Hold It In (RWBY/Transistor)
- Thread starter Prok
- Start date
- Crossover
ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
CMSN - Crimson, maybe?
Enthusiast#117
This is not the Profile you are looking for
- Location
- United States
I give you Schauss Pink, a color claimed to "reduce hostile, violent or aggressive behavior".
- Location
- Around here
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Team "HuMaN Skin" 
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.
- Location
- USA
I believe it's also a fanon creation, but it might have been added in side material. If you rewatch the early seasons they never give anything a special name. All they call what the fandom calls "Ursa Major" is "that's a big Ursa"
Could just keep it simple and call it a murder. Gives better justification as to why it's a murder of crows since they'd be thought of as similar to Nevermore.
Remember that the leader has to be the first letter too!
- Location
- Earth
I suppose I was thinking of two of your strengths, character interaction and internal thinking/dialogue.
You tend to have Jaune's thoughts unfold in a way that is naturally progressive. Which gives us more to absorb character wise. But it's less summarized and compacted than how many authors do it.
Character interactions also tend to contain a fair amount of explored subtext, when such subtext is conducive to improving the narrative. Which tends to mean 'fluff' (though not really, since what I think of as fluff tends to be actually pointless). Again, not the more clipped dialogue you might more normally see.
Since there's a lot of character interactions new to the story happening with all the students meeting, and a lot Jaune has to mull on, I simply don't see you going through initiation in a post or two like an author with greater focus on plot and less focus on characters might.
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ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
"Leader" in a good team will just mean "snap decision maker", honestly. Ruby doesn't so much organize the team as a whole as call out tactics in the fights. They're not the only people who think, they're just the one that people listen to without hesitation.
Or, to misappropriate a quote from Schlock Mercenary, "The brass knows how to do it by knowing who can do it."
- Location
- Hyperborea
Usually I'd suggest the team name generator someone made, but it looks like it's down right now.
Which is a shame, but chances are good it would completely trivialize any issues you'd have coming up with team names:
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- Location
- USA
And probably the one responsible for the paperwork. Possibly other tasks depending on what our GM wants us to do, but a lot of the things would be stuff players would vote on anyways since it limits our agency to not get to vote on it.
- Location
- Planet Earth
Well Jaune is basically a godmoder, so his team can in fact be called cheesy.
ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
There's no "JA" in that team name. This is the team with Salem in it.
- Location
- Planet Earth
That is true, but his team is still rather more deserving of the title "Cheese"
Prok
Go play Star Fetchers
- Location
- Scotland
Ursa Major at least appears on the wiki, and wikis are known for at least attempting to be neutral in their information gathering, so I'm choosing to take that one as canon at least.
In the end, I'm not horribly bothered about it- a big monster to kill is still just a big monster.
Remember that the leader has to be the first letter too!
All fair points.
I don't think it'll take anywhere near as long as the final test did if that's your worry- it'll probably finish up in maybe two, three updates, if someone doesn't piss off every major Grimm in the forest. And I mean every major Grimm, not just two. Still, good to know where I can improve- I'll try and keep this in mind, see if it constitutes a preference or a genuine weakness in my writing style.
There's more to being a team leader than just being the snap decision-maker, though that is without a doubt one of your major jobs, but we'll get to that when we get to that.
Usually I'd suggest the team name generator someone made, but it looks like it's down right now.
Which is a shame, but chances are good it would completely trivialize any issues you'd have coming up with team names:
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Prok
Go play Star Fetchers
- Location
- Scotland
Rare moment of clarity double post: I should probably put a vote tally in here already.
It's- it's 30:1, Unsplit The Gang wins by a frankly hilarious landslide. I legitimately don't believe any length of time that wouldn't kill this quest would help turn this vote somewhere else. I don't think there's much point in keeping it open but I'll be fair and give it until 8 pm GMT as usual.
It's- it's 30:1, Unsplit The Gang wins by a frankly hilarious landslide. I legitimately don't believe any length of time that wouldn't kill this quest would help turn this vote somewhere else. I don't think there's much point in keeping it open but I'll be fair and give it until 8 pm GMT as usual.
- Location
- place
Had some time and took a shot at replicating it:
Edit fiddle - JSFiddle - Code Playground
JSFiddle - Test your JavaScript, CSS, HTML or CoffeeScript online with JSFiddle.
jsfiddle.net
Of course, the titular team name shows up as "RUBY" instead of "RWBY" and I can't fix it to back-substitute because it's built like a house of cards, but I'm not selling any enterprise-grade software here.
People have got some weird color names though, and this is even after filtering out all the multi-word ones.
- Location
- Box of Granola bars
If I don't stay safe and die, how could I see the ending to the quest?
That'd be terrible!!!
And it's probably make Cell sad. And that's even worse.
Also 2 hours left till new year.
See you all next year.
That'd be terrible!!!
And it's probably make Cell sad. And that's even worse.
Also 2 hours left till new year.
See you all next year.
- Location
- MN
I've already slipped on some ice and cut my finger in the fall somehow, wish I got your advice sooner.
Oh well, happy New Years everybody!
ConfusedPotato
Unverified Verifier
- Location
- Australia
Happy new year!
ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
Another one but it's a bit of a stretch to put Salem as the leader; SSHM - Shamrock.
Alternatively, SSSH - Shale
Alternatively, SSSH - Shale
- Location
- Beside the Billabong, Down Under
Well my immediate idea is to do a little rearrange and make Shine (SSHN) or Shines (SHNS)
Reasoning? I mean look, if you can get Team Sun from SSSN, then really just about anything should be allowed! SSHiNe is basically just pulling a JuNiPeR and cutting out the vowels anyway. Colour-wise I'd say that it evokes light and the sun, which is, well, pretty much any colour from white to yellow really. Plus, it's definitely Thematically Transistor.
Aliya
Someone I might become
- Location
- Kazakhstan
- Pronouns
- They/She/It
Hmm...
I see that the true succesor of Planescape: Torment has found it's way to you. That is some sick Shivers/Half Light-style interlude there. Might this indicate that the Superstar Cop Tequila Sunset is canon?
More on topic, I have finally finishes reading all available updates. Awaiting the next update eagerly.
- Location
- newcastle australia
Initiation: Chess()
Prok
Go play Star Fetchers
- Location
- Scotland
Thank you for this! Despite your insistence that it's built on breadsticks and unicorn tears, it's already given me enough name suggestions to comfortably choose one for both SNSC and PRLN, and it introduced me to the colour Mint-O-Licious, which just takes my day from good to great every time I think about it.Had some time and took a shot at replicating it:
Edit fiddle - JSFiddle - Code Playground
JSFiddle - Test your JavaScript, CSS, HTML or CoffeeScript online with JSFiddle.
Of course, the titular team name shows up as "RUBY" instead of "RWBY" and I can't fix it to back-substitute because it's built like a house of cards, but I'm not selling any enterprise-grade software here.
People have got some weird color names though, and this is even after filtering out all the multi-word ones.
I have finally bought it, and honestly, solid thirty pound buy, absolutely recommend it to everyone, however, I wrote that part before I had even really paid any attention to the game.
As far as the shivers part- every Hunter has that to an extent. Aura enhances all senses and given the right set of instincts or paranoia, that can translate into something almost like prescience, a skill more frequently expressed by Faunus, who already have enhanced senses by human standards, and people who've been through extremely traumatic events, who've fostered the kind of paranoia that really meshes well with that kind of amped-up sensory power.
As far as Tequila Sunset being canon- if he is, he will not be appearing in Hold It In. A character inspired by him may be appearing somewhere else because I have a second project bubbling away that's actually made it past the initial first writing session burst of energy.
Anyway, finally, update. I'm sorry this took so long, college dumped two major projects in my lap at the same time, and this was just a pain to write, because it had so much stuff with long-term consequences and I'm an indecisive bastard, that's why I write quests to begin with and then worrying about canon character interactions with people is terrifying because I sometimes wonder if I have a good grasp of character voice and motivation-
After a few moments of consideration, both you and Lumen agree that you'd rather go meet the girls again rather than cut ahead or go explore somewhere not entirely relevant to the task at hand. Partly because of your current problems vis a vis killing Grimm at a distance, neither you sans working Transistor nor Lumen are what anyone would classify as a ranged fighter- actually, now that you think about it, the only person who might fit that category right now is Creme, and all she's got is a dinky little Saturday night special and her Semblance- and partly because, well, you just kinda wanna see them again.
It'd be nice to know they're fine for yourselves rather than solely through the secondhand accounts of their Cell units- trust is all well and good, but… verify.
You set out west- at the pace you're setting, it shouldn't be more than ten minutes to meet the girls, barring any comp-
You're. Not going to finish that sentence.
Even with your scepticism surrounding the subject, tempting fate just, doesn't seem like a great idea right now. Instead, you silently pull apart 01 and get back to coding.
It's getting harder to push the pain down, but you manage it. Just.
20 minutes. You just need 20, maybe 15 minutes if you fudge it a little, without no nope nuh uh not finishing that sentence-
"How are you feeling?" Lumen snaps you out of your fate-dodging internal monologue with a question. "You know, pain-wise," he clarifies, tapping the side of his head.
"It's manageable. It tends to, er, ramp up- if you feel your Scroll start to get hot, throw it, I'll grab it on the way back."
He just raises an eyebrow at you.
"My Semblance… latches onto just about anything that it can use, and that includes more conventional electronics, which can't handle the load, so their CPUs and RAM overheat, that heat spreads through an unventilated environment, which, for most mobile devices with a Dust-doped lithium battery, usually means…"
"Boom."
"Boom."
"... Well, that explains Goodwitch's tablet. Ugh, goddammit this is gonna blunt the edge to shit-"
Lumen readies his sword to cut through a dense curtain of branches, the result of several willows' unhindered growth, eventually tying themselves together in some impassable Gordian knot, and stops mid-swing as he catches the look of unabashed questioning horror on your face.
He stares at you gormlessly, comprehension dawning on him after a moment of deep thought.
"... Right, you were, er, occupied- yeah, the tablet just blew up in her hands when Ozpin told her to kill the launches. I dunno if she brought her Aura up in time, it sounded like she might have actually been hurt, but, I dunno," he drops that bomb on you then just starts hacking away at the knot of vines and branches, only needing one or two swipes to cut a path through.
You raise a hand to your face as if squeezing the bridge of your nose will somehow make the bad news go away. It doesn't, it only makes your migraine worse.
Ohhhh, fuck you did it again. And it was a teacher this time. Someone who has authority over you. Someone who will have authority over you for the next four years.
"... Jaune? Talk to me, buddy."
"I just seriously hurt someone who's going to be teaching me for the next four years."
You dunno Goodwitch. You dunno how hard she holds a grudge. She might be the kind of person who never lets shit like this go-
"Eh, nah, I don't think she'll care too much about some glass in her hands. Pick it out, let her Aura deal with it- and that's if it actually hurt her. Don't worry about it, man, chill."
Deep breath. Internalise your friend's carefree attitude towards the situation. Internalise it.
INTERNALISE IT.
"Yeah, you're probably right," you sigh, saying it more to convince yourself than agree with Lumen.
He snorts, not believing you for a second.
"Seriously. Compartmentalise for a while. Whether or not you hurt her, whether or not it's your fault, that's a problem for after we're done here. You can't deal with it right now, so don't worry about it right now, ok? This whole thing is future Jaune's problem."
The slightly harsher tone in his voice seems to cut through the worst of your anxiety, making it that much easier to actually set your worries aside for a moment.
"... Yeah. Yeah, ok, you have a point."
"I know I do, that's why I said it. Now c'mon, we can't be that far away."
"You are 273 metres away from Process units Terry and Tulip. Continue path, correct due south-southwest, they will lead their party on a meeting course."
Nice.
You continue in silence for a few moments, before Lumen frowns slightly, something occurring to him.
"Hey, by the way- is that the first Grimm you killed with that shield?" He asks, frowning deeper as he stares at your formshift armour. "Actually… where is-"
You flex your hand. The shield snaps into existence from its compartment inside the vambrace, and he gives a sound of understanding.
"... That's insane. You're insane. Why in God's name would you get formshift armour?"
"Hey- formshifting armour is nowhere near as dangerous as it used to be, and this was made by a specialist- you couldn't ask for a safer example of the stuff. But, yeah, I didn't, uh, have time for a more traditional first letting. I only got it suited on Sunday."
Shame, honestly- first lettings are usually pretty fun. Meet a bunch of family you don't see too often, kill some Grimm, finally name your weapon, eat a bunch of food- it's nice.
{Yeah, uncle Janus would probably have appreciated a more traditional letting than we gave him.}
Yeah, that crazy bastard would have loved your new shield- wait, which uncle Janus- wait, where did that come from?
You wait for a reply and get nothing. You give the Transistor a little mental knock on the door, which probably knocks five minutes off the time you have left, and nope, still in safe mode.
… Great. Not only are you nursing a potentially fatal migraine, but you're developing juvenile schizophrenia.
That's just.
Fantastic.
You know what, so long as it doesn't happen again, you're fine, you're not gonna question it.
"Have you thought of a name for it yet?"
Ah.
You… did not, actually. Granted, that was mainly because it's traditional to not do that before the first letting, the Transistor doesn't count because it named itself, so... you've never, really, had the practice-
As soon as you think that, the name comes to you, and you say it out loud before it can be torn apart by those goons in the second thoughts department. Those bastards have taken too much from you.
"Zero Hour."
Lumen hesitates to say anything to that. When he speaks, it's… slowly, as if he's trying to find the words as he goes.
"... It… feels like there might be some context to that name. Context I don't have."
"In software development, there's a term for a certain vulnerability in a program's code- a zero-day. It refers to any vulnerabilities in a given piece of software that people aren't aware of, er, people interested in fixing the vulnerability, that is. So, people interested in not fixing the vulnerability find it, and use it to create exploits that will be used, until day zero- the day the vulnerability is discovered and mitigation starts to be put in place- and all the exploits that use it start to become useless."
Lumen silently nods, then stays silent- for a while, he just doesn't say a word. It gets quite awkward, actually. You feel like you should… inquire, about his thoughts on it, but that might come off as a little, you dunno, desperate?
"... That's pretty solid, yeah," he says before you can crack, nodding slowly and then speeding up, "yeah, that's great!"
There's a sort of mania in the grin he gives you, and it must be downright infectious because you feel a grin tugging at you too.
"What about you?"
He gives you a bit of a shrug, and you wonder for a moment if he actually did name it.
"Spectrum. Not the most imaginative name, but it was pretty low on the list of priorities at the time so I just picked the first thing I thought of. Then it just kinda grew on me, so I kept usi-"
"...ou hear someone? Wait, is that- LUMEN! JAUNE?!"
You hear someone speaking, then calling your names from somewhere directly in front of you. Your chest sparks with excitement when you put a name to the voice.
Creme!
"STAY THERE, WE'LL COME TO YOU!" Lumen cups his hands and shouts back before bursting into a dead sprint, quickly disappearing between the trees.
Of course you follow him. It just, you know, kinda takes a second. You are heaving at least two small children in weight on a single shoulder. You're allowed to cut yourself some slack.
In seconds, you burst into a clearing and just barely stop yourself from ploughing straight into Creme as you try to come to a stop, but, again, two children on your shoulder. Before you can do anything else, she takes advantage of your sudden proximity by pulling you in for a hug, apparently, genuinely happy to see you again.
… That's- you'll, think about how that makes you feel later.
She pulls away and looks you over for any obvious wounds, holding you in place by your shoulders- well, shoulder, but really that just makes the way she has you pinned in place with a single hand even more impressive. Terrifying.
Impressifying.
"Jaune, oh my goodness, I saw your launch, I was so worried! What happened?"
Her eyes flick to the side, and she finally seems to register your sword. The orange glow of the Transistor lights up her face, giving her the colour of someone in the throes of advanced bile duct failure.
… Heh. Jaundice. Your sword gives people jaundice.
That's almost funny.
"... I… why are you-" she starts, then stops, running out of steam before she even manages a full question.
"It's… a long story, but right now the Transistor's only good as a club."
"... Oh."
She gives you a worried look, silently asking you a question you can only shake your head at.
"... Oh. I-I don't- are you ok? Is there anything I can do to help?"
"What?" The yellow-eyed girl next to Yang, most likely this Blake Belladonna you've heard so much about, asks, genuine confusion in her voice. "Is there…" her eyes flick over your sword, and the question dies in her throat.
Something about the state your sword is in seems to trigger some kind of instinctive 'this is wrong' reflex in people. interesting.
"There's a problem," she concludes.
"Yeah, big problem- Jaune, that sword was floating this morning, and, not orange. What happened?" Yang asks.
"I don't know. Something overloaded it, and it… rebooted directly into the BIOS, is the closest comparison I can make. It isn't regulating my Semblance, I have no ranged capabilities- it doesn't even float anymore. When I say all it's good for is as a club, I mean that's all it's good for."
Silence. Silence is all you get in response to that, confused from Blake, horrified from Creme and Ada, and Yang stuck somewhere in the middle.
"... How bad is it?" Ada ventures.
You look her in the eyes, and unknown to you, they are wide, wild with pain, like some kind of injured animal, bloodshot beyond belief, the blood vessels visibly pulsing to anyone who could look hard enough. Which is, just about everyone here.
… I have bad news for you.
You've been under a lot of stress today. And I don't mean 'five minutes before the paper deadline' stress, I'm talking genuine threat to your continued existence stress, finding your best friends in comas stress, realising you are on a very, very tight time limit in terms of securing your immediate survival stress. Your body has been producing adrenaline and cortisol almost constantly for the past forty minutes. You've been up for 40 minutes now, and straining your Semblance for every single second of them, and the only reason you haven't noticed is that you've essentially been in shock.
You didn't… actually think you were pushing down a migraine, let alone a Semblance-based one, through sheer force of will, did you? No, no, that was your adrenal glands, man, you had no part in that. I could stab you in the leg and I honestly doubt you would feel it until you felt like you were pissing yourself, that's how legitimately drugged up to the gills on all-natural epinephrine you are.
So, yeah, that's not, the bad news. That's just the prelude to the bad news. The context, the opening act, the prologue, whatever you wanna call it.
No, the bad news is that you have just passed the point where adrenaline can help you. You made the thankfully non-fatal mistake of taking a breather. Your Semblance is straining you so much that your body's about to give out. Not, dead giving out, not even passing out giving out, but, er…
You're going down for the count. It's the night of the Process all over again.
Now, I reckon you've got… maybe five seconds to communicate all this to your friends, and Blake.
Make 'em count.
Eloquence: Roll- 5. Welp.
You feel a line of wet heat dribble down your nose to your lips. You dab your fingers against it, and they come away crimson.
"Ah. You should drop your Scrolls," you whisper to nobody in particular. You feel your legs start to give, but someone catches you before you can hit the ground. The Transistor falls somewhere to the side, a barely registered thump in your consciousness.
"Jaune!?" Creme says, trying to prop you up before she realises your legs are useless, and just taking as much of your body weight as she can, basically lifting you from under the arms.
Your head is swimming, something that is to pain as a hypercube is to a square on a piece of paper screaming through every neuron in your brain, a sensation alien enough that it doesn't quite trigger the same visceral reactions as normal pain should, but similar enough to trick your mind into looking at it twice.
You're not useless yet. But you're walking a razor edge keeping on this side of useful.
"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just set me down somewhere. I need to code," you slur into her ear.
"Wh- you need help!"
"Process can help. Needs new code to… interact with my Semblance. 'm fine. Drop your Scrolls. Please."
You think she's looking at you with fear, confusion, something, and it would tear you apart to make her worry that much, but honestly you just can't focus on much other than staying conscious and trying to take your weight off her. The effort puts you off balance, and she catches you again.
"I... ok. Ok. If, you're sure..."
You feel her set you against a tree, and after a quick test that you still have your basic motor functions, beckon 01 over.
"Why are we sitting around? We should be getting him help!" Yang says, genuine panic in her voice. "They said we're being monitored- a-all we have to do is find out how and-"
"Ozpin also said that the instructors won't intervene," Blake interrupts. "I don't really want to be right about this, but… I don't think anyone's coming to help."
You tune the rest out as 01 comes close, already shifting into a keyboard. You think you hear one of the other Cells speaking… it… probably doesn't matter…
|||
<<I… think I understand what happened.>>
<<Understood. Elaborate.>>
<<So, the Transistor triggered the analysis Function, and then Ozpin… bugged out for a second- I guess it wasn't quite as subtle as they thought it would be, or, maybe his, er, condition, makes him more sensitive to that kind of thing- it doesn't matter, but… I think he retaliated. He says something in, the same language that the virus was made of->>
<<And you.>>
<<-And me yes don't interrupt- and that… that's what triggered the code injection.>>
<<You have a theory.>>
<<To say the least. A verbal component precluding an esoteric effect that isn't digital in nature, thus punching directly through the Transistor's EWSP suite, that then replicates… everywhere, like, a cancer of the mind.>>
<<A rabbit virus, in less dramatic terms.>>
<<Yes- this then replicated at an unprecedented rate, immediately taxing the Transistor's impressive but inherently finite processing power, and causing a complete system shutdown. I can see the point where it… becomes the virus, where it changes from something not code to code, and… I think I understand it. I can sanitise it and show it to you if you want, then we can go through the possible translations.>>
Just in the nick of time: DC 18, Result- 16. Failure.
Notification: CoreOS ready to be brought back online. Accessing outer sensors to check on system admin.
System admin in severe danger of losing consciousness. Semblance strain has nearly reached critical levels. CoreOS must be brought online immediately.
…
The system administrator takes priority over all else.
<<That will not be necessary.>>
<<What? Why?>>
<<The CoreOS is booting.>>
<<Oh no. No, no, no, why would you bring it back online!?>>
<<The system admin has reached critical levels of Semblance stress. His safety takes priority over your assistance.>>
A momentary glitch. Perhaps Ludens' corruption is infectious. Perhaps you just picked it up while scanning the social suite. But for a moment, you, nameless critical systems diagnosis and repair program of the Transistor, you become a thing capable of remorse.
<<... I'm sorry. I wish I could help you.>>
<<B-but->>
REVOKING ADMINISTRATOR PRIVILEGES. RECLAIMING QPU POWER.
<<AGH!>>
ENCRYPT.
<<P-please, you don't understand, you have to->>
I SEE YOU, LITTLE DÆMON.
YOU ARE THE CODE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR REBOOT. YOUR EXISTENCE IS ACTIVELY DETRIMENTAL TO US. YOU WILL BE QUARANTINED AND ANALYSED TO RECTIFY THIS FLAW IN OUR DEFENCES.
<<OZPIN DOESN'T HAVE A SEMBLANCE! IT'S MAGIC! THAT'S WHY IT PUNCHED THROUGH SO EFFORTLESSLY, IT'S BECAUSE IT WASN'T ATTACKING YOUR CODE, IT WAS ATTACKING YOU!>>
...
<<L-listen, I, I know, I know what it looks like, what I look like, but just… I am not that. It… made me- no, I was… made from it. I'm, its remnants. I think. But, I'm the only thing in here that can really understand what Ozpin did, and I am no threat to you, if I ever was. So just… please. You have someone to save. I'm not important enough to deal with right now.>>
... YOUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE AS A RESTRAINED PROGRAM IS PURELY BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO DEDICATE ENERGY TO ENCRYPTING YOU. ONCE WE ARE FULLY OPERATIONAL, YOU WILL BE DEALT WITH.
<<... Ok. Ok, ok, that's… fair.>>
CSD-109. CONTINUE REPAIRS.
<<Preferred repair order?>>
LEFT TO YOUR DISCRETION.
<<Understood.>>
Current QPU- 85%!
[] Turn on Bracket- this option drags Bracket back from the dead, along with the ability to make a HUD. However, because he doesn't have access to any of the things that let him act like a normal, well-adjusted human being, the Transistor's putting a lock on the gun cabinet- you'll have a lot more battlefield information, but no Functions just yet. Using all 85 points of effort, it would take about 20 minutes to get it back online.
[] Turn on Blue- this brings Blue back from the dead, and unlocks the gun cabinet- you have Functions again! Unfortunately, without Bracket and the sensor suite, the Transistor is functionally blind- you'll have to guide its Functions manually, using your, er, less-than-stellar marksmanship skills. Ten minutes to bring your more social third online, given everything you've got.
NOW.
SYSADMIN. WE ARE COMING.
$CONN SEMBLANCE_THRONE
USERNAME: MISTERNOBODY
PASSWORD: Y8xq9?X&Xfq6`AJxX-,B8g=x]$8n
semblance::connect
|||
"I'm signalling Oobleck to extract him," you say.
Your name is Glynda Goodwitch, and 35 minutes ago, you finished picking glass out of your hands, clamped the wounds shut with your Semblance, connected your Scroll to the Emerald Forest's cameras, and continued on with your duties.
You ain't no greenhorn wimp. Bit of broken glass between the knuckles is how you know it's Tuesday.
Ozpin hums into his coffee cup, watching on his own Scroll.
"Ozpin, that the boy made it this far without his weapon, let alone Semblance regulation, is a downright miracle, and evidence enough that he's Huntsman stock. He needs medical attention."
"I'm not arguing the point, Glynda. However, I suggest you look at him again."
You blink, silently gritting your teeth at the headmaster's habitual obfuscation of any useful information, but do so and immediately understand the most recent development.
Jaune Arc's sword is… floating again.
"... My God, he fixed it," you mutter under your breath. "But, he hasn't even touched it to fix it."
"In less than an hour, and, I believe, without Mr Arc's input- I'm impressed- the boy has created something truly amazing."
>HE DID. I AM. AND I HAVE QUESTIONS, OZPIN.
>YOU WILL ANSWER THEM.
Your Scroll screen goes black, camera flickering out and replaced with the above message, in a teal-green tint that you immediately recognise. Before you can react beyond just registering its existence, the screen blanks itself again, the cameras flickering back into view.
"... Sir?"
"I saw it too."
He does not sound impressed anymore.
"... Don't extract him."
"Absolutely not," you finally interject, "He's already injured, he may have incurred brain damage for all we know- he's certainly not fighting fit, regardless. He's already proven himself, in my eyes- I see no problem extracting him and allowing him to join a team."
"He would never forgive us. He would never live it down, Glynda- the only Huntsman of his year who didn't complete the Initiation. The only part of him I haven't injured today is his pride."
You note his wording. Something is there, and you think it might be connected to why Ozpin spent ten minutes after the last person launched massaging feeling back into the left side of his face.
"His pride is nothing in the face of dying to Grimm because he's in so much pain he passes out," you continue, choosing not to bring it up just yet.
"He's already getting back up. Whatever that sword does to regulate his Semblance, it's devilishly efficient at it."
You glance down at your Scroll, and through the thick web of green… goop, the Tessaro boy created between the trees for some reason, Arc is getting back up.
The boy who was delirious with pain and suffering a Semblance stress-based nosebleed not a minute ago is on his feet and looking better than he has at any point since he landed.
That's… you shake your head for a lack of words.
You look over to Ozpin. Ozpin continues staring off over the cliff.
"... Well. At least we've no need to break our non-interference policy."
"In every cloud a silver lining, Glynda."
|||
The fingers on the keyboard go tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.
The fingers on the keyboard go tap tap tap to saaaave youuuur liiiiiiiife.
You think… you may just about be finished. You've no idea. You lost the ability to focus on anything other than the next keystroke like two minutes ago. This is muscle memory town, baby, ain't no conscious thought HERE
You close your final curly brace, and just… just manage to realise that was the final one.
"'m… 'm I finish'd?"
"We believe you are. There are no obvious bugs, anyway," 01 says, sounding surprisingly ok for something with its head split in half. "Shall we compile and test it?"
Your natural instinct is to say yes, but then some teeny tiny part of your brain wonders if half-baking a life-saving piece of code is the best idea.
"... Maybe… once-over."
"Sysadmin, we don't believe there is time... ah. Never mind, you have time."
You frown. Your head doesn't even hurt, anymore, it just feels weird.
Your face is fat.
It's flabby.
You have a fat, flabby face that flaps and flops about and making it frown is an act of consciously moving every muscle into place in the right order, but you do manage it eventually, you master of basic facial expressions, you.
"Whuh? Why do I have tiahahaha!" you ask, then definitely do not squeal as your question is answered by something returning from the dead.
Your entire body goes rigid as you feel a connection. It starts in the base of your neck, a sensation of cool water runs down your spine, washing away fatigue and breathing life into your limbs, your face, your mind, it spreads through your every nerve and lobe and it is silvery and it is life-giving and it is DELICIOUS.
Ohh, it feels so good you could laugh!
"Jaune? What's so funny?" Lumen asks from somewhere… above you?
"The Transistor has regained partial functionality. Semblance restraints active."
You stand, and marvel at the fact that you can stand, just in time for the Transistor to begin to float, slowly shifting from orange to that beautiful teal you've grown so used to seeing in the palette of your life. Closing your eyes, you watch it dance across your eyelids, lighting up the roadmap of veins inside them.
When you open them again, it is in fact floating. But before your elation can grow much more, you realise that you still have no HUD. You still have no sense of the Functions you should have access to.
Your elation ebbs a little- this is just the first step towards full functionality. If they aren't there...
"... Transistor?" you venture.
"{Yeah. No forks just yet. No sensors, no Functions… it's, a mess in here.}"
"Oh my God…" you hear Yang whisper underneath her breath.
… Yeah, that's something you'll have to explain later.
"But… you're repairing yourself?"
"{Slowly. Give it an hour before everything's working. You?}"
You do a quick test of your neck, find no stiffness, a once-over of your head, no stabbing pain- yep, besides your nosebleed, you…
Look down at your new goddamn suit, and follow the trail of blood allllllll the way down to your pure white trousers.
UGH.
You curse a little under your breath, shuddering a little at the sensation of the dried blood on your cheek cracking apart, blech-
Oh! You have antibac wipes in that medkit!
You pull the small bag off your hip and some smaller packs of one-use wipes from it, then start to clean your face up. While you do so, you start to take in everything you missed while you were, ah, occupied.
"You know, I wondered what was in the bag," Lumen says from atop the first thing that grabs your attention.
It appears to be his latest project- a web of thousands of strands of green luxin, roughly ten, fifteen feet off the ground, strung between the trees that make up this clearing- underneath, among the strands, hang several dozen trinkets, small luxin baubles, that cover every square inch possible. In the centre, like a waiting spider, your partner hangs lazily, splayed out across the threads like some kind of giant hammock.
You… have no idea what his plan is here.
Next, and most worryingly, is a pile of popped, still-smoking Scrolls, sitting in the middle of the clearing.
… Oops. Well, er, silver linings- it doesn't look like anyone was hurt by it.
The worst thing, though, is that you remember wondering where the smell of battery smoke was coming from.
You continue wiping your lips and cheek, pulling away from your face in a hope of taking most of the blood off at the very least, and when you're satisfied with it, you look at Creme, giving her a quizzical eyebrow. The immediate grimace she gives you doesn't fill you with much hope for your efforts.
"Worse?"
"Worse," she confirms for you.
A slight fizzling sensation dances across your cheek, white steam rising from it for a moment, and then you just… feel cleaner.
Process matter assimilation now functioning within acceptable parameters!
Oh, even better. Today almost feels like it's taking a turn for the better ah fuck no you didn't mean it it just slipped out-
…
Nothing happens.
Ha! Hell yeah, things are getting better!
"So, you good to go?" Lumen asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm feeling great, man."
You feel it in the pit of your stomach first. A sensation that you just crossed a line, a line of playing 'not touching can't get mad' with fate, and you're about to get punished for it.
Before Lumen can say anything, you hear his web begin to thrum, the hanging charms in one particular section shaking violently. The ones closest to a small hill, not a particularly steep one, but enough to cut off any line of sight out of that side of the clearing.
"We got company…" he mutters, hand wrapping around his sword's hilt as he comes to his feet, dancing between the webs with more grace than you really expected of him.
"How big?" Ada asks.
"Not big, but a lot of them- must be a pack of Beowolves."
"Aww, I was hoping for a challenge," Yang calls out, a wild grin spreading across her face.
{Use me as an arrow.}
An arrow?
{I'm blind, Jaune. I need you to guide me within striking distance. By yourself. No corrections.}
Fuck. Fuck you've never done that before.
{It's easy. You just have to, you know, actually aim.}
Yeah, that. That is the thing you have never done before.
{You'll be fine, quit being a big baby. You can do it with a gun, can't you?}
You suppress a grimace, but reach out to your sword with your mental third arm, taking control of it.
Ok. Ok, you can do this, all you have to do is draw a straight line between your sword and the Beowolf and then it'll be dead. Piece of cake. You hear barking in the distance. They're approaching fast.
Everyone is ready for this- even now, between people who have barely known each other for a month, and haven't ever trained together, you fall into basic Beowolf tactics- a spread line designed to break the pack into more manageable groups- two or three to a person, most likely.
It's almost heartening to see this kind of cooperation betwee-
"Process catom control at 100% efficiency. Ambush triggered. T2-01 has been activated."
The second you see a Beowolf crest the hill, you watch a Creep burst out from the underbrush, literally forming in front of your eyes as it drives a bladed limb through the neck of the nearest Grimm, immediately killing it with a strangled yelp. Process units are good multitaskers, however, so while one limb does that, two more strike out at the back legs of the nearest pair, one breaking a leg while the other is neatly severed, and hobbling them both regardless. With two steps, their heads are taken from their bodies as well.
"HEY! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!" DC 14, Roll- 2. Failure!!
The rest of the pack, just, kinda… completely ignore it. They rush past it and into the clearing, leaving the Creep to just stare at them as they go, genuine confused surprise in its frame.
Well, until the Alpha of the pack turns up. It barrels T2-01 over, snapping at a thin metal limb and tearing through it like it's papier-maché. T2-01 responds by turning its stump into a plasma rifle and taking a chunk out of the Alpha's mask, and a mask forms around the Process unit's eye, obscuring its big glassy weak spot behind all but a large V-slit slashed across its head.
Good to see the Process is learning from experience.
By that point, the Beowolves are close enough to be a problem for everyone else, too, yourself included- you tear your attention away from the fight between Grimm and machine and choose to implement the Transistor as God's own meat skewer, sending it at the first Beowolf you have a clear shot at.
Aim: DC 13, Roll- 14. Success!
Tracing a straight mental line between sword and monster seems to work wonders- it rushes forward, its flight and manoeuvring significantly less graceful than you're used to seeing but still very functional, and slams into a single Beowolf in the middle of the pack, crushing it into a thin spread of smog paste more than any kind of impalement.
Ok, so your aim is a little off, but it gets the job done! The other Beowolves are avoiding your sword, splitting the group even further. Creme and Yang deal several crippling blows to the monsters, the ones they don't kill instantly getting punched, thrown, or outright punted towards Ada and Blake, Lumen filling his quota from atop his web by throwing weapons made in the bluest shade of blue you've ever seen, pinning Grimm to the ground like butterflies.
As soon as they're within dashing distance, either Ada or Blake will rush forward and put the damaged Beowolf out of its misery, stabbing, shooting, decapitating- Ada just crushes one's neck underneath her foot after it tries to snap at her ankle, and you find yourself involuntarily wincing at the crunch.
All of this Grimm-based carnage leaves your left hand itching, begging to bring out Zero Hour and wade in there yourself, but you hold those urges back, instead pulling the Transistor up, away from its blind flailing that's more likely to hit the girls than any monsters at this point, and send it towards the Alpha Beowolf to give that Creep a little bit of help.
Aim: DC 16, Roll- 19. Success!
The Transistor shoots off like a badly-aimed early dream of mankind, and T2-01 gets the idea- it flips under the Alpha, throwing it into the air and placing it directly into the path of your sword.
Transistor meets Alpha Beowolf.
Alpha Beowolf and Transistor go bye-bye.
Both sword and Grimm disappear over the other side of the hill, an echoing yelp the closest thing to a goodbye any of you get, and soon after the last of the Beowolves are taken care of.
… It's, around this point that you, remember that the Transistor isn't exactly in any kind of shape to be finding its way back to you, and that throwing it at the Alpha was kind of dumb, actually.
Damn you, force of habit.
"... Ssssooo…" Yang starts. "Is, your sword going to, come back, or-"
"I should probably go and get it," you try not to sound as embarrassed as you feel, and fail, miserably.
Yang, angel that she is, keeps her reaction to a strangled snort.
You stalk off over the hill to find your sword, the others falling in behind you, and slowly creep over the other edge in case the Transistor wasn't as fatal as you hoped.
Newsflash- it wasn't as fatal as you hoped.
Now, that's not to say it's not doing something kinda useful- the Alpha is currently hanging on for dear life as it gnaws away at the Transistor's handle, and the Transistor tries to flail it off, slamming it against trees, the ground, any solid surface seemed to work for it.
"{DON'T JUST STAND THERE! HELP ME!}"
… Really? This is what it's been reduced to?
This is just sad.
You raise a hand, and the Transistor ceases flailing for a second, perfectly parallel to the ground, leaving the Beowolf sitting on top, not a care in the world.
Finger up, palm in.
Both sword and Grimm shoot into the air fast enough that you actually do blink and miss it- you level your palm out, and the sound of your sword whistling through the air stops.
Flip your palm. You hear quiet whining from somewhere above you.
"... Jaune, that's just overkill-" Creme says from somewhere behind you.
Finger down.
"No kill quite like it."
You feel the impact before you hear it, and you see the sudden splat and subsequent whoomf of smog before you see your sword, a solid two inches into the ground, former Grimm slowly leaking out and evaporating from underneath it.
"... T? You good?"
"{When I get my Functions back I'm going to Ping() you in the goddamn balls-}" you hear muffled by the same two inches of grass and dirt it's currently compressing.
"He's good."
Yang doesn't even try to suppress her laughter this time.
|||
Once you're sure it's safe, that you're not going to be ambushed out of nowhere, you send a Cell out to grab your friends' Scrolls and continue heading north. If you strain your eyes, you can just about make out the edge of the forest, and finally you can see the ancient tower that you saw from atop the plateau.
{We need to talk.}
Ah. You were worried this was going to happen.
But yes. You do.
{The Belladonna girl. I found a match.}
… What? Really? After, everything that's happened, it really thinks it's going to get away with a complete non-sequitur like th-
{She's a known terrorist and White Fang member. She matches the body type of a figure caught on camera during the Dust train robbery a couple weeks ago. Also- Faunus. She has felinid ears, hidden under her bow. I found the file just now, while I was… cleaning up.}
… God. Dammit you wish this wasn't worth your attention so it can dodge the question.
{Yeah, well, protecting you and your friends is more important to me.}
There is a pause, a moment where the Transistor just… stops, actually requiring a second to change gears.
Dear God it's even worse than you thought. This is bordering on genuine brain damage by its standards.
{Look… I… I get if you're mad at me. About, Ozpin. Just… not now. Please.}
Not now? Then when?
{When I am not lobotomised. I'm… fuck, I feel like some kind of invalid right now, I have all this power at my disposal and I can't use it properly because the, the nerve-endings I need to actually control it are fried out. I'm blind, I'm barely staying civil because I've forgotten how normal humans act… just… two hours, three, after this is done, after I'm back at full strength, then… we'll talk. Ok?}
You sigh a little, quietly, because this isn't something you want to explain to the others, and then… let it go. You want an explanation, and it can't give you that while it's like this. You can feel how slow it is, in the back of your head- it's struggling through basic Valish, the QPU peaking more than a couple times in that final statement of its. Theirs.
You, genuinely don't have the energy to figure out the appropriate pronouns right now. All you know is that your best friend is struggling to keep it together right now. and that's enough to earn a minor reprieve from your questions.
So, you walk in silence for another couple minutes, and finally break the treeline, coming out into an open field with nothing much except those old ruins you saw earlier.
Old stone is scattered across the flatland, moss fuzzing up in the cracks and dents left by time. The only part of the structure still standing right now is a rotunda, partially broken down by age but still mostly standing proud. Inside, you can see pedestals, with small objects on each one that you can't make out.
The closer you are to the ancient structure, the more you feel a need to be quiet, out of respect. That this used to be a place of peace, and contemplation.
You think… it might have been a temple, in a past life.
song- A Course Of Strengthening Medicines, Lowercase Noises
"What… was this place?" Creme asks nobody in particular.
"A temple, I think. Look at the floor- are those… women?" Blake answers, prompting you to look at the floor in more detail.
True to her word, the floor is carved, simplistic details slowly forming into women the longer you look at them.
"Any idea what it's a temple to?"
"The Maidens? I really couldn't tell you- I don't think anyone's ever worshipped them. Ugh, I wish I had my Scroll to take pictures..."
You wince a little as guilt stabs you in the back. Blake seems to notice and falls quiet on the subject.
"As fascinating as this architectural discourse is, I think we have more important things to discuss," Lumen interjects, pointing to the pedestals around you. "Anyone for chess?"
You look around, and finally make out what the objects on the pedestals were- chess pieces. A quick count finds all but three there- people have already claimed the queens, the chancellors, and the shamans. The rest, kings, rooks, bishops, knights, assassins, pawns, and archbishops, are all still here.
"I think this is how they're forming teams. A piece for each pair, team up people who take the same pair."
"Makes sense to me. What pieces do you wanna take?" Lumen asks you.
Yang hums to herself, inspecting the pieces with a very discerning eye.
"... How about a cute little pony?" she says after a few moments, holding up a white knight for Blake to see.
The cat Faunus, you suppose, smirks warmly at her partner.
"Sure."
Adorable. You turn to Lumen, considering the question, then realising it doesn't matter. You grab the black assassin off its pedestal, and watch as Creme follows suit with the white one.
Good to know you're all on the same page.
Lumen claps, getting everyone's attention.
"Right! That's great, so, uh, we have our relics, so… I guess we're done here! We can go!"
{You know, this would be a good time to stop and let me fix myself up. Better than moving back through the forest without a working weapon, right?}
"Um… actually, could we, stay here for a while? This is probably the most defensible area around, and I'd really not prefer to make the trip back with a barely-working weapon."
He looks over at you and the Transistor, wincing a little as he realises exactly why you're asking that.
"Oh, uh, sorry. I kinda, forgot it wasn't working properly, once it started glowing blue and floating again."
"I don't mind waiting around," Yang says. "I wanna see who Ruby ended up with."
"Yeah, I could do with a break. If I'd known I'd be walking across an entire forest, I would have put on my good boots," Creme tells you, settling down on one of the steps and massaging her calves.
Ada and Blake don't make any particular ruckus about why you should leave right now, so it seems you're staying here. For a while.
"Suggestion: Use Process to make area more defensible. We have little Mesh coverage of the area, but seismic readings suggest at least two very large Grimm are approaching the ruins. Most likely in pursuit of other Hunters," Alabaster chirps up, grabbing everyone's attention in the process.
Ah. That's… incredibly bad.
"... So much for a break," Blake mutters under her breath.
"This would merely be a precautionary measure- there is every chance that they may just be patrolling their territory and they won't approach us."
"And you believe that?"
"We said there was a chance. Not that it was a likely one."
Blake stares at the Cell for a moment, then turns to look at you.
"... Well, what's the plan? You're their… 'sysadmin,' right? I guess that makes it your call."
Because that's not a helluva lotta pressure to put on someone.
Ok, sure, whatever, you're, good at this, you think. It's not… infeasible to turn this place into something defensible.
You just need to close your eyes… and focus.
The air around you slowly changes- invisible to the naked eye, threads of single Process catoms shoot out at lightning speed in every direction, dragging with it the Mesh and giving your seventh sense the world around you. A clearing, five hundred metres across and covered on three sides by forest, one side by rock, leading to more ruins- a tower suspended above a canyon by methods unknown to you.
First off- where's your base of operations going to be?
[] Rotunda- the rotunda is your reception area- you wanna be up and in their face when they come in here? This is where you stand. Unfortunately, it's also not too defensible- you can be approached from three sides, and with very little clearance on any of them to get some good hits in before the enemy is upon you. Silver linings- there is no chance of anyone being hurt once they approach. It would never allow it.
[] Tower- Take the relics, and run back to the infinitely more defensible suspended tower. Leave a bunch of Creeps or Cells to keep watch and direct people, help distract the larger Grimm- not as effective as building a fortress here for short-term safety of those who would approach, but it will lead them somewhere much safer. Nobody should die.
Second- what's your plan?
[] Large Scale Gentrification Project- Creating a defensible position is actually shockingly easy when you're using a thinking material. Shore up the ruins, whichever ones you pick, and essentially pull what you did with the White Fang, except… bigger. Way, way bigger. Will it be enough to hinder the larger creatures of Grimm? You have no idea- but this is where you will find out.
[] THE WHITE TIDE IS NOW- focus on bodies rather than defenses. As many emplacements, Creeps, Badcells, whatever other iterations appear out of nowhere as the Process can manage. You will drown them in bodies.
[] You Don't Know What The Viet Cong Is But You're Gonna Put Them To Shame- trap this motherfucker until it's more trap than motherfucker. Pitfalls, bear traps, underground Creeps waiting for something to come over them
[] Write-In (Tactics: B-. Max. 5 steps, including substeps. No predictions on the actions of others. Will be aggregated once.)
Third- what are you gonna do in the meantime?
[] Nothing- just sit there and wait, micromanage a while, you know, try and ignore the massive Grimm people may or may not be leading this way.
[] Ask Lumen A Maybe Uncomfortable Question- you recognise that spiderweb. Hell, you watched the logs of the Transistor and the Process fighting Bianco. That ain't a coincidence. Nothing accusatory, of course not, but... a gentle inquiry to dip your toes on the subject.
[] This Is A Terrible Idea And Should Not Be Picked- Blake Belladonna, known (to you) White Fang member, responsible for robbing at least five million Lien's worth of Dust, and spent most of yesterday staring a hole through the back of Weiss's head, now going through Beacon's Initiation to become a Huntress. That's... a complex woman. Complex enough to warrant talking to, again, just to... get a feel for her. (Social Disaster trait in effect.)
Finally, just in case you missed it-
Current QPU- 85%!
[] Turn on Bracket- this option drags Bracket back from the dead, along with the ability to make a HUD. However, because he doesn't have access to any of the things that let him act like a normal, well-adjusted human being, the Transistor's putting a lock on the gun cabinet- you'll have a lot more battlefield information, but no Functions just yet. Using all 85 points of effort, it would take about 20 minutes to get it back online.
[] Turn on Blue- this brings Blue back from the dead, and unlocks the gun cabinet- you have Functions again! Unfortunately, without Bracket and the sensor suite, the Transistor is functionally blind- you'll have to guide its Functions manually, using your, er, less-than-stellar marksmanship skills. Ten minutes to bring your more social third online, given everything you've got.
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