Cry Havoc!
And let slip the dogs of war
[Author's Note: This story follows the story Allies Where You Find Them, and is the fifth episode of Volume 8.]
"Here, take this," said Winter.
"Er, well, I've never, uh, you know, I don't know how – " stammered Ruby.
But Winter was already handing her the baby. She clumsily took it, trying to work out how to hold it.
"What if I drop it?" she wailed.
"You will not," said Qrow.
Comforted a little, Ruby took a closer look at the creature in her arms. It had a shock of remarkable black-and-white hair, and the ice-blue eyes of its mother. It had tiny little fingers on tiny little hands. Corvus – Magpie – looked up at her, and gave a burp.
"It's ... it's so lovely," Ruby cooed.
"We think so," said Winter.
"Lovely, until you have to change it," said Qrow. "Then it's a whole new world of hurt."
"No feathers?" said Yang.
"Not yet, but she's only a few days old," said Winter. "Plenty of time for wings to sprout."
"What, the hair isn't enough of a surprise?" said Qrow.
They were in The Cake Butler. Winter had left hospital that morning, and Qrow had thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce the new member of the circle.
General Ironwood and Professor Goodwitch came in. The General shook the hands of both Winter and Qrow in congratulations.
"Thank you for the invitation, Qrow," said Ironwood. "I know that … we haven't always seen eye-to-eye on things."
"That would be because you're a buttoned-up military jerk," said Qrow.
"No, it's because you are a moronic drunkard," said Ironwood.
They stared at each other.
Then: "Yep," said Ironwood.
"Yep," said Qrow.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Klein handed Qrow and Ironwood a piece of cake each.
Glynda was looking closely at the baby. She stroked its head. "What a little treasure," she said.
"Uh, Glynda, may I ask, er, do you have any kids?" said Yang.
Glynda shook her head. "We wanted to," she said. "But … it just didn't happen."
At that moment, Weiss entered, with Blake.
"Hey, who are you, and what have you done with our friend?" said Yang.
Certainly, Weiss looked … different. She was wearing a black coat over a long steel-grey skirt, split to the thigh. There were flashes of white and red in the outfit. Against the black leather of the coat her sweep of hair stood out like a bolt of lightning. She had a small golden locket around her neck.
"I thought it was time for a change," she said, as she and Blake sat down. "Blake assisted. As she knows a lot about how to wear black."
"Not that I am willing to take any of the blame," said Blake.
"Dark Weiss," murmured Yang. "Dressed to kill."
"Here, take this, Auntie Weiss," said Ruby, handing Magpie to her.
Weiss took the bundle. "Hi," she said to it.
Magpie dribbled a bit.
Weiss put the babe to her shoulder and patted it. In a few moments, it had drifted off to sleep.
"Huh," said Qrow. "That was well done."
"Say, are you available for babysitting?" said Winter.
Weiss stared at her. "Do I look like I am?" she said. She passed the sleeping Magpie back to her sister.
"Er, I guess not," said Winter.
"Uh, Weiss," said Ruby. "Are you … okay?"
Suddenly, tears began to roll down Weiss' cheeks. "No," she said. "No, I'm not. I'm not okay. But I will be. Soon. And then I will be ready to fight."
There was a hardness to her voice that Ruby had never heard before. She gave a little shiver.
Weiss wiped the tears away. "Klein," she said. "Perhaps some of your poppyseed cake would be in order."
"Just what I was thinking, young madam," said Klein, putting a slice of the cake in front of her.
"Any news on Sodor?" Weiss said to Ruby.
"No, I've checked all the likely sources in the libraries of both Beacon and Mantle, and the most they say is that it's off the northern coast of Sanus. But of course that means a very large area. If it exists at all."
"Oh, it exists alright," said Weiss.
"How do you know?" said Yang.
"If it didn't, we couldn't find her and kill her," said Weiss.
"Makes a sort of sense," said Blake. "I have to say that I'm all for it. We know that bits can be hacked off her, so I'm thinking, well, decapitation. I've got a debt to collect."
"We've all got debts to collect," said Yang.
Ruby said: "General, we need something from you. An airship."
"I will give you a battleship," said Ironwood. "And if the Council disagrees … fuck 'em."
"Thanks for the offer, but no," said Ruby. "Just an airship suitable for the four of us."
"Why just the four of you?" said Glynda.
"Because that is how the story started," said Yang. "And that is how it has to end."
The General nodded. He took out his scroll and began to issue firm, unhurried orders.
"As for Sodor," said Blake, "there is one person who might know more."
"Cinder," said Yang. "We should pay her a visit. But just Blake and me, I think. Ruby and Weiss have, shall we say, quite a lot of not-so-good baggage with her."
"She skewered me with a spear made of fire!" said Weiss.
"Not really the sort of thing you want to raise when you're seeking crucial information from someone," said Blake.
"I have to agree," said Ruby. "Okay, Blake and Yang go to Vacuo. Drop in on Ochre as well, pay our respects, ask if Sodor rings any bells with her. Weiss and I will continue digging through the old books."
Ironwood put away his scroll. "It will be here in five minutes," he said. "Latest model. Rapid-fire guns, a dozen missiles."
"We'll take it," said Blake.
RWBY
The Grimm beetle finally reached its destination: an outdoor café in the main town of Menagerie. A man with a beard and a long coat reached down, and the beetle crept into the one glove he was wearing.
"Now, my creepy-crawley little friend," said the man, "tell me what you have seen."
RWBY
"Certainly a lot of them," said Ren Lie, as the teams of Hunters, the Vacuo soldiers, and Cinder looked along the narrow Thorhild Valley, watching the massive horde of Grimm approach.
Ciel Soleil drew a large handgun from the holster she wore at the back of her waist.
"Interesting weapon you have there," said Cinder.
"Ubaxyada Samadu," said Ciel.
Cinder sighed. "If you say so," she said. "Honestly, you Hunters and your toys … "
Ren pointed. "Rock monsters," he said. "Three. That's not good."
The soldiers hefted their weapons, with nervous glances at each other.
"They don't look particularly confident," whispered Sun to Nebula.
"You have to remember that these are not professionals, like in Atlas," whispered Nebula back. "Mainly, they're just people who needed a job and some money, or were pushed into it by the Governor. We have tried to give them some training but there hasn't been much time."
"Then maybe what they need is a good example," said Sun.
"What they need," said Nebula, "is a good solid victory."
"A few more seconds, until the first wave of them are at the narrowest point," said Nora. "At least the Nevermores are not coming down. I guess the valley walls are too steep for them to manoeuvre." Suddenly, her scroll buzzed. Text message. From Team RWBY. She read it.
"Oh," she said. "That's … well, that's very bad news. Juane … he's gone."
"Wh – what?" said Cinder.
Nora showed her the message. Cinder read it … and then read it again … and again. "Salem," she whispered.
Her single eye began to blaze. A fireball appeared in her hand.
"Stand aside," she said to the others.
And then she was walking towards the Grimm.
She threw a fireball. Another. And then there was a burst of energy leaping out of her, smashing into the first of the rock monsters. She conjured a massive sword, and took to the air, slashing ferociously at it. She was screaming with rage.
"Holy … fuck," whispered Ren.
The first monster went down. As the Geist inside it emerged, Cinder destroyed it with a blast of fire. Then she was swinging onto the next one.
Nora lifted her hammer and there was a blaze of lightning. "Come on then!" she shouted.
The soldiers and the Hunters charged forward, firing and shouting.
Sun caught Nebula's eye. "An example, and a victory," he said.
She nodded, and then ran into the fray.
Cinder was ablaze. She swept through the ranks of the Grimm creatures, incinerating Beowolfs, Ursas, Beringels and Deathstalkers.
"So this is her with reduced Maiden powers, is it?" said Ciel.
"I have seen her fight before, but it was not like this," said Nebula.
"Remind me not to get on the wrong side of her," said Sun, as he converted his staff into pistols and fired.
"Probably a mistake to assume that she has a good side," said Nora. "But at the moment she is what we need."
Cinder had taken down another rock monster but the third one was lumbering towards the Hunters. "Ciel, show us what that fancy gun can do," said Nora.
Ciel lifted the gun; it morphed into … well, some other sort of gun, with circuits and a double, forked barrel. She fired. An electrical charge slammed into the monster. It went completely still. "It will be paralysed for about ten seconds or so," she said.
"Enough time, I think," Nora said. She turned to the soldiers who were armed with rockets. "Shoot for the joints," she said. "Like this." She fired a series of grenades at the shoulder of the monster. The arm fell away in a stream of dark mist.
The soldiers launched their rockets. With a crash, the monster went down. As the Geist emerged, Ren shot it to pieces.
The last of the Grimm creatures were retreating. Nora took out her scroll and punched a number. "May," she said. "They're on the run. See if your scout team can follow them. Maybe we can find the origin point."
"Already on it," came May's voice.
In the middle of the valley, surrounded by piles of ashes, a fire was diminishing. The flames burned down, and revealed Cinder. She slumped to the ground.
Team VALIANT went to her. They helped her up. The soldiers gave a cheer.
"Not unimpressive," said Nora.
A tear ran down Cinder's cheek. "He … he … he was good to me," she said. "When I needed it."
Then the soldiers were lifting her onto their shoulders and carrying her away, cheering.
"I still don't like her," said Nora.
"But the point," said Nebula, "is that those soldiers do."
Nora's scroll buzzed. May.
"I think we've got it," she said.
END (to be continued – next story: Move and Counter-move)