Hey guys! sorry for the long wait (again). It's just that I'm struggling with what I want to do with the story. Some of the events will leave major scars on our Characters, and I'm kinda mad that I can't use some of their new abilities just yet. Don't worry, though. Once I finish this arc, I'll start making use of some of the vast materiel Vol. 3 has provided us with (A similar Vytal festival, though it'll end differently), the Prophecy of the Maidens, etc. My characters(if they survive) will be interacting with more of the outer fringes of the World of Remnant (maybe even literally), and we'll get to see more of the Grimm Corsairs!

With that said, I'll finally admit to you all (and myself) that this story has to become either a Bi-monthly story or a monthly one, because School and the Robotics team I'm on has really been eating up my schedule.

Enjoy!

(_-_-_-_BEGIN CHAPTER-_-_-_)

Chapter 18: Mirthful Combat

Day #6

June 10, 2015

Earth

Whoa. I'll never get used to that. Yang thought. Feels good to be back, though

We were in the middle of a large clearing, -free of Grimm, thank God- and stood up. There was a large rattle as the pile of bones moved as we sat up. "Now that I think about it, we've probably killed the biggest Grimm in Remnant history." Yang said, beaming as she cracked our knuckles.

"Y'know, why didn't we just shock it to death with our coat of many colors?" I said.

"Because this looked cooler?" She responded. We facepalmed, then our ears perked up. It was twilight, and I could hear the faint, yet distinct, whine of a jet engine in the distance, getting nearer. We dropped to the ground and started feeling around for Crescent in the pile of bones. "This is disgusting!" Yang said, sticking her tongue out as we groaned.

At least they're picked clean! We shuddered at the thought of the alternative. Soon, we spied it inside a broken ribcage. "Ah! There you are!" I said, picking the scythe up. The impact had apparently reverted it back into its storage mode. The jets were louder now, almost overhead, and I saw the jet exhaust flaring as the engines twisted 90 degrees. The wind started to pick up, swirling leaves everywhere.

"Whoah..." we said in unison, looking up.

That better be ours... Yang groaned.

Probably is. They're the only ones who know where we are.

"FREEZE!" A feminine voice yelled, hoarsely, and the wind gathered itself into a horizontal funnel, catching us off guard and blasting us backwards into a grove of trees.

I know that voice! I thought, as we shakily stood to our feet. I heard a cracking sound, and I looked up.

"Oh no, not-" We stammered.

"Oh, yes. We caught up with you, you thieving wretch! What the hell'd you do with my jet?" The woman demanded, slamming us with another gust of wind. It was the former pilot of our new home.

"Who are you?" We said.

"Oh, so now you wanna get to know me? Shoulda thought of that before you threw us out the cargo bay." She growled, using the wind to propel herself towards us. We put our fists up in traditional brawler stance.

"FIGHT" a strange, deep voice boomed from above, causing all of us to jump. She skidded to a stop five meters away and looked up. We followed her angry gaze. It was our jet, but it looked very different from the last time I had taken the time to look at it. It was covered in Blades, like a porcupine -a what?- , but the ship was covered in dents and scratches, and some of the blades were broken off or bent.

I guess this is what GrimmSever mode looks like from the outside.

"What've you done?" The woman whispered in horror, turning her head slowly in our direction with murder in her eyes, and a dark strand of hair fell out. In the darkness, we could barely make out several other shadowy figures stepping out from the trees, gathering around us in a semicircle, boxing us in.

A little help? I thought, as I didn't wanna have any more unnecessary fights. Yang, you got this, right? I was sore from killing Grimm and falling an unknown distance. Again.

Then the Second jet appeared, and all hell broke loose. She screamed in fury, and charged at us like a woman possessed. From each elbow extended a pair of lightly-colored tonfa, and she fired at us as she charged. "I'LL RIP YOU APART!" She roared.

She must think we killed Nate! Now that we know she's special to Nate, we need only subdue her until he can get here, hopefully.

We stopped thinking, and began moving together instinctively as we had during the previous battle. and we switched Crescent into assault mode, unleashing a barrage of bullets in Vee's direction while using the recoil to maneuver to the side. She jumped, impossibly fast over our spray of bullets, and was inches away from our face when her entire countenance changed from enraged to sadistic. We caught her blow on Crescent, fortunately. She was attempting to overpower us with her block, but for all her ferocity, she wasn't very strong. Suddenly, we heard the snap-hiss of a mode switch. A sudden, hard shove threw us down, creating a small crater behind us.

Whoah! Where'd that come from?

The tip of her tonfa had flipped 90 degrees backwards, using recoil as extra force behind her attack! We delivered a hard kick to her stomach, causing her to flip backwards, sliding a few feet back before dropping to one knee. We had barely even moved our arm before she'd leapt forwards, knocked Crescent out of our hands, then impaled us with her tonfa, now transformed into twin blades.

"AARGH" We yelled as she got up, leaving the swords in place.

Wait. Shouldn't getting stabbed be a whole lot more painful? Yang thought. We could see the lady put her hands to her mouth, as if trying not to burst into laughter at something. Moving to get up, we found ourselves free. She hadn't even stabbed us! "WHAT THE FUCK, BITCH?!" I yelled in rage before covering my mouth with my hands. We ran at her, then a brilliant spotlight illuminated the area.

Descending -no, make that racing- the descanding ship's boarding ramp was a short, bulky man in a black uniform with a light green trim, Seraph, and another guard armed with a sniper rifle of some sort. The short guy ran past us, but with great effort, we ran towards Seraph.

"Sue-I mean, Seraph!" We smiled amidst the confusion, catching her and giving her a hug. She groaned, but smiled, too. "Leggo o'me, you're crushin' me innards! What the 'ell a' you made of?" She softy pounded our back, feeling something protruding outwards.

"Still as lovable as yesterday, I guess." I muttered, wondering what she meant.

"So, shorty, this the new batch?" Vee said, chuckling in a sigh of relief.

"Nah, they made up some apparently Bullshit story about you getting killed." In a flash, Short Guy was on her, hugging Vee very tightly in a manner totally unbefitting friends, as well as making me feel really uncomfortable.

Well, he did think she was dead, soo...

"Tch" I replied, jokingly shielding Seraph's eyes as the reunion started to get even more...intimate.

"Ahem." Aric called over the loudspeaker "Present company, Nate..."

Oh so that's who that is...

"Oh, yeah. Right. C'mon Vee," Nate smiled, reddening, taking her hand "we've got a lot of 'catching up' to do." He led her into his ship, and the lift shut behind them.

"Phew, at least one of us is gettin' laid tonight..." Aric muttered, breathing out in relief. His voice turned stern as he addressed the pirate crew "You guys there. Yeah, all you out there. You're under arrest for assault, maybe even murder, but if you come nicely, we'll not make mincemeat out of you."

"What do you mean?" A tall, lanky pirate called out

"Oh yeah... you bastards almost killed my friends! And however many kids at Beacon!" I growled, pushing Seraph behind us to protect her if necessary.

"Says the one who hijacked our ship and pushed us all out an airlock above who-knows-where with no food or drink!" A pirate yelled upwards. "Number one: you may control the high ground, but what if we get your friends here?" he said, motioning to us. The sniper swiftly switched the gun into a sort of energy shield, but eyed both groups warily. "And Number two: we were just hitching a ride and providing support for Despayre. We didn't have anything to do with those young ladies, 'cause Mr. D. told us to leave them to him. We were basically just passengers. We landed, picked the girls and guys up, and left. By the way, those were smoke bombs, or at least, that's what he told us. I wasn't told what the mission was for, but I knew my part."

"Oh yeah?" Aric's voice boomed "Then why can't I raise Beacon on the comms?"

The man facepalmed "Dude. Have you ever heard of signal jamming?" He said, dumbfounded.

"Oh. shut up." The cannons on the bottom started spinning, ready to fire at a moments notice.

"Can I shoot them now?" Nora squealed over the external speakers.

" Y'know what? What happened to those girls that would..." I glared at him, resisting the urge to tear him limb-from-limb. He noticed. "oh... shit. Those were your friends?" He whispered to his compatriots, who nodded.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say this: Fuck Despayre, he didn't pay us well anyway." He spat, and his men hooted with laughter. "His men have done nothing good for this operation. We lived in seclusion for decades and he exposes us in minutes. I'll not work for an idiot like that any longer, eh guys?" His troops raised their weapons and fired off a salvo into the sky, then burst into laughter and surged forwards towards us. The guns erupted, spewing bullets over their heads, causing them to gasp in surprise.

"Sorry about that. Trigger happy gunner. Also, she was one of the hostages." Nate muttered. Yang and I began to calm down, unclenching our fists. I had an idea

"Hey, why don't you help us take Despayre down?" I asked.

They looked at me in utter surprise, as if I had just ripped my clothes off and screamed 'let's burn the moon'. "I'm no traitor. I'll desert, but I will not hurt my friends for your personal vendetta." their leader said, gaze hardening.

My fists tightened. Sure that was what it all boiled down to, but Despayre hadn't just hurt Ruby. He'd hurt my friends. He'd bombed Beacon- duds or not. That was provocation enough.

"You think this is about my friends? Think again!" I shouted. "I've travelled worlds to bring Despayre to justice!"

Fucking Liar! Yang joked.

Technically, we have. Every night.

"Pfft, I doubt that. Mr. D is a psychopath, but he's a product of Remnant. You've probably only been after him for what- a year? Two? The man is crazy, but I've fought beside the Corsairs since I was your age- younger, even. It's all I've ever known-"

"Then help me- help us change that. Your friends might not be lucky enough to get away. The Atlesian military will come rolling in eventually, and if it were my citizens in danger, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to drop a nuke on your base. We need to remove the tumor, so the body can heal. Cut the offending eye out. Plus," I added, "we're your only hope of getting back to civilization alive."

"Hmph," he snorted "It's not like we're on an island."

"Okay, wrap it up." I said, fed up with these guys. I had one last, teensy ace up my -our- sleeve. I raised my arm and twirled my finger in a circle.

Ooh, cold... Yang smiled inwardly. That's such a bluff.

"C'mon, Seraph." Yang said, motioning for the girl to follow. The jets began to increase the sound of their whine, earnest to escape the brewing danger, and as we stepped onto the ramp, the jet began to rise slowly, foot by foot. Yang and I pushed Seraph ahead of us, and the sniper did the same near the other ship, which, unfortunately didn't get the memo. It lowered it's lift even father down to enable the sniper to get aboard easily.

"Hey! Whatdya mean 'our only hope'?" The pirate questioned, confliction evident on his face. I groaned I just stared back at him, and removed the rebreather covering my face. Just for show, I let a crackle of electricity pass through our fingers, illuminating our face for a moment.

"What the..." he said, coughing in surprise. "What happened to you?"

"This happened during a rescue attempt of some of the students from Beacon. I'm Chrys." I said, raising my right arm in a small wave.

" And I'm Yang!" Said my blonde half, causing him to frown.

"Wait... stop..." He groaned, rubbing his salt-and-pepper beard. "Are you two conjoined twins?" He asked, puzzled.

"No, we're not. Long story, kinda hard to explain. Anyways, are you gonna help us or not?" I asked, still annoyed at the time we were wasting.

"Alright, alright! We know the way to the base. I guess we can help 'em a bit, eh guys?" His men grumbled, but nodded in agreement "On two conditions. If we fail, make sure our families get out." He paused, and I nodded. "Secondly, I and my men will- UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES- harm any of our comrades. We'll run your ship and make it work, but don't expect us to do your dirty work unless Despayre marches out with a Legion of his personal cadre." Once he had finished laying down his terms, the lift descended.

"Welcome aboard. Watch your step, and proceed straight to the lounge, where we'll inventory your weapons." Aric said over the loudspeaker. "But watch out for the girls. I mean, REALLY watch out They're not gonna be as forgiving as we are. You've been warned!" I stepped onto the lift, and, realizing a possible weigh dilemma, called for only Six persons at a time.

Really? Our 'elevators' are waay more powerful than yours. Yang commented.

Dawn was cresting the horizon, and I suddenly began to feel weak.

Must be the adrenaline wearing off…

Just to be safe, I looked down, and noticed a dark, shiny puddle appearing between our legs.

Is that blood?

Not gonna make a period joke, not gonna make a period joke…

Just you wait until that time of month comes around…

We felt around, encountering nothing on our front. Then the Advril wore off. The floor never looked so inviting. Clenching our teeth, we attempted to a move to check our back. Seraph gasped.

"What?" I said, clutching my chest in confusion as the floor slipped out from under us. I vaguely remember Seraph catching us, then tripping forward and sprawling across our chest under our weight. The rest is a haze, though I know we didn't pass out, as we didn't leave Remnant. Next thing I knew, we were flying at breakneck speed to some unknown destination. I heard the word "Hospital" thrown around. Eventually, we came around completely, and we were lying in a hospital bed, garbed in an ominously black gown with yellow trim.

Not again… I moaned, blinking. The trim changed colors. It was now blue.

What the hell is happening? Yang grumbled. Dammit, did the color change again? It was glowing Jade.

We looked around, only able to move our head for some reason. Our left shoulder was wrapped in bandages and I felt an intense ache in it.

"Oh. You're awake?" a feminine voice said unsurprisingly, causing us to turn towards it's source. It was a tall, modestly-endowed girl in a short, silvery dress that barely covered her thighs and left little to the imagination. She had her legs crossed, and she was sitting in a bolted down chair the color of midnight.

Perv…

Hey, you try not to stare when an attractive guy's doing this to you. I retorted.

Point taken. Hey, let's try moving! I think it was the arm, right?

No, the left. Duh. I said sarcastically.

We tried moving it, but we couldn't.

"Wha-" we started

"Shh, shh. Don't move. You've been out for a long time." She said, moving over towards us.

We shot up, ignoring the pain that lanced through our shoulder.

Oh no, I've heard this happen before!

Metal Gear Solid 5 doesn't count, not that I even know what that is.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me?" She said, incredulously, before giving us a twirl that lifted her already-short skirt dangerously high.

"You look familiar," I lied "now tell me how long I've been out!" I implored, trying to ignore my hormones as she got closer.

"Alright, alright, bloke. Ya got me! It's your ol' pal, Seraph! How'do I look?" She smiled, gingerly giving us a hug while avoiding contact with my injured shoulder.

Aw Hale Nah! I almost spat out, instantly feeling like a creep. I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment.

Hahahaha! Serves ya right! Yang was laughing her ass off.

You're never gonna let me live this one down, are you?

"Uh..." I made some senseless noses with my mouth before Yang took over. "Nice to see you again, Seraph." She said, trying to wrap our good arm around her back to reciprocate the gesture.

"But seriously, mate, It's been 10 years."

"WHAT!?"

(_-_-_-_END CHAPTER-_-_-_)

So. First off, RIP Monty. It's literally been about a year since I became a fan of RWBY. It's kinda up, but guess the day I became a fan? Febuary 6th, 2015. After bingewatching the entire first season on Crunchyroll in a two days, I went to look up the show to see if I had missed anything (Y'know, just in case), as well as to see awesome fanart. Imagine my surprise when -you guessed it- EVERYTHING I CAME ACROSS WAS SAD POEMS! So I'm al llike: What happened? did Someone die in the next season? Who is this Monty Oum person? Was he a secondary character? Imagine my utter embarrassment and sorrow when I looked up the show's cast. Now, I don't know about you, but I was too busy absorbing information during the show to watch the OP, so I always skipped them after ep 3. I had the biggest facepalm ever when I went to the Wikipedia page I don't need to go any further, but you can guess my horror.

Anyways, I write all this to say. May God have mercy on your soul, Monty. I mean that as a compliment, not a diss. As you can probably tell, I waver all the time in my story writing. Thanks to all of you who tune in every time I upload a new chapter. I don't think this is very relevant, but I try to make this story as realistic as possible- the mental parts, at least. I actually based Chrys's mind off my own. THIS IS SOLELY BECAUSE I CANNOT PROFESS TO KNOW ANYONE ELSE'S AS WELL. Nothing else in the story is related to me, just his Fears and emotions. I honestly think that I've painted an accurate picture. I- sorry, guys. I've gotta deal with this idiot.

*MUFFLED BG NOISE*

"No, I will not give you a bigger role, Hope. You've served most of your purpose in the narrative".

"IT'S BECAUSE HE HAS ADHD!"

"What? Did that have anything to do with the story at all? Interrupt me one more time and I'm deleting your character from the A/N's."

"..."

"That's what I thought."

Anyways, I've gotta go to bed. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Love you all! BYE!