoulders to right before where a navel would be. The edges of the stone that expose his skin have cracks that glow orange. On his back is a statue that looks like a two headed oriental dragon, fused to his back. The heads craned over his shoulders, resting against his chest with their eyes closed. The statue ended in a tail that swished idly, despite being made of stone. Now that they look at his arms, it looks like only the fore arms are covered in stone. There is a patch of reddish tan skin, that was straining to contain the buldging muscles beneath the upper arms, just beneath the stony shoulder. The stony hands had openings at the palms and under the fingers, revealing more reddish tan skin. Now that Yang looked closer, it looks like the skin was... infused with the stone, right under the orange glowing cracks that outline where stone ends and skin begins. His legs seemed to be completely covered in stone, except for the glowing cracks, where joints would feet were bare and the toes looked like they had claws growing out of them. Finally, his head... there was a slicked back spiky hair that kept switching color infrequently, from warm red, to a hot orange, and then molten gold. It was like solid fire that was turned into hair. Out of that hair, came three pairs of jagged stone horns, each pair being shorter than the last when counted from the pair that grows right above his forehead. Then there's the patches of his face that have turned to stone. No really, it looks like the closer to the edges of his face you go, patches of skin are replaced by stone. Where his ears are supposed to be, there are short spiky stones in vague shape of ears. All of these features that outline a reddish tan face that seemed to scream, "strength", were topped with his eyes. Golden yellow, with a vertical slit for a pupil. But the real sign of his power was the hexagonal Core crystal on his forehead, surrounded by glowing rock.

"Who invokes the power of Dragunov," The Blade, now named Dragunov asked with fire in his eyes.

"...Hey there, hot stuff," Yang purred in mild delirium, earning blanched looks from her team, and the two Beacon teacher's who were overseeing this.

"MISS XIAO LONG!" Glynda scolded harsher than she probably meant.

This moment earned an amused laugh out of Dahlia, while Yang had the decency to look sheepish at her blunder.

"Xiao Long," Dragunov questioned as he heard Glynda clearly. "...Cute," the Blade said sarcastically. "So what do you hope to accomplish with my power," Dragunov asked fixing a gaze into Yang that made the girl blush ever so slightly with it's intensity.

"...I just wanted an awesome new power," the blonde said without thinking.

Judging by the look on Dragunov's face... that was a wrong thing to say. "Really... you want to awaken MY great power just to look 'awesome'," the Blade said with a highly offended look, "I demand a new Driver!"

*SPOILER ALERT FOR XENOBLADE 2 Chapter 4. If you don't want them, please skip to the next horizontal line*

Meanwhile, in the world of Alrest. A beautiful woman in blue dress was sitting in the canteen of a Nopon trade ship known as Argentum. This woman is Brighid, hailed as one of the most powerful fire Blades in Alrest. She was reading a book with a keen eye. This book is her diary, in which she had recorded many of her past lives. Even those of 500 years ago. Speaking of which, she was eyeing one entry about a certain Blade that fought alongside her at that time.

"Hey, Brighid," called a red headed young woman, Pyra. The legendary Blade known as the Aegis, evidenced by her core crystal that was green instead of blue like all the other Blades. "Is that your diary you're reading?" The red headed Blade had seen the diary once, but never red it. At least not without Brighid's permission.

"Yes it is, Pyra," Brighid said, while staring at the page she was on in the book, "...Could you.. call Mythra out?"

Pyra was surprised by that request, but instead of answering, Pyra glowed for a moment, before being replaced by a blonde woman. This is Mythra, the original Aegis. "What is it," Mythra asked, wanting to get this thing over with as fast as possible.

Brighid seemed hesitant. "There is a... confusing entry in my diary," the fire Blade finally said, earning a questioning look from Mythra.

"Confusing how," the blonde Aegis asked as she glanced at the diary that seemed to come with a hand drawn picture of something that made her feel... annoyed for some reason.

"...It's just... well... see for yourself," Brighid said awkwardly as she showed the entry to Mythra.

With a confused look Mythra started reading in a quiet voice, "I can't stand that muscle headed idiot! We know he's powerful, we know what he and his Driver have done together. Why must he be such a... such a... buffoon!?" Mythra gave a questioning look at Brighid who was blushing a storm.

"Can you please not read aloud, it's embarrassing enough for me to essentially have ranted into my diary," Brighid said in embarrassment.

Thankfully, Mythra had the decency to look sheepish. "Sorry. So... what was the problem here. It just sounds like you had to deal with an idiotic Blade," the blonde Blade then asked.

Brighid reached for her diary and turned several pages. "Start reading from the second page, and please keep it in your head this time," the fire Blade said.

"Alright then," Mythra said with an eye roll. To summarize, Brighid barely lost a sparring match against this Blade called Dragunov. Someone who saw the fight was retelling the battle, with some... comments about Brighid that ranged from sexist to downright misogynistic. But the interesting part was, that when Brighid went to give the perpetrator a "piece of her mind", Dragunov had beaten her to it. Apparently by disrespecting Brighid, they were disrespecting the effort Dragunov had put into defeating her. From there... call Mythra crazy, but it sounds like Brighid had a bit of a... love-hate realtionship with the Blade. "So... what am I looking for," Mythra asked not understanding the point. After all, she doesn't remember everything that happened 500 years ago. Though the name "Dragunov" does feel like she should feel... disgusted? No that's not the word... annoyed? No, that's not right either... confused annoyance with just a hint of respect? Close enough.

The jewel of Mor Ardain let out a sigh. "I can't picture his personality at all," Brighid complained, "No matter how many times I read my entries about him, I just... can't seem to fully grasp what I thought of him at the time."

Mythra had an evil smile at that, "Oh... I think I remember now. You were always fawning over him, wishing he would just whisk you away. You were always so... h-hot for him." It was petty and childish sure, but Mythra could not resist this. Even if she failed to keep up the act until the end.

"That doesn't sound like me," Birghid said in suspicion, "Besides, are we still talking about me, or is that how you feel towards Rex."

"WHAT!?" Mythra's screech drew attention of few of the other patrons in the canteen for a moment. "D- don't be stupid! How could I feel like that about that idiot," the blonde Blade said frantically, blushing a storm as she did.

"Feel like what about what idiot?" asked a very evil voice.

Mythra and Brighid turned towards the voice to see a very evil looking Gormotti named Nia. Worse yet, The rest of the gang was with her now. Tora, the nopon inventor who had the genious to make his artificial Blade, Poppi. Mórag, the special inquisitor of Mor Ardain, and Brighid's Driver. Nia's Blade, Dromarch, a white tiger wearing an armor. Finally, Rex, a young salvager, and Pyra's and Mythra's Driver.

Mythra stared at the gang with her mouth agape. And then she was replaced by Pyra in a burst of flaming light. "Mythra! That's not fair," shouted a very distressed Pyra at basically being thrown under an armu stampede.

"Sooo. What was Mythra talking about," Nia asked with a smirk, enjoying this a lot more than was probably appropriate.

"My lady, I think we should-" "Shut up, Dromarch," Nia interrupted her Blade, causing the poor tiger to look down in a chastised manner.

"Was Mythra talking about her feelings for Rex-Rex," Tora asked sounding impressed.

"Oh. Is Mythra in love with Rex, Masterpon," asked the mechanical child that was Poppi.

"NO! I-It's not like that," Pyra stammered, blushing a storm herself.

"Pyra, what's going on," Rex asked in worry, and just a little bit of blush himself.

As Pyra was trying to articulate an explanation, Mórag had moved to her Blade. "Brighid, what did you do?" the woman wasn't even concerned, just curious.

"I tried to ask Mythra about Dragunov," Brighid said honestly, but with a slightly smug smile, "She dared to say I was...head over heels for him." The blue haired lady shuddered at the last part. Brighid was unable to see herself being like that for anyone. Least of all to someone who sounded like a strength obsessed brute. One with few good points, but a brute none the less.

This earned a raised eye brow from Mórag,"The Blade that killed Drivers he deemed unworthy of his power? The one that according to your diary was known as, the Fire Storm of Torna?"

"The very same," Brighid said, remembering the entries about the Blade being only awakened by experienced Drivers because of this. "If I understand correctly, it seemed that he almost killed his Driver, Thauron, that awakened him 500 years ago. He probably would've been killed if Dragunov didn't suddenly accept him." Or at least, that's what Brighid's diary says.

"Does your diary say why Dragunov accepted him," Mórag asked, even as she was ignoring the background noise that she has come to call her comrades teasing each other. If Dragunov truly saw his Driver as unworthy, then what changed his mind.

"Unfortunately, no," Brighid said with a sigh. "I wish I could meet him, if only to understand what I really thought of him in the past," the Blade said with a sigh.

Mórag gave her Blade a sympathetic look. According to the diary, Thauron died in the final days of the Aegis War and Dragunov's Core was lost. That was another reason why Mórag was worried about the Aegis' power. Dragunov was said to posess the power to reduce a city into ashes at his peak, but that was still nothing compared to the power of the Aegis that destroyed three nations.

Back in Remnant, Dragunov had raised his enormous fist to strike at Yang.

"Healing Circle!" and Yang felt her aura being restored, right before taking the hit. She was still sent against the arena wall with a loud crash, but at least her aura managed to take the brunt of it.

To the Blade's disappointment, he was still here, which meant that the girly was still alive. "Tch! Annoying pest," Dragunov said, stomping towards Yang to finish her, only to feel something stopping him."Wh-What is this!?" the Blade felt like some invisible force was holding his body.

"Blade or not, I won't let you harm my students," Glynda declared with a heated glare, as Ozpin dashed past her and struck Dragunov upside the head with his cane in an attempt to knock him out.

"...Was that supposed to hurt," the partially stony Blade asked in annoyance, much to Ozpin's shock. Anyone else would at least be reeling, aura or not.

Then, to everyone's further shock, Dragunov began to resist Glynda's telekinetic hold on him. Even as the professor in question did everything in her power to stop the rampaging Blade, it looked like he would break free eventually with brute strength alone.

"TAKE THIS YOU ASSHOLE!" That shout was followed by a semblance enhanced Yang who returned Dragunov's punch with some interest into his face. Now it was the stony Blade who was flung across the floor. Yang pumped her fist in victory, "One punch! That's how it's done."

"What is done and how," Dragunov asked as he got back up, looking more pissed than anything else. "I admit, you hit harder than I thought. But if you think I go down that easily then you're dumber than you look," the Blade said with a savage grin.

During this, Ruby and Blake had drawn out their Blade weapons, and Ozpin had told the medics to escape and alert any of Beacon's combat capable staff to help.

"Now," Dragunov said as he grabbed a piece of masonry off the floor by digging his fingers into it, "Feel my power!" And then he threw the piece of floor towards Yang who moved to the side to avoid it.

"Team RWBY! Charge!" Ruby's shout was followed by the little red reaper lifting Roze's scythe to strike as she dashed.

"Out of my way, shrimp," Dragunov said as he prepared to back hand Ruby when she got close enough. Except, Ruby switched to shooting him just out of his range. "Ohh, sneaky one aren't you," Dragunov mock complimented, before he felt something on his back. Blake had snuck behind Dargunov and gave him a taste of Nox's Dual Scythes. "You little...!" Dragunov grabbed Blake's head, only it was a clone created by her semblance he caught. Evidenced, by how it vanished.

"You're mine," Weiss declared as she used her semblance in conjunction with her rapier. Dahlia even used her icecraft to help. Dragunov barely had enough time to turn towards the shout before he was trapped in a huge ice block.

"Nice one, ice queen," Yang cheered with a fist pump. This time she was sure they had defeated the Blade.

"Judging by his stony appearance, I'd say he's an earth Blade," Dahlia said with a smile, "You don't break out of that with strength alone." Weiss and Dahlia had discovered that using the ice Blade's icecrafting in conjunction with Weiss' dust usage can create a very sturdy ice. Even Nora had a problem breaking it with her hammer and semblance.

"Don't let your guard down students," Ozpin shouted, causing the students to stare at the now steaming prison. Before the said prison exploded, revealing a thoroughly pissed off Dragunov. However, something was different, the hair cracks around his stony body were glowing orange. Even his golden eyes were glowing with fury.

"How... dare you," Dragunov growled at the ice Blade and Driver. "I guess I shouldn't play around after all," the male Blade said as he lifted both arms. And in a flash of light he had a pair of metallic gauntlets in his arms. Interestingly enough, three spikes with glowing blue tips extend from the wrists over the back of his hands, while a fourth one came over the side of his fist. The spikes were shaped like... dragon claws that were grasping his stony fists. "When I'm done with all of you, your charred broken bones will litter the floor," Dragunov declared as he gave a few test punches.

To his worry, Ozpin saw that there was a pattern with the glowing hair cracks. The orange glowing cracks made the stone look like scales. Like on a dragon.

"His element...," Roze said as he voiced their miscalculation, "It's not earth, it's fire!"

As if to prove Roze's point, Dragunov grinned with flames leaking through his teeth. "Now, you will burn." Was the last warning from the draconic Blade before charging at team RWBY.

"Scatter!" Ruby shouted as the team started running around the arena with Dragunov not being able to decide who to target first.

In the end, the decision was made, when the raging fire Blade felt the debris being flung at him with Glynda's semblance. "Why you little bitch," Dragunov growled as he charged at the Goodwitch.

Only to be tripped by Ozpin's cane, followed by Weiss using a glyph to launch the bitball on the downed Blade.

"You will pay for-GRAUGH!" Dragunov's swear of vengeance, and attempt to get up was interrupted by Blake slicing at the backs of his leg joints. Which was soon finished with a shot to the head from Ruby. Unfortunately, any wounds they inflicted on Dragunov only healed in moments.

"Why are his wounds healing," Weiss shouted never having heard of someone without an aura regenerating.

Dahlia bit her lip, "It's because he's a Blade. No matter how or where we strike him, his wounds will keep healing."

"It's the same for the three of us," Roze added in as he used Thorny Bloom, to increase Ruby's attack speed. With Ruby giving a few quick strikes on the draconic Blade before getting away from his fist.

"So you're saying... we can't beat him," Yang asked in disbelief, and crushing guilt. She felt like it was her fault that this monstrosity was trying to kill everyone.

However, Ozpin felt much more guilty. He considered this situation with Nox, but now it seems like it was all for naught, since Blades can't be killed. "It looks like I keep making mistakes no matter what."

"Damn it," Glynda said as she fired more debris at the rampaging Blade, "Why are you even trying to kill your own Driver!?

"Why," Dragunov asked as if Glynda said the dumbest thing in the world. "Because she's not worthy of my power," the draconic Blade said as one of his knuckle claw's talons lit on fire.

Roze's white eyes widened at the sight of this action "That's a-" "Blazing Talon!" Dragunov roared as he launched himself at the combat professor with his flaming weapon.

Glynda replied by using the dust within her cape to create a barrier. Sadly, it couldn't withstand the flaming punch which exploded upon impact, slamming Glynda in the wall.

Everyone had a shocked look at the professor, who's aura was already flickering from the use of her semblance and taking that hit.

"He used a Special art without a Driver," Dahlia said in horror. How powerful is he?

"Nox, doesn't he have any kind of weakness," Blake asked in fear.

"The only real weakness of a fire Blade is water. But we do not have a water Blade." Sadly Nox's text told the truth. They have wind, ice and darkness, but not water. Then again, even if they had a water Blade, the dark Blade was very sure that Dragunov can't be stopped by a typical water Blade.

"We need to use a Blade combo," Roze said earning Ruby's attention, even as the girl was shooting at Dragunov.

"That could work," Dahlia said, as Weiss used another Healing Circle for everyone, especially Glynda and Yang.

"But we haven't had time to practice them other than the theory," Weiss protested. Though they now have three Blades, which is enough to form a combo, they don't have the ideal combination.

"HIIIYYAAAAHHH!" Yang roared as she dashed at Dragunov and gave him a good punch in the face.

Only, the draconic Blade turned his head back to Yang, easily overpowering the fist that was still connected to his cheek. "You are weak and worthless, although your punch is at least... halfway decent," Dragunov said, before hitting Yang with a rapid combo of punches and kicks.

"YANG!" Blake cried out as her partner was flung by a well placed kick into the stomach.

Ruby however, got a plan in her head from that last strike. "Don't worry Blake," Ruby said as she saw Yang getting up, "With each hit she grows stronger, remember."

Blake did remember that, but it doesn't make Yang invincible. Still, thanks to Weiss, Yang was given another aura restoration treatment.

"Still getting up," Dragunov said in a bored tone as he idly blocked an attack from Ozpin who was furious on the inside, "Why do you fight?" That question was followed by a tail swipe at Ozpin, which forced the headmaster to jump back.

"Why?" Yang's red eyes were like molten lava with the fury burning behind them, "You attacked my friends!" With that, Yang was trying to punch at Dragunov who was blocking every punch Yang threw at him, though with slightly more effort.

"They got in my way. It's your fault for being worthless," Dragunov countered, as he kicked Yang in the stomach, before grabbing her hair and slamming her face on the floor. Right before he could repeat the action he got pushed back by rose-exploding shots from Roze's Special lvl 1 Petal Blast. Followed by the combined Scythes striking at him like a shuriken, Nox's Special lvl 2 Swirling Shadow. Finished with Dahlia rising on and icy pedestal while charging her bitball, before firing icicles every which way, but only hitting Dragunov, Dahlia's Special lvl 3 Frost Queen.

The last one pushed Dragunov back. He may be unkillable as a Blade, but he's not immune to fatigue, especially as some of the ice turned into water against his body. Sadly this isn't enough to weaken Dragunov significantly. "I... Will... Crush... You," Dragunov growled as he was pushed back. Sadly what the three blades hit him with was not a true Blade combo, just their Specials sprung together.

But since, Dahlia's Frost Queen also heals allies, Yang was able to get up, although her nose was broken since her aura could only barely stop her face from being caved. Then she saw something terrible. Dragunov had a few strands of Yangs hair in his hand from grabbing her earlier.

"YOU MONSTER!" Was the shout that snapped the draconic Blade to Yang's direction again. Only to get a semblance and fury fueled fist into his face.

"Where is this strength coming from," Dragunov thought as he was slowly being pushed back by Yang's enhanced punch. Until he was flung into the wall so hard that he was actually buried into it.

Yang panted at the sight of the Blade buried into the wall as she finally allowed the unconciousness to take her. Even though Weiss can heal and restore aura with Dahlia's power it doesn't help with fatigue. Both from resonating with Dragunov, and this fight. Not to mention some of the strikes hurt a lot, despite her aura. "I'm... sorry guys," Yang said weakly as she was losing conciousness. She couldn't believe she had somehow managed to put everyone in danger, especially Ruby... again. "I'm a failure of a sister." Was the last thought before the blonde brawler lost conciousness.

"Yang," Ruby cried out, running to her sister's side. Roze still had his eyes on the motionless Blade. "Yang, wake up," Ruby told her sister whlie shaking her.

Blake quickly got to Yang to check her pulse. "...She's alive, just unconcious," Blake said with relief. "But we have to stop the bleeding," the cat faunus added as she looked at Yang's broken nose that had blood coming out of it.

"A Blade that tries to kill it's Driver. I never thought such a possibility even existed." Nox showed everyone present on his scroll.

At that moment, Oobleck entered the arena with Adenine. "Ozpin, where's the rampaging Blade," the eccentric professor asked with an unusually grave tone.

"Stuck on that wall," Ozpin replied while pointing at the said Blade. Then the headmaster turned towards the three Blades. "Is there really no way of stopping him. Other than the death of miss Xiao Long," Ozpin then asked in a hard tone, earning a scared look from Ruby.

"H-headmaster, y-you can't mean," Ruby stammered with tears gathering in her eyes.

"Of course not," Ozpin said quickly, "Killing one of my students is never an option."

"Maybe we should seal him away somehow before he moves again," Glynda suggested, glaring at the behemoth that dared to attack them.

*CRACK* Glynda really shouldn't have said the last part. *CRASH* Dragunov had managed to pull himself free from the wall with a grim look and a beastial growl.

"Students, get ready," Ozpin said, as everyone prepared to fight this monster that proved itself more dangerous than any Grimm. But Ozpin was certain of one thing, none of them can fight forever against an opponent that recovers from anything they throw at it. Their only hope is to tire him out.

AN: Surprise! Looks like Dragunov doesn't accept Yang as his Driver, and I ended the chapter on a cliffhanger. I'm so evil, Muahhahahaaa!

Will Dragunov accept Yang, or will he escape and go rogue? Find out next time.

As for the Xenoblade 2 crew... Please tell me if I did them any justice. I'd like to know if I insulted them, by writing their characters poorly.