Chapter 11
-Jared 3rd person POV-
Jared was in a stationary prone inside of a bush that had a view of an abandoned storehouse just outside of the agricultural district. Everything was normal except this branch that seemed larger than usual... but he paid no attention to it. Yang came up by his left and laid down next to him. As Jared looked through his helmet's binoculars, he felt her presence. He looked over and greeted her cheerfully.
Jared: "Hey Yang. Wait till you get a load of this..."
Yang seemed curious and grabbed Jared's binocs. As she looked at the storehouse through the futuristic device, her face lit up and said: "this looks like it should be fun..."
Jared knowing already that Yang was itching for a fight responded with: "Not so fast. Something's not quite right and I'd like to figure out what before we rush in."
Yang: "But that's no fun!"
Jared: "Yes, but it's safe."
Yang got up and brushed herself off.
Yang: "Since when did anyone that got anywhere care about safe?"
She took a running start towards the wall of the storehouse and gave it a hard punch with her Ember Celica explosive shells assisting the blow. The wall instantly caved in and made a nice hole for the two to enter, but for whoever was inside of the storehouse to stop their expiriments and get a good luck at what interrupted them.
'Dammit Yang!' Jared got up, gritted his teeth, put his binocs back on the top of his helmet and ran into the storehouse.
The dust clouded his vision but he could hear the exchanging of blows... and the firing of a blaster? The sound of the discharge sounded more explosive though... Jared could not get a visual on any movement from the dust. He turned on his SBH visor's thermal vision and took a look around. He saw a heat spike in the corner of his eye, Yang. He looked closer to see a slightly less intense heat coming from... a 21st? This 21st was weilding a red sword... 'Zack...' Jared, feeling pumped and enraged at his traitorous brother who had slashed his leg and left him to die. He reached for his katanas and took a deep breath. He grinned as he saw the movement slow in front of him and he ran straight behind Zack to hit him in the face with the bottom of his dark katanas. He released his breath and saw as Zack was flung towards the wall from the impact of the hit. Zack, in full Nova armor and helmet got up and looked at Jared specifically, no longer paying much attention to Yang. He sheathed his sword and reached for the Z6 which was slung onto his back. He spun up his Z6, which was noticeably shorter than the last time he saw it, and Jared noticed something odd... the gas was being plasma-ized... 'red?!'Jared jumped out of the way before the plasma began to be shot. He dodged the shots which were ricocheting all around the room and hitting the crates which were full of feathers. As Jared looped back around to start running back at Zack, he heard the explosion of Ember Celica hitting a person. And indeed, once he laid eyes on Zack again, he was in combat with Yang, who was pounding away at him. He was getting destroyed by Yang's flurry of punches and kicks as he swing wildly at her with his scimitar-esque sword. Jared took a deep breath, which slowed down everthing around him. He ran towards Zack and swung as forcefully as he could with his katanas. The force of the impact was so large that even while slowed, he could see the scimitar crack. As he released his breath, the scimitar shattered into pieces and made noises as they hit the ground. Zack seemed to be furious now and pulled out his Z6, which he loaded with a different type of ammo this time. Jared watched closely as the barrel turned white and began to spin. Jared again dodged out of the way as Zack began to wildly shoot around the room shooting at both Yang and Jared. As the two managed to dodge his shots, they could hear him laugh. He began to laugh wildly as he concentrated on a small crate of dust which was in the corner. The box heated until the dust which was inside combusted and exploded. The two were flung to the floor as Zack still laughed. Jared's vision was blurred as he saw Zack walk towards him, still spun up. He could see the chamber again begin to heat up and begin to start the firing sequence. The Z6 didn't fire though, but the sound still rang out. Zack looked at it confused, attempting to get it to work he punched the barrels a bit. He tried to fire at Jared one last time, to which the Z6 responded by explofing in his hands. It did not damage him, as Nova armor was blast resistant. He threw the shell of his gun to the ground as he took out an emergency vibroblade. He walked up to Jared, and grabbed him by the neck. As he picked him up he began to laugh maniacally. Jared's vision was fading in and out until he just shut his eyes to keep himself and awake.
Yang: "...Jared...!"
Zack: "Hahaha! Looks like you're as weak as your commander. May you find some sort of meaning in he-"
Jared suddenly hit the floor and caught his breath. When he reopened his eyes he saw his helmet laying in front of him. He reached for it, picked it up and put it back on his head. Once he did so, he looked over to where Zack may have gone. He saw a set of Nova armor laying on the ground, with the wearer still inside. Jared stood up and got a good look at the body. The helmet had a smoking hole in it, from a blaster shot. Jared looked around to see where the source of such a shot may have come from. He looked out of the storehouse (where the explosion put a hole in the wall) to see that a high-quality set of SBH armor was resting on a branch with a DC17M sniper rifle. Jared watched as he saw him wave. He figured by the armor and the cocky attitude that it was Shadow.
Jared: "Dammit... Shadow..."
Jared turned to Yang who was laying on the floor. She seemed to be breathing a bit hard so Jared ran over to see what was wrong.
Jared: "How you holding up, gold?"
Yang smiled and looked over at the corpse of Zack.
Yang: "Better than him."
Jared smirked and checked to see if she had broken anything with some basic medical training that all SBH receive to check for broken bones or fractures. He searched carefully, trying not to do anything too undignifiable but Yang didn't seem to care. She didn't seem to have broken anything so she was good to go.
Jared: "Well, you're good to go. Want some help up?"
Yang: "Yes, please."
Jared helped Yang to her feet and she gave him a kiss on the cheek for being so helpful. Shadow walked towards them and took off his helmet. He smiled and walked right towards Jared.
Jared: "You son of a gun... late as usual."
Shadow: "Couldn't let you have all the fun, even though it seemed like you had it under control."
Jared couldn't stand Shadow's sarcasm so he rolled his eyes and gave him a playful punch on the arm.
Jared: "Something was wrong with Zack's Z6... it was shooting non-standard Republic gases. I fear that this was the gun that Machine was talking about."
Shadow's face faded from a smile to a frown. "You're sure...?"
Jared looked over to a wall that Zack had hit instead of him. It was covered in holes instead of burn marks.
Jared: "Does it look like I'm unsure?"
Shadow: "Quit the sarcasm, this is serious. Although they don't have many shots, even ONE of them could've perforated through both sides of your armor, Jared!"
Jared's face didn't fade from a smile however. His naivety and silliness blinded him from realising that he could've died. He instead focussed on the fact that one of four dangers were taken down that night.
Jared: "Nice shot by the way."
Yang: "Yeah... really wish you would've done that sooner."
Shadow smiled and said: "Meh, what can I say?"
The three began to walk back towards Beacon. Jared was helping Yang walk because she was limping, and he needed to make sure that nothing could get seriously damaged by not helping.
Jared himself though had no idea the damage that he himself had sustained.
-Shadow 3rd Person POV-
Teams RWBYS and TJGJ were sitting inside of the latter's dorm, awaiting an intel debrief courtesy of Jared, Yang and Shadow. Everyone was sitting, chattering on the floor as Jared stepped in front of the group and cleared his throat. Shadow was off to the side watching his second in command grow up and handle things for himself.
Jared: "Alright everyone, listen up. Shadow and I have learned some... disturbing news."
The crowd shushed and put on a collective serious face.
Jared: "Machine... lied. Their new dust-based blasters are in full production."
TJ frowned and shook his head towards the ground.
Jared: "Last night, me, Shadow and of course, Yang, found Zack just off the boundaries of the agricultural zone in an abandoned storehouse. He seemed to be testing a blaster weapon that was based on dust. We managed to find a camera that was remotely broadcasting to a nearby receiver. We're currently having some other students look into where it was broadcasting to and should have that information within the month. However the fact of the matter is: Machine lied to us. We will find him and punish him later, but the guns that he revealed to us are a threat. Be aware, but do not stress about it. Just know that they do exist. If you come into contact with a Nova member or Torchwick himself, get help immediately from your scroll. That is all."
The crowd began to talk to each other again as Jared walked towards Shadow. Shadow nodded at him and said: "nice work."
Jared: "How good is nice work when we have our own brothers fighting against us. Be careful, Shadow, they are a threat, no matter how much we used to make fun of them."
Jared turned and walked away. Shadow then looked to the crowd, which was missing a couple people, and began to think. 'Maybe he's right... we should be getting ready for them.'
Blake: "Something wrong, Shadow?"
Shadow: "It's nothing, Blake. I'll catch up with you later. I gotta do some thinking."
Shadow then walked out of team TJGJ's dorm and started back towards his own.
-Blake 3rd person POV-
Blake had seen Shadow walk out and wondered what was wrong. She decided to follow him and think of what to say or do when he arrived at his dorm.
'He must be tired. He needs rest... but he's also been alone for the past 24 hours... he could use some company. What about both?'
Blake had an idea in her head, an idea that would lead to something she never thought would happen that night, but eventually would've.
Once Shadow had reached the door of his dorm, Blake came up behind him and hugged him from behind. "What's wrong, Shadow...?"
Shadow stopped walking into the door but left it open.
Shadow: "Blake... I'm fine. Really!"
Blake knew this was a lie.
Blake: "No you're not! You've been really distant lately and kind of cold. What's wrong...?"
Shadow: "It's just... Blake... I'm worried about losing everyone. But not just everyone, losing myself. Listen to me, I already have! I don't want to lose you... I don't want to lose anyone..."
Blake looked at him kind of confused. 'Is he really that paranoid...? What can I do to ease that...'
Blake stared into his eyes deeply and said: "You won't lose me. I promise."
Shadow: "I still worry... nothing can make me stop worrying for you, Blake."
Blake pulled him into a forwards hug and held him tight.
Blake: "I know."
Blake then kissed him on the lips. Shadow pushed a little more and Blake seemed to be interested in seeing how far this would go. It got to a point where Shadow pulled inside of his dorm and shut the door.
No one heard from the two for the rest of the night. Almost everyone...