Escalation 021 -- Epilogue (Patreon)

The world no longer made any sense.

It had started with the tabloids reporting ludicrous tales of a polyamorous relationship between three of her friends and evolved into genuine news columns on the subject. The world of showbiz was in an absolute uproar, online spaces breaking under the strain as everyone pitched in to have their say. Social media was a cesspit at the best of times but now? Yang didn’t dare approach any of the platforms in danger of crushing her scroll in a red eyed rage.

The slander and vile was reprehensible, disgusting, and outrageous to boot. The lies being told about three of her closest friends set her teeth on edge but Yang could do nothing about it. She couldn’t punch these companies in the mouth, she couldn’t track down all these pieces of shit badmouthing her friends and deck them, and replying to any of their trash would only make things worse.

No, all she could do is watch as everything unfolded like observing a runaway train getting ready to derail. She might not have been able to vent her frustrations through her tried and true method but she definitely took receipts.

Sky Lark was sharing a bunch of crap that Yang wasn’t soon going to forget. Combat Class was going to be very interesting in the coming year. Also that prick from Atlas, Flynt Coal. When the next Vytal Festival rolled around, he better be ready to catch some hands because Yang was not playing around.

It didn’t help that her friends weren’t answering their calls, either!

Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha were completely off the grid. Yang knew they had spent a lot of time in Argus, it was impossible not to know with all the pictures floating around but they’d all but vanished for the second leg of their holidays. Wherever they had gone, it escaped the reach of the paparazzi. All those vultures could do now was speculate in the worst possible ways.

All of it was ridiculous.

Okay, so maybe Jaune was dating Weiss. Ruby had caught them kissing, right? Fine, she could see that. The heiress had denied it but Yang hadn’t bought it completely. Their beginnings had been rough and fraught with misunderstandings but she had seen their friendship bloom before her very eyes. And Weiss wasn’t the type of girl to just kiss anyone. Yang was happy for them, truly. She’d always hoped deep down, Jaune could break through that icy shell around Weiss’ heart. He had clearly done it.

But also dating Pyrrha? There was no way.

Even if the red head was unusually fond of her partner, even if Yang had caught those emerald eyes gazing longingly at him from time to time, even if they would make a totally handsome, beautiful couple…

Alright, she understood – they would be good together. Yang could see it working and working well. All those small touches and the way they trained together, off in their own little world that didn’t involve the rest of them...

But the three of them?

Nah. No way. That shit didn’t happen in real life, right? That sort of stuff was better left to Blake’s weird smutty books. What kind of girl would be willing to share her man with someone else? Jaune was a pretty good catch, Yang could admit. A much better catch than she originally assumed. She’s told both Weiss and Pyrrha, right? Jaune Arc got hot. Yang had always thought he had a bit of a cute look to him but it was overshadowed by those dweeb vibes.

Not anymore!

As his confidence grew – real confidence, not that fake macho crap he had been putting forth at first – and his skills followed suit, his body developing into that of a true Huntsman-in-training? Wow, she wasn’t afraid to admit it.

He was fucking hot.

But not enough to have two of the most beautiful, high class, famous single women as his bed slaves like one magazine liked to speculate. Not enough to have wrangled the pair into a three-way relationship, surely.

This had to be all bullshit.

That was too much woman for any man to handle. They would crush him.

Ruby didn’t believe it either but Yang suspected it was because she was firmly in Team Weiss. Urgh, wasn’t that something. Fandom had sprung up online surrounding this alleged relationship, battle lines drawn in the sand. There were those that were firmly in Pyrrha’s camp while there were those that were stoutly supporting Weiss, with a vocal section sternly against any such relationship existing between any of the parties involved.  Some even championed Weiss and Pyrrha being together themselves, Jaune removed entirely from the picture.

But they weren’t without fans.

There were many that were wholly supportive of the idea that Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and Pyrrha Nikos, world famous tournament fighter had found love with the same man. As crazy as Yang thought the entire thing was, these people were somehow the most wholesome of the bunch, defending her friends from the vitriol that poured in from the rest of the internet.

As for Blake... well, her partner was unhinged. The cat faunus was firmly entrenched in the debate, furiously defending their friends while championing their right to love however they saw fit. It was admirable on the surface but behind the scenes, when Yang had talked to her, Blake’s imagination was running wildly out of control.

Those books of hers had planted some really strange concepts in that kitty brain, hadn’t they?

Yeah, the world made no fucking sense right now but today was the day when everything could be put to bed once and for all. It was the last day of the holidays and they were all required to arrive at the school and get resettled before classes started up again tomorrow. While the world would continue to speculate and run their stupid articles, Yang could get to the bottom of this by asking them directly.

And maybe yell at them a little bit for not answering their damn scrolls!

Since Patch was just off the coast of Vale, Yang and Ruby arrived at Beacon well before everyone else among their friend group. Hauling all their things up to their room, they had everything packed away and in place by the time any of the others arrived. Ren and Nora were first, and they were just as thrown as Yang was by the wild stories.

Well, maybe Ren was – Nora and Ruby quickly fell into a debate about the entire thing, Weiss vs. Pyrrha with Nora clearly in her teammate’s corner while Ruby took up arms on behalf of Weiss.

“My sister has been infected with stupid,” Yang deadpanned.

Ren patted her on the shoulder. “Welcome to the club.”

He could be pretty funny sometimes in that dry way of his.

“Have you heard anything?”

When Yang hadn’t been able to contact any of those involved, she had tried ringing Ren and Nora but had the same results. It wasn’t because they were ignoring them, though. It was because they’d been out of range.

The CCT didn’t reach all corners of Remnant. There were plenty of dark spots.

“No,” Ren replied. “All our calls go straight to their voicemail.”

Blake was next and Yang didn’t even bother wondering what was on her mind. It was written all over her face.

“Hello,” she greeted cheerfully, instantly drawn to Ruby and Nora’s debate. Her smile was definitely a little deranged. Her partner was down bad.

If Blake had already arrived then the others can’t have been far away.

They heard them first, a pair of familiar voices bickering as they made their way down the hallway.

“—you’ve been taking up a little too much time. This is an equal relationship—”

“—acting like I’m the greedy one. How many times have I woken up and you’ve had your lips around—”

“—so loud, people can hear you two! They are already printing weird things—”

Yang pulled open her door, stepping out into the hallway – and stared as she watched Weiss and Pyrrha hang off Jaune’s arms, draped around him like a pair of barnacles.

“He just likes my mouth better than yours,” Pyrrha said smugly. “So I coax him awake with it to start the day. Isn’t that what a good girlfriend would do? His number one?”

Weiss scoffed. “You’re just a cum hungry slut. Don’t pretend you are doing it for him.”

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. “That’s rich, coming from you, Miss Get-Me-Pregnant.”

Jaune spotted them first, his expression resigned as they continued to throw barbs at each other around him.

Yang gaped stupidly.

“Hey guys,” he greeted. Then he looked sheepishly around. “Uh – we have some news?”