Destination Mistral

85 P.G.W. - Mistral - Demi

Demi leapt through the portal and immediately regretted her decision. All at once she could feel her body being pulled, molecule by molecule, in every conservable direction. It was as if the forces of the space around her were trying to tear her apart. Demi concentrated, struggling to keep herself whole. She had to endure, if for nothing else than to insure Ironwood returned to Atlas to pay for his crimes. However, it seemed as if time itself had stopped. The longer Demi spent in unknown space the more strain she could feel being placed on her body. She was nearly at her limit, feeling as if an eternity was passing by, when a space opened. Desperate for relief of any kind she aimed for the opening and all at once came shooting out like a dust bullet from the barrel of a gun.

She braced herself, rolling as she hit the ground in an attempt to lessen the force of the impact. She hit the ground rolling before a large garbage bin stopped her momentum. She groaned, struggling to get to her feet despite the pain and nausea she felt. While her aura had protected her from the initial impact she still managed to hit the steel drum fairly hard, leaving a large dent in it and bruising her side.

Her feet wobbled beneath her threatening to give out but she braced herself against a brick wall before sliding slowly to the ground. Disoriented and numb with pain she managed to pull her scroll from her breast pocket. Being an Atlas military product the scroll was built to withstand incredible amounts of abuse. It would have taken at least a bomb explosion to make it inoperable and to its credit the little device had managed to survive the trip.

Opening it up she began by ascertaining her position. The first thing that came to attention, however, was a message flashing at the top. "LOCAL SERVICE ONLY." Demi found this odd as the CCT towers would have insured she had global access. The only time they had gone down was due to an incident that revolved around an unknown enemy having hacked the tower and using their own Atlesian Knights to attack Beacon academy. Still, that had been decades ago and the towers had all been rebuilt and made stronger since that time.

Pushing this thought aside she immediately began checking for her precise location. Despite having only local service she was still able to gain a fairly accurate readout of where she was.

"Mistral?" she mused, perplexed by the exact coordinates.

That seemed impossible, however, considering everything she had just been through that may have been an understatement. During the initial briefing back in Atlas Winter had informed her that, among the numerous projects Atlas had been working on at the time, one of them had been a transport of sorts, something that would enable them to quickly move troops and supplies from one location to another in mere seconds. The theory had incorporated twin portals, each one acting as both the entrance and exit for the other. Thinking it through it made sense that she would end up in Mistral. With no other portal to received her the possibilities of where she might have ended up were endless.

Venturing more into this thought she realized it was a miracle that she hadn't ended up at the bottom of the ocean or worse yet didn't come out at all. She could still be stuck in the portal, feeling it rip her molecules apart. She shuttered at the thought and quickly moved on to something more productive. With a limited field of use she'd have to find her allies quickly. Opening the maps on her scroll she was able to locate the Atlas Embassy, which coincidentally wasn't too far from her location. She'd be able to seek medical attention, inform Winter of what had happened, and perhaps find out where Ironwood had ended up at. Struggling to her feet she began making her way to the Embassy. Things were looking up for her. Before long she'd be healed, rested and ready to tackle the world.


85 P.G.W. - South of Mistral - Jack

One glance at his surroundings told Jack all he needed to know regarding the events that lead up to Tyrian being "de-tailed." Broken buildings, smashed walls, and various craters in the ground all spoke of a hard fought battle, one that obviously ended poorly for the scorpion. Looking closely at the rubble he could make out slash marks from a sword, probably Qrow Branwen, and a few drops of some purple liquid. Curious, he followed the trail only to be greeted by a rather unexpected sight.

There, lying on the ground, was the scorpion's severed tail. Jack crouched down near it, removing his fingerless gloves before pulling out a pair of latex ones he kept on hand. Being very careful while handling it he examined the piece. To his surprise he found the tail and stinger to be in exceptional condition. It couldn't have been more than a few days, a week at most, since it was severed and yet it still had a bit of life left in it.

His curiosity peeked, Jack pulled out a small bottle from his jacket, uncorked it, and set it on the ground. Taking the tail in hand he carefully squeezed the severed end over the bottle. At first nothing happened and he wondered if there was nothing left for him to harvest. However, to his surprise a small droplet fell into the glass followed by another.

Jack squeezed the tail, forcing the venom from it, until he was sure he had collected every remaining drop of it's poisonous nectar. Tossing the now useless piece into the bushes he corked the bottle and held it up to eye level for examination. The bottle was hardly 10% full, yet Jack new it was now the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal. He had heard of the potency Tyrian's venom had on its victims and, assuming none of them were able to seek medical attention in time, they had all suffered a horribly painful end.

Jack couldn't count the number of possibilities that came to mind for it's uses. The people he could incapacitate with just a drop. There was, of course, only one person he truly wanted to use it on. Salem. She would most certainly be his primary target. Yet, somehow he knew that not even the entirety of the bottles contents would be enough to hinder her, but so long as they slowed her down that would be enough.

He pocketed the small bottle, smiling with a small sense of pride, when an unusual sound greeted his ears. The roaring of an engine, not loud enough to be a transport, was growing closer by the second. As a single glaring headlight became visible over the distance Jack realized that a motorcycle was headed his way. Great, not even ten minutes had passed and already he was being assaulted by bandits. Tapping into his semblance he began feeling around the area and was please to have noticed at least three useable corpses nearby. Assuming this was a scout he might have time to take them down and steal their ride before the rest of their tribe showed up.

Jack immediately began to have second thoughts when, as the rider approached, he was able to get a good look at them. A few things tipped him off that this girl may not be a bandit considering he had never known of any to have long blond hair, wore aviator sunglasses, or have an artificial arm for that matter. A great deal of her outfit was fairly new and in good condition, all of which were signs that she had most likely come from one of the larger cities rather than the outskirts of civilization. Before Jack could make a move to avoid the oncoming vehicle, however, the girl brought it to a sliding halt just a few feet from him, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured his vision. As soon as he could see clearly he was greeted by the sight of the young woman starring him down, a sunny smile spread across her face.

"Hey stranger, where are you headed?" she asked in a cheery manner.

Jack stared back at the young woman, perplexed not only by how friendly she was but by the sheer fact that she was speaking to a total stranger as if he were an old friend. It was one of the few times that Jack found himself at a loss for words. He had expected her to pass him by, kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake, while he sauntered on towards Mistral. Yet now he didn't know what to think. At best he would stay on his guard until he had a better impression of the young woman's intentions.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Do you need a lift? I'm headed towards Mistral and it looks like you could use a ride to civilization."

Now Jack was truly miffed. Obviously this girl was toying with him. There was no possible way that a complete stranger would simply offer to help him out in the middle of nowhere. Reverting back to his initial instincts he figured she must be a bandit, one who was either fairly good at using her natural "endowments" to lure in unsuspecting victims or someone who was far too conceited in her own abilities.

"Pardon me but I find it rather odd that a total stranger would offer me a ride to Mistral simply out of the goodness of their heart," he replied.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot my manners. My names Yang, Yang Xio Long. It's nice to meet you," she said, extending her artificial arm out for a handshake.

Jack stared back at her, feeling the tension rise in the air. After a few moments Yang glanced down at her hand and slightly recoiled from a sudden realization.

"Oops, sorry. I'm still rather new to it so I haven't had too much experience in regards to having people react to my new arm," she said, rather embarrassed.

"What? Oh no, no, no, that's not it," Jack replied, somewhat flustered, "I have no qualms about your artificial arm, rather, I'm not too keen on shaking hands."

"Why?"

"Handshaking is usually a sign of trust, though, to be honest, I find it difficult to trust a complete stranger whom I've only just meet."

"I'm not a stranger, I'm Yang. Speaking of which I never caught your name."

He hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons to trusting a relative stranger so soon into his mission. "Jack," he finally managed.

"Jack? Jack what? Jack-of-all-trades," she joked.

"Just Jack," he said dryly.

"Nice to meet you Jack," she said, taking hold of his arm and giving him a firm handshake. "See, now were no longer strangers, we're friends."

"Acquaintances," Jack corrected, retracting his arm.

"Nuance," Yang replied. "So, do you want a ride or not?"

Jack took a moment to consider the offer. Granted it would be much faster for them to reach Mistral and it would shave off some considerable time from his mission. However, he knew nothing about Yang Xio Long. For all her beauty and smiles she could simply be a generous young woman or spy working for Salem, keeping track of his movements and making sure he stuck to his word. Still, there may be some advantages associated with their acquaintanceship and, if he played his cards right, he just might glean some useful information from her. He nodded and Yang's face lite up into a brilliant smile.

"Hop on," she said.

Jack climbed onto the motorcycle, straddling the seat behind her as he placed his hands on her shoulders. To his surprise, and annoyance, Yang grabbed his hands before slinging them around her waist. Jack was about to snarl something at her in protest but was caught off guard by the roar of the engine. With a sudden jerk from the vehicle his arms tightened around her waist as he held on for dear life. Yang smiled, amused by his reaction, as the speed off into the night. With the wind rushing by and his eyes shut tight all Jack could think was "Dear Goddess, don't let this crazy bitch be the death of me!"


85 P.G.W - Atlas Embassy - Demi

Despite the Atlas embassy being fairly close Demi had neglected to consider the fact that "close" was a relative term when consulting a map on your scroll. Couple that with agitated injuries covering her chest and thighs and you had all the makings of an excruciatingly painful journey. It took her little more than an hour to reach the building and by then Demi's legs were so numbed by the pain that she couldn't tell if she had legs at all. The only thing on her mind was how lovely it would feel to have a shot of morphine while she lay in a comfy hospital bed.

As she approached the gate the two soldiers guarding barley took notice of her until she was right on top of them. Instinctively, they snapped to attention and were about to give her a salute until they took a closer look at her uniform. Her disheveled hair along with a uniform that was torn in various places and covered in dirt would have caused anyone to throw her a suspicious glance. In spite of this Demi reached into her chest pocket before whipping out her identification badge.

"Gentleman, I'm Specialist Demi Schnee with the Atlesian army. I'm currently on assignment from headquarters and could greatly use some medical attention as well as a warm bed. No doubt you know of Winter Schnee? If you contact her she can confirm my statement."

Instead of a quick response to her request the soldiers exchanged glances before looking her over casually. In hindsight this should have been the first tipoff that something wasn't right. Before she could do anything more the soldiers had their weapons raised and trained on her as they slowly approached.

"Put your hands behind your head and slowly drop to you knees," one of them said.

"What?" she stammered, appalled by their uncouth treatment of a high ranking officer.

"I said hands behind your head and drop to you knees, now," the soldier said in a firm tone.

"What is the meaning of this? Do you have any id- "Demi was cut off as the second soldier butted her in the chest with his rifle, effectively dropping her to the ground as she gasped for air.

Unable to defend herself the soldiers proceeded to handcuff her before dragging her towards the Embassy building. Avoiding the main entrance, they took a side route that lead them into a dark corridor with large steel doors every few feet. Demi recognized these as interrogation rooms and began wondering what had gone wrong. Was this part of the mission? Were they with Ironwood? Demi could only speculate as she was dragged into an empty room and handcuffed to the table.

"I'll contact the commander. She'll want to inspect this one personally," she heard one of them say.

"Wonder what she'll think? It's not everyday that somebody walks up to the Embassy trying to impersonate you," the other replied.

"Impersonate? Impersonate whom?" she managed to say through stifled breathes.

"Specialist Schnee of course, though you obviously didn't do your homework."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because her name is Winter. Specialist Winter Schnee."


85 P.G.W. - Mistral - Jack

Few things in life had ever caused Jack to appreciate the simple things in life. Being sick made him appreciate having good health. Starving made him appreciate finding something to eat, no matter the nature of the meal. Most recently, however, was the fact that riding a motorcycle driven by a crazed blond in aviators made him appreciate the simple fact of having two strong legs to walk on. The moment they stopped and Jack was able to abandon the bike altogether he found himself numerously blessed as he tacked on the appreciation of having somehow managed to survive such a terrifying ordeal.

"Whew, that was fun. Been a while since I let her run wild like that."

"Why did it have to include me?" Jack mumbled, trying desperately to keep his stomach from ejecting its contents all over the street.

"You alright? You look rather pale."

"Never ridden a motorcycle before," he replied. "And I never want to ride one again."

"Sorry, guess I got a little carried away," Yang said with a sympathetic smile. "So, I guess this is where we part ways."

"Indeed," Jack said, grateful to finally be ride of the terrifying blonde.

"Perhaps we'll meet again," she said.

"Not too soon, I hope," Jack replied, doing little to hide the distain in his voice. Yang either didn't notice or didn't care as she laughed it off.

"By the way, out of curiosity why were you headed to Mistral anyway? People don't usually go traveling through the outskirts on their own, not unless they're Hunters."

"I guess you could say I'm hunting for someone," Jack said.

"Really, so you're a bounty hunter?"

"Of sorts."

"Who're you hunting?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Can't say though I'll know her when I find her."

"I take they're pretty dangerous."

"Indeed. The last person to tangle with her managed walked away having only lost an appendage and the one before him lost a great deal more."

"Yikes, that does sound bad. Hopefully you don't end up dead."

"No need to worry about that. People don't typically notice me; it's a trait I've learned to shape to my advantage. By the way, since we're on the subject, what brings you to Mistral?"

"My sister, a red-head named Ruby. She left home a while back with some friends and I've come to take her home."

"I see," Jack mussed, intrigued. "Well, best of luck to you then," he said, extending his arm for a handshake.

"I thought you didn't trust me," Yang joked.

"I don't but you did give me a ride into town, in spite of almost killing me while doing it, so I'll make an exception."

Yang, both surprised and flattered, gave him a firm handshake in response. Jack managed to force a small smile on his face, paying close attention to Yang in the hopes she wouldn't notice the small spider crawling across the underside of her arm. Thankfully her dominate hand was also her artificial one, a detail that worked in his favor to insure she wouldn't notice the creature as it crawled onto her jack and slipped into one of her pockets.

As they parted ways a small wisp of black mist escaped her pocket, confirming the spider had returned to its previously deceased state and insuring Jack had a means of keeping tabs on Yang. While his semblance's range was limited up to a mile wide radius he would at least know when she was close and have the opportunity to use his little spy to help him.

Jack smiled a sly smile beneath his hood. Things were looking up for him. To think he would meet the sister of his target so soon into his mission. If he played his cards right he might be back at Salem's doorstep within the week and enjoying his newly regained freedom. Still, something about what she had said kept him on guard. Her sister's "friends" could pose a problem for him, depending on who they were and how many. He'd have to be cautious. Like the spider patience would prove his greatest asset in this game of cat and mouse.


85 P.G.W. - Embassy Interrogation Room - Demi

Demi didn't understand what was happening. Between the portal and the odd behavior of the Embassy guards the only conclusion she was able to come to was that Ironwood had somehow planted more of his loyalists amongst their troops. That still didn't explain what they were doing here. If he had the ability to infiltrate their ranks, then why not positon them someplace closer to the higher ups? Sure, having anyone of them around or near Winter would most likely lead to their discovery but having them stationed near her advisors could prove just as advantageous. What had her even more confused was the fact that they referred to Winter as a Specialist.

Demi knew of her Aunt's extensive military career, which included her time as an Atlesian Specialist, but she hadn't been one in decades. Were these guys just idiots or did she hear them wrong? Her thoughts we cut short when the door to the interrogation room swung open and Demi's blood ran cold when she saw the woman who strolled inside.

Her hair was pure white and pulled back into a tight bun. Her uniform, a specialist's, though one of the older designs, was clean and pressed to perfection with no trance of any wrinkles on it whatsoever. Speaking of wrinkles, the woman's face was completely devoid of them but in their place were strong, firm features that showed immense experience and discipline. She knew her, recognizing her from photos she had seen around their home, but was stunned to see her standing there in person. Whatever theories Demi had regarding her situation were thrown out the window as the woman stood ramrod straight before her.

"Good evening, I am Specialist Winter Schnee and I'm here to ask you a few questions."


And the plot thickens. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I had a tough time deciding what I should reveal in the chapter and how the characters should interact. Naturally I wanted to insure that Jack didn't come across as being too obvious with his "bounty hunting" assignment but I also knew I wanted him to learn from Yang herself that, not only was Rudy in Mistral but that they were also sisters. Winter was also a major reveal I'd had in mind. I knew I wanted something big and epic to happen that would reveal to Demi that she wasn't where she thought she was.

The next chapter will be a little more eventful. Obvious Demi is going to escape her confinement before meeting up with Jack. I'm still working out the details in regards to how Team RWBY as well as Demi and Jack meet up and come together. I'm sure that, as I write this, we'll begin to learn more about the upcoming Vol. 5 of RWBY and some details from that may help in furthering the plot of the story. All in all, I plan to keep this story as original as possible and, seeing as how the next volume won't premiere until next month, I'll have plenty of time to work on my story.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter so far. Please leave a review of what you thought was good and any improvements you think I should add. I'm trying to chop up the paragraphs a little more to make it easier to read and please no questions regarding Jack's origins or the nature of his Semblance. I promise that, as the story progresses, those questions will all be answered by him in due time. Just stick with me and we'll make it there together.

Until next time RWBY fans.