We're back with another chapter, things are moving along nicely I think. There's going to be two questions down at the bottom, one of which will have a more practical impact on the story depending on which way I go with it.

Chapter 21: Companionship and an Ancient Wonder

Beacon Academy, RWBY's Dorm Room

Yang let out a frustrated sigh as she stared at her cousin, watching the as Ruby simply flipped through her magazine while listening to music. "C'mon Rubes! You have to pick out a dress for tonight!"

Ruby sighed before looking at the blonde with a frown, responding dejectedly. "Yang… I already said I don't feel like going, I just want to be left alone for a while…" Yang groaned before throwing her hands up in the air.

"Ruby, I really don't want you to be alone tonight, okay? I managed to convince Blake to come to the dance, I'm going to have to go to take care of things, and I'm going to need help since Weiss said she was going to ask-" Yang stopped when she saw Ruby flinch before the faunus sunk deeper into her bed. "O-oh god, Rubes, I'm so sorry, I forgot you liked-"

Ruby hopped up and grabbed Crescent Rose before walking to the door. "I'm going to go practice for a bit, I'll be back later… And maybe I'll think about it." As she opened the door she came face to face with Weiss, causing her to glance down quickly and walk out.

Weiss watched in confusion before walking through the door. "What's wrong with Ruby? I've never seen her so depressed before."

Yang sighed. "She decided to try to ask someone to go to the dance with her but ran into them as they were asking someone else out. She's… not taking it very well right now since it was hard enough for her to think of one person she'd want to go with." Weiss took a deep breath as she looked down.

"Who would do something like that to Ruby? I mean, sure she's a bit eccentric and obsessive, but she's still such a kind, caring girl… I kind of understand how she feels now though…" Weiss tried her best to hide the slight pang of jealously at the thought that Ruby had tried to ask someone out, still struggling to come to terms with her own feelings for the faunus, when Yang spoke up.

"Speaking of dates, how'd it go with Neptune?" Yang raised an eyebrow as Weiss' shoulders sagged.

"I-I changed my mind. We have too much to focus on right now for me to worry about boys, right?" Yang narrowed her eyes before laying down on her bed.

"Riiight… Well, now we just have to hope Ruby doesn't decide to train herself into the ground to get her mind off things." Weiss let out a sigh as she glanced out the window.

"It wouldn't really be enjoyable if Ruby wasn't there, would it?" "At least not for me… M-maybe I really am falling for her?"

Practice Area, with Ruby

Ruby let out a shout as she cleaved through the holographic Grimm in front of her, her usual elegant and graceful movements replaced by wild, reckless swings. She thought back to her mom's death, the alienation she suffered because of the White Fang's attacks, learning that Qrow couldn't raise her because of something out of his control, and finally having to watch Weiss ask someone else out when she finally worked up the courage to say something to her. "It's just not fair! Why can't I just have one thing go right for me for once when I want it to?!" She let out a frustrated cry as she slammed her scythed into a Beowolf with enough force to embed the blade into the concrete floor before she dropped to her knees, a quiet sob escaping her.

"Ruby? Are you okay?" The faunus girl quickly wiped her eyes before she glanced over to see Pyrrha standing nearby. She tried her best to fake a smile before she responded.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine…" Pyrrha let out a sigh before stepping forward, sitting on the ground next to Ruby.

"I'm sorry, but it doesn't really look like you're fine right now. Your stance was off and I've never seen you so aggressive with your strikes. And… Well, I've never actually seen you look so hurt." Ruby looked away before Pyrrha continued. "What's wrong?"

The faunus hesitated before she answered. "I-I decided to try to ask someone out to the dance, b-but… Right when I ran into them they were asking someone else to go with them."

Pyrrha let out a quiet gasp before quickly hugging Ruby. It was a known fact among teams RWBY and JNPR that the cloaked girl had a hard time getting close to people and wore her heart on her sleeve when it came to her friends, but she'd never shown any interest in anyone. "Ruby, I'm so sorry you had to deal with that…"

Ruby let out a quiet sob before she continued. "And now Yang's determined that all of us have to go to the dance! I don't want to have to sit there alone watching the one person I care about smile and laugh with someone else! I know it sounds selfish, but I just don't want to be alone anymore!"

Pyrrha smiled sadly as she waited for Ruby to get her frustrations out. "Ruby…" The other girl glanced up at her, tears still running down her cheeks. "Maybe, if you care that much about them, you should try to show them that. If you really love them, whoever they are, you just need to show them that you're still their friend and try to make it clear what they mean to you in small ways. If they're your friend, if they care about you at all, they wouldn't want to see you miserable either, would they?"

Ruby looked down quietly. "I-I don't think I'd be able to handle watching Weiss have fun with Neptune… But if I let this ruin our friendship, would I be able to live with myself?" "M-maybe you're right Pyrrha. I don't think I'll be able to tell them how I feel for a while… But I won't let this get in the way of my friendship. Even if it means I have to watch them be with someone else, it's more important that they're happy." Pyrrha stood up, pulling the faunus girl with her. "Thanks for the advice Pyrrha, I needed to hear that from someone."

Pyrrha smiled and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "You're welcome, Ruby. Just take care of yourself, okay?" Ruby nodded and ran off to get ready for the dance. Even if she was going, she might as well find something she could do while she was there.

Beacon Ballroom, later that night

Yang let out a squeal as Ruby walked through the door in a red dress. "You look beautiful Rubes!" the wolf faunus groaned as she stepped forward.

"I could really do without the heels though, I don't know how Weiss fights in these…"

Yang smiled slightly. "I'm just glad you're here, sis. I was worried about you."

Ruby smiled back. "I'm fine, really. Did you have your dance with Blake?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I did, but are you sure you're fine?"

Ruby let out a sigh. "Y-yeah, I mean as long as I don't watch Weiss and Neptune having fun I should be fine, right?" Yang frowned as she glanced at the heiress, who was desperately trying to distract herself with a vase of roses.

"Yeah, about that… I think Neptune shot her down, she's been kind of moping around, saying she changed her mind and she doesn't have time for boys, but it's kinda obvious…"

Ruby looked at the heiress sadly before taking a deep breath. "I'll talk to you later, okay Yang?" The blonde didn't get a chance to respond before Ruby walked off. She smiled at Pyrrha and Jaune as he walked past them, Pyrrha laughing happily as Jaune spun her around.

Weiss let out a sigh as she tried to get the last rose to stand up straight. Deep down, she knew the stem was damaged and she was just wasting her time, but she didn't want to look over at Neptune laughing with Sun and Blake. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "Maybe I should have just given Ruby a chance. I mean, I could have just said we were spending time together as partners and teammates, right? But… She was going to ask someone else to come with her to the dance…" Weiss' shoulders sagged at the thought of being rejected twice, even if she'd never actually asked Ruby. A hand on her shoulders drew her out of her thoughts. She turned around to find herself face to face with Ruby. While the faunus hesitated, Weiss took a moment to look at her. "S-she looks amazing… Whoever she was going to ask out should really consider himself lucky that she even had an interest in him…" The heiress was again drawn out of her thoughts when Ruby spoke up.

"Weiss…" Ruby took a deep breath. "I heard Neptune turned down your request to be your date." Weiss winced at the reminder and was about to snap at the girl in front of her before she continued on. "I-I know it isn't the same? But would you be willing to dance with me for a bit? Yang danced with Blake, so it wouldn't be right for you to not have a chance to enjoy your hard work." Weiss sputtered for a moment before Ruby grabbed her hand, pulling her to the dance floor. "Come on, just one dance? That way you can say you at least danced with someone?"

Weiss gave in, smiling brightly when Ruby looked away. "Sure, she might only be doing this because she wants me to have fun, but it's still so sweet of her…"

Once they were on the dance floor, Ruby spun around and took one of Weiss' hands before putting her other on her lower back, causing the heiress to blush slightly. "Is this okay Weiss?"

"I-it's fine, dolt, just focus." Weiss started moving, with Ruby quickly mirroring her movements. After a while, Weiss couldn't help but notice how quickly and easily the faunus girl went through each step. "Wow Ruby, I didn't know you could dance this well."

Ruby smiled meekly. "I-I can't really, I'm just using my semblance to copy your moves and add it to my muscle memory." Weiss looked at the girl in disbelief.

"Dolt, that's going to give you a major headache by the time we're done!"

Ruby smiled as she looked the heiress in the eye, tail swaying gently behind her. "I don't care. It's already worth it."

Weiss blushed and looked to the side, a small smile on her face. "D-dolt…" "I don't care what my father thinks about you being a girl or a faunus… I'm going to win your heart just so I can show you how amazing it feels when I'm with you, Ruby…"

Ruby blushed slightly at the look on Weiss' face. "When she smiles like that she looks like an angel… I swear Weiss, I'll do whatever it takes to make you fall in love with me if it means I can see that smile more…" When the music stopped they both briefly glanced at each other's' lips before looking away, stepping back from each other. "So, Weiss… Are you feeling better now?"

Weiss smiled again, making Ruby's heart skip a beat. "Much better, thank you Ruby." Ruby glanced around nervously.

"I-I'm going to go get some air, okay?" Weiss hummed before responding.

"Do you mind if I go with you then? Just to make sure you're okay I mean…" Ruby hesitated before nodding, heading toward the door. As the two left, Ruby stopped to look up, drawing Weiss' attention to a figure in black climbing along the rooftops.

Ruby let out a sigh before glancing at her partner. "We should probably take care of that, shouldn't we?" Weiss nodded running a hand down her face as they quickly pulled out their Scrolls, punching in the numbers for their lockers. The moment they arrived, they both quickly removed their weapons and started running toward the CCT Tower, chasing after the mysterious figure.

The duo glanced around as they entered the building, sighing as they saw the Altesian soldiers groaning as they picked themselves up. "You know, I thought Bisman and my dad were joking when they said Atlas favored quantity over quality… If one person could take this many soldiers out, either they're really good or the soldiers are really bad…" Ruby said quietly. Weiss rolled her eyes before they walked toward the elevator.

"Normally I would disagree, but it seems as though I have no counterargument in this case," Weiss said with a sigh. Ruby took off her heels and tapped her foot as the elevator climbed the building.

Ruby hummed as the doors opened back up, quickly activating Analysis and the speed aspect of Rose Storm, listening quietly as she looked around the room. She stopped when she heard a breath behind the reception desk, causing her to gesture around it before Weiss went to circle around from the other side. Before they took more than a few steps, a masked woman stepped out into the open. "You know, attacking Atlesian soldiers probably isn't the best idea. It'd probably be best if you-" Ruby watched as the woman grabbed a Dust canister off her belt and emptied the contents into the air in slow motion. As she saw the Dust form into jagged shards, she quickly spun Crescent Rose, deflecting the projectiles while Weiss ducked behind her.

Once it was safe, Ruby spun her scythe around and started opening fire while Weiss shot a few ice shards from Myrtenaster at her as well, stopping the moment the woman blocked the rounds with her hand, a barrier forming in front of it. "Nox, I've only seen one other person do that…" "Weiss, be careful, she's a lot stronger than she looks!" Ruby shouted, causing the heiress to nod, remembering Ruby's story about her first run-in with Torchwick.

The woman quickly created a pair of swords as Ruby charged at her, using Crescent Rose to boost her speed as she slammed the blade into the ground where the woman was standing. The woman jumped into the air, the swords becoming a bow and three arrows before she fired them at Ruby, forcing her to pull her scythe out of the ground and take cover as the elevator door opened up. Ruby and Weiss glanced back to see Ironwood step out, giving the woman a chance to get away. Ruby let out a frustrated sigh. "Nox…" She quickly turned to Ironwood. "The woman who attacked Amber was here, I don't know what she was doing, but I think we should let Professor Ozpin know."

Weiss looked at Ruby in confusion. "Amber? Who's that?"

Ruby let out a frustrated sigh. "I'll… tell you later…"

Sanctuary Ruins, Draconys

Adrienne let out a dejected sigh as she glanced around. "This is wrong… Nothing here should look like this…" She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she silently hoped that her grandfather's claims were just an exaggeration, but as she watched the Sentinels slowly comb through ruined buildings and lifeless parks she had to desperately resist the urge to cry. This was the city she gave her life to protect and to her it felt like her sacrifice was in vain. "So, how bad did these "Rose Hunts" get exactly?" she asked the fox faunus next to her.

"Bad enough. About thirty years ago five Roses were murdered in the middle of the Vytal Festival in Mistral a few hours after they spoke with representatives of the kingdoms. From what I heard from my mom, they had to end the festival early because the assassination caused enough of a panic that it drew the Grimm to the city. About twelve years ago, three of the last four Roses alive at the time were going to meet with the Council of Vale when someone attacked them outside the Council building. I kind of remember seeing that on the news, they tried to get away from the crowd and the guy set two of them on fire before shooting the third in the head." Adrienne shuddered at that.

"Umbra, please tell me he didn't get away with it." Adrienne felt like screaming when the woman next to her shook her head.

"They know who he is but he just kind of vanished after that. The sad thing is, it wasn't the first time it happened either. They know for a fact he was involved in killing at least eight other members of your family, but a number of Faunus, including my parents, think he might have killed as many as 30." Adrienne ran a hand through her hair before glancing into the building behind her.

"Grandpa Auri, what are you doing exactly?" She stepped up behind him and watched as he tinkered with the rifle, slotting lenses into the new barrel before sliding the Primus Lapis into an opening where the chamber of a normal rifle of the design would go. As he carefully finished putting it together, he spoke up.

"The world has changed, Adrienne. We need every advantage we can get, even if it means merging the old with the new." The Orange Rose glanced over the gun before humming.

"So, we're going to be using the concepts from the Bastion then?" She smiled brightly when the Blue Rose nodded. At that moment, a Sentinel walked in holding a Prefect's helmet. Unlike the normal Sentinel helms, it had a face plate depicting a man with a beard.

Aurelius carefully took the helmet and walked over to the nearby table, where the rest of a Prefect's body was assembled. "We will, as soon as Janus is once again operational."

Greene looked at the two in confusion. "Janus? What are you talking about."

Adrienne answered while Aurelius carefully attached the head to the rest of the armor. "Jaunus is the Sentinel Prefect we've been trying to find the parts to. If we want to get to the Bastion soon, we'd need him even if he wasn't a vital part of Sanctuary's military."

"So, what makes him different from the rest of the Sentinels and Prefects?" Greene asked before the armor lit up and suddenly rose off the table, eyes glowing as it glanced around.

"Such a terrible state of disrepair…" It said sadly. "I suppose Vulcan will have a difficult time correcting this."

"Janus, focus," Aurelius said, causing the Prefect to face him, suddenly at attention.

"Lord Aurelius! It's an honor to see you again, sir," he said happily before Aurelius sighed.

"We need to get to the Bastion. Do you know if Vulcan managed to finish the last pieces of its construction?" When the Prefect nodded, Aurelius took a step back. "Good, we're activating it. Inform Sanctuary's remaining garrison to track down the remaining Praetors and Centurions. We're going to take whatever is still intact with us."

"Ambitious." Jaunus started before Green spoke up.

"Wait, Praetors? Centurions? You never said anything about those!" Aurelius sighed.

"The Prefects and Templars are given ranks along with names. Some of the more capable Sentinels, Champions, Goliaths, and Juggernauts even get a lower title as well. Centurions are the leaders of squads and patrols, while Praetors are commanders of garrisons or patrol areas." Green nodded quietly before Janus continued.

"Very well, I'll make sure your orders are carried out to the letter." Before Janus left he placed a hand on the nearby doorway, causing the air inside to shimmer before a rift opened up inside it.

Aurelius sighed before he stepped forward, walking through the portal as Greene watched nervously. "I-is this safe?" Janus glanced at her before nodding. Adrienne quickly grabbed the faunus' hand and pulled her through, causing her to whimper as a tingling sensation went through her body. When she stepped out and opened her eyes, she let out a gasp. "W-what is this?" she said meekly.

Sitting in front of her in the distance, held off the ground by four massive supports, was a massive structure. It vaguely reminded her of the Amity Colosseum at first glance, with what looked like a platform around the edge halfway up with a massive wall beyond that. Underneath it were five massive crystals, one between each of the supports and the fifth, largest one sitting under the center of the structure. Her eyes moved up to see a tower rise above the rest of it, a large multicolored crystal sitting at the top. The buildings above the "ground" level of it, where the wall started, were, from what she could tell, all buttressed against the buildings closer to the wall. She shuddered as she realized just how big it truly was. "I-it looks like it's the size of the city of Vale!"

Aurelius glanced up at it with a hint of pride. "This is the culmination of five centuries of research and a hundred years of meticulous design. It combines every use of Dust devised by the time of its construction, including levitation, cannons using Dust and focusing lenses for defense, a powerful barrier to deter all but the largest Grimm, and the ability to control the conditions on and inside it, all powered by the largest Animus crystal in existence. It was designed as proof that we could build a city that no land based Grimm could attack, so that we could protect our people until we no longer had to worry about being prey for them. This… is the city of Bastion."

And that's the end of this chapter. Ruby may have slipped and shared something she shouldn't at the end of the fight with Cinder, but her near-perfect memory means everyone's aware of Cinder's presence and people are going to be more alert.

I would like to apologize to anyone who got frustrated by the little White Rose scene where they both want the other to be in love with them but neither of them are willing to say anything about their own feelings.

A bit on the Prefects and Templars with their ranks. As stated in this chapter, Prefects and Templars can hold a rank, the two most common being Centurions and Praetors. The difference between Prefects and other Sentinels, as well as between Templars and other Goliaths, is the Materia Dust lattice that allows them to function is complex enough to have a soul of its own, giving each one a semblance of some type with minimal downsides, if any. Janus, for example, is able to create rifts and gateways in space, instantly linking two points together, regardless of where they are, so long as he's aware of both the origin and destination locations. Janus is the most important, however, in that he holds the rank of "Imperator," or Military Commander. Every other Sentinel, Goliath, and Archon-type automaton, including other Prefects and Templars, answer to him above even their Centurion officers and Praetors. Janus, as a result, can only take orders from a member of the Triumvirate.

Also of note with Janus, for some reason when I wrote his first line I randomly felt like he should have a British accent. Let me know if you guys got the same impression.

Aurelius is upgrading the rifle he had, briefly, as Arthur Bisman. Unlike Ruby's Crescent Rose, the weapon Aurelius is making will fire bursts of energy from the Primus Lapis instead of bullets, meaning that each shot will have an elemental charge (Burn, Frost, Shock, Wind, etc) to it. The question here is, do you think Ruby should be able to do something similar, either by creating her own Animus Dust crystal or being given one by Aurelius?

We've now had our first look at the Bastion. The city is a single massive structure that relies on Materia Dust lattices to transfer energy between different areas and power everything. The city is protected by a powerful barrier generated by a series of Shock Animus crystals. Frost, Burn, and Wind Animus Dust crystals maintain both a breathable atmosphere and comfortable temperatures at any altitude in every location inside the Bastion. The Materia lattices are also designed to make the city more or less self-repairing if needed.

The city is divided into 4 regions: the external docks/walls, the surface, the core, and the Citadel. The area outside the walls contains docks and landing pads for Roc-type constructs to land, as well as smaller airborne constructs. Each docking area has enough space for five Rocs and has a gatehouse-style entrance to the city proper. A number of specially-designed defensive turrets functioning off a principle similar to Aurelius' rifle are also located along the external area and underside, providing protection against most airborne Grimm and allowing it to target larger ground-based Grimm when flying low enough.

The surface is every part of the city within the walls, above the dock level, and outside the Citadel and contains a large number of residential areas, some businesses, and parks, allowing it to hold a fairly large population. The buildings on the surface are all buttressed first against the outer wall, and then against the buildings below them, getting taller as you get closer to the Citadel.

The "Core" refers to everything below the level of the docks and is completely internal, with large corridors and a few areas set aside for arboretums to recreate the above-ground parks. The two areas combined could hold a population at least 1.5 times the size of Vale, if not more, depending on the conditions.

The most important part of the Bastion is the Citadel, located right in the center of the surface region. The Citadel serves as a combination of a school, government center, and barracks for the city's garrison, making it the closest equivalent the Bastion has to Beacon or Atlas Academy. Much of the area is meant to be a large park, with a number of buildings to serve the Citadel's purpose. At its heart is the Spire, a massive tower stretching up from the lowest levels of the Core region to above every building in the surface region. The Spire houses most of the important aspects of the Citadel, including the Council chamber intended for use by the Triumvirate to communicate with each other and the citizens, as well as the control center for the entire city near the top of the Spire. At the Spire's heart is an Animus Dust crystal that goes from just above the primary Gravity Animus Dust crystal to beyond the upper reaches of the tower. At a glance, it looks like a single massive crystal, but everything above the Spire's summit is actually five different crystals that are connected by a specially designed frame to the rest of the Spire crystal.

The entire Crystal stores the energy reserves used by all of Bastion, allowing it to stay airborne and in a fight for long periods of time, however the energy requirement means it can only properly charge with a fairly large population or Aurelius' presence nearby, making it difficult to maintain at present for long periods if Aurelius isn't actually there.

The Spire crystal also controls every Speaker construct, making it the source of Sanctuary's CCT-like communication system and, with modifications and adaptations, could actually function as a CCT Tower if need be.

From the lowest point of the Gravity crystals to the highest point of the Spire crystal, the Bastion is the tallest structure in all of Remnant.