Chapter 7: Unload
Thursday and Friday came and went, and now everyone with the exception of Nemo was off to Vale for the day. He decided to stay behind, annoyance brewing as his teammates ventured into Vale. Homework being finished or not, they should've spent the weekend training instead of sightseeing; Xienna had said it herself that she confronted a woman on par with Torchwick. The fact that he roamed the streets bugged him, but the thought of someone on par like Ashcroft staking their claim nearby burned his hide. Thankfully he ran into Jay and asked him where the shooting range was so he could blow off that steam.
It wasn't deserted but there were more than enough empty stalls for him to unload a few drums without bother. The range was wide with about 20 or 25 enclosed stalls, and it seemed like they could be adjusted to the shooter's preference; one individual had finished a round of stationary targets with an assault rifle before he set a new round, now with rapidly moving targets. He looked at his own panel and set the number of targets to max capacity and cranked the speed up to 9 out of 10. Forty targets popped up and bounced from place to place as Nemo took a deep breath and exhaled.
"16 seconds" he muttered after hitting the timer and unloading down range with a squeeze of the trigger. The targets fell one by one in the hail of Dust shells, the closest ones shattering on impact while the further ones required taps for single-shots and thus better accuracy. The one thing Nautilus was not all that good with was accuracy, and it showed with Nemo's growing frustration. The last ten targets closed in, but at the midway point each got a bullseye and the boy stopped the timer…28.24 seconds.
"Twenty-eight minus nine…nineteen," Nemo began to seethe, "Nineteen…not good enough!"
Starting the program all over again, Nemo blasted his way through the course again, but this time his time had fallen to 30.06. Time and again he continued and his times made no progress at all. At this point, he could feel himself steaming; he could put down mobsters and thugs with no problem, even at a farther distance, with little effort, but now he struggled with measly metal targets? If someone as wild and brutish as Orion could pick agile targets like Blood Hounds off with such ease, he could do the same if not better because, in his mind, he had done better. His leader may have his semblance and power, but he didn't have the same experience Nemo had, not by a long shot.
"Having an off day, I see?"
He turned to see Professor Ozpin standing behind him, his cane in one hand and steaming cup of coffee in the other. "I guess you can say that, yeah. "
"Hmm" Ozpin hummed, "Something troubling you?
Nemo thought about it before finally answering, "Well, I'm not exactly thrilled that my teammates decided to take this weekend off to go to Vale instead of training or doing something productive."
"Ah, I see. But that is where you're also wrong, Mr. Outisseus. Your teammates and others may be heading into Vale, yes, but perhaps it would be to not just explore the city, but get to know each other even better. Remember, you will be together for the next four years, and forming these bonds is as important as any exercise on these ranges."
Nemo shook his head in discomfort, bad memories coming to light. "But that's the thing! I don't want to let people in too close because the last time I did, the closest people I had to family got caught in the crossfire of a drive-by hit from the Neró crime syndicate. I couldn't live with the fact that these monsters plagued the coast of both Vacuo and Atlas yet no one would lift a finger, so I took matters into my own hands and… well, we both know the rest of that story."
"Indeed we do, which is why we made our little agreement when I sent Ms. Goodwitch to get you from the Tocsin police department. I just hope you keep it in mind, young man, for both of our sakes." Ozpin sighed as he turned to walk away before stopping, glancing in the direction of the gardens, "And I'd reconsider your stance about your team. Broken bonds mended together can sometimes be the strongest. While I suppose some old habits die hard, even help comes to those who can stand alone."
Nemo chuckled, recalling their conversations both via video and in Ozpin's office. "Man, you are just... cryptic. Like all the time, do you realize that?"
The headmaster cracked a faint smile before walking towards the library. 'He may be right', Nemo thought as he readied another round of targets and loaded another clip, but that didn't mean he was ready to give in to Ozpin's words of advice, and he damn sure wasn't ready to trust Orion's leadership. But the more he thought about Ozpin's words, the more it made him wonder about his team. 'Broken bonds…what does he mean by that?'
"16 seconds…"
"Knock it off! "
"Huh?" Nemo turned towards the direction of the sound, and spotted Russell of Team CRDL bullying another student, a bunny-faunus given the large ears being yanked as she was kicked to the ground. Stopping his target practice and strapping Nautilus across his back, Nemo made his way over to the confrontation. Kicking someone while they were down was the trademark of a coward, and one thing he could never tolerate. Coming around from behind with silent footsteps, Nemo was ready to pounce when the girl kicked out and hit Russell in the gut. With a grunt of fury, Russell cocked a fist back only for it to be halted in its place.
"Go ahead and go, ma'am," Nemo said before turning to the caught bully, "If you wanted a fight, Mohawk, all you had to do was ask!"
Russell glared at Nemo. "It's rude to interrupt people when they're in the middle of doing something. Especially when they don't concern you," he said.
The taller boy scoffed, "Oh, and what would that something be?"
"Chasing off the animals," Russell said with a sadistic smirk.
"Chasing off the animals," he echoed bitterly. It was one thing to beat somebody away because they bugged you while you were, say, sleeping. But doing it just because they're a different race from you? Nemo had seen it crossed over too many times with other mob "business" back in Northern Vacuo, especially Tocsin. He felt the familiar cold winds blow around him angrily as he clenched his fists and continued, "You know, for someone who's training to be a protector of the people, you're a real coward."
The arrogant teen's grin faded into a scowl as he drew his daggers and growled, "What did you just call me?!"
"You heard me, punk. Better question is, did you hear yourself? You're talking about a race of people…yeah you heard me right," he said as Russell's response to the word 'people' was akin to a slap, "who had been historically screwed over time and again bar those lucky enough to not get caught up in Menagerie. That girl you were just bullying around had proven herself to be skillful enough to come to Beacon, just. Like. You."
Now Nemo was face to face with Russell, or rather face to hair as his glaring eyes were level with Russell's Mohawk. "Now I, on the other hand, got here not just because I was a good student in combat school, but because I stood up for those who couldn't fight back…an equalizer of sorts against people like you but much, much worse. People who did what they wanted whenever they wanted to whoever they wanted. So I'm going to make you an offer: either quit while you're ahead with this anti-faunus thing, or you get to deal with me."
"That's not much of an offer," Russell said through grit teeth
"Well it's the only one you're going to get."
"Well then," the Mohawk-haired teen started before burying his daggers in the tree behind him and getting in a fighting stance, "I guess I made my choice. If you want a fight, you've got one!"
Nemo saw the sloppy right hand coming from a mile away, but what he didn't see was the large pair of hedge clippers fly over his shoulder and ensnare Russell's arm into the tree behind him. Nemo looked over his shoulder to see a green haired, older student roughly the same height as Xienna and Marian approach from the bushes not too far away. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that this newcomer was angry, specifically at the trapped member of CRDL.
"You think you can just stab your daggers into school property, bully another student on top of that, and get away with it? Not on my watch, kid!" If it weren't for the forked tongue flicking from his mouth, Nemo would have sworn he was human. 'That would explain the slight hiss with his S's' he thought.
Russell tried to free himself from the tree and the hedge clippers, but to no avail. The older student, however, merely walked right up to him and yanked him and his weapon right out of the tree with little effort. The scrawny member of CRDL crashed into a stone bench as his daggers clanged to the ground next him.
"Now, let's take you to Ms. Goodwitch about you defacing Beacon property," he growled, hoisting Russell to his feet. Nemo was curious who this stranger was, thinking back to Ozpin's words once more.
"Before you take him to get his just desserts, mind if I ask you your name?"
The snake faunus turned around from his arm lock and simply answered "Vert Williams, Beacon's groundskeeper. And before you ask, yes I'm a fourth-year but no, I'm not a student. I'd stay and maybe chat, but this little vandal has a date with Ms. Goodwitch's office."
Russell looked over his shoulder to scoff at Vert, "Little? I'm taller than you are, you scaly fre-ack!" but a hard punch to the gut from Nemo made him shut up with a coughing fit. Judging by the faint grin on Vert's face, it was appreciated.
"Ah, that reminds me! Be sure to let the Professor know that the girl he was bullying was also a rabbit faunus. His reason being was for the purpose of, and I quote, 'chasing off the animals'."
Vert looked up and stared darts into Russell's skull. "Oh, he's one of those types? Oh, Glynda's going to love this!" He then turned to Nemo and asked, "What's your name so I know who to state helped out in the report, and also in case Goodwitch or Ozpin want to talk to you?"
"Nemo…Nemo Outisseus,"he said, the sudden realization hitting him that for once he wasn't trying to be the "Nobody" of underground lore. Had just a week at Beacon made that much of a change?
As Vert and Russell disappeared around the corner, Nemo recalled the faunus-owned Williams Corporation that Xienna had mentioned the other day after PT and Dueling class. The surname may be a common one, but how many were of faunus heritage? From just that bit of interaction alone he assumed Vert was more of an introvert who, judging by his anger at Russell and his daggers, valued his work as the groundskeeper. But there was something that seemed off, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Whatever it was, he shrugged it off; he was getting tired really fast of the staff here being so cryptic.
"Guess I'll just have to keep my ear to the ground," he mumbled as walked back to the shooting range. On his way back after few more hours and several spent drums, he spotted a familiar pair of ears rocking back and forth against a tree not too far off. It was the faunus girl that Russell was kicking around, crying into her arms with her knees brought up to prop them.
"Hey, are you ok?" he asked, the girl not seeming to notice until he began to reach out.
She flinched in panic and squeaked, failing to recognize her savior from before, "Gah! Go away! Go Away!"
"What? I'm not going to hurt you! I just want so see-"
A handful of dirt and rocks to the face answered him, "What, if my ears are real or if I'm like a 'normal girl' in bed? You humans are all the same! Why can't you just leave us alone!" and with that, she sprinted back to the dorm building, eyes still pouring tears of pent up rage and sorrow.
Nemo took a deep breath and made his way to the locker room to put away Nautilus. He should've expected her to react like that, especially with how that Russell punk was just treating her just moments before. But it wasn't this incident that bugged him; it was the run in with that monkey faunus, that overblown error in Nemo's judgement that was replaying in his mind over and over. The kid did a bad thing for all the right reasons but Nemo, stupid, air-headed Nemo, decided to not just chase him down but tackle him through his front door…right in front of his starving family. The former vigilante felt himself urge to puke at his own actions; of all the things he'd done, that was by far the most disgusting-
"That was a good thing you tried to do back there, Wind-Breaker. Not very often you see humans try and help faunus these days."
Nemo sighed at the horrible name and, sure enough, his teammates, RWBY, and JNPR were approaching from the direction of the airship docks. But even in the setting sun, he could tell that something was amiss…particularly, how everyone seemed like they'd walked out of the biggest mosh pit in history, and smelled like they'd walked out of a dive bar's basement.
"What happened to you guys?"
Orion and the rest of the group all looked pointedly at Yang, who merely grinned sheepishly while giving them two thumbs up.
Marian was the first one to say anything, and if her head being shook in her hand was an indicator, it was going to be a wild story.
"Well…"
Earlier
Marian watched as Ruby continued to throw question after question at Orion about Arktouros and how it worked. She'd never seen someone so enthused about weapons, not even the biggest weapon buffs back in her village. Apparently Orion had, but it seemed to hit a personal spot, judging by the look in his eyes that the younger girl clearly didn't notice. She could've sworn she saw the same reaction back when they all first met, but it was too quick to tell. It's not like Marian hadn't seen anything that panged her own heartstrings in her first few days at Beacon; so many couples in the older students reminded her of what she once had that she'd often take off to a secluded spot and just let it out when the rest of her team was gone or sleeping.
Natalie had been the one treasure in her life, a girl whose kindness and selflessness were as unfathomable as her love for baking goods. Four years of happiness, laughs, tears, and promises, and it was all gone in a day because someone on the east wall didn't know how to do their job. Doing her best not to think about it right now, Marian had turned to the others chatting in the seats next to her. Xienna and Nora were chatting excitedly about checking out the city, or scoping out the local dining places to be precise.
"Think Vale's got any fight clubs?" Yang was heard asking. Heard not too far behind her was a surprising facepalm coming from Blake.
"Not if you talk about them!"
"Jeez, we're not even in the city yet and you're already about to break the first two rules? Way to go!" Orion chuckled, clapping his hands in mock applause as Yang shrugged with a big grin.
"Huh, I didn't peg you as a reader, Orion," Marian said with curiosity.
"Yeah, believe it or not I enjoy books. As far as Fight Club though, I'm honestly torn between the book and the movie."
"The only way you could convince me that the book was better than the movie was if it hit on the romance more between the Narrator and Marla more, because I really loved how the plot ended." Blake added "Otherwise it's a close call in favor of the movie, and I never say that about film adaptations!"
"No way; as far as the ending goes, the book was so much better than the movie! The romantic angle playing out at the end added more for drama's sake, sure, but what else did it really contribute to the Narrator's development and the overall message of Fight Club? Don't get me wrong, it was a different facet added to the Narrator that I admittedly liked, but that was it. All in all, what matters is that both were entertaining and offer a lot to look at."
Marian looked at Blake, "Hmm, a romantic I see? So I suppose you enjoyed 50 Shades of-"
"Ugh, don't even finish that name. I couldn't get past the first page without getting a headache," she growled, her ears fighting to twitch under her bow. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her fellow faunus glance at it for a moment, a faint hint of scrutiny in his eyes. "How about you, Marian?"
"Oh, I could read almost anything! The down time I had back home was either spent reading or listening to stories being read to me by the fi-" she caught herself, immediately regretting that that last bit escaped her lips as Xienna and Yang turned their attention to her.
"Speaking of romantics, it sounds like someone's in love!" Yang teased with a wiggle of her eyebrows, "I'd like to hear more about these fire-side stories."
Marian pleaded "Please ignore that last bit. I'd rather not think about this on my first trip to the city."
"If you're having boy troubles, I'm sure we can help you, Marian," Xienna jumped in.
The guardian was growing red in the face, stammering "N-No it's ok! I mean, it's not that, it's-"she felt a lump grow in her throat, every word she could think to say caught in it painfully. As she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to regain her composure, she hoped something would interrupt this mess when Orion finally stepped in.
"Hey, if she doesn't want to talk about it, then she doesn't want to talk about it, so leave it alone you two," he said sternly. "If and when she feels comfortable telling us, then I'm sure she'll let you know."
"Aw, no gossip? How unbearable!"
"Oum dammit Yang!"
The pilot announced their landing over the intercom, helping break the situation much to Marian's relief. As the doors opened and let its passengers out, almost everyone among the three teams split up into groups after agreeing to phone in every so often to check in with teammates and meet at key spots. Ruby rushed to find the weapons and Dust stores with Weiss and Jaune following her trail of rose petals, Yang and Orion chatted absent-mindedly down the street and until the two of them ogled a TV airing a teaser for Hansen-Pentecost Motorcycle Company's newest addition in their popular line of Jaeger choppers, Blake practically vanished, and Xienna and Nora made a frenzied beeline straight for the nearest restaurant with a stoic Ren in tow. Marian, however, was drawn to the immediate sight of a Noble Barnes a couple of blocks down.
"Yay," she cheered under her breath, a small smile on her face as she almost broke into a sprint. The smell of book paper filled her nostrils more and more with each step towards the store. Upon entering, her eyes widened like a kid's would in a candy store; she'd heard of how big this book chain's stores were, but nothing compared to seeing it in person. Row after row after row was filled with hardcovers, paperbacks, comics, and magazines. Her eyes came to a stop on the fiction section, and she made her way over to see if they had anything interesting. But she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching-
"Hello!"
"Gah! Holy crap Pyrrha, I didn't even see you come in here!" Marian gasped before composing herself, the Spartan appearing from out of the science-fiction section, "Just looking around, I take it?"
"Yes," the taller girl replied, "I figured I'd take a look at that Fight Club book Orion and the others were talking about. If it's not available, then maybe I'll try and find where they keep the Freelancer Saga books."
"Oh, I heard that's a good series right there from many of my friends back home. Orion's suggestion, I take it?"
"No actually; our friend Lance suggested it after I borrowed one of the books while we were all still at Sanctum. I really like Agent Carolina…such a tragic family of hers, though," Pyrrha grimaced before looking back at the guardian, "Well, I hope I didn't take up too much of your time book hunting!
"And I hope I didn't take up too much of yours. See you later, Pyrrha!" Marian said as the two waved goodbye to look around. She kept her eyes focused on the Fiction aisle, passing the romance and adult section where she was positive a familiar black bow was buried in what looked like Ninjas of Love: Bushido.
"Someone's quite the naughty girl," she snickered under her breath as she turned into her destination. She saw many intriguing titles, from It, to Clan of the Cave Bear. If she had more lien in her pocket, she'd likely buy a whole row of books for her free days. As she continued to look around, one book in the M listings caught her eye. On the cover was a large wood-and-steel ship rolling through ferocious tides, and bursting from the center of the ship, sending chunks of wood and metal everywhere, was a giant, albino sperm whale with glowing red eyes. Next to the crow's nest were two words on either side of it…Moby Dick. The searing red eyes and the explosion of debris and people, however, brought back a memory that would be forever engraved in her brain. Taking it all in with a flash of pain, the girl uncontrollably recalled that day…the day everything for her changed.
Marian and Natalie had been sitting in the latter's bakery, getting everything set up for the morning rush before it opened. Marian had been on her break from the northern gates, well deserved after picking off a pack of Beowolves that strayed too close to the crop fields. "Mari…do you think we'll ever be able to leave this place?"
"Of course I do Nat, just not soon, or at least until the rest of the legion can train someone well enough to replace me. Why?"
"Because…well, I think now would be the best time to move out of Caeder Creek like we've always talked about. Attacks are becoming more frequent, people are dying just as often, and every day I pray the rest of the Boros Legion doesn't come knocking on our door with your shield and blade in hand. I couldn't handle it if anything happened to you like what happened to Aureum-"
"Nat ," Marian urged reassuringly with hands clamped over the baker's own, "what happened to Mr. Julius back in March was the result of his own hallucinations and misdoings. The knife found among the twenty-three Nevermore feathers, Marcus Furva's, is believed to be planted by someone else town. If anything, it was probably one of the other town elders tired of his maniacal rants. But the people of Caeder Creek need me to help protect them, and once there's a replacement, you and I can finally do all of the travelling we've dreamed of," she finished with a kiss to her golden-haired lover's hands, earning a deep red blush from the baker.
"I know, Mari, but I need you too! You've already devoted so much to your comrades and to the people here that one day it's going to kill you and I…I don't know what I would do with myself without you. You don't owe them anymore…" she whimpered, then an idea flashed across her teary face, "We can move to Vale! It's right by the ocean, and we can take trips to Atlas or Mistral. Besides, we've always talked about living the big city life for the last couple of years."
Marian smiled before planting a kiss on her lover's lips that seemed to last forever, one that tasted of sugar, smelled of fresh berries, and was still plenty warm from pulling her famous pasties from the oven. Natalie's small and tender hand cupped her cheek as the two refused to let go of one another, the baker and her guardian sinking further and further into each other's embrace. She'd never admit it, but that was the best idea that either of them had. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she was in the clouds…the two of them in Vale, forever entangled with one another for as long as they lived. That is where they could be…no, should be, but honorable Marian had sworn to fight for the men and women beside her in the Legion, to protect the families of Caeder Creek. But even she knew there would be no telling when there'd be a replacement to take her place so that she and Natalie-
CRASH
The two of them broke their kiss abruptly as Marian's finger raised to hush Natalie as the alarms were raised. Screams and gunfire broke out from the east, the wall from the same direction smoking as if something exploded. Her comm piece buzzed in her ear, but nothing came but static. Rushing to grab her weapon, Marian ran back to Natalie when she heard a series of loud, guttural huffs amid crashes due east and, just as she was within arms-reach of her, the ear-piece screeched.
"IT CAN CAMOUFLAGE!"
Time seemed to move at a snail's pace as the wall exploded, a mix of wood and metal strewn through the air like dangerous confetti. Marian was barely in the process of shifting the Rapid Fire into its blade and shield form to cover Natalie when her eyes focused on the scaly horror barging through. The beast, had it stopped and stood still, would've easily looked over the bakery with its pale, horned skull. Bony quills lined its neck and forearms while thick bumps of bone adorned its spine from the back of the head to the tip of its long tail. But what really stood out were its eyes…those bright red orbs of malice, glowing with nothing but rage and hunger. For the first time in a long time, Marian felt something she'd never thought she'd feel again...fear.
That's when she tore her eyes back to Natalie…and screamed.
"Marian! Marian,are you ok?" The mesmerized Marian was snapped out of her painful trance, unaware that where she was once standing she was now kneeling. She trembled, her whole body was shaking and her throat hurt as if she had just screamed her lungs out. Her face felt wet, her hands, sleeves, and pant thighs were coated in tear stains, and she could feel the eyes of the people who were gathered around her watching, . But what surprised her more was who it was that was standing over her with concern painted all across her face.
"Marian?" Blake asked once more, crouching beside her with a placating hand on Marian's shoulder. After once again failing to get response from the recovering Marian, Blake helped her up to a secluded table outside of the store and away from prying eyes. Albeit with some shakiness, Marian managed to sit down but still she struggled to clear her head. What was it that rattled her, that brought that thing back to mind? Was it the book, its cover art, or-
"Are you alright?" Blake asked again, flagging a server down for water. Marian looked at her, surprised that the girl who for the most part had mostly kept to herself was coming to her aid. When their waters arrived shortly after, she took a quick swig that eased the pain in her throat and another to ease her nerves a bit. She saw the girl sitting in front of her stare intently at her, eyes watching for any further signs of breakdown. She couldn't blame her; if she was right about what just happened, she did just that in the middle of a Noble Barnes.
"Thank you, Blake. I really appreciate you getting me out of there when you did."
Blake nodded, before continuing on to the subject, "What happened?"
Marian felt her nerves catch back up to her as she stammered "I… I honestly don't-wait," she stopped, looking at the setting sun, "How long were we in there?"
"I'd say about 3 or 4 hours. Why?"
"3 or 4 hours?!" she gawked.
"Are you ok?" a familiar voice asked as a hand placed itself gently on her shoulder. Marian looked up to see Pyrrha, newly bought books in a bag in her other hand and concern etched upon her face, "I was paying at the register when I heard the scream. I didn't know who it was until Blake had messaged me on her scroll. The crowd inside didn't help either."
"Well, where do I start?" she began, wringing her hands while doing her best to not look away, "I come from a village that's between Vale and the Badlands. There were four others, but they all got overrun, and their survivors came to us. I was part of the village guard, and for the longest time I never thought I'd find an outlet…"
Blake interrupted her, "The boy Yang and Xienna were teasing you about back on the airship?" when she realized she'd spoken out of turn she put a hand to her mouth and quickly apologized.
"Actually, he was a she…" Marian said with a smile, her eyes watering as she reminisced, "Natalie was the best baker in the village; everything came out golden and perfect to the taste buds. She just had that golden touch, you know?"
"Oh," Blake said with a slack jaw, quickly reminded of where she left off in the newest Ninjas of Love, Pyrrha took her seat, hands resting under her chin as she asked, "How did you two meet?"
Marian flashed another smile, "It was actually kind of ironic. You see, she saved me. I was pinned under a Beowolf when she stormed out of her bakery and beat it senseless with her paddle and I finished it off. I've never seen a civilian scold a Legionnaire like she did with me. We bunkered in the bakery, and hit it off from there, four years of golden bliss," she paused, thinking back to the store, "I don't want to talk about what set me off just yet though. That's…still tender."
"Have you told Orion and the others any of this?" Pyrrha inquired curiously.
Marian shook her head, "No, all I've done instead is go find a quiet place to be alone. I'd rather not burden them with my past, especially-."
Both Pyrrha and Blake held up a hand to silence her, the Mistrali speaking first with a slight edge to her tone, "You may not know it yet, and I don't know about Xienna and Nemo, but if anyone would understand you, it would be your leader. It's not my place to divulge his secrets, but Orion has been through a lot in the past, and it may be a while before he warms up to telling it to you all. I've known him since we were toddlers, and believe me, he's got his own share of trauma so if anyone can empathize, it's him."
"Sometimes secrets are good to have, but eventually your team will have to know, maybe soon, maybe later. The choice is yours, but you still need to get it off of your shoulders, because I'm sure it hasn't gone unnoticed," Blake said, although it seemed like she was also talking to herself. As she was about to continue, Pyrrha's scroll rang until she answered it and her jaw dropped.
"What do you mean…you're joking? Alright, sit tight Orion, we're on our way," Pyrrha said with urgency in her voice.
Both Marian and Blake looked up, the latter asking "What's wrong?"
Pyrrha pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Orion and Yang ran into some trouble downtown at a dive bar called Lou's Tavern. Orion is trying to be reasonable but Yang apparently won't back down so he's calling us for a helping hand. I'm calling Ren and the others…hopefully they're not too full eating."
"Wait, there's seriously a place called Lou's Tavern in downtown Vale?" Pyrrha nodded, prompting Blake to reach out and place her hand consolingly on Marian's, "Let's continue this back on campus with the others. It would do you some good to clear the air."
"Alright, I'll try to. Thank you, you two. You have no idea how much it means to talk to someone and get this at least somewhat off my chest." Then she chuckled "It might do me some good to get into a good old-fashioned barroom brawl, too."
"That's what friends are for, Marian. But you have to tell your team, just how you want to tell them is up to you." Pyrrha said with a smile before adding "Now let's go see what kind of trouble they got themselves into."
"So you're telling me that you and Yang actually stumbled upon an actual Fight Club, she called it out, and every single one of the members was out for blood?" Nemo asked incredulously, before turning to Marian and the others, "and the rest of you decided to go and jump in for the hell of it?"
Nora smiled with that ever-present energy of hers and was jumping in joy as she said "I got to break a couple of guys' legs!"
Ren put his face in his hand and muffled "Nora, you yanked his leg out of his hip and swung him into the other one's kneecap."
Xienna shuddered, "They screamed so loud."
Orion raised an eyebrow at the little speedster, "Coming from the one who broke her first fight's ribs so he couldn't scream."
"In the name of St. Shaddock, what did I miss?" Nemo chuckled as he looked at Ruby and Weiss, the only ones who appeared to have kept themselves out of the melee. The latter appeared to have a small karaoke machine in hand.
"A lot of fun, obviously. We found a few cool places to hang out and eat, some places that seemed pretty good to avoid, but overall I'd say it was a good time," Orion said with a hearty laugh. "Weiss is going to go talk to Goodwitch about that karaoke machine so we have something to do tonight. It is the weekend, after all."
"I'm game. But you should all probably clean up before we do that; you did just wipe the floor with a few dozen people that Yang antagonized."
The blonde in question feigned insult as she pouted, "I only wanted to know what the rules of Fight Club were!"
In unison, Orion and everyone else involved in the brawl at the tavern shouted "You do not talk about Fight Club!"
Weiss had just finished her second song of the night, "Teardrop" by Massive Attack, and so far it was without question that she was the best singer in the room. Then again, it wasn't unknown to some of them that she was known around Remnant for performing at live concerts, most recently a song that she had written herself called "Mirror Mirror." Everyone at this point had gone at least once, even Jaune, although his was probably the most painful song bar none.
"Hey Marian, you or Blake haven't gone up at all tonight. Why don't you give it a shot?" Xienna insisted.
"Oh no, I couldn't-"she insisted before Orion jumped in.
"Ah come on, you know you want to!"
"Ok fine, but I can't promise it'll be any good," she grinned as she approached the machine. She decided to do something different, so she turned the lyrics off and set the music for shuffle until she heard a harmonic tune playing, a harp strum softly but the tune was so solemn, and it echoed of hurt, of longing. Before she knew it, or even realized it, the words spewed from her mouth effortlessly.
You and I were in a dream
You'd follow close wherever i'd lead
My steps you'd echo one and all
You'd catch me safe if ever i'd fall
Your hand in mine we walked along
No hill too high, no road was too long
To stay with you, my only dream
To share your life, whatever it mean
"I knew you'd have to go away
My love for you could not help you stay
You drifted off, day by day
I cherished every breath that remained
In my arms, close to me
Your body broke, your soul was set free
You left this world, my treasured friend
A chapter closed, but love has no end"
"Farewell my angel
You're with me always
Just close your eyes now
Next time we meet it's forever"
Jaws everywhere in the room dropped, including Marian's. She had no idea where that came from, but those lyrics…every word echoed in her head as she looked around the room. That's when she closed her eyes and fought a losing battle against her tears; all of that came from her heart and soul, the same ones that were shredded when Natalie…damn it, damn it all. Subconsciously, she may have done it to tell them, but on her own will, this was a bad idea from the word go and now she should bolt for the door, for the rooftop ledge where she could bawl her eyes out in solitude… but there was no escaping it this time.
Weiss was the first to speak, her voice softer than her usual icy tone, "Marian… that was beautiful. I don't think I could've done better."
"Please tell me this machine has an auto-record, because that was amazing!" Orion applauded, although the look on his face mirrored Marian's, "But there's a story to this, and those words didn't come from nowhere. While I would rather it be just ONAX, Pyrrha filled me in on what happened…why didn't you call Xienna or I? You know we'd have come in a heartbeat, that's what teammates and friends are for."
Marian looked around the room, everyone looking at her intently, including Blake and Pyrrha who simply nodded. Outside of the Legion, she'd never really had friends, people to care for her… Natalie was all she ever needed. "Before I was accepted into Beacon, or rather recommended and scouted, I lived in one of the five most deadly villages: Caeder Creek, Clouded Isle on the coast, Sorna Ridge, Pine Tree, and Copper Springs."
Nemo's eyes grew wide, being very familiar with the names and the region they accompanied, "You lived in The Five Deaths?!"
"Yes. I came from Caeder Creek, the most savaged village of the five, and long story short, it's where I met and fell in love with a girl named Natalie Jenson."
A collective "aww" filled the room, although Yang and Xienna looked guilty for their earlier assumptions, until she motioned to them that she wasn't finished, "For four years, we enjoyed each other's company. Even a guardian has their security blanket, and she was it; she may have been only 5'1", but she was a firecracker. On those days where something went wrong, or people just wanted to lash out at anyone in the Boros Legion, she'd pounce on them right back. It was humorous as hell, and things stayed that way for a while. But…"
"You wanted to leave together." Ren finished for her.
"But it wasn't that easy. I couldn't just up and leave my post without being noticed, and for a while I had hoped they'd train a suitable replacement so I could call it quits. As you can imagine, that didn't happen. She and I kept discussing the future, like where we wanted to live, what we wanted to do, everything. One day we finally decided that moving to Vale would be our best option…that's when it happened," she continued, her fists clenched in restrained anger.
"Some idiot on the east wall, where Natalie's bakery was located, decided to try and flirt with some passerby instead of doing his damn job and watching the gate! That's when it, this great white beast, broke through the gate and reached us…" she couldn't fight it anymore, her eyes flooded with tears as she continued, "Natalie was skewered with a pole of splintered wood from the attack, and as I shook the cobwebs loose, an Ursa Major that broke through had pounced on her and…"
Marian didn't have it in her to finish, and finally broke down. The room grew silent until the sounds of footsteps echoed and Marian felt multiple arms hold her up and bring her in in a hug, and if the powerful squeeze from the first pair of arms was an indicator, her leader was the first to embrace her followed by the rest of her team. Followed right behind them were Pyrrha and Blake, and the rest of their respective teams. She was going to have to write to her captain soon and thank him for the recommendation to Ozpin.
Nemo, on the other hand, was rewinding to earlier that day with the Headmaster. 'Broken bonds mended together can sometimes be the strongest.' Is this what he was referring to? He knew people had it rough, but this girl came from the roughest part of Vytal and lost the woman she loved in undoubtedly gruesome fashion. He shuddered to think what it was the other two went through. Maybe the next chance he got, he should talk to Orion about all of them breaking the ice, although next time will include him going to Vale after the story about the tavern. Seems like nothing boring happened when it came to his teammates…and this is just the first week of school!
"If you ever need an ear, you know I'm right here for you so don't be afraid to talk to me if you need it," Orion said, his voice masking a deep-seated memory within. Losing loved ones was never easy, whether it was family or those you fell deep in love with, and Orion could only imagine what it was like for Marian in the aftermath of it all.
Xienna spoke next with a somber smile, "Whenever you want some girl time, just say the word and we'll plan a trip to Vale on our free days… My treat, so don't even think about trying to pay for anything!"
Ruby approached her, giving her the last of her cookies, but she seemed lost at what to say as she opened her mouth. Yang seemed to pick up on what it was instantly, "Our room's always open to you, Marian…all of you."
"Same for us," Jaune said, still reeling a bit from what he'd just heard, JNPR's door is always open for you guys."
Marian looked at everyone in the room, from her own teammates, to RWBY, and JNPR with Nora's ever present, bubbly smile, and for the first time in a long, long time, she could say she was surrounded by friends. She hugged them all again, knowing fully that these next four years would be spent working together. It was even her idea to have Ruby break out her new game, which became a long, two-headed giant session of Remnant: The Game; Ruby and Yang played for Vale, Xienna and Weiss for Atlas, Marian and Nemo for Vacuo, and Pyrrha and Orion who dominated for Mistral. Afterwards, JNPR and RWBY called it a night and left to their dorms, ONAX following suit and heading to bed not too soon after.
A few hours passed, and one member still couldn't sleep. Slipping out of her sheets, Marian tiptoed through the door and made her way to the ledge she'd made her personal spot. It was a new moon out, so the stars shined as bright as they possibly could. She took a deep breath and took in the sight, missing the nights on the roof with her golden angel in her arms just watching for shooting stars. Looking up at the stars, she just took in as much silence as she could until she heard knock on the open hallway behind her and jumped.
"So this is where you've been sneaking off to at night? It's not a bad spot, actually."
"How did you know I was here, Orion? I thought you guys were all out cold?"
"Stealth is not your strong suit, and you seem to keep forgetting, "as he pointed to his nose and ears, "faunus."
Marian chuckled, "Right. Caeder Creek wasn't exactly a faunus-friendly place, at least to some of the villagers and most if not all of the council. The few faunus who lived there didn't exactly get much favor, either."
"Damn shame. Places like that make me glad that others like Pantheon exist," he said, turning his attention to the skies as his teammate was, "Still thinking about Natalie?"
She nodded, "I can't help it. So many things had happened in the past that before, I had nothing but the legion. But after tonight, I'm happy to know that for once I have actual friends. But it's still nice to look up at the sky and have those silent nights alone."
Orion shook his head, "But you're not alone, Marian. You never are nor will be."
She raised an eyebrow at him, "What makes you say that?" Marian asked
"Someone… very close to me back home always said that the stars are just those who've moved on, and now they watch on and keep on an eye on those they loved in life. But I know they wouldn't want to look down and see them pick themselves undone in sorrow, regret, or anger. No, they'd want us to use it, to keep moving forward and keep them smiling down upon us. Ultimately, you have to live your life the way you want, but never forget those who helped mold you along the way."
Marian thought back to that day in the hospital, when she completely broke down and her captain had come to console her. Both were right, hell they were practically from the same cloth as far as their demeanor with others was concerned. Even during their 3-on-3 match with one of the other first year teams on Thursday, he looked out for his teammates first and worried about himself second. But then something clicked in her head about what Orion said as she kept her eyes on the stars.
"Hey, Orion? Can I ask you something"
He shrugged, "Sure, shoot."
"Who was it that told you that?"
Silence filled the air once more for almost a minute. "Orion?"
She turned around and saw that he had disappeared into darkness of the hallway without a sound.
"What's the hold up in there, Hayes?"
It was about 2 am, and the ShotCo they had broken into had its security systems disabled thanks to a shocking moment with Blitz, who had her fill of shocking moments earlier in the week. Roman certainly never knew how to hide his wallet, and now the man was short a couple thousand lien, and may or may not have had his clothes thrown in the toilet. The same day, she and her new band of associates had a run in with the opposition at the airport; apparently both had the same shipment of Dust in mind. Such a fun firefight, but the people she works with don't seem to understand the basic concepts of combat except for Hayes and small handful of others. Where did her benefactors even find these guys? She still managed to snag most of the load, but the point was that she needed all of it. It was not a good night for the crew, and it wouldn't be tonight if they didn't hurry it up.
"We've, uh…got a slight delay," Hayes said through the comm.
Blitz took a deep breath before replying, "What kind of delay? This is a simple in-and-out job, Hayes; you've done this hundreds of times before. "
"I know, but I found a couple things in the office-"
"Did you get the records and manifest?"
"Hell yeah I got the manifest! And then some!" He exclaimed gleefully.
As if on cue, the back door slammed open and Hayes burst forth with a mountain many things that didn't look anything like weapons or ammo.
"What. Is. That?" Blitz asked, getting no answer from the now sweating Hayes before snapping "WHAT IS THAT?!"
"It's more stuff to add to my Marlin Brando collection. Who would've known the owner was a fan too…why are you looking at me like- ACK!" He didn't get the chance to finish as Blitz grabbed him by the throat and slammed into the brick wall of the Shinki's Pizza next door.
"Gah! My new collection additions!" Hayes wheezed. The next thing he knew, she started slapping him back and forth out of anger, spite, and because she wanted to get some sleep as soon as possible.
"WHAT!"
SLAP
"THE HELL!"
SLAP
"WERE YOU!"
SLAP!
"THINKING?!"
SLAP
"Hey, I am in love with Marlin Brando, and I am fine with my love of Marlin Brando…and snack cakes."
The enigmatic woman sighed angrily, "You had one job dammit! Get the shipping records and manifest, and get out. Not stealing some old actor's memorabilia for your creepy fanboy room! I'm still waiting on the others so we can leave before anyone sees us."
"They're almost done, one of those club thugs wanted to make some changes to his sword though, so that's probably what's doing it. I think it was Joenes, or Jones…however the hell you pronounce it."
Blitz reached for Nocturne and snarled, "I'm about to make some changes to his head, or gut…or both. Actually, I might go with both… yeah, both sounds good."
If Hayes wasn't used to this by now, he'd have visibly shuddered. "Alright, you do that, I'll load up my stuff in the truck and come help after," he said, rubbing his face as both cheeks were a deep purple.
Blitz dragged her hand down her face in irritation and growled, "Hayes, if your life had a face, I would punch it."
A series of high-beam flashes from the other side got their attention, however; it was the signal that the job was done. 'Good, now I can give that Joenes…Jones…whatever, a piece of my mind when we get back to base.'
Blitz approached them, checking out the load in the back of the truck before asking, "Is that absolutely everything?"
One of the thugs called from the back "Yes ma'am."
"Good. Now, which one of you is the idiot, because I don't feel like trying to say your name, who decided to do a weapon mod in the middle of the job?"
A tall, thin, and scraggly man with a large nose shakily raised his hand as Blitz's pale blue eyes bore holes through his soul.
"You and I are going to have a little 'chat' in my 'office' when we get back. It will not be pleasant, and you will not enjoy it."
He gulped and then squeaked, "Bollocks."
Author's Note: Wow, it has been a really long time since the last update, hasn't it? Well, between sickness (no thanks to my brother), school, and the condition and recent passing of my grandfather, life has been kicking me in the teeth. Hard. And this is how RWBY: A Beacon of Hope starts the new year! For those who won't understand Hayes' obsession with Marlin Brando, or being Blitz's slapping bag, it's a running gag on Toho Kingdom that will never go away for a friend of mine. Sorry Hayes...not really lol. References galore, I hope you all enjoy the Easter egg hunt! Until next chapter, please Fave, Follow, and keep the Reviews coming to show your support! This is SpanishBullsog63 signing out and saying Happy Reading!