- Location
- Tromso, Norway.
Either way, she's been living her whole life referring to souls as souls, and now just under 2 weeks later she's catching herself calling them sparks?
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
When immersing oneself in a new culture or subculture and correcting oneself one way, it doesn't take long for some people to start accidentally overcorrecting when inappropriate and having reverse said correction.
- Location
- Argentina
Is still just a few days compared to the most of her life she has of the local culture.
She is not living in their culture, they are living in hers. Also she is literally not living with them but with her team who still uses local terms.
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Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
Ultimately, it's narrative shorthand for "she's spending excessive amounts of time with the Autobots."
If you can't accept that, feel free to stop reading.
As far as I'm concerned, this subject is over.
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Volume I: Episode 7: Aftermath
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
(V1E6: The Battle of Site 13, Part II | V1E7: Aftermath | V1E8: Making the Rounds)
Episode 7: Aftermath
* * *
Episode 7: Aftermath
* * *
Yang felt her steps very heavily as she plodded through the halls of Beacon. She had just managed to get into her dorm and change into her uniform... her school uniform, that is; her Autobot uniform was with Bumblebee after she had changed into the casual outfit she had used for the ruse at Maple's. She would have to start keeping a spare school uniform either with Bumblebee or in one of the caches her family had hidden around the city.
The Autobots' mission to Site 13 was still ongoing, but she had been sent back with the first convoy out as soon as the Aerialbots had appeared. She had wanted to stay on and continue helping to break down the base, but after being awake for over twenty-four hours, she was starting to run on adrenaline herself. She had gotten some sleep on the drive back, but that had been interrupted.
Still, at least she had gotten to see the Aerialbots arrive. They were… they were…
The growling of her stomach interrupted her thoughts, and she clutched her stomach instinctively. Of course, she had forgotten to pack food, and so in addition to being awake for the last thirty-one hours, she also hadn't eaten anything in over twenty-four hours. She might have been trained to survive that, but it was still poor planning on her part. On the plus side, it meant she didn't have anything in her stomach to throw up when they'd found…
Still, if her dad could see her now, she would be given such a dressing down, and she would deserve it too. It was a thought that brought her a strange sort of comfort as she entered the classroom for Botany, which they had after lunch. Perhaps if she was lucky, today Professor Thumbelina Peach would teach them how to brew a stew from plants found in the wild that would keep you filled and active for days on end. Wouldn't that be ironic?
She sat down in her chair and almost immediately felt herself nodding off. Suddenly, she wasn't on Remnant anymore, she was on a broken and devastated world made of metal. She was running alongside her team, shooting at shapes they couldn't see, and then they found who they were there to rescue, the Vacuans from Site 13... only they were dead, lying haphazardly in a ditch, looking up at her with empty, pleading eyes.
Before she could react, the ground itself became hot, so hot it glowed. They were running, trying to get away, but there was nowhere to run to. Her boots melted off, and then she could feel her feet burning away. She dropped to the superheated floor, but it only made things worse. Ruby tried to get her up.
"Yang? Yang!"
The blonde's eyes shot open with a start, and red bloodshot orbs began looking around the room in a panic. It was filled with students now. Some of them were looking at her, and none moreso than the other members of her team. Ruby looked worried most of all, Weiss appeared concerned, and even Blake was looking at her with sympathy, as if she somehow understood.
"Yang, are you alright?" asked Weiss. "You look like you've seen death itself."
Yeah, and your family was responsible for it, she thought. She blinked and shook her head. "No, I just was out all night with some friends from back at Signal. Ran into them after visiting Maple's. We lost track of time, and well, here I am," she said.
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Your friends kept you occupied until after noon the next day? Is that normal?"
"No," replied Ruby. "No, it is not. I might not have had many friends in my time on this world, but I know that's not normal."
"Uh huh," Weiss said. She looked over at the last member of the team. "Blake?"
"Don't look at me," she said. "I kinda grew up with a… rough crowd. This? This'd be almost normal for them, but... like I said, rough crowd, one I left and never looked back to."
"Well, I've never really had any friends, so you're both ahead of me there, but going by Blake's expert opinion, I guess it's true then. They're a bunch of delinquents, and they're clearly a bad influence on you, as we can all see," Weiss commented.
Blake raised an eyebrow before adding, "Weiss's ever depressing childhood aside…"
"Hey!"
"...it really isn't like you to do this," the ink-haired girl finished. "You've always been the most responsible of us, but over the last two weeks, you've been really riding close to the edge. Is something going on?"
Before Yang could formulate a response, Professor Peach interrupted. It was time for class to begin. After that, it was time for class. Then classes came around. Amazingly, they didn't find any time to talk during or between those classes.
All too soon, the quartet worked their way back to their dorm. Yang tried to prepare herself for what she was going to say, what she wanted to say, and what she had to say, but her thoughts were interrupted when the world turned upside down.
Suddenly finding herself hanging by her ankle, Yang blinked in befuddlement at the rest of her team now being reversed in vertical orientation. "Ah, Miss Xiao Long." That was Professor Ann Greene's voice, and the rest of Team RWBY parted to let her approach.
"Um, hello, Professor," Yang greeted, giving a small wave as she struggled to ignore the blood rushing to her head.
"Now, Miss Xiao Long," Professor Greene said, leaning down to look Yang in the eyes, "had you shown up to class this morning, perhaps you would have been able to avoid this simple snare."
"I have been out of it today," the student observed dryly.
Professor Greene raised a single eyebrow at that. "Indeed. And what, praytell, were you doing that has you so 'out of it,' as you say?"
"Out with friends and lost track of time," answered Yang. The lie came as easily as breathing to her, possibly because she had already done it, and possibly because it wasn't technically a lie this time. It's just that her friends were all from… out of town.
"Hmm, so that's what you're going with?" Professor Greene asked rhetorically. "Very well, we have ways of making you talk."
"I don't think that will be necessary," came the voice of Professor Goodwitch as she walked into Yang's increasingly red field of view.
"Are you sure?" asked Greene curiously. "Because I've got some fresh bamboo ready to go. We just need a secluded room."
"No," Goodwitch answered firmly. "No more interrogations. I think that Ms. Xiao Long will tell us what's going on in her own time."
"Ah, the old 'sweat them out' gambit," Greene realized. "Classic. Very well. Yang, three hours of detention, this Sunday, hmm, say one o'clock, since I'm feeling generous. That way you can even sleep in. And I want a five thousand word essay on proper infiltration and trap avoidance by then."
Goodwitch turned to look at Yang herself. "Two hours remedial combat training on Saturday morning, eight sharp. You'll be facing off against me. Be there, or… Professor Greene, can you cut her down already? I'd rather she didn't pass out before we're finished here."
Professor Greene rolled her eyes and went somewhere unseen to untie the snare. Yang knew she had done it when she hit the ground with a thud. It was there, staring up at the ceiling with her vision slowly returning to normal, that she received the rest of her just desserts.
It was Goodwitch that appeared first, her face concerned. "Honestly, Miss Xiao Long, you have one of the quickest minds and stoutest hearts of your year. Don't squander all that potential on shortsighted gallivanting. You, and the world, deserve better. I'll see you tomorrow morning; get some rest in the meantime."
Greene leaned into view even as Goodwitch began walking away. "Should go without saying, Miss Xiao Long, but terrible things will befall you and your dorm doorway if you miss tomorrow's class."
"Got it, ma'am," Yang said as she attempted to give a thumbs up, but laying on her back like this, she honestly wasn't sure which way to angle her hand.
"Good, don't forget now."
Professor Greene left then too, and no sooner had she done so then had the rest of Yang's team rushed in to check on her.
"Yang, are you hurt?" asked Ruby.
"Just my pride," Yang replied, a small smile coming to her lips as she remembered that she was echoing Torchwick.
"Are you going to get up?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I dunno," Yang replied. "'Skinda comfy here, actually. Might just lie here for a bit."
"Oh, for-" Weiss cut herself off before reaching down, grabbing Yang's hand, and attempting to pull her up. Without Yang offering any assistance, she wasn't particularly successful, even when Ruby came and tried to help, the two leaning back, each tugging on one of Yang's hands. They just lacked the mass and leverage.
"This calls for drastic measures," Weiss declared, drawing Myrtenaster. She tapped the tip of the rapier to the floor, and ice spread along it.
Yang's eyes widened as the cold seeped into her back, and she bolted off the ground. "Weiss!" she shrieked.
"If you're going to lie down, at least wait until you get in bed," the heiress said primly. "Lying about on the floor in a public… it's unseemly."
"Right, right," Yang muttered, stifling a yawn, and Team Ruby continued their trek to their dormitory… only to be interrupted in the hallway just outside said dormitory.
"Hey, Ruby, ready to do the thing?" asked Jaune as he and the rest of Team JNPR came up behind them.
Ruby's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, yeah, right! The thing! I almost forgot about it."
Nora blinked in surprise. "You forgot about the thing? How could you forget about the thing. It's the thing."
"'Almost,'" Ruby insisted defiantly before turning back to Yang. "Hey, sis? JNPR invited us to go to this thing. It's pretty big, but they only had three spare seats, and well…"
Yang held up a hand. "Can I sleep now?"
Her sister was momentarily stunned, but replied easily, "Oh yeah! Go ahead. You look terrible right now, Yang. Get some beauty sleep."
"Cool," Yang replied before slumping into the dorm.
The rest of her team followed, but only long enough to get changed into their battle dress. They left Yang keeled over on her bed, the snare still wrapped around her ankle. Again though, she twitched as the horrors of the past reasserted themselves.
"Thank you again for taking the time to fly us out here," Pyrrha said.
Team RWB and Team JNPR were aboard the Ocean Swan, an independently owned and operated transport airship. Pyrrha's contact had turned out to be a Vale air traffic controller ("She's just a bit of a fan," Pyrrha had said, her face as red as her hair) who had noticed some unusual sensor ghosts in this area. Low altitude, so nothing could be confirmed, but enough to stick in her memory.
"Not a problem," the pilot -- a big man named Bear, another one of Pyrrha's contacts -- replied jovially. "I can always use an excuse for more stick time anyway. Thank you for the autograph. I can't wait to see little Molly's face when I give it to her at her birthday party next week."
"Oh, when next week?" Pyrrha asked. "Maybe I should drop by."
Bear chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, man, you really like piling up those favors, don't you, Miss Nikos?"
"What?" Pyrrha sputtered, her face heating up. "I don't- I mean-" she stammered, flustered.
"It would make her day, Miss Nikos, but I couldn't ask that of ya," he said.
"Oh, no," she insisted, "it would be no trouble at all!"
Jaune looked studiously turned his attention away from the front of the airship, not wanting to see Pyrrha dig herself in any deeper. "What're you looking up, Ren?" he asked.
"Local news," the other male on the team answered, holding up his scroll. "There have been reports of strange lights and sounds in the sky in the area. Someone even took a video of it."
Jaune leaned over. It showed a family out camping; from the audio, the father was the one holding the camera. Then, suddenly, a bright light flashed from behind the hills in the distance; actually, "bright light" did it an injustice, considering it practically turned night into day. The terrain was briefly highlighted as dark silhouettes, as if cast upon by the world's biggest spotlight. The family was taken aback and were still staring toward the hills when a sound like a thousand lightning bolts all at once thundered, still loud even through the scroll's tiny speakers.
"That… what was that?"
"I suspect we are about to find out shortly," Ren pointed out.
Across the cargo bay, a certain heiress's patience was wearing thin.
"What is it, Nora?" Weiss asked irritably, drawing attention from her teammates. "You've been staring at me since we took off." The redhead had been unusually quiet the whole trip, and doing just what Weiss was accusing her of.
"Are you sure you can do this, Weiss?" Nora asked in a strange, un-Nora-like, tone. "I mean… the fight we're picking here, it's not just a dangerous enemy, it's… they're your people, Weiss. Are you- are you sure about this?"
Weiss could feel her eyes narrowing slightly. "If they're enslaving people, they're not my people. They're evil."
"So you're going to kill them then?" asked Nora pointedly. "People who might not know everything that's going on, people just doing their jobs?"
Weiss froze, realizing the implications of what she had just said. Before she could elaborate her statement further, Blake spoke.
"Don't think like that, Weiss. Don't go down that road," she said with evident experience and firm conviction. "I've seen people I care about walk that path before, and… and it changed them, twisted them. They weren't who I remembered anymore."
Nora shifted her attention then. "So, if one of these SDC guards had their gun to the head of a slave, you won't be willing to pull the trigger to stop them from pulling their trigger?"
Blake bristled. "I won't hesitate when the time comes. Believe me, I've-" she broke off. "No, I won't hesitate. Trust me on that."
Nora looked over at Ruby. "And what about you, Ruby?"
Ruby's knuckles whitened on her grip on Crescent Rose. "You're not asking anything I haven't been asking myself since we got on this airship, Nora," she answered quietly.
"And?" asked Nora.
"And… I'll do what I have to, but not one bit more. I signed up to be a Huntress, to save lives, and that's that. I've made my peace with that, I think."
Nora gave a small nod. "Well said."
Ruby had her own follow-up though. "Fair's fair. What's up with you, Nora?"
"I'm just trying to see if you guys know what you're getting into," the redhead said with a shrug. "Me and Ren? We've seen and done some pretty wild things in our time, and we've already talked it over with Pyrrha and Jaune, but you three are an unknown. We're going to be hot-dropping into an SDC facility, possibly getting into house-to-house fighting, with civilians running around. That's a pretty nasty situation, no matter how you smash it."
"We're coming up on the valley now!" Bear announced. "Get ready!"
The two teams of Huntsmen (in training) did just that, doing one final check of their weapons and gear. Of this, they included an extra step that they did not normally engage in. At Weiss's advice they had decided to gather video evidence of the SDC's wrongdoing, so that none could say they were innocent. To this end, they had procured a set of headbands that held their scrolls in video capture mode upon their brows.
"We look ridiculous," commented Ren dryly.
"But effective," pointed out Pyrrha.
Suddenly, as if thrown by a switch, all banter stopped. The Ocean Swan crested over the ridge, and they found a sight that none of them had ever expected to see. It was a possibility for sure, but this?
"Someone already hit it," Jaune whispered as he looked out and saw wisps of smoke drifting up from the facility and the signs of battle that littered the valley.
"Whoever they were, they were throwing around a lot of firepower," Ruby realized as her eyes traced over the glassed patches of ground, gigantic tracks, and the wrecks of the turrets on the battlements. A central spire topped with what looked like a gigantic cannon had toppled over, breaching the outer wall.
"And somehow, I doubt it was those guys," mused Nora as she pointed at the group of Beowolves and other Grimm closing in on the facility to join with the collection already there.
"Bear," Ruby called, "can you please bring us in to the facility now? There could be people injured in there, and I don't want to delay."
"You got it, Miss Rose," Bear replied. "I'll orbit the place and provide air support where I can. Don't forget to call with those things on your head."
Ruby tapped her ear with a confident smile, moving her thin fingers over the comms set mounted in it. "That's what these are for. Don't worry, we'll call if we need help, but right now, I think we need more CAP than CAS."
Bear smiled in turn. "Sounds good to me, like a proper operation, in fact."
The small airship flew over the facility, and they could see now over the walls to find that there were more than a few Grimm inside the walls already. A great black and white host had risen up to claim this facility, scratching at the walls of the buildings and trying to find their way in. With the groups outside, Ruby estimated at least five hundred of the fell beasts stood against them.
"That's a lot of Grimm," Jaune observed.
Ruby's reply was soft, resolute, and challenging. "You're right. Are we gonna let that stand in our way?"
Jaune cocked what he hoped would be a confident grin. "No. Not tonight."
Ruby nodded and jumped into the fray with Crescent Rose deploying on the way down.
Beneath her stood a Nightmare, tall and sickly. It neighed in defiance and reached to bite her. Deftly, Ruby twirled her scythe at such an angle that it caught the demonic equine on the neck. Just as the blade dug in, she fired a gravity round from Crescent Rose, driving her feet onto the ground to land beside the Grimm's severed head.
Jaune followed shortly after, crashing shield-first into a Boarbatusk; a quick stab with Crocea Mors below his shield impaled it, and he sprang back before charging forward at another Boarbatusk, Crocea Mors arcing lethally in a well-practiced pattern of thrusts and slashes.
From the airship above, Pyrrha smiled proudly and followed after Jaune, Miló in rifle mode firing as she went down, picking off some of the weaker Grimm. Shifting Miló into spear form as she landed, she impaled an Ursa before vaulting over it. Slinging Akoúo̱ out into the crowd of Grimm, she spun and brought Miló around to face the wounded Ursa as it turned to track her. As Akoúo̱ bounced between Grimm around and behind the Ursa, she charged and leapt at the last second, catching Akoúo̱ and jamming it into the Ursa's roaring mouth before bringing Miló down point-first into its head.
Blake leaped down, landing in the middle of a pack of Beowolves. As one, the lupine Grimm pounced on her… only for her to fade beneath their claws as the real Blake landed atop them, Gambol Shroud's scabbard glinting keenly in the fading light as it came down to hack the head of one in twain with a meaty thwack. Even as that was happening, the variable ballistic chain scythe had shifted into a pistol that was rending the skulls of the other Grimm of the group apart with powerful explosive dust rounds. The pack faded, and Gambol Shroud shifted into its sword form to meet the next Grimm to face her and die like their fellows.
Ren ran across the walls of the building, StormFlower blazing into the crowd of Grimm below, and as gravity slowly arced his path down, he pushed off the wall, somersaulting over a Beringel, sending rounds stitching into its back.
Weiss lowered herself elegantly on one of her glyphs, the ethereal platform freezing the Grimm beneath her as it passed through them. Giving Myrtenaster a flourish and switching chambers, she darted forward past the frozen Grimm and dove into the fray, her blade now trailing fire.
BOOM!
That was Nora. Of course.
As one, the fellowship of seven found themselves together against the raging horde. Seven young warriors of the light and life stood against the still mighty host of darkness death and did not falter or bend. The slavering monsters felt no fear or compassion, and so charged with reckless hate against the small candles that dared to insult them with their presence.
The battle was long and hard, but at the end, the seven shining stars had burned the shadows away.
"Woo! Can you believe we finished that before sunset? That was exhausting!" Nora commented as she scraped some of the evaporating remains of a Boarbatusk off her heel.
"We should check to see if anyone is inside," said Ruby seriously as she ran towards the nearest door. "They might need our help."
"The SDC, or their slaves?" asked Jaune as he and the rest of the group followed.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," was Ruby's simple reply.
The door was enormous, a good forty feet high and twice as wide, decorated simply with a purple, almost facelike icon. They approached, but it did not respond, and if there was any sort of access panel, it wasn't visible.
"Perhaps a lockdown or a power outage?" Ren suggested.
"There's got to be some other access point somewhere," Jaune said.
"Right," Ruby agreed. "Let's keep looking."
It didn't take long to find another door -- much smaller, but still sizable -- around the corner, half-open.
"Lights on," ordered Ruby. "Weapons out. There could still be Grimm inside." Unspoken, of course, was the possibility of enemies of a more… human persuasion. As one, they all complied, flicking on the flashlight modes of their scrolls to light the hallway they found themselves in with seven bright beams.
They came across another, similar door, and passed on through to find… a large empty room. There were few Schnee Dust Company shipping crates stacked by the side, but they were empty as well. The only indications that there had been anything at all were the marks on the floor where large objects had been placed and the scattered metallic-smelling stains on the floor.
"Looks like whoever was here before us stripped this place bare," observed Blake as the group spread out.
"I don't think we're going to find anyone alive here," Jaune realized.
"Don't focus on that," said Ren, his voice hard.
"Okay," Jaune said, and then after a few seconds he noted something. "You know, this kind of reminds me of when they get to the village in Huntsmen Hunted."
Weiss shivered. "Don't remind me."
Pyrrha raised a finger. "Um, what's Huntsmen Hunted?"
"An old horror movie that gets way more credit than it deserves," replied Nora.
"Oh, come on, it's a classic!" Jaune protested.
Silently and unseen, Pyrrha made a note to look up the title when they got back to civilization.
"Pfft!" Nora waved him off. "It relies far too much on fake jump scares."
"It was a pioneer in the field!" Jaune argued. "The fake jump scares are key set up for when the Grimm first appear. Remember that scene? It wasn't until halfway through the movie, and with that set up, it sold it."
"Okayyy," Nora relented, "it had some good points, I'll admit, but-"
"Can we please stop talking about it?" Weiss interrupted through clenched teeth.
"Yeah, come on, guys," Ruby said. "Focus!"
"Okay. Can we comment on the blood stains on the floor instead?" asked Nora. "Because these seem like they've been here for a while."
"Probably from limbs caught in the machinery," Blake theorized.
Weiss looked like she was about to throw up. "And they didn't even bother to clean up the blood? That's…"
"Atypical?" finished Blake clinically. "Yes, it is."
"I was going to say 'disturbing'," corrected Weiss. "I also would have settled for 'disgusting,' 'dishonorable,' 'unconscionable,' or 'beyond the pale.'"
"Don't take it so personally, Weiss," Ren interjected. "You're not responsible for this."
"Why not?" she asked sharply. "I've actually seen someone try to bring up accident reports to my father. He stopped them mid-sentence and told them to skip to the part about how it affects profitability or PR. He doesn't care, and he won't accept responsibility. But someone has to, so why not me?"
Nora looked in worry at the heiress, then at Ren, then back to Weiss. "Uh, because you didn't do anything and can't do anything?"
Weiss glared at her with such force that the redhead felt taken aback, but then just as quickly, the emotion was gone and her focus was elsewhere. "Let's just find out what happened here and where everyone is."
"Yeah, about that?" Ruby called out from the side of the gigantic room. "Does anyone know what the door here says?"
The rest of the group turned as one to look at what their compatriot had discovered, and almost as uniformly balked. It was another door, smaller than the others, but with a very noticeable feature. It had a handle built into it which was as tall as Jaune, and placed far enough off the ground that two of them would have to stand on top of each other to have a hope of reaching it.
"So, Ruby," Weiss began, her voice vexxed, "quick question about priorities. Since when does wall gibberish rate higher on your list of information that needs to be known than the fact that this door is made for giants?"
"I dunno," the team leader replied with a shrug, her eyes still on the angular and jagged script painted on the door. "It's just odd. Back when she decided to travel the world, Yang started studying a bunch of languages. I peered over her shoulder a lot, and I picked up a few things. One of those things was what those languages look like written out, and none of them look like that. I don't even recognize the alphabet at all."
"So, we've come across a door made for giants, with a sign on it written in an alien language, night is coming fast, and we're in an abandoned slave labor camp that was just attacked by Grimm. I think we know where this is going, Snow Angel," Jaune said with a cheesy smile.
"Oh, shut up," moaned Weiss. "And if you say something stupid like, 'I'll protect you,' I will stab you."
"Thought never even crossed my mind, Snow Angel."
"Whatever the case, we need to explore this location, and the best way through is through that door. If the metal it's made out of is magnetic, I should be able to get us through," Pyrrha reasoned.
"Go ahead," Ruby replied.
And with that, Pyrrha stretched forth her right hand towards the door. Almost suddenly, the latch was sprung open, and the door dragged silently open along with it. A shadow flickered on the far side of the door.
"Movement!" Jaune warned. "We've got movement!"
Crescent Rose snapped level and barked, and the Creep exploded.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," Nora grumbled. "What did I say about fake jump scares?"
"And I told you that it's just set up for the real scare later," Jaune shot back.
"Please don't tempt fate like that, you two," Ren told them.
"This place is huge," Ruby mused. "It'll take us all night to go over everything if we stick together. We should split up."
"NO!" chorused four voices.
She blinked at Jaune, Weiss, Nora, and Ren. "Why not?"
"Did you not just hear us compare this whole setup to a horror movie?" Jaune asked.
"We've tempted fate enough tonight," added Ren.
Ruby shrugged. "Okay. Then let's double time, Team Name-Pending!"
Weiss blinked. "Really, Ruby? That's what you're going with?"
"It's pending!" Ruby defended as the seven made their way into the passage.
Running, it took them but a few seconds to reach an intersection. In the lead, Ruby considered her options, and with a mental shrug, veered left. One way was as good another, at this point. After a while, the hallway ended in another door.
"Pyrrha?"
"Right."
As Pyrrha used her semblance to unlatch the door, the rest of the team prepared themselves for whatever might be waiting on the other side. Which turned out to be another dark, cavernously huge room. Luckily, their lights were still working, and they were able to see much of what was inside it.
Seeing what was inside, though, they didn't know what to make of it.
"So, uh, speaking of horror movies, has anyone seen Deer, I Miniaturized Our Offspring?" asked Ruby nervously.
"Wasn't that a comedy?" asked Pyrrha.
"No, it was definitely a horror film," Ruby insisted defiantly.
They had found themselves inside a what could only be described as a break room, complete with table and chairs. The difference here was that there was simply no way any human could use the furniture in the room, for even the smallest of the strong steel chairs was so large that Ruby would have to leap ten feet into the air just to land on its edge.
Most uniquely, there were a series of cubicles on the wall, though what their purpose was unclear. Indeed, the purpose of all of the devices eluded them. The only thing they knew for certain was that they were exceedingly large compared to the Beacon students, a fact made all the clearer as they walked through the room.
"Okay, I admit it," said Nora, "this is weird even by my standards."
"Why would the SDC build something like this?" asked Pyrrha curiously.
Jaune's light moved across another sign written in the alien script. "Are we sure they made it? I mean, except for those crates on what we can assume to be the factory floor, we haven't seen any evidence that this place was made by human hands at all."
"Come on," Blake said incredulously. "What are you suggesting? That it was actually faunus that made this place?"
"No, I'm saying that we seriously need to look at the possibility of alien intervention here," Jaune replied seriously.
Weiss paused. "Aliens? Jaune, I looked at the data myself. The SDC had to have been involved in building this. The idea of including extraterrestrial life in this is just… It's so crazy I don't even know how to respond to that."
"Involved, but not entirely responsible," Jaune said with one finger pointed from the hand holding his sword. "That same data said that the SDC had some mysterious partners, right? We don't know who they are, but it makes sense that they would be directly involved in the production of energon if they came up with the idea, right?"
"...right," admitted Weiss. "That doesn't mean they're aliens though, even if the writing in this place is strange, and the furniture looks like it was made for someone five times the average human height."
"Which, you got to admit, is pretty weird," Nora repeated.
As the argument continued in the background, Ruby found herself staring up at the symbol on the wall. It was the same as what was on the door they had seen when they first arrived, that stern angled face, and seemed to rest in the same position an especially patriotic person would put their kingdom's banner inside their home. She felt something stir within her, and as she burned every line and corner of its shape into her mind, the whole world seemed to go dead around her.
She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but she knew that this symbol was important. She knew somehow that if she saw this symbol again, it would mean she was on the right track to finding the people who did this.
Then, just as suddenly, the feeling was gone, and she was back in the present.
"Guys, let's move on," Ruby ordered sternly. "We're wasting time here."
They did one final sweep of the building, then headed back to the intersection of the tunnels, from where they headed off in another direction. When they reached the end of that path, they found themselves in what was once likely a warehouse, but now was empty. Except for more of the strange writing and symbols, they found nothing of note there.
Another turn back to the intersection, and they found themselves on another path. This one was much longer, and soon, they found themselves passing a door that was open. With little debate, they decided to slide into the room to see what they could find.
What they found was a lone Ursa prowling around. Against the seven warriors of light, the beast of foul darkness stood no chance. When it had been dispatched, they were free to explore the room.
They soon wished they weren't.
"God, help us," Ruby half prayed, half exclaimed as the full weight and fury of the room's sights and smells hit her.
The room was full of cells, cages really, and behind those bars the putrid stench of old urine and fecal matter wafted for all to consume. Blood and death mixed themselves in to become a truly horrifying stench. A gigantic door that led to the outside was at one end of the room, torn part way open by the terrifying muscles of some horrendous Grimm which likely was killed in their initial assault on the facility, but the gap was too small to allow for proper ventilation.
"This…" Pyrrha began, but words failed her and she merely shook her head in shock.
Nora looked back at her teammate, then at Ren and frowned. "This... is about what we expected to find."
"Monsters…" whispered Weiss, and then she repeated it with much greater volume and vigor. "Monsters!"
"Weiss, calm down," Ren said softly as he put his hand on the heiress still trembling with rage and despair.
Amazingly, as she felt Ren's touch, she also felt a feeling of total calm spread throughout her body. The emotions that had torn so recklessly at her soul now had passed. Only peace remained.
Weiss turned her head and smiled thinly at Ren. "Thanks. You've got some semblance there. I can see why Nora likes you so much."
Ren smiled, but it was Nora that replied, "Yeah, likes, but not like-like. Like, you know?"
Jaune ignored the banter as he looked around the room. Like the other rooms, the prison was built on a massive scale to accommodate things so big they defied comprehension, with two levels of cells -- no, cages -- to contain creatures of normal size. The cages had all been opened, and no living thing dwelt in them any more. Scattered about the center of the room were pieces of Atlesian Knights, specifically the -130 model, all having been sliced or blasted apart before being broken down for spare parts.
"I think we found out where at least some of the AKs went," observed Blake with grim stoicism as she crouched down to examine the cut in one android's armor. As she ran her finger across it, the memory of a red blade came unbidden to her mind. She considered the thought, then filed it away as unlikely. Another detail, though, caught her attention. "Their dust cores are missing."
Beside and above her, Jaune nodded. "Yeah, and it looks like we found out where the prisoners Yang rescued came from too."
He looked around before continuing. "Do you think they got out okay?"
Blake glanced at the cage beside her and saw the dark red color of the tattered blankets on what passed for a bed, and she shook her head. "No, but they might have survived. At least, some of them might have survived."
The group of seven spread throughout the room and found much that they then documented. More than once, they found find themselves thankful that their scrolls were recording everything, because they could not bear to describe what they were seeing. Some, of course, took it harder than others.
Weiss was staring at the inside of one of her cages, at the moldy floor and stained blankets, a haunted look in her eyes. It was Pyrrha that first took action on this. She walked up beside the heiress, and in a clear calm voice tried her best to offer gentle words of kindness.
"This doesn't end here," she began, and the white-haired girl turned to face her. "I know that things seem hopeless right now, but it'll pass. We'll find the ones who've sown this misery, and they shall reap the whirlwind."
Weiss exhaled heavily and nodded. "You're right, this- this isn't over."
"All right, everyone," called out Ruby. "Let's get a move on. We still got a lot of facility to cover and not a lot of time to do it in."
The group exited back into the tunnels, and turned down to continue the path. When they exited they found the site of a fierce battle. There were a few Atlesian Knight remains that had been stripped of any dust they had, yes, but the main evidence of battle came from the multiplicity of holes in the hall, along with the door that had been sliced in two at the other end.
"Looks like someone had quite the party," observed Jaune casually.
"Really?" asked Weiss. "We just came from a place so putrid the only thing that kept me from vomiting is not wanting to add to the… examples already on the floor, and now you're cracking jokes?"
"Maybe you should be doing the same, Ice Queen. It's a classic coping maneuver for a reason," pointed out Nora.
Weiss huffed, while the others went about their business. Pyrrha and Jaune examined an open room, finding naught but giant empty weapon racks and the small torn remains of a poster's corners. Like everything else in the facility, the items in that room were all ridiculously oversized, even the tape that had once held up the poster.
Ruby, following her instincts, had begun reading the holes in the floors and walls.
"I've never seen weapons damage like this before," she noted from her analysis. "It doesn't match any type of dust I've ever seen or read about. High rate of fire, decent accuracy, but only at short-range. Either whatever it fired leans toward that, or it's got pretty loose tolerances, designed for mass production and use with minimal training. Probably for second-line garrison troops, which makes me wonder what the really good stuff is like."
The rest of the group turned and looked at Ruby like she had grown a second head that had in turn started belting out Vacuan opera in Spruce Willis's voice.
"You got all that… from a bunch of bullet holes?" asked Jaune disbelievingly.
"Yeah, except I'm pretty sure they're not actually bullet holes. It's just simple battlefield forensics, after all," Ruby said with a shrug. "Relatively easy to guess stuff like that. The really tricky part was figuring out that whoever was shooting was pretty tall -- like, 'sits on those chairs we saw' tall -- and aiming at human-sized targets moving down the hall."
The group shrugged and continued on down the line, eventually coming to another open room and the outside where the last glimmers of sunlight were beginning to disappear. The room was yet another affair that took their breath away, for it appeared to be a security station, complete with a computer. However, the computer was powered off, and even if it wasn't it was doubtful they could have used it, for each of the buttons on its keyboard was at least half their size in addition to being on top of a giant desk.
"It's really crazy just how comically large everything is here," Nora once more observed. "I mean, isn't this just nuts, Ren?"
"Completely insane," concurred the long-haired boy.
Blake once more found herself running her hands over the bisected door, finding something familiar about it, like a distant echo of something best left forgotten. She was interrupted in thought and deed by Weiss approaching from behind. The heiress looked disquieted, though that summarized her entire mood that night.
"What's up?" asked the black-haired girl, the bow upon her head twitching in the wind.
"It's…" the heiress paused, considering her words carefully, even as her own hair gently fluttered in the breeze. "Am I a bad person?"
Blake blinked, a little taken aback, and looked around. "That… I am not the person you should be asking that question," she answered emphatically.
Weiss's curious pondering at the bitterness in her teammate's reply was interrupted by Nora slapping her on the shoulder. "Buck up, Weiss. It's not your fault your evil dad is collaborating with giant aliens."
Blake looked at her strangely. "Are we really going with that theory?"
Nora shrugged. "Well, I was going to suggest a race of subterranean mole men, but someone shot that idea down," she said, sending a meaningful glare at Ren.
Ren gave a smile and a nod, which Nora grumbled at.
"Cut it out, you two," interrupted Jaune. "We're going to take a look at that tower, and then we're calling for pick up."
And with that, they did as the blond leader bid. As they made their way over to the massive toppled structure, they all formed their own theories on what would be found there. Many expected Ruby to give them a very detailed answer, given her previous performance in the hall.
Things did not exactly work out as such.
"Well, it's a big gun," the crimson-themed sniper said aloud after examining the massive cannon mounted to the top of the tower, now horizontal and outside the walls after the tower it was perched atop had fallen over.
"That's it?" Blake asked disbelievingly.
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Okay, it's a large-scale multi-function transforming weapon with a surprisingly large amount of both depression and elevation. If I would have to guess at its function, it would be to take out large airborne targets like Wyverns and Atlesian battlecruisers, with enough traverse to target Behemoths. However, I cannot say for certain what it actually does beyond saying that it appears to be primarily an energy weapon, with some secondary functions for channeling dust. It is… really beyond me, actually."
Blake smiled despite that though. "That's better than the rest of us would have gotten. Let's call for pickup now though. We don't want to stick around too much now that it's really night out."
At their word, the Ocean Swan descended to pick them up, and they boarded it with little fuss. Once onboard, however, Bear had some disturbing information to tell them.
"I recorded some of my own footage while out in the valley, and it's really the sort of thing you should see," he said, his voice uncharacteristically sober.
The teams crowded around one of the MFDs in the cockpit's navigator station behind the co-pilot's seat to view the images. As they flipped through the images, different angles of the base and more curious features of the valley, one image flipped by that no one seemed to notice. Jaune wouldn't have made any particular note of it either if he hadn't noticed Ren and Nora's reactions to it, but the two had stayed silent.
They asked Bear for copies of the footage, and he was glad to oblige them. That achieved, the two teams retired to the back to discuss what they'd seen.
"Ren, Nora," Jaune said quietly, as Ruby took center stage, "what was up with that one image?"
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Nora asked, offering an unconvincing laugh.
"You know the one," he pressed. "The big mound of dirt."
"I, uh-" Nora hedged.
"It's a mass grave," Ren answered simply. "You see them a lot near fallen villages."
It struck Jaune, then, how little he really knew about his team. When had Ren and Nora had the occasion to visit enough fallen villages to recognize a mass grave? Then again, despite how much Nora talked, neither she nor Ren were particularly forthcoming about their shared past, and Pyrrha valued her privacy to the point that she seemed to actively appreciate how little he knew about her. While it was fairly obvious she was hiding something, it just didn't seem right to intrude, and he supposed that respect for privacy had extended to the rest of Team JNPR.
"Please don't tell Weiss," Nora said, shaking her head. "I don't know how she'd take it right now."
Jaune nodded. "Agreed."
"And that's when you decided to flee?" Starscream prodded gleefully. It was a familiar location, a familiar scene, with a new addition to the cast under the spotlight.
"Affirmative," Onslaught confirmed. "With Site Thirteen's anti-orbital cannon under Autobot control, the battle was lost. Even merged into Bruticus, we wouldn't be able to survive more than a few hits and remain battleworthy. I deemed it better to retreat in good order and minimize injury."
"An anti-orbital cannon," Starscream repeated. "Why, pray tell, was an anti-orbital cannon -- which, correct me if I'm wrong, is meant for shooting down starships in high orbit, hence the name -- articulated to fire at ground targets?"
"I will have to defer that question to Lugnut," Onslaught replied, "as it was a pre-existing installation before we arrived."
"Lugnut?" Starscream prompted.
"Hail Megatron!" Lugnut belted out reflexively. "It was for Grimm," he answered. "You know, the really big ones, like the one that attacked the Nemesis last solar cycle. After what happened with the escape, I wanted to make sure none of them would ever get close enough to cause another security breach again."
Starscream turned and looked at Soundwave. "Excuse after excuse! First, Grimm; then, a Prime; now, Mini-Con infiltrators! What next? Is Unicron going to show up and sabotage things in Vale?"
"Situation unacceptable," Soundwave acknowledged. "Starscream, since you believe yourself more capable, you will take over the Vale Theater."
Finally, my genius will be recognized! Starscream thought, smiling triumphantly. "Of course, Soundwave," he said. "I will begin preparations for my departure immediately."
As Starscream left, Soundwave turned his visored gaze to the Combaticon leader. "Onslaught, Lord Megatron wishes to speak with you… personally."
"Of course, sir." Onslaught squared his shoulders and marched through the door behind Soundwave. There were consequences for failure, and he would not shy away from them.
There were Decepticons who feared those consequences more than death itself. Indeed, it could be argued that Onslaught was one of them, as he had little fear of death.
"Our lives are meant to be spent."
But he stood by his decision to call for a retreat. With the Autobots in control of Site 13's fixed defenses, especially the anti-orbital cannon, all staying and fighting would have accomplished was getting him and his men killed, and that was… unacceptable. He could never -- would never -- allow that to happen, not on his watch.
"'Spent'. Not wasted."
As the door slid shut behind him, he stood at attention, bracing himself.
"Lord Megatron."
"You disappoint me, Onslaught." From his throne in the darkened back of the room, Megatron's voice was deceptively calm and level. A bad sign.
"I accept full responsibility for our failure."
"I know you do, Onslaught," Megatron crooned softly as he rose from his throne and walked down to his subordinate.
That was when the pain began.
Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Huntsman Academy, was silent for those first few seconds after the footage gathered by the seven students in front of him, in particular Ren, finished playing. Professor Glynda Goodwitch, his chief lieutenant and combat instructor, was silent as well. The tension between them and the students was so great those with bladed weapons felt they could slice it apart.
As was his prerogative though, Ozpin broke the silence with his characteristic calm. "You seven have indeed been very active in your free time."
"Yes, sir," Jaune and Ruby answered for their teams in near unison.
"What I'm wondering is, why did you choose to being this to me now?"
"We wanted to wait until we had evidence linking the SDC to it," Jaune answered, "but after what we saw… this is way bigger than any of us thought."
"I see," Ozpin said, hands clasped in front of him with his elbows on his desk. "I'm glad you brought this to my attention. Please, keep us apprised of your investigation."
"Headmaster!" a scandalized Glynda protested, her head whipping around to stare at Ozpin. "You can't be serious!"
Ruby blinked. "You… aren't going to tell us to stop?"
"Would you listen if I did?" Ozpin asked reasonably.
"Um, well…" Ruby hemmed and hawed, toeing the floor awkwardly.
"No," Jaune declared bluntly.
"At the beginning of the semester, you asked me for any tips on how to be a leader," Ozpin said, looking at the caped youngster. "Here's one: Never give an order you know won't be obeyed. I knew your mother, Miss Rose, and you are very much like her. An injustice such as this? I might as well try asking a river to stop flowing to the sea. At least this way, we can provide you with support and help when you need it."
"With all due respect, sir," Glynda said, drawing his attention. "They're children."
"An hour ago, I would have agreed with you, Glynda," the headmaster replied. "But after seeing this? The fire I see in their eyes? The monumental task they've taken on? No, Glynda. They aren't children, not anymore. They're Huntsmen now."
He looked over the seven teenagers, looking each one in the eye.
"You aren't in combat school anymore," he declared. "There, you likely experienced a certain degree of… overprotectiveness from the faculty. But among the many lessons we teach here at Beacon is to shoulder the responsibilities of your choices. Consider this… an accelerated course."
The teenagers considered that for a long moment.
Then Weiss raised her hand.
"Does this mean we'll be getting extra credit?"
The medical bay was as dimly lit as the rest of the ship, and currently, the only medic out of stasis was performing a routine examination. Cybertronian physiology didn't typically need it very often, but these were decidedly atypical circumstances.
He was just finishing up with his patient when the door slid open.
"Thundercracker, Ambulon," Starscream said, offering both patient and medic nods of greeting.
Thundercracker snapped to his feet. "Commander Starscream!"
"Commander." Ambulon's reply nod was much more sedate.
"So, how's our patient?" Starscream asked. "Is he having any issues interfacing with the prototype? Headaches, disorientation, energon fluctuations?"
"No, sir," Thundercracker replied. Starscream ignored him.
"His optics and reflexes are responding normally, and there's no detectable interference with his T-cog or other functions," Ambulon said. "Clean bill of health."
Starscream leaned back. "Excellent. I was worried there might be issues integrating the humans' primitive technology. Speaking of the humans, they insist the prototype is ready for live-fire trials. Would you concur?"
Concern crossed the purple and white medic's face. "I must caution-"
"Absolutely, Commander!" interrupted Thundercracker.
"Excellent!" Starscream repeated. "We've already selected an appropriate venue: the humans' Vytal Festival. I will be traveling ahead to make preparations as I take command of the Vale Theater, but you should be ready to depart at a moment's notice."
"Yes, Commander."
Satisfied, Starscream spun on his heel and departed, leaving the two of them staring at the door after him.
"Someone's happy," Ambulon noted. He glanced at Thundercracker. "And you seem awfully eager."
"Yeah, well…" Thundercracker stalled, before admitting, "I miss flying. And the prototype..."
"He's using you, you know," Ambulon pressed on. "As a test bed so he can take advantage of the technology himself if it succeeds."
"Because I'm expendable, I know." The Seeker sighed. "But… I'm kind of glad he chose me for this, even with the risks."
The other Decepticon raised a surprised eyebrow. "Getting attached, are you?"
Rather than answer, Thundercracker asked, "So, am I good to go?"
He got a long-suffering sigh in response. "Yes, yes, you're free to go. Like I told Starscream, clean bill of health."
"Thanks, Doc," Thundercracker said, heading out.
Shaking his head, Ambulon moved on down to the next medical cubicle. As the door slid open, he peered inside at his remaining patient.
"Onslaught, old friend," he said, shaking his head, "looks like that Prime really did quite a number on you."
"Not. The Prime," the Combaticon leader ground out.
Realization dawned on the medic. "Ahh, of course."
(V1E6: The Battle of Site 13, Part II | V1E7: Aftermath | V1E8: Making the Rounds)
A/N 1 (Cyclone): I'm sure there's nothing to worry about with that ending, nothing at all. Anyway, we know Weiss hasn't ever shown the ability to do what we have her do here, but darn it, the mental image looked so cool, we had to go with it anyway. Sorry the battle sequence got summarized so much, but fight scenes are hard. Finally, damn it, Onslaught, stop trying to hijack the story!
A/N 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): During this chapter Weiss asks if they'll be getting extra credit for this, and the answer to that question is yes. It will be filed under "Special Assignments." That was going to be included in the chapter, but it was edited out for comedic timing purposes.
Also, this was another chapter that ended up being split. Though, interestingly, it wasn't ex post facto like the previous chapter. Instead what happened was that we were happily writing along with rapidity when we realized we were closing in on 25 pages.
Also, if you're rapidly reaching the point where you need a chart to keep track of who knows what and who is concealing what from whom you're not alone.
EDIT (Cyclone): We suddenly realized that the black aura that appears when Pyrrha uses her semblance must be for audience benefit only, or Pyrrha would never have been able to use it as subtly as she says she does to help her win her tournament championships, so we removed that reference.
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- Location
- Argentina
What? What family? If she means the Autobots then something is wrong with her head. Ruby and her dad and maybe Raven are her family.
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
...no, she means Tai and Qrow, mainly. Rocket lockers seem to be a Beacon-only thing, not for all Huntsmen, and one never knows when something might happen that calls for quick access to gear.
- Location
- Argentina
Tai is teaching on Patch. And Qrow is always on the move and is unlikely to have a permanent place in Vale.
Also the whole flashbacks to things she never lived is weird, did Bumblebee show her video recordings or something?
Also the whole flashbacks to things she never lived is weird, did Bumblebee show her video recordings or something?
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
Exactly my point. I suspect Qrow in particular has caches hidden all over Remnant, not just Vale.
Some images of Cybertron, yes, but even aside from that, he's been telling her stories -- as we have repeatedly indicated -- and imagination is a powerful thing; we are also being very deliberately vague on some of what she ran into at Site 13.
To be honest, I have to ask: Are you actually able to say anything that isn't a pointless nitpick about something we are trying to be subtle about, setting up for the future, or a background element that does not in anyway contradict canon?
Because if not, I'm going to have to stop responding to you, because subtlety and foreshadowing, particularly some of the things we're planning for the future, would be completely ruined by any direct response, even one that just says "spoilers."
- Location
- Argentina
I am not the only one who has conplained that's she is acting too weird for only having interacted with the Autobots for a few weeks.
It has got to the point it has got between me liking the story. Ah well at least the first few chapters at least did make sense.
It has got to the point it has got between me liking the story. Ah well at least the first few chapters at least did make sense.
Volume I: Episode 8: Making the Rounds
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
(V1E7: Aftermath | V1E8: Making the Rounds | V1E9: Confrontations)
Episode 8: Making the Rounds
* * *
Episode 8: Making the Rounds
* * *
"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 airplane, 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."
(V1E7: Aftermath | V1E8: Making the Rounds | V1E9: Confrontations)
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.
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Metroidwave
Strength To Lean On
- Location
- Somewhere in Colorado
Ooooh. It isn't often you see everyone's favorite doublespy in action. Part of me's hoping that he'll take more after his Masters and Mayhem incarnation the regular G1, but I'm not getting my hopes up too much. Besides, it'll be so much more fun to watch Starscream's hopes, ambitions, and other intangibles disintegrate around him.
- Location
- Australia
Nice fic, definitly enjoying it so far. That said I've got to wonder how long you're going to keep Yang and the rest apart? Despite all their effort, RWB and JNPR have basically accomplished nothing. Its duplicated effort, we got some nice plot progression with the attack on the site then it stalled when we get the rest of the gang aimlessly walking around the same place for no gain.
Also, I get why Yang would want to keep ruby out of things and why she would respect the Autobots request for secrecy. I also get how she could justify keeping quiet and raiding site 13 with the white fang.
What I don't see is how she could possibly justify helping them raid the SDC headquarters with them. It's not a raid against a bunch of enslavers, it's aiding a terrorist attack on an office building. Given the white fang's reputation and past attacks, you can guarantee that there will be casualties. There's also no way she can claim its cause they need the info that bad because if it's important enough to kill people over then she has no excuse for not bringing Weiss into the equation
Also, I get why Yang would want to keep ruby out of things and why she would respect the Autobots request for secrecy. I also get how she could justify keeping quiet and raiding site 13 with the white fang.
What I don't see is how she could possibly justify helping them raid the SDC headquarters with them. It's not a raid against a bunch of enslavers, it's aiding a terrorist attack on an office building. Given the white fang's reputation and past attacks, you can guarantee that there will be casualties. There's also no way she can claim its cause they need the info that bad because if it's important enough to kill people over then she has no excuse for not bringing Weiss into the equation
- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
*scratches head, googles counterpunch*
*sees unrelated search, googles counterpunch transformers*
*sees related link, clicks and reads*
Bwahahahahahaha!!!
Especially considering Jazz's complaints to Optimus. AND the fact it was Starscream's idea in the first place to decant him.
Birds of a feather flock together, Yang. If this is foreshadowing, it's rather ominous (and much more obvious to us than Yang, considering that there were a lot more than those four birds going about).
Which makes this all the more jarring:
Like seriously? Yang in that scene is utterly myopic in regards to her family and team, praising Ruby in while leaving the entire team out of everything. Not that they're much better.
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Volume I: Episode 9: Confrontations
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
(V1E8: Making the Rounds | V1E9: Confrontations | V1E10: Conversations with Killers)
Episode 9: Confrontations
* * *
Episode 9: Confrontations
* * *
Hmm, fascinating, Air Commander Starscream mused with interest as he studied the readings.
"Trouble, sir?" asked Skywarp.
"Not at all, Skywarp," Starscream assured him. "Just something… fascinating. Consider, if you will, these spatial distortion sensor readings?"
Skywarp's optics squinted as he looked at the data. "Is that… a space bridge?"
"A ground bridge," Starscream corrected. "A very small one at that, judging from the strength of the readings, opening multiple times over the last two weeks. I've reviewed the perimeter security footage, and while I've been unable to acquire any footage of the ground bridge itself…" He gestured at the screens.
"...birds, sir?"
"Indeed," Starscream confirmed. He pointed at one black avian in particular. "That bird, to be precise. It is always present before the ground bridge readings register and never after."
The other Seeker stared at him, unsure what to say. "Are you saying… the local avians… have ground bridge technology?" he asked hesitantly.
"Don't be ridiculous," Starscream scoffed. "I'm saying that someone on this wretched planet is experimenting with ground bridge technology, and that bird is likely their test subject. Or spy, some local equivalent to Laserbeak, perhaps."
Skywarp seemed to be considering his words carefully. "Do you want me to go and... shoo it away... or something?"
"No, this avian has trespassed on Decepticon property too many times for that. It's time I deal with it personally."
And with that, Starscream got up from his chair and left the bunker, Skywarp's optics darting from the screen to his superior the whole time.
Starscream scared him. To be fair, that was pretty typical among the Decepticon ranks, but this was different. Fear seemed the only logical reaction to his commander going out to personally yell at a bird.
Lunch had become a strained affair for Teams RWBY and JNPR, and it was indeed two teams by that point. Yang's rage and fury at Jaune had not abated, and thus, a four-table demilitarized zone now existed between them during lunch. Now, teams only sat there due to a lack of space, for the sweep of the blonde's gaze was long and terrible. It was annoying, stressful, and no one seemed able to fix it.
"Yaaang," pleaded Ruby, "can't this come to an end?"
Yang turned back to look at her sister. "After what he did to you, Rubes? Are you kidding me? Not a chance."
"But it wasn't like that!" protested Ruby.
"Then what was it like?" asked Yang pointedly. "What really happened that night?"
Ruby made to respond, but then held her tongue and blushed furiously, looking down as she tapped her index fingers together. "I- I can't..." she trailed off.
Yang's frown deepened. "You do know that just makes me assume the worst, right?"
"I don't get you, Yang," interjected Weiss. "I mean, I never expected you of all people to have such an old-fashioned view on relationships."
Yang huffed. "What do you mean, 'me of all people,' Weiss? Just what exactly are you implying?"
Weiss froze, wide-eyed. "Umm…"
"I think she's referring to how… free-spirited you typically are," Blake interjected, not even looking up from her book to see Weiss's grateful look. "It doesn't exactly fit with such conservative rules."
Yang's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, biting back sharper words of reprisal. "Those rules exist for a reason, Blake. Otherwise, some woman would just be able to waltz on in, have a wild fling, and leave the guy holding the baby. I don't want Ruby to have the same horrible experience as our dad did."
Blake paused, finally looking up. "Wait a second, isn't it the guy who usually leaves the girl with the baby?"
"Our family was special," whispered Ruby.
Yang ignored her sister's comment. "All the more reason to protect Ruby's virtue until she's married and her spouse is proven to be loyal. I'd expect her to do the same for me."
"It's true," Ruby admitted. "I've provided overwatch on her dates before."
"I hope you don't mean with Crescent Rose," said Weiss.
"I loaded tranquilizers!"
"And I was very thankful for her," said Yang before turning back to her task. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Ruby, and I will make Jaune pay for… whatever he did to you."
She'd thought Ruby would be fine -- it was Jaune, after all, goofy, dorky Jaune -- but apparently, she'd been wrong. She'd let her duties slip to go pal around with the White Fang, of all people, just to feel like she was doing something, and her sister paid the price. The shame of it -- that she'd let 'never again' turn into 'why not?' -- drove her forward, and it would continue to do so until he'd been made to pay in full.
Five tables over, Jaune reflexively ducked down as Yang resumed glaring at him from across the cafeteria.
"Do you suppose it's possible for someone to unlock a second semblance?" asked Nora curiously. "'Cause it sure looks like Yang's trying really hard for laser eyes."
"This can't go on," observed Ren.
"Indeed," concurred Pyrrha. "We need to come up with a solution to this issue."
"Single combat on a rooftop?" suggested Nora.
"I have considered it," admitted Pyrrha.
Jaune let out a heavy sigh, a sigh of inevitability. "I need to talk to Yang," he said simply.
"Oh, come on, fearless leader!" Nora said cheerfully, offering him an encouraging slap on the back. "Life isn't that bad! And even if it were, there are better ways to end it."
"Wha-?" Jaune blinked as her words registered. "I'm not trying to commit suicide, Nora! I just... I can't keep running and hiding from her forever. Pyrrha, back me up."
"Well, this is a situation that needs to be dealt with," the redhead reluctantly agreed, "but... I'm not sure this is the right way to approach it."
Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, Pyr, I mean, literally, back me up. When I go talk to her, follow me, stay out of sight, and be ready to save me from her if it all goes horribly wrong."
"Oh. Oh! Of course."
"Any sign of the Decepticon base?" asked Silverbolt as he flew through the cloudy sky in his vehicle mode.
"None yet," said Skydive as he came up to fly alongside his squadron leader. "Think we'll find it today?"
"No," admitted Silverbolt. "The 'Cons have been lying unusually low, and they've got plenty of empty space to hide in."
"And we don't have the energon to stay in the air forever," observed Skydive.
Silverbolt chuckled. "You know, usually, I'd consider that a good day, but now…"
"Now, we've got so many ticking clocks that it's making you more anxious than the flying," finished Skydive.
"Unfortunately," confirmed Silverbolt. "How goes the road mapping? Any anomalies?"
Skydive paused as he performed a comparison. "No, everything we're seeing matches what we got off the local datanet."
Of course, the datanet didn't include a lot of trails they could see, but they'd leave it to the ground teams to follow up on those.
Weiss looked up as three sharp knocks sounded on the door to Team RWBY's dormitory. She glanced around. Blake didn't seem interested in even looking up from her book, Yang was immersed in some game on her scroll, and Weiss would be damned if she allowed anything short of the building being on fire to pull Ruby from her homework. Which left her.
Ugh.
Annoyed, the heiress rose to her feet and walked to the door, opening it. At the sight of the tall blond on the other side, she slammed it shut again and shook her head, turning and leaning against the door.
She was not in the mood to deal with this.
"Weiss?" Jaune's voice was muffled by the door. "Weiss, please. Is Yang there? I need to talk to her."
Weiss looked over to Yang, who still seemed to not have noticed.
She turned her head and hissed through the door. "Listen, Jaune, I know we've had our differences, and you've been a complete oaf at times, but I don't want you to die!"
"Weiss, please, open the door."
"Hey, Weiss, who's at the door?"
Weiss whipped her head and jumped in surprise to see Yang reaching for the doorknob. A mistake, as it meant nothing was stopping the blonde from opening the door…
"No, wait, don't-"
...which she did.
"Oh." Yang's eyes flared red and narrowed at Jaune. "You."
Jaune gave a little wave. "Uh, hey, Ya- err, Miss Xiao Long. Can we, uh, can we... talk for a bit? In private?"
"Fine," she agreed. "Roof. This better be good."
It was the longest walk of Jaune's life. There was a reason it had taken him this long to work up the courage to actually talk to her, despite having concluded he had to hours earlier. He could feel Yang's gaze burning into his back, but at least he could trust her not to sucker punch him before they reached the roof.
After? Well, that was another story. At least she hadn't put on Ember Celica.
He turned as he heard the roof access door click shut behind her with an ominous finality. Actually, considering what he'd thought when Pyrrha had brought him up here, maybe Nora was right. Maybe suicide had been on his mind.
It certainly was now.
Yang crossed her arms and leaned against the door, cutting off his only escape if he didn't want to practice his landing strategy.
"So," she said. "Talk. You've got thirty seconds before my fists start talking."
Jaune took a deep breath and said, "Look, the thing with Ruby... it- it's complicated."
"Then uncomplicate it." As if it were that easy. "Twenty seconds."
"It's kind of… hard to explain."
"Fifteen seconds," she reminded him. "Is Ruby just not good enough for you? Is that it?"
"No!" he shot back. "No, it's nothing like that at all!"
"Mm hmm," Yang said, nodding skeptically. "Ten seconds."
"I'm not good enough for her!" he blurted out, wincing back and closing his eyes. He had a few seconds more, but what else was there to say?
Seconds ticked by, and he was sure he'd run out of time. Finally, he slowly cracked an eye open and peeked.
"Okay," Yang said. She hadn't moved, and her eyes had reverted to their normal lilac. Definitely good signs. "Keep talking."
I'm gonna live! Jaune thought as he finally opened both eyes and met her gaze. He slumped his shoulders as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say.
Might as well speak from the heart.
"Well," he started, "I mean... she's sweet and funny and wonderful, always willing to help everyone, even when they don't want it. Ruby is…" he looked away, "...something special. She can practically light up a room just by walking into it, and... she deserves better than someone like me. That date... it was more just a couple of friends" -- or a couple of teams -- "hanging out" -- chasing down a dead end while looking for another SDC slave factory -- "than anything else, and that's how it felt, to both of us." He shook his head, then looked back up to meet her gaze. "She deserves someone who can really make her happy, and… that's not me."
Yang's expression softened for a bit, before creasing again in suspicion as she pressed her lips thin skeptically. "That didn't stop you from battering yourself against Weiss with enough dogged persistence to match a Beowolf."
Jaune stared down at the roof they stood on, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. How to get out of this one? "Weiss is... different," he said finally.
"How so?"
He looked up at Yang again and shrugged. "Ruby gave me a chance; Weiss never did. And... I think that's kind of important to really see how things might go. That's what dating is, isn't it? Getting to know someone in a different environment, see how compatible you really are before making any commitments? I mean, it's not like I was asking Weiss to marry me or anything, just... to give me a chance."
A chance she never gave. That still hurt, that she hated him so much she didn't even want to try to get to know him better.
"Yeah..." Yang relented. "Yeah, I can sorta see that, I guess. So, just friends, huh?"
"Yeah, Friendzone Jaune, that's me."
He really should have remembered how Cardin learned about his faked transcripts, because from an open window below, the rest of Yang's team was listening in.
But… we never actually went on a date, Ruby thought, blushing furiously as she poked her the tips of her index fingers together awkwardly. Does he... really think of me like that?
Hmph, Weiss mused. Surprisingly mature of Arc. I wonder… does this mean if I actually give him that date, he might start leaving me alone?
Blake looked at her two teammates, cocking an eyebrow. Jaune, you have just dug your own grave. You will be missed.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha -- armed and ready to break down the door and intervene -- was also listening in. She smiled fondly. Oh, Jaune, if only more women saw this side of you, you'd be beating them off with a stick.
Yang sighed. "Very well. I forgive you, Jaune."
"Thank you, Yang," the blond boy said, internally breathing a huge sigh of relief. "Ruby's my best friend, and I'm sorry I ever risked that."
"Some risks are worth taking," Yang assured him. "They don't always pan out, but that doesn't make them any less worth it."
"Yeah," he said, turning to look out on the view. "I suppose you're right."
After all, he was here at Beacon, wasn't he?
Yang opened the door and stepped back into the building, then blinked as she saw Pyrrha leaning against the wall next to the door, doing a very poor job of hiding Miló and Akoúo̱ behind her back. Watching out for Jaune, obviously. Yang's eyes darted back out to where Jaune still stood, back to them, as a smirk grew on her face.
"Go get 'im, girl," she whispered encouragingly.
"Wha-?" Pyrrha blushed, startled as Yang grabbed her and shoved her out onto the roof, slamming the door behind her.
"Hmm?" Jaune looked over his shoulder at the sound of the door closing. "Oh, hey, Pyrrha. Thanks for watching my back."
"A-anytime, Jaune," she said, her gaze involuntarily dropping slightly. Her cheeks flushed.
"Where are you, little birdy?" asked Starscream menacingly as he stalked through the woods while holding a scaled-up version of what the humans called a "butterfly net."
"I don't want to hurt you," he assured the empty forest. "I just want to find out all of your secrets. And then! The null ray."
He patted one of the guns on his upper arm while chuckling manically.
"I don't know who your masters are, but I will have their secrets," he continued. "I must commend them. Given the primitive technological base of this world, grasping even the very basics of ground bridge technology is a feat worthy of praise."
His optics swept across the forest. "Indeed, I suspect they are listening through you even now. If you are, consider what could be achieved if we combined our genius intellects together with truly advanced tools, instead of whatever you've managed to cobble together."
He took a few steps further in. Birds flew off, but none of them matched the one he was looking for.
"Any takers?" he asked the woods. He got silence for a reply.
With a shrug, he shifted again, startling more birds, and- there!
He swung the net at the black avian. Against reflexes swift enough to respond while traveling at hypersonic speeds, the bird didn't stand a chance. He brought the net up to his optics and peered into the tiny creature's terrified eyes.
"Hmm," he hmmed. "Something's not right here..."
Jaune looked at the combined teams strangely. Something had come over them, and it seemed to be affecting the way they were interacting with him. That just wouldn't do. They were right in the middle of a mission!
"Any idea what's going on, Ren?" Jaune asked, a little bit louder than usual to be heard over the howl of the Bullhead's engines.
Ren looked at Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha. He shrugged his shoulders. "Women are a mystery wrapped inside an enigma," he said sagely.
"Yeah, tell me about it," agreed Jaune.
"Head's up, we're five minutes out from the LZ," reported Blake through their earpieces.
"Got it," Jaune replied, and he set about making sure the combined team was ready.
They were indeed ready when they hit the ground in a secluded clearing in the forest. Each member of the group had their weapons prepared, but more importantly for this operation, each carried a set of camouflage netting. Still, while they might be on a mission they found time to converse.
"So, Blake," began Pyrrha as she entered the cockpit and saw the black-haired woman going through the procedure to shut the aircraft down. "How did you learn to fly a VTOL?"
"It's not that hard," said Blake simply, not taking her eyes off her work. "These old Bullheads are a breeze to fly; probably why there's so many of them. In my case, I had a tutor. No idea where he is now, but he taught me everything I know when it comes to flying."
"Well, you are very lucky," observed Pyrrha. "I've always wanted to learn how to fly, but with all the training for the tournaments and now training to be a Huntress, I never got the opportunity to learn."
"Are you asking me to teach you?" inquired Blake.
"What?!" Pyrrha said, startled. "No, I couldn't possibly impose!"
"Too bad, because I'm going to be teaching you now," Blake ordered without the slightest chance for argument. "Beacon has a simulator room. We can get you some hours there, and then when you're ready, I'll take you up in a Bullhead and get you some real stick time."
"You… you're serious, aren't you?" Pyrrha asked, aghast.
"Just paying it forward," Blake replied as she finished the shut down procedure, and picked up her weapon and pack. "Come on, let's meet up with the others before they get too far ahead."
That said, the pair linked up with the rest of the group, and as one, they traveled to a very specific spot alongside a railroad, near a curve in the track. There, they unburderned themselves of their camouflage netting and did their best to hide under them. Unless one was right on top of them, they would have seen nothing but grass.
After about an hour of waiting, a train pulling ten cars could be seen in the distance. They rolled along until they passed by where the students laid in wait. Seven nets fluttered in the breeze, and the train gained seven passengers.
"And just like that, we're in like Flynn," commented Ruby as the two teams began to lower themselves down between two of the cars.
"What?" asked Nora dumbly.
"You know, in like Flynn," Ruby repeated.
"It's just something she and Yang say," explained Weiss. "Now, let's find the car with the energon, and if we run into any androids, I'll use my override code on them."
"Override code?" asked Blake curiously.
"Of course," Weiss said, before launching into a brief lecture. "Every robot used by the SDC has an override code embedded into its firmware in case of possession by Grimm, mass rebellion following gaining sentience, theft and attempted reprogramming, or some combination of the three. Every member of the Schnee family has one of these codes that we're made to memorize since birth."
The rest of the group stared at Weiss in wonder and no small bit of horror.
"Weiss," began Blake. "The more I hear about your family, the more thankful I am that I wasn't born in your stead." Though I can certainly think of quite a few times when that would have been useful to have.
The heiress bristled at that. "Hey!"
"Never mind that," said Ruby decisively. "Let's spread out. We've got seven people and ten cars. Ren, Nora, Weiss; you work your way front. Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha; you work your way back. I'll stay in the middle and provide overwatch. All right? Go!"
The team split in two as ordered, and immediately, they ran into issues. No sooner had they entered the car, than Weiss, Ren, and Nora realized just what it was, precisely. The boxcar was filled with AK-130s, who all activated and turned to face them.
One in particular spoke up. "Intruder, identify yourself," it demanded, but not in the familiar, standardized AK-130 voice.
"Override previous commands and transfer control to me. Authority: Weiss Schnee. Identification code: Hapspir, Barrini, Corbolan, Triaxis," Weiss said to the combat robot in a clear, cold voice.
"Authority not recognized. Identification code not accepted," replied the android.
"You dare!" exclaimed Weiss, outraged.
"Hail Lord Megatron!" the androids all declared as one before their internal weapons unfolded.
"Hail this!" Nora shouted back, even as she pulled the trigger of Magnhild and a sextet of grenades flew forth from the opened cylinder of the grenade launcher.
The car was rocked by a cacophony of explosions as the grenades flew forth to detonate in a cluster of pink explosions that triggered a series of chain lightning bolts that leapt from Knight to Knight, detonating their dust cores as they went. Ren had flung both Weiss and Nora to the ground as soon as Magnhild had fired. This no doubt saved them when the explosions tore the train car open and apart.
"Wow!" yelled Nora, struggling to be heard over the ringing in her ears and howl of the wind. "These guys blow up real good!"
Weiss and Ren both looked up and found the rest of the group staring at them. Nora waved back at them. Ruby waved as well.
"Right, so our car is full of spare parts, so are we good now?" asked Jaune.
As if in reply, a squad of AK-130s entered through the opposite door of the car, weapons drawn. Likewise, more started to enter through the car ahead of the now skeletal boxcar Weiss, Ren, Nora were now in. The battle was joined anew.
For Weiss, though, she just turned back to look at the destroyed Atlesian Knights with an expression of confusion and one question on her lips: "Why didn't it work? It should have worked!"
"I don't know, probably has something to do with this Megatron guy," Nora said. "Less thinking, more shooting!"
"What kind of name is 'Megatron,' anyway?" asked Ruby.
"An Atlas Academy codename, most likely," Ren speculated.
It went without saying that they were all firing their weapons at that point. Well, except Jaune, obviously.
Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, a stream of tracer rounds came down from above, cutting a swathe through the Atlesian Knights in the forward of the train.
"Who are they?" asked Ruby, looking up.
Like a flock of predatory birds, a series of four oddly-shaded green and grey VTOLs descended, flanking the train. Instead of the rounded hulls of Bullheads, though, these were the angled and almost fish-like Atlesian AC-38 Skygraspers. In the open back of one, several figures could be seen, all dressed in a similarly colored full body uniforms, complete with eye and face concealment.
"Friend, or foe?" asked Pyrrha as she used Miló's rifle form to shoot an AK-130's eye out.
Some of the covered figures dropped down onto the train to smash apart the Knights they landed upon, while those still in the Skygrasper opened fire on the group of Huntsmen (in training).
"Foe! Definitely foe!" Jaune reported as he ducked his head behind his shield, bullets pinging off of it.
"This just got a lot more complicated," Blake shouted. "Let's grab the energon and get out!"
"We don't even know if this train is actually carrying any energon!" Ruby pointed out.
"Then we better search quickly," Blake said resolutely.
Ruby nodded and rocketed away towards the front of the train in a burst of rose petals. Behind her, Jaune barked out, "Pyrrha, move up into overwatch! Weiss, take Pyrrha's place!"
Ruby wrapped around the strange suited attackers, sliced between the androids on her way through the cars. She did not have to go far, though, before she ran into a solid looking boxcar filled with iridescent pink cubes.
Firing a lightning dust round from Crescent Rose at the lead android, she sent the AK-130 into a spasmodic seizure that left it falling into its fellows. Ruby then followed it up by shifting her rifle into a war scythe that came down on top of their heads like the axe of a headsman. As she struck, she leapt up upwards, her weapon shifting back into a carbine to destroy those who stood in the doorway. She did not come out entirely unscathed, however, as she took several shots, and though her aura absorbed it, it did nothing to stop the pain.
It didn't take long for her to secure the car and the cubes inside. She began scanning for any labels, occasionally firing off a shot when a target presented itself. It felt like it took longer than it did to find a label for the strange containers. The symbol from before was there, and so was the alien script, but printed just beneath them in letters familiar to her was the information she sought.
ENERGON CUBE PALLET
TRANSFER TO SITE 10
ALL HAIL LORD MEGATRON, SLAYER OF PRIMES, RIGHTFUL RULER OF ALL
Ruby activated her earpiece even as she snapped a picture of the sign with her scroll. "Guys, I've found the energon. It looks like a liquid stored in these big pink cubes. There's a lot."
"Should we alert command?" asked Skywarp as he watched his commander interrogate a small bird on the security cameras.
Counterpunch looked down at the Seeker, then back up to the screens. "I mean, on the one hand, command would probably want to know about this. On the other hand, he's going to come back in eventually, and he might find out what we did."
Skywarp looked up at Counterpunch, then at the image of Starscream, then back to Counterpunch. Reluctantly, he switched the camera feed off. "I didn't see anything if you didn't."
"My optics have been acting up lately," Counterpunch noted. "We really need to bring another medic out of stasis."
"No argument there," agreed Skywarp. "So… Praxis Fold 'Em?"
"I'll deal."
"Cubes?!" asked Nora as she fired off another grenade. "Who stores liquids in a cube?!"
"Avant garde artists," replied Ren as he fired off another burst from StormFlower to keep the unknown assailants pinned behind cover.
"Oh, I hate those city slickin' yellowbellies," said the short redhead before shifting Magnhild into a hammer. "Let's wrap this up quick."
"How?" asked Ren.
Nora's eyes darted between her weapon and her partner. "Shoot me."
Ren had the decency to act at least mildly surprised. "Very well. Let me get the dust."
Before he could even so much as exchange his magazines, one of the unknown assailants drew forth their bulky rifle and fired forth a shot from the side-barrel attachment. The yellow, cone-shaped projectile flew through the air to impact the cover that the two friends were hiding behind, and it began emitting coursing waves of electricity. Ren let out a cry of pain and dropped to the floor, while Nora stood firm and moved to catch him.
"Ren!" the redhead called out as the long-haired boy settled into her arms. No sooner had she laid him gently on the floor, than her emotions shifted. Outrage, fury, and anticipation warred within her like the clashing of thunder in an anvil cloud, and over it all was the sky tearing flash of a million lightning bolts in destructive harmony.
"Big mistake," she whispered before leaping over her cover with the strength of twenty men.
She brought up her hammer to smite them low, and they fired their pitiful weapons at her. It did not matter if they breached her guard, nor did it matter if her dress was stained with red that day. All that mattered was the next blow.
It came down with the force of forty men to strike the group diagonally. Auras broke and shattered, bodies were compressed, and the rabble were swept off the train entirely. Her swing had missed some, though, so even as her body flowed with wondrous electricity, she swung around again to break them.
"Who are you?" one of the masked men demanded in a voice far too confident for his situation.
"We're the Magnificent Seven!" Nora declared with righteous fury. "And your ticket has been punched!"
Her right arm, without a weapon and with palm flat, came to crash into the masked man's solar plexus, sending him against a nearby wall with a screeching smash. She quickly regained her grip on Magnhild and swung the hammer around to smash a heavy looking container off its moorings. The piece of metal flew forth to hit another green and grey suited assailant in the back, bending him over double before taking the head clean off the Atlesian Knight he was firing at.
"Nora!" called out a familiar voice, breaking the young Huntress out of her combat haze.
"Ren! Oh, you're okay!" she cheered as she turned to see him coming up behind her.
"I wouldn't be able to be around you if I couldn't take a few thousand volts," Ren answered cheekily as he ran up to her. The two shared a smile, soft and wholesome, born from near enough a decade of time spent together. Suddenly, something caught the long-haired boy's eye and he looked behind Nora.
"Excuse me," he said before unleashing a hail of fire from his twin submachine guns that pinned down another pair of masked attackers, who in turn opened fire on a group of AK-130s, who ducked down only to begin bombarding the Huntsmen's position in a storm of projectiles.
"This is getting really complicated," complained Nora as she reloaded her grenades. "Wonder if the others are having this problem."
They were indeed, for it was that on the other end of the train that Blake was darting between androids to deliver devastating blow after devastating blow against them. Jaune was alongside her, guarding her left flank with shield and sword. On her right was Weiss, sending forth ice and other forms of dust while using her glyphs to boost the abilities of her friends and herself.
Pyrrha shot over their heads when the opportunity presented itself, and then rapidly shifted to fire at the front, covering both ends of the train at once.
Suddenly, more of the masked assailants dropped down onto the rear of the train. Half of them began looking for something, while the other half started firing upon both the androids and the Huntsmen. The battle surged with renewed energy.
Jaune deflected the incoming bullets with his shield and tried to close to melee range, even as some of the masked men advanced as well. A pair of Atlesian Knights between them split their attention, and Jaune bashed its armblade aside, stabbing Crocea Mors into its dust core. As he wrenched it out, he felt more than saw another the other AK-130 approach, and he caught the incoming attack on his shield with a high guard, thrusting Crocea Mors under the shield.
He blinked as he felt the blade sink into soft flesh rather than hard metal. That wasn't an Atlesian Knight. He shook his head as he braced his shield to take another blow from another opponent. Not now. Later.
Weiss fired off a stream of ice pillars that shot along the floor like the dorsal fin of a shark to encase one of the masked men up to his neck. She started in surprise as a low-hanging sign slammed into the ice encasing him, snapping the ice pillar at its base and sending both ice and the man trapped inside tumbling off the train. Even as she hoped his aura was still up, she knew it was an empty hope.
Blake kept her focus on the androids rather than the men. Even as Gambol Shroud spoke or slashed, she kept her attention focused on her targets. Not again, she thought. Never again. Those were lines she'd crossed before, and she'd be damned if she crossed them again.
Pyrrha rained down fire from Milo's rifle form on both sides with equal aplomb, while ducking to dodge low-hanging branches and signs. Not all the competitions she'd participated in involved dueling, and some marksmanship contests were remarkably similar to the current situation: sight the target, pull the trigger, sight the target, pull the trigger. That the target was sometimes flesh and blood… well, she could worry about that later. Right now, she had more immediate concerns, like the odds they were facing.
"Come on, Ruby," Pyrrha muttered under her breath. "I know you can do it."
Ruby, for her part, was feeling serious doubts about that. She was darting this way and that, trying to fend off attacks by the two enemy sides while defending the car full of energon cubes. Then, suddenly, with a spike of dread, she saw one of the masked men tampering with the coupling at the front of the car. To be precise, he was burning it in two with a cutting laser beam mounted on top of his rifle.
"Oh no, you don't!" cried Ruby as she fired a lightning dust round from Crescent Rose.
It happened in the blink of an eye, but she saw every moment of it. First, the laser finished cutting through the coupling; second, her lightning round hit, doing little damage but sending him into something akin to a muscle spasm; thirdly, he slipped and fell through the gap between cars. Ruby barely had time to register what she had done before the whole car shuddered, and then it began to shift.
She looked back and saw that the coupling behind her had already been cut, with the man who had cut it ducking back into cover. Ruby dismissed him from her mind and ran over to the open door at the front. Purposefully ignoring the dead man's rifle laying on the floor, she looked up and saw the massive green and grey form of one of the Skygraspers using a series of cables to grasp the car and hoist it into the sky.
Then, with a jerk, the car separated from the rest of its fellows and began to rise up above the train.
"Ruby!" called out Weiss over the earpiece. "Get off that thing!"
"Not without the energon!" was Ruby's reply.
Blake then entered the conversation. "Ruby, I just activated my beckon call. The Bullhead will be here in a minute. Grab what you can and get off. The last thing we need right now is to have to chase you all over the place like this in a civilian aircraft."
Ruby's eyes darted around the room and saw one of the cubes that seemed slightly less secure than the others. With a deft hand, she swung Crescent Rose to slice apart the bindings holding it in place. Then, with a strength few would expect from such a tiny frame, she took the cube that was as big as she was and awkwardly carried it over to the edge.
The train was beneath and behind her now, with all her friends on it, falling ever steadily behind. It was at least a thousand feet from where she was to her destination, and the gap was widening. An impossible feat, but...
Ruby exhaled. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
She ran back, and then ran forward. She jumped and activated her semblance so that both she and the cube disappeared in a blur of glowing pink and red rose petals. In the span of a few seconds, she had cleared the distance and dropped back down into the wreck of the car that Nora had destroyed at the start of the fight.
The Bullhead could be seen rapidly approaching, but it was not the only thing above. One of the four Skygraspers had held back, hanging in the air like some predatory bird. It hovered there ominously for a moment, but then flew off to some unknown destination.
The destination seemed something worth contemplating. Their airship had arrived though, and both RWB and JNPR rushed onboard the craft. Blake took over the pilot's seat, beckoned Pyrrha to sit in the copilot's seat, then switched off the autopilot. Ruby took the energon cube and placed it in the back, sweat upon her brow as she made sure the side doors were closed.
She looked upon the faces of her team, and Ruby felt an emptiness in her chest, sympathetic for what she saw. She didn't let it show, though; they couldn't lose heart. Jaune, luckily, gave voice to what they were feeling.
"Who were those guys?"
"Maybe they're the ones that hit that facility we saw?" Blake suggested from up front.
"I don't know," Ruby said, "but I don't think we've seen the last of them. Everyone, keep an eye on the skies in case they come back."
Silas, real name classified, reviewed the footage of the battle with a clinical eye.
It seemed to him that it had been a very good day. Yes, they had lost men in the battle, some in particularly gruesome ways. However, they had also gained quite a bit of energon, and some very useful data.
"'Magnificent Seven,'" the scarred man mused. "If that wasn't a quip, then these children's skill was matched only by their arrogance."
They had learned the name when two of the Skygraspers that circled around to pick up survivors. They weren't many, but they were enough. Enough to train the replacements of those who died, and enough to continue other operations as normal.
"Still," he said as his eyes drifted over the footage of the red-haired woman with the hammer seeming to grow stronger from the electricity coursing through her body, "maybe they'll have a use after all, should MECH meet them again."
"You think you can deceive me? Air Commander Starscream of the Decepticon Seeker Corps?"
From within the Cybertronian's hands, the black bird let out a caw in reply.
"So, a joker, are we?" Starscream chuckled darkly. "Very well, we have ways of making you talk. You might not like them though."
The bird cawed again, and Starscream's optics narrowed.
"I will not suffer such mockery from the likes of you, bird!"
The avian tilted its head, and suddenly Starscream turned to see a female human with pale skin and voluminous black hair, clad in red and black garments perched upon the branch of a tree at optics level with him. Upon her hip was a large, scabbarded sword, while her expression was concealed behind a faceplate that made her look like a Grimm. Despite her hidden expression, though, she still came off as relaxed, at ease, and in complete control of the situation.
"This is without a doubt the saddest thing I've ever seen," the human said.
"Well, hello," he said before gently placing the bird on his shoulder. "So you've finally decided to show yourself."
He tapped his fingertips together, and a smile came upon his lips. "We have much to discuss."
(V1E8: Making the Rounds | V1E9: Confrontations | V1E10: Conversations with Killers)
"Hey, we're going to take some time off, and…"
"Nope! Not happening."
"But Nora, we have a lot to do. Two other stories!"
"Fine! Then I'll just write the story myself. It's time me and Ren got the respect we deserve anyways."
A/N1 (Cyclone): First, you can blame me for the obvious impending romantic shenanigans. I find it amusing, and a story needs more than just action/adventure and secrets and lies. Hopefully, it won't take up too much screen time and will provide a bit of light-hearted contrast to this iteration of the eternal war between the Autobots and Decepticons.
We think we've come up with a unique and interesting take on Starscream. Here's hoping he won't disappoint as we explore this incarnation of him further in future chapters.
Also, apparently, Nora watches westerns. I'm going to assume westerns on Remnant are set in Vacuo. And Blake and trains. She's like a jinx for them. Has she ever boarded one without something horrible happening to it? At least this one didn't get derailed or blown up. Much.
A/N2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): Going into this, we had no plans at all for Ren and Nora. This did not stop them from annexing basically every scene they've been in. I was not expecting that, but that's the way of writing.
Also, the name for the Atlesian Dropship used in this chapter is pretty directly taken from SAPR by ScipioSmith, though there it's called the AF-38 Skygrasper not the AC-38 Skygrasper. The designation change was made because, well, they're cargo craft with attack capabilities, not fighter-bombers. Though given some of the other elements in here, maybe it should have had an X designation?
Here we also see the introduction of MECH to the grand game. Will they be a recurring enemy? Yes. Will they be significant to the plot? Yes, but not as much as some others.
Next time though, we'll see the aftermath of the Magnificent Seven's train job on the members, and Yang's continued working with the White Fang. . . . Which, I suppose I should mention that, yes, we are aware that Yang's shooting herself in the foot here, but you needn't worry about it being some ephemeral meandering without plan or purpose. The revelations of what's been going on with the different members of Team RWBY has been something decided upon since the beginning, and is clear like crystal in our minds. We hope you'll all stick around to see that moment, and what happens afterward. You can quote me now that you won't forget it.
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Metroidwave
Strength To Lean On
- Location
- Somewhere in Colorado
So Raven's semblance registers as a Groundbridge? Interesting...
Also, here's hoping things turn out better for the Magnificent 7 than they did for the Magnificent 6.
Also, here's hoping things turn out better for the Magnificent 7 than they did for the Magnificent 6.
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
Starscream certainly thinks so.
Volume I: Episode 10: Conversations with Killers
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
(V1E9: Confrontations | V1E10: Conversations with Killers | V1E11: Compatibility)
Episode 10: Conversations with Killers
* * *
Episode 10: Conversations with Killers
* * *
"Excellent work, Team Rainbow," Ozpin said, looking over at the seven students. Team RRANNBW was a bit unorthodox -- teams of seven were rare, even for temporary assignments -- but its members worked together well enough. He wasn't entirely certain of their decision to leave Miss Xiao Long out of the loop, but… it wasn't his place.
"Thank you, sir," replied Jaune and Ruby in unison. They were becoming quite good at that.
The energon cube sat between them then, faintly glowing with pink light. Glynda was there as well. The combat instructor's looked sadly upon her students, who despite their various expressions, all shared a certain hard edge in their eyes.
No, they are definitely not children anymore, lamented Glynda.
"Students," Ozpin said, "in bringing us this energon cube, you've done us a great service, but it will take time to analyze, and we don't have any further leads to follow up on at the moment. Take some time to focus on your studies, and if you need anyone to talk to -- about anything at all -- my door, and Glynda's, are always open."
"Sir," Blake spoke up, her voice uncertain, "is that an order?"
"Do you want me to make it an order, Miss Belladonna?" asked Ozpin.
Blake's amber orbs quickly glanced at the rest of her team, and then refocused on Ozpin as she answered, "No, Headmaster."
"Very well. Have a good night, Team Rainbow."
Ozpin watched as the seven students departed his office. As the door clicked shut behind them, Glynda asked, "Will they be all right?"
"I don't know," Opzin admitted. His gaze shifted to the energon cube. "What they've stumbled- no, what they've tracked down... this is big. Maybe bigger than all of us."
As the elevator began to descend, the seven students began to relax slightly. They had much to discuss, and not a lot of time to discuss it in.
"Well, that was tense," Nora said conversationally.
"Why wouldn't it be?" asked Weiss pointedly. "I… we… people are dead, Nora."
"Yeah, people who didn't even introduce themselves before shooting at us," the ginger-haired girl pointed out.
"And that makes it okay to kill them?" Pyrrha asked quietly..
Ren and Nora looked at each other meaningfully, but it was Jaune who answered, "Yes."
Pyrrha started, looking at her team leader in surprise, and Jaune pulled her into a comforting hug.
"I don't- I just-" Weiss stammered.
"Hey," Nora said with a pointing finger. "Me and Ren warned all of you what it would be like back on the Ocean Swan. This isn't like on your idyllic island," she looked at Ruby, "or your safe little cities," she looked at the rest. "This is the way things are handled outside the kingdoms, between villages: with gun and blade. Sometimes, words work if you meet someone willing to talk, but these guys weren't, and they died. End of story."
The car was silent for a moment before Ruby spoke. "This isn't like you, Nora."
Nora glanced down. "Sorry. I guess I'm not immune either."
"Hey, there's one thing I want to know, Ren," Jaune asked, changing the topic. "Do you always need to go to the bathroom after you do this?"
Ren brought his hand up to Nora's shoulder as he replied, "No, you'll need to go before too."
Pyrrha shook her head. "I think I might have preferred vomiting like in the movies."
The elevator came to a stop then.
"Sorry," Blake said with a catty smile as the doors opened. "It doesn't work that way."
"We have much to discuss."
"Oh, do we now?" asked the Grimm-faced human.
"Of course we do," Starscream assured her. "After all, you would not have revealed yourself to me if you were not interested in more thoroughly exploiting ground bridge technology, would you?"
"That depends. Define 'ground bridge,'" she said with a curious cock of her mask.
Starscream emitted a sound of discontent, but nevertheless gave his explanation. "A ground bridge is the precursor of space bridge technology. It is a localized spatial distortion that tunnels through transwarp space to superimpose two locations within a planetary gravity well."
"'Space bridge'?"
Starscream rolled his optics with bored impatience. "An extension of the same technology, allowing for transport between planets."
"So, a ground bridge is a portal," she summarized.
With an exasperated sigh, he confirmed, grinding his teeth together, "Yes. It. Is. A. Portal."
"And a space bridge is a portal between planets."
"I just said that, didn't I?"
"Just checking terms," the human confirmed. "Clever as you clearly are, you've already figured it out, but yes, I am interested in what you call 'bridges.'"
"Ah," Starscream said, preening a bit. "I do have certain perceptive abilities. Such attention to detail is crucial in a scientist."
"Indeed," the human said softly, as if she was in the presence of a giant. "Though I do wonder why you would help me in the first place. What do you gain out of this?"
"A way home," Starscream replied bluntly. "Do you think I like living on this wretched planet of yours?"
"I don't know, does your homeworld have monsters crawling out of every crevice?"
"Not since we got the scraplet population under control," Starscream muttered, a hundred horrifying memories leaping to mind.
"Hmm, sounds like a paradise," the human considered. "Very well, I guess I could use a second opinion on this. The biggest issue we've run into is targeting a position for the destination to be anchored to. Have you managed to solve that issue?"
Starscream scoffed. "Have I solved that issue? Little human, I have personally repaired many a ground bridge that had just such a problem. I could do it with my optics turned off."
"Good," the human said, and it was clear that even behind her faceplate, she was smiling. Instead of continuing the conversation though, she drew forth her sword. "I'll be in touch."
At that, she slashed her blade through the air, and in its passing, it left a swirling black and red tear in reality. She sheathed her sword once more and walked on through. When she was gone, the portal disappeared.
Starscream stood there with his mouth gaping open, his optics wide in shock. His arms hung limp on his side. The bird still on his shoulder cawed.
"Whaaaaaaat?!"
"Adjust the tilt on the engine nacelles now," Blake said with a calm and steady voice. "Not much, just ease the controls."
They were in one of the Bullhead simulators now, her and Pyrrha, trying to make the best of their allotted time.
"Okay, doing it gently," said Pyrrha in a voice that she hoped was free of nervousness.
Around them, the simulator showed the terrain moving horizontally, with a gradual ascent noticeable. Not exactly a textbook take-off, but at least it was smooth. It was something to build on.
When they were up in the virtual air, Blake took a moment from her instruction to ask Pyrrha a question. "Sooo, how are… things?"
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, but kept her eyes and hands on the task at hand. "What do you mean?"
"I mean… you know," Blake said, grasping for language. "How are you holding up with… what happened?"
"I'm… trying very hard not to think about it, to be honest."
"I… don't think that's a healthy way to look at it," Blake said hesitantly. "Not based on my experience."
"You have a lot of experience with… that?"
"More than you know."
"Oh," Pyrrha said in realization. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly," Blake admitted. "Besides, I'm trying to help you."
"I see," Pyrrha said. After a long minute, she noted, "You know, one of us is going to have to start talking."
"I know, it's just…" Blake trailed off. "Pyrrha, can I ask you an awkward question?"
"I think just about any question would be awkward now, so yes," the redhead replied, focusing on the simulation of the Emerald Forest stretching out in front of them.
"Encouraging," Blake muttered.
After a long moment of silence, Pyrrha asked, "Well, what is it?"
Blake had to force the words from her mouth. "You didn't… enjoy it, did you?"
The simulated terrain jerked suddenly around them. "Not… exactly," the redhead's replied in a small voice. Blake's eyes widened slightly. "Let- let me explain," Pyrrha continued hurriedly. "I spent years honing my skills, becoming the best fighter I can be. Fighting Grimm… it's different from fighting other people. And in the tournaments, there were always restrictions, regulations, things to keep things reasonably safe. I can't deny that it felt… good to put those skills fully to use, to cut loose. It made me feel… alive and… and powerful, even if- even if..." she choked off, hands trembling on the simulator's controls.
"I'm sorry," Blake murmured, placing a hand on Pyrrha's. "I just- too many people I've known did, and not like that. I mean, really enjoyed it, not the fighting but the… you know."
"I-I've heard it gets easier. Does it?" she asked delicately.
"Too easy, for some people."
"For you?"
And there was the question Blake was afraid to ask herself.
"I don't know. I don't intend to ever find out."
Pyrrha's eyes widened momentarily in realization. "That's why you went after the Knights."
Blake shifted slightly. "Yes. I don't want to kill anyone."
The word "anymore" went unspoken, and whether it was even needed at the end of that sentence was a question that went unasked and unanswered.
After a bit of silence, Blake continued, "But… I'm used to not getting what I want."
Pyrrha twisted her hand around and clasped Blake's hand in her own. They shared a soft grip between them and a gentle expression of comfort. Though how that was different from the redhead's normal expression was hard for the black-haired girl to tell.
"That was the past. We must look to the future, and come what may, you won't face it alone. We'll make sure you get out of this okay; I'll make sure you get out of this okay."
Blake smiled, and it was a pale mirror of her fellow's. "Thanks, Pyrrha. That really means a lot to- tree!"
"What?"
Pyrrha's focus jumped back to the simulated screen in front of them, and she realized they were indeed about to crash into a tree. Blake tried to move the controls back on course, but the two systems were linked, and the Invincible Girl's panicked strength was overpowering. In a spiral of colors, the simulator soon sent them about in the tumble of a virtual crash. Bright red letters flashed on the screen, promptly declaring that they were dead.
"I'm sorry!"
Blake sighed heavily. "Take her 'round again, pilot."
Ruby hesitated for a moment as her hand hovered over the door to Professor Goodwitch's office. Did she really want to bother her teacher with this? If not her though, who would she talk to? Ozpin? No, he was in Vale meeting with the rest of the council. Uncle Qrow? No, she had no idea where he was and nowhere near enough time to search all the bars. Her dad? No, he was back on Patch. Yang?
The tiny fist of Ruby came hammering down on the door like the bill of a woodpecker.
The door opened on its own, leaving her fist swinging through the air.
"Miss Rose," Glynda said, still sitting at her desk. "I was wondering if you would show up. Please, come in."
"Oh, okay," Ruby said shiftily before walking to the seat in front of Glynda's desk.
She jumped slightly when the door closed of its own accord. No, not of its own accord. Glynda was using her telekinesis semblance.
Spooky, Ruby mused as she sat down.
"Now, why are you here?" Glynda in a manner both gentle and curious.
"I think you already know why," Ruby said hesitantly.
"Maybe," Glynda acknowledged with a smile. "But why don't you tell me all the same so mistakes are not made with assumptions?"
"I…" Ruby paused, gathering her strength. She faintly noted that if this had been a combat situation, she would have no need to. Rather than voicing that thought, she pressed on. "I've come to talk to you about… what happened during the train job. I… I killed someone out there, and yes, I know that it was a battle and these things happen, but I just… is this something I'm going to have to deal with all the time? Should I feel angry? Happy? Sad?"
"Miss Rose, I want to tell you first that seeking help at all is a very brave and mature act, one that even some professional Huntsmen have trouble with," the professor said, and Ruby felt herself bolstering just a little bit at those words. "As to your question, I'll answer it with a question of my own: Why do you need to ask me what emotion to feel?"
"Because… because I feel fine," she whispered.
"And what's wrong with that?"
"I killed someone!" Ruby screeched. "I shouldn't feel fine with that! Someone died, and it was my fault. It wasn't an accident. And I- I'm okay with it. How can I be okay with that? I'm supposed to be a hero. I'm supposed to save people, not- not-"
"Kill them?" Glynda's voice -- tender and comforting -- contrasted sharply with the content of her words.
"YES!" Energy spent, Ruby slumped down dejectedly.
"Tell me something, Miss Rose," the teacher said gently. "If you were to do it over again, would you have done things differently?"
"Yes," Ruby said quietly. "I- I would have shot him sooner." She looked up at Glynda, eyes wet with tears. "What is wrong with me?"
"There is nothing wrong with you, Miss Rose."
"How? How can there be nothing wrong me? I killed a man, and I feel nothing! I'm a monster."
"No, Miss Rose -- Ruby -- you are not a monster; you are a Huntress."
The words seemed to offer no comfort to the teenager.
"Ruby, I doubt this comes as any great revelation, given your personal experience, but not all threats Huntsmen and Huntresses face are Grimm in nature," Glynda said after a moment. "Almost every Huntsman and Huntress has been or will be where you are now: facing the realization of what it means to take a life."
"'Almost'?" Ruby asked, curiosity piqued.
"The ones who live long enough," the professor clarified. "I'm telling you this because while you have personal experience with this, you may not realize how common it is. You are not unique, Ruby, save possibly by age. So, you told me if you did it again, you would shoot him sooner. Why?"
"Because- because he'd be dead either way, and if I shot him sooner, we might have been able to get more than the one cube, more clues to stop the SDC, maybe even stop whoever those guys are from getting away with any of it!"
"Why?" the professor gently probed further.
"Because they were trying to kill my friends!" Ruby blurted out. She took a moment to gather herself. "And- and if they're willing to do that, what are they planning to do with that much power?"
Glynda nodded. "Then what you're feeling, Ruby, or not feeling… all that means is that you've accepted what every living Huntsman and Huntress must one day accept: That in the end, no matter how much we value life, we must choose between the life in front of us and the lives they threaten."
Ruby was silent for a moment, chewing on those words. "Do you have any idea who they are?"
"No," Glynda answered. "The equipment you reported has narrowed down the list of suspects, but there are still a number of clandestine and illegal organizations who would find uses for a potent alternative to dust and the resources to acquire Atlesian hardware."
The fifteen year old girl frowned. "Then we've got to get out there and find out who they are."
Glynda raised an eyebrow. "Miss Rose, you and the other members of Team Rainbow have just finished a major operation, and there is nothing else planned. Certainly nothing that could justify a scouting mission."
"Okay, I get it, it's time for us to rest up," Ruby relented. "Could we... do this again sometime, though? Talk, I mean? I've just got... one of those feelings."
"Of course," Glynda replied softly. "My door is always open to you. However, it may be prudent to talk to your teammates who went on the mission with you; you trust them, and they trust you. Each of them now has to face the same difficulties you are regarding their actions on the mission."
"How I can talk to them?" Ruby exclaimed. "I don't even know how to tell them that I don't feel anything."
Glynda leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers. "Miss Rose, no one could have predicted that your mission would turn out the way it did. You performed as well as could be expected, given the circumstances, but I feel I must point out that your efforts were likely hampered due to your team being... incomplete."
How Miss Xiao Long's presence could have helped, she wasn't sure, but her isolation by the team was not healthy, and she'd take whatever tack she could on that subject.
At her words, though, something angry entered into Ruby's eyes, and they narrowed noticeably. "Don't you dare bring Yang into this. I'm doing this specifically to keep her safe and uninvolved."
The teacher's eyebrow went up again. "You're trying to keep your older sister, a Huntress in training, safe from the dangers of the world?"
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know, it's weird, but our family's... special. And… and I don't want Yang feeling like this. I don't want her to feel the way I feel right now."
The eyebrows went down, and Glynda's smile became profoundly sad. "I know your family, Ruby. I know this profession you have both signed up for. I know that there is no way you'll be able to shield her from this forever."
"I… I know," Ruby admitted with a heavy sigh. "But Yang's protected me all my life. Can I do less for her?"
"Love isn't a transaction, Ruby," Glynda reminded her gently.
"Maybe, but Yang is special to me," Ruby said quietly. "You know what she's like, and I… don't want to lose that, not yet."
"Very well," Glynda relented. "But this is a dangerous game you're playing, Ruby. How do you think she is going to react when she does find out what you've been doing behind her back?"
"Oh, she'll be furious," Ruby said with a note of dark humor. "But I'd rather her be furious later than involved in this now."
Yang rolled along the ground as she landed upon the roof of the Schnee Dust Company's Vale regional headquarters, cloaked the darkness of an overcast night save for the lights of the city. To her side, she could hear Adam doing the same. They stopped, and together, they got up to wave the all clear to the invisible form of Air Raid hovering just a short distance away.
"Textbook landing," Yang said with a smile, though it was hidden by the black fabric of her balaclava.
"What language are the textbooks you're reading written in?" asked Adam, his voice hostile and yet strangely curious.
Yang paused, considering her answer. "Iaconian? I think? I wear the translator so much, it's a little hard to tell. I'm pretty sure they were in Iaconian because I actually recognized the alphabet before the translator got to work, and after, the cadence of the writing felt familiar."
"Of course," Adam scoffed as he turned to walk to the access door. "Let's just get this crazy scheme over with."
"Hey, as I recall, you're the one who insisted on coming on this mission personality instead of sending one of your intrusion experts," Yang countered as she followed.
"You want to do WHAT?!" Adam bellowed harshly through the White Fang's warehouse. "Have you all gone insane?!"
"Hey, man, be cool," said Jazz as Bumblebee and Yang watched on. "This is the best plan we got for getting that data."
"Cool?" Adam asked sarcastically. "I'm plenty cool, because that is not a plan. It's barely even a concept. There's a reason the White Fang never attacked a regional headquarters."
"Good thing we're not talking about an attack," Yang shot back. "If you don't want the White Fang involved, then that's fine by us. We'll do it ourselves."
"Hey, man, be cool," said Jazz as Bumblebee and Yang watched on. "This is the best plan we got for getting that data."
"Cool?" Adam asked sarcastically. "I'm plenty cool, because that is not a plan. It's barely even a concept. There's a reason the White Fang never attacked a regional headquarters."
"Good thing we're not talking about an attack," Yang shot back. "If you don't want the White Fang involved, then that's fine by us. We'll do it ourselves."
"Under duress," Adam retorted. "There was just no way I was going to let a human like you traipse around this place like a bull in a china shop and get us all killed when they catch you and probe your mind."
"Hey, bulls are actually exceedingly polite in china shops," Yang argued, looking Adam up and down. "Unlike you."
"Puh-lease," the faunus said sarcastically. "You didn't even know the importance of matching outfits."
"All right, we're here," Yang said cheerily as she walked up to the White Fang leader. "Been training to get past their systems for weeks."
Adam frowned as he turned to face her. "Good. I'm ready to go too, personally."
Yang looked him up and down. "Then what the scrap are you wearing?"
Behind Adam, the giant form of Air Raid shifted as he looked down at the device strapped to his wrist. "A cloaking device? It turns me invisible. That's how we're going to get past their air defenses, remember?"
"Not you," Yang said with an exaggerated roll of her concealed eyes. "Him!"
"Me?" asked Adam. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"It's what you always wear! Do the words 'security cameras' mean anything to you?"
"I always wear this while infiltrating," Adam answered somewhat pridefully.
"That explains why you're a known career criminal. Here, put these on." At that, she tossed him a black bundle of clothes, and he caught it in his hands.
"Is this a ninja outfit?" Adam asked incredulously.
"It's a sneak suit!" defended Yang. "Ratchet designed it so that it will absorb our heat signatures and the sound of our footsteps."
"Much like what a ninja's suit does," pointed out Adam. "Besides, I've been thinking, and I think it's important that I be recognized."
"Adam, the whole point of this is that we're trying not to be seen," Yang said through clenched teeth.
"But if we do get seen, then I want the SDC to know fear," Adam said with a sneer that somehow managed to sound eager.
"That is so stupid," Yang exclaimed. "Best case scenario they up the security so we can't get back in again. Worst case they launch retaliatory strikes, and we do not need that right now."
"Oh, well, excuse me, Miss Janey Come Lately," Adam said hotly. "Which one of us has been leading a revolution for the last five years? Oh, that's right, it's me!"
"And what a fantastic job you've been doing. Why, between disrupting peaceful protests and stealing dust, it's a wonder they haven't handed over the keys to the city already," Yang shot back sarcastically.
"So, uh, how long are they going to be at this?" Air Raid asked Bumblebee.
"Oh, they'll be at this all night," replied the little yellow Autobot casually.
"My eyes are too distinctive anyway," Adam retorted after a long back and forth, "and your fancy suit's mask will do nothing to hide them. I need the Grimm mask, and since I'll be wearing one, so should you, or that'll raise questions, questions we don't want asked." He held up one of the masks in question.
"Urg," Yang grumbled. "Fine." She snatched the mask from his hands.
"And that mask is a loaner, I expect it back."
Adam frowned as he turned to face her. "Good. I'm ready to go too, personally."
Yang looked him up and down. "Then what the scrap are you wearing?"
Behind Adam, the giant form of Air Raid shifted as he looked down at the device strapped to his wrist. "A cloaking device? It turns me invisible. That's how we're going to get past their air defenses, remember?"
"Not you," Yang said with an exaggerated roll of her concealed eyes. "Him!"
"Me?" asked Adam. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"It's what you always wear! Do the words 'security cameras' mean anything to you?"
"I always wear this while infiltrating," Adam answered somewhat pridefully.
"That explains why you're a known career criminal. Here, put these on." At that, she tossed him a black bundle of clothes, and he caught it in his hands.
"Is this a ninja outfit?" Adam asked incredulously.
"It's a sneak suit!" defended Yang. "Ratchet designed it so that it will absorb our heat signatures and the sound of our footsteps."
"Much like what a ninja's suit does," pointed out Adam. "Besides, I've been thinking, and I think it's important that I be recognized."
"Adam, the whole point of this is that we're trying not to be seen," Yang said through clenched teeth.
"But if we do get seen, then I want the SDC to know fear," Adam said with a sneer that somehow managed to sound eager.
"That is so stupid," Yang exclaimed. "Best case scenario they up the security so we can't get back in again. Worst case they launch retaliatory strikes, and we do not need that right now."
"Oh, well, excuse me, Miss Janey Come Lately," Adam said hotly. "Which one of us has been leading a revolution for the last five years? Oh, that's right, it's me!"
"And what a fantastic job you've been doing. Why, between disrupting peaceful protests and stealing dust, it's a wonder they haven't handed over the keys to the city already," Yang shot back sarcastically.
"So, uh, how long are they going to be at this?" Air Raid asked Bumblebee.
"Oh, they'll be at this all night," replied the little yellow Autobot casually.
"My eyes are too distinctive anyway," Adam retorted after a long back and forth, "and your fancy suit's mask will do nothing to hide them. I need the Grimm mask, and since I'll be wearing one, so should you, or that'll raise questions, questions we don't want asked." He held up one of the masks in question.
"Urg," Yang grumbled. "Fine." She snatched the mask from his hands.
"And that mask is a loaner, I expect it back."
"You're just lucky this thing fits over my glasses. There's no way I would wear it otherwise," Yang said as she gently touched the Grimm mask. "Though I have to admit that this is quite comfortable."
"Please don't get used to it," Adam said in exasperation. "The last thing I need is you wearing one of those all the time."
Yang scoffed. "The only way you'll see me one of these all the time is if I plan to actually join the White Fang full time."
"Yes, I know," said Adam. "That's why I told you not to get used to it.
"Are you two done arguing so the mission can actually begin?" Jazz asked into both their earpieces.
"Yes," the pair relented in unison.
"Good," the Autobot said with finality. "Like an old married couple, I swear."
Adam opened the door and stood aside for Yang. "After you, dear."
Yang put a hand up to her bosom in mock shock. "Why, Mister Taurus, I do declare that you are quite the gentleman."
"Ha ha, very funny," Jazz replied to their mockery. "Guess you two don't need any overwatch, since you'll be setting up your own comedy club on the roof."
"I don't know, Jazz. I think they have what it takes to go pro," Air Raid chimed in.
"Oh, don't you encourage them now."
By now, the pair had in fact made it inside the building and were headed down. Remarkably, there was little in the way of security, and Yang would muse that she felt it was because they weren't expecting anyone to slip past their roof defenses. They would come across security cameras, but with skill and technology, they were able to slip past. She didn't know where Adam had gotten his training from, but she was definitely thankful for all the work that Jazz and Bumblebee had done getting her up to snuff for this op.
In due time, they were able to find the office of the regional operations executive, their objective. Unfortunately, though not unexpectedly, they found the door guarded by a single person in the uniform of building security. Fortunately, they had a solution.
"Regional Operations checking in. All quiet here," the guard said into his radio.
"Confirm, Regional Operations. See you in ten," the radio replied.
"See you later," the guard said before releasing his comms.
Thwip!
Thud!
Yang collapsed Ember Celica into its bracelet alt-mode as she and Adam emerged from the shadows. With ease, they dragged the guard over to a chair and propped him up as if he had been having a nap. The disguised blonde took out the dart in his neck and pocketed it as they entered the office.
"And just like that, we're in like Flynn," Yang said with good cheer even as she moved to access the computer on the desk, inserting a flash drive as she arrived.
"Indeed," Adam agreed as he went about making sure the blinds were closed so that no-one could look in from the night skyline and see a single computer on in this building.
"Now, if my dosage on the tranquilizer dart was right, he should wake up in eight minutes. That gives us plenty of time to download the files, and… hmm, that's interesting," Yang hummed as she looked over the computer.
"What?" asked Adam. "Is there a problem with the download?"
"No, the download is going fine. Copying and pasting like a charm," Yang explained with a curious tone. "The problem is that someone set up a backdoor to access this computer's files."
"A backdoor? Let me take a look. I have some experience with that."
Yang got up from the chair and allowed Adam to take his look.
"This is… this is impossible," the faunus said in realization. "This is my old partner's style. I'd recognize it anywhere."
"Your old partner's?" Yang said in confusion. "What's it doing here then?"
"I don't know," said Adam, a note of joy and curiosity seeping into his voice.
Yang was silent for a moment, contemplating what to say, and when she did finally speak, it was with worry. "What if she's defected?"
Adam looked away from the computer to stare at her, aghast. "What? Sunfire, do you have any idea what you're saying?"
"Yes," Yang said, and then at length she explained herself. "I'm saying that the girl who broke up with you by leaving you for dead in the middle of an important operation might have extended her betrayal just that little bit further by joining up with the guys with deep pockets. But she didn't trust them fully, so when she was here setting up the specifics of her new sweetheart deal, she also set up this backdoor so that she could lay the groundwork for betraying them later."
"That's insane," Adam retorted.
"Is it? Tell me, what do you think happened then?"
Adam paused momentarily, thinking, and then gave his own theory. "She found out about what the SDC was doing, their alliance with the Decepticons, and she broke in here to find information that can be used to take them down. She set up this backdoor because -- well, frankly, that's what she always does -- but also because she needed to get the most up to date information on potential targets."
"Adam," Yang said with grim seriousness. "That is completely insane for one simple reason: how would she know? We only found out about this because I just so happened to be driving past where Brock and the others were run off the road a few seconds before, and no one from the White Fang has seen hide nor hair of her for months. So how did she find out? Who told her? And what on Remnant can she be expecting to do all on her own?"
"It makes more sense than her joining up with the SDC," Adam retorted hotly. "It would be a betrayal of everything she ever stood for."
"Adam, she betrayed you," Yang said in a more even tone. "Now, you've been pretty cagey about it, but it's pretty obvious to me you were close. Is it really that big of a stretch that if she was willing to leave her partner for dead, she's willing to betray her ideals?"
"Yes!" Adam said in anger, but now there was a note of desperation in it too.
Yang's mouth took on a sad twinge to it, one visible even through covering over it. "Adam, that target you were going after the day she left, was it an SDC facility?"
Adam was about to make another hot retort, but then he suddenly shifted and a small note of fear entered into him. "Yes. It was an SDC train carrying dust."
"Did she do much that mission, or were you the one carrying the team?"
"I… I don't know. I think I was doing most of the work?"
"Adam, I don't know how to tell you this, but I think she might have already been bought out by the SDC and planning to betray you from the start that day."
The brief silence that followed was broken by Jazz. "So, am I hearing this right? You think that Adam's old ladyfriend was a tiny version of Starscream?"
"Jazz, that is exactly what I'm saying," Yang said before looking at the computer. "Download's done. Let's get out of here."
The blonde disconnected the flash drive and set about removing any indication they were ever there. Adam did so as well. However, there seemed to be something less sure about him now.
"If she's really gone over to the SDC, then every code and base location that she could have possibly known needs to be changed," Yang said suddenly.
"I'll get started on a plan for that; you two just get out of there. I'm getting heat sigs moving around on the stairs," Jazz informed them.
"Stairs? Who would use the stairs in a building like this?" asked Adam absentmindedly. "Nevermind that, what business do you have interfering in White Fang logistics?"
"You're our ally, and allies help each other out," Yang replied as if it was obvious.
"If you want to help, get us enough dust that Cinder doesn't kill us all when she gets back," Adam retorted.
"Better idea, how about you stop kissing up to bad girls and find someone who isn't going to backstab you," Yang argued back, her voice rising.
"Like who?" he snorted. "You?""
"Ha! As if! It'll be a hot day in Mantle before something like that happens."
"Good! I'm glad we're still on the same page, now get your friends to stop taking over my organization."
Yang paused in thought. "The Autobots or the Vacuans?"
"The very fact that you have to ask should tell you all you need to know about your overreach."
"Uh, guys? You got one right on top of you!" Jazz said in a desperate tone.
Yang ignored the warning though and turned back to continue focusing on Adam as she opened the next door out. "Overreach? Overreach? You really think we're overreaching?"
She turned, and came face to face with a guard, his hand on his radio and his eyes wide. The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, but which was in reality just a second and a half. The short silence was interrupted by the voice over the radio.
"So, anyways, like I was telling the missus, the kids will be fine."
"Ninjas!" the guard shouted.
Yang was already off, diving for his radio with fingers outstretched like talons. She hit him with the strength of a peregrine falcon in full dive, and he went down hard. With superhuman strength, she gripped the guard's primary wrist in one hand, while with the other, she wrenched the radio from his hand. A tranquilizer dart from Ember Celica silenced his struggles quickly.
She plucked the dart from the unconscious guard and rose to her feet. She was five steps away when she noticed Adam wasn't following her. She turned. His blade was drawn, and it was raised over the guard.
POW!
Adam reeled back from the blow and stared. Yang was in a classic boxer pose, fist outstretched. They both stood like that for but a moment.
"You… hit me," Adam finally broke the tense silence.
"You did what?! And we missed it?" Jazz asked over the radio.
"You were going to murder him," Yang pointed out, ignoring the comment.
"My last partner never hit me," Adam complained.
Yang snorted. "Sounds more and more to me like your last partner didn't do much of anything before betraying you."
They looked up as the building's alarm klaxons began to blare, red emergency lights flashing.
"If she were here instead of you, she wouldn't have triggered a security lockdown," Adam argued.
"Again," Yang countered, "you keep telling me what your old partner didn't or wouldn't do."
"As amusing as it is to have you two taking up the whole channel with your bickering, I'm really going to have to insist you get out of there!" Jazz reminded them.
And with that, they were off. They ran through the building as fast as they could, feet silently flashing across the floor. They were barely twenty-five feet from the stairs to the roof when they stopped.
Rounding the corner, they found themselves facing down an entire squad of SDC security personnel. They all had guns of unusual size, and were aiming them at the pair of infiltrators. None of them looked ready to negotiate.
"Freeze! Down on the ground!" their leader shouted. "There's nowhere to run," he added confidently.
Adam grabbed for his sword, but was stopped by Yang's hand on his arm. He turned to glare at her.
"Seriously? Right now?! You haven't let me get it out all night!" the faunus complained.
"We have our orders," the human reminded him.
"We have an advisement, and the situation has clearly changed," he argued.
"Not that clearly!" she shot back.
"Come on," he snarled. "Don't you get tired of holding back? Doesn't what they've done piss you off?"
Yes. The answer came unbidden to Yang's mind, along with a flash of the mass grave they'd found at Site 13 and the image of her fist wiping that smug look off the lead guard's face. She clenched her fist and mentally shook it off.
Before she could reply, though, she was interrupted by a cough.
They turned back and saw the leader of the security guards staring at them with a very vexed expression; well, at least that smug look was gone. "Excuse me, but are we interrupting something?" he asked sarcastically. "I said, 'freeze, down on the ground.' That means stop moving and lay down on the ground so we can cuff you. Did they not teach you animals manners in the mines?"
The woman looked like she was about to blow a gasket at that, and murderous intent seemed to start to overtake the man, but then the two froze. Like a pair of arrows loosed from bows, the two black clad individuals with the Grimm masks ran. After but a moment's hesitation, the squad of security guards followed.
There was a blast of concussive force, and the sound of a window shattering. Through the now open window, the two figures leapt. The security team ran up to the window, but there was... nothing.
Somehow, someway, the intruders had completely disappeared into thin air.
"Blast it," the leader of the guards cursed. "I hate ninjas. And now the White Fang's got them. Great, just… great."
He'd been watching them. The team, that is. Well, teams, technically, but somewhere along the line, he started seeing Team RWBY as part of his responsibility, almost as much as the rest of Team JNPR. It was probably around the time Professor Ozpin started calling them Team RRANNBW; that was a nice dramatic moment for his memory to latch onto.
After Oobleck's class dismissed, Ren and Nora were off to do Ren and Nora things, and Blake and Pyrrha were off to the simulators. Ruby's trajectory was toward the faculty offices, and Yang was off to the garage again. He wondered if he should talk to her -- that was an unhealthy amount of time to spend on one's car -- but maybe that was better left to her team leader and sister.
And that was totally not because he was afraid of getting his face punched in.
Weiss, though…
He followed the heiress and called out, "Weiss!" She paused, and he jogged a little to catch up to her. "Where are you going?" he asked, already suspecting the answer. The hallway they were in was otherwise empty, leading to other classrooms and the public restrooms. This late in the day, most people just went back to their dorms or down to the cafeteria instead if they needed to use the facilities.
"To the bathroom to wash my hands," she said. "They're… dirty."
Jaune reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Hey!" she snapped. "Let go!"
"No, Weiss. Your hands are fine," he said, concerned. Then, he amended, "Well, not fine. You've been washing them raw." He brought their hands up in front of her face, and with his other hand, gently pried her fingers open. The palms of her hands were red. "See?"
"I don't need your help, Arc," she hissed, trying to yank her hand free. "See to your own team."
Jaune shook his head. "Ren and Nora don't need my help -- I think we all can figure out why -- and Blake and Pyrrha are helping each other. That leaves you and Ruby, and she's been talking to Ms. Goodwitch."
"And what about you, you dolt?" she fired back.
"I've... been polishing Crocea Mors a lot lately," he admitted.
Weiss's face softened. "Oh." Suddenly at a loss, she leaned into him, and Jaune wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. She closed her eyes, and for a moment, she just listened to his heartbeat. It was… comforting, and the feeling of his chest rising and falling against her as he breathed was oddly reassuring. Like a rock in a storm. He'd filled out a bit since the beginning of the semester, probably from all that training with Pyrrha. "How do you deal with it?" she asked quietly after a long moment.
"I just remember they tried to hurt the people I care about," he answered honestly. "Like you."
"And... that's enough?"
"It is for me," he said. "Dunno if it'll be enough for you; I've long ago given up trying to figure out how your mind works."
Weiss thumped her small fist into his chest. "Jerk," she muttered, though there was no heat in her voice.
"Listen," Jaune said, "I think, maybe, just trying to get back into the normal swing of things isn't working."
"Maybe not," Weiss agreed. "But what else can we do?"
"Why don't we do something different, go into town, have some fun?" he suggested. After a moment, his face flushed, and he hurriedly added, "I-I mean, not like a date or anything; with our teams, obviously; that totally came out wro-"
Weiss pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "No, actually…" she said hesitantly, "I think- I think a date might be just what I need. We're aiming for not normal, right?"
"I… I suppose so," he said. He looked down at her, concerned, then brought his right hand up to her chin, tilting her head up to look at him.
Weiss felt heat rising in her cheeks as she suddenly realized just how close their faces were; all he'd have to do is lean down and... "Jaune, wh-what are you-?" she stammered as he brushed his knuckles gently up her cheek. It sent shivers down her spine. Wait, why was he holding the back of his hand against her forehead? It was almost like he was checking for a fev- Her eyes widened. She wrenched out of his arms and glared at him furiously. "I am not sick, Jaune Arc!"
"Okay, okay, just checking!" he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "So, uh, I guess no date then, huh?"
"Oh, no, Arc," she said coldly. "You are not getting out of it that easily. Friday, seven sharp, my team's dorm."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"And at least try not to dress like a dope."
That was too much for him. "No promises!" he laughed.
"Ugh." She rolled her eyes, then whirled and stalked off.
"Well," he said to the empty hallway, "at least she seems to be feeling better. This is not how I expected to get a date with her."
Starscream had been having a wonderful time as he walked back in from his little talk with the little bird. The human had been interesting as well. The fact that she could create a ground bridge with… well, that was classified.
Still, properly hidden as this was, it could be very useful to him. It would be a way to finally get off world, and when the rest of the Decepticons saw that it was him, not Megatron, that rescued them, then they would declare him their new leader! Or, failing that, he would at least get a way to increase his standing to the point where he could use that as a jumping off point in his grand overarching plan to usurp Megatron. The other side project he'd started would certainly help if it came to that.
After all, it always paid to have backups, and for things to be set up so that you always won. It wasn't something that always could be accomplished, but they were definitely well sought after. He wouldn't let this opportunity slip through his fingers like so many others had before. It would all perfect this time.
These were the thoughts that slipped through his mind before Skywarp opened his big trap.
"Sir, something's come up."
"Of course it did," Starscream lamented sarcastically. "Let me guess, Superion has appeared and is heading straight for us?"
"Uh, no, there's been no reported sightings of any of the Aerialbots since before we left Cybertron," Skywarp said in confusion. "We've just got two issues to deal with at the moment. The first is that one of our energon trains has been stolen."
Starscream paused at that. "What? What do you mean one of our energon trains has been stolen from? How much energon did these thieves get away with?!"
"Oh, sorry, sir. I was unclear. They didn't steal the energon; they stole the train. Everything but the engine and one car."
Starscream felt his jaw go slack for the second time that day, but this time, he controlled it. It wouldn't do to look weak in front of the troops. "Do you know who did this?"
"Not exactly, sir. We did get footage, though."
At that, Skywarp hit a control for a nearby screen, and a video flashed on, showing the trailing end of a massive firefight between the drones that were supposed to be protecting the train, a bunch of green and grey suited humans, and some other third party that was out of view. Unsurprisingly, that chassis-kissing fool Lugnut had been unable to provide proper security.. The performance of his so called defensive measures was so bad that he was almost unsurprised when one of the Skygraspers carried the energon car away.
"Let me guess, you went back along the rail afterward and found that the rest of the train had been stolen too, right?" asked Starscream rhetorically.
"Uh, that's right, sir," Skywarp said. "How'd you guess? Was it because I said we still had the engine and one car?"
"Fool! I figured it out because I am a genius!" the Decepticon air commander declared. "It is clear that more work is needed to secure Sanus than previously thought. Thankfully, I already have a plan to prevent this from happening again."
"That's great to hear, sir," Skywarp said in relatively good cheer. "Oh, before I forget, Soundwave sent us a message about a break in at the SDC's Vale HQ. He said that since it's in our theater, it's our problem."
"Of course he did," Starscream scoffed. "Did he give any additional information?"
"The security report and a helmet camera picture of the intruders."
At Skywarp's command, the screen changed to show a pair of humans, a male and a female, dressed entirely in black concealing bodysuits save for the white Grimm masks that covered their eyes. There was not a single piece of skin to be seen.
"The White Fang, obviously," Starscream reasoned. "Anything else notable?"
"According to the report, the intruders were overheard saying that they had orders not to kill anyone. Oh, and they disappeared into thin air after jumping off the top of the building," Skywarp read off. "Which is, if I may say so, sir, pretty darn strange."
"It is, unless…" Cold dread overtook Starscream's spark along with the realization. "The Atlesians have betrayed us."
"Sir?" asked Skywarp.
"Think, you fool!" said Starscream. "Those were Atlesian Skygraspers stealing our train, and those weren't just any old pair of White Fang thugs raiding the SDC HQ; those were ninja!"
"Ninja?"
"Yes, ninja," said Starscream patronizingly. "And tell me, Skywarp, who has both Skygraspers and ninja in abundance?"
"The Atlesian military," Skywarp realized, optics widening.
"Ye-e-es. They must be seeking to undermine us somehow, but with two false flag attacks so close together, they are clearly working swiftly and with a great deal of planning. This will require a great deal of tact and a subtle touch to unravel this plot. I trust you can be discreet about this information?"
"Of course, sir!" Skywarp confirmed.
"Good," Starscream said with a smile. "Now, I'm going to need a little bit more of that discretion while you're helping me with a little science project I have planned with a guest."
"A guest, sir?" asked Skywarp. "Who? If you don't mind me asking?"
"Why, our ticket to fame and glory, of course!"
(V1E9: Confrontations | V1E10: Conversations with Killers | V1E11: Compatibility)
A/N1 (Cyclone): So, Team RRANNBW has a name (and trauma), the Autobots and White Fang have some intel, Jaune has a date, and Starscream has a theory (and a plan or three).
Poor Blake. We keep ragging on her here, and Yang doesn't even realize it.
Completely unrelated to any of this, certain people *glares* insist I share the misery of the punniest ship name I randomly came up with: "Xiao Long and Thanks for All the Fish," which naturally leads to "Dolphin."
A/N2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): Sorry to anyone who suffered neck damage from the mood whiplash this chapter. I regret to inform you that we have no means of compensating you for the inconvenience. We can only promise that such issues will continue in the future.
This chapter was a bit odd. It was done fairly quickly compared to other chapters, yes. However, due to the content we felt it was best to take some time to get some second opinions on how things worked out, especially with Ruby. Luckily, I happen to know someone who's been in combat a lot, and worked in the medical system after, so he knows death, and he was able to say that things looked pretty well done here. So there's a least one vote of confidence… yay for realistic reactions to death?
Next chapter will be a bit of an odd one as it will be mostly from the Decepticon side. I hope you like Starscream, because you're about to get more than your recommended daily dose.
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AilingStar
Herald of the Cassowaries
- Location
- Not Australia
I like the name Team RRANNBW. Partially because, if Yang ever joins (or they join Yang) they can just change the name to RRAYNNBW.
- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
Aaand ninja'd
Alternately, aand great minds think alike Wanna bet it was because there were seven people and seven colors that the name caught on?
Also, what AilingStar said.
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
Non-canon. Disregard this chapter. Revision will be posted separately.
"Jaune, what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The leader of Team JNPR was pacing their dorm room worriedly and had been for a while.
"Sorry, Pyrrha," he said, turning to face her. Well, turning his body to her; he seemed unable to meet her gaze. "It's just- I have a date."
"Oh," she said, a little crestfallen.
"With Weiss."
And that was when her world shattered.
"Well, I-I'm... happy for you," she insisted. Maybe if she said it with enough conviction, it might become true? "N-nervous, then?"
"Kinda?" he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. I just… I don't want to screw this up, Pyr. Even if this goes nowhere, I at least want her to have a good time. Or, at least, not live down to her expectations."
"That's… commendable," she said weakly. "Is there… any way I can help?"
"Well, I-" he paused, eyes widening as an idea struck him. "Actually, yeah. Meet me on the roof with all the rugs and speakers you can find."
"O-of course."
What on Remnant would he need that for?
Starscream tried not to grumble as he went about his duties at his station deep inside the Decepticon bunker. They were appallingly managerial, in addition to having to take watch due to a lack of personnel… and more personal reasons. Still, a bore though they were, they did give him the chance to check in on some side projects. After all, it was always good to have a few things in the air at once while juggling.
"I'm telling you, boss, this island you got us at? It's as spooky as Unicron's backside."
"This is Remnant, Scrapper; every island is spooky," Starscream reminded the leader of the Constructicons over the radio while rubbing his head with a hand.
"Normal islands just have Grimm attacking you. The Grimm here? They look weird, and they just... stand there in the distance, staring at us, never moving, never looking away."
"They're probably just making an attempt at psychological warfare."
"Yeah? Well, it's working."
"Then stop letting it work, you fool," Starscream chided, but before he could launch into another tirade on the competence -- or lack thereof -- of the Constructicon leader, he noticed movement on one of the security cameras. He turned to look, and saw a masked human scant centimeters from one of the cameras. She was waving at the surveillance device's optics.
"Well, it looks like the birdie flew back," Starscream observed slyly.
"What was that, sir?" asked Scrapper.
"I said, 'finish the job and stop complaining!'" Starscream shouted as he cut the transmission. "Now, to see if our little friend is willing to play cube."
He found her outside near the camera that had spotted her, but now out of sight, lounging around on a thick snow-covered branch like there was not a care in the world. It was a little irritating. Which, most likely, was the reason that she was doing it. And she wasn't alone, with another human female standing at the base of the tree.
Luckily the one on the ground had short hair, and the one in the tree had long hair, otherwise he'd never be able to tell these humans apart.
"So, you finally decided to show your face, Commander Starscream," the long-haired human observed.
The Decepticon smirked in reply. "It appears you have me at a disadvantage. Care to introduce yourselves?"
The same human stood up on both legs and gave him an appraising look before a short reply passed her hidden lips. "Raven."
"Hmm, how simple," Starscream observed.
"I was going to go with 'Night Raven,' but it turns out, some Mistralian company trademarked the name," she explained.
"And you care about that? Somehow you don't strike me as the legal type."
The newly named Raven shook her head. "No, but their lawyers come with heavy weapons." She dropped to the ground and gestured to her companion. "This is Vernal."
"Ah. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Very well, come with me and we'll see about fixing your little targeting issue," Starscream said with a wave.
Raven followed, and in due time they made their way inside the base. Luckily, the staff should have all been off in another part of the bunker or off on the missions Starscream just assigned them. There was only one 'Con in the entire world who knew about this or what was about to happen.
"Just a little to the left, a little more," Starscream called out across the large concrete room. "And perfect."
"Starscream, sir, why am I on a bullseye?" asked Skywarp as he looked down at the red and white paint beneath him.
"Because it will help you aim when you teleport back," Starscream insisted as he pointed to the other bullseye painted on the floor some distance away.
"A teleportation semblance," observed Raven as she strode across the floor. "Those are pretty rare, and useful, depending on what kind of limitations it has."
"Indeed," Starscream chuckled. "Skywarp's natural abilities are quite the upper hand in a fight, but completely useless for our ultimate purposes."
"Hey, I'm right here," Skywarp whined.
"I know," Starscream deadpanned as he fiddled with a nearby computer. "Now, we are ready. Begin the demonstration!"
From the ceiling descended a horde of sensors, cameras, and antennas, all pointed at the purple Seeker.
"Uh, sir, is all this stuff safe?" asked Skywarp.
"Probably," quipped Raven.
"That sounds about right," confirmed Starscream without looking up from the controls.
"Oh, dear," muttered Skywarp in worry.
Skywarp staggered as he stood up after the latest series of tests.
"Well done, Seeker," complemented Starscream, "you almost managed to keep up with Raven."
Skywarp looked down and saw the little human preening the feathers on her clothes like nothing was amiss, like she hadn't just torn open dozens of ground bridges with nothing but her own power. She appeared infuriatingly smug and unwinded in Skywarp's opinion. Would it have killed her to sweat a little?
"It's clear your targeting ability is locking onto some resonance between you and your target's structural integrity fields," Starscream muttered, deep in thought.
"You mean our auras," Raven translated.
"The problem we face, now, is a lack of a truly comprehensive means to analyze that resonance." He shifted over to the console and began scanning through some data. "Hmm… now, if I remember correctly from Soundwave's intelligence reports, an Atlesian transport is scheduled to bring a DNGAS to Beacon Academy right around this time…"
"'Dingus'?" Skywarp asked.
"Digital Nucleo-Genetic Aura Scanner," came Starscream's off-handed clarification.
"Nuclear?" Skywarp asked. "But why-?"
"That's beyond the scope of your simple mind's ability to comprehend," Starscream said absent-mindedly.
"Hey!"
"It should be a simple enough matter to intercept and 'acquire' the shipment." He frowned as a report displayed itself on the screen. "Except someone already did. Well, scrap that plan."
"Maybe not," Raven murmured.
Starscream turned and looked down at her. "Explain."
"Whoever stole it almost certainly intends to sell it," she elaborated. "They'll likely use the undernet to advertise their product, and if not, I know my way around less legitimate businesses. Let me poke around, see what I can find."
That said, Raven leapt up onto the control console next to Starscream, but the keyboard was unfamiliar. With an aggravated sigh, Starscream tapped in a few commands, and the keyboard -- no, touch panel image of a keyboard -- shrank down and morphed into the local alphabet.
Raven hummed appreciatively, and then got to work typing with an astounding speed.
"Wow, she's really going at it," observed Skywarp.
"Of course," chimed in Vernal. "Raven is extremely adept at the use of computers, as she is in all things."
"Got it," cut in Raven, even as Starscream looked over her at the displayed screen and the picture of the DNGAS. "It's up for auction right now. How much lien do you have on you?"
In his office, Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy sipped at his mug of hot chocolate as he watched the undernet auction site. The loss of the DNGAS was… concerning, considering the delicate situation with Autumn. Ironwood would be able to send another, in time, but…
Time, always time. It was amazing how one never had enough of such an infinite resource.
His eyes narrowed. The bidding was picking up. A new player.
No matter. He had a budget few could match. He'd certainly spent enough time building it up.
All four members of the little conspiracy were huddled around the screen, watching with rapt attention as Raven rapidly typed out amount after amount to outbid everyone else in the auction.
"Come on, come on! Who has that much money anyways?!" complained Starscream in an extraordinarily tense voice.
The seconds ticked down. The auction was entering its last moments. The anticipation was so thick that one could cut it with a knife.
Then, all at once, the timer hit zero, and the quartet were left staring at the screen in silence.
"We… lost?" asked Skywarp in disbelief.
"Raaaagh!" Starscream howled in rage. "No one does this to Starscream and gets away with it! Who?! Who dares to challenge the might of the Decepticons and their destined leader?! I shall find this person who outbid me and tear them limb from limb!"
"Doesn't matter," Raven said simply, still typing away at the keyboard. "I checked those intelligence reports again, and I know who stole it in the first place."
At that, the screen changed to show a blurry photo of a man in a green and grey suit.
"MECH," Vernal growled in recognition. "It figures that those arrogant fools would be behind this."
Starscream raised a single mechanical eyebrow. "MECH?"
"Mechanical and Electronic Collections and Holdings," Raven translated. "They're a clandestine organization that deals with a variety of different projects, both legal and illegal. Most relevant to us is their activities in technology theft."
"Do you have a location to go along with that name?" asked Starscream.
Raven turned towards him, and even through the mask, the Decepticon felt he could see a grin.
It was Friday night in Team RWBY's dorm. Yang was out driving. Again. Ruby was off doing… something. Blake had expected Weiss to spend the night studying, which would have allowed her a nice, quiet night, bundled in bed, reading the latest in her favorite book series.
When Weiss started preparing to go out, well, Blake wasn't bothered by it. If Weiss was actually gone, that just meant her night reading would have even fewer potential distractions.
Except that was an hour ago. And she was apparently still getting ready.
"So, what are you getting dressed up for, Weiss?" she finally asked.
Weiss didn't bother looking at her, still staring into the mirror as she applied a few, seemingly invisible touches of makeup. "I… have a date," she declared primly.
"A date?" Blake echoed. "With who?"
Weiss didn't answer immediately. Instead, she hummed and leaned in to apply some eyeliner. That done, she answered, "If you must know, it's with Arc."
Blake finally looked up from her book, closing it with a finger to hold her place. Amber eyes blinked in bewilderment. "Arc?" she repeated. "Jaune Arc? I thought you didn't like him."
"I don't," Weiss confirmed as she continued primping herself.
Blake tilted her head and mentally ran through the conversation so far. No, it still didn't make any sense.
"Then why…?" she trailed off, gesturing at Weiss, the mirror, and the plethora of makeup laid out before her. Blake was sure she'd never seen that much makeup in one place at one time in her life outside of a store.
"I'm hoping if I give him the chance to make a proper fool of himself, he'll realize how pathetic he is, how very out of his league I am, and stop pestering me," the heiress replied, applying lipstick with a flourish fit for Myrtenaster.
"Uh huh." Right. So maybe she was crazy. Then again, what did Blake know about dating? If she were honest with herself, she had to admit that her experience with romance was… atypical, to say the least. Still, it seemed like Weiss had forgotten something when coming up with her cunning plan. "Have you considered what you'll do if you actually enjoy it?"
Weiss was once again leaning toward the mirror, peering at her reflection with a critical eye. "Don't be preposterous." Finally, she turned around to face Blake. "How do I look?" she asked.
Blake considered her answer. "Like you've been lying to me for the past minute," she deadpanned.
Weiss's eye twitched. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
Blake sighed. "It means you look good," she said. "I mean, really good. Like 'you put a lot of effort into looking good' good. Like 'you're trying to impress a guy you just said you don't like' good."
Weiss drew back and gave a haughty sniff. "A Schnee must always look her best."
"I thought you didn't care about family appearances?" Blake prodded.
"I'm the only one in my family who does!" retorted Weiss with a waspish tone.
The black haired girl raised an eyebrow about her color-inverted roommate's outburst. "That's circular logic, and suddenly, we're right back you to making yourself look good on a date with the guy you hate just to make yourself look good."
To Blake's surprise, Weiss's face fell. What the-?
"I… I never said I hated him," the heiress said quietly, a hint of shame in her voice.
"You could've fooled me," Blake snarked without thinking, then winced as Weiss shrank back, shoulders slumped. Okay, yes, she was a Schnee, but her efforts with RRANNBW was proof enough where she stood, regardless of her family name. Blake smirked. Easy way to fix the heiress's mood. "But I suppose current evidence does suggest otherwise."
Weiss's eyes widened, and she snapped up straight, anger displacing her previous shame in an instant. "I- you-... I don't have to justify myself to you!" she spat furiously.
"No, you don't," Blake agreed, "and yet, here we are." She let the smirk fall and continued gently, "Weiss, it's not a crime to change your mind about someone. Sometimes, you get a bad first impression. It happens." Weiss certainly hadn't given Blake a particularly good first impression, after all.
"Not to me!" Weiss hissed. "I'm supposed to be better at reading people than that. I certainly got enough practice at it. I-"
She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Eyes wide, she checked the time; Blake did too, seven o'clock. Weiss rushed over to the mirror and checked herself over again before swooping to the door and opening it. Jaune stood there, dressed… rather nicely, actually. The jacket and trousers were cut in the same style as the Beacon uniform, except with red trim, and he wore it over a white dress shirt and a grey vest. A red bowtie completed the outfit, and his hands held a bouquet of white roses.
Huh, Blake noted. You actually clean up pretty well, Jaune.
She shook her head, amused, as the couple left.
"I can't tell if she's in denial or just that self-absorbed," she told the now-empty room, then shrugged and turned back to her book, making a mental bet with herself as to how their date would go.
From a snow-covered rooftop, Ruby sighed as she watched Jaune and Weiss move deeper into the restaurant across the street, the very expensive and high class restaurant. At least, she assumed so, based on the dress of the people inside; the food, in her humble opinion, looked absolutely wretched. No need for the tiny cube of meat, just give her a leg of mutton, and she would be fine.
Still, she did like the idea of a high society restaurant like that, out of curiosity if nothing else. Maybe, perhaps, after many years of service and marriage to a well-paid husband, her children would be able to afford to spend a single night in a place like that. Yeah, that was a goal to aim for… probably. Finances were always a more troublesome aspect of mathematics for her. Now, ballistics and geometry? Those she could do in her sleep. In fact, she had-…
Her thoughts were suddenly brought to a stop as her mirror eyes caught sight of a flash of yellow. She brought Crescent Rose up to her shoulder, and then focused in on the target. No, her eyes had not deceived her; it was Bumblebee. The familiar car was parked within sight of the restaurant, but out of notice by those inside.
Thinking quickly, Ruby decided to abandon her plan of repositioning to check in on her sister. It was a simple matter then, once she had decided on a target, to maneuver her way to it. A jump and a dash of her semblance, and suddenly, she was right next to the car and knocking on the passenger side door.
To her surprise, the door popped open, and she was treated by her elder sister's smiling face.
"Ruby! Come on in; you'll catch your death in the cold," the blonde chided good naturedly with a welcoming wave.
The younger sister nodded and jumped into the passenger seat, pulling the door closed behind her. "Hey, Yang, what are you doing here?" she asked with that same smile the blonde shared.
"Oh, you know, watching to see how the date goes," Yang replied. "You?"
"The same. Keeping proper watch over the two of them like a good team leader should," answered Ruby.
"Well, you've got a good vantage point from here," said Yang, pointing out the windscreen to where Jaune and Weiss could just be seen through the restaurant's windows. The heiress was clearly in her element, conversing politely with the waiter, in sharp contrast to the blond knight, who was sitting stiff as a board, his eyes darting around wildly.
"Huh, neat," observed Ruby as she turned her head to look around. "Bumblebee's looking really clean."
"Oh, he better be, with how much time I spend on him," Yang replied with a tone that made it sound like she was scolding a child who just happened to be listening in. It was a tone Ruby was intimately familiar with.
Ruby let out a giggle of amusement. "So, how's Maple doing anyway?"
"Doing fine. She sends her regards, by the way," said Yang with ease. "Kind of odd being friends with my mechanic."
"Why?" asked Ruby sincerely. "Maple's a good person, and mechanic is a perfectly fine profession."
"Well, yes," admitted Yang. "When you say it like that, it sounds perfectly normal, but most people don't set out to become good friends with their mechanic."
"You've spent enough time with her, so why not?" asked Ruby.
"Now, see, that's precisely it. Most people don't spend that much time with their mechanics."
"Well, maybe you wouldn't either if you didn't fuss over every imagined issue and faintest sound," pointed out the dark-haired girl.
Yang seemed to have taken some offense at that. "Excuse me, sis? Who was just complimenting my care just a moment ago?"
"Okay, okay," she relented, and then Ruby leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes. "I can see why you like spending so much time in here, Yang. I feel… safe, and warm. Like home. I wish I was in here more often though."
"I wish you were too, Ruby," Yang said, a note of pain in those words.
"But I have my studies to focus on, so I can't," Ruby reasoned, and she felt like throwing up from the falsehood of it.
"How are those going, by the way?" asked Yang. "I've heard you've been getting extra credit assignments from Ozpin."
"Oh, fine," Ruby said with a wave. "You know how it goes. Go here, protect these control nodes from waves of Grimm. Go there, deliver some medical supplies. It's not all that different than what we were doing at Signal, just with more area to cover."
"Heh, those were the days," Yang said nostalgically.
"Do you mind being the only one on the team not doing that, Yang?" inquired Ruby, wishing she didn't sound so hopeful. Hopeful for a negative or a positive response, though? Of that, she could not say.
Yang shrugged. "Nah, I don't mind. I'm doing my own thing a lot of the time anyways, and…"
The blonde paused, and seemed to be chewing over her words. "Never mind," she finally finished.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Ruby. She got up, and followed where her sister's gaze was lingering. It landed upon the couple in the restaurant, specifically the white side of the table. "It's Weiss, isn't it?"
There seemed to be a low rumbling in her at that. "I know it's irrational," said Yang, fatigue and a trace of hate in her voice, "but she's still got that name, and that hair, and she's wearing that snowflake on her back all the time."
"Yang, I…"
"It's like we've got the enemy sleeping in the same room as us!" she practically shouted, but then as the words settled into the air, a look of shame came upon Yang's features and she hid her face. "Sorry. It's just… every time I think back to that night. Every time I see their faces… I…"
Ruby put her hand on her sister's shoulder, and her heart wept for her kinswoman's pain. "Yang, it's okay. It's okay."
Another bout of silence settled in the car, and they sat like that for a time until once more Ruby spoke. "I remember you asking about charity work at Tukson's. Did anything come from that?"
Yang shook her head. "Not really. I did find another charity though. Been doing some work there while I'm in the city. It… it feels good to put some good into the world instead of just taking bad things out."
Ruby frowned as the weight of those words struck her. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. So, not knowing what to do, she did what she always did in emotionally difficult situations: she dodged.
"So, if you hate Weiss, why are you here?"
Some dodges were better than others.
Yang paused in thought, and her eyes were brought back around to the target couple. "A couple of reasons, I guess. A sense of duty. A sense of honor." Her lips curled into a sinister smile. "A sense that this is going to end hilariously, and I've got a dash cam."
The blonde pointed at the tiny box on the dashboard, and Ruby let out a little laugh.
Yang's smile then morphed into a sad frown. "And maybe a sense that I really need to make it up to Jaune over how I acted. He's your best friend, and I need to make sure he doesn't get hurt, or if he does get hurt, he… well, he'll have someone to swoop in and save the day."
"I don't think Weiss is going to hurt him too bad, even if things turn out badly," Ruby said awkwardly.
"You sure about that?" asked Yang, turning to face her. "I'm not deaf. I can hear just fine the way Weiss talks about Jaune, and she practically hates the guy. This could all be some Schnee ploy to lead him out into an emotional killing field and cut him down."
"Okay, Yang, please, stop," Ruby insisted. "Just... stop."
Yang did so, and at that, the younger sister continued.
"I know you don't like Weiss, but please don't go making such wild accusations about her," Ruby ordered. "She's got her own problems, and she comes from a hard place. Please just… just don't stab her in the back like that."
Yang shook her head with a twinge of strange mirth. "Ruby, how long have you known me?"
Ruby's eyes shifted. "All my life?"
"Then you should know this," said Yang serious. "If I kill Weiss, she'll be awake, she'll be facing me, and she'll be armed."
Ruby smiled at that. "Well, that's a big load off my mind. I'm sure it will help Weiss sleep better to hear that too."
"It should," replied Yang cheerfully.
Another silence settled over them, but it was broken by Ruby much more quickly
"How about this for overwatch duties? You watch Jaune, I watch Weiss, and together, we both make sure no one gets hurt?"
Yang pursed her lips, considering that, and then gave her answer in a satisfactory tone. "Deal."
"Hey, man, got a smoke?" a green and grey clothed figured asked his almost identical companion as the two stood guard on the walls of the storage complex, looking out into the gloom of the night and the twinkling of the village lights deeper in the valley.
"Yeah, man, I got you covered," the companion replied, detaching a grey cylinder from his vest and offering it up.
"No, man, I mean a cigarette, or a cigar, or pipe, not a smoke grenade," the first man insisted.
"What?" the second asked in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense. We're both wearing masks."
"Don't worry, man, I got a ninja trick I learned at Atlas."
"Weren't you expelled, man?"
"Hey, man, you said you wouldn't…"
There was a sky shattering boom, and both guards instinctively ducked down, even as they noticed the dark shape that had flown above them. The facility was going into alert now, and the shape tore up into the sky on twin pillars of flame like a pair of blowtorches. It seemed to slow to a crawl, and then there was a glint of light as the cockpit of it could be seen opening to drop a small humanoid shape down. The aircraft then blazed off at a speed that simply defied belief, and swooped back around, firing twin energy blasts like lightning from beneath its wings.
The facility was engulfed in explosions, and everyone that could began to fire back. So focused were they on the aerial invader, most didn't even notice the much smaller, more human intruder as she sliced her way in. For more than a few guards, it was an unfortunately literal statement.
"Aaaah!"
"Pathetic," Raven cursed as she flicked the blood away from her odachi and the bisected body hit the floor.
There was a clamor of boots, and another pair of guards appeared to block her way into the warehouse. These weren't police officers or security guards. There were no challenges or orders to surrender. Instead, they instantly snapped their rifles level and opened fire, only to hit nothing but air as the intruder leaped up and toward them faster than they could track with their weapons.
Shing!
One swing, two cuts.
She rushed inside, and found a tractor-trailer still in the process of being loaded. The driver was already scrambling out of the door to run, but she paid him no heed. Let the weaklings run and cower in fear; the strong would take their prize tonight.
Raven had just reached the box that was to be loaded into the truck when Starscream's now transformed bipedal form hit the ground outside the warehouse.
"Ahhahahaha!" he cackled madly, firing the guns mounted to his upper arms at the enemy forces outside. "Fools! Did you really think you could stand against me? Against Starscream, leader of the Decepticon Seeker Corp?! You will suffer the same fate as all who defy my will!"
Raven let out a whistle, and Starscream backed through the door to run over to her, the ground shaking with each one of his steps.
"We've got the package. Let's go," the black-maned woman called out and she leaped onto the back of the truck.
"Ah, yes, the DNGAS," Starscream said as he carefully picked up the box, checking the radiation and explosive warnings plastered to it as he did so. "Hard to believe something so small could be so useful."
"Hey, I resemble that remark," Raven quipped as she leapt forth from the vehicle's top and brought her odachi down in a slicing motion. As she sailed down, it cut through the air like meat, and in its passing, it left a swirling red-black fissure in reality at least thirty feet tall.
"Out of my way!" Starscream declared as he clamored through the portal. Raven soon followed. The rest of the MECH personnel arrived just in time to see the tear collapse in on itself.
"Well, that was quick," Raven said as she watched the portal close on her end before bringing out a wipe for her sword.
"Did you get it?" asked Skywarp.
"Of course, you fool," declared Starscream. "Let us not waste a moment more. Final victory is within our grasp."
The couple walked quietly up the deserted stairwell of Beacon's student dormitory building. Weiss had her left arm held up, wrapped loosely around his right arm, with her right hand reaching across her body to hold his forearm. She wasn't sure why they were taking the stairs instead of the elevator, but she wasn't complaining; it meant the night would last that little bit longer. She had been... pleasantly surprised by how the night had gone; while hardly spectacular, it had been moderately entertaining.
And Blake's question -- one of them, at least -- strayed back into her thoughts.
As they approached their floor, she felt herself tense up. She almost dreaded the end of the date. If only because it would mean dealing with the rest of her team and the endless teasing that would no doubt be waiting for her.
So it was with a bit of reluctance that she tugged on his arm as Jaune made to continue up.
"Jaune, this is our floor."
"Night's not over yet, Snow Angel," he said.
She arched an eyebrow. He had something else planned? You continue to surprise, Mister Arc, she thought, not unkindly.
As they stepped out onto the roof, she let out an involuntary gasp. Rugs were laid across the rooftop into an ersatz carpet, and she could see small speakers of various types scattered around on stools under umbrellas. She looked at Jaune, about to ask him what this was, but stopped when she saw he was fiddling with his scroll.
After a moment, he gave a small cheer of success as a slow song began playing over the speakers.
"So, uh," he said, almost dropping his scroll as he stuffed it in his pocket, "I... didn't exactly have a lot of time to set this up, and Pyrrha had to remind me about the weather forecast, so-"
"No," she interrupted, feeling a flash of irritation at the redhead's name. "It's wonderful."
"Yeah, well..." he coughed, then held out a hand. "Would you care to dance, Miss Schnee?"
"I would indeed, Mister Arc."
She took his hand and allowed him to pull her onto the makeshift dance floor, and they began to dance under the stars as a light snow began to drift down, reminding her of home. It was… sweet. It warmed her heart that he'd gone to the trouble to set this up for her. Sure, he seemed a bit stiff as he danced, but he probably didn't have much experience at dancing. At least he seemed to know the steps.
Forget moderately entertaining. She leaned into his chest and swayed with the music. This was an amazing night.
Weiss leaned into Jaune's side, his arm around her shoulders, as they approached their dorms, slowing their steps even as they got closer to their destination.
Finally, though, their walk inevitably reached its end, and Weiss reluctantly pulled away. Turning to face him, her back to her dorm door, she smiled. "You know, Jaune, I had a really great time tonight."
Jaune chuckled. "I had a lot of fun too."
"We should do this again sometime," Weiss said. As her words registered, she gasped, eyes wide, and her hands flew to cover her mouth. She hadn't actually meant to say that!
Jaune gave her an inscrutable look, then smiled and shook his head. "Nah, you won't have to worry about that." He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Have a good night, Weiss."
With that, he turned and disappeared into Team JNPR's dorm.
Suddenly standing alone in the hallway, Weiss blinked several times. "What… just happened?" she asked the now-empty hallway.
Eyes still wide with surprise, she stepped through her own door. Inside, Blake was still reading her book, and Ruby was back now, sitting in a chair, tinkering with Crescent Rose. It didn't look like anything had changed, and yet, it had.
Blake seemed to notice and looked up from her book. "So, how did it go?" she asked in a calm level tone.
"I... don't know," Weiss admitted. "It was… all right, for the most part. I was enjoying myself, at least, but then…" She blushed. "He turned the roof into a dance floor. I can't imagine how long it took him to set that up."
"Sounds like he impressed you."
Weiss looked away. "He kissed me..."
Blake's eyes widened, and a clatter drew her attention to Ruby, who scrambled to grab the screwdriver she'd dropped before it rolled away.
"...on the forehead," Weiss finished.
Blake looked back at Weiss. "Huh," she said as she turned that thought over in her mind. "I'm… not exactly an expert… but I don't think you're getting a second date."
That snapped Weiss out of her ruminations.
"WHAT?!" she demanded, whirling on the quiet bibliophile, who recoiled in surprise.
"What?" Blake asked reasonably. "The whole point of this was because you didn't want one, wasn't it?"
"That-" Weiss paused to organize her thoughts. "That's beside the point! Are you telling me that Jaune Arc thinks I'm not good enough for him?!"
"Oh, Weiss, it's not like that," Ruby said as she went back to tinkering with her weapon, an oddly serene inflection in her voice. "It's just that things didn't work out. Probably happened around the wishing well in the park."
"I just…" Weiss frowned. "Wait, how did you know about the wishing well? Were you watching us?"
Ruby puffed up her chest. "Like any good sniper, I remained in cover the whole time, ready to strike at a moment's notice," she declared proudly.
"You did!" Weiss scolded. "Ugh, what is wrong with you?!"
"Hey! I was only trying to do right by you," Ruby insisted. "You're my sister of battle, we've shed blood together, and that means I can't let anyone defile you or your honor."
"Are you sure you weren't just there to watch Jaune?" Blake asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"No, that was Yang's job."
At that point, the door swung open, and the blonde brawler stepped in. "Hey, guys!"
"Yang!" Ruby cried, jumping up to embrace her. "You made it back! What did you think of how it went down?"
"Personally, I think it was a very romantic evening," the elder sister preened as she petted Ruby's dark hair.
"Both of you?!" Weiss sputtered. "That's… that's… ragh. You two, I swear, couple of weirdos! I mean, of all the…" she trailed off and sighed. "I suppose it is a little sweet."
"I'm glad you eventually came to that conclusion, Weiss," Ruby said as she back away from her sister, "because I might need one of you on overwatch when I have my date."
"You have a date?" Weiss asked.
Yang cracked her knuckles. "Yeah, something you wanna tell me, Rubes?"
"Aheheh, not yet," Ruby said, shrinking back, but then she straightened defiantly. "But I will!"
"And I'll be there watching," Yang affirmed before turning to Weiss. "Anyway, I think you should have known something was wrong when he started playing the song from Har Megiddo. Disaster movie soundtrack? Big tell."
"Wha-? But… why? Why the wishing well?"
Yang snorted. "Wishing well's probably when he figured it out, but it really started at the restaurant. Bad move there, princess."
"Heiress," Weiss corrected automatically. "And excuse me? That was the most exclusive restaurant in all of Vale! They have a six-month waiting list!"
"And you got a table on a few days' notice by flaunting your name," Ruby pointed out. "Did you really think Jaune would care about that? Did you even notice how uncomfortable he was?"
"Hmm," Blake mused. "Sounds like you got exactly what you wanted."
Weiss had no response to that.
"Yes. Yes!" Starscream declared melodramatically, holding aloft a tiny disk from his workbench. "It is complete! The Structural Integrity Field Resonance Duplication Beacon! Once I find a way to transmit these plans to Cybertron, we will have completely circumvented Soundwave's mewling plans, and I, Starscream, will be declared the Decepticons' new leader!"
Skywarp squinted at it. "It's… smaller than I imagined."
"That's because, with my genius, I was able to minimize and miniaturize the components to be wafer thin!" boasted the Decepticon commander. "Now, be careful. This device is so small that it could be easily lost just by you sitting on it."
"Why do you assume that I would be the one to sit on it?" asked Skywarp.
"Skywarp, I've known you for millions of megacycles by this point," said Starscream with a dismissive wave.
"Not bad," complimented Raven. "Now, we have got business to attend to, so we'll see you again another day."
"Yes, about that…"
There was a flash of movement, and Raven was sent flying against the wall. She collapsed to the ground, and a force field came up around her. She reached for her sword, but it was gone, and as she looked up she found her scabbard resting in Starscream's palm.
Nearby, Skywarp moved quickly to grab Vernal and restrain her. Through a mere application of physics and brute size, the Branwen Tribe's most fearsome warriors had been defeated. This was definitely not the sort of thing she'd want remembered in song.
Starscream, for his part, was cackling like a mad man. "Fool! Did you really think that you could work as equals with me? The great and powerful Starscream?! Once I dissect you and learn how your 'semblance' works, I will have made revolutionary advancements in space bridge technology!"
"You'll only live long enough to regret this," Raven swore as she stood up defiantly.
"Oh, I very much doubt that," laughed the Seeker commander. "It will be only too easy to replicate your semblance after a more thorough study, and then it will be your usefulness that is at an end! Indeed, it is at an end right now."
At that Starscream held up once more her sword and scabbard in the hand opposite the one still carrying the beacon.
"Let me ask you something, Starscream," said Raven in a tone laced with both menace and mirth. "Did you really think that I needed that sword to use my semblance?"
With that declaration, the black-maned and Grimm-masked woman put her hands together, and then, incredibly, she began to tear apart the very fabric of reality as if she was opening a pair of sliding doors.
"What?! Impossible!" Starscream shouted.
When she judge the hole wide enough, Raven dove through, and emerged on the other end in Starscream's hand. The stunned Seeker commander stared in befuddlement as she picked up the beacon, then leapt to his other hand and similarly picked up her scabbard. With a final spinning flourish, she landed on the computer console.
"Well, what do you know?" she asked sarcastically as she put the beacon inside her obi. "It does work."
"What?! How could this happen?!" asked Starscream as he turned to face her. "My betrayal was perfect!"
"Funny thing about that," said Raven dramatically. "You have to trust someone to be betrayed."
At that, her foot came down in a stomping motion onto one of the buttons on the console. A macro was activated, and before their eyes, the computer began to wipe itself. All of the data Starscream had collected was passing away like dust in the wind.
"No! NOOOOOOO!" the Decepticon screamed as he ran over to the computer. "You fool! What have you done?!"
"Caused you a big headache," Raven observed.
"You'll pay for this!" he declared and made to slap her like he had done before.
This time, though, Raven was faster. She fired her sword from her scabbard, and it shot out at incredible speed to hit Starscream right between the eyes with its pommel. The Seeker yelled in pain, and the bladed weapon spun in the air.
Like an arrow loosed from a bow, Raven jumped at fantastic velocity to seize her sword. Taking it by the grip, she brought her odachi down on the red, blue, and grey Decepticon's body. The blade shattered against his aura, but the warrior woman paid it no heed.
She brought the pommel back to her scabbard as her feet hit the ground, and drew forth a fresh blade of a different color.
"Ragh!" Starscream cursed, clutching his faceplate. "Skywarp! Assist your leader!"
"I'm a little busy here!" shouted Skywarp as he worked to dodge the blows from Vernal, now free of his grip, who was using her wind and fire wheels to attack him with precise slashes while the integrated beam pistols poked at his aura.
"Of course… If you want something done right..."
With that, Starscream fired off both his arm mounted blasters at the small form of Raven. He missed with every shot. Again and again he fired, but still, he could not hit her.
It was just as his blasts tore apart the computer that Raven struck with her own weapon. This time, though, she did not relent. Again and again, she struck with her odachi, shattering one blade after another, even as she replaced them with the speed that one would normally associate with rotary autocannons.
All this time, she was jumping around him, dodging his retaliatory punches and blasts. Once, while leaping past his back, she slapped a small disk to his armor. It blended into the background of his paint and was suddenly forgotten in the hurricane of slashes.
Then, suddenly, in a flash of red, Starscream's aura broke, and he was sent flying to the ground with a new scratch on his armor.
"No!" he shouted as Raven advanced on him. "Mercy! Please have mercy! I'll let you go; just please spare me!"
"Mercy?" Raven replied mockingly. "You must either be lying or stupid."
"I'm stupid! I'm stupid!" Starscream repeated shamefully.
Raven brought her sword up again and slashed it through the air. Starscream flinched, but to his surprise, he had not been offlined. He opened his eyes and saw that she had created another portal with her power.
"Vernal! We're leaving!" Raven called out.
"Yes, Raven!" the woman with the much shorter hair replied as she jumped away from Skywarp and towards the portal. She moved to enter, but before she did, she raised one of her wheels. The weapon's integrated pistol fired, and a red beam lanced out to penetrate the DNGAS's casing.
"No!" both Skywrap and Starscream shouted even as the portal collapsed with the two women's exit.
There was a perilous whine, and suddenly, the DNGAS seemed to glow with an inner power. The two Decepticons fled as best they could for cover, but they knew that it would not be enough. Then, suddenly and anticlimactically, the machine quieted.
"Huh, thought for sure it would blow up," observed Skywarp.
Raven exited the portal to find Vernal waiting for her patiently. It was late at night there, really more of the early morning, and no-one saw them. The campus was dark, and a light snow was drifting down. It had been a mild winter in Vale, but the season still had some bite to it.
"Beacon?" asked Vernal. "Are you feeling a little nostalgic tonight?"
Raven shrugged. "I have one last thing to do on Sanus, and I figured, 'why not'?"
"Very well, ma'am. Lead the way," Vernal said deferentially.
Raven took the lead and led them to a small patch of soil beneath a shrubbery. After a moment of digging, she produced her prize. It was a cardboard box about the size of her head and wrapped in a plastic bag.
After covering up the hole, they walked towards the parking lot. It was quiet then, peaceful. Broken only by the muffled crunch of their feet through the grass and snow.
Raven looked around, and even through the mask, she couldn't help but absorb the natural beauty. Maybe Vernal had been right, maybe she had been nostalgic. It wasn't so bad a feeling to have about such a place, in her opinion.
A pang of guilt and shame began to resonate within her, but she crushed it down. She had made her choice years ago. Now, there was nothing for it but to continue on. No turning back.
Presently, they came into one of the parking lots, and Raven stopped at a yellow and black Atlesian compact car, taking off her mask. She seemed to regard it with a strange sort of awe. In time, though she spoke, and when she did, she clearly spoke to it.
"I know you and Yang are close, so I felt it was best if I leave this with you," she said as she placed the wrapped box besides the car. "I made this a long time ago and stashed it for… emergencies. Tell her that it's hers to do with as she pleases. Modify it, resize it, throw it away even, if that's what she wants. If she does choose to wear it into battle though, tell her to wear it with pride, and to never back down as long as it adorns her face. Be indomitable, in other words. It's what she would have wanted."
With those words, Raven donned her mask again, turned, and walked away, Vernal following in her wake. When they were some distance away, the short-haired woman felt it wise to broach the topic. Even still, she kept her voice low and quiet.
"What was the gift, if I may be so bold?"
"You may," Raven replied. "It was not much, just one of my Grimm masks."
"She must be someone very important then," Vernal observed in wonder.
"She is. She is the human contact for the Autobots, the mortal enemies of those who tried to betray us tonight," explained Raven, and then, she paused as if the weight of her words were almost too heavy to bear.
"She'll have to be to someone truly exceptional then, if she hopes to fight against such foes," said Vernal in the gap. "That fight pushed me to my absolute limit. Beyond, even."
Raven finally found the strength to speak once more. "Of that, you'd need not worry. She is her daughter, after all."
Vernal stopped, her eyes and mouth wide. "You mean… your old captain?"
"Yes," Raven admitted.
Vernal nodded and moved to catch up. "Then perhaps everything will work out fine, if but a fraction of her character runs through this 'Yang's' blood."
Raven said nothing, but instead slashed another portal when they had reached a copse of trees hidden from view.
"Shall we be off?" she asked instead.
The two women departed, and when the portal disappeared the night of Beacon was once more silent.
A/N 1 (Cyclone): Sometimes, Pyrrha's just too nice for her own good. Also, poor Weiss. Be careful what you wish for, girl; you just might get it. And yes, Jaune actually can dance quite well; he's just feeling a bit awkward about it.
The DNGAS is a reference to the DNGS from Transformers Prime, the awkward restaurant thing was inspired by Jaune and Weiss's date in Not this time, Fate (which will shatter your heart if you support Arkos, no matter how good a White Knight 'fic it is), the private, makeshift dance floor was inspired by Runt's formal dance in X-Wing: Iron Fist, and yes, that was a reference to Armageddon. I picked the song, Cody inserted the reference.
A/N 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): So after crunching the numbers on the time scale, we realized that almost the entirety of this story should have taken place during Vale's winter. That was a very embarrassing mistake to realize since that means that a ton of set pieces have been ignored. I was just thinking too, Golly gee, I adore the winter scenes in Of Elder Scrolls and Huntsmen: Dragon Rose so maybe we can do something similar? But . . . Ah, well. I'm sure it will all work out in the end. Spring is coming soon anyways, so I guess we'll just have to write it off as a missed opportunity.
You can thank Cyclone for almost the entirety of this chapter. He's the hero here.
And yes, before anyone asks, Yang was talking about Site 13 while Ruby was thinking she was talking about what happened in chapter one. Poor girl still is broken up about seeing that pile of bodies. Which is something that's only been alluded to because either Cyclone nor me have the skill or stomach to describe what was found there.
Only two chapters remain in the volume. Join us next time for Episode 12: "The Calm Before the Storm."
(Episode 10: Conversations with Killers | Episode 11: Compatibility)
Episode 11: Compatibility
* * *
Episode 11: Compatibility
* * *
"Jaune, what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The leader of Team JNPR was pacing their dorm room worriedly and had been for a while.
"Sorry, Pyrrha," he said, turning to face her. Well, turning his body to her; he seemed unable to meet her gaze. "It's just- I have a date."
"Oh," she said, a little crestfallen.
"With Weiss."
And that was when her world shattered.
"Well, I-I'm... happy for you," she insisted. Maybe if she said it with enough conviction, it might become true? "N-nervous, then?"
"Kinda?" he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. I just… I don't want to screw this up, Pyr. Even if this goes nowhere, I at least want her to have a good time. Or, at least, not live down to her expectations."
"That's… commendable," she said weakly. "Is there… any way I can help?"
"Well, I-" he paused, eyes widening as an idea struck him. "Actually, yeah. Meet me on the roof with all the rugs and speakers you can find."
"O-of course."
What on Remnant would he need that for?
Starscream tried not to grumble as he went about his duties at his station deep inside the Decepticon bunker. They were appallingly managerial, in addition to having to take watch due to a lack of personnel… and more personal reasons. Still, a bore though they were, they did give him the chance to check in on some side projects. After all, it was always good to have a few things in the air at once while juggling.
"I'm telling you, boss, this island you got us at? It's as spooky as Unicron's backside."
"This is Remnant, Scrapper; every island is spooky," Starscream reminded the leader of the Constructicons over the radio while rubbing his head with a hand.
"Normal islands just have Grimm attacking you. The Grimm here? They look weird, and they just... stand there in the distance, staring at us, never moving, never looking away."
"They're probably just making an attempt at psychological warfare."
"Yeah? Well, it's working."
"Then stop letting it work, you fool," Starscream chided, but before he could launch into another tirade on the competence -- or lack thereof -- of the Constructicon leader, he noticed movement on one of the security cameras. He turned to look, and saw a masked human scant centimeters from one of the cameras. She was waving at the surveillance device's optics.
"Well, it looks like the birdie flew back," Starscream observed slyly.
"What was that, sir?" asked Scrapper.
"I said, 'finish the job and stop complaining!'" Starscream shouted as he cut the transmission. "Now, to see if our little friend is willing to play cube."
He found her outside near the camera that had spotted her, but now out of sight, lounging around on a thick snow-covered branch like there was not a care in the world. It was a little irritating. Which, most likely, was the reason that she was doing it. And she wasn't alone, with another human female standing at the base of the tree.
Luckily the one on the ground had short hair, and the one in the tree had long hair, otherwise he'd never be able to tell these humans apart.
"So, you finally decided to show your face, Commander Starscream," the long-haired human observed.
The Decepticon smirked in reply. "It appears you have me at a disadvantage. Care to introduce yourselves?"
The same human stood up on both legs and gave him an appraising look before a short reply passed her hidden lips. "Raven."
"Hmm, how simple," Starscream observed.
"I was going to go with 'Night Raven,' but it turns out, some Mistralian company trademarked the name," she explained.
"And you care about that? Somehow you don't strike me as the legal type."
The newly named Raven shook her head. "No, but their lawyers come with heavy weapons." She dropped to the ground and gestured to her companion. "This is Vernal."
"Ah. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Very well, come with me and we'll see about fixing your little targeting issue," Starscream said with a wave.
Raven followed, and in due time they made their way inside the base. Luckily, the staff should have all been off in another part of the bunker or off on the missions Starscream just assigned them. There was only one 'Con in the entire world who knew about this or what was about to happen.
"Just a little to the left, a little more," Starscream called out across the large concrete room. "And perfect."
"Starscream, sir, why am I on a bullseye?" asked Skywarp as he looked down at the red and white paint beneath him.
"Because it will help you aim when you teleport back," Starscream insisted as he pointed to the other bullseye painted on the floor some distance away.
"A teleportation semblance," observed Raven as she strode across the floor. "Those are pretty rare, and useful, depending on what kind of limitations it has."
"Indeed," Starscream chuckled. "Skywarp's natural abilities are quite the upper hand in a fight, but completely useless for our ultimate purposes."
"Hey, I'm right here," Skywarp whined.
"I know," Starscream deadpanned as he fiddled with a nearby computer. "Now, we are ready. Begin the demonstration!"
From the ceiling descended a horde of sensors, cameras, and antennas, all pointed at the purple Seeker.
"Uh, sir, is all this stuff safe?" asked Skywarp.
"Probably," quipped Raven.
"That sounds about right," confirmed Starscream without looking up from the controls.
"Oh, dear," muttered Skywarp in worry.
Skywarp staggered as he stood up after the latest series of tests.
"Well done, Seeker," complemented Starscream, "you almost managed to keep up with Raven."
Skywarp looked down and saw the little human preening the feathers on her clothes like nothing was amiss, like she hadn't just torn open dozens of ground bridges with nothing but her own power. She appeared infuriatingly smug and unwinded in Skywarp's opinion. Would it have killed her to sweat a little?
"It's clear your targeting ability is locking onto some resonance between you and your target's structural integrity fields," Starscream muttered, deep in thought.
"You mean our auras," Raven translated.
"The problem we face, now, is a lack of a truly comprehensive means to analyze that resonance." He shifted over to the console and began scanning through some data. "Hmm… now, if I remember correctly from Soundwave's intelligence reports, an Atlesian transport is scheduled to bring a DNGAS to Beacon Academy right around this time…"
"'Dingus'?" Skywarp asked.
"Digital Nucleo-Genetic Aura Scanner," came Starscream's off-handed clarification.
"Nuclear?" Skywarp asked. "But why-?"
"That's beyond the scope of your simple mind's ability to comprehend," Starscream said absent-mindedly.
"Hey!"
"It should be a simple enough matter to intercept and 'acquire' the shipment." He frowned as a report displayed itself on the screen. "Except someone already did. Well, scrap that plan."
"Maybe not," Raven murmured.
Starscream turned and looked down at her. "Explain."
"Whoever stole it almost certainly intends to sell it," she elaborated. "They'll likely use the undernet to advertise their product, and if not, I know my way around less legitimate businesses. Let me poke around, see what I can find."
That said, Raven leapt up onto the control console next to Starscream, but the keyboard was unfamiliar. With an aggravated sigh, Starscream tapped in a few commands, and the keyboard -- no, touch panel image of a keyboard -- shrank down and morphed into the local alphabet.
Raven hummed appreciatively, and then got to work typing with an astounding speed.
"Wow, she's really going at it," observed Skywarp.
"Of course," chimed in Vernal. "Raven is extremely adept at the use of computers, as she is in all things."
"Got it," cut in Raven, even as Starscream looked over her at the displayed screen and the picture of the DNGAS. "It's up for auction right now. How much lien do you have on you?"
In his office, Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy sipped at his mug of hot chocolate as he watched the undernet auction site. The loss of the DNGAS was… concerning, considering the delicate situation with Autumn. Ironwood would be able to send another, in time, but…
Time, always time. It was amazing how one never had enough of such an infinite resource.
His eyes narrowed. The bidding was picking up. A new player.
No matter. He had a budget few could match. He'd certainly spent enough time building it up.
All four members of the little conspiracy were huddled around the screen, watching with rapt attention as Raven rapidly typed out amount after amount to outbid everyone else in the auction.
"Come on, come on! Who has that much money anyways?!" complained Starscream in an extraordinarily tense voice.
The seconds ticked down. The auction was entering its last moments. The anticipation was so thick that one could cut it with a knife.
Then, all at once, the timer hit zero, and the quartet were left staring at the screen in silence.
"We… lost?" asked Skywarp in disbelief.
"Raaaagh!" Starscream howled in rage. "No one does this to Starscream and gets away with it! Who?! Who dares to challenge the might of the Decepticons and their destined leader?! I shall find this person who outbid me and tear them limb from limb!"
"Doesn't matter," Raven said simply, still typing away at the keyboard. "I checked those intelligence reports again, and I know who stole it in the first place."
At that, the screen changed to show a blurry photo of a man in a green and grey suit.
"MECH," Vernal growled in recognition. "It figures that those arrogant fools would be behind this."
Starscream raised a single mechanical eyebrow. "MECH?"
"Mechanical and Electronic Collections and Holdings," Raven translated. "They're a clandestine organization that deals with a variety of different projects, both legal and illegal. Most relevant to us is their activities in technology theft."
"Do you have a location to go along with that name?" asked Starscream.
Raven turned towards him, and even through the mask, the Decepticon felt he could see a grin.
It was Friday night in Team RWBY's dorm. Yang was out driving. Again. Ruby was off doing… something. Blake had expected Weiss to spend the night studying, which would have allowed her a nice, quiet night, bundled in bed, reading the latest in her favorite book series.
When Weiss started preparing to go out, well, Blake wasn't bothered by it. If Weiss was actually gone, that just meant her night reading would have even fewer potential distractions.
Except that was an hour ago. And she was apparently still getting ready.
"So, what are you getting dressed up for, Weiss?" she finally asked.
Weiss didn't bother looking at her, still staring into the mirror as she applied a few, seemingly invisible touches of makeup. "I… have a date," she declared primly.
"A date?" Blake echoed. "With who?"
Weiss didn't answer immediately. Instead, she hummed and leaned in to apply some eyeliner. That done, she answered, "If you must know, it's with Arc."
Blake finally looked up from her book, closing it with a finger to hold her place. Amber eyes blinked in bewilderment. "Arc?" she repeated. "Jaune Arc? I thought you didn't like him."
"I don't," Weiss confirmed as she continued primping herself.
Blake tilted her head and mentally ran through the conversation so far. No, it still didn't make any sense.
"Then why…?" she trailed off, gesturing at Weiss, the mirror, and the plethora of makeup laid out before her. Blake was sure she'd never seen that much makeup in one place at one time in her life outside of a store.
"I'm hoping if I give him the chance to make a proper fool of himself, he'll realize how pathetic he is, how very out of his league I am, and stop pestering me," the heiress replied, applying lipstick with a flourish fit for Myrtenaster.
"Uh huh." Right. So maybe she was crazy. Then again, what did Blake know about dating? If she were honest with herself, she had to admit that her experience with romance was… atypical, to say the least. Still, it seemed like Weiss had forgotten something when coming up with her cunning plan. "Have you considered what you'll do if you actually enjoy it?"
Weiss was once again leaning toward the mirror, peering at her reflection with a critical eye. "Don't be preposterous." Finally, she turned around to face Blake. "How do I look?" she asked.
Blake considered her answer. "Like you've been lying to me for the past minute," she deadpanned.
Weiss's eye twitched. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
Blake sighed. "It means you look good," she said. "I mean, really good. Like 'you put a lot of effort into looking good' good. Like 'you're trying to impress a guy you just said you don't like' good."
Weiss drew back and gave a haughty sniff. "A Schnee must always look her best."
"I thought you didn't care about family appearances?" Blake prodded.
"I'm the only one in my family who does!" retorted Weiss with a waspish tone.
The black haired girl raised an eyebrow about her color-inverted roommate's outburst. "That's circular logic, and suddenly, we're right back you to making yourself look good on a date with the guy you hate just to make yourself look good."
To Blake's surprise, Weiss's face fell. What the-?
"I… I never said I hated him," the heiress said quietly, a hint of shame in her voice.
"You could've fooled me," Blake snarked without thinking, then winced as Weiss shrank back, shoulders slumped. Okay, yes, she was a Schnee, but her efforts with RRANNBW was proof enough where she stood, regardless of her family name. Blake smirked. Easy way to fix the heiress's mood. "But I suppose current evidence does suggest otherwise."
Weiss's eyes widened, and she snapped up straight, anger displacing her previous shame in an instant. "I- you-... I don't have to justify myself to you!" she spat furiously.
"No, you don't," Blake agreed, "and yet, here we are." She let the smirk fall and continued gently, "Weiss, it's not a crime to change your mind about someone. Sometimes, you get a bad first impression. It happens." Weiss certainly hadn't given Blake a particularly good first impression, after all.
"Not to me!" Weiss hissed. "I'm supposed to be better at reading people than that. I certainly got enough practice at it. I-"
She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Eyes wide, she checked the time; Blake did too, seven o'clock. Weiss rushed over to the mirror and checked herself over again before swooping to the door and opening it. Jaune stood there, dressed… rather nicely, actually. The jacket and trousers were cut in the same style as the Beacon uniform, except with red trim, and he wore it over a white dress shirt and a grey vest. A red bowtie completed the outfit, and his hands held a bouquet of white roses.
Huh, Blake noted. You actually clean up pretty well, Jaune.
She shook her head, amused, as the couple left.
"I can't tell if she's in denial or just that self-absorbed," she told the now-empty room, then shrugged and turned back to her book, making a mental bet with herself as to how their date would go.
From a snow-covered rooftop, Ruby sighed as she watched Jaune and Weiss move deeper into the restaurant across the street, the very expensive and high class restaurant. At least, she assumed so, based on the dress of the people inside; the food, in her humble opinion, looked absolutely wretched. No need for the tiny cube of meat, just give her a leg of mutton, and she would be fine.
Still, she did like the idea of a high society restaurant like that, out of curiosity if nothing else. Maybe, perhaps, after many years of service and marriage to a well-paid husband, her children would be able to afford to spend a single night in a place like that. Yeah, that was a goal to aim for… probably. Finances were always a more troublesome aspect of mathematics for her. Now, ballistics and geometry? Those she could do in her sleep. In fact, she had-…
Her thoughts were suddenly brought to a stop as her mirror eyes caught sight of a flash of yellow. She brought Crescent Rose up to her shoulder, and then focused in on the target. No, her eyes had not deceived her; it was Bumblebee. The familiar car was parked within sight of the restaurant, but out of notice by those inside.
Thinking quickly, Ruby decided to abandon her plan of repositioning to check in on her sister. It was a simple matter then, once she had decided on a target, to maneuver her way to it. A jump and a dash of her semblance, and suddenly, she was right next to the car and knocking on the passenger side door.
To her surprise, the door popped open, and she was treated by her elder sister's smiling face.
"Ruby! Come on in; you'll catch your death in the cold," the blonde chided good naturedly with a welcoming wave.
The younger sister nodded and jumped into the passenger seat, pulling the door closed behind her. "Hey, Yang, what are you doing here?" she asked with that same smile the blonde shared.
"Oh, you know, watching to see how the date goes," Yang replied. "You?"
"The same. Keeping proper watch over the two of them like a good team leader should," answered Ruby.
"Well, you've got a good vantage point from here," said Yang, pointing out the windscreen to where Jaune and Weiss could just be seen through the restaurant's windows. The heiress was clearly in her element, conversing politely with the waiter, in sharp contrast to the blond knight, who was sitting stiff as a board, his eyes darting around wildly.
"Huh, neat," observed Ruby as she turned her head to look around. "Bumblebee's looking really clean."
"Oh, he better be, with how much time I spend on him," Yang replied with a tone that made it sound like she was scolding a child who just happened to be listening in. It was a tone Ruby was intimately familiar with.
Ruby let out a giggle of amusement. "So, how's Maple doing anyway?"
"Doing fine. She sends her regards, by the way," said Yang with ease. "Kind of odd being friends with my mechanic."
"Why?" asked Ruby sincerely. "Maple's a good person, and mechanic is a perfectly fine profession."
"Well, yes," admitted Yang. "When you say it like that, it sounds perfectly normal, but most people don't set out to become good friends with their mechanic."
"You've spent enough time with her, so why not?" asked Ruby.
"Now, see, that's precisely it. Most people don't spend that much time with their mechanics."
"Well, maybe you wouldn't either if you didn't fuss over every imagined issue and faintest sound," pointed out the dark-haired girl.
Yang seemed to have taken some offense at that. "Excuse me, sis? Who was just complimenting my care just a moment ago?"
"Okay, okay," she relented, and then Ruby leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes. "I can see why you like spending so much time in here, Yang. I feel… safe, and warm. Like home. I wish I was in here more often though."
"I wish you were too, Ruby," Yang said, a note of pain in those words.
"But I have my studies to focus on, so I can't," Ruby reasoned, and she felt like throwing up from the falsehood of it.
"How are those going, by the way?" asked Yang. "I've heard you've been getting extra credit assignments from Ozpin."
"Oh, fine," Ruby said with a wave. "You know how it goes. Go here, protect these control nodes from waves of Grimm. Go there, deliver some medical supplies. It's not all that different than what we were doing at Signal, just with more area to cover."
"Heh, those were the days," Yang said nostalgically.
"Do you mind being the only one on the team not doing that, Yang?" inquired Ruby, wishing she didn't sound so hopeful. Hopeful for a negative or a positive response, though? Of that, she could not say.
Yang shrugged. "Nah, I don't mind. I'm doing my own thing a lot of the time anyways, and…"
The blonde paused, and seemed to be chewing over her words. "Never mind," she finally finished.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Ruby. She got up, and followed where her sister's gaze was lingering. It landed upon the couple in the restaurant, specifically the white side of the table. "It's Weiss, isn't it?"
There seemed to be a low rumbling in her at that. "I know it's irrational," said Yang, fatigue and a trace of hate in her voice, "but she's still got that name, and that hair, and she's wearing that snowflake on her back all the time."
"Yang, I…"
"It's like we've got the enemy sleeping in the same room as us!" she practically shouted, but then as the words settled into the air, a look of shame came upon Yang's features and she hid her face. "Sorry. It's just… every time I think back to that night. Every time I see their faces… I…"
Ruby put her hand on her sister's shoulder, and her heart wept for her kinswoman's pain. "Yang, it's okay. It's okay."
Another bout of silence settled in the car, and they sat like that for a time until once more Ruby spoke. "I remember you asking about charity work at Tukson's. Did anything come from that?"
Yang shook her head. "Not really. I did find another charity though. Been doing some work there while I'm in the city. It… it feels good to put some good into the world instead of just taking bad things out."
Ruby frowned as the weight of those words struck her. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. So, not knowing what to do, she did what she always did in emotionally difficult situations: she dodged.
"So, if you hate Weiss, why are you here?"
Some dodges were better than others.
Yang paused in thought, and her eyes were brought back around to the target couple. "A couple of reasons, I guess. A sense of duty. A sense of honor." Her lips curled into a sinister smile. "A sense that this is going to end hilariously, and I've got a dash cam."
The blonde pointed at the tiny box on the dashboard, and Ruby let out a little laugh.
Yang's smile then morphed into a sad frown. "And maybe a sense that I really need to make it up to Jaune over how I acted. He's your best friend, and I need to make sure he doesn't get hurt, or if he does get hurt, he… well, he'll have someone to swoop in and save the day."
"I don't think Weiss is going to hurt him too bad, even if things turn out badly," Ruby said awkwardly.
"You sure about that?" asked Yang, turning to face her. "I'm not deaf. I can hear just fine the way Weiss talks about Jaune, and she practically hates the guy. This could all be some Schnee ploy to lead him out into an emotional killing field and cut him down."
"Okay, Yang, please, stop," Ruby insisted. "Just... stop."
Yang did so, and at that, the younger sister continued.
"I know you don't like Weiss, but please don't go making such wild accusations about her," Ruby ordered. "She's got her own problems, and she comes from a hard place. Please just… just don't stab her in the back like that."
Yang shook her head with a twinge of strange mirth. "Ruby, how long have you known me?"
Ruby's eyes shifted. "All my life?"
"Then you should know this," said Yang serious. "If I kill Weiss, she'll be awake, she'll be facing me, and she'll be armed."
Ruby smiled at that. "Well, that's a big load off my mind. I'm sure it will help Weiss sleep better to hear that too."
"It should," replied Yang cheerfully.
Another silence settled over them, but it was broken by Ruby much more quickly
"How about this for overwatch duties? You watch Jaune, I watch Weiss, and together, we both make sure no one gets hurt?"
Yang pursed her lips, considering that, and then gave her answer in a satisfactory tone. "Deal."
"Hey, man, got a smoke?" a green and grey clothed figured asked his almost identical companion as the two stood guard on the walls of the storage complex, looking out into the gloom of the night and the twinkling of the village lights deeper in the valley.
"Yeah, man, I got you covered," the companion replied, detaching a grey cylinder from his vest and offering it up.
"No, man, I mean a cigarette, or a cigar, or pipe, not a smoke grenade," the first man insisted.
"What?" the second asked in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense. We're both wearing masks."
"Don't worry, man, I got a ninja trick I learned at Atlas."
"Weren't you expelled, man?"
"Hey, man, you said you wouldn't…"
There was a sky shattering boom, and both guards instinctively ducked down, even as they noticed the dark shape that had flown above them. The facility was going into alert now, and the shape tore up into the sky on twin pillars of flame like a pair of blowtorches. It seemed to slow to a crawl, and then there was a glint of light as the cockpit of it could be seen opening to drop a small humanoid shape down. The aircraft then blazed off at a speed that simply defied belief, and swooped back around, firing twin energy blasts like lightning from beneath its wings.
The facility was engulfed in explosions, and everyone that could began to fire back. So focused were they on the aerial invader, most didn't even notice the much smaller, more human intruder as she sliced her way in. For more than a few guards, it was an unfortunately literal statement.
"Aaaah!"
"Pathetic," Raven cursed as she flicked the blood away from her odachi and the bisected body hit the floor.
There was a clamor of boots, and another pair of guards appeared to block her way into the warehouse. These weren't police officers or security guards. There were no challenges or orders to surrender. Instead, they instantly snapped their rifles level and opened fire, only to hit nothing but air as the intruder leaped up and toward them faster than they could track with their weapons.
Shing!
One swing, two cuts.
She rushed inside, and found a tractor-trailer still in the process of being loaded. The driver was already scrambling out of the door to run, but she paid him no heed. Let the weaklings run and cower in fear; the strong would take their prize tonight.
Raven had just reached the box that was to be loaded into the truck when Starscream's now transformed bipedal form hit the ground outside the warehouse.
"Ahhahahaha!" he cackled madly, firing the guns mounted to his upper arms at the enemy forces outside. "Fools! Did you really think you could stand against me? Against Starscream, leader of the Decepticon Seeker Corp?! You will suffer the same fate as all who defy my will!"
Raven let out a whistle, and Starscream backed through the door to run over to her, the ground shaking with each one of his steps.
"We've got the package. Let's go," the black-maned woman called out and she leaped onto the back of the truck.
"Ah, yes, the DNGAS," Starscream said as he carefully picked up the box, checking the radiation and explosive warnings plastered to it as he did so. "Hard to believe something so small could be so useful."
"Hey, I resemble that remark," Raven quipped as she leapt forth from the vehicle's top and brought her odachi down in a slicing motion. As she sailed down, it cut through the air like meat, and in its passing, it left a swirling red-black fissure in reality at least thirty feet tall.
"Out of my way!" Starscream declared as he clamored through the portal. Raven soon followed. The rest of the MECH personnel arrived just in time to see the tear collapse in on itself.
"Well, that was quick," Raven said as she watched the portal close on her end before bringing out a wipe for her sword.
"Did you get it?" asked Skywarp.
"Of course, you fool," declared Starscream. "Let us not waste a moment more. Final victory is within our grasp."
The couple walked quietly up the deserted stairwell of Beacon's student dormitory building. Weiss had her left arm held up, wrapped loosely around his right arm, with her right hand reaching across her body to hold his forearm. She wasn't sure why they were taking the stairs instead of the elevator, but she wasn't complaining; it meant the night would last that little bit longer. She had been... pleasantly surprised by how the night had gone; while hardly spectacular, it had been moderately entertaining.
And Blake's question -- one of them, at least -- strayed back into her thoughts.
As they approached their floor, she felt herself tense up. She almost dreaded the end of the date. If only because it would mean dealing with the rest of her team and the endless teasing that would no doubt be waiting for her.
So it was with a bit of reluctance that she tugged on his arm as Jaune made to continue up.
"Jaune, this is our floor."
"Night's not over yet, Snow Angel," he said.
She arched an eyebrow. He had something else planned? You continue to surprise, Mister Arc, she thought, not unkindly.
As they stepped out onto the roof, she let out an involuntary gasp. Rugs were laid across the rooftop into an ersatz carpet, and she could see small speakers of various types scattered around on stools under umbrellas. She looked at Jaune, about to ask him what this was, but stopped when she saw he was fiddling with his scroll.
After a moment, he gave a small cheer of success as a slow song began playing over the speakers.
"So, uh," he said, almost dropping his scroll as he stuffed it in his pocket, "I... didn't exactly have a lot of time to set this up, and Pyrrha had to remind me about the weather forecast, so-"
"No," she interrupted, feeling a flash of irritation at the redhead's name. "It's wonderful."
"Yeah, well..." he coughed, then held out a hand. "Would you care to dance, Miss Schnee?"
"I would indeed, Mister Arc."
She took his hand and allowed him to pull her onto the makeshift dance floor, and they began to dance under the stars as a light snow began to drift down, reminding her of home. It was… sweet. It warmed her heart that he'd gone to the trouble to set this up for her. Sure, he seemed a bit stiff as he danced, but he probably didn't have much experience at dancing. At least he seemed to know the steps.
Forget moderately entertaining. She leaned into his chest and swayed with the music. This was an amazing night.
Weiss leaned into Jaune's side, his arm around her shoulders, as they approached their dorms, slowing their steps even as they got closer to their destination.
Finally, though, their walk inevitably reached its end, and Weiss reluctantly pulled away. Turning to face him, her back to her dorm door, she smiled. "You know, Jaune, I had a really great time tonight."
Jaune chuckled. "I had a lot of fun too."
"We should do this again sometime," Weiss said. As her words registered, she gasped, eyes wide, and her hands flew to cover her mouth. She hadn't actually meant to say that!
Jaune gave her an inscrutable look, then smiled and shook his head. "Nah, you won't have to worry about that." He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Have a good night, Weiss."
With that, he turned and disappeared into Team JNPR's dorm.
Suddenly standing alone in the hallway, Weiss blinked several times. "What… just happened?" she asked the now-empty hallway.
Eyes still wide with surprise, she stepped through her own door. Inside, Blake was still reading her book, and Ruby was back now, sitting in a chair, tinkering with Crescent Rose. It didn't look like anything had changed, and yet, it had.
Blake seemed to notice and looked up from her book. "So, how did it go?" she asked in a calm level tone.
"I... don't know," Weiss admitted. "It was… all right, for the most part. I was enjoying myself, at least, but then…" She blushed. "He turned the roof into a dance floor. I can't imagine how long it took him to set that up."
"Sounds like he impressed you."
Weiss looked away. "He kissed me..."
Blake's eyes widened, and a clatter drew her attention to Ruby, who scrambled to grab the screwdriver she'd dropped before it rolled away.
"...on the forehead," Weiss finished.
Blake looked back at Weiss. "Huh," she said as she turned that thought over in her mind. "I'm… not exactly an expert… but I don't think you're getting a second date."
That snapped Weiss out of her ruminations.
"WHAT?!" she demanded, whirling on the quiet bibliophile, who recoiled in surprise.
"What?" Blake asked reasonably. "The whole point of this was because you didn't want one, wasn't it?"
"That-" Weiss paused to organize her thoughts. "That's beside the point! Are you telling me that Jaune Arc thinks I'm not good enough for him?!"
"Oh, Weiss, it's not like that," Ruby said as she went back to tinkering with her weapon, an oddly serene inflection in her voice. "It's just that things didn't work out. Probably happened around the wishing well in the park."
"I just…" Weiss frowned. "Wait, how did you know about the wishing well? Were you watching us?"
Ruby puffed up her chest. "Like any good sniper, I remained in cover the whole time, ready to strike at a moment's notice," she declared proudly.
"You did!" Weiss scolded. "Ugh, what is wrong with you?!"
"Hey! I was only trying to do right by you," Ruby insisted. "You're my sister of battle, we've shed blood together, and that means I can't let anyone defile you or your honor."
"Are you sure you weren't just there to watch Jaune?" Blake asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"No, that was Yang's job."
At that point, the door swung open, and the blonde brawler stepped in. "Hey, guys!"
"Yang!" Ruby cried, jumping up to embrace her. "You made it back! What did you think of how it went down?"
"Personally, I think it was a very romantic evening," the elder sister preened as she petted Ruby's dark hair.
"Both of you?!" Weiss sputtered. "That's… that's… ragh. You two, I swear, couple of weirdos! I mean, of all the…" she trailed off and sighed. "I suppose it is a little sweet."
"I'm glad you eventually came to that conclusion, Weiss," Ruby said as she back away from her sister, "because I might need one of you on overwatch when I have my date."
"You have a date?" Weiss asked.
Yang cracked her knuckles. "Yeah, something you wanna tell me, Rubes?"
"Aheheh, not yet," Ruby said, shrinking back, but then she straightened defiantly. "But I will!"
"And I'll be there watching," Yang affirmed before turning to Weiss. "Anyway, I think you should have known something was wrong when he started playing the song from Har Megiddo. Disaster movie soundtrack? Big tell."
"Wha-? But… why? Why the wishing well?"
Yang snorted. "Wishing well's probably when he figured it out, but it really started at the restaurant. Bad move there, princess."
"Heiress," Weiss corrected automatically. "And excuse me? That was the most exclusive restaurant in all of Vale! They have a six-month waiting list!"
"And you got a table on a few days' notice by flaunting your name," Ruby pointed out. "Did you really think Jaune would care about that? Did you even notice how uncomfortable he was?"
"Hmm," Blake mused. "Sounds like you got exactly what you wanted."
Weiss had no response to that.
"Yes. Yes!" Starscream declared melodramatically, holding aloft a tiny disk from his workbench. "It is complete! The Structural Integrity Field Resonance Duplication Beacon! Once I find a way to transmit these plans to Cybertron, we will have completely circumvented Soundwave's mewling plans, and I, Starscream, will be declared the Decepticons' new leader!"
Skywarp squinted at it. "It's… smaller than I imagined."
"That's because, with my genius, I was able to minimize and miniaturize the components to be wafer thin!" boasted the Decepticon commander. "Now, be careful. This device is so small that it could be easily lost just by you sitting on it."
"Why do you assume that I would be the one to sit on it?" asked Skywarp.
"Skywarp, I've known you for millions of megacycles by this point," said Starscream with a dismissive wave.
"Not bad," complimented Raven. "Now, we have got business to attend to, so we'll see you again another day."
"Yes, about that…"
There was a flash of movement, and Raven was sent flying against the wall. She collapsed to the ground, and a force field came up around her. She reached for her sword, but it was gone, and as she looked up she found her scabbard resting in Starscream's palm.
Nearby, Skywarp moved quickly to grab Vernal and restrain her. Through a mere application of physics and brute size, the Branwen Tribe's most fearsome warriors had been defeated. This was definitely not the sort of thing she'd want remembered in song.
Starscream, for his part, was cackling like a mad man. "Fool! Did you really think that you could work as equals with me? The great and powerful Starscream?! Once I dissect you and learn how your 'semblance' works, I will have made revolutionary advancements in space bridge technology!"
"You'll only live long enough to regret this," Raven swore as she stood up defiantly.
"Oh, I very much doubt that," laughed the Seeker commander. "It will be only too easy to replicate your semblance after a more thorough study, and then it will be your usefulness that is at an end! Indeed, it is at an end right now."
At that Starscream held up once more her sword and scabbard in the hand opposite the one still carrying the beacon.
"Let me ask you something, Starscream," said Raven in a tone laced with both menace and mirth. "Did you really think that I needed that sword to use my semblance?"
With that declaration, the black-maned and Grimm-masked woman put her hands together, and then, incredibly, she began to tear apart the very fabric of reality as if she was opening a pair of sliding doors.
"What?! Impossible!" Starscream shouted.
When she judge the hole wide enough, Raven dove through, and emerged on the other end in Starscream's hand. The stunned Seeker commander stared in befuddlement as she picked up the beacon, then leapt to his other hand and similarly picked up her scabbard. With a final spinning flourish, she landed on the computer console.
"Well, what do you know?" she asked sarcastically as she put the beacon inside her obi. "It does work."
"What?! How could this happen?!" asked Starscream as he turned to face her. "My betrayal was perfect!"
"Funny thing about that," said Raven dramatically. "You have to trust someone to be betrayed."
At that, her foot came down in a stomping motion onto one of the buttons on the console. A macro was activated, and before their eyes, the computer began to wipe itself. All of the data Starscream had collected was passing away like dust in the wind.
"No! NOOOOOOO!" the Decepticon screamed as he ran over to the computer. "You fool! What have you done?!"
"Caused you a big headache," Raven observed.
"You'll pay for this!" he declared and made to slap her like he had done before.
This time, though, Raven was faster. She fired her sword from her scabbard, and it shot out at incredible speed to hit Starscream right between the eyes with its pommel. The Seeker yelled in pain, and the bladed weapon spun in the air.
Like an arrow loosed from a bow, Raven jumped at fantastic velocity to seize her sword. Taking it by the grip, she brought her odachi down on the red, blue, and grey Decepticon's body. The blade shattered against his aura, but the warrior woman paid it no heed.
She brought the pommel back to her scabbard as her feet hit the ground, and drew forth a fresh blade of a different color.
"Ragh!" Starscream cursed, clutching his faceplate. "Skywarp! Assist your leader!"
"I'm a little busy here!" shouted Skywarp as he worked to dodge the blows from Vernal, now free of his grip, who was using her wind and fire wheels to attack him with precise slashes while the integrated beam pistols poked at his aura.
"Of course… If you want something done right..."
With that, Starscream fired off both his arm mounted blasters at the small form of Raven. He missed with every shot. Again and again he fired, but still, he could not hit her.
It was just as his blasts tore apart the computer that Raven struck with her own weapon. This time, though, she did not relent. Again and again, she struck with her odachi, shattering one blade after another, even as she replaced them with the speed that one would normally associate with rotary autocannons.
All this time, she was jumping around him, dodging his retaliatory punches and blasts. Once, while leaping past his back, she slapped a small disk to his armor. It blended into the background of his paint and was suddenly forgotten in the hurricane of slashes.
Then, suddenly, in a flash of red, Starscream's aura broke, and he was sent flying to the ground with a new scratch on his armor.
"No!" he shouted as Raven advanced on him. "Mercy! Please have mercy! I'll let you go; just please spare me!"
"Mercy?" Raven replied mockingly. "You must either be lying or stupid."
"I'm stupid! I'm stupid!" Starscream repeated shamefully.
Raven brought her sword up again and slashed it through the air. Starscream flinched, but to his surprise, he had not been offlined. He opened his eyes and saw that she had created another portal with her power.
"Vernal! We're leaving!" Raven called out.
"Yes, Raven!" the woman with the much shorter hair replied as she jumped away from Skywarp and towards the portal. She moved to enter, but before she did, she raised one of her wheels. The weapon's integrated pistol fired, and a red beam lanced out to penetrate the DNGAS's casing.
"No!" both Skywrap and Starscream shouted even as the portal collapsed with the two women's exit.
There was a perilous whine, and suddenly, the DNGAS seemed to glow with an inner power. The two Decepticons fled as best they could for cover, but they knew that it would not be enough. Then, suddenly and anticlimactically, the machine quieted.
"Huh, thought for sure it would blow up," observed Skywarp.
Raven exited the portal to find Vernal waiting for her patiently. It was late at night there, really more of the early morning, and no-one saw them. The campus was dark, and a light snow was drifting down. It had been a mild winter in Vale, but the season still had some bite to it.
"Beacon?" asked Vernal. "Are you feeling a little nostalgic tonight?"
Raven shrugged. "I have one last thing to do on Sanus, and I figured, 'why not'?"
"Very well, ma'am. Lead the way," Vernal said deferentially.
Raven took the lead and led them to a small patch of soil beneath a shrubbery. After a moment of digging, she produced her prize. It was a cardboard box about the size of her head and wrapped in a plastic bag.
After covering up the hole, they walked towards the parking lot. It was quiet then, peaceful. Broken only by the muffled crunch of their feet through the grass and snow.
Raven looked around, and even through the mask, she couldn't help but absorb the natural beauty. Maybe Vernal had been right, maybe she had been nostalgic. It wasn't so bad a feeling to have about such a place, in her opinion.
A pang of guilt and shame began to resonate within her, but she crushed it down. She had made her choice years ago. Now, there was nothing for it but to continue on. No turning back.
Presently, they came into one of the parking lots, and Raven stopped at a yellow and black Atlesian compact car, taking off her mask. She seemed to regard it with a strange sort of awe. In time, though she spoke, and when she did, she clearly spoke to it.
"I know you and Yang are close, so I felt it was best if I leave this with you," she said as she placed the wrapped box besides the car. "I made this a long time ago and stashed it for… emergencies. Tell her that it's hers to do with as she pleases. Modify it, resize it, throw it away even, if that's what she wants. If she does choose to wear it into battle though, tell her to wear it with pride, and to never back down as long as it adorns her face. Be indomitable, in other words. It's what she would have wanted."
With those words, Raven donned her mask again, turned, and walked away, Vernal following in her wake. When they were some distance away, the short-haired woman felt it wise to broach the topic. Even still, she kept her voice low and quiet.
"What was the gift, if I may be so bold?"
"You may," Raven replied. "It was not much, just one of my Grimm masks."
"She must be someone very important then," Vernal observed in wonder.
"She is. She is the human contact for the Autobots, the mortal enemies of those who tried to betray us tonight," explained Raven, and then, she paused as if the weight of her words were almost too heavy to bear.
"She'll have to be to someone truly exceptional then, if she hopes to fight against such foes," said Vernal in the gap. "That fight pushed me to my absolute limit. Beyond, even."
Raven finally found the strength to speak once more. "Of that, you'd need not worry. She is her daughter, after all."
Vernal stopped, her eyes and mouth wide. "You mean… your old captain?"
"Yes," Raven admitted.
Vernal nodded and moved to catch up. "Then perhaps everything will work out fine, if but a fraction of her character runs through this 'Yang's' blood."
Raven said nothing, but instead slashed another portal when they had reached a copse of trees hidden from view.
"Shall we be off?" she asked instead.
The two women departed, and when the portal disappeared the night of Beacon was once more silent.
(Episode 10: Conversations with Killers | Episode 11: Compatibility)
A/N 1 (Cyclone): Sometimes, Pyrrha's just too nice for her own good. Also, poor Weiss. Be careful what you wish for, girl; you just might get it. And yes, Jaune actually can dance quite well; he's just feeling a bit awkward about it.
The DNGAS is a reference to the DNGS from Transformers Prime, the awkward restaurant thing was inspired by Jaune and Weiss's date in Not this time, Fate (which will shatter your heart if you support Arkos, no matter how good a White Knight 'fic it is), the private, makeshift dance floor was inspired by Runt's formal dance in X-Wing: Iron Fist, and yes, that was a reference to Armageddon. I picked the song, Cody inserted the reference.
A/N 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): So after crunching the numbers on the time scale, we realized that almost the entirety of this story should have taken place during Vale's winter. That was a very embarrassing mistake to realize since that means that a ton of set pieces have been ignored. I was just thinking too, Golly gee, I adore the winter scenes in Of Elder Scrolls and Huntsmen: Dragon Rose so maybe we can do something similar? But . . . Ah, well. I'm sure it will all work out in the end. Spring is coming soon anyways, so I guess we'll just have to write it off as a missed opportunity.
You can thank Cyclone for almost the entirety of this chapter. He's the hero here.
And yes, before anyone asks, Yang was talking about Site 13 while Ruby was thinking she was talking about what happened in chapter one. Poor girl still is broken up about seeing that pile of bodies. Which is something that's only been alluded to because either Cyclone nor me have the skill or stomach to describe what was found there.
Only two chapters remain in the volume. Join us next time for Episode 12: "The Calm Before the Storm."
Last edited:
- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
I actually liked Raven and Starscream scenes here. Discounting their sudden but inevitable attempt at betrayal, Starscream was actually decently competent - in analyzing Raven's and Skywarp's semblance, in being the Malfean distraction during assault on MECH, in actually using and completing the beacon...
If there is a crippling weakness that he has, I think it's his lack of (AGG-style) Empathy. He's mostly ignorant of other people's feelings, motives and interests, so he doesn't really see when they are planning to turn on him.
As for Raven dominating the fight (and "somehow", duh it's called repeated brute force) with Starscream - remember that she is one of the strongest RWBY characters. IIRC Vernal was better than most, and she had trouble with Skywarp. Raven - if done right, her battle against Starscream should have this said about it - "she made it look easy - and the key word is look". Sadly, it somehow falls short of this.
If there is a crippling weakness that he has, I think it's his lack of (AGG-style) Empathy. He's mostly ignorant of other people's feelings, motives and interests, so he doesn't really see when they are planning to turn on him.
As for Raven dominating the fight (and "somehow", duh it's called repeated brute force) with Starscream - remember that she is one of the strongest RWBY characters. IIRC Vernal was better than most, and she had trouble with Skywarp. Raven - if done right, her battle against Starscream should have this said about it - "she made it look easy - and the key word is look". Sadly, it somehow falls short of this.
Volume I: Episode 11: Compatibility
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
(V1E10: Conversations with Killers | V1E11: Compatibility | V1E12: The Calm Before the Storm)
Episode 11: Compatibility
* * *
Episode 11: Compatibility
* * *
"Jaune, what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The leader of Team JNPR was pacing their dorm room worriedly and had been for a while.
"Sorry, Pyrrha," he said, turning to face her. Well, turning his body to her; he seemed unable to meet her gaze. "It's just- I have a date."
"Oh," she said, a little crestfallen.
"With Weiss."
And that was when her world shattered.
"Well, I-I'm... happy for you," she insisted. Maybe if she said it with enough conviction, it might become true? "N-nervous, then?"
"Kinda?" he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. I just… I don't want to screw this up, Pyr. Even if this goes nowhere, I at least want her to have a good time. Or, at least, not live down to her expectations."
"That's… you don't have to worry about that," she said. "Is there… any way I can help?"
"Well, I-" he paused, eyes widening as an idea struck him. "Actually, yeah. Meet me on the roof with all the rugs and speakers you can find."
She blinked. "O-of course."
What on Remnant would he need that for?
There were perks to being in charge. Starscream was only in charge of the Vale Theater, and it was but a taste of the true power he sought, but there was still a certain joy to be found in organizing, rearranging, perfecting an operation of this scale. Granted, the painful shortage of personnel meant he sometimes had to personally take care of things he'd normally delegate, including such menial tasks as taking watch. Though, to be fair, he had his own reasons for taking watch this time, and it wasn't like he couldn't check in on some of his many side projects while watching the exterior cameras.
"I'm tellin' you, boss, this island you got us at? It's as spooky as Unicron's backside."
"This is Remnant, Scrapper; every island is spooky," Starscream reminded the leader of the Constructicons over the radio while rubbing his head with a hand.
"Normal islands just have Grimm attacking you. The Grimm here? They look weird, and they just... stand there in the distance, staring at us, never moving, never looking away."
"They're probably just making an attempt at psychological warfare."
"Yeah? Well, it's working."
"Then stop letting it work, you fool," Starscream chided, but before he could launch into another tirade on the competence -- or lack thereof -- of the Constructicon leader, he noticed movement on one of the security cameras. He turned to look, and saw a masked human scant centimeters from one of the cameras. She was waving at the surveillance device's optics.
"Well, it looks like the birdie flew back," Starscream observed slyly.
"What was that, sir?" asked Scrapper.
"I said, 'finish the job and stop complaining!'" Starscream shouted as he cut the transmission. "Now, to see if our little friend is willing to play cube."
He found her outside near the camera that had spotted her, but now out of its line of sight, lounging around on a thick snow-covered branch like there was not a care in the world. It was a little irritating. Which, most likely, was the reason that she was doing it. And she wasn't alone, with another human female standing at the base of the tree.
Luckily, the one on the ground had short hair, and the one in the tree had long hair; otherwise, he'd never be able to tell these humans apart.
"So, you finally decided to show your face, Commander Starscream," the long-haired human observed.
The Decepticon smirked in reply. "It appears you have me at a disadvantage. Care to introduce yourselves?"
The same human stood up on both legs and gave him an appraising look before a short reply passed her hidden lips. "Raven."
"Hmm, how simple," Starscream observed.
"I was going to go with 'Night Raven,' but it turns out, some Mistralian company trademarked the name," she explained.
"And you care about that? Somehow you don't strike me as the legal type."
The newly named Raven shook her head. "No, but their lawyers come with heavy weapons." She dropped to the ground and gestured to her companion. "This is Vernal."
"Ah. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Very well, come with me, and we'll see about fixing your little targeting issue," Starscream said with a wave.
Raven followed, and in due time, they made their way inside the base. Luckily, the staff should have all been off in another part of the bunker or off on the missions Starscream had just assigned them. There was only one 'Con in the entire world who knew about this or what was about to happen.
"Just a little to the left, a little more," Starscream called out across the large concrete room. "And perfect."
"Starscream, sir, why am I on a bullseye?" asked Skywarp as he looked down at the red and white paint beneath him.
"Because it will help you aim when you teleport back," Starscream insisted as he pointed to the other bullseye painted on the floor some distance away.
"A teleportation semblance," observed Raven as she strode across the floor. "Those are pretty rare, and useful, depending on what kind of limitations it has."
"Indeed," Starscream chuckled. "Skywarp's natural abilities are quite the upper hand in a fight, but completely useless for our ultimate purposes."
"Hey, I'm right here," Skywarp whined.
"I know," Starscream deadpanned as he fiddled with a nearby computer. "Now, we are ready. Begin the demonstration!"
From the ceiling descended a horde of sensors, cameras, and antennae, all pointed at the purple Seeker.
"Uh, sir, is all this stuff... safe?" asked Skywarp.
"Probably?" suggested Raven.
"That sounds about right," confirmed Starscream without looking up from the controls.
"Oh, dear," muttered Skywarp in worry.
It was Friday night in Team RWBY's dorm. Yang was out driving. Again. Ruby was off doing… something. Blake was… frustrated as she glared at the computer terminal sitting on the desk in front of her.
"Weiss?" she called, looking through an open door at where the heiress was primping in front of the bathroom mirror. She'd been doing that for the past hour or so.
"What?" Weiss asked, still looking into the mirror as she applied a few, seeming invisible touches of makeup.
"The backdoor I inserted at the regional headquarters is gone. Have you-?"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Weiss interrupted, holding up a finger to Blake without looking away from the mirror. After a moment finishing up whatever makeup she was applying, she finally looked over at Blake and said, "You are not going to ruin my night with business."
"But-"
"If it's so important, you can tell the headmaster. Right now, I have to get ready." Weiss's tone was inflexible and would not be denied.
Against her better judgement, Blake sighed and relented, resolving to visit Ozpin as soon as was practicable. "So, what are you getting all dressed up for anyway, Weiss?" she asked curiously.
"I… have a date," Weiss replied primly as she turned back to the mirror.
"A date?" Blake echoed. "With who?"
Weiss didn't answer immediately. Instead, she hummed and leaned in to apply some eyeliner. That done, she answered, "If you must know, it's with Arc."
Amber eyes blinked in bewilderment. "Arc?" she repeated. "Jaune Arc? I thought you didn't like him."
"I don't," Weiss confirmed as she continued primping herself.
Blake tilted her head and mentally ran through the conversation so far. No, it still didn't make any sense.
"Then why…?" she trailed off, gesturing at Weiss, the mirror, and the plethora of makeup laid out around her. Blake was sure she'd never seen that much makeup in one place at one time in her life outside of a store.
"I'm hoping if I give him the chance to make a proper fool of himself, he'll realize how pathetic he is, how very out of his league I am, and stop pestering me," the heiress replied, applying lipstick with a flourish fit for Myrtenaster. "So I don't want you ruining my night; leave that to Arc."
"Uh huh." Right. So maybe she was crazy. Then again, what did Blake know about dating? If she were honest with herself, she had to admit that her experience with romance was… atypical, to say the least. Still, it seemed like Weiss had forgotten something when coming up with her cunning plan. "Have you considered what you'll do if you actually enjoy it?"
Weiss was once again leaning toward the mirror, peering at her reflection with a critical eye. "Don't be preposterous." Finally, she stepped out of the bathroom to face Blake. "How do I look?" she asked.
Blake considered her answer. "Like you've been lying to me for the past minute," she deadpanned.
Weiss's eye twitched. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
Blake sighed. "It means you look good," she said. "I mean, really good. Like 'you put a lot of effort into looking good' good. Like 'you're trying to impress a guy you just said you don't like' good."
Weiss drew back and gave a haughty sniff. "A Schnee must always look her best."
"I thought you didn't care about family appearances?" Blake prodded.
"I'm the only one in my family who does!" retorted Weiss with a waspish tone.
The black haired girl raised an eyebrow about her color-inverted roommate's outburst. "That's circular logic, and suddenly, we're right back you to making yourself look good on a date with the guy you hate just to make yourself look good."
To Blake's surprise, Weiss's face fell. What the-?
"I… I never said I hated him," the heiress said quietly, a hint of shame in her voice.
"You could've fooled me," Blake snarked without thinking, then winced as Weiss shrank back, shoulders slumped. Okay, yes, she was a Schnee, but her efforts with RRANNBW was proof enough where she stood, regardless of her family name. Blake smirked. Easy way to fix the heiress's mood. "But I suppose current evidence does suggest otherwise."
Weiss's eyes widened, and she snapped up straight, anger displacing her previous shame in an instant. "I- you-... I don't have to justify myself to you!" she spat furiously.
"No, you don't," Blake agreed, "and yet, here we are." She let the smirk fall and continued gently, "Weiss, it's not a crime to change your mind about someone. Sometimes, you get a bad first impression. It happens." Weiss certainly hadn't given Blake a particularly good first impression, after all.
"Not to me!" Weiss hissed. "I'm supposed to be better at reading people than that. I certainly got enough practice at it. I-"
She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Eyes wide, she checked the time; Blake did too, seven o'clock. Weiss rushed over to the mirror and checked herself over again before swooping to the hallway door and opening it. Jaune stood there, dressed… rather nicely, actually. The jacket and trousers were cut in the same style as the Beacon uniform, except with red trim, and he wore it over a white dress shirt and a grey vest. A red bowtie completed the outfit, and his hands held a bouquet of white roses.
Huh, Blake noted. You actually clean up pretty well, Jaune.
She shook her head, amused, as the couple left.
"I can't tell if she's in denial or actually that self-absorbed," she told the now-empty room, then shrugged and turned back to her computer, making a mental bet with herself as to how their date would go.
Skywarp staggered as he stood up after the latest series of tests.
"Well done, Seeker," complemented Starscream. "You almost managed to keep up with Raven."
Skywarp looked down and saw the little human preening the feathers on her clothes like nothing was amiss, like she hadn't just torn open dozens of ground bridges with nothing but her own power. She appeared infuriatingly smug and unwinded in Skywarp's opinion. Would it have killed her to sweat a little?
"It's clear your targeting ability is locking onto some resonance between you and your target's structural integrity fields," Starscream muttered, deep in thought.
"You mean our auras," Raven translated.
"The problem we face, now, is a lack of a truly comprehensive means to analyze that resonance." He shifted over to the console and began scanning through some data. "Hmm… now, if I remember correctly from Soundwave's intelligence reports, an Atlesian transport is scheduled to bring a DNGAS to Beacon Academy right around this time…"
"'Dingus'?" asked Skywarp.
"Digital Nucleo-Genetic Aura Scanner," came Starscream's off-handed clarification.
"Nuclear?" Skywarp asked, now even more confused. "But why-?"
"That's beyond the scope of your simple mind's ability to comprehend," Starscream said absentmindedly.
"Hey!"
"It should be a simple enough matter to intercept and 'acquire' the shipment." He frowned as a report displayed itself on the screen. "Except someone already did. Well, scrap that plan."
"Maybe not," Raven murmured.
Starscream turned and looked down at her. "Explain."
"Whoever stole it almost certainly intends to sell it," she elaborated. "They'll likely use the undernet to advertise their product, and if not, I know my way around less legitimate businesses. Let me poke about, see what I can find."
That said, Raven leapt up onto the control console next to Starscream, but the keyboard was unfamiliar. With an aggravated sigh, Starscream tapped in a few commands, and the keyboard -- no, touch panel image of a keyboard -- shrank down and morphed into the local alphabet.
Raven hummed appreciatively, and then got to work typing with an astounding speed.
"Wow, she's really going at it," observed Skywarp.
"Of course," chimed in Vernal. "Raven is extremely adept at the use of computers, as she is in all things."
"Got it," cut in Raven, even as Starscream looked over her at the displayed screen and the picture of the DNGAS. "It's up for auction right now. How much lien do you have on you?"
Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy sipped at his mug of hot chocolate as Miss Belladonna departed his office. It was unfortunate the backdoor had been lost, but it was bound to happen eventually. They just needed to find a replacement source of intel somehow.
Bad news upon more bad news. The loss of the DNGAS was… concerning, considering the delicate situation with Autumn. Ironwood would be able to send another, in time, but…
Time, always time. It was amazing how one never had enough of such an infinite resource.
He brought the undernet auction site back up and continued to bid. Time was lien, and this was one situation in which one could be bought with the other.
His eyes narrowed. The bidding was picking up. A new player.
No matter. He had a budget few could match. He'd certainly spent enough time building it up.
All four members of the little conspiracy were huddled around the screen, watching with rapt attention as Raven rapidly typed out amount after amount to outbid everyone else in the auction.
"Come on, come on! Who has that much money anyways?!" complained Starscream in an extraordinarily tense voice.
The seconds ticked down. The auction was entering its last moments. The anticipation was so thick that one could cut it with a knife. All eyes and optics were locked on the screen.
Suddenly, in an obvious nervous fit, Vernal slipped back around the computer. Out of sight, she attached a small pack to an obscured surface on the back of the computer. She got back just in time for the finale. No one had noticed what she had done.
All at once, the timer hit zero, and the quartet were left staring at the screen in silence.
"We… lost?" asked Skywarp in disbelief.
"Raaaagh!" Starscream howled in rage. "No one does this to Starscream and gets away with it! Who?! Who dares to challenge the might of the Decepticons and their destined leader?! I shall find this person who outbid me and tear them limb from limb!"
"Doesn't matter," Raven said simply, still typing away at the keyboard. "I checked those intelligence reports again, and I know who stole it in the first place."
At that, the screen changed to show a blurry photo of a man in a green and grey suit.
"MECH," Vernal growled in recognition. "It figures that those arrogant fools would be behind this."
Starscream raised a single mechanical eyebrow. "MECH?"
"Mechanical and Electronic Collections and Holdings," Raven translated. "They're a clandestine organization that deals with a variety of different projects, both legal and illegal. Most relevant to us is their activities in technology theft."
"Do you have a location to go along with that name?" asked Starscream.
Raven turned towards him, and even through the mask, the Decepticon felt he could see a grin.
From a snow-covered rooftop, Ruby sighed as she watched Jaune and Weiss move into the restaurant across the street, the very expensive and high class restaurant. At least, she assumed so, based on the dress of the people inside; the food, in her humble opinion, looked absolutely wretched. No need for the tiny cube of meat, just give her a leg of mutton, and she would be fine.
Still, she did like the idea of a high society restaurant like that, out of curiosity if nothing else. Maybe, perhaps, after many years of service, and marriage to a well-paid husband, her children would be able to afford to spend a single night in a place like that. Yeah, that was a goal to aim for… probably. Finances were always a more troublesome aspect of mathematics for her. Now, ballistics and geometry? Those she could do in her sleep. In fact, she had-…
Her thoughts were suddenly brought to a stop as her mirror eyes caught sight of a flash of yellow. She brought Crescent Rose up to her shoulder, and then focused in on the target. No, her eyes had not deceived her; it was Bumblebee. The familiar car was parked within sight of the restaurant, but out of notice by those inside.
Thinking quickly, Ruby decided to abandon her plan of repositioning to a better vantage point to check in on her sister. It was a simple matter then, once she had decided on a target, to maneuver her way to it. A jump and a dash of her semblance, and suddenly, she was right next to the car and knocking on the passenger side door.
To her surprise, the door popped open, and she was greeted by her elder sister's smiling face.
"Ruby! Come on in; you'll catch your death out in the cold," the blonde chided good naturedly with a welcoming wave.
The younger sister nodded and jumped into the passenger seat, pulling the door closed behind her. "Hey, Yang, what are you doing here?" she asked with that same smile the blonde shared.
"Oh, you know, watching to see how the date you told me about goes," Yang replied. "You?"
"The same. Keeping proper watch over the two of them like a good team leader should," answered Ruby.
"Well, you've got a good vantage point from here," said Yang, pointing out the windscreen to where Jaune and Weiss could just be seen through the restaurant's windows. The heiress was clearly in her element, conversing politely with the waiter, in sharp contrast to the blond knight, who was sitting stiff as a board, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"Huh, neat," observed Ruby as she turned her head to look around. "Bumblebee's looking really clean."
"Oh, he better be, with how much time I spend on him," Yang replied with a tone that made it sound like she was scolding a child who just happened to be listening in. It was a tone Ruby was intimately familiar with.
Ruby let out a giggle of amusement. "So, how's Maple doing anyway?"
"Doing fine. She sends her regards, by the way," said Yang with ease. "Kind of odd being friends with my mechanic."
"Why?" asked Ruby sincerely. "Maple's a good person, and being a mechanic is a perfectly fine profession."
"Well, yes," admitted Yang. "When you say it like that, it sounds perfectly normal, but most people don't set out to become good friends with their mechanic."
"You've spent enough time with her, so why not?" asked Ruby.
"Now, see, that's precisely it. Most people don't spend that much time with their mechanics."
"Well, maybe you wouldn't either if you hadn't bought such a clunker," the dark-haired girl suggested.
"Hey, you take that back!" Yang demanded. "Bumblebee is a great car!"
"You're taking it into the shop practically every week, Yang," Ruby pointed out. "I mean, like, two minutes ago, the door just popped open on its own. That can't be a good sign."
"He just needs a little TLC on occasion," Yang insisted.
"Okay, okay," Ruby relented, and then leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes. "I can see why you like spending so much time in here, Yang. I feel… safe, and warm. Like home. I wish I was in here more often though."
"I wish you were too, Ruby," Yang said, a note of pain in those words.
"But I have my studies to focus on, so I can't," Ruby reasoned, and she felt like throwing up from the falsehood of it.
"How are those going, by the way?" asked Yang. "Those extra credit assignments from Ozpin? You're out… a lot, these days."
"Oh, fine," Ruby said with a wave. "You know how it goes. Go here, protect these control nodes from waves of Grimm. Go there, deliver some medical supplies. It's not all that different than what we were doing at Signal, just with more area to cover."
"Heh, those were the days," Yang said nostalgically. Ruby missed them too; lately, they hardly ever saw each other outside of class or their dorm… the latter of which was usually spent waking up or going to sleep. Or actually sleeping, for that matter.
"Do you mind being the only one on the team not doing that, Yang?" inquired Ruby, wishing she didn't sound so hopeful. Hopeful for a negative or a positive response, though? Of that, she could not say.
Yang shrugged. "Nah, I don't mind. I'm doing my own thing a lot of the time anyways, and…"
The blonde paused, and seemed to be chewing over her words. "Never mind," she finally finished.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Ruby. She got up, and followed where her sister's gaze was lingering. It landed upon the couple in the restaurant, specifically the white side of the table. "It's Weiss, isn't it?"
There seemed to be a low rumbling in her at that. "I know it's irrational," said Yang, fatigue and a trace of hate in her voice, "but she's still got that name, and that hair, and she's wearing that snowflake on her back all the time."
"Yang, I…"
"It's like we've got the enemy sleeping in the same room as us!" she practically shouted, but then as the words settled into the air, a look of shame came upon Yang's features and she hid her face. "Sorry. It's just… every time I think back to that night. Every time I see their faces… I…"
Ruby put her hand on her sister's shoulder, and her heart wept for her kinswoman's pain. "Yang, it's okay. It's okay."
It was then that Ruby silently decided that she had been in the right about her decision to keep Yang in the dark about the activities of Team RRANNBW. If she was in this state after having discovered those escaped slaves months ago, she could only imagine the state she would be in after finding out what they had learned. She did not need her sister and her teammate fighting with each other over things that the Enemy had done; that way only led to defeat.
Another bout of silence settled in the car, and they sat like that for a time until once more Ruby spoke. "I remember you asking about charity work at Tukson's. Did anything come from that?"
Yang shook her head. "Not really. I did find another charity though. Been doing some work there while I'm in the city. It… it feels good to put some good into the world instead of just taking bad things out."
Ruby frowned as the weight of those words struck her. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. So, not knowing what to do, she did what she always did in emotionally difficult situations: she dodged.
"So, if you hate Weiss, why are you here?"
Some dodges were better than others.
Yang paused in thought, and her eyes were brought back around to the target couple. "A few of reasons, I guess. A sense of duty. A sense of honor." Her lips curled into a sinister smile. "A sense that this is going to end hilariously, and I've got a dash cam."
The blonde pointed at the tiny box on the dashboard, and Ruby let out a little laugh.
Yang's smile then morphed into a sad frown. "And maybe a sense that I really need to make it up to Jaune over how I acted. He's your best friend, and I need to make sure he doesn't get hurt, or if he does get hurt, he… well, he'll have someone to swoop in and save the day."
"I don't think Weiss is going to hurt him too bad, even if things turn out badly," Ruby said awkwardly.
"You sure about that?" asked Yang, turning to face her. "I'm not deaf. I can hear just fine the way Weiss talks about Jaune, and she pretty much hates the guy. I've been wondering why she changed her mind about going out with him, and for all I know, this could all be some Schnee ploy to lead him out into an emotional killing field and cut him down."
"Okay, Yang, please, stop," Ruby insisted. "Just... stop."
Yang did so, and at that, the younger sister continued.
"I know you don't like Weiss, but please don't go making such wild accusations about her," Ruby ordered. "She's got her own problems, and she comes from a hard place. Please just… just don't stab her in the back like that."
Yang shook her head with a twinge of strange mirth. "Ruby, how long have you known me?"
Ruby's eyes shifted. "All my life?"
"Then you should know this," said Yang seriously. "If I kill Weiss, she'll be awake, she'll be facing me, and she'll be armed."
Ruby smiled at that. "Well, that's a big load off my mind. I'm sure it will help Weiss sleep better after hearing that too."
"She should," replied Yang cheerfully.
Another silence settled over them, but it was broken by Ruby much more quickly
"How about this for overwatch duties? You watch Jaune, I watch Weiss, and together, we both make sure no one gets hurt?"
Yang pursed her lips, considering that, and then gave her answer in a satisfactory tone. "Deal."
"Hey, man, got a smoke?" a green and grey clothed figured asked his almost identical companion as the two stood guard on the walls of the storage complex, looking out into the gloom of the night and the twinkling of the village lights deeper in the valley.
"Yeah, man, I got you covered," the companion replied, detaching a grey cylinder from his vest and offering it up.
"No, man, I mean a cigarette, or a cigar, or pipe, not a smoke grenade," the first man insisted.
"What?" the second asked in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense, man. We're both wearing masks."
"Don't worry, man, I got a ninja trick I learned at Atlas."
"Weren't you expelled, man?"
"Hey, man, you said you wouldn't…"
There was a sky shattering boom, and both guards instinctively ducked down, even as they noticed the dark shape that had flown above them. The facility was going into alert now, and the shape tore up into the sky on twin pillars of flame like a pair of blowtorches. It seemed to slow to a crawl, and then there was a glint of light as the cockpit of it could be seen briefly opening to drop a small humanoid shape down. The aircraft then blazed off at a speed that simply defied belief, and swooped back around, firing twin energy blasts like lightning from beneath its wings.
The facility was engulfed in explosions, and everyone that could began to fire back. So focused were they on the aerial invader, most didn't even notice the much smaller, more human intruder as she sliced her way in. For more than a few guards, it was an unfortunately literal statement.
"Aaaah!"
"Pathetic," Raven cursed as she flicked the blood away from her odachi and the bisected body hit the floor.
There was a clamor of boots, and another pair of guards appeared to block her way into the warehouse. These weren't police officers or security guards. There were no challenges or orders to surrender. Instead, they instantly snapped their rifles level and opened fire, only to hit nothing but air as the intruder leaped over their field of fire and toward them faster than they could track with their weapons.
Shing!
One swing, two cuts.
She rushed inside, hand striking the loading door control in passing, and found a tractor-trailer still in the process of being loaded. The driver was already scrambling out of the door to run, but she paid him no heed. Let the weaklings run and cower in fear; the strong would take their prize tonight.
Raven had just reached the box that was to be loaded into the truck when Starscream's now transformed bipedal form hit the ground outside the loading door.
"Ahhahahaha!" he cackled madly, firing the guns mounted to his upper arms at the enemy forces outside. "Fools! Did you really think you could stand against me? Against Starscream, leader of the Decepticon Seeker Corp?! You will suffer the same fate as all who defy my will!"
Raven let out a whistle, and Starscream backed through the open loading door to run over to her, the ground shaking with each one of his steps.
"We've got the package. Let's go," the black-maned woman called out and she leaped onto the back of the truck.
"Ah, yes, the DNGAS," Starscream said as he carefully picked up the box, checking the radiation and explosive warnings plastered to it as he did so. "Hard to believe something so small could be so useful."
"Hey, I resemble that remark," Raven quipped as she leapt forth from the vehicle's top and brought her odachi down in a slicing motion. As she sailed down, it cut through the air like meat, and in its passing, it left a swirling red-black fissure in reality at least thirty feet tall.
"Out of my way!" Starscream declared as he clamored through the portal. Raven soon followed. The rest of the MECH personnel arrived just in time to see the tear collapse in on itself.
"Well, that was quick," Raven said as she watched the portal close back in the Decepticon base before bringing out a wipe for her sword.
"Did you get it?" asked Skywarp.
"Of course, you fool," declared Starscream. "Let us not waste a moment more. Final victory is within our grasp."
The couple walked quietly up the deserted stairwell of Beacon's student dormitory building. Weiss had her left arm held up, wrapped loosely around his right arm, with her right hand reaching across her body to hold his forearm. She wasn't sure why they were taking the stairs instead of the elevator, but she wasn't complaining; it meant the night would last that little bit longer. She had been... pleasantly surprised by how the night had gone; while hardly spectacular, it had been moderately entertaining.
And Blake's question -- one of them, at least -- strayed back into her thoughts.
As they approached their floor, she felt herself tense up. She almost dreaded the end of the date. If only because it would mean dealing with the rest of her team and the endless teasing that would no doubt be waiting for her.
So it was with a bit of reluctance that she tugged on his arm as Jaune made to continue up.
"Jaune, this is our floor."
"Night's not over yet, Snow Angel," he said.
She arched an eyebrow. He had something else planned? You continue to surprise me, Mister Arc, she thought, not unkindly.
As they stepped out onto the roof, she let out an involuntary gasp. Rugs were laid across the rooftop into an ersatz carpet, and she could see small speakers of various types scattered around on stools under umbrellas. She looked at Jaune, about to ask him what this was, but stopped when she saw he was fiddling with his scroll.
After a moment, he gave a small cheer of success as a slow song began playing over the speakers.
"So, uh," he said, almost dropping his scroll as he stuffed it in his pocket, "I... didn't exactly have a lot of time to set this up, and Pyrrha had to remind me about the weather forecast, so-"
"No," she interrupted, feeling a flash of irritation at the redhead's name. "It's wonderful."
"Yeah, well..." He coughed, then held out a hand. "Would you care to dance, Miss Schnee?"
"I would indeed, Mister Arc," she replied with a smile, reaching out to take his hand.
She allowed him to pull her onto the makeshift dance floor, and they began to dance under the stars. Even the light snow beginning to drift down and catching in her hair didn't ruin things; rather, it reminded her of home. This whole thing was… sweet. It warmed her heart that he'd gone to the trouble to set this up for her. Sure, he seemed a bit stiff as he danced, but he probably didn't have much experience at dancing. At least he seemed to know the steps.
Forget moderately entertaining. She leaned into his chest and swayed with the music, a small but genuine smile on her face. This was an amazing night.
Weiss leaned into Jaune's side, his arm around her shoulders, as they approached their dorms, slowing their steps even as they got closer to their destination.
Finally, though, their walk reached its inevitable end, and Weiss reluctantly pulled away. Turning to face him, her back to her dorm door, she smiled. "You know, Jaune, I had a really great time tonight."
Jaune chuckled. "I had a lot of fun too."
"We should do this again sometime," Weiss said. As her words registered, she gasped, eyes wide, and her hands flew to cover her mouth. She hadn't actually meant to say that!
Jaune gave her an inscrutable look, then smiled sadly and shook his head. "Nah, you won't have to worry about that." He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Have a good night, Weiss."
With that, he turned and disappeared into Team JNPR's dorm.
Suddenly finding herself standing alone in the hallway, Weiss blinked several times. "What… just happened?" she asked with a mixture of confusion and sadness. The empty hallway offered no answer.
Eyes still wide with surprise, she pulled out her scroll to unlock the door to her own dorm, idly noting the time tick over to midnight. Inside, Blake was back to reading one of her books, and Ruby was back now, sitting in a chair, tinkering with Crescent Rose. It didn't look like anything had changed, and yet, something had.
Blake seemed to notice and looked up from her book. "So, how did it go?" she asked in a calm, level tone.
"I... don't know," Weiss admitted. "It was… all right, for the most part. I was enjoying myself, at least, but then…" She blushed. "He turned the roof into a dance floor. I can't imagine how long it took him to set that up." She frowned. "Even with Pyrrha's help."
"Sounds like he impressed you."
Weiss looked away. "He kissed me..."
Blake's eyes widened, and a clatter drew her attention to Ruby, who scrambled to grab the screwdriver she'd dropped before it rolled away.
"...on the forehead," Weiss finished.
Blake looked back at Weiss. "Huh," she said as she turned that thought over in her mind. "I'm… not exactly an expert, but... I don't think you're getting a second date."
That snapped Weiss out of her ruminations.
"WHAT?!" she demanded, whirling on the quiet bibliophile, who recoiled in surprise.
"What?" Blake asked reasonably. "The whole point of this was because you didn't want one, wasn't it?"
"That-" Weiss paused to organize her thoughts. "That's beside the point! Are you telling me that Jaune Arc thinks I'm not good enough for him?!"
"Oh, Weiss, it's not like that," Ruby said as she went back to tinkering with her weapon, an oddly serene inflection in her voice. "It's just that things didn't work out. Probably happened around the wishing well in the park."
"I just…" Weiss frowned. "Wait, how did you know about the wishing well? Were you watching us?"
Ruby puffed up her chest. "Like any good sniper, I remained in cover the whole time, ready to strike at a moment's notice," she declared proudly.
"You did!" Weiss scolded. "Ugh, what is wrong with you?!"
"Hey! I was only trying to do right by you," Ruby insisted. "You're my sister of battle, we've shed blood together, and that means I can't let anyone defile you or your honor."
"Are you sure you weren't just there to watch Jaune?" Blake asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"No, that was Yang's job."
At that point, the door swung open, and the blonde brawler stepped in. "Hey, guys!"
"Yang!" Ruby cried, jumping up to embrace her. "You made it back! What did you think of how it went down?"
"Personally, I think it was a very romantic evening," the elder sister preened as she petted Ruby's dark hair.
"Both of you?!" Weiss sputtered. "That's… that's… ragh. You two, I swear, couple of weirdos! I mean, of all the…" she trailed off and sighed. "I suppose it is a little sweet."
"I'm glad you eventually came to that conclusion, Weiss," Ruby said as she backed away from her sister, "because I might need one of you on overwatch when I have my date."
"You have a date?" Weiss asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically.
Yang cracked her knuckles. "Yeah, something you wanna tell me, Rubes?"
"Aheheh, not yet," Ruby said, shrinking back, but then she straightened defiantly. "But I will!"
"And I'll be there watching," Yang affirmed before turning to Weiss. "Anyway, I think you should have known something was wrong when he started playing the song from Har Megiddo. Disaster movie soundtrack? Big tell."
"Wha-? But… but why? Why the wishing well?"
Yang snorted. "Wishing well's probably when he figured it out, but it really started at the restaurant. Bad move there, princess."
"Heiress," Weiss corrected automatically. "And excuse me? That was the most exclusive restaurant in all of Vale! They have a six-month waiting list!"
"And you got a table on a few days' notice by flaunting your name," Ruby pointed out gently. "Did you really think Jaune would care about that? Did you even notice how uncomfortable he was?"
"Hmm," Blake mused. "Sounds like you got exactly what you wanted."
Weiss had no response to that.
"Yes. Yes!" Starscream declared melodramatically, holding aloft a tiny disk from his workbench. "It is complete! The Structural Integrity Field Resonance Duplication Beacon! Once I find a way to transmit these plans to Cybertron, we will have completely circumvented Soundwave's mewling plans, and I, Starscream, will be declared the Decepticons' new leader!"
Skywarp squinted at it. "It's… smaller than I imagined."
"That's because, with my genius, I was able to minimize and miniaturize the components to be wafer thin!" boasted the Decepticon commander. "Now, be careful. This device is so small that it could be easily lost just by you sitting on it."
"Why do you assume that I would be the one to sit on it?" asked Skywarp.
"Skywarp, I've known you for thousands of megacycles by this point," said Starscream with a dismissive wave.
"Not bad," complimented Raven. "Now, we have got business to attend to, so we'll see you again another day."
"Yes, about that…"
There was a flash of movement, and Raven was sent flying against the wall. She collapsed to the ground, and a force field hummed into existence around her. She reached for her sword, but it was gone, and as she looked up, she found her scabbard resting in Starscream's palm.
Nearby, Skywarp moved quickly to grab Vernal and restrain her. Through a mere application of physics and brute size, the Branwen Tribe's most fearsome warriors had been defeated. This was definitely not the sort of thing she'd want remembered in song.
Starscream, for his part, was cackling like a madman. "Fool! Did you really think that you could work as equals with me? The great and powerful Starscream?! You've given me all the data I need to make revolutionary advancements in space bridge technology!" He paused. "Granted, a little vivisection or dissection may still be necessary, but it's a small sacrifice in the name of science."
"You'll only live long enough to regret this," Raven swore as she stood up defiantly.
"Oh, I very much doubt that," laughed the Seeker commander. "It will be only too easy to replicate your semblance after a more thorough study, and then, once I've confirmed that your usefulness is at an end… well, I think we both know what happens then."
At that, Starscream once more held up her sword and scabbard in the hand opposite the one still carrying the beacon. With a dismissive toss, he flung her scabbard back to clatter uselessly against the wall. "Skywarp will get around to cleaning that up later," he assured her.
"Hey!"
"You seem so sure about that, Starscream," said Raven in a tone laced with both menace and mirth.
With that observation, the black-maned and Grimm-masked woman put her hands together and threw them apart, tearing open a portal in front of her that emerged over Starscream's shoulder. Not wasting a fraction of a second, she dived through to snatch the device from his hand.
"What?! Impossible!" Starscream shouted as Raven spun through the air to land on the floor.
"Well, what do you know?" she asked sarcastically as she put the beacon inside her obi. "It does work. You aren't a total incompetent."
"What?! How could this happen?!" asked Starscream as he turned to face her. "My betrayal was perfect!"
"Did you really think that I needed that sword to use my semblance?" asked Raven rhetorically. "Besides, you have to trust someone to be betrayed, and that's a mistake I'll never make again."
At that, she brought out a small cylindrical device and flipped open the cap to reveal a button. Her thumb came down, and there was a click that was deafening to the audio receptors of the two Decepticons in the room. A split second later, there was a tremendous boom, and the side of the computer erupted into flames.
"No!" Starscream shouted as he ran over to the flaming bank of electronics. "My data! My precious, beautiful data!"
Wasting no time, Raven bolted for where her sword had clattered to the ground like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Gah! You'll pay for that, puny human!" Starscream yelled as he turned and aimed his arm blasters.
He fired, and Raven dodged, narrowly avoiding getting blown apart with the concrete floor. She leapt, faster than sound, and flew towards Starscream with a crack of displaced air. The Decepticon tried to track her, but her supersonic leap left her flying over him.
"What-"
Starscream turned around to face her and fired another wild shot.
"-are-"
Raven leapt again. Another null ray beam punched a hole in the ceiling.
"-you?!"
She gripped his shoulder as she was flying over and spun in place, reaching into her obi as she did so to withdraw the small form of the beacon. When she fell down onto Starscream's back, she slapped the tiny device into a similarly-colored and obscured section of his body. She then went into a crouching jump that sent her towards her sword with another sonic boom.
At the same time that Raven had torn open her first portal, Vernal had acted. Using what leverage was available to her in Skywarp's grip, she drew forth her wind and fire wheels. Then, with great effort and focused use of her aura, she wrenched her blades up.
Strengthened by her aura, the blades passed through the air… and Skywarp's fingers. The Seeker let out a shriek of pain, and Vernal dropped to the floor. Somewhat disturbingly, she found herself covered in flecks of a blue substance like unto blood.
"You filthy squishy!" Skywarp cursed, gripping the stumps of his right hand's fingers.
"Filthy is right," Vernal agreed, taking an experimental lick before trying to shake some of the blue liquid off herself. "Hmm, surprisingly sweet, with a hint of metal. Still, could you possibly have chosen a different color to bleed in? Maybe red. I'm used to cleaning red blood off me."
Skywarp looked at her strangely. "You are one messed up loony."
At that, he snapped his arms up and fired his blasters. Amazingly, and at a speed she'd never managed before, she dodged. The floor behind her shattered under explosive force, but she kept moving.
She brought her wheels up as she ran and fired the built in dust blasters. The orange beams sank into Skywarp's aura. The Decepticon grunted and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Vernal flipped and brought her wheels around to aim behind her, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge the punch from Skywarp's left fist. She was sent flying through the air and barely recovered to land on her feet. She fired her beam weapons again before Skywarp returned fire.
Vernal dodged and in the same motion turned around to slash out with her wheels. She hit aura, and Skywarp was forced to draw back from his punch. The Seeker teleported again, and when he reappeared, he was oddly enthused.
"You're pretty good," he complimented. "Why not try ditching the old lady and come work for the winning side?"
"And betray Raven?" asked Vernal, disgusted. "Never."
"And loyal too," complimented Skywarp. "You really are the complete package. Shame about the wrapping though."
Before the conversation could continue, there came a cry of command.
"Vernal!"
The short-haired woman snapped her wheels up and fired them. Simultaneously, there was another sonic boom, and Raven leapt in from where she had retrieved her sword. Beams lanced out from Vernal's weapons to penetrate the casing of the DNGAS.
Raven grabbed her compatriot, slashed a portal in mid-air, and jumped on through. The portal collapsed soon after, leaving Starscream and Skywarp alone with the damaged DNGAS.
"No!" Starscream shouted. "Fool! You let them escape."
Before Skywarp could respond, there was a perilous whine, and suddenly, the DNGAS started to glow with an inner power as fissures spread over its surface. The two Decepticons took one look at it and fled as best they could for cover, but they knew that it would not be enough. Then, suddenly and anticlimactically, the machine quieted.
"Huh, thought for sure it would blow up," admitted Skywarp.
Raven and Vernal exited the portal with a tumble of speed into freshly fallen flakes of cold. It was late at night there, really more of the early morning, and no one saw them. The campus was dark, and a light snow was drifting down. It had been a mild winter in Vale, but the season still had some bite to it.
"Beacon?" asked Vernal as the two untangled themselves and got up. "Are you feeling a little nostalgic tonight?"
Raven shrugged as she unconsciously fingered her sword to make sure she had resheathed it properly, despite her haste. "I have one last thing to do on Sanus, and I figured, 'why not?'"
"Very well, ma'am. Lead the way," Vernal said deferentially.
Raven took the lead and led them to a small patch of soil beneath a shrubbery. After a moment of digging, she unearthed her prize: a cardboard box about the size of her head and wrapped in a plastic bag. Keeping little caches stashed away was a habit she'd picked up with Team STRQ -- all of them seemed to squirrel stuff away wherever they could -- and frankly, it had been too useful to abandon.
After covering up the hole, they walked towards the parking lot. It was quiet, then. Peaceful. Broken only by the muffled crunch of their feet through the grass and snow.
Raven looked around, and even through the mask, she couldn't help but absorb the natural beauty. Maybe Vernal had been right, maybe she had been feeling nostalgic. It wasn't so bad a feeling to have about such a place, in her opinion.
A pang of guilt and shame began to resonate within her, but she crushed it down. She had made her choice long ago. Now, there was nothing for it but to continue on. No turning back.
Presently, they came into one of the parking lots, and Raven stopped at a yellow and black Atlesian compact car, taking off her mask. She seemed to regard it with a strange sort of awe. In time, though, she spoke, and when she did, she clearly spoke to it.
"I know you and Yang are close, so I felt it was best if I leave this with you," she said as she placed the wrapped box beside the car. "I made this a long time ago and stashed it for… emergencies. Tell her that it's hers to do with as she pleases. Modify it, resize it, throw it away even, if that's what she wants. If she does choose to wear it into battle though, tell her to wear it with pride and to never back down as long as it adorns her face. Be indomitable, in other words. It's what she would have wanted."
With those words, Raven donned her mask again, turned, and walked away, Vernal following in her wake. When they were some distance away, the short-haired woman felt it wise to broach the topic. Even still, she kept her voice low and quiet.
"What was the gift, if I may be so bold?"
"You may," Raven replied. "It wasn't much, just one of my Grimm masks."
"She must be someone very important then," Vernal observed in wonder, eyes wide in surprise.
"She is. She is the human contact for the Autobots, the mortal enemies of those who tried to betray us tonight," explained Raven, and then, she paused as if the weight of her words were almost too heavy to bear.
"She'll have to be truly exceptional then, if she hopes to fight against such foes," said Vernal during the pause. "I don't know how much longer I could have lasted against him had the fight not ended the way it did."
Raven finally found the strength to speak once more. "Of that, you'd need not worry. She is her daughter, after all."
Vernal stopped, her eyes and mouth wide in shock. "You mean… your old captain?"
"Yes," Raven admitted.
Vernal nodded and moved to catch up. "Then perhaps everything will work out fine, if but a fraction of her character runs through this 'Yang's' blood."
Raven said nothing, but instead slashed another portal when they had reached a copse of trees hidden from view.
"Shall we be off?" she asked instead.
The two women departed, and when the portal disappeared, the night of Beacon was once more shrouded in silence.
(V1E10: Conversations with Killers | V1E11: Compatibility | V1E12: The Calm Before the Storm)
A/N 1 (Cyclone): Sometimes, Pyrrha's just too nice for her own good. Also, poor Weiss. Be careful what you wish for, girl; you just might get it. And yes, Jaune actually can dance quite well; he's just feeling a bit awkward about it.
The DNGAS is a reference to the DNGS from Transformers Prime, the awkward restaurant thing was inspired by Jaune and Weiss's date in Not this time, Fate (which will shatter your heart if you support Arkos, no matter how good a White Knight 'fic it is), the private, makeshift dance floor was inspired by Runt's formal dance in X-Wing: Iron Fist, and yes, that was a reference to Armageddon. I picked the song, Cody inserted the reference.
A/N 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): So after crunching the numbers on the time scale, we realized that almost the entirety of this story should have taken place during Vale's winter. That was a very embarrassing mistake to realize since that means that a ton of set pieces have been ignored. I was just thinking too, Golly gee, I adore the winter scenes in Of Elder Scrolls and Huntsmen: Dragon Rose so maybe we can do something similar? But . . . Ah, well. I'm sure it will all work out in the end. Spring is coming soon anyways, so I guess we'll just have to write it off as a missed opportunity.
You can thank Cyclone for almost the entirety of this chapter. He's the hero here.
And yes, before anyone asks, Yang was talking about Site 13 while Ruby was thinking she was talking about what happened in chapter one. Poor girl still is broken up about seeing that pile of bodies. Which is something that's only been alluded to because either Cyclone nor me have the skill or stomach to describe what was found there.
Only two chapters remain in the volume. Join us next time for Episode 12: "The Calm Before the Storm."
A/N 3 (Cyclone; post-revision): So, yeah. Definitely rushed through this way too much the first time around. As we went through it for the revision, we were finding a lot of room for improvement: missed opportunities, forgotten plot threads and references we had intended to include, lack of clarity in language, and basic grammar problems, all including stuff well beyond just the fight scene that drew almost all the commentary.
So keep in mind, a lot more than just the fight scenes got fixed. In fact, only two scenes out of the whole chapter escaped revision. I… may have had a bit too much fun breaking Weiss's heart here.
A/N 4 (Cody MacArthur Fett; post-revision): The first draft of reviving the fight scene once more fell to me, and I was stumped for days on the choreography until I had to crucial breakthroughs. The first was that if we're not good at writing fight scenes we should instead focus on all the stuff around the fight scene that makes it interesting, and the second was that once the beacon was placed on Starscream Raven can just leave at any time so the fight scene wasn't needed at all.
Also, here's an editing tip, read the whole gosh darn chapter out to your co-author/proofreader. Turns out you catch a lot with that, more than just with eyes. Do have some water on hand when you do though.
Speaking of editing though, this is the last transformation of the chapter. Whatever the reaction is, or whatever the implications are, we're rolling with it. Onto Episode 12 now, and hopefully greener pastures. Now that the cover art is done for the prequel, there's a fire under me.
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Volume I: Episode 12: The Calm Before the Storm
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
(V1E11: Compatibility | V1E12: The Calm Before the Storm | V1E13: Shatterpoint)
Episode 12: The Calm Before the Storm
* * *
Episode 12: The Calm Before the Storm
* * *
"Blast it. Slow down!" Adam yelled as he ran through the train.
The only reply he received was the telltale sound of Sunfire's shot-gauntlets firing.
"At least check to make sure you've destroyed them before moving on!" he called out as he sliced through an Atlesian Knight that had lost its left arm to an explosive punch.
"Hey, you're a strong fighter, and I trust you to take care of it," came the reply over his earbud.
Unbidden, a third voice entered the channel. "Yeah, this is an Autobot operation. You want to play with the big boys, you gotta be fast." Air Raid evidently approved.
Adam bit back a curse, deciding to focus on just destroying the androids directly hindering him so that he could catch back up to the speed loving firebrand.
It had been a simple idea. The Autobots were planning their own operation against a train that had been flagged as carrying dust, energon, and some SDC personnel, so he had offered his expertise in such operations. After all, he'd been involved in just such a mission just a few months ago.
Of course, that operation had involved a fellow faunus backing him up, someone trustworthy and dependable. At least, he had thought so… In any case, it was certainly better odds than fighting alongside a human so hot-headed her hair literally caught on fire when she was mad. That wasn't the only issue he took with Sunfire these days, though, and right now, he had to admit that it wasn't even in his top five.
He dashed out onto the flatbed car and saw her then as she smashed two Knights together. She was dressed in a white and red armored battlesuit that completely covered her body. Even her signature solar hair was covered up by a helmet that hid her head from view. If it had just stopped there, he would have chalked it up to yet another in the long line of costume changes for a woman who was constantly testing out prototypes, but it hadn't. It hadn't, because like all her Autobot comrades, Sunfire had decided to don a faceplate or mask in battle, but instead of choosing an additional layer of armor…
"Hey, you finally caught up!" she cheered over the radio, and as she did so, she turned to face him, showing in full then the mask that covered the front of her helmet. It was primarily white, but with red lines crossing it and black eyes that glowed with an inner crimson flame.
…she had chosen to wear a Grimm mask, much like the one he was wearing at that moment, what all his brothers and sisters of the White Fang wore.
He wasn't sure how to feel about that, and that was the problem.
"Hey, Adam," Sunfire called out again as the last Knight fell. "You feeling okay?"
Before he could even think of an answer, the car ahead of them split open to reveal a police car that roared off a ramp and through the air to collide with some of the boxes strapped to the car... and Sunfire. She pinwheeled over his head, but quickly corrected herself with a recoil boost that brought her onto the car's floor. Barely a second had passed before the vehicle that hit her transformed into the familiar bot mode of the Decepticon warrior Barricade.
"Ha! You Autobots thought you could get this train like you got the other one, but Commander Starscream's smarter than that!" the Cybertronian belted out dramatically before blinking in confusion. "Wow, that felt really weird to say."
"Is there anything that feels normal to you?" Adam demanded haughtily, trying to get into the bantering spirit that the Autobots seemed to love so much.
Barricade's eyes narrowed into suspicion. "Who are you two, anyway?"
There was a double boom of shot-gauntlets, and Sunfire leapt out to smash her fist into the face of the Decepticon before jumping over him, making his head snap back from the impact. Barricade recovered just a quickly, however, and this time, the confusion was gone. Indeed, when he spoke his tone was of friendly recognition.
"Sunfire? You got a new faceplate."
The Grimm-masked woman's voice -- distorted by a vocal modulator -- was laced with hate and outrage at those words. "You've got a lot of nerve, talking so chummy after what we found at Site Thirteen."
"Hey, I was just following orders there." he justified with a shrug.
At that, Adam acted on impulse and separated Wilt from Blush. In the same motion, he transformed Blush into its gun mode and pulled the trigger. Again and again, he fired, rounds impacting onto Barricade's aura.
Simultaneously, Sunfire jumped forward on recoil-boosted fists, and in mid-air, twisted around to deliver an axe kick to Barricade's left arm. When she hit, he lifted that arm up. She moved to right herself with another blast of gravity rounds, but the Decepticon had brought out his weapon by then, a baton not unlike one wielded by a police officer but scaled to Barricade's size and covered in spiked studs.
The cudgel hit Sunfire dead on, and she went flying back to crash into the car that Adam had just left behind, several AK-130s still visible.
Barricade chuckled. "Looks like it's just you and me, little human."
"Faunus," Adam corrected automatically.
"Same thing," Barricade said dismissively as he swung his studded mace down at Adam, who snarled, leaped up onto Barricade's arm, and began running up the limb.
The Decepticon reacted quickly. He pulled his arm back and snapped it out, causing Adam to lose his footing. Before he could tumble off the side of the train entirely, he flicked Wilt down, impaling it into the deck of the train. He swung around the embedded sword, pulling it free as his momentum shifted back toward Barricade.
He slashed out at the Decepticon, but struck only a glancing blow across his right arm that hit mostly aura. Barricade then lashed out with a punch from his left that nearly took off Adam's head. He was forced to dodge, again and again. While dodging, he brought out Blush and snapped off shots when he could.
"What is this? Death of a thousand cuts?" Barricade mocked. "You'll have died of old age before you get anywhere like that!"
A sudden spike of realization rolled through Adam while he himself rolled. Blast. He's right. There's no way I can get a big enough hit in without using Moonslice, and I can't use alternate strategies without using space I just don't have. I need to find a way to absorb a hit without being pushed off the train.
"Adam!" Sunfire's voice came over the comms as a bright yellow light emerged from the rearward car with the remains of a Knight at her feet. Out she stepped, the back of her helmet opened to allow her hair, flaming like the surface of a star, to fly free. "Rebound!"
"'Rebound'?" Barricade echoed, puzzled.
Not wasting a moment, Adam leapt towards her, Wilt raised to strike her down. Sunfire snapped her fist back and threw everything she had into a dynamic punch. Her fist connected with the flat of his blade, and a massive transfer of force occurred.
No sooner had Adam hit the ground than he swept his sword outward with his semblance. Moonslice cut with a powerful red crescent and hit Barricade straight on. Amazingly, impossibly, his aura collapsed outright in its passing.
"Do you think that will stop me?!" Barricade declared. "It will take a lot more than-"
Suddenly, out from the sky dropped a white and red shape that delivered a powerful kick to the Decepticon that sent him flying off the train. In his stead stood a smiling Air Raid. He flashed a thumbs up, and then transformed back into his alt-mode before flying away.
"Sorry if I butted in, but that was just too perfect a kill to pass up," the Aeralbot said over the comms.
"I don't think he's dead," Adam muttered.
"Oh come on, who could have survived that?" Sunfire replied before moving past the train car Barricade had attacked them from and into the final car before the passenger section.
"I could have," Bumblebee put in.
"Without your structural integrity field?" asked Sunfire curiously.
"Focus, people. I have Fireflight vectoring in to chase Barricade down, so you don't need to worry about him," Optimus ordered the group.
"Yes, sir!" came the chorus, and at least one of them came from Sunfire.
Adam picked up the pace to come beside Sunfire. They had reached the dividing line of the train; beyond this point were only passengers, and so it was that he pointed at a panel on the wall at the far end of the car. "Decoupling controls are over there, right next to the brakes, but I should be able to get through the coupling itself with Wilt if it comes to that."
"You know your stuff," Sunfire commented appreciatively. "I guess experience counts for something."
"Why wouldn't it?"
"Well, you got me there. Still, it's good for us. Just a little bit more, and we'll have our actuators on all that tasty tasty energon."
Adam paused and then looked over at her. Sunfire's hands were behind her head, with her hair somehow back inside the helmet, and there was an ease in her step. It was infuriatingly casual, and when she turned back around, she seemed to be looking at him through that Grimm mask in confusion that he would be so weird.
"What?"
Adam spoke in disbelief. "Genuine question, are you a Cybertronian wearing some kind of human skin?"
"It's called a Pretender Shell," she corrected. "And I'm just as human as you are."
Behind his own mask, Adam felt his right eyebrow shoot up in shock. Was that a yes? Was she delivering a mortal insult to him? Was she tacitly revealing that she was a faunus too? ...Or was she just trying to mess with him?
He took notice of a certain sway in her hips and a swagger in her step. It was definitely the last option. It was enough to make him wince from the sheer audacity of it.
You need her alive, Adam. You need her alive, he kept repeating in his head. She might be an arrogant, annoying robo-fool, but she has powerful friends. Very powerful friends that can help you get out from under Cinder.
Suddenly, and without warning, the light of the car shifted. They found themselves shrouded in darkness, and their eyes struggled to adjust to the change. They had to adjust again when the hologram appeared.
"Greetings, Autobot scum!" declared the image of the white, red, and grey Decepticon in a mocking tone, looking at a point high above their heads.
"Who's this joker?" asked Sunfire as she readied her shot-gauntlets.
"It is I, Air Commander Starscream, of the Decepticon Seeker Corps!" the hologram continued with grand gesticulations.
"Oh," realized the armored Autobot.
"You thought you could steal yet more Decepticon property? Fools! You have walked straight into my genius trap. You have no doubt realized by now that this train is also carrying passengers. Innocent little humans who know nothing of our war. What you may not realize is that this train is also rigged with explosives."
"Don't worry," Bumblebee interjected. "I'm trained in bomb disposal, and I'm already en route."
"And before you try disarming it," the hologram continued gleefully, "understand that there are, in fact, two faildeadlies you'd have to disarm. Simultaneously. Miniaturized to a level too small for Cybertronian fingers. And even if you have Mini-Cons, the EMP charges will take care of that. Now, I could have simply had it detonate now, instead of triggering this warning, but that would have wasted perfectly good energon and this wonderful opportunity to examine Autobot psychology."
The hologram's voice dropped.
"So, you now have a choice. Decouple the train from the side with the energon and kill all the humans, decouple the train from the side with the passengers and destroy all the energon, or simply wait for the train to deliver you to us where we wait eagerly to offline you all."
It was then that the projected Starscream grew a truly sadistic smile.
"I can't wait to run an analysis on whatever your choice is. It should prove… educational."
And with that final line, the recording cut out, and the lighting returned to normal.
"Bastard!" Sunfire cursed loudly.
"Well," Adam said, "there is a simple solution to this."
"You know how to disarm a bomb?"
"Don't be ridiculous; I just know how to make sacrifices," Adam declared as he marched over to the separation controls.
"Adam, no!" Optimus's voice rang out.
POW!
Adam slid along the floor of the car. Instantly, he knew what had happened. That blasted fool Sunfire had punched him. Again. Just as quickly though, he reacted.
He pulled the trigger on Blush, and Wilt shot out. The hilt of the sword hit Sunfire dead on, and she was sent to the ground herself. Swiftly, Adam was on his feet again and running for his blade. The human recovered just as quickly and moved to stop him again.
"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Bumblebee yelled in their ears. "I'm almost there!"
"What are you doing?!" Sunfire shouted as she readied herself to strike once more. "You were going to kill them!"
"I was going to save your friends!" Adam reminded her pointedly. "I'm no idiot. I figured out the Autobots need energon to live, and we don't have the time to work on a solution that saves everyone. So why not get the energon? It's just a bunch of SDC personnel in the cars ahead."
"I'm pacing the passenger cars," Optimus interjected. "They appear to be middle management at most. At least one of them is a faunus."
"A race traitor, then!" Adam retorted. "Would you rather starve?"
"Yes."
The blunt answer shocked him, but he shook it off. "Don't you get it? They're the enemy."
"Not all of them," Sunfire countered. "You of all people should know better than to paint everyone in a group with the same brush. You gonna murder them all? From Jacques Schnee himself down to the janitors too?"
"Whose side are you on?" he demanded, looking around. "Just gonna abort mission, then? Bail like my last partner?"
"I'm wearing the mask, aren't I?!" she reminded him loudly, tapping the side of said Grimm mask. "You think I don't want them dead?" she hissed. "I do. Ever since that night, I've dreamed of walking into the SDC's Vale office and just killing everyone I see."
"Wait, what?!" Bumblebee asked, shocked.
Sunfire continued unabated. "...But I'm not going to. Most of the people who work for the SDC are innocent. Yeah, I'm going to take that company down, but I won't stoop to their level to do it. I'm not a murderer."
"Yeah?" he sneered. "Well, I am."
"You're better than that," she insisted. "Or at least, you can be."
Adam scoffed. "And if I don't want to be? Holding back never got us what we wanted before. Besides, you said it yourself, the SDC deserves every bit of retribution they have coming their way."
Optimus's voice came over his communicator again.
"I have seen many walk the path you walk now, Adam Taurus. It is a lonely path that only ends in bitterness, misery, and regret. Not just for their enemies, but much more so for themselves and for those they care about. You would be wise to tread carefully."
There was a loud metallic clanking from somewhere further back on the train. "I'm aboard," Bumblebee said. "Sunfire, transmit your video feed so I know what I'm dealing with."
"Right," Sunfire acknowledged, reaching up to some hidden control on her helmet.
With small thudding steps, Bumblebee came up behind them. "Okay, Sunfire, head into the passenger cars; I'll look over Adam's shoulder here. I'll walk you both through the process, and this time, no bickering."
"You got it," Sunfire confirmed, and as she turned to walk to the next car, she looked back over her shoulder at him. "Adam, I'm trusting you to not blow me up, all right?"
There was a brief pause as his thoughts raced. It was kind of ridiculous to think any screw up on his part of defusing the bomb would blow her up instead of himself or the both of them. The defusal process… was he really going to participate in something so dangerous that he had no prior training in? For people whose weakness made their defeat certain? For the monsters in the SDC? Why? Why was he going to do this?
A voice that sounded very much like Optimus spoke in his head. Freedom.
Adam smiled and nodded at Sunfire. "All right."
If asked to recount the specifics of the process afterward, Adam would have deflected, for he was not able to. Nonetheless, he did remember a few things. He remembered that the process was complicated, so much so that Bumblebee felt the need to comment on it. He remembered the yellow Autobot's voice being extremely calm, a far cry from his usual "eager" tone. He also remembered when they finally separated the train, Sunfire had jumped back to his car, and when nothing exploded, she actually hugged him in triumph.
Odd girl.
Further up, in one of the passenger compartments, Cala Brown -- regional sales manager of SDC's Vale Sector 7 -- stared out the window, her green eyes wide as the driver of the truck gave her a friendly wave. Instinctively, she found herself waving back, even as she wondered if he had anything to do with the commotion at the rear of the train.
The dog ears on top of her head still twitched as she subconsciously strained to hear what on Remnant was going on back there.
"Something up?" asked her colleague, whose name she had regretfully forgotten to learn, from the seat next to hers.
"I think so," she replied softly, unconsciously brushing nine of her long strands of hair -- five white, three light brown, one black, all natural -- out of her face and around her human ears. "I'm going to ask the crew if there's been a fight or something on the back of the train."
"Seemed like a bit more than a fight on your mind," he noted.
"Sorry," Cala apologized. "I guess I just wish I was back home right now instead of on this crazy snap conference."
"Got family waiting for you?"
She nodded. "Yes. My husband, and our daughter Calliope. We named her after my twin sister, and, well, she was just born a couple months ago."
"Sounds lovely."
"It is," Cala agreed.
Looking out the window, she noticed the driver of the tractor-trailor give her one final, reassuring smile beneath his bushy mustache and wide-brimmed hat, before his truck gradually fell back out of sight. She couldn't explain it, but somehow, she just knew that everything would be all right now. It was an impressive feeling, considering she still didn't even know what was wrong.
Back on the detached section of the train, Adam and Yang were standing guard as the line of train cars slowly decelerated from the emergency brake lines. Adam brooded, fixed on the edge of the flatbed train car, staring out at the setting sun.
"See?" Sunfire said from behind Adam as he felt her hand on his shoulder. "There's a better way."
"Not always," he pointed out.
"No," she admitted as she moved to stand next to him, "not always. But... you made the right choice this time."
"Some choice," he snorted. "Had I continued with my plan, Bumblebee would have crushed me."
"Eh, fair enough," she agreed. "On the other hand, you chose to help us to begin with when you didn't even have to be on this mission. Heck, you could have just left easily enough, forced us to make a different choice."
His hands curled into fists. "That was not going to happen," he declared. "Against the SDC? Against the Decepticons? I'm with you 'til the end of the line."
Sunfire was silent for a moment. Then she chuckled. It was a strange electronic thing with the voice modulator.
"Was that a pun?"
Ruby found herself restlessly pacing the halls of the dorm building again. The inactivity was getting to her. At first, she'd tried to see the bright side, that maybe she -- and the team -- could spend more time with Yang, but her sister was out driving again. Or maybe visiting Maple about the door that popped open the other night.
If it weren't for Maple giving Yang a "friends of Blake" discount -- with, admittedly, a rather… stretched definition of "friends" -- Ruby would have been worried about how Yang was paying for all that servicing.
She could have just stayed in her dorm with Blake and Weiss, but it had felt… crowded. And Weiss was being unusually irritable lately, even for her. She had been ever since her date with Jaune, and Ruby could easily guess why. An involuntary and vaguely triumphant giggle slipped out at the thought, but it only offered a moment's reprieve before she found herself wrestling with darker thoughts again.
So, she wandered. After a while, her wandering took her to the roof access. Maybe some fresh air would help. As she stepped through, the cold air hit her with a shock. Her breath began to mist in front of her, and she cupped her hands in front of her face to try to warm it with her breath. That had certainly woken her up, at least.
"Like I said before, I'm not that depressed."
"Huh?" She blinked, looking up in surprise. Standing at the edge of the roof was one Jaune Arc, who seemed unbothered by the cold. Then again, he wasn't wearing a skirt.
Jaune looked over his shoulder. "Oh, Ruby," he greeted her with a smile. "Ha, sorry. Thought you were Pyrrha."
"Do I want to know?" she asked hesitantly, walking up to join him at the edge of the roof.
Jaune waved it off. "Eh, just a bit of an in-joke between us. What brings you up here, Ruby?"
"Nothing much," she lied as she subconsciously hugged herself, rubbing her arms.
"Cold?" he asked.
She blinked and looked at him. "Huh?" was her eloquent response, but he was already taking off his school jacket. She froze -- thankfully not literally -- as he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. "Umm, thanks," she said, looking away. At least her face wasn't so cold anymore.
"No problem. This weather should pass soon enough, and then, spring'll be here in full force."
They stood in silence for a while.
"I've been talking to Glynda," Ruby said finally.
Jaune looked at her quizzically. "'Glynda'?"
Ruby blushed. "Yesterday, she said… she said I'm a Huntress now, graduated or not. She told me to feel free to call her that outside of class."
"She's treating you as an equal," Jaune finished. "I wonder if she said that to anyone else?"
"She didn't say that to you?" Ruby asked.
He shook his head. "I haven't actually seen her outside of class since… you know. The debriefing after the train."
"Oh." She frowned.
"How are you holding up?" he asked.
Ruby blew out a sigh, clutching his jacket tighter around her. "Pretty well, actually," she admitted. "Too well, I think. Glynda says it's fine, but I'm... I'm still kinda worried something's wrong with me."
"Hmm."
"What about you?" Ruby asked. "How are you feeling?"
"Now? Or then?"
Ruby considered the question, then shrugged. "Both, I guess."
Jaune rolled his neck around thoughtfully. "At first, I felt... surprised." He chuckled. "I actually lost track of who was where for a bit there. Don't tell Pyrrha or Nora. I don't want either of them adding situational awareness to the training regimen; I'd never get any sleep."
Ruby giggled. She could imagine what sort of training they'd devise. Maybe two a.m. wake-up calls from Magnhild. After her giggle passed, she asked tentatively, "And now?"
Jaune shrugged. "I'm okay with it. Fair to say I don't really care."
Ruby's head snapped around, and she stared at him. "What?" she demanded. "How can you say that?" Surely, she must have misheard?
Jaune turned his head to meet her gaze, his expression hard. "They came at us shooting, Ruby," he reminded her. "They were trying to kill us."
"I get that, but-"
"It was them or you," he interrupted. "And I'll choose you every time. Anything else," -- he shook his head -- "doesn't really change that, so it doesn't matter."
Ruby stared at him, eyes wide, her face heating up.
Thankfully, he wasn't looking at her, instead staring at the commanding view they had from here. "I suppose it helps that I've already thought about it before. A lot."
"You have?" Ruby asked curiously.
"Yeah," he confirmed with a short nod. "I grew up hearing stories about the heroes in my family. There have been quite a few over the generations. Not all of them were heroes for fighting Grimm, and, well, even with aura, it's not exactly practical to bring someone in alive with a sword." He gave a mirthless chuckle. "Dad tried to scare me away from being a Huntsman with some of those stories, you know. Didn't stop me then, won't stop me now."
Ruby's breath caught in her throat. There it was, that determination, that will, that sheer conviction -- or perhaps stubbornness -- that sometimes seemed to be all that kept him going. She found it… admirable. Yes, admirable. The tingly feeling in her chest was clearly admiration and nothing else, nosirree.
"I, um, I should go," she said hurriedly before dashing off, leaving a trail of rose petals and a bewildered Jaune in her wake.
She had not gone far down the stairs and halls before she ran into perhaps the fourth last person she would have wanted to see at that particular moment, right behind Weiss: her sister.
"Hey, sis, how's it hanging?" asked Yang with a cheerful wave of her hand.
"Hey, sis, gotta run," Ruby said quickly.
Yang stepped in front of her before she could run off. "What's the rush, Rubes?" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "And whose jacket is that?"
Oh no! What do I do? Ruby blushed furiously. "Oh, it's uh, Jaune's. He was on the roof at the same time I was, and he gave it to me to keep me warm."
Yang raised an eyebrow of confusion. Oooookay, that can be taken a lot of ways, and some of them are platonic, she thought, and then, she spoke. "But don't you wear a cloak to keep warm? You're always listing that as one of the many advantages of them."
"Whaaat?! I don't do that, that sounds so pushy," Ruby replied nervously, eyes shifting.
"Uh, yeah, you do," Yang replied with a frown. "Last festival you gave me one, and a corset, and you said that both were superior to the current alternatives in my wardrobe."
"Yeah, well, I guess he was just quicker with the coat than I was with the cloak," Ruby said with a shrug, probably realizing that she was still wearing her normal uniform cloak anyways.
Yang's eyes narrowed again. "Ruby... is there something going on between you and Jaune?"
"Whaaat? No! Don't be silly," Ruby insisted. "You heard him on the roof the other night. We're just friends!"
The blonde sister's eyes shot open. "'On the roo-'? You were eavesdropping?"
"Well, um, kinda, sorta, maybe… yes?" Ruby shifted, and then she perked up. "Weiss and Blake did too!"
Yang sighed at her sister's antics, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I guess that explains why the Weiss Queen decided to go out with him after all. For all that came from it."
"Yep! That's why she did it," Ruby confirmed with a frantic nod. "It's a real shame. Someone should comfort her. I should go."
At that, Ruby disappeared in a burst of speed, leaving another cloud of rose petals in her wake. Casually, Yang reached out and plucked one of the red remnants from the air. She let out a small noise of pleased acknowledgement, and smiled.
"Always in such a rush," she said with a shake of her head as she put the petal in her pocket.
A stray thought occurred to her. If Jaune was still on the roof without his jacket… she shook her head again. Someone had better make sure the idiot didn't let himself freeze to death, and clearly, Ruby wasn't going to. Might as well be her.
She jogged up the stairs to the roof access door and carefully opened it, peering outside. Jaune was still there, standing by the edge, still without his jacket. She paused, suddenly unsure what she was going to do. Remind him to come inside before he caught something? Head out there to keep him company? Maybe warm him up personally? After all, they didn't call her Sunfire just because she'd chosen the name as an alias...
Nah, she thought, shaking off the silly idea. If it were someone else, maybe, but as lovable as the goofball was, he really wasn't her type. Besides, she'd been rooting for Pyrrha for a while now, ever since she'd noticed the redhead's crush on the boy.
"Whoever you are," Jaune said without even turning around, "don't just stand there. In or out, close the door before you let all the heat out."
Yang started and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. "Hey, Jaune," she said with a warm, clear voice.
"Hey, Yang," he said, turning to look at her over his shoulder. He beckoned her to join him, and as she walked up, he asked, "What brings you up here?"
"Ran into Rubes," she said. "Wanted to make sure you didn't freeze to death up here."
He scoffed. "I'm not that fragile, you know."
Great. Now he felt insulted. She searched for another excuse and added, "And, maybe, I thought I'd see how your date went."
He sighed. "If you're going to beat me up for it, let's get it over with."
"What?" she blurted out, then shook her head. "No! Seriously, Jaune, how'd it go?"
He looked over at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Why ask? You saw it, I'm sure."
"How did you-?"
"You kinda mentioned the whole overwatch thing when you were beating me up in Miss Goodwitch's combat course," he explained, looking back to focus on the horizon.
"And how do you know that's what I meant?"
"I have seven sisters," he deadpanned.
...he had her there. She huffed. "Okay, fine, yes, I was watching you. I wanted to make sure the Ice Queen didn't hurt you."
"Wait, what?" His head whipped around to look at her in surprise.
"What?" she asked back with a shrug of her own.
He seemed to study her for a long moment, as if searching for something, and Yang found herself shifting awkwardly under his gaze. Finally, he looked back out to take in the view, and she allowed herself to relax.
What was that about?
"It was a lot of fun, actually," he answered. "I'm really glad Weiss let me have this chance; feels good to know she doesn't actually hate me. Why are you asking, anyway?"
"You're my sister's best friend," she pointed out. "Besides, I… kinda owed it to you for jumping to conclusions, you know, before. Why so surprised?"
"You mean besides the thorough thrashing you gave me?" he asked, and Yang nodded. "Well, honestly, you're... kinda standoffish."
Yang blinked. "Me? Standoffish?" In all her life, she'd been called many things. 'Standoffish' had never been one of them before now.
"Well, yeah," he said with a shrug. "I mean, you're friendly enough when you're around, but you… kind of never are."
"Hmm." Yang frowned a little at that… but she supposed it might seem that way to someone on a completely different team. Rather than poke at that minefield, she instead gave him a teasing smile and asked, "So when's the second date?"
Jaune rolled his eyes. "You can tell Weiss I meant what I said. She won't have to worry about that anymore."
"...really?" Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah."
Yang chewed her lip before tentatively asking, "And if... she wanted one?"
"Pfft!" he scoffed. "Like that'll happen. Besides, if she did, I'm sure she'd let me know. I mean, this is Weiss we're talking about. She wants something, she's going to go for it."
"Hmm, you might be surprised," she murmured, thinking back to how Weiss had reacted after the date had ended. Should she tell him? No, she decided. If the Ice Princess wants him, she can get him on her own. Besides, she knew whose side she was on.
"So!" she said instead. "Anyone else you planning on asking out, Mister First Date?"
Jaune laughed with an easy humor. "Why?" he asked back, looking at her. "You fishing for a date too?"
Yang grinned saucily and grabbed his arm, snuggling up to him exaggeratedly. "You asking?" she asked huskily. First, the icebreaker.
To her surprise, he didn't start sputtering uselessly.
"No thanks," he said instead, shaking his head. "You'd eat me alive."
Yang waggled her eyebrows. "Trust me," she assured him, "you'd enjoy it,"
"I'm sure I would," he said. The two chuckled at that, the faux-flirting breaking the strange tension in the air.
Just. As. Planned.
"Seriously, though, anyone?" she asked. "Blake, maybe?" Second, the decoy.
"'Blake'?" he repeated, surprised. "Hmm," he mused, rolling the thought around in his mind for a bit. "I dunno. Maybe there's some possibility there? But it'd be like pulling teeth to find out."
"Pyrrha, then?" Third, the real objective.
He surprised her again, this time with a dismissive snort.
"Pyrrha? No. Just... no," he said confidently. "She's so far out of my league, it isn't funny. The inevitable crash and burn if I tried would ruin our friendship, and I'm not about to throw that away on the long shot she might feel something for me."
She stared up at him and resisted the urge to punch him in the face for being so stupid.
"You sure?" she asked. "The best things in life are worth some risk, don't you think?"
"I'm going to be Huntsman," he reminded her. "I get the whole risk-reward thing, but why take the risk for a reward I don't actually have a chance at? Besides, I've had reason to think things over recently, and I think I'm going to focus on my studies for now."
"So, no more dates, huh?" she asked.
"Don't get me wrong," he said. "If someone asks me, I won't necessarily turn her down, but things are a lot harder here than I anticipated, and I can't afford to waste time chasing girls. Pyrrha's been a great help in getting me caught up, and I'm grateful for that, but I'm tired of dragging her and the rest of my team down. If I'm going to be a good Huntsman, I've got to put my all into it. I owe her that much at least."
You, sir, she concluded, are an idiot.
She considered her response, wondering how she could nudge him out of the self-deprecating hole he'd dug for himself.
"Well, I can't argue with that," she reluctantly admitted after a long moment. No matter how much I want to. "Anyway, let's get you inside and get you warmed up," she said, gently tugging on the arm she held.
"I dunno," he said, pulling his arm free and wrapping it around her shoulders. "You're pretty warm."
She resisted the urge to smack her palm into a face; hers or his, she wasn't entirely sure.
Idiot.
"Hey, Yang, got a minute?" asked Ironhide.
"Sure, I need a break anyway," Yang replied as she gently put away the scroll she had been trying to read.
It had been a cheap thing, easily replaceable, but the texts that had been downloaded into it by Bumblebee were invaluable in Yang's opinion. They were also all written in Iaconian, Kaonese, Quintessian, Prysmian, Cybertronic Standard, and so many other languages that just didn't exist on Remnant. Her partner had been helping her to learn to read some of them, mostly the Iaconian texts, but she felt it best to try some on her own too, even if the learning curve could have served as a good natural defense against Wyverns. That, and she needed some space; he'd been poking at her about her dreams ever since the train job.
It was one of the reasons she was alone in that room of the Ark at that point; her new battle armor and helmet were folded up in a duffel bag nearby, ready for use if needed. Bumblebee had something he needed to take care of, and she wanted to dive into the texts without having to worry about explaining to Ruby and the other two members of Team RWBY what she was doing. Besides, she liked it in the old ship; it was comfy.
Ironhide fingered the data slate in his hand in what might have been a nervous tick. "Now, kid, ya know how Prowl was tasked with finding out about that lady who visited Bumblebee, gave ya that mask?"
"Yeah?" Yang asked with rising… anticipation? Trepidation? She wasn't sure.
"Well, first off, Ratchet's DNA analysis of those hairs we found in the bag confirms it," Ironhide said. "She's almost certainly your mom."
"And second?" she asked eagerly, jumping to her feet. "Did Prowl find something?!" Then, just as quickly, the light in her eyes died. Why wasn't she hearing this from Prowl? "What did he find?" she asked, suddenly hesitant.
Ironhide lowered the data slate and turned it so that she could read it. Displayed on its surface was information in the common tongue of her world, complete with pictures. The pictures were of a woman with a shrub of black hair and red eyes, some of them showed her wearing a mask like the one Sunfire now wore, and the name displayed was Raven Branwen.
The red Autobot narrated things as Yang read the data slate. "It took 'im a while to piece everything together, but he's got a trace on her. She's still alive and kickin' in Anima. Unfortunately… look, kid, I'm sorry. I know you were hopin' this would turn out better, we all were, but…"
"But she's a bandit?" said Yang in cold realization as she read. "She… oh God. She… What have I done?"
The blonde began to stagger away from the handheld computer and towards the open duffel.
"Kid, this is definitely not your fault," Ironhide said firmly as he picked up his data slate.
"Not this, it…" Yang choked out. "Ironhide, years ago, when I first found out about her, I went and nearly got me and Ruby killed looking for her. My Uncle Qrow saved us, told me to give up on her, but I never did. I spent years searching for her, and along the way, I've- I've hurt people. Criminals, sure, but..."
She reached down inside the bag and brought out the helmet, the mask still deployed. "I should have known," she said with anger now lacing her despair. "I should have known from the beginning, or at least when I found out she wears a Grimm mask."
She turned the helmet towards Ironhide and looked up at him with big eyes, red now not from their normal color-shifting but from stress and the emotions now freed. "She wears a Grimm mask, because she is a Grimm."
"Kid, she-" Ironhide began.
"Yes, she is!" Yang declared. "You must have read that report. She's robbed, she's killed, she's done unspeakable things to people, homes, convoys, entire villages. She's a monster, eating away at humanity like some bipedal scraplet! No, she's worse than a monster, because monsters don't have a choice. She does."
Ironhide was silent for a long time, his face contemplative, as if he was unsure of how to respond to this, as if it was a pain all too familiar to him. "Do ya want the faceplate removed from your helmet? We can make you a new one, no problem."
"I'm wearing the mask, aren't I?"
Yang looked down at the Grimm mask covering the front of her helmet, the mask that had, so very recently, been a source of joy for her.
"No," she finally said, closing her eyes and touching her forehead to that of the mask. "No. For better or worse, I'm committed."
"I told you weeks ago, Ruby, I refuse to be part of a team attack named after my car. It's weird!"
Team RWBY -- all of Team RWBY, for once -- were out and about in Bumblebee. They had gone out that day to relax, have some fun, and check to see if anyone from the other Huntsman Academies were arriving that day for the upcoming Vytal Festival. In truth, though none of them said it, they were just looking for a chance to relieve some stress without raising uncomfortable questions.
"B-but 'Bumblebee' fits so well!" Ruby protested from the seat next to her. "It's got the yellow for you and the black for Blake, and you could even replace the 'bee' at the end with a 'B-Y' for your initials!"
"Not. Happening. Sis," Yang declared firmly, gripping the steering wheel. She didn't even want to know what Bee was thinking of this conversation. "At least not by that name."
"Fine!" the diminutive team leader huffed. "Then you come up with a name for it!"
"Hmm… how about 'Xiao Long and Thanks for All the Fish'?"
The team fell silent at that, until Weiss, seated directly behind Ruby, finally spoke up. "That's terrible."
Yang snorted. "Since when did I care about your opinion, Princess?"
"Heiress."
"Do you care about mine?" Blake asked from behind Yang. Yang glanced at her through the rearview mirror and nodded. "Good. Because honestly, I feel vaguely offended."
"It's too long anyway," Ruby pointed out.
Yang rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay," she relented. It had just been a joke anyway. "How about 'Dolphin,' then?"
"Huh, that could work," Ruby said. "Even if it is a bit of a stretch."
"A terrible, punny stretch," Weiss grumbled.
"Fine, whatever," acquiesced Blake.
"So it's settled!" Yang cheered. "'Dolphin' it is!"
"Anyway," Blake noted, "this has been a surprisingly smooth ride."
"Of course it is. Maple does good work," Weiss defended.
"Maple does a lot of work," clarified Blake.
"Hey, don't discount Yang's efforts!" Ruby chimed in. "She spends practically all her time with Bumblebee. Working on him, cleaning him, getting inside him…"
"Okay, that's enough!" Yang declared loudly. "We do not need to go any further down this line of conversation."
"Whatever you say, Yang," Ruby said good naturedly.
"How about some, uh, tunes?" asked Weiss in the silence that followed.
"Tunes?" asked Blake.
"Is that the proper jargon?" said Weiss. "I don't want to be incorrect, but this is my first time experiencing something like this."
"Okay, let's not get into another round of talking about how Weiss had a terrible childhood," Ruby chimed in before reaching out to turn on the radio in the dashboard.
Sound began to emerge from the speakers with remarkable quality to those who had actually experienced a car radio before. However, it was not music that issued forth. The station that it had been turned to was playing a news report at that moment.
"Tensions rose at yesterday's faunus rights march when members of the White Fang joined the protest. Police responded quickly, but proved unnecessary, as the event remained peaceful. This stands in contrast to a similar event last fall, when the arrival of the White Fang caused the protest to erupt into violence. Let us all hope that this is the beginning of a new trend."
A small smile creased Yang's lips at that. I knew you had it in you, Adam.
"That's… strange," observed Weiss as the station turned to playing a jaunty instrumental tune.
Blake raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Strange?"
"Well, yes," confirmed the snowcapped girl. "It's just… they don't do this sort of thing."
"Peacefully protest?" asked Ruby.
"The first word, yes. They don't do anything 'peacefully,'" answered Weiss. "Frankly, this is the first news I've heard in years involving them that didn't also involve murder, kidnapping, assault, vandalism, or theft."
Unseen by her teammates, Blake winced.
"So?" Yang asked. "Is that a bad thing, Weiss?"
"It... could be a trick," Blake pointed out reluctantly.
"A trick?" Yang repeated mockingly. "Are you saying that this could be part of some nefarious scheme to... what? Advocate for their positions peacefully?"
"Their positions are human subjugation, faunus supremacy, and rule by fear, Yang," Weiss said with a bit of an edge. "Those are not peaceful propositions."
"That seems like-"
Ruby interrupted her sister without a second thought. "Oh, hey! The docks! We're here! What an amazing coincidence. Isn't that right, girls? Let's all get out and explore."
The brewing argument between them was cut off at the pass by the flurry of statements by Ruby. Yang parked the car by the sidewalk, and the four got out. Very quickly, they found themselves talking about other things and taking in the scenery.
That lasted until they rounded a corner and found themselves looking at a crime scene. A dust shop had been broken into, there was glass on the ground, and yellow tape cordoned off the area around. Two detectives could be seen and heard talking as they took it all in.
"They left all the money again."
"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much dust?"
"I don't know, an army?"
"You thinking the White Fang?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."
"Now, see," Weiss said, gesturing at the dust shop, "this is what I would normally expect of the White Fang."
Adam? Yang thought, then her eyes narrowed. "No," she muttered. "Torchwick."
"Yeah!" Ruby agreed loudly. "Yang's right! It must be that Torchwick guy I fought a few months ago! The police never caught him, after all."
"Right," Blake mused aloud. "And the White Fang would never work with a human."
"That… makes sense," Yang agreed, a smile plastered on her face.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "I wasn't saying they were responsible for this specific crime," she said patiently. "Just that this sort of thing is what I would normally expect."
"You expect them to break into dust stores in the middle of the city, stealing all the product but leaving the money?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.
Weiss raised a finger to respond, but then paused as she clearly considered what Blake had just said. "You're right. That doesn't make any sense at all. Ruby, did Torchwick just try to steal the dust, not the money?"
"Don't know. I kind of had my headphones on until the fight started," Ruby admitted sheepishly. "If he- awp!"
"Situational awareness, Rubes!" Yang yelled as she pinned her sister in a headlock and gave her a noogie.
"Yang! Stop it!" Ruby cried, arms flailing helplessly After a while, the blonde let her go, a grin on her face, and the team leader straightened her clothing and continued, "Anyway, if he did do that… why?"
"Adorable," Blake deadpanned. "Still, you're right. Whoever is robbing these stores has no need for money, and all the need in the world for dust."
Three of the girls exchanged meaningful looks, though Yang was pointedly looking elsewhere.
"I wouldn't put it past my father to have the company 'recycle' its own product," Weiss muttered.
"That… is the zaniest scheme I've ever heard," Ruby said with a raised finger.
"It's also, somehow, the most plausible idea so far," Blake said.
Yang felt a fresh layer of sweat forming on the back of her neck as she listened to their very familiar conversation. Someone, anyone, save me, she thought desperately.
"Hey, stop that faunus!" came a loud, clear cry from the direction of the docks.
The quartet rushed off to the edge of the street overlooking the docks and saw a blond boy with a yellow monkey tail, an open white shirt, and incredible abs running on a boat. He leapt off and began eating a banana of all things while hanging from a lamppost. The detectives from earlier rushed down the stairs to try and confront him.
My hero, Yang mock swooned in her head.
In short order, the petty criminal seemed to dodge his would be captors and rushed past them with a wink and a smile.
Weiss blinked at their inaction. "...After him!"
At that, Yang was off like a shot, literally. Two booming discharges from Ember Celica echoed through the air as the yellow Huntress-in-training recoil boosted through the air on the wings of exploding gravity dust. The faunus dodged with a left-hand turn, but it was too little too late to avoid the grasp of the blonde brawler.
She fired off another pair of gravity rounds to redirect herself in mid-air and rushed towards his form with a spin. The soles of her boots collided with his back, and he was driven forward towards the ground. Quickly then, Yang pinned him to the ground… right on top of someone else, unfortunately.
Oops.
"Uh, hello, Miss," the stowaway muttered.
"Sal-u-tations!" came the reply from the person under him.
"Way to go, Yang!" Ruby cheered as she ran up. "That was incredible! I've never seen you move like that before! It was amazing!"
Yang blushed, but it was Weiss who spoke next. "Uh, who is that?"
The blonde picked the blond up by the wrists to keep him from running.
"Hey, watch it!" complained the faunus.
"Quiet, you scantily-clad scoundrel!" Weiss declared with an accusatory wag of her left index finger.
"What?" the blond blinked.
Yang looked down, noticing the ginger-haired girl she had accidentally knocked down in her focus. "Sorry about that."
"Oh, don't worry about it," she replied.
Yang continued to look at her, but she didn't move. "Do you, uh, want to get up?"
"That would be lovely," she confirmed, and with that, she leapt up from her supine position back to her feet.
"Hey, could you let go of my wrists?" asked the monkey faunus. "They're kind of starting to bruise."
"Sorry, no can do, Mister Abs," said Yang with a slow shake of her head.
"Yang, I'm sure that's not his name," Ruby said placatingly. "But what is it, you indecently exposed fugitive from justice?"
"My name is Sun Wukong. I'm a student at Haven Academy," he explained with a nervous grimace.
There was a gasp, and the group turned to look at the ginger girl. She appeared to be quite scandalized. "One of my fellow Huntsmen-in-training, an obscene fiend? Oh, this is terrible."
"Oh, you're from Haven too? Haven't seen you around, Miss," the now-introduced Sun asked.
"No, I'm from Atlas Academy, and my name is Penny Polendina," the ginger girl introduced herself.
"Nice alliteration on the name, Penny," Sun complimented.
"Just 'Penny'? I thought we were doing full names?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, no," explained Sun. "That was just to give these fine young ladies enough information to get them to contact Professor Lionheart, who I'm sure will clear all of this up."
"'Clear it up'?" asked Weiss, outraged. "That's corruption! That's nepotism! Of all the underhanded… Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"Do you?" Sun deadpanned.
Weiss looked like she was going to reply, but then shifted her gaze to Blake.
"What?" asked Blake. "Do you think that I know the law just because I have a troubled past?" When Weiss blushed in shame and tried to stammer out an apology, the black-haired girl continued, "Because the answer happens to be yes. Sun here was seen committing assault on a police officer--"
"Assault?!" gasped Sun. "I threw a banana peel at him!"
"--theft--"
"They were going to throw that fruit away anyway. It was past due!"
"--and trespassing on private property, specifically stowing aboard a cargo ship, which is itself a crime, if I remember correctly," Blake finished.
"...Okay, you got me there," Sun confessed.
It was at that moment that around the corner drove a police cruiser, carrying the detectives from earlier. Seeing them, Ruby moved quickly to flag the vehicle down. She was successful, and it rolled to a stop beside them, the window rolling down as it did so.
"Yeah, what do you want?" asked the detective surlily.
"Officer, we caught the bare-chested stowaway!" she cheerfully announced, pointing to Sun, who waved.
"Yeah, so?"
All the students assembled blinked in confusion and surprise. It was Penny that spoke up though. "Excuse me if this is rude, officer, as I am new to this land, but isn't it traditionally the objective of the constabulary to catch those who have committed crimes so they can be justly punished for their actions?"
The detective looked at Sun. "Hey, kid, you going to pull that again?"
"No, sir," said Sun, shaking his head.
"Well, that's good enough for me. You girls keep your nose out of things that don't concern you, you hear?"
Without waiting for a reply, the police car drove off, leaving them all alone. The girls continued to be gobsmacked, and seeing no further reason to keep hold of him, Yang finally released Sun's wrists. While he was rubbing them down, she decided to speak up.
"Well, I guess that explains the dust robberies; the footpads in this city all have scrap for brains."
Weiss blinked at that. "Yang, that's a horribly biased statement to make. I'm sure it's just a few bad apples."
Yang rolled her eyes. "Come on, wake up and smell the donuts, Weiss. If they knew what they were doing, you'd think they'd be following some real leads on those dust robberies, like Torchwick, instead of just speculating randomly."
"You, sadly, have a point there," the snowcapped student admitted. "How about some introductions then? I'm Weiss."
"You already heard my name is Yang," said the blonde.
"My name is Ruby," said the girl with the red cloak. "I'm the leader of Team Rai-Ruby! Yes, Team Ruby, spelled specifically with a W for Weiss, because... well, I don't know why. Honestly, it's pretty confusing when you could get Rubine from the same combination of letters."
"I know, right?" Sun laughed. "I'm the leader of Team Sun, spelled S-S-S-N, and I'm just like, 'Guys, there's a hundred different ways this could be said without it being this confusing.'"
Ruby let out a little laugh at that, while Penny's eyes shifted nervously in contrast to her curious smile.
Sun turned his gaze over to the one person who had yet to introduce herself. "And your name, lovely lady?"
"Blake," she said flatly, eyes narrowed. "So, what's a guy like you doing in a town like this without a shirt?"
Sun looked down in confusion, then back up. "But I am wearing a shirt."
"That hardly qualifies," chided Weiss, her eyes unconsciously roving over the monkey faunus's chest for a moment.
"Indeed, it is quite scandalous," confirmed Penny, blatantly looking him up and down, gaze lingering on certain spots.
"Could you girls maybe stop ogling me then?"
"Perhaps if you buttoned up?" the Atlesian girl suggested.
"Oh, it's not that bad," said Yang, making a point to leer at his abs. "Come on, girls. Let's get back on the road," she said, turning and walking on.
Ruby looked at her retreating sister, and then at the foreign students. "Oh, um, okay? Bye, friends!"
"Yang, that was unnecessarily rude," complained Weiss.
Yang turned her head to face her as she walked. "I don't think it was that bad," she said, but when she turned her head back around, she let out a startled cry.
Penny was standing ahead of them, a strange look in her eyes.
"Are you a ninja?" Yang blurted out, snapping to look behind them along with the others at where she had been; even Sun seemed surprised.
"No, sadly, my grades in that class are lacking, but one of my teammates qualified!" Penny replied with sheepishness and then good cheer before switching to unnervingly focused curiosity. "Did you mean what you said?"
Yang shifted. "I mean, maybe I could have been a bit nicer, but…"
"Not you," Penny said, walking up to Ruby. "You."
"Me?" asked Ruby, suddenly nervous.
"You called me 'friend.' Am I really your friend?" the ginger asked, getting extremely close to the cloaked leader with an expression that was equal parts hope and desperation.
Ruby leaned back, eyes darting to the rest of her team, who were obviously signaling her to deny it. But why?
"I, um, yes?"
What was the harm?
At that word, an expression of absolute joy came upon Penny's face, and she did a double fist pump into the air. "Sen-sational!" she cried happily. "We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh, no! We can't do that last one at all."
"Why?" asked Ruby.
"Because if I'm your friend, then that means Sun is your friend too," Penny insisted.
"I am?" asked Sun in surprise, still standing and watching them.
"Indubitably," the ginger confirmed with a nod. "So, we can't just leave you out, and talking about cute boys with a cute boy would be awkward."
"Huh. Well, I can't fault the logic," admitted Ruby. "And I've already got one blond boy friend, so why not?"
"Oh, reeeeally?" Yang teased.
"Not like that!" Ruby denied, blushing furiously. "I mean a blond boy who is a friend, not a boyfriend!"
"Uh, do I get a say in this?" asked Sun as he walked up.
"Do you have any objections?" asked Penny.
"Well, not really," Sun said sheepishly.
"Then it is decided!" Penny declared. "So, Friend Ruby, now that Friend Sun's status is confirmed, what are we going to do?"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something," assured Yang aloud. In her head, she thought, Well, I wanted to get my mind off my deadbeat mom, and if I'm still thinking about her by the end of today, I'm going to have to get my head checked. And hey, maybe we'll run into some other guest students too, wouldn't that be something?
Roman, you idiot, Cinder thought, annoyed.
The airship taking Haven students from Mistral to Vale was still several days away. She wasn't alone, of course, as the rest of her team was with her, and for once, that included Neo; the girl had an annoying tendency to appear and disappear whenever she pleased. It had been easy enough to work that tendency into the identity they'd had created for her, but her presence on the airship only helped solidify her cover and, by extension, the whole team's.
But why rely on the mute girl to give a report?
She was sure she had to be misunderstanding what Neo was reporting. Giant alien robots? A human joining the White Fang? Adam Taurus showing mercy?
Nonsense. Utter nonsense.
No matter. Whatever was actually going on, she'd clear it up after the airship arrived.
Joshua Joyce, Kingdom Vice President of Schnee Dust Company Vale Division, stood upon the tarmac of the airport with an inoffensive smile plastered to his face and an entourage by his side. He did not like coming out here in the middle of the night, but he had been encouraged to do so by Jacques Schnee himself, and while he might be top dog in Vale, when the president, CEO, and majority shareholder of the entire company across the planet called you up, you took notice and followed orders. Mr. Schnee wanted him out there to greet this great security expert? He could do that.
He didn't have to wait long. Just before the scheduled time, a terrific roar sounded, and a great wind was kicked up. Above them was a massive airship, illuminated by running lights and the four plumes of blue fire emanating from the wingtips. No sooner had the ship became visible, though, than it began its descent to the ground, landing on unseen struts with the gentleness of a dragonfly on a leaf.
As soon as the engines began powering down, a side door opened up, and out from it emerged a feminine shape backlit by the transport's interior lighting. She stepped down the few steps to the tarmac, and began to walk towards them, her features illuminated by the flood lights hanging far above their heads.
She was a woman of perhaps thirty, but clearly possessing of a health and vigor that gave her a youthful countenance. She was fair of skin and green of eyes, and she wore a smile and a suit that both would be perfectly at home in a corporate environment. It was when one reached the top of her head that things became unusual, for her hair was cut short and in three different colors -- mostly white, brown, and some black; "calico" was the word that sprung to Mr. Joyce's mind -- and springing out of that hair were a pair of similarly-colored ears that resembled that of a dog's.
A faunus. The president had sent a filthy faunus to help them. Jacques Schnee had sent a faunus to help them.
Was he insane? Did he want them to fail? Or… hmm, maybe it was one of those "send a maniac to catch a maniac" sort of deals?
She reached out her hand in greeting. He took it automatically. Corporate instinct counted for a lot.
"Hello, Mister Joyce. I'm Calliope Ferny, Operational Associate Executive for Schnee Dust Company Security Division, and Commander of the Third Enforcer Company, though in the future, it would be best to refer to me by my codename: Wishbone."
"Welcome to Vale, Miss Wishbone," he replied as he shook her hand; she had quite the firm grip. "I'm sure you'll find that everything is in order here, and everything is being taken care of."
The handshake parted. "Mister Schnee doesn't seem to think so. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent me."
Joyce suppressed a grimace at that. Not well enough, it seemed, judging from Wishbone's reaction. Her smile gained a strange quality to it.
"Oh, don't be like that, Mister Joyce," she said softly. "After all, I'm here to make all your problems go away."
He heard the sound of powerful servomotors and hydraulics activating, followed by a series of heavy, metallic thuds, paced like footsteps.
Joyce's eyes widened at the sight of the large, bipedal forms that stepped around the transport and into view. Perhaps there was something to this faunus after all.
The day had finally come. At long last, they were sending the last batch of Vacuans on their way. No more would he have to wake up and worry about dealing with a bunch of sand-loving pacifists. They would be out of sight and out of mind. Oh, sure, a few had decided to join the ranks of the White Fang, and they weren't shy about voicing their disapproval of the more proactive tactics, but given the drawdown on such activities, they weren't as bothersome anymore either.
All that was left was to see them off. Surprisingly -- or perhaps not so surprisingly -- he wasn't the only one who had shown up to do so. The Vacuans who had joined the White Fang, as well as those who had been set up with new lives in Vale were present. As was Optimus Prime, along with the rest of the Autobots.
As he approached the little clusters of people at the far end of the warehouse, he was able to hear some of the conversations.
"Now, Missus Blankoff, those prosthetics are going to need to be kept out of salt water for at least a month before the coating really sets," Ratchet gently told an older feline faunus couple.
"Why you telling her that? I can take care of myself," the man complained as he knocked on his cybernetic legs.
"Because he knows you, dear," the lady explained.
Ironhide was conversing with a rabbit faunus with a thick beard. "Remember, go for the optics. Odds are they won't be able to shoot you if they can't see you."
"Don't worry, 'Hide. We're good at that."
Jazz was talking with piscine teenager about a particular tune playing from a scroll. "Yo, this is some good stuff. What did you say it was about again?"
"It's about the Vacuan people and our eternal battle with the sun."
Sunfire and Bumblebee were both playing with the last of the kids to go, and they generally seemed in good spirits, with even the parents getting involved.
"Bumblebee! Bumblebee! Tell us about the Lightning Strike Coalition Force again!"
For his part, the yellow Autobot looked over at Ironhide, who just gave him a grin and a thumbs up. "Okay! Okay!" Bumblebee said, refocusing on the kids. "Just a short story though."
After a brief wait, a clear call came out from near the entrance, and Brock could be seen with a megaphone and standing in front of a green Autobot who looked like he transformed into a light military transport. "Okay, people, get ready. We're about to head out. Last transport to Vacuo. Hound here will escort you as far as he can, but punctuality is still important." He glanced over at the Autobot leader. "And I'm sure Optimus has a few words he'd like to say."
Taking the cue -- Adam couldn't tell if it was spontaneous or not -- Optimus rose to his feet.
"My friends -- and I am honored to call you that -- we have known each other for only a few short months, but in that time, we have taught each other much. We have shared our cultures, learned each other's histories, and discussed our philosophies. For all our obvious differences, we hold in our hearts the same belief: that freedom is the right of all sentient beings. When we came to Vale, we were much the same, lost in an unfamiliar place, seeking new opportunities away from a troubled homeland… and finding hardship and enemies instead.
"Some of you have chosen to make a place for yourselves here. Others have chosen to take up arms to defend the liberty we so cherish. And still others will now set out to return home. Whichever path you have chosen, all I ask is that you remember us as friends and make the most of this chance you have been given. Those of you who have chosen to fight, fight with honor. Those of you who have not, remember that it is you who we are fighting for."
Pretty words, Adam thought dismissively as the Vacuans began to sort themselves out for their departure, trailing after the green Autobot.
Pretty words wouldn't stop the Schnee Dust Company; they hadn't for as long as he could remember there being an SDC. Pretty words wouldn't bring back all the lives ruined by humanity. Pretty words wouldn't bring justice and retribution to the guilty.
He shook his head. How could someone so powerful fail to understand the fundamental truth of the world? Still, he supposed, that was to his advantage in the end. The Autobots were his ticket out from under Cinder's thumb, and their naive idealism meant he wouldn't just be trading one master for another. Probably.
Still, those words were pretty. Say what he would about Optimus, Adam had to admit that the Autobot leader had a way with words and a voice to match. He even found himself contemplating the style to see if he could adapt it for his own speeches.
He found himself wandering over to where Sunfire and Optimus were conversing quietly in a corner of the now-cavernous warehouse. The big Autobot's back was to him, but Sunfire's masked gaze locked onto Adam's own for a moment before turning back to Optimus.
"Back on the train, you said you've known people like Adam," Sunfire said. "Who were they?"
Adam frowned, about to turn away from Sunfire's painfully obvious attempt to steer the Autobot leader onto a topic she wanted him to hear, but he stopped himself. Why bother? He wasn't afraid of words.
"I have known many, Sunfire," Optimus replied. "Too many."
"Well, is there one that sticks out in your mind in particular?" she prodded.
Optimus heaved a heavy sigh. "That... is a far easier and far more painful question to answer."
"Why?"
"Because that would be one of my oldest friends, a gladiator from Kaon designated D-16. He and I have fought in this war since before the first shots were fired."
"Really?" Sunfire asked, perking up.
"Yes. Together, the two of us… we were the first Decepticons."
(V1E11: Compatibility | V1E12: The Calm Before the Storm | V1E13: Shatterpoint)
A/N 1 (Cody MacArthur Fett): It's really heartwarming to see how these people have formed bonds that will last a lifetime. A bit waffy, perhaps, but still good and more than workable. Certainly the sorts of things that won't be subject to any dramatic irony.
Anyway, join us next time for the Volume 1 finale: Episode 13: "Shatterpoint."
A/N 2 (Cyclone): Trains. They don't fare well on Remnant, do they? For the record, BTW, Wishbone is Cody's baby.
As we were writing this chapter, though, cross-referencing "The Stray" and "Black and White"… wow, there's a lot of questions we found ourselves asking, like:
"Why were the detectives speculating randomly when they should have been briefed on Torchwick's attempted robbery from 'Ruby Rose'?" Ruby wouldn't have heard it, but the shopkeep would have testified and was certainly aware Torchwick didn't want the money.
"How did Team RWBY fail to catch Sun when they were all armed and could recoil-boost after him?" Pan shot of them after Sun runs by, when Yang says "Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..." clearly shows Yang has Ember Celica equipped, Weiss has Myrtenaster at her hip, and Blake has Gambol Shroud on her back; Crescent Rose isn't immediately visible in that particular shot, and I didn't check the whole scene out, but Ruby, you know, has her semblance.
"How did Yang know Sun was a student from another academy?" Seriously, what gave her the impression Sun was a Huntsman in training? All the lines between his appearance and her comment mentioned above only refer to him being a stowaway. This is exacerbated by the scene starting with Weiss talking about the students from Vacuo expected to arrive by ship that day. Because if they believed that, then the students they are expecting to see wouldn't be stowaways.
"Why, in the episode that specifically called out students from Vacuo should be arriving, do we only see a student from Haven and a student from Atlas?" I kind of get the feeling Sun was supposed to be from Shade when this was written and then was retconned into being a Haven student later.
"Why does Weiss assume Penny might know Sun just because she's there for the tournament?" This mostly just comes back to "What makes them think Sun was a student from another Huntsman academy to begin with?" question above, with an added dash of "Why would Weiss assume they were from the same Huntsman academy if -- for reasons I mentioned above -- they had every reason to assume Sun was not from Vacuo, the only group of students they were expecting to see?"
"How does Sun overhear the crew talking about unloading a big dust shipment from Atlas while on a ship from Haven?" If Haven were geographically between Atlas and Vale or Atlas was between Haven and Vale, it might make sense, but those are… very much not the case. Or if he was in Atlas prior to stowing away… well, that just raises more questions.
There's probably going to be a delay on the next chapter. What we have planned for it is likely to take some extra care on our parts, and we still need to put some finishing touches on A Stark Divide for when that goes live.
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Volume I: Episode 13: Shatterpoint
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
(V1E12: The Calm Before the Storm | V1E13: Shatterpoint | Interlude 1-1: The Road to Vacuo)
Episode 13: Shatterpoint
* * *
Episode 13: Shatterpoint
* * *
Adam focused on Wilt as he monotonously sharpened his blade. In the past, he had always found it the best way to clear his head, if for no other reason than the fact that it was something his mother allowed him to do without bothering him. He couldn't get that sort of focus that morning, though.
"We were the first Decepticons."
It all made sense now, why Optimus insisted on maintaining his alliance with the White Fang and why he kept interacting with Adam in such a probing way. He wanted to "redeem" him, and in the process, make up for the mistakes of his past so many millions of years ago. The thought sickened him. He was not some… emotional release valve for a giant robot. Or anyone else, for that matter!
Optimus had admitted it himself. He had never suffered under the system he and his friend had sought to overthrow, just as he had never suffered as a faunus under the humans. He had been driven by a naive idealism, an idealism that somehow seemed to have persisted through a war that had reduced whole worlds to lifeless husks. How could he claim to understand what they were fighting for?
The argument rang hollow in his heart, but he ignored that, focusing instead on what his next step should be.
Optimus… all Adam had to do was let him and Cinder duke it out, and he could just ally with the victor. Easy and simple. The only issue was creating a scenario for them to go at it… no, not the only issue. As much as he hated to admit it, he would rather be a pity party than a slave.
A slave? But in what world would he be a slave? A world where humanity was dead or enslaved as well. He could be the top overseer under Cinder or her dark mistress. He would have a collar around his neck, yes, but it would be a metaphorical one, and he could mete out pain and retribution to all those who wore it in actuality.
He tried to find some comfort in that, any at all, and yet he couldn't see it. He couldn't see it, because every time he tried, the vision was blown away in a mighty blast from a familiar horn. And then, when things seemed at their bleakest for humanity, Optimus Prime and the Autobots would roll out to save them. To Adam's surprise, that mental image caused his lips to curl into a faint smile.
He pushed it aside and thought about how Cinder and her allies would sweep away all resistance. They could do it too… for a time, but the Autobots would be back. Adam may never see it, but they would always be back. For ten million years, they had fought, and they would fight for ten million more if necessary. No creature on Remnant could match that sort of persistence.
It was foolish to resist the Autobots then, so what would allying with them ultimately turn out like? Adam's thoughts bent towards this question. To his surprise, the answer came quite easily.
The Autobots would sweep aside all opposition, whether it took twenty minutes or twenty million years, and so, Adam would stand without foe as he stood by their side. Without foe... and without a way to enact retribution on the human filth. The Autobots wouldn't let him, and by that time, Optimus would have revealed himself and negotiated lasting peace between humanity and faunuskind, somehow. Then all he would have left to do would be to find his old partner and demand of her an explanation, and while she would try to defend herself, eventually, the two of them would make up, and he could spend the rest of his days in peace, save for the Grimm. Or perhaps out among the stars, far from even the Grimm's reach.
His mother would have balked at the idea and called it nonsense. She'd said as much many a time. Peace, she said, was just the calm before a battle; to believe otherwise was a pretty delusion by her reckoning.
Still, he doubted she would have objected to attaching himself to the most powerful game in town.
"Hey, boss?"
"Yes, what is it, Ash?" asked Adam, breaking his meditation.
"Just got word that Cinder's trying to get in contact with us via the old codes," explained the large man, and Adam felt his blood run cold.
Cinder? Now?! Why couldn't she have waited until this thing was finalized?! he thought in a panic, even as outside his face was passive. Nevertheless, he was able to keep his voice even. "We changed codes and locations for a reason. We'll get around to letting her know the specifics, but right now, we don't even know if this is the real Cinder. This could be a Decepticon ploy, for all we know."
"They are very deceptive," observed Ash.
"Exactly," Adam said with a knowing smile.
Anything to buy time to figure this out for sure.
Time to figure out what he valued more: his fury… or his freedom.
Yang was awoken from her nightmares by the invigorating and cheerful cry of her sister. It was certainly a much more pleasant image than the thought of shoveling bodies into a pit, or of Optimus coming after them with a purple face on his shoulder. She wondered if Ruby knew just how much light she brought to her life and prayed her younger sister would never find out.
"Good morning, everyone! And welcome to the first day of spring break!" said Ruby happily.
"Most people would say it started two days ago," Weiss pointed out.
"Weekends don't count!" declared the team leader.
"They do normally," insisted the snowcapped girl.
Yang resisted the urge to groan at her roommate's voice and dropped down out of her bed to traipse over to the bathroom, ignoring the words of her fellows and gathering up a fresh change of clothes as she did so. When she arrived, she shut the door behind her and began undressing for a shower. By the time she was reaching for the first bottle in her daily hair care regimen, she was regretting giving her mind a moment to think.
Optimus Prime had been a founding member of the Decepticons, and not just a founding member, but... he'd helped turn it from a peaceful protest organization into a violent revolutionary force. That was more than just some mistake, that was something that was almost literally planet killing. Granted, from what she heard, she doubted that Primus would have been inconvenienced overmuch, but it was still something that was mind boggling to wrap her head around.
Oh yeah, Primus. The god of Cybertron. Or Cybertron itself? Whatever. How could she have forgotten the revelation that the divine wasn't just stories told to children, but actual reality? Gods, magic, prophecies, and so much more were real. Not only was Primus real, but Optimus had met him personally.
She had never considered herself religious, but thaaat… Well, it made her ask questions, that was for sure. One of the answers she had gotten back, though, just blew her mind again, for it was explained to her that the god of the transformers was himself a creation of The One. There were tiers of the divine, and… well, who was she to worship? Should she worship them? For that matter, did Remnant have a god? Was Remnant alive the way Cybertron was?
To those questions, Optimus had simply said that it was a discussion for another day. Which brought her back around to the main point, unfortunately. That main point was that now that she knew what Optimus had done, could she still trust him?
Yes. The thought barely had time to form before she reaffirmed herself. Optimus had made a mistake, a terrible, horrible mistake, but if she went around condemning people for making a mistake trying to help a friend, it wouldn't be long before she herself was on the gallows.
Besides, she thought with better cheer, now I have proof that's possible for people like Adam to turn their lives around. Better than that, he has proof. I only hope he recognizes it.
But, if Adam could be saved from himself, then… who else could?
Yang shook her head to clear it and finished up her shower. Once she was out and dry, she moved onto the next part of getting ready for her day. Perhaps not as fancy as some of the other members of her team, but necessary.
She went about applying make-up to her face, covering up the dark bags under her eyes from far too many fitful nights' sleep. It was something she'd had to do a lot recently, and she had gotten used to it by now. She had to smile for Ruby and couldn't let her know that all that tossing and turning at night was her big sister battling the demons of her mind.
When she finally came out, she found that little had changed, save for Blake trying to move past her to the bathroom. Weiss and Ruby were still arguing over the particulars of when was the proper time to celebrate being off school, or even if it was appropriate at all. To Yang, it might have been a reason to celebrate, if it wasn't already set to be a working vacation for her.
Two weeks of working with the Autobots and White Fang, this time cleared for multi-day missions, and it all started tonight with a raid on what they suspected was a parking area for the transports they used to covertly ferry energon. It would be a simple task, in and out. Indeed, if she squinted, it could even be considered relaxing.
Weiss continued to prattle on in that voice of hers, interrupting Yang's thoughts. "I'm just saying that maybe we should use this opportunity to get a little... ahead in our studies. You know, be prepared for the next extra credit assignment. Goodness knows you need it, Ruby. Don't think I didn't see your grade on Oobleck's last test."
"Hey, Weiss Queen, knock it off," interjected Yang with a scowl. "It's spring break. It's time to relax."
The heiress whirled on her. "Of all the-!" She jabbed an accusatory finger at the unperturbed blonde. "She is your little sister, Yang. You should be on my side on this matter! How Ruby approaches her studies should be your responsibility!"
"You're right," Yang agreed, nodding sagely.
Weiss blinked in surprise, not noticing the glint of mischief in Yang's eyes. "I am?"
"Yes." Yang nodded again. "Ruby's grades are absolutely my responsibility." She turned to her sister and spoke, her voice gravely serious, "Ruby?"
"Yes, Yang?" Ruby asked in a small voice.
Yang grinned. "Have a wonderful day off."
Ruby cheered, and Weiss sputtered. Yang grinned like the proudest parent in the combat school auditorium. The door rattled with someone asking for a shave and a haircut.
"Coming!" declared Ruby happily.
She ran over to the door and opened it to find the Atlesian girl Penny Polendina standing there.
"Friend Ruby!" the copper-haired girl said with as much cheer and joy as Ruby had just displayed.
"Friend Penny!" mimicked the Valish prodigy.
The two hugged, and Weiss shook her head.
"This is getting out of hand," she lamented. "Now there are two of them."
"Get used to it, Ice Queen," Yang said smugly from beside her.
Before Weiss could turn and let the blonde have a piece of her mind, Penny explained her presence.
"Oh, we had such a great time on Friday, but there's still so much of the city to see, and I want to see it all before break is over," she said in that saccharine voice of hers that just made Yang want to go over and pinch her cheeks. She was just too cute!
The only thing that really stopped her was that, well, it would be a bit rude. The Atlesians might be a bunch of militaristic jackboots who were probably in league with the Decepticons, but that was no reason to be impolite. After all, if the shoe was on the other foot, she probably wouldn't care for some Atlesian pinching her cheeks.
"Why do you have to do that?" asked Ruby. "You're going to be here through the Vytal Festival, right? That's plenty of time to see the sights."
"Yes, well, I'm not sure my team will let me do that once they arrive," said Penny sheepishly.
"What?!" exclaimed Yang walking over to the door, eyes flashing red briefly. "What kind of low-down, no good, stick in the mud teammates wouldn't-"
"It's not like that at all!" Penny insisted, interrupting the blonde brawler. "They're just… suuuper-protective of me. They want to keep me safe."
"Oh," Yang said, her anger -- and hair -- deflating at that. She frowned. "Why aren't you with your team right now then if they're so protective?"
"Well, I was told to help bring a specialist to Sanus," explained the coppertop with tentative diction, like a child trying their best to carefully show how their willful disobedience was anything but. "And I thought, 'well, Vale's in Sanus, and we're supposed to be at Beacon in a few weeks anyway, so instead of turning around, wouldn't it be better to just... keep on flying?' So that's just what I did, and so here I am."
Yang bravely resisted the urge to facepalm. Weiss was not so strong. The sound of hand against head echoed through the room.
"Well, I'm glad you did," Ruby affirmed with a wholesome smile.
"Thank you, friend," Penny replied with obvious relief.
"So, Penny, what brings you here to this room?" asked Yang cheerfully.
"Oh!" the coppertop realized with surprise. "I never explained that, did I? I was hoping to invite Ruby along with me and Friend Sun for a day of fun and exploration!"
Yang blinked. "You and who now?"
"Dude, what am I going to do?" Sun pleaded from inside the guest dorm Team SSSN had been assigned.
There was a rasping cough and then a hoarse reply: "Dude, you've been invited to spend the whole day with two cute girls. If you can't figure out what to do there, then I don't think I can help you."
Sucking up to the wall just outside the window of Team SSSN's second floor dorm, Yang did her best to stay quiet as she listened in. It wasn't that she didn't like Sun. In fact, from what little she'd seen of the guy, he actually seemed like her type in a lot of ways: free-spirited, impulsive, carefree, willing to just… go with the flow.
They'd probably get along like a house on fire. Possibly literally.
And that… kinda was the problem.
"Come on, Neptune!" admonished Sun. "This is serious. They're… well, first of all, Ruby's like fifteen, and Penny's in the military or something -- and… kinda strange -- but most importantly, they're not Blake. She's the girl for me, man, and I don't want her seeing this and taking it the wrong way."
Aww, that's sweet, Yang thought, mentally crossing off the idea of asking the monkey faunus out herself.
She might tease, but she drew a line at man-stealing. Not that it looked like she had a chance anyway. More's the pity. That kind of loyalty was especially charming. Still, when she thought about it, Blake and Sun would make a cute couple. On that note, she still had to talk to Pyrrha. Jaune had made it pretty clear the girl would have to make the first move if she wanted to get anywhere with him before graduation.
Of course, if it turned out Blake didn't like Sun… well...
Neptune's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Okay, so they're friends of Blake, right?"
"Right," confirmed Sun. "Well, I think. Ruby's her team leader, and Penny's new in town like us."
"So what you do, then, is you get in good with her friends, and then when they already accept you, they'll encourage Blake to like you too," explained Neptune.
"That's… brilliant!" cheered Sun. "Thanks, Neptune, you're the coolest!"
"But of course, I'm always cool," Neptune said before descending into a raging series of spine-snapping coughs punctuated by the sound of something liquid dropping into a plastic bag.
"Dude, that airship food did not agree with you," lamented Sun.
"I think it gave me death."
Yang had heard enough. Sun didn't have any hormone-driven intentions toward Ruby or Penny, which meant she wouldn't have to upset Beacon's maintenance department again by bursting through the window and confronting him. Nope, she could tell Ruby straight to her face that things were groovy, as Beachcomber would say. Yep, her sister would be plenty pleased... just as soon as she got back to the ground.
It was a cold Monday night in Vale. Spring had come at last, but spring nights were never warm unless they were on the cusp of summer. Besides, they were right next to the gigantic heat sink of the sea.
'Heat sink.' Now that was a heck of a word choice. It felt so contradictory and yet so right on his tongue.
The only issue he was having was that it was taking some effort on the part of his minions to open up the shipping containers and the nearby warehouse. Idiots, all of them. Not a single one of them would ever become a criminal mastermind like him at this rate. Which, Roman Torchwick supposed, was good for business.
"Hey! What's the holdup!?" he called out to the assembled group of White Fang. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"
Suddenly, hinges squealed, and steel clanged against concrete as the sides of several shipping containers nearby dropped open. Spotlights flashed on from within the containers, blinding Roman, and he heard an ear-splittingly loud crack as something impacted the Bullhead he'd just descended from, rocking it sideways and punching a hole clean through its left engine nacelle.
He sighed. Wonderful, he thought sarcastically.
"Weapons on the ground and hands in the air!" an amplified female voice called from somewhere behind the nearest spotlight.
"I'm afraid we can't oblige," he apologized, bringing Melodic Cudgel up and firing at the voice. Though he couldn't see his target past the spotlight, it was child's play to pinpoint where she was based on sound and the shipping container she had to have been hiding in before the ambush had been sprung. Two of the White Fang members next to him also opened fire.
He heard the rounds strike metal, and the spotlight shattered from a stray bullet, revealing who -- what -- had been hidden in the shadows behind it. It hadn't been a spotlight. It had been a headlight.
The twelve-foot-tall white and yellow mechanical suit -- with a long, thin barrel extending from its right forearm and a spectacularly impressive-looking belt-feld snub-nosed "pistol" gripped in its left hand -- was definitely a fair bit more than he had anticipated.
"Well played," he admitted casually. "Scatter!" he roared.
Adam tried his best to contain his fury as he walked towards the gathered Bullheads. The Autobots had already gone on ahead, and he would have to get Sunfire to contact them. She was there amongst them, in her full battlesuit and checking on the equipment of the lower ranked members of the Fang like a mother hen.
"All right, people, change of plans!" he called out with a cold, clear voice that drew every set of eyes to him. "There's a battle at the docks, and we're going to reinforce that instead!"
Sunfire bounded up to him and spoke in that distorted voice of hers. "What the heck, Adam? What happened?"
"Roman got in over his head," he explained to the alleged human.
"And we care about this why?" she asked with a sarcastic edge that seemed imitated from a stereotypical teenager.
Adam couldn't help but smile briefly. She had only voiced what he was feeling, after all. "We don't," he agreed, frowning again, "but he's got some of my people with him."
"Then let's not waste a second more," she said resolutely, adjusting something on her battlesuit, and the Autobot emblem on the left side of her chestplate morphed into the slash marks of the White Fang.
He frowned, not sure what to make of it.
"What?" she asked curiously. "You don't approve? This isn't an Autobot mission anymore."
"It's fine," he answered curtly before turning on his heel.
If you didn't enjoy your job, you shouldn't be working. That was the philosophy that Wishbone espoused. And, to be fair, she tended to live by it a fair amount too.
It certainly explained why she was smiling so much as she chased the White Fang reprobates down.
"Ender, keep your team together. Burnscythe, make sure you pin them down for the AK-200s; we want at least a few alive," she barked out through her grin, currently the only part of her body that was visible through her pilot suit.
Everything was going to plan. They'd slaughter a few White Fang, take a few others as prisoners, cart them off to a blacksite, and then, before the last of their auras were extinguished, they'd have a full profile on the operations of Fang in the Vale area. Easy as eating fast food.
There was a click, and suddenly, the voice of one of their robotic sentries came into her ear. "Mistress Wishbone, Skygraspers inbound from the west, unknown IFF, ETA ten seconds."
The dog faunus paused at those words, and her head whipped around towards the ocean. Her mech, a three-year-old Schnee Blackguard-092 from the SDC factories in Mantle, responded with a delay so slight it might as well not have existed. She could see the intruders clearly from her position.
They were coming in over the water, six Skygraspers of a green and grey paint scheme. So close were they to the surface, it rippled and foamed from their passing. In the blink of an eye, though, they were above the warehouses and dropping from beneath their tails a deadly cargo: prototype Atlesian Paladin-290s, green and grey paint barely dry.
"MECH," growled Wishbone, her good mood completely ruined.
She brought her Blackguard's right arm up and aimed the long, thin barrel of her grav-pulse accelerator at one of the Paladins. She pressed the firing stud, and a .56-caliber slug was propelled from the chamber by a series of charged gravity dust rings surrounding the barrel of the weapon. It pierced the air with a tremendous crack.
The Paladin she had been aiming for moved out of the way at the last possible moment, and instead, the round went on to punch clean through the elbow of another. The forelimb flopped uselessly towards the ground, and then, the rest of his fellows reacted. The Skygraspers opened up on her with light rotary autocannons, while the mechs beneath unleashed a fusillade of missiles.
Wishbone was already gone by the time her position was wiped from the face of Remnant.
"All forces, this is Wishbone," she called out over the radio. "MECH has entered the field with six stolen Paladin-290 prototypes and six Skygraspers. Infantry likely inbound. Shift focus, but keep up the pressure on the White Fang when you can."
The three Huntsmen trainees emerged from the movie theater and began the trek back to Beacon Academy. The latest Spruce Willis film -- the fourth installment in his star-making series -- had been… pretty much what they'd expected, overall, familiar catchphrases and all, with just a few new twists.
"Fun movie," Sun commented. "I like that they introduced his daughter."
"I like that she wasn't just a hostage," Ruby agreed.
"Yeah." Sun nodded. "On the other hand… would it really be that easy to hack into the Atlesian networks?"
"Golly, I hope not!" Penny remarked. "That would be terrible!"
Ruby smiled, thinking back on the day. Exhausting as it had been, she had had a really good time, showing Penny and Sun the sights in Vale.
Sun had been particularly impressed by the seven brightly-painted Bifrost Bridges criss-crossing the rivers of Vale that they'd started the morning with. Even though he was a student at Haven, he was still a native of Vacuo, and the presence of that much water was still a little mind-boggling to him. After that, they'd visited the Vale Museum of Art History, though after some initial curiosity, none of them had found it particularly interesting.
Lunch had been at a riverside coffee shop Weiss had recommended, where they'd spent twenty minutes deciphering the menu.
Penny had seemed particularly moved by their visit to the Great War Memorial. They'd walked under the watchful gaze of the Last King of Vale's statue that stood guard over the entrance, sword and scepter in hand. Ruby had never noticed it before, but the scepter looked an awful lot like Professor Ozpin's cane. Weird.
The memorial itself had been a curious mix of somber and loud, obelisks in a riot of colors spread across a well-manicured lawn sculpted in the shape of Vale and the eastern half of Sanus, each one representing a village lost to the fighting or to the Grimm, each one inscribed with the few names of those who died there that they had actually had records of.
After that somewhat depressing experience, they'd hit the wharf for dinner. Fresh seafood was a signature of Valish cuisine, after all. Even if Blake sometimes took the love of it a bit far.
They'd finished the night off with the Spruce Willis film, and the time spent sitting down had let her recharge. It was either that or a nightclub Yang had teasingly suggested… and Ruby was not going to a nightclub, and she definitely wasn't taking Penny and Sun to one.
A series of loud bangs rolled off in the distance, interrupting her reminiscence of the day, and Ruby's head snapped around to face where it sounded like they were coming from.
"Gunshots," observed Sun tensely.
"They came from the direction of the docks," Penny added helpfully.
"Did everyone bring their weapons?" asked Ruby as she reached back around to feel the boxy collapsed form of Crescent Rose on the small of her back.
"Yeah," confirmed Sun.
"I am combat ready," assured Penny.
"Then let's not waste any more time," Ruby declared resolutely before running off in a burst of rose petals.
"Ruby, wait!" Sun shouted as he reached out for her now distant form. "Blast it. Come on, Penny! Let's back her up before something bad happens."
"Blast," cursed Wishbone as she dove for cover just in time to avoid being hit by a barrage from one of the MECH Skygraspers.
The aircraft had, very wisely, decided not to commit themselves to any fight and instead were zipping this way and that at incredible speeds. Any time one of their Blackguards put their cockpits up, they were harassed and bombarded, and so, they were forced to cede ground. It was a very effective strategy, and probably the best they could have managed under the circumstances.
Still, Wishbone smiled as she fired a slug straight through the cockpit of one of the MECH Paladins, I'm not on Mr. Schnee's short-list for nothing.
She was unleashing a burst from the SMP-4 in her left hand upon some MECH troops, who themselves were firing upon a group of White Fang militants, when she saw a new combatant enter her field of view: red hood, female, armed with a giant scythe, unknown allegiance.
The analysis blitzed through her mind in a split-second, and she reacted on instinct honed by years of experience, raising her mech's right arm, lining up the grav-pulse accelerator mounted to that forearm. A precise squeeze on the firing stud sent a .56 slug speeding toward the new arrival.
Remarkably, instead of exploding into a pink mist, the girl's hands blurred, deflecting the round with her scythe.
She was still sent spinning, but it remained disappointing. Of course, the battle was moving far too fast for her to focus on just one combatant. The battle lines were too muddled and overlapping for her to do anything other than order a group of AK-200s after her and send out a general order to kill her and any friends that showed up.
Inside his command dropship, Silas was surrounded by an array of holographic displays. In front of him, a miniature representation of the battlefield, to the sides, status indicators for the men and machines he had committed to this operation. He frowned as the heartbeat monitor of one of his Paladin pilots flatlined. People were expensive, and mechs even more so. He couldn't afford to lose either, and yet here he was, losing them. All for a dust shipment that they needed to reproduce the SDC's miracle fuel.
"Wishbone," he lamented. "Why must you always be so difficult?"
"Sir!" called out the co-pilot from the cockpit. "That girl who stole the energon cube is back."
"Oh really?" asked Silas with a great deal of interest as he walked into the cockpit. "Show me."
The co-pilot brought up a holograph screen behind his seat in response. It showed the gun camera footage of the .70 rotary autocannon turret beneath the nose. The camera, and thus the weapon, was currently focused on a small girl in a red cloak wielding a large combination scythe and rifle as she exchanged fire with the SDC AK-200s and occasionally one of the Blackguards.
"Hmm, well, now, isn't this interesting?" he wondered aloud. "Has she fought with the White Fang yet?"
"No, sir," the co-pilot replied. "But I don't think she's really run into them yet. Not surprising, what with how chaotic things are down there."
"Let's see if we can change that. Open fire on her and tell our troops on the ground to do the same, but drive her towards the White Fang," ordered Silas. "If she dies, that's one more burr out of our hair. If she lives, we get some good data."
As the co-pilot relayed his orders, the pilot spoke up. "Sir, we've got multiple contacts inbound. They look like Bullheads."
Silas smiled. "Looks like the White Fang's reinforcements have finally arrived. Let's give them space to land, shall we?"
It's just not my night, Roman thought. First the SDC bring their biggest tin soldiers to play, and now those masked weirdos are shooting up the place.
"Err, no offense," he muttered to the White Fang goons sharing the shipping container cover with him.
"What was that?" asked the one closest to him as he ducked back down from firing at someone.
"Never mind," the master thief replied. "Honestly, could tonight get any worse? See, I said it sarcastically, so I should be fine."
The goon had gone back to firing his rifle at another target. Obviously, he had missed the witty line. Typical.
With a sigh of defeat, Roman peeked around his piece of cover and nearly boggled at the sight that greeted him.
"Little Red?!" he realized.
Somehow, someway, that annoying little Huntressette from months ago had found him again. Now she was here, fighting with what looked like… everybody. Sadly expected for this night, but he wasn't about to let himself get on that list, so he took action.
Raising his gun-cane, Melodic Cudgel, he took aim at the distracted Huntress, and fired. A glowing orb of dust flew out with a whistle, and hit the girl square in the back. She attempted to counter and return fire with the rifle part of her weapon, but a few more blasts from Roman's cane sent her to the ground near one of those green guys with a flicker of collapsing aura.
"Yes!" he cheered. Things were looking up.
Then she dropped from the sky.
Yang finished the message to Optimus with a calm she didn't know she was still capable of.
"They're on their way," she relayed to Adam.
The White Fang leader grunted in acknowledgement before speaking. "This shouldn't be too difficult, but things do look pretty hectic out there."
Yang looked out the side of the flying Bullhead to notice several of the dark shapes above the docks that could have been VTOLs pulling back. That was… strange. From the reports, the SDC were winning; why would their dropships pull back? It set alarm bells ringing in her head.
"This could be a trap," she said as she brought herself back in.
"Then we'll be quick about it," reasoned Adam.
Before she could make a reply, a voice called out through the cabin loud enough to be heard over the wind and the engines. "Incoming!"
There was a tremendous boom, and Yang found herself flung to the floor. Two of the White Fang fell out of the door, a third would have dropped to his death, but she reached out and caught his wrist. Then, with a grunt, she pulled him back inside.
She turned and noticed the state the rest of the cabin was in. There was blood everywhere, even with their auras, hot shrapnel had torn into them. Hopefully most would survive. Hopefully.
Others were unconscious. Whether that was because of death or shock, she couldn't tell. One of those who lay unconscious though... was Adam.
Wilt and Blush had been knocked from his hand, and he seemed in rough shape. She stepped over, picking up the sheathed sword as she did so, and checked on him. He was, amazingly, not dead and still very much alive. He might even be able to move about once the lack of consciousness passed.
"Pilot, what's the damage?" she asked over the comm system.
"We're still airworthy, but I don't know how much longer that will last," came the reply.
"Contact the medical transport and let them know we have an emergency: dead and wounded; Adam's among the wounded," she reported in that same unnaturally calm voice she'd used before.
"Adam's down?!" was the pilot's panicked response.
"He's still alive. Keep him that way!" Yang ordered.
"Yes, ma'am!" the pilot replied.
She nodded at the affirmation and then went back to the door to check on what was going on outside. They were over the docks by now, and what she was chaos, complete chaos. There seemed to be a three-way war going on down there, and in the middle of it all…
"Ruby!" she shouted, thankfully without activating comms or speakers.
Her sister was down there, fighting a three-way battle. She was incredible, like her mother reborn. Even on the back foot, she was still giving them all the fight of their lives.
Then, suddenly, her fight became a four-way battle. A dust round hit her back, and then another followed soon after. Her eyes traced back to where they were coming from and locked onto the familiar figure of Roman Torchwick.
Her eyes flashed red with fury, and a protective instinct she could not abate even if she wanted to consumed her utterly. Without a word, she dropped from the Bullhead and fell towards her sister. On the way down, she noticed a masked man in green and grey strike her before pulling back to hit her again, a chance he would never get.
On instinct, she drew forth Wilt form Blush and held it out to strike. She needn't have bothered; gravity did the work for her. The blade came down with her body, and as she hit the concrete, she noticed that the man who had hurt Ruby was on the ground and neatly bisected.
Her sister, Ruby, was looking up at her with bleary, half-focused eyes. She was bleeding; she needed medical attention. Maybe she could get the Fang's medics or Ratchet to look at her…
Another shot came from behind her, and she deflected it with her armor. Instinct took over again. These monsters who hurt her sister must be stopped, no matter the cost.
Ruby tried to stay conscious as best as she could, but she was in a whole new world of pain. Her vision was beating black, and her ears were ringing. Pain exploded from her back again, and she once more became aware of the man striking her with his rifle butt.
Then, suddenly, there was a great thud, like thunder to her hearing, and the man fell to the ground in two pieces. The person that did it stood up, and Ruby felt like she would have had her breath taken away had she breath to spare. The blade of her sword was red -- like roses, the errant thought struck her -- and glistened wetly. Blood? The woman was clad in a white and red battlesuit that covered her from her feet to her head. Her helmet wasn't just a helmet though, for its front half was covered in a white and red mask that immediately reminded her of a Grimm.
She'd seen that mask before, but where?
Suddenly, someone tried to shoot the masked warrior, but she deflected it with one of the plates on her arm. Then, without saying a word, she was off like a shot. She was dashing everywhere, striking at enemies Ruby couldn't see, but rather than advance or retreat in any direction, she kept coming back.
Then it clicked in the jumbled mess that was her mind. She was protecting her. The masked warrior was making sure no one could harm her even as she lay there.
"Ruby!"
Was that Sun or Penny who had shouted that? She couldn't tell. At any rate, they both appeared near her, and they looked pretty worried.
"You two!" the woman barked in a distorted voice that sounded purposefully scrambled. "Get her out of here. Now!"
"Who the heck are you?" asked Sun.
"Your worst nightmare if you don't get her to a hospital," she growled with a terrifying menace. "Go! I've still got unfinished business with Torchwick."
"Don't worry, ma'am! We've got her!" Penny assured her even as the masked warrior leapt away.
When she did so, Sun and Penny both worked together to get Ruby moving.
"Come on, let's get out of here before that woman paints the docks red with that guy's blood, or any of these crazy people do the same with ours," Sun declared.
Oh, that was scary. Maybe she could rest now?
Yang devoured the distance between her and Torchwick with great bounding strides, sheathing Wilt into Blush as she sprinted. The White Fang members nearby saw her and stopped firing to let her pass. One even displayed some initiative and pointed toward where Torchwick was.
So it was that she came to stop form her sprint next to him. Her fury had been somewhat slaked by the blood she had spilled, and so, she was in a more reasonable mood. She would give the thief a chance to explain himself before she destroyed him.
"Torchwick!" she barked in a harsh demanding tone, he took notice of her. "What the hell were you thinking?!"
"That Little Red has been an irritating thorn in my side for a while," was his flippant response. "If I'd known you had a thing for red and black, I might have tried taking her alive. Maybe."
As he was speaking, Yang could feel blood vessels popping in her body from the sheer unrelenting rage that burned within her. The back of her helmet opened up, and her wroth came alight with a bright shine in the night air. All who saw her now saw their ends made manifest.
"Hey, cool it with the light…"
Yang delivered a straight punch to his jaw that sent the criminal scum flying back into the warehouse behind him. With twin booms from her gauntlets, she boosted in his wake and followed up with an uppercut that sent him into the rafters. Again she fired gravity dust rounds to chase after him, and when they were at the same altitude she struck downward, using Blush like a baseball bat. His reflexes saved him from that impact as he imposed his cane before him, but the blow still sent him into the ground hard enough to shatter the concrete surface.
She didn't stop there. She boosted down and delivered a drop kick that drove him even further into the ground. Standing on him, she reared back her fist to strike him. He raised his cane to block her, and her fist connected but didn't stop.
He coughed as his cane collided with his throat, Yang's fist still attached. She grabbed hold of it and then continued to drive it down. She threw Wilt and Blush to the ground outside the crater and then brought her now freed other hand back around to strike Roman in the head with the bang of discharging buckshot. The recoil brought her arm back again, and once more, she punched him in the skull with a tremendous bang.
She did it twice more, and then his aura collapsed. When the fist came down the next four times, it was without the firing of weapons. Then, suddenly, she stopped.
Yang's breathing began to slow, and her vision began to clear. She looked at her fist, now covered in blood, and then looked at Torchwick. His face was almost completely unrecognizable, and he had stopped moving.
I have to rally the troops, get us out of here. She didn't know where the stray thought had come from, but Yang was glad she had it; it gave her direction.
She stood up and activated her comms set as she walked over to pick up Adam's sword. "This is Sunfire, I need coordinates on the LZ."
"We've set down near the west side. Some of our brothers and sisters are trying to load some of the dust up so this isn't a complete loss," came the reply.
"If any of you sacrifice a single person to carry that stuff, you'll have to answer to me," she told them in a voice that somehow sounded as tired as it did threatening.
"Roger, Sunfire, prioritizing the wounded."
Yang let the comms click off and took stock of the situation. A few of the initial team that had gone with Roman had survived, far too few. They were staring at her now, fear clear.
"Gentlemen," she began, "we are leaving."
"They blocked off the main entrance," complained one. "We can't get out on foot."
"We're not going out on foot," Yang informed them, her voice growing more energetic. "We've got Bullheads landed on the west side; we're getting out that way. Silverbolt and the Aerialbots are on their way, along with the rest of the Autobots. All we have to do is hold out until they arrive."
She stood up straighter. "Now, I'm going to run interference for you. Just focus on getting to the landing zone. Move it!"
Wishbone let out a small grunt of pleasure as her Blackguard's foot came down on a White Fang straggler. Small because it was still a very confusing night. MECH really were making a nuisance of themselves, and a lesser woman wouldn't have been able to keep up with the data of the shifting battle.
"Mistress Wishbone," the recon drone cooed in her ear. "A White Fang paratrooper has inflicted heavy casualties on the unit sent after the interloper."
"Show me," she ordered as she ducked behind the wall of a warehouse.
A holographic image popped up in front of her and to her left, showing an armored figure drop from one of the White Fang Bullheads to bisect an unfortunate MECH trooper who had been assaulting the red girl Wishbone had ordered killed. The figure stood up, and her breath caught in her throat. She was again grateful that no one could see her expressions in her Blackguard.
A memory came unbidden to the very front of her mind. She remembered the smell of burnt flesh, she remembered the blood, she remembered great joy. At that moment though, what Calliope Ferny remembered most was a powerful figure of fear made manifest wielding a red sword and wearing the mask of a Grimm.
"Raven Branwen," she said in cold recognition, willing all emotion to leave her. "Now what are you doing here?"
She paid no attention to the rest of the playback as it showed MECH infantry and Atlesian Knights being slaughtered like cattle. She had bigger things to worry about. Much bigger.
"Casualty check, who's left?"
A rattle of replies came back, and her mind processed them just as fast. Four mechs down, thirty-two AK-200s, and at least one recon drone had been hit. They were taking serious losses, casualties great enough that doctrine dictated that she cede the field.
Things had to change, and fast. Even she couldn't ignore the math or the reality that they were dangerously close to their combat loss grouping. If only…
"Sentries, what's the status of the dust shipment?" she inquired.
"The dust shipment is currently being loaded onto one of the White Fang Bullheads."
She sighed at the cheery robotic report. "Good enough, I suppose."
At that, she took what looked like a disconnected pistol grip from the side of the cockpit. It had several buttons and switches on it, but for this, she only needed three. She flipped up the cover on the top, revealing a steel switch like a pole which she flicked forward; she then pressed the button on the back, and then, finally, pulled the trigger.
The light show let her know about her success before the thunder hit.
Yang raced around to finally reach the landing zone where the main White Fang force waited. Most were loading casualties onto the Bullheads, the medical transport already overloaded, with more than a few whose clothes were stained red. Still, in the background, at least one of the dropships could be seen trying to attach a shipping container to its underside winch.
Adam was also there, lying on the ground, with a medic standing over him. The doctor went and injected something into his neck, and he started to sputter awake. Yang was pretty sure that was unethical, but she didn't say anything.
"My sword," croaked Adam somewhat dumbly. "Where is Wilt and Blush?"
"Here," Yang said as she reached him and, in that same motion, offered him his weapon, which he took rather gingerly. "Kept it safe for you."
"Thank you," Adam said softly even as he tried to get up. He was mostly successful. "We need to get the dust and get out of here."
"How about we just leave instead?" asked Yang, letting her frustration creep into her voice.
Adam shook his head. "Cinder's back in town; we can't just let this one slip through. Where's Torchwick?"
"Dead, probably," replied Yang in an empty tone.
"What?" asked Adam disbelievingly.
It was then that the shipping container slung under the sole flying Bullhead exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. The airship dropped in a flaming wreck. More blasts rolled through the docks as every container used for that night's shipment of dust went up in fire and thunder.
Yang was on the ground again, and looking around, she saw horror. One of the wounded had been cleaved straight in two by an errant slab of metal; others hadn't faired as poorly but still died. There were just… so many bodies.
Still, enough seemed to survive, and they were all rallying to finish getting the wounded onto the remaining Bullheads. Yang rushed to join them, but stopped next to Adam. It almost looked like he was going to say something.
"To hell with it. Let's just get out of here," he said roughly.
Yang nodded and ran over to help finish getting the wounded into the Bullhead she had arrived in. They would have to leave the dead behind. She hated it, because they deserved better than whatever desecration the SDC would visit upon their bodies, but they just didn't have the space anymore.
As she finished placing her second passenger in the cabin, she rushed over to the cockpit.
"Hey, we're about done out here; why haven't you started the engines?"
"I can't!" the pilot replied, his voice worried and edging toward panic. "The accursed thing won't turn on after I shut it down after landing. I think the ignition got taken out by that missile that almost hit us."
Yang felt that cold seep back into her again. This… this was definitely bad. She had no idea how they were going to get out of this. No idea, save one.
Come on, Bumblebee. I know you guys can make it, she silently prayed.
There was a clap like thunder, five of them really, and likewise, a number of shapes shot over their heads.
"Sunfire, is there anyone alive down there?"
"Air Raid!" she cheered in reply. "We're on the west side, near all the fire and smoke, but we're down two Bullheads. I don't think we have the space to transport them all out of here."
At that, Silverbolt came onto the line. "I have a cargo space on my alt-mode. It should be a little bigger than a Bullhead's cabin, actually. Aerialbots, cover me while I land."
There was that wondrous sound of transformation, and then four of the Aerialbots stood in bot mode on the other side of the small warehouse. There was the sound of Autobot weaponry cutting loose, and Silverbolt flew slowly over the top like some righteous harbinger of hope.
Sure enough, underneath his body was slung something that looked remarkably like a passenger compartment. Adam rallied the troops, and Yang helped him carry the broken and bleeding over to the landing Aerialbot leader. They were going to make it. Somehow, against all odds, they were going to get through the night alive.
Cinder Fall was annoyed.
First, it seemed the White Fang had relocated their bases and altered their contact methods… without informing her. She almost thought it was an attempt to cut ties, but Adam Taurus wasn't that foolish. The news of a White Fang raid on an SDC dust shipment at the docks put paid to that theory anyway; if they were cutting ties, they would have no need for even more dust than they'd already acquired for her.
Second was the result of the aforementioned raid. The explosions and the smoke rising into the sky did not bode well for the success of the operation, nor did the breaking news of Roman Torchwick's arrest. Said explosions and smoke suggested the SDC had brought in reinforcements -- not unexpected, but problematic nonetheless -- and there had also been reports of another new player on the field. Granted, said explosions and smoke had given her the lead necessary to track her terrorist allies down.
And all of that was setting aside the absurd claims of giant alien robots.
It was clear that things were beginning to spiral out of control, and she simply could not afford that.
"Don't worry," she assured Emerald and Mercury as they strode into the warehouse. "Everything is going according to plan."
Cinder let her eyes adjust to the dimly-lit interior of the warehouse, and she swept her gaze around. Members of the White Fang were spread about, some on watch, others caring for the walking wounded, though it looked like one corner had been blocked off as an infirmary for the more seriously injured. A few vehicles were parked inside as well, for some reason, probably stolen and still "hot." Most of the White Fang gave her team at least a passing glance, but some just watched… as if in anticipation.
A bad sign. It meant they were expecting a confrontation, and everyone she knew who would be present had already submitted to her will.
Her attention was drawn to the fourth member of her team, who had suddenly stiffened and stopped walking. Neo had dropped the black-haired, green-eyed disguise she wore as a student of Haven before they came here, but now, she paled, her eyes going white. Cinder traced her gaze to an unfamiliar figure who was clearly watching them, dressed in an armored battlesuit in white and red, stained further red with blood, with an unusually elaborate Grimm mask that met her own golden eyes with as much soul visible behind them as a real Grimm.
Interesting… There were very few people Neo Politan feared; Cinder was one of them, which put this newcomer in good company.
Still, she needed answers, and sometimes, the direct approach was the best.
"Where's Adam?" she asked the room.
"Who wants to know?" counter-asked the masked figure in a mechanically distorted voice that made it impossible to tell if the stranger was asking casually or trying to sound threatening.
"Cinder Fall," she replied calmly and confidently.
"I see," the armored... woman -- yes, she was definitely female -- observed with a cock of their helmeted head. "Excuse me for asking, but do you have like chameleon skin or shoot webbing out of your palm or something?"
Cinder idly noted that the woman's chestplate had an elaborate logo on it that looked much like a face before answering. "Oh no, I'm quite human."
She grew still for a moment, and even through the distortion, the shock in her voice was clear. "What?"
"Surprised?" Cinder asked, not even bothering to hide her satisfaction.
"Cinder!" called out Adam as he, like a good little steer, finally came when summoned.
"Adam," Cinder began. "You changed the security procedures and didn't tell me. Why?'
Adam stiffened ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. He clearly had been dreading this. Good.
"We've discovered a number of security leaks, and we needed to plug them. That necessitated changing bases and codes. Don't worry; we've taken care of it."
"You still haven't explained why you didn't feel the need to inform me," Cinder pressed.
"We've been very busy recently, working with our new allies," Adam explained.
"Oh, and who are they?" asked Cinder.
There was a series of strange mechanical sounds, and various exclamations of surprise from her minions.
"What on Remnant?" cursed Mercury Black.
"Cinder!" called out Emerald Sustrai.
She glanced to the side, and with great effort that never showed, contained her surprise. The tractor-trailer was gone, and in its place stood a robot of the same red, white, and blue color that towered above them all. From him emanated an old and deep power, grander than almost anything she'd felt before. In fact, Cinder had only sensed something similar in one other person before, and she had no other equal on Remnant save one… until now, it seemed.
Ideas percolated in her mind.
Next to him, the other robots which had transformed from airships and cars and trucks looked downright simple and ordinary. Somehow. It certainly wasn't something she had considered thinking that morning.
They all bore that same symbol though, the one the masked woman wore. They were all part of the same faction then? Interesting.
"Now, what have you gotten yourself into, Adam?" she asked in a faux dramatic voice.
"I assure you that you will not be disappointed," said Adam, stepping aside as the big bot walked towards them.
"Too late for that," she muttered just loud enough for Adam to hear as the robot stopped to stand in front of them.
"Greetings, Cinder Fall," the mechanical giant began in a disgustingly heroic voice. "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. We hail from the planet Cybertron and were traveling in search of allies and resources to help in our ongoing civil war when we were shot down by a warship commanded by our enemies, the Decepticons. Unfortunately, our war has followed us here, and the innocent people of this planet have become caught up in this terrible conflict.
"Even as we mourn the loss of life and seek to prevent further tragedy though, we have found kinship with the White Fang led by young Adam Taurus, for it appears our respective enemies have also allied with each other. The White Fang have helped us when we needed it, and so we in turn have helped them, an alliance that has helped both our people, faunus and Autobot alike. We have heard much of both you and your position, Cinder Fall, and I hope that you will see the benefit of this alliance and seek to continue it."
Cinder's eyes narrowed as she regarded the now named Optimus Prime. He was certainly an imposing figure, even managing to put fear into the hearts of her companions, but she was not so easily intimidated. She would hold her ground against him until he bowed at her feet.
Back near the makeshift infirmary, another of the "Autobots" emerged from it, white and red with a vaguely medical theme. He seemed startled by her presence and turned to talk with the yellow and black one. He really should have spoken more softly.
"Hey, I just stabilized the worst off. Who's the scary lady?"
The yellow one glanced at him and whispered something back, which the white one took as the cue to quiet down.
Another clue to their character that slotted into place neatly. They spoke of grief at the thought of innocents being harmed, of treating even those who would be of no use, and when these were taken with the information that the White Fang had apparently been avoiding civilian casualties lately... well, it was easy to see that, though powerful, the Autobots really were just a bunch of pathetic fools who knew nothing of real strength. Worse, if they knew about the full width and breadth of her plans, they might seek to stop her. She couldn't allow that, so they would have to go until she thought of a more... permanent solution.
Turning her head, Cinder looked to Adam and spoke in a tone that was as dismissive as it was skeptical. "And you believed all this?"
"What?" asked the faunus leader. Whatever he had been prepared for, this hadn't been it. Perfect.
"Oh, Adam…" she lamented before turning to Optimus. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave. This... 'alliance' is over. I don't know you, and so, I can't trust you. I'm sure you understand," she declared, her voice dripping with false sincerity.
Optimus turned his eyes to glance at Adam. "If that is what is desired of us."
Adam quickly looked at the masked woman, who seemed intensely interested in the proceedings, and then refocused on Optimus as he gave his answer: "Yeah, I think it would be best if you clear out."
"WHAT?!" the masked woman shouted at Adam. "You can't be serious."
"Sunfire," said Optimus, and her head spun around to look up at him so fast her neck might have snapped. "If we are not wanted, we shall not stay. That is not our way."
"Sunfire's" fists clenched several times, but in time, she let go. Looking at Adam one last time, she stormed out of the building. The rest of the Autobots went with her with long, thunderous strides.
When they were gone, Cinder turned to Adam with a smile. "Don't worry, Adam. They wouldn't have been able to grant you your dreams anyways. An entire kingdom in flames, and more to come. Don't forget that."
"I won't," he assured her in a tone Cinder had come to recognize as "resolute."
"Good, now get things packed up as fast as you can," she ordered. "With Roman in jail, we'll have to move up our plans for Phase Two."
"Where to?" asked Adam.
Cinder's smile was cold and wicked. "Mountain Glenn."
Yang burst through the door of the hospital room with a cry. "Ruby!"
Inside, Sun and Penny turned to look at her, but she only had eyes for her sister, who lay in the hospital bed. The young Huntress in training's eyes fluttered open, and she gave a weak wave. "Heyyy, Yaaang."
Not wasting a moment, Yang crossed the distance and engulfed her sister as best she could in a hug.
"Ruby! What happened? Are you okay? Where'd you get hurt? What were you even doing out that late? Who hurt you?!"
"Whoa! You're affectionate tonight," Ruby observed somewhat deliriously.
Yang turned her head to look at Sun and Penny. "Why is she acting like this?"
"Painkillers," Penny answered succinctly.
"Oh," Yang realized, and then more gently. "Thanks for calling me."
"You're welcome," Sun replied. "You were the first number in Ruby's scroll, and it felt right to call you first anyway. The rest are on their way."
Yang nodded silently, then turned her focus back on Ruby, who she had still not let go.
"And just where were you tonight, young lady?" the younger sister observed in a non sequitur that echoed her words on that first night so long ago.
Fresh tears began to form in Yang's eyes. "I was busy," she answered with heartbreaking honesty. "I was busy with something, but it's over now. It's all over."
It really was the truth too. She had been about to go anyway before Cinder showed up, staying just long enough to make sure the wounded were properly treated. After that, though, Prime had ordered her to go and protect Ruby just in case someone came after her. That had been a lie, a pure fiction, and they all knew it. What he had actually done was just give her permission to do what she was already going to do: leave it all behind her.
Her body was a roiling mass of disgust, frustration, anger, hurt, and disappointment. At Adam… at herself. She couldn't believe she had wasted so much time thinking that Adam had something other than hate and rage underneath that mask. Her sister, the most precious thing in the universe to her, had been hurt because she wasn't there for her, and she wasn't there for her because she had been away this whole time.
No more. No more would she be off with Bumblebee on scouting missions. No more would she be palling around the White Fang base talking to idiots too stupid to realize they were being led by a coward. No more would she wear that battlesuit and mask. No more would she be...
Yang purged that thought from her head. She couldn't think about that. She couldn't think about any of it anymore, nor could she ever talk about it with anyone. All she could do was give voice to her true desire.
"I'm not going to leave you, Ruby. I'm never going to leave you again."
"Combining the aerial reconnaissance data with the intelligence acquired from the SDC regional headquarters and information brokers on the undernet," Prowl droned on, his voice calm and professional, a grim reminder of his loss so long ago, "I have been able to assemble a significant list of areas within northern Sanus likely to contain Decepticon holdings. Operations can begin immediately, pending logistical constraints."
"Thank you, Prowl," rumbled Optimus, and the black and white security bot nodded before leaving the room. That left the Prime alone with his second in command, and he had a feeling he already knew where the conversation would go next.
"See, what did I tell you?" asked Jazz rhetorically. "We don't need the White Fang. Not anymore."
"Perhaps you're right, old friend," Optimus agreed. "Still… I cannot help but wonder if there was more we could have done for them."
"Pfft!" Jazz waved it off. "Seriously, Optimus? He's a pint-sized Megatron. Ain't no use trying to talk to someone like that."
"Adam was afraid."
"Of course he was. Did you see that lady?" Jazz shook himself. "Oh! Givin' myself the heebie-jeebies just thinking about her. 'Course, I've been afraid too. We've all been scared out of our wits before, but it never stopped us from doing our jobs. Heck, Silverbolt's afraid of heights, and he's the best flyer we got. To those with the will, fear ain't an obstacle, and Adam's got that will. Problem is, he's also got a big ol' chip on his shoulder that tells him to go spread death and chaos.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We never should have allied with them in the first place."
"It was a necessary step," Optimus reminded him. "We would never have acquired the information we have without their aid, and innocent people, like the workers from Site Thirteen, would have suffered for it. You see in Adam Taurus an echo of Megatron; I do too, at least in part. But I've known Megatron for a long time, Jazz, and in all that time, I have never seen him afraid."
"So he's a tiny Starscream, like what Yang thinks his old partner's like," Jazz allowed. "Doesn't change much in the end."
"We're not at the end, Jazz," Optimus Prime said. "This... is only the beginning."
A/N 1 (Cyclone): First of all, props to Cody for writing most of this chapter.
To add onto questions we had about canon from last time… why the heck was there apparently no security at all covering this major dust shipment? Seriously.
Regarding Optimus Prime's backstory we've alluded to… we'll be going into more detail on that later, at a suitably appropriate point in the narrative.
Also, while the Two Brothers are a known tale, they aren't exactly still around to prove it's true, and we have indications that the Rose-Xiao Long household at least pays lip-service to some monotheistic belief: In "The Shining Beacon, Pt. 2," Ruby says "Oh God, it's happening again," and literally the second line after that is Yang saying "Oh my God, you really exploded."
Finally, I had this great mental image for this chapter, but it just didn't work out into the narrative at all, namely the famous cover from "Spider-Man No More!" except featuring Yang walking away from her Sunfire battlesuit. It would either be in the Ark or perhaps walking away from Bumblebee, but neither of those really worked, storywise. Still a cool mental image, though, I think.
A/N 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): And so ends volume 1, with the breaking of the fellowship. Next week or so we'll start posting the three-shot expandalone prequel story, A Stark Divide. After that is done we'll post the first interlude, which should be three chapters long as well. Then, once that's all finished, we'll continue along with volume 2, something so complex we actually needed to create a flowchart to keep it all straight.
Debated for a bit whether or not I should tell you readers what exactly was Adam's thought process was during that bit where he tells the Autobots to leave, but I figured that's something that can be left till later within the story itself.
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