The Other Path [RWBY SI] [AHOIAC AU]
- Thread starter shadenight123
- Start date
Chapter Forty-Eight
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Forty-Eight
Gorm did not return to our room that night. Since to undertake the mission, all that was needed was my Scroll, it wasn't difficult to just wake up extremely early to take the mission aimed at the South-East. The problem was that we'd have to wait on the professor assigned to it to prepare the Bullhead. Thus, while the mission was indeed assigned, it was still visible to other people.
This was the first mistake I hadn't accounted for.
Extremely determined people with incredibly contrived plot-armor will always find a way to get what they want, even with the Headmaster's blessing.
"Hi," Ruby said with a nervous giggle, making a tiny wave of her hand. On her back was a massive backpack. Well, I had an inkling of what I'd find in there, so I didn't pry further.
The second problem was that Doctor Oobleck wasn't actually there.
"We're the experienced Huntsmen?" I mouthed. "The Doctor has the utmost trust in our combat abilities? Professor Durden wrote an essay?" I was reading the latest modifications to the Huntsman contract that we had undertaken. Apparently the Headmaster felt that due to an incredible amount of reasons, it was the best possible decision to let a higher year team explain the ropes to a first year one. And since we weren't meant to fight more than Grimm, then there wouldn't be a problem with it.
There were supposed to be White Fang operatives, Headmaster. Are you seriously sending us there alone? Come on!
"Aren't you missing someone?" Blake asked.
"He's already gone ahead to scout the area," I answered. "Gorm's resourceful like that."
"I hope he'll leave some Grimm for us to deal with," Chez said amiably.
"Let's get going then," Zhelty stressed, jabbing her thumb at the Bullhead. "I'm sitting co-pilot. Want to see how the thing works." She grumbled something under her breath. "Damn bastard getting me interested in Bullheads too."
I winked at her, and then raised an eyebrow at Weiss' half-frozen expression.
"Weiss?"
"A-Ah, well," she coughed in her closed fist. "When the headmaster mentioned that another team had already taken the mission, but we could shadow them rather than a professor, he didn't mention which team it was," she fidgeted. "You're supposed to grade us, yes?"
I raised both eyebrows. "That is the first time I hear that," I looked at the Scroll, quickly rereading the added orders. "There's no mention of grading you in here. Just ensure your safety in case you bite off more than you can chew and then write a report. I guess they'll grade you based on what we write in it."
I began to walk towards the bullhead. "But you've got nothing to worry about that. As long as you get out alive, everything's fine."
"Yeah, easy grades," Yang said with a cheerful expression. "Normally I prefer to knock people out, but keeping myself alive is my specialty, did you know that?"
I chuckled at that, and then gestured for them all to move and get aboard.
Once they were all in, and we sat down on the bullhead, I could begin to freak out in the privacy of my own mind. I clasped my fingers together, and turned thoughtful. I hadn't received any news from Gorm, so either everything was working as intended, or everything was going incredibly wrong. The Bullhead lifted off, and I could feel my thoughts slip from my mind.
"Scenarios," I said.
"Uh?" Ruby asked. "Scenarios? What does it mean?"
"It's a kind of thing we do as a team," Chez explained, "We think up scenarios of what we might encounter, and determine whenever they're ground in reality, or someone's just got an incredible amount of fantasy to go with it. If they're sensible enough, we plan contingencies." She giggled. "Usually, the answer is 'Hit it even harder than normal', but sometimes we do get some things right."
"We're expecting Grimm. Typical Grimm in Vale include Beowolves, Ursa and perhaps Nevermores," I mused. "We can also theorize armed White Fang combatants. A smart person would have patrols in place, some people on the high-rise buildings."
"The Grimm would eat them," Chez answered with a faint shrug. "It would be a pretty nerve-wracking job to stay atop an abandoned building with the Nevermore cawing nearby." She turned thoughtful. "But I could see small patrols around the entrance, keeping in check the Grimm and taking notice of strangers in the area."
She then turned towards Ruby, a smile on her face. "W-Well! I'd say definitely-Grimm, lots of Grimm," she added. "That's why we're going there, no? So, we'll just kill the Grimm. White Fang? Why should we expect the White Fang to be there too, eh? No White Fang base nowhere, no sir!"
"Ruby," Blake spoke, "did you tell them?" she asked.
Ruby cringed, "It's not like I couldn't. Wren was heading up the headmaster's office to-"
"Ahem!" I coughed loudly. "Operational secrets are secrets for a reason, Ruby."
"Fine!" Ruby pouted, her arms crossed, "And anyway, it's better they know rather than not! How were we going to get away from them to investigate on our own anyway? Weiss would have a fit!"
"I would not have a fit," Weiss said flatly, "But I am relieved my brother was informed of what we aim to achieve. This way, we can work together to-"
"What makes you think I'd let a group of first year student investigate a potential White Fang base of operation?" I mused, "Perhaps I will have you kill Grimm as far in the North-West as I can possibly send you."
Weiss faltered, "But brother-"
"Oi! We've been investigating this for longer than you!" Yang exclaimed.
"It's something we have to do!" Blake stressed out next, "The White Fang-it needs to be stopped!"
I chuckled. "And what makes you think you are the ones best suited for it? Uh? Bit of an arrogance problem you've got going for you there? We're First Year Huntresses-to-be, we're immortal, undefeatable. We're here to kick ass and take names. That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" I shook my head. "You'll be participating not because you're indispensable, or because you want to. You'll participate because I think you'll be safer where I can see you than where I cannot see you. But never," I stressed that out, "Never forget that you may think you're heroes, but that doesn't mean you are. Not yet." I tightened the grip of my clasped hands.
I pulled out my Scroll. There was still no answer from Gorm.
It was time to pull out the big guns.
"Since I do have to write a report of sorts, but I don't want to be the only one doing it, I'll split the teams up. Ruby, Weiss, you'll be with Zhelty. Blake, Yang, you'll be with Chez. You're both to deal with the Grimm around the area. Meanwhile I'll find where Gorm is and then we'll regroup and properly plan an infiltration into the White Fang base, but," I stressed out. "I want to make it clear here, and now. If I say jump, I'm not asking you to question it. You're free to make decisions, and I do hope you have enough situational judgment to make good calls, but if I'm telling you to run to point A, I expect you at point A as fast as you can possibly make it. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes, of course," Weiss said.
"It's fine," Yang said, arms behind her back. "We're not going to throw ourselves head first into trouble anyway."
"Very well," Blake said.
"We'll be on our best behavior," Ruby said with a nervous chuckle. "You won't even realize we're first year students." And then a bark echoed from within her backpack.
I nodded and then raised an eyebrow.
Zwei's head emerged from Ruby's backpack, tongue lolling out.
The silence in the bullhead grew deafening.
"I'll be taking the dog," I said amiably, my arms engulfing the tiny bundle of joy and love and everything nice. "Who's a cute little pupper? Yes you are, yes you are."
Chez ended up hissing at it, moving away and to Blake's side. The hidden faunus narrowed her golden eyes at Chez, but then hissed in turn at Zwei's cute barking.
I had expected the dog.
That was why, even if Gorm didn't end up answering, I'd still find him.
It had taken me just a bit of sacrifice, and a lot of courage. But after the GarbageNam wars, I could easily plunge a hand into a man's dirty laundry without worries, or care.
War...war never changes.
But the people that fight in it...
...they change, and not always for the better.
Gorm did not return to our room that night. Since to undertake the mission, all that was needed was my Scroll, it wasn't difficult to just wake up extremely early to take the mission aimed at the South-East. The problem was that we'd have to wait on the professor assigned to it to prepare the Bullhead. Thus, while the mission was indeed assigned, it was still visible to other people.
This was the first mistake I hadn't accounted for.
Extremely determined people with incredibly contrived plot-armor will always find a way to get what they want, even with the Headmaster's blessing.
"Hi," Ruby said with a nervous giggle, making a tiny wave of her hand. On her back was a massive backpack. Well, I had an inkling of what I'd find in there, so I didn't pry further.
The second problem was that Doctor Oobleck wasn't actually there.
"We're the experienced Huntsmen?" I mouthed. "The Doctor has the utmost trust in our combat abilities? Professor Durden wrote an essay?" I was reading the latest modifications to the Huntsman contract that we had undertaken. Apparently the Headmaster felt that due to an incredible amount of reasons, it was the best possible decision to let a higher year team explain the ropes to a first year one. And since we weren't meant to fight more than Grimm, then there wouldn't be a problem with it.
There were supposed to be White Fang operatives, Headmaster. Are you seriously sending us there alone? Come on!
"Aren't you missing someone?" Blake asked.
"He's already gone ahead to scout the area," I answered. "Gorm's resourceful like that."
"I hope he'll leave some Grimm for us to deal with," Chez said amiably.
"Let's get going then," Zhelty stressed, jabbing her thumb at the Bullhead. "I'm sitting co-pilot. Want to see how the thing works." She grumbled something under her breath. "Damn bastard getting me interested in Bullheads too."
I winked at her, and then raised an eyebrow at Weiss' half-frozen expression.
"Weiss?"
"A-Ah, well," she coughed in her closed fist. "When the headmaster mentioned that another team had already taken the mission, but we could shadow them rather than a professor, he didn't mention which team it was," she fidgeted. "You're supposed to grade us, yes?"
I raised both eyebrows. "That is the first time I hear that," I looked at the Scroll, quickly rereading the added orders. "There's no mention of grading you in here. Just ensure your safety in case you bite off more than you can chew and then write a report. I guess they'll grade you based on what we write in it."
I began to walk towards the bullhead. "But you've got nothing to worry about that. As long as you get out alive, everything's fine."
"Yeah, easy grades," Yang said with a cheerful expression. "Normally I prefer to knock people out, but keeping myself alive is my specialty, did you know that?"
I chuckled at that, and then gestured for them all to move and get aboard.
Once they were all in, and we sat down on the bullhead, I could begin to freak out in the privacy of my own mind. I clasped my fingers together, and turned thoughtful. I hadn't received any news from Gorm, so either everything was working as intended, or everything was going incredibly wrong. The Bullhead lifted off, and I could feel my thoughts slip from my mind.
"Scenarios," I said.
"Uh?" Ruby asked. "Scenarios? What does it mean?"
"It's a kind of thing we do as a team," Chez explained, "We think up scenarios of what we might encounter, and determine whenever they're ground in reality, or someone's just got an incredible amount of fantasy to go with it. If they're sensible enough, we plan contingencies." She giggled. "Usually, the answer is 'Hit it even harder than normal', but sometimes we do get some things right."
"We're expecting Grimm. Typical Grimm in Vale include Beowolves, Ursa and perhaps Nevermores," I mused. "We can also theorize armed White Fang combatants. A smart person would have patrols in place, some people on the high-rise buildings."
"The Grimm would eat them," Chez answered with a faint shrug. "It would be a pretty nerve-wracking job to stay atop an abandoned building with the Nevermore cawing nearby." She turned thoughtful. "But I could see small patrols around the entrance, keeping in check the Grimm and taking notice of strangers in the area."
She then turned towards Ruby, a smile on her face. "W-Well! I'd say definitely-Grimm, lots of Grimm," she added. "That's why we're going there, no? So, we'll just kill the Grimm. White Fang? Why should we expect the White Fang to be there too, eh? No White Fang base nowhere, no sir!"
"Ruby," Blake spoke, "did you tell them?" she asked.
Ruby cringed, "It's not like I couldn't. Wren was heading up the headmaster's office to-"
"Ahem!" I coughed loudly. "Operational secrets are secrets for a reason, Ruby."
"Fine!" Ruby pouted, her arms crossed, "And anyway, it's better they know rather than not! How were we going to get away from them to investigate on our own anyway? Weiss would have a fit!"
"I would not have a fit," Weiss said flatly, "But I am relieved my brother was informed of what we aim to achieve. This way, we can work together to-"
"What makes you think I'd let a group of first year student investigate a potential White Fang base of operation?" I mused, "Perhaps I will have you kill Grimm as far in the North-West as I can possibly send you."
Weiss faltered, "But brother-"
"Oi! We've been investigating this for longer than you!" Yang exclaimed.
"It's something we have to do!" Blake stressed out next, "The White Fang-it needs to be stopped!"
I chuckled. "And what makes you think you are the ones best suited for it? Uh? Bit of an arrogance problem you've got going for you there? We're First Year Huntresses-to-be, we're immortal, undefeatable. We're here to kick ass and take names. That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" I shook my head. "You'll be participating not because you're indispensable, or because you want to. You'll participate because I think you'll be safer where I can see you than where I cannot see you. But never," I stressed that out, "Never forget that you may think you're heroes, but that doesn't mean you are. Not yet." I tightened the grip of my clasped hands.
I pulled out my Scroll. There was still no answer from Gorm.
It was time to pull out the big guns.
"Since I do have to write a report of sorts, but I don't want to be the only one doing it, I'll split the teams up. Ruby, Weiss, you'll be with Zhelty. Blake, Yang, you'll be with Chez. You're both to deal with the Grimm around the area. Meanwhile I'll find where Gorm is and then we'll regroup and properly plan an infiltration into the White Fang base, but," I stressed out. "I want to make it clear here, and now. If I say jump, I'm not asking you to question it. You're free to make decisions, and I do hope you have enough situational judgment to make good calls, but if I'm telling you to run to point A, I expect you at point A as fast as you can possibly make it. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes, of course," Weiss said.
"It's fine," Yang said, arms behind her back. "We're not going to throw ourselves head first into trouble anyway."
"Very well," Blake said.
"We'll be on our best behavior," Ruby said with a nervous chuckle. "You won't even realize we're first year students." And then a bark echoed from within her backpack.
I nodded and then raised an eyebrow.
Zwei's head emerged from Ruby's backpack, tongue lolling out.
The silence in the bullhead grew deafening.
"I'll be taking the dog," I said amiably, my arms engulfing the tiny bundle of joy and love and everything nice. "Who's a cute little pupper? Yes you are, yes you are."
Chez ended up hissing at it, moving away and to Blake's side. The hidden faunus narrowed her golden eyes at Chez, but then hissed in turn at Zwei's cute barking.
I had expected the dog.
That was why, even if Gorm didn't end up answering, I'd still find him.
It had taken me just a bit of sacrifice, and a lot of courage. But after the GarbageNam wars, I could easily plunge a hand into a man's dirty laundry without worries, or care.
War...war never changes.
But the people that fight in it...
...they change, and not always for the better.
AzraelvonGruber
probably should put something here...
- Location
- somewhere in France
we will never know what happened at The GarbageNam wars are we ?
- Location
- Finland
Some things are better left unknown....
*Stares off into the distance with a glassy, thousand-yard stare...*
Warlord01
Who said anything about plan?!
- Location
- Terra - Europa - Land of milk and honey.
I am sure that four teenage girls with authority issues will not, under any circumstances, throw a wrench into carefully laid out plans.
They will clearly follow Wren´s leadership.
Yeah,... I am giving it hour at max.
They will clearly follow Wren´s leadership.
Yeah,... I am giving it hour at max.
- Location
- Finland
Really, an hour?
*Points to Ruby and Zhelty, on one team, Yang and Chez in the other*
I'd say it'll be closer to 20-40 minutes.
Xyshuryn
Not A Morning Person
- Location
- On the Shade Train
You certainly are generous. I give it until Ruby spots something shiny or Blake gets tired of Chez playing up the Catgirl stereotype. 15 mins max.
- Location
- United States
FTFY.
Seriously, putting Zhelty and Ruby on the same team can only lead to misery and explosions and an excessive amount of milk chugging.
Warlord01
Who said anything about plan?!
- Location
- Terra - Europa - Land of milk and honey.
I wanted to express my faith in them by it.
*nervously searching for void-shield to hide behind*
Warlord01
Who said anything about plan?!
- Location
- Terra - Europa - Land of milk and honey.
I quite like their differing personalities.
For all her talk of equality Blake behaves as if she wanted to be human whereas Chez embraces her herritage to extreme.
But it seems like she does it in order to mess with people and confuse them so they are easier for her to handle the way she wants.
I am not saying she does not enjoy it.
After all she is the Chesire cat.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well I guess shits going downhill then. With sudden upward motions to the top, followed by thrusts to the sides, then a plunge to the bottom. I'm not talking about innuendos, I'm talking about the situation...It will go sideways, front-ways, backwards, and hula-hoop spiral.
- Location
- North America
* ITS ON ME ITS ON ME! JONNY DON'T DO IT ITS NOT WORTH IT! ARG MY LEG OH GOD MY LEG WHERES MY LEG! WE LOST ANNY AND THOMAS!*
Chapter Forty-Nine
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Forty-Nine
Plans do not survive contact with the enemy. Sometimes, plans do not survive contact with the allied forces. I could hear the sound of gunfire in the far off distance, the rattling of the ground as impacts echoed, and I knew that no one plays the quiet game as well as a group of huntresses. I was thankful I had Zwei, but Zwei wasn't thankful he had me.
"Listen," I said as I looked at him. "We are both warriors. We are sworn to carry out the duty given to us by our commanders. When the Garbage War will end, we will lose sight of what is truly precious, but it never does end," I whispered, looking into his shining eyes. "The Garbage War lives on, inside our hearts. It marks us. Our very soul is-"
Zwei barked, having picked up a trail. I followed him amiably, going past a few Beowolves who took one look at me, one look at Zwei, and then decided to call it quits on their lives by attempting something on my person. They made beautiful impressions against the walls of the nearby ruins, gurgling their last Grimm-breaths.
Now the Alpha Beowolf, differently from the rest of its comrades, looked at me and then growled, before skulking back into the shadows. Zwei kept trotting along, bringing me away from the main streets and into a side-alley that opened up in a small square, where a Metro station had its exit. He pointed his noise in that direction, and I hummed at it. I glanced at the Scroll in my hand, and decided to call it ahead.
"What took you so long?" Gorm grumbled under his breath.
"I thought you were the one supposed to call," I answered.
"Oh, shush it," Gorm said with a sigh. "I'm in. There's an abandoned metro entrance in Mountain Glenn. If you can pull up an old map, it should be something like Periwinkle avenue. Even better than some silly coordinates. I'll meet you and the rest of the team by the entrance."
"Understood," I answered, before closing the Scroll. Then, I hid in the nearby ruins. Zwei lolled its tongue out, staring at me with a puzzled gaze. I smiled at the dog, rubbing its head a bit. "The better part of valor," I whispered, "Is to always be prepared."
A couple of minutes later, I could hear the sound of people talking animatedly.
"Listen to me Perry," it was Gorm's voice speaking. "I'm just saying that there are still Faunus in Vale; what if they get hit? Can you live with that?"
"You've always been such a worrywart, Gorm. The proper kind of Faunus know where to go when the Breach hits," another male voice answered. "The humans will be caught by surprise. Once the Dust explosive is properly in place and charged, the hole in the city will be big enough that they won't be able to close it for days," he chuckled as he said that.
"Do you even hear yourself? The proper kind of Faunus? It's like hearing a human saying only the proper kind can get a job," Gorm spat out. "We should be better than them, not equal to them."
"You're the one who wanted to join us," Perry said with a huff. "Not having cold feet now, do you? We can use you, but we've got Paladins for-"
They reached the top of the metro stairway. "I know we have Paladins. I've seen them. There's at least six of them. I'm not against the cause. I just wanted some clarifications."
They were now walking into the middle of the clearing. "Then what's the point of dragging me out for a heart to heart and risk some Grimm?"
Gorm sighed. "It's because that way, you'd get me past the security by the door without alerting anyone else."
There was a thump. An extremely strong thump, and a gurgle. Perry's body hit the floor with his hands clutching his stomach, and another blow from Gorm's foot sent him to impact against the nearby wall. Then, I heard him pull out his Scroll. I walked out as I heard my Scroll starting to ring. Once he saw me, he noticeably relaxed.
"They've got Paladins in there," he said. "They're loading up the train with crates of Dust-I think they're planning to make it explode everywhere." He looked around, "Where's the rest of the team?"
"There were complications," I answered. "We got Team RWBY to babysit, so I assigned Zhelty and Chez to them." I glanced behind him. "You got a path charted out that leads directly to the train?" I asked.
"Yes, but-you aren't planning on going in there without them, right?" Gorm asked, wary all of a sudden. I shook my head.
"Not really, but yes really," I pointed a finger at where Perry was, currently unconscious and with his White Fang uniform there. "We need to get past security, and into the train yard. We break the rails and then we leave to report the situation. They'll have bullheads and the military here within minutes, but if they catch a whiff of this and the train leaves the station-"
"Then it might be dangerous for the people of Vale," Gorm finished my sentence, acknowledging my point. He grimaced. "Problem is, who are you going to give command? Chez or Zhelty?"
I grinned, and patted his shoulder. "See, I'm not going in there first. I doubt I can fit in that uniform," I pulled out my Scroll. "But I do know someone who might just be the right size-" I began to compose the number I had in mind. "Couple of phone calls, and we can get the show on the road."
I was not the kind of person who'd face things alone.
I had a team. It was time to use it.
Poor Perry ended up naked, tied to the ground and gagged.
Zhelty didn't look pleased about her newly found role, but it wasn't like there was much choice. The clothes did, indeed, fit her. I held on to her weapon, and as her final words to me were a set of very nasty, choice curses muttered under her breath, she grabbed hold of the scruff of my neck and pulled me down to her eye level.
"You'll be right behind us, yes?" she asked. In reply, I extended a small white Beowolf towards her.
"Good luck charm," I said with a wink.
Most of her upper face was hidden by the White Fang mask, so only her lips were visible, but she was indeed smiling a bit at that. The Beowolf hidden in her pocket, I felt something soft poke the side of my face. "And this is mine," Zhelty added, "Now don't leave me and Gorm waiting for too long, all right?"
With that, she and Gorm descended the stairs.
I could hear Chez hiss ever so briefly as team RWBY looked on. "Very well, so here's the plan," I turned towards them. "Once the rails are broken, they'll need evacuation. That's why we're going to get loud to distract the White Fang. If something goes wrong, we get louder sooner rather than later. Chez," I looked at her. "You know the drill, so..."
Chez huffed. Her cheeks filled with air. Then she grinned, and as her smile grew parts of her body began to disappear from sight.
Her charming smile was the last thing to go away, and once it did I heard the soft pattering of her steps by my side. A quick and loud smack echoed as I felt warmth for the briefest of seconds near my cheek, and then she was off too into the belly of the White Fang base.
Thus there I was, left with babysitting team RWBY while my teammates did all the dangerous, important work.
I swear, if this was some kind of protagonist-centric novel, then someone had to tell me why I wasn't the one doing everything.
Right, true, because I didn't have the qualifications to do it. Gorm and Zhelty could pass as White Fang, Chez could go invisible with her Semblance...
And I could make lots of other things, but subtle wasn't one of them.
"So, brother," Weiss said, awkwardly looking away from me. "You have..." she gestured at her cheek, but it was clear she meant mine.
"I know," I sighed. "When she found out her semblance was invisibility, I had to accept that I'd never truly be sure if I was alone in the shower or not, and I came to accept it," I chuckled, and shook my head before wiping the smudge away with the back of my hand. My arms crossed next, my fingers digging in my forearms. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the Beowolf.
His eyes and ears were mine to see and hear the world.
His body was mine to command.
Defeated, he had been conquered.
Conquered, he had been purified.
Master of puppets...
...I'm pulling your strings.
Plans do not survive contact with the enemy. Sometimes, plans do not survive contact with the allied forces. I could hear the sound of gunfire in the far off distance, the rattling of the ground as impacts echoed, and I knew that no one plays the quiet game as well as a group of huntresses. I was thankful I had Zwei, but Zwei wasn't thankful he had me.
"Listen," I said as I looked at him. "We are both warriors. We are sworn to carry out the duty given to us by our commanders. When the Garbage War will end, we will lose sight of what is truly precious, but it never does end," I whispered, looking into his shining eyes. "The Garbage War lives on, inside our hearts. It marks us. Our very soul is-"
Zwei barked, having picked up a trail. I followed him amiably, going past a few Beowolves who took one look at me, one look at Zwei, and then decided to call it quits on their lives by attempting something on my person. They made beautiful impressions against the walls of the nearby ruins, gurgling their last Grimm-breaths.
Now the Alpha Beowolf, differently from the rest of its comrades, looked at me and then growled, before skulking back into the shadows. Zwei kept trotting along, bringing me away from the main streets and into a side-alley that opened up in a small square, where a Metro station had its exit. He pointed his noise in that direction, and I hummed at it. I glanced at the Scroll in my hand, and decided to call it ahead.
"What took you so long?" Gorm grumbled under his breath.
"I thought you were the one supposed to call," I answered.
"Oh, shush it," Gorm said with a sigh. "I'm in. There's an abandoned metro entrance in Mountain Glenn. If you can pull up an old map, it should be something like Periwinkle avenue. Even better than some silly coordinates. I'll meet you and the rest of the team by the entrance."
"Understood," I answered, before closing the Scroll. Then, I hid in the nearby ruins. Zwei lolled its tongue out, staring at me with a puzzled gaze. I smiled at the dog, rubbing its head a bit. "The better part of valor," I whispered, "Is to always be prepared."
A couple of minutes later, I could hear the sound of people talking animatedly.
"Listen to me Perry," it was Gorm's voice speaking. "I'm just saying that there are still Faunus in Vale; what if they get hit? Can you live with that?"
"You've always been such a worrywart, Gorm. The proper kind of Faunus know where to go when the Breach hits," another male voice answered. "The humans will be caught by surprise. Once the Dust explosive is properly in place and charged, the hole in the city will be big enough that they won't be able to close it for days," he chuckled as he said that.
"Do you even hear yourself? The proper kind of Faunus? It's like hearing a human saying only the proper kind can get a job," Gorm spat out. "We should be better than them, not equal to them."
"You're the one who wanted to join us," Perry said with a huff. "Not having cold feet now, do you? We can use you, but we've got Paladins for-"
They reached the top of the metro stairway. "I know we have Paladins. I've seen them. There's at least six of them. I'm not against the cause. I just wanted some clarifications."
They were now walking into the middle of the clearing. "Then what's the point of dragging me out for a heart to heart and risk some Grimm?"
Gorm sighed. "It's because that way, you'd get me past the security by the door without alerting anyone else."
There was a thump. An extremely strong thump, and a gurgle. Perry's body hit the floor with his hands clutching his stomach, and another blow from Gorm's foot sent him to impact against the nearby wall. Then, I heard him pull out his Scroll. I walked out as I heard my Scroll starting to ring. Once he saw me, he noticeably relaxed.
"They've got Paladins in there," he said. "They're loading up the train with crates of Dust-I think they're planning to make it explode everywhere." He looked around, "Where's the rest of the team?"
"There were complications," I answered. "We got Team RWBY to babysit, so I assigned Zhelty and Chez to them." I glanced behind him. "You got a path charted out that leads directly to the train?" I asked.
"Yes, but-you aren't planning on going in there without them, right?" Gorm asked, wary all of a sudden. I shook my head.
"Not really, but yes really," I pointed a finger at where Perry was, currently unconscious and with his White Fang uniform there. "We need to get past security, and into the train yard. We break the rails and then we leave to report the situation. They'll have bullheads and the military here within minutes, but if they catch a whiff of this and the train leaves the station-"
"Then it might be dangerous for the people of Vale," Gorm finished my sentence, acknowledging my point. He grimaced. "Problem is, who are you going to give command? Chez or Zhelty?"
I grinned, and patted his shoulder. "See, I'm not going in there first. I doubt I can fit in that uniform," I pulled out my Scroll. "But I do know someone who might just be the right size-" I began to compose the number I had in mind. "Couple of phone calls, and we can get the show on the road."
I was not the kind of person who'd face things alone.
I had a team. It was time to use it.
Poor Perry ended up naked, tied to the ground and gagged.
Zhelty didn't look pleased about her newly found role, but it wasn't like there was much choice. The clothes did, indeed, fit her. I held on to her weapon, and as her final words to me were a set of very nasty, choice curses muttered under her breath, she grabbed hold of the scruff of my neck and pulled me down to her eye level.
"You'll be right behind us, yes?" she asked. In reply, I extended a small white Beowolf towards her.
"Good luck charm," I said with a wink.
Most of her upper face was hidden by the White Fang mask, so only her lips were visible, but she was indeed smiling a bit at that. The Beowolf hidden in her pocket, I felt something soft poke the side of my face. "And this is mine," Zhelty added, "Now don't leave me and Gorm waiting for too long, all right?"
With that, she and Gorm descended the stairs.
I could hear Chez hiss ever so briefly as team RWBY looked on. "Very well, so here's the plan," I turned towards them. "Once the rails are broken, they'll need evacuation. That's why we're going to get loud to distract the White Fang. If something goes wrong, we get louder sooner rather than later. Chez," I looked at her. "You know the drill, so..."
Chez huffed. Her cheeks filled with air. Then she grinned, and as her smile grew parts of her body began to disappear from sight.
Her charming smile was the last thing to go away, and once it did I heard the soft pattering of her steps by my side. A quick and loud smack echoed as I felt warmth for the briefest of seconds near my cheek, and then she was off too into the belly of the White Fang base.
Thus there I was, left with babysitting team RWBY while my teammates did all the dangerous, important work.
I swear, if this was some kind of protagonist-centric novel, then someone had to tell me why I wasn't the one doing everything.
Right, true, because I didn't have the qualifications to do it. Gorm and Zhelty could pass as White Fang, Chez could go invisible with her Semblance...
And I could make lots of other things, but subtle wasn't one of them.
"So, brother," Weiss said, awkwardly looking away from me. "You have..." she gestured at her cheek, but it was clear she meant mine.
"I know," I sighed. "When she found out her semblance was invisibility, I had to accept that I'd never truly be sure if I was alone in the shower or not, and I came to accept it," I chuckled, and shook my head before wiping the smudge away with the back of my hand. My arms crossed next, my fingers digging in my forearms. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the Beowolf.
His eyes and ears were mine to see and hear the world.
His body was mine to command.
Defeated, he had been conquered.
Conquered, he had been purified.
Master of puppets...
...I'm pulling your strings.
- Location
- North America
That's still a good song. Not for everyday listing mind you but it has it moments were it shines like gold.
SkyCrack
Hanging by a thread
- Location
- Little Red Dot
OK I know the Weiss interlude was done ages ago but I can't stop thinking about it and I can't not say it here anymore. How can Weiss describe Chez as 'Tubby' while she
1: Is a Huntress in Training, where you must stay fit, move around, fight alot, especially as a cat faunus, as well as spinning around in a giant fuck off chainsaw
2: Lives in Vacuo, where I doubt you'll find many tubby people at all, especially at the mid-lower class.
I dunno maybe I'm just insane but I'm just trying to think where Chez could get all the weight if she isn't a slender flexible Kitty
1: Is a Huntress in Training, where you must stay fit, move around, fight alot, especially as a cat faunus, as well as spinning around in a giant fuck off chainsaw
2: Lives in Vacuo, where I doubt you'll find many tubby people at all, especially at the mid-lower class.
I dunno maybe I'm just insane but I'm just trying to think where Chez could get all the weight if she isn't a slender flexible Kitty
- Location
- Elsewhere
Welp. Now I want to go listen to that album again.
- Location
- America
Maybe she has low metabolism?
Nervos Belli
Don't think this means you've won!
- Location
- Murica
More like they haven't figured out how to invisible-huntress proof the larder.
shibosho
The Face of Procrastination
- Location
- The Land of Oz
Oh maybe she is just a endomorph like me
So Chez is a beautiful healthy young lady who's a bit on the plump side but is still a very fit huntress-in-training.
Chez must be pretty soft and warm to hug then.
Mmmm, thicc catgirl.
- Location
- Belgium
Because Weiss didn't want to admit the truth, Chez isn't Tubby, she Extra Thicc and the Snow Princess is jelly.
Edit: @shibosho , look like great mind think alike
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'Tubby' does not necessarily mean 'overweight'.
And food intake is not the only thing that affects body size and weight. Factors like genetics can help or hinder too. Not to mention what even Faunus-hood (and whatever animal characteristic the person has) does to a body's metabolism compared to a baseline human's.
That and the Cheshire cat's color palette was not the only thing influenced Chez' character design.
And food intake is not the only thing that affects body size and weight. Factors like genetics can help or hinder too. Not to mention what even Faunus-hood (and whatever animal characteristic the person has) does to a body's metabolism compared to a baseline human's.
That and the Cheshire cat's color palette was not the only thing influenced Chez' character design.
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- Location
- Finland
Yeah, you know who's boss!
Mmm-mmm-MMMRGH, sorry to hear that Perry, that sounds like expendable villain dialogue to me
Mmm, perfect Beowolf Chowdah, nice, scared -but not to the point that he'll soil his breeches- and tied up.
Bon apetit!
Related to the tubby thing: Isn't there a breed of cats with that name? Or was it Tabby?
- Location
- Russia
"tAbby" not "tUbby". It is about pattern of her coloration.
