#yeah i know myrtenaster is supposed to be in the other hand but it felt weird to not draw it

[melodiccudgels]

first legit piece of 2021 lol 

commissions (50% off)

#rwby3 #rwby #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #team rwby #rwby volume 3 #yeah i know myrtenaster is supposed to be in the other hand but it felt weird to not draw it #roman.png

[razorblade180]

Twin Snowflakes 22: Ground Zero

Part 21 -> here! <-

Bad luck has been a part of Qrow’s life for as long as he could remember. It manifested in a variety of ways but there was one in particular that was absolutely the worst, travel. Flat tire on a road trip, inconvenient. Plane delay, well that one was probably not his fault, but it felt like it! Certain cases like that were always a little iffy on if it was him or life. As the veteran huntsman stood on the deck of his son’s boat in the pouring rain with a Kraken raising from the depths, Qrow was sure of one thing. This one had to be his fault.

“I didn’t think grimm this big were still around. We’re in the middle of the ocean for crying out loud.” Qrow sighed, grabbing harbinger.” It’s cases like this he’d usually leave. Two big problems though. Problem number one, Sparrow was already firing cannons at it. Problem number two, it was waving Oscar around like a toy. He seemed okay though.

“CAN I HAVE SOME HELP HERE!?” He screamed, louder than the roaring winds and rough seas. “THIS GUY IS REALLY SLIMY!!”

“Slip out then!” Sparrow shouted in earnest. Oscar might’ve been far away but Sparrow could tell the man was not amused by that response. “What!? Do you want me to shoot that arm with you in it!? Penny will have a fit if I shot you!”

“PENNY WILL HAVE A FIT IF I'M EATEN!!!” Oscar wiggled and squirmed before finally managing to create an orb to push the tentacle off, then dispelling the orb to drop straight down. Cannon fire rained down on the center mass like grand finale fireworks, but only angered the beast. More tentacles cut through the air to reclaim its lost hostage.

“Give me a break.” The rain continued to pour down and sting against Oscar’s skin. He paid no mind to the whirlpools forming or the ship deck quickly approaching. Oscar simply closed his eyes. “Hey it’s been awhile. Mind lending a hand?” He called, subconsciously to his old friend.

“Hehe Oscar, do you even have to ask?”

Oscar smiled, opening his eyes and seeing Oz smile back through the reflection of the rain drops before seeing his own again, complete with white hair and golden eyes. “Let’s get to it shall we?”

xxxx

Nick remained quiet as Weiss drove back home from school. He was happy he made it back in time. A gigas dragging him away after his fight with Valerie would’ve made the entire incident worse. Though if he was being honest, fighting a gigas sounded cathartic in a way. He gently pulled up the window switch over and over, repeatedly.

Weiss took note of her son’s unusually sad demeanor. “Alright, wanna tell me what happened in there? You were full of energy before getting your work, and I doubt the workload has spooked you.”

“Nothing I’m not used to.”

“Ah, Valerie troubles.” Weiss glanced over and saw Nick glare at his own reflection. Looks like she was right on the money. “Take it from me, I’m sure whatever happened had more to do with her own personal feelings and not the feelings you have for her.”

“You say that with such confidence.”

“I was a teenage girl once too, you know? One with plenty of personal hurdles I tried to associate with other people instead of myself. It doesn’t ever really stop truthfully. You just get better at accepting the fact the problems fix itself when you decide to change how to respond to it.”

“Do you think I have a problem I should change? Loving a girl who pushes me away, it probably makes me look like a joke.” He tried rolling down the window again but found the switch had been locked. Yet another thing to make him sad.

“I think it’s not the wisest thing you’ve done, but it’s definitely the most normal teenage thing about you. Joke or not, feelings are feelings. They’ll work themselves out. Just don’t force anything and before you know it, you’ll see things a lot clearer.” Weiss reached over and ruffled his shaggy hair. “Who knows, maybe you’ll see this dew of yours needs to finally change.”

“As if!” Nick laughed, “I look too much like uncle if I cut it, and any longer makes me look like dad.”

“Not if you style it. Oh, or grow it out even longer. Like when you’re little! “Weiss cooed, “You and Summer were really hard to tell apart then.”

“Yeah, and people kept calling me ‘she’ and stuff. Nooooo thank you!” He folded his arms in protest.

“That won’t happen now that you got your father’s looks. You’ll just be a pretty boy. Then if you get facial hair!? Nick, let me make you gorgeous! I have Coco on speed dial!”

“This is why you had a boy and a girl, mom! So I can escape this torture.”

Weiss pouted, “Summer likes doing her own makeup and hair. I should be proud considering it’s my old look from waaaaay back, but I still wanna change things up. I’d give this entire family a makeover if you all weren’t so whiny about it.” Weiss looked in the mirror at neck length hair. She remembered how free she felt the first time she cut it. Having twins meant twice the hair pulling, three times if she counted the one person she wanted to pull her hair. Thinking back, there was a good chance it was one of times Jaune pulled it that gave way to the discussion of kids in the first place.

“Hmmm, maybe I should grow my hair out. I miss the old length sometimes.”

“Summer would be so upset.”

“Good, then she’ll change it. That’s one family member down.”

Nick playfully rolled his eyes. A makeover didn’t sound too annoying actually. Maybe after the tournament? He’d think about it. “Hey, mind if we train again today? I got a lot of pent up energy and new ideas.”

“I suppose. Someone has to make sure you don’t overdo it. Winter is coming over too, so it’s for the best I warm you up anyways. I’m positive after your recent school events that she has a few words for you.”

Nick gulped, knowing he was in for a workout. “Well now…guess I’m dying today.” He could already feel his muscles ache.

xxxx

Meanwhile in the woods, Summer and Veronica had crossed into unfamiliar territory, casual conversation. It wasn’t going well. They both agreed to chat but neither of them were actually talking! They were just walking with Veronica taking the lead, leaving Summer awkwardly following a few steps behind.

The girl had finally pulled herself together after her little episode. In truth, she was a little embarrassed to say anything after it. She hated looking weak, especially in front of Veronica, a girl who manages to look strong against even the harshest of critics and peers. It was quite envious, her attitude. Summer would give just about anything to have it. Summer looked down at her scroll for what must’ve been the tenth time. Still no missed messages.

“Expecting a call?” Veronica finally said, noticing the Schnee’s gaze consistently drifting. “Got a boyfriend or something I don’t know about?”

Summer felt like that might’ve been a jab but chose to ignore it. “Nick always calls me if Shiva gets out or nearly escapes. He’s always had a sixth sense for knowing her moves. It’s unlike him to not immediately call, even if he’s doing something urgent.” Summer put her scroll away. “Him not calling is odd.”

“Are you telling me she almost got out earlier? I didn’t really smell anything.” Veronica looked back to see the girl look at her confused. A fitting look honestly. “The one time Shiva was out and even when we argued yesterday, I smelled peppermint, a disgusting amount of it. The diamond dust smells the same.” Veronica pointed to her nose, “I didn’t smell that earlier.”

“Oh.” was all Summer could say. It should’ve been a relief, but it wasn’t. “Great, my panic attack was just unhinged. Even when she’s quiet, she’s ruining my day.”

“Are you saying Shiva tries escaping when you’re hysterical?”

“Apparently not, or at least not all the time? Agh, it’s impossible for me to tell.” Summer was even more perplexed than before. “Just when have I been talking to her? They’re not all fake, but...they’re not all real either? I can’t afford not knowing the” Her train of thought was broken when a snowball thrown by Veronica hit her coat. “Hey! Wh-”

Veronica quickly covered Summer’s mouth. “Shhh! Grimm.” She pointed several yards into the distance where two sabertooth grimm were roaming. “Alright, do your thing.”

Summer looked at the grimm, then back at Veronica, who gave a casual thumbs up. “Wait, you’re not helping?”

“Nope.”

“Whhhhyyyyyy exactly?” Summer questioned.

Veronica sighed, because one of the reasons I wanted to be out here is to better see you in action. Why else would I tell you to bring your blade?”

“You lead me here under the assumption of a fight…” Summer deadpanned, “Couldn’t you have looked up old videos of me? I didn’t see you drag Nick off to fight grimm so you can make his outfit.”

“Nick has double the videos of him fighting, as well as him figure skating. Also, I pay more attention to him than I do you.” It might’ve been rude, but it was the honest truth. Summer didn’t even seem surprised. She just looked at Veronica with judgment. “What?”

“Nothing, much.” Summer drew her blade and put a glyph at her feet. “Any requests for data purposes?” She could not believe this was happening.

“Just handle them how you would normally, oh huntress in training.” Veronica teased lightly.

Summer pointed her sword out with her right hand and her right foot forward, then took off. The distance between her and grimm was closed in a matter second. She leaped over one, slicing it’s head off through the back of its neck. Another glyph formed midair behind her. Summer used it to kick off right after the attack and thrust her blade through the second grimm’s eye socket. Not even a snarl was heard before it died instantly.

Summer looked back at Veronica. “Cake walk. You’d get more data out of a video than th-”

“BEHIND YOU!” Veronica shouted.

Summer looked over her shoulder to see a third one already pouncing. With a subtle breath, Summer slowed its approach and then back stepped to safety. One more glyph was put under the paws of the beast and pulled out like a rug to trip it. Summer spun the chamber of her Myrtenaster and threw into its ribs like a javelin. The chamber landed on flame dust, setting it ablaze.

“Phew! That was...unexpected.” Summer said, coming down from a surge of adrenaline.

Veronica ran over to Summer, surprised. “How did you do that, the breath thing?” Veronica asked, “That’s a trick I’ve never seen.”

“ Oh that? Well…” Summer took her left glove off and focused. Little snowflakes started floating upward from it in place like a snow globe. “I’m not too good at it, but I can control a bit of Shiva’s powers. Only when I’m cold though, or freaked out, but that second one is more involuntary.” Summer put back on her glove, “considering the potential risks and conditions, I don’t use it in fights. Explaining it to officials would be a pain anyways.”

That made sense. Veronica could smell a hint of peppermint coming off Summer. That was Shiva’s power alright. This also explained the mass amount of ice she saw Summer create in her video fighting the Paladin. “Permission to touch you?” Veronica asked, like she always did. Summer nodded. Veronica reaches out and places two fingers against the pulse in Summer’s neck. “Any other Shiva related tidbits to share?”

“Ummm, we share a subconscious, sort of? More like a neutral ground.”

Veronica paused momentarily, “what?” She said, annoyed by all this cookie cutter information. “Gonna need more tidbits?”

“It’s hard to explain. I don’t understand it either.” Veronica looked at Summer, unblinking. Apparently that wasn’t a good enough answer. “Look, imagine something like...an ocean, just water and the sky above. Now flip it upside and make that ocean completely frozen. That’s more or less what the subconscious looks like. There’s ground to stand on, but I can’t really see. Depending if I’m actually dreaming or in a certain place, then that’s what the subconscious can look like. The only constant is that ice ceiling.”

Every sentence from this girl felt like a fever dream to Veronica. “Summer, I doubt you're lying to me, but do you by any chance also do drugs? You know, the hard kind.”

“As if!” Summer swatted Veronica’s hand off her neck. “First of all, drugs and I don’t mix. Second, be serious!”

“It was a valid question. Rich kids do a lot of things. If Nick told me he tried it before I wouldn’t be surprised. Saddened, but not surprised.”

“While I would be hounded by you no doubt?”

Veronica crossed her arms, “I’d berate anyone who would do drugs.” Her tone was stern and cutthroat, “It’s an ugly slope that goes down fast.”

The way she spoke about it was rather serious compared to what Summer was used to. “Have...you done drugs?” Summer asked cautiously.

Veronica thought about her answer carefully for a moment. “For a brief time, yes. I’m past it however, totally clean. I thought it might help control my instincts.” Veronica slouched over with a sigh, “Unfortunately, noooo dice. Come on. Let’s keep moving.” Veronica continued to walk.

Summer stood quietly for a moment, then followed as well. She wasn’t expecting to get to the topic of Veronica’s genetics in such a personal way. Then again, someone’s very birth is nothing but personal. Curiosity began to get the better of her. They did make a deal after all.

“V-Veronica…?” Summer stuttered, “I held up my end of the bargain. The only other thing that may be worth mentioning is Shiva only knows what I know when she tries escaping, and I only know what she does if I’m conscious. Other than that I think all the dribble about the state of mind would make you snore. So…..”

Veronica could tell where this was going. “Relax, I’m not about to break a deal that I proposed in the first place.”

She reached for a nearby branch and plucked a silver flower off of it. It’s five petals were spread wide Veronica placed it in her own hair. “I take it that even your school isn’t bold enough to ignore basic faunus knowledge and history, despite their…questionable place in said history?”

Summer nodded, “Hey, Atlas isn’t the kind of place to bury the leads. Older society and its people simply do what they want, how they want.” Summer cringed, “Not that doing so is exactly better in the long run. Besides, you think rich tycoons wouldn’t tell their heirs and shady dealers how they amassed their fortune? Atlas’s people might know too well the benefits and contributions the faunus play in our history and in a work capacity.” Summer felt sick saying that. “It’s disgusting really.”

“Couldn’t agree more. With all that said, how much do you wanna bet there’s aspects glossed over?” Veronica wagered.

“I could’ve sworn you made it clear that you have no interest in money?” Summer quipped.

Veronica let out a humorous breath, “Tah, a girl can change her mind can’t she?” Veronica watched Summer reach in her pocket and pull out a hundred lien casually, giving it up. Veronica was surprised. “We didn’t even make the bet yet.”

“If I knew everything, then I wouldn’t be curious about this in the first place. Odds of you teaching me something new about your people is a given.”

Maybe it was the fact that Summer was made of money, or had good intentions for learning more, but Veronica couldn’t take the money. She could only waved it away. “Geez it was a joke. Making you pay would look bad.” She said, in a forest with nobody but themselves around. “Qualities Like night vision and other adaptations aren’t the only animals traits given. It’s fundamentally built into everything about us. Disposition, personality traits, social skills, everything; the animal you are influences all of these in a variety of ways in varying amounts.”

“Like how faunus with nocturnal animal traits tend to take night jobs?”

“Veronica nodded, “Yes. A bird faunus might choose a home at high elevations, even if they don’t have wings. A deer or rabbit faunus may have to work harder at public speaking than let’s say a wolf faunus. The subtles can get even tinier; or as obvious as a feline faunus loving fish.”

Summer never really thought about it, but that made sense.“What you’re basically telling me is for a faunus, nature vs nurture takes on an entirely different level of complexity? Nothing stops a rabbit faunus from being a motivational speaker, but it would be more work, unless their parents or even their environment had predisposed them to be apart of a more vocal and outgoing lifestyle?” Summer’s eyes lit up. “That’s actually really fascinating, sowhere do you fit in with all of this?” She asked, wanting to learn more.

Veronica was taken off gaurd by how interested Summer was. “For a person who apparently hates school as much as I do, you look eager to learn.”

“School sucks because of social pressure and redundant information.” Summer deadpanned, “Anyone would get bored of learning material that is forced upon them and is as quickly discarded.”

“Well, I guess that’s true. I wouldn’t say I’m in love with any aspect of school, but learning is the least problematic part of what I had to think about it. Anyways, what I’ve told you so far applies to all faunus. With the way the world is and all the kinds of possible traits, finding a place to fit in isn’t difficult. Those animal instincts are very much submissive compared and don’t hinder our ability. Like you said, a rabbit faunus can do public speaking. A bat faunus can absolutely walk around in broad daylight. However, there’s a minority among faunus that have their animal gene act way more dominant than the majority. Roughly 13 to around 18 percent of the faunus population, if I remember correctly. This group, my group, are easily recognized by having exaggerated or extra features. Extra large wings, skin more animal than human, cold blood-”

“Ears and a tail?” Summer interjected, “appearance wise, you seem to have gotten off easy. You covered in fur or having whiskers would be a little distracting. Not gonna lie.”

“Externally, I’m just a tick higher on date lists for everyone with disturbing cat girl fantasies. Make no mistake though, I’m not the average faunus. Super faunus, the minority, have their animal qualities cranked up and deformed. I can’t see in the dark, but my nose is keener than any dog I’ve encountered. All those little traits I mentioned before? They tend to manifest in my people aggressively and often. To put into perspective, I have more in common with my grandpa than I do my mom, on an animal level.”

“Wow, that’s…intense. Your grandpa roars and gets all apex predator on people when he’s pissed- oh! Wait, your temper is shit because of your genes!?”

Veronica inhaled, ignoring the insult for the sake of conversation. “To a degree, yes. I cannot pin the blame entirely on my DNA, unfortunately…” she added that last bit quietly. “Despite what people write online about my family, we aren’t just cats. We are big cats. I’m a panther for crying out loud.”

Summer squinted, “Well, seeing how you’re mostly blonde, aren’t you technically more of a jaguar or a leopar-”

“Panther.” Veronica said, this time with feeling. “I could dye my hair red and that doesn’t change my DNA, Summer.”

For her own safety, Summer wisely chose not to make a very easy pink panther joke. She thought about it, but this conversation didn’t need to fall apart for the sake of Summer wanting to be a smartass to Veronica for once. “Fair enough, continue.” She said, still thinking about the joke.

“My athletic ability is exceptional, hearing too. My tail gives me balance more than other faunus. Despite the term super, anyone with the mutation would tell you how daunting it is. The type of animal, like everything else, determines what the faunus might deal with. For me it boils down two major things that contradict each other. Problem number one, not eating enough meat.”

“What happens?”

“Same thing that happens to any starved predator. I become impulsive, irritated easily, confrontational, my senses get...sensitive, adrenaline makes me dizzy-”

“So you’re super hangry?” Summer said without thinking. She immediately tucked her lips in and accepted the “you are an idiot” look that Veronica gave her without mercy. “Why the hell did I say that?”

Veronica groaned, “Minutes ago I heard you bring up nature vs nurture for comparing and explaining what I’ve said. Now you compare things to being hangry? It’s not even about how full I am, it’s the nutritional and instinctual part of devouring meat that my brain wants. It’s no different than your body craving milk for calcium. If I’m not careful and reach my limit, I tend to lose sense of reason and even blackout into a haze of instinct. Essentially, I go feral. Your brother can tell you that it’s not a pretty thing.” Veronica frowned.

The bruises on his face that day after school started to make a little more sense. No way he’d just let Max and Darren get clean hits in! He was dealing with an enraged Veronica. It actually put a lot of things in perspective. Summer couldn’t count how many times Veronica looked like she wanted to actually claw a person’s eyes out. She might’ve actually been thinking it over! That...was a scary thought. “What’s problem number two?” There was no way it could be just as bad.

“Eating too much meat. That’s when I’m an apex.” Veronica said, giving a thousand yard stare. Summer immediately took her statement back. That sounded way more problematic. “My attitude shifts. My fuse isn’t as short as when I’m starved but let’s say I can be very...demanding. Yeah, let’s go with that.”

Summer raised a brow, skeptical of that statement. “Are you saying-”

“Better think twice before saying I’m already demanding. Neither you or Nick has seen me when I’m caught up in the euphoria of being what I am. I’d put that girl Amber to shame, and my physical prowess are even better. I’m wild in a completely different way. Filter, broken. Can’t even put that state into words. So yeah, that’s my genetic mishap in a nutshell.”

“You being a food snob and all of your diets make a lot more sense now. Why keep this to yourself for so long.”

“Simple, it’s not anybody’s business what I’m dealing with. It’s handled, and doesn’t need to be explained among faunus. Living normally isn’t hard when you know what you’re dealing with, which is why I’m shocked every resource hasn’t been poured into figuring out your problem.”

That stung a bit. “Oscar is currently crossing the sea to potentially find answers, I have you know.” Summer said defensively.

A scoff came from Veronica. “No offense, but that sounds like a waste of energy.”

“Saying no offense doesn’t make me feel less hurt.” Summer folded her arms. “How would you know? Unlike you, my affliction has no prior information to go off of, and isn’t a genetic thing at birth. Any move could be closer to the truth, or a shot in the dark. For all intended purposes, you were born and live normally like anyone else.”

“Hate to make you sound stupid, but a test tube baby isn’t normal in most circles. Two moms, remember?” Veronica said, coldly.

Summer stopped walking. For some reason, that didn’t sit right with her. “Isn’t that name...an insult?”

“Yep.” Veronica kept walking, “Keep up. I’ll leave you out here.”

Summer listened. Maybe it was her imagination, but that atmosphere between them felt like it changed again. They had both held up their end of the bargain. Now things felt cold between them like before. Summer wasn’t expecting to learn as much as she did. Many things were answered today, so why did it feel like she knew less about Veronica. Blanks were filled into a picture she never knew the true size of, and still didn’t. One of those pieces felt out of place. The piece that helped put build up to this situation in the first place.

“Veronica…?” Summer uttered, “By any chance, does any of what you told me having anything to do with the torn pages in your-” suddenly, Summer’s words were stuck in her throat. Veronica had turned around to look her dead in the eyes, coldly and without care. Summer felt herself become small and beneath Veronica yet again, inferior.

“Never bring this topic up again, got it?” Veronica had to stop herself from balling up her hands, or she’d cut them with her nail. “Got it?” She said again, doing her best not to blow a fuse.

“S..sorry. I just...thought-”

“You thought wrong.” Veronica said. She turned around and kept walking. “We’re not friends.”

Heat rose to Summer’s face. It was impossible to know if she was feeling embarrassed, upset, or anything. All she knew was for a moment, she felt tears well up before vanishing. She breathed through her nose and bit back. “Yeah, I’m well aware.”

xxxx

“Sloppy!!!” The commanding voice of Weiss’s sister cried, knocking her nephew into a bush for the tenth time today. “You’re unfocused! Surely you can do better?”

Weiss witnessed her child stumble back to his feet, hair messed up and panting. He stabbed his sword into the ground to brace himself momentarily. His aura was still high, and yet… “Winter, he’s still under the weather. Ease up.”

“This is me easing up. You simply coddle him too much. Nick is more than capable of continuing. I don’t remember going as easy on you when you asked for training all those years ago. You turned out fine.”

“I wouldn’t exactly use our relationship as a standard.” Weiss mumbled.”

Nick raised his sword quickly. He channeled a fire ball to the tip of his blade as fast as he could, but was still too slow. Winter had already rushed towards his left. He had no choice but to abandon the fire attack for a block that barely withstood his Aunt’s blade. Nick slid backwards on the stone ground.

Winter shook her head. “Once again, you waste aura and energy not because the attack was a bad choice, but because you simply cannot use your semblance fast enough.”

Winter shot off a fire ball not even a second later. She waited closely for Nick to raise his block, then used a standard glyph to propel herself forward. Her speed surpassed the fireball, and Winter was able to position her blade behind him as the flame made contact with his.

Nick looked over his shoulder at her, frustrated, but not willing to yield. He pivoted around with his blade held out to direct hers away, then put a glyph between them. By the time he did so, Nick already knew she was on the move again. “Don’t count me out!” His left hand pulled a summoned sword from the glyph. Nick swung it out to the left and around to his back while his actual blade was swung right. The weight to Winter’s attack came from back and was blocked, perfect. He leaned his body left with his blade as he felt Winter shift that direction to his opened side.

Winter could only smile as she went in to strike. Nick just played her and she knew it. Her blade still clashed with the summon weapon, leaving his right blade free to use the momentum from the lean and make a clean stab with no chance for her to block. Winter did the wise thing and jumped back, abandoning her assault. His left side was never really opened. It was bait. Both swords were used to block wherever she came from. The right one only stopped short because the left one did the job of making sure she aimed for his back by swinging outward. Winter would have either been hit or blocked if she immediately attacked left or right, and the glyph protected the front. By making her attack his back, he all but ensured she would aim left next because it was the only unguarded spot, a spot he was ready to defend and attack from simultaneously. It was this kind of quick thinking and reckless style that separated Nicholas from anyone else. Even his sister. Especially his sister. Winter loved Summer to death, but the girl was quick to panic if plans fell apart.

Normally Winter would hear him say something self-indulgent. Nope. Just a quiet stare and a fireball he had to fire off thanks to the distance between them. Still…

“Nice effort.” Winter said, knocking it away with ease. “But no. The simple fact you can summon the sword of an Arma Gigas so easily yet remain sluggish with more basic functions of your semblance is a baffling talent. If it wasn’t for your unconventional swordplay that you somehow make work, I’d say getting a gold medal would be impossible. Still might be. It only does so much.”

“Well it’s a little late to change my style now. This is what I know best.” He dropped his sword and slowly let out a breath, filled with irritation. “I know I’m lacking.”

Winter raised a brow. She looked at Weiss confused, “What’s wrong with him? The usual?”

“No. Well, yeah, but he’s been stretched thin in general recently.”

“I’m not stretched thin. I just...nothing feels like it’s enough. Training in particular. Like you said, I can make swords in my sleep. All the other things our family is supposed to be good at, I’m average!”

Winter turned off mentor mode for a moment. Clearly this is more than about training, but she’ll play along. It was time to be an aunt. “Nick, you are in a class of your own. Sixteen and this skilled by no means is average. In regards to us, your family, no one here was perfect. Nobody here is perfect. Your mother still over extends her strikes from time to time and your father definitely wasn’t a genius by any means.”

Weiss narrowed her eyes, “Hey, I’m free game but be nice to my husband. You’re right, but be nice.”

“Like me, you choose to wield two blades. Unlike me, it’s your go to stance.” Winter informed, “Our semblance works best when we have a free hand. That’s why shields aren’t a good option for us. The choice to use two blades isn't bad by normal standards. I’ve faced many foes that pressured me with similar tactics, even beat me. Though only one is real, another sword has made it harder for you to use glyphs. At least it should be, but summoning and a video of your exam says otherwise.”

Nick looked at his summoned blade in frustration. “I still don’t know what I did differently that day. I was faster and more in control than I have ever been. Not only did I actually make a gigas, but even all my other glyphs felt on par with Summer’s.”

“Remember Nick, You and Summer excel at different things.” Weiss reminded him. “Yes, her fundamentals and use of dust are better, but she has a knack for it. That’s her edge. In a fight, Summer’s wide range of dust and glyph combinations always means she’s never out of range to attack or control a fighting space. You may not have that but your speed, stamina, and reflexes make up for it. In close quarters, no one your age matches you in Atlas.”

“That merit just so happens to have made you neglect the need to sharpen your other talents. Do you know how dangerous you could be with-”

“Time dilation? Yeah, mom told me.” He interjected, “something about those other things simply don’t click in my head. Can’t even get a fireball right.”

He sat down on the ground and took another breath. “The way I fight, it isn’t like I built it to be the most versatile. My offense is my defense. The use of momentum to add power behind my strikes helps keep in moving. It’s why my stamina and speed is good, to push my body for relentless attacks.”

He didn’t say it out right, but he didn’t have to. Nick made a style that didn’t make him good against a variety of people in mind. No, Nick thought of style against Shiva. In the end, that’s the only fight that matters. Beating others with it was a way to refine it for the moment it mattered. Abandoning it was not an option. Only improving.

Winter could only look upon the boy's face and see someone who only ever has the best intentions for others slowly begin to waver. Her teenage years were long gone, but no one ever truly forgets the confusion they went through during that time. Winter walked over to her young nephew and sat in front of him, legs crossed. “Why is it always the most caring of people who can never give themselves the break they give others? Nicholas Schnee, you are a kind, hardworking young man that never doubts himself often. Much like your mother, you take hold of what you want and clench it tight.”

“Lately holding on seems to hurt more than letting go. Nothing...feels right. Not just in training either. I feel like a gap between me and everyone else has been growing, like I’m out of a very important loop. Val, Vee, even Summer.”

“This time of year gets people stressed. It’s possible every one just needs a breath. I can speak much on a gap, but I’m positive time will mend it. Despite my feelings towards the young Belladonna, it is pretty clear the two of you get along. Confide in her.”

Weiss and Nick went bugged for a moment. They both looked at each other and then back at Winter.

“Wow.” Weiss spoke, “That’s pretty big, coming from you. Anytime you see that girl, you have nothing but disappointing looks.”

“Yeah Auntie, I’m shocked.”

Winter turned a little red, “I don’t see why. I may find her a bad influence on you and your sister, but my opinion is one of many. With you, Veronica is a welcome distraction to break up your daily routine. I’ll give her that much.”

“How generous,” Nick said sarcastically. Veronica was starting to sound more like a battle tactic than a person. Though she probably wouldn’t mind if it meant spending time with him. Regardless, “I appreciate the suggestions, but my time is better spent training at the moment. If I can be half as capable as I was during my exam, then I chalk that up as good progress.”

Winter hit his head. “Fool, you���re not getting it!”

“Ow! What!? All I said was- Ow!” Weiss also hit his head, much lighter though. “Stop hitting me! I thought this was a pep talk!?”

“It is.” Winter stated, “It’s also a lesson. The way you are now, you can’t progress much further. I urge you to really think about what made that day different from now; what made your last attack against me different even. That is all the hints I will provide to him. I do hope your mother keeps quiet as well.”

“Hey! I get I’m a little...lenient with him, but I would never skip an opportunity to watch him grow. Besides, telling him wouldn’t mean he could do it any faster anyways.” Weiss teased. She could hear Nick’s ears practically buzzing.

“If that’s the case then say it!” He asked eagerly. He was given no answer. Winter and Weiss walked away from him like they didn’t peak his curiosity. He assumed training was about to resume like normal. However, it didn’t. A look of shock came to him when both of his elders faced him, blades drawn.

“What, both of you at once.” He said nervously, grabbing his sword and rising quickly to his feet. “What happened to me being under the weather, mom!?”

Weiss smiled, “Hey, you wanted fast results. Until you find the answer to your glyph problem, we’ll double down or swordsmanship. Brace yourself. I’ll hold back.”

“I will not!” Winter smiled.

Nick didn’t even get a chance to blink before the two of them came after him. He gulped, “Should’ve stayed in bed.” Nick prepared himself when suddenly, a cold chill went down his spine. Weiss and Winter immediately recognized the look of fear on his face and stopped their approach while he pulled out his scroll to call his sister. “Pick up. Come on Summer, pick up!” He muttered.

xxxx

Summer felt like an idiot. Of course nothing has changed. Why would it? A talk didn’She walked faster, out pacing Veronica.

“Hey, slow down. I haven’t told you where we’re going.” Veronica said, but Summer didn’t listen. “Hey!”

“Leave me alone! I may not come here often but I live here. I’ll find my way without you.” Summer said, grunting as she forced her way through dense branches and bushes.

“Can you not act like a child for once!?” Veronica yelled, running after her. “And stop ignoring me!” Veronica was near her wits end.

“.........”

And then she reached it. Veronica’s tail and tensed up. “Summer!” Veronica yelled again, going through the bushes. “I said stop ignoring-” the potent odor of peppermint invaded her senses out of nowhere. Veronica looked around the area, seeing nothing. Nothing, but a frozen lake, shimmering with diamond dust below the surface; and Summer standing in place, shivering.

“Summer…?” She said, concerned this time. Her words didn’t reach, not immediately. The scent wasn’t only coming from the lake. Veronica didn’t dare to move as she watched a finger point across the water. Her eyes looked in that direction to see nothing but scared trees and large rocks that had been chipped rather deep.

“A fight?” Veronica thought. She looked closer. All the markings looked to be going outward and from one spot. A spot several feet off the lake. Even with all the dust, it was clear that spot smelled the most foul. “No, an explosion.” Her attention went back to Summer. “A dust explosion.” Veronica yelled again. “Hey! Summer! Answer me, please!?” She could no longer be calm. Veronica ran to the girl screaming her name.

Summer might as well have been deaf to Veronica’s voice. All she heard was laughter. Her laughter, coming from Shiva skating on the ice.

“Hahahahaha! Oh wow! We haven’t been here in ages Summer!!!” Grinning and filled with joy, Shiva extended her hand, “Summer, come join me!” The glow of her eyes grew more dazzling, as well as her smile. “Just like before….”

#rwby #rwby au #sparrow branwen #rwby twin snowflakes #weiss schnee #winter schnee #nicholas schnee #summer schnee #qrow branwen #veronica belladonna #oscar pine

[bssaz97]

Think you would do another part to the missing for a year ask

Missing For A Year… (II)

What originally was supposed to be a day of remembrance and comfort to those who had mourned the ‘death’ of the two leaders of (R)WBY and (J)NPR, quickly became a revelation of confusion and shock. For after almost a year after their supposed passing, Ruby and Jaune returned to Beacon at the day of their own memorial with more than a few surprises. Many of the friends family felt relief that their friends/children/sibling while others had.....unique reactions.

Glynda: For the love of-I JUST HAD THIS SCHOOL FIXED! (Starts to repair the damages done to the door) Mr. Pine would you be so kind as to bring back Miss Schnee and...the newly announced parents. Preferably before she tears the courtyard apart.

Oscar: I’ll try but I can’t make any guarantees.

Glynda: Understandable. Now hurry!

Oscar starts to sprint after them in order to calm matters before they escalate. Meanwhile, the remaining friends of Ruby and Jaune take in the new situation.

Blake: Are they going to be ok? Weiss seems pretty mad.

Neptune: Yeah she’s fine, the two of them... well not so much.

Sun: By the way, how’re you doing babe? I mean we just did get a major truth bomb dropped on us.

Blake: I’m really not sure what I’m feeling. Shock, elation, grief, betrayal.....it’s a mixed bag at the moment.

Sun: Hey take whatever time you need. In the meantime, want to go see the new babies!

Blake: .....Sure. I think that’ll be nice.

Neptune: Also should we get Ren? He’s been still as a statue for a good minute or two. I think he’s also forgotten how to breathe.

Ren: godchildren...godchildren...I’m a godfather...

Sun: Ok buddy come on let’s go. *Grabs him like a cardboard cutout*

Meanwhile....

Ruby: ‘Huff! Huff! Huff!’ I think we lost her

Jaune: *Kneeled over in exhaustion* Man, here I thought we were gonna be having a nice reunion with everyone. Not to run in our own funeral.

Ruby: Technically it was a memorial.

Jaune: Haha. Oh yeah like that’s way better.

Ruby: Look, let’s just see if we can talk to her. She seems pretty upset about it all. Can’t imagine what she’s going through. I mean we basically were proclaimed dead by everyone then to suddenly just stumble back into their lives unannounced and without warning.

Jaune: Yeah that would put her in a questionable state of grief.

Ruby: I wish we could make it up to her you know.

Weiss: Maybe you can by accepting your punishment... *Peeking over the bush they were hiding in*

Slowly the couple turned their heads backwards to see their assailant right behind them. Nervous expressions written on their faces due to the unnervingly calm the SDC heiress/huntress was being.

Ruby: Weiss...hey, how are you?

Weiss: Good...heard you’re married now...and with children.

Ruby: Y-Yeah. Had a really busy year.

Weiss: Oh I had a busy year too. By busy I meant that I spent most of the past year in grief over the death of two of my dearest friends.

Ruby: Oh...that sounds terrible.

Weiss: It was...but do you want to know what’s worse than grieving over the dead?

Jaune: What’s that?

Weiss: Finding our that all your grief was wasted on two absolute morons who didn’t even know the proper way to send a letter to their grieving friends. But who also managed to start up a new life entirely ignorant of the pain their absence caused others. But you want to know the bright side?

Ruby/Jaune: .....what’s the bright-

From a birds eye view, newly installed cameras recorded the sudden appearance of a massive snowy explosion in Beacon’s courtyard. The sound of the sudden explosion alerted the attention of the deputy assistant to the headmistress, as he saw a large amount of snow built up seemingly out of nowhere.

Oscar: Oh no...Welp! At least I know where they are. *Starts running*

It takes Oscar about five minutes to get to the epicenter of the explosion as he had to walk through all the snow built up from the explosion. There he finds Weiss holding onto a supply bag and a rather large ice cube.

Oscar: Weiss, did you have to do this in the courtyard?

Weiss: Yup.

Oscar: ‘Sigh’ Honestly I don’t blame you. By the way where’s Ruby and Jaune?

Weiss: Close by. *Uses Myrtenaster to spin the ice cube to reveal everything but the faces of the couple encased in the block of ice*

Ruby: *Teeth chattering* H-H-hey Oscar... how’s it...ha-hanging?

Oscar: I’m good.....are they ok?

Weiss: Oh don’t mind them they’re completely fine. This is just the punishment they are going to endure being stuck in one place for the remainder of the day. Right? *Glares at the two leaders*

Jaune: *teeth chattering* Y-y-yeah! To-Totally...no problems here! R-R-Right Ruby?

Ruby: *teeth chattering* Y-Y-Yep! Totally... peachy!

Oscar: Somehow I don’t believe...

Weiss: Oh you worry too much. They’re not going to get hypothermia from being in there. There Aura will protect their body temperature and the worst they can get from this is a cold.

Oscar: How kind of you.

Weiss: Do you want to go in the cube?

Oscar: *puts hands up in surrender* No! I’m good! I’m completely ok with being outside the cube.

Weiss: Good! Now come along you too, a LOT of people probably wish to see you right now. Weiss then uses her summoning glyph to bring out the Arma Gigas, who takes block of ice and carries it for her. With Oscar by her side the two begin to walk back to the main auditorium of Beacon.

Glynda: There you are Miss Schnee, did you manage to reconcile with- Why do you have a giant ice cube?

Weiss: Yes. I did in fact reconcile with my leader and her...husband. And for why I have this ice cube, see for yourself.

The Arma Gigas leaned down so that Goodwitch could see the couple’s faces.

Glynda: .....So I see. Well in any case, a lot of the Xiao-Long and Arc Families are eager to see these two. So would you mind if you could-?

Weiss: Of course.

Weiss’ summoning places the ice cube down and pushes it inside, causing the block to slide against the floor until it’s in the middle of the room.

Ruby: H-H-Hey everyone!

Taiyang: Ruby! *Runs over everyone in his path to get to her* My precious little bud! I-I can’t believe you’re here and alive! .....I...I thought I lost you too. *Hugs the cube*

Ruby: O-Oh Dad....I’m s-so s-s-sorry! I would h-hug you if-f-f my arms we-weren’t f-frozen.

Taiyang: It’s ok sweetie...you’re being here is all I need.

????: JAUNE MILES ARC!

Jaune: O-oh Crud...

A middle aged blonde woman marches over to the ice cube, with a frying pan in hand. Her eyes seemed to project fire despite having no magic.

Jaune: M-M-Mom! H-H-Hold on a s-s-second! I c-can exp-plain!

Mrs. Arc: Young man.....you...*drops the pan*

Jaune: Huh? *Face gets cradled*

Mrs. Arc: My baby...my baby boy.....*sobbing*

Jaune: M-M-Mom..... *Gets tarry eyed* I-I’m sorry for making you g-g-go through that.

Mrs. Arc: Oh Jaune...you have nothing to be sorry about my little blessing. You’re here now.

Nora: Awww! What a wonderful family reunion!

The others began to gather around the cube to ask their questions about where the two leaders have been this entire time, and the couple did their best to answer the many asked questions. Weiss even lessened the temperature of the ices o that they could say complete sentences without the cold stuttering.

Blake: Where happened to you two when you two defeated Salem?

Ruby: Well do you remember how she used her magic to bring the temple up to the atmosphere? Well when it was descending we saw that it was heading straight to the face of a mountain so luckily, both of us clung to a straying falling fragment in time while Jaune amplified our auras to withstand the impact of landing.

Jaune: Still has a bit to spare to heal us enough so that I could carry us to a nearby village. It was a fairly new settlement that probably was uncharted on most maps at the time.

Ren: Which means we wouldn’t have been able to find the village...

Jaune: Bingo!

Yang: *Holding Summer in her arms still, while the baby was contently playing with her hair* What happened to you afterwards?

Ruby: Well after Salem’s defeat, Jaune and I decided that we both wanted to take a little bit of a break from huntsmen work, so we decided to do some traveling. We already confessed to each other after the first month and got our marriage license in the second month at a court house. By that time we had gone from Mistral to Vacuo. But at the time of the third month.....I started to get sick, a lot. Didn’t take us long to go to a doctor to see why and to both our surprise I was a couple weeks along in my pregnancy.

Jaune: So we put exploring the world on hold and settled down in a local down in Southern Vale.

Weiss: How did you keep you’re presence under the radar for so long?

Ruby: Honestly we didn’t even know people were looking for us since Salem’s defeat so we just dressed like normal citizens and kept our hunting gear in our briefcases.

Weiss: Of course you did. *Face palm*

Nora: Welp looks like everything worked out in the end! All’s well that ends well!

•

•

•

Jaune: Um...Nora. Where’s Rowan?

Nora: Huh?

Jaune: The baby you were holding before we ran off you were holding onto him and now you’re not.

Nora: I’m not! *Looks all around herself, but finds nothing* .....Uh oh.

Jaune: .....Nora, you were watching him did you give him to somebody else?

Nora: I don’t think so!

Ruby: What! Nora did you lose my baby!

Nora: Ren did I give him to you?!

Ren: No I haven’t even gotten to hold him. *slightly disappointed*

Nora: Uuuuuhhh no, oh gods. *starts to hyperventilate* I don’t know what I did with him! I LOST THE BABY!

????: Ahem!

Nora and the others look to the source of the voice and there they see Whitley looking upwards.

Whitley: I think I found your missing baby. *Points Up*

Everyone looks up and to the parents surprise/horror, Rowan had somehow climbed up to the ceiling and was crawling on one of the ceiling beams.

Rowan: *Cute Baby Noises and waves at them*

Ruby/Nora: AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!

Nora: Don’t worry baby I’ll save you!

Weiss: Whitley! Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?!

Whitley: *Still looking up* He was doing fine climbing up there by himself so I wanted to wait and see if he could climb down.

Nora: *Up on the beams, slow to approach the infant* Hey there baby Rowan! Hi sweetie~ Listen why don’t you come over here to Auntie Nora. Come on~

Rowan: *Baby noises and crawls the opposite way*

Nora: Wait. No Rowan! You’re going the wrong way! Over HERE! Towards ME!

Rowan: *Baby noises but looks down to see the giant ice cube.* Aaaaaah! Ma! Ba!

Nora: Yes you want to go see mommy and daddy right? So just come over to me and I’ll take you to them. Ok sweetie!

Rowan: Hehehehe! *Falls over the edge*

Nora: NO! *Trues to catch him but fails*

Ruby/Jaune: ROWAN!!

Rowan falls down from the ceiling and just before he gets close to the ground his descent is slowed down before it stops completely leaving him completely suspended in midair. Then he is levitated over to his savior, Miss Goodwitch.

Glynda: Young man. I should let you know that playing in the ceiling is no place for a child to play.

Rowan: ..... *blows raspberries then laughs*

Glynda: *Smiles* You’re very lucky you’re not one of my students. Not yet anyway. Miss Rose, I believe this is belongs to you. *Levitates the baby over to Taiyang, who was standing right by her*

Ruby: Oh! My sweet baby boy, I’m so glad you’re safe!

Rowan: *cute baby noises* Ma!

Everyone: Awww.

Nora: AAAH! *Falls to the ground* .....I’m ok! Ow!

-End of Part 2-

Hope you guys like this second addition to the Missing for a Year post I made a month ago. Stay safe and I’ll talk to you all later!

#rwby #jaune arc #ruby rose #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #blake belladona #sun wukong #neptune vasilias #nora valkryie #lie ren #oscar pine #glynda goodwitch #lancaster #rwby lancaster #anonymous asks #sequel to previous ask #missing for a year

[arse-blathanna]

The Bones of a God - 45/50

Chapter 45: Ascend and Descend

[Ao3] [FFN] [Fic Tag]

Fic Summary: Once upon a time, monsters roamed the entire world, so plentiful that they needed countless numbers to fight them off. 13 years ago, that changed. Grimm died off suddenly and stopped proliferating. Now the few Creatures of Grimm that are left are too large and powerful to be taken down in "the old ways."

That doesn't make them any less of a threat.

The real problem comes when people decide it's for the best that they start picking sides in a war starting anew.

Word Count: 3,949

Chapter Summary: The one where everyone gets a POV section.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading!

Cinder felt hot.

It was a feeling that came with intensity that she hadn’t been adequately prepared for. It burned under her skin and stretched out through her veins. It filled her up and hollowed her out until she was nothing but what she had just gained. There was a sense of satiation, even as she felt as though she starved for power.

[Read it on Ao3] [Read it on FFN]

It felt as though she was so strong all of a sudden, that she would burst. An attempt at using her semblance would be an explosion so strong that she didn’t even know if she could survive it.

But, Cinder supposed in a way was she began to gather herself back to her feet, she had survived fire and had only come out singed. She had been chosen by Salem, after all.

She was-

A maiden.

The others had decided to gather around her and watch her closely, but none said anything. Off to the side and behind all of them, Amber had gone limp and fallen to the ground, unbreathing and unmoving.

They’d won. The burning in her veins told her that it was worth it.

“I suppose that crosses that particular item off the docket.” Watts said, sounding sincerely bored. “Staying here for too long will only waste time. We should get moving. At least before someone finds us with the girl’s body.”

“Moving where?” Emerald asked, and Cinder felt a spike of something horrible at that. It wasn’t quite rage, but something else entirely. Not quite hate, but hot frustration. “If this was what we were supposed to do-”

“No.” Watts snapped at the girl. “We will be going. You have likely outlived your use.”

“We don’t know that for sure, Watts.” And oh, how confident Cinder felt as she said those words out loud. She looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers and stretching them almost experimentally. “We may need her again.”

Cinder looked from Emerald to the others, then down to Amber’s body.

“We should move on, though. The last thing we need is to be seen with-”

She locked her eyes onto Hazel, who managed to look very unhappy with the current situation. Even if he said nothing and didn’t hold himself as though he was preparing for a fight, it was obvious. Tangible, even. "Is there something that you need to say?"

Hazel shook his head in denial, but the way that he looked and the careful way that he pressed a hand to his chest said otherwise. Cinder didn't know what his problem had been lately. All that she knew was that she didn't like having him so distracted. Perhaps with them finally moving on from the current assignment, he would stop.

She rolled her eyes and began to lead the way down the road towards Mistral, calm and easy. There was no reason for them to break off in the other direction. Besides, going to Mistral might have been enough to give them a chance to rest and to recuperate. Perhaps it would also be a place where they could finally figure out where their plans were taking them next.

The others looked amongst each other and said nothing before following after Cinder.

For most of the trip to Mistral, nobody said so much as a word.

It was quite obvious that it was because nobody wanted to.

Ruby skidded in the dirt, almost trembling from exhaustion. No matter how much they fought and how much they did, it felt like nothing was happening. Like progress had stopped existing.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jaune shouted to her, rushing into a position in front of her and holding his shield up to protect the two of them. Ruby looked back up at the monster, and she was able to catch a burning gold flash of light that had to have been her sister. She needed to get back to her teammates.

"I don't know." Ruby mumbled, standing up tall. "Do you think that you have things handled?"

"We should." Jaune answered before looking across the area. "On the count of three, you make a break for it."

The two of them counted down and Ruby sprinted across the space, doing what she could go get to the next piece of cover, or someone else that could be of help.

She saw a bright white glyph appeared and felt some relief, because Weiss was going to be nearby if that was what she had found.

Ruby caught sight of Weiss, and landed at her side. “Weiss!”

“Ruby!” Weiss hissed back at her, having decided that she wanted to hide out of view. “Where have you been?”

“Got carried away.” Ruby looked back up at the grimm, trying to figure out what they were meant to do next. “What are you doing?”

“Setting up.”

Before Ruby could even ask, Yang was landing on the glyph, her hair on fire. As soon as she was somewhat grounded, Yang was reloading. Her eyes were blazing bright red. Semblance, no doubt active. It seemed like Yang and Weiss had worked out a system that worked for both of them to keep attacks moving.

“Ready!”

“Got it!” Weiss swang Myrtenaster with one fluid motion. The glyph that Yang stood on pulled back with Weiss’ hand moving backwards before Weirss released it and Yang was rocketing off and up towards the monster.

Ruby looked up at it, reminded of what had gone wrong. No matter what, it didn’t seem like they were doing enough. Maybe it was something that they truly couldn’t do without the help of more trained people. Real hunts,en that were going to be able to actually put on the heavy damage that they needed.

It was impossible as things were.

"Weiss, get ready to send me up."

"Are you sure?" Weiss asked, locking their eyes. "Because-"

"Yeah." Ruby repeated the words. "I'm sure."

Weiss nodded, and Ruby watched as layer after layer of glyphs appeared, creating a springboard of sorts. Weiss looked like she was utterly exhausted, like she might have been pushing herself too hard to be able to perform.

"Go."

Ruby leapt forward, let her feet hit the glyphs, and launched upwards.

Yang punched the grimm as hard as she possibly could, and felt it try to move to hit her harder in return. She didn't have the space to maneuver out of the way. Yang grit her teeth, raised her arms in front of her, and braced for the impact.

At the very least, she could get stronger from this. Assuming that her aura didn’t finally snap and leave her helpless.

In front of her, something changed though, a black and red swirl of energy forming out of nowhere before someone or something flew out of it at top speed. Yang couldn't catch what it was just, but she couldn't have missed the streak of bright red and bone white. Like a grimm had come to aid for some reason.

The bright red slashed through the grimm's great clawed hand, before disappearing again into yet another portal. Out of view entirely. Yang tried to get a good look at it, but a proper view in the middle of battle eluded her.

The grimm roared and pulled back away Yang, but not enough to stop her from punching it so hard that she could have sworn that she heard something crack. Not that she knew what that would have been.

Somehow she managed to grab onto a length of fur and hold on for a moment. If she was going to be lodged there for a moment, Yang was going to keep on fighting. She drew back, and delivered punch, after punch, after punch.

For a second, she thought that she might have seen smoke.

Blake learned very early into the fight that there wasn't much that she thought she could do. She was able to blend into backgrounds, but being able to hear the things that were going on around her was useful. It helped her to know exactly where everyone on the battlefield was.

Getting to her current position had been a grueling ordeal. As things stood, she was up on top of the grimm's head, with the ribbon from Gambol Shroud wrapped up around one of the beast's horns. She wasn't going to fall, that was something that she felt confident in.

Mostly, she kept an eye open. If she could act by signaling opening to her teammates, then she was doing her job right.

From up where she was, everyone else managed to look like tiny dots dots and nothing else. All of them were brightly colored though, and that made it easier.

She needed to do something, but Blake didn't know what. It felt like she’d already managed everything that she could have done.

One of the things that Qrow hadn’t quite prepared for going into this fight was just how old and even sluggish he was going to end up feeling. It had been a long time since he’d last been involved in such high-risk combat. He must have lost the feel of it years before, because once it had felt effortless for him to participate in.

Apparently, that wasn’t exactly the case anymore.

Not to mention that his new role in the fight was that he was trying to keep a group of kids from getting themselves hurt or killed. He had to give credit where it was due, though. They were all doing pretty well on their own. Well, they were doing as well as they could have, all things considered.

Qrow stretched his wings and circled over the grimm, looking for some sort of vantage point. Blake was lodged up by the beast's horns. That was something that he could have used, if not for the fact that the best tactic he could think of for something like that would have involved a beheading and his sister.

There were a lot of reasons that wouldn't work. Too many of them to count, really.

A second bird fell into formation beside him, and Qrow tried his best not to concentrate on her. Raven could still pack a hell of a punch, but it seemed like something was off about her. He wasn’t sure exactly what, though. Qrow locked an eye with her and let out a caw before moving straight into a divebomb, preparing to rip through his own muscle to become himself again and deliver a strike.

Raven understood, falling into a divebomb to do just the same as he had. She didn’t need to do it this way, Qrow knew. But she was choosing to anyways.

Taiyang was fighting his way up the grimm's body, using its fur to fling himself higher and higher.

In the end, the tactic almost feels familiar.

Qrow dipped out of the grimm’s line of sight and transformed, landing on the grimm's back and pointing Harbinger's tip down at it. He dug it in as best as he can, and let his legs carry him, opening up a long cut along the beast's spine.

"Qrow!" Tai shouted to him, having grabbed onto a long tuft of hair and using it to hold himself up. "Meet me up top!"

"Got it!" Qrow shouted in passing as he reached closer and closer to the monster's rear. He launched himself off with one clean motion and transformed so that he could fly back up towards the monster’s head. Taiyang had an idea, and though they don't have Summer anymore, they could still work together and try.

Qrow reached his destination, turning into himself again just before Blake would be able to see. As himself once more, Qrow pulled himself up onto the grimm’s head.

Blake looked over at him, her eyes wide. "What are you doing up here?"

"Fighting." Qrow responded, calmly. He grabbed onto the horn like Blake had, and felt the grimm shake its head in an attempt to get the two of them off. Blake didn’t allow herself to budge, but Qrow had to do what he can to hold still. "What're you here for?"

"Not quite sure." Blake answered. "I think we wanted to try to garotte it."

"Sounds risky." Qrow grumbled, seeing a flash of gold up towards the top. He's expecting it to be Taiyang, but instead its his niece.

"Yang!" Blake greeted her teammate first. "What's the new plan?"

"I think Weiss is staying down on the ground." Yang answered, breathing hard. "Ruby was coming up I think."

"Got it."

"You two better figure out what the hell you're doing quick!" Qrow shouted at them, and relaxed if only very slightly when Taiyang finally bounded up to the top, looking a little bit more the worse for the way. "Because we're setting up for something."

"Yeah." Yang answered, bracing herself. "Right. Blake, we should-"

"Good idea."

Blake passed off the length of ribbon to Yang and the two of them split, with one at each side and holding the ribbon taut between the two of them.

Taiyang looked at it and grinned wide.

"Hey, Qrow-"

"You're thinking it too?"

"What?" Yang asked. "You two are totally going to steal our tactics, aren't you?"

"Nah." Taiyang shouted. "We could just use the boost."

Qrow swung Harbinger, and thrust its blade down into the grimm's head so that he couldn't lose his position. There was a barely controlled streak of red, which Qrow soon recognized as his other niece hurtling towards them. The girls prepared and braced themselves, and Qrow watched as Ruby landed on the ribbon which stretched before launching her back up into the air.

"Tai, now!" Qrow shouted, and he watched as Tai leapt off of the grimm's body and landed on the ribbon, leaping off of it to propel himself up high. He prepared to do the same. "You girls better have landing strategies prepared."

With that, Qrow launched himself upwards and tried to meet Tai in the air, transforming Harbinger into a scythe again in the process.

Tai caught him by the leg and held on tight.

They only had so much time. Qrow could only hope that luck was on his side.

Ruby kept as tight of a grip on Crescent Rose as she could possibly manage on her descent, twisting herself and firing the rifle to push her forward faster and faster. She almost laser focused in on what her target was, throwing her scythe out at her side and holding on tight.

She caught the grimm by the neck and fired over and over again, pushing her further and further against it. The blade began to slice into the grimm's neck, but not nearly doing enough to take the head off.

Up above, her father slammed down onto the grimm's head, her uncle's sword stabbing into the monster's forehead. She heard him shout for someone, and a portal appeared on the other side of the grimm's neck, a woman racing out and slicing through what was left of it before falling back out of sight behind another portal.

Ruby swallowed hard and looked to her teammates. Blake and Yang were still there up by the monster's head, but now that was falling and they needed to move. She looked back down to the ground and saw that the ones down there were already moving and running, trying to clear the space to avoid any of them getting injured.

She had to brace herself and fell down, down, down. As she got closer to the ground there was the cushioning of one of Weiss' glyphs slowing her down. With the control that she was able to use with Crescent Rose, Ruby was able to ensure that she landed cleanly and without too much injury.

Blake and Yang ended up in a nearby tree. Her dad ended up riding the monster's head down, and Qrow had disappeared into nowhere.

The group of all of them gathered there by the grimm. It wasn't dissipating as fast as Ruby had ever seen one turn to smoke before.

"It's.... dead." Pyrrha said, sounding a bit surprised and more than tired. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Ruby mumbled, shaking her head. She looked over at Weiss and walked to her teammate. Blake and Yang joined them, and moments later the four of them were folding together into a warm hug. It was comforting.

They were allowed to rest for a few minutes, but before any of them got comfortable enough, Oobleck took the helm with the statement that while the threat may have appeared to be gone, their work was not over.

It was going to be a very long night.

"Professor Ozpin."

Ozpin picked their head up and looked back over their shoulder to see that Ironwood had come to join them. He looked worried and tired, but he also wouldn't have rushed to visit them without a good reason for it.

"James." They greeted him. "Is something the matter?"

"I just received a report that it's fallen." James said, standing up tall and seeming to calm just as quickly. "There will still be more work to do, but for now-"

"The people of Vale will be able to rest." Ozpin said, feeling a certain sort of melancholy that threw them back to conversations from decades before. This was not the first time that they had seen something like this. "Thank you for reporting to me, General."

"You know that it's no problem." James said quietly. "The others should be staying out for the rest of the night." There was a long pause, like James almost needed to catch his breath. "I'll contact Winter to inform her and Glynda of the change in situation."

"Thank you." Ozpin said calmly. "I'm expecting that we'll be hearing from Taiyang and Qrow soon."

"I am too." James mumbled. "We'll recall the groups in the forest as soon as we can."

"Of course." Ozpin said calmly, but there was still more to this that neither of them seemed to want to touch. There were still other kingdoms which were going to need to be contacted, headmasters that were unaware of the situation in Vale.

It would be likely that passing on an update on Vale's condition would be of use. "I trust that you will be able to handle those arrangements?"

"Of course." James replied, still standing tall. "What will you do?"

"I..." Ozpin's voice trailed off for a moment. "I believe that I have things which I will need to check in on myself."

"The Relic?"

"Yes." Ozpin confirmed, frowning. "Although I'm afraid that reaching the vault will be-"

"If you're just looking to check that the vault is still secure, it should be enough." James mumbled. "Without Miss Rainart here..."

"It will remain closed." Ozpin confirmed, feeling a sinking feeling down in their stomach that they weren't going to be able to forget. It was yet another reminder of old sins, and of bonds which had broken years and years before. "I will do what I can to contact her come morning."

"Of course." James said, sounding not exactly pleased himself. "Do you want me to go to Atlas and do a similar check?"

"If you would not mind." Ozpin sighed. "I believe it would be of great use."

"I'll make the arrangements when the time comes." James said quietly. “Getting in contact with the Winter Maiden should be relatively easy.”

Ozpin wanted to feel satisfied by that statement, but it wouldn’t be enough to do the trick. They waited for James to leave, and when they were finally alone, Ozpin hesitated. There was too much that they were going to need to do, and a lot of possibilities for things that were going to come in the near future.

They were going to need to start by checking in on Vale itself. Once that was done, then they'd make contact with their various agents.

Until that time came, all that they could really do was wait.

They made it back to Beacon early in the morning, only once permission had been given for them to return. Weiss felt like she was lagging behind her teammates a little too much, and her body was going to drop any second. She'd almost assuredly overused her semblance that night. She wanted to sleep for at least a week, if the opportunity was given to her.

Among other things. Fighting giant grimm weren't high on her list of things to do. That didn't mean that she felt like she'd actually managed to get all of that much done in the fight itself. Throughout the whole thing, she'd lingered to the back of the fight. She'd provided support and took care of the others.

It made her question her work again. Whether or not she could be a huntress like her sister, or like her mother once had been.

The other three went into the room first, all of them talking and some seeming more nervous than others.

"Weiss." A voice down the hall made Weiss pick her head up. She looked and saw that Winter was there, also looking worse for the wear and her hair having fallen loose. "Are you alright?"

"I am." Weiss mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. She wants to just go to bed and sleep forever. "Are you?"

"I am." Winter stepped in close to her and Weiss fell into the hug that was being offered immediately. Winter stroked her hand through Weiss' hair. "I heard that you did well out there."

"I..."

"You should be proud, Weiss." Winter said, taking a step or two away. "Going up against a monster of that size and being able to take it down is something to be proud of." She looked down at Weiss in a way that looked sad and apologetic. A way where Weiss wasn't going to be able to forget about it.

Weiss nodded. Blake was lingering by the door, giving her a weird look. "I'll be right in." Weiss reassured her teammate and was able to relax a little bit when the door closed. She looked back up at her older sister. "I don't feel like I did that much."

"That's fine." Winter offered, standing up tall. "You should still be proud."

Weiss nodded and furrowed her brow. "Winter, I don't..." She shook her head a little bit. "Should we be worrying about what's going to come next?"

"What do you mean?" Winter asked her, cocking her head to the side just slightly. "Because I'm not entirely sure what you're saying."

"You're only here because of that grimm, right?" Weiss locked her eyes with her sister's. "If it's gone, then you will have to go back to Atlas, won't you?"

Winter shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you right now, Weiss. I haven't been passed down any orders, and the ones that I do have have to be treated as though they're classified."

"I just don't want to lose you again."

"You won't." Winter reassured Weiss, but somehow it all just came up feeling empty and almost meaningless. "Trust me."

"Okay." Weiss whispered, forcing a smile up at her sibling. "I trust you."

"Get some rest, Weiss." Winter offered. "I'll let you know what's happening when I know. For now, I imagine you just want some sleep."

Weiss hugged Winter one last time and said a goodnight before stepping into the room and crawling into bed. The others hadn't even bothered getting out of their combat clothes. Weiss couldn't really blame any of them for that personally, since she felt just as tired.

She slept like a rock, dreaming of black wisps of smoke.

#rwby #rwby fanfiction #cinder fall #ruby rose #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #qrow branwen #ozpin #weiss schnee #the bones of a god #oops my hand slipped #mantiswrites

[mikotyzini]

What Defines Us - Ch. 18

Hey everyone!  First, I wanted to thank all of you for the tremendous response to this story.  It really means so much to me!  Here’s a link to this chapter on ff.net.

For announcements, Bumblebee Week starts Monday, but I’ll be posting an intro chapter tomorrow.  Keep an eye out for that and follow @bmblbweek for lots of Bumblebee!  People on my patreon are getting the entire story tomorrow, but I’ll have a chapter a day for the entire week for you guys!

Also, next chapter of RCR tomorrow.  

On to the story!

Today was the day.  Today was the day.  After months and months of training and getting beaten up by Blake and Yang, followed by more training and more beatdowns, the day was finally here!  

Hunt day!  Or, more accurately, hunt night!

It felt like trampolines had been glued to her feet - that’s how pumped up she was about today.  Tonight.  Time didn’t matter - it was right now!

“Jeez Ruby - are you excited or what?” Yang asked with a chuckle, walking hand-in-hand with Blake as they trailed Ruby across the airship landing pad.

“Just a little bit!” she exclaimed, jumping once to prove her point.  

Was she excited?  How could she not be excited?  They were about to go on an official hunt!  Into the forest - beyond the city walls.  There’d be no protection out there except what they could provide themselves with their weapons.  There’d be beasts of Grimm in all shapes and sizes.  They could be attacked, ambushed, trapped - the possibilities were practically endless.  And she couldn’t be more thrilled about it!

Of course, a small part of her was nervous.  She wanted to know whether or not this was what she was meant to do, and if she could even do it.  Could she be a huntress?  Could she keep herself alive?  

Most importantly, she didn’t want to let anyone down - especially not Yang or Blake, who’d both put so much time and energy into helping her train.  That’s why she was going to try extra hard today.  No matter what they were up against, she was going to do everything to 110% of her ability.

Right now they were walking - a little too slowly - across the landing pad towards an airship that was already waiting for them.  The engines were fired up - the propellers twirling faster than the eye could see while a loud whirrrrr-ing noise filled the air.

“And Weiss is already here!” Ruby shouted over the sound, pointing out the girl waiting by the lowered gate to the ship.  

Jeez, Weiss was always super timely - unlike Yang, who seemed to dawdle just because.

“Well I’ll be…” Yang muttered to herself, but Ruby didn’t pay her sister any attention.  Instead, she raced over to greet their fourth person on this journey.  

On the way, she nearly tripped and fell over her own feet, but managed to catch herself at the last second - just in time to pull Weiss into a big hug that caught her by surprise.  But, after initially stiffening, Weiss relaxed and awkwardly patted one hand on Ruby’s back.  

It was like she didn’t know how to hug properly!  

Determined to set a good example, Ruby squeezed Weiss closer and nearly lifted her feet off of the ground.  Enthusiastic - it was an enthusiastic hug!  

Was it weird that Ruby really liked hugging Weiss?  They’d only done it like twice now, but each time had been really nice.  It felt like Weiss fit well in Ruby’s arms - although that was really strange to think about.  But it was true!  Ruby’s arms wrapped around Weiss justttt right.

Well, not just right.  It actually felt like Weiss was a little small - like she should be a bit bigger and that would be perfect.  Like, a little less skinny?

Come to think of it, Weiss did look awfully thin...she definitely needed more ice cream.  But who didn’t?

“Weiss!” Ruby exclaimed after releasing Weiss from the expert level hug.  “Are you excited??”

Even though Weiss smiled, she didn’t look half as enthusiastic as Ruby currently felt.

“‘Excited’ might be stretching the truth a bit…”

“But you’re ready?”

Nodding, Weiss lightly tapped her fingers against Myrtenaster, the weapon hanging at her side and glinting under the lights of the airship station.  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

The answer made Ruby beam - but what wasn’t making her happy today?  The birds, the sun, the dumb emergency flares Yang had shoved into Ruby’s pockets ‘just in case’ - everything was awesome.  But there was something extra awesome about Weiss being here - something that made this day even better than Ruby dreamed it would be.  Not only was she going on a hunt with Yang and Blake, but Weiss was coming with them. Four was a better number than three.  Plus, now Ruby wouldn’t the third wheel - she and Weiss would be the third wheels together!

“Surprised to see you here,” Yang commented as she and Blake finally caught up.  

“I made a promise,” Weiss replied, only briefly meeting Yang’s gaze before turning to Ruby with a small smile.  “And I wanted to keep it.”

Ruby beamed at the response, which made her heart feel all happy and warm.  Weiss had promised to be here, and Ruby hadn’t doubted her for a second.

Quickly growing tired of waiting outside, Ruby looked at her sister for permission to run up the super-inviting ramp.  Receiving a nod, she grinned and raced into the ship with Blake, Yang, and Weiss in tow.  Her boots clanked loudly up the metal walkway before the incline suddenly flattened out into a rather empty cargo hold.  There was a row of seats on each wall of the ship, but other than that there wasn’t much besides a pilot sitting up front checking panels filled with rows and rows of lights and switches.  

What would happen if he pushed all the buttons at once?  Was that a thing?  Would the ship overheat and spontaneously combust?  Would it shoot into the air and teleport to another dimension?  

Picking one side of the ship - the left side, because left was best - Ruby stowed Crescent Rose underneath one of the seats and sat down.  Yang and Blake sat across from her, while Weiss picked the seat right next to her. The excellent choice of chair positioning made her grin.

It wasn’t like Weiss had to sit there, but the fact that she still did made Ruby feel like the cool kid in class.  And Ruby had hardly ever (actually, never) been the cool kid in class.

“Team RWBY - ready to go?”

“Team Ruby-Schnee!” Ruby corrected the pilot before giggling at the name.  Yang smiled across at her before turning towards the cockpit.

“We’re set - whenever you’re ready,” her sister instructed the man.  Yang then motioned for Ruby to put on her seat belt, which she obediently did.  Safety first!  

“Ruby Schnee…” Weiss mumbled to herself while mimicking Ruby’s actions.

“Oh yeah!  Didn’t want to leave you out of the team name!”  

“Thank you.  It...has a nice ring to it.”

The two of them shared smiles - although, Weiss’ looked more sad than happy.  Ruby was going to ask about it, but suddenly her stomach dropped when the ship lifted into the air and shot away from the station.  

They were on their way!

“Are you nervous?” Blake directed across the cabin to Weiss.  Curious, Ruby glanced over just as Weiss’ knee stopped bouncing up and down.

“Just...anxious, I guess.”

“Don’t worry!” Ruby quipped from Weiss’ side.  “Blake and Yang are the best in the business!  You’ll be safe with them!”  

Grinning at the compliment, Yang sent Ruby a wink and thumbs up.  But Weiss looked less than relieved - her knee started bouncing again, but the motion was far less noticeable this time.

“Ok, Ruby - listen to me,” Yang said, leaning forward so Ruby could hear her clearly.  “You never know what might be out there, but you engage Beowolves only.  Anything bigger, you wait for Blake and I to hit it first.  You got it?”

Ruby nodded her head, but Yang raised an eyebrow - letting Ruby know that a verbal response was expected.  

“Got it!” Ruby acknowledged with another nod.  Satisfied with the answer, Yang leaned back in her seat.

“Good, then why don’t you brief us on the mission.”

“What?”

“Tell us what we’re supposed to do,” Yang elaborated with a wave of her hand.  “You read the docs, right?”

“Oh, right,” Ruby replied.  This was a test to see how prepared she was.  Fortunately, unlike every other class she’d ever taken in school, she’d actually studied for this!  

“Uh, well, basically there’s an abandoned research facility in the forest that they think contains important information.  We’re supposed to check the chairman’s office on the 10th floor.  We’ll be dropped off on the roof, take the stairwell down five flights of stairs, find his office and find the information.  We only know it was called Project Scorpio, so anything we find with that name we should take with us or scan if we have time.  We’ll have ten minutes and then the ship will meet us back on the rooftop for pick up.”

“And if something goes wrong?”

This was why she’d memorized all the maps that came with the hunt information!  

The ship wasn’t going to stick around waiting for them - it was going to return to the nearest station at the edge of Vale and come back for them later.  This would minimize the pilot’s risk of running into Nevermores.  

If they couldn’t make it to the rooftop in ten minutes -

“It’ll take five minutes to get another ship to us,” Ruby answered.  The first pilot wouldn’t wait or turn around - a second airship would be dispatched for them instead.  Safety, safety, safety!  These airships weren’t exactly outfitted for battle - they were more like big, floating ducks waiting for a Grimm to pluck them out of the sky.

“What if we can’t make it back to the roof?” Yang asked.

At first, Ruby wanted to ask why they wouldn’t be able to make it to the roof when they’d just used the stairs to get into the building.  If they’d run down five flights of stairs, couldn’t they just as easily run back up them?

But they were planning for the worst case scenario - it was like a fun game of ‘what could go horribly wrong?’  What if the top of the building was suddenly lopped off by an incredibly big Grimm?  Or a random ship carrying wet cement had a spill that filled the staircase?  Or an asteroid hit the building and somehow only destroyed the top five floors while leaving everything else intact?

“The secondary pick up is the fountain!” Ruby answered confidently.

“And the third?”

The question made her brow furrow as she looked over the map image in her mind.

“I didn’t see a third evac point…”

“Exactly,” Yang responded with a nod.  “If the second pick up doesn’t work, we’re hoofing it back to Vale.  Which will suck in the dark.  But why are we going at night?”

This was an easy one.

“Two reasons,” Ruby began.  “One, the facility is in range of a Nevermore ‘nesting’ site, so flying this close during the day would be pretty dangerous.  Two, Grimm tend to be more spread out at night, but clumped up during the day.  No one knows why, but ya, that’s what they do.”

When Yang looked impressed by the quick answer, Ruby grinned with success.  For one of her birthdays, Yang had given her a book on different species of Grimm and, for the longest time, it had been her favorite thing to read.  It definitely hadn’t made her any more popular at school, but she’d learned a boatload of valuable information!  Like anatomical breakdowns on the species of Grimm that had been researched, theories on their existence, known battle tactics, and their general behavioral tendencies.  Basically, all super useful stuff.  That’s why she’d committed it to memory!

“Why would they have a facility out here?  Why not set up downtown like all the other companies?”

Apparently, Yang had a lot of questions about this hunt - but these were all questions Ruby should be asking, not the other way around!  

Still, she tried to think of an answer.  Downtown would obviously be way nicer, and safer, and...well, Ruby had never heard of any companies set up outside the walls.  That was basically suicide.  So why would anyone do it?  Because they were insane?

“I...they didn’t say…”

“I know, I’m asking you,” Yang replied with a grin.  “Why out here?”

Biting her lip, Ruby struggled to come up with an explanation.  She’d memorized every bit of information on the pages Yang had given her, but nowhere did it mentioned the purpose of a facility in the first place.  Glancing at Weiss, who motioned that it was up to Ruby to answer, Ruby gave up and shook her head.

“I dunno...the view?” she joked, gesturing out one of the small windows at the expanse of treetops that were hardly visible in the darkness.  Yang laughed at the answer, but it was Blake who spoke next.

“They were doing research on Grimm.”

“On Grimm?” Ruby gasped in surprise.  “For what??”

“They were trying to find an easier way to destroy Grimm,” Blake explained.  “Preferably by isolating a weakness that could be exploited chemically. They thought they could safeguard the facility...obviously that was an incorrect assumption.”

“That’s why it couldn’t be built in Vale,” Yang added.  “Can you imagine how upset people would be if they learned Grimm were being trucked into the city?  Research or not - no one wants Grimm inside the walls.”

The explanation made a lot of sense, even though it was a crazy idea to build a research facility in the forest.  There were exactly zero instances of that working out as planned.

Before Yang could ask another question, Weiss gently nudged Ruby’s shoulder and nodded towards the window.  When Ruby leaned closer, she could see the vague outlines of moonlit buildings coming into view.  

The research facility was actually a massive compound surrounded by thick walls that had once been sturdy, but were now broken and crumbling.  From the look of it, something quite large had torn the concrete apart and created gaping holes in the outer defenses.  When Ruby pointed out one of the holes through the window, Weiss nodded.

“Not so secure anymore…” she whispered.

It had probably once been a pretty nice place.  There were smaller buildings - that might have been built for housing - sitting along wide roads that had street signs and everything.  A courtyard connected everything together with a tall fountain in the very center - their emergency exit if things went sideways.  Their current destination was set off to one side of the compound - a tall building that towered out of the darkness.  The moon glinted off the glass covering the outside, which was also broken in many places.

No wonder this place had been overrun - Nevermores could spot this spire from miles away.  Defending it would cost a fortune and require a private army.  Even with walls that were twice as high and an entire fleet of Atlesians, Ruby could pick out glaring weaknesses in the darkness.

This entire place had been a dumb idea.

“The workers lived here?” she asked, turning towards her sister and Blake.  After Blake nodded, Ruby looked out of the window as the ship headed towards the tall building.  If the workers had lived here when the place was overrun…

“Did they make it out?” she asked.

“Some.  Not all.”

Biting her lip at Blake’s honest answer, Ruby nodded in understanding.  It would be difficult to mass evacuate a facility like this because there weren’t many obvious pick up points besides the fountain.  And, even though they weren’t far from the edge of Vale, it would still take a few minutes to get enough airships out here.  A few minutes when Grimm were bursting through the walls was a few minutes too many...

Her stomach dropped again as the ship began to climb out of the relative safety of the treeline towards the top of the building.  Her nerves, which had been pretty mellow up to this point, suddenly came roaring into existence.  

This was it - they were here.  

It was only seconds later that they reached altitude and the door of the transport dropped open - the wind rushing in making her eyes instantly water.  From their current position, they were looking down at the rooftop of a building, which was only just illuminated by the soft moonlight.

“Looks like there’s a big pack of ‘wolves about a mile from here!” the pilot shouted to them over the loud droning of the engines spilling through the open doorway.  “Keep it quiet and they should move on.”

“Got it!” Yang shouted back to the man before giving him a thumbs up.

Grabbing onto her necklace, Ruby briefly closed her eyes and wished that this would go well - that they would all make it out of here safe and sound.  There wasn’t time to do anything more because Yang was already unbuckling her seatbelt - Blake and Weiss following suit.  Ruby quickly followed their lead before jumping up and grabbing Crescent Rose from under her seat.

“Here we go!” Yang yelled over the engines before motioning Ruby to follow.

If she had butterflies, they were instantly replaced by pure adrenaline when she watched her sister run forward and jump out of the transport like it was nothing.  After staring into the darkness for a second in awe of her sister’s fearlessness, Ruby was gently nudged forward.  Looking over one shoulder, she caught Blake’s eyes - and Blake nodded for Ruby to jump out next.

This was the moment she’d been training for.  This was the moment she’d spent so many painful hours training for.  She hadn’t thought it would start by jumping out of the back of an airship, but this just made it even better.

Shooting a quick grin at Weiss - who was looking a little apprehensive at what was to come - Ruby took a deep breath and jogged several steps forward.  Picking up speed and refusing to hesitate or overthink the action, she coiled her muscles and leaped out into the night sky.  

For one amazing moment, it felt like she might hang there forever - floating on the breeze like a leaf or a snowflake - but gravity swiftly grabbed hold of her and dropped her to the gravel-covered rooftop like a rock.  Keeping her feet underneath her, she landed in a crouch that was decently quiet considering she hadn’t thought to practice jumping out of an airship before.  

Straightening up, she spotted Yang by the entrance to the building, but before heading over looked up as Weiss dropped to the rooftop beside her.  Weiss landed in a crouch, just like Ruby, before standing up and lightly shaking her long ponytail.  Blake appeared immediately after, her own arrival dead quiet compared to Ruby’s.

The airship pulled away and quickly disappeared - leaving them alone in nearly complete darkness on the rooftop, their only light coming from the partially hidden moon in the sky.  Without the sound of the engines, it was suddenly quiet - almost alarmingly so.

“Orient yourself,” Blake said quietly.  Caught off guard by the instruction, Ruby spun around and tried to figure out where she was.  The moon was behind her, so that meant…

“North?” she asked, pointing in a direction and looking to Blake for confirmation.  With a quick nod, Blake led them over to Yang at the doorway.

“You’re doing great,” Weiss whispered to Ruby as they jogged after Blake.  The words made Ruby really happy, but when she glanced over she noticed that Weiss had her hands clenched into tight fists - almost as if she was trying to keep them from trembling.

“Are you ok?” Ruby asked, but Weiss waved the question off and motioned for Ruby to focus on Yang as they regrouped at the door.

“Ten minutes,” Yang whispered, tapping the communication device strapped around her wrist where a countdown was displayed in bright green numbers.  “Gotta hurry.”

Taking a deep breath and nodding to Blake, Yang pulled the door open with a quick, loud pop of the lock giving way.  

The silence left behind by the airship, which had felt deafening at first, seemed to have disappeared.  As her ears adjusted, Ruby could hear more and more sounds - and it sounded like the entire forest was moving around them.  It was nothing like the sleepy, nighttime streets of Vale. There, the crickets and trees were quiet as whispers.  Out here - far from the city - the leaves were rustling so loudly it was hard to believe the noise was the result of the wind alone.  But when Ruby turned towards the trees, she found nothing but darkened shapes swaying in the steady breeze.  

This was the sound of a nighttime forest, alive in its own way.

Feeling a warm hand press her forward, she followed Blake through the doorway with Yang on her heels and Weiss bringing up the rear.  

If it was hard to see outside, then entering the stairwell was like becoming completely blind.  There wasn’t even a glimmer of moonlight to provide guidance, so Ruby had no idea how Blake was running down the steps without falling on her face.  Thankfully, Yang lit up a light when they were all inside, shining it over Ruby’s shoulders so she could follow Blake down flights and flights of stairs.  Their shadows bounced eerily off the walls, moving in fast, disjointed motions, while there was no sound except for their feet hitting concrete, their clothes rustling, and their breathing growing a little heavier.

After reading the hunt information, Ruby felt like she had a good grasp on where they were headed, but Blake was moving so confidently it was as if she’d actually been here before.  Had Blake done more research on the schematics of the building?  Like found an actual blueprint of the offices?  Because that was a good idea that Ruby totally should’ve thought of.

The four of them raced down the staircases before coming to a door with a large number ten painted beside it.  The tenth floor.  Hardly breaking stride, Blake quickly pried the door open and shot inside with Ruby directly behind, her eyes scanning the room as they entered.

The entire floor was open - a gigantic space with desks and chairs cluttered across much of it.  Along one wall ran a set of what looked like miniature laboratories - complete with fancy-looking machines tucked behind thick glass walls and heavy security doors.  Some of the labs had been completely destroyed by some unknown force - the walls pulverized and machines laying in ruin.  

Squeezing through a set of desks on the path Blake was setting for them, Ruby tried to ignore the dark stains on the walls and floors whenever Yang’s flashlight jumped over them.  Those were probably just the result of some science experiment, or a trick the darkness was playing on her, not...anything else…

They were making a straight line from the staircase to the opposite side of the building, where she could make out a set of offices.  As they jogged in that direction, she made sure to sweep her eyes around the extent of the room looking for potential hazards.  If there was any benefit to being in a building made of glass, it was that they had 360 degrees of visibility - which was worth basically nothing since the only thing she could see outside was black night and dark trees.  

Approaching the row of square offices, Blake broke into a run to check the nameplates hanging outside the relatively intact glass rooms.

“This is it,” she said, tapping the name and slipping inside one of the offices.

“Ruby, watch the door,” Yang directed while Blake and Weiss both set to work rapidly opening and closing the filing cabinets lining the office walls in search of what they were after.  Weiss was holding her own light now and using it to scan the folders, while Blake operated in the darkness without a second thought.  Yang glanced at her watch for the time before heading over to the windows and looking in all directions for any danger.  

Watch the door.  It wasn’t the most glamorous of duties, but Ruby was still going to give it her all!  Although, she probably didn’t need to stand right in front of the door since the entire office was basically a fish bowl, but she did as she’d been told while watching her partners out of the corner of her eye.  Not that she could see much in the low light.  If only she had Blake’s vision...

“I found the year,” Weiss announced quietly and Blake rushed over to that cabinet to help Weiss search.  

The fact that they were whispering only made the darkness creepier.  Like, if they were speaking in normal voices this would feel more like they were just robbing some building - that wouldn’t be too scary.  Whispering was what you did when you were hiding from something, but what were they hiding from?

Ruby’s gaze drifted away from the office and back to the lifeless floor they’d just run across.  Whatever had happened here couldn’t have been good. From the outlines of toppled chairs and desks turned on their sides, it looked like everyone had left in a very big hurry.

While looking at a desk that was completely upside down, her eyes caught a glimpse of something that was out of place - at least, strange enough to catch her attention.  It was nothing more than a glint near the staircase they’d used to get here, but it was definitely something.  

Squinting her eyes, she tried to see what it was.  With her pathetic human eyes she saw absolutely nothing, but her gut told her to keep looking - so did the prickling feeling of the hairs rising on her arms and back of her neck.

“Yang,” she whispered towards her sister, not breaking her gaze away from the doorway.  When her sister didn’t respond, she glanced away for a split second to find Yang was helping the other two search through files.

“Yang!” she hissed louder, finally getting Yang’s attention.  “I think there’s something -”

Turning back to the doorway, Ruby froze and her blood ran cold when she realized what the glint had been.

Claws.  

Now visible above those giant claws were glowing red eyes - lots and lots of glowing red eyes.

“We have company,” she whispered, unfolding Crescent Rose and staring at the Grimm collecting at the far end of the building.  From this distance, she could just barely make out their hulking black outlines as they crawled out of the stairwell.  More of them were creeping along the ground and pulling themselves over the destroyed desks, their claws scraping and scratching against the wood.  All were approaching slowly, hesitantly, waiting to grow in number before attacking.

Heart pounding, her body was preparing itself for battle - muscles tensing and breaths slowing to a controlled, steady pace.  She squeezed Thorn around Crescent Rose, feeling the glove tightly clutch her weapon before releasing.

She was ready, but they weren’t being attacked yet.  They still had time. They could still complete the mission.

“It has to be here somewhere!” Blake whispered in exasperation.  “If it’s not here, then -”

Blake didn’t finish that thought before Ruby heard a muffled groan.  “There’s a safe under the desk.  It has to be in here.”

“Can you open it?” Yang asked, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ruby and only briefly turning back to the office behind them.

“With enough time, maybe!” Blake whispered back, her voice slightly muted from under the desk.

“I could just pull the door off its hinges?” Yang offered, flexing her fingers in preparation.

“Sweetie - as much as I admire your ability to rip apart pieces of metal, sometimes people have already taken that into consideration!”

Glancing at Ruby, Yang gave a small shrug before turning her full attention to the approaching Grimm.  She was tense, but also at ease - although Ruby couldn't tell if that was just for her sake or not.

“What do we do?” she asked, watching the red eyes inch closer and closer.  Raising her fists, Yang calmly checked the shotgun shells in her gauntlets.

“What do you think we should do?”   

Right now really didn’t seem like the time for a teaching moment, but it didn’t seem like the time to complain either.  

As the intensity increased, Ruby’s brain sped through scenarios at warp speed.  She needed to relax and recall what she’d studied - examine the terrain, locate exits, evaluate the enemy, make a decision.

“We...wait for them to make the first move.  Try to funnel them through the door to slow them down and give Blake more time.”  

While Ruby spoke, Yang barely tilted her chin in acceptance of the plan.  Ruby watched the Grimm and imagined the room behind them with the other two huntresses still searching.  That was a good start to an exit strategy, but -

“But then...how do we get out?” she whispered.  “Fight through them to the staircase?”

There was no response from Yang while she waited for Ruby to puzzle it out, which would’ve been a lot easier to do if she wasn’t pumping with adrenaline.  But think - think, Ruby Rose.  There were always two exits in any situation - the one you used to get in and the one you hadn’t yet created to get out.

Finally, it dawned on her.

“The windows -”

Never turning her eyes away from the Grimm, Yang nodded in silent agreement.  

Was it safe to wait that long though?  Yang wouldn’t let them stay if it wasn’t safe, right?

There was no time to second guess anything now.  The plan was set and they were waiting - hoping that the Grimm would put off their assault until Blake and Weiss were successful.  

Ruby could now see that they were facing Beowolves, and a lot of them.  The creatures were creeping on all fours through the jumbled maze of furniture, close enough that she could vividly make out red designs on eerie white skulls.

Flexing Thorn, she gripped the handle of Crescent Rose tightly - finding reassurance and confidence in how her glove locked together with her weapon.

“We don’t have much time…” Yang whispered out of the side of her mouth.

“Weiss, I need your help,” Ruby heard Blake say.  

Another sound caught Ruby’s attention then - a strange scratching noise that seemed to come from all directions.  Not turning her head, but flicking her eyes to the side, she found that there were more Beowolves climbing up the side of the building.

Still, Yang stood her ground at the doorway, and Ruby did the same.  The Beowolves were too close to risk turning around again - close enough that Ruby could hear their creepy, raspy breathing and smell the overwhelming odor of old garbage.  

She’d never been this close to a Grimm before, but she didn’t feel afraid.  Even though these creatures were bent upon her destruction, she was surprisingly at peace with the situation.  Sure, her heart was pounding, but it was from adrenaline, not fear.

And the adrenaline was building...because she knew that any second the attack would come…

“You ready?” Yang whispered, nudging Ruby’s elbow.  Before Ruby could reply, she heard what sounded like ice cracking.

“Got it!” Blake shouted.  

Blake’s voice broke whatever barrier had been keeping the Beowolves at bay, sending them all charging forward at once.  As snarls filled the air, Yang grabbed Ruby by the arm and spun her around.  Her feet were running before she even thought to tell them to, and two shotgun blasts went off before the sound of shattering glass filled her ears.  When her sister pulled her out of the office window, Ruby closed her eyes right before the shards hit her face.

The next second they were falling - the glass tumbling with them to the ground.  Ruby opened her eyes to the howls of Beowolves plummeting off the building with them, thankfully far enough away to not be an immediate threat.  

The free fall only lasted a couple seconds before she spun and planted her feet underneath her, hitting the ground with a soft thud that sent impact shooting through her feet and knees.  Shards of glass rained down on her head and shoulders before she was up and chasing after Yang, briefly turning to make sure Blake and Weiss were already up and running too.  Sparing a glance up at the office where they’d just been, she found the building was covered in Beowolves, many that had just noticed their escape and were headed back down to pursue them.

“Secondary pick up!” Yang shouted while pressing a button on her watch that turned the numbers from green to yellow.

“How long?” Weiss yelled from behind Ruby as the four of them tore through the streets towards the fountain.

“Three minutes.”

Weiss muttered something under her breath that sounded an awful lot like a swear word, but Ruby couldn’t hear very well over the howling of Beowolves and the pounding of her heart in her chest.

“We can hold them,” Blake huffed from Ruby’s other side, before straining her legs and pulling in front of both Ruby and Yang to lead the way.

The moon had come out from behind the clouds, illuminating the empty streets far more brightly than when they’d arrived several minutes ago, but Ruby still had no idea where they were going.  She’d memorized the map, but it hadn’t been very detailed when it came to the streets.  Thankfully, they were following Blake’s lead...and it seemed like Blake knew exactly where she was going.

Flashes of movement caught Ruby’s eye in every direction, but she never saw the sources.  There wasn’t time to double check for enemies, as she was too busy focusing on keeping her feet moving, staying upright, and breathing properly in order to conserve as much energy as possible.  

The buildings abruptly fell away when they rushed into the large, open square with the fountain standing in the middle.  Their feet didn’t stop running until they’d reached the partially destroyed construct - its foundation was cracked, and chunks of stone were missing from the sculpture on top.

“Ruby, you still have the flare I gave you?” Yang asked as they turned away from the fountain towards the edge of the courtyard - the courtyard that was quickly filling with Grimm.

Fumbling in her pocket, Ruby pulled out the flare and peeled off the top.  These were special flares - very powerful, very bright.  She’d given Yang such a hard time about bringing them along, but obviously her sister had known best.

“Ok, we each get one quad of the square,” Yang instructed calmly, sliding to Ruby’s left while Blake took up position to Ruby’s right.  “Call out if you need help.  Ready...light ‘em up!”

Pulling the tab, Ruby threw the flare as far as she could towards the edge of the town square, briefly shielding her eyes to prevent herself from being blinded by the bright light.  After dropping her arm and opening her eyes, she found a swarm of Beowolves in front of her.  

The creatures howled at the suddenly bright area and charged.  

The sound of rapid bullets was followed by the flares bursting into a shower of sparks as the Grimm stepped over them, causing many of the creatures to scatter in every which direction in surprise - but it only caused a slight pause in their rush.

Ruby’s muscles tensed in anticipation as the Beowolves raced towards her - three across in the first row.  They were bigger than she’d expected them to be, with their wiry limbs giving them a far greater reach than she’d expected.  Taking that into consideration, she’d have to attack sooner than she thought she would.  Which was right about….now.

Blitzing forward, she swept through the first three with one long swing of Crescent Rose.  The Beowolves immediately disintegrated into black ash, letting her know she’d gotten quick kills, but there were already more to take their place.  

Making sure her back was always to the monument, Ruby vaguely heard the sound of shotgun blasts to her left and glimpsed rapid shadow clones to her right.  But more than that, she heard the cries and growls of Grimm - lots of them. And the more they howled - the more noise they made - the more other Grimm in the area would show up to the party.

Lopping the heads off of two Beowolves with a quick back-forth combo, she then drew back Crescent Rose and flung the weapon into a large crowd that had formed in front of her.  Three managed to escape, but four more fell as she immediately summoned Crescent Rose back to her.  Catching the weapon while racing towards the survivors of the group, she beheaded them the instant Thorn latched onto the weapon.

Skidding to a stop, she found that a vertical line of six had appeared.  Was she fast enough?  Her semblance shot her forward, drawing a line through the Beowolves before planting Crescent Rose in the ground, leaving the weapon behind and sending herself flying back to the center of the courtyard.  While she was still in transit, she summoned her weapon after her - allowing it to plow through two more Grimm before catching it when she finally stopped, and immediately using it to destroy three more Grimm in three easy, swift blows.

Big, lanky, but surprisingly easy to kill.  Their lack of armor provided zero resistance to Crescent Rose and, unlike Blake and Yang, their ability to dodge or deflect was basically nonexistent.  Plus, they weren’t very smart.  It was almost like fighting against some pillows - which wasn’t very fair to pillows.

Five more, six more Beowolves disappeared before her ears picked up something different.  There were the howls of Grimm, the cries and growls and roars and scratching of claws tearing across the street, but a new noise had just been added to the mix.  

It sounded like a something was pounding its way through the streets, sending tremors through the ground.  Clearing out a patch of Grimm as she turned towards the source of the noise, her eyes widened when a full-sized Death Stalker charged into the square, shoving over the remnants of a small building while doing so.

She’d seen pictures and videos before, but nothing could have prepared her for the real deal.

It was huge.  Like...gargantuan huge.  Its rows of tiny legs managed to move it surprisingly fast, while pincers the size of a small car made a terrifying loud clacking sound when they snapped together.  The stinger, glowing dangerously yellow and towering over the courtyard, swayed back and forth - ready and willing to snap forward in an instant.

Nothing but Beowolves - that’s what Yang had said.  But the Death Stalker was in Ruby’s quadrant...and it was charging straight towards her.

“Ruby, don’t!” she heard Yang yell just as she’d begun spooling up her semblance for a potential attack.  Obediently waiting, she prepared herself to dive out of the way when Blake or Yang showed up.  Which would hopefully be soon, cuz it was getting rather close...

But it wasn’t Blake or Yang who showed up to help.  Instead, it was a giant, ghostly soldier who suddenly appeared - at least twelve feet tall and carrying a sword Ruby could never dream of picking up.  One swing of that sword cleared out a group of at least ten Beowolves before the soldier rushed the Death Stalker without hesitation.  Ruby watched in stunned awe as, right before reaching the Grimm, the soldier split into two - two massive soldiers converging on a single Grimm that now looked pretty puny in comparison.

“Oh holy Grimm.  Blake - get Weiss’ back!” she heard Yang yell from behind her.  Ruby briefly turned around and found that Weiss was following the soldier’s movements intently, while Blake slid over to maintain positioning behind her.

The Death Stalker struck first with its stinger - lashing out like a bolt of lightning.  One soldier deflected the attack with his sword while the second fearlessly grabbed the stinger in one hand.  Before the Grimm could react, the first soldier’s sword seamlessly swung back around and separated the stinger from the creature in one powerful blow.  Rearing up in anger, the Death Stalker managed to clasp one of its powerful pincers around the second soldier’s legs, but he didn’t seem to notice.  Instead, he dropped the stinger to the ground and used both hands to plunge his sword down through the plating on the creature’s back - one, two, three, four times until the Grimm stilled.

As the great Death Stalker disintegrated, the soldier still clasped in its claw also disappeared from view.  A pack of Beowolves was descending on the remaining soldier - who swung his sword in a giant loop and took out six in one easy blow.  But there were twice as many to replace them - the air filling with more and more howls of anger.  

“Ruby!  We need you to create a perimeter!  Hold them back!”

Slicing through two more Beowolves who’d skirted around the giant soldiers, Ruby risked a glance towards her sister.

“Create a perimeter?  How?”

“Your semblance!”

Oh.  Duh.  That would work, wouldn’t it?

Calling upon her semblance, Ruby raced forward like a shot out of a cannon, sweeping through a line of Beowolves as she did so.  Skidding to a stop and turning right, she took off again - running fast.  With Crescent Rose extended to her left, held firmly within Thorn’s grasp, she caught any Grimm in her path while making sure to duck or dodge any attacks swung her way.  The first circle she completed was tight and close to her partners, but the second she pushed further out and ran even harder.

It was really awesome.  The first few lines of Beowolves fell like timber, not even slowing down as they ran into her blade of destruction.  By the time she made it through four or five circles, the remaining Grimm got a little smarter  - they started trying to back up and jump over her instead of running straight through, their intent obvious from the tightening, bunching muscles in their legs.

If she wanted to keep them back, she needed to go faster.  Fast enough that even if one jumped, she’d complete a full circle and be back in time to snatch it from the air.  

Her legs and lungs were beginning to scream as she pushed herself harder than she’d ever pushed herself before.  There was a veritable snowstorm of rose petals kicking up around her, but she pushed onward.  Her energy was rapidly depleting, but there was also something new at the very edge of her grasp - a level of speed she’d yet to experience.  If she tried a little harder, she could reach it -

A loud pop suddenly echoed through her head.  Confused, she kept running for several laps until she realized that something was wrong.  Slowing down, she looked around in surprise.

Everything had stopped.  Not completely, but the world was now moving in slower than slow motion -  even though she was still moving like normal.  Beowolves were frozen in time, some of them just starting to open their jaws to howl, some stretching their arms forward in an attempt to grab her where she’d once been.  

Looking back, her companions were still collected around the fountain, with an airship just beginning to appear over their heads.  Yang was mid-punch, about to take out a Beowolf in a single blow.  Blake was doing a slow somersault in mid-air, while Gambol rained bullets down on a group of three Grimm.  Weiss had Myrtenaster aimed towards another Beowolf, shimmering blue lights collecting at the end of her weapon.

Two more Death Stalkers had appeared on either side of the square, the buildings they’d just crashed through toppling in freeze frame.  The remaining giant soldier was swinging his massive sword through a crowd of Grimm, moving a millimeter at a time.

“Ok…” Ruby whispered to herself, finding that she was breathless and growing more exhausted while she wasn’t even moving.  

She had no idea what was going on - she was clearly using an abundance of energy without realizing it - but she wasn’t going to waste an opportunity like this just because it didn’t make sense.  

Grasping onto whatever feeling increased her fatigue, figuring that’s what was keeping her in this state, she dashed around as quickly as possible - cutting through all of the Beowolves and putting several hundred rapid stabs into each Death Stalker, right in their weak point underneath a gap in the plating.

Yang had said ‘nothing but Beowolves,’ but she hadn’t mentioned anything about frozen Death Stalkers…

The more Ruby moved, the more exhausted she grew and the heavier her head began to feel.  It wasn’t even thirty seconds that she was in this weird time freeze state before her mind couldn’t keep up with it anymore, and everything started to unravel.  When time began speeding up, she headed towards Yang - knowing that they’d be jetting away on the ship soon.

Everything was moving faster and faster with each passing moment - like everything had been frozen but was now rapidly catching up to real time.  If the feeling she’d grabbed onto was like a string, it was pulling out of her hands and she had absolutely no energy left to hang onto it.  Another pop sounded in her mind when it disappeared and everything suddenly jumped from 50% to full speed.  

Not expecting the rapid time shift, she might have face planted on the ground.  Apparently, it was a little difficult to jog while time warped back to normal...

“Ruby!”  

Yang was rushing forward to help, but Ruby pushed herself to her feet and ran to her sister while their ship dropped in from the sky.  There was an odd moment of silence that caused her to turn around right as a giant black cloud swept into the air - the result of her not-so-hard work.  

For that single second, the square was nearly clear of Grimm.

“What did you…?” Yang began to ask while staring at the sudden emptiness, only to grab Ruby’s arm and pull her along instead.  “Help Weiss into the ship.”

More Grimm were already arriving.  A spotlight suddenly shone down from above, followed closely by the loud whirring of engines and wind rushing down into the clearing.  Looking up, Ruby found the airship hovering over the fountain waiting to pick them up.  Wasting no time, she ran over and wrapped one arm around Weiss’ waist.  Weiss seemed completely spent, so Ruby lifted her off her feet and carried her up the fountain.  It helped that Weiss was super light or that Ruby was super strong.  One of those.

The door to the ship was lowered and Blake was already waiting there - motioning them to move faster while Yang was fending off the Grimm from behind them, shotgun blasts repeatedly echoing through the air.  When Ruby reached Blake, the two of them together lifted Weiss into the back of the transport before jumping in themselves.  

“Lift off!” Blake shouted to the pilot, who immediately pulled the ship into the air while Blake threw Gambol Shroud from the open doorway, one hand grasping a handle in the transport while the other strained in swinging Yang aboard.  Yang immediately pressed a round green button inside the ship and the ramp lifted and closed, causing a sudden sucking sound of air before it sealed shut and everything grew quiet.

All four of them were out of breath, and Ruby could feel an underlying layer of exhaustion in her semblance, but it really felt like she could keep going for hours more.  She wanted to keep going - she wanted to fight more!  

“That was so awesome!!!” she exclaimed, spinning around in a circle and tossing Crescent Rose onto the floor of the ship, only to summon the weapon back into her hand a second later.  

Her companions all gave her varying degrees of smiles - Yang’s by far the largest.

“Yang!  You’re so freaking good!” Ruby said, rushing over to check over Ember Celica for any damage.  Satisfied that the gauntlets held up, she ran to Blake next.  “And Blake! Those clones of yours were like whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!  Everywhere!”

After Blake gave her a small smile, Ruby turned to Weiss.

“Weiss!  What the heck were those giant soldier dudes??  Holy crapoly were they ever cool!  I mean - did you see him take out like fifteen Beowolves with one swing?”  Ruby pretended like she was wielding a giant sword and swung it through the air like he had, letting go and shielding her eyes from the pretend sun while imaginary Grimm went flying over the buildings.  “That had to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

“I’m...glad you like him...” Weiss murmured, looking moderately embarrassed by Ruby’s words.

“Is he the same every time?  What’s his name?” Ruby asked as a million other questions came to mind.  “He looks like a...Chester.  Or Renaldo.  Maybe a…a...what’s another guy name??”

“Ronnie?” Blake suggested, the name making Ruby burst into giggles.

“Ronnie!  That’s so perfect!  Like, ‘oh hey, wanna meet my friend Ronnie?’  It sounds so safe, and then in stomps this huge freaking giant!”

When she was really excited, she talked a lot.  Like now.  When she noticed that she was doing it again, she could normally force herself to cut it out.  Like now.  Cut it out!  But she couldn’t.  Her skin was practically vibrating with electricity right now!

“You ladies know how to draw quite the crowd!” the pilot yelled back to them from the cockpit.  

“You know we’re the life of the party!” Yang replied with a grin, before sitting back in her seat and letting out a big sigh.  “Well...that didn’t exactly go as planned.”

Rolling her eyes, Blake leaned into Yang’s side.  “Does it ever?”

”What did you get, anyway?” Ruby asked.  Reaching into a nearly invisible pocket, Blake pulled out a tiny memory drive.

“I hope it’s what we were looking for,” she answered, flipping the device over in her hand.

Clenching her fist in success, Ruby turned back to Weiss - only to find that she had closed her eyes and was leaning her head back against the headrest.  The sight instantly calmed Ruby down...because something about Weiss’ posture made her worried.  

Stowing Crescent Rose under one of the seats, Ruby finally sat down.  

“Weiss,” she said as softly as she could.  Clear blue eyes opened and found hers - sending a tiny tremor through her chest.  “Are you feeling ok?”

“Yes, just...tired...” Weiss replied, giving Ruby what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile, but really wasn’t.  “You did really well…”

The words should’ve made Ruby really happy, but she was still concerned.  Glancing across the ship, she found that Yang was watching Weiss thoughtfully while Blake whispered in her ear.  After Blake finished speaking, Yang nodded and looked away.  

If neither of them were super concerned, maybe Ruby didn’t need to be, but it seemed like Weiss wasn’t feeling very well.  Whenever Ruby felt crappy, it made her feel better when Yang would hold her hand or rub her shoulder.  Maybe Weiss would feel the same?

Hesitantly, Ruby reached over and took one of Weiss’ hands in her own.  Weiss’ eyes flew open and she stared at Ruby for a second in confusion, but when Ruby smiled, Weiss smiled in return before closing her eyes and letting out a soft, content sigh.

The reaction made Ruby sigh in relief.  Leaning back in her seat with Weiss’ hand held in her lap, she thought about how...delicate...Weiss’ hands were.  And soft, but also strong from using Myrtenaster so much. There were some hidden calluses - built up over time - that Ruby could feel underneath her fingertips.

With her free hand, Ruby lightly traced the back of Weiss’ hand - from Weiss’ wrist to the tips of her fingers and back again.  Feeling someone watching her, Ruby looked up and met Blake’s eyes - but Blake merely smiled before turning to the side and placing a soft kiss to the top of Yang’s head.  Even though it would only be a few extra minutes to the airship station closest to their home, Yang was already conked out and sleeping with her head on Blake’s shoulder.

The energy in the ship dwindled quickly as adrenaline faded to relief.  Ruby could feel the effect taking place in her own body - her muscles unwinding and her heartbeat slowing to a more normal pace.  A few minutes ago, she’d been charged with electricity - now, she felt...sleepy.

While the ship sped through the sky, Ruby focused her attention on the girl sitting beside her.  Without leaning forward she couldn’t tell if Weiss was sleeping or not, but Weiss never moved her hand from its position gently curled around Ruby’s.  It was a nice feeling - holding Weiss’ hand.  It was actually kind of funny because Ruby had meant to comfort Weiss with the gesture, but it ended up comforting herself as well.  Mutually beneficial...

Still tracing the back of Weiss’ hand, Ruby leaned close enough that her arm was pressed against Weiss’ side.  They always seemed to crank the air up in airships, so it was kind of cold - and she didn’t want Weiss to be cold.  Pleasantly surprised when Weiss made no effort to move away, Ruby settled in and enjoyed the warmth they were able to share.

This was also nice.  After the whirlwind of activity they’d just sprinted through, it was nice to relax, decompress, and just...be here together.  For each other.  The four of them - Blake with Yang, Weiss with Ruby.  It almost made her wish that the flight home would last a little longer...

As her own adrenaline wore off, it felt like sandbags were trying to weigh her eyes shut.  Her body was winding down and trying to put her to sleep, but her mind was still racing with so many questions.  Like how had the Grimm found them so quickly?  How had Blake broken into the safe?  What would’ve happened if the second evac point hadn’t worked and they’d had to ‘hoof it’ back to Vale?  Would the Grimm have pursued them all the way to the walls?  

And, most importantly, when could they do this again?  Because she wanted to do it again.  Like right away.  Or at least, as soon as Weiss felt better.

#RWBY #White Rose #Weiss Schnee #Ruby Rose #What Defines Us

[theoriginalmysteryincorporated]

Lost and Found

it’s 5am whaddup have that freezerburn fic I’d planned on writing before last ep, and then never did

platonic but good

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A battle was brewing.

At least, that was what it felt like. Like Ozpin wasn’t telling them something. Again.

Yang frowned, laying her leather gloves out on the bed, replacing them with the tough fabric ones she always wore under Ember Celica.

Then she slipped the cool metal bracelet onto her left wrist, watched her fingers shake out of her control for a moment before clenching her fist.

Something was going to happen tonight, and no one had any idea what.

A light knock on the door dispelled any further obsession over the subject, and Yang quietly invited her teammate in.

Weiss thanked her just as quietly, and began making her own preparations, on her own side of the room. Yang heard the familiar click of the metal clasps as she opened the case that held Myrtenaster. The spinning of the dust chambers as Weiss inspected her weapon, as she always did when given the time before any battle.

This wasn’t supposed to be a battle. It was supposed to be a talk with one of Ozpin’s old friends.

Yang wondered what Lionheart had done to end up against the old headmaster.

If. If he really was.

Yang sighed and turned around. Weiss had gone quiet, too, her sword sheathed at her side.

“Ready?” Yang managed a small grin. If it did come to a fight, it would be nice, fighting side by side with her team again.

Weiss returned the smile. “As ready as I can be. All of this is still so confusing.”

Yang laughs weakly. “Yeah, no kidding. Ruby and the others at least had a few months to wrap their heads around it. Glad I’m not the only one feelin’ a little lost, though.”

“No, you aren’t alone there,” Weiss conceded with a meek smile.

“...look, Weiss. If things go sideways tonight, I--I wanna tell you something.”

A small snort. “You’ve never held back before. So go ahead.”

Yang took a small step closer, then rolled her shoulders restlessly. “I just--want you to know that I love you. You’re family to me, too. And I’ve always got your back. Just like you’ve got mine and Ruby’s.”

Weiss’s brow twitched, pulled together. “That was...unexpectedly touching.”

Another shrug, this one less restless. “I just need you to know.”

“In case things ‘go sideways’,” Weiss repeats with a smirk.

“Hey. You never know.”

“It’s just a talk, Yang.”

“Y-Yeah, I know. I just worry, I guess. After everything.”

She could feel her fingers shaking again, but this time, Weiss reached out and took her hand, squeezed. “After everything, I don’t blame you. I’ve felt...on edge.”

“Because Ozpin and my uncle aren’t telling us something. But what’s new, I guess.”

“...maybe. We’ll know in a few hours.” She relinquished Yang’s hand. “Whatever happens, I have your back.”

Yang took a deep breath, then nodded. “We’re in this together.”

“Lost in this together,” Weiss amended with a small, playful smile.

“Lost in this together.”

It was agreed.

#freezerburn #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #adsfjk #i have no idea how this came out cuz i'm Exhausted #rwby5 #my writing

[ruffsficstuffplace]

And The AWRD Goes To... (Part 38)

I wrote a massive, self-indulgent Magical Girl episode that probably wouldn’t be safe for Earth kids, but totally fit for Remnant kids, considering that they allow marital training at extremely young ages to slaughter Grimm.

The good news is, I have the basis for yet another LWA/RWBY AU, or an original series of my own.

The bad news is, I felt it was WAY too self-indulgent to show you guys, and completely got out of any of the plot or the characterization of the show, along with being too self-congratulatory to my writing skills, however my audience will take the self-indulgent trash I wrote.

The other good news is, I figured out a completely different way to write this chapter that won’t alienate people or feel like desperate, self-praising filler.

I hope, at least.

“I must say, I’m rather impressed the creators took the time to weave such complex, coordinated, and physically-involved fights into the show!” Diana said during the credits of another episode of Starlight Crusaders: Solar Eclipse. “Most other examples I’ve ever seen of this genre always seem content to have the characters blast their foes with an obscene amount of visual effects from a distance, and have the monsters just writhe and cry out before they’re defeated.”

“Not Starlight Crusaders!” Weiss said, hugging one of her pillows to her chest as she sat up and watched. “Man, there’s so many things I love about this franchise, but the way all the fights just leave stick with me long after the credits are a huge part of it...”

“Hah, remember when we used spent the entire week between each episode trying to recreate them in the training grounds?” Akko asked.

“How could I forget?!” Weiss replied, laughing. “It’s why I wanted to become a huntress in the first place!”

“You decided to go into this dangerous career because you wanted to reenact scenes from a children’s show...?” Diana asked.

Weiss smiled at her. “Relax: I’ve added a whole lot of other mature, deep reasons to it since… but as they say, every aspiring hunter had to get that passion from somewhere. I guess it didn’t hurt that grandpa and grandma could actually make it a reality, to a certain extent.”

Ruby blinked, before her eyes brightened. “Are there giant robot monster parts stored in your house somewhere?!” she asked excitedly.

“Sorry, Ruby, just giant monster costume pieces, made to be worn by Schnee Grimm summons,” Weiss replied.

Ruby frowned, the light in her eyes fading. “Aww…”

“I suppose that’s why your house’s training grounds were so complex and modular?” Diana asked.

“Mhmm!” Weiss said. “Could basically reenact the mechanics of any sort of Starlight Crusader fight, save for those while falling out of the sky, underwater, in low-orbit, or the Shiny Chariot special crossover special for Luna Nova.”

“What was the problem with that last one?” Ruby asked. “Maybe I could help solve it.”

“I appreciate the offer, Ruby, but it was entirely with the cast,” Weiss replied. “Lack of a Shiny Rod and what means Chariot used to transform it into so many different forms aside, she had both my speed and agility PLUS Akko’s strength and endurance; whenever either of us tried to play her, we’d either end up exhausted before the ‘episode’ was even halfway done, or didn’t have the necessary finesse and grace to even try to pull off her acrobatics.

“Looking back on it, she probably needed to be that strong and skilled to even use the damned thing without breaking every bone in her body after each show...” she finished, casting a glance at the Shiny Rod.

“More like ‘definitely needed!’” Akko added, before she sighed. “I always knew Chariot was awesome and incredible and way beyond my level, but I’m only realizing by just how much right now… I’m conflicted, you guys:

“On the one hand, she’s like, 500% more awesome, and given how amazingly spectacular she was already, that’s a huge increase in raw Coolness Factor!

“On the other hand, now the difference between us is even bigger than before and I’m not sure if I can even reach that, period...” Akko finished, now moping in her bed.

“… Maybe I can still help with that...” Ruby said.

The next episode of Starlight Crusaders was about to begin, Weiss paused it. “What do you mean…?”

“Ah, how do I explain this… back at the Bunker, it was generally a given that someone would be heavily reliant on tech to compensate for something when they first get in. If it wasn’t prostheses to replace original parts, it was accessibility technology, like a sound-sensitive pair of glasses with a heads-up display for a student with hearing impairments, or Battle Saddles.”

“Pardon me: Battle-what-now…?” Weiss asked.

“Battle Saddles!” Ruby repeated. “It’s what we called wheelchairs and other mobility devices, generally after we motorized, armoured, and armed them. They even have specializations called ‘Battalions’--my favourite was Rolling Thunder, the heavy weapons, artillery, and explosives specialists.

“Anyway, we were always making, adapting, and developing new tech to compensate for impairments and handicaps, and I could definitely do the same here, like develop shock absorbers for Shooting Star so the reaction from all the raw force the Shiny Rod is capable of won’t break our bones and send us flying off again.”

“May I interrupt you, Ruby?” Diana asked. When Ruby gave her the go ahead, she continued, “I know it might be rather irrational and biased given my experiences, but it feels like we might end up over-relying on your tech, which has its own consequences...” she said, looking down at herself.

Ruby nodded. “And you’re right to be worried about that, Diana, but you didn’t let me finish: once we were done getting someone up to the standard levels of performance, we started thinking about how we could go BEYOND that.

“Heck, that was actually a huge part of my developing Crescent Rose! At first, I didn’t have the balance, the coordination, or the strength to even swing her properly, let alone all the essential combat techniques, so I built a giant robot helping arm to provide raw strength and control for me.

“Then, when I could swing it and stop it without its help, I started thinking how I could start using all that momentum and weight to my advantage. And after a LOT of experimenting and redesigning, I started using it to amp up the force of my attacks like back with the grave lord, and all the other times I’ve cut something when I wouldn’t normally have enough raw power to do so.”

“So… what, you’re suggesting we make training wheels for the Shiny Rod…?” Weiss asked.

Ruby thought about it for a moment. “… Yeah!” she said. “I guess I do want to try and build training wheels for the Shiny Rod, if those training wheels happened to get cannibalized later as components for magnetic-levitation wheels to help your bike go even faster!”

She got a thoughtful look on her face, before her eyes started scanning the others, too. “… And come to think of it, I could make improvements to all our other weapons, too, especially Gwragged Annwn...”

Diana frowned. “Ruby, I’m not entirely sure I want you experimenting on my spear… it’s a prized family heirloom, totally irreplaceable!”

“Oh, then I promise I won’t!” Ruby said, smiling. “I respect the weapon’s owner more than my desire to improve and experiment on said weapon. Or I guess in the Shiny Rod’s case, the weapon itself. How about you guys, though…?”

“Count me in!” Akko said.

“The designers called Myrtenaster the peak of multi action dust rapiers, but that’s what they called her predecessor, too—feel free to experiment” Weiss replied, nodding.

“Awesome, thanks!” Ruby replied. “That’s going to be for when we’re all out of the hospital, though—back to the anime!”

Weiss picked up the remote and began to unpause the video.

“WAIT!” Akko cried. “I forgot something!”

Weiss flinched. “What is it...?” she asked, the others turning to look at her.

“What happened to the giant robot helping arm?” Akko asked.

“Oh! It’s probably in the storage room along with all the other robot helping arms, waiting for someone to either study it to make their own, or borrow it for their experiments,” Ruby replied. “They still take it out to the cafeteria sometimes to try and arm wrestle with it—still unbeaten in the ‘Giants League’ without disqualifying damage to the apparatus!” she said, beaming.

“Nice!” Akko said. “High—oh wait, sorry...”

“We’ll high five in spirit!” Ruby cried. “High five!” she said, cast-covered limbs still immobilized.

“Up top!” Akko replied, her cast-covered arms still by her sides.

Diana and Weiss both burst out laughing. “You two are ridiculous...” Diana said, shaking her head.

“You haven’t seen the worst of it, trust me,” Weiss added, smiling. “Unpausing now!”

The four of them went back to watching Starlight Crusaders. Whenever there was another fight scene and weapons started getting brought out, however, Ruby didn’t seem to be enjoying herself quite as much as she did earlier.

They eventually made it to the last few episodes, tensions ramping up, story arcs coming to a close, the Crusaders tearing their way through the main villain’s ranks until the inevitable final confrontation.

One of the nurses knocked and opened the door, Weiss reluctantly paused the video again as a nurse popped his head in. “Excuse me, Ms. Schnee, your family has come to visit you.”

“We brought umeboshi and blueberry froyo!” Whitley called out from outside.

Weiss and Akko both brightened up. “Let them in, let them in!” Weiss said.

Snowie stepped in with a shopping bag filled with the promised treats, among others. “Hey there, sorry we took so long, we couldn’t really—“ her eyes widened. “--Oh my gosh, is that Solar Eclipse?”

“It is, it is!” Whitley said, giddily rushing into the room and taking the seat beside Weiss, Snowie and Winter sitting or perching by Akko’s side. “Play it, play it!” Whitley said, beaming as he leaned forward with his chin in his hands.

Weiss didn’t hesitate. The nurse looked at them, patients and visitors alike all completely enamored with the show, smiled, and began to close the door. Then, he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder, turned around, and knocked again.

“Excuse me again!” the nurse said. “Ms. Rose, your father’s come to visit you.”

Ruby’s eyes brightened up as she took her eyes off her screen. “Dad! Come in, come in!”

The nurse turned back to Taiyang, and opened the door with a flourish, he happily stepped in with a silly swagger and a huge smile on me face. “Hey there, dear daughter of mine! How’re you doing?” he asked as he came over to Ruby’s bed.

“All four limbs still broken, dear dad of mine!” Ruby chirped. “I’m getting better, though, especially since Weiss can use the remote for all of us.”

“That’s good to hear!” Taiyang said as he carefully hugged her, she tried to nuzzle her head into his shoulder. “So, what are you guys watching?” he said as he settled into the chair next to her bed. “No, no, wait, don’t tell me! It’s... Starlight Crusaders, and this season’s, this season’s, ah...”

“It’s--” Whitley, Weiss, Winter, Snowie, and Akko began.

“No, no, don’t! I’ve got this!” Taiyang said, peering intently at the screen, sweat forming on his brow as he concentrated, listening carefully to the names of the characters and their Crusader titles as they fought each other,  willing forth the answer from deep within his mind...

“NEW MOON ORDER!” he cried, nearly launching out of his seat. “It’s New Moon Order, right?” he said, nodding and smiling, proud of himself.

Whitley, Weiss, Winter, Snowie, and Akko spared a few moments from the show, and all shared looks with each other; after a silent vote, Snowie got the duty of breaking the news to him. “Ah, Mr. Xiao Long? It’s actually Solar Eclipse; New Moon Order was one of the movies.”

“Call me Taiyang or Tai, please. Anyway, it’s based off this season, at least...?” Taiyang asked hopefully.

Snowie smiled politely, slowly shook her head, and went back to watching with the others.

Taiyang sighed. “At least I got the franchise right this time...” he muttered to himself.

The episode ended in suitably dramatic fashion, the girls and Whitley all cheered. Weiss paused the video as the credits started rolling, and turned to Snowie. “You mentioned blueberry froyo earlier?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

Snowie dug out a tub from the bag, and handed it over.

Weiss took it in both hands, and cradled it to her chest. “Thanks mom, you’re the best,” she whispered, before she opened it and started digging in with the spoon attached to the side.

“You’re welcome, Weiss,” Snowie hummed, looking proud of herself. “We even got treats for all your other friends!” she said as she dug into the bag again.

Akko cried out in delight as she pulled up a jar of umeboshi, Ruby eyed a pack of chocolate chip cookies hungrily. “I didn’t really know whatever it was the rest of you liked, so I just sorta got a little bit of everything from a convenience store on the way here.”

“She really does mean everything,” Whitley added as he took the jar of pickled plums, opened it up for Akko. “You should have seen her back at the aisles, trying to figure out if she should grab any special varieties, or just stick with the original flavours.”

“Hey, it’s not MY fault someone decided there needed to be like, 500 different flavours of Kari-Kari!” Snowie cried as Winter took to the bag of snacks over to the other side of the room. “I swear, that store had basically everything on the shelves!”

“There’s 317 total, and only 47 in that store, mother, I looked it up and I counted while we were there,” Whitley said as he started feeding pickled plums to an eagerly awaiting Akko.

“Still too many damn flavours of candy coated wafers...” Snowie grumbled. She blinked, looked around, and sighed. “Aw, crap—anyone seen my snowball?”

“It’s right here, mom!” Winter called out, pulling up a ball tightly wrapped in plastic, colourful packets taped to it.

Snowie held her hands up. “I’m open!”

Winter tossed it, Snowie missed it, it hit her in the face. She winced, caught it before it could fall to the floor, and started unwrapping it, revealing a ball of shaved ice.

“Well, haven’t seen those in a very long while...” Diana said as Snowie ripped open the syrup packets with her teeth, poured the blue liquid onto her snowball.

“Probably because it’s not as good as what you’ll find from the shops that really care, or the kind you could make at my da—father’s office, but you know, the mass produced stuff isn’t half-bad,” Snowie said, before she gleefully chomped down on her snowball.

“Anything you’d like in particular?” Winter asked as she showed off the rest of the bag over to Diana.

Diana looked uneasily at the sea of junk food, then back up at Winter with a frown.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s something healthy in here…” Winter said as she sat down and really dug into the mess.

“There’s a handful of sandwiches and a salad in there!” Whitley called out. “Don’t take both the egg sandwiches, one of them’s mine!”

“Found them, thanks, little brother!” Winter said as she dug them out. “Any catch your eye?” she asked as she held them out to Diana.

Diana looked at the plastic wrappers, and the proud labels of Mistral’s ubiquitous “Sari-Sari” convenience store franchise, and said, “I suppose I’ll take the strawberry cream…”

“Good choice!” Winter said, putting the rest back into the bag.

“I’m really rather sorry for inconveniencing you like this,” Diana said as Winter unwrapped the sandwich.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Winter replied. “Though if it bothers you that much, I suppose I could just wedge a tray on your chest to your chin, let you try and eat this with just your mouth?” she asked, smiling.

“… I’m not that sorry.”

Winter chuckled, and started feeding her.

“So!” Snowie started. “Diana, your family planning on flying over from Vale to visit any time soon?”

“No, actually,” Diana replied, before she took a dainty, careful bite out of her sandwich, started humming shortly after she started chewing.

“Aww, that’s sad,” Snowie said. “You want our help making a video to send to them, while they can’t come? I found that always helped when my parents were still going off on expeditions.”

Diana’s chewing slowed down, before she swallowed, and smiled politely. “The gesture is appreciated, Ms. Schnee… but I’d really rather not.”

Snowie paused for a moment, before she nodded, and went back to her snowball.

“Anyone else want more?” Winter called out after empty containers were thrown into the trash, or resealed for later. “Plenty of snacks still left in here,” she said, gently shaking the bag.

Whitley took his sandwich, and Taiyang grabbed some “to go” for himself, but otherwise everyone answered in the negative.

“So, anything else we can do for you guys while we’re here?” Snowie asked.

“We were just planning on going back to watching Starlight Crusaders, thanks,” Weiss said as she picked up the remote, Whitley hurriedly unwrapped his sandwich in preparation. “There’s really not much else we can do when I’m the only one with a working pair of arms.”

“I could recommend some pretty cool voice-recording apps we use at the Bunker!” Taiyang offered. “Free of charge, too, though getting support if something goes wrong can be a little… iffy, because they’re all experimental.”

“The offer is appreciated, Mr. Xiao Long, but Blake and Lotte have been doing an excellent job of transcribing from our diction,” Diana replied.

“I just wish Constanze wasn’t so busy with the mind palace machines and her own projects, though,” Ruby said. “She’s basically the only person that can help me take down weapons engineering notes.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to get right back to it soon enough, Ruby,” Taiyang said, ruffling her hair.

“Maybe I could try helping with that?” Snowie said. “I take a lot of notes and dictation for my parents when they’re busy, I could probably do it.”

Taiyang chuckled. “Now I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but I have to warn you: my daughter’s thought process when she designs or studies weapons is a giant, jumbled mess of jargon, doodles, and schematics flying everywhere all at once.”

Snowie snorted. “And you’ve just basically described what my brain is like 24/7! I’ve got this, probably,” she said as she stood up.

“I’ve seen parts of Ruby’s journal when she sent me info on the Shiny Rod, mom, he’s really not kidding!” Winter said.

“Be my guest, though!” Taiyang said as he stood up, and gestured to the chair he was sitting in.

“You sure about this, Snowie?” Ruby asked as Snowie sat down beside her.

“Positive!” Snowie replied. “Jumping headlong into things without being entirely sure what I’m doing is kind of my thing! I mean... it doesn’t always work as well I think it will, but I work best when I’m figuring things out as I’m going along!” she said as she pulled out her scroll, complete with her own quill.

“Alrighty then!” Ruby said.

Whitley nudged Weiss to resume playing Starlight Crusaders, she did, and the others went back to watching the show. She found herself frequently looking away from the screen and listening in to Ruby and Snowie’s conversation, however.

“So, what exactly are you thinking of here?” Snowie asked as she got her quill at the ready.

“Well, I was thinking about trying to make some sort of recoil buffer for Shooting Star, hopefully one that will also work when it fuses with the Shiny Rod to become Shining Star,” Ruby started.

“There’s just WAY too much force that thing is capable of whenever Akko chops with it, and short of starting to learn how to throw it; let go just before each impact, and hope it doesn’t hit her or anyone else when it inevitably flies off in the opposite direction as soon as all that aura force is discharged; or chop really, really, really gently with it, we need to drastically increase her upper body strength, muscle mass, and possibly even aura reserves if we’re ever going to be able to use Shining Star without ending up in the hospital, or causing more excessive, collateral damage if we try to use the firearm component.

“It’s really bad because we can’t really use any of my momentum harnessing and/or controlling techniques and tech I use with Crescent Rose because Shining Star’s a shotgun-axe, and it’s a lot less aerodynamic.

“On the plus side, I might be able to just freely attach them to the weapon thanks to the already bulky design, but then that might necessitate Akko having to get used to the entirely new balance and weight of it.

“But do the buffers need to be on Shooting Star itself?” Snowie countered as she continued scribbling without much effort. “My daddy’s robot limbs have a lot of internal buffers and servos to amplify and compensate for all the stress, damage, and physical labour he puts himself through, not to mention all the upgrades he made specifically for surpassing his biological limbs’ limits, or making it a better option than using his originals.

“He prefers punching Grimm in the face with his robot hand for a very good reason! You know, aside from the fact that it’s easier and less painful to repair if it breaks, than his flesh-and-bone hand.”

Ruby blinked. “Huh. That’ll definitely be much more expensive, and I’ll have to call some friends back at the Bunker who specialized in exoskeletal enhancement rigs, but yeah, it could be better in the long-run!

“Maybe we could even go past recoil absorption, and go straight into power amplification, with all the extra leeway.”

“Thermoelectric generator to charge and power servos, make the second chop hurt much more than the first?” Snowie offered. “Though we’ll have to limit how much energy they can actually store, or else we’ll probably blow Akko’s arms off from the reaction...”

“And even if they do stay on, they’ll likely shatter all her bones, probably beyond repair this time...” Ruby muttered.

The two of them furrowed their brows as they considered a way around of this problem, before two metaphorical lightbulbs went off in their heads at the same time.

“Her semblance!” Ruby and Snowie said at the same time, their eyes shining with a similar glow.

“Temporary invincibility, plus a strength boost from the inhibition of her pain receptors, right?” Ruby asked.

“Exactly!” Snowie said, furiously scribbling now. “If we can train Akko to activate it JUST before it comes into contact, every single time, she can probably decimate whatever she’s attacking without completely fucking herself up!” The light in her eyes faded, her writing slowed down. “… And probably everyone around and behind her, too, because the reaction will likely send her spinning, or flying off at an angle like a missile, and then we better hope there isn’t anything hard and solid that she’ll hit while she still has high velocity, because her semblance would be deactivated and recharging by then, so...

She sighed and looked down. “… Never mind, it’s a terrible idea...” she mumbled as she put her quill down.

“Hey, don’t feel bad, we’re brainstorming!” Ruby said. “It’s a feature, not a bug! And besides, I got a great idea for how we can redirect all that force away from her arms, inspiration thanks to Diana’s semblance...”

Snowie blinked, looked at Ruby in a mix of wariness and fear, before she hesitantly took her quill back up. “Okay…? I’m listening…!”

Whitley gently nudged Weiss on the shoulder. “Don’t worry: I’m certain it’s simply just the two of them platonically nerd-bonding, nothing more,” he said teasingly.

Weiss blinked, and looked at him. “What are you talking about…?”

Whitley he looked at Ruby and Snowie deep in conversation once more, then back at Weiss’ confused expression. “Oh... oh, I see how it is,” he said, nodding and looking satisfied.

Weiss’ eyes widened. “Are you--?!” Her cheeks turned red. “Look here, you little shit: this isn’t one of your yuri manga or fanfics when the team full of girls eventually hook up with each other!” she hissed. “This is real life, Ruby is just my teammate and my friend, and if I may remind you again, I swore to hold off on the romance ever since Aqua...!”

“I believe you!” Whitley said, holding up his free hand. “Calm down, I believe you, Weiss!”

Weiss glared at him, before she sulked and went back to watching Starlight Crusaders.

“Here’s to hoping it goes better than it did with Aqua...” Whitley thought as he turned back to the screen, a small smile spreading on his face.

Yes, the Bunker also has a storage room full of robot helping legs, giant or otherwise. The other body parts and non-human limbs share a series of rooms together, because they’re not nearly as numerous enough to justify having their own dedicated storage.

No, Weiss is DEFINITELY not afraid her mother is going to attempt to make a move on Ruby, it’s more a “I’m jealous I can’t do this thing that my new, good friend clearly enjoys so much and needs at the moment because her arms are broken, and realize I could have learned to do it if I bothered to learn more about mechanical engineering when I was younger, and now I can’t even concentrate on my favourite show because I really kinda hate myself right now for not being here to help my teammate.” sort of feeling.

#little witch academia #rwby #fanfic #and the awrd goes to #dianakko #white rose

[myrtenasterrose]

👋🏻 white rose 25? :)

“My nightmares are usually about losing you.”

Ooooh, angst! Right up my alley! >:)

(Putting this one under the cut, because it got long!)

Ruby was brought from a peaceful sleep by quiet whimpers. Cracking bleary eyes open, she was immediately on alert when the whimpering continued and only intensified. Her brain began piecing everything together, and she remembered Blake and Yang had been sent out on a double’s mission earlier today, meaning the noises could only be coming from one person…

Silver eyes now open wide in worry. Ruby leapt down from her bunk.

Weiss…

Sure enough, her partner was sleeping fretfully, tossing and turning, pitiful whines escaping her parted lips every now and then.

Each sound created a new crack in Ruby’s heart.

Turning on a nearby lamp, Ruby set to work in waking the heiress.

“Weiss?” she coaxed gently, not wanting to startle, but rouse the sleeping girl all the same. “Weiss, wake up.”

A breathless gasp and frantic blue eyes piercing the haze was what immediately greeted the leader as Weiss shot up in her bed.

“R-Ruby?”

Ruby gave her best smile, sitting down on Weiss’s mattress before pulling the girl into a hug.

“It’s me,” she responded. “You were crying out in your sleep. Nightmare?”

Ice blue clouded over as their owner weakly returned the hug.

“Yeah…”

“I’ll gladly listen if you want to talk,” Ruby told her, not one word being a lie. “Yang always told me talking is the best method for coping when it comes to nightmares.”

Pulling out of the embrace, Weiss wiped at her eyes before sighing.

“It’s nothing new,” she responded, her empty tone causing Ruby to shiver.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first night Weiss had been plagued by bad dreams. Ever since team RWBY had been reunited after the Fall of Beacon, Weiss awoke crying, sweating–even screaming one time–at least several nights a week. From the previous times, Ruby was able to gather tonight’s dream most likely had to do with Weiss’s time in Atlas. Ruby didn’t know exactly what went down while Weiss had been home, but she, Blake, and Yang had all been able to deduce the experience had been less than enjoyable.

“Home again?” Ruby then guessed meekly.

Weiss nodded. “My father,” she added bitterly.

“Weiss, what happened while you were in Atlas?” Ruby couldn’t help but ask as she watched a tear trail down porcelain cheeks, desperately wanting to brush it away, but afraid to overstep her bounds. “You’ve been acting differently ever since Yang and I ran into you in Mistral. You’re friendlier and more chipper most of the time, but then your eyes are empty. It scares me Weiss. You’re hollow, and…a-and I want to help you.”

Moments passed where the red and white duo sat in lingering silence. Ruby had started trailing her hand up and down Weiss’s arm as means of comfort, and, eventually, Weiss rested her head against Ruby’s shoulder, the younger girl blushing as she heard the content sigh that escaped the heiress’s lips at the action.

“A lot of things happened while I was in Atlas, Ruby,” Weiss mumbled eventually. “None of them good, except for my escape.”

“Escape?” Ruby echoed, picking up on the unique choice of words.

“I was essentially held prisoner in my own home eventually,” Weiss started piecing together. “I was coerced into singing at a charity ball my family held, and it was there a boy tried to flirt with me. He was daft and full of himself, like everyone in Atlas is, and I just lost it. I snapped, calling everyone out for being shallow and vain, and caused quite a scene.

“Then my father came over, saying I was embarrassing the family. He grabbed my wrist, and I just couldn’t take him handling me like that anymore. I pulled away, but fell, and ended up summoning a Boarbatusk in the process.”

Ruby’s grip on Weiss only intensified as the girl began to break down beside her, recalling each and every traumatic event that led to their reunion. Ruby had the feeling though that this mistreatment hadn’t only begun with Weiss’s most recent time there, and that only served to further infuriate the young leader.

“The Boarbatusk charged at the woman I had been yelling at, but Mr Ironwood put it down before it could do any damage,” Weiss carried on, her voice monotonous and face devoid of any emotion. “She tried appealing to the general, saying I needed to be locked up and that I was crazy. Father came over and grabbed me again, pulling me to my feet. I didn’t even try and fight him that time. We ended up in my room, where he continued to verbally degrade me, going on and on about how his family’s image had been tarnished by my doings.

“I just… I snapped then, Ruby,” she stopped here to look at Ruby, and the younger girl immediately had tears spring to her eyes to match Weiss’s own. Ice blue irises were shimmering from past hauntings, and Ruby was close to being sick.

Weiss Schnee was never supposed to look this broken.

“I finally stood up for myself,” she carried on, however, and Ruby prided her courageousness. “I don’t remember everything I said, but when I said the Schnee name wasn’t his to lead anymore, but mine, and that it was a name he married into, he hit me.”

“What?!”

At the small sob that broke free from the girl next to her, Ruby knew she had heard correctly.

Weiss had been abused. And who knew how long it had truly been going on.

“Your father hit you?” Ruby balked, anger oozing into her tone, squeezing Weiss even closer to her. “Weiss, how long has this been going on? How… How have you managed to keep this inside so long?!”

“I…didn’t think anyone would care,” the broken heiress simply mumbled in response.

“Wouldn’t care?! Weiss, you’re our teammate; my partner! Of course we care!”

Weiss just shrugged, and Ruby realized like a punch to the gut that Weiss only thought that way because she had been beaten down enough to believe she didn’t matter. Anything that troubled her back home, she always had to keep inside her. Coming to others with her problems was never an option; thus she was forced to keep everything deep within, something that became so second-nature, it was even carried with her to Beacon in the beginning.

“Either way,” Weiss prepared to finish, seemingly shrugging everything else off then, “I immediately started training with Myrtenaster again. I managed to summon at will and control it, and once I felt ready, Klein, the only person I ever trusted and loved in that mansion, helped me get out of there.”

A second of silence passed where Ruby was still trying to figure out what she could possibly say.

“Now I’m just cursed to relieve each and every moment of it all in my dreams…”

Bowing her head, Ruby pulled Weiss back into a hug, balling the older girl’s nightgown in her fists as she turned to hide her face in Weiss’s hair.

Sniffling, she spoke. “Weiss, I’m so sorry. I know that can’t repair all the pain you never deserved to feel, but I just… I’m so, so sorry!”

Ruby would never see it, but a smile broke free upon Weiss’s face at that, her gaze turning nothing but affectionate as she looked down at the girl hiding against her.

Another tear fell, but this time, it was from the unconditional love she could feel emanating from her partner.

Love she never thought she would receive, let alone deserve.

“Thank you, Ruby,” she mumbled. “I’m just happy I’m back at Beacon, and with you.”

“Me too.”

Silence reigned once more as the girls remained in their personal cocoon. Soon, an unspoken agreement passed between them as both Ruby and Weiss laid back down in the older girl’s bed, never breaking their connection.

Ruby was almost asleep in Weiss’s arms before the girl spoke again.

“Ruby?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you… Do you ever have nightmares?”

The hesitant tone caused Ruby to look up, only to be met with a bashful but curious Weiss, and the brunette almost squealed from the adorable expression.

Still, her answer was nothing but serious. 

“I have nightmares all the time, Weiss.”

“It’s just…” a dark pink tinted Weiss’s cheeks then, and Ruby had to hold back her giggles, “You always seem so happy and carefree; you see the best in everyone and everything; I just can’t imagine a girl as animated as you having nightmares.”

Weiss chewed on her bottom lip momentarily, which wasn’t helping Ruby in not wanting to close the distance between them once more.

“What… What are your nightmares about?”

Surprisingly, Ruby only smiled as she took both of the heiress’s hands in her own, staring so deep into the ice blue before her that Weiss felt she was under a daze.

“Believe it or not,” she whispered, “my nightmares are usually about losing you.”

Weiss’s eyes widened at the admission as Ruby blushed.

“W-What?” the older girl stuttered.

“I… I l-love you, Weiss, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it now. Whenever I do, I wake up so terrified, I have to reassure myself you’re safe asleep in the bunk below me before I can even begin to calm down.”

Weiss simply continued to blink amusingly at Ruby. The younger girl chuckled softly at the frozen girl before mustering all her courage and kissing Weiss’s cheek. 

“Y-You…?”

“Love you,” Ruby finished with absolute certainty. “You don’t have to say anything back, in fact I’d prefer we leave this to be discussed at a later time, but I just need you to know that. I love you, Weiss; losing you is my greatest fear, and most importantly: you are among friends now. Blake and Yang love you too, and anytime you have a nightmare now, or anything troubles you at all, we’ll lend all our help at your reach. Please don’t have anything to fear.”

More tears began to spill from the girl’s eyes, but Ruby moved to kiss them away before they could mar perfect skin anymore. Weiss shuddered next to her.

And then, a gentle whisper into the night was all it took to lift both girls up into the clouds.

“I love you too, Ruby…”

So that kinda got out of hand… O.o Still, thanks @bexloko! @mamakatie actually sent in the same prompt, so this is for you too! 

(I told you angst was right up my alley!)

#writing prompt #white rose #bexloko #mamakatie

[play-read-write]

Called From Shadows

Fandom: RWBY Characters: Team RWBY Words: 2421 Description: After having adjusted to her current summons Weiss moves to find a third and likely final summon. (Summoner AU chap 3. Other chapters: 1, 2, 4)

“You know, Weiss, I gotta admit, you got a pretty sweet setup here.” Yang says as she sits beside Ruby, fighting against her in a game on a large screen.

“I’m not going to disagree, but what are you referring to?” Weiss asks from her seat nearby, a large book in hand.

“Well, you got an awesome house, great food, plenty of stuff, you can summon some awesome company at will,” She pauses to fist bump with Ruby, “and you’ve never got anyone bugging you to tell you what to do.”

“Believe it or not I do have other obligations.” Weiss says, “You simply get to see my free time because that’s when I summon you so it seems like that.”

“Well, still, looks pretty good from where I’m sitting.” Yang says.

“Yeah well how’s this look?” Ruby says as she plays.

“Hey!” Yang says and pouts a bit as she dies.

“You’re the one who got distracted.”

“Whatever.” Yang says and tosses the controller aside. “So Princess, what’s on the agenda for today, or is this it?”

“This is all I had planned for today.” Weiss says.

“You know, maybe I’ll take it back, you got a big house but it gets boring. Eating and playing games is only fun for so long.”

“What else do you suggest we do?” Weiss asks.

“Well I can think of one thing.” Yang says and winks at her with a smirk.

“Um, little sister, right here.” Ruby says, “Asking you to please stop hitting on Weiss.”

“Oh please, I’m just playing around.” Yang says, “See, more fun.”

“Hmm, I suppose…” Weiss says in thought.

“You suppose what?” Ruby asks, “Don’t tell me you just agreed to that.”

“What, of course not.” Weiss says, “I mean there was something I was thinking of.”

“Oh, spill.” Yang says.

“Well I’ve been summoning the two of you for a while now. The common number of summons, at a time, for a summoner is three. So if I was able, it would be better to get to work on maintaining a third summon. I doubt I’ll try to go above that.”

“Nice, new blood.” Yang says, “Want us to help?”

“No, I was thinking of doing this on my own again. Seeing who I could meet.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Sounds awful.” Ruby says.

“Oh don’t be a party pooper.” Yang says, “What’s so bad about meeting new people? You met Weiss.”

“Yeah and then she passed out.”

“Smooth. She didn’t even do that when she got a look at me. You got it going on.”

“Yaanngg.”

“Fine I’ll stop.” Yang says with a chuckle. “Still, I like the idea. Like I said, can get kind of boring with just the two of you around.”

“Yes, insult me, the perfect way to get me to do something you want.” Weiss says.

“Sorry, I’m just a people person, you know? And there’s barely enough here to qualify for that.”

“I do understand. It’s a big house, it can get a bit… lonely.” She says softly. After a pause she closes the book with a snap. “Very well, today it is then.” She stands up and tucks her book under her arm. “Shall we go to my bedroom?”

“Oh my, Weiss, how forward. At least take me to dinner first.” Yang teases.

“As if I haven’t given you enough food.” Weiss says, leading them back.

…

Ruby sat on Weiss’ bed while Yang took a seat on a nearby desk. “I wonder what it’ll look like when they show up.” She ponders.

“That’s right.” Weiss says, “Both of you had a strange entrance when I summoned you the first time. What was that about?”

“Wow, do they not teach you anything?” Yang asks.

“Actually not really. Most summoners are helped to learn how to do their first summons, but are expected to learn from their summons thereafter. It’s supposed to be a bonding experience and help us learn through experience. I’ve read books, but even there it’s hard to find information.”

“Dang, that’s just awful. You got some crappy teachers.” Yang says, “Anyway, it’s hard to describe. We don’t really control it. When a bond is formed though we kind of show up as who we are. Part of being a creature of magic I guess.”

“As who you are?” Weiss asks, “What does that mean?”

“Oh, I know this one!” Ruby says, “How did that book put it? Umm, when a summon forms a bond with a summoner, they display their soul to them through an uncontrolled burst of magic. The display is unique to each individual summon and is the truest expression of themselves.” She recites.

“Wow, how textbook.” Yang says.

“Quite.” Weiss says, “But helpful nonetheless. Thank you, Ruby. I suppose it does explain a lot.”

“So what are you waiting for, get us some company.” Yang says.

“Yes yes, don’t rush me.” Weiss says. She drew myrtenaster and pointed it forward, then down and placed the point on the ground, focusing. Letting her magic flow out into the Otherworld she searched for a presence, someone she could call upon. She felt sparks, lights, wills out in the beyond like stars. A group of them that she avoided, lest she call upon someone doing something and get denied. She kept sensing around, and eventually found someone alone and extended as much mana as she thought she could spare as a welcome. It took a bit and for a while she thought she would be denied, until finally they accepted her mana. She opened her eyes as the bond was formed and the door opened.

Darkness flooded the room, like all the lights on Remnant had been extinguished. “Um, okay.” Ruby says, “Even Yang’s not glowing.”

“Ominous.” Yang says.

Then a soft purple glow forms, flickering tendrils of light just in front of Weiss. Darker shadows dance upon lighter ones as the light moves. Then like a pair of candles two sharp amber eyes open before them, gazing out. Like a switch flicked the shadows withdraw, forming the shape of a person. Then they solidified, a few flashed like an inverted image, forming white that contrasted the pitch black. Some flowed backwards and solidified into hair while others formed ribbons and clothes, finally settling into the form of a person. A stark contrast of black and white, pitch black clothes mixed with white, hair like threaded darkness against pale skin.

The new girl blinked and looked around, taking in the people and place around her and eventually settling on Weiss, standing up before her, and the rapier in her hand. “What do you want?” She asks.

“Damn Weiss, good find.” Yang says.

“That was so cool.” Ruby says.

“Welcome.” Weiss says, “I’m a summoner, as you probably noticed. These two are Ruby and Yang, my current summons. I was looking for someone to join me as a third. Would you be interested?”

“You didn’t answer my question.” The dark haired girl said, “Why are you looking for someone else? What do you want?”

“I…” Weiss starts, a bit taken aback. “I did tell you, I’m just looking for someone to join us.”

“We want company.” Yang says, “Gets boring just the three of us. We’d like to have someone to have some fun with us. Play games and stuff.”

“I’m not really the game playing type. Is that all you wanted?”

“I’m actually focusing more on maintaining my summons. I’ve gotten used to having two around for a while, so since three is the most common I thought a third would be useful in accompanying me to get used to it.”

“So you just want me to sit around so you can get used to it, staying around the bond like a leash.”

It was now that Weiss noticed one particular aspect that she hadn’t before, most likely due to the intimidating eyes; the girl was a faunus. “No, not like that. Well, I mean yes you can’t go beyond the bond, as I couldn’t maintain the connection, but you can do whatever you like otherwise. You’re free to leave if you like.”

“Here I thought we got lucky.” Yang says in a disappointed tone, “This girl’s making it pretty hard though.”

“My apologies, Yang’s a bit quick to act and slow to think, especially when it comes to her words.”

“I think you’ll probably be better off finding someone else. I do better alone.”

“We have food.” Comes Ruby’s voice, drawing attention as she seemingly attempts to hide behind one of the posts on Weiss’ four poster bed. “Lots of it. Every kind. It’s really good. She’s got a library too, and games, and movies. You can just hang out at one of those if you wanna. Then you can stay here, and do what you want, she gets to keep practicing, and you don’t have to worry about someone else trying to summon you if you wanna be alone. Win-win.”

She looks at Ruby, then at Yang, back to Ruby, and then Weiss. After a moment she finally speaks. “Fine.” She says, “That can work.”

“Thank you.” Weiss says, “I just have one request, aside from you staying.”

“What is it?”

“Well, you see, my family has had… troubles with a group of faunus. As a summon they likely won’t care what parts you have, but if someone were to see you and not know you were summoned by me, it might raise alarm. Could you cover those?”

“You want me to hide my ears?”

“Aww, but they’re cute.” Ruby says, and then immediately covers her mouth.

“I understand if you would prefer not to, but if you don’t then it’s likely someone would feel threatened, so if you could it would help us both.” Weiss explains.

She sighs and relents. “It’s not the first time.” She says. A tendril of shadow rises up from her and coils around her ears before solidifying into a ribbon that hid them.

“So,” Yang says, jumping down off of the desk and walking over. “Names Yang, as the short one said-“

“Hey!”

She holds out her hand, “Pleasure to meet you. Welcome to the club. What’s your name?”

“Blake.” She says, looking her right in the eye and ignoring the handshake.

“Right, Blake.” Yang says, withdrawing her hand, “So, wanna come get something to eat with us? Weiss’ kitchen is super stocked with food. Fresh fruit and veggies, lean meats, or fatty if you like that. Plenty of sweets, like eighteen different teas and twenty different coffees.”

“Thank you.” Blake says, giving a small nod, “Show me where.”

“Sweet.” Yang says, smiling. “Come on Rubes, we’ll show the new girl around. Weiss can just walk with us.”

“Okay.” Ruby says, heading over to her side. “We can leave after the tour so Weiss can rest.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” Weiss says, “I’m already feeling a bit weak. I think I can manage a welcome dinner though.”

“So pussy cat-“

“Never call me that.”

“Alrighty, so Blake, what’s your flavor? Got something you want?” Yang asks as her and Ruby leads the way out.

“Is there any seafood?” She asks, following them out.

…

“Winter.” Jacques says as the woman in question enters his office. “Can’t you see I’m busy?” He asks, gesturing at the General.

“It’s fine, Jacques.” Ironwood says, “We’re not on duty and this is her home, I don’t mind.”

Jacques lets out a sound of discontent but concedes. “Fine, what is it you want?”

“Well, Father, it’s about Weiss.” Winter says.

“She has been named Heiress if that’s what you’re here about, you gave up that title a while ago.”

“It is not. I have no desire to take part in the dust business, but she is still my family and this is still my home. I care about her. At the moment I’m not sure if I should be worried or proud though.”

“What do you mean? Have you seen something?”

“Yes, actually. Something quite interesting.”

“Well don’t just dance around it, girl, say it already.”

“She’s been summoning.”

“Of course she has. I’m aware she has started that.”

“Her first summon was, in fact, a first summoning.” Winter elaborates.

“Is that supposed to concern me?”

“Actually it’s impressive.” Ironwood adds, “Most summoners have trouble pulling a summon through if they’re not already acquainted with the real world. It’s rare for someone to do so as their first.”

“So she did well. Is that all?”

“She’s found a second summon already too.”

“A broken seal and a second summon already? I expected talent but that almost seems to be pushing herself dangerously far.” Ironwood says.

“It’s not just that. For the second summon she used a duel world method, Hansel and Gretel to be specific.”

“Forgive my ignorance, I was more focused on learning to manage a multibillion lien enterprise than studying about the barbaric practice. What is so special about this?”

“It’s called a duel world method for a reason.” Ironwood explains, “A summoner exists in both the real world and the Otherworld at the same time, spreading their consciousness over both planes. It’s usually used to try and map the Otherworld, though that has never succeeded. If a person gets lost there, well they risk their sanity. The Hansel and Gretel method involves the help of a summon to lead a path through. It’s the least dangerous method.”

“So not only is she doing this ridiculous summoning, she’s choosing the stupidest way to do it.”

“Not exactly.” Winter says, “That method is usually fairly safe, but typically takes a lot of work to acquire the mana necessary to attempt it. Between that and her having broken a seal, even if it did cause her to pass out, I’d say my dear little sister is quite gifted. What I came for is to ask that you give her someone to help train her. If she keeps exploring avenues like this on her own it could be a danger, and you wouldn’t want your heiress to lose her sanity. Having someone that powerful as your poster child though, would be very beneficial.”

“I decide what will be good for the company.” Jacques says, “However her losing her sanity, especially with such apparent potential could be dangerous. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Father.” Winter says, “General.” She salutes him. “I’ll be going now.” With that she turns and leaves, letting them resume their talk, and hoping she’d just helped rather than hindered.

#RWBY #Ruby Rose #Weiss Schnee #Blake Belladonna #Yang Xiao Long #My Fanfic #February Challenge #Summoner AU

[ruffsficstuffplace]

And The AWRD Goes To... (Part 7)

Water dripping from above, echoing as it splattered on hard rock, a pool of water somewhere. A chill in the air, warded off by something warm and soft wrapped around Weiss—it smelt of bullet propellant dust, burnt smells, machine oil, and… baked goods? The faint, rhythmic sounds of something scratching—no, scrubbing metal.

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re awake!” Diana said. “Here, drink this.”

“Mnn…” Weiss groaned as she felt something metallic pressed to her lips, cool water pouring into her mouth, a taste on her tongues like dried herbs and roots, ones she could only describe as “bitter as hell.” She coughed it back up, spluttering and spitting.

“Come on, drink up, it’ll be good for you, I promise.”

“Maybe you should try some pickled plums instead!” Akko said.

“Your faith in it is not unfounded, Akko, but trust me: Weiss could would do better with some fluids first. Would you like to try just water?”

“Nnggh…” Weiss said as she opened her eyes, found herself staring up at a damp cavern lit up by a warm orange glow from a lamp. “Just… let me sit up and…” she tried to move her arms, found herself unable to move them.

“Sorry—did I wrap you in my cloak too tight?” Ruby asked.

Weiss felt her cheeks begin to heat up. “Yes. A little help, please?”

Diana freed her from Ruby’s cloak, helped her sit up. “Where are we…?” Weiss asked as she took the canister of water and herbs from Diana, took a sip of it. She gagged and spluttered again, but forced herself to swallow it anyway.

“No idea!” Akko said as she sat in the corner, cleaning out Shooting Star while Ruby worked on Myrtenaster. “We lost connection with the CCT a while ago, and this tunnel has just been going on, and on, and on…! Soon as we found this spring, we just had to stop.”

“How long was I out?!” Weiss asked, eyes widening.

“No more than an hour, thankfully,” Diana replied. “We were quite concerned when you passed out earlier, but thankfully, your breathing never stopped, and your heart-rate normalized soon enough. I was ah, kind of concerned you’d become feverish or delirious when you started muttering in your sleep, though…”

Weiss’ face slowly fell in horror.

“Don’t worry!” Ruby said. “What happens in this cave will stay in this cave!”

Weiss sighed, closed her eyes as she brought the canister to her lips again. “I am so sorry for anything I might have said…” she muttered as she forced herself to drink again.

There was a bit of awkward silence, before Diana said, “Moving on to more important matters… I’m starting to wonder if we shouldn’t just backtrack and try to climb up the cliff again, hope the Grimm up there have already long lost interest, and one of those other tunnels will lead back to the Celestial Hills.

“Your grandfather wouldn’t have happened to mention anything about an underground system like this, would you?”

“Sorry, no,” Weiss said. “He told me that telling me about all the secret tunnels and escape routes they’ve found while they were scouting the hills would be cheating.”

Diana sighed. “I never thought I would ever regret someone behaving professionally…”

“So what’s the plan?” Weiss said, idly sipping more of the water.

“We were discussing just that earlier, actually,” Diana replied. “Akko and Ruby are in favour of seeing just how deep this metaphorical rabbit hole goes, I would like to turn around…” She cast a disdainful look at their surroundings. “Deep, sprawling, underground systems have never sat well with me, you see.”

“Same, but I vote to go with Akko and Ruby,” Weiss said. “I’ve found that when in doubt, her instincts are… generally good!”

Diana nodded. “Ready to start heading out again, then?”

“Just give me a little while longer to rest, maybe some pickled plums while we’re at it,” Weiss said.

Diana nodded. “Understood.”

Weiss swallowed the last of the canister, shuddering as the wet, solid ingredients touched her tongue, forced down her throat. “Guh, this stuff is nasty!”

“Can’t question its effectiveness, however,” Diana said. “Don’t you feel a lot better?”

“Sans feeling like I’d just face-planted a forager’s basket with my mouth open, yes… yes I do…” Weiss muttered. She looked at the empty canister. “Wait, where did you get this water?” she did a double take at the spring. “Don’t tell me you–”

“Yes, but it’s purified, I assure you!” Diana snapped. “Gwragedd Annwn’s technology may be primitive by many standards, but it still works as well as it did for Beatrix.”

“It’s actually really cool, how it works, and how they managed to fit an entire water filtration system inside the rod and the spear, without sacrificing structural integrity, dust amplification capabilities, or combat effectiveness since it ALSO doubles as a hydraulic actuator for seriously ramping up the force of any attacks!” Ruby called out. “Of course, it only works with Diana’s family’s semblance, but hey, it IS a pre-Great War artifact…”

“Huh…” Weiss said as she relaxed. “So yours is genetic, too?”

Diana nodded. “Yes—energy and force manipulation, emphasis on fluid dynamics. You inherited your grandmother’s glyphs?”

Weiss nodded. “I did.”

“It’s a real shame you didn’t inherit all of it, or even part of your grandfather’s, but I suppose that’s the mystery of auras and semblances for you…” Diana said.

Weiss winced, Akko awkwardly stopped in the middle of test-loading Shooting Star with her remaining munitions.

“… My apologies, was that a sore point?” Diana asked.

“Yeah…” Weiss replied. “Full disclosure: I DO have summoning like her, I just.. don’t really use it for reasons. Personal reasons. So if you could not badger me about ‘severely limiting my combat effectiveness by willingly ignoring part of my semblance,’ that’d be much appreciated.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Diana replied. “Even then, you certainly mastered those glyphs to devastating effect.”

“Thanks,” Weiss said. She set the canister down, stood up and stretched. “You girls ready to go? Because I am.”

“Arms, armour, and ammo, all in order!” Akko said as she stood up.

“You’ll still be cleaning excess dust out the vents when we get back, but you have my word Myrtenaster won’t be jamming while we’re out here!” Ruby said as she snapped Myrtenaster’s revolver back into place, headed over to Weiss. “Refilled all her dust vials, too.”

“Thank you, Ruby,” Weiss said as she took it from her hands, admired the freshly honed and reloaded sword. “If there’s anything I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask!”

“Can you start by giving my cloak back…?”

Weiss blinked. “Oh. Shit.” She stepped off it, reached down and picked it up. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Ruby said, before she put her cloak on with a flourish, hummed as she snapped the clasps back into place, smiled as she wrapped it around her and hugged herself.

Weiss found herself suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to let out a high-pitched squeal of delight, resisted it, and distracted herself by holstering Myrtenaster at her side.

“Alright: now that Weiss is back up on her feet, we’re changing formation,” Diana said as she stood up and picked up her spear. “I’ll still take point, Weiss behind me, Ruby next, and Akko bringing up the rear. Any objections?”

“None,” Weiss said. “Sounds like a solid formation to me.”

“Good—let’s move,” Diana said, picking up the handle of their lamp with her spear, slowly marching down deeper into the cavern.

“Hey, girls? Did you happen to encounter any Grimm down here?” Weiss asked.

“None so far, and I rather hope it stays that way,” Diana said. “These tunnels don’t seem to be connected with the castle, or else the Grimm would have sensed our auras and swarmed us earlier. Still prudent to move slowly and carefully, even without you down…”

Weiss nodded. “… Ah, silly question, feel free to ignore it, but how did you guys carry me all the way here?”

“That was just me, actually!” Ruby said. “Diana didn’t like the idea of leaving our rear undefended, and Crescent Rose is pretty useless at confined quarters like this.”

“O-Oh. Thank you, Ruby,” Weiss said, eyes forward as her cheeks heated up again. “I apologize for being heavy…”

“Aw, don’t worry about it: my family had a HUGE thing for exercise regimes, and carrying Crescent Rose around really builds the upper body muscles—carrying you was nothing!”

Weiss cheeks burned brighter. “… I see…!”

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, nothing but the sound of their footsteps echoing on the stone floor, the faint crackle of their lamp as it burned through its red dust. Akko didn’t seem to be exaggerating earlier when she said the tunnel just went on and on—if she didn’t know any better, had listened less intently to her grandparents’ stories, she would have begun to wonder if she wasn’t just trapped in some bizarre, looping anomaly in reality.

Finally, though, the tunnel seemed to be widening, the walls started to look different, and a cavern seemed to be just on the horizon—but for a very ominous reason. “Halt,” Diana said softly, holding their lamp closer to the walls. “Look—these tunnels were definitely not carved out by groundwater or tectonic movement…”

“You think it could be molerats?” Akko asked.

“Do you think a molerat colony, however large, would feel compelled to dig a tunnel big enough for teenagers to walk relatively comfortably in, before leading out to a giant cavern?” Diana snapped.

“Sorry…” Akko mumbled.

“So we’ve got gravediggers on our hands, is that what you’re saying?” Weiss said.

“Precisely. We’ve got two choices: turn around, and try my idea of scaling the cliffs; or go ahead and investigate, hope the Grimm have migrated a long time ago. If not, we’ve potentially got a hell of a fight on our hands, and there’s little chance of running this time.”

“Gravers always have tunnels that lead to the surface, though,” Ruby said. “Well, that or an abandoned underground colony, somewhere, but then that’d have ventilation shafts that’ll definitely lead us above ground.”

“Do you think it’d be worth the risk, however?” Diana said.

“Yes,” Weiss said. “We definitely know we’ve got Grimm waiting for us back the way we came—I doubt our cliff-face climbing won’t attract their attention, have them waiting for us, if they don’t just start calling out for a new nevermore.”

“Also, I don’t think I can make the whole trip back and still be good to climb straight up a cliff…” Ruby muttered. “We took so LONG to get here, and that spring was so far back…”

“We might even find our artifacts at the end of this tunnel!” Akko said. “Maybe it leads to a treasure cave, one that was below the castle the entire time. Then, we’ll find a way out, AND pass initiation!”

Diana looked at them unhappily, before she sighed. “Good points all around… everyone know what to do with gravers?”

“No talking, or loud noises, except as a distraction,” Weiss said.

“Watch your feet, they like to pop up from below,” Akko continued.

“And always keep on moving—you stand still, you get swarmed,” Ruby finished.

“Wonderful. Oh, and Akko? You still have plenty of grenades left, yes?”

“Ah, yeah! I do. I was planning on not using them until our situation looks pretty fucked again, don’t worry.”

“Good on you, but I was actually going to ask if I could have one..”

“Uh… sure, but what for?” Akko asked as she reached into her satchel, the others passed it over.

“If those things get me, I’m going to be taking as many of them with me,” Diana snapped. “And if I do die, please do me a favour and insist on destroying every gravedigger nest you find.”

“I’m sensing a really storied history with you and gravers…” Weiss muttered.

“You have no idea, just how deep my hatred for these cowardly, predatory, irreverent pests runs…” Diana growled as she put the grenade into one of the series of bags on her belt. She sucked in a deep breath, and relaxed. “Now: anything anyone wants to get out of the way before we shut up for our safety?”

Weiss, Akko, and Ruby all shook their heads as one.

“Good. Akko, take point this time: you’re best suited for CQC. Myself and Ruby take the sides for the reach of our weapons, Weiss watch our backs. Objections?”

“None.” “Nope.” “Nuh-uh.”

“Excellent,” Diana said, as she moved into position. “And again: be very, very quiet… we could be hunting gravers.”

The four of them readied their weapons, and marched forward as gently as they could, eyes alternating between sweeping their surroundings, and looking at the ground below them. However, they couldn’t help but lose the tense, military-like caution as they exited the tunnel and stepped into the cavern.

“Sweet Mother Beatrix…” Diana whispered as they all came to a stop.

It was a massive dome, the floor flat and the walls smooth, unnaturally so with how the rock seemed to have melted and fused from some catastrophic explosion long ago. In the center of it all was a massive pile of rocks, hidden in shadow for the limited power of their lamp.

“This… this doesn’t look like it was made by gravers,” Weiss whispered. “At all.”

“Where are we…?” Ruby asked.

“And what’s at the top of that thing?” Akko asked. “Wait, hold on—Ruby, take the lamp, I’m going to use my flashlight.”

“Akko!” Diana hissed as the exchange was made. “Don’t break formation to investigate!”

“I won’t!” Akko whispered back as she pulled out her flashlight, the indicator red for how long she’d used it earlier, how little time recharging under the sun it had gotten. “I’m just going to take a quick look, and–”

The focused beam of Akko’s flashlight cut through the darkness, illuminating the object at the top of hill; the four of them squinted as something reflected back at them… seven points of light, with a golden arch all settled into a vaguely rod-like configuration, before Akko’s flashlight died.

Beat.

“OH MY GOSH, IS THAT THE SHINY ROD?!” Akko screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes sparkling, her words echoing in the chamber for several seconds.

Everyone else winced and jumped, tensed up and readied their weapons as they heard a distinct rumbling, the ground below them start to shake, an ominous, terrible feeling fill the air. Akko’s eyes widened as she slapped her hand over her mouth, she looked sheepishly at Diana as she shot her the hardest, sharpest, most hostile glare any of them had ever seen in their entire lives, so full of animosity the just chilly cave became bone-chillingly cold.

“Akko,” Diana started, her voice ominously calm, “I realize that you’re a gigantic fan of Shiny Chariot, and running into her weapon here of all places has got to be one of greatest moments of your entire life, but as I’m pretty sure you have doomed us all to a terrible, horrible death by gravediggers, I would like to take this brief calm before the storm to tell you, with all the sincerity I can possibly muster from the very bottom of my heart:

“Fuck you.”

A claw with spade-shaped nails burst out of the ground, nearly grabbing Weiss’ ankle if she hadn’t jumped back. The four started to run as more and more claws erupted all around them, snatching at the empty air where their legs just were, popping up where they thought any of them would step next. Those that missed started to unburrow completely, letting out an awful, clacking noise as they snapped their jaws, their massive teeth banging against each other so hard they made sparks, eyeless heads jerking back and forth, red streaks the only features on the white plates covering their skulls.

“FIND A WAY OUT!” Diana cried as she stabbed a graver straight through its skull, vaulting to the other side with her spear as two claws reached up where her ankles just were. “FAST!” she screamed as she started running, the unburrowed gravers already charging for her.

“THE SHINY ROD!” Akko cried as she detached Shooting Star’s blade, slashed, punched, and smacked away the ever growing swarm of gravediggers flooding the room. “JUST GET THE SHINY ROD, WE’LL BE FINE!”

And at that, the giant pile of rocks started moving and shifting, the largest boulder in the pile gained a glowing red eye, before a white mask emerged, red veins spreading all throughout the surface of the earth as they started shifting and floating in the air, taking on a vaguely humanoid shape.

The gravediggers sensed the tremours from the petra gigas, quickly forgot about the huntresses as they hurriedly burrowed back into the ground. Weiss sighed as the claws around her ankles disappeared, Ruby swung through empty air where a graver should have been, yelped as she lost balance and toppled to the floor.

“… Okay, so maybe we can’t do that anymore…” Akko said as she reattached the blade, started reaching for her grenades. “But hey: at least the gravers are gone, right…?”

The whole cavern shook as a MASSIVE claw shot up from the ground, the earth shaking even more violently as it grabbed onto the floor, used it as leverage to pull its other claw out from the ground, then the rest of its body, grunting as it banged its head on the ceiling.

The Grave Lord idly rubbed that section of its skull plate, grinding its teeth together in annoyance.

The petra gigas seemed to glare at it, before it pounded both its rock arms into the ground, chunks of the ceiling and walls cracking and breaking off.

The grave lord turned it, spread its arms out wide as it roared, the sheer force of its howl knocking everyone to the ground, forced them to clap their hands over their ears as their chests thrummed painfully.

The four huntresses quickly regrouped to one side of the two titans, watched uneasily as the cavern walls started to crack and crumble even more, the two Grimm prepared to fight.

“Haah…!” Akko yelped. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing for us that geists and gravers–”

Weiss put her hand on her shoulder, she stopped. “Akko?”

“Yes, Weiss?”

“Please shut up.”

“Okay.”

#rwby #little witch academia #au #and the awrd goes to #dianakko #white rose #fanfic

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Keeper of the Grove (Part 80)

Winter stood in the center of the Raucous Room, laughing with maniacal glee as Abner’s army of combat golems were utterly decimated by gigantic and ferocious water elementals, all resembling the animals and mythological creatures her plushies were based off of.

Bubblegum Sprinkles the Unicorn Doctor pranced about the vanguard, trampling melee fighters under his hooves with grace and deadly efficiency, icy sparkles flying from his majestic mane and tail, goring the larger golems with his horn, or sending it crashing down with deadly ice spikes erupting where it struck.

The back lines were being massacred by a swarm of exotic birds with colourful feathers and outlandish outfits, Tiki, Wala, Nunu, and Mei-Mei pecking, slashing, and dodging in perfect coordination, a graceful dance to the tune of music only they could hear, and the accompanying sounds of golems desperately trying to shoot them out of the sky before they were rapidly torn apart with sharp talons and beaks.

The giant fought off all manner of elementals in all manner of hats and clothes, such as komodo dragons, chinchillas, and woodpeckers wearing down its ankles (now with a very clear and obvious straight line across them where Weiss had dismembered it last time); dogs, wolves, and hellhounds holding down its arms or wrenching its sword away and playing keep-away with it; and cats, bears, and armadillos throwing themselves at its head and chest to blind it by latching onto its face, mauling it without mercy, or trying to knock it off balance.

The giant kicked, pulled, and punched, and when it was free it threw Winter’s elementals into each other, dispelling them almost as fast as she was resummoning them and siccing them on it once more. Finally, the assault stopped, all of them retreating or knocked off for the last time.

The titan kicked Cerby the hellhound in her tail on her way out, and seemed to sigh in relief, until it saw the light above it suddenly turn a distinct white-blue.

Flubber Butter the Whale Sailor hovered in the air for a moment before he began to fall.

The golem did not have features to make expressions nor a voice, but everyone could feel the resignation.

Crash!

Flubber Butter exploded in a giant tsunami of magic, crushing the titan from the sheer volume, washing away the few that were still left standing, and all of Winter’s elementals happily jumping in and being absorbed into the wave.

Winter was still laughing as she was hit by it and sent surfing a good distance away, images of the faces of all her elementals affectionately nuzzling their owner. The tide washed away and dissipated back into raw magic, leaving a wide-eyed, grinning Winter with her clothes soaked with residue, and her knuckles white from how hard she was gripping her new runeblade-and-dagger combination.

Abner, Weiss, and Penny frowned

“Err, Winter…?” Abner asked. “Are you alright…?”

No response, though the vitals still had signs of life.

“Oh dear...” Abner muttered. “Penny, prepare for immediate extraction!” he said as he readied the teleporter.

“At once, Maker Abner,” Penny replied, before she disappeared into the Raucous Room and began to examine Winter.

“Is she going to be alright…?” Weiss asked.

“Most likely!” Abner said. “It’s a very good thing she’s already used to the effects of magical exhaustion from the suit, though it’ll definitely be a much more unpleasant experience now that she can no longer rely on its life-support systems.”

“How did you get her out of it, anyway?”

Abner beamed. “By asking nicely and carefully!”

Weiss scowled.

“Okay, seriously: aside from the differences in materials and the modifications to the design to compensate for such, the Shepherd Suit Mk. IV is almost completely identical to the Exo-Armour technology the Fae originally developed.

“I recognized some of my own improvements to the design, actually.”

Weiss frowned. “Did the Fae give it to the Queensguard on purpose, or could someone have leaked it…?”

Abner shrugged. “We may never know! The Council may be far reaching, but it’s not omniscient, and we certainly can’t keep track of every last Fae in the realm—those in Celestion and wandering around independent in Sekhmet especially!

“Intentional leaks and internal subterfuge like with how the Heralds acquired their equipment do happen, but we can take comfort with the fact that we have control over the Valley, and they don’t.”

“Is this place your version of Candela, then?” Weiss asked.

“If by that, you mean it’s the both the youngest city state and on-track to becoming the largest with each generation, is the hub of technomagical advancement, and is about the most modernized, most advanced, and relatively pleasant place to live, then yes!

“Yes, we are certainly mirrors of each other.

“The key difference is that we humans were praying hard for some place like Candela, while the Fae wish this place would just magically disappear. Even a scientist like myself wonders if the costs and risk of the Valley are worth it...”

Their conversation was interrupted by Penny and Winter returning to the control room. The former wasn’t carrying the latter in her arms, but the way Winter was shaking, pale, and giggling quietly to herself was not encouraging.

Weiss noticed she was still holding her weapon, the dagger stashed inside the hilt of the saber. She looked at Abner and Penny, they both silently gave her the go-ahead, and she began to slowly, very carefully approach Winter.

“Hey Winter...” Weiss said. “That’s a really nice new runeblade you’ve got there!”

“IT IS!” Winter asked, raising it up. “THIS THING IS AMAZING! EVEN BETTER THAN THE MK. IV WHEN THEY FIRST PUT ME INTO IT! AND THEY DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO STICK NEEDLES INTO MY SPINE THIS TIME!”

Weiss smiled uneasily. “Yeah, weaver foci are quite the trip! Now how about you let it go for now…?”

Winter frowned, then looked at her in a mix of confusion and worry. “But why would I do that…?”

Weiss opened her arms. “How are you going to hug me with those in your hands…?” she asked nervously.

Winter blinked, and dropped her sword. “Oh! Yes! Right! I might accidentally stab you with this and that would be BAD!” She let her runeblade clatter on the floor, before she tried to walk out to Weiss. “Come here, little sister!”

Penny gingerly let her go, they all watched as Winter managed three steps before she tripped and ended up on her knees.

Weiss rushed up to her. “Are you alright, Winter?” she asked as she held her up.

“I’m fine!” Winter cried. “Now get down here and let me hug you, Weiss~!” She paused “… Seriously, get down here, I can’t get up...”

Weiss did. To everyone’s relief, Winter didn’t end up crushing her any more than she usually could.

Winter burst into happy tears as she rested her chin on Weiss’ shoulder. “Oh, I missed you, little sister! I’m so glad I got captured and agreed to get out of my suit… even if I did bring you back, I’d never again be able to hug you like this without crushing all of your bones and internal organs!”

Weiss slowly, carefully hugged back. “That’s... great, Winter.”

Winter pulled away, and gently placed her hands on Weiss’ cheeks. “I still can’t believe I’ve got you back, Weiss...” she whispered. “All this time… I thought you were dead, then I thought you were a terrorist now and I’d have to kill you, and now we’re both working for a realm-wide conspiracy aimed at controlling and manipulating half of the species we belong to for their own selfish benefit!

“BUT IT’S ALL RIGHT BECAUSE WE’RE TOGETHER NOW! EXCEPT FOR THE PART WHERE YOU’RE DATING MY WORST NIGHTMARE BECAUSE WHO KNOWS IF THIS IS ALL AN ELABORATE RUSE MEANT TO FUCK WITH US, BUT STILL:

“WE’RE TOGETHER NOW!”

Weiss stared blankly at Winter.

She began to gently squish Weiss’ cheeks. “Your face… your face is so soft, Weiss...” she hummed, before she fell forward, unconscious.

Winter laid in one of Abner’s beds in the infirmary, on a vitae vine of mana water mixed with all manner of chemicals, but mostly sedatives. As she was temporarily incapable of doing anything but stare blankly up at the ceiling in a drug-induced haze, Weiss decided to examine her new gear.

She held the saber up, tested its impeccable weight and balance, unsheathed the dagger, and focused on how they felt in her hands. She could still feel the hum of her magic pouring into it and being amplified, but not nearly as strongly as Myrtenaster, and with a distinct difference to it that just made it feel off.

Rather like wearing hand-me downs that were much too large, and not as fashionable on you as it was for their previous owner, she thought.

“Are these antiques like mine?” Weiss asked.

“Oh, goodness, no!” Abner replied as he produced more alchemical concoctions for Winter. “Silsa and Freya are entirely creations of mine, and as you’ve probably guessed, have been christened by Winter. My sincerest apologies for any unpleasant memories that may have brought up.”

Weiss shrugged and reholstered Freya into Silsa’s hilt. “It’s fine; it’s been a long time since we both hit the last stage of grief,” she said as she put it back in a box by Winter’s bedside.

“But it never hurts to be careful, especially with such a touchy subject like death! Though I suppose it’s very ironic, all this coming from someone who’s been cheating it for the past 500 years or so...”

Weiss watched Abner work, saw his precise, efficient, and mechanical movements, wondered just how much of his body was still organic, if his consciousness wasn’t housed in a very life-like golem.

“Why did you make yourself immortal?” she asked.

Abner didn’t reply, working quietly with his burners, siphons, and evaporators. When the finished products were dripping or building up in their final containers, he turned around, walked over to Weiss, and sat down next to her, his spider limbs acting as a chair.

“If I had the choice, I wouldn’t have gone through with the procedure and happily joined Ily, my parents, and all my friends when nature dictated I should have….” he said with a far-off look in his eyes. “… However, I made a promise.”

“To Ilaya?”

Abner scowled. “No, to Blue, her mate. She died well before Ily was due, and with her last breaths, she asked me for one last favour. With thanks to my governor-chronicle, I remember her words clear as the day she said them:

“’Doc, there’s something about these Keepers—why they’re the way they are, why there’s only ever one of them at a time, why they need us humans and human-hybrids to keep ‘em going. There’s something out there, something big, that’s doing its damndest to keep us Human’s and Fae’s paths crossing, like someone’s playing the very long game, or is just trying again, over, over, and over again, until the Keepers finally do what it wants them to do.

“’I want you to find out what that is. And please: don’t stop until you find it.’”

“And you agreed?”

Abner sighed and nodded. “Yes, if only for Ily’s sake.

“Blue and I never got along—and why would we? We were inherently archnemeses, diametrically opposed, and destined to clash forever more: the most persistent and determined Valentinian Debt Collector at the time, vs the thorn in the entire organization’s side that was myself.

“Ilaya was about the only thing that brought us together, but even then, Blue originally conspired to turn my own best friend against me...” Abner spat, the disgust clear on his face.

“There’s a ‘terrible tale’ behind this, too?” Weiss asked.

“A very sordid story indeed...” Abner grumbled. “For some context, whereas I was the artful dodger that kept slipping my debtors’ grasp, Blue was my exact opposite, the most vicious, conniving, and determined bounty hunter you had ever seen! You could give her the flimsiest lead supported only by circumstance and gut feelings, and she’d be off like her target was already right in front of her and about to get away; give her a few months to a few years at the absolute worst, and she would have her target, or at least concrete closure for her employers and clients.

“It was why they nicknamed her that, you know, after an Old World cartoon: ‘Blue’s Clues.’

“Only instead of her being an adorable puppy leaving pawprints on objects for her owner to find, then figure out the common thread between them to know what it was exactly she wanted, she was a vicious  human bloodhound who wouldn’t stop until she had her target—mysterious, all too convenient disappearances being her specialty.

“It was all a game to her, you see. A dangerous game filled with violence, blackmail, seduction, and subterfuge—whatever it took to catch her prey, damned the damage, the broken hearts, and the dead bodies she left in her wake.”

Weiss frowned uneasily. “She sounds terrifying.”

Abner shuddered. “She was! I’d never met someone more determined to stick her nose where other people most definitely did not want her to, nor someone who could find a way to infiltrate any place she damn well pleased, and show up at the most unexpected places when you least expected her to, at that!

“And this was BEFORE she learned how to blink and out of this realm of existence!”

Abner hung his head, put one of his humanoid hands to his face. “I still don’t know what in the realm Ilaya saw in her, but she had that Something she wanted, and I was forced to choose between an uneasy co-existence with Blue, or cut ties with Ily forever.”

He pulled off his hat and revealed a completely bald head, and deep wrinkles from stress that were usually hidden under the shade of the brim. “And this should likely tell you which option I chose,” he said as he put it back on.

Weiss nodded uneasily. “How did Blue react, learning that Ilaya was in love with her?”

“Positively delighted! Because now she had leverage, a potential tool she could use to bypass the Council’s numerous efforts to keep me safe and my own famed wiliness and evasive skills, to expose the lie that was my death, let the human territories take advantage of the Fae governor curbing my worst impulses for me, and the magitechnological advancements I have stored in my chronicle beside,” he tapped the back of his neck, where the two devices were.

“She used her…?!” Weiss asked, horrified.

“Gleefully and shamelessly! It almost worked, too, until Ily finally caught on. Make no mistake: I have tested her patience and faced her wrath numerous times before, especially during those first few months before my governor was installed.

“But the way she ripped into Blue that evening? The Bastion thought a legion of Soul Eaters had broken into the Hollow!

Abner smiled. “Watching Ily personally drag Blue to the Hollow’s Tube station, and send her rocketing off and out of our lives is one of the best moments of my life!” He frowned. “… Immediately followed by one the worst moments of my life, when Ilaya completely broke down before my eyes...”

Weiss frowned. “She still loved her, didn’t she…?”

Abner nodded. “That she did… it’s one of the many things with Keepers, something I’ve studied from records and my own personal observations: the moment they find someone, that’s it! No more interest in others, no more straying, and if they ever set their eyes on someone else, you can bet they have no intention of doing anything without the express and enthusiastic permission of their lover!

“It also seems as if the whole realm conspires to bring them together.”

“How, exactly?” Weiss asked.

“With Blue, she got stuck in the Tubes for several hours; I was the only one trusted to be able to fix the problem, and at the time, I had the much more urgent emergency of a heartbroken Keeper to attend to. With no way to escape her self-inflicted fate, an unpleasant death drowning in the aqueducts if she tried, and no new target and focus all her being on, she found herself left with no choice but to think, unable to run away from the things she had been dodging like I had been avoiding Valentinian debt collectors.

“And apparently, that was the few times in her life where she’d ever truly, genuinely felt regret for her actions—the very worst, in fact, now that she had realized just how badly she had fucked up, doing something so cruel to someone who had shown her nothing but love, honesty, and trust.

“Don’t assume this was the moment where the Tubes would magically fix themselves, send her to the Tree of Life station, and then after a brief moment to get her bearings, she’d rocket back to Keeper’s Hollow to tell Ilaya that she had learned the error of her ways, and then they’d kiss, and I’d be so moved by her first display of humanity that we’d stop fighting from that point on, and all of us would live happily ever after!

“No, the reality was far, far, far grimmer.

“It took several years for Blue to finally learn how to be and consistently act like a decent human being who didn’t treat others like assets and tools to be used for her own goals, and a few years more for Ilaya to warm back up to her. She was still very much infatuated with her but she wasn’t an idiot, nor would she be willing to let Blue get away with everything just because she was truly sorry.

“Even after Ily finally let her back into the house, they argued, they fought, and there were many more times when Ilaya dragged Blue right back to the Tubes and send her shooting on through—sometimes, Blue would preemptively do it herself and save her the trouble!

“And I must emphasize: Blue never did stop getting sick after every trip...”

Weiss cringed. “Sounds like a real rocky relationship...” she muttered.

“It was! Definitely not the ideal to which every couple should aspire to. But somehow, they still made it work, and that aside, the Keepers and their mates tend to be truly exceptional individuals, so it seems appropriate that their relationships would be the same.”

Abner smiled. “The Keepers are a real force of nature, don’t you know? As they protect the realm from Soul Eaters and other horrors, so do they tend to protect the Fae from themselves. It’s like they’re the humanoid embodiment of counter-balancing phenomenon in nature:

“You don’t lie about the exact numbers and fates of the humans that ‘don’t work out,’ they won’t personally lead an elaborate smuggling scheme that threatens to expose the big secret the Fae have been working so hard to keep.

“That was Samaria and Myala.”

“You promise to stay away from their personal lives and follow through on your word, they won’t jeopardize the future of the realm by finding all manner of new and interesting means of birth control, or just outright refusing to breed with their lovers.

“That was Reynault and Taliyah, and their adoptive daughter Moira, the first fully human Keeper of the Grove.

“You say you will do your damndest to keep this almost-drowned scientist delirious with diarrhea and dehydration alive, they won’t seriously jeopardize the safety and peace of the Valley by refusing to sign up for any hunts short of a Soul Eater attack to go visit said scientist in the hospital to make sure they don’t euthanize him while they’re gone.

Abner smiled. “As you could tell, that was myself and Ilaya.

“I’ll be honest with you, Weiss: relationships with Keepers are risky, dangerous, and oftentimes ill-advised—I’d be surprised if they weren’t, considering what they constantly choose to face and do on a regular basis are also risky, dangerous, and ill-advised! And though I have to say this is all totally anecdotal and subjective, all of their mates say it was all worth it.

“Kind of like your grandfather and your grandmother with their relationship, actually!”

Weiss sighed and looked down. “I’m not like them… either of them.”

Abner pointed at her. “True—but you are still their granddaughter.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Winter groaning.

“Oh, sweet Shepherd…!” she muttered. “What happened…?”

“Winter!” Weiss cried, running up to her side. “Are you okay?”

Winter shook her head, before she realized even that was too much effort. “What happened…? Last I remember was dreaming of storming a castle with an army of my plushies come to life, before a defector led me to where the Evil Wizard was keeping you captive...”

Abner chuckled as he stood back up on his two humanoid feet. “Well, it all went something like that...”

#white rose #rwby #the keeper of the grove #fanfic

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Keeper of the Grove (Part 65)

“What.” Yang said.

“We haven't gotten… intimate yet!” Weiss added quickly. “… But we have kissed, and agreed that we're girlfriends now...”

Yang slowly pulled her arm from Weiss shoulders.

Ruby and Taiyang stopped their conversation, sensing something was terribly, horribly wrong.

Penny and Blake both took a few steps back, either from instinct or sensing the dramatically rising levels of stress hormones in Yang's body.

Weiss began to sweat. “Uh… Yang…?”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Yang yelled. “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING-FUCKITY-FUCK?!”

Weiss looked around as heads turned, and the peacekeepers at the train station debated stepping in.

“Yang, you're causing a scene--!”

“FUCK YOU, YOU ARE NOT GETTING AWAY WITH THIS JUST BECAUSE WE'RE IN PUBLIC!”

Taiyang stormed up, a stern look on his face. “Yang, what's going on here?!”

Yang ignored her as she turned to Ruby. “RUBY! Are you and Ice Princess over here--” she made an aggressive sexy animal noise.

“Yeah, we are!” Ruby replied as she walked up.

Yang turned back to Weiss. “I thought you said you weren't interested in her!”

“People change their opinions all the time, it's not unnatural!”

Yang turned back to Ruby, frantic now. “I thought you said you and here weren't--” she made a desperate sexy animal noise.

“We really weren't!” Ruby replied. “But I was still interested in being--” she made a sexy animal noise--”with her, and then we did in between the last time we met and now.”

“What is your problem?!” Weiss asked. “Weren't you the one joking and having a grand old time teasing me and Ruby about being--” she attempted and failed to make a sexy animal noise.

Yang didn't laugh or smile this time. “I was trying to turn you off! What kind of sister thinks, 'Oh, I really want this person to date my precious, innocent little sister, better show her the fake girlfriend that looks disturbingly like her, and tell her all about the time I walked in on her trying make out with her!'?

“NO SISTERS DO! NONE!”

Taiyang blinked, and turned to Ruby. “Wait, you did what...?”

Ruby blushed, and slowly put her mask back on her face. “It's… it's a really long story we don't need to get to, ever.”

“Excuse me!” said a peacekeeper walking up to them, a squad of drones at her tail. “What's going on here?!”

“Oh, just me finding out this gal right here is now my sister's girlfriend after she explicitly told me she wasn't even the slightest bit interested in her!” Yang cried, thumbing at Weiss.

“Well take it somewhere private, or you can go solve your issues in a jail cell for disturbing the peace!”

“We will, officer, sorry for the disturbance!” Taiyang said as he stepped up, his hands out in front of him.  He glared at Yang. “Yang, tonight's supposed to be a night of fun and catching up with your sister, not yelling at her girlfriend. Behave—your criminal record's already long enough!”

Yang looked at him in betrayal, before she groaned and threw her hands up. She sulked off to an uncrowded corner of the train station, and found a nice, solid pillar to punch.

Taiyang sheepishly turned to the peacekeeper. “Sorry, officer: you know teenagers.”

She sighed. “Do I ever…? Look, it's Eve of the Ether, and obviously, your kid's been looking real forward to seeing you again; I really don't want to have to take you all in and ruin your night, so how about you all just sign these statements saying you're not going to cause another ruckus, and aren't going to complain about the charges we'll slap on you if you do?”

Taiyang turned to the others.

“Fair enough!” Ruby said.

“That sounds like a reasonable compromise,” Penny said, nodding.

“It's the least we can do...” Weiss muttered.

Blake gave the thumbs up.

Taiyang turned back to the peacekeeper. “You have a deal, officer.”

The peacekeeper smiled. “Thanks—I mean it.”

Yang came sulking back, and they scanned their IDs—real or fake—into the peacekeeper's comm-crystal. She looked a little surprised at the records popping up. “Most of these kids are from the Country, huh?” she asked.

Taiyang nodded. “Yep! They've always been dreaming of going out to see what it's like in the city states, so why not do it on the Eve? Going to be a lot of loan payments to make, but so far it's been worth it just to see the looks on their faces...” he said with a happy smile.

“Well watch yourselves out there—Candela may be one of the safest city states in all of Avalon, but that doesn't mean we don't have crime. Don't mean to insinuate anything bad about you folks, but it's a jungle out there!”

Ruby chuckled. “We live in tiny villages in the wilds, officer—we know wild.”

The peacekeeper smiled. “Don't doubt it for a second!” she thumbed behind her. “I gotta get back to work, you folks try not to get into more trouble and just enjoy your evening, okay?”

“We will, officer!” Taiyang replied.

All of the group except Yang waved goodbye as she left, before they all simultaneously glared at her.

“Nice going, Yang—you almost got us all arrested!” Ruby spat.

Yang grumbled what might have been “Sorry” under her breath, before she glared at Weiss, before she began to burn holes into the floor.

Taiyang put his hand on Ruby and Yang's shoulders. “Let's just move on and enjoy our night, shall we ladies? The night is young, but it's not going to get any younger!”

Yang and Weiss forged a temporary truce, and soon they were off on a train to Goldleaf, Candela's commercial district and the heart of the Eve's celebrations.

Meanwhile, the peacekeeper they had spoken sneaked into a deserted part of the station. She dumped her stolen uniform with the unconscious sap she had stolen it from, revealing green locks of hair underneath her hat, alongside and a pair of hyena ears. She put on her real clothes, did a thorough perimeter sweep, before pulled out her comm-crystal.

“We've found them,” she whispered as she sent over the data.

It felt strange to be back in Candela, and stranger still that Weiss felt that way.

She'd only been away for a month or so, and yet staring up at its tall skyscrapers, floating islands, and the never-ending vehicle and pedestrian traffic flowing through every available route—sights she had been seeing regularly for a decade and a half—she couldn't help but feel like it was an alien world, as freaky and unfamiliar as the Valley was when she first got there.

Penny, Blake, and Taiyang were among the gawkers at the windows, marveling at seeing these sights in person, or after a long, long absence. Weiss debated joining them, if only to see if that would rid herself of the unease.

“Hey, you okay?” Ruby whispered as she stood beside her.

The other passengers were too engrossed in their own devices or their business to notice. If they were bothered by their mask modulators' effects, they just turned up the volume on their comm-crystals, or tuned it out.

Weiss hung her head. “… No, not really.”

“Well what's wrong?” Ruby asked. “Aren't you happy to be back home? Well, kinda back home.”

“That's just it: this doesn't feel like home. Not anymore.” Weiss looked up at the ceiling. “I'm kind of wondering if it ever was, and it just won by default...”

“I… really don't get where you're going here, Weiss.”

Weiss looked at Ruby. “I… never really had anything like you guys, back when I was living here. You know: friends, someplace where I felt I really belonged, you—well, the you I know now, not the one the stories led me to believe.”

Ruby chuckled. “I don't blame you—they can get pretty messed up.”

Weiss snorted. “To say the least...” she looked down at the floor. “There's also something that feels really wrong about this place...”

“Maybe someone farted,” Ruby offered.

“My mask is air-tight and filtered beside, and it's not just here in the train—it's everywhere since we got here. I just didn't notice that much because of everything else happening at the time.”

“Huh… well, I'd suggest that maybe it had something to do with you being a you-know, but I've never really heard of anyone else saying something was wrong with the city. What does it feel like, anyway?”

Weiss closed her eyes, opened herself up to the magic all around her. Comm-crystals, tablets, the rails of the train, the power lines and conduits all around them, the buildings with their terminals, the many small magitechnical devices pretty much everything had from clothes, the roads, to even the light beaming from the streetlights as they acted as free Info-Grid data transmitters.

All of them, humming with magic, dull and thrumming like the sealed Myrtenaster, but however faintly, Weiss could feel something…

“… Tainted,” Weiss said. “Like there's something just wrong about… everything.”

Ruby paused. “… Now I have definitely never heard that before!”

“Now approaching Goldleaf Station,” the train's AI hummed. “All passengers, please step away from the doors, and make way for those disembarking. Remember: waiting your turn helps all of us get to our destinations on time.

“This announcement was brought to you by Sgt. Pick-U-Up: 'When it's time for double-time, get yourself a can of Sgt. Pick-U-Up, soldier!'”

Weiss shook her head. “Eh, it's probably just because it's my first Eve of the Ether after you-know-what happened,” she said as the passengers began to shift and prepare to move out.

Ruby shrugged. “Probably.”

They didn't step out onto the platform so much as they joined a sea of slowly moving people, some of them in costumes, others in plain clothes, tied up at the numerous checkpoints in spite of the peacekeepers and their drones clearing completely clean people at lightning speed.

As it did every year, however, there were always several someones who either blatantly broke the rules, or toed the line so far that they had to call in a supervisor.

It took all of five minutes for them to come out one of the gates and into a busy city street; they were even more people here than inside the station, but thankfully they had much more room to move around in.

They all spent a moment patting themselves down, trying to discover if any one of them had been pickpocketed, and to their relief they still had everything they boarded the train with, their cash Urochs and cred-sticks especially.

“How much money do you girls have, anyway?” Taiyang asked.

“Not much,” Penny replied. “Between the original cost of the tickets, and all the numerous other unexpected expenses we've racked up for a variety of reasons, we've had to dramatically cut down our original plans for spending money, and tonight's itinerary beside.”

“How much have you and Yang brought, dad?” Ruby asked back.

Yang and Taiyang smiled sheepishly.

“We're uh… we're actually pretty much broke right now!” Taiyaing said.

Weiss stared at them. “Are you two fucking kidding me right now?!”

“We bet it all on the fights earlier back there!” Yang replied. “We were only supposed to go a couple of rounds, collect a couple hundred Urochs extra, but then we kept winning and the MC kept offering us more money, so...” she trailed off.

“… Yeah.” Taiyang finished.

“Then what are we supposed to do now?” Weiss asked. “We only budgeted for ourselves and assumed you were going to provide your own spending money; at this rate, we probably won't even make it till midnight before we have to go home—that or spend all our time at the crappy free attractions, and trust me, you really do get what you pay for.”

“Perhaps I can help…?” said a new voice.

The group turned to see a tall, muscular teen dressed up like Piorina “Piper” Nikos, complete with a real antique Starfarer Captain's Cap and an energy lance, even if it was conspicuously missing its clip.

She smiled nervously. “I seem to have seriously overestimated how much spending money I needed for this trip, and only ask that you'll let me join your group. The Eve's not very fun alone...”

Ruby smiled, stepped up and offered her hand. “Well climb aboard, Captain Piper, we'd love to have you!”

Yang frowned and stepped up. “Woah, woah, woah! Hold up there, sister—I know you like thinking and assuming the best of people, but just because someone's dressed up as the Holy Shepherd herself doesn't mean she's automatically a saint.”

“Will it help if she's a direct descendant of her, then?” Penny asked quietly.

“Piper” stiffened.

Taiyang, Yang, and Weiss all did a double take on her, their eyes widening as they recognized the face almost constantly paraded about the triumvirate of city states in Heartland, and plastered all over the Info-Grid and HoloVision beside.

“H-How did you know…?” “Piper” whispered, her eyes frantic.

Penny pointed to her eyes with one of her life-like fingers. “My optic sensors take a lot of factors into account, such as height, body weight, and notable facial features.” She leaned in and whispered. “Don't worry: we'll keep your secret so long as you keep ours, too.”

She smiled as she tugged the sleeve of her costume down, revealed the glowing bits of rock suspended in magic underneath.

“Piper's” eyes widened. “You're Penny Polendina…?”

“If you're Pyrrha Nikos, then yes! Yes I am,” Penny replied as she pulled her sleeve back up.

“Huddle up, everyone!” Ruby called out. “Emergency meeting!”

Everyone including Pyrrha shuffled to a quiet alleyway and formed a circle.

“Okay, first order of business: Penny and Pyrrha—if that's who you really are—you two know each other?” Ruby asked.

Penny nodded. “It's rather hard not to know who Pyrrha Nikos is, given her constant presence on the media and in the public.”

“I… know her from an Info-Grid forum where she's very popular, yes,” Pyrrha replied, blushing and looking away.

“Hey, we're not judging!” Yang said. “It's not exactly unusual to like buns of steel, right...?”

Everyone but Taiyang, Ruby, Penny, and Pyrrha groaned. The last just blushed even harder and began to attempt to sink into the ground and into Avalon's core.

“That settles that!” Ruby said. “So what are you doing here by yourself? Shouldn't you be escorted by swarms of guards and stewards and stuff?”

“I snuck out,” Pyrrha replied. “They're probably already scrambling all over this city trying to find me, which is why it's very important to me that I mesh with a group that'll remove suspicion, like several people also dressed like iconic figures from history, myth, and pop culture.

“Those are excellent costumes, by the way!”

“Thanks! Blake made most of them,” Ruby said, pointing to her. “Who made yours, by the way? It looks so real, especially that energy lance! Why's it missing its clip, though?”

Pyrrha looked sheepish. “… That's because it is, and no one's manufactured ammo for it in centuries,” she muttered.

Yang's eyes widened. “Ho-ly shit. You stole the actual Sacred Vestments and Armaments of the Holy Shepherd...?”

“I didn't steal them!” Pyrrha sputtered weakly. “I legally own them as a direct descendant...!”

“Relax, I'm not judging you—I'm going congratulating you! That takes realm-sized balls right there!” Yang said, nodding and giving her the thumbs up.

Pyrrha blinked. “… I… uh… thank you…?”

“We're getting off topic,” Weiss said. “Do you actually have money on you, or was that just a lie to get in our good graces?”

Pyrrha nodded. “I do, and if I didn't, who would be stupid enough to even attempt that?”

Taiyang chuckled weakly. “You'd be surprised...”

Weiss ignored him. “So how much do you have? Just cash-on-hand, we can't use your credit line because that'll just be a giant sign saying 'Rogue Holy Shepherd Here.'”

“I know, which is why I brought a lot...” Pyrrha said as she pulled out and opened up her wallet.

Their eyes and optic sensors all widened.

“I also have a private account I can withdraw from, but I'd rather not risk it being compromised,” Pyrrha said as she put it away. “So will you please let me join you? I promise that if someone recognizes me, I will do my very best to limit the fallout to just myself!”

Ruby looked at the others. “Everyone in favour of letting Pyrrha join us, raise your hand.”

Everyone raised their hands.

Pyrrha sighed in relief. “Oh, thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me...” she smiled.

Ruby smiled at her underneath her mask. “No problem! And just so you know, if someone recognizes us, we'll make sure you don't get roped in with us, either...” she muttered.

Pyrrha blinked. “What are you…?” she muttered, before her eyes widened in alarm and horror.

Weiss quickly removed her mask and showed her face. “I'm fine! It was all a fake!” she said quickly.

Pyrrha stared at her, bewildered.

“It's me—Weiss Schnee! I can't explain everything because it's a really long story, but I'm telling you: you can trust them!”

Pyrrha continued to stare at her, before she shrugged “… Well… I guess this wouldn't be the first time a Nikos has made strange friends in even stranger circumstances...”

“So, you still cool with being with us?” Ruby asked.

Pyrrha nodded. “But, please, call me 'Piper,' so people won't notice.”

“Got it!” Ruby said, giving her the thumbs up. “Now let's set sail for the Eve of the Ether fair for real already!”

Weiss put her mask back on, and they walked out of the alleyway, walking freely amongst the crowds as if they weren't wanted terrorists, her exiled family members, and a renegade religious figure hiding in plain sight.

“Hey, Penny,” Pyrrha asked, “I meant to ask: what are the specs of the optics you're using?”

“I'm afraid those are classified,” Penny replied. “Though, I may be persuaded to tell you if you take me out to dinner first...”

Pyrrha blushed. “… I, uh… was that a joke?”

Penny chuckled. “Obviously! I don't eat food, I'm an artificial being,” she said, before she winked.

Pyrrha cheeks heated up even further.

Yang chuckled as she listened in from the behind them. “I guess you could say the attraction between them is pretty... magnetic,” she whispered to Blake and Weiss.

They both punched her in either arm.

“Ow!”

#white rose #rwby #fanfic #the keeper of the grove