I do not own RvB or RWBY
"What the fuck are you doing!?" Washington shouted at Blake, realizing that she had used her ability to pull South out of the way and leave a shadow copy behind.
"I said you're not killing her," Blake stated firmly.
"You son of a bitch!" South shouted to Washington. After overcoming the initial shock of being pulled back at the last second before the gun fired, she realized what exactly just happened. "You actually tried to shoot me. You were going to kill me!"
"That was the outcome we were expecting," Delta commented. "You must have known that Agent Washington would shoot to kill."
"I didn't think he would actually go through with it!" South shouted to the A.I. before turning back to face Washington. "You were really gonna do it weren't you Wash?" she said in a low whisper.
"Yes," Washington said flatly, still keeping a grip on his pistol. "And I haven't finished yet."
"Wash, you're not killing her," Blake repeated.
"I told you-" South began to protest, but Blake gave her a look that told her to shut up.
"I'm going to keep her safe, whether she wants me to or not" Blake continued. "So you can just-"
Washington fired his pistol again.
The bullet hit South, but once again, she and Blake disappeared and ended up outside of Washington's range.
"How do you keep doing that!?" Washington exclaimed. And he wasn't talking about her shadow copies, which he already saw her use in the fight earlier. Blake was reacting too quickly to Washington's shots. It didn't make sense. He wasn't giving any obvious indicator before he fires. It's almost like she could somehow see when he would fire before he actually does.
Unknown to Washington, Blake had the advantage of being a Faunus. Her enhanced senses allowed her to react much faster compared to normal people and she could quickly move herself and South out of Washington's line of fire. It also didn't hurt that Washington's own bloodlust became overbearing ever since they heard about the situation of the female Freelancer.
"Hold still," Washington said. He wasn't going to give up just because a teenage girl could dodge well. He turned to fire another shot... until he was prevented from firing when he was tackled by Yang and Ruby, causing all three of them to fall to the ground.
"Stop!" Ruby shouted.
"Enough with the shooting already!" Yang shouted as well.
"Both of you get off me now!" Washington shouted at them. Both Ruby and Yang were on top of him and their combined weight immobilized him.
"Let's get rid of this first," Yang said as she grabbed Washington's pistol and threw it out of reach. "Okay, now we can get off you." She and Ruby soon got back on their feet, followed by Washington getting up as well.
"Good," Washington said. He then pulled out another pistol and aimed it at Blake and South again. Yang immediately grabbed the barrel of the pistol and crushed it in her hand.
"Try that again, and it's going to be your head next," Yang threatened, her eyes flashing red.
"Agent Washington," Delta spoke up. "I believe the best course of action would be to do as she says."
"Yeah, I got that," Washington said as he threw away his now useless pistol. After seeing what these girls could do, he didn't want to push his luck. "What now?"
"How about we talk instead of trying to kill everyone," Weiss suggested sarcastically.
"Yeah," Church said, in agreement with Weiss. "Seriously dude, you have issues."
After stopping Washington's attempted killing, Blake, with some help from Yang, had brought South somewhere away from the others to check on her injury, and mostly to keep her away from Washington, who was still glaring at South from the distance.
"Hey Wash, I have a great idea," Church said in a slow calm manner. "Let's all put down our guns and weapons and not try to shoot anyone else that we're trying to help."
"Relax," Washington said, finally turning away from where South was, and facing the assembled group.
"Exactly," Church said, still in the same tone. "Let's all relax."
"It will be difficult to relax when you just tried to murder someone," Weiss accused.
"Agent South had already shot me in the back once before, and she tried to give up Delta to the enemy," Washington stated. "I wasn't going to wait around to see if she decided to do it again."
"That doesn't justify trying to kill her," Ruby insisted.
"I would disagree," Delta said. "Agent Washington's actions were the most practical to make at the time."
"That still doesn't make it right," Ruby said.
As they talked, they saw Yang heading towards them.
"Well, she's fine now," Yang told them. "At least, as far as I could tell when she started cursing."
"I need to talk to her," Washington said, and started walking towards the direction of the female Freelancer.
"Whoa there," Yang said stepping in front of Washington. "You just tried to kill her. I don't think you should be allowed to even go near her."
"I'm not going to kill her," Washington said, but there was a begrudging undertone to his voice. "I just need to make sure her Recovery Beacon is deactivated. I don't want Command sending anyone else here and complicate things."
"...Fine," Yang relented. "But I'm keeping an eye on you. If you try anything-"
"It's going to be my head next," Washington echoed Yang's words from earlier in a mocking tone. "I got it." He and Yang then headed towards Blake and South.
Once the two were out of earshot, Ruby, Weiss, and Church turned to Delta.
"Okay, now that he's gone, we'd like to ask you a few questions," Weiss said to the A.I.
"I will try to answer any of your questions to the best of my ability, Weiss," Delta stated.
"Good," Weiss said. "So-"
"Wait!" Ruby interrupted, causing Weiss to almost fall over in surprise.
"What!?" Weiss nearly shrieked to Ruby.
"How did you know Weiss' name?" Ruby asked Delta.
"Oh my God, he can read minds!" Caboose exclaimed. "Quick, start thinking of something else. Like pudding."
"No you idiots," Weiss said. "He must have overheard us mention our names before."
"That is also true, but not the case," Delta said. "The reason I know Weiss' name is the same reason that I know your name is Ruby, and your friends over there are named Blake and Yang. There have been rumors about your team circulating around. It would appear they were not rumors at all."
"Oh right," Ruby recalled. "Wash mentioned something about that."
"Indeed," Delta said. "All data regarding that simulation outpost was recorded and studied after your arrival."
"Wait," Weiss said. "What do you mean by simu-"
"Hey! Can we get back on track here," Church said, not wanting them to forget their original purpose for questioning the A.I.. "So about Washington, is he like a whack-job or what?"
"Church!" Weiss shouted at Church's lack of tact.
"...Well, is he?" Ruby asked as well.
Weiss groaned at both of their straightforward questioning. "While I wouldn't phrase it so bluntly, that is the main question we would like to ask."
"I see," Delta said in understanding. "Are you aware of his experience with Epsilon?"
"Epsilon?" Ruby said.
"You mean his A.I.?" Church said.
"Correct," Delta said. "Epsilon was an... unstable intelligence unit that had to be deleted. Its integration with Washington's mind concerned our superiors."
"Is that why he's such..." Weiss tried to look for the appropriate word.
"A jackass?" Church suggested.
"A meanie?" Ruby suggested.
"A tall person," Caboose said.
"A bit unstable," Weiss finished.
"You are referring to Agent Washington's earlier actions regarding Agent South Dakota," Delta said, more as a statement of fact rather than a question.
"Yes," Weiss stated flatly.
"While Agent Washington's mental stability may be called into question at times, it hasn't been shown to affect his work in the field," Delta said.
"What do you think?" Ruby asked.
"I believe that Agent Washington's sanity is well within acceptable deviations," Delta stated. "For now."
"Wow, what a ringing endorsement," Church said sarcastically. "I'm filled with confidence."
Ruby and Weiss looked at each other worriedly, sharing Church's sentiment on Washington.
Washington and Yang headed to Blake and South, who was now sitting down on the ground, her back leaning against a wall for support.
"She done complaining?" Yang asked.
"My leg is bleeding, I can complain as much as I want," South shot back.
"No," Blake deadpanned.
The two of them then noticed Washington behind Yang.
"What is HE doing here!?" both Blake and South shouted.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt her," Washington said evenly. "I just want to have a chat."
"'A chat'! You tried to kill me!" South shouted. "Why the fuck would I hear out anything you have to say!?"
"Well then I guess you already disabled your Recovery Beacon, which by the way is still transmitting, which means that Command can still track where you are," Washington informed her. "And I'm sure that you wouldn't want them to find you after all the shit you pulled."
"What is he talking about?" Blake asked South, who remained silent.
"Oh, didn't she tell you?" Washington continued, his tone filled with mocking glee. "After she shot me in the back and left me for dead, she decided to steal Delta and go rogue. There's a warrant for her arrest. So you're protecting a criminal."
"So she's a criminal," Yang shrugged. "You should arrest her, not kill her."
"It doesn't matter. I can't kill her now because Mother Teresa over here won't let me," Washington said irritably as he glared at Blake, who just glared back at him.
"I have no idea what that means," Yang said, not getting Washington's comparison.
"The point is, I'd like her to deactivate her Recovery beacon so Command won't send anyone else to go after her and get in our way," Washington continued. "You do know how to deactivate it, right South?"
"Fuck off," South said. She then started to work on her armor to deactivate the Recovery Beacon.
As she did, Blake walked towards Washington.
"Now what?" Blake asked. "What's going to happen to her now?"
"Well, since she's not dead, she might actually be of some use to us in dealing with the Meta," Washington said.
"Wait, what!?" South shouted, turning up to look at him. "I tried to get away from that thing!"
"By abandoning Delta and practically handing him over to the Meta to become more powerful," Washington reminded her.
"It was him or me, and I chose me," South argued.
"You know, I'm starting to get on board Wash's whole 'kill you' idea," Yang said, causing Blake to throw her a glare. Yang raised her hands in defense. "I'm kidding." After a pause. "Mostly."
"So what makes you think that I'm going to help you with anything that has to do with going near that monster?" South asked.
"Well, the way I see it, you have three options," Washington began. "One, you help us find the Meta and stop it. Two, I can call Command to pick you up and have you arrested. Or three, I could finish what I started earlier and shoot you."
Blake was about to speak up, but Yang stopped her.
"Let's see where this goes," Yang said to her.
South was quiet for a few moments before she spoke up. "If I'm going to help, I can't do it with an injured leg."
Washington sighed and pulled out a device. "Here's a healing unit. I was saving this if any of us had any severe injuries. But I guess I can waste it on a backstabber like you." He then tossed it towards South, who caught and activated it. The unit began glowing green as it started to do its work of healing South's leg.
"Give me five minutes, and I can get back on my feet," South said.
Suddenly, Caboose had run up from behind Washington and pushed him aside.
"What the-" Washington said in surprise as he saw Caboose approach South and the healing unit.
"What a pretty light!" Caboose declared.
"Sorry about that," Ruby said as she, Weiss, and Church arrived soon after. "We were already heading this way, but when we all saw that weird glow, Caboose just ran ahead."
"That doesn't surprise me," Yang said.
"Would someone get this idiot away from me!" South shouted.
"Is this making you uncomfortable?" Washington asked in amusement, clearly taking satisfaction in South's predicament.
"Fuck yes!" South shouted.
"Good," Washington said, turning away from her to address the others. "Right now, we need to think of another plan against the Meta. Especially since Church and Ruby let it get away by missing their shots."
"Hey, my aim is fine," Church argued.
"Wow, you actually believe that," Weiss said in a pitying tone.
"Okay, my aim was fine that time," Church admitted.
"And my shot was definitely on target," Ruby said proudly.
"And yet, the Meta managed to dodge both your shots somehow," Washington reminded them.
"No, no, not dodge," Church said. "It was there one second, and it was gone the next."
"You do realize that that's the definition of dodging," Yang said.
"That's how we knew it was using Wyoming's ability to affect time," Weiss continued. "It must have frozen time and escaped."
"And Wyoming was on the ship with Tex?" Washington asked.
"His head was," Caboose said, moving away from South and joining the conversation.
"His... head?" Washington said in confusion.
"He means his helmet," Blake clarified.
"Not everybody is as twisted as you Wash," Church said. "Tex took it for some reason."
"Maybe that's why the ship took a year to crash," Caboose pointed out.
"That's... actually a good point Caboose," Weiss said, surprised by Caboose's insight.
"So if the Meta has Wyoming's powers, it's even more powerful than we thought," Washington stated.
"And as scary as someone thought it was to begin with," Caboose added. "Back to square one. Scary square."
"So let's go find this thing and stop it," Ruby said.
"Right," Washington said. "You guys head back to where we left the cycles."
"I am on that," Caboose said as he began to run.
Church sighed. "I'll go get him," he said, before running off to follow Caboose.
"We'll make sure they don't kill each other," Weiss said. She, Ruby, and Yang followed the Blues, leaving Washington, Blake, and South.
"South, can you stand?" Washington asked.
South answered his question by getting back on her feet and switching off the healing unit. "What do you think?"
"Good, this will make things easier," Washington said.
"Make what easier?" Blake asked, unsure what Washington would say next.
"For removing her armor," Washington said.
"WHAT!?" South shouted, incredulous. "Are you out of your fucking mind!?"
"Think of it as insurance," Washington said. "So you don't run off again." Washington turned to Blake. "Do you have a problem with this, or are we going to have to leave you two behind?"
Blake's could feel her Faunus ears twitch in irritation under her bow. Washington continued to frustrate her with his attitude, but she knew that he was right. While she didn't want South killed, Blake couldn't ignore that fact that South was equally dangerous. Based on what she learned from Washington and Delta, she might try to run away again, or hurt any of them to do so.
"I... have no problem," Blake said dejectedly.
"This is bullshit!" South shouted. "I'll be a sitting duck without my armor."
"Quit whining," Washington said to her. "You can use your armor when we need you to fight. And only for that."
"How am I suppose to put my armor on if we're in the middle of a fight!?" South demanded.
"For your sake, very quickly," Washington said coldly. "Now, will you take your armor off by yourself, or will I have to shut it down first? Your choice."
South gave a low growl as she slowly took of her helmet.
When Church, Ruby, and the others saw Washington heading their way, Church spoke up.
"Hey Washington!" Church shouted. "We've got a- whoa, who the hell is the chick!?"
They all saw that besides the approaching Washington and Blake, there was a woman with them whom they did not recognize.
She was wearing the standard black skin suit worn by soldiers under their armor. She also had short blonde hair, grey eyes, and a scar on her left cheek. What was currently noticeable about her was the angry scowl she had on her face.
"It's me, dumbasses!" the woman shouted at them.
"Wait…South!?" Yang said in surprise. They all realized that Yang was right, as they registered the familiar angry voice of the other Freelancer.
"What happened to your armor?" Weiss asked.
They all then noticed that South and Blake were carrying South's armor, most of it carried by South.
"I made South remove her armor so she wouldn't try running off or kill us when we're not looking," Washington explained.
"You could've had her remove her armor when we were close with the vehicles so we wouldn't have to carry it," Blake stated.
"You could've also helped us carry it," South growled.
"Yeah, and I could've also shot South and be done with her, but we don't always get what we want," Washington answered sarcastically turning back to the others, and missing the angry glares sent to him by the two women. "Alright, let's get out of here."
"Yeah, about that," Ruby said. "There might be a slight problem."
"What problem?" Washington said.
Weiss then pointed at the location where they left the Mongooses and Washington and Blake noticed that there were only three present.
"So, you have three cycles," South said. "What's the problem?"
"We came here with four," Blake said.
"Oh great, the Meta must've taken one," Washington groaned. "What do we do now?"
"Why are you asking us?" Church asked. "I thought you were like the big know-it-all super agent guy?"
"I would go home," Caboose said.
"Finally, something that makes sense," Weiss agreed. "I think it would benefit all of us we just go home."
"And maybe you can just let me go when you leave," South added.
"Yeah dude, retire," Church said to Washington. "You got any savings? Like a 401K or something?"
"We're not leaving," Blake stated. Both Ruby and Yang nodded in agreement.
"We need to find the Meta and fast," Washington said. "Delta, can you shed any light on where the Meta might be?"
"Not without further data," Delta said as he appeared in the middle of the group.
"Damn it," Washington cursed. "The Meta will probably be looking for more A.I. to take."
"Why does it want these A.I. anyway?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah. I mean I understand the equipment part. At least that let's you do cool stuff," Church said. "But these A.I. things are kinda annoying. They're just constantly yapping and causing trouble."
"I am going to ignore that statement," Delta said.
"A.I. help us in battle, depending on their functions," Washington explained.
"That applies to those who were given an A.I.," South muttered, earning her a look from Washington. South just grunted and looked away from him.
"We couldn't run half our equipment without them," Washington continued. "And if you get your hands on a smart A.I., you can be damn near unstoppable."
"Smart A.I.?" Weiss said. "You mean like Delta?"
South scoffed. "It's not that kind of smart."
"Delta is just the logical one of the family," Washington said. "Smart means something entirely different for A.I.s than it does for people."
"Now let's not go throwing around words like smart for no reason," Caboose stated. Ruby and Yang just patted Caboose in the shoulder.
"Wash is correct," Delta said. "We are more analogous to what you would call a 'fragment'."
"Yeah, I actually don't care, so I wouldn't call you guys anything," Church said, already growing bored.
"And I would never talk about someone's anal gus," Caboose said, Ruby and Yang suppressing a laugh at Caboose's wrong understanding of the word. "Especially not in public."
"We get it, you don't have smart A.I.," Weiss said.
"There is one smart A.I. in the Freelancer program," Delta began to say.
"Delta-" Washington said in a warning tone.
"The Alpha is a fully formed-" Delta continued.
"Delta! That's enough," Washington interrupted.
"Oh great, not this again," South groaned in annoyance.
"What's the Alpha?" Blake asked South.
"It's-" South began.
"The Alpha A.I. is nothing," Washington said quickly. "It's a myth. A fairy tale."
"It is hardly a myth," Delta said. "Agent Washington, you must have memory of the Alpha-"
"Delta!" Washington shouted, surprising everyone with the alarm in his voice. "Command. Offline."
"Complying," Delta then disappeared from sight.
"Well, sounds like somebody has a secret," Church noted.
"Care to explain the sudden urge to end the conversation?" Weiss asked.
"I just get tired of hearing these things talk about their Alpha," Washington said. "And you will too."
"All the Freelancers did eventually," South added. "The A.I.'s get obsessed thinking about it. Sometimes, it's like the only thing they care about."
"But what is it?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, if it's something really scary, you don't have to tell us," Caboose said.
"The whole purpose of the program was to study soldiers with experimental A.I.," Washington explained. "But rumor has it, they could only ever get one. So they had to copy it. The original was Alpha, then Beta, and so on."
"They copied them?" Yang said curiously. "Sounds dangerous."
"No it makes complete sense," Church said sarcastically. "I guess if one is annoying, then twenty of them are gonna be awesome."
"The copies became obsessed with this idea of the Alpha, the original," Washington continued. "In debriefings they would always steer conversations toward the topic of the Alpha. Where it was, if they could see it. Some even took... drastic steps"
"Like trying to shoot someone in the head drastic?" Blake said, the jab aimed at Washington.
"I told you, she shot me in the back first!" Washington yelled at Blake. South smirked slightly at Washington's outburst.
"And we believe you," Caboose said. "Even though we don't think shooting a friend in the back occasionally, is that big of a deal."
"I'm afraid to think that you speak from experience," Weiss said.
"He definitely has a lot of experience in the friendly fire department," Church muttered.
"So what drastic steps did you mean?" Yang asked.
"Does drastic cover some Freelancers trying to steal the Alpha?" South said.
"South's right, for once," Washington said. "These Freelancers broke into the facility where the Alpha was being kept. They almost got to it. After that, they shut down the-"
A beeping noise suddenly went off.
"My recovery beacon!" Washington exclaimed.
"I thought that only went off if another Freelancer was in trouble?" Ruby said.
"What do you think is going on then?" Weiss said.
It took a few moments, but...
"Oh," Ruby said in realization. "A Freelancer is in trouble."
"Not very bright, is she?" South commented.
"Hey, shut it!" Yang said in defense of her sister.
"Oh great! We thought the Meta was hurt, but apparently he's just busy killing more of your buddies," Church said sardonically.
"Pipe down, all of you," Washington said as he turned to speak to Command.
"What's he saying?" Ruby asked.
"Who knows?" Church said. "Our radios aren't exactly linked together."
"I can find out," Blake said as she pulled out her Scroll.
"What're you doing?" South asked.
"Seeing if I can get the same frequency as Wash," Blake said as she tried adjusting the Scroll. Since Simmons had modified their Scrolls to work with the helmet radios, finding the right frequency might let them listen into Wash's conversation.
Seeing what Blake was doing, Church and everyone else gathered around Blake and tried to listen.
"Recovery One, come in, level zero come in," a voice began to say on the Scroll.
"Who's that?" Ruby asked.
"That voice is from Command," South explained.
"Go ahead Command," they heard Washington say, both from the radio and from himself since he was standing a few feet behind them.
"Oh my God! Agent Washington is in two places at once!" Caboose said in amazement. "How is that possible!?"
"Be quiet, we're trying to listen!" Weiss hissed.
"Wash, we have a beacon," Command said.
"I'm getting it too," Washington responded. "Do you have coordinates and an ID?"
"Are you sure about this?" Command asked, though it sounded like they were speaking to someone else besides Washington. Furthermore, the transmission started to be filled with static. "I mean this is, how can we be-"
"Command, you're breaking up on me," Washington said. "Please repeat, how what can be-"
"Hold on, I'm not talking to you Wash," Command said. She then began talking to someone else. "And, and you're sure. Okay." She then spoke back to Washington. "It's Agent Maine, Wash."
"What?" Washington said in surprise.
"Damn it," South said.
"Who's Maine?" Blake asked.
"You should already know," South muttered.
"See, it's that kind of cryptic bullshit that makes me hate you guys," Church said.
"Please confirm last transmission Agent Washington," Command said.
"Maine, how can that be?" Washington said. "If-"
"Please confirm, Recovery One," Command repeated.
After a moment he replied. "Yeah, it's him," Washington answered. "...It's the Meta."
"What!?" Everyone, minus Caboose and South, shouted in surprise.
"Command, give me those coordinates now," Washington stated.
The others were no longer paying attention to Washington and Command, as they were still processing the information they found out.
"The Meta is a Freelancer!?" Church shouted out, incredulous. "You have got to be kidding me!"
"Would you calm down, you're giving me headache," South said.
"How are you not surprised by this?" Ruby asked.
"Because you already knew," Blake realized. South's silence was enough of an answer for the rest of them.
"You mean you knew that thing was a Freelancer like you, and you didn't say anything!?" Weiss said indignantly. "You could've provided us with some information when we were fighting it."
"Why are you yelling at me?" South shot back. "Wash was with you this whole time, and he knew about Maine too. If you ask me, you should be yelling at him."
"She has a point," Yang said.
"Guys, it doesn't matter now," Ruby said, trying to calm down her teammates, as well as Church, who was still ranting. "What does matter is that we need to find the Meta quickly."
"Then let's ask our 'fearsome leader' if he knows where to go next," Church said mockingly. "Hey Wash, where to now!?" he called to him.
"Command. Command, come in!" Washington shouted.
They also noticed that the transmission from the Scroll was emitting only static.
"Delta, what's happening?" Washington asked as he went back with the group.
"Our transmission is being jammed," Delta said.
"By who?" Blake asked.
"Unknown," Delta replied.
"Three guesses who's responsible," Yang said.
"If I get it right, do I get a prize?" Caboose asked.
"It's the Meta isn't it?" Blake said.
"Who else would it be?" South stated.
"Because why wouldn't it be able to that," Weiss sighed.
"Tell me you got the coordinates before we lost it," Washington said.
"I am sorry, I did not," Delta said.
"Well that's just fucking great," South said. "This isn't exactly what I expected to happen."
"Well, I guess you could say this whole thing's gone south," Yang said with a grin, causing her teammates and Church to groan, Washington, and South to give her confused looks, and Caboose to laugh a bit. "Well at least someone likes it."
"I did receive biocom data with the identification though," Delta continued. "It appears as though the Meta is experiencing mass power fluctuations."
"Power?" Washington said on confusion.
"You're saying the Meta is suffering from a power loss," Weiss said.
"That appears to be the case," Delta said.
"This thing is scary strong," Yang said. "I mean seriously, I didn't know what to expect before we fought it, but hitting it was like hitting an Ursa."
"What's an-" South began.
"It's one of the Creature of Grimm that we fight back in our world," Weiss replied.
"...If you say so," South said, left with more questions than answers.
"And don't get me started on that weapon...," the blonde continued.
"A rapid-fire grenade launcher, with an attached blade used for melee combat," Ruby noted, her eyes sparkling, and possibly some drool starting to drip from her mouth. "It's not as transformative compared to our weapons, but it's still a-"
"Okay you two, I think we get it," Blake said, trying to calm down her two teammates and ignoring the weird stares that the two Freelancers were sending the red-hooded weapon nut. "But Yang's right, why would it be having power malfunctions?"
"Maybe all that A.I. and equipment can't run on one suit of armor?" Church guessed.
"That is an excellent analysis," Delta said.
"Wow Church, you're really stepping up today," Yang said.
"Ha ha," Church said dryly.
"The Meta is most likely dangerously low on power, and will attempt to augment its energy in some way," Delta stated.
"Then we need to get to it fast," Washington said.
"We don't exactly know where it is," Blake pointed out.
"We know it's looking to recharge itself," Washington said. "What we need to do is find a location where it can do that."
"It's not like we know any place that can recharge the Meta," Weiss said.
Church and Caboose then looked at each other, as if realizing something.
"Guys, what is it?" Ruby asked, seeing the shared look between the two.
"We, uh, we might know where it's going," Church said.
"Then let's get moving," Washington said.
"You forgot that we only have three cycles and there are eight of us here," Weiss pointed out.
"I might actually have a fix to that problem," South spoke up. Washington glared at her.
"How about you just-" Washington began.
"Wash," Blake said sternly.
Washington gritted his teeth before sighing. "What are you suggesting then?" he said tersely.
South just smirked at seeing Washington having to 'play nice'.
"Follow me," she said.
