Wheels Within Wheels
Chess moves, and matters of the heart
[Author's note: This story follows the story Visitations, and is the third episode of a fanfic version of volume 6.]
Winter Schnee, in the cabin of her airship, watched the northern coastline of Anima pass beneath them. The continent of Solitas was still several hours of flying time away. Between the two continents was a scattering of forested islands, including an archipelago known as the Salt Islands.
She went to the front of the airship. There was the usual pilot, and another at a separate set of controls. "Everything going as it should?" she said to the second one.
"Yes, sir," he said. "Sir, may I ask we are doing it this way? It seems like a lot of trouble."
"That is in the category of the fewer people who know the better," said Winter.
The tech at the radar console waved for her attention. "Sir," she said. "We are picking up air contacts to the west. Three, no four. No, six. Possibly more, they're close together."
"Can you tell what they are?" said Winter.
"I ... I ... I think they ... sir, I think they are Giant Nevermores," she said.
"What, this far out?" said the pilot at the controls of Winter's ship. "There have been no reports of Grimm in this area for years."
The radar tech was studying the screen more closely. She said: "Definitely Nevermores, definitely on an intercept course."
"We should turn east and increase speed," said the pilot. "We can outrun them."
"No," said Winter. "Steady as she goes. Ready weapons, tell the gunships to do the same." On the horizon, she could see the first of the Salt Islands come into view.
The Nevermores were in sight now. There was a dozen of them, maybe more.
"They will go for the transport," said Winter. "But let's see if we can give them something else to think about." She climbed into the gun turret on top of her ship. She put on a radio headset so she could speak to the gunners in her ship and the other gunships. "Ready," she said, her voice as cool and as hard as ice. "Ready ... fire!"
The guns erupted, taking down several of the creatures. But the Nevermores paid little attention, manoeuvring past the gunships to get to the transport. They began to batter at the airship.
Winter touched the headset switch so she could speak to the second pilot in the cockpit of her ship. "Report," she said.
"Taking damage, one engine failing, electricals at fifty percent!" shouted the pilot. "Losing height fast!"
"Stay calm, no need to get excited," said Winter, as she turned another Nevermore to ashes. She could see the transport; a Nevermore was tearing pieces from it. "Put the transport down on the island up ahead," she said. "No need to try for a gentle landing."
Her airship was alongside the transport now. The attacking Nevermore was in her sights. But she took her hand off the trigger.
The Nevermore tore one of the craft's propellers away. The transport, almost out of control, started to go down. It ploughed into the forest on the island, and rolled. It came to a stop in a grove of trees.
The two surviving Nevermores turned and headed west, back the way they had come.
"Do we pursue?" said the pilot of her ship.
"No, let them go back to their boss," said Winter, climbing out of the turret and heading for the cockpit. "Mark this position for future reference," she said. "Then continue towards Atlas."
"But we lost the transport," said the second pilot, turning away from his remote-control console.
"Yes," said Winter. "I guess we did."
Salem watched the transport go down, through her Seer connected to the eyes of a Nevermore.
"Oh Ozpin," she murmured. "You are always so predictable."
The meal was drawing to a close when Ruby called for attention. Everyone at the table – Weiss, Blake, Yang, Nora, Ren, Jaune, Sun and Ilia turned towards her.
Odd how she has become the natural leader, thought Weiss, looking at her. And when I first met her I called her an idiot.
Ruby took a map from her pocket and unfolded it on the table. It showed all of Remnant. "As you know, the relic spoke to me," she said. "Why to me, and why Qrow couldn't hear it, I don't know, but there it is. I asked it three questions. The first one was about the whereabouts of the Winter Maiden. The answer was 'Shade'." She pointed to the place on the map.
"Shade Academy, in Vacuo?" said Sun. "But I've been there, I'm from Vacuo. There's no Maiden there, and not even talk of one. Never has been."
"Nevertheless, that's what the relic said, and I think we have to accept it, what with it being, you know, the Relic of Knowledge and everything. I believe a team should go there, try to locate her, see if she can help us against Salem. That team should be Nora, Ren, Sun ... and Ilia."
Ilia started. "Wh ... what?" she said. "Me? But ... I've never trained as a Hunter. Never studied anything. I'm just ... what I am."
"Hmm," said Ren. "Blake, Sun, do you vouch for her? That she can be trusted, and that she has the skills?"
Blake and Sun nodded.
"Good enough for me," said Nora.
"And you should lead, Nora," said Ruby.
"Huh?" said Nora. "Me? No, I don't do that sort of stuff. I just whack things. Sometimes make sarcastic comments."
"I think it is a fine idea," said Ren.
"Tag, you're it," said Sun.
Ruby said: "Jaune, there is a very special job I would like you to take. Principal of Haven Academy. As you know, the position is ... vacant."
Jaune's jaw dropped open.
"Yes, I know you would prefer to be in the field, but we have to get the next generation of Hunters ready," continued Ruby. "And I understand that you have spent the past few days doing the work that Leo wasn't doing. Making a good fist of it, too, from what I have seen. And also ... look out for Oscar. He's brave, but not ready for any more confrontations with the forces of evil or whatever."
"Is there any way I can refuse this?" said Jaune.
"Doesn't look like it," said Yang. "And it is, you know, really important. Remnant is already down one academy, and Atlas is playing its own game, so Haven is where the next generation is going to come from."
"But ... but ... but I haven't even graduated!" spluttered Jaune.
"You have everything you need," said Weiss. "I know this."
"I ... I ... well, I ... I suppose so," said Jaune glumly. "If I must."
"That's the spirit!" said Yang.
"What about us?" said Blake. "Team RWBY?"
"We," said Ruby, "are going to Beacon."
Weiss and Blake exchanged glances. Weiss silently mouthed the words: my clothes. Blake silently mouthed the words: my booksz.
"We should try to take the dragon out of the equation, maybe if it's destroyed the Grimm there will leave," Ruby continued. "It means taking the battle to Salem for once. We know that her forces are diminished, with Hazel defeated and Cinder out of the picture. And she will be distracted."
"I have to say that I'm getting pretty damn sick of her making the aggressive moves and us responding all the time," said Yang. "You don't win a war that way."
"Is Salem at Beacon?" said Weiss. "We don't even know where her base is."
"That was my second question," said Ruby. "The relic told me that her castle is in the Frostfire Wastes. She is there at present."
"The Frostfire Wastes," mused Blake, looking at where Ruby was pointing on the map. "The most unknown part of an almost unexplored continent. And with a delightful name. As for going to Beacon, it's a dangerous undertaking against huge odds, with little chance of success. We will probably all die horribly."
"But you're in, right?" said Yang.
"Of course."
"Ah, I love it when you're feisty," said Yang.
Blake smiled. Weiss and Ruby rolled their eyes.
Ren said: "Ruby, you said that Salem will be distracted. What do you mean?"
"She still wants the Relic of Knowledge," said Ruby. "She'll make a play for it."
"While it is on its way to Atlas?" said Nora.
"What makes you think," said Ruby with a little smile, "that the relic is on its way to Atlas?"
"Let's go," said Hazel. "We should get as far away from Haven as possible."
The others, hungry and tired, trudged after him.
If they had looked into the trees above them they might have seen a crow staring at them. Then again, they might not have.
"I don't know, I just feel really confused and uncertain," said Yang. She was lying in bed, wide awake, in the Haven Academy room she was currently sharing with her sister.
"Uh-huh, confused and uncertain," mumbled Ruby from her bed. "Please go on."
"I mean, I really hated her for running off to Menagerie. Let's face it, after the Battle of Beacon the team was a mess. I'd lost an arm, Weiss had been taken away by her father, you were down for a pretty long count. We needed her stability and her strength. She has always been our anchor. The sensible, cool-headed one. I know I can be too quick on the temper side, sometimes, and Weiss is not sure where she fits in, and you're, well, you. If she'd been there to say, look, it's going to work out, everything will be fine, you'll see, then it would have all been much easier.
"But she wasn't there for us, and I was really angry. Now when I look back I realise that it wasn't just that I felt she had let the team down, I felt she had left me. I didn't know what I felt for her until suddenly she was gone. Yes, I understand a bit more now about why she left, and all the stuff with White Fang, but at the time all I could feel was this huge hole in my chest.
"I'm still not sure what I feel. Would it have been better if she had not come back? You know, that kiss just came out of nowhere, I didn't expect it and it was a totally inappropriate place for something like that. But, damn, it felt good. But it raises about a million other questions, and I don't know the answer to any of them. Does she feel the same? Am I just making a fool of myself? Can we still be team-mates? Should I have said that thing about her being feisty? I don't have any answers.
"Well, thanks for listening, Ruby. It's good to talk to someone about it. You're a wonderful sister."
But Ruby had fallen asleep after 'please go on'.
Meanwhile, in the room shared by Blake and Weiss, Blake was staring at the ceiling. "Why do I feel so confused and uncertain?" she said. "Is she interested or not? Am I? Should I be? What did the 'feisty' thing mean? What do you think, Weiss?"
"Oh cake butler, I love you most of all," said Weiss.
"Uh, what?" said Blake. "Weiss, are you awake?"
"Of all the butlers," Weiss mumbled. She began to snore a little.
Blake could not help but smile. Even asleep, my friends are weird, she said to herself.
It was an hour later when Weiss awoke from her dreams of another life. She thought about things for a while. Then she got out of bed and pulled her coat on, and left the room.
A few minutes later, she was knocking on the door of Jaune's room.
He opened it; he had obviously been working, she could see papers, schedules and reports spread over the floor.
"Hi," she said.
END (to be continued)