Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth Productions, while Macross is owned by Shoji Kawamori and Studio Satelight.
Maintenance wasn't something that she was used too if she lived like a normal person, but when Ember Celica was created, Yang made it a point to constantly check it over for any loose ends. Having a weapon was a must have for any Huntsman/Huntress back on Remnant, and she had always considered herself more of a brawler kind of fighter. Because of that, her point soon became a daily routine as her weapons would return from the combat zones battered and ruined, but still contact enough to smooth it out and make any minor adjustments.
The same can be applied to her prosthetic arm she obtained from Chaos upon entry from the Delta Platoon, making the blonde mentally thank Makina for this second chance in life. Looking at it closely, her arm resembles that of the Battroid of the VF-31 Siegfried, making her more used to something that she'll see every day from then on. She initially had the mechanics do some minor adjustments after one of her training sessions, but after asking them on how to maintain it herself, even asking them to show her, she now had the skills necessary on maintaining the prosthetic.
Twisting in the screwdriver for the last few times for the day, she placed the tool down before flexing her mechanical limb, satisfied that it can move as smoothly as if it was her old arm. Nodding to herself, she grabbed the tools she used for maintenance before putting them in the case, sliding it underneath her bed. Getting up, she stretched her upper body before grabbing her Chaos jacket, putting up over her tank top that bares her hips. Looking herself over in the mirror, she smirked before leaving her dorm room, closing the door before bumping into someone.
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was… going…" she apologized before realizing who she bumped into. "Blake? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she dismissed, seeing the blonde's arm near her before grabbing it, getting back on her feet. "Shouldn't you be making any puns or jokes about cats landing on their feet?"
"I would, but I don't want any chances." She then sighed before looking at her partner. "Besides… I'm holding back on my puns until everything's calmed down." She then noticed one detail missing in Blake's hair. "Hey, you're not wearing your ribbon anymore. What happened?"
The faunas only sighed at her obvious question before answering. "After what happened at Voldor… I decided that it was time to let it go."
"Meaning that you're embracing who you are." The blonde then smiled as she understood her teammate, looking at her watch before glancing at Ruby's bedroom door. "Shouldn't we wake up Ruby?"
"I heard both her and Weiss left for Remnant on business." Blake's news shocked her. "Apparently, our team leader discovered something back home, and requested that she go take care of it."
"And he agreed?"
The faunas nodded, crossing her arms. "He did, but he didn't want her to go alone. He ordered Weiss to go along with her to Remnant and, in Arad's words, 'fish out the jellyfish before it grows out of control.'"
"That sounds like the commander, all right." Taking a deep breath, Yang glanced over towards her partner, lilac meeting amber. "Anyways, um, I was wondering… since I have the day off from Ragnyannyan, I was hoping… that we could, you know, hang out for the day?"
"What brought this on," she asked the blonde, forming a light blush on her face. "Not that I am against it, but why ask now? More importantly, why didn't you say it like you normally would?"
"Like I said, I'm taking a break from the puns." She then stood up straight to face the faunas. "Plus, with how the situation is going, like the ongoing Var riots and the war against Windermere, we may not get another chance like this. I mean, one of us could die during the conflict. Not like that will ever happen, but you may never know."
"I understand." Blake then turned to face the doorway. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline. I'm going to Ragnyannyan to meet with Messer."
Yang's world was immediately shattered as she heard the Delta 02 pilot's name, making her look down to the floor in shame. She had a sneaking feeling that Blake would rather spend time with Messer than with her, considering how his training in the VF-31 allowed her to fly like the ace pilot of the platoon. Looking back up, she decided to adorn a light smile, unaware of Blake's reason.
"I'm sure he'd be happy to see you, Blake," she spoke up to her, confusing the raven haired girl. "I mean, you fly like he does, you both have serious attitudes… do I need to go on?"
"I'm not going because of any reason you thought up in your head, Yang," she answered back, being serious. "Let me tell you something. I know it's never any of my business, but from hearing the caption after the Randor debriefing… I believe that Messer is a Var infected."
The news shocked her teammate, who spit take at the railing before speaking up. "Wait, seriously? Messer, Our Messer… He's infected with the Var Syndrome?"
"Yes. I was going to ask him how he was feeling after what happened."
"OK, now I get it. You're worried that he may one day turn Var and be under Windermere's control." Sighing once more, she moved her mouth to speak out when her phone went off, forcing her to take it out and opening. Her eyes went wide as it was a message addressing both Walkure and the Delta Platoon, requiring them to meet at the Elysion for an update. Putting it away, she glanced at Blake with a look saying that duty called.
"Captain call," Blake asked, getting a nod from Yang before sighing. "We better not keep him waiting."
"—Since then, the military stopped importing Windermerean galaxy apples and using water from the ruins."
When the two members of RWBY arrived, they were given the sight of the entirety of Walkure and most of the Delta Platoon, with Ernest standing with his arms crossed. Noticing the lack of Messer, Ruby and Weiss, the girls knew that their other teammates were at Remnant for some time before returning as well as thinking that Messer is in his room back at Chuck's restaurant. Taking their place between Chuck and Mirage, they stood in attention to learn about the recent news.
"When they tried to track down the suppliers, they have found nothing but dummy corporations," Arad finished his thoughts, allowing Kaname to speak up.
"Furthermore," she started off, going over the research notes. "Research has revealed that the Seidznole produced by the reaction between the water and those apples aids the growth of fold bacteria, thus accelerating the spread of the Var. The Var Syndrome is likely caused by such fold bacteria infecting the cells responsible for emitting and amplifying powerful emotions by means of subspace. This in turn results in turning people into a wild mob."
"Fold bacteria," Yang whispered to herself as the sound unit leader continued.
"All members of Walkure have been selected because we possess so-called fold receptors, which are capable of suppressing the activity of the fold bacteria."
"Huh? Me too," Freyja asked in surprise, getting an answer from Kaname.
"That's right. You included. That's how we are capable of calming the Var. Walkure auditions are, in a way, how we try to find people who possesses fold receptors."
"Now that you think about it, it kind of makes sense," Blake whispered to Yang. "What would happen if we lost Walkure?"
"Probably lose to the Aerial Knights," Yang answered her, keeping her attention to the higher ups.
"Hayate Immelmann," Arad addressed the young man, getting his attention. "You are also one such person."
"Wait, what," the blonde spoke up in shock as everyone looked at him.
"Hayate's one," Chuck questioned as well as Arad continued.
"Sorry. I never found a good time to break it to you until now."
"During the battle on Voldor," Kaname regained their attention, showing fold receptor readings of both Freyja and Hayate. "Hayate's receptor values skyrocketed. Looks like you and Freyja resonate with each other." She then took a look at both Blake and Yang. "While I'm at it, I might as well tell the both of you, and it concerns a certain Third Lieutenant of ours." She breathed out before continuing. "Yang Xiao Long, your sister, Ruby Rose, also possess fold receptors."
All eyes immediately went wide as both Walkure and the Delta Platoon stared at the blonde pilot, with Yang herself being more shocked than everyone else. She had always lightly joked around with Ruby, telling her that she was special, but hearing the news from the sound unit leader, she now knows how special Ruby truly is. She both mentally squealed and became worried at the same time as the young reaper continues leaving surprises for her.
"I'm sure you are aware of this," the redhead continued, regaining everyone's eyes. "On that night days after the Randor incident, when Ruby flew in the skies, you, Weiss and Blake all heard her singing. And it wasn't just you." She then sighed before continuing. "Even I heard her singing that night, and I saw her fold receptor values raise exponentially. I believe it may be stronger than Mikumo's. Is there anything we should know about Ruby, Sergeant?"
"I honestly don't know much myself, to be honest," Yang answered her before putting her hand on her chin. "However, I did hear a funny legend from uncle Qrow about the 'silver eyed warriors.' I thought it was just a fairy tale, but if it's connected to Ruby and the fold receptors…"
"Does this mean that you're transferring her to Walkure," Blake asked Walkure's leader, receiving a shaking head.
"No, we won't," she answered the faunas. "While it's true that her fold receptors are high enough to consider it, Ruby made her choice to be a pilot. Even now, whenever she flies in her VF-31, her skills continue to improve."
"Hold on," Chuck interrupted, getting back on topic. "If people with fold receptors, like Ruby and Hayate, are less prone to the Var, then what about us who don't have them?"
"You have the songs," Mikumo clued in, adding in her own thoughts. "As long as you're directly listening to my songs, you should be fine."
"Then what about the people who have already been infected by the Var," Mirage asked Kaname.
"There's no perfect treatment yet," she answered the half Zentradi. "They might also be affected by Windermere's song of the wind. And that's something that Ruby and Weiss are lessening on Remnant. Ruby discovered during her call with her father that Remnant, through unknown means, now have access to Windermerean apples and water from the ruins, hence, why she's unavailable as of now."
"The Third Lieutenant will make her report when she returns from Remnant," Arad spoke up. "If both the apples and the water are in fact the Seidznole catalysts, then the Alpha platoon will intervene and look into the suppliers. Dismissed!"
After the debriefing was over and everyone dispersed, Blake made sure to keep herself focused and head towards Ragnyannyan, where Messer will be waiting for her. Unfortunately, she was far behind on the idea as she spotted both Mirage and Hayate ahead of her, intent on speaking with the Grim Reaper themselves. Sighing, she stayed behind them as they entered the Ragnan restaurant, going towards and entering the room as the faunas stood by the door. She then used her faunas hearing to listen in to the pilots' conversation, hoping to learn about how Messer was infected.
"First Lieutenant Messer," she heard Mirage start off, looking at the door as the half Zentradi spoke to him. "We would like to have a word with you."
"A word with me," he asked them, getting a nod from both her and Hayate. "A waste of time, but go ahead."
"Two years ago, the Var wiped out a planet called… Alfheim," she got right to the point, shocking Hayate as Blake's eyes went wide. "I heard you're from the town of Marienburg, but survived the massacre. I'd hate to ask you this, but could it be that you were infected there already?"
Blake could only gasp when she heard the news as Hayate spoke up. "Should I tell the captain then about what's happening to you?"
"You are correct," Messer confirmed Mirage's point, keeping his eyes closed. "I have turned Var once before, and the captain already knows."
"He does? All he ever talks about is jellyfish."
"Does he also know you're showing symptoms again," The Jenius pilot asked him, only to receive silence from the ace and prompting Hayate to speak up.
"Then, what are you going to do?"
"Return to service," he bluntly answered the young man.
"But you can't—"
"Enough." Messer then stood back up in front of the pilots. "Return to base."
"But—" Mirage started as Messer pointed towards the door, hearing an irritated Hayate as he made his way out.
"Forget about it. He's not going to listen—" He stopped his thoughts as he laid eyes on something on his desk, walking over to see what it was. Upon closer inspection, he made it out to be a type of audio bracelet, making him remember that the Grim Reaper had it on his wrist during each of their operations. He then picked it to see the bracelet up close, noticing the middle of it being made of a different material than the surrounding metal.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT," Messer shouted at the young man, causing him to lose his grip on the bracelet. Trying to regain his hold on it, he reached out in the air to grab it, only to see it bounce off his hands before landing on the ground. It then rolled on the floor of the room before spinning on its edges to a stop, activating the playback settings on the device.
To Hayate, Mirage and Blake, the song was completely unknown to them, but to Messer, it was a reminder of why he joined the Delta Platoon. The song itself was done by Walkure when they saved him on Alfheim, leaving him in debt to the sound unit, specifically Kaname. Even if it's been two years, he still feels that the debt must be repaid. He glanced over to see Mirage pick up the bracelet with her right hand, walking over towards her.
"Is that Walkure," Mirage asked out loud, getting a shake from Hayate before looking back at it. "This voice… it's Kaname's."
She didn't get out another word in time as Messer took the bracelet out of her hands, slipping it back in his wrist as he spoke. "Don't tell anyone about me." He then turned around when Mirage asked him why, only to receive him bowing down in front of her and the young man. "Please."
The two pilots could only look at each other before nodding to his pleas, taking their leave out of the ace pilot's room. The man can only sigh as he heard their footsteps getting quieter and quieter, looking at the bracelet with the one song built into it. He then noticed another pair of footsteps entering his room, making him look up to see Blake standing in front of him with a sad look on her face. His only guess was that she had figured out what was wrong with him.
"I take it that you heard everything," he asked the faunas, getting a nod from her in the process. "I see. I didn't mean to hide this from you, Blake. I thought I could keep on flying without the fear of turning Var. However…"
"Messer…" Blake started, unsure of what to say. "About what Hayate and Mirage said… was it… was it all true?"
He could only look down to her question before sighing, nodding as he looked back into her eyes. "It's true. What happened two years ago on Alfheim… that was when I first became a Var infected." He then looks at the bracelet. "I owe my life to Delta and Walkure. If they hadn't been there…"
"You would have died back then…" The faunas then looked down before sitting down beside him. "If the symptoms are coming back, then why won't you tell everyone?"
"I do not want to worry everyone about my own health." He then looked up to the ceiling, picturing the skies. "I'm hard on the platoon, but I am only criticizing the way they fly so that they'll live in future encounters." He then grips his own arm. "However, I fear that I may approach my limit in the future… Blake… if that were to happen, I want you to kill me."
Her eyes immediately went wide over what he was saying; shocked that he would even say such a thing. She knows that the Var Syndrome was dangerous enough as it is, but she would never dream of a time where she has to kill the Grim Reaper pilot. Shaking her head and wiping her eyes and face of any tears, she looked into his eyes firmly and grasped his shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Messer," She spoke up with force, keeping her gaze on him. "But that is an order I cannot follow. I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe… so please… stop talking as if you're going to die tomorrow." She then let go of his shoulders before standing up. "As a Specialist, all I ask you to do is the rest. We'll see you again back at the Elysion."
With that said, she left his room to allow him to gather his thoughts during the time of rest. Mentally, she was worried if she would be able to carry out her claim to protect him during the war against Windermere. Not only was he painted a target by the White Knight, but she was also targeted due to her skill in piloting her Valkyrie. Her thoughts were broken as she felt her phone vibrate in her jacket pocket, making her pick it up to see what it was.
Her eyes went wide in awe as the message to her was a notification from the mechanics teams back on the Macross fortress, letting both her and Yang know that both Projects: 'Yellow' and 'Black' were ready for combat deployment. She then remembered back to the Ionedeth encounter, where she saw Ruby deploy a Valkyrie sized Crescent Rose, believing that the message meant she can use Gambol Shroud through her Siegfried now. She also thought about the change for Yang's fighter, thinking it's going to be extra shielding for the Battroid's arms.
Going over the schematics of Project: 'Black' on her phone, the young faunas unknowingly passed by her blonde teammate as she made her way out of the restaurant. Gazing at the direction she came from, Yang could only frown as Blake came from Messer's room, realizing that she had talked to him about his Var infection. Shaking her head, she gave out her best smile as the next set of customers came in to take their orders.
Overlooking the data on Gale's progress during the recent battles, something had piqued Lloyd's interest over the reawakened Windermerean's thought patterns. He had initially sent her in along with Keith's Aerial Knights over to Ionedeth to fly in and destroy any VF-171 Nightmares unaffected by the Song of the Wind, but when it went after and engaged one of the intruding VF-31s and the famed White Rose's VF-25 Messiah, Something had intrigued him as to why. Even on Voldor, when he specifically ordered her not to engage in battle with the Delta Platoon and Walkure, the pilot disobeyed and fought the same fighter from the previous battle.
Gazing at her eyes as he made his observations, he began to ponder whether to increase his control over her thought process, mentally nodding to himself as he checked her vitals. Aside from the way she was thinking, he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary with her vitals. He made a note to himself to observe the battle footage of both confrontations as he closed the programs surrounding him, looking at the vivid green eyes of the Windermerean Pilot.
"Well, it looks like nothing is abnormal here," He bluntly told her. "You are green across the board. You may go tend to your fighter now."
She nodded to him as she stood up out of her seat, making her way out of Lloyd's study over to the Draken loading bay. She was immediately seen by the current White Knight as Keith approached the study, intent on speaking with the chancellor. Giving her one of his no nonsense glares, she escaped his sight as he entered the room, walking towards the Windermerean male with an update on the apples and the water.
"That False Windermerean will be the end of us, one day," he muttered out loud, making sure that Lloyd heard him before addressing formally. "Lloyd, it seems we have a situation. The Earthlings have found out how we're transferring the Var. The military has seized our transports of Windermerean apples and the water from the ruins."
"I see," he nonchalantly spoke up, looking over his reports. "However, there is no need for concern. Even if the N.U.N.S. has control over our exports, we have already supplied the planets with enough apples ad water."
"They found out about the ruins as well."
"So what?" he then placed the reports gently before grabbing his glass of wine. "Without the Wind Singer, they are nothing more than just glorified rocks."
"I see." Keith's focus then moved on to his next topic. "Also, why do you focus on Her of all people?"
"Are you referring to Gale?"
"I am." He then turned around fully to face him, his back towards the window. "Why assign her over to my forces, Lloyd? We were doing just fine without her."
"The Delta Platoon had increased their man power with four additional pilots. One of them, the one you call 'Belladonna' just so happens to be part of their extra forces."
"Regardless, they will all fall to our wind." He then stepped forward. "However, I will not have the wind tainted by a Windermerean who once lived as a pathetic Earthling."
"I understand your concerns, Keith. However, I have assured you that I have it all taken care of. As it stands, she sees the Earthlings as the enemy. Her loyalty to Windermere's cause, as well as her friendship with his highness, makes her an asset more than a liability."
No matter how much he could argue, he can't argue against the chancellor's point about Gale. It was true that she was once a loyal friend to the king, Gramia, back when they were of the same age. However, his hatred for her as she once lived another life as a human being runs deep in the prideful Windermerean's veins. The White Knight firmly believes that if something were to, then she would betray the cause and fight against the Aerial Knights.
Deciding to end his conversation with the chancellor, he made his way out of the study as Lloyd called out to him. "Where are you going?"
"To investigate. We're short on time," Keith simply told him, glancing at the scientist. "Do not worry. We won't need the Song of the Wind, and that False Windermerean will be staying behind."
With that said, the White Knight of Darwent made his way out of his study, allowing Lloyd to sigh before glancing over Gale's files. Opening them, he glanced over the memories he had wiped from her mind before placing them in his personal systems. With how she has acted on the encounters, he looked over towards the combat data, taking an interest on the emblem of the VF-31 Siegfried she fought at both Ionedeth and Voldor.
"A rose…" he muttered to himself before playing one of the memories, watching it play as it took on a scene of a fairground. Watching it, he can't help but be curious as to how and why the awakened Windermerean would choose to fight the rose fighter. He immediately got his answer when the memory footage displayed showed a young girl in black and red clothing, seeing the same emblem embedded into the belt she was wearing. Nodding to himself, he shut off the memory and began to plan further ahead, thinking of a way to deal with the rose before Gale begins to remember.
As another night arrived at Ragna, Yang couldn't help but think about the gap that's been growing between her and Blake. She's already made peace with her after her duel with her before their first assignment on Al Shahal, but a small part of her wanted her to be closer to the faunas. However, when she kept seeing her with Messer, whether it was during a mission or on their downtime, that small part in her conscience began to wither away.
Speaking of Messer, Earlier in the day, when Yang was at the Elysion going over the look of Project: 'Yellow' with Chuck and Mirage, she saw the Grim Reaper walk over and informing them that it was time for combat training with their VF-31s. At first, she was getting excited over the idea, only for fear to come in when he told her that it was going to be a five on one match between him and Delta, being informed that Arad will watch from the control room while Ruby and Weiss were on their way back from Remnant. Regardless, the platoon's fighters were covered with red paint splatter with the Delta 02's Siegfried unchanged, and the pilots came to the conclusion that he was training for his next skirmish with the White Knight.
Sighing to herself, she left Ragnyannyan as her shift ended for the night, passively walking in the quiet streets of Barrette City. Thoughts of her partner plagued her mind as the view of the ocean stayed visible for her, making her stop beside a nearby building as the thoughts grew in size. Shouting in frustration, she punched the wall with her bare hand, leaving a small crack on the exterior before breathing heavily.
"Damn," she cursed herself as the thoughts subsided. "I thought I would be OK with this… Guess she left more of an impression on me."
Chuckling lightly, she glanced over towards her fist embedded to the wall, not surprised to see a small trail of blood pouring from her knuckle. While she missed having her aura activated, she knew it was a sacrifice needed to prevent catching the Var Syndrome. Withdrawing her fist out of the building, she took out the debris out of her knuckles before flexing it, satisfied as she can still use her hand. Continuing her walk, the blonde made enough distance until she reached the beach, sitting down on the sands as the waves of the ocean echoed into her ears.
"I must feel like crap," she muttered out to herself, looking at her hand. "I never thought I would develop feelings for Blake like this." She then lowered her hand before looking at the sky. "Beforehand, I thought it would be a joke. Me, falling in love with another girl? Who would have thought that would be possible."
"That is a pretty good question," she jumped as she heard a masculine voice, turning to see her boss, Chuck. "How's it swimming, Yang?"
"Chuck, don't scare me like that." She then sighed as the Ragnan sat down with a takeout case in his hands, watching the nighttime ocean waves. "So… I guess you heard me?"
"Yeah," he answered, pulling out two bowls of ramen before handing one over to Yang. "So 'Sun Dragon,'" he started with the nickname his family gave her, "What sort of troubles are you facing now?"
"Since when does a boss care about how I'm feeling," she asked him with mock sarcasm.
"When his employee just so happens to be a fellow pilot in the Delta Platoon," He pointed out, taking a bite out of his ramen. "So what's wrong, anyways? You looked so out of it, recently."
"Where to start…" She sat down beside, digging into her ramen. "Well, I… I have feelings for this certain someone that's close to me… But… she seems to have feelings for someone else…"
"Ahh, a tale of love."
"A love that may never be returned to me." She then looks up in the sky. "At first, I have only seen love as a way to achieve happiness, but… I realized that obtaining it… It's harder than what every romance novel and movie made it out to be."
"Then again, novels and movies are mostly seen as a form of fiction," Chuck reminded her, looking up to the skies. "However, there are some films that are based on actual events, like the movie, Bird Human."
"Bird Human? What sort of name is that?"
"Can't really say, but the movie was made eight years ago before the Vajra war started." Yang's eyes went wide as the Ragnan continued. "The movie basically is a retelling of legend of a legendary pilot, Shin Kudo, the Mayan princess Sara Nome and her sister Mao Nome, the grandmother of the Galactic Fairy, Sheryl Nome."
"I'm guessing the movie has some sort of love triangle between those three?"
"Yup. The film also had an altered VF-25 Messiah in it, changed so that it resembles one of the first ever Valkyries ever designed. While the VF-1 Variable Fighters can be considered the Grandfathers, they were based on the prototype VF-0 Phoenix."
"Really," She asked in awe. "Whatever happened to them in real life?"
"No one knows," he sighs, finishing his ramen with her. "People say that Sara sacrificed her life to save her island, and Mao disappeared some time before the Vajra War started. And no one other than Mao knows what happened to Shin."
"I see."
"Even if some of the moments in the movie was exaggerated, it really is a must watch. I would highly recommend it."
"Thanks, boss," she thanked him before making up her mind, finishing her ramen before standing up. "I made up my mind. I'm going to tell Blake how I honestly feel my own way. No using clichés, and no sappy romantic speeches."
"Atta girl, Yang," Chuck spoke up, standing up beside her.
"Thanks, Chuck," she thanked her Ragnan co-pilot. "I owe you one."
"Just helping out my employee—" He was about to finish when the both of them heard the alarm buzzed to life all over the city, shocking them with the sudden development. The warning then came in through their phones, beckoning to head over to the Macross Elysion posthaste. The blonde then looked back up to the sky, going wide eyed as six distinct fire balls plummeted down to the surface. It didn't take her too long to know that it was the Aerial Knights flying towards them, so she nodded at the same time as Chuck before rushing off towards the towering fortress.
While they made their way over to base, meeting up with the other pilots and Freyja in the process, the command center of the fortress was brimming to life as the bridge operators began their own system checks. Ernest sat at his command chair in thought, wondering why the Windermerean Aerial Knights would show up at Ragna. His thoughts were shattered as the girls began to announce their findings.
"Captain," Mizuki spoke up first, bringing up her findings on her moniters. "The Aerial Knights apparently de-folded inside our air defences."
"What about the Song of the Wind," the Zentradi asked out loud, getting an answer from Nina.
"No readings, sir. No Var reports so far as well."
The captain of Ragna's Chaos division then smirked, taking note of the Elysion's missing arm. "So, we gotta deal with them without Hemera."
"Just you watch, Walkure and Delta Platoon," Bogue announced as the Aerial Knight's Drakens launched solar flares upwards until they created Windermere's coat of arms. "The Aerial Knights have arrived."
As the Aerial Knights loomed closer towards the Macross fortress, the VF-31 Siegfrieds were already locked on the launching bays of the Aether, allowing the pilots to adjust to their positions. When Yang looked over towards Blake's Valkyrie, she was surprised to see that the wings, while still being forward-swept-winged, resembled more like the blade of Blake's Gambol Shroud. She then looked towards the front, keeping her gaze at the Windermerean coat of arms.
"They're taunting us," she heard Hayate mutter out in the comms, nodding as she agreed with him while the launching procedures slowly finished. Grasping her controls, she put on the pair of glasses that had the specs for Project: Yellow, taking deep breaths as the thrusters came to life. She then gave one more glance towards Blake's Valkyrie, nodding to herself that she has to tell her about her feelings.
"Delta Platoon," she heard Arad call out on the comm, steeling herself for the battle. "Take off."
With the order given, the Delta Platoon launched off of the Aether into the skies, flying towards the incoming Windermereans to commence a dog fight on their home turf. Luckily, without hearing the Song of the Wind, the pilots were more than capable of fighting the Aerial Knights without the thought of taking on the Var. The only people that worried about the case of a Var outbreak is Blake, Hayate and Mirage, who all knows the truth about Messer's condition.
While the Delta Platoon flew closer to take on their adversaries, the members of Walkure could do nothing but watch the battle unfold. Freyja, wanting to go out and sing with the sound unit, stood beside Mikumo as the mysterious Venus had a visible smirk on her face, annoyed in her own way that Windermere is trying to take away her spotlight. The Windermerean girl then wondered if Hayate will be OK, gulping down air as her gaze was locked on the screen.
"The Song of the Wind has yet to be heard," Kaname brought up, keeping her gaze on the fight. "We should stand by for the time being."
"Trying to steal my stage," Mikumo commented on the Aerial Knight's movements. "They've sure got the guts."
When the Siegfrieds got closer towards the Drakens away from the city, Messer immediately locked his sight towards the White Knight, taking in the pilot's name as he muttered out the Windermerean's call sign. Keith had the same idea as the Grim reaper approached his SV-262 at an alarming rate, and once the fighters broke off, he immediately escalated in the skies with the VF-31, starting another skirmish with his worthy rival. Both pilots exchanged fire between each other, and while the Windermerean kept calm, the Delta 02 pilot started to breathe heavily as he tried to stay locked on the machine.
Already taking note that her fellow pilot needed help, Blake maneuvered her own VF-31 over towards the skirmish, opening fire on the Draken engaged with Messer. The White Knight's rune glowed as he saw the incoming bullets, managing to dodge the projectiles and taking a gaze at her Valkyrie. He hummed at awe over the change in design in the Siegfried's wings, chuckling as he couldn't wait to see what they do. Breaking off from his engagement with the Grim Reaper, he sets his sights on Belladonna's machine, returning fire as she dodged the bullets, passing him by before engaging both her and Delta 02.
While Blake and Messer hand their hands tied with the White Knight's fighter, Yang was showing that over each encounter, she has improved in her own way as a pilot, shifting over to Gerwalk mode and opened fire on Qasim's SV-262. He was forced to dodge her fire as he dispatched the drones off his wings, launching towards the blonde brawler's fighter. Reacting quickly, she activated the barrier system installed, blocking the bullets as she returned the gesture, destroying one of the Windermerean drones as the second drew near. It launched a volley of missiles heading towards her, forcing Yang to switch to Battroid mode and block the missiles.
Her attempts resulted in her Valkyrie being engulfed in the explosion, making the 26 year old Windermerean close his eyes as the Draken and the drone flew close to it. His rune then glowed as he went wide eyed, looking out to see Yang's Siegfried unharmed as she prepped the Battroid's heavily armored fist, punching and destroying the drone. She then shifted the armored portion to resemble the Draken's primary weapons, firing on the Windermerean fighter and forcing it to fly away from her. She smirked as her method had worked before another warning came up, forcing her to turn her machine and taking out another drone sent after her with the Siegfried's fist before shifting into Fighter mode, flying off to cover her fellow pilots.
Glancing upwards, she can already see that Hayate managed to keep Chuck safe from one of the Drakens, destroying one of the mounted drones before engaging Bogue's machine in the dogfight. She then saw the ongoing skirmish between Blake, Messer and the White Knight's fighters, seeing as how her teammate fire at the Draken more than Messer was. While the blonde was awestruck at how the faunas handled herself, Blake still couldn't land a hit on the SV-262 while keeping an eye on the Grim Reaper's Siegfried.
Gaining an idea in her head, the raven haired girl continued to open fire on the White Knight, gaining speed on the machine until she surpassed the fighter, flying ahead of the Windermerean. Keith could only stare and wonder as to wonder what Belladonna was up to, only for his rune to glow bright as the VF-31 shifted into Battroid mode and positioned its hand by its back as if to draw out a blade. As his fighter got closer to the Chaos fighter, his rune immediately changed color, causing him to jerk his Draken to the side as the Siegfried drew out a blade from its back, slicing one of the mounted drones in half.
"Impressive, Belladonna," Keith muttered in praise as his opponent shifted the blade to resemble a handgun, causing him to fly further away from Blake's rain of fire before Messer's unit got close to him. In his mind, he was ecstatic to know that both of his rivals provided another challenge as he dodged the bullets coming from both the Grim Reaper and Belladonna Valkyries, launching one of the drones and making it fire on the Delta 08 pilot. Cursing herself, Blake placed her fighter's weapon back in place before switching into Fighter mode, flying away from the drone and allowing Keith to keep his duel against Delta 02 a one on one fight.
Cursing to himself as the White Knight was behind him, the skilled ace pilot of the Delta Platoon arched his fighter until regaining his speed, locking onto the SV-262 in front of him before firing upon it. Hearing comm chatter between Arad and the squad echo, he kept unleashing a barrage of bullets on the Windermerean before letting out a battle cry of his own. However, the effects of his ailment began to kick in as his breathing became hectic, with the veins in his face slowly appearing under the skin. As the Var slowly started taking hold of him, he let out a loud scream in the comms, alerting the Delta Platoon and shocking Blake in the process.
"Messer," Arad called out to him, looking at his fighter while continuously fighting Herman's Draken. "What's wrong?" He got no answer as Messer's screaming continued, alarming the commander of the worst before connecting to the Elysion. "Crap… Captain, I'm requesting Walkure deployment."
"Huh, what's wrong," Ernest asked out in the command center.
"Hurry! It's Messer!"
"WHAT?"
"Wha… Did something happen to Messer," Kaname asked out in shock before looking at the sound unit. "We're doing this, Walkure."
As the singers instantly changed into their appropriate attire for their deployment, the Valkyrie duel between Messer and Keith reached out over the clouds of Ragna, with each of the fighters firing and dodging one another. The Grim Reaper, while still behind the White Knight and suffering from the Var Syndrome's hold, continued to pursue and maintain his speed, allowing him to not lose sight of the SV-262. The sound of Walkure's song, 僕らの戦場, began to echo out into the battlefield to relief of the Delta Platoon.
Despite the song being played out to the battle in the hopes of suppressing the Var, it hasn't begun its reaction in Messer's body as he remained focused on the White Knight; soaring passed the Draken as the fighters flew up in the sky, leaving a trail of explosions behind. While he was lacking one of the drones, Keith had no problems with maintaining his own speed as he kept launching volleys of missiles at Delta 02, smirking as his rival shot them down in succession. As they began to drop down to the surface of Ragna, the Var Syndrome fully manifested in him, resulting in his muscles bulging out and his face twisted in blind rage. Regardless, he kept his sights on the Windermerean fighter and unleashing a barrage of bullets.
As the song progressed in the battle, Kaname took the chance to call out to the Grim Reaper, hoping that her words would reach out to him, only to see no change. Determined, the redhead of the sound unit kept singing out in the hopes of saving Messer, and in some form of luck, he finally snapped out of his trance as he heard the girl's voice. Glancing back at the Draken, he took note that the fighter stalled slightly until it was behind the VF-31, firing on the Delta 02 machine in the hopes of taking him down. Reacting quickly, he maneuvered his Siegfried out of the way of the bullets until his fighter was in front of the crescent moon in the skies.
"He dodged it," Keith complimented with a smirk before his rune glowed, forcing him to dodge incoming fire from Chuck and Blake before flying off. While the White Knight flew off from the duel, the sound of Walkure's song infuriated Bogue as his Draken flew closer to the waters, closing in and painting a target on the Macross Elysion. His runes glowed a blood red as his anger reached its peak, getting passed the Island ship before speeding off towards the towering fortress.
"SHUT YOUR TRAPS," he shouted out as his fighter got noticed by Mirage and Hayate, getting closer to the sound unit. "Do me a favor… AND DROWN IN BLOOD!"
With his declaration, he released the drones attached to his SV-262 Draken before flying off, programming them to launch a large volley of missiles towards Walkure's position at the Elysion. However, his hopes of killing the singers were ruined as Hayate and Mirage opened fire on the explosions, destroying and stopping them from reaching the target. He immediately cursed out as the drones reattached themselves on the Windermerean fighter, rejoining the battle between the Aerial Knights and the Delta Platoon.
While Walkure continued to sing out, their songs effect reached out to Messer completely, subduing the Var Syndrome in his body and returning him to his senses. He muttered out Kaname's name as he kept flying in the skies, and while the fight continued, the song began to resonate with the Protoculture ruins underwater. The readings went unnoticed as Theo recorded them in his own Draken, not taking part in the battle before flying off.
"The ruins are intact," he called out to his fellow Knights. "We can make the wind blow anytime."
"Copy that. Good news," Herman acknowledged before his rune briefly glowed, making him look over to see VF-31 Kairos models flying in. "Enemy reinforcements?"
"Then the tides have turned against us," Keith calmly pointed out before pulling out of the fight, flying upwards. "All units, return to the branch—" his runes then glowed harshly, forcing him to dodge incoming fire as the familiar sight of both Ruby and Weiss' VF-31 Siegfrieds came down from orbit.
"Sorry we're late," Ruby called out to the Delta Platoon, shifting her Valkyrie over to Battroid Mode. "Weiss and I heard Walkure as we came down. Did the Var strike?"
"Actually, you're just in time, sis," Yang called out, smiling as her little sister got to her fighter. "The Windermereans caught us by surprise, but they're now backing off."
"Aww, I missed it?" The young reaper pouted before getting serious, pulling out Project: 'Red' in sniper mode. "Then allow me to give them a 'Return Home' present."
Having her sights locked on to the White Knight's retreating fighter, she opened fire on the far off Draken, surprising her division as one of the bullets impacted and destroyed not only the remaining drone, but severing the wing off his machine. Even with the clipped part, the White Knight continued to fly off with the Aerial Knights, leaving the Delta Platoon and the reinforcements in the skies. They all then decided to fly back over to the Macross Elysion, hoping to relax for the rest of the night.
When the docked in the hangers on board the Aether, Yang saw her little sister walk over to her with Weiss, high fiving each other as they welcomed the returning pilots. They then glimpsed over to see Messer exit his own Siegfried, only to stumble before getting caught by Arad. Just the way he was breathing told the white rose pair as to why Walkure was singing in the battle.
"Messer," Arad spoke up, already chosen his words wisely. "You're at your limit."
"I know…" was all that Messer could say to his commanding officer, already knowing that there may be no turning back the next time. The girls then thought about how Blake will react, thinking that she may be heartbroken about the next turn of events. As for Yang, her decision to break out her feelings to her partner wavered, looking off to the side as she see the raven haired faunas looking at the Grim Reaper.
In the end, Blake's mind could only focus on one thing only: Messer.
A/N: It took a while, but I was able to get this done. Now, it seems Messer's under a lot of pressure as of this moment, and Blake doesn't know what to do. Along with that, Yang's feelings for her faunas teammate is… let's just say things got more complicated.
Now… I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: The next chapter after this one will probably land me with a lot of hate with what I have planned up. Before it gets started, I want to say that I have had some talks with my coworkers about how the direction will be handled, and they brought up some points and thoughts as to how I will type it, and this is it: Along with Messer, someone from RWBY's side will be… you get the idea, so that's why I'm saying I might get some hate later on because of it. Regardless, it's something I have come up with, and talked about with the guys at work.
Review replies:
Alexwu704: The questions for the Remnant arc
Jaune, Nora and Ren will appear as cameo or as support characters as well as Salem with Cinder.
They be going back to Remnant and will the Delta squad and Walkure will learn how to use aura and semblance to survive on Remnant
3. Will they go to Vale to help to deal with the Grimm infestation in the city
Ironwood try to do something in that arc as well
5. Last one: What about Qrow? Is he going play a critical role for this arc?
Thank you
Um… I think you might need to work on the spelling a bit, but I think I have a grasp on your questions. 1. JN(P)R will be support characters and Salem and Cinder may have a cameo. I say that because I have plans for them. 2. It's already been shown that aura works as a form of amplifier for the Song of the Wind. Besides… They're better off without them. 3. Uhh… The Grimm are still in hiding from plain sight? Ever since Mistral, the Grimm dropped off the map. 4. Obviously, Ironwood would try something, but he has no experience on the Var Syndrome or the Aerial Knights. Meaning, he's going to fail. 5. No critical role for Qrow. Sorry.
Guest: Glad to see you included my comment, thanks!
And no, you're not "seeing things", as the VF-31As are based on the YF-30 Chronos, so it's no surprise to see the similarities.
Another thing I forgot to mention: apparently, Delta wing also uses VF-31A Kairos to guard Walküre in their early days, and they switched only around the same time after Mikumo "joined"(SPOILER, lol) the group. So, in your story, either Makina upgraded the RWBY's machines to Siegfrieds, or they're using the late members' old Kairos(with custom weapons)
You may actually be onto something. Remind me to do a little updating on my earlier chapters. And thanks for letting me know that I'm not seeing things. I think I did the same in the chapter when Chuck talked about the events of Macross: Zero.
Marcus the Kane: bzzzzttt...
Welcome back! Been a while since I read a new chapter of this fic, it's worth the wait.
bzzxxxtt...
Uh… EHH?
XY Kid: Sorry about Marcus' weird style of review, he has been doing that gimmick for a while. Anyways, nice to read a new chapter of this fic, it's really good and somewhat fresh. Keep it up.
OK, thanks for clearing up Marcus' review. And thanks for the words of encouragement. I also saw that Marcus started up an account. Will you and him start doing up your own stories?
Yuiharime: Oh how lovely is this chapter. Too bad, Messer's impending fate is just above the horizon. That would be a sad moment.
Yeah, and it's going to be a lot sadder when I start, finish and publish the next chapter. Hence, why I believe I'm going to get hate for it.
Tendaysromeo: I welcome you back. The new chapter was worth the wait. By the way, have you ever thought about writing a chapter that focuses on Hayate and Freyja? And when is Weiss going to sing?
Thank you. Um, I have thought about a chapter that focused on just them, but honestly, I don't know how to work it out. And for your second question, while I'm not supposed to do this, I'll say that Weiss will sing in Arc four.
Wee-0wee-0: Great chapter. And glad with the new chapter.
I'm just happy that you guys are reading them. It just goes to show that when I grabbed the attention, I have to keep it up, even with the obstacles in front of me.
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. What do you think? Leave a Favorite, Follow and Review. (No more 'or')
With that out of the way, I'm BlazefireDrago, signing out.