Remnant's Freelancers:
Carolina was sat at the table in their larger house, waiting for York to return from the Bluelyn Town Hospital. She ran her fingers along the edge of the table and she saw North walk out of Wash's room.
"Uh... What were you doing?" Carolina questioned the other Freelancer, who looked at her and back at room he had just left.
"I was... Uh... Not rigging his door?" North replied, slowly walking away from Wash's room and cyan-armored Freelancer. Carolina laughed as he headed away from her and shook her head.
"North, we're a group of elite soldiers stuck in a place that we have absolutely no idea about. So... Of course you play practical jokes on Wash." She told him and a huge grin suddenly appeared on his face.
"Well then, if that is so. I guess I can tell you about the prank." North said, the grin becoming larger. Carolina spread out her hands.
"So spit it out, North." Carolina said grinning from ear-to-ear. North, his face still donning the huge grin, walked back over to the room's door. He pushed it open, and it instantly slammed shut again.
"I'm hoping he won't expect that, and walk straight into it." He said, and he chuckled maniacally.
"OK... No need to oversell it, North." Carolina told him, and North nodded. Suddenly, the house's door burst open, revealing a not-so-happy South.
"Uh oh!" North exclaimed as South looked at him angrily.
"You don't happen to be responsible for this, do you North?" South spat at him, pointing at her utterly soaked hair.
"It's been lovely talking with you Carolina, but for now! I've gotta run!" He shouted as he fled the house, with his twin sister storming angrily after him. She heard an "Oof" come from, what sounded like a few feet, outside of the house. It was then followed by a "Ow! Fu-" before North's voice was cut of by a thud.
"God... Poor North." A voice sounded, and Carolina spun around to see the tan-armored Freelancer, who she knew as York.
"York! You're back!" Carolina exclaimed as she ran over to and embraced him. "We're all glad to see you. Or... North will be when he awakes from whatever South was doing to him. I'm just... I'm just happy you're OK." Carolina told as she let go of him. York laughed as he took off his helmet and Wash just shook his head as he came through the door, whispering to himself.
"Come on Carolina, I've made it through worse. And we all know, that I am made of pure amazingness, and anything made of pure amazingness doesn't die that easily." York joked, and Carolina laughed quietly, while Wash groaned.
"You know what, I'm just gonna go to my room. Good. Bye." Wash informed them and headed to his room.
"Record." Carolina whispered into her helmet, and a blinking red dot appeared on her HUD. Wash walked towards his room's door, and he began to push it open.
"Huh?" Wash questioned, as the door didn't budge. He pushed harder, and opened the door just enough for him to be able to get into his room. He stopped pushing the door, and it slammed shut, hitting him and knocking him out of the room. "You're son of a bitch North, you really are." Wash said as he walked away from his room, shaking his head slowly, and he headed out of the house.
"Good luck." Blake said, and the two partners headed into training arena. "The match between Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose will be judged by me, and the first person who's Aura drops into the red will lose the match." Blake told all of the others, in a formal-match-type-of-manner. Blake raised her arm, looking at her two teammates. "Three..." Blake informed the two, and they readied their weapons. "Two..." Blake spoke again, and Ruby took two steps backwards with Crescent Rose in scythe-form. "One..." Blake said, almost finished with her countdown, and Weiss put her right foot forward. "Begin!" Blake shouted, and the two partners flew towards each other. Weiss' Myrtenaster's blade was then laced in an icy-blue-colored dust and she struck the ground, creating a field of ice on the arena's floor. Ruby stopped mid-run, almost slipping on the ice, and grinned as she shifted her sweetheart, Crescent Rose, into it's gun form. Ruby aimed at her white-haired partner, and began firing at her. Weiss held out her hand, and a glyph appeared in front of her and shielded her from the oncoming fire.
"Woah!" Jaune exclaimed as he watched the two partners fighting each other fiercely. "They're... Uh... They're taking it quite seriously." He said while the two fought in the background.
"Well, why wouldn't they?" Blake replied bluntly, her eyes not leaving the area of the match. "They are on the same team, so to know each other's tactics, it just makes them a better member of the team." Blake told him, and he nodded slowly in agreement.
"But... They look like... You know... They look like they're trying to kill each other." Jaune replied worriedly, which caused Yang to shake her head.
"They'll be fine Jaune." Yang said, chuckling. "Come on Lady Killer, calm yourself. Just ask, why would they try hurt each other?" Yang told him, and he thought for a moment.
"OK... They wouldn't exactly try. But what if they did it accidentally?" Jaune asked her and she burst into laughter.
"Weiss is to well practiced to hurt her accidentally, and Ruby? Well, she couldn't hurt any one of us, even if she tried to." Yang answered his question, causing him to nod with agreement.
"Yeah... I guess so." Jaune said, and they went back to watching the battle between the two partners. While the two blondes had been talking to each other, both Ruby's and Weiss' Auras were now dropping into the yellow. Weiss was breathing heavily, blocking Ruby's strikes that came from the scythe-wielder who was zipping around the arena. 'Come on Weiss, don't show her any weaknesses. Wait for her to attack, then counter and return fire.' Weiss told herself, and she aimed her rapier at her no-longer-fast-moving, red-clad partner. Ruby was stood still, aiming her sniper-scythe at her brilliant-white-haired teammate.
"Hey Ruby! Are you going to move or not? I thought the way scythes were used on the battlefield was to 'never stop moving'." Weiss mocked her teammate, who just shrugged it off.
"Oh yeah? And like that dainty, mockery-of-a-sword would be able to hit me!" Ruby retorted, and Weiss' face turned red with anger.
"Why you litt-" Weiss started, but Ruby began firing at her mid-sentence, which then drowned out her words with the sound of gunfire. Weiss summoned a brilliant-white-colored glyph underneath her, she jumped into the air and brought her rapier, Myrtenaster, down onto where Ruby had been a few seconds before, but hit only rose petals. Ruby waved at Weiss from the other side of the room, which caused Weiss to point at her. "Get back here Ruby!" She shouted, and she flew towards her scarlet-haired partner. Weiss brought her sword back and then swung forwards, but the strike was parried by Ruby's Crescent Rose. 'All according to plan.' Weiss thought to herself, and the blade of Myrtenaster was then covered in a red light. She struck again, this time causing an explosion, sending Ruby flying backwards, hitting a wall, and the red-clad girl's Aura dropping into the orange. Ruby shook her head and stood up slowly, a grin now finding it's way onto her face.
"Big mistake, Weiss. Big. Mistake." Ruby told the heiress, who was walking closer to her. Weiss looked at her red-clad team leader, who was still grinning, and brought her sword down. Weiss stopped it when it would've pierced her, but Ruby didn't move and Crescent Rose clattered to the floor. Yang ran towards the window, gasping.
"What's she doing? Why... Why isn't she moving?" Jaune asked the other blonde, but was given no reply. On the arena floor, Weiss knelt next to her partner, looking at her with a confused look on her face. She poked the red-clad girl's head, and her friend's entire body started to dissolve into rose petals. Weiss jumped back, even more confused than before, and Yang began pounding on the window.
"What? I... I don't understand." Weiss stammered, gawking at the pile of petals that were now on the floor. From the window above, Jaune saw a flash of red in the corner of the arena.
"Huh? Uh..." Jaune mumbled, while Weiss ran from the pile of rose petals, caused by Ruby's now-dissolved body. Yang stopped punching the window, a smile emerging on her face.
"Oh... I get it now..." She muttered to herself, and she went to leave the room.
"Yang?" Jaune shouted, and she turned to face him. "Where... Where are you going?" He asked her, and she shrugged in response.
"I really can't say. But she has done this before, and if this is the same thing, then I know where she is." Yang said, and she swung the door open. Jaune kept looking at her until he couldn't see her at all, which then diverted his eyes to the white-haired heiress who was walking up the stairs to them.
"Where's Yang?" Weiss asked the remaining five, only to receive blank stares from all but one of them.
"Uh..." Jaune said, and Weiss then looked directly at him. "She didn't say where she was going, but she said she knows where Ruby is." Jaune told the Weiss, and she headed over to him quickly.
"Which way did she go?" She interrogated him, and he pointed to the door.
"You do know that is the only exit, right Weiss?" Blake joked with her, but was then shot an icy glare from her white-haired teammate. Weiss stormed out of the room, leaving the last five looked at each other.
"Some other time?" Jaune asked them, and they all nodded in unison. "Well... We better get going then." Jaune told them, and they left the room.
Ruby stared at the grave, embedded into the ground by fifteen minutes worth of digging and refilling by a eight year old Yang. Tears tumbling down her face while she gazed at the stone and snow fell softly around her.
"Oh mum, why'd you leave? Why... Why'd you leave us? Why leave me? Leave Yang? Why leave dad?" Ruby asked the grave of her mother, Summer Rose. "You could still be here to see what we've become if you hadn't left." She sobbed, sliding her hand along the side of the grave. Yang watched silently from the edge of the forest, remembering how it had been broken to her younger sister.
Flashback Starts
Yang is sat on her bed, slowly looking around the room with red, puffy eyes. Her two-year-younger sister, Ruby, is on a bed on the other side of the room, playing happily. Yang knows that she isn't meant to tell the six-year old, she knows that their Uncle Qrow would come and tell her. After a minute or two, a couple of knocks sound from the other side of the door, and Ruby's face lit up, just like a candle. The door opened, which revealed Qrow, a middle-aged man with tousled, jet black hair and dark, violet-colored eyes, when Ruby saw him, her face fell. Yang's eyes followed him as he walked slowly over to her sister, and her eyes began watering.
"Ruby. I don't know how to tell you this without confusing you, and breaking your fragile heart." Yang heard him say, and the tears began to fall from her eyes. Behind his back, he is holding a white cloak, which belonged to their mother, Summer Rose. Ruby looked into his eyes, a confused look on her face.
"What... What do you mean?" She asked innocently, and his eyes began to water.
"Ruby... As you know, your mother was given a mission, which she accepted." He said, and the six-year old nodded slowly. "Well... Her team and her encountered some... Resistance from the creatures of Grimm, and... Well... She got badly wounded by a pack of Beowolves." He told the young Ruby, who's eyes were now brimmed with tears, and he showed her the white cloak he had held behind him. "The other three members of her team tried to make it to a nearby town hospital, but they... They didn't succeed." He told her, and she began sobbing into his chest. Yang was still sat on her bed, watching her sister bawl into her uncle, from the sidelines. Yang had been crying herself, but had to keep it hidden until her sister was given the news. Now she sat still, watching her sister continue to cry, even after Qrow had left and Yang silently vowed to protect the girl, who was now clutching the cloak tightly to her chest. Ruby looked up, her eyes looked with those of her sister. Her silver eyes were now tinted with red, turning them slightly pink in color, that is what happens when Ruby, her father, or Yang happen to be angry. Ruby got up off of her bed, and stormed out of the room angrily, slamming the door shut behind her. Yang then burst into tears and shoved her face into her pillow, falling asleep a few minutes later.
Flashback Ends
Yang shook her head, watching the fifteen-year old sobbing, the tears dropping onto, and melting, the snow that was settled on the ground. Yang heard a rustling come from the forest, and Ruby stood up.
"Uh... I have to go now. The Grimm are here, already." Ruby told the grave and she turned, only to see her blonde sister standing at the edge of the line of trees. Yang's eyes widened as she saw Ruby look at her, staring into her eyes. "Yang, what are you doing here?" Ruby asked her calmly, but her eyes were beginning to be flecked with pink.
"Oh... Um... I..." Yang stammered, backing away fearfully. Ruby's eyes hadn't changed, not even slightly, since the day of her mother's death, but her eyes were now pure red. Ruby headed slowly towards her blonde sister, stopping a few metres away from her.
"What! Are! You! Doing! Here!" The red-clad girl screamed at her sister. Yang watched her enraged sister get closer, and walked away faster, only to trip on a tree root. Ruby drew Crescent Rose, not changing it from it's storage form, and raised it like it was a club. She brought down with immense speed, but Yang brought up, and activated, her gauntlets and parried the strike. The sniper-scythe bounced of the yellow gauntlets, and was then changed into it's scythe form. Ruby looked at the brawler, who was now stood and aiming her gauntlets at her.
"Ruby, calm down!" Yang called out to her red-clad sister, who glared at her angrily. "Please Ruby, we don't need to do this. We don't need to fight." Yang told her, but Ruby shook her head slowly.
"No. You shouldn't have come here Yang, if you didn't, then this wouldn't be happening." Ruby replied maliciously, pointing at her sister angrily. "If you didn't come here, it wouldn't be this way." Ruby told her, and Yang looked back at her sadly. Yang sighed as she saw Ruby charge towards her, and she dodged to the side. Unbeknownst to the both of them, Weiss was following a pair of footprints in the forest, looking for the two sister. An explosion sounded from the distance, vaguely in the direction that footprints were headed. Weiss ran towards the area she had heard the sound come from. Yang jumped over the blade of her sister's scythe, she then fired her gauntlets and flew backwards. Yang stood up, but instantly crouched back down, ducking under a volley of bullets from Crescent Rose. Weiss emerged from the forest, only to find the sisters battling each other. She pulled out her scroll, and she checked their coordinates. She sent them to Blake and Team JNPR with the message 'Found them. Get here as soon as possible, Weiss.' Written under them.
Blake pulled out her scroll after feeling it buzz in her pocket, she then pulled up a message from Weiss which read 'To Blake and JNPR's 117N, 343E. Found them. Get here as soon as possible, Weiss.' Blake instantly ran to the room opposite, and burst through the door. All four of them looked up instantly, and Jaune showed her his scroll, which showed had the exact message.
"Yeah, we know. Oh, and we're using Pyrrha's car." Jaune told her, and she nodded.
"Well then. Let's get going, shall we?" Pyrrha's asked the four, and received four nods in return. They headed down to the Team JNPR garage, and they all slid into Pyrrha's car. Pyrrha started the engine, and drove out of the garage.
Yang ducked under a swing of Crescent Rose and kicked the angered, red-clad girl. Ruby stumbled back, and she looked up from the ground, her face now bruised after a good ten minutes of fighting. Crescent Rose's magazine dropped, empty, and Ruby reloaded a different cartridge. Yang's eyes widened as she saw what Ruby was doing, and Ruby fired Crescent Rose. Behind Yang, the ground began to explode, causing Yang to run towards Ruby. Just behind the treeline, Weiss turned and saw Blake and the four members of Team JNPR.
"Weiss. What... What's going on?" Jaune asked the white-haired heiress, who pointed towards the two siblings fighting. "What're they doing! Why... Why aren't we helping them?" Jaune said, trying run to them, but being held back by Weiss.
"Because... What ever they're doing, it's obviously a family matter. We, however, are here to watch, and intervene if it goes too far." Weiss told him, and he looked at her angrily.
"What! Watch! Just, watch!" Jaune shouted at her angrily, and she looked at him, shocked. "That... That's not what friends are for." Jaune told her, and he headed out of the forest. He stood between them, causing them both to stop.
"Jaune?" Ruby said questioningly, cocking her head, her eyes softened and her lips formed a smile. "Move Jaune." She ordered him, pointing to the treeline, but he shook his head slowly.
"Sorry. I can't do that Ruby." Jaune told her, and her smile faded.
"Well then, I'll just have to go through you." Ruby said, her eyes returning to what they had been before, and she sped towards him.
"Stop Ruby." Jaune said calmly, but she kept speeding towards him. "Ruby, stop... Please." He spoke, his voice rising and he reached for his sword. Ruby slowed down, but still ran at him. "I said, stop!" He shouted at her, and he slammed his sword into the ground, sending a shockwave thought the ground around him, knocking both Ruby and Yang off of their feet. He pulled it out of the ground and sheathed Crocea Mors. He looked over at Yang, who was now starting to get up, and then at Ruby, who was laying on the ground. He walked over to her, and shook her. Her eyes opened instantly, revealing them to have returned to their original silver color, and her gaze locked with his.
"What... What happened?" She asked him, a confused look on her face. Jaune looked back at Yang, and then at Ruby again.
"Uh... I think... I think Yang should... Should explain it to you." Jaune said slowly, his words getting quieter as he went along, and he collapsed into a heap.
"Jaune? Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed and she knelt next to him. Yang limped slowly over to the two, and Ruby looked up at her, her silver eyes now brimmed with tears. "Y-Yang, what... What happened?" She asked her sister, who looked at her sadly.
"You got angry Ruby. Very angry, and he stopped you." Yang told the fifteen year-old, who looked back down at the crumpled Jaune. The others ran out of the forest, and Weiss walked straight to Yang.
"Explanation. Now, Xiao Long." Weiss demanded, and Yang glared at her angrily.
"Not now, Princess." Yang told her angrily, and Weiss' eyes widened at the response. Ruby stared at Jaune's body, and she felt a hand be placed on her shoulder.
"There's no need to worry, he'll be fine. He just used too much Aura to make you stop." Pyrrha told her, and Ruby nodded.
Carolina watched Wash leave the house, chuckling to herself.
"Uh... What just happened?" York asked her and she burst out into laughter.
"North... North rigged Wash's door to not be able to stay open for long." She told him, and he started to laugh along with her.
"Wait. Why was South beating North to death?" York asked her, and she looked at the door.
"He did something which absolutely covered her in water." She informed, and the both burst into laughter. "It's good to have you back York." She told him and he nodded.
"It's good to be back Carolina. It's good to be back." York replied, and Wash walked back through the door, with North's helmet in his hands.
"Hey York." Wash said, and York looked at him. "North says hi." Wash told him, and he walked into North's room.
"What was that about?" Carolina asked, looking at the doorway Wash had just walked through.
"I have a feeling." York said, and he stood up, and walked to his room. "See ya' later Carolina." He told her, a and walked into his room, the slamming shut behind him.
Yeah! Finally, chapter 10 is complete, we're in double figures. Sorry it took so long, but a WiFiless house doesn't help with uploading and updating.
Stinger Out!