Hold It In (RWBY/Transistor)

Señor Salsa said:

He's a nasty piece of work. I assume he's a big part of the Ada plotline?

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Can't give you that one for free, champ.

Frankly, I'd rather stay as tight-lipped about it as possible. That's not to say you can't guess some stuff, though.

Dream Logic said:

Also, was than an intentional reference to 'I have no mouth and I must scream'?

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... Beyond her literally having no mouth and needing to scream, not, that I'm aware of.

Redshirt Army said:

I don't write omakes for the rewards - I do them because I love writing for settings that grip me.

I will say that the "3.2k" number you threw out inflamed my competitive spirit a bit, but ultimately, the omake is done when it's done, and forcing 200 extra words just to hit an arbitrary benchmark didn't sit well with me.

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Honestly, if I'd made it any lower, you'd probably be sitting pretty at 500 points already. This really is an economy that's been set up, and setting the bar any lower would have just led to inflation. Not to mention it lines up quite well with the Beta Testing threshold, so, it works. It was hard finding a balance between what would be accessible to people and what wouldn't let you gain thousands of points in a week. I have to keep things kind of balanced, after all.

Still, thank you for being honest- I'm not sure what came over me, but it's passed now. I blame that quest analysis thread- shit's like a fucking boogieman for me.

Anyway, it's been about two hours, so I'm ready to bring this full circle! The final interlude, and with it, we're finally going back to everyone's favourite giant computer-sword wielding dork!

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"... Eesh. Went over this place good, didn't he?"

"You don't say."

You don't bother questioning your partner's oddly obvious comment as she stares at the carnage in front of you, watching with those blank eyes of hers. You know that's not right, she's perfectly intelligent, but those eyes, with that constant, dull smile, it's like... she's not taking it in, really. It just... slides off her.

... You decide, trying to ignore your deputies as they rush outside to bring up dinner, that you kind of envy her in that regard.

"Go help the deputies. I'll start logging." You tell her, drawing a small humming sigh in response. As the blonde bob leaves your peripheral vision, you walk inside, pulling your Scroll out and opening the voice recording program as you take pictures of the aftermath.

"Date, Saturday 2nd of July, location, 'Vacuo 89,' gods know why- at a glance, ten victims, fitting with the MO of subject Lee, Boriah. As much as mindless death and violence can be called an MO. Refer to file 57-E, under threat level 'Titan' for previous reports."

You walk through the bar, documenting in as much detail as possible the carnage Boriah leaves in his wake, keeping as neutral a tone as you can, despite your stomach's roiling.

No matter how much you do this, you just can't get used to... how one person can be capable of this. Emotionally. Mentally.

It continues like that, you monologuing in as impartial a tone as you can the injuries and death wounds of each person.

Then you come to the girl. Or, what's left of her.

Despite yourself, despite your best efforts to compartmentalise, one thought slips through.

She couldn't have been out of school.

Mid-description, you burp a little, bringing up a mouthful of bile that leaves you wincing a little, and you quickly swallow it and cough a little before the taste can linger, continuing as if nothing had happened.

"-Female, no older than school age, remnants of armour within chest cavity- presence of weapon unknown, but presumed to be Huntress in training. Signs of exsanguination, positioning and... special attention to her body, point to her being the centrepiece of one of Boriah's traps. Beginning search for Oculus Glyphcraft, normal precautions will be taken."

... God this always sucks Ursa sack- turning the Scroll towards you, you trigger the camera flash in both eyes, blinding you completely for a moment. As the whiteness begins to fade from the outside in, you wipe the tears away and watch from the edge of your vision, looking at the walls, the streaks of drying blood creating something altogether much worse. Even seeing as little as you are, you can feel the symbols and lines... clawing at your mind, looking for a way in.

Some would just tell him how many people looked at them. Some do so much worse. Most do both.

Before your blindness fades, you take your weapon, a collapsible bec de corbin, and try your best to scratch away the key lines of the glyph, listening for the telltale signs of Aura being released. He never leaves more than two or three in any one place- as much of a monster he is, he's never had the patience to properly trap a place.

"Oculus Glyphs are present, as usual, possible effects can only be guessed at, since direct observation before destruction is, obviously, impossible." Turning away from your scroll, you call your partner in.

"Arc, your turn."

Walking in, two still slightly green-faced deputies in tow, Juniper Arc surveys the scene once more, that dull smile never leaving her face.

"Time for clean up?" She asks.

"I've gotten everything I can. Careful, the glyphs are on the walls past these pillars. I've scratched out at least three, but keep your eyes forward anyway."

She gives you a sighing hum to confirm she heard you before laying her hands on the first person she comes across, a man strung up to the rafters by... ech. Her Aura flares, and spreads to the man, unwrapping him from the rafters, and pulling him back together. In seconds, the corpse is... spotless.

Like he just fell asleep, and never woke up again.

Laying him down on the floor, you hear Juniper sigh again, and note her smile waning a little. The deputies- look, if this pair makes it more than a month, you'll learn their names, until then, they're cannon fodder- watch with equal parts wonder and horror as she does the same for everyone on that side of the bar, unsullying their bodies.

You watch one of them as the pair of fox ears on top of her head begin to twitch. Frowning, the girl starts looking around, searching for something.

"What is it, girl? Found something?" The other asks, earning him a reprimand in his monthly report. Juniper, as always, is oblivious to what's happening, focused on restoring the bodies as best she can.

Instead of telling him to piss off, the fox Faunus turns to look at you, mouthing a phrase that stops your heart.

One person, behind the counter, still breathing.

Your legs catch up to what she said before your head does, sprinting to the bar as quickly as possible, just about managing not to slip in a puddle of still wet blood, and you almost wind yourself on the counter as you lean over and see a woman, crying, clawing at the empty space where her mouth should be, already scratched to hell and back. Your arrival only makes her scream, muffled by, well, the obvious thing.

You turn back.

"Juniper! Get over here, we have a live one!"

To say you saw her make her way across the bar would be to lie. As soon as you finish your sentence, she's there, behind the bar, startling the girl even further into her chosen corner.

"Shh... hey, hey hey hey, I'm not gonna hurt you." You hear her coo at the girl, her voice as tranquil as her smile. "Give me your hands."

When the barmaid just draws in closer, Juniper puts hers out, palms up, and after a moment receives the hands she asked for. Her aura, a light, somehow dusty blue, flows over the girl. For a moment, it only illuminates the horrors inflicted upon her, before brightening further, just washing them out of existence.

Once the light fades, the girl is pristine.

Taking her hands back, she lightly brushed her fingers over new lips, opening them slightly and feeling the cold air of a gasp between them, before she breaks down crying again, throwing herself at your partner.

Deciding to... leave them to their tender moment, you look at the counter, and see five separate glasses sitting there.

One strawberry daiquiri. Two Sex On The Beach cocktails. One Bloody Maiden. And a White Atlesian. You don't even need to look at them to know, anymore.

Still... one lived!

That's... you look over the corpses, laid out on the tables and the floor, complete, now untouched, able to be identified and given proper burials.

You sigh, knowing that telling yourself that one living through this makes it any better is just a lie.

... Doesn't mean you don't want to believe it sometimes.

Ok look I will 100% own up to this fuckup here, this is entirely my fault because I tried to do it on mobile, but, uh, the Ada interlude's borked.

In that, it's become the Creme interlude because I wanted to swap them around for the sake of the flow from character to character, I did the same with the Creme interlude except that one didn't seem to stick for some reason, so now I have two Creme interludes, and no copies of the Ada interlude anywhere. Not in google docs, not on my phone's clip tray, it is, nowhere. Apparently, it's the one interlude I finished in a single sitting, so, uh, if someone happens to be keeping an archive of every chapter for personal reading, here's your chance to put that to use.

I'm not even sure how that happened, I distinctly remember swapping them around properly, but apparently not. Great.

Rewriting it probably wouldn't take too long barring personal reasons since the chapter's completely figured out, but if someone feels like saving me three or four hours, that would be great.

Edit: It's back up! Thank you to a mod I won't mention again because I'm pretty sure he's getting sick of it!

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Blue and Bracket, as usual, were right- visiting Teal did make you feel better. Soon, you left the office, with a promise that you can come and see her at some point to scan her Semblance, a prospect she seemed… really quite interested in, you realise as you think on it.

The train's rumbling suddenly closes in as the fields of the Agricultural District give way to blackness in less than a second as it enters the tunnel.

Signal lost.

The webpages you were browsing suddenly blink out of existence, leaving you to adjust to a world where your sight is not 40%, er, site.

{I'm sure you can live without cat videos or children's cartoons or whatever it is you veg out on the train with for like ten minutes.}

Hey, Camp Camp is art and you know it!

Statement technically true.

Blue's snickering does nothing to improve your mood, and instead of responding, you pull up a reading app, opening a fantasy novel you've been chewing your way through over the past week.

Sure, the protagonist is a foppish milksop, his companions are infinitely more interesting and only explored through him, the rogue is either a brilliant piece of writing on the topic of mixed-heritage kids, or just an excuse for the author to be low-key racist, but you have some faith there, and the various races are interesting, seeming to take different aspects of humans and Faunus alike and expanding them into their own species, then some completely out-there ones- people who've died before their time, their shades risen from the grave to continue living for them until they're done, barely-corporeal beings that suffer from spontaneous ascension to a higher plane of existence...

You enjoy it, at least.

A chapter or so is chewed through by the time the tunnel opens up again, the sun blinding you for a moment before the industrial district fades into view.

The sight is... breathtaking, more than ever. You find it odd that such a beautiful view can exist on a route you've travelled five times a week for four years.

Unlike the residential or commercial districts, where compact, almost squat buildings with brick façades and an almost homey feel to them, streets tight and quiet, are the norm, the industrial district is dominated by monoliths of glass and steel and polished stone, unbidden by the resource squeeze of the other regions of Vale, big companies throwing their economic weight behind the skyscrapers, the railways winding their way between them like veins and arteries, the people, their lifeblood. The setting sun glints off them, its reddening visage reflected in a thousand different mirrors alongside the bruising sky, slowly dipping below the horizon, bringing the world into twilight.

Even now, though, lights are turning on in the few places the sun cannot shine, covering the faces of buildings in blue stripes, green blocks, each casting their own gauntlet into the arena of hazy lighting and painting the dusk sky in a thousand unnatural colours. Below you, you see streets busy with people and Air Dust-powered cars eager to get home or walking among the parks the district gives way to every now and then, alone, together, with dogs, all enjoying the little patches of nature within the busy city.

People. Living. Completely unaware of each other, the name of the person they just walked past, simply extras in each other's lives, knowing nothing about each other even though they could, it would just take a simple hello, how are you...

You feel... odd, for a moment, but you quickly dismiss it. You're just tired. That's all.

You hear the sound of a camera somewhere, and turn to see the source, gaining an eyeful of rabbit Faunus for your efforts. Camera pointed at the window, you wonder how she can get a decent shot.

{They look relatively clean. Without the flash, it should still get a decent shot, and it's not like she can open them.}

Point. You turn back to your book for a while, eyes flicking over the superimposed screen. You've got a while on this train before you reach the residential district anyway.

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Half an hour, and about seven chapters later, you're at your stop. The rabbit Faunus got off a while ago, looking somewhat unhappy as she checked her camera, every click of the button garnering another moan of disappointment. You think you saw her meet up with another girl in a beret and sunglasses.

You don't know why, but that makes you feel a little better.

{She isn't walking home alone, at least.}

"Mm."

You walk along the train to the cargo cart, pulling your Huntsman's license from your wallet as you do, showing it to the official. She checks it over, raising an eyebrow at you after a moment, before handing it back and letting you through, muttering something about Signal letting anyone in these days where she thinks she can't hear you.

Several vials and crystals of Dust and pre-infused glyphs detected on her person, alongside an awakened Aura. Possibly a Huntress in training specialising in magework, or otherwise an enthusiast. Either way, capable of defending herself, and most likely others as well.

... Huh. Books and covers.

Ok, let's see, bags, suitcases, some other weapons- ah! You spot the cyan glow of your sword in the corner you... think you left it in.

{Bracket, what have we said about scanning people?}

1. That was specifically about telling Jaune, not scanning people in general.
2. She had enough Dust to trigger an automatic scan anyway.
3. Scanning for Aura is allowed as long as said scans are kept to a binary yes/no question.
4. All specified items were kept in outer layers of clothing- jacket and skirt pockets. No privacy settings or laws were broken.

{What have we said about the letter of the rule over the spirit?}

Make better rules.

"Hey, calm down, both of you." You say, trying to placate the AIs inside as you lift it and let it float. "It's nice to know that she can defend herself-"

Mmhm.

"But, Blue does have a point. Did she seem likely to hurt someone?"

{Aside from the Dust store's worth of explosives on her, I'd say no. She probably was just a Huntress in training, which is weird, because we didn't find any form-shifting weapons in our scans, and she didn't come to the cargo hold to pick anything up. As far as we can tell, aside from the Dust and glyphs, she was completely unarmed. I don't know what to think of her.}

Hrm. That is kinda weird.

... Wait, skirt pockets?

I'm as surprised as you.

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Twenty minutes later, after some wide eyes in the station, including, much to your satisfaction, the security guard who doubted your claim to Huntsmanhood, you finally make it home as twilight fades to night, the stars and the shattered moon slowly fading into visibility.

You close the door behind you, setting your sword to the side for the moment.

"I'm home!" You call out, the noise echoing through the halls in a way that makes you wince a little.

"Yo, little bro!" You hear Jasper call from somewhere around the dining room, you think. "We're having dinner, get in here!"

Your stomach rumbles slightly, and after a gentle cough to stop it, you make your way to the voice, and the sounds of dinner being eaten.

"Armour." Your mother says as soon as you walk in, and you duck back out, unclipping your armour quickly and throwing it on a chair before walking back in. "Sword."

"It whines if I leave it outside."

{Hey!}

"Well, as long as it doesn't beg for scraps then." She relents, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

Taking your seat at the table between Jasper and Jade, finally able to take in the gigantic turkey taking up the middle of the table, a plate holding carvings from it, and various other dishes around it holding vegetables and stuffing and whatnot.

Well. You know what dinner is, now.

Reaching over, you make yourself up a plate, trying to ignore Jaana's death glare as you take some of the remaining thigh meat.

You've had a rough day, she can just carve the other leg if she wants some dark meat that badly.

"So, how did it go?" Your father asks as soon as you have some food in your mouth. Quickly chewing and swallowing, you tell them all about your day.

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You're not sure how a simple question turned into a blow-by-blow account involving your sword hovering above the table and playing holographic recordings of everything as you narrate it, the sound playing through your Scroll, but it did, and your family's not complaining about the movie that comes with their dinner. Naturally, you mentally skip past some of the more, er, sensitive things, like Ada's breakdown, Creme's bullying, most of Saff's ranting... stuff like that.

As you watch the simulated Dust crystal fly through the air into a digital Naia's armour, you can't help but smirk a little at the twin's reaction.

""No way!"" Jade and Julia shout together, watching it plink through the gap between his helmet and his chestplate.

"... Screw you, Jaune." He says, one of the AIs thankfully censoring some of the cruder language spoken throughout the fight.

{You're welcome.}

Gotta keep it family-friendly.

"Way. I have no idea how I did it, but I did."

You watch Naia go up in flames again, and find yourself grinning a little at the sight.

… You are so fucked up.

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"So you just... gave up?" Jasmine asks, cracking into one of the Baked Mantles your big sister made, scraping some of the fruit coulis spread on the plate with it. Despite the caramelised meringue covering it, the ice cream inside is still cold, the sponge around it not even warm.

{Truly, basic thermal insulation is a wondrous thing.}

Quiet, you.

"I mean, yeah- I could barely walk, Lumen was sick, Ada wasn't doing too great either, and Creme getting hit would have hurt us just as badly. We might have won that fight, but... we'd won already."

Silence takes its place at the dining table, and you use the moment to break into your own dessert. The warmth of the meringue gives way to the chill of the vanilla ice cream in a way that's really quite pleasant, the textures and flavours mixing well.

"Well, I think that was very mature of you, little brother," Jaana tells you, somehow having already finished her sweet, gently wiping the plate with a pinky for the leftover coulis. "knowing when to quit is a valuable skill in life, after all. Still, aren't you at least a little curious about how a fight between your team and Salem would have gone?"

You consider the question for a moment, wondering on it for a moment. You suppose, honestly, you probably would have won, eventually- Creme proved she was fast enough to grab him, Spin() would have taken care of him easily if you tracked his movements...

But none of those really answer the question of if you would have definitely won. Sure, you can say that they would have assured your victory, but you wouldn't... know.

Hrm.

{... Honestly? I'm not sure. Salem seemed to survive on transient alliances if Moss was to be believed. At the same time, he seemed to be capable of holding his own. I'm not sure who would have won.}

I believe Salem would have won. Creme was the only person out of our team who effectively attacked him, and that was because he made the mistake of coming within grabbing distance. At the same time, as you think, we simply cannot know.

"... Jaune?" Jasper asks, gently shaking you by the shoulder, snapping you out of your minor fugue.

"... Nah. I'm not gonna dwell on it." You tell her.

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Bed!

Wonderful, warm, comfy bed!

You change into your pyjamas and flop onto your bed, your sword's lights dimming to a deep red as it floats to its little corner of the room, emulating circadian darkness for you. Teal's healing may have invigorated you somewhat, but fatigue really is beginning to set in.

Still, today's been... good. You made new friends, really... the first you've made in years. Hell, you have contacts in your Scroll that aren't your family anymore. Three of them! That's, great!

... You're going to Beacon.

It just... hits you, that you're going to Beacon. Seven years ago, you never would have bet on getting in, but... you did it!

A triumphant grin splits your face, quickly turning into a near jaw-popping yawn. Once it passes, you find your hands slipping behind your head.

"... We did it. We actually did it."

{You did it. We've just been along for the ride.}

We were essential to your victory, but not because of any effort on our part.

You shake your head a little at that, your grin softening to a smile. "Hey, don't sell yourselves short. I really couldn't have done it without you."

{And we wouldn't exist without you, so I think that's a fair trade.}

A sigh escapes you, and you pull your hands out from beneath your head, shifting onto your side.

"Goodnight, you two."

{Goodnight, Jaune.}

Sweet dreams.

You close your eyes, and sleep takes you quickly.

"Sweet dreams are made of this..." Event Roll, d1000: 420.

Moving along- look, I'm a very... blow-by-blow author. I don't do condensing time well. Mainly because I've never had much chance to write it. So, let's do baby steps.

You know Persona? Choose like two, maybe three things to do, and that's a day? Yeah, well, we're doing that right now. It is currently the 2nd of July, and you're expected to enter Beacon on August 2nd. That's 30 days and after the 4th, I'm hopefully upgrading this format to weeks instead of days, which means we are six updates away from Beacon, barring any events that might happen in between, like going to see Teal, or bumping into [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] or [HOLY FUCK REDACTED].

Everybody got that? Good! Pick three, with the caveat that picking the same one more than once may lead to... consequences.

[] Socialise- Now that you have new friends you don't have to live with, it's time to get used to the task of maintaining those friendships. I know, I was surprised too!
-[] Lumen- he seems like a bro. The kind of person you can joke about stupid shit with and just, generally a chill guy.
-[] Creme- sure, she seems a little high-strung at times, but she's nice enough, and you think she could do with the company. Your sisters must never know about this. They will find out over your cold, dead body.
-[] Ada-... You don't even know where to begin with her, but she genuinely seems like she could use a friend.
-[] Why Choose- fuck it, invite the whole gang out! You're not gonna get any heart to hearts, but friends are friends are friends. Bond as a group.

[] Train- Swordsmanship, Gunmanship, Athletics, all kinds of things need training if you're gonna be an effective Huntsman. Pick a skill you have and you'll train it as best you can for a while.
-[] Which one, if any?

[] Code- You are the hermit, destroyer of social lives. Well, your social life, anyway. Coop yourself up, and work on a new Function. May overlap with jobs.
-[] You'll get a whole post about this soon, chill.

[] Go Into Town- Oh hell yeah, time to paint this motherfucker red! Or, just wander about town, maybe find a bookshop or something, ooh, that cafe you heard about sounds nice... (5k Lien minimum to make Jaune think it's worth going into town. You have 6k, and therefore can.)

[] Acquire Moolah- You may not have bills, but some extra dosh never killed a man. At least, the man making it. Go find a job somewhere.
-[] Ask about- it's the simplest way to do it, really. Just go and ask about jobs in some shops. More likely to find steady, practical work this way.
-[] Use The Information Superhighway- go and use the internet, as all you youngsters do, to find a job perfect for you. Jobs are less stable, and rarer overall, but they will almost exclusively cater to your talents.