Fear Is What You Make Of It

Summer. The time of year when you just want to cool down because of the extreme heat. And what better way than to go to the beach.

Team RWBY have been planning this day for a couple weeks. The idea was given to them by a certain faunas whom wanted to see his best girl friend having fun instead of worrying about the White Fang.

Everyone had agreed to go to the beach with Sun. Well...almost everyone.

"I refuse to go. The only thing I would be able to do is sit on the sand and I would rather clean under Sun's bed which I'm convinced has some mold and at least five cockroaches." said Neptune with a serious look on his face. This is the 10th time he has tried to argue as of why he couldn't go anywhere that involved a large amount of water. The rest of the group groaned in annoyance before one by one everyone stood up and walked to the door.

"Fine. You don't have to come. We just wanted you to come have fun with us. But since your not coming......I expect the under of my bed to be spotless." said Sun before turning and leaving with most of team RWBY following close behind.

"Hey. I'll catch up. I need to grab something before we go. Just make sure that everyone puts on Sun screen. We wouldn't want anyone taking Sun away from you." Yang tells her partner resulting in a groan and a blush.

"Okay but for the record the sun screen you bought last time caused everyone to have a rash. Also, please stop with the puns." Blake says before running towards the rest of the group.

Yang quietly walks back into the room and sits next to Neptune whom is muttering to himself.

"I'm such a coward. I can't even get near large bodies of water without freaking out. All I wanted was to be able to hang out with my friends but...I just can't do it." Neptune mutters before he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns around to see Yang looking at him with a knowing look.

"Neptune...you're not a coward. You fight monsters and willingly jump into trouble. You even stand up for your friends which can take a lot of courage. That is something that no coward can do. Just because you're afraid of water doesn't mean you're a coward."

"You don't understand Yang. How am I supposed to save the world when I can't even get near water. Every time I try my throat and chest tighten making it nearly impossible to breathe. I've even worn a wet suit and panicked." Neptune states, his voice getting shakier after every sentence. He looks Yang in the eyes to see her eyes glowing red.

"You're wrong! I do understand. You just need to face your fears!"

"What would you know?! You have no fears! You can't possibly know-"

"I do have fears! Why do you think I came to talk to you. When I was younger I had the same exact fear. It controlled my life like it is to you. The only difference is that I faced it instead of avoiding it. At least...after a while I faced it." Yang's voice progressively got quieter as she spoke. Neptune noticed that she her eyes went back to their beautiful lilac color but as he looked more he saw that her usual joy and pride were replaced by sadness and shame.

"Neptune...Fear is what you make of it. If you let it take over then you might as well be living a dead life. Trust me when I say that fear is just an emotion that will never leave if you don't force it. I...almost lost Ruby to fear." A single tear drops onto her hand.

"W-w-what do you mean? How'd you almost lose Ruby?!" Neptune asks with concern evident in his voice. The blonde brawler leans into him to hide her tears before suddenly standing up.

She starts to walk towards her sister's bed and pulls something from the mattress. It was a photo of Ruby and Yang hugging each other. It looked almost identical to how they look know except that Ruby had a large cut on her forehead but it seemed to be mostly faded.

"This photo was from two years ago. See the cut on Ruby's head. That cut was from almost 10 years ago. My father taught her how to swim just a year before and she was very anxious to go swimming so My uncle Qrow us to the beach. He was supposed to be watching us but he had gotten a sudden call for work and needed to leave for a bit. That's when it happened. Ruby was sitting on one of the rocks when a wave pushed her into the sea but only after cutting her and becoming unconscious. I remember running over there and jumping into the water completely forgetting that I didn't know how to swim. I freaked out and got myself out but then remembered Ruby was in trouble. I couldn't do anything. Uncle Qrow luckily had finished his call and saw Ruby was in trouble. He saved her while just sat there scared out of my mind." Yang said staring at the picture with rapid tears silently rolling down to her face and onto the photo.

"I'm...sorry. I didn't realize-"

"Don't apologize. Even though I almost lost my sister that day, it was also the moment when I realized I needed to do something about my fear. I talked to Qrow about it and he told me exactly what I told you. 'Fear is what you make of it'. He taught me that Fear only controls you if you let it. He actually ended up teaching me how to swim. It took months but I was able to get in the water and somewhat swim. The fear isn't gone though. I still feel a slight tightness when near water but I don't let it stop me." She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked over to the blue haired boy whom was in deep thought.

"So...the fear never goes away. But if I fight it then I won't have to worry. Yang...I want to be able to go in water. Will you help me get over my fear?" He looks over in time to be put into one of the girl's famous near hugs.

"Of course I will Neptune. After all you are named after the God of water. Come on, let's go! My lesson starts when we get there" Yang drags him out of the room as she finished.

"Huh?! Now?! I don't even have swimming gear." Yang stops and gives him a devious smile.

"Geez. You really need to Weiss up. How are you going to get her to be your girlfriend like this? We're obviously buying some at the beach. Water you waiting for come on. Xiao Long are you going to make her wait." Neptune grabs her arm and pulls her out of the dorm while she laughs at her horrible puns.

"You know....you've really got to stop with the puns."