AN: Hello, hello everyone, have a new chapter hope you enjoy. I'm going on a trip for the next three weeks, but will still work on new chapters. Reviews are always appreciated.
Reviews responses:
Solvradge: Thanks for the kind words, hope you continue to enjoy reading.
goddy80119: We'll see Neo next chapter, we'll have a lot more Pyrrha and Jaune now.
Yukas: Always be free to leave reviews and ask questions.
SoulfulBard: Thanks for helping me out again Soulful, hope you enjoy another chapter.
JKdelta38: Many thanks, hope you enjoy another chapter.
Disclaimer: RWBY is the rightful property of RoosterTeeth
Chapter 12: The Turn
"The only way to make sense of the world is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."
- Alan Watts
Emerging from the medical tent, Jaune quickly shielded his eyes from the sudden influx of light. Squinting, he began to observe the moving clouds above him, aptly heavy and grey for the situation. Finally readjusting his sight to the outdoors, he strode forward to readdress the particular 'recipients' of his latest arrangement.
It wasn't the first compromise he'd ever agreed upon, and he doubted that it would be his last, but it was far from his worst. They had deferred death today, temporarily of course, but it was nevertheless a relief. Hastening his pace, his mind once again descended into an orderly chaos of wayward thoughts.
His interactions with the redheaded pirate had been, for the lack of a better word, 'enlightening'. From what little he had seen, she was indubitably loyal and ironically valiant, a questionable heroine among thieves, or pirates to be exact. Nevertheless, they were still far too many inconsistencies. Her persona, her actions, her history, all of it left too many questions unanswered, and in turn, a deficient amount of reasons to trust her. Yet, Penny had done so, and he soon followed after. Furthermore, for whatever madness had possessed him in the moment, he had also given her his word, the highest form of propriety for any Arc. Pyrrha Nikos was an enigma, and everything in him screamed to uncover whatever remained hidden behind her emerald eyes and civil smile.
Feeling the oncoming chill of an emergent gust on his face, he tightened the collar of his jacket and further hastened his pace, storing away the remainder of his wayward thoughts for another day. He grimaced deeply at the darkening clouds above him, for the winds had now soured gravely, and that was never a good omen.
"Xiao Long, Belladonna, do you copy?"
Acknowledging the growing buzz in her ears, Yang brought a quick finger to the receiver on her ear. "We read you loud and clear cap'."
"Good, how's the Bullhead looking?" Jaune spoke tiredly, voice somewhat ragged over the link. Although not knowing the male blond for long, she could easily sympathise with him. Notwithstanding the recent addition of their swashbuckling friend, even she admitted that they were a rather handful group to lead.
Turning to face her partner, she raised a questioning eyebrow at her. Receiving a small affirming nod in return, alongside some subtle gestures, she once again brought a hand to her receiver and replied, "The base hardware is standard Mistrali military-issued, but Blake's signing that it's got some impressive upgrades," she paused momentarily to interpret the additional gestures of her partner and released an impressed whistle, "some really, really nice upgrades."
The link went silent for a moment, and she contemplated repeating the message to ensure that he had heard her, if not for the exasperated sigh that soon thereafter. "Signing?"
She chuckled good-naturedly at the surprisingly common question. "Blake's not much of a talker…"
"I see…" He replied uncertainly, before quickly returning to a more serious demeanour. "Is it pilotable though?"
"I think that's a better question for the elusive kitty herself." Emphasizing the title with an abundance of mirth, much to the dismay of her partner, she strode over to the ravenette and removed the earpiece from her ear. "I still don't get why you don't carry your own, Blake.
"I have two pairs of ears, Yang, so you can imagine just how disorientating it would be. I'll do it if it's absolutely necessary," she smirked amusedly at the blond brawler, "but then we wouldn't have an excuse to keep you around, would we?"
Rolling her eyes at the blatant use of sarcasm, she tossed the receiver towards Blake and made herself comfortable at the opened door of the Bullhead in the process. With an amused smirk, Yang watched the feline Faunus as she gingerly placed the small device in her ear. "Belladonna here, the Bullhead's locked with a fingerprint scanner, but I'll be able to override it within the hour."
Now only hearing the muffled fragments of conversation with her superior, she lost interest quickly and instead turned her attention to the forest before her. No matter how many times the fiery blond had stared into its depths, the feelings of curious fascination refused to leave her. It was true that the sight of green vegetation was a rather common one for the residents of the Valean spires, but for whatever reason, the forest here seemed different to the blond. She couldn't place an exact finger on whatever it was, only a vague inclination or an obscure feeling. The place seemed to call out to her, beckoning her to explore its every nook and cranny. It was incredibly unnerving to be influenced by something so obscure, but it nonetheless excited her sense of adventure.
She wouldn't be the first to admit that their stay on the island had definitely been 'eventful'. In a few brief hours, they had documented newfound species of wildlife, sighted many others that were thought to be extinct, maliciously hunted by rarer forms of Grimm, and had all somehow survived unscathed. It was a true adventure in the making, and they all had encountered too much to state otherwise.
Eyeing the darkened clouds above her, she began to feel the first droplets of rain on her jacket as she continued to casually lounge at the entrance. Outstretching her hand, she allowed the rain to dance upon her palm and smiled contentedly. Although quiet moments were rare and far between in her life, especially considering her rather 'brash' personality, she nonetheless took the time to appreciate them. It was an odd pastime that she savoured with an ironic sense of mirth.
Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she titled her head upwards to acknowledge it, finding a pair of amber eyes meeting her own. "So, what're we doing today, Blake?"
"We're staying here to work on the Bullhead, Ensign Xiao Long." Although Blake's voice remained mostly professional, the blond nonetheless noted the tinge of humour in the ravenette's voice. "However, they're sending up Captain Rose and Chief Valkyrie to help."
"Why's she called 'Chief'?" She asked offhandedly as she stood herself up, stretching her arms in the process.
"Captain called her such, so I'm just rolling with it."
Yang chuckled light-heartedly at her partner's deadpan expression. Blake had always been more of the stoic and professional type, a great thing for combat situations, not so much for social ones. Nevertheless, the Faunus had always surprised her in the most ridiculous of ways, which was always a big plus in her book. "Whatever you say then, mistress."
Evidently bristling at the title, Blake hissed at her, "Don't you start with-" and paused suddenly, her eyes immediately narrowing and mouth pursed in concentration. Soon thereafter, the ravenette's eyes widened immensely in distress. "YANG, GET BEHIND SOMETHING!"
Trusting her partner, Yang grabbed the ravenette and spun quickly towards the interior of the Bullhead, their backs sorely slamming into the metal interior with a loud bang. Her eyes widened immediately at the dust rounds that followed quickly thereafter, flying hastily through the position they stood in moment ago. Breathing ragged, she turned quickly to her partner, "What the actual fuck!?"
"Who knows, but those were high-grade suppressors they were using. Whoever they are, they're dangerous and incredibly well-armed." Remaining outwardly calm, Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud from her back and shifted the blade into its pistol form. In an impressive display of agility, she bridged the opening gap of the Bullhead and fired blindly into the depths of the forest, landing perfectly on the opposite side of the door.
Smiling, the ravenette tossed her the earpiece and gestured her to remain temporarily silent. Complying with her request, Yang silently placed the earpiece into her ear and activated it. As moments passed in tense silence, the two shared a silent giggle at the event that completely shattered it. From the depths of the forest, a burly scream of pain could be heard for a brief second, followed immediately by the rustling of vegetation.
Out of the tree line, a group of five sombrely emerged with weapons drawn, one of whom was clearly in pain with a tinge of red spreading on his shoulder. They were all, both male and female, dressed in a uniform coloured almost entirely in black from head to toe. Nonetheless, that was far from the oddest aspect of their attire. Rather than comfortable combat apparel, they were all dressed in dress pants and formal vests, accented only by the red ties that adorned their collars and the black umbrellas that protected them from the rain. They were clearly a unit of some kind, but their affiliation or allegiance remained an obvious mystery for her and her partner.
"Xiao Long, Belladonna, what in Oum's name is happening over there?"
Finding little reason now to stay silent, she readied Ember Celica and cocked them with practice ease. "Yeah… we got company over here cap', and they're far from friendly."
Although the relatively quiet swearing in her ear was rather entertaining, the situation before her was much more… unnerving. The quintuple of black remained eerily mute underneath the rain, revealing only minute details to indicate that they were indeed alive. Her nerves chattered desperately in time with the droplets of rain that splattered across the roof of the Bullhead, forcing her to remain vigilant as she silently observed their assailants.
"Xiao Long, still there?" The voice in her ear remained composed, a fact that she would be eternally grateful for.
"Still kicking." She chuckled nervously at her answer, occasionally clenching her fist.
"Good. Can you describe them?"
She continued to stare at the seemingly immovable statues in the rain, searching for further signs of humanity within them. "They're dressed in uniform, all black and all incredibly neat."
"Alright, so not more of Nikos', military then?"
"Not any of the four Kingdoms' at least. I don't recognize the uniform." Turning towards her partner, she mouthed if Blake recognized any of them. A futile endeavour apparently when the ravenette decisively shook her head. "Blake doesn't recognize them as any black ops operatives either."
"Mercenaries?"
"No, they're wearing vests and ties. They look more like a dance troupe than a mercenary group."
"Well whoever they are, we're sending up Rose, Valkyrie, Coal, and Katt as backup, hang on and stay safe." He let out a heavy sigh and continued with a softer tone, "Considering the fact that there is an unknown faction on this island with us and the worsening weather, we're planning to mobilize and rendezvous with Captain Soleil on the west side of the island, think you can meet us there?"
A moment or two had passed before his voice once again resounded in her ear. "Are you alright over there, Yang?"
As the pounding of her heart steadily hastened, she barely realized that she had merely nodded to answer the question. Leaning deeper into the steel interior of the Bullhead, she slowly steadied herself. Forging a small smile on her face, she slammed her fists together and exhaled dramatically. "Sorry bout' that captain, just got a case of the nerves. Wasn't the first time we've ever been in a tight jam, and probably won't be our last either."
"Good to hear, Yang. I've passed another receiver to Rose and company, so they should be getting into contact with you soon. Their current position should be tracked in real time by your scrolls, so keep an eye out for an ETA of 10 minutes."
"Got it cap'," shooting a predatory grin towards the ravenette opposite of her, she once again outwardly stifled the budding fears that roared within her, "wish us luck."
"Don't think you need it, but stay safe. If you need to move and leave the Bullhead, do so. No casualties," the man paused for a moment before continuing, "on either side, Xiao Long."
"I'll try." She cooed playfully.
Winking cheekily at her partner, she then darted hastily out of the Bullhead and into the growing storm, a hearty grin clearly evident on her expression. She was getting tired of the gloom these clowns had brought on her adventure, and it was about time that someone brightened up their day.
Dodging another strike aimed for her neck, she rotated her body and countered swiftly with a high kick aimed for the man's jaw. Feeling the familiar sense of impact, she utilized the recoil to twist her body once more for another kick, following up her previous manoeuvre with an even swifter strike. She smirked proudly when the larger man backpedalled quickly to avoid further punishment, grunting painfully as he did so.
Taking the moment to gratefully recover her breath, she began to frown deeply at the situation she'd inadvertently found herself in. There were a myriad of ways Blake could've chosen to live out the rest of her life, an incredibly diverse myriad of ways with endless possibilities. She could've opened a bookstore, became a writer, or maybe even settled down and gotten married, a quaint life to recompense for all of the bullshit fate had dealt her. But no, by fate's perverted sense of humour and her own flawed judgment, she had willingly enlisted herself as a naval officer of the Kingdom of Vale. At this point, she would give anything to have the opportunity to slap her past self.
Finding her break annoyingly interrupted by another opponent entering the fray, she instinctively ducked underneath the thrust of a woman's umbrella. Yes, it was definitely an umbrella. Turns out that the pointed heads of their situational fashion accessories were much sharper than she initially assumed, shifting into rather efficient blades that could be extended to a maximum range of ten centimetres. Yeah, she really, really wanted the opportunity to smack some sense into her past self.
Cringing, she avoided another thrust from her side, barely circumventing a fatal incision to her jugular. Aura or not, she was definitely not taking the risk. Quickly recovering from the potentially lethal attack, she swung Gambol Shroud's sheath at the woman's temple, praying to Oum that it would be enough to incapacitate the woman or at least buy her some time.
Unfortunately for Blake, however, her previous opponent had recovered much too quickly for her taste. Closing the distance in a surprising show of agility, the man had moved in to recompense for his partner's blunder, blocking Blake's strike with extraordinary expertise.
Realizing the immediate danger of her situation, Blake swung Gambol Shroud at the man. Utilizing the regained momentum, she distanced herself from the pair in a show of rather extraordinary acrobatics. Flying through the air, she activated her semblance and spread them out throughout the field to disorient her assailants, firing wildly with Gambol Shroud as she did so.
Landing a few metres away, she reversed the grips of both her weapons and rushed forward to reengage the enemy. Finding herself swiftly in range, she swung both weapons at the male counterpart of the duo, seeking to separate the pair. Finding the familiar sense of resistance instead however, her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the clash of blades before her. The duo had instead moved closer together, blocking her strike in mechanical tandem.
Nevertheless, she smiled bravely at the sight, an idea flourishing quickly within her mind. Pouring Aura into her arms, she pushed off of their blades and launched herself into the air, once again shifting Gambol into its pistol form. Throwing the scythe attached to it with practiced ease, the weapon found itself wrapped around the woman's wrist, surprise and momentary hesitance clearly displayed on her expression. It was a reaction which Blake sorely enjoyed as she yanked backwards with the assistance of gravity.
Regardless of the fact that the woman was taller and heavier than she was, the combination of gravity and her rather abrupt feat took the woman by complete surprise. As Blake watched the woman tumble towards the ground, the smile on her face quickly grew much more predatory in nature. Shifting the weight of her body backwards, she tumbled in the air for some time before quickly activating her semblance. Regaining altitude with the assistance of her shadow clones, she threw Gambol off to the side midair and shifted her grip on its sheath to a two-handed one.
Finding herself positioned immediately above the other half of the mysterious duo, she stretched out her legs and wielded her Aura to reinforce her lower half. Allowing gravity to take lead, her figure steadily gained speed as it cut cleanly through the rain and wind of the growing storm. She would take this secret with her to the grave, but she immensely enjoyed the sight of her frightened assailant's jaw dropping to the floor as she descended to deal out righteous fury.
Realizing the imminent danger that he was in, the man hurriedly ducked to avoid her trajectory. But, her smile merely widened at his actions as she tightened her grip around Gambol's sheath. Now finding herself in close proximity of her opponent, she twisted her body with an almost inhuman display of flexibility and slammed its side into the rear of the man's head with reckless abandon. Before the more feminine half of the duo could recover and regain her footing in the now muddy clearing, the man slowly but surely collapsed onto her struggling form. Here figure now messily trapped underneath the full weight of her unconscious partner.
Time seemed to temporarily halt within the clearing, its passing only vaguely indicated by the continuous pattering as rain met the mud beneath her. She began to giggle inwardly at the sight, finding it rather humorous considering everything. Subterfuge, misdirection, and stealth were definitely her fortes, but it seemed that time spent in the presence of a certain audacious blond had rubbed off of her.
Her eyes widened greatly at the thought of her partner. Swearing inwardly, she began turning wildly in search of the fiery blond, a tinge of worry clearly evident on her expression. However, to her relieved surprise, she found the blond sitting nonchalantly nearby with a commandeered umbrella on hand to protect her dearly beloved mane. To her even greater surprise though was the position Yang was in, having taken a seat at the top of a small heap formed by the rest of their assailants.
Finally noticing that both of their battles had been concluded with a victory, the blond waved casually at her with a cheeky grin plastered firmly on her face. "Hey Blake, took you long enough!"
Rolling her eyes at her partner, she shook her head and dexterously picked up Gambol Shroud, sheathing it in one swift motion. "Some of us prefer an additional tinge of finesse in our fights, Yang."
Yang chuckled at her response. "Funny, I could've sworn you using Gambol's sheath like a bat. Nice knockout by the way."
"Well-" she paused momentarily, blinking confusedly as she turned once again to fully face the blond, "wait, you were watching?"
"Yup, I was done by five minutes ago." Yang stated a matter-of-factly.
"And you didn't think to help?" Regardless of her best attempts to minimize Faunus stereotyping within her daily life, the question nonetheless came out as something close to a hiss, accented only by the way her eyes narrowed irritably at her partner.
"I wanted to enjoy the show."
She felt a headache steadily emerging within her. "YANG, I SWEAR-"
Interrupting her rather aggrieved thoughts, however, was the regrettably familiar boom of explosives. Rotating warily to face its impending source, she once again unsheathed Gambol and readied herself for another confrontation. Nevertheless, life never seemed to cease outgrow its twisted sense of humour. It was to her complete surprise (but she was nonetheless grateful) that when the forest parted once more, rather than meeting the blade of another enemy, she was instead faced with the rocketing figure of a bubbly Valkyrie flying above her.
"CHEER'S LOVE, THE CAVALRY'S HERE!"
Yup, she could definitely feel that headache coming.
"Scarlet, sir! We have another incoming transmission."
"Oh, for OUM'S SAKE! Who is it this time?' He asked exasperatedly from the centre of the bridge. It had been a long day for the scarlet lieutenant and fate seemed stubbornly adamant on remaining so.
"It's from an Atlesean vessel, sir! The 'Maid of Orleans'."
His eyebrow rose uncertainly as he recognized the name, his mind debating whether he should heave a sigh of hopeful relief or a sigh of utter dread. Nonetheless, he let out a tired sigh and reluctantly waved for the bridge crew to accept the transmission.
As the crew complied with his orders, the image of a singular man with raven-coloured hair and a pair of light magenta eyes appeared onscreen. He swore vehemently at the sight, his voice echoing loudly and clearly throughout the room. If the Atlesean lieutenant was ever aggrieved by his rather shameless tirade, he did not show it, choosing instead to uphold his stoic expression.
"This is Lieutenant Lie Ren of the 'Maid of Orleans', be rest assured that my intentions are noble. May I ask to whom I am speaking to?" The man, who he now remembered to be named 'Ren', asked almost mechanically.
"First mate Scarlet David speaking," he mockingly saluted, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
Ren heaved out an exasperated sigh, but nonetheless remained impressively neutral in his expression. "'For it is in passing that we achieve immortality.'"
He could feel his eyes widening immensely at the phrase, seemingly bugging out of their sockets. Scarlet began to feel his heart racing, its beat increasingly rapidly and wildly. Memories began to flash randomly within his mind, dredging up scene after scene of his past, both desirable and undesirable; all was laid bare in his moment of growing panic. But in the end, only one remained. It was a rather simple one actually, as a younger version of him sat opposite of another under a lavish pavilion. The scene was almost picturesque, almost being the keyword. After all, he would never, ever forget the tears stifled bravely behind her emerald eyes.
"Where is she?" He muttered stonily.
"It will take some time to explain, but-"
"WHERE THE HELL IS MY COUSIN, YOU TWO-FACED LYING SNAKE!?" Aura flared wildly around his body, fuelled entirely by a collage of emotions stemmed from his protective instincts. He could feel anger, worry, disappointment, hopelessness, and worst of all, utter despair. They surged freely within his mindscape, wreaking uncontrollable havoc over a singular fact. His worst fears had come to pass, and there was once again nothing he could've done. He ceased to care about conversational pleasantries or for his verbal slip, merely the fate of the woman he had sworn on his honour to protect and serve for the duration of his life.
"I see that this has been… much more trying for you than I initially anticipated." Ren's spoke quietly, his voice adopting a surprisingly sympathetic tone. "Nevertheless, it seems that we have much more pressing issues on our hands. Who exactly are you evading? The mines seem rather… unconventional."
Poorly suppressing his inner turmoil, he swallowed his pride with a resigned sigh and steeled himself for the quickly approaching storm of nature and steel. With straightened back and rigid grimace, he once again faced the Atlesean with hardened girt. After all, he had crew to preserve for another day. It was what she would've wanted, and he'll be damned if he would fail her twice in the same day.
AN: Hope you enjoyed it, I'll quickly go over some things here.
1. I should stop starting chapters with Jaune's feelings. I promise to not do it next chapter, or for the next few probably.
2. As much as this is an Arkos story, Team RWBY are still major players in the narrative, so we got a bit more of Blake and Yang here. I'll seperate this into two subsections for clarity sake:
a. Let's begin with Yang. I wanted to show a more mature Yang, someone who still encompassed the blond badass brawler that bantered and fought with equal love. Here I hoped to show that although she fought quickly and ruthlessly, she did with quite a bit of fear. However please hear me out, if you doesn't it make sense? Yang chose to become a huntress to be with her sister, Ruby, and to a certain extent she joined the naval forces to do the same, which means that she probably isn't actually so brave, she just shows/asserts herself as such. In canon, she ignores her fear and allowed her more primal emotions to take over, which in turn caused the conclusion of her battle with Adam. She was unprepared and uncoordinated for such a powerful unknown enemy. Here, although she allows fear to exist, she does not allow it to control her. Yang suppresses it, but is still aware of it and it allows her to much more precise/methodical in battle. Hope you enjoyed my interpretation of a more mature Yang.
b. Blake, Blake, Blake, the character I have a long disputed love-hate relationship with. Blake's problem can be seen as the opposite of Yang's, instead of ignoring her fears, she concentrates too much on them. It causes to instinctively run, to flee. However, here she has somewhat overcame this particular problem. She's much more aggressive in nature, traits that she probably picked up after working with Yang for so long. In addition, I'd like to quickly discuss the way her thoughts were presented here. For someone who reads so much, I imagine that her imagination can be rather 'broad' and colorful. I wanted to paint her mindscape as such. Even if she's outwardly stoic and quiet, I tend to imagine that her mind is much more active and expressive. Maybe you agree, maybe you don't, but hope it's nonetheless something you can enjoy and makes sense in this context. (BTW, Blake's clones are apparently somewhat solid, so she can actually jump off of them which she did in this chapter. It's true, check the wiki).
3. Tracer is Bae
4. Should I change the rating to M? Some of the later chapters can get rather dark, plus swearing among pirates is kinda thing. Leave a review for your thoughts. Thanks.
Well as usual, leave a review if you have anything to say, whether good or bad, and if you liked it, consider a like or fav. Thanks, see you next time.