I've held onto this for a long time. Kept changing small things around and told myself it would be ready some day. Then RWBY volume 4 came out and my copy of Cursed Child arrived, and I realized exactly how long it's been.
Hope you will enjoy this as much as I have.
...
In hindsight, Weiss should have known something was off the moment she received a message from Schnee Dust Company one Friday afternoon. Only high ranking employees could utilize that address, and only for serious dealings. There was SDC Customer Service, Administration, Delivery, and so on for every major department in the company to handle any issue. But none of those represented the unified front of Schnee Dust Company, nor properly conveyed all the power behind it.
She personally knew most board members, all of which would probably use their own accounts for contacting her. She had never heard of this Albert Cromwell, Head of Internal Affairs. However, the account used and being able to reach her indicated he was relatively high up in the company.
And just what kind of 'most urgent matter' would warrant asking to speak with her at her earliest convenience? SDC had people to fulfill any and every role she could think of!
Curious and maybe, possibly, just a tiny bit eager to prove herself capable of handling her family company's problems just like her sister, she had responded with all the proper courtesies and a time when she could easily slip away into solitude within her team's dorm room.
On the phone, Mr. Cromwell had succinctly informed her of a problem currently halting work in one of the richest mines their Company had found in decades. A problem that, he insisted, the media could not be allowed to learn about. And one that she was their best resource to solve quickly and quietly, since the many assets that commonly dealt with unusual and dangerous circumstances were occupied elsewhere.
She knew that meant Grimm. But one did not throw that word around in poorly fortified installations without expecting a panic.
In an off-hand manner, he mentioned the possibility of taking her team of Beacon students along despite not having been made leader. Seriously, how come everyone and their mother knew about that?
He expected her assistance would not be required on-site for more than a day, and would explain the specifics upon arrival personally. A comfortable sky-barge would be provided and would take a maximum of three hours from Beacon's air dock to the mine. It would also wait and take her straight back afterward.
Most importantly: Mr. Schnee had been breathing down Cromwell's neck to fix the situation.
That meant her father´s eyes were on the mine.
That meant she had a chance to redeem herself.
Her father had not made any attempt to communicate with her since the day she arrived at Beacon. This was the kind of silence that spoke of displeasure and disappointment; the kind that left her stewing in anxiety and shame until he felt she was properly chastised. She had become very familiar with it through the years.
In fact, his silences usually conveyed more than their tense, commonly short, conversations.
But she couldn't hold it against him. Father was an extremely busy man, and seldom had the time to sit down and educate her on all she needed to become. From an efficiency standpoint it was only logical, reducing time wasted with her allowed him to take on more work and discipline her simultaneously.
Weiss took a deep breath and got back to checking Myrtenaster's mechanisms.
She would resolve this issue where no one else could, and show her father all her training had not been a waste. She would be just as good as Winter.
And so, by the time her team got back from last-minute essay submissions at Professor Oobleck's office, they found her standing just out the door with a weapon on her hip and a suitcase in her hand..
…
In the better half of an hour her teammates had interrogated her, stolen her scroll, geared up, and enjoyed the last minutes of Pizza Day in the cafeteria.
After reassuring Ruby that no, she had not forgotten about them and she had not been about to go into a dangerous situation without her partner - she had accepted her as leader a few weeks ago, but the poor girl was far too gullible for her own good - she sat in her bed and refused to acknowledge the sisters as they theorized wildly on what their 'secret mission' would entail.
All inspiration came from spy movies, of course. Blake offered occasional input whenever their imagination ran too wild by reminding them they were training for monster-hunting, not crime-solving.
The barge landed a few minutes after they arrived at the platform overlooking Beacon's cliff. Such a sleek, luxurious model seemed small when compared to the academy's own airships, which were currently carrying students and staff to the city below, off to enjoy the weekend, but was still larger than most vehicles of the same purpose.
Said purpose being the safe, pleasurable, and swift transport of wealthy passengers.
Their bags were taken by a handsome young man quick to smile and quicker to bow. The lounge they were led to featured leather seats and a holo-screen with more surface area than their bunk beds.
The flight attendant offered drinks and food sufficient to make Ruby loudly regret going to the cafeteria before boarding and Yang suggestively declare she saw only one thing that might interest her.
To the sides there were a coffee station and a liquor cabinet, fully stocked, as Yang noted. She earned a deathly glare from Weiss.
The sisters finally stopped bouncing in excitement thirty minutes into the flight. After squealing at anything and everything within the cabin and restroom, and the admittedly fantastic view granted by the large windows, they left a loud action movie on the screen and dug into the piles of pastries their flight attendant delivered. They marveled later when the man offered hand towels for their messy fingers and - ugh - faces.
Blake had been in a bad mood for no reason since leaving their dorm. She refused any comfort and settled in a corner, book in hand, glaring out the window or at the polite young man. It fiercely irritated Weiss, who had expected the quiet girl to not embarrass her in some way.
She wondered absently how bad an impression she would leave with the crew.
'They don't matter', Weiss, she thought with a sigh. 'What they think will never reach anyone important.'
Quickly they left behind the enormous structure that was Beacon Academy. On one side, the red tones of Forever Fall were visible by the horizon. On the other stretched the Emerald Forest, all the way to the mountain range that enclosed it. It was very beautiful if you ignored the fact that many a student like her had been lost down there.
The green masses surrounding the city turned sparse beyond the mountains, enormous black creatures far below stretching wings but predictably ignoring the aircraft, and eventually dry-brown land became the norm. No sign of civilization was visible as they began their descent.
Almost two hours of annoyed boredom broken only by the sisters and fantasizing about her dream team later, the flight was mercifully over.
She had not spotted their destination until they were only a few hundred feet away, whole buildings camouflaged with such care that the landscape seemed to stretch undisturbed right over them.
They touched down inside what looked like a small military base. Enclosed by a twelve-foot-tall wall dotted with weapon emplacements, stood a handful of prefabricated structures and a landing pad. The place could be easily defended or quickly abandoned as the situation demanded.
Out here, with no natural defenses, it couldn't afford to be anything else.
Men and women in a variety of desert-themed SDC uniforms were milling about. Around the walls were the guardsmen, wearing combat suits and carrying rifles. Some workers looked frightened and others desperate.
She knew most work had stopped. From the look of the people surrounding them, she could guess their pay had too.
The pilots and the attendant wished them luck and explained they would remain in the outpost until their mission was done. Men in polished armor stood at attention to welcome them on the ground.
Dry, warm air hit her like a full-bodied slap as she stepped outside. There wasn't a cloud to be seen and the sun was mercilessly hot on her skin. Weiss imagined this was the usual weather in the middle of this arid land.
A thin man approached them quickly from the edge of the landing zone.
He wore dress pants and shoes and a buttoned shirt. Pale blond hair, with some gray on it, cut short over a weathered face. He moved quickly despite using a cane to walk. With small brown eyes and a thick jaw, he looked to be well on his way to being a grumpy old man.
"Miss Schnee, welcome," His voice was rough but his tone was polite, if distant. "I'm Ernest Howards, I run this place." He extended a large hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
Her team stood behind her, silently enduring the disbelieving stares from all around. Not unreasonable, even she had doubted Ruby's skill when they first met. Unfazed, she took his hand and gave it a perfect, professional shake.
"Likewise, Mr. Howards." His skin felt weathered and his grip strong, like many military men she'd met. She had expected someone else however. "Mr. Cromwell informed me he'd be ready to brief us as soon as we landed?"
"Yes, please follow me to my office."
He hastened inside the structure crowned by communications equipment and team RWBY followed.
All employees stepped out of their way and stared as she walked in front of the other girls. She could feel three pairs of eyes on the back of her head, probably unnerved by the attention, taking cues from her.
She wondered if that's what being leader would have been like. It may have been disrespectful to Ruby's position, but when she turned to peek at the redhead out the corner of an eye the girl sent her a smile.
The elevator was barely large enough to hold five people. Mr. Howards leaned on his cane easily, unconcerned with the lack of space, while the girls tried to squeeze against the walls and preserve personal space. They followed him out the elevator, through a small waiting room, into his office.
Through the windows she could see an endless expanse of the hard, dusty plain they'd just landed on. A few picture frames were the only personal touch. The screen behind the desk was easily the most expensive item. And there was no Albert Cromwell anywhere.
Before she could inquire, Howards explained brusquely.
"Video conference, the man's got better things to do than sit around in the middle of nowhere."
Without further explanation he moved to his desk and pressed a few keys on the terminal there. The holo-screen came to life, it displayed a 'Standby' message for a moment before the image changed to the man she'd only seen on her scroll before.
Cromwell was a large man, but not rotund like Peter Port. Although his belly was imposing, his arms and shoulders were fittingly proportioned. Narrow eyes and heavy eyebrows above a big nose, together with a full moustache and beard, made her think he was used to frowning. The white hairs on his head, neatly combed, gave him an experienced look. His receding hairline didn't do much to distract from the severe appearance.
When he spoke, thin scars became visible on the side of his jaw.
"Miss Schnee, I appreciate you responding so quickly. I'll do my best so your team can return to Beacon before this day is done." He said this with a nod at the girls behind her. "As soon as the four of you sign the NDA's we can begin."
Weiss had expected that. He had been clear before on the importance of keeping the whole thing quiet. And they were, after all, in a facility far removed from other sign of civilization. She suspected Cromwell didn't just want to keep the press from learning what happened here, but that here existed at all.
Blake surprised her, again, with her crossed arms, firm glare, and confrontational tone.
"We're not doing anything until I know what you want from us."
Hours of silence and that's what she breaks it with, of course. Worse than being needlessly difficult and possibly insulting someone, was the way she motivated Yang and, thus, Ruby.
"Yeah!"
"It makes sense to know what we're doing before saying we will, right?"
A tense silence fell, while Yang looked to her then smirked at Cromwell, who frowned at Blake, who glared right back. Ruby tried to smile while subtly hiding behind her, and Howards seemed disapproving of them all.
Clearly, only she could be trusted to resolve any situation that required anything like human interaction.
On one hand, displeasing Schnee people of importance went against everything she'd been brought up to be. On the other, peer pressure.
Turning back to the screen, she spoke in a well-practiced voice.
"I'm sure there is a lot of very sensitive information surrounding this operation, Mr. Cromwell." She came across diplomatic and reasonable. With precisely as much respect as was due to his station but not more. "And we will, of course, handle it with proper care. Besides, there is little about our mining operations that I do not know already, or that I would not trust my teammates with."
That last bit was perhaps excessive. But for some reason she wanted the girls to hear it.
He probably needed their help more than their silence anyway. If not, she had thrown her one chance at saving her reputation away for foolish sentimentalism.
Thankfully the silence was not long enough for her stomach to ice over.
"As you say, Miss Schnee." The man on the screen spoke with a straight-to-business attitude. "Howards, leave us."
Straightening up, the other nodded.
"Sir."
Her team was silent. Cromwell's hard gaze was on them now.
"As you may have guessed, this facility is a secret. And many measures are taken to ensure it remains one." The lack of roads or nearby train tracks had given her that impression. It was not extremely rare of her grandfather's company to operate without the public's knowledge, or approval.
"Our competition, such as it is, was foolish enough to overlook our little treasure trove here when they acquired mining rights in the region; being caught in their backyard would be awkward, at best."
For an economical empire stretched over most of the world, competition existed only locally and not for long. People were resistant to change, so a few decades of stubborn refusal to switch from a generations-old provider to the new and clearly superior one were to be expected here and there.
"Thus we cannot involve untrustworthy individuals or risk anything being leaked to the press."
Someone actually hissed behind her, but Cromwell's eyes were on hers and looking away could be seen as weakness.
"Thirty-nine hours ago, a mining crew hit what they thought to be an underground cave system. At the same time, likely because of it, there was a spike of seismic activity." She did not like the sound of that.
"As per protocol, the crews were evacuated, but only a few workers came running out of the lowest level, screaming about 'monsters' on their heels. Nothing followed them out." Ruby made a distressed sound at the implication.
"We sent a drone in and found both the missing miners and what killed them."
He hit something on his side and the screen switched to display a distorted image in grey tones. An armored figure, humanoid, and countless behind it, stared unnervingly at them. A two-handed axe was raised against the camera.
"Every gun we can spare has been aimed down that tunnel ever since, no one has entered and nothing has attempted to come out. I contacted you once I found every resource suited for something like this was occupied elsewhere or would take too long. My men can hold the line just fine against most of the local threats, but a Search and Destroy into the unmapped underground without heavy support is just asking for a bloodbath."
There was no face behind the greathelm, no writhing shadow creeping from the visor slits. Only an inexplicable emptiness.
"This is your mission: enter the mines, eliminate all hostiles, and investigate what lies beyond them."