"Wow, Yang, you're acting like you haven't eaten in days," Nora observed as she and the rest of the combined Teams of RWBY and JNPR sat at their preferred breakfast table.
Yang didn't even stop shoveling food into mouth to think about her reply.
48 - 5.5 = 42.5, so not quite, but close enough, she thought. When she paused long enough to talk, she said, "Guess I'm just hungry. I did sleep a lot last night."
Sleep she did, but not a lot of it was very good in her opinion. It was hard to have a good night's rest when you were resting from a mission that was only a partial success. It was an axiom that was especially true after you saw the results of your failure first hand.
Nevertheless, she managed to make it through breakfast. Heck, she did more than that; she made it through both Greene and Goodwitch's classes without flinching. There were, after all, scarier things in the universe than a stern-faced middle-aged woman.
She made it through the rest of the day too, but when classes ended, she was thrown through a loop by the vibrating of her burner scroll. It was while she was walking to the parking lot through the hall. The number was Bumblebee's, so she ducked into the nearest empty room to take it.
"What's up, Bee?"
"Yang, this is Optimus Prime. I had Bumblebee patch me through to your scroll.
Instantly, Yang felt steel being injected into her spine, and she reflexively stood at attention.
"Sir!"
"At ease, Yang."
Yang relaxed to a more normal stance, silently hoping no one saw her do that.
"You got it, Optimus," she said, imitating Bumblebee when she'd heard him talking to Prime. If this was improper, then they could take it up with her partner. "What do you need?"
"Bumblebee assures me that your classes are over for the day."
"Yeah," she confirmed. "I was just about to head over to him so we can head out."
"I understand. But right now, I need you to stay put and get some rest until we contact you."
"But, Optimus, sir! I can still fight," Yang protested.
"If I had an energon cube for every Autobot who said that, we would have won this war long ago. Just because you can does not mean you should, Yang. You had a hard mission, and you've been on call almost constantly since we met. Rest, now. Is that clear?"
"Crystal, sir," Yang lamented.
"Good. Prime out."
There was a click, the line went dead, and Yang found herself slumping against the wall. She was being benched; there was no other way to put it. The worst part was she could see where Prime was coming from; she was a wreck after… but that was the thing. After seeing what she had seen and doing what she had done, she didn't care how horrible or painful it was, she had to get back out there to continue the fight.
She had to fight and suffer so that Ruby wouldn't have to.
"I should go back to them," she said aloud.
Shakily, uneasily, she got up and started walking towards the door. She forced herself to put on a brave face. They couldn't see her crack;
Ruby couldn't see her crack. She had to be the guardian on the wall so they wouldn't have to.
By the time she got out of the room, she was practically skipping down the hall with a devil-may-care smile on her face.
"So, how are we going to get rid of her?" Blake asked conspiratorially.
"Blake!" Ruby hissed. "Don't say that about my sister. We spent days worrying about her, and now we want to ditch her?"
Blake glanced over her shoulder across the courtyard where Weiss was stalling Yang in an expert fashion. At least, her keen ears deemed it to be so. The heiress seemed to be profoundly adept at speaking about an unending stream of absolutely nothing in such a way to keep the other people in the conversation pinned down and unable to move.
"I am not immune to the irony," Blake said as she turned her attention back to Ruby. "However, we are going to need to do just that if we mean to meet up with Juniper for the search."
"Uh, huh," Ruby mumbled. "We'll do things individually!"
"Okay," Blake answered simply, and then she walked away without a word.
Ruby chuckled nervously and then began walking over to where Weiss was still prattling on about a subject so boring and banal that she couldn't even comprehend it. Yang looked to be in a trance too, utterly zoned out from the world. She really hated to do this, but it was for the greater good.
Before she could do anything, though, Weiss noticed her. "Ah, Ruby! Well, Yang, I really must be off. Blake and I made plans to indulge in the finer things, you understand, right? Ah, well, no matter, see you in a few hours. Toodles!"
As Weiss walked away, Ruby was left on her own, just when Yang was snapping out of her daze. When the elder sister's gaze was finally clear, her eyes locked onto the younger like the laser rangefinders of a Shadowhost ATAR-TLA-6 precision rifle optic, which had been at the top of her wishlist for the last year. It was a premium model, and if those lilac orbs were anything to go by, utterly terrifying to look at head on.
"Hey, Rubes!" Yang said cheerfully. "I guess it's just you and me now. Just like old times, eh? What do you want to do?"
Ruby smiled to keep up appearances. She hated doing this, utterly despised it, but seeing Yang's face just then… she would do anything to protect that smile. Yang had done so much for her, and it was high time she started giving back. It was a heavy burden, but just as her mother before her, Ruby knew that she had to be the defender of the gates so that people like Yang could live in bliss. It was so much better than letting Yang be exposed to any more of the horrors of the world than she already had.
So, she thought quickly.
"Actually, Yang, I've been meaning to talk to you about this, but I can't stick around either."
The blonde's face grew concerned. "Oh? Why not?"
Shoot! I didn't think that far ahead! the small girl shouted in her head as she was speaking. "Well, it's... just... that… uh... I-have-a-date!"
Yang's expression went from concerned to clinically interested in the span of a nanosecond. "Oh,
really? And just who's the lucky guy who's stolen my little sister's heart? Or girl, I guess. I won't judge. Much."
Ruby's heart was going a mile a minute as she saw Yang crack her knuckles unconsciously, but no less threateningly. She had to do something, and she had to do it quick to get out of this situation. Her eyes darted around, frantically looking for inspiration. Then, like a knight in shining armor, Jaune Arc arrived in the distance with his team.
He waved to greet her, and Ruby waved back. Yang tracked the gesture instantly and zeroed in on the still smiling and utterly oblivious Jaune. Taking the distraction for what it was worth, the crimson Huntress (in training) activated her semblance and sped as fast and as far as she could away from the situation.
In but a moment's time, she was safe, and as she turned, she found Team JNPR rushing towards her.
"Hey, Ruby, wait up!" Jaune said as he reached her. "That was crazy fast of you. How did you manage to shake Yang anyways?"
Ruby blushed furiously. "Oh, I, uh, I told her I had a date."
Team JNPR looked at each other in confusion.
"And, um, Jaune, if Yang comes looking for you? Run."
Realization dawned on the blond's face. "You told her you were on a date with
me?"
"I didn't exactly
say it was with you…"
Ren's eyebrows shot up. Nora's mind was clearly racing to form one idea after another with giddy abandon. Pyrrha looked dreadfully concerned. Jaune wore the expression of a man who had not known sunlight in so long that his skin was becoming transparent.
"I'm dead," he said simply.
Adam Taurus was a simple man. He wanted the humans to suffer for what they had done to him and his people. He wanted a revolution to topple the world order. He wanted his darling to be beside him when the world's embers finally stopped burning. He was strong -- his strength the only thing to win Mother's praise before they parted ways -- and he wanted the world to recognize his strength.
The last few months had thrown that simple life of his completely out the window, questioned the strength he'd prided himself on. It galled him enough to be under the thumb of a
human, but having been forced to delegate to a degenerate like Torchwick had just added insult to injury. He
wanted to lash out, to wipe that smug grin off Torchwick's face, to grind Cinder's face into the ground.
But he didn't. Instead, he swallowed his pride and did as he was told, like a good little steer, castrated and obedient.
He had once sworn he would never allow himself to feel powerless again, and yet... here he was, as helpless as he had been back in the mines. Fear clawed at his heart. Fear of Cinder.
He wasn't strong enough. So where did that leave him?
He'd struggled to make peace with that, to remind himself that she was offering him almost everything he wanted: to make the rest of humanity suffer, to burn their civilization to the ground and erect a new, just system for all faunuskind, if he could just forget that a golden leash was still a leash and ignore the bit of pride within him that demanded respect. He'd almost succeeded, but the Autobot leader's question from the other night haunted him.
He could see himself, standing triumphantly over the remains of the city of Vale -- of all the kingdoms of humanity! -- and then… then, his battle would be over.
But
then what?
He'd never considered what would happen after his fight was over. Cinder had promised him that victory, with no word as to what would come after, but once he started thinking about it, it was painfully easy to connect the dots. His goal accomplished, she would direct him to serve her ends exclusively. He would spend the rest of his life as her slave, doing her bidding for lack of his own direction and fear of losing what she'd given him.
The thought sent chills down his spine.
Worse, the battle at Site 13 had opened his eyes to a world filled with things even more powerful, more terrifying than Cinder or even the endless hordes of the Grimm. Atlesian mechs were easy enough prey for Moonslice, but even the weakest of these "Decepticons" had shrugged it off. But as powerful as they were, the Autobots had agreed to an alliance -- if temporary -- with the White Fang.
And if the Autobots were to continue to wage their battle to destroy the Decepticons, then perhaps…?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his chief lieutenant opening his office door.
"What is it, Ash?" he asked.
The massive man shifted uncomfortably, a strange sight to be sure, especially with the chainsaw slung from his back. "Uh, Sunfire's here."
"What?!" Adam bellowed, leaping up from his chair. "How did she find…" and then it clicked, and his throat let loose a growl. "
Jazz."
Ash shrugged at that. "I mean, he did say he was keeping his 'audio sensors down low to the beat of the street,' last we saw him."
"That he did," admitted Adam angrily. "Let me guess. Sunfire let herself in?"
Ash nodded.
"Fine," the horned faunus relented. "I'll go see if I can't see what she wants."
With Ash in tow, he managed to find her in the commons area… telling a story. Her audience seemed to consist mostly of children, both the orphans the White Fang had taken in and the children of some of the Vacuan rescuees whose families had come looking for them and been economically stranded in Vale.
"Now, this was still early in the war, barely two and a half million years in. Cybertron still had natural resources to speak of, and this energon river was one of them. It was huge! This great sparkling thing stretching three kilometers -- about two miles -- across at one point. And the only way across in the whole region was the Emperion Bridge, an old relic from the planet's golden age that had, somehow, remained standing thus far."
The blonde-haired Autobot in human skin was wearing that same white and red uniform she had always been wearing, and again, the jacket was open. It was like she was silently rebelling against the idea of wearing a uniform, while still insisting on showing team colors. It was a very Huntress-like attitude to take, and he suspected it was because she actually was a Huntress in disguise.
Though what her motivations really were still eluded him. It was possible that she had simply grown attached to the Autobots and decided to fly her flag alongside them. There were plenty of Huntsmen who did that, usually for villages or kingdoms, but sometimes they joined bandit tribes or even the White Fang.
At least the kids seemed to like her, for some reason. The most likely cause was that they were too young to know that humans were either oppressors or criminals, with everything else being a variation. Though maybe it was her animated style of storytelling.
"So Ironhide leaps on top of the battlement," Sunfire jumped on top of a nearby table and mimed shooting a gun, "and he starts screaming that if the Decepticons want a fight he's going to give it to them. Blam! Bang! Boom! Three times, he fires with his scatter blaster, and three times, a Decepticon goes down. Then Beachcomber pulls him back down and tells him not to throw his life away."
At that point Sunfire's smile became conspiratorial. "Now, I know what you're thinking, that wiser heads should prevail, and they would wait for Silverbolt and his Aerialbots to come in and clear away the Decepticons on the surface, but as those who were in the audience and paying attention remember, among the defenders of that section of the bridge was Cliffjumper, and Cliffjumper was a 'Bot of a different kind entirely. So, what does he do? He shouts as loudly as he can, 'Come on, you Decepti-chumps! You mess with the bull, you get the horns!' So he transformed into his alt-mode and began zipping around the walls."
Adam stiffened at that. That was… very insensitive, to put it mildly...
...but not a bad line, actually. He'd have to remember that.
"Now, the rest of the Autobots are staring at this, not knowing what to do. They'd just stopped the old man from getting himself killed, and there goes Cliffjumper, living up to his name." Her head turned to look up at him. "But it looks like the rest of the story will have to wait, kids. Boss man wants to talk."
"Aww!" came the disappointed chorus of the children, and at least two of the adult White Fang who happened to be listening in.
Sunfire gave her placations and promised to continue the story some other time, and then she jumped off the table and walked over to him as the crowd dispersed.
"What's up? Hope I'm not causing too much of a stir," she said with a friendly, lighthearted tone that was so sincere it
had to be fake.
He still couldn't keep himself from cracking a faint smile. "Your very presence is causing a stir. This
was supposed to be a secret base, you know."
Sunfire actually blushed in embarrassment at that, and she brought a hand up to rub her neck in a likewise expression. "Sorry about that. Just trying to check in on our allies, make sure everyone is doing okay. Things got pretty rough out there, after all."
Again there was that feeling that she actually cared, and while he wasn't ready to believe it he was at least willing to be polite about it. "Don't worry about me. Like I said back at the prison, I'm used to things like that."
Sunfire frowned at that, and he could tell there was an aimless and boiling anger beneath the surface. "Now, it's stuff like that which makes me worry about you."
"Oh, and why's that?" he asked with a fair bit of internal suspicion on his part.
"'Cause it means you've seen the worst of this world, and I doubt you've ever had a chance to see the best."
"If the best won't help those stuck in the worst, then what good is it?" he asked pointedly.
"It's like I told you before," she said softly. "It's about hope."
"I prefer results to platitudes," Adam replied.
She snorted derisively, the sudden turn in her attitude catching him by surprise. "Then why the hell are you working so hard to sabotage faunus rights in every way possible? Do you really hate yourself that much?"
Adam could feel heat rising up inside him like a volcano. "Excuse me? My actions have brought our people respect and recognition. People look to the White Fang, and they see a force for revolution."
"Liar!" Adam winced.
That had not been Sunfire; rather, it had been one of the Vacuan rescuees. They really had to get them back on their feet or back to Vacuo before they did more damage to recruitment and morale.
"Recognition, maybe, but respect?" Sunfire shook her head. "Don't mistake fear for respect. Do you know what people do when faced with something they fear?"
"They cower or run."
"No," she said, then paused. "Well, yes, but more than that. They
wait. Because people will always try to
destroy what they fear. You should know. After all, you're doing the same."
"I am-!" he cut himself off and forced his voice lower. "I am not afraid of them."
"Keep telling yourself that," she said, turning away from him dismissively to wave at one of the Vacuans.
He felt then an almost overpowering urge to run her through, or to slap her to the ground and teach the human what her proper place was. Almost. He still had enough control to step back and realize what was going on.
Adam smirked slightly. "You're new to this game, aren't you, Sunfire? Not the first time I've seen naivete like yours. You'll come around. They always do."
Yang felt like a shaken soda bottle ready to pop, but before she could finish whirling around to give him a piece of her mind, he was already walking away to some other task. Instead, she just hmmphed and started walking back to her own path. She couldn't let Adam Taurus get under her skin so easily.
With a heavy sigh made light and airy, she turned back around and walked over to the Vacuans. She had a lot of questions for them still. She didn't know if they had been answered yet, but she was out of the loop at that moment.
"Are they treating you well?"
"I guess? Depends on the person, really. We get room and board, and for the most part, we're left alone. Some people talk to us?"
"Are they getting you back on your feet or sending you guys home?"
"Most of us have decided to stick together rather than get separated again, but yes. They seem pretty eager to get rid of us, actually."
"The food doesn't taste too bad, does it?"
"Needs more sand, frankly."
"Any injuries?"
"Yeah, but they're all from before, and we're healing quickly. That Ratchet guy really knows his stuff. Oh, and I guess the White Fang medics helped too."
On and on it went. She checked with as many as she could. Quite a few had gotten off with only malnutrition and infections, but others… that man who has managed to survive getting his arm chopped off with nothing but a dirty bedsheet to use as a bandage was a damn hero in her book.
She was about to check on another set of Vacuans when she got a message from Bumblebee over her ear comm.
"Yang, you just got a text from Maple on your scroll. She wants to meet with you as soon as possible. Something about an error coming up with the records of the last time we were there."
"That sounds strange," Yang observed keenly.
"Yeah, it does. Think something might have happened to her, or maybe she's turned on us?"
"I don't know, but either way, it could be a trap. Of course, we only really have one action there."
"Spring the trap?"
"But of course."
It was dark out by the time Yang pulled up to Maple's Garage, and if that didn't convince her something was up, the presence of only one other car in the parking lot certainly did.
Good thing I changed into my normal clothes before I came, she thought as she got out of Bumblebee.
"Cover me, will ya?"
"Don't worry, Yang. This street is covered," Bumblebee replied. "Just don't have this end up like last time."
"So you want me to fail then?" Yang asked cheekily.
With deadly precision and practice, the blonde brawler deployed Ember Celica's right gauntlet while using her left hand to open the door to the garage. It was dark inside, and Yang found herself wishing that she had donned her glasses even if they would be hard to justify. Still, there was one light she noticed in the building, coming from inside the garage proper.
With careful steps, she inched towards the open doorway and pressed up next to it. She readied Ember Celica's left gauntlet to deploy, and then swiftly stepped around to enter the large room. Inside, she expected to find a hostage scene or some sort of ambush, but instead, what she found was a beaver-tailed faunus with auburn hair pacing back and forth under the fluorescent lights next to a red Panther Chevron sports car with an expression of near-panic in her green eyes.
"Maple?" said Yang questioningly, lowering her arms.
The mechanic whipped around in shock, her eyes seeing to gain some focus back when they zeroed in on the student huntress in front of her. "Yang." That was oddly informal of her; this was only the third or fourth time they'd met.
"Maple, what's wrong? I got your text, and…"
The blonde human was cut off as the faunus advanced on her.
"Just what the hell do you think you're
doing?!" she interrupted sharply.
Lilac eyes blinked in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"Okay, let me put it another way,
Sunfire," -- Yang's eyes widened in shock at Maple's words -- "have you completely lost your mind?!"
Now Yang was feeling panic seep into the outer edges of her heart, but she stayed strong and attempted to redirect. "Maple, Maple, calm down. What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, Yang, don't play dumb," Maple said, walking up and poking her in the chest. "I saw you chatting with Adam less than an hour ago."
Yang blinked at that. Then she blinked again as the dots connected. "Wait.
You're a member of the White Fang?"
"Of
course I am! How do you think-" Maple cut herself off, shook her head, and went back to pacing. "Nevermind. The
point is that you've put me in one hell of a situation."
"You?" Yang echoed, confused.
"You-" the mechanic stopped and stared at her. She walked over to a nearby brown leather and wood chair that had seen better days and slumped down into it, her tail slipping through a hole in the back rest. "You have no idea, do you? What Adam will do if he finds out who you are, who your
teammates are?"
"I won't let him hurt Weiss," Yang declared.
"'Wei-'? Protecting the Schnee is the
least of your problems," Maple hissed. "She's
already on his hit list, and this secret of yours isn't putting her in any more danger, but what do you think he'll do to
you? Your
family? Not to mention me and anyone else who knew and didn't tell him?"
Yang felt her blood run cold as she thought about Ruby, a memory of a toddler in a wagon and a pack of Beowolves.
No, she insisted.
This isn't- this isn't like back then. This is important
.
"We'll protect her," Bumblebee's voice came through the door, breaking her out of her mental death spiral.
Shaking her head, Yang scanned the wall for the garage door control and pushed it, opening it for Bumblebee to roll in before closing it behind him. The Autobot transformed, carefully keeping his head low as he crouched and faced Maple. "We'll protect her," he repeated, "and her family. That, I promise."
"Good for her," Maple snorted, "but that doesn't help me or... anyone else."
Bumblebee seemed to shuffle uncomfortably at that. "Well, I mean, to the best of our knowledge, you're the only other person who knows about Sunfire's secret identity being Yang Xiao Long. So we'd only need to cover you too."
"If she keeps driving around in a yellow Bug while Sunfire goes around with a yellow Bug, it won't be that hard to figure out. And then there's the shot-gauntlets."
Bumblebee raised a single mechanical finger. "Point about the Bug," he admitted, then looked at the Panther Chevron parked next to them, "but I can fix that." A flickering blue beam projected out, scanning the sports car, and he transformed into a similar -- albeit yellow, with black racing stripes -- form before switching back to his 'Bot mode. "There we go. Now I'm a triple-changer. As for the shot-gauntlets… I mean, she can't be the only one out there who uses them, right?"
"They're not exactly the most common weapon out there."
"But it's not impossible, and a lot of weapons use the same kind of ammo."
"'Possible' isn't the problem," she pointed out. "'Probable' is."
"You said 'me and anyone else,'" Yang interrupted. "Who was the 'anyone else' you talking about?"
Worried green eyes looked over at her. "Tukson," she said simply. "We've talked about this before, back when I first got my suspicions after Site Thirteen. He's got something planned out, though, been planning it for awhile since Cinder showed up."
"We've heard that name before," Bumblebee pointed out. "She's the one ordering Torchwick to do the dust robberies. Who is she, really?"
"Terrifying," Maple answered bluntly. At the other two's looks, she elaborated, "A few months ago, she rolls into Adam's camp and tells him to work for her, and she'll make all his dreams come true. He refuses. She goes out, and then comes back later with some freaky powers that she uses to kill… a lot of people. Good people too; we're not all like Adam. She makes the same offer, and Adam accepts this time."
"I'm sorry," Yang said softly. "I wish I'd been there to do something."
Maple gave her a look that obviously questioned her sanity, then looked at Bumblebee, then looked back at Yang. "Huntresses," she said, shaking her head. "Listen, Yang, point is, Cinder's got plans, she's powerful, and she's ruthless. I just don't want to get caught in the line of fire."
"So why
didn't you tell Adam?" Yang asked. "That would leave you free and clear."
"That would leave me with either your death on my conscience or with Adam expecting me to lie to Cinder about you," Maple corrected. "I'd rather fade into the background, but I can't
do that if your identity gets exposed, since I'm already connected to both sides. I don't like playing with fire, but between you, Cinder, and Torchwick, I don't have much choice."
Yang snorted, amused. "Oh, that's a good one."
"Yeah, have a good laugh," Maple said sourly. "I'm surprised your own team hasn't throttled you for this." Bumblebee and Yang exchanged a look, and she groaned. "Oh, no. They don't know, do they?
That's why you came here before Site Thirteen, isn't it? To cover for you with your team."
"I… don't want them getting involved," Yang admitted. "Given the White Fang and who's on my team? Yeah, no."
"
Huntresses." Maple let out a resigned sigh. "Fine. Fine, I'll cover for you, if your big friend here doesn't mind getting a reputation as a bit of a clunker, at least."
"I'm okay with that."
There were rumors of a new Atlesian airship -- or air
plane, as some insisted -- under top secret development. At first, the rumor mill called it the "Aurora," for it was under those northern lights that most of the sightings of the alleged aircraft occurred. A few careful leaks, however, gave it the name "Skystriker." While Atlas developed new airships all the time, what made the Skystriker notable were the claims: it could fly far faster and higher than any existing airship or Grimm, and most notably, it didn't need gravity dust, running instead purely on a mixture of fire dust and air. Tech and military enthusiasts speculated at stealth capabilities as well, based on the apparent lack of anything beyond eyewitness reports and shaky scroll footage of the sightings.
Under the light of the shattered moon, five of those sleek shapes -- though not quite the same as other sightings, most notably in their lack of a cockpit -- skimmed low across the ocean north of Sanus, heading toward the coast, unseen and undetected, leaving rooster tails of water in the wake of their passing. Painted in a multitude of colors, almost like a circus, they flew through the air at a speed that defied belief, but it was still well below their maximum capabilities; they were remaining below the sound barrier to avoid generating sonic booms that would draw far too much unwanted attention, human and Grimm alike.
The five aircraft flew straight into the cliff face, vanishing through the holographic image. Inside, they continued to fly through a darkened tunnel, hitting the air brakes as they slowed to a hover before shifting forms and touching down on the landing pad. Without exterior defenses, this particular entrance relied on obscurity and certain entry requirements for defense; it required a minimum velocity, foreknowledge of the tunnel's path, and the ability to rapidly decelerate and hover. It was a combination that was difficult -- if not impossible -- to achieve with current human technology.
Air Commander Starscream, now also Vale Theater Operations Commander, smiled as the welcoming committee emerged from within the facility.
"Commander Starscream," Barricade said. "Welcome to Site Three."
"Barricade," he said, nodding at the security specialist, "have there been any more…
incidents while I was en route?"
"No, sir."
"Excellent," Starscream said. He gestured at the other Seekers with him: Skywarp, Dirge, Thrust, and Ramjet. "As you can see, I brought reinforcements. Further reinforcements are also en route."
"Understood, sir," Barricade said as the six Decepticons began walking through Site 3. The massive underground complex was a hub of their discreet transportation network. While many of the shipments could be run using the existing human infrastructure, there were elements -- such as the transportation of energon to the
Nemesis -- that required wholly Decepticon facilities.
As they walked, Barricade gave him a rundown on Vale Theater operations and their current status. Finally, his summary complete, he asked, "Orders?"
"None," Starscream replied succinctly. "You are relieved of duty. Skywarp will be taking over most of your current tasks, effective immediately."
"What?" Barricade blurted out, stopping mid-stride for a few seconds before rushing to catch up. "But-"
"There have been a number of failures here in the Vale Theater, Barricade," Starscream reminded him, "and your involvement in each of them has been a common factor." Barricade flinched. "I am not without mercy, though. You will continue to operate under Skywarp's command."
Barricade's optics flicked over to the other Seeker.
"I am aware that Skywarp lacks your level of security training," Starscream acknowledged, "but I feel even your own is proving… inadequate. This is why, among the further reinforcements coming, I elected to bring in an intelligence specialist. A more… proactive approach should garner better results."
"I see. Who, if I may ask?" Barricade silently hoped that, whoever it was, it was at least someone he could work with.
One blowhard with an ego was bad enough.
"Why, only our best, of course," Starscream assured him. "I had him pulled from stasis specifically for this assignment.
Well, their best was Soundwave, but the stasis comment obviously meant it couldn't be him. Not that Soundwave would ever serve under Starscream anyway. So, who…? Realization dawned on Barricade, and his optics widened. "Wait. You mean...?"
"Ye-e-es," Starscream confirmed. "Counterpunch."
"Why'd you do it, Jaune?" Yang demanded as she held her fellow blonde in a chokehold. "Why'd you break up with my sister after a single date? Do you just hate living, Jaune? Is that it?!"
"It's not what you think, Yang!" Jaune choked out between strangled gasps.
"That's Miss Xiao Long to you, jerk!"
In the stands around the combat course's arena, students were watching with horror, morbid curiosity, and raucous laughter. Worry, though, was taking the lead in two of the students: Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos. The two girls were locked in mute horror at the scene before them.
"Ruby, you have to stop your sister," pleaded Pyrrha desperately.
"I tried!" the younger girl replied. "She wouldn't listen. She just asked who I really went on a date with, but I couldn't answer because there was no boy and no date!"
"How did this even happen? What did you
say to her?"
"I told her we decided to just be friends," Ruby mumbled.
"Why did you even say you were on a date in the first place?" asked Weiss.
"I don't know! I'm bad at lying! Why did you guys put me in this position?!" Ruby panicked.
"Wasn't it your plan to split up?" asked Blake.
"And it was a terrible plan!"
Meanwhile, Nora was calling down encouragement, "Come on, Jauney! Kick her butt! You can do it!"
"Do you really believe he can win?" Ren asked.
She gave a small shake of her head. "Nope, not a chance."
Seeing no other choice, Blake called down into the arena. "Professor Goodwitch, you have to end this!"
"No," the bespectacled blonde teacher replied. "Ms. Xiao Long has been unusually unmotivated and uninvolved as of late, and now, she's finally showing more of that passion she used to have. You should have one night stands more often, Ms. Rose."
"'ONE NIGHT STAND'?!"
"...help…"
Ruby blushed furiously in embarrassment and flipped her hood up, hunching down to let it droop over her eyes, even as Jaune's pained screams started anew with a suplex by Yang.
Yang tried not to scream as Professor Goodwitch telekinetically suplexed her for the third time that day. She almost succeeded. Almost.
"You're too predictable," chided Glynda as she walked towards the overturned blonde. "Stop using the standard attacks; use the unorthodox!"
"I'll treat you like you're twenty feet tall. How's that for unorthodox?" Yang muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" asked the teacher from across the arena.
"I said, 'give me another shot, teach,'" the younger blonde lied as she wobbled back up.
Glynda looked at her curiously. "Yang, we've been at this for half an hour, and I can already tell precisely what the problem with your fighting style is. Can you guess what that is?"
Yang was about to bite back with some comment, but held her tongue and thought. What had been the main issue she had been having in her last few battles? …excessive ammo consumption on a threadbare budget.
Neo had dodged her shots. Barricade had simply absorbed her fire. Both required a lot of recoil boosting to fight. At the rate she was going, she would be out of ammo and lien way before she could replenish either.
"I'm wasting too many of my attacks," she said aloud.
"Good," Glynda replied with the ghost of a smile. "Now, why is that?"
Now Yang thought back to how her fight with Glynda had gone until then. A telekinetic against a brawler? She might as well be fighting a hurricane for all the good she was able to do. It was just a bad match-up. Still, that was no reason to throw the match, and that's what she was doing every time she pulled a Cliffjumper.
"I'm too direct?"
"Exactly," Glynda said simply before walking over to her. "Now, let's see what we can do to break that habit and get you thinking outside the box."
They didn't exactly get to the point where Yang was able to break her habit completely, but they were getting close. When she walked out of the remedial course, she was sporting a smile along with her cuts and bruises. It made for an interesting sight when she got in Bumblebee after lunch.
"Holy smokes, Yang. You look like you went ten rounds with the floor and lost every time," the disguised Autobot commented.
"That's kind of what happened," the blonde commented cheerily. "Feels great."
"Okay, I can sort of understand that, maybe," said Bumblebee hesitantly. In a more sure voice, he said, "Optimus called, by the way. When you're ready, he wants you to come to our headquarters."
Yang paused, eyes wide. "What? Are you serious?!" she asked in astonishment and joy.
"Well, Optimus certainly is, so I don't see why I shouldn't be too," Bumblebee said with what certainly sounded like a smile.
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
"Absolutely nothing. To the
Ark, away!"
"Optimus, are you sure it's wise to bring Yang here?" Ratchet asked as he walked up behind the big red Autobot leader.
"Do you have a specific complaint in mind, old friend?" asked Optimus, turning back around to face the white and red medic.
"As a matter of fact, I do," replied Ratchet. "I'm worried she might be digging in too deep, too quickly. Not to mention the effects of the battle at Site Thirteen and its aftermath."
Optimus let out a deep shuffling sigh of displeasure. "Seeing the effects of Decepticon cruelty never gets any easier."
"Except it does," Ratchet said with cutting insight, and his leader looked at him anew. "The emotional toll doesn't get any easier, but we have so many solar cycles of experience coping with it that we have to round to the nearest million. She doesn't. She's got seventeen solar cycles, and those seventeen cycles haven't been spent burying mass graves; they've been spent living like a member of the warrior caste before the war. Not an easy life, for sure, but a far cry even still from this nasty business."
"What would you have us do then, Ratchet?" asked Prime sympathetically. "You've seen the fire in her eyes just the same as I have. She's not going to stop. Not for us, not for anything. That very fact is why I invited her here in the first place, to bring her into the fold as an equal, so that she would try to coordinate with us instead of feeling compelled to act on her own without backup."
"What would I do?" Ratchet repeated back before pausing. "I don't know. We didn't exactly bring a therapist with us on the
Ark. I would recommend at least trying to keep her circumstances in mind in the future. You're right about her disturbing tendency to Cliffjumper though, like earlier this week with visiting the White Fang's base. Which brings me conveniently to our other problematic native ally."
"You disapprove of my reasoning, Ratchet?"
"Oh, no, it makes perfect sense," assured the medic. "I'm just worried you might not be seeing the situation objectively."
"You're concerned I might be too invested, that in trying to steer Adam from his course, I'm trying to redeem myself for failing to keep Megatron from
his path."
"You have to admit, Prime, the parallels are obvious to anyone with working optics."
Optimus heaved a sigh. "You may be right, Ratchet," he acknowledged. "I am not perfect. I am an Autobot first, a Prime second, and even the Primes were never infallible." He placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "I can only assure you that it is a concern I have considered at length myself."
Ratchet shrugged with a smile. "Well, who knows? Maybe this will all work out for the best."
"Say, Bee, are you sure this is the way?" asked Yang as she jumped from craggy tree to craggy tree.
They had traveled for about two hours along the mountain roads, broken and bumpy from lack of maintenance, going deep into the Barrier Peaks. Eventually, though, they had to continue on foot and were forced into the alpine forest that ran in the canyons and valleys between peaks. It was rough going, as befitting any path in the great divide between Vale and the rest of Remnant.
It was a beautiful path though, and Yang could not help but feel her heart be buoyed by the presence of so much natural grandeur. Soaring mountains were all about her, along with green coniferous trees stretching out to scrape the sky, while all around animals went about their business, headless of any humans or faunus that might happen upon them.
Everything from squirrels and deer to birds and iridescent insects could be seen flittering about. The birds in particular were in so many different gorgeous colors that she felt she could make a game out of counting them all. There was a red bird, a white bird, a black bird, and even a yellow bird…
Yang paused for a moment, and Bumblebee turned back to check on her. "Something up, Yang?"
The blonde shrugged before moving on. "Nothing. Just thought I'd forgotten something."
"Oh," Bumblebee muttered as she passed. "Did you?"
"I don't think so," Yang said, though even to herself it sounded like she wasn't sure.
The black bird tilted its head curiously at her before flying off to another tree. The red and the white birds did likewise soon after. The yellow perched on its tree all alone as the big bipeds passed into the distance.
In due time, they came upon the mouth of a cave large enough for even Bumblebee to stand in but shielded from flying eyes by the forest above and around it. Yang's Autobot companion directed them to move in, and so little fuss was made in doing so. This time, the blonde brawler had brought out her glasses, and so was able to see in the murky gloom.
They passed down several passages and soon came to a flattened rock face that, upon close inspection, looked a little too conveniently-shaped. On that rock face was a ridge, and into that ridge, Bumblebee's metal fingers gripped. With a mighty pull, the rockface tore apart, and now exposed was the entrance to a particularly large elevator.
The two made their way inside and closed the door behind them.
"You know, this place is
not easy to get to," Yang complained as Bumblebee activated the elevator.
"I know, right? I keep saying we should dig a tunnel or something that exits closer to the road, but apparently, we just don't have the energon for that," the yellow 'Bot said as the elevator began its descent.
Yang paused, considering those words, and when she spoke, it was with a tone of deep concern. "You don't have energon for a lot of things, do you?"
"No."
"What's it feel like?" she asked. "Does it… hurt?"
"I... kind of? Not really. I... don't know how to translate it, but I guess the best guess is 'hunger'?"
Yang felt her mouth going dry. "How bad?"
Bumblebee sighed. "It's… listen. We've been in worse spots before, and we've come out okay. You shouldn't worry, especially since things are looking up now."
Before their conversation could continue, the elevator came to a stop, and the door opened. Yang stepped out and felt her breath be taken away. It was… everything she expected and more.
The room the elevator opened onto was cavernous in a way that actual caverns couldn't hope to match; big and gaping, it felt more like a sealed stadium than the cargo bay it clearly was. Boxes were laid out in clear and concise lines, many of which she could perceive were clearly looted from Site 13. Unlike that dark and horrifying place though, the
Ark was well well-lit and inviting, enough so that she pulled her glasses up to rest on her forehead. Even the walls, in contrast to the cold greys of Site 13, were instead in warm oranges and earth tones.
It felt like walking back into her family's garage back on Patch, like she had come back home. Whoever the architect --
Ark-itect, heh -- was, if they still lived, she would have to give her compliments to them. They had clearly done a fantastic job making the vessel an inviting place.
A relative short distance away, a blue and grey Autobot wearing green goggles had been checking on the contents of one of the boxes. He was already looking at them and greeted them with a friendly wave. Yang felt it polite to wave back.
"Well, hello there, little lady. Name's Beachcomber. Heard a lot about you."
"Hi, Beachcomber! Name's Yang Xiao Long, but people call me Sunfire when I'm 'on the clock,' as they say," she said with a friendly smile. "I've heard a little bit about you too. You're a geologist, right?"
"Right you are, Yangarang. Just got out of stasis, so now I'm helping old Ratchet with analyzing this groovy dust stuff," the blue Autobot explained. "Got any insights?"
Yang shook her head.
Heh, 'Yangarang.' "Nah, can't say that I do. No more than any other graduate of Signal Academy. Doing weird stuff with dust is more Weiss's speed."
"Friend of yours?" asked Beachcomber.
"Kind of? It's complicated," explained Yang.
"Sounds like. Well, if you ever feel the need to get it off your chassis, my audio receptors are always open. Anyway, I've got to finish packing up here, so I'll leave you to it. So long!"
Yang and Bumblebee walked on, through an open doorway and out of the cargo bay, and soon enough, they came upon a much smaller room that was no less impressive to the young human's eyes. It appeared to be a gigantic recreation room, completely with televisions, benches, and tables aplenty. It was at one of those tables, playing a game of Praxus Fold 'Em, that they found five Autobots in mostly white and red colors: the Aerialbots.
The first to notice them -- mostly by virtue of where he was sitting -- was Air Raid. He rose to his feet and knelt down, extending a fist. "Hey, 'Fire."
Yang beamed as she sauntered up to him and fistbumped him. She felt an odd kinship with the Aerialbot. "Hey, Raid."
"Welcome aboard the
Ark, kid," Air Raid said. "Still kicking tailpipe?"
"You know it." She grinned.
"Oi! Can you two cool your jets so we can get back to the game? I'm about to win here."
Air Raid turned back to his fellow. "You've been saying that for the last four rounds, Slingshot, and you'll be 'about' to win it for the next four too."
As Air Raid went back to his chair, the leader of the group, Silverbolt, spoke up. "So, Bumblebee, how's city life treating you?"
"Oh, it's great," the little -- next to his fellows, it was clear, if still a little odd to think, that he
was little -- Autobot replied. "You'd love it. Just flat ground everywhere you go. Maybe you should come visit some time."
Silverbolt chuckled. "Sounds like you're living the dream, but I think I'll stay here for now. After all, who's going to watch after these four if I'm gone?"
Slingshot seemed to find that objectionable, and shook a pointing finger at his leader. "I don't need you or anyone else watching after me. If anything,
I should be watching after
you. After all, I'm the fastest and strongest here."
"And the shortest," Air Raid deadpanned.
Before the two of them could go at it, Fireflight sauntered into the conversation with the grace of an errant drunk. "Oh, you don't have to worry about us, Silverbolt. We can all take care of ourselves."
"Your cards are showing," Silverbolt pointed out.
Fireflight's eyes slowly dipped down, noticed that his loose grip on his cards had allowed them to dip far enough to be clearly visible to the table, and he slowly raised them back up along with his eyes. "So they are."
With that line firmly into the ditch of the weird, Skydive spoke up. "Say, did you guys see what was up by Peak Fifty-Eight on our last recon flight?"
"A bunch of rusty ruins, right?" asked Air Raid.
"'Bunch of rusty ruins'?" asked Skydive, aghast. "Why, those are one of the original anti-aircraft emplacements built during the Great War to defend Vale against Mantelian terror bombings. Sometimes, they turned whole mountains into bunkers, just for that purpose, and did you see those guns? Hundred and twenty millimeters, at least."
"Oh Primus, not the Great War again," Slingshot bemoaned.
Yang's reaction was decidedly different, laughing a lighthearted, airy sort of laugh.
"Something funny?" asked Skydive.
"Oh, it's nothing," said Yang good naturedly. "It's just that you reminded me of my sister for a moment."
"Oh, and who's your sister?" asked Silverbolt.
"Don't you mean, 'what's a sister?" asked Fireflight seriously.
Yang ignored the spacy Autobot, and her lilac eyes grew wide with both joy and excitement that was reflected upon her whole countenance. "Oh, my sister's name is Ruby Rose! She's five foot three inches tall, with red-ish black hair and these big beautiful silver eyes that always catch the light in cool ways," as she was speaking, the blonde removed her wallet and brought out a photograph of the girl in question. "She's training to be a huntress, like me, and she got accepted into Beacon two years early. Do you know how often that happens? Not very often, that's for sure, but it happened with Ruby. It happened with Ruby because she's just that good. She built her own high-caliber sniper-scythe all on her own, and okay, we all had to forge our own weapons at Signal, even me, but just look at Crescent Rose," at that, out came a pair of pictures of the red and black weapon in different alt-modes. "It's amazing, and she's amazing with it. She just darts all over the battlefield, slicing Grimm apart hither and thither. I don't use those words often, but I do here, because she deserves them. Anyway, the reason I bring her up is because she loves weapons and books, and seriously, she is
crazy knowledgeable about this stuff. Why just the other day she was walking down the hall and at a distance of three hundred paces she sees…"
Slingshot turned to face Bumblebee with a frown clearly visible. "Why have you done us dirty like this?"
Bumblebee shrugged as Yang continued to talk on and on about her sister, and it seemed like she left not a single detail out.
"...so she ran
up the cliff and
beheaded the Nevermore! Can you believe that? That's insane! But it's just a normal day in the life for Ruby Rose."
"Hey, Yang?" asked Bumblebee.
"Yeah, Bee?" Yang said, whipping her head around to face him.
"We better get going. After all, Optimus did call us here for a reason."
Yang's eyes widened slightly, and she felt her back getting that little bit straighter. "Oh yeah, you're right! Sorry, guys. I'll have to finish this story later."
With that, the yellow pair left the presence of the Aerialbots, with several making appreciative gestures to Bumblebee.
It wasn't long after that where Yang found herself passing one of open doors in the ship, for they were all open, and marveling she gazed upon what was within: row upon row of caskets, shrouded in the dark as a room not often used. It was, she suspected, the room where the rest of the Autobots were being held in stasis. Bumblebee confirmed as much.
"You know, the part that gets me the most though?"
"What?" asked Yang.
"I never got to know all their names, and here we are, defending their very lives against threats they can't defend themselves from. Been a long time since war was like that on Cybertron," explained Bumblebee. "On Cybertron, everyone fights; no one quits."
Yang looked up at him with an amused expression. "So what you're saying is that now you're a Huntsman, and that's weird to you?"
Bumblebee turned to look at her. "What? I'm a Huntsman?"
"Basically," Yang smiled.
"Hmm," Bumblebee hummed, considering it as he walked off along the hall. "Maybe I should get licensed, earn some money, get some dust, make some energon. Not a bad idea."
"Not a bad idea at all," Yang agreed.
"Later though," Bumblebee finished with a smile.
The two soon came upon their destination, and Yang found herself inside the command bridge of the
Ark. It was… surprisingly small. Granted, it was still gigantic to her, but for a Cybertronian, it would probably feel downright cramped.
Optimus Prime was there, as were Ironhide and Ratchet. On a screen nearby was a picture of Jazz with what looked like a transmission icon next to it. It seemed like the gang was all there, or close enough at least.
"...telling you, Prime. The next guy you let out of stasis better be Prowl. My surveillance net is good, but it's not that
good. I need some help out here," Jazz asked his leader over the wireless.
"We'll need a new source of energon first, Jazz. At our current levels and numbers, we'll only be able to stay online for a quarter of a solar cycle, half if we stretch it," Optimus replied.
Yang felt her breath stopping at that. A quarter of a solar cycle? That was… her friends were only a few months away from
starvation?! That… she couldn't let that happen.
"Any chance of getting a new source of dust then? Maybe putting some of that Decepticon junk we got from that horror show to good use?" inquired Jazz.
It was Ratchet that answered, though his voice was grim. "Unfortunately, the equipment recovered from Site Thirteen is remarkably inefficient. Beachcomber and I are working on a solution, but for the moment, we're going to need a
lot of dust to make enough energon to keep us supplied."
"Oh, of course. Like I said, typical Decepti-junk," Jazz complained.
It was at that moment that Ironhide turned his head and found Bumblebee and Yang in the open doorway. The yellow pair waved at him, and he beckoned them over.
As if he had some sort of sixth sense, Optimus greeted them without looking. "Ah, Bumblebee, Yang. How good of you to join us. I was just about to tell Jazz here about our plans to secure a source of energon and track down the remaining Decepticon facilities."
"What's the plan, Optimus?" asked Bumblebee, while Yang did her best to stand at attention.
"The information we've gathered from Site Thirteen has turned up several leads on possible paths for transport from facility to facility. We will stake out these locations and track any movement to and from their destinations. That way we should be able to identify the entire Decepticon network," informed Optimus.
"It's simple, but effective," commented Ironhide. "No need to take unnecessary risks, 'til we start bustin' chrome, that is."
"Indeed," Optimus said before continuing. "However, there is one other location of interest."
At that, a new image came up on one of the large holographic screens, one of a large imposing structure in downtown Vale.
"The Schnee Dust Company Regional Headquarters in Vale, the nexus of all their operations on the eastern half of the Sanus continent," narrated Prime. "If the SDC is involved at all in this madness, we'll find proof of it there. That information will allow us to better pinpoint the locations of the Decepticon facilities and their energon storehouses. Given its location, however, this will take considerable planning and preparation in order to avoid risking innocent lives and minimize collateral damage."
Upon hearing this, Yang raised her hand.
Optimus's eyes dipped down. "Comments, Yang?"
"Are you planning to raid this facility yourselves?" asked the blonde
The Autobots looked at each other, and Ironhide spoke up. "Well, we were going to ask you to help with some of the early recon, but yeah basically."
"I've got a better idea," said Yang. "Stay on overwatch while me and the White Fang go in to do the dirty work."
"What?" said Jazz, speaking up.
"Did I hear that right? You want to bring in the White Fang for another operation? Are you crazy, Yang?"
"Hey, I'm not exactly happy about it either," Yang defended, "but you guys are a bit big for the doors, and I can't do this alone." Maybe with her team… she quashed that thought. "Besides, going after the SDC is something the White Fang have experience with, and this is probably a target they'd hit anyway. Might as well ride herd on them while they're there."
A deep, thoughtful rumble came from Optimus. "Your suggestion has merit, Yang, but we will need to perform a more thorough risk assessment before moving forward."
"I understand, sir," she accepted. "I'm in this for the long haul, so just let me know what you need from me, and I'll take care of it."
"Heh, big words from such a small package," observed Ironhide. He shook his head. "Always the little ones, eh, Prime?"
"Hmm, and yet somehow I'm not surprised," observed Professor Greene as she lay down the printed out sheets of paper down on the desk in front of her. "A very in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of SDC security protocols. Tell me, Ms. Xiao Long, did your teammate happen to help you with this?"
Yang, standing across from the stealth teacher in the empty classroom, considered that. "It would have made sense, but no. I didn't want you to think I was cheating."
Greene shook her head. "Using the resources available to you is not a problem. Indeed, it is a requirement of being a good Huntress. Lying to your teachers, on the other hand…"
Yang felt sweat on the back of her neck.
"...well, I'm sure you're trying to protect your sources. Just say so up front and don't risk them over something so petty again. Heck, you're lucky that I'm even able to recognize this, and no, I'm not telling you how I know enough to judge its accuracy."
"Understood, ma'am," agreed Yang.
Greene stared at her for a few moments and then gestured to one of the empty seats. Yang took the offer.
"In any case, it's time we begin," said Greene. "Today's lesson is how not to be seen."
A/N1 (Cyclone): Hey, look! Character development! From
Adam, of all people! Secrets begin to strain, on all parties. Prime has doubts. And Ruby's bad at lying, news at eleven.
BTW, Yang babbling about Ruby is all Cody. I take no credit or blame for that. Actually, looking over it, most of this chapter is all Cody.
New characters! Beachcomber honestly wasn't on my radar until very recently, but a geologist is
exactly the kind of expert you want to study dust. The Aerialbots, of course, were mentioned previously. And Seekers!
All the (named G1 cartoon) Seekers (since Thundercracker showed up last episode)!
FYI, for character design, Beachcomber is largely G1-style, but for the Aerialbots and Seekers… we're thinking something closer to the WFC aesthetics.
A/N2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): Reading over this, it was commented by Cyclone that people might pick up on the fact that Yang was referring to Bumblebee as her partner, not Blake. It could be something meaningful, yes, but on the other hand it could just be that I find the whole "partner" term utterly ridiculous from the get go and so will probably never in a million years write any Beacon student as referring to another Beacon student as their partner. It's unseemly, and messes with team cohesion. . . . Then again, she has been spending most of her time with Bumblebee, so who knows? Maybe I'm just getting brain jacked like Cyclone got with Onslaught.
Though, speaking of Yang, her being a proud mama was actually what got me out of a funk I was having and gave me the strength to finish the chapter. I was walking around with a big smile the whole day after writing that. It's funny the effects characters can have on us.
Also, just a heads up people, but the next update is going to take a little bit longer than usual. Things have been going well, but we are actually working on three projects simultaneously, and the other projects have suffered as a result. The first project is
Gallant Knights, the
Star Wars/
RWBY fic that has been worked on everyday since December 31, 2018 and which won't get its own thread until finished. (Early versions of the first
two chapters are in the RWBY Rec Thread, however.) The second project is something currently titled
A Stark Divide, a three shot prequel whose blueprints and scaffolding has been completed, it's just the construction that needs to be finished.
A/N3 (Cyclone): Complicating matters is my job giving me more hours recently, so that's also a thing. It's also probably why Cody ended up writing so much of this chapter.
